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Sunday, January 29, 2012

What Austin's Listening to this week 1/22/2012 - 1/28/2012

"I'm going to start a new segment on the blog today and I'm finally going to get around to editing Kyle's post.
-Austin Lovelace"

Seance we more or less decided to stop doing monthly top 10s I've decided to try a new segment out on the blog so we can still talk about music and spread it without having to be restrained to new, classic, or specific, material. In this segment I'll just tell you guys what albums I've been listening to in the past week(s), in order.

1. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime
Thanks to theneedledrop/Anthony Fantano for getting me back into listening to this album, in his poor lily contest video. Drive Like Jehu is more or less a punk band that started leading the genre into something "more creative", not unlike Fugazi or La Dispute. It's understandable that most people would call them a "post-hardcore" band but they hearken back to so much classic 80s punk that I would just call them "progressive punk". It's just to bad they broke up after 5 years and two albums.

(Don't blame me if you hate Rick Froberg's voice that's your problem ;) )



2. MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
Say what you want about MGMT but they can wright some catchy songs and weather you like them or not you can defiantly hear some classic influence from bands like New Order in the prominent bass, synthesizer and keyboards. Even though I do prefer their second album because of how experimental it is their first album has some of their catchiest and simplest songs on it; that might be because they used to be a singles band but that doesn't change how well written and produced their special brand of "psychedelic electro pop/rock" really is on this album.   I do have to give a lot of credit for this music video though ;).

(btw can someone tell me why people think Andrew VanWyngarden looks like a fat Frodo Baggans?)


3. Blind Pilot - We are the Tide
I'm not sure how I missed this album when it came out, September 2011, because it just might have made it to the top 25 list and because I loved their first album. I can't start to talk about this album without talking about the vocals; I would probably go gay for Israel Nebeker's voice (just his voice forget about him) and I don't need to defend my masculinity to say why. They are well known for catchy folk tunes, rising cords, abstract lyrics and unbelievable vocal melodies but even without their incredible writing talent his beautiful voice is enough to keep me listening. As much as I praise the vocals I do have to give humongous credit to their extremely talented drummer who's fills can "fill" a track by them selves if they wanted to. This album doesn't quite dethrone "3 Rounds and a Sound" but if that albums a 10 (which it is to me) than this album is a 9. 


4. The Black Keys - Brothers
If you know me, you know that I'm a huge fan of The Black Keys and classic blues rock from the early 2000s but you might also know that I hate talking about this album. I know it's hard to say I'm a big fan when my first exposure to the band was "Tighten Up" but my love for their first 4 albums are what make me think they are so classic in the first place. I used to think "Tighten Up" was the best song ever but than I heard "All Hands Against His Own", "Girl is On my Mind", "Midnight in Her Eyes", "Have Love Will Travel", "Just Got to Be", "Strange Desire".....; anyway I can't really get into this album but it's not because it's bad, it's because I was just not into the sound they were going for here. I do still like "Tighten Up" and "Next Girl" + a few solo's her and there but other wise this was just an average album I keep coming back to just to see if I'll like it. I would much rather listen to any of there other albums, including "El Camino", except "Attack & Release" ( which I think is on the same level).



El Camino Review>>
Rubber Factory Review >>
Attack and Release>>

5. New Order - Technique
Besides having one of the best ,artistic, album covers I have ever seen this is also my favorite "New Order" album. With almost no dispute this band is the King/Queen or "Ruling Transvestite" of post punk. Your free to laugh at that statement if you like but this album was that weird when it came out (I issue a formal apology to any transvestites who take insult to being called weird). I swear the production sounds like something ripped right from a Quentin Tarantino film; you can't tell me the intro to "Fine Time" doesn't sound like the beginning of a fight sequence from "Kill Bill". Peter Hook's bass gives their music gives the album so much rhythmic value while Bernard Sumner's riffs and vocals just spew out a depressingly sunny attitude that even singers like Robert Smith couldn't show off on their own. This will always we a perfect 80s album to me.



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