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Favorite Overheard Conversation of the Day: An Excellent Rebuttal:
Context: There are two young men on the street having a verbally abusive but physically benign altercation on the street. I was not paying attention to the proceeding comments, but the end of the exchange caught my attention. “Man, fuck you! Excellent rebuttal though, excellent rebuttal. Now get the fuck up outta here! I don’t want to see your ugly face for a week at least.”
Gotye: Making Mirrors review
"Somebody That I Used To Know" is great because it has a guy being a dick about a break up and it gives the ex a chance to respond. It's so rare to have multiple perspectives in a song, especially a break up song. I guess I still like Jake Bugg's break up song better, but this is a close second. Also the percussion in "Smoke And Mirrors" delights me. "Eyes Wide Open" is surprisingly not that preachy for an environmental song. My friend hates the second half of this album when the mood takes a sudden turn for the chipper. Personally, I like the happy tunes, but to each their own. There are a few songs in there that get a little weird and I didn't love, but overall I enjoyed it.
fun.: Aim & Ignite review
I love Fun's lead vocalist and of course I enjoy it when other vocalists show up. This was quite an interesting contrast from the last one. Where Cake’s vocalist is monotone, Fun’s is dynamic and perhaps a little too overwrought at times. I love the drums and violin and brass too. You know I am a sucker for good brass and percussion and it's always interesting to hear instruments step outside of their traditional genres a little. Their songwriting is kind of all over the place and doesn't always come together for me, but I appreciate how ambitious it is. They just seem to have a lot of musical ideas, so many that a lot of the songs have like different parts to them. It’s cool though.
Cake's "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" review
This is one of their most popular songs for a reason. The lyrics are on point all the way through. I really love how their tendency to get very specific works in this song. Most songs about an object of desire are intentionally vague so that the audience can project onto them. For me it makes them super boring. This is the opposite, it’s super interesting. And its also really refreshing to hear a song about wanting a woman who is stable and independent and successful and takes no prisoners. Also the music in this is just a lot of fun. Like I’m pretty sure the instrumental version has popped up in a few movies and shows. It’s just great.
Cake: Fashion Nugget review
This rewards more than I thought it would for sure. They are actually good musicians and I like the music a lot. The lyrics are also great. Good metaphors, very specific imagery, and compositions that deliberately defy expectation make it all very interesting to listen too. I also appreciate their tendency to have interesting female characters. It's the singing that is the sticking point for me. It's really funny to have someone sing "I Will Survive" in a monotone but it's not something I want to hear over and over. The covers on this album are interesting choices for sure. They are all ones that don't suit the vocalist at all but they fit in with the music and lyrics of their original songs well. If I had never heard those songs before, I would have just assumed they were Cake songs too. Certainly they bring their own personality to everything. I'm glad I listened but I probably won't again any time soon.
Ladytron: Witching Hour review
I chose this one because of the name of course. Who could resist giving "Ladytron" a listen? So maybe it's just my headphones, but the bass line of the first song sounds like it's being played on an electric razor. Maybe that's what they were going for. They certainly know how to create an atmosphere. Witching Hour is a great name for this album. Its very moody and sort of malevolent and creepy. Not really my thing but they do it well. Angsty teens of today, get on the Ladytron train. It's got all that bitterness and "everyone else is wrong" you know and love. I highly recommend. I mean, it is a little strange, I won’t lie to you, but it’s not any weirder than Lana Del Ray and she still gets plenty of air play. Also, these guys don't concern me as much as Lana. She CONCERNS me. It really prevents me from enjoying her music. Except that cover of “Once Upon A Dream" which was thoroughly excellent. What else can I say about this? There's a random French song, you know, because of reasons. That seems to come up a fair amount, actually. Is everyone just desperately trying to justify all those years of French they took and never used? Likely.
Janelle Monáe: Electric Lady review
How does she keep getting better and better? This one has so many awesome songs on it I don't even know how to feel. It's an embarrassment of riches. After the operatic opening, the first three songs just knock it out of the park. All of the songs are really good, but those three are just insane. I enjoyed Prince more on "Give Em What They Love” than on his own stuff. Also, how on earth did she manage to get Prince on this? One can only presume it is because she’s a queen. Speaking of which, the breakdown at the end of "Q.U.E.E.N." is the bomb. "Electric Lady" is here and queer and oh so cool. I love the radio interludes too. They are entertaining and add a whole other level to the story she is trying to tell. It also makes it work better as an album. While I have the aforementioned big three songs on playlists I listen to all the time, I listen to the entire album a lot. I don't know what else to say except that this shit is tremendous. When can I have the next installment, Janelle? I NEED it.
Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid review
And let's just start this one up with orchestral music. Keep the genres coming, Janelle. I can take as many as you can. How is she so good at all of them? How??? I was never once like "nice try, Janelle". She nails it every time. She starting to make me like genres I never thought I would. "Cold War" and "Come Alive" are particularly great and not the sort of thing I usually like at all. "Tightrope" is one of my favorite songs ever. I must have listened to it 110 times. It. Is. My. Jam. The guest artists are all great even though I've never heard of a one of them. The song with Deep Cotton is very Simon & Garfunkel so I might have to look them up. Just yaaasssss. I love it. Lay some more on me, Janelle. My body is ready.
Janelle Monáe: Metropolis review
I adore this nerd. She is the coolest and most talented and dorkiest artist working right now. Not to mention stylish AF. This concept album thing she is doing is so incredibly ambitious and she is pulling it off flawlessly. Just... Mind blown. It's not even that I love every track. I mean, she goes through so many genres and sounds, she was bound to run into one I didn't care for. But that is strictly a personal taste thing. Every single song is good. She rocks EVERY genre she tries, including rock of course. It's insane. And on top of all that she is right up there with Beyoncé confronting real social issues. I like this better than Beyoncé’s work of course because I am a nerd and the whole “Electric Lady” allegory speaks to me. That may also be because, while I am a POC, I am not black. The Sci-fi angle is great because it makes it more accessible while still challenging the listener. It doesn't cater. It asks you to imagine the other complexly. Also POC sci-fi for the win! I like it. More, I say! MORE!
Jake Bugg: Jake Bugg review
So this is another sad album (because you have to suffer to make art), but in another way it's also kind of not. My favorite song is the opener "Lightning Bolt" which is ostensibly a break up song but also totally not at the same time. The woman is barely mentioned and there is not even the barest hint of bitterness. Instead, it's a fun rollicking song about how he learned to take chances in life and that even though he got hurt, he is convinced now more than ever that it's the right way to live and love. The rest of the album is largely darker in subject matter, but not nearly as somber as it has every right to be. And it's not like Florence or Simon & Garfunkel that have downer lyrics softened by fun music. This is downright optimistic in the face of pain, loss and trauma of all stripes. It's about survival on a very personal level and the strength you have to find within. There are no power anthems like Kelly Clarkson's “Stronger", just meditations on how he survived shit. "Simple As This" even lists all the places he tried to seek healing (drinking, drugs, rehab, church, Confucianism, etc.) and in the end love is the only thing that works. Even the song "Note To Self" where he is comforting a women is not about how he can help her with his love, but rather how she needs to love and help herself. That is fucking cool. It's not like every song is life-affirming or anything there are at least three in the middle that are just sad, horrible shit happening. I guess I was just surprised by how the rest of the album managed to turn that around. I don't think I've ever heard trauma dealt with as realistically and healthily as this. Like, I'm worried for Florence, but I think this Jake kid, while he is just as damaged, might be alright.
Fang Island: Fang Island review
This is very strange indeed. I guess I should have expected this sort of thing as I begin to delve into my bro’s vast indie library. So this is like a rock/choir mash up, which is not a totally alien thing to me. I mean, my mom used to sing me the Rolling Stone's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" whenever I had a tantrum. But this is completely different. Most of the songs only have a handful of lyrics. My favorite track "Welcome Wagon" has none. And the song structure is all over the place. The organ is a near-constant but surprisingly unostentatious presence. And I love how the guitars play together, particularly in “Careful Crossers”. They must have had fun recording this. It sure sounds like it. Cool and experimental. You are not gonna find this anywhere else. It’s weird but I digs it.
Favorite Overheard Conversation of the Day: Career Options
Woman: Are they Jewish? That sounds extremely Jewish. Man: Yes, they are an old Jewish couple, they've been married for 25 years. So when I saw them last week, you know what he said to me? Woman: What? Man: He said *in fast-talking, New York, Jewish, old man voice* “Bernie, if the whole real estate thing doesn't work out for you, you should be a male escort. People would pay top dollar for an ass like yours!" *both laugh* Woman: No way!—Ohmygod do you think he was coming on to you? Man: No! No. No, the man just knows a fine ass when he sees one. Woman: Suit yourself. *both giggle*
Favorite Overheard Conversation of the Day: A Sensible Reply
I have no context for this and that is probably what makes it great. There were two women walking behind me and the first one said in a British accent “Well I guess that explains that then.” to which the other replied: “AH RAH RAH RAH!” It wasn’t a laugh. It was very loud, but quite clearly enunciated. The first woman then said “hmm” as if she was agreeing with some perfectly normal statement.
Lord Huron: Strange Trails review
I'm not sure I believe Mr. “Music Expert” that Murder By Death pioneered Lord Huron’s sound. I guess he was just talking about the reverb but that seems like a sort of meaningless comparison to make. Honestly this sounds like echoey Bruce Springsteen to me. So I like it because the Boss is boss. This is another album with a very focused theme. Every song is about death. Some of them are also about love. And in "La Belle" I'm pretty sure death is his lover. The apocalypse is also a popular topic as is coming back from the grave. Is raising the dead part of the apocalypse? I feel like I don't know enough about the apocalypse to review this. Or maybe my friend is right and the album is about a man who falls for a woman, gets killed by her boyfriend, comes back from the dead. Revenges himself on the man who killed him and everyone else who has wronged him only to realize the woman he loved was a necromancer who brought him back and has been using him for her own ends the whole time. Now knowing the truth of his afterlife, he tries to break away from her and attain a true and permanent death. It's works if you rearrange the order of the songs. ANYWAY, if you like Springsteen but wish is was darker, your strange prayers have been answered.
Favorite Overheard Conversation of the Day: Decorative Urns
12 year old boy: Wait, wait, mom, back up. Why were you even trying to buy an urn? What use have we for an urn? mother: Well you just never know when someone is going to drop dead. son: That… that is so morbid, mom. Don’t you think that is like, I donno, inviting disaster? mother: …I just liked the urn, okay? It’s decorative.
Jupiter Rising’s “Electropop” review
I know I always joke that I have no idea what my own taste in music is, and that’s pretty much true, but I know for a fact this is exactly the kind I should hate. But I don’t, I love it. This shit is excellent. I know what you’re saying: “isn’t this just Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” again?” Yep! but I like this a lot better. I’m sure the music has something to to do with it, but I also like that the banter in this is a little more honest and equitable. Like the guy in “Promiscuous” wants the girl to open up more, but she’s not very interested in being vulnerable, whereas in “Electropop” they have an actual discussion about the terms of their relationship and they both reach a place where they are comfortable. The girl does reveal some vulnerability, but it’s completely on her own terms. Plus it’s a better jam. Also, thanks to you I know 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” on an intimate level and I have to say Jupiter Rising amps up the sexiness while toning down the explicitness. Quite an interesting feat. That reference also should have ruined the song for me, but it didn’t. I have no explanation for it other than this is just great. But before you ask about it, I checked out some of their other stuff and didn’t care for it at all. My love for two vocalists only goes so far, I guess.
Of Monsters And Men: Beneath The Skin review
I happen to have both OMAM albums. So there. Soooo the imagery definitely got weirder, which is really saying something. The creepy album titles sort of belie how pretty and light the music is, but they kind of fit the lyrics, especially this album. OMAM really like wolves. They come up a lot. I like wolves too, but these ones are very scary and metaphorical. Think Emily Carroll. I guess there is nothing quite as stand out as “Little Talks” but overall I enjoyed it more. To sum up, this album is creepier but I like it better. What does that say about me?