In an attempt to keep this thing going and maybe get back on a roll, I'm going to attempt to post each week about new album releases or singles released that interest me.
Moving from California back to the Beast Coast, I've landed in Connecticut, very unlikely, but still pretty thriving in the music scene for a quiet area on the edge of Fairfield. Plus we're only about an hour away from new York City so I can't complain about that, I've been there and NJ already to see my brother play. (He's a drummer and subs for bands that need a drummer for their tours, as well as the new resident drummer for This Is Your Life, good stuff, if you like punk check it out for sure. Plus like, my brother's in the band now, which makes it infinity x's awesome-er.)
So, that being said, I'm pretty settled, if not still a little scattered in routine. But here goes, this weeks' new releases and working backwards, whatever I found from there... these have been listened to, meant to be listened to, worn the hell out, or heard & discarded.
Albums Released April 19th, 2011 that I got super excited about:
The Gorillaz, The Fall
Damon Albarn recorded this album while he was on the U.S. leg of their tour for Plastic Beach, all on his iPad. The fictional 2D says the album was done without a lot of concentration, just what he felt as he went through America on tour. So it seems like more of a personal signature than a Gorillaz album to be lumped in with the other three. It's very enjoyable though, listened to it once through already. I especially enjoy that in the track "Aspen Forest" he used the sound of interference from your cell phone sitting to close to your speaker, and it picks up the little sounds when you get a text or a call... as a sound effect in the song. How cute! Some bits of it really remind me of Pulp, or Blur (go figure) even among all the electronica and ambiance. Very lovely and laid back. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
Snoop Dogg, Doggumentary
Have not yet let my ears feast upon this one yet, but it's up next. Will let you know how I feel about it, but it's on MY list, so it's on THIS list.
Explosions in the Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Again, haven't yet listened to this album, but it is definitely on the to-hear list. I'm ready, just need to devour other new music first... everything in order!
I note here with much amusement that Whitesnake had a new album release this week. WOWWW. hah!
Going back further.
4.11.2011 : Nothing of interest to me.
4.4.2011 :
Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D
Frickin'. Bitchin'. Just LOOK at the collaborations... M83, Glitch Mob, Paul Oakenfold, Crystal Method, Kaskade, Photek, Pretty Lights, just to name the AWESOME. Then there's ones that really surprised me that I hadn't heard enough of, such as the Avicii mix of "Derezzed." Good stuff.
3.28.2011 :
Radiohead, The King of Limbs
Well, I love me some Radiohead. BUT, this album failed to peak my interest. Perhaps I need a new view on it. Anyone care to share? Get me interested. Do it, you won't. (Ps, Thom Yorke, I saw the video for the single you released, "Lotus Flower." Get a new stylist and a new director, please. You're a wonderful guy, it's just... my friendly advice.)
3.14.2011 :
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Don't Say We Didn't Warn You
I'm not mad about it.
And then, there's some stuff I missed somehow.
Crystal Fighters. You HAVE to hear them, their album is called Star of Love. They fuse heavy, throbbing electronics with folksy sounds, acoustics, and even some dubstep stuff in there, if I have to mention dubstep to get an album listened to, well, so be it. The entire album is good, front to back, with tons of musical variety and yet still being completely cohesive. Male and female fronted, songs vary and singers vary. Their videos are fun too. The first song I heard from them, "With You," was in Skins last season during the "Mini" episode. Not only a bitchin' song choice, but well placed and well synched within the episode (Thank you, SKINS- that show is wonderful for music. (I speak of the original BRITISH Skins, not the U.S. copycat version, although that isn't terrible, they won my heart pretty quickly when Animal Collective's song "My Girls" was the first thing I heard in the first U.A. episode... BUT, it's just not THE original.)
Man Man has been a favorite of mine since I heard them in 2007. They're not for everyone, they're very ecclectic, gypsy, tribal, carnival, tom waits-y. Just go read about them on wikipedia or something, they're frigging incredible, the ensemble of people and instruments they use. I saw them live once with my friend and we were both happy to see them perform in such a small venue, they really have a great presence and hang out with you after they're done playing. hah, gotta love that. Anyway, I had the album six demon bag, from 2006. I never gave it another thought, and then it occured to me that I never got the album they were touring for in 2008 when I saw them live. So I got to fetch it, and behold, there's an album from 2004 as well! So I got Rabbit Habits (2008) and The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face (2004). Both are excellent, I like how I can see where the two albums met in the middle to form the album that I so enjoy, six demon bag. The first I ever heard from them was Tunneling Through The Guy.
There's a really great song change a minute or two in... every time I hear it, all I can think is that it's so great it makes me wanna FUCK EVERYTHING.
RJD2, The Colossus
Somehow this one also slipped under my radar. (Sometimes I slack on actually looking up the damn new releases for awhile, and this is what happens!) A friend of a friend showed me a song he wrote and rapped over the RJD2 track "Tin Flower." I enjoyed his bit of course, but then had to quiz him about the music. He says "Oh, you haven't heard the last RJD2 album? I thought you were a fan!" ...sigh, I thought I was, too. So here I was, Colossus-less, and I fixed that. The entire album is a lovely nod to what it means to properly arrange an album. The songs flow, RJD2 is of course his very wonderous self, producing tracks that make us feel like we smoked a joint of the best weed on the planet while sitting inside a cozy room with lots of shiny things and something soft to land on, always. Perhaps a microfiber bean bag. Mmmm.
Yeah, I know it sounds odd to compare an album to a room, I suppose... but for example, it suits Man Man as well: Rabbit Habits makes me feel like I'm at a carnival! Bright lights, excitement, tons of thigns to absorb (though normally it's sight and smells over sounds at a carnival, still one gets the picture), and lots of variety. See? I'm not that weird for comparing albums to places. NYEH.
*On a personal note:
One should also note here that I live above a particularly atrocious variety of bar... so you may get the occasional rant or rave about the music we always hear pouring up through our floor. The DJ on Fridays & Saturdays is absolutely dreadful, to put it kindly, and he thinks that turning it UP = making it BETTER. He plays the same exact thing every Friday & Saturday, with the same horrible sample of himself screaming YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!! along with poorly mixed "breaks" in the song as he scratches like a juvenile... I'm telling it's it's completely reprehensible. Anyway, as you can see, just a short mention of the bar caused me to riot off on it. (This awful "DJ" is on down in the bar now, hence the extra anger, I suppose.)
Once in awhile, one of the Hell's Angels gets ahold of the jukebox and plays a metric ass-ton of GOOD classic rock. We like those people, mostly. The ones who play good music. We want a way to reward people for playing good music, the best idea was that Anthony suggested we go downstairs every time we hear 5 songs in a row that don't make us cringe and instead make us say "Oh hey, GOOD CHOICE whoever's on deck right now!" we should go downstairs and buy them a beer. He wants to be the "The Reward For Playing Good Music is A FREE Beer!" Fairy. I love the idea, if only we could both (a) afford to do it (even as rare as it is for us to WANT to reward good music being played, we need every penny), and (b) we don't even like to set foot in the bar, really. It's a bad, bad place.
That's all I can do for now. I want to go create some art things.
I hope to continue this every week, and possibly catch up on shit I missed the past few months inbetween. We shall see!
Thanks for reading after this long break. :-) love, me.
