Naw Dean you guys are the best band ever!
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
CD Review: Fantasy of the Lot (LF)
Band: Lovely Feathers
Label: Equator Records
Release: 2009
Comments: This, the third studio album from the Montreal indie rockers certainly was a crucial record, in my opinion. The group won my attention with their spectacular 2006 release Hind Hind Legs. Hind Hind Legs was heavy on the synths and almost what I would describe as “glam-folk.” Every song had a great quality, whether it was “Pope John Paul” (funny, heavy), or “Rod Stewart” (funny, pop). Fantasy of the Lot starts off with “Lowiza,” a Hind Hind Legs-ish song filled with irresistible vocals and great drums. “Long Walks” sounds like dark faux postpunk at first. It’s sort of hard to classify the Lovely Feathers as anything “officially” because they combine so many different sounds. The middle of “Long Walks” changes to something more powerpop based before going back to what it originally was. Returning to the light-hearted jangle folk that I loved so much on past records is “Fad.” Think Paul Simon meets Jens Lekman meets traditional calypso. “Gifted Donalds” features a lullaby-esque piano sequences, yet manages to be persistently upbeat. “Finders Fee” has the bass-line, for starters, to be a significant track. It follows through on all notes to be exactly that. The title track doesn’t exactly suck…it just doesn’t stand out. It never picks up. “Family That Doesn’t Know the Game” is pure Lovely Feathers. “Ossified Games” has a notable “woo-ooo-aaahhh-ooo.” I love those. And a pres Asian little guitar riff. “Argotaker” has a bit of a Canadian folk thing going on. “Loading Dock” is a bit meh. The last track “Vaulted Precedents” is psychedelically slow but amusing.
Final Comment: Overall, I think the Lovely Feathers toned things down a little bit. The music seems more serious than it has in the past. Slower. More experimental than ever. The sad part is there aren’t any tracks that stick out besides “Lowiza.” By the way this thing came out in America today.
Grade: 8.8 out of 10
New Lovely Feathers Video!
I dig! I gotta find a way to get their new album.
Crazy Germans Invade Stage
…during “Bad Kids”:
Pitchfork = Dumb
P2K: The Decade In Music…Seriously? They are already naming their top 500 songs of the 2000s, but wait…it’s only August! There’s still months left of awesome music. They say that in early 2010 they will make additions, but can’t they just wait? And the randomness of songs 500-201 tell me this list is going to be disgusting.
Meltdown Book Review
Meltdown – (Thomas Woods Jr.)
A pretty damn good analysis of why we are in the shitter. It’s ‘cuz of regulation, duh! What’s not to see?! Woods Jr.’s standpoint is of the laissez faire Austrian economics variety, a view which always had me subconsciously thinking laissez faire is a gateway to consumer capitalism. But hold on…Woods Jr. instead makes a valid point in saying that we can’t spend our way out of a recession. He encourages saving. His argument, though quite repetitive, must be evaluated by everyone who thinks they know what is going on. Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke needs to read this book! Woods Jr. got me shouting “End the Fed” at various points throughout. The book also acts as a nice little lesson in Austrian economics.
Grade: 9.0 out of 10
Radiohead and Philosophy Book Review
Radiohead and Philosophy
If you want to read a work of literature from people who live and breathe Radiohead this book is for you. If you are looking for a thinking-lite read…this book is not for you. The main theme behind Radiohead’s music, at least according to a majority of the passages in this book, is alienation. As a fan, you probably already know this. You might also know the “meaning” behind the lyrics of all Radiohead’s songs. What the authors of the various essays in this book do is take the entire Radiohead/Thom Yorke catalog and assess the philosophy behind it. They try their best to really knock down what Radiohead is trying to get at while also leaving open the possibility for alternative meanings. For example, the members of Radiohead themselves have often shied away from explaining their music. And then there’s the last major point argued: the band has embraced technology, despite lyrically warning listeners of its dangers in a post-modern society. A lot of the essays are hard to argue with, because they are so grounded in philosophy. Looking at Radiohead’s lyrics discussion on songmeanings.com , people disagree with each other constantly. Rather than just relying on what this book has to offer, I think Radiohead fans should all agree that you can’t just listen to their music passively. There’s something behind it. Sometimes quite obvious…sometimes not.
Grade: 8.0 out of 10
No Radiohead EP…Just “These Are…”
No four track EP. But the leak that was “These Are My Twisted Words” is available from Radiohead’s w.a.s.t.e merchandise shop as a free download.
Click here to download: http://www.waste.uk.com/Store/waste-radiohead-twisted+words.html
Included in the download is the song, artwork, a .pdf about the artwork, and a little document about the song.
A Brief History of My Musical Tastes
The Pop Era
1997: “I’ll Be Missing You,” and “Barbie Girl.”
1998: “Ghetto Supastar” and “Miss America.”
1999: “Mambo No 5” and “Blue”
2000: “The Real Slim Shady” and “Can I Get A”
2001: “In the End” and “Whenever Wherever”
2002: “Lose Yourself” and “Hey Baby”
The Hip-Hop Era/Videogame Era
2003-2006: In sixth grade I started to become pretty obsessed with hip-hop music and culture…but not overly obsessed. I wasn’t listening to anything too far from the mainstream. I sort of took a break from hip hop in late seventh grade and all of eighth grade. I returned to hip hop (more obscure shit this time) in summer and fall 2005 only to lose interest in it a few months later. During this time I became more and more engaged in “alternative” rock and underground/electro-rap thanks to soundtracks on MVP Baseball, Madden NFL, and NBA 2K.
The Modern Age
2006-Now: A lot of credit should be given to Chris as he showed me/got me into a lot of music that I was pretty unfamiliar with. 2007 is when I started to research bands online and explore the unexplored. It’s pretty incredible to think that my top two favorite bands of today (the Black Lips and No Age) were completely unknown to me before 2008. This is true for so so many of my other favorites. My rock tastes haven’t changed that much in as though I still don’t like a lot of the screamo and hardcore punk that I didn’t like before. I remember initially saying something like the Black Lips are something country truck drivers listen to. Obviously I don’t believe that anymore!
Glen
Thoughts on Shark Tank (TV Series)
I watched the new ABC show Shark Tank tonight. Here’s how it works: there are four greedy sons (and one daughter) of a bitch who are out there to steal away the ideas of prospective businessmen and women. The prospective businessmen and women (contestants) try their best to sell their product and investment offer to the five sharks. The sharks are typically hard to please, unless the products have made a decent profit and great sales. They also demand more than half of the ownership of the contestant’s company or product. The contestants are usually left with two options that look something like this: 1) sell a majority of the equity to the sharks or 2) walk away with no investment. It comes down to this: doing it yourself or having billionaire big business people run the operations for you. For instance, one contestant selling a life saving seat belt attachment rejected the sharks’ offer (which would have given them complete control his patent, his idea) because he would have “sold out” in essentially the same manner that independent rock musicians do when they sign to a major label. That’s really a core aspect of the show: does the contestant want to be completely immersed in something that he created…something that he knows what direction it should go in…OR does the contestant want somebody with more “business knowledge” to take control in the name of greed and “branding”? The first contestant was selling a line of clothing called Crooked Jaw Fashions. The sharks were only interested in the brand awareness/target audience of the clothing line. I’m probably going to keep watching this show even though I despise the sharks. And you might say well aren’t the contestants dumb for coming on to the show? Not really. They are asking for extra funding, like any investor might. When the contestant sacrifices control of the business, the operation, in my opinion, becomes unethical. Another contestant on tonight’s show made a Shakespeare rock disc collection to help students better understand the great English writer. Awesome idea! But he sold it away to the sharks. He’s only going to get 5% in royalties. Seems kind of ridiculous.
Glen
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 