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."

Good Songs: March 2009 Edition

March 2009 Edition
(A quick recap of some of the best songs from albums I reviewed in the month of March)

"Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar" by Selda Bagcan (from Love, Peace & Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music)
Yeah, so her voice is grating on a near fingernails-on-a-chalkboard level and she sounds like a twelve year-old boy. What of it? Just about everyone I've played this track for can't stand it, but somehow it doesn't bother me at all. It's about the EMOTION, MAN! I've probably listened to this song on repeat more so than any song this year so far.


"Jan Pahechan Ho" by Mohammed Rafi (from Bombshell Baby of Bombay)
I didn't pay a lot of attention to this song when I first heard it on the opening credits of Ghost World, but hearing it on CD has given me a newfound respect for it. That horn section is absolutely epic. If it hasn't been sampled and put in a rap song yet, the producers of the world are sleeping on it big time.


"Hey Young World" by Slick Rick
I remember hearing a lot of "Children's Story" growing up, but somehow I missed this single. Another one of Slick Rick's cautionary tales, the soft, rhythmic beat is definitely Slick Rick's best production work on the album. If only he had heeded his own advice we would've gotten more songs of this quality.


"Black Pussy" by The Watts Prophets
The most epic song in the Watts Prophet's catalog, this four-minute celebration of you-know-what is delivered with extreme passion and really benefits from the frantic trumpet and whoops and yells of the other poets in the background.

Good Songs: February 2009 Edition

(A quick recap of some of the best songs from albums I reviewed in the month of February [or heard and will soon review].)

"Isis Unveiled" by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
I hope to post my review for this band's new album, The Century of Self, later this week. But one thing it certainly has going for it is the epic "Isis Unveiled", possibly one of the best songs they've recorded in years despite the fact that it's a little Muse-ish.


"New Africas pt. 2" by Buraka Som Sistema
A bit of a departure from the rest of the album, yes, but this darker, dub-inspired track was just what Black Diamond needed to save it from rave music monotony. The album was okay as is, but it might've been better with a few more songs of this style.


"Gutter Tactics" by Dälek
The title track was easily DJ Oktopus' greatest achievement on their recent album, Gutter Tactics. Imagine a rap remix of a Sunn O))) song, and then imagine that it doesn't suck, and you more or less have "Gutter Tactics".


"The Beacon" by Ocean
Thirty-five minutes of completely suffocating doom that actually maintains the listeners interest pretty well. The female vocals add a nice, delecate touch to the otherwise brutal atmosphere.

(excerpt)

"Àcido Fincado" by Os Haxixens
Certainly anyone who doubted the possibility of rocking-the-fuck-out with an organ and tambourine will stand corrected after one listen to this song by Brazilian garage rock band Os Haxixens. I'm still working on the review for this one, but the preliminary consensus is on the positive side.