Headphones and Asses

Feelin' a little lazy about writing a review today. My mind is sort of on a lot of things that I'll get to elaborating on at some point, but basically I'm preparing for a big move and it's requiring a lot of my time and energy. I'm still finding time to listen to music and I have plenty of albums to review, but my schedule has been making it difficult to find the motivation to put my feelings on those records in words. I've recently received some compliments on a couple of my reviews, though, which was really appreciated because I didn't feel like I was making progress as fast as I wanted, and it was nice to see that something I wrote had an somewhat of an impact on someone. So maybe that'll motivate me (or intimidate me, we'll see).

I also just picked up some new headphones, which was much needed. A lot of times I end up listening to music on my iPod at work, and have begrudgingly settled on using the standard earbuds because it's portable and easier to move around in, even though I hate them sound-wise. I'm not much of an audio snob, but I can spot a shitty pair of headphones/earbuds pretty easily; it just comes down to whether I care or not. But I figured if I'm going to be writing reviews on music, I owe it to myself to get the best experience possible. So I picked up the Panasonic RP-HTX7's because I've heard a lot of good things about them, especially considering what quality you get for the price. I'm sure true audio snobs will scoff at those as well, but for me, it's probably the best pair of headphones I've ever owned. I'm anxious to see what minor details I've been missing in the music I've been listening to lately.

Perhaps you've noticed the bombardment of Mastodon-related posts recently. Well, prepare for more. I went to a Mastodon concert last night and I'll have pics from them up on Monday [note: I'm writing this before the fact, so let's hope I'll actually have pictures]. I'm not trying to be redundant, but things have just happened to work out in a way that makes those posts relevant. Plus, the new album is fucking amazing. I can't remember the last time an album has warranted so many repeated listens from me, and I have a hard time not giving it a spin at least every few days or so. I spend a lot of time listening to music with the purpose of reviewing it -- thinking of how I'm going to put certain thoughts in words -- so I forgot how nice it was to just listen to the music I want to listen to without having a goal in mind; letting myself be absorbed in an album until it wears itself out. It's nice. Not that I don't enjoy writing or keeping this blog, but you know, it's good to have breaks here and there.

Speaking of listening to music for the purpose of reviewing, I humored myself by picking up Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III from the library a few weeks ago. I always figured I'd hate it, but when I saw it, I couldn't resist the temptation. Here it was: the best selling album of 2008. Winner of numerous awards and honored in countless Best of 2008 lists from major and indie publications alike. "Why not give it a shot?" I thought. I might even like it. Long story short: I hated it. I didn't even feel like putting forth the energy to properly review it (not like it really needs my opinion anyway). Lil Wayne was interesting back in his days as a teenage sensation for Cash Money, but that appeal seems to have evaporated. He strikes me as a performer who's really trying hard to be different and original rather than one that just is. He's a long way from Andre 3000, that's for sure.

On a final note, I'm digging this picture I found of Joanna Newsom from a recent photoshoot/interview in Paper Magazine. It's nice. And she's got an ass. Who knew?

Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)

Mastodon
Crack the Skye (2009)
"Hipster metal". What an unfortunate tag to have placed on you. Having your efforts reduced to nothing but a ploy to attract adventurous Pitchfork readers; a mere curiosity that provides a playlist break between Feist and Panda Bear and seems to say "Hey! Look guys, I actually like some metal!" -- in the same way MF Doom proves indie kids' hip hop chops. Mastodon deserve more credit than that; more than the fickle appreciation of trend-whore hipsters and more than to be marginalized by metalheads claiming the band isn't even metal anymore and therefore hipsters should look elsewhere for their token metal band. It was with this in mind that made it hard for me not to smile at the copper-colored sticker on the front packaging of this album, which reads "Crack The Skye - The New Album From Globally Revered Hard-Rock Masters Mastodon" There, "hard-rock"; in one fell swoop proving the metalheads right and the hipsters wrong and moving the fuck on with it. Ending the pointless debate and challenging listeners to take their music for what it is and not what the listener thought it was or wants it to be or what is and isn't hip. Or, you know, something like that.

So anyway, Crack the Skye. Actually, first...well, I don't know about you, but I haven't gone back to Blood Mountain that often in the past two-and-a-half years. At first I saw it as a marked improvement for Mastodon: further embracing the prog-metal direction they took and absolutely nailed with Leviathan, and getting tighter and more technical as a band. As time went on, though, I began to question the use of the word "improvement". It was a progression alright, but it wasn't necessarily better than what they'd done previously, because other than a few spins of "The Wolf Is Loose" (great) and "Capillarian Crest" (awesome), I could probably do without hearing the album again in its entirety. It's a good enough listen in the moment, but the songs just don't stick. But Crack The Skye? Sheeeeiit. I doubt I'll be saying the same about Crack the Skye down the road.

They haven't gone back to the drawing board or made any dramatic changes, but they've kept moving in the same direction: more prog, more crazy (some might say "stupid") concepts, more guitar godliness, but now with more focus and 25% more epicness. At 50-minutes divided into seven tracks, they didn't do their label's PR team any favors. Actually, they gave them one proper single: "Divinations", which has the shortest length (three-and-a-half minutes), the largest hook, and arguably the most blistering guitar solo in an album filled with them. It's obviously there to keep the label heads' hair intact, yet it doesn't seem forcefully tacked-on even if it is the weakest track. The other tracks are given a bit more time to simmer and they make good use of it; shifting and changing riffs at will and bringing it back together by the time it's all over. Take "Oblivion", probably their first album opener that doesn't assault your speakers from the 0:00 second mark. Three different vocalists have their turns at the mic, the best of which comes from Brent Hinds, who seems to have been looking to the Motown catalog (between drunken encounters with other bands) because he really brings the soul to this track, as well as others. Fear not: it's actually an asset; not anywhere near as awful as I've described it.

I''m going to be abrupt here, because I could potentially go on for a lot longer counting the ways in which this album kicks ass, describing in detail my favorite moments and whatnot (top two: Scott Kelly's excellent contribution to the title track, and the earth-shattering, devil horns-inducing final minute of "Quintessence"), but it's just going to get redundant and I like to restrict my use of the word "awesome" to two or less times per review. So here's the album's only flaw: the central riff for "Ghost Of Karelia" is blatantly recycled from the Blood Mountain song "Sleeping Giant". There, that's about it.

Crack the Skye is an incredible album. It's Mastodon's most complete work yet and undoubtedly the greatest thing they've ever done and probably will do. Only four months into the year, hard-rock, hipster metal, or whatever you choose to call it, has it's best album of 2009. I can't really say it more clearly than that.


Score: 9.5/10


"Oblivion"


"Quintessence"

Digital Good Time: "Punches"

Digital Good Time: "Punches"

You can never underestimate the power of good cinematography. "Punches", the debut video from Ireland's Valerie Francis, has it down pat. Sure, it's only really one stationary shot for the entire thing, but it's a damn beautiful, well lit shot, and it works. Directed by Eoghan Kidney, the ambiance of the video nails the atmosphere the song creates. The particles and objects flying through 3D space provide a nice compliment as well. Much of it seemed to be effect while other parts appear to have been filmed separately and then composited (good thing, too; I can only imagine she would've had a tough time getting some of that stuff out of her hair later). Overall nice video. Not outwardly stunning, but subtle and well done nonetheless.





Links:
Valerie Francis
Eoghan Kidney

Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man (1971)

Gil Scott-Heron
Pieces of a Man (1971)
Let me just get this out of the way: Gil Scott-Heron can't sing. Well, he can, but not well. One of the things that made the ballads of such soul artists as Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye so compelling to listen to was the fact that they were being projected through the most endearing vocal cords on the planet at the time. Gil Scott-Heron certainly has the song arrangements to compete with them, but not the voice. I want to say that that's part of the reason why Scott-Heron is such an underground artist. He's better known for his powerful spoken word recordings, which are widely considered to be the precursors of hip hop. But his aspirations to be more than just a poet, while admirable, is probably what kept him from achieving greater success, rather than restricting him to lesser.

Though he never reached Mayfleid or Gaye's levels of popularity, you've heard of Gil Scott-Heron before. Or at least you've heard the saying "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" before. This is the guy that originated it. Also featured on his hard to find debut Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, an updated version of the song with full instrumental backing opens Pieces of a Man. The songs' cult popularity doesn't exist for naught; it's absolutely flawless, and sadly still semi-relevant (update the names of the actors and politicians mentioned and it could've been recorded this decade...though the revolution never really comes as violently as anyone imagines). Perhaps the only complication with leading the album off with "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is the expectations it places on the rest of the album. If you're looking for any more raw spoken word tracks, prepare for disappointment: Pieces of a Man goes the soul/vocal jazz route for its remainder.

That may be a deal-breaker for some, but keep in mind that Gil Scott-Heron is a talented artist, so not all is lost. True, a few of the songs are pretty generic-sounding by today's standards (I'm halfway sure that "When You Are Who You Are" was used as background music in an auto insurance commercial a few years back) with cringe-inducing lyrical clichés, but thankfully there are a few standouts that make good use of storytelling to keep the listener interested. "Lady Day and John Coltrane" is an up-tempo, groovy track about drowning your sorrows by listening to your favorite musicians. "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" keeps the pace up with a tale of leaving a tumultuous living situation. The title track is a downtempo piano-driven ballad that tells about a father's breakdown after being laid off of his job.

The songs are carefully composed in such a way that works well for the vocal ability that he does possess, but at the end of the day you can't help but wonder what a more talented singer might've been able to accomplish with the same songs. Perhaps more interesting would've been to hear them in spoken word form, though I suppose there's no point in dwelling on what could've been. I can't blame an artist for wanting to branch out of his comfort zone, so taking this album as it is, you could do a lot worse.


Score: 7/10


"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"



"Lady Day and John Coltrane"

Isis vs Mastodon 2009

Isis vs Mastodon 2009

With Mastodon's Crack The Skye released late last month and Isis' Wavering Radiant mere weeks away, the two most influential bands in modern metal are battling it out yet again with new album releases in the same year; Mastodon striking first blood as always, and Isis following weeks later with their move. Surely I'm not the only one so anal as to have noticed this, am I? It very well could just be some strange coincidence, but what's the fun in that? I'd rather assume that the bands have some unspoken feud in which they are dueling it out for the title of undisputed kings of underground (or slightly above ground) metal. And really, what other two current metal bands are as poised to challenge? Isis and Mastodon may not be putting out platinum-selling albums, but even people who don't normally listen to metal are familiar with them, which is more than you can say about most other metal bands who've gained prominence since the turn of the century.

So in the spirit of fun, let's take a blow by blow look of the two band's releases since 2002, when they entered into the same wavelength.

2002: Round One
Remission vs. Oceanic
After a series of demos and EP's that found them a home on Relapse Records, Mastodon released their first full-length in Remission, which was an absolute sludge-metal beatdown. The album roared out of the gate (literally) with "Crusher Destroyer", establishing with absolute certainty that Remission was an album that was to be the audio equivalent to being punched in the mouth. And through eleven songs of dueling guitars, frantic drumming and growling vocals, it pretty much lived up to that.

Oceanic was a little more subtle. After spending the first three years of their career being almost indistinguishable from their biggest influence, Neurosis, Oceanic was a statement album. They took the sound that Neurosis had invented (and that they had so blatantly ripped off) to another level and single-handedly created a sound that would come to be known as post-metal, which bands are still biting to this day.

Whereas Remission was a street fight, Oceanic was an apocalypse: heavy and crushing in a much more subtle and sophisticated way. Still considered one of the greatest metal albums of all-time, Isis had the upper-hand here.
Round One Winner: Isis


2004: Round Two
Leviathan vs. Panopticon
Not content with repeating the same formula, Mastodon came back provocatively with Leviathan. Flexing their obsession with the heavy prog rock bands of the 70's, Leviathan was the band's first concept album, which saw them clean up their sound a bit and added some vocal variety, addressing a complaint that many had about Remission and its redundant vocals. Leviathan was considered among the best albums of 2004 and established Mastodon as a band not to write off.

Not to be outdone, Isis struck back with their own concept album in Panopticon. While still grounded in sludge-metal, they also cleaned up their guitar tones and vocals, having Aaron Turner in full-on singing voice in some songs for the first time. Some of the best songs Isis have ever done can be found on this album.

Whereas Leviathan was pretty consistent throughout, Panopticon started and ended very strongly but was slightly hurt by a couple of merely decent songs in the middle. They weren't by any means bad, but they were damaging enough to give Mastodon the advantage.
Round Two Winner: Mastodon


2006: Round Three
Blood Mountain vs. In the Absence of Truth
Both bands clearly among the metal elite by this point, they were put in a position to outdo themselves in 2006. Mastodon responded with Blood Mountain, which saw their prog-rock influences getting more noticeable, their sound getting more technical, their concepts getting crazier, and the brunt of the vocal responsibility being handed to Brent Hinds. Their fanbase (and their sound) having moved beyond metal, the album even featured guest vocals from Josh Homme and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, from Queens of the Stone Age and The Mars Volta, respectively.

On the other side of the aisle, Isis seemed to gain a lot from their world tour with Tool. Ready to position themselves as the new kings of long-form prog-metal in the midst of Tool's decline, In the Absence of Truth saw Isis move more towards those clean vocals and guitar tones and very Tool-like breakdowns. Not that Isis would ever be content in Tool's shadow, though. The sound on this album was still very Isis, which again took the elements of their influences and made them their own.

Both bands declined a bit here, with albums that were good but not as much so as their predecesors. I haven't revisited either album much since their releases, so the winner is really a toss-up.
Round Three Winner: Draw


2009: Round Four
Crack the Skye vs. Wavering Radiant
It'll be interesting to see how this round plays out. I haven't heard Wavering Radiant yet, but can already tell you that Crack the Skye easily eclipses Blood Mountain in quality. Will I be able to say the same for Isis? We shall see.

Round Four Winner: ???

Niece Time!

I spent a fun-filled weekend with this kid, so forgive me for forgoing a proper update today. Back on my game Wednesday, though.

Digital Good Time: Paul Romano

Digital Good Time: Paul Romano
(Digital Good Time is a series in which xoxobra focuses on the visual side of music)
Like many people, I became familiar with Philidelphia-based artist Paul Romano's work through Mastodon. Seeing his cover for their 2002 album Remission was a large part of the reason why I bought it. Once I saw Romano's work for their sophomore effort, Leviathan, I was wishing I could afford to fork over the $300-plus bucks for a large print of both album covers.

While Romano got his start with Mastodon, he hasn't stopped there. In just a few years of designing album covers, he went from spunky upstart looking for any work he could get (he actually landed the first Mastodon project by walking right up to Relapse Records unannounced) to one of the most in-demand visual artists in the music industry. Said Romano in an interview with Decibel Magazine: "I want to tailor a distinct visual sense to the band and add dimensionality to their music. Album art is more than just packaging, it's a little window to another world." That's certainly the case with his artwork.

(2002; album cover for Remission; click to view large size)

(2004; inside LP gatefold [left] for Leviathan; click to view large size)

(2005; full spread cover for Tone Poems for Sad Times; click to view large size)

(2003; front and back album covers for II; click to view large size)

(2003; front and back album covers for File Under Black; click to view large size)

(2003; back cover for The Life & Times of Laddio Bolocko;click to view large size)

Romano's latest work can be seen on the cover of Mastodon's new album, Crack the Skye, which was released last month. Pick it up, it's awesome.

Links:
Paul Romano