the roundup
first of all, the gossip last night at irving plaza: a-ma-zing. amazing amazing. exactly what i expected: beth ditto screaming her tits off, spitting on the stage, starting out in 4-inch silver heels and a dress and stockings and being nearly naked by the time the show ended. dripping sweat. if it'd been a shitty week (it had), last night's show turned all that around.
so here's the thing. i know that you're all chomping at the bit since i wrote my last extremely long music-i've-been-listening-to-the-last-two-weeks post. this is all fine and good, i imagine you thinking, but what records has robert acquired recently!? well, dear readers, stop your guessing. so, at long last (and if a single one of you cares)...
Basement Jaxx: Crazy Itch Radio
ok, so the last basement jaxx album, kish kash, was, in my opinion, a masterpiece in electronic music. it blended punk and dance and was organic and made you need to move. it had cameos by siouxie sioux and me'shell ndegeocello. it still blows my mind, three years later. this new cd...hmm. it just seems a little sloppier. it seems like the jaxx lost focus: the beats are still there; the sassy black girl lead singer is still there. but it's a disparate collection of weird, latin/south asian rhythms and songs that are too long and don't really go anywhere. good gym music? yes. pushing the envelope of electronic music and what it can mean? ah, no.
ok, so the last basement jaxx album, kish kash, was, in my opinion, a masterpiece in electronic music. it blended punk and dance and was organic and made you need to move. it had cameos by siouxie sioux and me'shell ndegeocello. it still blows my mind, three years later. this new cd...hmm. it just seems a little sloppier. it seems like the jaxx lost focus: the beats are still there; the sassy black girl lead singer is still there. but it's a disparate collection of weird, latin/south asian rhythms and songs that are too long and don't really go anywhere. good gym music? yes. pushing the envelope of electronic music and what it can mean? ah, no.John Mayer: Continuum
i just got this record yesterday from stefanie, my coworker, but it's already impressed me. i don't share my love for john mayer with many people, much like i keep my love for (two songs by) dave matthews band hidden. sure, it's a little adult contemporary. it's a little breathy and a little bit like bb king on downers. but, hey. the songwriting's earnest; he picks up a lot of how it feels to be a (late) mid-20-something. and his guitar solos are good. thumbs up.
i just got this record yesterday from stefanie, my coworker, but it's already impressed me. i don't share my love for john mayer with many people, much like i keep my love for (two songs by) dave matthews band hidden. sure, it's a little adult contemporary. it's a little breathy and a little bit like bb king on downers. but, hey. the songwriting's earnest; he picks up a lot of how it feels to be a (late) mid-20-something. and his guitar solos are good. thumbs up.Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSound
ok, so i'm not exactly sure that i have any business reviewing this record, because i've never made it through the whole thing. the first few songs, most notably "futuresex/lovesound" and "my love" are pretty great. i don't agree with some lame p.r. people who try to claim that this is "electroclash," mainly because it's nothing but familiar timbaland beats with some extra synthasizers. the only downside to the first few tracks are timbaland's insistence on actually being in every track he produces. i don't need him to tell me to "take it to the bridge" or "take it to the chorus" every time the bridge or chorus comes up. shut the fuck up, timba. it'd be a better song without you. now please don't find me and cap my ass. the rest of the album, i'm sad to say, i've never heard, because he places two 7-minute-long songs back to back in the middle of the cd and i turn it off halfway through the first one. my jt saturation threshold is very low.
ok, so i'm not exactly sure that i have any business reviewing this record, because i've never made it through the whole thing. the first few songs, most notably "futuresex/lovesound" and "my love" are pretty great. i don't agree with some lame p.r. people who try to claim that this is "electroclash," mainly because it's nothing but familiar timbaland beats with some extra synthasizers. the only downside to the first few tracks are timbaland's insistence on actually being in every track he produces. i don't need him to tell me to "take it to the bridge" or "take it to the chorus" every time the bridge or chorus comes up. shut the fuck up, timba. it'd be a better song without you. now please don't find me and cap my ass. the rest of the album, i'm sad to say, i've never heard, because he places two 7-minute-long songs back to back in the middle of the cd and i turn it off halfway through the first one. my jt saturation threshold is very low.Liz Phair: Whip-Smart
now, i know what you're saying, readers. um, robert, this cd is about twelve years old. yes, readers, i know that. but i was busy listening to boyz 2 men when this cd came out the first time, so i didn't have time to get into it. and then i got distracted by her last two terrible cd's. but this cd is basically what exile in guyville, one of the best indie cd's of the 90s, could have been with a lot of money for production. all of the searing riffs are there; all of the bratty attitude of girliesound tapes and exile. but with really high production value. besides, the lines "Your kisses are as wicked as an F-16/And you fuck like a volcano/and you're everything to me" are worth the price of the cd.
now, i know what you're saying, readers. um, robert, this cd is about twelve years old. yes, readers, i know that. but i was busy listening to boyz 2 men when this cd came out the first time, so i didn't have time to get into it. and then i got distracted by her last two terrible cd's. but this cd is basically what exile in guyville, one of the best indie cd's of the 90s, could have been with a lot of money for production. all of the searing riffs are there; all of the bratty attitude of girliesound tapes and exile. but with really high production value. besides, the lines "Your kisses are as wicked as an F-16/And you fuck like a volcano/and you're everything to me" are worth the price of the cd.My Brightest Diamond: Bring Me the Workhorse
imagine that pj harvey listened to a lot of edith piaf. imagine that patti smith lived in the weimar republic. put them both through a heady liberal arts education, where they not only study classical singing but also read a lot of 20th century american lit. now throw in a clean, loud electric guitar and a string quartet. there. it's shara worden, aka my brightest diamond. the cd's dark, moody, perfect for early fall and early sunsets. do you know that feeling in about the first week in october, when it's still warm during the day but when the sun starts to go down your arm gets goosepimples and the air is clear and crisp and you can feel the coldness in your nostrils? it's about the time that you see all of those creepy patches of fog at night in the cornfields in indiana. that's when to listen to this cd. my favorite lyric?
imagine that pj harvey listened to a lot of edith piaf. imagine that patti smith lived in the weimar republic. put them both through a heady liberal arts education, where they not only study classical singing but also read a lot of 20th century american lit. now throw in a clean, loud electric guitar and a string quartet. there. it's shara worden, aka my brightest diamond. the cd's dark, moody, perfect for early fall and early sunsets. do you know that feeling in about the first week in october, when it's still warm during the day but when the sun starts to go down your arm gets goosepimples and the air is clear and crisp and you can feel the coldness in your nostrils? it's about the time that you see all of those creepy patches of fog at night in the cornfields in indiana. that's when to listen to this cd. my favorite lyric?So I left her alone & I went on my wayyeah, it's good.
& I was dreaming of Paris & Pierre Boulez
But she called to me with a beat of her wing
She called to me & said free me
posted by Robert @ Thursday, September 14, 2006
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