"Hello guy and welcome to my first presentation of "Joel's Point of View", I will do this more likely every week or so, don't be afraid to comment, this is made for it."
now, what to talk about, what to talk about... OH YEH! So I was watching the Grammys last week and it was pretty interesting, I saw many many things happening and enjoyed all of the performances, but one thing came up to my mind. Why do they always make "Album of the Year" the biggest prize? I mean, today's "best" music (most likely pop) is all about producing and the sounds that's happening in the songs... So If music is not that all about the artist, then why is it that when they name the album of the year, the full crew doesn't walk on the stage, but just the artist? I think the biggest Grammy should be "Producer of the Year" or at least, If they want to make the "Album of the Year" so prestigious or, or, honored and shiny and all, then why don't they just have the full crew, who worked so much harder than the pop artist, walk on the stage? I'm not saying its easy to make music and all, as a musician I know that, but today's music is all about producing the energy in the sounds that they're using, the beats, the extreme work of mastering and mixing... Anyways I'll finish this off with a video showing how it works these days:
The girl could not sing at all in the beggining and at the end, she sounded like lady gaga... Anyways, talking about the Grammys, I'll be preparing something for you guys talking about the Grammys, what I liked and what I disliked.
Not the funniest of love songs but I always thought that this song had a twisted hummer to it. It's just the story of someone who throws out an old queen mattress, in favor of a personal twin size, because he's just done with love.
9. Fucked Up - The Queen of Hearts
This video should tell you what this song is about. With the album this song is a lot less funny because of the story around it but by itself you get the story of a relationship forming around a disaster being screamed at the top of the singers lungs. "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEEE YYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU".
8. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor
This song is absolutely nothing but it's title so why am I even trying to write about it...
What would you do is Scott Weiland fallowed you? I know he says he found her but I don't think she knows it yet.
6. Dropkick Murphys - Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced
A song to be written drunk and song wasted with a girl in one arm and bear in the other. Is this sad or funny because I feel a little bad for him...
5. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
Some times the only way to find true love is to seduce your lover into a room and turn him/her into the creature you really are or in this case bite her elbow off and live the rest of your lives as werewolves.
4. Nirvana - Polly
The disturbing thing isn't that he's comparing his lover to a bird as much as the fact that the bird is tied down with tape over it's mouth?
3. Yelawolf - Daddy's Lambo
It's not that he was just with her to ride her daddy's Lamborghini it's that despite how much of a dick he is he got both?
2. Violent Femmes - Gimme The Car
I don't know if his dad ever gave him the car. What scares me is that this conversation was happening without his girlfriend knowing it and I would'nt put it past Gordon Gano to bring up the whole thing right in front of her.
Any long time listener of The Smiths knows that all of their songs are pretty damn Emo. These guys were Emo way before it became screaming, mainstream, and they became a hipster band for hipsters. For all we know this could be extreamly serious...
The main reson I listened to this was because of the new album, "Radioactive". Their was nothing offensive about "Radioactive" but I do consider it to be one of the biggest disappointments of 2011. It was just a step down on everything he's acompleshed from the soft beats, guest singers, to the flow and lyrics. I could tolerate the album up to "Throw it Up" were Yelawolf was able to pull "The Real Slim Shady" back out of Eminem but everything after that was just bull shit R&B tracks. The only song before that track that I just couldn't deal with was "Lets Roll ft. Kid Rock" and the reason why is in the fucking title. I don't want to pull the sell out card but I felt that he went way to main stream with this album; not saying mainstream is bad but it doesn't fit his style. The only way that anyone could really understand his style is to go back to his previous work like "Trunk Muzik". He really sounds like what Eminem used to do but that's mainly because he has this high pitched flow that resembles Em's first two albums. I actually think he does that flow harder better and faster than Em or any other "copycat" could. Yelawolf has one of the best flows in Hip-Hop right now, in my opinion, even though he, really, only has one flow. His mastery over that flow makes up for it because the ability to take one flow and change it's speed and rhythm on command, the way he can, is just as impressive as any other rapper. On Trunk Muzik he pulls out these tracks that bring swag raps and "bitch" raps to a level were you can't take him seriously. He puts a southern spin on "hard core Hip-Hop" with clever lyrics that will either be disturbing to you or make you laugh. I love this album but he's scaring the shit out of me with "Radioactive" which I see as his "Relapse". I'll give up on him if I hear a "Recovery" and that is no threat.
Yellawolf - "Daddy's Lambo"
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
If you guys have a beef with the fact that I picked the original, "controversial", album art instead of the U.S. cover release your really missing the point. The real point is that this album is an essential "Blues Rock", "Guitar Rock", "Classic Rock", "Psychedelic Rock", "Jazz Rock"... or whatever else you want to call it. Though this album does have the staple guitar playing from Hendrix that is remembered so fondly; it would be stupid to say that Noel Redding's bass playing, and Mitch Mitchel's drumming are'nt nearly as impressive. The fact is that the whole band is a cast of some of the best song writers of the 60s. This album starts with a weird vocal interlude and some jazz tracks until some hard blues rock tracks start showing of the classic Hendrix flavor. Everything just builds to the point were the instrumentation all mashes together and smashes you in face with one of their most famous tracks, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", were you get the funk flavor during the first riff before the bass kicks in and shows you the songs rock side. A lot of these tracks feel less like well put together tracks and more like instrumental jams capable of stringing out to 13min. like on, the original, "Voodoo Chile". This is one of the best 60s albums to ever come out and if it's not perfect it's as close as any guitar album will ever get to pure classic rock majesty.
I decided to take a break from the Keys albums I'm a little iffy on and listen to not only my favorite Keys album, but the first one I ever owned. I'll admit I don't buy every album I talk about but I don't pirate them either. I just think that if I want to support an artist I will eventually buy the work they put out and I bought the shit out of this album the first time I heard it. This is the most fantastic peace of modern blues rock to come out of the blues rock "craze" of the early 2000s. Don't get me wrong, I love "The Kills" and pretty much all of the Jack White projects but this album is the biggest and baddest of them all. It is truly the culmination of guitar work and distortion that made this style so sought after in the early 2000s. I won't say that Dan Auerbach is even close to the technical level that Jack White is on the guitar but his ability to carry a groove on this album is so powerful that I don't think any guitarist can come close to matching him in this style. Songs like "Girl is On My Mind" and "All Hands Against His Own", which I'm sure I've listed on this blog before, have some of the heaviest and moving guitar grooves that I've ever heard. As much as I love to talk about the guitar work on this album I can't say that Dan doesn't clearly owe a lot of credit to his better half. Patrick Carney is the perfect backup for this band. He leads you through the songs with such simple rhythms and drum solos, usually behind the guitar, that just complement the songs so beautifully. If you want to hear Carney's real ability as a drummer all you need to do is listen the the first track on this album, "When the Lights Go Out". You put these two men together and you will get songs that are written so well that you just can't help but sing along. I won't say that they're greatest lyricists, but they know how to make a song that is easy to sing along to as long as the the production moves your head to the beat. Dan is a great producer and the laid back and distorted production just complements the style of music so well. The only song I can't get into on this album is "The Lengths", and that can be chalked up to me being completely unable to get into a Keys ballad except for "Little Black Submarines", which does'n stay that way for long anyway. This album is the reason I'm completely hooked on this style of music.
4. Daniel Mustard - Daniel Mustard EP (Self Titled) (EP)
The buzz around this guy is one of the coolest things I've ever seen happen on the internet.The majority of people finding this guys music are all coming from a viral video on youtube called "Homeless Mustard Sings "Creep" GREATEST Cover EVER", which I think lives up to it's title. If you have't allready figured it out, it's a homeless man covering Radiohead's "Creep" (see full story). This one video has started a wave of covers, from this guy, including his cover of the classic Cure song "Boys Don't Cry" and even a Britney Spears song somewhere on Youtube. This man has been passed around on the internet like a meme to the point were he has scored a record deal and his cool rusty voice tells why people care. I wont pretend that a lot of this buzz hasn't come about because of the debate over weather he is really homeless or how our country has "completely discarded talent like this in favor of people like Justin Bieber". I'm just as skeptical about this, "to good to be true", story as anyone else is, but I'm more than happy to believe a true "fairy-tale" story like this until I'm proven wrong. It's not like this is the first time an artists has become more well known because of an internet video. Justin Bieber was a Youtube prodigy way before he got his record deal, OFWGKTA's mainstream popularity can be blamed on Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers" video, and the most recent example is Lana Del Rey with her viral single "Video Games" + her, "flopped", SNL performance being passed around the blogs. Wheather you think think their music is good or not you can't deny that artists can be popular based on a freak accident or you could just say that viral marketing works. You could even say these artists are victims of the corporate music scene. The truth is that I could care less about why he's getting noticed because I like the music he makes. The music he makes is nothing but simple folk rock with some pop and radio rock influence. I think this guy can song write with the best of them; the first track, "Impulse to My Addiction", jumps into a chorus were he sings "when your the conflict of my conviction, stranger that all the fiction, another contradiction that I love you, you're the content of my condition, you take the strangest kind of position, your the impulse to my addiction but I love you", which is really well written. It may sound like a corny love song but even some of the classic folk artists like Bob Dylan are praised for lines like this. I can't say there's anything new about his sound but when he can have fun with it and use it to his advantage. The last track on this album, "Evacuating to Mars", he sings about escaping his life in the silliest ways possible. His music is really whats keeping me sucked into his past-life because he makes me believe in it so he's a great story teller if he's making all this up. The only thing that removes the emotion that this album carry's is that his voice is so well produced that I think some of the power his ruff voice had on the covers was lost (still loving it though). If you refuse to listen to this because of his story than your not paying attention to the music. I may even like this album because I'm sucked into the hype but in the end it only matters that I like it so I'm going to keep listening to it under my own approval.
Disclaimer: This list was made within the first 2 weeks of February so any releases from January or those first two weeks are not included weather I liked them or not. The artists are in no particular order. I'm sure I missed a few albums so give your suggestions in the comments and I'll add a section for them. I will cross them out as they come out (I will cross them out as they come out). I'm not editing seance posting except for suggestions so if any information comes out other than their release than refer to the posting date.
Announced Albums
1. Garbage - Not Your Kind of People - May 27th
I have been hoping this album would come out ever seance the band's front woman, Shirley Manson, hinted that they might be in the studio back in 2010. I love all of their albums but I haven't heard anything that sounded as new as the samples they've been putting out seance their second, "Garbage 2.0", album. By all indication this album will sound very new, different, and will be a return to form for this great 90s band. Hell I'll just be glad to hear Butch Vig's production again with Shirley's butifly seductive voice again.
"Peddles" a sample from "Not Your Kind of People"
"Not Your Kind of People" Announcement
2. Fun. - Some Nights - February 21st
Fun. put out an album back in 2010 that I found quite enjoyable. It had a lot of inventive song structures and catchy hooks. It fetured Nate Ruess' voice that sounds like no one else and can jump from genre to genre and keep a common thread through all of the music. They've dipped their feet into as many forms of folk/indie pop that I can think of but their new single is really exploring pop in it's ABAB formula. I would love to complain about this but the song is so well written that I can't help but love it and if their last album is of any sort of preview for this one, most of the songs won't sound like this.
3. Jack White - Blunderbuss - April 24th
I hope the people who read this blog have figured out that I love blues rock, A LOT, and that should tell you that I absolutely adore "The White Stripes". I was hoping that the first track from this album would fallow his career and be a rocking blues track but it turned out to be more of an acoustic blues rock tune. I don't think I've ever been more happy being disappointed because this song is great. It really shows Jack White's ability to write a beautiful song with any genre of music. This song is so simple but it really reminds me of folk singer classics like Bob Dylan, Lenard Cohen, and Tom Waits. I would even put this song up on the same level as the great songs by those artists. Jack white knows how to make people hyped for a new album and this one I can't wait for.
P.S. Pleas let this have the Jay-Z collaboration on it.
4. The Shins - Port of Morrow - March 20th
I'll admit that I've never been much of a Shins fan. I love their singles like "Phantom Limb", "New Slang", and a lot of the stuff on their first album, but everything else has been hit or miss. I enjoyed the front man's, James Mercer, side projects, like "Broken Bells" more than the band itself. The single that dropped from this album, though, follows the same trend, meaning I like it a lot. It was a nice surprise because it really made a departure from their simple song writing in favor of a really fleshed out indie rock anthem. This song features sqeeling guitars, piano, and really creative bass lines. The vocals are so energetic and they reach notes during the chorus that I have never heard this band attempt before. The song doesn't stay true to it's name at all and I love it. I really hope I end up liking this album as much as the song but if it turns out to be like all their other albums I may not. Here's to hoping.
5. Slaughterhouse - welcome to: OUR HOUSE - March 27th
I've been looking for something ,non-Eminem related, to come out of shady records but everything accept "Bad Meets Evil" has been a disappointment. I was really let down by Yelawolf's "Radioactive" and Royce Da 5'9" (even though I still liked Royc's "Success is Cretin"). I know Eminem is considered a sell out and I agree because he's getting obsessed with popularity and getting every one in his camp the same attention. Slaughterhouse is one of the most raw rap groups out there and for "Shady Records" to make all of these spitters put out a whack ass album so they can be on his level... That would piss me off big time. The way I see it this can go two ways; they come out of the gate on their first real album on "Shady Records" with a dope ass track and an album to fit or they disappoint and disregard all of their hard core fans. They only have one shot and they can't miss their chance to make a stupid fucking pun.
6. Death Grips - The Money Store - April 24th
Death Grips is by far one of the most creative MCs that broke out last year with his debut album "Exmilitary". He's not the first MC to make beats with classic rock samples and samples of just plain noise but he does it in a way that no other MC could possibly match up. His material is extremely inaccessible but once you get into it all of the "shock value" goes away and you have nothing left but pure creativity and lyricism. I didn't mention flow because I don't think he's really shown any technical prowess with it except for a few tracks. His new single though, "Get Got" is the first time I've really seen him show off a real flow on top of a distorted beat that carries on the traditional "Death Grips feel"; it has a catchy ass chorus too!.
7. Big K.R.I.T. - 4evaNaDay March - 5th /Live from the Underground
After the this Mississippi MC put out his first big album, "K.R.I.T. waz Here", most people were looking for a lot more than the potential that the album thought it had but no one expected the mixtape "Return of 4eva" to be as good as it was. That mixtape was one of the best Hip-Hop albums to come out last year and it made it on to my best albums of 2011 list. That album set such a high bar that I don't expect his next release to match it BUT I do expect his next release to change it. The good news is that he did with his new single "Boobie Miles". I thought it would be a call back to his track "Hometown Hero" because the name of the track references "Friday Night Lights", a show he sampled on the track, but he went a really Jazz direction with it. The track's hook was a little week ,the production sounded a little fuzzy, and his voice was a little too high in the mix but his lyrics and flow are still as good as they've ever been. I will admit that I wasn't impressed with this track as much as I wish I was but I can tell that even if I don't like this tape it will be impressive.
8. The Men - Open Your Heart - March 6th
The Men can bet be described as a post punk, noise rock, punk, protopunk, hardcore punk, and... dance. I'd rather just call them a fast rock band if no one can tell me what else to say. Their second album "Leave Home" was a really refreshing sound that seems to be part of a trend that bands like "Pop 180" and "ICE Age" are leading. I'm hoping they can iron out any of the problems I had with their first album and put out another great album.
9. Guided by Voices - Class Clown Spots a UFO - May
This band has gone through more lineup changes than any band should ever go though but to them I don't think it will ever matter because they have no consistency outside of a 90s sound. Weather or not you care about the lineup most people would still agree that they had a golden age with their original lineup and through ages of rearrangement they finally got back to where they started. I do expect them to start putting together great tracks again like they did on "Let's Go Eat the Factory", their first album seance the lineup came back around. Though that doesn't mean much because I won't like all of the songs on the album because none of them will sound alike. I'm anticipating this album just because I know there will always be tracks that I love on it but original lineup or not, that's always the case.
10. The Killers - Battle Born - Summer
You can call them unoriginal or a guilty pleasure but they've had a special place in my collection ever seance I really started getting involved in music. Like any other fan I was very disappointed when I heard that they were going on a hiatus and I was barley impressed with Brandon's solo album, "Flamingo". None of the songs were bad and I'm glad that he took a real chance with involving country, electronics, and real balladry but I couldn't get into it at all. On the other hand Ronnie's new project "Big Talk" was really enjoyable and it sounded new without completely straying from the Killers at it's roots. If you want some 80s Indy pop I would defiantly check out Ronnie's project. None the less Brandon has said he would rather be working with the Killers and as far as I know beyond the "Big Talk Tour" Ronnie is ready to back with the Killers. They have started playing a new song live and it sounded really good so I'm ready for a new album!
11. Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball - March 6th
I've been an off and on fan of this guy for a while and I'm sure I'm not the only one excited about getting a new album from a classic rock legend. I'm sure we'll get another pop/folk/rock album from this guy but his song writing should be enough to make it worth checking out.
12. Rush - Clockwork Angels - May
I've always been interested in this bands experimental metal/indy rock ever seance I heard "Moving Pictures" but I'll let you in on a secret I HATE THEIR VOCALS! I'm sure their new album will be a change of pace like all of their others but I'll let you in on another secret. "I WILL COMPLETELY DESPISE THEIR VOCALS"
13. Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 it - Feb 20th
Perfume Genius is a ken to projects like "Bon Iver's" first album and "Iron & Whine". He works on creating really soft and Intement music. He's very famous for using just a piano and vary spacey production to get the feelings of the music across. I can't wait to be moved by a new album.
14. Milo - Milo Takes Baths - Feb 19
Milo put out my favorite album of last year. It was just so anti popular hip-hop but it wasn't overly preachy about it. It sounded weird but not on purpose; it just sounded like Milo made the album he wanted to. I'm sure we can expect the same, lyrical/nerdy, Milo on this album but he has stated that he is using all instrumentals from producer "Baths", which should be cool.
15. Hopsin - Knock Madness - Summer
Hopsin is a young MC who has been putting out tracks that seam to be reminding everyone of mid-90s Eminem. Though I wouldn't put his beats on the same level I would defiantly put his flow higher and his lyrics on the same level. He has stated that he wants to get more personal with this album and if he does at the level of "The Eminem Show" I'm sure I'll love it.
No Official Release Date
1. MGMT - Self Titled
MGMT has found their way into the popular culture through their first album, which I blogged about, and some how or another found their way to critical acclaim. They rose to popularity with songs like "Kids", "Electric Feel", and "Time to Pretend" when they where a singles project but they have always made great music outside of whats popular. Although their fame is all based on catchy singles, they decided to throw that concept away when they wrote "Congratulations". That album was adventitious and their wasn't a single in sight but reportedly their creativity came at a price. Without catchy singles for their major labels to push this album sold less copies and earned "Columbia Records", ass holes :(, less profit. I'm sure MGMT couldn't have cared less about it because they were still making money, on top of their growing stack of green, but their record company couldn't let it go so they decided to putt someone in the studio to watch the group while they right more catchy singles. Long story short "Columbia" decided the only way they could make more money was to reap their artists of their creativity and force them to make BS pop albums. Stories like this make my blood boil but to be honest I liked their first album so I would be content with another one. I just hope the "Indy Crowd" has made enough of a stink about this for the label to let it slide, gain some humanity, and confirm MGMT's denial.
2. El-P - Cancer for Cure
El-P is one of the most lyrical MCs in the "kinda-mainstream/underground". For hip-hop heads he's a must know about punch line genius. He uses real instrumentation with heavy drums, in his beats, which sets him apart from other MCs. He's usually releases something every 2-3 years but this album has been a long time coming. He announced it sometime in 2009 put out a track via adult swim, "Drones Over BKLYN", and finally announced that he was done early this year! One more year and this is going on the "Never Gonna Fucking Happen" list.
4. Black Star - Aretha You Already Knew
Black Star should be known well enough among Hip-Hop fans as the brilliant Duo made up of Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey, the artist formally known as Mos Def. Together their just full force impressive rhymes and a political power house. They bring a lot of the original, "Classic", Hip-Hop sounds back from Jazz and soul which leads to releases like this. They've decided to bring the old sounds of Aretha Franklin back as a tribute. They are going to rap about the time she lived in over beats taken from her music. They've released one single from the album called "You Already Knew" which is more or less just staying with their classics and pushing forward with the concept of this album. I'll be glad to hear it when it drops (if I can finally stop getting mixed info on weather it's a mixtape or an album).
5. Kendrick Lamar-Good Kid In a Mad City
Kendrick's last album, Section 80., was easily one of the best Hip-Hop albums to come out last year and it made it onto my best albums of 2011 list. It was just a breath of fresh air; he had a message with each song but he wasn't concerned with being overly political or exposing his ignorance. His beat choices made even the weaker tracks stand out and he was'nt afraid of a few "boodie popin" tracks either. I'm not expecting much of a change from him on this new album but I'm sure I'll like it.
6. The Magnetic Fields - Life at the Bottom of the Sea
The Magnetic fields have always been an off and on interest for me. They always put out interesting work and every album is usually consistent in sound and theme but something always bugs me about them. Their album "Distortion" is a really distorted, duh, psychedelic surf rock album and their following album Realism is more of a folk album based on real problems. For some reason the vocals bug me on those albums. This album looks like it should be some weird combination of their last two, based on the single "Andrew and Drag", and I'll be glad to hear the whole thing weather I like it or not.
7. Nas - Life is Good
Nas is constantly plagued by how good his first album "illmatic", was. As far as I'm concerned he has always put out good material but he hasn't changed anything seance that first album. I'm sure he'll stay the cores on this album just like all the others. I'll enjoy the new album's lyrics and beats but I'll probably throw it away after a few listens, sadly.
8. Ceremony - Zoo
Ceremony is part of the new wave of "progressive punk" that includes "The Men" and "ICE Age" so if you can just say that they're another really fast rock band. All of their albums have been the sound of talented fans of punk and new wave just playing and not giving a fuck, which still sounded pretty good, but this album is supposed to be a lot more calculated and written. It would bring them to a new level if they did it right.
9. Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Spiritualized is an experimental electronic/rock project specializing in ambient and beautiful beats and instrumentation.I think I could call him the "Siger Ros" of electronic music. He's been changing his style for a long time but he always stays true to the one Idea he's had from the beginning and that's melody. I can't wait to hear the new album.
10. Tyler the, Creator-Wolf
Yeah Yeah Yeah.... I understand that this guy's hype is worth a lot more than he is and that "Goblin" was a complete disaster. I also know that "OFWGKTA" is built up on him Hodgy and Earl. "Bastard" was still a great album though. He's said that he want's to try something new with this album and from what I've heard he's going for a N.E.R.D. feel, which I'm not a fan of, but I'll be interested to see if he can pick his ass up and put out a decent album.
Untitled
1. OFF! - ??? - Spring
This punk super group has stated that they will release an album in the spring of this year but they have not announced any release date or title. Judging by the compilation they released last year, "First Four EPs", this should be good.
2. Tegan & Sara - ??? - Fall
These two twins have been an indy rock band for years and along with finding mainstream popularity with their singles like "Walking with a Ghost", which "The White Stripes" covered. I've never been a big fan of every song they've done but maybe their newest album will finally click with me.
Maybe, Rumors, & Minor Interests
Arctic Monkeys-???
Modest Mouse-???
The Strokes-???
Gorillaz-???
Wu-Tang Clan-???
Pearl Jam-??? Animal Collective-??? Siger Ros-???
Black Sabbath-???
A$AP Rocky-???
Vampire Weekend-???
Rostam Batmanglij-???
Trash Talk-??? Grizly Bear-???
Sunn O)))-??? Torche-??? Baroness-???
Ghost-???
Kvelertak-???
Deftones-??? Muse-???
Tool-???
Careebral Ballzy-???
Five Finger Death Punch-???
Foster The People-???
Blur-???
Black Hippy-??? Silversun Pickups-???
Radiohead-???
Tech N9ne-???
SwizZz-???
Kanye West-???
Jay-Z-???
Kanye West & Jay-Z/ The Throne - Watch The Throne Pt.2
Earl Sweatshirt-??? Hodgy Beats-??? OFWGKTA-???
Left Brain-???
Mellowhype-??? BADBADNOTGOOD-???
Never Gonna Fucking Happen!
Dr. Dre- Detox
Outkast-???
Aphex Twin-??? No Doubt-???
Jay Electonica-???
Lynard Skynard-???
The Postal Survice-???
Ghostface Killah & MF Doom-???
Fan Suggestions
Japandroids - Celebration Rock - Suggested by Jacques Thibodeau
So pt.2 of my mission to find out WTF the keys are up to recently. This one should be easier though because even though I'm hearing a lot of people saying "Brothers Pt.2" I liked this album. I do share a lot of the complaints other people do with this thing, verse chorus verse... structure, more pop than blues, high vocals in the background, and of cores the fan complaint (clean production from danger mouse). None of this is enough to stop me from liking this though because they really know how to craft these songs using these things. Even though the high vocals pissed me off on brothers having them in the background, here, is actually a pretty cool sound. Lets face it though ever seance "Magic Potion" we haven't heard the distortion that we've loved from their previous efforts and double that factor with the introduction of "Danger Mouse" on "Attack and Release"; even on "Brothers" were they produced the whole album, except "Tighten Up", it didn't sound like their old albums like "Thickfreakness". So now the question becomes "Were is the personality on this album?". I'll be blunt there isn't much of one but along with the great song writing they still have some of the most recognizable solos you will ever hear (and this album has a lot of them). The solo in "Run Right Back" sounds like something that you would hear from a "White Stripes" hit like "Seven Nation Army" and in the song "Money Maker" they're paying tribute to blues rock legends "Cream" with a distorted psychedelic riff that would make anyone trip. Solos aside none of these tracks stand out on their own except for "Little Black Submarines" were they are paying tribute "Led Zeppelin" for the first half of the song before they jump into a brutal "White Stripes" riff you would get from their early songs like "Jimmy The Exploder"; I do have a big complaint here, even though "Danger Mouse" really lets the distortion take over on this track, Dan Auerbach's voice doesn't go crazy the way the track does, even though I know he can because of tracks like "Have Love Will Travel" (and it bums me out a little). Just to comment on the lyrics, you wont hear anything new here it's all drugs, girls, money, and Sunday blues. Seriously, just ignore this review because it's a good album.
2.Wick-it the Instigator - Big Boi V.S. The Black Keys (Mashup) The Brothers of Chico Dusty EP (FREE!)
Albums like this are hard to talk about; I'm not allowed to talk about the music because he didn't make it. I am , however allowed to talk about the mix and production because it's fantastic. There may be a synth or a disk scratch every once in awhile but for the most part this sounds like Big Boi rapping over black keys instrumentation like this project was planned. If you listen to Big Boi's album, "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty", you can tell that some verses were slowed down, taken out, and/or spaced out to fit the instrumentation of "The Black Keys - Brothers". There are times when even Big Boi's beats and verses mix with the instrumentation and verses from the keys making for a consistent mashup that sounds real. Whenever I don't like something on this mixtape it's because of the people who made the music, not the mixing. This EP should serve as a reminder to people who either hate hip-hop or rock that they're not that different.
3.Bad Meets Evil (Eminem) (Royce Da 5'9") - Hell the Sequel EP
This album is going to get a bad rap before anyone even hears it just because Eminem is part of it. I'm not saying Eminem is bad because he put out two of the best main stream rap albums ever made, "The Marshal Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show". The sell out factor comes out when "Relapse" came out and "Recovery" mad it worse even though there were a few good tracks on "Relapse". So people are going to say Royce sold out by working with him but what a lot of people don't know is that this duo existed and put out an EP, "Nuttin' To Do" b/w "Scary Movies", when "The Slim Shady LP" came out and before D-12 even formed, when Royce was called "Royce The 5'9"". So now that "Recovery" has come out, their beef is over, and Bad Meets Evil is back together; what does this EP sound like? The answer is pretty simple, it sounds like Bad Meets Evil if Em's high pitched "Shady Flow" was never put on tape. To me the best thing about this EP is that Eminem shows the amount of flows he is capable of showing off and how well he keeps up with Royce like most MCs couldn't do. Technically their flows are some of the cleanest and fastest in modern mainstream hip-hop. Lyrically this album is just as great as Eminem used to be and Royce has always been. One of my favorite lines from this EP is, as corny as it is, "So I'm thinkin about this nice nice lady, wait don't stop me now before I get on a role; danish, let me tell you what this pretty little dames name is cuz she's kinda famous and I hope that I don't sound to heinous when I say this Nicki Minaj but I want to stick my penis in you anus", -Eminem, and "I take painkillers to ease the pain, though I ain't in pain No, we, ain’t the same", - Royce Da 5'9". This EP brings competition to a new level; Em and Royce were rewriting lyrics and respiting through the mic. until they they were satisfied with it (I doubt they ever were). This whole album is pretty much a battle track and it's your choice to choose the winner. I do have some issues with some week hooks on most of the A-B-A-B formula tracks and I have a love hate relationship with Liz Rodriguez's voice when it pops up on tracks like "Above The Law" but I do love the chorus she puts up on "Echo", one of the 4 leaked/bonus tracks. I shouldn't even have to mention all the people who get dissed on this thing from Kanye West to Lady Gaga. After all of this people are going to say there is no depth in this album but if you listen to the sound of tracks like "The Reunion", "A Kiss" and "I'm On everything" you can get the idea there informing their fans about their were their music is going. In the track "I'm On Everything" it almost sounds like they're making fun of their older work with Royce referring to old T.V. shows, "Ha Alf", and his bad boy persona while Em is talking about his old accent and even an old Bad Meets Evil track, "Scary Movies"; the chorus of this track is sampled from Mike Epps were he's talking about every drug on the books before Royce lets out a quick chuckle fallowed buy him saying "Classic" and them both going off and finishing off with two of the best flows on this album. So in short they're saying they're grown up but not close to being done. The beats on this thing go from pretty good to okay and I could have done without that bullshit radio single "Lighters" (even though Royce and the beat are still pretty good on that track). I do think Royce won because on tracks like "Fast Lane" Em has to use some tactics like stuttering and some pauses to keep up with Royce, like I said it's your choice. Don't let their reputation's keep you from listening to this because if your a "Shady" or a "Royce" fan you'll like this.
"Bad Meets Evil - I'm On Everything"
4. Ratatat - Classics
I couldn't let go of the New Order vibe... I couldn't go without listening to some more well produced electro rock. It's not like this album actually sounds like New Order, so you "new-wave" fans can chill out about my reference but don't take that to mean that this album is below the beloved classic standers. Better yet saying it's below it's own name is understating it's potential. I would say that most people would call this their best album and even though I agree I think their first album, self titled, gives it a run for it's money. I can't help talk about their other albums because they all have such a similar sound so describing this album is also describing all their others. You will hear some heavy electronic bass lines coming from a massively distorted bass guitar giving out a "light dub-step" kind of background noise for the rest of the music to build on. While the bass lines provide a melody their tiny guitars, flimsy filters make for a very easy listen. The down side to any album by this project is easily distracted making it easy for you to take this albums as music to listen to while running or doing the laundry. If you want to have fun with your every day life or give your self a soundtrack this is your ticket to making your life a movie.
"Ratatat - Loud Pipes"
5. Gorillaz - Demon Days
I think it's fair to say that Gorillaz have become a classic project to almost any fan of music. They have a style that has a cohesive feel to it but they have reached their hands into so many styles from folk to hip-hop that they can appeal to anyone. As for this record they put heavy emphasis on heavy bass based folk rock with hip-hop influenced production and vocals. This album feels like one of their darkest albums because of it's low melodic delivery that sounds like it's the soundtrack of a Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock movie. The lyrics delve into topics about being lonely, defending a broken city, weapons all over the streets, and the universally hated subject, traffic. The positive side of this album is that it pulls out of the depression near the end of the album in favor of a more optimistic look on fixing what is broken rather than exposing it. This album is held up as one of the best Gorillaz albums to most, but to me this is my third best. Don't get me wrong, this is not a Black Keys situation, I love this album but this album has a few down sides I can get passed. I feel like this album is too cohesive; all the other Gorillaz albums are very tight in their sound but they jump from sound to sound to keep the listener interested. I think this album chose one style, done very well, and stuck with it because it wanted to avoid the experimental boundaries their first album , self-titled, reached with tracks like "19-2000" where they used electronics in ways I've never heard before. Besides all of my complaints this album has some of the catchiest tracks this project has ever put out, "Last Living Souls", "Kids With Guns", "Feel Good Inc.", "DARE", and "Demon Days", and it lives up to it's name.
P.S. Don't blame me because I think "Feel Good Inc." is the best track on this album.
"Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. ft. De La Soul"
6. Mogwai - Young Team
I actually listened to the first half of this album during the beginning of the week and finished it on Friday because this album is a lot to take in. This album is extremely long and dark but even without that I don't think I can wright about this album and give it the justice it deserves. The idea of writing about this album was part of what made it hard to finish. This album is Mogwai's first and biggest with no dispute about how enormous it sounds. Most people would even say it's their best but my first introduction to them was their most recent album "Hard Core Will Never Die, but You Will", which made it on to my best albums of 2011 list. I actually think "Hard Core..." is my favorite album by them but it is not anywhere near as dense and emotionally exhausting as this album is. I will take a break from explaining how hard this album is to get into and talk about what it sounds like. This band takes the sounds of metal and rock and interchanges them back and forth in a really drawn out format. The songs on this album reach 7 to 15 min. long and have some of the darkest attitudes mixed with beautiful melodies that if you allow your self to get caught up in, you will feel every emotion they want you to. This album will take you through a trip that you would only get from psychedelics and an encounter with a shrink. Acasonaly lyrics will come in but they have almost nothing to do with the song other than to sway you into more depression. I think if you give this album a chance you can get everything you want from it but you need the time and you need to be relaxed enough to understand what you're doing.
P.S. Do not let this song be the album for you because you need to experience the whole album to understand it.
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