“Am I really all the things that are outside of me? Would I complete myself without the things I like around?”- Animal Collective- “Taste”
Category Archives: Music
CD Review: Everything In Between [2010]
Band: No Age
Release: 9/2010
Label: Sub Pop
1. “Life Prowler” – A-
2. “Glitter” – A
3. “Fever Dreaming” – A
4. “Depletion” – A+
5. “Common Heat” – A-
6. “Skinned” – A-
7. “Katerpillar” – B-
8. “Valley Hump Crash” – A
9. “Sorts” – B
10. “Dusted” – B+
11. “Positive Amputation” – B
12. “Shed and Transcend” – A
13. “Chem Trails” – A+
Comments: No Age is back in No Age form. Once again! What that means is the same as it has ever meant for Dean and Randy: 1) catchy noise-punk and 2) atmospheric experimentalism. The dudes could have definitely abandoned the filler atmosphere stuff like they did, to an extent, on Nouns. The instrumental sample heavy tracks on that album fit well. Not really so much the case here, but that’s fine! “Life Prowler” is a harmony of the sampler, the drum kit, and the guitar. Dean’s drums hammer away…Randy’s guitar enters a short while later. Dean sings. The samples come on. Noise. This is pretty cool introductory fare; a little taste of what the band is all about. It’s not a life changing track or even close to a great one, but it serves its purpose well. “Glitter” is the first song off this album that we all got to listen to. I’ve heard better, but it captures the “sound” so to speak of the band’s 2009 Losing Feeling EP. I really like how it comes together (via noise assault) toward the end. Y’all want punk No Age? Good. “Fever Dreaming” is moshing material a la “Brain Burner.” It shreds so great, though it doesn’t seem to be mixed as soundly as it could be. “Depletion” is another heavy yet catchy number. “Common Heat” is slower, but still a really good track. The shaker really stands out! “Skinned” changes up so often it’s almost hard to keep up with, but that’s nearly the beauty of it. “Katerpillar” is a decent little sound collage. “Valley Hump Crash” is lyrically cheesy, but the Minutemen-esque guitars compliment the surfer rock sampling very nicely. “Sorts” is really good. “Dusted” is just as good as “Katerpillar.” And “Positive Amputation” is not too positive. “Shed” is at first a mere noise explosion, but it picks up and becomes…so so fun. I love the back-and-forth on the verses of the closer, “Chem Trails.” The firecracker sound effects are cool, as well. I contemplated not counting some of the atmospheric tracks, but in the end I decided that since they are an inevitable part of the album, I must. Had I not included them, this would be amongst my very very favorites. The songs that rock on here…rock hard. So the tell-tale question…is this better than Nouns? Nope! It’s well-rounded effort, but even the best tunes on here are a few light years behind 75% of the Nouns LP.
Grade: A- (90)
Belated Album Review: (500) Days of Summer
Full Title: (500) Days of Summer
Artists: Various
Year: 2009
Label: 20th Century
Tracks:
1) “A Story of Boy Meets Girl” – Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen
2) “Us” – Regina Spektor– 9/10
3) “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” – The Smiths– 9
4) “Bad Kids” – Black Lips 10!!!
5) “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” – The Smiths – 9
6) “There Goes the Fear” – Doves-9/10
7) “You Make My Dreams” – Hall & Oates- 8
8) “Sweet Disposition” – The Temper Trap – 10
9) “Quelqu’un m’a dit” – Carla Bruni- 8
10) “Mushaboom” – Feist- 8
11) “Hero” – Regina Spektor- 8/9
12) “Bookends” – Simon & Garfunkel – 10
13) “Vagabond” – Wolfmother- 7/8
14) “She’s Got You High” – Mumm-Ra- 8
15) “Here Comes Your Man” – Meaghan Smith – 9
16) “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” – She & Him- 8
Comments:
First things fucking last, this review will be centered on the actual record itself and not the placements of the songs in the film, which for the record (no pun intended lol) is executed quite well. Ok, so here we have a great ensemble of “Indie” pop artists with music that reflects the various themes of love and loss in the gem, (500) Days of Summer. Things kick off with Regina Spektor’s spectacular “Us.” I really dig her vocal range and the odd nature of her singing; yet despite its idiosyncracies the song still feels very pop like and indeed catchy. Being a huge Smiths fan, I enjoy their offerings on here. I admire Zooey Deschanel and her group She and Him for covering “Please.” Naturally, it does not match the original, but it is not too far off and in fact, some of it’s flaw (though it has very little flaw) is due to it sounding too much like the original and not really venturing in its own direction. I appreciate the fact that my favorite band, the Black Lips (like y’all didn’t know!) are receiving more exposure with the inclusion of their triumphant song, “Bad Kids.” Those that like this ditty, please check out the rest of their discography. Check it out on here! Alright, that’s enough KLYAM promotion midway into a review. “There Goes the Fear” (Doves) and “Sweet Disposition” (The Temper Trap) rank as some of my favorite tracks and definitely some of my favorites of recent times. I feel like those two songs, especially, the latter have hit potential, if they are not big enough already. Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bookends” completes the coming of age, twenty-something feel of this album/film and Meghan Smith’s cover of the Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man” is amazing and truly brings out the tune’s pop hooks, even more than the original. All in all, one of my favorite soundtracks from one of my favorite films.
Grade: A/A-
No Age “Glitter” Video!
Kurt’s Top 50
A list of Kurt Cobain’s top 50 favorite albums:
50. Raping a Slave – Swans
49. Mazzy Star – Mazzy Star
48. Over the Edge – Wipers
47. Youth of America – Wipers
46. Is This Real? – Wipers
45. The Man Who Sold the World – David Bowie
44. Beach Party – Marine Girls
43. Takes a Nation of Millions – Public Enemy
42. Flowers of Romance – Pil
41. The Record – Fear
40. Damaged – Black Flag
39. Locust Abortion Technician – Butthole Surfers
38. We are those who Ache Amorous Love – Half Japanese
37. Meet the Beatles – Beatles
36. Generic Flipper – Flipper
35. Yip Jump Music – Daniel Johnston
34. Superfuzz Bigmuff – Mudhoney
33. Last Sessions Vol 1 – Leadbelly
32. Tales of Terror – Tales of Terror
31. Jamboree – Beat Happening
30. Rites of Spring – Rites of Spring
29. Void/Faith EP – Void/Faith
28. Combat Rock – Clash
27. Typical Girls – Slits
26. Burning Farm Cassette – Shonen Knife
25. Green – R.E.M.
24. What is This? – Punk Comp California
23. Rocks – Aerosmith
22. Colossal Youth – Young Marble Giants
21. Raincoats LP – Raincoats
20. Anything by: – Kleenex
19. Know Your Product – The Saints
18. Get the Knack – The Knack
17. Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth
16. Dry – P.J. Harvey
15. It’s only Right and Natural – Frogs
14. Nevermind the Bollocks – Sex Pistols
13. Entertainment – Gang of Four
12. Rock for Light – Bad Brains
11. My War – Black Flag
10. Pee Pee the Sailor – Butthole Surfers
09. 1st EP – Saccharin Trust
08. 1st EP – Scratch Acid
07. Millions of Dead Cops – M.D.C.
06. Land Shark – Fang
05. Philosophy of the World – Shaggs
04. Sun Of A Gun – the Vaselines
03. POD – The Breeders
02. Surfer Rosa – Pixies
01. Raw Power – Iggy & The Stooges
Retrieved from “http://nirvana.wikia.com/wiki/Kurt_Cobain%27s_Top_50_Albums”
Paradise Rock Club Renovations
The deal with the Paradise is that they shifted the stage, knocked down some of the walls that separated the hallway leading to the real entrance, and made the green rooms more band-friendly. At any rate, the place is bigger (capacity-wise) and less awkward.
Check out all 22 photos at The Phoenix site: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/107186-photos-renovations-at-the-paradise/#TOPCONTENT
Mark Sultan – ‘Calloused Hands’ + News
Mark just posted a slew of things on his newly re-designed website:
1. His new song “Calloused Hands,” which is reminiscent of the greatness of $. Speaking of that…
2. $ should be out on vinyl in record stores sometime in September.
3. There’s a Vimeo video for “Status,” which keeps getting banned from YouTube.
4. An explanation about the last days of The King Khan & BBQ Show. A couple of months back, I posted what Mark briefly clarified, but he details what exactly transpired.
5. The Jumbo Lions. An evolution of The King Khan & BBQ Show, or in Mark’s words: “A new, hyper-surrealist, psychedelic, rock’n’roll mindfuck…”
And finally:
BBQ is playing October 17 in Boston at the Homegrown Fest. The huh? Exactly. Apparently it’s a 21+ festival that takes place at a venue called Church. It’s a one off a thing, I gather.
No Age Return To Boston!!!
It’s been a year and a half. It feels longer, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel that long.
At any rate, I haven’t seen No Age since April 2, 2009. That’s far too long. They’ve got a new album coming out September 28. Get at that. Everything In Between is the title.
Most importantly, Dean, Randy, and the other dude are in town on November 16. They’ll be at the Middle East Downstairs, a choice venue. It is my favorite place to see a show after all and has vegan goodies for the dudes. It’s all ages gig, too! It’s a Tuesday night.
Woo!
Song of the Day- FUCK SCHOOL!
I figure as school is coming around the corner this is the perfect song for you kiddies.
High Praise for High Art
This is somewhat of a Question of the Week sorta… Ok, so can anyone think of a band or an artist that has consistently put out high quality, evolving music for decades? For my money, Sonic Youth probably beats them all. In fact, I have often proclaimed them to be the most “successful” band of all time, but that’s a whole other story. Certainly some SY albums are stronger than others, but overall, they have an initimidating discography consisting of nearly thirty years worth of material. Very, very few bands can boast such a claim. So, what do others think? What other artists do you feel should be mentioned? Do they rank higher than SY and Why? You know where the comment section is. Peace.
The Simpsons!
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 