So... kind of slow summer thus far at work. Ergo I'm going to single-handedly attempt to inject some life into this blog.
BNLX is a "band" the mostly, I think, is comprised of Ed Ackerson. He's a long-time Minneapolis engineer/producer/musician. His band Polara put out a couple of records (maybe more?), one of which is an absolute stunner (if you like the noise pop deal): "Polara."
This new band is him and his wife. I think this record is pretty great. It makes no pretense to breaking new ground. It's just nice a noisy and sugar sweet.
www.bnlx2day.com
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Kanye West -- Yeezus
A little background...
I have never heard (knowingly) a Kanye West song prior to listening to this record. I chose to listen to this one because I was so annoyed by the following sentence in the Pitchfork review: "These are the immeasurably lofty stakes Kanye deals in on Yeezus, his sixth solo album." That sentence followed a rhapsodic paragraph about the "I Am God" song on the record.
Okay, yes, I know, pitchfork, say no more. But there are NO immeasurably lofty stakes in ANY piece of pop music whether or not you like the artist. There are none in Bob Dylan, none in Nina Simone, none in The Clash... I could go on, but let's be real, immeasurably lofty stakes are not for the music/fashion/theater/film etc. worlds.
This is, of course, not to say that music can't be important, maybe even very important to individuals, but immeasurable stakes? Nah.
But I was intrigued, so I went on Google Play and gave it a listen. I listened to the whole thing (yeah me!). I'm trying to parse my reaction. Is this the inevitable old guy distaste for the new? The inexorable gap between me and "the kids"? Whatever it is: this record is awful. I can't imagine listening to it at home in the dark with headphones, I can't imagine listening to it while I clean my bathrooms, I can't imagine listening to it in the car, I can't imagine listening to it in a bar. I will not, can not, listen to it again.
The lyrics... oh man... these are the lyrics of Edward Snowden. The drop out who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. These are lyrics that portend to say a lot but really say very very little. (As an aside: he must have a very very small vocabulary, I can't imagine having an intelligent conversation with him). I like my musicians smart and dumb, so long as their honest about either. He's honest about neither. Rap music, for me, needs really really interesting words (hence my dismal feelings to Tyler the Creator). These aren't good words. They aren't interesting. They are pedantically "controversial."
The music... meh. Okay, he's processed what's going on over the last 5-10 years admirably. Good for you dude. It's boring and grating (a terrible combination). I found the production hard on the ears as well. Over-compressed (par for the course, I know), but really fatiguing. No depth.
I'm open to hearing rebuttals. I'm no hip-hop scholar, so maybe I'm missing some intricacy--but that would cause another argument from me.
I have never heard (knowingly) a Kanye West song prior to listening to this record. I chose to listen to this one because I was so annoyed by the following sentence in the Pitchfork review: "These are the immeasurably lofty stakes Kanye deals in on Yeezus, his sixth solo album." That sentence followed a rhapsodic paragraph about the "I Am God" song on the record.
Okay, yes, I know, pitchfork, say no more. But there are NO immeasurably lofty stakes in ANY piece of pop music whether or not you like the artist. There are none in Bob Dylan, none in Nina Simone, none in The Clash... I could go on, but let's be real, immeasurably lofty stakes are not for the music/fashion/theater/film etc. worlds.
This is, of course, not to say that music can't be important, maybe even very important to individuals, but immeasurable stakes? Nah.
But I was intrigued, so I went on Google Play and gave it a listen. I listened to the whole thing (yeah me!). I'm trying to parse my reaction. Is this the inevitable old guy distaste for the new? The inexorable gap between me and "the kids"? Whatever it is: this record is awful. I can't imagine listening to it at home in the dark with headphones, I can't imagine listening to it while I clean my bathrooms, I can't imagine listening to it in the car, I can't imagine listening to it in a bar. I will not, can not, listen to it again.
The lyrics... oh man... these are the lyrics of Edward Snowden. The drop out who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. These are lyrics that portend to say a lot but really say very very little. (As an aside: he must have a very very small vocabulary, I can't imagine having an intelligent conversation with him). I like my musicians smart and dumb, so long as their honest about either. He's honest about neither. Rap music, for me, needs really really interesting words (hence my dismal feelings to Tyler the Creator). These aren't good words. They aren't interesting. They are pedantically "controversial."
The music... meh. Okay, he's processed what's going on over the last 5-10 years admirably. Good for you dude. It's boring and grating (a terrible combination). I found the production hard on the ears as well. Over-compressed (par for the course, I know), but really fatiguing. No depth.
I'm open to hearing rebuttals. I'm no hip-hop scholar, so maybe I'm missing some intricacy--but that would cause another argument from me.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Collateral Damage: Numero Group on the vinyl bubble
http://thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/collateral-damage_numero-group-on-the-vinyl-bubble
The things this essay points out are why I almost exclusively buy records for $0.50 or $1. Really the only new vinyl I buy is reggae and the labels that put out those records, for the most part, don't play the "manufactured rarity" game.
The things this essay points out are why I almost exclusively buy records for $0.50 or $1. Really the only new vinyl I buy is reggae and the labels that put out those records, for the most part, don't play the "manufactured rarity" game.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
What I've been listening to
yo dudes, been a while. here's some things I've been listening to.
Read "Everybody Loves our Town: an Oral History of Grunge," and it had me listening to all the bands at that time and it took me back. (I asked a younger colleague how old he was in 1991 when I was hanging out with my friends in the 7/11 parking lot trying to score beer and talking about the lyrics in "smells like teen spirit" and he said "4". fuck.) I also checked out some bands that I didn't know that well like Tad and the Melvins, and I've been listening to those bands quite a bit since. Dinosaur Jr. wasn't a Seattle band but been listening to a lot of that lately too. (I once talked to J. Mascis in line at Bayback waiting to cash a check, I wonder if that dude still lives in his mom's basement in Amherst.)
Saw a really killer performance by Peter Evans recently, he's a youngish trumpet player with a nice career going. He did a solo improv thing for about 10 minutes, which showcased his incredible circular breathing skills and did some innovate things getting close to the mic with a lot of reverb on it, washing the room in a humming sound that was hard to believe was from a trumpet. He left the stage after that and two percussionists and a piano player performed the rest of the piece he composed. That had at times a film noir sound, other times a far out Cecil Taylor/Charles Ives vibe, and a also moments of super-minimalist John Cage feel. Evans has some albums up on Spotify, included one called "Zebulon" of his jazz trio playing that much-missed/now closed Williamsburg venue.
other shit: Zomes, "improvisations"(did DC hit this?), really meditative ambient; Alabama Shakes, soul vibe, driving music; James Ferraro, "Far Side Virtual", far out post-modern, electro weirdness (some of his stuff is awful but this works, kind of a social critique, but not hard to listen to); Evan Caminiti, one half of the doom-ambient duo Barn Owl, his solo stuff is deep; Chico Hamilton, spotify is deep on Chico, really liking the compilation album from the mid/late fifties, very regular rotation for months; Indians, "somewhere else", chilled out indie, if you like Cavemen (which I know DC hit), you should feel this.
HotHOTSummer---------________------------ getting into dub again, tis the season-----______
Read "Everybody Loves our Town: an Oral History of Grunge," and it had me listening to all the bands at that time and it took me back. (I asked a younger colleague how old he was in 1991 when I was hanging out with my friends in the 7/11 parking lot trying to score beer and talking about the lyrics in "smells like teen spirit" and he said "4". fuck.) I also checked out some bands that I didn't know that well like Tad and the Melvins, and I've been listening to those bands quite a bit since. Dinosaur Jr. wasn't a Seattle band but been listening to a lot of that lately too. (I once talked to J. Mascis in line at Bayback waiting to cash a check, I wonder if that dude still lives in his mom's basement in Amherst.)
Saw a really killer performance by Peter Evans recently, he's a youngish trumpet player with a nice career going. He did a solo improv thing for about 10 minutes, which showcased his incredible circular breathing skills and did some innovate things getting close to the mic with a lot of reverb on it, washing the room in a humming sound that was hard to believe was from a trumpet. He left the stage after that and two percussionists and a piano player performed the rest of the piece he composed. That had at times a film noir sound, other times a far out Cecil Taylor/Charles Ives vibe, and a also moments of super-minimalist John Cage feel. Evans has some albums up on Spotify, included one called "Zebulon" of his jazz trio playing that much-missed/now closed Williamsburg venue.
other shit: Zomes, "improvisations"(did DC hit this?), really meditative ambient; Alabama Shakes, soul vibe, driving music; James Ferraro, "Far Side Virtual", far out post-modern, electro weirdness (some of his stuff is awful but this works, kind of a social critique, but not hard to listen to); Evan Caminiti, one half of the doom-ambient duo Barn Owl, his solo stuff is deep; Chico Hamilton, spotify is deep on Chico, really liking the compilation album from the mid/late fifties, very regular rotation for months; Indians, "somewhere else", chilled out indie, if you like Cavemen (which I know DC hit), you should feel this.
HotHOTSummer---------________------------ getting into dub again, tis the season-----______
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