I had a dream last night — it wasn’t a terribly good dream, but I’m going to share it anyway! Because I thought it was at least marginally interesting and in defiance of that old saw that there is nothing less interesting than someone else’s dreams.
Yay! I’m back on this episode of Crush On Radio, only this time Andrew’s not — it’s his mom’s birthday and they’re doing brunch! So that is awesome! Next time, we should both be there… but maybe RICH WILL BE GONE?!?! (probably not)
Topics include song ratings, junk on album covers, songs about dumping where the dumping didn’t take, concerts, bands that change, NME cassettes, autographs, They Might Be Giants‘ backing band, and missing Andrew!
Picks this week were XTC and POLYSICS! All hail all-caps bands!
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Like everyone, I tend to come up with a lot of ideas that I never get around to doing. Sometimes, it’s because they’re pretty stupid ideas. So, in order to do something with them, I’m throwing them out here. If anyone wants to make these stupid ideas a reality, go for it!
Stupid Idea: You know those Christmas records where they do Christmas records with dog barks or cat meows? Usually they’re credited to the Jingle Dogs or the Jingle Cats? And the early one was done with actual tape splicing and stuff where they have the actual dog barks and noises that are in the actual right notes, so that’s kinda cool, but they’ve done more recent ones where it’s just a sampling keyboard, so it’s kind of cheating? But even though it’s sorta neat from a technical aspect, it’s still pretty damned annoying anyway? Continue reading
Edward Ka-Spel‘s brilliance with The Legendary Pink Dots is to introduce us to isolated characters and then immerse us in their world-view through expansive and mysterious soundscapes. He begins with the most restricted, infinitesimal point of consciousness and then slowly expands it outward towards a state of ‘cosmic consciousness’ (to use the phrase of 1960s psychonauts). Musically, he often follows this template of expansion, with simple melody lines repeating and layering in increased complexity of texture. Much of the LPD’s music is an undertaking to help the listener (and perhaps composer) escape his/her own head. Lyrical phrases, musical motifs, album titles and themes recur across decades, but tonal shifts between albums are slow and subtle. Hopefully, The Legendary Dots Project, like the Residents and Sparks projects before, will provide the keen reader and listener with a giddy entry-point into the Legendary Pink Dots’ musical world. Fulfill the prophecy! Continue reading
It came to my attention yesterday that apparently there exist people who don’t like the Fratellis’ breakout hit “Chelsea Dagger”.
I know.
This is baffling to me! It was over on the AV Club where someone on another album review asked if they’d review the newest record (and first after a hiatus) We Need Medicine. Admittedly, it’s just commenters, and the dissent against common sense didn’t come from anyone officially associated with the AV Club itself, but it’s still utterly confusing.
…Are… are they listening to it wrong?
I really enjoy Kate Nash‘s music — from her first piano-based album Made of Bricks, to the more 60s-girl-groupy My Best Friend Is You, and her newest album, Girl Talk, which is a bit more of a punky vein. The new single from Girl Talk is “Fri-End?”, and here’s a retro-inspired video clip for the song, featuring many different colored Kates. And when you’re done with that, pick up Girl Talk. It’s real good. (My Best Friend Is You is also really good, but I think got an unfair shake critically, since folks were probably expecting Made of Bricks Part II. I know I was… but I was pleasantly surprised and dug it quite a bit on its own merits.) Continue reading
It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big fan of Nine Inch Nails. Not the hugest one — I’ve still not seen them live or anything (and I’m still a bit of a baby to watch The Broken Movie… though I probably will at some point…. maybe), but I have all the albums and I really do enjoy them. I’ve really enjoyed watching how Trent Reznor’s grown as a songwriter and lyricist. Some of the NIN lyrics have left me cold; they can be a little overwrought sometimes, which is one of the reasons why I loved Ghosts I-IV so much. But with Year Zero, he’s really expanded his vision. (And I’m still sad that the Year Zero TV series never happened.) And with the newest album, Hestitation Marks, though he’s gone back to more autobiographically-inspired material, the growth is there. Continue reading
Edward Ka-Spel‘s brilliance with The Legendary Pink Dots is to introduce us to isolated characters and then immerse us in their world-view through expansive and mysterious soundscapes. He begins with the most restricted, infinitesimal point of consciousness and then slowly expands it outward towards a state of ‘cosmic consciousness’ (to use the phrase of 1960s psychonauts). Musically, he often follows this template of expansion, with simple melody lines repeating and layering in increased complexity of texture. Much of the LPD’s music is an undertaking to help the listener (and perhaps composer) escape his/her own head. Lyrical phrases, musical motifs, album titles and themes recur across decades, but tonal shifts between albums are slow and subtle. Hopefully, The Legendary Dots Project, like the Residents and Sparks projects before, will provide the keen reader and listener with a giddy entry-point into the Legendary Pink Dots’ musical world. Fulfil the prophecy! Continue reading
Turbines is the fifth album from London’s Tunng, and the first I’ve heard. When I put the album on I had no idea what to expect. The cover art has a kaleidoscopic pattern, and neither band name nor album titled offered any clues either. This is fine by me, surprises can be fun! And, as it turns out, I don’t think I was expecting what I got — a mellow, electronic sound with vocals not too far removed from Stuart Murdoch (though sans Scottish accent). Continue reading
So, we’re stealin’ the idea from the Sparks Project and doing one with probably even more records out there — The Residents! And this time we’re changing it up a little bit — we’ve got two hardcore Residents fans in me and Rich, but Aila is, at best, a casual fan, who will be hearing about 99% of these records for the first time. DANGEROUS! So, enjoy, THE RESIDENTS PROJECT! Continue reading