« May 2005 | Main | July 2005 »
June 28, 2005
summer vacation
We're closed for summer vacation and will retun late in the week of July 3rd.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:53 PM | Comments (1639) | TrackBack
June 27, 2005
new releases 06.28
Last week I incorrectly reported that the new Missy Elliott would be out this week. You'll have to wait a week on that. This week a grab bag of half-interesting stuff, including the first Posies album in years and years.
Pajo :: Pajo (sample tune here)
The Fall :: The Complete Peel Sessions (box set)
The Posies :: Every Kind Of Light (3 tracks here at myspace)
Lali Puna :: I Thought I Was Over That (remixes/b-sides)
Longwave :: There's a Fire
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:51 PM | Comments (437)
June 23, 2005
random tunes :: teenage fanclub, engineers
I've been listening to a few new discs lately; many of them just don't seem worth writing about and a couple are still percolating with me. So I went surfing for tunes.
I found another track at music (for robots) from the new Teenage Fanclub disc. This is the third track I've heard, probably the best, but not good enough to get me to bite. But I know there are lots of fans out there, so you're probably glad for the link.
Teenage Fanclub :: Time Stops (mp3) at music (for robots)
In last Tuesday's new releases post I mentioned a UK shoegaze-y record by newcomers Engineers. I don't think this disc is all that special, but some people are raving about it. There's a link to a track from it below.
Engineers :: Come In Out of the Rain (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 09:59 PM | Comments (1)
laura cantrell :: humming by the flowered vine
 |
| (buy) |
There's a confusing world of female roots singer-songwriters out there. The good ones are easily confused with the not-so-good ones (with the dudes, you basically have to look at their clothes, haircuts, and whether the top of their guitar touches their nipples & they make funky snapping sounds with the strings). The not-so-good: Nanci Griffith, Alison Krauss, all of those Dar Williams types. Good: Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, early Iris Dement, and Laura Cantrell. What separates them? An edge, a kind of beautiful sadness, an arresting way with words as opposed to a handbook of stock imagery. You could boil it down to whether they were listening to the right or wrong things in their Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris records: "I want to hang out with Graham Nash and be adored by sexually confused adolescents and/or people for whom Starbucks is a lifestyle choice" (for what defines sexual confusion more than hanging out with Graham Nash?) vs. "I want to learn that trick where apparent beauty and simplicity masks a deep well of trouble".
Do you get my drift out of that nonsense? What we have here is a nice little record full of songs that come on like a bunch of music you've heard before, but each has a complex personality. Some are covers, some are originals. There's a rare Lucinda Williams tune ("Letters") that I'd never heard before, but in which you can hear everything that makes Lucinda what she is.
Cantrell's previous two discs were homespun and narrowly focused on a straight folk/country style; this one adds slightly more expansive material and production. For lack of a better set of terms, many of the songs are more writerly and less songy. But nothing's elaborate; it breezes by.
Her voice is somewhat limited, and when she's not using it for charm a song can fall back to earth. But she's usually there to pick it back up again.
What You Said (mp3)
Letters (mp3)
Stream the entire album courtesy of Matador Records
Tons of Laura Cantrell downloads at her site
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 08:14 AM | Comments (202)
June 21, 2005
spin mag :: top 100 albums of the last 20 years
It's list-making time again; this go-round the excuse is a half-decade which marks a fairly convenient breaking point to evaluate the progress of rock since the blooming of post-punk. Spin presents their top 100 discs of the last 20 years.
This is a particularly interesting list to me, as 1986 - one year past the start of this list - marks the teenage time when I had really started to discover music beyond the obvious.
Here's my view on these lists: those of us who have studied and followed music ad nauseam for many many years love to make fun of them. They're always reshuffled versions of the same old stuff, just controversial enough without being disrespectful to the canon, etc. But they do serve a purpose for the less jaded. I can remember a Rolling Stone greatest 100 of all time being my guide through music history before I had money to buy records. It seemed impossible to me to own all of those treasures, and discovering them one by one was a watershed moment in the development of the deeply obsessive person you're reading now.
I hope someone who's getting curious takes the time to listen to every one of these discs, because they're all worth a spin (though I can't speak for the 5 or 6 I've managed to never hear; I still have my own research to do, I suppose).
As for my own quibbles, they are both too many to count and too insignificant to recount. Let me just make two points: I think the lower 70s is the rightful place for the Stone Roses, who tend to garner top 10 status in UK lists, and Fugazi should never, ever, ever, be ranked below Hole.
I hope there is some action in the comments section for this.
Top 20
20. Wu Tang Clan - Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
19. Hole - Live Through This
18. Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
17. Nas - Illmatic
16. Beck - Odelay
15. Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville
14. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
13. Husker Du - New Day Rising
12. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
11. U2 - Achtung Baby
10. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton
9. PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me
8. Prince - Sign O The Times
7. De La Soul - 3 Ft. High And Rising
6. Pixies - Surfer Rosa
5. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
4. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
3. Nirvana - Nevermind
2. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation...
1. Radiohead - OK Computer
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 11:43 PM | Comments (50) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
hyping wolf parade
Tonight I would like to participate in a bit of hype. I would like you to head over to Said the Gramophone and listen to a new track by a new band called Wolf Parade, from their forthcoming EP and album. They're from Montreal, and this track reminds me of a lot of great indie rock (and I mean rock) from a while ago. It sounds like one of those great tracks on a split single from two bands on an obscure label that was never to be heard from again. But, in this case, I suspect you will hear a lot about this outfit for some time to come.
While you're at it, there's a new New Pornographers track that sounds pretty dandy as well.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 09:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
new releases 06.21
It's a rootsy new release day with new ones from John Hiatt, Laura Cantrell, and reissues of the 1st and 3rd Bob Dylan discs which were missing from the last round of perfect-sounding remasters . . . although, tellingly, these are not in hybrid SACD format, which means SACD is dead. Glad I didn't spend the extra $200 for a new player a couple years ago when I was thinking about it. Dylan novices: you don't need the first one, but you do need The Times They Are A-Changin'. "Boots of Spanish Leather", "With God on Our Side", "Only a Pawn in Their Game", "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll". Yep.
The Engineers disc is interesting shoegaze stuff from England.
Laura Cantrell :: Humming by the Flowered Vine (free mp3 here)
John Hiatt :: Master of Disaster
Engineers :: Engineers (some videos and tracks here)
Bob Dylan :: Bob Dylan (remaster)
Bob Dylan :: The Times They Are A-Changin' (remaster)
Next week is dominated by the new Missy Elliott. There's also a Posies reunion album and new Longwave.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 09:04 PM | Comments (249) | TrackBack
June 19, 2005
akron/family :: akron/family
 |
| (buy) |
This bunch of wackos is flying under the radar to some extent due to unfortunate categorization. Sometimes they are lumped in with the Devendra Banhart "freak-folk" thing, and while they are freaks who play occasionally folky music, they don't sound anything like that rather mannered artist. They are also on Michael Gira's (Swans/Angels of Light) Young God Records, and may be associated with his dank, oppressive approach.
Nope, this is a warm, open, sunny form of loopy ensemble music. In the mid-90s, if Drag City and Elephant 6 records ever went in on a joint venture, this would be the result. I suppose the Animal Collective might be a better comparison, but I don't like them much; Akron/Family is much earthier and without a trace of twee. Most of the songs are slow growers where any noise, voice, or unexpected turn is fair game, but from which a coherence emerges.
Apparently this album was whittled down from triple the material recorded as demos, where most songs were far longer than their released versions. The band is supposed to be phenomenal live, and it's difficult to summarize the full scope of this record with a couple of tracks. Use these as an aperitif, and then buy the album for a muggy late summer twilight after one cocktail too many.
I'll Be on the Water (mp3)
Shoes (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 08:32 PM | Comments (198)
monkeying about with the top 20
Some adjustments to the 20. Konono in at #10 - knocking System of a Down out of the 10. White Stripes in the bottom half. I had mentioned Maximo Park deserving an entry, but in the end I've decided to relegate them to the "More New & Good" section. Finally, Kathleen Edwards gets a slight upgrade and Spoon a slight downgrade reflecting their longevity in my brain's jukebox. In the end, Kathleen will likely survive the year and Spoon will not.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 08:07 PM | Comments (15)
June 16, 2005
konono post fixed
If you tried to listen to the mp3s in the Konono #1 post below and failed, they have been fixed. Apologies.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
konono no. 1 :: congotronics
 |
| (buy) |
To put it simply, Congotronics is my favorite non-rock disc of the year so far. It's a hypnotic form of African energy music made possible by necessity as the mother of invention. Konono No. 1 has been working in the Congo for 25 years, making do or doing without. Their primary instrument is the mbira or thumb piano, amplified by improvised microphones made out of car parts and spare electronics. They have an apparently giant sound system that is ratty and distorted, not by choice, but which unifies their sound in a warm fuzz. Percussion is made from whatever's around - pots, pans, bells, what have you. And how do they get the vocals across? With megaphones, of course. Live, it must be quite a sight.
It's a rare feat to pull off experimental music that is both listenable and danceable; I suppose the key is that these Konono folks don't intend to experiment at all. The sound of this music is a byproduct of their environment. They just want you to shake it, and they'll use what they've got.
I owe this discovery to posts several weeks ago on other blogs, specifically The Suburbs are Killing Us (read for further background from the disc's producer) and Fluxblog, and I hope I'm able to pass the discovery on. The record label, Crammed Discs, has announced another disc of this kind of music to arrive soon. More is better.
Ungudi Wele Wele (mp3)
Masikulu (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 07:33 AM | Comments (51) | TrackBack
June 15, 2005
white stripes :: get behind me satan
 |
| (buy) |
The formalist influence of the White Stripes is undeniable at this point; they've paved the way for a truckload of minimalist duos from the Kills to the Raveonettes to the Fiery Furnaces. With Get Behind Me Satan, their stature as formalist masters should be cemented. They've made a record with a new set of rules, and it's probably their best yet.
By mostly ditching guitar riffage in favor of banging and tinkling on the piano and/or the occasional marimba, but keeping the knack for cannily primoridial song structures, what this disc proves is that Jack White can put across pretty much anything through sheer will and rock charisma. These songs are deceptively simple trifles, all bone and no flesh, and yet Jack breathes life into every one of them. He demands your attention & repays you handsomely.
There's wonderful variety here, from the incongrously electric robot-rock made-for-remixes single "Blue Orchid", to the couple of songs clearly conceived from the Loretta Lynn sessions, to Meg's Mo Tucker "I'm Sticking With You" turn in "Passive Manipulation".
The usually infallible New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones totally misses the point in this recent review. While giving Jack White props for his rock god qualities, he seems to want the band to become Led Zeppelin or some sort of classic rock version of a contemporary hit machine. The problem is that Jack White would lose his appeal immediately in those circumstances. Part of his mystery and allure is his resistance to that temptation.
Even worse, Frere-Jones goes after Meg White's drumming. Is it technically adept? No. Is it formally pure, in keeping with the Stripes' approach? Yes; I'm sure someone could distill a few simple rules from her playing, one of which appears to be that the cymbals are always hit in tandem with the kick drum. Does she propel songs with an ineffable groove? Almost always. I mentioned Mo Tucker above. Case closed?
Unfortunately, some bloggers have gotten in trouble for posting mp3s from this one, so you'll have to do your own research.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 12:12 AM | Comments (2114) | TrackBack
June 14, 2005
new releases 06.14
Some interesting possibilities this week. Brian Eno returns with a vocal record, and Ry Cooder with another one of his globally-influenced instrumental records. The Eno is getting mixed reviews, the Cooder very strong ones. Embrace is huge in the UK and trying again to break through here. Dwight Yoakam is reliable, and the Foo Fighters is there for your summer rock fix should you need one (though one of the two discs is supposedly quiet). In the reissue department, there's a double-disc remastered edition of Miles' 'Round About Midnight, which is bound to be beautiful.
Sorry I haven't had a chance to go hunting for samples and streams this week.
Brian Eno :: Another Day on Earth
Ry Cooder :: Chavez Ravine
Embrace :: Out of Nothing
Dwight Yoakam :: Blame the Vain
Foo Fighters :: In Your Honor (2xCD)
Miles Davis :: 'Round About Midnight (2CD reissue)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 07:49 AM | Comments (2023) | TrackBack
maximo park :: a certain trigger
 |
| (buy) |
I'm giving myself 5 minutes to write this post, so here goes:
2nd-best product of the 2005 British hype machine is yet another take on XTC + Jam sharp-turn rock sufficiently differentiated from the pack to be worth your time. Key secret influence: Undertones (I think). Key charm: even thicker Geordie accents than their pals and neighbors the Futureheads. Flaw: some songs sound like formalist exercises. Doesn't need to be 13 songs (though some growers make it last longer than you might think). "Graffiti" is one of the 10 best songs of the year and competes with anything on the Bloc Party album. The below selections have been around as singles for a while and may have been blogged ad nauseam, but what the hell. This goes in middle of the top 20 when I get a chance to update it.
Graffiti (mp3)
Apply Some Pressure (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 12:06 AM | Comments (3537)
June 12, 2005
laura cantrell :: 14th street
As I usually do when I'm not quite ready to write about any of my recent listens, I went trolling for promotional mp3s to share with you.
At the Matador Records site, I found an excellent song from the forthcoming new CD by Laura Cantrell. Her previous two albums have been simple folky country helped along by solid songwriting. This tune has a bit more production and a 70s radio feel, showing a progression from homespun to crafted. I'm a sucker for this stuff, and I'm ready for more. The disc is out a week from Tuesday.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:06 PM | Comments (5)
June 09, 2005
cardinal :: cardinal
 |
| (buy) |
A lost classic of the 90s was reissued this week - the self-titled sole album by Cardinal. Richard Davies and Eric Matthews have plenty of solo records to their credit, but their partnership in Cardinal was easily their best work and far too short-lived. There are rumors of a reunion in the works.
This 1994 disc is pristine psychedelic chamber-pop, a timeless 30-minute gem (except for the lyrical reference to Axl Rose). It triangulates Bowie, Love, and Nick Drake with an extreme preciousness that works because the pose is held unflinchingly. And the songs are great.
I haven't picked up the reissue, but as one of the world's leading Cardinal fans it's my responsibility to help resurrect them.
If You Believe in Christmas Trees (mp3)
Silver Machines (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:53 PM | Comments (929) | TrackBack
intensity in one city (lcd soundsystem/m.i.a. live)
Tonight, LCD Soundsystem turned in the show of the year so far. The full-band format - especially the punishing, precise drummer - drove each song into the red with unrelenting tenacity. This is why you go to shows: to hear a record that you love done one better, to see the music made and made over. To hear what can be done with sheer volume and spontaneity. To get so lost in a song that you forget about the other ones, and they become surprises. Go see LCD, and come prepared with all of your energy.
M.I.A. opened, and the live hip-hop rule was invoked (yeah, cool it, I know it's not strictly hip-hop): the music just doesn't translate well. She did a fine job and certainly had the crowd engaged, but there were too many momentum-sapping pauses and the best moments weren't really any better than the record (which is to say they were plenty enjoyable but not essential). I really think one of the only ways to make DJ + MC music work is with complete continuity - no breaks, great transitions and DJ work, constant build. I've almost never seen it.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:36 PM | Comments (41) | TrackBack
June 08, 2005
felt retrospective, pt 3 :: strange idols + seven cannons
 |
| (buy) |
 |
| (buy) |
This is where it all comes together.
Don't know what I'm talking about?
Read [pt 1] and [pt 2] of the Felt retrospective
The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Stories is the first fully-realized Felt record, a place to start, a complete package. It was almost without warning; you couldn't imagine that they'd so quickly and ably fuse the propulsive songwriting of "Penelope Tree" with the harmonic sophistication they began to explore on The Splendour of Fear. By this point, Lawrence has left his simplistic one-step chord progressions and monorhythms in the dust; he's discovered bridges, vamps, turnarounds - all the tricks. He's writing songs. His lyrical voice is still oblique but somehow more direct, and these are now words that you want to discern and decode. About the curious Spanish theme, I don't know what to tell you.
But most of all, you want to listen up and follow Maurice Deebank's guitar lines. Lawrence lets his sideman shine completely here, laying down a bed of acoustic strummery for him to run amok on. Yes, his playing is almost directly out of the Lloyd/Verlaine phrasebook, but it's sufficiently original in the context, and well-executed enough not to matter.
The production, by the tastemaking John Leckie (The Bends, The Stone Roses, The Fall, Magazine, XTC), is a rare beast for 1984: a clear and warm recording virtually unadorned by digital reverb (the big studio toy of the time). That would change next time around.
I wish I could give you this entire 9-song, 28-minute morsel; I will break my loose 2-song rule and give you an extra.
Spanish House (mp3)
Vasco Da Gama (mp3)
Crystal Ball (mp3)
A year later, in 1985, came Felt's first album-length album, and an obvious bid for a wider level of acceptance: the 11-track, 36:45 Ignite the Seven Cannons. As I mentioned above, the Big 80s Snare comes into play, and the sound is one grade lusher with the addition of Martin Duffy's organ. Chiefly responsible for the sound is the new producer, Robin Guthrie of the vogue-at-the-time Cocteau Twins. I'm sure the aesthetic choice was seen as a leap forward at the time, but Ignite the Seven Cannons sounds far more dated in 2005 than its predecessor. I'm also not entirely happy that Maurice Deebank is less distinctive in the mix.
Still, cut through the muck and you have a set of songs that is probably the equal of Strange Idols, one that is broader and more compositionally assured. The lyrics are wonderfully bleak. There's some waste - the "Lucy in the Sky"-quoting instrumental "Southern State Tapestry", and perhaps one of the other two instrumentals as well. But the highs are lofty. Some Felt purists would disagree, but I think you have to count the unusual "Primitive Painters" in the Felt top 5. The other Cocteau Twin, Liz Fraser herself, wails away, sounding today a bit like that Concrete Blonde chick, but not completely wrecking the proceedings.
An excellent Felt article I just discovered on Tangents points out that this single was a hit in the same year as the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" and the Go-Betweens "Bachelor Kisses" - quite a year for dour pop. Each of those tunes is top-notch for its respective author.
Seems right to have 3 tunes from this one as well - we've entered Felt's golden age. When we return, Deebank will be gone and Felt will have leapt to the nascent Creation Records, a badge of honor.
Primitive Painters (mp3)
The Day the Rain Came Down (mp3)
I Don't Know Which Way to Turn (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:22 PM | Comments (2437) | TrackBack
June 07, 2005
four tet :: everything ecstatic
 |
| (buy) |
I don't really have a good handle on how to write about the kind of instrumental electronic music that Four Tet makes. And I think this stuff is overwhelmingly a matter of personal preference, of what sonic buttons it pushes for each listener. For me, this is both a completely pleasurable, often blissful - yes, ecstatic - listen, and yet one that rewards concentration and attention. Kieran Hebden doesn't resort to cheap melodic tricks or stock beats, there is layer after layer, and so you can either let this stuff wash over you or sit up and marvel at how it all comes together.
The word "folktronica" has been used to describe Four Tet; it's meant to capture the prevalence of organic sounds in what is ultimately programmed and sequenced stuff. I don't think it's particularly accurate, but it's worth noting that this is not music created by drum machines and squeaking synths. The drum parts are busy, splitting the difference between psychedelic groove a la Can and complex funk, and they are all organically played. Glassy bells and chimes are a common instrumental thread; in general, you can expect motion and shimmering complexity.
Everything Ecstatic has been called a major shift in direction for Hebden, but I hear all of the seeds in his previous records, including the last one, Rounds. Yes, they were more minimal, and there was a different kind of pleasure in that; here, I think he's simply piling his ideas on thicker, without losing any clarity, and gaining intenstiy.
This might be electronica for people who mistrust electronica, but there's no compromise to plainer tastes. For another take, here's a really nice gonzo-style review on a site I've never heard of before: musicOMH.com.
Sun Drums and Soil (mp3)
And Then Patterns (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:01 PM | Comments (532) | TrackBack
June 06, 2005
new releases 06.07
Christmas comes early for the music industry with simultaneous releases of the new Coldplay and White Stripes discs, and I must admit I'm intrigued by both. I'm in the mood for an overemotive big rock record - that'll be the Coldplay - and this new White Stripes is getting the kind of mixed advance reviews that spell a sleeper. There are three notable reissues - the little-known mid-90s chamber-pop masterwork by Cardinal, a deluxe edition of the first DJ Shadow album, and The Fall's classic Hex Enduction Hour. There's a new one by one of the best technopopsters going, Ellen Allien. New, probably boring albums by Teenage Fanclub and Turin Brakes round it out.
Coldplay :: X&Y
The White Stripes :: Get Behind Me Satan
Ellen Allien :: Thrills
Cardinal :: Cardinal (reissue)
DJ Shadow :: Endtroducing . . . (2CD reissue)
The Fall :: Hex Enduction Hour (2CD reissue)
Teenage Fanclub :: Man-Made
Turin Brakes :: Jackinabox
Next week? The summer smashes keep coming. Foo Fighters drop their bloated double disc new one. Also new Brian Eno (first vocal record in many years), Dwight Yoakam, and Pernice Brothers.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 11:32 PM | Comments (2850) | TrackBack
June 05, 2005
sleater-kinney :: the woods
 |
| (buy) |
Sleater-Kinney is an outfit that I've always found a little better in theory than in practice. I love their approach - a balls-out version of some of the artier distaff punk from the golden years, such as The Raincoats and X-Ray Spex. I'm fine with the wailing vocals; they tend to be the dividing point between fans and foes. I just don't think they've written quite enough great songs in any one batch to make a class-A record.
It's the same on The Woods, although they come within spitting distance of their first masterpiece. They've tried a great leap forward in production courtesy of Dave Fridmann, who is known more for his lush work taking off from Mercury Rev and his job behind the desk on The Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin. Famously, he told S-K that he didn't really like them, but that he'd be up to the challenge as long as it was his way or the highway. His way was to give them a roomy, super-saturated sound that's not dissimilar to recent White Stripes discs or old Led Zeppelin. Most times this treatment adds a perfect measure of body (Sleater-Kinney has no bassist); sometimes it's simply distracting, and you wish for their days of jamming econo.
For their part, the band has dialed up the compositional scope of their songs, with similarly mixed - but mostly positive - results. Tunes like "The Fox" and "Night Light" are broader, huger than almost anything they've done in the past; "Modern Girl" shows a straight pop sensibility they've only hinted at before. Then there are tunes like "Jumpers" and "Entertain" that kick and scream with every bit of the classic style intact. But there also a few long, unfocused tunes that lose my attention, and even some of the good ones feel lengthy.
There's a DVD that came with my copy containing live performances of 4 songs before the album was recorded. Sleater-Kinney are apparently an essential live experience - I keep missing them - and the DVD gives good reasons why. It's well-made, raw-sounding, and a good look at the songs without their Fridmann studio touches.
While a few fans and critics have dismissed the new, expansive Sleater-Kinney, most are calling this the band's best album to date (Mojo Magazine gave 5 stars), and on balance I'd agree. It has a lot of legs - I've liked it more with every spin, and I now know it's good enough to find its way into the top 20.
Jumpers (mp3)
Modern Girl (mp3)
(distortion intentional; your stereo is OK)
Stream the entire disc at www.sleater-kinney.com (click on Downloads)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 09:58 PM | Comments (39) | TrackBack
June 04, 2005
new feature
I've added a new sidebar category called "more new & good". This is just a place to put discs that I think warrant some attention even if they didn't make the top 20, since that list is getting harder and harder to break into.
I'll move discs in and out of the new list whimsically. There is no real rhyme or reason to the ordering or lifespan of a record. It won't grow to any more than 5 discs.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2005
gorillaz :: demon days
 |
| (buy) |
Damon Albarn's experimental phase has been pretty divisive; his detractors would have you believe that he's gone into Sting/Peter Gabriel/Paul Simon mode, what with his world music and rhythm-based excursions and incoporations. Others, like me, hear a genuine creative expansion from an artist whose talent allows him to sound entirely comfortable among new sounds, deploying them to a personal artistic end rather than as wall hangings or window dressing.
Demon Days is really the 4th oddball Albarn disc. It all started with the playful, enjoyable beat-heavy first Gorillaz release - in partnership with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala, among others. Then came the excellent, little-heard Mali Music and its direct descendant, the out-there Blur album Think Tank, a culmination of his newer instincts, and a record that I thought would have been much more widely celebrated had it come without the Blur brand, made by unknowns.
This new Gorillaz, to me, plays like a set of b-sides and remixes from Think Tank. It consists mostly of sparse, fractured beats and deep dub bass courtesy of new collaborator Danger Mouse (who shocks with both his breadth of taste and his restraint, given his history as a hip-hop producer and sample collagist) overlaid with the misty instrumental textures found on Think Tank as well as the anomie of its melodies. It's darker than you might think given the cartoon cover and pop-star-goes-electronic back story.
There are plenty of collaborators here, including several nods to hip-hop in the persons of Booty Brown from Pharcyde, De La Soul, Roots Manuva, and the ubiquitous MF Doom. But the disc is still dominated by a sound that is unmistakably New Albarn.
I think this disc is a real grower, and I'm probably calling it too early. My feeling is that it is often very good but almost never truly great (though "Dirty Harry" pretty much is); it ends up being an alluring collection of ideas, with highlights and perhaps one or two too many throwaways (do we really need the Dennis Hopper monologue?). However, if you've been happy to hear Damon Albarn's trips afield, you might find yourself reaching for Demon Days more than you'd planned. Some reviews are calling this record "fantastic" (Popmatters) and "brilliant" (Uncut). I might get there myself.
Dirty Harry (ft. Booty Brown) (mp3)
El Mañana (mp3)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 11:36 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 01, 2005
stephen malkmus :: face the truth
 |
| (buy) |
You could draw a parallel between the new Stephen Malkmus and the recent Beck album, Guero: it plays like a pleasant enough but ultimately pale review of his career styles. Face the Truth has been called a return to Pavement form, but what it proves to me is that while S.M. was clearly the dominant force in that band's musical direction, he's unlikely to ever recapture their magic alone.
His last solo disc, Pig Lib, was ridiculed in some quarters for overindulging in jammy, prog-rocky meanderings and guitar workouts; I thought: "Hey, what's wrong with that? I like the way he plays!" and promptly enjoyed the hell out of it. It seemed like the truest Malkmus qua Malkmus opus, rather than Malkmus trying too hard to either break free of or live up to the Pavement legacy. I don't like this new album as much.
My opinion's in the minority, though: most critics seem eager to hear S.M. try a little harder to sound like the guy they knew in the mid-90s, and they're happy to reward experimentation regardless of the results. Pitchfork has named Face the Truth to 2005's Best New Music tally, an honor that is doled out only once every 30 or 40 reviews or so.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it contains two of the best tunes he's ever done; predictably, my favorite is "No More Shoes", which could have walked right off of Pig Lib.
No More Shoes (mp3)
Post-Paint Boy (mp3)
Baby C'mon (mp3) (from Matador Records)
Posted by borrowed_tunes at 10:56 PM | Comments (279) | TrackBack