20:09, Part 3: My Year In Music & The Best Albums NOT Released in '09

Let's face it: creating a list of best music that includes only music released during that calendar year is way limiting. Like most...hell, all music fans, a lot of my best listening experiences in a given year come courtesy of albums that are already years, if not decades, old. The list below recognizes these albums.

2009: Return of the Gangsta Rap
If I were to summarize my musical adventures in 2009, I'd have to break it down to define it as the year of Anatolian rock, Gangsta rap, and J-rap. Early in the year, I accidentally stumbled upon a compilation called Love, Peace and Poetry, which compiled psychedelic music from various countries around the globe. During a trip to Amoeba Records in LA, I looked for albums in the series and ended up picking up the compilation from Turkey, and sheeeeeeeeeiitt (read: I was hooked). Listening to that album inspired me to learn more about the Anatolian rock movement as well as research some artists on the compilation. From that, I got my hands on albums by artists like Erkin Koray (right), Cem Karaca, and my favorite so far, Selda Bagcan. Many other Anatolian rock artists are a bit harder to come by, but those three are a good start for anyone who's interested.

Thinking about my childhood, I was more or less raised on Gangsta rap, but, being about 9-12 years old during it's heyday, I was probably a little too young to appreciate it (or to be listening to it in the first place, really). 2009 was the year where I revisited some childhood memories. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was one of the biggest acts of my childhood, mainly because they were from my home state of Ohio and therefore given lots of airtime locally. Revisiting their albums provided me with some nice bits of nostalgia and overall satisfying listening experiences. I also took this time to get into a few artists I'd previously ignored, like Big L and Jay-Z. I'd never been much of a Jay-Z fan, but I'm sure that would be different had I heard Reasonable Doubt when it was first released.

Moving to Japan in August got me interested in researching the country's music outside of the metal/noise scene or electronica scenes with which I was already somewhat familiar. Obviously there was J-pop, but I was hoping to look beyond the Arashi's in popular music. What I found out when I got here was....HOLY SHIT A TON OF PEOPLE LISTEN TO FUCKING ARASHI! Seriously, I mean, almost every goddamn person you ask....but anyway. BESIDES THAT, I found that there was a small but potent hip-hop scene going on. I'd never thought much of Japan being into hip-hop at all, but I've made some pretty solid discoveries in my research, including artists like Rhymester, Nujabes (left), and Zeebra. This is definitely a genre I'll continue to explore in the coming year.

So yeah, that about sums up 2009 musically for me. I'm sure 2010 will bring about more exciting new discoveries and all types of ill shit. Now, as promised, here's that list:


The Best 09 Albums I Heard In '09 That Were Not Released In '09

:09) EPMD - Strictly Business (1988)

“Get Off The Bandwagon”
Listening to Strictly Business is like a hip-hop history lesson. Even hearing it for the first time, so much of it is familiar: that beat that would later be used in a hit song by a mainstream rapper you hate; that lyric that would later be paraphrased by an underground rapper you like. They all started from the same point and continue to borrow from it even now. As a result, Strictly Business still sounds fresh, having aged better than most any 20+ year old album should be allowed to.

:08) Nomo - Ghost Rock (2008)

"Three Shades"
Nomo are one of those bands that hipsters love because they play an obscure style of music that doesn't somehow sound like Radiohead or Tom Waits and thus makes the hipster's collection seem more rounded. Bonus points are awarded for liking Nomo since their style of funk and jazz is rooted in the traditional sounds of Africa: the second most hip region ever to like music from (beating out South America but still a ways behind the Middle East). But that's no knock against Nomo; they're pretty damn good, and Ghost Rock is filled with tight compositions with one memorable, killer brass section after another.

:07) Zeebra - The Rhyme Animal (1998)

“永遠の記憶”
After some less than flattering introductions to the genre (Kumi Koda; m-flo), I was delighted to listen to The Rhyme Animal and discover that all Japanese hip-hop does not suck. Zeebra was one of the first serious Japanese rappers to emerge, and his homages to the American hip-hop that inspired him are obvious. But rather than copying the styles that inspired him, he manages to take that inspiration and make something uniquely Japanese, proving to doubters that J-rap can be taken seriously.

:06) Love, Peace and Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music (2005)

“Tatli Dillim” (by Cem Karaca)
“How do you even find out about stuff like this?” asked a friend. The same way I've always made obscure musical discoveries: by accident. What a happy accident it was that this album found it's way into my collection. One can never understand just how incomplete their music collection is without Turkish psych rock until they've heard Turkish psych rock; and then, just like that, life is a little more complete.

:05) Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous (1995)

“All Black”
Big L was one of the greatest lyricists of all-time who wasted his immense talent on the mic trying to make lyrics like “They say real men won't hit a girl well I ain't real cuz I beat bitches up” sound badass. I know. I know. Terrible, right? Morally, I've never been so torn on liking a rapper. I understand that many gangsta rap acts went beyond dramatic romanticism of thug life and straight to portraying almost comically offensive, macabre lyrical imagery, but Big L often takes it to an absurd level. But, fuck dude, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been giving this album spins all year long. Sometimes you just need to turn your critical side off and hear shit like “So don't try to test me cuz I can't stand tests / fuck around I'll introduce you to ya ancestors” without feeling bad about yourself.

:04) Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)

“Brooklyn's Finest" (featuring Notorious B.I.G.)
It may be hard for some to imagine that there was ever a time when Jay-Z made great music, but Reasonable Doubt will forever be proof of such a seemingly unlikely period. With a swagger and a hunger that is long gone today, in 1996 Jay-Z delivered a classic debut that bridged the gap perfectly between the underground and mainstream; a feat that, arguably, hasn't been repeated since. Also, “Brooklyn's Finest” might just be the best rap collaboration ever.

:03) Selda - Selda (1976; reissued 2006)

“Meydan Sizindir”
I found Selda to be the most striking artist featured on the Turkish Psychedelic Music compilation (see above) and had to hear more of her. I wasn't disappointed. Make some emotional political protest music mixed with psych guitar riffs and saz (fuckin' saz!), and you've more or less got my attention. Yeah, so her voice is sometimes harsh and annoying, but don't let that distract you from the fact that this is awesome.

:02) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Creepin' On Ah Come Up EP (1994)

“Thuggish Ruggish Bone”
Life changed for the better when Creepin' On Ah Come Up made its way onto store shelves and into the hearts and minds of listeners everywhere. You might not be aware of exactly how the groups' brand of harmonized-rapid-fire-OMG-WTF-are-they-saying gangsta rap improved your life, but just be aware that, somehow, it did. Two skits to open the album, a pointless instrumental track to close it, and in between, five fucking classic tracks that the group would never quite surpass. And really, how could they? “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” is at least on par with any song ever made that can remotely be called a classic. Believe it.

:01) The Watts Prophets - Things Gonna Get Greater (1969;1971; reissued 2005)

“Dem Niggers Ain't Playing"
Things Gonna Get Greater is an uncomfortable listen. That's no accident. The Watts Prophets take an uncensored, no-holds-barred approach to discussing the racial issues of their generation, and couple it with the most intimate of musical art forms (spoken word poetry). Discomfort is the goal. It's the point; and goddamn does it make for one of the most intense listening experiences I've ever had.

Harinezumi Luv

First post of the new year. Acknowledging that this is my first post of the new year really has no significance to the rest of this. I just thought I should acknowledge it cuz...I dunno, everyone else does it.

Anyway, the wife and I spent the holidays in Tokyo, during which we picked up a fun new toy camera called the Digital Harinezumi 2, which has the ability to shoot weird grainy video, which I was really excited about because it means I get to make things like this:

Did this in After Effects in about six or so hours. It's the first video project I've done in a while, so it was exciting to get back into it and shake off some rust. The Harinezumi is cool because it's easy to take and use anywhere (as opposed to carting my Canon Vixia around and pulling it out everytime I see something cool, and then having to feel like uploading the footage from DV). Plus it adds instant character to the footage so I don't have to rack my brain on how to give the video some atmosphere. So yeah...it's cool. Or as the Vimeo group Digital Harinezumi Users Unite! says, it's "the best thing that ever happened to faux retro camera hipsterism."

Track is by Daedelus. "Only For The Heartstrings" from the Love To Make Music To album.

20:09, Part 2: Albums

It's that time of year where music bloggers and publications post their picks for the best music of the past twelve months. I'm just following the crowd. As a gimmick to force me to narrow down my selections, I'm presenting my list in the form of the nine (09) best albums and songs. Go here for the songs. Below are the albums:

:09) The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted

Devin Townsend has always been on the fringe of what I tend to like in a metal band, but somehow he manages to impress me where similar artists bore me, or worse, make me laugh. I'd given up on him after a so-so latest release from his full-time band, Strapping Young Lad, but I'm glad I gave Addicted a shot. With Swedish-style industrial pop tracks like these, it should be easy to see why “HevyDevy” and I are on good terms again.

:08) The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

At War With the Mystics is what happens when the Flaming Lips try to sound like the Flaming Lips. Embryonic is what happens when the band goes balls to the wall and see where it gets them. I like that Flaming Lips much better. This album starts off sounding like 70's krautrock mixed with Kid A-era Radiohead, and goes all over the place from there. Sometimes their experiments prove unsuccessful (take the annoying “I Can Be a Frog”...please*rimshot*), but for the most part, everything works, and works together to create what should be remembered as one of the best albums of their career.

:07) Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights

Maybe the most amazing thing about Lightning Bolt is that I've yet to grow tired of them. What we basically have here is a band with about 1.5 songs repeated ad nauseum, spread across a ten year career and (now) 5 albums. But maybe I just find it hard to be super critical of a band who is constantly doing this to my face:

Earthly Delights came after a four year hiatus and they haven't missed a beat. Still melting faces.

:06) Dälek - Gutter Tactics

Dälek are like that friend you don't always like to hang out with because all they ever wanna do is talk radical politics. Oh sure, the conversation starts with your new kitten, but before you know it, it ends up with how the government plans to use the microchips implanted in pets to emit a mind control signal that will expel minorities from America. Good thing the music is so damn good. DJ Oktopus seems to mature with every new album, and this is his darkest, most consistent, and overall strongest effort yet. To give credit where it's due, MC Dälek's doomy lyrics fit the mood, and his thoughts are often passionate, well-researched, and perhaps agreeable. But...damn dude, can we just talk about kittens for a minute?

:05) Converge - Axe To Fall

I've figured it out: Converge are not human. They look human, but that's just a ruse. Any bit of human they may have one point had in them belongs to a power far more sinister. They've sold their souls for rock and roll, which has given them an uncanny level of stamina that allows them to thrive at a pace that would've destroyed other hardcore bands. What's more impressive is that Axe To Fall is what most people consider a “weak” Converge record. This does not bode well for their hardcore peers.

:04) The Mars Volta - Octahedron

A funny thing happened in 2009: the Mars Volta made their comeback record; only many of those who might have cared have long since given up on the band. Octahedron is the album many people thought they no longer had in them: a shorter, straightforward album that significantly trims down on the elongated prog-rock passages they've indulged in as of late and brings back the hooks. This is what people wanted to hear after De-loused In The Comatorium, and after six years, they finally have it. Better late than never, right?

:03) Mastodon - Crack The Skye

Let's take notice of a few things working against Crack The Skye: 1) it's Mastodon's most progressive and indulgent album yet (which is saying something). 2) It's a concept album in which the concept sounds like it was written while on acid, at 4AM, by a monkey that has been trained to type. 3) The lead singer was a douchebag before the band found success and is an even bigger douchebag now that they've made it kind of big. 4) The band were coming off their weakest album to date in Blood Mountain, and many thought they'd only go downhill from there. And now here they are with a collection of songs that can't seem to decide which riff it wants to settle upon and it still manages to be among the best things to come out of 2009. Though the lead singers' massive ego needs to be deflated a little, I can't find reason to do so after listening to this album. The most hyped metal release of the year totally deserves it.

:02) maudlin of the Well - Part the Second

I really want to hate this band. Look at those fucking song titles (“Another Excerpt: Keep Light Near You, Even When Dying”, and “Laboratories of the Invisible World (Rollerskating the Cosmic Palmistric Postborder)”, to name two)! Look at that fucking all-lower-case-except-the-last-word band name! Look at that fucking haircut! Anyone who's been exposed to Toby Driver's music has figured out that he's frustratingly pretentious, but goddammit if he doesn't strike gold sometimes. On Part the Second, he strikes five times. Yeah, the pretense is still abundant in the music, but these melodies do too good of a job calming the part of me that wants to punch him in the face.

:01) Ancestors - Of Sound Mind

The lead guitarist of this band found a review I wrote of this album and personally thanked me for my kind words. I could speak about his act being humble, but when you're as overlooked and unknown as this band is, humility has yet to enter the picture. I could spend most of this space speaking of how criminally overlooked this record has been, but when it all comes down to it, I'm not that surprised. A little-known psych rock/doom metal band channels 70's progressive rock and records an album full of 12-17 minute epics? Not the kind of thing that's going pique the interest of a press stuck on the discussion of where Merriweather Post Pavilion ranks among the best of the decade. Oh well, that's their loss. I have little hesitation in calling Of Sound Mind a modern classic. I can only hope that time will earn this album the more widespread praise that it deserves.

20:09, Part 1: Songs

It's that time of year where music bloggers and publications post their picks for the best music of the past twelve months. I'm just following the crowd. As a gimmick to force me to narrow down my selections, I'm presenting my list in the form of the nine (09) best albums and songs. Below are the songs:

:09) “Hand of the Host” by Isis
I've sort of tired of Isis' repetitive song structures lately, but when done well enough, it can still make for some infectious music. As this song demonstrates, the band's predictability doesn't always ruin the listen experience.



:08) “Gutter Tactics” by Dälek
How to describe this? It's like an industrial flavored doom/sludge metal shoegaze track but with rapping, except it doesn't suck nearly as much as it sounds like it should.



:07) “Isis Unveiled” by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
Sometimes Trail of Dead can overwhelm themselves with the amount of bombast they throw into some of their songs. But every once in a while, you get songs like “Isis Unveiled” that strike a perfect balance and destroy without destroying the song in the process. Completely epic, this one.



:06) “Anonanimal” by Andrew Bird
Honestly, I often find singer/songwriter music to be a little boring, but I'm glad I gave Andrew Bird a shot after years of ignoring him. This song combines violin melodies with post-punk guitar and acrobatic word play, which is like automatic win in my eyes.



:05) “Abdul Alhazred's Anxiety” by Bird From The Abyss
Sometimes you can hear the first 30-seconds of a song and just know that it was tailor made to your tastes. This is a creepy experimental track with Eastern-style instrumentation, therefore bound to be one of my favorite songs of the year.



:04) “Gorgon” by Natural Snow Buildings
Part of the reason “Gorgon” is so striking is because of it's placement on the album. Following a 24-minute heavy, daunting drone, this song comes out of nowhere and this delicate voice serenades you. It's like the aftermath of some terrible disaster, letting you know that, in the end, shit's gonna be alright.



:03) “Fields of Coal” by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
I'm breaking my own rule by putting two songs from the same album on this list, but when I thought about it, I couldn't honestly say that there were many other songs this year better than both "Isis Unveiled" and “Fields of Coal”. This is a monumental anthem that seems to express the joys of youth so well that I have a hard time believing it was recorded by a band in their 30's.



:02) “Laboratories of the Invisible World (Rollerskating the Cosmic Palmistric Postborder)” by maudlin of the Well
The title of this song alone is almost pretentious enough for me to hate it. In fact, if it weren't such a great song I'd probably talk shit about it. But honestly, this song got me through the month of August. The most moving 11+ minutes of music I've heard this year.




:01) “Bounty of Age” by Ancestors
Nearly 14-minutes of bliss. “Bounty of Age” achieves the notable feat of getting more badass every 2-3 minutes. Take a bluesy opening baseline, add a psychedelic guitar solo, super down-tuned chugs, megaphone vocal effects à la Outkast's “Da Art of Storytellin' pt 2”, a church organ solo, and a fast section with tag-team vocals, and you've got the recipe for song of the motherfucking year.

High Ate Us

(view of Himeji-jo from near my new home)

I'm bringing this blog out of hiatus, much to the cheer and fanfare of no one but myself (but that's okay). If there does happen to be anyone reading this, I'll explain further.

The difference between this post in my last one is that I'm writing this one from my apartment in Japan, where I've been living for the past four months. I moved here for the same reason a lot of foreigners come here: to work as an assistant language teacher in Japanese public high schools. I've had this move on the agenda for quite some time, but was hesitant to write about it on a public forum for fear of being found out before telling my employer in the states that I planned on quitting. Perhaps it was just paranoia, but in a bad economy where jobs were being cut, I'd rather not have given them any reason to consider letting me go before I was ready, when I was relying on those paychecks to prepare for my wife and I's big move. But I told them with enough time in advance to transition smoothly and leave on good terms, so all is well.

The Future of What? Xoxobra...
Since moving to Japan, I've began putting a lot of time into the research of the Japanese music, especially the hip-hop scene. Why Japanese hip-hop? Well, pretty much because I knew nothing about it and was curious. Essential in my research has been reading Ian Condry's 2006 book Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization, which, as far as I know right now, is the definitive introduction into the genre and its relatively short history. While I don't plan on going to the lengths that he did for his research, I do plan on providing some reviews and insight on the differences/similarities between the American and Japanese hip-hop scenes and the general perception/acceptance of black culture in Japan from my point-of-view (which is all I really can do), and hopefully that's interesting enough.

I'll still review non-Japan related stuff, of course, but for the most part, due to my surroundings, this blog will likely just be another fish in the sea of Japan-centric music blogs (removing it from the even bigger sea of general music blogs).

The Reason for My Return
Mainly, because I'm finally starting to get my head straight and get settled. I've been so busy with school and adjusting to my new life that I could barely even remember to call my family at times, so trying to maintain a blog was just kind of out of the question. But I've still been writing, and I've got enough of a handle on things to begin putting more attention to hobbies and all that other shit.

That, and because it's December and I have a music blog, and as such a person I wouldn't be able to stand it if I didn't post a year-end list or two. It's required. It's in mah blood. So that's coming up soon enough.

For those who have for some reason maintained interest in this blog, thanks. Here's a short introduction to Japanese hip-hop by way of Rhymester, one of the leaders of Japan's underground J-rap scene, who also don the cover of Hip-Hop Japan.



"AB・A・O・B" by Rhymester

Digital Good Time: "Baby Baby Baby"

Digital Good Time: "Baby Baby Baby"

Damn. People sure are making creative use of nudity and censor bars in music videos lately. Last year there was Keith Schofield's video for the Brighton Port Authority, then there was Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim's "Lesson Learned" video, and now comes French electropop duo Make The Girl Dance with "Baby Baby Baby". Does the amount of female nudity in this video have anything to do with why I'm writing about it in a feature where I typically only write about videos with some artistic brilliance? Heeeeeeeeellllll yeah Maybe, but you do have to appreciate the direction in this video. I mean, France may be a much less sexually conservative country than the states, but I'm pretty sure orchestrating three naked chicks walking down the street in one take without interruption is no small feat.

The main thing I wonder about this video, from a purely technical standpoint of course, is if they put trackers on the nipples. If you've ever tried to track movement in post-production to add a graphic element (in this case the censor bars), you'll know that tracking markers makes the job a cinch compared to the time-consuming duty of doing it all manually in post. The movement on those censor bars seems way too accurate to have been done manually if you ask me. Plus, having tracking censors would definitely have skirted (juuuust barely) any public indecency laws that may have hindered production. Hmm...anyway, just watch it; and if it wasn't obvious: NSFW!!!

Links:
Make The Girl Dance

Revisited: Sub.bionic - You I Lov/// (2002)

Revisited: Sub.bionic - You I Lov/// (2002)
(I mentioned this band in Friday's feature and decided I'd share this old story of how I discovered this album)

Growing up in Cincinnati, I would often listen to WOXY on 97.9 FM before it went off the air and became a popular internet radio station (which sadly folded for good in the fall of 2006). Seeing as I had only just discovered the radio station in the year 2001 when I got my first car, I didn't realize how lucky I was to have such a resource for independent music right in my own town. It was a nice escape from the horrors of Clear Channel radio stations, where Nickelback and P.O.D. dominated the airwaves that year. I was able to listen to bands I had never heard of, none of which ever got overplayed.

WOXY got me into more bands than I feel like listing here, but one of them, as you may have guessed, was Sub.Bionic. I heard the song "Reply (Without Recourse)" one day while driving home from work and knew immediately that I had to have the album. The only problem was that it was impossible to find. I was just getting into independent music at the time, so I wasn't quite sure how to go about finding CD's that Best Buy didn't carry. No one on WinMX (one of the post-Napster clones) had their songs available to download. Even the internet provided very little information on the band. And I never heard the song played on WOXY again. To this day, I've yet to come across a website or even a MySpace page that documents the band in detail.

I finally did find an independent record store that was able to order the album for me, several months later. Thankfully, after all that time searching, the album didn't disappoint. It was mostly typical of the indie rock sound of the day, which I enjoyed back then but have since grown tired of. But even listening to it these days, be it because of nostalgia or whatever, there's a lot to like. The album starts nicely with "The Last Song on Earth", which totally wasn't the last song on earth, but shows the bands knack for embellished, over-produced soft rock. The band obviously knows a lot of studio tricks and/or plays a lot of instruments. Though there are only five musicians, you'd swear there were at least double that amount on each song, with the exception of the excellent, acoustic marvel "God In Neutral". The simple guitar riff is repeated throughout and backed occasionally, and effectively, by piano keys and keyboard effects. The singer desperately delivers powerful lines ("...for you don't know shit like you're daddy does!") before launching into the cryptic, nerd-tastic chorus ("You're just two bytes of RAM size numb on a hard drive"). The song is probably some statement on society or something, but hell if I know. I never studied the lyrics sheet and tried to get to the bottom of the meaning. Tough. Good song though.

"Reply (Without Recourse)" was as good as I remembered, with it's lazy yet memorable, effects-laden riff carrying the chorus as the singer croons something about multiplying and amplifying his love, his voice maintaining a delicate balance between Matthew Belamy (Muse) and Matt Berninger (The National) in it's own way. The song trickles on quietly before reaching this emotional chorus with a subtle, almost glacial feel, and trickles out the same way, acting as sort of the calm before and after the storm. "Phonophobic" is the only outright indie pop song on the album, and as far as my research went, the only proper single that spawned a video. The song ditches most of the extra instruments and tricks in favor of the traditional guitars, bass, and drums. It's catchy for sure, but almost too easy and dumbed down for their talent. The only real sour point on the album comes, conveniently, on the last track, "Nuclear Bomb Parade". I say "conveniently" because it's easy to just turn the CD off before the song comes on. The song attempts to be heavy with fuzzed guitar, distorted drums and vocals, and a faster pace. While not a totally terrible song, it sticks out like a sore thumb on this album much in the same way "Dog Door" did on Sparklehorse's It's A Wonderful Life album. Putting this song on an album where there's nothing but soft, orchestrated rock makes it seem out of place and tacked on.

Overall it's a nice listen. I'd like to hear more from this band, but it seems that they will continue to exist in relative obscurity and have probably disbanded. Which would be a shame, since this album showed some real potential.



"Reply (Without Recourse)"

8 Good Songs From Albums I Once Loved

In preparation for my upcoming move, I've spent the past couple of weeks going through my CD collection one-by-one and ripping them to my hard drive. With over 400 CD's to my name, this experience has been...how do you say....a time-consuming pain in my ass. I'm almost done, though. As I write this I've made it through S, and am hard at work on T (which reminds me: why the hell did Tool split Undertow into 69 separate tracks? I mean, yeah, I know, 69 ha ha ha...whatever, it's effing annoying).

Overall, it's been a fun experience. I'm being reminded of albums that I'd forgotten all about (some of which I'm getting rid of), realizing how many crappy indie and hardcore bands I'd got into during my late teens and early twenties and wondering how the hell I even found out about some of them in the first place. There have been many pleasant rediscoveries, though. I keep coming across songs I haven't listened to in ages and falling in love with them all over again. So, in true music nerd fashion, I decided to make a list of some of them here. Many of them are really somber and depressing, but I was a pretty emo kid back in the day:


"Lies, and Release From Silence" by envy
(from All The Footprints...)
Before they went the post-rock route, Japan's envy (lowercase preferred, I guess) were a hardcore screamo band. Surprisingly, I like their screamo stuff better. If I heard this for the first time today, I'd be turned off by the vocalist's lack of vocal variety (he's all "I'M GOING TO SCREAM FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING ALBUM", except in Japanese). But back in the early-aughts, I was really addicted to this song. Even after all these years this still might be the most mind-blowingly relentless song I've ever heard.



"Six Days At the Bottom of the Ocean" by Explosions In The Sky
(from The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place)
Pure post-rock perfection from a band at its peak [note: I didn't put the P's in there purposely [note regarding note: I did that time, though]]. This album has stood the test of time very well. On this song, from the 4:49 mark until the end just may be the band's best moment ever.



"Is This Desire?" by PJ Harvey
(from Is This Desire?)
PJ Harvey's music never really gets old. This is quite possibly the finest song she's ever recorded and one of the few songs I've ever heard that gives me goosebumps each time I listen to it. It's so simple and minimal but so haunting and powerful at the same time.


"Blatchford" by Ilya
(from Poise Is the Greater Architect)
Ilya are one of those run-of-the-mill indie rock bands (well, they're more trip-hop actually) that I found out about randomly and got really into for a short time. Listening to it now I realize just how average they were, but admittedly I still enjoy this song a lot.
(P.S. - I saw them live once, and the Brazilian-born lead singer, Blanca Rojas, was stunningly freaking sexy. Like ridiculously sexy. Like you see her and the word "Gawddaaaayum" escapes from your lips before you even realize that you just said it out loud. Not that that's why I liked them or anything, since I got the album before knowing what she looked like, but when I talked to her at the merch counter after the show to thank them for the performance (and for that dress she was wearing - ooohhhhhh!), I totally signed up for their newsletter when she asked me to and I received their emails loooooong after I stopped caring about them because I didn't have the heart to block them.)



"With You" by Linkin Park
(from Hybrid Theory)
Shut up. Don't act like you haven't heard ONE Linkin Park song that stuck in your head and you thought was kinda catchy and that maybe you would've admitted to liking had it been recorded by another more hip, more obscure band. So yeah, I was really into Hybrid Theory in my teen years; what of it? I harbor no shame about this (I'm trying not to, at least). They had about ten billion hit singles from this album, but this album track was actually my favorite one.



"No Closure" by Piano Magic
(from Artist Rifles)
I never knew much about Piano Magic. I still don't. Artist Rifles was the only album of theirs I ever bought and this was the song that made me buy it. Another song that I can only describe as haunting; driven by that thundering kick drum and topped with spoken-word lyrics. Ultimate sweetness.



"Hurricane or Sunshine? by Signer
(from The New Face of Smiling)
I have no idea how I ended up there, but I vividly remember somehow finding Signer's label's website (Carpark) and hearing this song, then listening to this song on repeat for the next few days in a row (still from their website) before I finally found it in stores. Pretty good lo-fi shoegaze/glitch pop here, but the rest of the album isn't as good for the most part.



"God In Neutral" by Sub.bionic
(from You I Lov///)
Any band that spells their name with a period and their album title with three forward slashes probably deserves to wallow in obscurity and fade away without ever registering even a blip on the popularity radar, but Sub.bionic actually weren't that bad of an indie rock band even if they were pretentious as fuck. I got into them after hearing the song "Reply (Without Recourse)", but it was this acoustic track that I was addicted to as a youngster.

Digital Good Time: "Warrior's Dance"

Digital Good Time: "Warrior's Dance"

Remember The Prodigy? Yeah, that techno-ish band that got really big in the late-1990's with songs like "Firestarter" and "Smack My Bitch Up"? They're still around, you know. Don't worry, I didn't know either until this new video, "Warrior's Dance", popped up about a month ago; and it's actually a pretty badass video. It was directed by the morbidly brilliant Corin Hardy, who's obsession with children's stories and old horror movies has blossomed into an impressive body of work thus far. He does a lot of stop-motion animation in the style of old special effects wizards like Ray Harryhausen, and his admiration for that era of movie-making really shows through in video's like "Warrior's Dance". Here, he brings to life a discarded pack of cigarettes who personify and commence wreaking havoc inside a bar with their recently freed cigarette box buddies. That is, before they burn themselves to death while dancing like there's no tomorrow. It helps to actually watch it for that description to make sense.





Links:
Corin Hardy

The Prodigy

Good Songs: April 2009 Edition

Good Songs: April 2009 Edition
(A quick recap of some of the best songs from albums I reviewed in the month of April)

There weren't many good songs in the month of April, mainly because I didn't write a lot of reviews, so I'll fatten this feature up a bit by taking an opportunity to post some video of the from the 1-on-1's & Heartbreaks breakdancing competition I posted aboutearlier this week. Here's the final battle. The guy in the yellow hat (whose name I can't remember) would emerge victorious.



This is the kind of video I'll be working with in After Effects. I still need to edit what clips I want to use and then decide on what kind of look I want to give it. There will probably be some storyboarding and art tests involved, so I'll update my progress as I....make...progress. Anyway, GOOD SONGS!



"Drunken Leaves" by Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound
Assemble Head are at their best when they do these types of songs, and this one is well-placed on the album as it really picks things up. It's just a really classic-sounding, surf-rock tune. I could listen to this on repeat a lot.


"Down Foe My Thang" by Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony
Yeah, I didn't actually review Bone's Creepin' On Ah Come Up EP, but since I picked it up a few days ago it has not left my stereo, bringing back good memories of my childhood just like their full-length E. 1999 Eternal did (as I wrote about here). This song is so fucking haaaaaard. The epitome of gangsta rap.


"Absolutely" by Doom
I love this beat. Just a really chill, laid-back sound with a smooth flow. I wish this album had more songs like it.


"Oblivion" by Mastodon
A rather subtle start to an album by Mastodon's standards, but the Mastodon on Crack The Skye isn't quite the same Mastodon. They're much more focused this time around. I love Brent Hinds' soulful vocals on this song. It really sets it apart from the IN-YOUR-FUCKING-FACE disposition of some of their other material.


"Crack The Skye" by Mastodon
"Okay, xoxobra. You love Mastodon's new album. We get it. *rolls eyes* Holy shit."

1-On-1's & Heartbreaks

Breakdancing has been a long time pipe dream of mine. It's such a creative and expressive art form, born from children living in poverty in New York just playing around in their free time, and eventually evolving into this worldwide phenomenon that has withstood the test of time (even surviving a fad period in the 1980's). It's amazing when you really think about it. Anyone who has known me in the past five or so years has probably been subjected to my b-boy fantasies at least to some extent. I'd always had plans to actually pursue it, and I still do, even though at 25-years old, my window of opportunity is dwindling. Until then, however, I'll continue living vicariously through the skilled b-boys and b-girls out there in the Phoenix area.

A number of them put those skills on display this weekend at a local event in downtown Phoenix called 1-on-1's and Heartbreaks, where 19 competitors from around the American Southwest (and Tokyo!) battled in a tournament-style dance off for a top prize of $100. Chump change, really, but the event wasn't all that huge and seemed to be more of a warm-up to most of the participants, who are no doubt getting in shape for big money events in Las Vegas and other cities. Still, excellent dancing all-around. A few young kids even competed for the first time and did really well. Damn whippersnappers; barely one-third my age and they can still teach me a thing or two in the cipher. Here are some pictures:

(Can't be good for the kid's skull development)

I used the event as an opportunity use my wife and I's brand new Canon Vixia HV30 video camera, which shoots really nice looking stuff. I've always had this idea in mind to put a video project together with breakdancing footage and compositing a bunch of 3D effects and graphics on top of it that moves with the motions of the dancers, so this gave me the opportunity to finally build some stock footage. It'll be my first motion graphics project in ages, but I plan to document my progress here on this blog. I'll also post non-effects laden footage of the dance-off. Stay tuned for that in the near.

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Rappers would make great small business owners, and perhaps even great corporate CEO's. Most people listen to a rap album and hear boasting and braggadocio; I hear branding. Take Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for instance. They use E. 1999 Eternal to continually state what they're about and establish their brand. If they came up with a mission statement, I imagine it would read something like the following:

With Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, we promise to celebrate marijuana culture and to pursue financial security through the distribution of cocaine and other related drugs and paraphernalia. We are intensely focused on increasing our revenue, and with a comically large arsenal of illegal weaponry, we will continually strive to provide more murder than any of our competitors.

The major themes and statements on this album are driven home with just enough repetition to commit to memory but without ever annoying the listener. After only one listen, you will have intimate knowledge of the band's smoking habits as well as be fully aware of their killer instinct. You will know exactly where the group is from; SCT will be a familiar acronym. Terms that may have been unfamiliar to you before, like "llello" (yay-oh) and "pap", will be made apart of your everyday lexicon. When your skeptical friends question whether "shots to the double glock" actually makes sense as a statement, you'll be able to argue against their suspicions in detail. Any company on earth would die for that kind of brand recognition and loyalty. Had Easy-E been alive when the group recorded the remix of "Crossroad" (which would've then nullified its re-recording altogether, but lets not start analyzing my rant too much), he probably would've scolded them in a morning meeting for failing to adhere to the groups' core principles regarding drug use and violent retaliation, and kept them after work until they could recite the mission statement verbatim. Tell me that's not the attitude of a successful businessman.

I used to listen to E. 1999 all of the time as a kid. You know how sometimes people will excitedly reminisce over their favorite childhood cartoons and Disney movies when they're around a group of peers; bringing back all of these fond memories and having them state regrettably how kids today are getting ripped off in comparison? That's how I am about this album. My wife raised an eyebrow at this. It's now probably on the list of things I've told her about my past that makes her marvel at the fact that I turned out to be such a normal and level-headed adult. I may be all about responsibility and budgeting these days, but in the summer of '95, at the tender age of eleven, I was all about "keepin' em on da run wid a me shotgun".

Blame my older siblings: they both bought the album the day it came out, assuring that I was never to be very far from it. You have to try and understand their excitement, though. After the Creepin' On Ah Come Up EP and the success of the single,"Thuggish Ruggish Bone", the anticipation for Bone's full-length was huge in Ohio. HUGE. Bone were the only worthwhile rap artists representing our home state in a time where the genre was dominated by the east and west coast, skipping the Midwest entirely. Yet here Bone were: the talk of the entire rap world, and certainly the talk of the entire region and state. I didn't grow up in Cleveland, but I imagine they were bursting with so much pride that mine was just a mild seeping of pride in comparison.

Listening to E. 1999 Eternal today, I'm delighted as to how well it has held up over the years. You know, despite all the talk of murder and whatnot, Bone have always seemed like a pretty likable group of guys. There's nary a discriminatory remark about women to be found on the whole album, which is notable for almost any era of rap music. Their rapid-fire rhymes mixed in with occasional harmonizing (they aren't called Thugs-N-Harmony for nothing) provide a style that totally sets them apart, and the verses are delivered with such sincerity that when Krayzie talks of a murder he's recently committed ("I didn't want to take his life, but the nigga tried to run and get away with me llello"), you believe him and sympathize with his difficult decision. I mean, the guy tried to take his drugs for Christs sake, he had no choice.

My only complaint with this album, besides some filler tracks here and there, is that the version I bought doesn't contain the original version of "Crossroad". True, the "Crossroad" remix was much better (Grammy nominated, even), but they didn't have to take the original off entirely; they could've made it a hidden bonus track at the end or something. I miss the original mainly because it was one of two tracks on the album to borrow a sample from the Sega Genesis fighting game, Eternal Champions ("Eternal", naturally, being the other). See, that's another reason why Bone seem like likable guys. Despite their tough exterior personality and rampant drug use, they were really just geeks who liked nothing more than to chill out and play video games, which made me feel a lot better about myself growing up.



"Eternal"

Live: Mastodon in Tempe, AZ - 4/16/2009

I'd heard rumors that Mastodon were going to play their latest album, Crack The Skye, in it's entirety during their current tour. Once the band took stage, the opening riff to "Oblivion" confirmed those suspicions. With a large screen sitting behind the elevated drum set of Brann Dailor, Mastodon dove head first into their soon-to-be classic new album. Of all the concerts I've ever attended, this is the first I've been to where a band has played through an entire album non-stop. What it lacked in surprise it made up for in atmosphere. Seeing that album played live is an even more intense experience than hearing a studio recording. Clearly, my Ford Escort factory speakers have been at a disadvantage here.


I had arrived at the venue about a half-hour before Mastodon's set. In my younger days, this would've been unacceptable: intentionally missing the opening bands and giving up precious time that I could've spent stubbornly staking out a spot at the rail directly in front of the stage, personal space and prevalent body odor be damned. But I'm older now, and my ears can no longer stand being parked in front of an amp for three hours, which is why I was delighted to walk into the venue, earplugs in place, to the final ten seconds of Kylesa's set. I couldn't have timed it much better.

Metal concerts have always been my favorites because the crowds there are decidedly nicer and more welcoming than other crowds at other concerts I've been to. This seems to surprise people sometimes, but it's a fact that I've been accustomed to for a long time. While I haven't necessarily made lifetime friends at metal concerts, I have encountered several people and been involved in many enthralling conversations about music with random strangers whose names I'd been destined to forget before the night was over, but that I'd greet with enthusiasm at the next show at which we'd run into each other ("Heeyyyyyy.........maaaaann").

Unfortunately, there wasn't any of that this time around. My late arrival time had a lot to do with that, but it might not have made much of a difference anyway since it was kind of a different crowd than usual. Of course you had your typical legion of black t-shirt wearing teens and early twenty-somethings, as well as a smattering of graying old-school metal fans (and everyone in-between), but they seemed to be more standoffish, not nearly as welcoming. Maybe they were thrown off by the embarrassing ratio of White Dudes With Dreadlocks there (WDWD's, or WD²), which was at least 1-in-10, but likely higher. I guess I don't blame them. It was kind of like the WD²'s were leftovers from a Matisyahu show who decided to stick around for a while before visiting the smoke shop down the road. I certainly noticed but I didn't mind. I've long stopped being surprised at the diversity of the crowd that Mastodon attracts.


The conclusion of "The Last Baron" and the bands' subsequent exit to backstage brought rousing applause from the crowd, and even those who were sure that Mastodon wouldn't end a concert after a mere 50-minute performance enthusiastically greeted the band when they came back out for an encore. I was among those expecting the band to return for more, but even I was surprised that they gave us 40-minutes more, with selected hits from their previous three albums. This is why Mastodon are my favorite band to see live: they're always energetic, obviously appreciative of their fanbase, and always start their shows on time, being respectful of the fact that many of their fans have work in the morning and would rather not stay out too late.

And before you ask: yes, l was in bed 30-minutes after the concert, resting up for the next work day.



Here's the setlist, as accurately as I remember it:

entire Crack the Skye album
("Oblivion", "Divinations", "Quintessence", "The Czar",
"Ghost of Karelia", "Crack the Skye", and "The Last Baron")
"Sleeping Giant"
"The Wolf Is Loose"
"Crystal Skull"
"Capillarian Crest"
"Megalodon"
"Iron Tusk"
"Seabeast"
"I Am Ahab"
"March of the Fire Ants"
"Hearts Alive"

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?