Comments which don't warrant a thread.

[vivalaultra 0]

Since I've done a fair share of grandstanding for Arcade Fire in the past, I'll share a few brief thoughts I'm having while listening to the leaked album.

 

-I have a feeling this is a 'concept album' or at least a 'theme album', but I'm not 100% sure if it is or what the concept of it is, mostly because the lyrics are sorta hard to decipher. The title, Neon Bible is, I'm sure, an intentional reference to the John Kennedy Toole novel about a young boy growing up in Louisiana and learning about the horrors of racism, bigotry, sexism, and religious intolerance. Now that I think about it, it seemed like alot of the material on Funeral had a sense of childlike innocence and optimism behind the gravitas, whereas most of the lyric content on this album is pretty bleak, starting in with "Black Mirror", so, perhaps the theme of this album is a continuation of the theme of the last one, where the youthful, exuberant, excited kids that see wonder and magic in life before now realize how shitty and hopeless everything is. Depressing, kinda.

 

-I hope that the shitty mixing is just a product of the shitty rips, otherwise the sound quality is muddled at best and murky at worst, the worst being on "Black Waves/Bad Vibrations".

 

-The drums on the first few songs have this weird 'swaggering' quality to them. I'm not sure how to describe it, but they just kinda...swagger...Duran Duran like, I think.

 

-"Intervention" is a great fuckin' song. Really great.

 

-I think the major difference between this album and the last is that, on Funeral, pretty much every song was anthemic. Like...every song had this manic energy building in it and it actually built to something. On this album, there's still some anthemic qualities, but they're not as cathartic and "Fuck Yeah! Ima pump my fuckin' fist!" type qualities as on the first. The only two songs that really have that going for em are "Intervention" and the remake of "No Cars Go".

 

-This album kinda sounds like the best album The Killers will ever make.

 

-I like it less than Funeral after the first few listens, but I still enjoy it. I bet Pitchfork gives it a 12...or a 0. I'll split the difference and give it a 6, heading to 7.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

-I think the major difference between this album and the last is that, on Funeral, pretty much every song was anthemic. Like...every song had this manic energy building in it and it actually built to something.

I'd argue that "Neighborhood 4" never really takes off. But I knew what you meant. There's just something dull and sapped about "Black Mirror" that I don't like. As you said, the innocence is gone. It's not The Arcade Fire without the histrionics, it's just not.

[vivalaultra 0]

Yeah...it just seems like all the bombast and fervor and drama on this album is kinda forced whereas on the last one it was...effortless. I would chalk this CD up to a sophmore slump (even though I don't think it's really a slump; it's definitely better than good, I think), but I dunno...the whole circumstances around the recording of Funeral seemed to fill that record with just...something more...important?...heavy?...dangerous?...weighted?....something like that, and after hearing this, I don't know if they'll be capable of repeating that energy without all the extraneous circumstances.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

Enough with the ellipses already. Oy with the poodles already.

[vivalaultra 0]

...Poodles? ...

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Since vivalaultra is still worried about sound quality, I'll reiterate that this leak was cobbled together from various sources—before I fiddled around with them, a number of the tracks were tagged differently from one another—producing an overall poor rip. I'm sure the proper version is appropriately big and shiny.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

I just saw Joshua Radin, Schuyler Fisk, and Brett Dennen in concert last night, and it was an incredible show. Besides drunk people who were talking obnoxiously loud during some stuff, the songs were great live and since Schuyler is from Charlottesville she had her mother (Sissy Spacek) sing with her on a few. I got to meet Josh and Schuyler afterwards and got a big hug from Schuyler so that may have clouded my judgment, but only slightly.

 

If you like folksy acoustic stuff, definitely check it out. Josh and Brett did a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia" which was a lot of fun.

 

Recommendations: "Winter" and "Star Mile," by Josh, "Hello," and "The Good Stuff" by Schuyler, and Josh & Schuyler's duet of "Paperweight." I'm still working on finding out track names for Brett.

[snuffbox 0]

http://www.illuin.org/Marianne/Marianne_Ta...issertation.pdf

 

A Ph.D dissertation on Kid A & the history of the concept album.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

As long as it's better than Klosterman's shitty analysis, I'll be happy.

[snuffbox 0]

I'm reading it in chunks as its 188 pages.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I think the paper's proposed suicide "link" between Kid A and Amnesiac would make a lot more sense if the latter started out with "Pyramid Song." I understand (though I don't necessarily agree with) the idea that Amnesiac is supposed to represent a spirtual emptiness, but it doesn't quite work sequentially, with Thom monotonically grumbling "I'm a reasonable man / get off my case" over and over in the opening track.

[Annabelle 0]

i couldn't imagine anything more wretched.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I'm listening to the newest Of Montreal album, Hissing Fauna, are You the Destryoer?. Every other year or so, I try getting into these guys, hoping it'll finally click. It isn't this time, but this one song on here, "The Past is a Grotesque Animal"—a mammoth motorik of despair—is spine-tingling. That it sounds absolutely like nothing else they've ever done doesn't necessarily mean it's also the best, but it helps. Outstanding song. In a few months, I might go see them just to hear it played live.

 

This was today's pick for the commute and I didn't really like it at all. I've never heard the band before but, if the 80's-ish techno-pop that permeates this album is the standard for them, I probably won't be coming back; it's just not my thing.

 

"The Past is a Grotesque Animal", however, is very good. Far and away the strongest track on the album.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Destryoer. Oof.

 

And no, the electro-pop thing is pretty recent for them; their earlier stuff was, like a lot of their Elephant 6 comrades, a bit more in line with 60s psychedelic pop. They were a bit better at that, but not much.

 

Really, though, if Of Montreal went full on krautrock on their next album, I might embrace it fully. "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" is fucking fantastic.

[Mik 0]

I like Neon Bible. Whatever that means in relation to everyone else - I don't know.

[randomguy 0]

Finally listened to Iron Maiden's Brave New World after leaving it wrapped for 3 or 4 years. Pretty good. After Virtua XI I was pretty much done with new Maiden stuff but Bruce sounds re-energized, the music has some of the heavier, thicker sounds from X Factor along with more bass in the mix and the tunes are pretty catchy.

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

I like Neon Bible. Whatever that means in relation to everyone else - I don't know.

What do you like about it? There are a few good things happening here, but compared to Funeral, it just feels like there's something missing, and in fact, a lot of things are: it's not as emotionally powerful, the instrumentation isn't as diverse and interesting, and a lot of it just isn't as memorable. "Intervention" is strong, the end of "Ocean of Noise" is the Arcade Fire of old, but what is most of this stuff? Everything between "Ocean of Noise" and "No Cars Go" is just this morass of dull strummy guitar rock with no climax to be found.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Does any band put out better radio singles than the Foo Fighters? I was just listening to a bunch of their stuff over at my sister's house and I never realized how many hit songs they have.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I'd imagine so. I can't think of a single Foo Fighters single from "Learn to Fly" on that hasn't pissed me off to some degree (even "Best of You," which I actually like, was grating when it was played constantly).

 

Has there been a better comedy-oriented band than Gwar? I can't think of one. Zappa doesn't count because though he had a great sense of humor, most of his appeal came from how great the music itself was.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Oh cmon, "All My Life" and "DOA" are great songs.

[Henry Spencer 0]

All My Life? Really?

[UZI Suicide 0]

Well, I like it.

[Red Baron 0]

Kerry King looks a lot like my Eco-Tourism professor.

[snuffbox 0]

POS and Mac Lethal playin a show in Madison Feb 1. That should be fun.

 

 

Yeah, this was cool. SIMS showed up as well.

[King Kamala 0]

I doubt anyone here cares but I'm probably seeing Guster on April 21st at The Boston Opera House. Their website said to expect unique setlists and special guests. Seeing how Boston is Guster's hometown, this should be a really special show. The Format is the opening act, anybody ever heard of 'em?

[Guest "Go, Mordecai!"]

I care! I like Guster! Have fun at the show.

 

I think the Format was one of Mik's Piks.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I saw Guster play a free show at the annual Springfest in college. They were lame. Other past luminaries of this event include Nickel Creek and Sister Hazel. Of course, the year I'm out of there they go and get Ben Folds, who I don't love, but is a massive step up.

[Mik 0]

Edit: Double post.

[Mik 0]

I care! I like Guster! Have fun at the show.

 

I think the Format was one of Mik's Piks.

 

Yeah - they fucking rock. You'll be a fan after the show...no doubt about it. They are amazing live.

[vivalaultra 0]

I saw Guster when I brought my sister to see John Mayer in like...2004. They weren't terrible. The guitar player was making eyes at my sister and I think the drummer plays with his hands. And the lead singer looks a little like Rob Schneider.