"Anything that destroys obedience is anarchy, anything that destroys resistance is tyranny"
-Alain
A French Philosopher during the mid 1800's
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wu Tang Clan 'aint nothin to fuck wit
A couple Wu Tang related links I would like to share with you.
http://wutangvsthebeatles.bandcamp.com/
A mash up of several projects from the Wu Tang with a Beatles album.
Also this is a ?uest Love hosted program on how the RZA almost starred in Parks and Recreation.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/4ac3ee6f36/parks-and-recreation-is-the-wu-tang-of-comedy
http://wutangvsthebeatles.bandcamp.com/
A mash up of several projects from the Wu Tang with a Beatles album.
Also this is a ?uest Love hosted program on how the RZA almost starred in Parks and Recreation.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/4ac3ee6f36/parks-and-recreation-is-the-wu-tang-of-comedy
The Streets
Mike Skinner is a poet, kind of. Well he's definitely not a rapper. Not much of a singer either, but somehow he made two timeless records.
Touching, heartbreaking, funny, and shockingly personal records from Mike Skinner provide a soundtrack to modern day life. Skinner is not a man of great flow, and though his beats are solid they do not stand out by themselves. Rather it is the stories he tells, that make these records what they are. Instead of stereotypical rapping, Skinner rather focuses on average everyday problems in a way we can all relate to.
He talks about the issues with dating and the intricacies of attraction. He mentions just how dull life can become, doing the same thing on the daily with friends. A track like “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy” literally is just a narrative of his day and the frustrations that come with it. Whether it is how long it takes to deposit money at the bank or his phone losing its charge before he can make a phone call to his mom, Skinner just makes insightful and candid commentary.
As lame as that may sound, it reflects the flaws with modern life and quite frankly I think we all can relate to it in some way. Most of us in our twenties can relate to drinking too much and starting trouble or issues with a girlfriend or the desire to make a name for yourself or to take a break from it all. It is just refreshing to hear someone who you will never meet, talk to you as if you were his friend about what is going on his life, and not as some stranger thousands of miles away.
Touching, heartbreaking, funny, and shockingly personal records from Mike Skinner provide a soundtrack to modern day life. Skinner is not a man of great flow, and though his beats are solid they do not stand out by themselves. Rather it is the stories he tells, that make these records what they are. Instead of stereotypical rapping, Skinner rather focuses on average everyday problems in a way we can all relate to.
He talks about the issues with dating and the intricacies of attraction. He mentions just how dull life can become, doing the same thing on the daily with friends. A track like “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy” literally is just a narrative of his day and the frustrations that come with it. Whether it is how long it takes to deposit money at the bank or his phone losing its charge before he can make a phone call to his mom, Skinner just makes insightful and candid commentary.
As lame as that may sound, it reflects the flaws with modern life and quite frankly I think we all can relate to it in some way. Most of us in our twenties can relate to drinking too much and starting trouble or issues with a girlfriend or the desire to make a name for yourself or to take a break from it all. It is just refreshing to hear someone who you will never meet, talk to you as if you were his friend about what is going on his life, and not as some stranger thousands of miles away.
LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy might be the coolest person going in music today. His hipster credibility is untouchable. Aziz Ansari agrees, in fact he apparently tells his favorite story about James Murphy. When Murphy was twelve he heard a song by the Smiths, I think he said it was “This Charming Man” a couple weeks before it was released for the general public. However he thought it was by the Smith Brothers, so at 12 years old he goes into a record store to ask about it and the clerk makes fun of him for thinking it was by the Smith Brothers. When I was 12 my favorite band was The Offspring.
LCD Soundsystem sounds like space age, post punk disco. It does not fall into any normal category. I don’t think anyone has made two albums so radically different from each other but also from any other artist ever. The self titled debut is more focused as a funky electronic album with less lyrics and more grooves. It has a sense of humor about it, downplaying its actual importance. A song like “Losing My Edge” clearly pokes fun of what amounts to be his largest fan base. It’s a cool album that questions what it means to be cool and how quickly it can go away. Murphy is essentially “too old for this shit.” He doesn’t belong on the scene, the kids do. They should not be listening to him; they should listen to Daft Punk. As a result this album really seems to be self-actualized, clearly defining Murphy at that particular moment.
Sound of Silver is a pop album disguised in layers of other genres. “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” are some of the most heartfelt and genuine songs to come out this decade, besides the fact that they happen to rock as well. This album contains tighter songs that restrain themselves instead of being as sprawling as they are on the debut and 45:33. Murphy sings more on this album, to make it more like a pop album, a blend of Phoenix and Hot Chip. Sound of Silver is a melancholy album, but it remains accessible and in some senses contains a semblance of optimism.
LCD Soundsystem sounds like space age, post punk disco. It does not fall into any normal category. I don’t think anyone has made two albums so radically different from each other but also from any other artist ever. The self titled debut is more focused as a funky electronic album with less lyrics and more grooves. It has a sense of humor about it, downplaying its actual importance. A song like “Losing My Edge” clearly pokes fun of what amounts to be his largest fan base. It’s a cool album that questions what it means to be cool and how quickly it can go away. Murphy is essentially “too old for this shit.” He doesn’t belong on the scene, the kids do. They should not be listening to him; they should listen to Daft Punk. As a result this album really seems to be self-actualized, clearly defining Murphy at that particular moment.
Sound of Silver is a pop album disguised in layers of other genres. “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” are some of the most heartfelt and genuine songs to come out this decade, besides the fact that they happen to rock as well. This album contains tighter songs that restrain themselves instead of being as sprawling as they are on the debut and 45:33. Murphy sings more on this album, to make it more like a pop album, a blend of Phoenix and Hot Chip. Sound of Silver is a melancholy album, but it remains accessible and in some senses contains a semblance of optimism.
Dear Science by TV on the Radio
This is the album that TV on the Radio was destined to make. The other albums they have made deserve mention, especially “Return to Cookie Mountain” but none are as coherent and determined as this one. I will concede that “Staring at the Sun” off their EP “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” may be as close to perfection as TVOTR has ever come. Dear Science stands out more as an album and is more even than their other projects. “Wolf like Me” was a standout off Return to Cookie Mountain but no other song came close to matching it, leading me to find that album as more frustrating than rewarding.
TVOTR’s music comes from a variety of genres and makes them difficult to classify, but on Dear Science they really made their sound distinct and their own. An electronic song like “Crying” flows into the neo-funk “Dancing Choose”. On this album they really treat the studio like an instrument, making the production on this album stand out. Overall, Dear Science is about as tight and coherent album as a group like TV on the Radio can make.
TVOTR’s music comes from a variety of genres and makes them difficult to classify, but on Dear Science they really made their sound distinct and their own. An electronic song like “Crying” flows into the neo-funk “Dancing Choose”. On this album they really treat the studio like an instrument, making the production on this album stand out. Overall, Dear Science is about as tight and coherent album as a group like TV on the Radio can make.
Cross by Justice and Discovery by Daft Punk
I feel like these are the two most important records of the whole house electro scene this decade. For the first time, after Kanye’s “Stronger” came out did I think that Daft Punk made the mainstream. However they have influenced an entire generation of producers, and remain at the top tier of the scene. No album this decade quite showcases just how fun and addicting electro house music could be like "Discovery".
Discovery with songs like “Something About Us” and “Digital Love” showcased their pop sensibilities, and exemplified their diversity and really just how universal house music can be. On the album they also kept their “bangers”, songs like “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” really can be pumped and take the notions of what house music can be to a new level. Combining pop songs with throbbing beats, Discovery was the anthem for the house/electro scene in the 2000’s.
Justice’s Cross came out in 2007 as a breath of fresh air to a genre that needed it at that point. Six years after Discovery came out; the house scene was diminishing in importance thanks in part Daft Punk’s “Human After All” which turned out to be a very lackluster album that reinforced many preconceptions about house/electro music. Namely the repetitiveness and lack of originality present in many electro songs.
So when Justice came out on the Ed Banger Label, it really turned heads. If I were to describe it one way, it would be the album Daft Punk should have made after “Discovery”. “Cross pulsates throughout beginning with the epic synths that lead off “Genesis”. The album has great flow especially in terms of pacing and fluidity among the tracks.
The two opening tracks “Genesis” and “Let There Be Light” are more reminiscent of big beat electro, relying heavily on pulsing drums and throbbing synthesized beats. After the lead off tracks, the album delves into its disco/dance side with “D.A.N.C.E” and “New Jack” before revolving back into heaver tracks like “Phantom Pt.1 and 2”. These two tracks are turning points in the album and give it a new life as a heavy electro album. The album then again slows down into its more poppy songs like “Valentine”, “The Party” and “DVNO”. The last three songs are staples of the Ed Banger sound. Starting with “Stress” which features a looping sample of Devo, then going into “Water’s of Nazareth” and “One Minute to Midnight” the album turns into heavily distorted beats and strays away from its melodic roots and plants itself firmly into the dirty electro category, serving as a benchmark for similar artists to this day.
Discovery with songs like “Something About Us” and “Digital Love” showcased their pop sensibilities, and exemplified their diversity and really just how universal house music can be. On the album they also kept their “bangers”, songs like “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” really can be pumped and take the notions of what house music can be to a new level. Combining pop songs with throbbing beats, Discovery was the anthem for the house/electro scene in the 2000’s.
Justice’s Cross came out in 2007 as a breath of fresh air to a genre that needed it at that point. Six years after Discovery came out; the house scene was diminishing in importance thanks in part Daft Punk’s “Human After All” which turned out to be a very lackluster album that reinforced many preconceptions about house/electro music. Namely the repetitiveness and lack of originality present in many electro songs.
So when Justice came out on the Ed Banger Label, it really turned heads. If I were to describe it one way, it would be the album Daft Punk should have made after “Discovery”. “Cross pulsates throughout beginning with the epic synths that lead off “Genesis”. The album has great flow especially in terms of pacing and fluidity among the tracks.
The two opening tracks “Genesis” and “Let There Be Light” are more reminiscent of big beat electro, relying heavily on pulsing drums and throbbing synthesized beats. After the lead off tracks, the album delves into its disco/dance side with “D.A.N.C.E” and “New Jack” before revolving back into heaver tracks like “Phantom Pt.1 and 2”. These two tracks are turning points in the album and give it a new life as a heavy electro album. The album then again slows down into its more poppy songs like “Valentine”, “The Party” and “DVNO”. The last three songs are staples of the Ed Banger sound. Starting with “Stress” which features a looping sample of Devo, then going into “Water’s of Nazareth” and “One Minute to Midnight” the album turns into heavily distorted beats and strays away from its melodic roots and plants itself firmly into the dirty electro category, serving as a benchmark for similar artists to this day.
The 2000’s in terms of music
My first experience with liking music came during summer camp came in the summer of 1999, where at 2 P.M, a group of about five of us gathered around the one communal TV to watch TRL on MTV. Yes, the one Carson Daly hosted when we was actually relevant. My first day watching was when my first favorite video got “retired”. Retired to those unfamiliar with the old TRL format meant that once a video made the countdown 65 times, it would never be played as part of the countdown again. That video was clearly a brilliant song by a legendary artist. Yes, you are correct it was “Bawitdaba” by Kid Rock; which somehow made VH1’s top 100 hard rock songs ever, EVER!!!
Throughout this decade I started to move closer and closer to figuring out what separates good music from the garbage that by and large dominates the mainstream radio airwaves. My first experience with indie was either hearing singles by either the Hives or the Strokes, and it continued to slowly blossom from there. Having dial up for most the decade did not help and not until college did I really start to get into indie and critically acclaimed music.
Looking back at the decade, I felt it was really a strange time for music. Back when Kurt Cobain died, it was one of the biggest stories for quite a while. While in the 2000’s that story belonged to Michael Jackson. So I began to wonder what death of a modern artist would conjure up the same reactions as Cobain’s did in the 90’s. This means that it would have to be a beloved artist to not just the indie community but all over. The artist’s music would have to be personal and emotional. It would also have to be someone actually critically respected who was active during that current decade.
I think back in the 90’s it would have at least been a handful of people besides Cobain. Bono comes to mind, as does Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe and maybe even Rivers Cuomo. This also goes along with the tragic deaths in hip-hop with the loss of Notorious Big and Tupac, and to a lesser extent the loss of Big L and Big Pun. Now, I am not sure anyone would have that effect except for Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor, although they are popular in large part due to what they did the previous decade. (I’m not counting Ben Gibbard because he married my dream girl, Zooey if you’re reading this it’s not too late to change your mind. Also, I do really like The Postal Service.)
I had to exclude three artists that I truly enjoy and wish more people did as well, but I do not feel they meet the criteria in one of the three ways. Jeff Tweedy is the leader of the well renowned and respected band Wilco. He is a beloved face in the music community and each of his albums with Wilco has sold over 200,000 copies. However I do not think I have ever heard Wilco on the radio. Considering I have listened to alternative radio throughout this entire decade, that is a statement about the overall relevance of the band. Another thing about Wilco and in part Tweedy’s former band Uncle Tupelo is that their relevance and influence to the music community is more firmly planted in the previous decade based on what they did to form alternative country as a more popular genre of music.
The same reasoning goes for Isaac Brock and his band Modest Mouse. Until their big hit in 2004 “Float On” Modest Mouse were relatively unknown indie darlings. For much of their early existence as a band, Modest Mouse toured and slept in vans. This does signify any sort of mainstream success, and though they are a much larger band now, their success pales in significance to a band like “Kings of Leon”.
Jack White differs from the other two artists that just missed the cut. White has made amazing records this decade and has achieved a larger fan base than the other two artists. However, unlike the deeply personal lyrics that both Tweedy and Brock write, White generally avoids such songs and tends to focus more on the instrumental side of things. He definitely has some songs that are poignant and touching, but by and large White tends to avoid such songs. Meaning his songs may not have the same impact on people, that his absence would mean more to people than just the loss of a brilliant musician and overall funny and charismatic person.
As a note both Dave Matthews and Chris Martin were disqualified, partly due to my disdain of their music and a large portion of their fan base, and partly due to the fact that despite their popularity they did not really make any critically acclaimed records. I will admit A Rush of Blood to the Head is a decent album, but I refuse to give Martin the benefit of the doubt. As for Matthews, even his biggest fans tend to admit that his records are inferior to his live show.
So what does that say about music in this decade? First I think there are so many bands that it is hard to pick out the bands that really matter to so many people like it was in the 90’s. They say the music industry is dying, but I just think it’s changing. Quality music is definitely out there, it is just not on the radio as often as it was in the 90’s.
For example, the headliners at Lollapallooza this previous year (Tool, Jane’s Addiction, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Depeche Mode) included three bands whose height of popularity was in the 90’s. Only one of these bands, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, has made more than one acclaimed album this decade. Yet by judging the biggest bands in the music community by who headlines a major music festival, there is not much hope that a new band can become both popular and still make solid albums.
So who do I blame for this? I place blame largely on two entities: The internet and ClearChannel Broadcasting. The internet has made it possible for any band to have their music heard across the world. Meaning there are so many more bands with fan bases that there are less diehard fans for the bigger bands. Ed Droste and his band Grizzly Bear reached #7 on the Billboard Charts with their album Veckatimest, success that Droste credits largely due to the leaking of his album on the internet and the word of mouth that followed its reception, before the record even hit stores.
In a certain way I appreciate what the internet has done for music; Clear Channel however is a cancer to good music everywhere. Clear Channel owns most of the larger radio stations across the nation and has a large say in what music does and does not get played. This means that a large corporation has a bigger say in what bands get bigger fan bases than any other music source. So, in order to attain larger ratings, stations play safer and in turn more bland rock. I blame Clear Channel and tone deaf Americans for the success of Nickelback. Yet I am not sure what can be done to prevent the machine from further promoting such bands to attain main stream success.
Throughout this decade I started to move closer and closer to figuring out what separates good music from the garbage that by and large dominates the mainstream radio airwaves. My first experience with indie was either hearing singles by either the Hives or the Strokes, and it continued to slowly blossom from there. Having dial up for most the decade did not help and not until college did I really start to get into indie and critically acclaimed music.
Looking back at the decade, I felt it was really a strange time for music. Back when Kurt Cobain died, it was one of the biggest stories for quite a while. While in the 2000’s that story belonged to Michael Jackson. So I began to wonder what death of a modern artist would conjure up the same reactions as Cobain’s did in the 90’s. This means that it would have to be a beloved artist to not just the indie community but all over. The artist’s music would have to be personal and emotional. It would also have to be someone actually critically respected who was active during that current decade.
I think back in the 90’s it would have at least been a handful of people besides Cobain. Bono comes to mind, as does Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe and maybe even Rivers Cuomo. This also goes along with the tragic deaths in hip-hop with the loss of Notorious Big and Tupac, and to a lesser extent the loss of Big L and Big Pun. Now, I am not sure anyone would have that effect except for Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor, although they are popular in large part due to what they did the previous decade. (I’m not counting Ben Gibbard because he married my dream girl, Zooey if you’re reading this it’s not too late to change your mind. Also, I do really like The Postal Service.)
I had to exclude three artists that I truly enjoy and wish more people did as well, but I do not feel they meet the criteria in one of the three ways. Jeff Tweedy is the leader of the well renowned and respected band Wilco. He is a beloved face in the music community and each of his albums with Wilco has sold over 200,000 copies. However I do not think I have ever heard Wilco on the radio. Considering I have listened to alternative radio throughout this entire decade, that is a statement about the overall relevance of the band. Another thing about Wilco and in part Tweedy’s former band Uncle Tupelo is that their relevance and influence to the music community is more firmly planted in the previous decade based on what they did to form alternative country as a more popular genre of music.
The same reasoning goes for Isaac Brock and his band Modest Mouse. Until their big hit in 2004 “Float On” Modest Mouse were relatively unknown indie darlings. For much of their early existence as a band, Modest Mouse toured and slept in vans. This does signify any sort of mainstream success, and though they are a much larger band now, their success pales in significance to a band like “Kings of Leon”.
Jack White differs from the other two artists that just missed the cut. White has made amazing records this decade and has achieved a larger fan base than the other two artists. However, unlike the deeply personal lyrics that both Tweedy and Brock write, White generally avoids such songs and tends to focus more on the instrumental side of things. He definitely has some songs that are poignant and touching, but by and large White tends to avoid such songs. Meaning his songs may not have the same impact on people, that his absence would mean more to people than just the loss of a brilliant musician and overall funny and charismatic person.
As a note both Dave Matthews and Chris Martin were disqualified, partly due to my disdain of their music and a large portion of their fan base, and partly due to the fact that despite their popularity they did not really make any critically acclaimed records. I will admit A Rush of Blood to the Head is a decent album, but I refuse to give Martin the benefit of the doubt. As for Matthews, even his biggest fans tend to admit that his records are inferior to his live show.
So what does that say about music in this decade? First I think there are so many bands that it is hard to pick out the bands that really matter to so many people like it was in the 90’s. They say the music industry is dying, but I just think it’s changing. Quality music is definitely out there, it is just not on the radio as often as it was in the 90’s.
For example, the headliners at Lollapallooza this previous year (Tool, Jane’s Addiction, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Depeche Mode) included three bands whose height of popularity was in the 90’s. Only one of these bands, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, has made more than one acclaimed album this decade. Yet by judging the biggest bands in the music community by who headlines a major music festival, there is not much hope that a new band can become both popular and still make solid albums.
So who do I blame for this? I place blame largely on two entities: The internet and ClearChannel Broadcasting. The internet has made it possible for any band to have their music heard across the world. Meaning there are so many more bands with fan bases that there are less diehard fans for the bigger bands. Ed Droste and his band Grizzly Bear reached #7 on the Billboard Charts with their album Veckatimest, success that Droste credits largely due to the leaking of his album on the internet and the word of mouth that followed its reception, before the record even hit stores.
In a certain way I appreciate what the internet has done for music; Clear Channel however is a cancer to good music everywhere. Clear Channel owns most of the larger radio stations across the nation and has a large say in what music does and does not get played. This means that a large corporation has a bigger say in what bands get bigger fan bases than any other music source. So, in order to attain larger ratings, stations play safer and in turn more bland rock. I blame Clear Channel and tone deaf Americans for the success of Nickelback. Yet I am not sure what can be done to prevent the machine from further promoting such bands to attain main stream success.
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