Wind's Poem: Phil Elverum's Newest Album is One of the Best I've Ever Heard.

Hello once again readers from various corners of the internet. I bring a review which I have been planning for quite some time now. It deserves a graceful and just review, and I plan to do it justice.

Album Review


Mount Eerie




Wind's Poem


This album has and represents a movement back to when things were simpler. Phil Elverum is a man who epitomizes this ideal. He works in a business making and selling his own records and artwork, he runs his own record label, he writes his music in such a way that mistakes are left in, and there is such a raw and powerful feeling to his music, like he is there singing to you in the room. He is the master of that lo-fi sound, which is representative of his work as The Microphones, but this record is more than that. After a period of time in 2003 there he spent some time in Norway in a cabin writing and living a solitary lifestyle, he changed his band name to Mount Eerie and his name from Elvrum to Elverum. His first albums as Mount Eerie have a similar feel to them as the older Microphones albums. But Wind's Poem is different. To begin, this album is in some areas an assault of the ear, loud distorted sections with a black metal feel to them, but with a twost, something different.

"Wind's Dark Poem" sets the album off with a blast, the kind of thing where you buy this new album, and you think you know Phil Elverum pretty well, this song dissuades you of that. Granted "The Glow Pt. 2" has a bit of what's being shown here, but not in this intensity. The double-bass pedals and overtly-distorted guitars gives you this feel of intensity, and if you can get through the first minute, you get the lyrics. Phil speaks of the wind speaking a poem and of flames and fire, really stark and powerful imagery. This is a song which acts as an overture to the rest of the album. Beautiful lyrics, powerful music, and the delivery really sets you in the music, you become part of it. Speaking of such elemental things that Phil speaks of makes this music coarse through you like a primal element.
The next two songs are classic Phil Elverum. "Through The Trees" is a monolithic song, wherein the first two and a half minutes are organ and humming. He doesn't make it easy for you to get comfortable; you can't just be spoonfed something as immense as this album, or even this song. Phil himself said in an interview that putting a song that's 11 minutes+ as the second track of an album is such an idea that it's going to make you sit up and really listen, "...I put it right at the beginning, compulsively difficult, just to clearly define that this album is weird and a little challenging right at the beginning. No easy rides." this makes the album a real masterpiece, the little details. "My Heart Is Not At Peace" is track three, and it is quite a short song, and the imagry just rips you heart out. He speaks of the violence in his heart and all the ways which he is feeling unrest: "I was writhing in the tomb, my heart a frozen boulder, the romance and all I've rejected comes like music on the wind." this song is beautiful in so many ways, and just so full of agony and morose it is amazing and beautiful.
To speak on every track as I have these first three would end up being a novel, so I will highlight two more songs of note in this mythic record; "Between Two Mysteries" and "Lost Wisdom Part 2". The first of the two is a bubbling little song with a simple drum beat with these layers of synthesizers, percussion, and little guitar licks which build the song in such a fashion that it makes a static platform for the vocals to perform upon. The latter of these "Lost Wisdom Part 2" is my personal favorite in this album. It epitomizes this powerful anguish feeling in the album; with a descending chord progression in tremolo guitars while the drummers literally freak out on their instruments, it brings out a immense deep emotion which after this volume clears and the texture changes to add an aural break. the drums creep in with a simple quarter note beat, synthesizers come in outliing a new chord progression, punctuated with single guitar notes. Then double stops and the vocals finally come in at the perfect time, any later and it wouldn't feel right. Phil comes in: "I think the screaming wind heard my name, significance found in rocks, and the mountains slowly blowing in the river, lost wisdom returns." these are the words of a man who is looking for wisdom and is answered by the wind, and puts them into song. truly a work of a genius.
This album is the epitome of continuity, power, emotion, and musical mastery in Phil Elverum's unconvertional way. If you don't go and purchase it, you are that much the fool.

10/10

Until next time.

The Arcade Fire: Music With The Greatest Of Earnest.

Hello again people, I was listening to a playlist this morning and a song from The Arcade Fire's Funeral came up, and I thought that I couldn't go on without reviewing it on here.

Album Review




The Arcade Fire - Funeral


The Arcade Fire are one of the groups around nowadays that are so intense about their music. Every chord, beat and note seem to carry across so much life and emotion that it is staggers the mind; and none better to represent this than Funeral. This album from end to end has this power that makes you want to smile, jump, scream, respectively. Kicking off the album is a great builder, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" with its very well chosen tempo, it feels like your walking through a neighborhood before dawn's first light, frozen air. The lyrics paint this scene of two people living in a frozen world. It's quite beautiful, thinking about losing yourself in a world of two, being so extracted from culture that you forget "the names we used to know." By the end you feel like you're running and running to nothing, but it's ok. Next is "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)"one of my personal favorites. It's a chilling tune about an older brother who isolated himself from his family. The imagery in this song is so vivid. "When daddy comes home you always start a fight, so the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights. The police disco lights. Now the neighbors can dance!" Powerful and very earnest. "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" describes an epic journey to find light and see kids dying in the streets and how "the power is out in the heart of a man" such powerful images and subject matter make for the most intense of music. The most popular tune on this album, now featured on a new movie Where The Wild Things Are is "Wake Up" a very powerful tune about how growing up can just make you lose all the love and happiness. The song has this powerful melody which is sung at the top of everyone in the bands lungs, so filled with life and earnest that it is nearly impossible not to fall in love with this song. "Rebellion (Lies)" is a great tune about not believing everything you hear from people, and that it's all right to believe what you want.

This group of musicians creates the most intense of music, and are also able to make a very comprehensive album of powerful music. And be aware, they may be coming out with a new album soon.


8.8/10

Until next time.

Neglectful Non-Posting Leads to Triple Live Review and Single Review for You!

Hello Viewers of the internet, it's been a long while. School is taking up a lot of my time so I have not been updating this as much as I should. So, as an act of apology, here's the last three shows I've been to, and a review of an amazing track on an amazing compilation.

ROUND ONE!

Live Performance Review


























Grizzly Bear w/ Beach House Live at The Orpheum 10-08-09

This was an amazing show for so many reasons. I got there with time to catch the opening act; usually I try to see them because it is important to support opening acts, and I was interested in Beach House. A nice trio sound playing occasionally with backing tracks. Good stuff. I'm not the biggest fan of people playing with backing tracks, but it worked well for what was going in the sound. The thing that intrigued me the most with these guys was Victoria's singing voice. It's raspy quality, and middle range for a female vocal was an object of interest. Their set was punctuated with attempts to talk with the crowd, which was awkwardly humorous because no one really talked back. Overall, a good opening act with a couple gems interspersed within the set (i.e. "Wedding Bell" etc).

Then Grizzly Bear took the stage. An amazing set of incredible music proceeded to ensue. A great rendition of "Ready, Able" as well as an explosive version of "I Live With You" which personally made my night. Many of the songs were with dedications of Boston landmarks or people who came to the show who were friends and family of the band. Victoria was brought out again for her backup vocals on "Two Weeks" which is just as infectious live as on the album. The interesting thing about this show excluding the music was the lights, which were electrical cords in a jar with light bulbs inside to give the firefly effect in different patterns, but also the audience reaction to the bands; the last time I went to the Orpheum (to see Built to Spill, Dino. Jr. and the Meat Puppets) the crowd was really into it, not sitting, and really digging it. This show, everyone sat until the final song by Grizzly Bear, a chilling rendition of "He Hit Me" which even though I would not pick as an encore, worked for the night and gave a surreal texture to the rest of the night.

9/10 (7/10 for the audience[you lazy lethargic people you])


...ROUND TWO!

Live Review





























Mount Eerie w/Tara Jane O'Neil, No Kids, and Manners at the Pozen Center, Mass Art 10-28-09

I will begin this review with a statement about Phil Elverum, who is Mount Eerie. He is a creative genius and one of the best living songwriters of our time. He embodies an older age in his styles and recordings, but still is just a person. When I entered the Pozen Center, the first thing I noticed was, GONG (Phil Elverum would bring a gong, I thought). There were no chairs, just open floor. Everyone sat down on the floor and waited. I looked at all of the merchandise at the tables, and was shocked to see that Phil Elverum's stuff was cheaper at the show then for sale at a store, a phenomenon which I have never come across before (I took the opportunity later to purchase Dawn on LP, and a t-shirt, all for $23). Manners, a JP based band went onto the stage and played probably 4-5 songs. The crowd was great at the show, very receptive, or, as receptive as a bunch of artsy hip adolescents can be to bands like these. Manners were pretty good, however, being a bass performance major at a conservatory, I had personal quarrels with the bass players technique, as it was atrocious; they chugged through their quasi-set, and moved out real fast. then came the waiting portion of the show, as No Kids was the second act, but didn't show up until Tara Jane O'Neil showed up and took their spot 20 minutes after Manners finished. during this waiting time as well as before, Phil Elverum was running around in a t-shirt he designed himself, bleach-stained jeans, and barefoot, fiddling with the mixers, selling his merchandise, and drinking his naked juice drink (yellow machine I believe). Tara Jane O'Neil next up; she came on with one of the drummers from Mount Eerie, played one song with the drummer, which he rocked out on the 3 piece drum set complete with huge and minuscule gong, and one ride cymbal. TGO did a good job of getting the audience involved with passing out sundry percussion, showing them rhythms to shake to while she set up complex loops of guitar as well as nice vocals. A good set overall, though off putting with the delay. No Kids then took the stage for a nice set where Phil Elverum plays drums (not at the gong set, though occasionally he would hit the mini-gong), just another thing he does for this show. He (Elverum) spent a good part of this set running back and forth to the mixer to fix a problem that Nick Krgovich was having with his monitor, which disturbed several songs, but overall it was an ok set.

Then something amazing happened. A culmination of the night, No Kids, Tara Jane O'Neil, the two drummers and Phil Elverum formed together to create Mount Eerie. Now, anyone who knows Mount Eerie should know The Microphones, the earlier name for Elverum's solo project, this music, as well as early Mount Eerie is lo-fi 1-4 person recordings of stripped-down and raw songs. Mount Eerie's newest record, even with some of this older idea also has the most intense sections of loud, black metal, that anyone who had not heard the new album was in for a surprise when both drummers go in full tilt with TGO and Elverum pumping out guitar volumes, and Nick Krgovich and Julia Chirka of No Kids with their synths. Phil's voice creeps in over this cacophony and creates the most sincere and intense thing I personally have ever heard. The set was punctuated with Phil asking feedback from the audience, whether things were too loud or soft, or if he could do anything to improve the experience. All of the songs played were exclusively from Wind's Poem (a great record, go buy it), and great songs were "Lost Wisdom Pt. 2" "My Heart Is Not At Peace" "Wind Speaks" and "Between Two Mysteries" overall, an amazing performance which converged with all of the bands coming together in a reenactment of Wind's Poem, though not all of the songs, and not in the right order.

10/10


and finally . . . ROUND THREE!!!


Live Review

Pinback w/Ho-Ag at Paradise Rock Club 10-31-09

As there was a delay going to this show (dinner needed to be had) I missed the beginning of the opening act Ho-Ag, which in my opinion, was not a dissapointment. I really found nothing of interest in their sound; they did do some interesting time signature reductions, but that doesn't save the overall performance. Also, as a person who has lost his fair share of hearing, they were to goddamn loud. Then Pinback took the stage, and all of the (metaphorical) crap the Ho-Ag slew over it. As it was Halloween, the group, save Mr. Armistead Burwell Smith IV. Rob Crow was in a onesie with bunny slippers, he made a joke about how his pedals were very hard to push with said slippers on, which was quite humorous. Highlights of this show were definitely "Penelope" "Loro" and "Non-Photo Blue" a great time was had by all.

7.7/10


BONUS TRACK REVIEW!




Service Bell - Grizzly Bear with Feist (Dark Was The Night)

This song has been in a lot of playlists of mine recently. With its sneaky intro, reverse synth effect, 6-bar phrases, or what have you, it embodies the season of fall to a perfection. The Drum beat with the timbre of the brushes, and Feist's high-pitched voice singing " I keep a service bell by my bed for you" it is chilling in the tone she sings it in. then Grizzly Bear does what they do best, vocal effects, the song build to a climax which is never really reached, and the song goes out in the same way it came in, such a mysterious fashion. It is one of those songs which is perfect in its interpretation; it could not be done any better. Dark Was The Night has many songs like this but this is by far the pinnacle of this particular emotion. Also, go buy this compilation too. Every song is a gem, and the benefits go to fighting AIDS.

9.7/10


I hope this will tide you over until the text time.

Until then, internet.

Flower, Flower, Flowwwwer: Deefhoof Live 9/14/09 at The Middle East

Hey everybody out there in the inter-land. I thought today I would review a live performance that I went to last night which I believed so noteworthy that it deserves mentioning.

I went so see Deerhoof last night, with opening acts Glass Ghosts, and Serengeti and Polyphonic. Glass Ghosts went on at 9, and were... interesting to say the least. The singer sings kind of like the singer from Sigur Ros, if he were singing in English. They were a drum/synth ethereal-pop duo. The drummer had his stuff together, the beats were very interesting, syncopated, and clean. Their songs got grating towards the end of the set because of the singer/keyboard player always plays block chords on every beat, a sort of four-on-the-floor for keyboard; granted there were some times where this was good, and he was usually doing something else with his other hand, be it playing bass lines on his Moog or synth-vocal lines on the other keyboard. when the duo was singing in harmony, it was much more tolerable, but I ducked out for a bit near the end because it was grating on me.

Serengeti and Polyphonic was up next at 10. This duo was a DJ with his macbook, making all sorts of whacked-out beats with added noise, while the rap artist Serengeti slung his rhymes out over it. This was probably the funniest 30 minutes of my life. I was laughing my ass off half the time because his rhymes were so ridiculous, it was like listening to someone with schizophrenia rap. He even mentioned sonata form in one of his tracks, it made me laugh, but when he was done, I was glad for it to be over.

Finally at 11, Deerhoof made their way onto the stage. Whether it was the fact that their drummer is Animal (from the Muppets) incarnate, or the high vocals of Satomi, they captured the attention of the 400 or so people and held us there for the whole time they played. With such great renditions of "+81" "Flower" and "Giga Dance" and the speeches from Greg Saunier, or even the fact that at midnight it was Ed Rodriguez's birthday and the whole place sang happy birthday to him; it was incredible. Also, as an afterthought, The Middle East is an amazing venue to hear band in Boston, upstairs or down. Keep it up Deerhoof, when you come around again, I plan on being there.

Until next time.

The Fiery Furnaces: Strange Music For Strange People

So, I haven't really been invested in posting on the daily since I got back to Boston. It has been kind of busy. But I will be trying to review as much as I can now. Today as a treat, I will review two albums by one of my favorite modern bands, The Fiery Furnaces; a two-person brother sister group which has one of the most original sounds I've heard in a long time.

Album Review

The Fiery Furnaces
















Blueberry Boat



This album is the monolithic record which helped bring the Furnaces' sound into the eyes of a lot of people. This album is polarizing; either people love it or they hate it. It's the kind of music in which it will hit you the right way right off, or you'll turn it off because it just grates on you. My view of this album is that it is purely genius. The first track on this interesting album is "Quay Cur" a 10 minute + schizophrenic stroll through the sounds that Friedberger & Friedberger create. This song, with its sound effects and synths make the first few minutes in this purely textural sound which draws you in with it. Then Eleanor's vocals come in and begins singing about losing her childhood locket feeling like she "never never never feel like I'm safe again." That melody then gets elaborated on by the different synth sounds and harmonies, which leads into an odd guitar version of it when Matthew comes in with his vocals singing in unison with Eleanor. Then the song changes like a channel on the tv, with a upbeat guitar riff and drum hits. Which leads to the most complicated series of tongue-twisters which Matthew releases quite well. This continues for a while. One of the interesting things about the Furnaces is that each song they have has more lyrics than most songs I've ever heard. Back to an different station, slower tempo arpeggiated guitar, tambourine, and Eleanor, with a dash of synth. This song is a good table of contents to the rest of the album, it gives you an idea of what is to come. Finally, the original theme comes back to be completely and utterly dismantled in the last minutes of the song.

The album continues on its odd journey, with "Straight Street" an interestingly uptempo clearly set in a progression with a dissonant piano accompaniment. Into the title track "Blueberry Boat" another mammoth of a song, which is probably the most interesting nine minutes of pseudo-rock-operating overly-used-dashes you will ever hear. An epic tale of a ship bringing blueberries to the people of the Far East, which is attacked by pirates which leads to the storytellers death and the disintegration of the song itself. Something I really enjoy in this song is the great piano playing which comes in the last two minutes or so, which really is interesting sounding. "Chris Micheals" comes in with its cutely introduced uptempo lyrics about tacos and annoying people. the other song of note to tell you of is "Chief Inspector Blancheflower" which has great lyrics which is mainly sung by Matthew, which I enjoy quite a bit.

The only thing about this album is that it requires a serious time commitment, no matter if you're listening to one song, or the whole album. It's a monster. But I think that every second is worth a listen.

9/10

Album Review II


The Fiery Furnaces















Bitter Tea

This album is probably the popular in the mainstream, and so is attacked by those elitist indie bastards. I enjoy this album. It has aspects of Blueberry Boat, but also brings back some older ideas of catchy tunes from Gallowsbird's Bark. There is growth shown in this album. Though it is in my opinion, a great album suited for autumn, just like all other Fiery Furnaces albums.

The album goes into swing with "In My Little Thatched Hut," that goes into this groove and transforms throughout the track into the piano-driven "I'm In No Mood" which I think makes the undertone of the autumn album feel present. The song itself has three parts in it. The main chorus with the weird synth feel to it; the there's the slower bridge part at the end of the song which goes into the next song. But the interesting thing transistory theme which unites those two ideas.

The next song, on of my favorite on the album is "Black Hearted Boy" a tune which has such melodramatic qualities, even when the synth counter-melody makes its appearance. Also, I really like the lyrics in this song, speaking of cross-cut saws, painting, and a boy who's heart is as black as the creepy reverse lyrics present in the song. The use of reverse-tape vocals is really present throughout the album, which makes for an awesome effect, if that's your kind of thing (it is my kind of thing indeed). This dreary song goes into probably the happiest tune intro on the album, "Bitter Tea" comes in like a uppercut of electrified sour patch watermelons to someones glass jaw. An uptempo tune, one which could drive the non-astute ear mad. This song has one of my favorite parts of the whole album. When Matthew is singing "I am a crazy crane, I lost my true love in the rain." over and over and over again, I love it (especially the final ending chord). "Teach Me Sweetheart" a lovingly-oddball tune leads into what I assume is the Furnaces' take on doo-wop, "Waiting To Know You" with its fun 12/8 synth/real piano groove, making a canvas for Eleanor to paint over with her voice. This is probably one of the top three tunes on this album. with the outro of piano in this weird tonality, it makes for a great end to a great song.

The other two really great songs on this album are "Oh Sweet Woods"an account of a story of Eleanor being apprehended by Mormons for a pewter pocket watch which belonged to "Joseph Smith's great-great uncle's . . . brother-in-law." Which always makes me laugh. The other tune"Nevers!" is probably the biggest use of the reverse-tape-effect on this whole album, where whole verses of the song are almost indecipherable because they use the effect to have each syllable by either Matthew or Eleanor, and sometimes have the syllable going forward, sometimes in reverse. It is very complicated.

The whole idea of the genius of the Furnaces is the they have an immaculate idea of what they are doing theoretically. The fact that they have this knowledge makes it so they can create really innovative and original music from a two person band.these two albums happen to be my personal favorites but, there are many others because the Friedbergers churn out albums like a sweatshop churns out Nike high tops. Enjoy these albums.

8/10


Until next time.

Reviewing the glory of The Royal Scam

Good Wednesday everyone and welcome to another review.

Album Review

Steely Dan














The Royal Scam

This album is the quintessential album by the quintessential jazz-rock group Steely Dan, one of the most polarizing bands of all time. End to end filled with some of the greatest songs of the bands repertoire, and written so well that it can be listened to again and again.

The album leads in with "Kid Charlemagne" is a great tune about a San Francisco LSD chemist. It leads in with bass, crash cymbal, what sounds like rhodes piano. It acts as a precursor to the albums shady nature; this being by far the darkest album in Fagen and Becker's collection. Coming in second on the album is "The Caves Of Altamira" probably my favorite Steely tune of all time. When I went to see them live in my hometown of Manchester, NH they played this as one of the first tunes out. It leads in with a great horn intro. This song marks the tradition I see in Steely Dan albums; that the first song on the album is good, but the second is always better. I think that it helps to draw the person into the album, by thinking, " If these songs keep going in the direction they're going, then this album will be legendary." Sometimes, this is not so (Everything Must Go, Two Against Nature [I prefer vintage Steely]), but nonetheless, it makes an interesting thing to observe. Third up is "Don't take Me Alive" which rips in with a great arpeggiation of a G7#9 chord. This song continues the trend of the dark ideas surrounding this album. Throughout this album there is only one real song which could be considered upbeat, "Sign In Stranger." It leads in with a great piano lick, followed by a sick drum beat. This piano drum into is repeated in the next two songs, my sister's favorites in this album I believe; "The Fez" and "Green Earrings" though green earrings has a real good guitar and piano intro which is a little different. Even though I know that these songs are great songs, I don't find them as interesting as the other tunes in this album. Mainly because I listened to them since I was a little kid, and I didn't discover the other tunes until i was older. Next up is the great song "Haitian Divorce" with a great rhythmic intro accompanying the talk box guitar solo which gives the song it's unique character in the album. "Everything You Did", my favorite song on the album besides Caves leads in with this great guitar riff which grabs you into the song, then everything drops out except some drums, light guitar with some lap steel, bass, and piano. The important thing to listen to is the intensity of the lines in the verse. It makes for a great song. Finally, ending with "The Royal Scam" the epic title track which gives the album its name. It leads in with the creepiest intro yet on the album; vibes playing chords, clave, dense piano voicings. Then the drums kick in and synths trickle in. Then comes the guitar riff, and the low bass notes on the piano. Then vocals kick in. This song has something overly mysterious about it. It leaves the album with this chilling feeling, which makes one feel like they should check if the windows are locked in their house, especially in the mid fall.

Each song in this album has its unique feel to it; Kid Charlemagne" has the great bass line that is so present in it. "The Caves Of Altamira" has those amazing horn lines which give it that great character. "Don't Take Me Alive" has this fire about it transgressed into a distorted guitar line which makes it so good. "Sign In Stranger" has one of the best, cleanest drum beats I've ever heard in my life. "The Fez" has this epic coolness in its soul which the rhodes piano really transfers over with the great funky guitar comping. "Green Earrings" has this collection of unison lines between the bass and guitar. "Haitian Divorce" has that talk box with the 8th rest chk-chk rhythm which grooves so well. "Everything You Did" has the great intro into the sly and sneaky drumbeat. And finally, "The Royal Scam" has that undefinable creepiness and flair, which leaves you feeling chilled. This truly is an album to be reckoned with.

10/10

Until next we meet.

Drums, Bass...Done! (it's really all that anyone needs)

Happy Tuesday people! I hope you enjoyed the monolith post yesterday which took me several eons to complete. It's hard to cover such a monster album with any less words than that. Now, let's get down to business:

Album Review

Death From Above 1979















You're A Woman, I'm A Machine

This album is one which I can listen to over and over again and still find its songs as addicting as crack. This band is consistent of Jason Keeler, the bassist and backup vocalist, and Sebastian Grainger, who provides the drum beats and lead vocals. First off, drummers that sing are amazing to begin with; but to have a group like this which provides such raw power in a small duo is incredible. Not to mention that their dance-punk distorted bass groove sound just makes you want to strut. And the lyrics are so overtly sexual that you can't help but chuckle at them sometimes.

The album leads in with a bang; "Turn It Out" ripping out with an uptempo drum beat and blistering lyrics. This song sets up the tone of the album by this Canadian duo. Next, into "Romantic Rights" with pick scraping and 16th notes on the hi-hat makes the listener excited and anticipating the bass line which makes the head bob, and make the feet want to get up and dance. "Going Steady" and "Go Home, Get Down" are great tunes which bring the album to the four songs which are the pinnacle of the album. Starting this lineup is "Blood On Our Hands" a high-charged thunderstorm of intensity. This transitions into my personal favorite song on the album "Black History Month" which turns the fire down a bit, and makes me want to strut to the chinese food place by my house in the fall, the thing I did the most when I first got into this band. "Black History Month" leads us into the next tune, "Little Girl" this song tricks you; it starts out with a very slow bass groove, which pulls into a much more uptempo bass riff, which grabs you and makes you listen to the lyrics, which are almost cryptic sounding "My brother has a lady/ oh and one day she will have a baby/ my brother has a baby/ oh and one day, and one day she'll save me/ ohhh, ohhh, I need to talk to you girl.." very very interesting lyrics in that tune. Next up is "Cold War" a throbbing, distorted, almost metal ridiculosity which makes half the people yell to turn it off (not to be confused with "Turn It Out"), or to dance in a way that if somebody got too close, they might get hurt. Next we finally get to the title track; "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine" is another great power-charged dance punk metal tune in 4/4...UNTIL it turns into a 3/4 waltz explosion. Into the second to last tune on the album "Pull Out" which is so sexual it almost hurts to listen to it. Finishing up with the slow groove tune "Sexy Results" which is a great song like "Black History Month" a great song to strut to and a great closer to a great album.

Keeler and Grainger show us all that in the world of huge ensembles and bands, that you only need two to rock out; and the most important thing that these guys teach us is that a guitar is not a requirement for a rock band.

8.5/10

Everybody's Got Something To Hide, Except For Me and My Beatles.

Hello and welcome to a lovely Mixtape Monday. I have a review of a very popular album by a band called The Beatles, maybe you've heard of them. Also I have a mixtape for these the hot, humid, August summer days. It's perfect for this day.

Album Review














White Album

This album is a behemoth; thirty tracks, two LPs and/or CDs, and over an hour and a half of solid music. This album is my personal favorite of The Beatles discography. It starts out on a driving note "Back in the USSR" is a great opener to a great album. This transitions over to the ethereal "Dear Prudence" which begins with a greatguitar intro done by Mr. John Lennon. This is the type of song which I like to call a "builder." A song which starts out light and gets more intense as it goes on; continuing on to the next tune on the album, "Glass Onion" which is one of my favorite tunes on this disc. The bass groove on this album behind Lennon's cryptic lyrics, speaking of the songs in the Beatles catologue. This song goes into a ridiculous pair of tunes by McCartney, "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" which incidentally is the only Beatles tune which my grandfather knew the chorus to, and "Wild Honey Pie" a freaked-out precursor to the actual song that comes later. In this album there is the most distinct differences in the songs written by each Beatle; John, George, Paul, and Ringo all have songs on this album, and each have a very different and distinct flavor. The next 6 songs in the album are sone of the best series of songs on the album, which blend so well. "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" is a great story song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is an amazing George Harrison tune, followed by "Happiness Is A Warm Gun." This song has the strong raw flavor of Lennon, in three sections. The first part of the song carries not a story-like style, but almost a description of a picture. This goes into the descriptor speaking directly to you talking about the fox they need, into the ridiculous chorus section of the song. Finally, after that amazing song comes my favorite song on this disc of the album "Martha My Dear," an amazing McCartney tune. With its jaunty piano intro to the section wherePaul sings, "Take a good look about you. Take a good look, you're bound to see; that you and me, were meant to be for each other, silly girl." Probably the best 15 bars yet in the album. Following this is a great John tune, "I'm So Tired" which my mom used to sing to me when I was a baby and wouldn't go to sleep. Now one of my favorite tunes, which follows a very odd progression, A G#7 D E A f#m D E A G#Aug f#m dm, or I VII7 IV V I vi IV V I VII+ vi iv numerically. This is followed by another, extremely popular tune by Paul, "Blackbird" which folds in with a great solo guitar accompanyment. This is mirrored by Lennon's tune which is the last track of this disc, "Julia" in my opinion, the better of the two. The rest of the first disc has some good tunes, but nothing worth the discussion, save "Rocky Raccoon" which is a great story song.

Next disc; starting off with a joint effort of John and Paul, "Birthday" once again showing the uptempo start of the disc which is now the fashion in this album by this repetition. Into one of the most intense John tunes with the Beatles, "Yer Blues" which John belts his lyrics out with a growling scream which gives me chills every time I hear it. Into "Mother Nature's Son" a nice Paul ramblin' tune. Into the fun and uptempo Lennon tune "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey" followed by one of the sadder tunes "Sexy Sadie" which John uses to tell people about the maharishi. Finally, we get to the oddest/most amazing tune on this disc, a Paul tune which shows off the Beatles ability to rock out real heavy for a 60's pop band; I am talking of course, about "Helter Skelter." This song rips through its progression and has Paul screaming through the lyrics like he's trying to rip his vocal chords apart. This emotional explosion it offset by the almost chilling song, "Long, Long, Long." This starts out with a triplet oriented guitar line and ends with glasses on a Leslie speaker cabinet and moaning. Next we venture into the 3 main Beatles songwriters 3 different styles in succession. "Revolution 1" is John Lennon's pollitical rebellion tune. "Honey Pie" is Paul's sweet, throwback-pop standard tune. "Savoy Truffle" my personal favorite on this whole album; a great tune about something simple. These 3 songs highlight the 3 different tastes and songwriting styles in this supergroup. "Cry Baby Cry" is a great picturesque song by Lennon, followed by the monstrosity of a track, "Revolution 9" which I abhor. FInishing up the album is "Good Night" a sub-par Ringo tune.

In looking at this album, what is to be considered is that the good tunes are ridiculously good; and the bad tunes, are still good by the present standards. This album only has two misses for me. "Revolution 9" and "Good Night" are the black sheep for me. So if you want to enjoy this album to its fullest, stop after "Cry Baby Cry"

9.5/10

Mixtape For A Hot August Day:

1. Pachuca Sunrise - Minus The Bear (Menos El Oso)
2. Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear (Veckatimest)
3. 100 Degrees - Shout Out Louds (Howl Howl Gaff Gaff)
4. Don't You Evah - Spoon (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
5. Shoulda Known - Atmosphere (When Lofe Gives You Lemons, you Paint That Shit Gold)
6. No Phone - Cake (Pressure Chief)
7. U.R.A. Fever - The Kills (Midnight Boom)
8. Earthquake Weather - Beck (Guero)
9.60 Feet Tall - The Dead Weather (Horehound)
10. Volcano - Beck (Modern Guilt)
11. The Moon - The Microphones (The Glow Part 2)
12. Cold Wind - The Arcade Fire (Six Feet Under OST)

The idea of this mix is that you want to get things done in the beginning of the day/mixtape before the haze starts to set in, which doesn't subside until the middle of the night after sunset. I hope you enjoy it.

Until next time.

Sunday Single: Temecula Sunrise, Temecula Sunset

I've decided that one day on the weekend I will have an in-depth analysis of one single song so that it makes for a lighter workload on one of the days of the week.

Single Review

Dirty Projectors
















Temecula Sunrise (from the album Bitte Orca)

This song is an amazing track on a very odd album. This song starts out with an amazing acoustic guitar interlude which shows me that this band means business because the guitarist plays such clean open octaves so quickly that I can't wrap my fingers over that section of the song. This song has been consuming my guitar playing for the last 18 or so hours. Its complicated sequence leads into Dave Longstreth's vocals, which glide over the semi-angular guitar riffs which flow through 6/8 and 2/4 respectively in such a way which makes it seem like there is an arrhythmia every 8 or so bars. Then the bridge chords come upon the ear, which ring out like salty ocean waves. Then the chorus comes in and it is over. The song has already won you over with its eccentricities.

It works for me.

10/10

Until we meet again.

Gimme Fiction or Give Me Death!

Salutations to people of the interblag, I bring news of a great band. A band which I would say is one of the best bands around presently, Spoon. Spoon are a band out of Austin, TX who have a sound which grooves so hard that it is hard to stand. They are one of the tightest bands around and never lose a beat. Led by Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, this band is an unstoppable force in the modern day rock and roll scene.

Album Review

Spoon












Gimme Fiction


This album is the turning point in the solid groove stage in Spoon's history. To hear what spoon used to sound like (raw and more angry) check out Telophono, and A Series of Sneaks. This album however starts the real solid groove out with "The Beast and Dragon Adored" which is my personal favorite song on this album. With the clean-as-can-be drumbeat and the low low bass notes in the piano with light guitar comping, this makes a perfect set up to have Daniel's punching vocals on top. This song makes a great starter to this album because it references several songs in the lyrics; "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine" "I Summon You" "They Never Got You" are all referenced in the song. This song shows us all that all you need is rock and roll in your soul to feel alive.

To continue on this amazing album, it has some of Spoon's most popular hits, inculding the catchy "I Turn My Camera On" and the hemiola-mind-melt groove of "My Mathematical Mind," both of which make an appearance on the Stranger Than Fiction Soundtrack (great movie). The closest thing to a love song on this album is the catchy tune "I Summon You." The album wraps up on an upbeat note with "Merchants of Soul" which seems simple, but in the layering makes the song great.

As far as continuity goes, this album blends together so well you could remove the track seperators and just go from song to song and love every minute of it.

Until next time, folks.

9/10

You and Me and Maps & Atlases

Well, I certainly hope that somebody enjoyed the last review. I figured that I would Describe the format of this blog a little more in depth.

Reviews every day:
I plan on reviewing an album of my choice daily. Why, you ask? In order to give my two cents on bands and music in general to hopefully influence people to have a listen to some good music.

Mixtape Mondays:
I will create a mixtape for the week, in addition to that days review.

Now, on to today's entertainment:

Album Review
Maps & Atlases


















You And Me And The Mountain

Chicago-based band Maps & Atlases have a sound which is very interesting. The incredibly intricate double-handed tapping technique sounds like something to be wary of, solely because of all the god-awful metal tapping. This band does not sound anything like that though; their sound is that of the most melodic and euphoric sounds I have ever come across. It makes me want more than what they have released (2 EPs and a full-length on the way).

The 5 song EP You And Me And The Mountain is a short journey into the immense, intensely happy journey which sounds like pure happiness to me. This EP shows significant growth from their first EP Trees, Swallows, Houses, and always leaves me in a state of pure happiness. The best track from a technicality point of view is "Ted Zancha" a jaunty tune in 12/8, showing off their ability to groove so well together, as well as showcasing Dave Davison's ability to not scream lyrics at the top of his lungs constantly. "Witch" carries with it some lovely additional percussion, and "Daily News" continues and elaborates on that idea. My personal favorite on this album has to be "Artichokes" Not only an interesting vegetable, but also probably one of the most addicting songs i have ever heard in my life; incidentally, when I saw M&A in March of this year, the finished up the night with this song, which left me in such a state that I didn't even mind that I had to walk home in the cold snow.

To conclude, You And Me And The Mountain is a showcase of this band's growth as a unit, and Dave Davison's ability to sing with a much cleaner tone. The only complaint I could have about this EP is that it's too short. It leaves one with a want to hear more and more. If you are a music junkie, this album will most definitely leave you with a necessity for more Maps & Atlases.

9/10

Starting with a question: Why the hell am I writing this?

Good question. Welcome, to those who decided to come across this, mistakenly or otherwise. The reason I decided to write this blog (what an annoying term), is to share my opinions of music by performing reviews on albums, songs, and bands. Hell, I might even throw in some reviews of classical music! I figured I would start this blog today, as I am alone at my house with nothing to do. But I am in a spiral of digression, so back to this:

Album Review














Tiddlywinks by NRBQ

I have been listening to this band my whole life. I grew up listening to at Yankee Stadium, and some of the compilations like Uncommon Denominators. When I finally got to listening to this album I was 17 and listening to it on the extra record player that I found in my basement. I hooked it up and discovered some songs which I now love and listen to always. "The Music Goes Round and Round" is a classic 1930's tune which was brought back to life in this album and makes me smile every time I hear it. Of course there are always the songs which are less poppy. "Roll Call" is the kind of tune that if it was released by some 80's hair metal band, would have become an instant hit. Though my favorite song on this album would have to be "Hobbies" This song has almost a minimalist-blues idea, where there are no words, just "Ahhhs" which follow a groove-like progression which eventually degenerates into a stupor.

Overall, this album has a bunch of great tunes, but in continuity, it seems like a collection of b-sides as opposed to a full-length album. This continuity problem is my only qualm in this LP. As an afterthought, if you would like a laugh, look for the commercial of pro-wrestler "Captain Lou" Albano (NRBQ's band manager at the time, as well as the guy who played Mario in the live action Super Mario tv show) advertising the album. Bonus points for anyone who can identify the classical tune playing in it.

Rating 8.5/10

Until next time.