Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Intimacy

So, Bloc Party finally graced their highly anticipated third album with some halfway decent cover art. I know I already posted some thoughts on the new album (summarization: I said it sucked), however it seems as though I was a little too harsh the first time around. As it turns out, after a few listens, the album has grown on me. That being said it does not hold a special place in my heart like Silent Alarm or A Weekend in the City do, however Intimacy does have its moments. It lacks the cohesiveness of the previous two albums, and the fact that the songs weren't really tested out and played live, means that sometimes the songs sound mroe like demos than the finished product. You can definitely tell that Kele and the boys are trying, and sometimes they are trying way too hard. "Zephyrus" is just a complete mess, and the opener "Ares" gets lost in it's own overlays. The only reason "Mercury" (a song that is just god awful terrible) was chosen as the first single is because of the sheer repition of it's one line hook of a chorus. Intimacy is not a perfect album. It is a combination of the raw sound of Silent Alarm and the smooth production of A Weekend in the City with a little bit of "Flux" sprinkled throughout.

The physical release of the album is actually the reason why I chose to do a second review on the album because it now includes the awesome song "Talons" as the ninth track in between "Zephyrus" and "Better than Heaven", and if you get the limited edition of the disc you will get an extra two tracks "Letter to my Son" and "Your Visits Are Getting Shorter", and if you live in the U.S. like I do, you get "Flux" tacked on to the end for some reason. I read somewhere that since Bloc Party signed a four album deal with their label, each one of the albums is going to be influenced by one band member in particular. Apparently this one is the Drummer Matt Tong's baby, whatever. It's decent, but not as good as the others. There are times when Bloc Party exhibit their ability to be potentially one of the most exciting bands in the world, however they are packed in between songs that just sort of last their way. Below is the closing track off of the album (if you don't count "Flux"), and it is one of the truly great songs off of Intimacy.

Bloc Party - Ion Square

Friday, October 24, 2008

Halloween Mixtape

So, clowns are creepy. Moving on, I have assembled a pretty sweet mix of tunes for this years Halloween mixtape. And while I say it is a Halloween mixtape, do not get the impression that the songs included in this collection are solely there because they are scary. in fact, some of them aren't scary at all. The loose thread that ties them all together is that they at least have something that remotely relates to the holiday of Halloween. Anyway, hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Halloween Mixtape '08

1. Bloc Party - Skeleton
2. British Sea Power - No Lucifer
3. Cat Power - Werewolf
4. Cut Copy - So Haunted
5. Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches
6. Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost?
7. Interpol - Evil
8. Wintersleep - Weighty Ghost
9. Explosions in the Sky - Greet Death
10. Muse - Dark Shines
11. Band of Horses - The Funeral
12. Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers
13. Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses
14. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
15. Radiohead - Climbing Up the Walls
16. Mogwai - I Know What You Are But What Am I?
17. M83 - Car Chase Terror

Friday, October 17, 2008

So...Keane has a new album out...

So this past Tuesday, I decided to give the new Keane disc, Perfect Symmetry, a spin. I'll be the first person to say that I never really went for Keane's brand of what I always perceived to be, adult contemporary radio-friendly piano ballads. That and the fact that they have totally shunned the guitar, well let's just say I was never very interested *yawn*. But I decided, with nothing else really coming out this month besides the new Oasis disc (which is, as I expected, pretty amazing), I'd give Keane a shot. Besides, this is their third album, they have to be doing something right...right? Upon the first listen of the first track/single "Spiralling", I was hooked. The absence of guitar is cleverly and beautifully unnoticable. There are some moments where the boys seem to be reaching a little much...trying to evoke that sense of grandiose melancholic acceptance on an epic, deep space stage light years away, however it all pulls together and most importantly, it all comes back to Earth for an extremely pleasurable listen. And the video is the sort of 80's cheese I love. Sometimes. In moderation. Kind of reminds me of that Dire Straights song...the video I mean...I have to say that I wrote off Keane far too soon. I should've given them a shot. Oh well. I'm somewhat of a late bloomer in a lot of things. Puberty was not fun. Anyway, I highly recommend you check this out.

Keane - Spiralling Video


Keane - Spiralling mp3

Bonus Stuff!
Keane - Bend and Break
Keane - Everybody's Changing

Thursday, October 02, 2008

It's been a while...



Sorry for the delay, I realize it's been well over a month and I totally agree with you, it's been too long. I do have a valid excuse however, student teaching is officially eating up all of my free time. Those little bastards are running me ragged, all the papers and lesson plans I have to correct and prepare are very time consuming. But, in my absence, my birthday has come and gone (notice the sweet telecaster above that is now in my possession), and I have a couple of things to say about two bands that are arguably the biggest in the world.

First up...Bloc Party. Intimacy sucks. I want Silent Alarm back. Hell, even A Weekend in the City (which, may I add, the b-sides to that record are better than the actual album itself) is better than this garbage. I know some of you out there are going to rip me apart, and I understand and appreciate artists trying different things and going in "new directions" to keep things fresh and interesting, but when it sucks, it sucks. And boy does Intimacy suck. Let's just say that it's rather disheartening when your band's "second" single is a song that isn't even on the album (apparently it will be released on the physical album and I frankly don't blame them, they need some sort of selling point after the disappointment of virtually every track off the digital release). I will admit, "Talons", is a kick-ass song that I absolutely love. I want this Bloc Party back. Hopefully they're not that far off.

Bloc Party - Talons


Next up...The Killers. Everything they have done sicne their debut album has been a giant misstep. I don't even know if it is possible for me to like them anymore, and a huge part of the reason is the fatc that I think Brandon Flowers is a giant, pompous toolbag. Hey Flowers, fyi...Sam's Town blew. I read in Rolling Stone that their next album was going to be more "stripped down" whatever the fuck that means. Here's a tip for the Killers boys, bring back the synths. You aren't Bruce Springsteen. You didn't make some magnificent rock opus...no you made silly songs about my bones and your bones and his bones and her bones and everybody's bones or something equally retarded. Get back to the basics. Anyway, they have a new single out called "Human" (human...bones...humans have bones...oh my god...this...can't...be...good...), and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Have a listen for yourself (and I apologize in advance for the crappy video that goes along with the song...I wasn't about to troll youtube for some sort of official video, sorry)

The Killers - Human