a love supreme (john coltrane)
This is probably the album I will have the least to say about, out of everything I've enjoyed. It's simply a different language than the language I use to write about music- I don't know jazz, so I can't recognize influences or genres; the songs are like movements in a suite, not easily digestible pieces of which I can name favorites.
All I know is that this album does what my favorite jazz does: it evokes moods. It evokes the city late at night, and my humbly clichéd dreams of coffee shops and bookish people. If I heard it at fat cat, I'd love it. At three songs and thirty three minutes, it's best for just listening straight through, rather than shuffling around for greatest hits (in this regard, as a whole work devoid of any filler, it is probably the most successful album I've heard all year). If I had to pick a favorite, I'd go with "Resolution," but it's all really on the same plane of goodness, the whole way through.
Excellent work. I'd love to hear more- more Coltrane, more jazz in general- and maybe approach this album again some day, with a more informed interpretation.
Monday, March 9, 2009
album #29
the golden age (american music club)
This is a pleasant album. Melodic, slow, gentle; autumnal, as they say. These qualities, the pleasantness, the relatively advanced age of the band, all remind me of The Sea and Cake, a band that I love (but know little of). Listening to this album, having reviewed Hunky Dory earlier today, made me think of the interesting ways an album's mission can differ: whether to display a brilliant versatility, or to master a consistent tone. This album, like Boxer, earns its stars for the mastery of a tone. That soft, pretty, melancholy, nostalgic tone. As another reviewer said well, it's a very "interior" work.
Most of the songs are likable but they don't leave strong impressions- good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them again. My favorites, the ones that I will happily hear over and over again: "All My Love" is a beautiful opener; low, sweet and sad. "Decibels and the Little Pills" especially reminds me of the Sea and Cake, because it's slightly more uptempo than a lot of the album- it's a fine, melodic, quick (but still low) jam. "All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco" is the song that made me want to hear the album. Charmingly slow and controlled, with a such a lovely, perfect chorus, and interestingly dark, reference-laden lyrics. "I Know That's Not Really You" is a different beast than so much of the album- brassier, almost carnivalesque, a very different set of instruments. It's like if Gogol Bordello was in the business of making measured, melancholy anthems. It's a beautiful song, and it's really growing on me even now. Those are my favorites. The songs that are worth more listens, because they seem pretty good or because I haven't completely settled on an opinion yet and they intrigue me a little- "Who You Are," "One Step Ahead," the delightfully cynical "The Dance," and the disillusioned tourist ballad "Windows on the World."
Charming work. Apparently this band reunited with the making of this album, and their main period ranged from the mid '80s to the mid '90s. Could be interesting to hear their best work from that era. This album didn't strike me as a masterpiece, but it's pretty good at what it does.
This is a pleasant album. Melodic, slow, gentle; autumnal, as they say. These qualities, the pleasantness, the relatively advanced age of the band, all remind me of The Sea and Cake, a band that I love (but know little of). Listening to this album, having reviewed Hunky Dory earlier today, made me think of the interesting ways an album's mission can differ: whether to display a brilliant versatility, or to master a consistent tone. This album, like Boxer, earns its stars for the mastery of a tone. That soft, pretty, melancholy, nostalgic tone. As another reviewer said well, it's a very "interior" work.
Most of the songs are likable but they don't leave strong impressions- good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them again. My favorites, the ones that I will happily hear over and over again: "All My Love" is a beautiful opener; low, sweet and sad. "Decibels and the Little Pills" especially reminds me of the Sea and Cake, because it's slightly more uptempo than a lot of the album- it's a fine, melodic, quick (but still low) jam. "All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco" is the song that made me want to hear the album. Charmingly slow and controlled, with a such a lovely, perfect chorus, and interestingly dark, reference-laden lyrics. "I Know That's Not Really You" is a different beast than so much of the album- brassier, almost carnivalesque, a very different set of instruments. It's like if Gogol Bordello was in the business of making measured, melancholy anthems. It's a beautiful song, and it's really growing on me even now. Those are my favorites. The songs that are worth more listens, because they seem pretty good or because I haven't completely settled on an opinion yet and they intrigue me a little- "Who You Are," "One Step Ahead," the delightfully cynical "The Dance," and the disillusioned tourist ballad "Windows on the World."
Charming work. Apparently this band reunited with the making of this album, and their main period ranged from the mid '80s to the mid '90s. Could be interesting to hear their best work from that era. This album didn't strike me as a masterpiece, but it's pretty good at what it does.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
album #28
hunky dory (david bowie)
I liked this one a lot. Ziggy Stardust was good, Hunky Dory is better. The songs are pretty versatile, but they're held together by Bowie's weird, wonderful voice, and a generally weird, charming vision. Bowie explores so many different styles here- a few of the tracks are darker and more philosophical, a few are lighter and more vaudevillian; there are nods to his heroes, and there are a few songs that really capture his soaring, magnificent strangeness.
"Changes" is legendary. An extraordinary opener. "Oh! You Pretty Things" is one of my favorite Bowie songs, it bears an incredible resemblance to the Beatles. "Life on Mars?" really grew on me, the mix of those delicate, almost victorian verses with that spectacular, soaring chorus- off the top of my head, I can't think of a song I've heard this year with a more overwhelming, iconic chorus. "Queen Bitch" simply rocks. The slighter, more upbeat, almost vaudevillian tunes are fun, "Kooks" and especially "Fill Your Heart With Love Today," one of my favorites. And "The Bewlay Brothers," which gives this vibe of a hopeless, hallucinogenic crawl through the desert (it sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some of those miniature Miro paintings) really grew on me… I love the strange instruments, on a versatile and strange album, it makes for a particularly versatile and strange closer.
Lots and lots of good stuff on this one. An eclectic and accessible album.
I liked this one a lot. Ziggy Stardust was good, Hunky Dory is better. The songs are pretty versatile, but they're held together by Bowie's weird, wonderful voice, and a generally weird, charming vision. Bowie explores so many different styles here- a few of the tracks are darker and more philosophical, a few are lighter and more vaudevillian; there are nods to his heroes, and there are a few songs that really capture his soaring, magnificent strangeness.
"Changes" is legendary. An extraordinary opener. "Oh! You Pretty Things" is one of my favorite Bowie songs, it bears an incredible resemblance to the Beatles. "Life on Mars?" really grew on me, the mix of those delicate, almost victorian verses with that spectacular, soaring chorus- off the top of my head, I can't think of a song I've heard this year with a more overwhelming, iconic chorus. "Queen Bitch" simply rocks. The slighter, more upbeat, almost vaudevillian tunes are fun, "Kooks" and especially "Fill Your Heart With Love Today," one of my favorites. And "The Bewlay Brothers," which gives this vibe of a hopeless, hallucinogenic crawl through the desert (it sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some of those miniature Miro paintings) really grew on me… I love the strange instruments, on a versatile and strange album, it makes for a particularly versatile and strange closer.
Lots and lots of good stuff on this one. An eclectic and accessible album.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
album #27
los angeles (flying lotus)
This is fun music to write about. Generally I don't think I'm a great writer of music reviews (I'm conveying my opinions, sure, but there's not much poetry to it), but there are so many strange and wonderful adjectives that come to mind, trying to describe this album…
For instance, "SexSlaveShip" is wet and sticky. "Golden Diva" is an aerial song, with a glimmering beat. "Robertaflack" is sultry; "Riot" has a dark pulsing beat, heavy hums. "Beginner's Falafel" belongs in outer space. This is weird, fuzzy, cool music- I want to be moving slowly, or dancing, in a dark room, filled with sexy people, lit with strange colors, and I want to be tipsy or high. That's basically the ideal combination of circumstances for hearing this music. Or driving late at night through a neon city.
Great mood music. Generally I like pop or rock, not as much ambient DJ collage stuff (one downside to this album: after repeated listens, I still can barely tell which songs are which- I know when I like what I'm hearing, but my memory hasn't connected titles to sounds). But this is really good stuff. It reminds me of the stuff that my old roomie Luke was into- hazy, strange hip hop. I definitely would be up for investigating more artists like this.
This is fun music to write about. Generally I don't think I'm a great writer of music reviews (I'm conveying my opinions, sure, but there's not much poetry to it), but there are so many strange and wonderful adjectives that come to mind, trying to describe this album…
For instance, "SexSlaveShip" is wet and sticky. "Golden Diva" is an aerial song, with a glimmering beat. "Robertaflack" is sultry; "Riot" has a dark pulsing beat, heavy hums. "Beginner's Falafel" belongs in outer space. This is weird, fuzzy, cool music- I want to be moving slowly, or dancing, in a dark room, filled with sexy people, lit with strange colors, and I want to be tipsy or high. That's basically the ideal combination of circumstances for hearing this music. Or driving late at night through a neon city.
Great mood music. Generally I like pop or rock, not as much ambient DJ collage stuff (one downside to this album: after repeated listens, I still can barely tell which songs are which- I know when I like what I'm hearing, but my memory hasn't connected titles to sounds). But this is really good stuff. It reminds me of the stuff that my old roomie Luke was into- hazy, strange hip hop. I definitely would be up for investigating more artists like this.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
album #26
the pains of being pure at heart (the pains of being pure at heart)
A solid indie-pop record. More up my alley than much of the stuff I've listened to lately. Dreamy, fuzzy, nice male-female lyric blends. Sugary, accessible pop music. Maybe a hint too delicate for my tastes. There's definitely a throwback vibe, something about the sound really captures the 1980s… part of it is the delicacy of the male vocals, the way they're slightly swallowed by the instruments- also the lovelorn, teenagery quality of the music. It's very much the music of sweetly cool, heartbroken 80's teens.
I really like the opening songs and the closing series on this album, nothing from the middle really captured my attention quite the same way. "Contender" is really good, my favorite track is "Come Saturday"- nice guitar, nice vocal hook. "Everything With You" has a fine swooning sentimentality. The synth in "A Teenager in Love" really seals this particular song as the most 80's-retro of them all. That's a pretty charming song in general. "Hey Paul" is probably my second favorite track, they really turn up the guitars for this one, in addition to a nice soaring hook. That rocking edge is missing from a little too much of the album, so it really makes this song stand out as a good one. The closer, "Gentle Sons" is really growing on me- a good, firm, dramatic sound to that song.
Great pop, nice sound, a tiny bit boring, but altogether I like it a good deal.
A solid indie-pop record. More up my alley than much of the stuff I've listened to lately. Dreamy, fuzzy, nice male-female lyric blends. Sugary, accessible pop music. Maybe a hint too delicate for my tastes. There's definitely a throwback vibe, something about the sound really captures the 1980s… part of it is the delicacy of the male vocals, the way they're slightly swallowed by the instruments- also the lovelorn, teenagery quality of the music. It's very much the music of sweetly cool, heartbroken 80's teens.
I really like the opening songs and the closing series on this album, nothing from the middle really captured my attention quite the same way. "Contender" is really good, my favorite track is "Come Saturday"- nice guitar, nice vocal hook. "Everything With You" has a fine swooning sentimentality. The synth in "A Teenager in Love" really seals this particular song as the most 80's-retro of them all. That's a pretty charming song in general. "Hey Paul" is probably my second favorite track, they really turn up the guitars for this one, in addition to a nice soaring hook. That rocking edge is missing from a little too much of the album, so it really makes this song stand out as a good one. The closer, "Gentle Sons" is really growing on me- a good, firm, dramatic sound to that song.
Great pop, nice sound, a tiny bit boring, but altogether I like it a good deal.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
album #25
boxer (the national)
The National does a fine job of maintaining a particular tone throughout this album, a low, measured tone. Every song feels like a reflection of a particular mood, a particular moment- and that moment is sitting in your car alone, near the end of a warm summer night, reflecting on the passage of time and the value of the night you just spent with someone. The distinct baritone, the fine instrumentation. It's dark, lovely music.
The lyrics are surprisingly sharp- there's humor in a lot of it, and also a scathing critique of a sad material culture. "Fake Empire" and "Mistaken for Strangers" are the opening tracks, and they're my favorites. Lyrically they master those elements of sadness, snark, critique, and musically they're simply fantastic. The low, beautiful piano of the former, the Interpolesque energy of the latter. "Ada," near the close of the album, is my other favorite. Sufjan Stevens contributes to that song, I'm not sure specifically where- many of the instruments sound like his work. His dreamy piano and horns merge perfectly with the mellow darkness of the National.
The rest of the songs are generally good, but none of them stand out. "Start a War" was probably my favorite of the rest of them. Each song has its own grace, its own moments of wit and musical strengths. Sometimes I'll listen to an album, and the tracks not worth mentioning are simply not that good. On this album, everything was pretty good. Fine work overall.
The National does a fine job of maintaining a particular tone throughout this album, a low, measured tone. Every song feels like a reflection of a particular mood, a particular moment- and that moment is sitting in your car alone, near the end of a warm summer night, reflecting on the passage of time and the value of the night you just spent with someone. The distinct baritone, the fine instrumentation. It's dark, lovely music.
The lyrics are surprisingly sharp- there's humor in a lot of it, and also a scathing critique of a sad material culture. "Fake Empire" and "Mistaken for Strangers" are the opening tracks, and they're my favorites. Lyrically they master those elements of sadness, snark, critique, and musically they're simply fantastic. The low, beautiful piano of the former, the Interpolesque energy of the latter. "Ada," near the close of the album, is my other favorite. Sufjan Stevens contributes to that song, I'm not sure specifically where- many of the instruments sound like his work. His dreamy piano and horns merge perfectly with the mellow darkness of the National.
The rest of the songs are generally good, but none of them stand out. "Start a War" was probably my favorite of the rest of them. Each song has its own grace, its own moments of wit and musical strengths. Sometimes I'll listen to an album, and the tracks not worth mentioning are simply not that good. On this album, everything was pretty good. Fine work overall.
february recap
-$495 +$374 (not including rent)
february goal: $12 spent per day, max. and earnings that equate to $15-20 per day.
february result: $17.68 spent per day. and earnings of $13.36 per day.
(*Almost $200 of this spending was unavoidable- bus tickets, metrocard and improv dues. So my discipline in regards to other spending comes out to like, $10.50 a day- admirable effort.)
march goal: $14 spent per day, Hard Max (including dues, metrocard.) earnings that equate to $15-20 per day.
think of it as a monthly allowance of $435, and once you spend it, there is nothing left to spend.
Music: 12 albums reviewed (goal: 10).
Museums: 1 visit with full written reflection- but this was a multi-trip, long term visit. (goal, 2).
Fount: 2 pieces (Cindy McCain video, Lincoln painting). (goal, 3 pieces). Not bad.
Paintings: one minor piece (Lincoln) completed, not much else.
Artwork: Huge leap forward. completed 8-9 collage illustrations, with 2-3 in progress.
Exercise: 5 workouts. 3 were in the first week of the month. So, not so great. But okay.
Cartoons: 1 packet came back. A little drafting. Generally, not enough going on.
Improv: Feeling good in class. 4 performances, 2 okay, 2 pretty good. New group premiered!
Drawings: the doodle blog is looking like a solid success, keep it up! 44 followers.
Miscellany: progress on Presidential Rankings, read and reviewed 2 books, secured a part time job!, had a good audition, bitzy fanaynay
march targets…
music: 10 albums reviewed
museums: 1 written reflection
fount: 3 pieces published
paintings: 2 significant works completed (ali and dave portrait), (jd cafe)
artwork: 10 new illustrations… a file of 20 collages prepared by the start of april.
exercise: 7 workouts
cartoons: work on drafts of all the december idea file, make march another 'idea month'- draft one idea per day.
improv: 7 performances, submit personal notes to coach B.
drawings: keep it up
february goal: $12 spent per day, max. and earnings that equate to $15-20 per day.
february result: $17.68 spent per day. and earnings of $13.36 per day.
(*Almost $200 of this spending was unavoidable- bus tickets, metrocard and improv dues. So my discipline in regards to other spending comes out to like, $10.50 a day- admirable effort.)
march goal: $14 spent per day, Hard Max (including dues, metrocard.) earnings that equate to $15-20 per day.
think of it as a monthly allowance of $435, and once you spend it, there is nothing left to spend.
Music: 12 albums reviewed (goal: 10).
Museums: 1 visit with full written reflection- but this was a multi-trip, long term visit. (goal, 2).
Fount: 2 pieces (Cindy McCain video, Lincoln painting). (goal, 3 pieces). Not bad.
Paintings: one minor piece (Lincoln) completed, not much else.
Artwork: Huge leap forward. completed 8-9 collage illustrations, with 2-3 in progress.
Exercise: 5 workouts. 3 were in the first week of the month. So, not so great. But okay.
Cartoons: 1 packet came back. A little drafting. Generally, not enough going on.
Improv: Feeling good in class. 4 performances, 2 okay, 2 pretty good. New group premiered!
Drawings: the doodle blog is looking like a solid success, keep it up! 44 followers.
Miscellany: progress on Presidential Rankings, read and reviewed 2 books, secured a part time job!, had a good audition, bitzy fanaynay
march targets…
music: 10 albums reviewed
museums: 1 written reflection
fount: 3 pieces published
paintings: 2 significant works completed (ali and dave portrait), (jd cafe)
artwork: 10 new illustrations… a file of 20 collages prepared by the start of april.
exercise: 7 workouts
cartoons: work on drafts of all the december idea file, make march another 'idea month'- draft one idea per day.
improv: 7 performances, submit personal notes to coach B.
drawings: keep it up
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