I've come to realize that I don't post enough in this blog often enough. Naturally, I want to fix that. Posting more often would seem to require one of two things change - either I listen to music at a greater pace and write about it at a pace to match or I tweak the format of the blog such that I don't have to change my listening habits all that much.
The solution I have arrived at is that, beginning with the letter C, I will begin posting at 5 album intervals, instead of the current 10. This will allow me to hurry some write-ups less and get more of them done, and that's good for everyone.
In addition, beginning with C (and eventually retrofitted to A and B), I'll be including some more goodies to help you listen to some of the music I'm reviewing. I'm hoping to put some services like SoundCloud to good use when possible, as well as some uploads from yours truly. It should be grand.
That said, I'm back at work with the remainder of the B albums, so expect to see a new post by the end of the month.
Cheers!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Blue Collar - Born of Man and Flies
Virtually every one of you reading this has heard a song that Rhymefest is at least partially responsible for writing, though very few of you know it. He has a Grammy on his mantle at home for co-writing a little song by the name of "Jesus Walks". You may be familiar with it. Blue Collar is his debut album, and it's a strong work, almost cover to cover. An experienced rap battler - he once beat Eminem in the finals of a major competition - Rhymefest flexes his lyrical muscle throughout, firing off indomitable salvos filled with clever wordplay and great humor. He gives us an album for the middle class, those working hard day in and day out. He pays homage to strong women, with the tender "Sister", he shouts out to people pushing for their dreams. He questions the government, while rapping over a Strokes sample on "Devil's Pie". At the same time, he also cuts loose like no one's business - tracks like "Fever", "Dynomite" and the not-very-good but really hilarious "Build Me Up", which features Ol' Dirty Bastard singing The Foundations, show how willing Rhymefest is to goof around. And then, of course, he has lines like these, from "Devil's Pie":
Asking Kanye for money just to pay my gas bill/ He asked me for it back/ Nigga, brush up on your math skills/ Nothin' plus zip equals zero/ Can you relate? That nigga ain't been broke since ‘H to tha Izzo
How can you not like that?
Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Massive Attack is a strange band to write about. So, in lieu of an actual write-up, I instead give you the video to the album's best song, "Unfinished Sympathy".
Blue Record by Baroness
I picked up Baroness' Red Album and Blue Record last spring, when their name popped up on the Bonnaroo lineup. I was told they bear some similarities to fellow Georgians Mastodon, and I hoped to see them at the festival before The Dodos. Unfortunately, we were stuck in miles of traffic approaching the festival, and the only show we saw on Thursday was Wale. Having listened to the Blue Record several times leading up to the festival, I was rather disappointed (though not as much as missing both The Black Keys and Chromeo for a lackluster Flaming Lips set. But that's another story for another day). The album features some beautiful guitar lines of both the melodic and rhythmic variety. The percussion is powerful, but not the focal point, like it often is for Mastodon. The vocals and lyrics are... not negligible, but not really central to the enjoyment of the music. It's a solid album, with great pacing and interesting, engaging composition.
The Blueprint by Jay-ZWhat can I say about The Blueprint that hasn't been said a thousand times over? It's a masterpiece, it's the reason Kanye West is famous. I am of the opinion that it is Jay-Z's best album, though I'm fairly certain most people would disagree. Reasonable Doubt, I'm sure they would say, is Jay-Z's magnum opus. The Blueprint has it all, though. It has meticulous production from West, Bink and Just Blaze. It's got timeless singles like "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" that can still tear a club down, even a decade on. It's introspection, pride, swagger, emotion. "Heart of the City" has become a bona fide classic, as has Eminem's performance on "Renegade". It covers the full breadth of topics Jay-Z is known for, and displays his full talents as an MC and executive producer.
The Blueprint²: The Gift and The Curse by Jay-Z
In the tradition of double albums in all genres, BP2 would have been twice as good if it were half as long. Well, maybe two thirds as long. There's four tracks produced by The Neptunes, which is three too many, especially when the first, "Excuse Me Miss" is far and away the best. There's about eight apiece from Kanye and Just Blaze, which not only lessens the impact of their beats on the whole product, but also means that the two were digging a little too deep in their crates, especially Just Blaze - The Blueprint's "U Don't Know" is a great song, and the beat kills, but bringing it back for a remix featuring M.O.P. on The Curse just feels unnecessary, even if it is a great remix. That sort of thing is bonus track material, you know? The most glaring flaws though, are the beats from Timbaland, who as you may recall, was responsible for "Big Pimpin'" and produced "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" a year after this album. Two of them, "What They Gonna Do" and "2 Many Hoes" are uncharacteristically awful. The other, "The Bounce", is pretty average, and buoyed by the combined charisma of Jay-Z, as well as that of Kanye delivering his first verse on record. All that said, you probably think that I hate this album, which isn't quite accurate. 2001-2003 Jay was vintage, and his lyricism and delivery will make you enjoy otherwise average tracks and will make you tolerate otherwise bad ones. It's just disappointing that those tracks exist when he's capable of pairing the perfect flow with the perfect beat more often than almost any other MC.
The Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z
Now here's an album I am very close to hating. Oh gods. I'm going to get the good things out of the way first, so that my vitriol will be uninterrupted. "Run This Town" is a phenomenal song, even if Kanye runs away with it.
Now, for the bad stuff. Yes, that was all the good stuff.
Holy fuck, Jay. What happened? I've listened to Kingdom Come, and this is no Kingdom Come. Yes, it's that bad. Unlike the previous writeup, I'll start with the biggest offender. Like The Blueprint 2, however, that offender is still Timbaland. The tracks he produced here make his BP2 tracks look like classics. "Reminder" might be the worst beat + hook combination I've ever heard, and on top of that, Jigga's verses sound like he thought of them while on the phone and recorded them over that very same phone. It might be a worse song than Kanye's "Drunk and Hot Girls". Jay and Timbaland also hook up for the second worst track on the album "Venus vs. Mars", which I will simply write off as some trite battle of the sexes bullshit, if only so I don't have an aneurysm thinking about it. There's the requisite bad Neptunes-produced track featuring Pharrell, which is a pairing that clearly ran out of steam a long time ago. And don't get me started on the "Young Forever", a song that is somehow both saccharine and smarmy. Most of the remaining tracks are Kanye beats that sound like rejects from 808s and Heartbreak, which is truly the least offensive thing that could be said about them.What takes the cake, though, is this mystifying verse from "Thank You", a song that would be reasonably okay otherwise:
I was gonna kill a couple rappers
But they did it to themselves
I was gon' do it with the flow
But they did it with their sales
I was gon' 9/11 'em, but they didn't need the help
And they did a good job them boys is talented as hell
Cuz not only did they brick they put a building up as well
They ran a plane into that building and when that building fell
Ran to the crash site with no masks and inhaled
Toxins deep inside their lungs until both of them was filled
Blew a cloud out like a L into a jar then took a smell
Cuz they heard that second hand smoke kills
Niggas thought they was ill found out they was... ill
And it's like you knew exactly how I wanted you to feel
What the fuck.
Blunted on Reality by The Fugees
The Fugees' debut is a good glimpse into the group that would, in two years' time, dominate the hip-hop world with The Score. On Blunted on Reality, they don't yet sound fully-formed, both as lyricists and as emcees. There are flashes, like on "Nappy Heads" and "Boof Baf", both of which were rightfully singles, but most of the time, they sound manic, and too reliant on the Caribbean music with which Wyclef and Pras grew up with. It's almost amazing how much they matured between 1994, when this was released, and 1996, when The Score came out. Still, this is worth a listen or two.
Blur by Blur
Their self-titled album marked a conscious decision by Damon Albarn and company to leave the confines of Britpop and head toward a more alternative sound. The result? A strong album featuring one of the most ubiquitous rock songs of the last twenty years. A mostly nonsense song poking fun at grunge, "Song 2"'s plays from sports arenas alone has probably funded every one of Albarn's flights of fancy, as well as paid for his house. That said, Blur is still a very good album, with true gems in songs like "Beetlebum" and "On Your Own", and especially the Bowie-esque "Strange News from Another Star". The importance of this album on Albarn's future can't be overstated either - by branching out from Britpop and succeeding, he was no doubt encouraged to continue to explore new styles, leading to Think Tank, the "formation" of Gorillaz, and The Good, The Bad & The Queen.
The Body, The Blood, The Machine by The Thermals
Roughly speaking, this is a punk concept album about a couple fleeing an America run by religious wingnuts. With that out of the way, let me say this - it's a good album. Not great, but closer to that mark than not. It's got its heart, its emotion, in all the right places, which is a big part of making both conceptual albums and punk rock work. The riffs are abrasive, the rhythms are firm but not over done, which is certainly a credit to producer Brendan Canty. Lead singer Hutch Harris' vocal style is a bit of an acquired taste; it's sort of reminiscent of John Darnielle's croon. You'll eventually like it, but probably not right away.
This was one of those albums that I had never listened to before coming upon it in the alphabet. Just overlooked it from whenever it was that I picked it up. Between how long it sat there and the fact that it has no genre tag in iTunes, I had no idea what exactly I was walking into. Turns out it is a stellar little EP of long-form hip-hop, both traditional and instrumental. I can't find a fucking bit of info on these guys, really, but it seems this is the only thing they ever put out, which is a shame. The emcee's name is Sketch, and he's lightning fast, but not merely as a show of technical skill, he can write as well. The production is handled mostly by Mr Cooper, who uses a lot of unorthodox sounds in tandem with typical hip-hop instrumentation to create a dark, dismal soundscape for Sketch to rhyme over, to great effect. I'd highly recommend you check this out, though I'll be damned if I can point you in a direction where you'll be able to find it.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
BlackenedWhite - Blow Your Face Out
BlackenedWhite by MellowHype
With the exception of Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers", this is the first exposure I've really had to the Odd Future phenomenon. MellowHype, composed of Hodgy Beats, who despite his name is the MC and not the producer, and Left Brain, who is. Given Odd Future's rep, which comes mainly from Tyler and Earl and their often ultraviolent lyrics, I was surprised at how relatively laid back and benign Hodgy is, lyrically. He's got a relaxed delivery that feels pretty effortless. At the same time, he doesn't really stand out all that much.When Tyler and Earl show up for verses in the latter half of the album, you immediately realize that Hodgy lacks the charisma that great MCs have. It's not necessarily a bad thing, since Odd Future is a collective, but as the focal point, he isn't particularly lustrous. Fortunately, Left Brain's production is so good - and strange, in some cases - that BlackenedWhite is still a remarkably good album throughout.
Blacklisted by Neko Case
It's no secret that I have an undying admiration for Neko Case's voice. Shortly after her most recent album, Middle Cyclone, came out, a good friend of mine drove for 5 hours, from here to Burlington, Vermont, to see her because it was the closest opportunity we had. Naturally, the show was entrancing. Blacklisted was my first exposure to Neko's solo work. I remember picking it up from a great, but now defunct, blog by the name of Regnyouth Archives, back in... maybe 2005? after I really started listening to The New Pornographers. Though I have never had much of a taste for country (because let's be honest, most of it is fucking terrible), the tinges and twangs of Blacklisted were, and still are, beautiful compliments to Neko's formidable pipes. I'm not sure I can come up with sufficient superlatives for her voice, really. Instead, why don't you listen to one of my favorite tracks, "Deep Red Bells"
Blackout by Dropkick Murphys
I have seen the Murphys live something like seven times now (yes, enough that I've lost count), and without fail, they play between four and six songs from this album every show, regardless of what the most recent album they have out at the time is. That is by far the most from any album in the back catalog, and it's well-earned - Blackout is their most complete album (excepting, perhaps, the brand new Going Out in Style, which I have not yet spent ample time with. But more on that later). They cover a lot of familiar ground, from the blue collar punk of "Worker's Song" and "Buried Alive", to the barroom classics "The Dirty Glass" and perennial set-closer "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced", along with a touch of traditional Irish folk in the form of "Black Velvet Band", along with a couple earnest songs about life, including what is perhaps my favorite Murphys song, "Bastards on Parade". It's hard to write about this album in a way that could be helpful to anyone, so I'll leave you with this: If you like the Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, or the Pogues, you either love this album or would love this album. If you don't, you won't.
Blakroc by The Black Keys
As many of you know, The Black Keys are pretty awesome. Those of you who don't know will get a great look later in the B's, when I get to their superb album Brothers. This particular album is a strange creature - it is the Black Keys providing backing beats for a variety MCs, including Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Raekwon, among others. It sounds like it could be a good idea. The bluesy stylings of The Black Keys could certainly have made for some great tracks. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite come out that way, partially because the selection of rappers isn't great, but also because they all seem to rein it in to fit within the style of the Black Keys. Rae and Mos each turn in brilliant performances, as do Q-Tip and, surprisingly, Nicole Wray, but did we really need Jim Jones? Two RZA appearances? Billy Danze? No, probably not.
Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious
It is exceptionally difficult to make a great hip hop album that is longer than an hour. Production, verses, guest spots - all have to be on their A-game at the same time for it to happen. At nearly 75 minutes, Blazing Arrow, the second album by Blackalicious, is bordering on flawless. DJ/producer Chief XCel (with assists from ?uestlove and Ben Harper) creates a beautiful, lush sonic canvas. Live horns pop up throughout the album, giving Blazing Arrow a wonderful summer feel, the sort of music you put on when you're out driving, windows rolled down. Gift of Gab, over the course of the album, flexes his lyrical muscle, delivering lines that most other MCs can't even repeat, much less create on their own. Guest spots from Chali 2na, Lateef, and Jaguar Wright hit all the right notes, and at the right times. If you claim to be a fan of hip-hop and don't have this, you need to reevaluate your musical interests.
Blood Mountain by Mastodon
Blood Mountain, more so than any of Mastodon's other releases, is an unrelenting freight train of an album. As will be the case every time anyone ever writes about a Mastodon album, the obligatory lead - Brann Dailor's drumming is just ridiculous. The bombast, the complexity, the fucking drum fills. Jesus. That out of the way, Blood Mountain also has perhaps the strongest performances from every other member of the band. The guitar lines tread carefully the line between Convergesque surgical precision and Sabbathian crunch, and it works to great effect. From cover to cover (well, maybe excepting Josh Homme's goofy fan letter in the dead air of the last track), this is a strong, strong album, and likely Mastodon's best yet.
Blood Pressures by The Kills
This is another odd intersection of alphabet and calendar. As I write this, Blood Pressures has been out just over a month. Blood Pressures is good. But it could have been great. It is a distinct improvement over their previous release, Midnight Boom, which didn't really feel like a Kills album at all. The blues is back, definitely, and Hince's riff-writing is perhaps sharper than ever. A bit of The Dead Weather has definitely seeped in. You can hear it, particularly in the first half of the album, which is undeniably the strongest portion of the album. It opens with a great threesome of "Future Starts Slow", "Satellite" and "Heart is a Beating Drum", the last of which might be my favorite Kills track yet. Where the album hits a snag is in the last four tracks. Number eight, "The Last Goodbye" is a wonderful song, truly, but where it is situated on the album, it is like running headlong into quicksand. It should be the last track, with the actual 9-10-11 serving as the slowdown. Well, maybe the actual nine and eleven - track ten, "You Don't Own the Road" feels out of place.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Most people regard this album as a classic. Many are likely to call it the best album the Chili Peppers have made or will make. I personally disagree - Blood Sugar Sex Magik is fourth for me - and that is why it's not a highlighted album in this post. That said, it is still a great album. It may sound strange, given how volatile the band was during their peak, but I think that BSSM represents them at their most cohesive. John Frusciante hadn't yet outgrown the band, musically. Flea had honed his bass playing to a certain level of refinement, knowing when to thunder along and when to pull back. The band as a group reined in the distortion, and started to incorporate some really splendid melodies. They brought in Rick Rubin to produce, and he did a magnificent job (one that would catapult him to superstardom). While it might not be my favorite work of theirs, it is almost undeniably their most balanced effort as a group, which is no doubt why it has experienced such success, even twenty years on.
Blow by Blow by Jeff Beck
Even more so than writing about Miles Davis or Charles Mingus, I find it very difficult to write about Jeff Beck. Blow by Blow is a beautiful album, undoubtedly, but I find myself unsure of what to say about it. Beck is a virtuoso with an axe, turning covers of songs we know like The Beatles' "She's a Woman" and Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" into brilliant displays of finger-callousing fretwork. Undoubtedly, the features here worth noting are "You Know What I Mean" and "Scatterbrain", which open and close Side A, respectively. Both were written by Beck and his cohort, Max Middleton, and are stunning displays of both Beck's chops and his composition.
Blow Your Face Out by The J. Geils Band
I'm pretty sure there is a law somewhere on the books that says that everyone from Massachusetts is obligated to have a copy of this album. It's a live double album, the third major one of 1976, behind Frampton Comes Alive and Live Bullet. For some reason we'll never know, Blow Your Face Out, despite being every bit equal to those albums, never launched The J. Geils Band into stardom along side Peter Frampton and Bob Seger. This is an album filled with gems, from the Janis Joplin favorite "Raise Your Hand" to the Motown favorite "Where Did Our Love Go?" to a blues-rock take on country standard "Truck Drivin' Man" to about a dozen of J. Geils classics. It's a fantastic collection of tracks, recorded at the Boston Garden and at Detroit's Cobo Hall. The band's energy is electric, and contagious - the crowd and the band seem to be competing to see who is having the most fun. That's what a live album should be like, and that's why Blow Your Face Out belongs in the pantheon of live albums.
With the exception of Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers", this is the first exposure I've really had to the Odd Future phenomenon. MellowHype, composed of Hodgy Beats, who despite his name is the MC and not the producer, and Left Brain, who is. Given Odd Future's rep, which comes mainly from Tyler and Earl and their often ultraviolent lyrics, I was surprised at how relatively laid back and benign Hodgy is, lyrically. He's got a relaxed delivery that feels pretty effortless. At the same time, he doesn't really stand out all that much.When Tyler and Earl show up for verses in the latter half of the album, you immediately realize that Hodgy lacks the charisma that great MCs have. It's not necessarily a bad thing, since Odd Future is a collective, but as the focal point, he isn't particularly lustrous. Fortunately, Left Brain's production is so good - and strange, in some cases - that BlackenedWhite is still a remarkably good album throughout.
Blacklisted by Neko Case
It's no secret that I have an undying admiration for Neko Case's voice. Shortly after her most recent album, Middle Cyclone, came out, a good friend of mine drove for 5 hours, from here to Burlington, Vermont, to see her because it was the closest opportunity we had. Naturally, the show was entrancing. Blacklisted was my first exposure to Neko's solo work. I remember picking it up from a great, but now defunct, blog by the name of Regnyouth Archives, back in... maybe 2005? after I really started listening to The New Pornographers. Though I have never had much of a taste for country (because let's be honest, most of it is fucking terrible), the tinges and twangs of Blacklisted were, and still are, beautiful compliments to Neko's formidable pipes. I'm not sure I can come up with sufficient superlatives for her voice, really. Instead, why don't you listen to one of my favorite tracks, "Deep Red Bells"
I have seen the Murphys live something like seven times now (yes, enough that I've lost count), and without fail, they play between four and six songs from this album every show, regardless of what the most recent album they have out at the time is. That is by far the most from any album in the back catalog, and it's well-earned - Blackout is their most complete album (excepting, perhaps, the brand new Going Out in Style, which I have not yet spent ample time with. But more on that later). They cover a lot of familiar ground, from the blue collar punk of "Worker's Song" and "Buried Alive", to the barroom classics "The Dirty Glass" and perennial set-closer "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced", along with a touch of traditional Irish folk in the form of "Black Velvet Band", along with a couple earnest songs about life, including what is perhaps my favorite Murphys song, "Bastards on Parade". It's hard to write about this album in a way that could be helpful to anyone, so I'll leave you with this: If you like the Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, or the Pogues, you either love this album or would love this album. If you don't, you won't.
Blakroc by The Black Keys
As many of you know, The Black Keys are pretty awesome. Those of you who don't know will get a great look later in the B's, when I get to their superb album Brothers. This particular album is a strange creature - it is the Black Keys providing backing beats for a variety MCs, including Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Raekwon, among others. It sounds like it could be a good idea. The bluesy stylings of The Black Keys could certainly have made for some great tracks. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite come out that way, partially because the selection of rappers isn't great, but also because they all seem to rein it in to fit within the style of the Black Keys. Rae and Mos each turn in brilliant performances, as do Q-Tip and, surprisingly, Nicole Wray, but did we really need Jim Jones? Two RZA appearances? Billy Danze? No, probably not.
It is exceptionally difficult to make a great hip hop album that is longer than an hour. Production, verses, guest spots - all have to be on their A-game at the same time for it to happen. At nearly 75 minutes, Blazing Arrow, the second album by Blackalicious, is bordering on flawless. DJ/producer Chief XCel (with assists from ?uestlove and Ben Harper) creates a beautiful, lush sonic canvas. Live horns pop up throughout the album, giving Blazing Arrow a wonderful summer feel, the sort of music you put on when you're out driving, windows rolled down. Gift of Gab, over the course of the album, flexes his lyrical muscle, delivering lines that most other MCs can't even repeat, much less create on their own. Guest spots from Chali 2na, Lateef, and Jaguar Wright hit all the right notes, and at the right times. If you claim to be a fan of hip-hop and don't have this, you need to reevaluate your musical interests.
Blood Mountain by Mastodon
Blood Mountain, more so than any of Mastodon's other releases, is an unrelenting freight train of an album. As will be the case every time anyone ever writes about a Mastodon album, the obligatory lead - Brann Dailor's drumming is just ridiculous. The bombast, the complexity, the fucking drum fills. Jesus. That out of the way, Blood Mountain also has perhaps the strongest performances from every other member of the band. The guitar lines tread carefully the line between Convergesque surgical precision and Sabbathian crunch, and it works to great effect. From cover to cover (well, maybe excepting Josh Homme's goofy fan letter in the dead air of the last track), this is a strong, strong album, and likely Mastodon's best yet.
Blood Pressures by The Kills
This is another odd intersection of alphabet and calendar. As I write this, Blood Pressures has been out just over a month. Blood Pressures is good. But it could have been great. It is a distinct improvement over their previous release, Midnight Boom, which didn't really feel like a Kills album at all. The blues is back, definitely, and Hince's riff-writing is perhaps sharper than ever. A bit of The Dead Weather has definitely seeped in. You can hear it, particularly in the first half of the album, which is undeniably the strongest portion of the album. It opens with a great threesome of "Future Starts Slow", "Satellite" and "Heart is a Beating Drum", the last of which might be my favorite Kills track yet. Where the album hits a snag is in the last four tracks. Number eight, "The Last Goodbye" is a wonderful song, truly, but where it is situated on the album, it is like running headlong into quicksand. It should be the last track, with the actual 9-10-11 serving as the slowdown. Well, maybe the actual nine and eleven - track ten, "You Don't Own the Road" feels out of place.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Most people regard this album as a classic. Many are likely to call it the best album the Chili Peppers have made or will make. I personally disagree - Blood Sugar Sex Magik is fourth for me - and that is why it's not a highlighted album in this post. That said, it is still a great album. It may sound strange, given how volatile the band was during their peak, but I think that BSSM represents them at their most cohesive. John Frusciante hadn't yet outgrown the band, musically. Flea had honed his bass playing to a certain level of refinement, knowing when to thunder along and when to pull back. The band as a group reined in the distortion, and started to incorporate some really splendid melodies. They brought in Rick Rubin to produce, and he did a magnificent job (one that would catapult him to superstardom). While it might not be my favorite work of theirs, it is almost undeniably their most balanced effort as a group, which is no doubt why it has experienced such success, even twenty years on.
Blow by Blow by Jeff Beck
Even more so than writing about Miles Davis or Charles Mingus, I find it very difficult to write about Jeff Beck. Blow by Blow is a beautiful album, undoubtedly, but I find myself unsure of what to say about it. Beck is a virtuoso with an axe, turning covers of songs we know like The Beatles' "She's a Woman" and Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" into brilliant displays of finger-callousing fretwork. Undoubtedly, the features here worth noting are "You Know What I Mean" and "Scatterbrain", which open and close Side A, respectively. Both were written by Beck and his cohort, Max Middleton, and are stunning displays of both Beck's chops and his composition.
I'm pretty sure there is a law somewhere on the books that says that everyone from Massachusetts is obligated to have a copy of this album. It's a live double album, the third major one of 1976, behind Frampton Comes Alive and Live Bullet. For some reason we'll never know, Blow Your Face Out, despite being every bit equal to those albums, never launched The J. Geils Band into stardom along side Peter Frampton and Bob Seger. This is an album filled with gems, from the Janis Joplin favorite "Raise Your Hand" to the Motown favorite "Where Did Our Love Go?" to a blues-rock take on country standard "Truck Drivin' Man" to about a dozen of J. Geils classics. It's a fantastic collection of tracks, recorded at the Boston Garden and at Detroit's Cobo Hall. The band's energy is electric, and contagious - the crowd and the band seem to be competing to see who is having the most fun. That's what a live album should be like, and that's why Blow Your Face Out belongs in the pantheon of live albums.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde - Black Sunday
I've listened to a lot of hip-hop in my time. Not as much as some people, certainly, but I've listened to a lot more than most people, I think, especially considering that I'm just just shy of 23 years old. This is, almost definitely, the most fun hip-hop album I've ever heard. Four brilliantly talented class clown MCs trading verses and barbs about everything and nothing, from women to "Ya Mama" jokes to the miserableness of the DMV, all over beats crafted from equal parts soul and jazz. It was sort of a West coast equivalent to De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, though regrettably, the G-Funk of LA and Oakland greatly overshadowed it, whereas De La and the Native Tongues Posse ruled the roost in the East for a few years. Make no mistake though - this album is an absolute classic, on par with the very best of the era.
The Black Album by Jay-Z
The Black Album could have been Jay-Z's best album. Could have been. It has some of his finest lyrics, some of his greatest singles, and some of the strongest beats he's ever rapped over. Hova comes out guns blazing, with the five straight gems in the first five real tracks. The album suffers its first notable setback with the roundly uninteresting "Threat" before bouncing back strong with the under appreciated "Moment of Clarity" and "99 Problems". Unfortunately, the album shoots itself in the foot in the last third - only the Kanye West-produced "Lucifer" and the album closer, "My 1st Song" are great songs, while the other three tracks all fall flat, especially "Justify My Thug". Yipes, that thing is a mess. Still a great album, but a little more selectivity would have made this an all-time classic.
Black Mountain by Black Mountain
This album, like the related Pink Mountaintops' album Axis of Evol, felt interminable to me. It just seemed to keep going, with little differentiation between one track and the next. I just don't understand it - the album is only 46ish minutes long! It shouldn't feel like twice that, and yet, it did. Maybe I was distracted. Maybe I should give it a second chance. I'll report back at some point in the future.
Black Dialogue by The Perceptionists
The Perceptionists are a Boston-based hip-hop trio, in the vein of Run-DMC, but less galvanizing and with less crossover appeal. That said, they are no less talented. Akrobatik and Mr Lif are both very good emcees individually, but intertwining them throughout the length of an album makes both of them better, not only through good back and forth, but also through diversity - the album never feels monotonous, something that both artists' solo efforts occasionally do. The production is what makes this package great, though. DJ Fakts One, who, to my knowledge, has never really done any other notable work, gives Lif and Ak a litany of gorgeous beats to work with. Definitely worth a listen for anyone who likes hip-hop.
Black on Both Sides by Mos Def
Mos Def, unlike his good friend Talib Kweli, has experienced considerable levels of success outside Black Star. This, his solo debut, is perhaps the smoothest hip hop outing in the last 15 years. Mos Def sounds so utterly relaxed, so at home, on every track, all while he drops meticulously crafted rhymes over beats that sound like vintage Tribe Called Quest. The resulting sound is an exceptionally intelligent rap album, one that sounds anchored in the best parts of hip hop's history while also coming across as years ahead of its time. On top of that, Mos Def himself played most of the percussion and bass on the record, in the studio, which makes the album all the more impressive - not only are his lyrics brilliant, his delivery fluid and smooth, but he also had a hand in creating the actual music for roughly half the album. With this album, Mos Def single-handedly created the "backpack hip hop" movement that boomed in the 2000s, but with few exceptions, nothing will live up to Black on Both Sides. Plus, you gotta love the Bad Brains homage on "Rock 'N' Roll".
Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath is the progenitor of metal as it has come to exist in the world today. As debut albums go, it's one of the best, certainly. There is a timeless quality to the rhythmic guitar and bass lines, the wail of a very young Ozzy, even the murky tone. On top of that, there is a surprisingly good bit of song writing - "N.I.B." and the eponymous "Black Sabbath" have deftly written hooks that you can't help but remember. Even though it only has seven tracks - two of which are covers - Black Sabbath is a time-tested classic.
Charles Mingus was known throughout his career as the "Angry Man of Jazz", owing in large part to his combustible temperament. Given the sheer intelligence displayed in his adventurous compositions, he could just has easily have been nicknamed the "Mad Genius of Jazz". On The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Mingus' brilliance is on full display. Composed solely by Mingus, Sinner Lady was written as a six movement ballet, and performed by an eleven piece band. I'll let that sink in. Six movements, eleven member band. One composer. Oh, one other thing - it was recorded in a single day. The result? A beautiful, intricate and complex masterpiece that is lush, sultry and enthralling.
Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River
Compared to the swagger and bombast of virtually every other album in this post, Black Sheep Boy is almost diametrically opposed. That doesn't mean, however, that it is a lesser album. Will Sheff somehow sounds both vulnerable and confident. His lyrics are clever, dense with wordplay, not unlike most Colin Meloy-penned songs. The wordplay doesn't come at the cost of heartfelt emotion, nor does it come across in a comical way, which in some senses makes them all the more impressive. Though I have largely neglected it in favor of any number of other albums in my collection, I definitely plan on spending some more time with this in the future.
On this record, Mos Def and Talib Kweli both put forth perhaps the best efforts of their careers. This album represents both MCs' debuts - neither had a solo outing before this masterpiece. They go back and forth, more nimbly than even Q-Tip and Phife at their peaks. It's a thing to behold. From the minute "Astronomy (8th Light)"'s beat kicks in to the end of "Twice Inna Lifetime", the album is golden - in more than one sense. Pulling from Slick Rick with a cover of "Children's Story" and hearkening back to the Funky 4+1 with "B Boys Will B Boys", it is an album richly steeped in the golden age of hip-hop. It is this combination of classic elements with starker, more modern beats, and of course, the brilliant lyricism, that makes Black Star an all-time great. Check out "Thieves in the Night" below.
Black Sunday by Cypress Hill
I never really dug Cypress Hill, for the most part. As iconic as "Insane in the Brain" and "Hits from the Bong" have become, B-Real's delivery has almost always annoyed the hell out out of me. It's kind of a shame, to be honest, that B-Real is the lead MC, because I really enjoy Sen Dog's style, and DJ Muggs is an excellent and underrated producer. In fact, Muggs' work here is some of his best, and no doubt a huge part of why this album was, at the time, the highest charting rap album ever. The beats all kill. The lyrics are very good, for what they are. There's really no inherent flaws in the album, which makes it all the more frustrating that I don't like it. Gotta score this one as a "listen for yourself and decide" kind of album.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
I'm still here.
I'm just taking a bit of a hiatus. Expect new posts to start popping up again in about a week's time. There's some great stuff coming up as I finish up the B's, as well as at least one addendum to the A's.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Bedlam in Goliath - Bitches Brew
The Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta will flummox me every time I have to write up one of their albums. For those of you keeping track at home, this is #2 of 5 (maybe 6, depending on where in the alphabet their 2011 offering ends up falling). They seem to have no concept of what makes an album great. It's not taking every idea you can and putting it into a single album, or worse, a single song. What results is what plagues TMV - most of their long songs are meandering messes, with few exceptions. The albums get bloated and stop being fun after a while. This album isn't without its great moments - "Wax Simulacra", "Ouroborous" and "Agadez" are all great - but it also does not need to be 75 minutes long.
Beggar's Banquet by The Rolling Stones
Earlier today, Michael McKean tweeted, asking his followers to name the best album-opening tracks. In glancing through the responses, I did not see a single person mention "Sympathy for the Devil". Truly astounding, I'd say, as it is one of the greatest songs of all time, much less album-openers. (Not my favorite, but likely the "greatest"). The rest of Beggar's Banquet doesn't live up to that standard, but it's still an excellent album. "Jig-Saw Puzzle" and it's twangy guitar is just fantastic. "Street Fighting Man" is a classic. There is a reason this is considered the beginning of one of the most prolific runs in rock history, and it's because it's a great album.
Ben Folds Five by Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds might be the most frustrating man making music these days. He is capable of making some of the very very best pop music there is, but he doesn't often deliver. That said, Ben Folds Five, the first album by the curiously named North Carolina trio, is absolutely brilliant. In the last write-up, I mentioned great opening tracks, and I have to admit, I occasionally forget how astoundingly good "Jackson Cannery" is. Every song on here is otherworldly, the sort of brilliance that justifiably drew comparisons to early 70s Elton John. It will be rare that I do this, but some albums just warrant a sample song. Listen to the aforementioned "Jackson Cannery", then download this album.
The Bends by Radiohead
Back in the A's, I covered what is probably my least favorite Radiohead album, Amnesiac. Here, I get the sweet satisfaction of covering what is at any given time one of my top two Radiohead albums. The Bends (along with OK Computer) represent, for me, the best blend of Radiohead's more eccentric tendencies and the traditional rock dynamic. It features some of Jonny Greenwood's best guitar riffs and licks, which seem to be less pronounced in recent years. From the simple yet effective chord progressions of "High and Dry" to the bombastic choruses of "My Iron Lung" and so on, I really love Jonny Greenwood's playing throughout. The Bends also features what is likely my favorite Radiohead song, one of the best album-closers ever - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". On that song alone I could write another few paragraphs. But I won't. Get this album.
The Bens by The Bens
Just in case you didn't get enough Ben Folds already in this post, you get a touch more here, along with some Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, on this delightful EP that The Bens recorded while touring Australia together in 2003. It is a tremendously enjoyable little record, with great harmonies, shared lead vocals, Ben Folds playing drums in addition to various keyed instruments, along with the songwriting talents of all three gentlemen. In most other posts, this would be a highlighted album for sure, but this is a stacked group of ten. Do yourself a favor and pick this up.
Beyond by Dinosaur Jr.
As far as comeback albums go, this may be one of the best. Not that I can name many, mind you, but this is a great one. Released in 2007, it is the first album with the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup since Bug, which came out the year I was born. Growing up in Massachusetts, and eventually attending UMass-Amherst for a time, I had fairly consistent exposure to Dinosaur Jr, and grew to love their distinct combination of post-punk riffs, gorgeous, melodic solos, and volume. When I heard that the original trio was reuniting, I was cautiously excited. Then Beyond came out, and my excitement was validated. It kills from cover to cover, feeling both entirely new and yet oddly nostalgic. It made me realize that there is a certain dichotomy to Dinosaur Jr - their sound is both timeless and anchored in a specific time. It will always work, but will also always feel vaguely antique, and there's something comforting in that.
The Big Doe Rehab by Ghostface Killah
Nice album from Ghostface. Solid through and through, as one would expect from Tony Starks these days. It's a bit heavy on guest spots, which is a bit lamentable, and his lyrics are not as cutting as they often are, which is very lamentable. His delivery is still that classic bark, and the beats are good, so it's a good backgroundish hip-hop album, but if you want great recent Ghostface, there are no fewer than three other options that will serve you better than this.
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King by Dave Matthews Band
I'm not a huge DMB fan, but I have a healthy respect for the musical talents of all the members. Plus, on occasion, they turn out a great album or an excellent single. This album and its songs fall just short of either, but it's still a keeper. The thing that slows this album down is that it is inherently darker than their previous efforts. It's not unwarranted - celebrated saxophonist LeRoi Moore unfortunately passed away during the recording of the album, and the tone of the album certainly reflects that at times. The back half of the album (the part featuring next to nothing credited to Moore) feels a bit alien in comparison to both the first half and earlier recordings. Not bad, mind you. Just different.
The Bird of Music by Au Revoir Simone
This is a bit of a sophomore slump from Au Revoir Simone. The Brooklyn-based trio has put out two pretty good synth-laden dream pop albums, but this isn't quite one of them. There are definitely some great tracks on here - "Night Majestic" and "Stars" are among the more enjoyable pop songs I've heard in recent memory. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the album is a step or two behind that, and the songs often get muddled together, especially in the opening half of the album. If you can get through the first five or six songs, though, the second side will definitely reward you.
Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
Writing about jazz is something I feel wholly unqualified to do. It's a genre I've only recently taken a liking to, after seeing Medeski Martin & Wood at Bonnaroo last June. Prior to that, I only really listened to MMW and Herbie Hancock's funkier works, because they were, to me, the most accessible due to their connections to the popular music of the 70s. It was only natural that I would eventually come around to Davis' rock-tinged works, most notably In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. There is a certain aggressive nature to Davis' trumpet throughout Brew that I would later realize was atypical of his playing on prior recordings. It was this aggressive style that drew me in and made me a fan; the presence of the electric pianos and guitar only heightened my enjoyment. It truly is deserving of all the praise it gets, and does, in fact, belong in everyone's collection.
The Mars Volta will flummox me every time I have to write up one of their albums. For those of you keeping track at home, this is #2 of 5 (maybe 6, depending on where in the alphabet their 2011 offering ends up falling). They seem to have no concept of what makes an album great. It's not taking every idea you can and putting it into a single album, or worse, a single song. What results is what plagues TMV - most of their long songs are meandering messes, with few exceptions. The albums get bloated and stop being fun after a while. This album isn't without its great moments - "Wax Simulacra", "Ouroborous" and "Agadez" are all great - but it also does not need to be 75 minutes long.
Beggar's Banquet by The Rolling Stones
Earlier today, Michael McKean tweeted, asking his followers to name the best album-opening tracks. In glancing through the responses, I did not see a single person mention "Sympathy for the Devil". Truly astounding, I'd say, as it is one of the greatest songs of all time, much less album-openers. (Not my favorite, but likely the "greatest"). The rest of Beggar's Banquet doesn't live up to that standard, but it's still an excellent album. "Jig-Saw Puzzle" and it's twangy guitar is just fantastic. "Street Fighting Man" is a classic. There is a reason this is considered the beginning of one of the most prolific runs in rock history, and it's because it's a great album.
Ben Folds might be the most frustrating man making music these days. He is capable of making some of the very very best pop music there is, but he doesn't often deliver. That said, Ben Folds Five, the first album by the curiously named North Carolina trio, is absolutely brilliant. In the last write-up, I mentioned great opening tracks, and I have to admit, I occasionally forget how astoundingly good "Jackson Cannery" is. Every song on here is otherworldly, the sort of brilliance that justifiably drew comparisons to early 70s Elton John. It will be rare that I do this, but some albums just warrant a sample song. Listen to the aforementioned "Jackson Cannery", then download this album.
Back in the A's, I covered what is probably my least favorite Radiohead album, Amnesiac. Here, I get the sweet satisfaction of covering what is at any given time one of my top two Radiohead albums. The Bends (along with OK Computer) represent, for me, the best blend of Radiohead's more eccentric tendencies and the traditional rock dynamic. It features some of Jonny Greenwood's best guitar riffs and licks, which seem to be less pronounced in recent years. From the simple yet effective chord progressions of "High and Dry" to the bombastic choruses of "My Iron Lung" and so on, I really love Jonny Greenwood's playing throughout. The Bends also features what is likely my favorite Radiohead song, one of the best album-closers ever - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". On that song alone I could write another few paragraphs. But I won't. Get this album.
The Bens by The Bens
Just in case you didn't get enough Ben Folds already in this post, you get a touch more here, along with some Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, on this delightful EP that The Bens recorded while touring Australia together in 2003. It is a tremendously enjoyable little record, with great harmonies, shared lead vocals, Ben Folds playing drums in addition to various keyed instruments, along with the songwriting talents of all three gentlemen. In most other posts, this would be a highlighted album for sure, but this is a stacked group of ten. Do yourself a favor and pick this up.
Beyond by Dinosaur Jr.
As far as comeback albums go, this may be one of the best. Not that I can name many, mind you, but this is a great one. Released in 2007, it is the first album with the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup since Bug, which came out the year I was born. Growing up in Massachusetts, and eventually attending UMass-Amherst for a time, I had fairly consistent exposure to Dinosaur Jr, and grew to love their distinct combination of post-punk riffs, gorgeous, melodic solos, and volume. When I heard that the original trio was reuniting, I was cautiously excited. Then Beyond came out, and my excitement was validated. It kills from cover to cover, feeling both entirely new and yet oddly nostalgic. It made me realize that there is a certain dichotomy to Dinosaur Jr - their sound is both timeless and anchored in a specific time. It will always work, but will also always feel vaguely antique, and there's something comforting in that.
The Big Doe Rehab by Ghostface Killah
Nice album from Ghostface. Solid through and through, as one would expect from Tony Starks these days. It's a bit heavy on guest spots, which is a bit lamentable, and his lyrics are not as cutting as they often are, which is very lamentable. His delivery is still that classic bark, and the beats are good, so it's a good backgroundish hip-hop album, but if you want great recent Ghostface, there are no fewer than three other options that will serve you better than this.
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King by Dave Matthews Band
I'm not a huge DMB fan, but I have a healthy respect for the musical talents of all the members. Plus, on occasion, they turn out a great album or an excellent single. This album and its songs fall just short of either, but it's still a keeper. The thing that slows this album down is that it is inherently darker than their previous efforts. It's not unwarranted - celebrated saxophonist LeRoi Moore unfortunately passed away during the recording of the album, and the tone of the album certainly reflects that at times. The back half of the album (the part featuring next to nothing credited to Moore) feels a bit alien in comparison to both the first half and earlier recordings. Not bad, mind you. Just different.
The Bird of Music by Au Revoir Simone
This is a bit of a sophomore slump from Au Revoir Simone. The Brooklyn-based trio has put out two pretty good synth-laden dream pop albums, but this isn't quite one of them. There are definitely some great tracks on here - "Night Majestic" and "Stars" are among the more enjoyable pop songs I've heard in recent memory. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the album is a step or two behind that, and the songs often get muddled together, especially in the opening half of the album. If you can get through the first five or six songs, though, the second side will definitely reward you.
Bitches Brew by Miles DavisWriting about jazz is something I feel wholly unqualified to do. It's a genre I've only recently taken a liking to, after seeing Medeski Martin & Wood at Bonnaroo last June. Prior to that, I only really listened to MMW and Herbie Hancock's funkier works, because they were, to me, the most accessible due to their connections to the popular music of the 70s. It was only natural that I would eventually come around to Davis' rock-tinged works, most notably In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. There is a certain aggressive nature to Davis' trumpet throughout Brew that I would later realize was atypical of his playing on prior recordings. It was this aggressive style that drew me in and made me a fan; the presence of the electric pianos and guitar only heightened my enjoyment. It truly is deserving of all the praise it gets, and does, in fact, belong in everyone's collection.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Bay of Pigs EP - Beck, Like the Beer
Bay of Pigs EP by Destroyer
Two songs. Twenty-one minutes. Excellent. But too brief to be a highlight album for this batch. Mr. Bejar will get his due attention later, though.
Bazooka Tooth by Aesop Rock
I love listening to Aesop Rock. His voice and his flow match up in a way that very few rappers are blessed to have. No matter what he says, it's enjoyable to listen to the words tumble out of his mouth. Here's the thing though - much of the time, I have no earthly idea what the intended message of any given song is. But with Def Jux's typically filthy production and the aforementioned delivery, it doesn't usually matter - it's a good business. Just let Aes Rock and his over-caffeinated delivery wash over you and try not to enjoy it. I bet you have a hard time.
Be by Common
This may be the last great album Common does, and that's kinda sad. He's an incredibly talented MC, but given his penchant for acting and the fact that his most recent two albums have been entirely lackluster. On Be, though, he is on point throughout. He does socially conscious rap in a way that doesn't come across as pretentious, ever, which is very tough to do. The few features that there are are all great, especially Kanye's. Production is also better than on any other Common album, with West and J Dilla handling all thirteen tracks. Damn fine album. Here's hoping he makes another like it in the future.
Be Here Now by Oasis
Oasis at their bloated worst, this one. I cannot express to you how frustrating it is to have a 72 minute album that has five songs that average out to being 7+ minutes each. What is even more frustrating is that the popcraft of Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is completely absent. This is why people hate you, Gallagher brothers. Well, this and because you are colossal douchebags.
Be Your Own Pet by Be Your Own Pet
I wish BYOP had stayed together a bit longer, maybe done one more album. Punk has been a sadly neglected genre for most of the 2000s, for one reason or another (I personally blame American Idiot. Ugh). BYOP put out two great garage-punk albums between 2004 and 2008. This is the first, though the consistency from one to the other can make it hard to tell on the fly. The drums pound, the guitar blisters, and lead singer Jemina Pearl, all of about 18 when this was recorded, wails. Trying to explain how they come across isn't the easiest prospect... If I had to go to that old trope of "If X and Y had a kid", I'd have to say they sound like the bastard child of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Misfits. I'll let that ruminate in your head for a moment.
We good? Good. If that sounds like something both awesome and vaguely terrifying, then this is an album for you. But remember - "have fun, and be safe with it! Just kidding, fuck shit up!"
The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
If there is one misstep in The Beatles' career as a group, it's the White Album. Very rarely does the double LP work well from cover to cover, and The Beatles does not. While it does house some of their best songs, the fact that it was made amidst their infighting is very clear. It suffers from too much fat. If you trimmed out... hm... "Wild Honey Pie", "Piggies", "Don't Pass Me By", "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", and maybe "Revolution 9", then it's a lot leaner, and would make for a great LP. But they indulged, and most people forgive them for it, but I can't ever listen to the whole thing cover to cover without wanting to skip a few tracks.
Beatles for Sale by The Beatles
For whatever reason, with the exception of Help!, I can't really get into early Beatles too too much. I love the "big" numbers, of course. How can you not love "Eight Days a Week" and "I'll Follow the Sun"? "No Reply" and the cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" are both very good as well, but the rest of the songs, especially the other covers, don't score particularly highly, even in comparison to other early Beatles songs.
Beats Rhymes & Life by A Tribe Called Quest
Now, I've never listened to The Love Movement, but I'm pretty sure there's no way it's worse than BR&L. Tip and Phife just sound so flat and listless throughout here, it's really disappointing. The beats are completely forgettable. I just listened to this and already, I cannot remember any good lines, or any of the rhythms. This is a terrible thing for an artist like ATCQ. Tsk.
The Beautiful Struggle by Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli might be the greatest MC to never release a great solo album. Sure, Quality is an accurately named album, but it's not really what I'd call great. It's not even as good as his friend and collaborator Mos Def's two best albums. The Beautiful Struggle, like quality, is an aptly named album. Well, half aptly-named. It's not particularly beautiful at any point, but it is a struggle to get through it. Like Beats Rhymes & Life, it just feels void of anything truly valuable. The beat selection rivals Nas' worst efforts, and there doesn't seem like there is enough of that typical Kweli fire in his delivery. Yowch.
Beck, Like the Beer by Beck
I honest to God think about twelve people have heard this. I don't think it was ever released in any true sense. Maybe some cassettes and bootlegged CDs in the early 90s, but this thing is clearly a demo tape. It's Beck and his guitar, probably in a bedroom or a bathroom, with a tape deck, I think. It's not bad, as demos go, but far from the things Mr. Hansen would come to make in the latter half of the decade and into the 2000s. There's not a lot of that Beck charm here, to the point where it's almost amazing that he ended up making songs like "Loser" and "Sexx Laws". Also, was "Bonus Beer Noise" necessary?
Two songs. Twenty-one minutes. Excellent. But too brief to be a highlight album for this batch. Mr. Bejar will get his due attention later, though.
I love listening to Aesop Rock. His voice and his flow match up in a way that very few rappers are blessed to have. No matter what he says, it's enjoyable to listen to the words tumble out of his mouth. Here's the thing though - much of the time, I have no earthly idea what the intended message of any given song is. But with Def Jux's typically filthy production and the aforementioned delivery, it doesn't usually matter - it's a good business. Just let Aes Rock and his over-caffeinated delivery wash over you and try not to enjoy it. I bet you have a hard time.
This may be the last great album Common does, and that's kinda sad. He's an incredibly talented MC, but given his penchant for acting and the fact that his most recent two albums have been entirely lackluster. On Be, though, he is on point throughout. He does socially conscious rap in a way that doesn't come across as pretentious, ever, which is very tough to do. The few features that there are are all great, especially Kanye's. Production is also better than on any other Common album, with West and J Dilla handling all thirteen tracks. Damn fine album. Here's hoping he makes another like it in the future.
Be Here Now by Oasis
Oasis at their bloated worst, this one. I cannot express to you how frustrating it is to have a 72 minute album that has five songs that average out to being 7+ minutes each. What is even more frustrating is that the popcraft of Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is completely absent. This is why people hate you, Gallagher brothers. Well, this and because you are colossal douchebags.
I wish BYOP had stayed together a bit longer, maybe done one more album. Punk has been a sadly neglected genre for most of the 2000s, for one reason or another (I personally blame American Idiot. Ugh). BYOP put out two great garage-punk albums between 2004 and 2008. This is the first, though the consistency from one to the other can make it hard to tell on the fly. The drums pound, the guitar blisters, and lead singer Jemina Pearl, all of about 18 when this was recorded, wails. Trying to explain how they come across isn't the easiest prospect... If I had to go to that old trope of "If X and Y had a kid", I'd have to say they sound like the bastard child of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Misfits. I'll let that ruminate in your head for a moment.
We good? Good. If that sounds like something both awesome and vaguely terrifying, then this is an album for you. But remember - "have fun, and be safe with it! Just kidding, fuck shit up!"
The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
If there is one misstep in The Beatles' career as a group, it's the White Album. Very rarely does the double LP work well from cover to cover, and The Beatles does not. While it does house some of their best songs, the fact that it was made amidst their infighting is very clear. It suffers from too much fat. If you trimmed out... hm... "Wild Honey Pie", "Piggies", "Don't Pass Me By", "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", and maybe "Revolution 9", then it's a lot leaner, and would make for a great LP. But they indulged, and most people forgive them for it, but I can't ever listen to the whole thing cover to cover without wanting to skip a few tracks.
Beatles for Sale by The Beatles
For whatever reason, with the exception of Help!, I can't really get into early Beatles too too much. I love the "big" numbers, of course. How can you not love "Eight Days a Week" and "I'll Follow the Sun"? "No Reply" and the cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" are both very good as well, but the rest of the songs, especially the other covers, don't score particularly highly, even in comparison to other early Beatles songs.
Beats Rhymes & Life by A Tribe Called Quest
Now, I've never listened to The Love Movement, but I'm pretty sure there's no way it's worse than BR&L. Tip and Phife just sound so flat and listless throughout here, it's really disappointing. The beats are completely forgettable. I just listened to this and already, I cannot remember any good lines, or any of the rhythms. This is a terrible thing for an artist like ATCQ. Tsk.
The Beautiful Struggle by Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli might be the greatest MC to never release a great solo album. Sure, Quality is an accurately named album, but it's not really what I'd call great. It's not even as good as his friend and collaborator Mos Def's two best albums. The Beautiful Struggle, like quality, is an aptly named album. Well, half aptly-named. It's not particularly beautiful at any point, but it is a struggle to get through it. Like Beats Rhymes & Life, it just feels void of anything truly valuable. The beat selection rivals Nas' worst efforts, and there doesn't seem like there is enough of that typical Kweli fire in his delivery. Yowch.
Beck, Like the Beer by Beck
I honest to God think about twelve people have heard this. I don't think it was ever released in any true sense. Maybe some cassettes and bootlegged CDs in the early 90s, but this thing is clearly a demo tape. It's Beck and his guitar, probably in a bedroom or a bathroom, with a tape deck, I think. It's not bad, as demos go, but far from the things Mr. Hansen would come to make in the latter half of the decade and into the 2000s. There's not a lot of that Beck charm here, to the point where it's almost amazing that he ended up making songs like "Loser" and "Sexx Laws". Also, was "Bonus Beer Noise" necessary?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
A Badly Broken Code - The Battle of Los Angeles
A Badly Broken Code by Dessa
A recent album, and one that I haven't spent much time with. It's very good, but there's not enough diversity. I know Dessa isn't originally an MC by trade, but it feels like she sometimes lacks any power in her delivery. The beats are perfunctory, but nothing special. Vocally, I liken her to Lauryn Hill, but without the fire (and probably half the pipes). I could see Dessa making an album of a similar style to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - from a different perspective - but she needs to dig deeper, to really want it, I think. She doesn't always do that here, and it gets frustrating at times.
Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden
Blasphemy alert - Soundgarden is the best band from the grunge era. Nirvana may have the influence, Pearl Jam may have the longevity, but Soundgarden, they were the greatest band out of Seattle. This is their greatest album, a perfect meld of grunge's lyrical themes and the pacing and musicality of metal and hardcore punk. All the components of the band are at their peak. Cornell's voice soars, it growls, it sears. Thayil's guitar licks are blistering. Cameron and Shepherd thunder along. It's one of the best albums of the last 20 years, no doubt.
Balance by Akrobatik
And with this, we have our first artist discography finished. This is Ak's debut, from 2003. It's pretty straightforward, fun hip-hop. Makes good songs rapping about relatively mundane activities. I think it's more...well, balanced than Absolute Value. Beats are a little stronger, his lyricism is better, and he never feels as message-driven as he does there. Good album, but I have to say, Ak is best when he has accompaniment - more on that when we get further into the letter B.
The Band by The Band
Man, why didn't I get into The Band sooner? This is a fantastic album. I don't even know what to write about it. I don't think I could write anything new about this one. Robbie Robertson's songwriting is incredible here, pretty much from cover to cover. The only song I don't love is "Jemima Surrender", which was co-written by Levon Helm... Maybe there is some credence to the whole "don't let drummers write songs" trope. Not that it's a bad song, but it does feel like a bit of a snag in the middle. That said, Helm's drumming is so nifty throughout that it's hard for me to be bothered too much. Great great album.
Band on the Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
I'll admit, until recently, I didn't have this. Why? I have no idea. I have long loved the title track; it is one of my favorite McCartney songs. The whole first side, from that title track to the wonderful "Let Me Roll It", is as good a stretch of 5 songs as there is on many Beatles albums. Truly impressive. The second side is no slouch either, with a gem in "Helen Wheels" sitting squarely in the middle, before "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" brings us full circle. Almost indefinitely the best album any former Beatle has put out.
Bang Bang Rock & Roll by Art Brut
This is a really fun album. It's quick, it's messy, it's got top notch hooks and simple catchy riffs. There's nothing deceptive about the lyrics, no hidden meanings, really. Bang Bang Rock & Roll just hums through a dozen sweet sounding garage rock songs in under 35 minutes, and you can't help but love it.
Bang Camaro and Bang Camaro II by Bang Camaro
For the sake of convenience, I am combining these two albums into a single entry, because they are so similar and no one wants to read the same thing twice. Bang Camaro are a local band composed of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and something along the lines of fifteen vocalists. Most of their songs are in the 80s glam metal tradition of soaring solos and big choruses, and they have it down to a perfect science. Combine that with a great sense of humor - see song titles like "The Ballad" or "The Hit", or the lyrics to "Night Lies" - and you have some very enjoyable music. But listening to these back-to-back? No thank you.
Baseball by Say Anything
This is the only Say Anything album that I like from cover to cover. It's also the album that has ensured that I will probably never see Say Anything live - Max Bemis (who incidentally, I think looks like he is related to LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy) has notoriously avoided playing songs from it live for almost a decade now. It's very much a Rivers Cuomo/Pinkerton situation. Both are very emotional albums (and very good albums) that presumably hurt a bit to revisit. Hopefully, like Rivers, Max will come around in the future and embrace Baseball for what it is - a great, emotional alternative album.
The Battle of Los Angeles by Rage Against The Machine
The third and most recent of RATM's "traditional" studio albums, The Battle of Los Angeles is also the worst, I think. There is a caveat though - it's still really good. It's every bit as incendiary as their self-titled album. It is, however, a bit less memorable than its predecessors, which is a shame, because Tom Morello's absurd guitarmanship is really on display here. There are no real great hooks, nothing quite as anthemic-sounding as "Bulls on Parade", except "Guerrilla Radio", which is arguably the strangest combination of pop sensibilities, anger, and politics as rock has produced in many years. Great album. Hope they make another, now that they have reunited.
A recent album, and one that I haven't spent much time with. It's very good, but there's not enough diversity. I know Dessa isn't originally an MC by trade, but it feels like she sometimes lacks any power in her delivery. The beats are perfunctory, but nothing special. Vocally, I liken her to Lauryn Hill, but without the fire (and probably half the pipes). I could see Dessa making an album of a similar style to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - from a different perspective - but she needs to dig deeper, to really want it, I think. She doesn't always do that here, and it gets frustrating at times.
Blasphemy alert - Soundgarden is the best band from the grunge era. Nirvana may have the influence, Pearl Jam may have the longevity, but Soundgarden, they were the greatest band out of Seattle. This is their greatest album, a perfect meld of grunge's lyrical themes and the pacing and musicality of metal and hardcore punk. All the components of the band are at their peak. Cornell's voice soars, it growls, it sears. Thayil's guitar licks are blistering. Cameron and Shepherd thunder along. It's one of the best albums of the last 20 years, no doubt.
Balance by Akrobatik
And with this, we have our first artist discography finished. This is Ak's debut, from 2003. It's pretty straightforward, fun hip-hop. Makes good songs rapping about relatively mundane activities. I think it's more...well, balanced than Absolute Value. Beats are a little stronger, his lyricism is better, and he never feels as message-driven as he does there. Good album, but I have to say, Ak is best when he has accompaniment - more on that when we get further into the letter B.
Man, why didn't I get into The Band sooner? This is a fantastic album. I don't even know what to write about it. I don't think I could write anything new about this one. Robbie Robertson's songwriting is incredible here, pretty much from cover to cover. The only song I don't love is "Jemima Surrender", which was co-written by Levon Helm... Maybe there is some credence to the whole "don't let drummers write songs" trope. Not that it's a bad song, but it does feel like a bit of a snag in the middle. That said, Helm's drumming is so nifty throughout that it's hard for me to be bothered too much. Great great album.
I'll admit, until recently, I didn't have this. Why? I have no idea. I have long loved the title track; it is one of my favorite McCartney songs. The whole first side, from that title track to the wonderful "Let Me Roll It", is as good a stretch of 5 songs as there is on many Beatles albums. Truly impressive. The second side is no slouch either, with a gem in "Helen Wheels" sitting squarely in the middle, before "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" brings us full circle. Almost indefinitely the best album any former Beatle has put out.
Bang Bang Rock & Roll by Art Brut
This is a really fun album. It's quick, it's messy, it's got top notch hooks and simple catchy riffs. There's nothing deceptive about the lyrics, no hidden meanings, really. Bang Bang Rock & Roll just hums through a dozen sweet sounding garage rock songs in under 35 minutes, and you can't help but love it.
Bang Camaro and Bang Camaro II by Bang Camaro
For the sake of convenience, I am combining these two albums into a single entry, because they are so similar and no one wants to read the same thing twice. Bang Camaro are a local band composed of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and something along the lines of fifteen vocalists. Most of their songs are in the 80s glam metal tradition of soaring solos and big choruses, and they have it down to a perfect science. Combine that with a great sense of humor - see song titles like "The Ballad" or "The Hit", or the lyrics to "Night Lies" - and you have some very enjoyable music. But listening to these back-to-back? No thank you.
Baseball by Say Anything
This is the only Say Anything album that I like from cover to cover. It's also the album that has ensured that I will probably never see Say Anything live - Max Bemis (who incidentally, I think looks like he is related to LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy) has notoriously avoided playing songs from it live for almost a decade now. It's very much a Rivers Cuomo/Pinkerton situation. Both are very emotional albums (and very good albums) that presumably hurt a bit to revisit. Hopefully, like Rivers, Max will come around in the future and embrace Baseball for what it is - a great, emotional alternative album.
The Battle of Los Angeles by Rage Against The Machine
The third and most recent of RATM's "traditional" studio albums, The Battle of Los Angeles is also the worst, I think. There is a caveat though - it's still really good. It's every bit as incendiary as their self-titled album. It is, however, a bit less memorable than its predecessors, which is a shame, because Tom Morello's absurd guitarmanship is really on display here. There are no real great hooks, nothing quite as anthemic-sounding as "Bulls on Parade", except "Guerrilla Radio", which is arguably the strangest combination of pop sensibilities, anger, and politics as rock has produced in many years. Great album. Hope they make another, now that they have reunited.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The B-52's - Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy)
As New Wave albums go, The B-52's is one of the flag-bearers. Their usage of three vocalists, two harmonizing females in Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, alongside the sprechgesang style of Fred Schneider, was, and remains, something that rock music hasn't really even tried since, much less succeeded with the way The B-52s did with "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster", the two big highlights from this record. It's not just those two that are great though - the whole album is top notch from cover to cover.
B Sides, Alternate Mixes and Demos by The New Pornographers
I'm not sure that this is the actual name of this collection, which comes with the Executive Edition of The New Pornographers' 2007 album Challengers. It is an interesting collection, but not a wholly fulfilling one. The demos are demos for a reason - the finished products on Challengers are all considerably better than the early versions exhibited here. The only alternate mix, a "Lite Mix" of "Go Places", is nice, but it feels a little too bare. Where this album shines is in the B-sides. There are six of them, and no fewer than three would have been excellent inclusions on Challengers, and the others are mostly-great songs themselves. The highlight for me is "Fortune". No idea how that got cut.
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray by B.o.B.
For a little bit, B.o.B. was tapped to be the next big thing in hip-hop. I'm not sure why - nothing on this album seems that lyrically impressive, and his beat selection is fairly pedestrian. Then, somehow, his duet with Hayley Williams of Paramore, "Airplanes" got huge, and B.o.B. got overshadowed on his own track. He may have a bright future as a pop artist, but I can't say, based on this album, that he will be one of the faces of hip-hop moving forward. He's just not at that level, at least not yet.
Let's make no bones about it - everyone and their mother owns Legend, the collection of Bob Marley & The Wailers' greatest hits. It's a great collection, I'm not here to disparage Legend in the least. For my money, though, this is the album you should give to anyone looking to get into reggae music. A live album recorded between 1975 and 1978, during the Wailers' greatest stretch, Babylon by Bus is a perfectly metered 13-track album, featuring a great mix of well-known hits and deeper cuts. There is, quite literally, no excuse not to have this masterpiece in your collection.
Back in Black by AC/DC
Everyone's heard this, so I will offer up a question for you to contemplate instead. How on earth did AC/DC find a new lead singer who sounded almost exactly like the late Bon Scott and how did they get more popular? Both of these things astound me.
The Back Room by Editors
Editors try a little to hard to be Interpol. That said, The Back Room is still better than all of Interpol's albums except Turn on the Bright Lights. It's quick, it's neat. The pacing is good, there is a sense of cohesion throughout the album. The riffs, particularly on "Munich" and "Fall", are interesting and pleasant on the ears, if a bit unremarkable. Pretty decent album.
Back to Basics by Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg is an all-too-often overlooked genius as far as songwriting goes. Back to Basics compiles his first two albums and an EP into a one hour long full-length. It's just Bragg and his guitar, playing some of the best folk to come from the UK in the last 30 years. Were I a bigger fan of folk, this would easily have been among this post's highlighted albums, but it's something I only listen to sparingly, when the mood strikes.
Back to the World by Street Dogs
I might be slightly biased against this album because the tags on it were among the worst I have ever seen (there is no excuse for the song titles to be incorrect, ever), but given lead singer Mike McColgan's history with the Dropkick Murphys, I expected better than what I got from this album. It's not bad, exactly, it's just not very good, nor particularly imaginative. It's typical blue collar punk.
Bad Brains by Bad Brains
Oh Bad Brains. By all accounts, I should love the hell out of you. Quick, hardcore punk with touches of reggae. There is nothing about you I dislike, and yet, I can't get into it. Is it possible this album is too fast? Maybe it is. Maybe it is...
Most people would regard Jailbreak as Thin Lizzy's greatest album, but as far as I'm concerned, Bad Reputation is better top to bottom. The title track is an all-time classic - that riff is killer. Bad Rep is not all great basslines and edgy riffs, though. "Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)" is just a beautiful song (and not to be confused with the other, more famous "Dancing in the Moonlight"). It has an air of Van Morrison to it, which makes sense, to a degree, as Morrison and Thin Lizzy are both countrymen and contemporaries. From the opening gong hit of "Soldier of Fortune" to the choral outro of "Dear Lord", this is a winner.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
New Feature: Best and Worst - A
How It Works
Every time I finish a letter, I will do a quick recap of the top ten albums for that letter, as well as the bottom five albums for that letter. Typically, the top tens will be a compilation of the highlighted albums from the previous posts, but there will probably be instances where one set of albums was completely stacked and other sets were meager. Some of the larger letters will get a bump up to twelve or even fifteen albums (R, for example), some of the smaller letters will get as few as three (Q, for example)
No particular order, because making lists like that is crazy talk.
The Top 10
A rogue's gallery of awesome. If you listen to anything I've mentioned, listen to these.
A Grand Don't Come For Free Abbey Road Ace of Spades EP
The Airing of Grievances ...And Out Come the Wolves Apollo Sunshine
Aquemini Are You Experienced Armed Forces
Every time I finish a letter, I will do a quick recap of the top ten albums for that letter, as well as the bottom five albums for that letter. Typically, the top tens will be a compilation of the highlighted albums from the previous posts, but there will probably be instances where one set of albums was completely stacked and other sets were meager. Some of the larger letters will get a bump up to twelve or even fifteen albums (R, for example), some of the smaller letters will get as few as three (Q, for example)
No particular order, because making lists like that is crazy talk.
The Top 10
A rogue's gallery of awesome. If you listen to anything I've mentioned, listen to these.
A Grand Don't Come For Free Abbey Road Ace of Spades EP
The Airing of Grievances ...And Out Come the Wolves Apollo Sunshine
Astral Weeks
The Bottom 5
No fancy visuals here. If you're gonna skip anything I've listened to, it should probably be these five.
Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black by Public Enemy
At War with the Mystics by The Flaming Lips
Audio by Blue Man Group
Axis of Evol by Pink Mountaintops
This post brought to you by the letter A.
Now on to B.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Astro Coast - Ayrton Senna (13 albums)
Astro Coast by Surfer Blood
This is a fine album. One of "indie rock"'s better efforts from 2010. In a way they are sort of like a much more interesting, much less cat-obsessed male Best Coast. It's all big riffs and big hooks, for the most part, and they do it very well. The only real problem is that there isn't a lot of diversity. The good thing is that at 40 minutes, you hardly ever notice before it's over. Definitely check this out. How can you resist, with an album cover like that?
At War with the Mystics by The Flaming Lips
This is probably my least favorite Flaming Lips album, but I'm not entirely sure why. It's not really bad, exactly, so much as it is uninteresting, at least to me. For a band so steeped in crazy, there's not a lot on this album that feels new or different. "Vein of Stars", the one song I genuinely love, still feels kinda like Wayne Coyne and friends were trying to make another "Do You Realize??".
Atlantis: Hymns for Disco by k-os
Let's get this out there up front: Canada does not have a great history with hip-hop music. Let's also get this out there up front: k-os is no Snow. Atlantis is a great pastiche of styles, ranging from hip-hop to indie rock to R&B and back again, and without a hint of auto-tune. It's rare that you get an MC who is both a talented rapper and a more-than-capable singer. k-os might be the best since Lauryn Hill, though he certainly lacks the cohesion and songwriting capabilities she had. At any rate, pick up Atlantis, you won't regret it. I promise.
The Audience's Listening by Cut Chemist
Cut Chemist has long been one of the most talented DJs in the hip-hop world. His long running collaborations with DJ Shadow are marvelous, he produced most of Jurassic 5's first EP and first two albums (and his leaving precipitated their demise). This is the first album he made on his own, shortly after leaving J5, and it is a damn fine album. He doesn't incorporate as many samples as his cohort Mr. Shadow, but Chemist also favors brevity more than Shadow. He blends things together in ways that are not only clever, but also show his songcrafting sensibilities. Even when the discovery part of the experience is over, most tracks are truly worthy of repeat listens not as a viewing of technique, but as songs themselves.
Audio by Blue Man Group
This is a novel album, but not one made for regular listening. It's a bit lengthy and a bit too homogeneous for too many repeat listenings. It is tremendous what the Blue Men can do with instruments composed out of hardware store materials, but most of their appeal lies in the visual aspect of their stage show. That, of course, cannot properly be expressed on an album. My suggestion to you is to see if your nearest big city has a Blue Man Group in residence, and to go see them, because it is a truly wonderful experience.
Audioslave by Audioslave
If Audioslave were baseball players, they would have been a superstar - a career .333 average is pretty great, after all. Unfortunately, as a band, one very good album and two very bad ones doesn't make for much of a career. Had Audioslave stopped after this, their self-titled disc, they'd have been far better off, as this is a very fine album, and perhaps the last album on which Chris Cornell's voice resembled it's peak self. Of course, bolstered by Tom Morello and the rest of what was and is again Rage Against the Machine, Cornell's voice was not quite the focal point it often was with Soundgarden, and that works well for this album. The album's opener, "Cochise", starts with what sounds like a train climbing the lift hill of a roller coaster, and what follows from there is about an hour of fun, bombastic rock.
Autumn of the Seraphs by Pinback
Released in the twilight of Touch and Go Records' lifetime, Autumn of the Seraphs is an overlooked, but strong rock album. It's dark, yet smart, and catchy. Like a good book, it brings the listener along on a series of downs and ups. Ultimately, the album does not reflect the titular "Autumn", but more the titular angels. If anything, it is an album suited for late nights in late spring, when the world is unfolding as it sees fit, rather than the fall, when the world curls in upon itself in preparation for the cold. I should probably pick up their other quixotically named album Summer in Abbadon...
Awfully Deep by Roots Manuva
This is probably about as close to dub as I will get. Roots Manuva's dub-infused hip hop is quite good, even when he is rhyming about practically nothing. After a while, his voice, which is deep and resonant, becomes more an instrument than a means of delivering lyrics, much in the way that Notorious B.I.G.'s voice often did. But where Biggie always needed, and had, something to say, Roots Manuva could rap about his socks, and with the right beat, I'd wear the proverbial grooves off it. I don't think there are many rappers out there who I could say that about, and it makes me wonder why, at the time of writing, I only have this album from his discography.
Axe to Fall by Converge
I don't like harsh vocals. They just could not appeal to me any less. That said, Axe to Fall is still a very good album, and that speaks volumes to the quality of the music itself. The riffs, the drums, the lines are all unendingly chaotic, but at the same time, they are so so measured, controlled, and complex that you feel as if you are hearing the musical equivalent to Project Manhattan. And yet, despite the chaos, the complexity, and the sheer volume, Axe to Fall is not nearly as hard to get into as their earlier work.
Axiom EP by Durrty Goodz
Hey, Dizzee! This is how you make a grime album that appeals to people outside the UK. Durrty Goodz's rapid fire delivery and distinctly grimy, yet accessible beats, make Axiom a fun 45 minute adventure into the mind of the more interesting and talented rappers in Great Britain.
Axis of Evol by Pink Mountaintops
This was interminable. It was poorly paced, had long, dull stretches, and was almost entirely uninteresting. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the appeal of this album is, or why it was relatively well-reviewed. It's so boring. Yeeesh.
Axis: Bold as Love by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
This might be the "worst" of The Experience's three albums, it's still a classic. Once you skip "EXP", it's a mostly great-to-excellent collection of the guitar genius we all know and love. I do think this is Mitch Mitchell's best album as a drummer, too - just listen to "Spanish Castle Magic" and try to keep yourself from trying to airdrum along. I could go on at length here about how good "Castles Made of Sand", "Little Wing", and so on are, but I'll let you go listen to it and enjoy it yourself, because that is really what is best for everyone.
Ayrton Senna EP by Delorean
This just missed the cut for being a "highlighted album" for this batch. It's a fun, dancey pop EP with electronic and indie rock tinges. The Spanish group, named after the vehicle made famous by Back to the Future, make music that sounds like it is some bizarre, beautiful combination of Justice, Daft Punk and someone like The Ting Tings or CSS, but without any of the annoying faults of any of them. The one thing that seems unnecessary, however, is a seven and a half minute remix of three and a half minute long "Seasun".
This is a fine album. One of "indie rock"'s better efforts from 2010. In a way they are sort of like a much more interesting, much less cat-obsessed male Best Coast. It's all big riffs and big hooks, for the most part, and they do it very well. The only real problem is that there isn't a lot of diversity. The good thing is that at 40 minutes, you hardly ever notice before it's over. Definitely check this out. How can you resist, with an album cover like that?
At War with the Mystics by The Flaming Lips
This is probably my least favorite Flaming Lips album, but I'm not entirely sure why. It's not really bad, exactly, so much as it is uninteresting, at least to me. For a band so steeped in crazy, there's not a lot on this album that feels new or different. "Vein of Stars", the one song I genuinely love, still feels kinda like Wayne Coyne and friends were trying to make another "Do You Realize??".
Atlantis: Hymns for Disco by k-osLet's get this out there up front: Canada does not have a great history with hip-hop music. Let's also get this out there up front: k-os is no Snow. Atlantis is a great pastiche of styles, ranging from hip-hop to indie rock to R&B and back again, and without a hint of auto-tune. It's rare that you get an MC who is both a talented rapper and a more-than-capable singer. k-os might be the best since Lauryn Hill, though he certainly lacks the cohesion and songwriting capabilities she had. At any rate, pick up Atlantis, you won't regret it. I promise.
The Audience's Listening by Cut ChemistCut Chemist has long been one of the most talented DJs in the hip-hop world. His long running collaborations with DJ Shadow are marvelous, he produced most of Jurassic 5's first EP and first two albums (and his leaving precipitated their demise). This is the first album he made on his own, shortly after leaving J5, and it is a damn fine album. He doesn't incorporate as many samples as his cohort Mr. Shadow, but Chemist also favors brevity more than Shadow. He blends things together in ways that are not only clever, but also show his songcrafting sensibilities. Even when the discovery part of the experience is over, most tracks are truly worthy of repeat listens not as a viewing of technique, but as songs themselves.
Audio by Blue Man Group
This is a novel album, but not one made for regular listening. It's a bit lengthy and a bit too homogeneous for too many repeat listenings. It is tremendous what the Blue Men can do with instruments composed out of hardware store materials, but most of their appeal lies in the visual aspect of their stage show. That, of course, cannot properly be expressed on an album. My suggestion to you is to see if your nearest big city has a Blue Man Group in residence, and to go see them, because it is a truly wonderful experience.
Audioslave by Audioslave
If Audioslave were baseball players, they would have been a superstar - a career .333 average is pretty great, after all. Unfortunately, as a band, one very good album and two very bad ones doesn't make for much of a career. Had Audioslave stopped after this, their self-titled disc, they'd have been far better off, as this is a very fine album, and perhaps the last album on which Chris Cornell's voice resembled it's peak self. Of course, bolstered by Tom Morello and the rest of what was and is again Rage Against the Machine, Cornell's voice was not quite the focal point it often was with Soundgarden, and that works well for this album. The album's opener, "Cochise", starts with what sounds like a train climbing the lift hill of a roller coaster, and what follows from there is about an hour of fun, bombastic rock.
Autumn of the Seraphs by Pinback
Released in the twilight of Touch and Go Records' lifetime, Autumn of the Seraphs is an overlooked, but strong rock album. It's dark, yet smart, and catchy. Like a good book, it brings the listener along on a series of downs and ups. Ultimately, the album does not reflect the titular "Autumn", but more the titular angels. If anything, it is an album suited for late nights in late spring, when the world is unfolding as it sees fit, rather than the fall, when the world curls in upon itself in preparation for the cold. I should probably pick up their other quixotically named album Summer in Abbadon...
Awfully Deep by Roots Manuva
This is probably about as close to dub as I will get. Roots Manuva's dub-infused hip hop is quite good, even when he is rhyming about practically nothing. After a while, his voice, which is deep and resonant, becomes more an instrument than a means of delivering lyrics, much in the way that Notorious B.I.G.'s voice often did. But where Biggie always needed, and had, something to say, Roots Manuva could rap about his socks, and with the right beat, I'd wear the proverbial grooves off it. I don't think there are many rappers out there who I could say that about, and it makes me wonder why, at the time of writing, I only have this album from his discography.
Axe to Fall by Converge
I don't like harsh vocals. They just could not appeal to me any less. That said, Axe to Fall is still a very good album, and that speaks volumes to the quality of the music itself. The riffs, the drums, the lines are all unendingly chaotic, but at the same time, they are so so measured, controlled, and complex that you feel as if you are hearing the musical equivalent to Project Manhattan. And yet, despite the chaos, the complexity, and the sheer volume, Axe to Fall is not nearly as hard to get into as their earlier work.
Axiom EP by Durrty Goodz
Hey, Dizzee! This is how you make a grime album that appeals to people outside the UK. Durrty Goodz's rapid fire delivery and distinctly grimy, yet accessible beats, make Axiom a fun 45 minute adventure into the mind of the more interesting and talented rappers in Great Britain.
Axis of Evol by Pink Mountaintops
This was interminable. It was poorly paced, had long, dull stretches, and was almost entirely uninteresting. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the appeal of this album is, or why it was relatively well-reviewed. It's so boring. Yeeesh.
This might be the "worst" of The Experience's three albums, it's still a classic. Once you skip "EXP", it's a mostly great-to-excellent collection of the guitar genius we all know and love. I do think this is Mitch Mitchell's best album as a drummer, too - just listen to "Spanish Castle Magic" and try to keep yourself from trying to airdrum along. I could go on at length here about how good "Castles Made of Sand", "Little Wing", and so on are, but I'll let you go listen to it and enjoy it yourself, because that is really what is best for everyone.
Ayrton Senna EP by Delorean
This just missed the cut for being a "highlighted album" for this batch. It's a fun, dancey pop EP with electronic and indie rock tinges. The Spanish group, named after the vehicle made famous by Back to the Future, make music that sounds like it is some bizarre, beautiful combination of Justice, Daft Punk and someone like The Ting Tings or CSS, but without any of the annoying faults of any of them. The one thing that seems unnecessary, however, is a seven and a half minute remix of three and a half minute long "Seasun".
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