Electro Sunday

So out of sheer boredom, I decided to toss up a the songs I'm feeling of late from particular genres. Here's what I've got for Electronica today:

Binarpilot - Goof



Deadmau5 - Ghosts n stuff



Justice - Genesis



Justice - Waters of Nazareth



Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix)



Digitalism - Home Zone



Digitalism - Zdarlight



Daft Punk - Touch It/Technologic (Alive 2007)



Darft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger/Around the World (Alive 2007 Radio Edit)



Daft Punk - Too Long (Alive 2007)





That should be a good start. Tell me what you noobs think.

Enjoy.

White Stripes Movie Trailer + Killers DVD

Two interesting tidbits about performance DVDs were revealed today.

First, the White Stripes posted a trailer for their upcoming movie, Under the Great White Northern Lights. The movie premiered on the 18th at the Toronto Film Festival. I have no idea what it's about or when it will be widely released, but here's the trailer:



Additionally, The Killers are releasing a DVD, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, on November 10th. The DVD includes the full show, as well as some bonus performances and behind-the-scenes interviews and whatnot. Somehow I doubt it will convey the same grandeur and pomp as actually seeing them in person, but it should be worth a watch.

Rush Making a 19th Album

That's right, Geddy Lee and crew are supposedly heading back into the recording studio to lay down a 19th album.

Article/Blog thing

I really wasn't a fan of Snakes and Arrows, but maybe they can redeem themselves here.

Hey, It's Music Related...

Hilarious video. This firmly support my suspicions that Lady Gaga would have horrendous sounding live music...the act could be interesting though. At least good for a laugh.

EDIT: The HTML for the video embed had a missing bracket, and I don't feel like digging through it to find it. Lazy link to the rescue

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80748387/

Illegal Downloading Through the Eyes of an Artist

Just found a very insightful article on Sputnikmusic about illegal downloading from an independent artist's perspective. Take a look, it should help inform some opinions on the subject.

I more or less agree with everything he's saying, however I do illegally download as a preview of albums. If I like it, I'll buy it. If I don't, I'll delete it. Also, we've already seen the drastic increase in merchandise prices, although I don't see the prices of shows going up too much. Who is going to buy tickets at marked up prices for bands they don't absolutely love? Only die hard fans would, and there simply wouldn't be enough to get a up-and-coming bands on their feet. Merchandise prices are and have been rising, but if they raise the prices of shows, the only outcome will be less fans at shows. It's that simple.

No Music Today, Just Football

Not much going on musically right now, and who cares? Today is about nothing but football.

New Muse Song Posted

Muse, the critically and publicly acclaimed rock trio (not to be confused with Dugtrio) from England, released another song from their upcoming album, The Resistance, which drops September 15th.

I'm on campus right now, and I don't have my headphones, so I don't want to disturb all these people studying, but I did want to get this posted as soon as I saw it.

Take a listen.

Muse - Undisclosed Desires

KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day leaked

So, KiD CuDi's new album got leaked allllllllllll over the internet. The album is slated for release September 15th, but there are already reviews for it...Hopefully he still makes some money off it.

From what I've read of the reviews, CuDi went all out on this album. I've read through a couple forums, and the word on the album is all positive. Supposedly solid from track one to track fifteen, the album looks like it has some very interesting facets.

A, Common does narration on the album. I don't know exactly what this refers to, but I would assume it has something to do with the album's story, which leads me to my next point.

B, the album doesn't have a tracklist, it has a "scenelist". According to CuDi's website, there are five "scenes" on the CD, which feature between two and four songs each, and are titled. Concept albums are interesting enough in themselves, but concept albums from this genre of music is something new to me altogether.

C, CuDi collaborates with a some great artists. MGMT is featured on one song, Ratatat is featured on two, and Kanye and Common both show up on track twelve. Whether that track includes Common's narration, I'm not sure.

In any event, first impressions of this album from around the internet are heralding it as "the next step in hip hop." Whether or not it lives up to that, I'm not sure, but what is for sure is I'll be stopping in at the music shop on my way home from school tomorrow to grab Day 'N' Nite.

Kid Cudi Myspace
KiD CuDi - Day 'N' Nite
KiD CuDi vs Crookers - Day 'N' Nite Remix
KiD CuDi - A Kid Named Cudi Mix Tape

Dethklok Post New Video

That's right, the fictional band Dethklok...from Metalacolypse. I actually heard this song on Sirius radio two nights ago. For a bunch of cartoon characters, they're doing pretty good.

Dethklok - Bloodlines

Mew - No More Stories

Just came across this band Mew on SputnikMusic. Took a listen to their album stream, and it's actually pretty good. Something like an Animal Collective Lite. Definitely worth checking out.

Mew - No More Stories

Suggest an Album for Review!

So I've got a bunch of albums lined up, but I thought it would be fun to get some more people involved in this blog. So ask yourself, your friends, your parents, your dog, whoever, what album they would like to see reviewed, and them point them here!

Whatever suggestions I get will be taken into consideration and hopefully reviewed within a week!

New Fall of Troy Song

Okay, last post for the day, but I had to get this one out there.

About a week ago, The Fall of Troy posted "Panic Attack!", the first song to be released with studio recording quality, off their upcoming 4th full album, In the Unlikely Event. They have played several other songs from the album at live shows, including "Battleship Graveyard" and "Straight Jacket".

"Panic Attack!" is not exactly classic Fall of Troy. It's okay, but the lyrics are reallllllllly awful, the singing isn't close to inline with what we're accustom to from them, and it feels too straight forward. Not really sure how I feel about "Straight Jacket". It sounds old school punk music on steroids. The bright spot however, is definitely "Battleship Graveyard". Based on the low-quality audio recording, it sounds like it's going to be the next big thing out of this band.

Album drops October 6th.

Matt and Kim on Kimmel

The indie duo Matt and Kim performed an interesting version of their song "Daylight" on Jimmy Kimmel Live on August 26th. A little old, but I just came across it.

Honestly, I thought the live version sucked. I love the studio version, but that performance was not very good...I guess it's pretty tough to recreate a studio version when you only have two people in the band...

Anyways, here are links to the live version and the studio version.

Make up your own mind.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Stream New Album

As much as I hate social networking sites as a whole, they are extremely helpful tools for up-and-coming bands. Rodrigo y Gabriela, an acoustic instrumental duo from Mexico, recently posted their new album, 11:11, in its entirety on their Myspace page.

Check out it out here: 11:11 album by Rodrigo y Gabriela

They have a few of their older songs up on their main Myspace page as well: Rodrigo y Gabriela

It's sounding great so far.

The Killers - Day & Age

I'll come through and polish this one up a bit, but I just wanted to get it up. That's what she said...

Clear division of song type half way through the album. Overall lyrics are altogether completely ambiguous, which is a good thing for listners who like to put their own spin on music, but could also detract from the experience for listeners looking for a window into Brandon Flowers' psyche. I happen to like the ambiguity of it as it makes the music fit nearly any mood, as you can change the lyrics meanings to fit whatever is on your mind. The little variation in tempo and rhythm make for a safe, decent album, but a bit of boldness would have given this album some oomph and a greater positive skew in my critique. A lot of the songs find Flowers and Co. rehashing sound, proven techniques that have been used multiple times before by the band. But because we've heard all of this before, these techniques have lost their luster and have become flat and make for a contrived album. There are certainly highlights to be found, and those select songs are certainly the parts of the album I thoroughly and unashamedly enjoyed. However, the album as a whole feels like something from a previous day and age that we've already seen several times...sorry, that was lame.

EDIT: I have come to the realization that this indeed NOT an "album" to be listened to straight through. After listening to several songs on their own without listening to anything else, it became rather apparent that this is a tracklist independent album. I like the songs much better on their own versus as a whole with the rest of the album. Maybe a re-review is in order from a different perspective.

Losing Touch: This is the way I like albums to start. Big production, lots of bang. Love the horns harmonized with the guitar. This is music where Flowers' voice works well. The chorus takes away from the bang a bit, but altogether it works well. It's a good toe tapping song, gets ya movin'. The bridge blends the chorus and the verses well. Overall, works well as an opening song. It's a solidly constructed song with pleasant major chord progressions that give the song a good feel. Easily the best song on the first half of the album.

Human: I don't like this song. While I definitely appreciate the lyrical intent, I feel like they lack the punch that a message like that should carry. The momentum from Losing Touch is lost almost immediately, as this song stands in stark contrast to the previous. The galloping beginning is nice, and the Euro-Dance bit works decently, but that gets buried when the song really "kicks" in about at 1:15. It sounds like an 80's teen movie's credit music. Has no impact on me, sonically, lyrically, or emotionally. It feels like it WANTS to have a more energetic, forceful melody, but it lacks exactly that. Perhaps a reorganization of the tracklist would benefit this song, but the dulled instrumentals juxtaposed against a galloping beat pull this song in two directions, which ultimately ends in nothing but lost intentions and misguided ambition. Pushing the song in one direction or the other would have solved this problem, and lead to smoother album progression.

Spaceman: The energy and body moving beat is found again in the first single off the album. The clapping and "oh-oh's" that echo through the beginning of the song mixed with the synth effects interlaced throughout the song lend an up tempo vibe and a retro feel that really works well. Also, the passion heard in Flowers' voice in this song is one of the frontman's best, and must underutilized musical skill in his repertoire. It really sells this song. It's goddamn catchy, so much so that it'll be stuck in your head for the next week, which may or may not be a good thing.

Joy Ride: I like the funk bass line in this song a lot. This is a nice mix of old Killers and new Killers. Actually a pretty damn good song. I really like the "steel drum" instrument (I know they aren't steel drums, but I can't think of what they're called) and horns. The care put into the production is evident, giving this song a very polished sound. The mix is good. It has some certain "island music" attributes that I really like. Fairly obvious lyrical message. Pretty good cheer up song. The album seems to find direction here.

Dustland Fairytale: Probably the best song on the album. Again the passion in Flowers' voice is present, which continues to be a huge factor in my approval of songs on this album. The lyrics are also VERY visual, which I really like. "I saw the devil wrapping up his hands, getting ready for the show down" works so well in my mind. I like the pounding drum line, which couples well with the punch and effect of the lyrics. Overall, this songs fits together perfectly. Very well done.
I feel like this is where the song division takes place. It's something I can't really put my finger on, but from this song forward, the songs just feel different than the beginning songs.

This Is Your Life: I'm not thrilled with this song. It's just kinda bland. Doesn't really have much going on. It all feels like it's building up to something, but the payoff is pretty weak. You wait 2 minutes for any kind of release of energy, and it lasts like 10 seconds. I turn to the Killers as a source of a couple musical qualities: "fun" and energy, a "feel good" vibe, and a good mainstream Rock song. This song does not deliver any of these. I would switch Spaceman for this song in the tracklist.

I Can't Stay: This song picks up on the "island music" feel from Joy Ride, which I love. Bit of an odd start, but once the song gets going I really like it. The harp is a very nice addition that you really don't hear that often in music today. There are DEFINITELY steel drums in this one along with a marracca and a wood block that give it an overall island feel. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch too. It's a fairly simple song, but that's what island music is all about. I really like the sax solo bit too, and when it melts into the full band bridge, the energy pushed through from a song with such a slow tempo is pretty impressive. Could tie with Dustland for best song on the album.

Neon Tiger: After so many songs with the same slow tempo and extraordinarily similar rhythms, I'd really like a picked up speed here. The 80's synth makes it feel like it's straight out of Top Gun. The lyrics cut a fine line between cryptic and decipherable. Seems to fit better with the first half of the album. Decent song, but pretty forgettable to me. Filler, but good filler.

The World We Live In: The keyboard gives it a Supertramp feel, which I like. I like how the songs works. It's fairly minimalist and VERY straight foward. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think it fits. The mix on this song makes some parts a little muddled during the chorus, but I like the guitar parts, I like the singing. Overall, it works out.

Goodnight, Travel Well: I actually contest that THIS is one of the best songs on the album. I thought it was actually the beginning of a different album because it didn't fit with any of the other songs. But GODDAMN do I like this song. It's ominous, it's foreboding, and it's a damn interesting way to end an album. Most bands would open with this one...I actually love that it's at the end of the album. Very nice twist. It isn't exactly an exciting song, but it has that epic feel to it, and it is a bit dark. I love the echo on the vocals, and it FINALLY has that build up to something! That slow build I have been waiting for the ENTIRE album finally releases here. Awesome. Just awesome. It just feels badass and awesome. Something The Killers do surprisingly well, and I wish they did more of it. Big sound, big feel. Even the vocals are pounding on this one, and there is so much emotion and passion in Flowers' voice. I really, really like this song.

I haven't figured out scores for the songs yet. I'll come in and edit that later.

The album score as a whole however, is in.

3/5

The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger

How do you explain The Fall of Troy to someone? There have been countless times where I've tried to describe the band's sound, only to confuse my listener beyond reason. Rush mixed with Circle Takes the Square? The Mars Volta versus Hot Cross? Yes meets screamo? How could any of those combinations turn into incredible music? How could you mix the finesse and technicality of progressive music and mix it with the grating vocals and brute force of today's hardcore scene and end up with anything better than Nickelback?

Well, The Fall of Troy have found that balance, and they have perfected it. You get the “holy shit, I'm in your face” aspect of hardcore with the “holy shit, this is incredibly skillful music” aspect of progressive and end up with a “holy shit, I've never heard anything like this before” aspect that is The Fall of Troy.

So far, the band have released 3 albums. A self-titled debut, Doppelganger, and Manipulator, each album getting progressively more polished in production. The self-titled album is gritty and raw; more like a live show than a studio recording. Doppelganger has some polish to it, but it doesn't have too much manipulation or too many studio effects, where as Manipulator is almost over the top in it's production. In my eyes, Doppelganger wins over the other two simply because the form follows the bands “genre” for lack of a better term. Think about it. They maintain some grit that keeps them raw, but it also has the production to help the progressive bits really shine. It's absolutely genius.

But that isn't the only reason Doppelganger surpasses the other two albums. The songs on this album are, well...fucking genius. You can feel the months of work this album took to put together. Each song is deeply charactered, reflecting some facet of The Fall of Troy's style. The guitar work throughout the album is unreal. You'd be hard pressed to find a more skilled guitarist in the last 20 than Thomas Erak, and his skill shines as brightly as ever on every single track. The only thing more impressive than the guitar might be the drums. Andrew Forsman is an unstoppable force on the skins, relentlessly assaulting them with an inhuman vigor that only the world's most elite drummers would understand. John Bonham would be proud.

The energy on this album is consistent through every single song. The instant the album starts, “I Just Got This Symphony Goin' “sets the tone and tempo of the entire album. Erak rips AND melts faces with one of the most impressive tapping licks I've ever heard. It's fast. Real fast. And a quick listen to the drumming gives you an insight on just how ridiculously good Andrew is. His fills are godly on this track.

“Act One, Scene One” is probably the album's weakest song. The song is incredibly well structured, but it just doesn't fit the album. It's somewhat slower than all the other songs, and doesn't seem to keep with the "in your face" energy present throughout the album. On it's own, this is a decent piece of music, but it feels like a disconnect when looking at the album as a whole.

“F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.” is a song that anyone who has played Guitar Hero III probably knows. As The Fall of Troy's most tame song, it was selected as the track to get new listeners into the band. It isn't exactly representative of The Fall of Troy as a whole, as it is the most generically structured song The Fall of Troy has ever released. The song, as the name gives hint to, is a remix of “F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P.” off their self-titled album. This version amps up the energy and switches the guitar for the bass part.

The rest of the songs on the album are what really make it shine. The quick, two minute burners like “You Got a Death Wish, Johnny Truant?”, “Laces Out, Dan!”, and “We Better Learn How To Hotwire a Uterus” keep the album flowing, while odd song structures in “Mouths Like Sidewinder Misssles” and “The Hol[ ]y Tape” keep things interesting. The guitar is abrasive, the drumming manic, the bass pounding, and the vocals piercing. But somehow, Thomas Erak and Co. manage to somehow intertwine these otherwise discomforting musical elements into something that actually works.

Song rankings:

I Just Got This Symphony Goin' – Fucking incredible. One of my all time favorite songs. 11/10

Act One, Scene One – Okayish. Not great, not really even good. 6/10.

FCPREMIX – Great. Fast paced, and a good way for people to buy into the band. 9/10

“You Got a Death Wish, Johnny Truant?” - Not fantastic. About as chaotic as it gets. Kind of an annoying song. There are parts that I really like, but the majority of it doesn't work for me. 7/10

Mouths Like Sidewinder Misssiles. - No, that isn't a misspelling of missiles. It has 3 S's in it on this album because it is a remake of a song from their first album, which had missiles spelled correctly. Anyways, probably my second favorite song on the album, and one of my favorite Fall of Troy songs overall. Fucking fast, unforgiving, breakneck pace that doesn't let up for a second. This song trucks, and it trucks hard. The instrumentals at the end are proof that the music this band is putting out is so good, they don't need vocals to keep the listener engaged. Brilliant. 10/10

The Ho[ ]ly Tape – I have no idea what's up with the song title, but this song is awesome. Perfectly epitomizes The Fall of Troy's guitar style. Fast, staccato, pitch-bending, fret-burning, effect-drenched awesomeness. Tempos are made and shattered moments later, keys change in a heart beat. The skill required to produce music like this is on another level. It's like a breath of fresh air after the same old same old we've been getting for years. 10/10

Laces Out, Dan! - This song feels dramatic. Passionate. You can feel the emotion poured into this one. It's like I Just Got This Symphony Goin' minus the epicness. The drumming in this one really stands out to me. Crazy song structure, and it's over in a flash. Keeps you on your toes. 9/10

We Better Learn to Hotwire a Uterus – Good God, the time signature in this song changes every 10 seconds just about. As the shortest song on the album, it's probably a good thing. Two minutes of this works very well. Three might have been too much. A bit competitive, although when the “creaky door” guitar effect comes in near the end of the song, I get chills. - 8/10

Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man's Bones – This feels more genre constricted than any of the other songs on the album. Although, I do really like it. There's so much going on, but it all harmonizes and fits together so well, that it becomes decipherable and comprehensible. Next to FCPREMIX, this is probably the most straight forward song in terms of structure and style, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. After the absolutely wild last 3 songs, it's nice to feel something somewhat recognizable again. Great song. 9/10

Tom Waits – Spacey effects, clean guitar, heavy distortion, insane solos. The vocals bother me to a point on this one, but the rest is SO good, I can easily get passed it. Not only is this an awesome song, but the story behind it is equally interesting. If you get time, check out the song “The Fall of Troy” by Tom Waits. 9/10
Macaulay McCulkin – In true Fall of Troy style, they leave the longest, most ambitious song for last. This song switches up styles more than Lady Gaga...awful jokes aside, this song goes from one end of the musical spectrum to the other at lightning speed. How the drummer keeps all his tempos straight during live shows is really something else. This song isn't quite as hard as all the other ones, which is fitting for an ending I feel. Wonderful exit, fantastic song. 10/10.

Individual album score: 98/110 = 89%

Overall album score = 4.5/5

One of my favorites. It's one of the few bands to which I continually come back.

EDIT: I know that there is the Ghostship Demos and Phantom On the Horizon, but I don't count the Ghostship Demos as a CD because it's impossible to get all the songs, and Phantom On the Horizon came out after I wrote this, and I was too lazy to change it at all.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

I love reading album reviews, I love writing, and I love music. Why not, right? It’s a good way to kill some time and further my already impeccable writing skills to god-like status. So yeah, the format will be somewhat consistent: I’ll elaborately expound upon the album in the bulk of the review, and then I’ll devise some kind of quantifiable scale by which to rate albums. This way, people can waste their life and read through my often jumbled musings, or just skip to the scale and get my opinion on the album in four to five seconds. So, here goes nothing…

MY FIRST ALBUM REVIEW

Well, not really. I reviewed Alive 2007, Daft Punk’s live album, about a year ago for some class. But this will be my first review of an album that I post to the general public, and I can say whatever I damn well please.

I selected a somewhat unusual album for my first review. It isn’t my favorite album, it isn’t by my favorite band, and it doesn’t contain my favorite song. It’s a slightly dated work, released March 20th, 2007. The album is We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, by Modest Mouse.
Let me first start off by saying I’m really not a huge Modest Mouse fan. I enjoyed their singles and I thought they were decent when I saw them at Merriweather, but I’ve never taken time to sit down and listen to their music. I’ve never wheeled through my iPod and said, “today is a day for Modest Mouse!” They’re just another band to me.

That has changed.

The album starts off with a bang. “March Into the Sea” is a chaotic, aggressive introduction that serves a single purpose: to prepare the listener for the rest of the album. Beyond that, the song is simply album filler, which isn’t a bad thing. If you listen to the album as a whole, the song does its job brilliantly. If you just listen to the song, it would be comparable to reading just the beginning of a book. It’s designed to make you want more. Designed to make you want to continue reading, or listening in this case. Overall song grade: 2.5/5

From there, we jump into “Dashboard”, the first single to come off the album. It’s an undeniably catchy tune, built upon a pretty formulaic song structure. It’s the song that Modest Mouse released for the radio to hook new listeners, as it’s essentially your average Modest Mouse song. Nothing too flashy, but enough pizzazz to get your toes tapping. I must admit, I did enjoy the “oriental” style strings mixed in throughout the song. They added a bit of depth and a breath of fresh air into an otherwise standard song. Overall song grade: 3.5/5

Next up is the first dud on the album. “Fire It Up” is a repetitive, monotonous, boring piece of junk. The quick-paced drum machine in the beginning is interesting, but once that is pushed into the background, the song is stripped of any redeeming qualities. I’m not sure why Modest Mouse felt saying “fire it up, fire it up” over and over and over again was necessary. Seriously, the only lamer title would have been “Take It to the Limit”, but I guess Hinder already nabbed that. In the war of songs titled “Fire It Up”, Black Label Society is the winner. Overall song grade: 1.5/5

Modest Mouse gets slightly back on track with a decent filler song. “Florida” is a scrappy song with a bit of character to it. It’s nothing extraordinary, but after “Fire It Up”, this song shines all the brighter. It’s not a song that I’d specifically want to listen to, but it certainly isn’t one I’d skip past either. Overall song grade: 3/5

After a bit of a slow start, the album skyrockets with “Parting of the Sensory”. The first great song on the album, this song boasts absolutely spectacular lyrics and a well thought out structure. The build-up is flawlessly executed, with layer upon layer being added as the song progresses. Everything gradually gets louder and more forceful until it boils over into the fantastic ending. It’s a wonderful change of dynamic, from a quiet, slow acoustic rendition into a rambunctious, lively ending. With the guitar twang, the fiddle, and the clapping, it has a bit of an Irish folksy feel, a complete 180 from the beginning of the song. Pure win. Overall song grade: 4.5/5

This is the point on the album where we start getting into slower songs that pack less power than the first half of the album. “Missed the Boat” was the second single off the album, although I feel it deserved to be the first. It’s a very simplistic song, with reserved percussion and a very nice underlying acoustic lick. It has a laid back feel to it, which I think is a strong suit for Modest Mouse. It’s simple, but it works perfectly. Overall song grade: 4/5

The album breaks its two song streak and retreats back into decency. “We’ve Got Everything” is a slightly better than average song, but I think I’d like it a lot more without the back-up vocals from John Mercer of The Shins. I love The Shins, but he bothers me in this song. The end of the song drags on for a bit too long for my taste, but it isn’t a song breaker. Overall song grade: 3/5

The next song, “Fly Trapped In a Jar”, is probably the oddest song on the album. It really doesn’t fit the album in any capacity, and to me, it isn’t good enough on its own to merit a spot. I probably would have ditched this song and saved it for another album where it fit better. Overall song grade: 2/5

“Education” is the best filler song on the album, but it’s filler nonetheless. It’s a little more creative than the other fodder songs, but it doesn’t quite reach any replay value. it feels like a song that had a good idea behind it, but wasn’t carried out well, or maybe got a little overcomplicated. Overall song grade: 3/5

“Little Motel” is a solid song. It was the third single released off the album, providing a polar opposite to “Dashboard”. A little lyrically repetitive, but it’s instrumentally gorgeous, especially the small crescendo near the end of the song. It retains its slow tranquility, but by upping the volume the song avoids any staleness. For a slow, quiet song, it really is good. Overall song grade: 3.5/5

“Steam Engenius” is another really weird song. I like the funk undertones, but all the “woo-wooing” kills it for me. Also, the bullhorn in the choruses isn’t implanted right in my opinion. I think just straight vocals would have worked better. Also, the car horn right before the chorus could possibly be the most grating noise ever. Remedy all these problems, and this would be a pretty good song. Overall song grade: 2.5/5

The only word I have for the next song is fucking. “Spitting Venom” is just fucking. It’s so good, I cannot think of an adjective that does it justice. I know I said this album does not contain my favorite song, but this song is certainly in my top 50. The lyrics are incredible. The structure is genius. You get the folksy acoustic beginning, which spontaneously explodes into the fast, heavy, and aggressive middle passage, which dissolves right back into the folksy bit with a little more flavor, then tucks into a trumpet solo, and then morphs into a slow, epic ending with the drums pounding on alternate beats. This song covers every emotion and music style on the entire album…in eight minutes. Eight glorious minutes of beautifully crafted aural ecstasy. Modest Mouse’s magnum opus, no doubt. I would have loved it if this were the last song on the album, honestly. It wraps everything up so well. Overall song grade: 5/5

“People As Places As People” is actually a very good song, but I think I would have liked to see it come before “Spitting Venom”. That would have been a very nice tandem in that order. It fits the second half the album to a tee, and while it sits in the shadow of “Spitting Venom”, it still shines. Overall song grade: 3.5/5

The last song on the album. Good song. Terrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrible song placement. It’s like it was tossed in at the end of production as an afterthought. The entire second half of the album, save the odd songs, is slower songs with a subdued styling. This is almost as forceful as “March Into the Sea”. It just doesn’t feel like an album ender. It feels like a middle of the album song. At the end, I sit there and go, “okay, start up the next song.” But the album just ends... and in iTunes, “Im’a Firin’ Mah Lazorz” by Morbicae starts up...Overall song grade: 2.5/5

Individually, this album has 3 or 4 great songs surrounded by forgettable filler songs. So looking at this album in terms of the individual songs, it appears to be decent. But looking at it as a whole revels a mainly cohesive album (minus the two weird songs and the bad ending) that works together and progresses nicely. The filler songs play their role in playing up the great ones. So I’ll grade it two ways:

Individually: 73% - It provides a couple great songs, but beyond that I wouldn’t want to listen to individual songs.

Whole album: 3.5/5 – The majority of the songs work together, the album progresses in musical styling, and it’s cohesive. Listening to the whole album is generally a pretty nice experience.

First Post!

Hello folks!

Out of sheer boredom and an undying, uninhibited love for anything and everything music, I, your humble blogger, have decided to start a blog about anything and everything music. Reviews, updates, trends, bands, songs, albums, news. If I hear about it, and find it interesting, I'll toss it up here. If I find some new music that absolutely blows my mind I'll share it with the two people who may end up reading this.

I'm sure after I post some reviews up, and a couple people glance at them, there may be a few, "you're an idiot! You don't know shit about music! Band X sucks! Band Y is so much better! What makes you qualified to say anything about music at all?" comments. Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't have any REAL qualifications, though I could tell you my musical history. I started in 3rd grade playing the violin, which I played for five successive years, though I never put any effort into the thing beyond the mandatory school practices. As I did not practice at all, I played the music essentially through sight reading and listening to the other band mates around me, adjusting my pitch and tempo accordingly.

In 6th grade, my parents bought me a guitar for Christmas. I quickly started lessons, where my couple of years of violin experience propelled me to advanced techniques extraordinarily quickly. In fact, (and I hate to brag, but this comment has always flattered me) my guitar teacher, who had been playing for 35 years, told me that for someone that was so young and had only been playing music for 3 years, I had the ear of someone who had been playing for at least 10. I learned music theory, excelled in that, and in 8th grade started receiving requests from my school music teacher to start playing at school functions. As I was outrageously shy, I declined.

Into high school, I opted to hold off on music theory classes until my junior and senior years. As I had learned most everything, I didn't lose a single grade point over two courses, finishing music theory 1 and music theory 2 with 110% and 103% respectively.

Since then, I have passed my love of music onto my brother, who recently started his own band with some friends from school. I serve essentially as a musical guide and live performance sound level guide for them.

So, while I don't exactly have "resume" ready qualifications, I would say that I am experienced enough to provide educated, although not necessarily objective thoughts on the musical world.

And if you disagree with anything I have to say, I welcome your comments. Positive, negative, indifferent, bring 'em on.

So without further delay, I'll post up my very first review in the post immediately following this one!