album of the week: 1.5

Monade
Monstre Cosmic
(2012)

why you'll love it:  Sophisticated pop, as enjoyable as it is admirable.

why you'll hate it:  Basically, soundtrack music.  Does not stick with you.



One last holdover from 2012 before get start on the 2013 releases.  This is something I actually discovered this week.  The French pop band, Monade, is an offshoot of Stereolab (a band I featured during the summer records stint last year).  If you have heard Stereolab before, the connection is quite obvious from just one listen.  Lætitia Sadier sings on this band as well, and the music is similar enough to fool you into thinking you are listening to a Stereolab album.

Unless you have a serious aversion from songs sung in French, I can't see anyone really complaining about this album.  It's one of those records that is best suited for a party (the classier, the better).  Using the term "background music"  seems like selling them short, because when you do pay attention, there is a lot being put into this album.  A nice range of instruments, and a constant feed of melody without ever getting repetitive.  You can sit back and soak in the music, or put this on while you do chores, and still get something out of it.

album of the week: 1.4

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
欲望
(2012)

why you'll love it:  never too much TSPO

why you'll hate it:  this is too much TSPO





Did you know Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra released a second 2012 album in November?  Not me!  I actually like it better than Walkin'.  The guest vocal contributions are great.  "Midnight Buddy" has some infectious scatting.  Not much more to say about this that hasn't been said about all their other albums.  I hope Coachella is streamed like it was last year, because TSPO will be there, turning heads for sure.

album of the week: 1.3

Tom Tom Club
Downtown Rockers
(2012)

Why you'll love it:  Simple and effective funk as good as their early material

Why you'll hate it:  Title track is complete garbage.  Middling to awful lyrics throughout.

One of the coolest surprises that I never got around to talking about last year was the sudden appearance of new Tom Tom Club material.  I've always enjoyed the funky Talking Heads offshoot band.  Well, honestly, just only their debut LP, but I really do have an appreciation for that one album that kind of covers up their later disappointments.  Downtown Rockers is actually the first release by them that I'd put right alongside that original release, aside from the title track.  I'm going to spend the rest of ths post complaining about that song, so let me just say up front, I otherwise like this EP a whole lot…

OK, with that out of the way, the song "Downtown Rockers" is one of the worst songs I have ever heard… EVER.  You know the song "Losing My Edge" by LCD Soundsystem?  It's an excellent rant portraying this aging hipster, clinging desperately to his glory days, and experiencing everything he built his entire persona around melt away.  Thanks to the internet, his musical knowledge is no longer interesting.  The people he is name dropping are no longer relevant.  He's watching "the scene" make the same narcissistic mistakes he made, but looking a lot better while doing it.  And his looks are slipping away, with no real interesting talent or personality to reveal underneath.  By the end of the song, he's simply rattling off bands and people he used to know, whatever sticks.  The beat is great, and the song has some hilarious lines.  There is a lot of satire and parody to enjoy, but it is truly a reflection of a sad and vain personality.

"Downtown Rockers" is "Losing My Edge" without parody.  It truly thinks its being cool by name dropping.  That's all that's going on in this song, just naming underground or counter-culture bands from the 70s-80s.  Even on the surface, it's a shallow and uninteresting song, but when I think about its intention, a suffocating depression overcomes me.  

But yeah, to reiterate, I really love the four songs that follow it.  In fact, if you get the album off Amazon download, you get instrumental versions of (almost) all the songs.  Since the lyrics are mostly filler, the instrumentals are even better than the original tracks.

LISTAMANIA 2012 MEGAPOST

Two weeks later than anyone will care, here is my big 2012 music roundup!

- First off: I look back at what my favorite records of 2002 would have been, if I knew about what bands I know today...

- One more pit stop before 2012: What I missed in 2011

- Sorry for bitching:  The biggest bummers of 2012

- oooo pretty: My favorite cover art of 2012

- yes, these things still exist:  Favorite music videos of 2012

- The 2012 Mixtape

- annnnd: My top ten of 2012

LISTAMANIA 2012: What I missed in 2011

Sample: Progress

The Dear Hunter
The Color Spectrum

This is one of those "Jack of all trades.  Master of none" kind of sitiations, but it's still fun to sift through these 4-song EPs and listen to how they sound to their respective colors.  Indigo (prog rock) and violet (lounge/swing) were my favorite

Sample: Colisión Inminente

La Casa Azul

La Polinesia Meridional

Another example of concept over execution, but I mean come on; Spanish Shibuya-kei?  HELL YES!

Sample: Shirley

Matthew Friedberger

Napoléonette / Good-Bye Forever

Instead of working as The Fiery Furnaces, this guy released ELEVEN solo albums last year.  These two are the most piano focused, which I feel is his strength.

Sample: ただのともだち

Salyu x Salyu

s(o)un(d)beams

Through the wonder of album producing, Cornelius took an otherwise run of the mill J-pop singer, and turned her into a vessel for more Cornelius mad genius!

LISTAMANIA 2012: RETURN TO 2002!

Looking at what I have from 2002 reminds me of how big of a year it was for me.  I remember going to the Best Buy between classes to buy some of these albums that are in my top ten.  This was definitely the first year where I was getting into the kind of music I listen to today, and breaking out of that punk/ska exclusivity.  So yeah, if i knew about what I do now, this would have been my top 10 of 2002, even though some of these would have still been on my list back then....

Sample: Walking on A Wire

NUMBER TEN

THE GET UP KIDS
ON A WIRE

Following up an extremely popular and trendsetting emo-sweetheart indie pop album; the band takes control of their own destiny and releases a mature and chilled out 60's Beatles-esque album.  The respect points alone makes this album remarkable, but it's pretty good too.

Sample: Lost Cause

NUMBER NINE

BECK

SEA CHANGE

This guy has nearly done it all, and everything he attempts he excels at.  Motivated by loss and heartache, Beck uses his powers of psychedelica on humble and somber balladry.  As usual, it's amazing.

Sample: Somebody Loved Me

NUMBER EIGHT

REEL BIG FISH
CHEER UP

Young, cynical, and zero fucks to give about what kind of music you're playing or who your audience is.  This is how I remember Reel Big Fish.

Sample: LAX

NUMBER SEVEN

HOT SNAKES

SUICIDE INVOICE

The greatest punk rock band ever.

Sample: TV's High

 NUMBER SIX

POLYSICS
FOR YOUNG ELECTRIC POP

One of those Polysics albums that proved that they're not just a bunch of misguided spazzes.  Instead, they're a bunch of really creative spazzes, who can be just as catchy as they are abrasive.

Sample: Brakeはずれた俺の心臓

NUMBER FIVE

THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT

RODEO TANDEM BEAT SPECTER

The greatest punk rock album ever. 

Sample: Mu Empire

NUMBER FOUR

GLASSJAW

WORSHIP AND TRIBUTE

When it comes to progressive hardcore (and I am by no means, an expert), Europe has The Shape of Punk To Come by Refused.  America has Worship And Tribute.

Sample: Hearts of Oak

NUMBER THREE

TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS

HEARTS OF OAK

WHOOPS THIS CAME OUT IN 2003.  I FUCKED UP

Sample: Disarm

NUMBER TWO

BAD ASTRONAUT

HOUSTON: WE HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM

I can't possibly sum up Bad Astronaut in a blurb, or even how incredible they were.  Considering their roots, this album is logic-breakingly good in every aspect!  

Sample: Inuzini

NUMBER ONE

NUMBER GIRL

NUM HEAVYMETALLIC

When it comes to progressive hardcore (and I am totally an expert), Europe has The Shape of Punk To Come.  America has Worship And Tribute.  Japan has Num-Heavymetallic.

LISTAMANIA 2012: music videos

First time doing a music video list.  There were just so many good ones this year...

[Click the thumbnails to see the clips]


NUMBER TEN
-------------------------

CRYSTAL CASTLES
PLAUGE

Not sure if this counts, since it's basically just playing the song over a scene of a 30 year old film, buuuuuut it matches up so damn well I gotta give it credit for that.

NUMBER NINE

-------------------------

GRIZZLY BEAR

YET AGAIN

Sure, it makes no sense, and probably more arty than it's worth, buuuuuut I love music videos that feel like dreams.    It's a loosely connected horror story.

NUMBER EIGHT

--------------------------

POLYSICS

LUCKY STAR

Still not a big fan of the song, buuuuuut the stock footage is really cool, and all the editing of weird abstract stuff mixed with a kid goofing around drives home a common motif of Polysics.

NUMBER SEVEN

--------------------------

SCREAMING FEMALES
IT ALL MEANS NOTHING / LEAVE IT ALL UP TO ME

Yeah, these videos are gross, and pretty simple, buuuuut I'm a sucker for two-parters.

NUMBER SIX

--------------------

WE ARE THE PHYSICS

GORAN 

IVANISEVIC

Great metaphor to accompany a surprisingly resonant song.

NUMBER FIVE

------------------------

THE TELEPHONES

D.E.N.W.A

Fuck y'all, this video is funny as all get out.  Stupid, and knows it.

NUMBER FOUR

------------------------

LAIRS

NO. 1 AGAINST THE RUSH

Dark and freaky.  Thats how I like Liars.  Brats would be on this list too, but I'm sticking to one video per band.

NUMBER THREE

---------------------------

SQUAREPUSHER

DARK STEERING

Can't get enough of those LEDs!

NUMBER TWO

-----------------------

CHAIRLIFT

MET BEFORE

OMG INTERACTIVE MUSIC VIDEO YEAAAAAH

NUMBER ONE

------------------------

HOT CHIP

NIGHT & DAY

Giving Hot Chip extra credit because they did two other amazing music videos this year, but this mental dance party was my favorite.

album of the week: 1.2

Titus Andronicus
Local Business
(2012)

why you'll love it:  Lengthy, rousing, energy packed power ballads with a DIY charm
why you'll hate it:  The execution doesn't exactly live up to the ambition.

I'll take the blame for this one.  I don't know what I'm talking about.  I won't say "I don't get it."  because people use that phrase to blame the artist.  I'm really happy to see a band from my home of New Jersey get a lot of positive attention, but I don't really know what Titus Andronicus is all about.  I've listened to The Monitor (2010).  I appreciate its conceptual ambitions, but can't get into anything it actually does.  Don't like the mixing.  I thought the songs dragged.  Don't really catch anything memorable about the lyrics.  It's probably me overlooking something.  

Local Business isn't faring much better with me either.  I think the songs are a bit snappier.  There are a few rousing moments, but somehow the production is even worse.  For songs that long, they don't do enough things to keep it interesting and not repetitive.  Also, because almost every song tries to be this big showstopper, they all fight for the spotlight; and by the end of the album, nothing really shined.

I hope this band finds more success, because if they can get some real production, and studio musicians to back them, they can put out a huuuge rock album where every song sounds different (even if it is little stuff like "oh this is the one with the sax solo, this one has a mandolin") and there is a nice full range of sounds.  Titus Andronicus sounds like a rowdy pub band on this album, which is cool, but the songs overstay their welcome.  I'd rather see them either go the Gogol Bordello route, and carve out their own orgcore punk niche into that scene, or trim the fat on their songs and really go for the throat.  

Where they stand now is probably just fine though, and it's more than likely I'm the out of touch idiot.

album of the week: 1.1

John Frusciante
PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone
(2012)

why you'll love it:  lots of weird computer sounds to rot your brain with
why you'll hate it:  poorly composed and mixed.  Inferior to previous releases.

This month is going to be mostly holdovers from last year.  Stuff that didn't really leave an impression on me; but hey, gotta do housekeeping sometime.  First to get to is the latest from former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante.  Like most solo efforts, Frusciante's releases are plentiful, and sometimes a bit more artistically ambitious than they are enjoyable to listen to.  Some of my favorites are the more straightforward ones like the rock driven Inside of Emptiness (2003) and ballad-filled Shadows Collide With People (2004).   

His latest LP straddles between entertainment and art.  Coming off the heels of the Letur-Lefr EP (something I probably should have reviewed instead, as I like it a whole lot more), Frusciante continuities to experiment with electronic noise, hip-hop, and trip-hop.  As much as I love bleep-blorps and amen breaks in music, that is pretty much the only thing keeping me coming back to this LP.  Letur-Lefer was snappy, unpredictable, and had a vibrant production.  PBX is definitely not that.  Almost everything sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom.  Even the electronics have this flat lifeless mix to them.  All the layers in the songs sound way too distinct from each other, especially the vocals, which sound like he's singing in another room with the door closed.

So despite having the coolest album title I've heard in a long time, PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone is not that special of an electronic album.  Even the way the songs are composed, there is no satisfying flow from melody to melody.  Unless you are a discography completionist, or an absolute sucker for any electronic music, I recommend you pick up Letur-Lefr instead.

LISTAMANIA 2012: MIXTAPE

2012 mixtape from roomrunner on 8tracks Radio.

LISTAMANIA 2012: Cover Art

   

LISTAMANIA 2012: Total bummers

I'm not going to order this shit pile, or offer sample links of songs.

Also, some of these I didn't find to be COMPLETELY deplorable, only massively disappointing.

Sleigh Bells

Reign of Terror

A lot of bullshit production on this.  The fake crowd noise and censored swearing gets on my nerves right away.  Their last album left me wishy washy because it was just high-gain production, not really noise.  This release just only sent them into a more synthetic direction.

Metric

Synthetica

Yeah, OK, this is the kind of band you want to be now, Metric?  Fine, whatever, I'll go listen to something else, anything interesting at all.  Cheers

Crystal Castles

Same to you, Crystal Castles.  Want to be a goth band with bad mixing?  Alright, bye then.

Reel Big Fish

Candy Coated Fury

Aaron, Turn The Radio off really wasn't that good.  Your fans don't want tired ska riffs from 1997 and songs about girlfriends. It was the three albums that came after TTRO that were brilliant.  This is just a sad cash in on idiots who still cling to late-90s ska.

White Rabbits

Milk Famous

So the only White Rabbits album I had before this was Fort Nightly.  It's got this cool lounge kinda vibe to it, like Hot Hot Heat does.  Finally got around to getting another by these guys, and hanging around with Spoon too much has poisoned their songwriting.  This is BLAAAAAAAND!

LISTAMANIA 2012: Fav albums of the year

Sample: Ice, Tights, Mike

NUMBER TEN
POLYSICS
WEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Number ten, as usual, was the hardest to choose.  Polysics just edged out Squarepusher, Hot Chip, and Screaming Females.

Sample: Wrong Opinion

NUMBER NINE

CHAIRLIFT

SOMETHING

I usually hate cheesy 80's synth pop, but this band does it seriously and artistically   Not in that boring ironic joking way.

Sample: Bonus Oceans

NUMBER EIGHT

JEFF ROSENSTOCK

I LOOK LIKE SHIT

This would have been much higher if it were given more of a proper album treatment.  This is a very well written album about descending into societal obscurity.  Both soul crushing, and fun to listen to.

Sample: 空腹と空白

NUMBER SEVEN

TSUSHIMAMIRE

SHOCKING

Probably the most ambitious album of 2012.  The indie noise rockers mellow out to make a "Ziggy Stardust" epic concept album about food based aliens (with a fake band to boot!).

Sample: Kicking You

NUMBER SIX
THE BIRTHDAY
VISION

Year after year, badass rock and roll from Chiba Yusuke and his cronies.

Sample: V.A.L.I.S

NUMBER FIVE

BLOC PARTY

FOUR

This album gave me a brand new sense of respect for this band, and their ability/fearlessness to always be trying new things.

Sample: Dildonics

NUMBER FOUR
WE ARE THE PHYSICS
YOUR FRIEND, THE ATOM

Waited four years for this album, and it's like letting a rabid animal out of a cage.  This is ENERGY in pure uncut form.

Sample: Good Things

NUMBER THREE

THE MENZINGERS

ON THE IMPOSSIBLE PAST

Good old jaded punker rock and roll.  Soaked in depression, failure, and introspection.  This album is worthy of all the praise it's been getting.

Sample: The Trouble With Candyhands

NUMBER TWO
DEERHOOF
BREAKUP SONG

Somehow both the most accessible and the most wacky Deerhoof album ever.  Amazing combination of their weirdness + catchiness.  Love the lyrics, the glitch, and the dance party vibe it gives off.

Sample: Octagon

NUMBER ONE

LIARS

WIXIW

The most compelling release of 2012.  This album will give you the heebie-jeebies.  It's strange, sometimes scary, maybe impossible to understand; and you won't be able to stop listening.  Yes, these are all good things.