Best Ever Albums

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:18:01 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/13/2015 20:18

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Art Angels by Grimes

I was pretty pessimistic going into my first listen to this. The early singles seemed scattered, to say the least, and overplay of the singles from her previous album, Visions, had left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I was not, however, put off by the mobs of internet-goers dismissing Art Angels as "idiot pop" -- if anything, that encouraged me. I've seen so many backlashes against artists who choose to go in a more mainstream direction with their music, sometimes with hints of misogyny but always smacking of elitism, that I know I'm better off just ignoring the chatter.

But is it any good? Yes. Yes, it is. Art Angels is infectious and blissful maximalist pop from beginning to end. Seldom have I heard an artist sound like they were having this much fun making music and the last time I remember an album being this uplifting was Passion Pit's 2012 joyride, Gossamer.

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Gossamer by Passion Pit

What's more, Grimes' eccentricities give Art Angels a kick that most pop artists can't boast. The way she toyed with the music press leading up to the release of this album was two parts hilarious and five parts brilliant. I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next, but in the meantime, I have gobs of new tracks for my playlists.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 00:31:53 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/12/2015 05:31

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The Agent Intellect by Protomartyr

This generation clearly has a taste for dank post-punk -- drawling vocals, echoey distortion, and just enough dissonance to make most of the elder listeners mistake it for noise. These guys seem comfortable in their niche and deliver a few bangers here (my favorite is "The Hermit"), but The Agent Intellect feels more like a mixtape than an album to me. Fortunately, a lack of vision is easier to fix than most other problems, so I'll be keeping an eye on their future releases. In the meantime, I'll go back to spinning my favorite dungeon crawler from 2015:

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Viet Cong by Viet Cong

Is darkness necessarily pessimistic? Maybe more like self-indulgent. After all, darkness is most palpable in contrast to something much brighter...

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:40:58 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/10/2015 05:40

dividesbyzero wrote:

You got a favorite Krush LP sp4ce? (Kakusei is likely my favorite from him though Meiso comes close and MiLight comes even closer)

It's a toss-up between Kakusei and Ki-Oku, actually. Kondo's trumpet on the latter gives the record a gin and tonic vibe that put me off a little at first, but by now I've probably played it the most of any of his records. It's just perfect wind-down music.

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Ki-Oku by DJ Krush & Toshinori Kondo

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:25:19 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/10/2015 05:25

Yeah I wasn't too happy with the new Krush either (for many of the reasons you mentioned)

You got a favorite Krush LP sp4ce? (Kakusei is likely my favorite from him though Meiso comes close and MiLight comes even closer)

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:17:14 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/10/2015 05:17

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Butterfly Effect by DJ Krush

Krush at his best is hypnotic, low-key anytime beats that just exude cool. There's a reason he's one of my most played artists... but this? This is so far from peak Krush that I'd have trouble distinguishing it from the soundtrack to a mediocre shoot'em up mobile app.

I'd like to be able to point to one thing that separates his best material from Butterfly Effect, but he's lost more than a step, he's lost track of his whole aesthetic. Not only is it not cool, it actually sounds like it's trying to be pretty. Maybe that could be an interesting change of direction if he was committed to it, but the preponderance of glitchy sound effects leaves me wondering what kind of mood I would need to be in to appreciate his new look. I needed to reaffirm my faith in humanity, so I went back to

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覚�' (Kakusei) by DJ Krush

It got me temporarily booted from my bedroom (seriously? not night music?), but it was worth it.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Sun, 8 Nov 2015 02:34:27 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2015 07:34

Satie wrote:

you don't seem to come back very often

Yeah, I'm full of shit. It's my thing.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Sun, 8 Nov 2015 00:32:58 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2015 05:32

sp4cetiger wrote:

Anyway, it's this kind of thing that keeps bringing me back to black metal, especially the ambient variety.

you don't seem to come back very often

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Sat, 7 Nov 2015 22:35:54 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2015 03:35

Two widely beloved artists took a big step forward in my estimation this month (lucky them!!!). First,

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EVOL by Sonic Youth

My previously lukewarm response to Sonic Youth is kind of ridiculous if you consider my background as an angsty 90s teen, but I'm now solidly in this album's corner. I've been having an obsession lately with sounds that I can only describe as "dirty grooves" (other examples include the Fall and Mission of Burma) and this album might as well be the poster child for that sound. It's just a bunch of petulant kids making dissonant and pretentious fuck you rock music. What's not to love?

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Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished by Avey Tare & Panda Bear

Initially I was put off of Animal Collective and their derivatives by the pseudo-maximalist pop grooves that have dominated their sound since MPP. However, this album and Feels have been getting a lot of play lately -- both create a sort of raw wispy vibe that really pulls at my subconscious. These spirits are far from the pristine angels of scripture... they murmur and seethe with a voice that is utterly amoral and many times more beautiful than any picture of heaven I've ever seen.

That's not say you can expect the latest Panda Bear album to rise on my 2015 chart. Just count me among the number of annoying snobs who only like their early stuff.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Sat, 7 Nov 2015 14:43:15 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/07/2015 19:43

meccalecca wrote:

Shilpa is an old friend and one of the most incredible performers I've had the pleasure of seeing. I booked her several times, including a birthday show or two.

I'm not even surprised at this point

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Sat, 7 Nov 2015 14:40:24 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/07/2015 19:40

Filosofem by Burzum

Metal classics tend to give me more of a timeless vibe than other genres cause they're so disconnected from anything real. Maybe this sound was somehow timely and relevant in its special corner of genre space at the time it was made, but as someone who doesn't wear corpsepaint, I hear it more like a fairy tale. Maybe a creation myth. Anyway, it's this kind of thing that keeps bringing me back to black metal, especially the ambient variety. No ketchup here.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

meccalecca — Fri, 6 Nov 2015 17:27:38 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 11/06/2015 22:27

sp4cetiger wrote:

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Last Year's Savage by Shilpa Ray

When I saw this was garage/punk rock, I wasn't expecting Patti Smith with a fucking accordion (probly a harmonium but whatever). Actually no that's awesome. This is totally my jam.

Shilpa is an old friend and one of the most incredible performers I've had the pleasure of seeing. I booked her several times, including a birthday show or two. She definitely has the spirit of 1970s NYC. And that is indeed a harmonium.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Fri, 6 Nov 2015 12:06:52 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/06/2015 17:06

Satie wrote:

:roll:

Funny enough, I wouldn't let myself go to bed last night without listening to this again in preparation for listening to the new album today. I was thinking of today being my Revenge write-up day where I give my thoughts about the band's discography as a whole with provisional thoughts on Behold.Total.Rejection. Maybe I can get you to reconsider, especially since Lord of the Rings doesn't really come into it (that's more Gowi's preferred metal genres :P) and corpsepaint is too hard to apply over a neckbeard. :lol:

Looking forward to the write-up. I gotta know what you see when you close your eyes while listening to this.

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Fri, 6 Nov 2015 10:25:14 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/06/2015 15:25

sp4cetiger wrote:

I told the aging neckbeard with Lord of the Rings style armor and a plastic chicken head between his teeth to get out. Motherfucker was doused in ketchup.

🙄

Funny enough, I wouldn't let myself go to bed last night without listening to this again in preparation for listening to the new album today. I was thinking of today being my Revenge write-up day where I give my thoughts about the band's discography as a whole with provisional thoughts on Behold.Total.Rejection. Maybe I can get you to reconsider, especially since Lord of the Rings doesn't really come into it (that's more Gowi's preferred metal genres :P) and corpsepaint is too hard to apply over a neckbeard. 🤣

Re: Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Fri, 6 Nov 2015 09:29:06 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/06/2015 14:29

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Stratosphere by Duster

My days of deep depression and self-pity are past, but I still feel a sad man's groove. It's not as deliciously bipolar as a Bedhead release -- I'd write up a script of Prozac for the whole band and see if they start making J-pop. Nah, that would be a shame. I want more of this.

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WhatFunLifeWas by Bedhead

I put this on at night and the sudden changes in intensity wake up my bedmate. She's not awake long enough to remember it in the morning, so I get off okay. It's probably bad for her health, he said, but I disobeyed his orders and made sure to keep that shit on my head. I fucking glued it on.

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Victory.Intolerance.Mastery by Revenge (CA)

I told the aging neckbeard with Lord of the Rings style armor and a plastic chicken head between his teeth to get out. Motherfucker was doused in ketchup.

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Confessions of a wannabe hipster

Anonymous — Thu, 5 Nov 2015 21:38:13 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/06/2015 02:38