Digital Good Time: "Bibliophone" (Digital Good Time is a series in which xoxobra focuses on the visual side of music)
There's something very charming about the simplicity of After Effects/Flash animation. Yeah, many a shitty video has been created by many an amateur to the programs, but with a little creativity you can more than compensate for tons of experience and know-how. "Bibliophone", by up-and-coming UK electronica artist Zoon van SnooK does this well. Produced by a start-up UK animation studio called Stanthers Ink (S_Ink), the video uses the beat of the song to cue all of the actions in the video. The inanimate objects falling from the sky start a skittering beat, the higher-pitched synth noises act as voice for the characters, the waves move to the lower-pitched synth, etc. I love the guy on the left, whose smiles and excited facial expressions make it seems like he's just happy to be there.
Cool first effort by these guys, and nice song by Zoon van SnooK. I'll be sure to look out for future efforts.
Discovering The Classics: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous Edition
Let me be frank: Big L is kind of a dick. I mean, I'm no stranger to hardcore gangsta rap, so I knew what to expect, but damn. Just look at some of the gems of fuckfacery that can be found on this album:
"They wanna know why I'm so fly A girl asked me for a ring and I put one around her whole eye."
"I be placin' snitches inside lakes and ditches and if I catch AIDS then I'ma start rapin' bitches."
"They said a real man won't hit a girl well I ain't real 'cuz I beat bitches up."
"The Big L be lighin' niggas like incense gettin' men lynched to win tits I'm killin' infants with ten cents"
"One day we [he and his friend] stuck a dice game on the Ave and split the cash, then I murdered his ass and took his half."
What an unimaginable bastard! Luckily, he later offers this accurate self-assessment:
"Yo I admit I admit I'm a sucka, a lowdown, dirty, sneaky, double-crossing, conniving motherfucka."
Joking aside, I know that these lyrics aren't to be taken literally. They're way too far out and macabre on a nearly comic level. But I almost find myself wondering what could've been. Big L is a technically gifted rapper, but on this album that skill is largely spent coming up with clever lines for subject matter that has about as much depth (or less) as what you're average 15-year old wannabe rapper could muster; stringing together phrases and slang just because they sound cool together (the entire album can be summed up in four words: "I will kill you"; or maybe six: "I am capable of killing you"). Such talent wasted; like a highly trained fine artist dedicating himself to furry art.
It's not that I wanted L to go the conscious route (which he actually does on the "Street Struck", whose placement on this album is perplexing, it being a song warning kids about the dangers of romanticizing street life, surrounded by songs that romanticize street life), I just think that L could've covered his "poor and dangerous" lifestyle more interestingly. Even the mighty Rakim's lyrics can be reduced to just constant boasting, but he somehow makes his boasting interesting to listen to, whereas L's killa killa shit can get boring at times. Still, I have to admit that I enjoy this album thoroughly when I'm in the mood for it, even if it does require I turn my brain off beforehand. I have the feeling that had Big L not been killed, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous wouldn't have been his best (and sole completed) album by far.
Ignore (if you can) the fact that this duo's name has thrust the MC into the forefront. Dälek may be the name of the band and the rapper, but DJ Oktopus' unique production has been the driving force behind their hard-to-place sound in the realm of music, borrowing as much from hip hop as from experimental noise, industrial, shoegaze, drone, and (for this album's title track especially) drone doom metal. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes people make when exploring Dälek is to approach them as a rap group. And while hip hop with a political flare is certainly part of the overall package, one shouldn't go into their albums expecting anything resembling Public Enemy or Dead Prez.
As discussed, production is key with Dälek albums, and with Gutter Tactics, Oktopus gives the most consistent and occasionally brilliant effort he's ever managed. Finding a balance between the harsh noise of Filthy Tongues and Absence, and the softer albeit sometimes uninteresting melodies of Abandoned Language, Gutter Tactics is at times dirty and raw but without being obnoxious, and other times bleak but without ever getting boring. If they hadn't already planned on releasing an instrumental version of this album, they should seriously consider it. It'd arguably be the best instrumental hip hop/post-rock/electronic album in recent memory.
If that's taken as a criticism of the vocals, it pretty much is. Oftentimes muffled, incomprehensible, and buried in the mix, Oktopus' handling of the vocals are easily the weakest part of his effort on Gutter Tactics. It also doesn't help that Dälek seems as if he hasn't cheered up much (though it's difficult to tell for sure; the liner notes don't contain any lyrics), not that anyone should have expected as much, but in keeping with his dire outlook he falls victim to a common failing of political hip hop.
Look, there's a reason why Public Enemy had Flava Flav. People can only take so much of hearing how fucked up and racist the world is before recoiling. Things aren't perfect by any means, and this type of subject matter shouldn't be ignored, but Dalek feeds it in such heavy doses that it distracts from using their music as a form of escapism. Yes, Dälek, I actually did know who Medgar Evers was (referring to the line "Tell the truth you never knew who Medgar Evers was", stated in one track). He faced a lot of obstacles and was killed trying to give people like you and I more opportunities for a better future, and his goals have since largely been met, so I'm pretty sure he'd scoff at any mention of how bad you have it.
I consider myself fairly aware when it comes to politics and current events, but the conflict between Israel and Palestine makes my head hurt. Every attempt I've made to understand the nuances and complexities have only taken me in circles, so by default I remain neutral and hear both sides of the argument without leaning towards one side or the other.
I am however, down with putting the breaks on senseless violence. So is motion designer Mato Atom, which is why he's created this short video for Amnesty International and DAHRA (Designers Against Human Rights Abuse) that puts a charmingly funny spin on the situation. Featuring an instrumental track from Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV album, the video personifies two tanks as lovers, who turn a sexual advance into a poignant message.
Sorry. Still can't find the energy for a proper post. I'm so relieved to be done with wedding planning and I'm enjoying a few days of having absolutely nothing urgent to worry about (except thank you notes; GAH!). Family from both sides have returned to their respective home cities, and while me and the wife enjoyed their company, we're now enjoying the silence. Today, writing will again have to take a backseat to sitting on my ass and doing nothing. I'm sure you understand. Here, though, is the first wedding picture to trickle in. I'll save the rest for Facebook.
(I looked more like a preacher than I meant to look.)
"Ambulance" (our "wedding song", by TV on the Radio)
Welp, tied the ol' knot this weekend. So I think that excuses me from a real post at least for today. I'll just enjoy the moment right now and maybe worry about details later. I was going to post some corny wedding song, and the first thing that came to mind was Jagged Edge's "Meet Me At the Alter". But then I didn't feel like finding the song, so I thought this absurd picture would suffice. Ah, the joy of press photo's:
(Oiled up Jagged Edge sez: "Meet us at the alter")
Ocean's 2005 debut album, Here Where Nothing Grows, was a fantastic display of heavy, bleak, depressing, suffocating, atmospheric doom metal. For 2008's Pantheon of the Lesser, the band have changed their game, giving us two new extended tracks of heavy, bleak, suffocating, depressing, atmospheric doom metal...WITH A FEMALE VOCAL ELEMENT! Whatever. It's not like doom is known for its sea changes (zing!). They have their niche and they're sticking to it.
Even though the band haven't changed by leaps and bounds, the three year gap between the two albums have been largely good to Ocean (not to be confused with Germany's THE Ocean; that band does sludgy prog-metal, this is doom. DUH!). Any band with the skills to make a thirty-five minute track worth repeated listens must be doing something right. "The Beacon" blasts the album open with a heavy drum beat and a stroke of the guitar, and seems to hint at a fast start until that beat is left to linger in the air for several seconds, at once reminding the listener who they are. "Fast start" my ass; Ocean do everything slow.
The song builds, slowly of course, and the growling vocals sound more like the heavy howling winds of a thunderstorm. The song climaxes with the introduction of said female vocal element, at first singing, then screaming as the music begins to envelope her and the listener simultaneously. It's not very unlike the title track on Ancestors' 2008 debut, Neptune With Fire, but the styles are different enough between the two bands to avoid that feeling of déjà vu. After "The Beacon", the main job of the closing track, "Of the Lesser", is to not ruin the momentum; a job that it completes with flying colors, almost to the point of surpassing the excellent opener. At a scant (in comparison) twenty-three minutes, it's leaner on instrumental sections but no less epic in proportion.
For a time, the climax of "Of the Lesser" conveys a feeling of optimism...before punishing the hell out of that nonsense with a series of bass heavy, pummeling drum beats similar to the one that opened the album. "Save the optimism for post-rock bands", they seem to say. "We're all about dooooooom."
xoxobra is the selected music related ramblings of yet another self-important blogger attempting to get the word out on more obscure sounds, updated somewhat regularly. Enjoy!
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