So mine's on during the week of Christmas? Heh, interesting. And what a great fucking time to do it as well. No school, no work, just lazying about with music for a week. What a way to end the year. And despite getting holidays and having the liberty of having two weeks devoted to what I want to do, I always go to bed before midnight. Always got to have that good night's sleep.
That Math League finalist that has every possible medical disorder imaginable. The pills they're taking causes these abstract hallucinations: melting in their own equations. The stress just builds up with every round they win and the pressure becomes too much for them when the finals hit them and their success comes crumbling down.*
Despite being a bit apathetic towards the Best Ever Guitarist tourney near the end (could be because school was a bigger priority to me or maybe I was still pissed off that Nick Drake went out in the first round), the biggest inspiration that whole event gave me was discovering this band. I remember distinctly that Ian Williams, guitarist of Battles, was up against Thurston Moore. Even though I maybe be biased in saying that Moore still deserved that win, in retrospect, Williams still should've gotten some recognition.
I checked out Atlas while I did my research for the tourney, and...well, it was interesting. But I found out that it was growing on me immensely. Every time I listen to that song, it feels like a journey through the deepest realms of your psyche. It's wonderfully introspective and experimental. The rest of the album, judging from this first listen many months later, manages to recreate that very same feeling, but maybe in a more ambitious way. Despite the experimentation of the instruments and effects and their immediate calculations, there's a hint of playfulness residing deep in their souls. Sometimes jumping from one thing to another. It's an inventive dynamic for sure.
It may get a bit stale occasionally, but the whole album just inhabits this unique feel that I haven't heard from any other album like it. I'm pleasantly surprised.
*And yes, I will be including an artistic statement for the album I'm listening to. It's my party and I can die if I want to.
Having the deepest and most thoughtful conversation you've ever had with your best friend about childhood, while riding a unicorn through the Garden of Eden that is overtaken by leprechauns.
Tiny Tim is my spirit animal.
But seriously, Tiny Tim sure has influenced my life in a big way recently. I picked up a ukulele because I wanted to play Livin' In The Sunlight, Lovin' In The Moonlight and Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me - but I feel absolutely gutted that I've lost my falsetto because of this blasted Winter cold.
Anyway, I love this guy because he's an entertainer who has the most intriguing and mystical style of composing and singing. He may freak out most people, but it takes an open mind to be able to appreciate his true earnestness.
I would call it Avant-Baroque Pop, but that'd only apply to RYM users be stretching it a bit. _________________
Sitting down on your favourite patio, in the mist of your garden, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate and looking at the pretty sunrise. All of this is distracting yourself from the grim repeating cycle of unrequited love in your life.
After hearing the instrumentally beautiful This Is All I Ask off God Bless Tiny Tim, it put me in the mood for some Frank Sinatra. I'd like to believe that I've always liked Frank Sinatra, but I, along with most others, feel like this appreciation for this sophisticated personality all came down to his singles rather than his albums. I want to change that. I want to see what Sinatra had to offer on his albums. Naturally, this is the more acclaimed one on this site, so I chose this as my first exposure to Sinatra's albums.
As I listen to this album, I always harken back to earlier in the year where I actually wanted to write a story (which I briefly brought up about another character here), and specifically to a character who I want to associate with loving Sinatra's music. The character's name is Sophie and (the rough stages of) her personality is made up of her being a shy and introverted girl who opens up to others when it feels absolutely necessary. She becomes friends with the main protagonist: Noah (still in development) and in her spare time she likes to write stories (oh how meta) and listens to Sinatra to help her concentrate also it helped her through tough times. Yeah, I wear my influences on my sleeve sometimes.
Anyway, before I go on another tangent, this album is really pleasant to have on in the background. Though I don't get too much from the first listen, I do have a soft spot for that traditional pop sound that accompanies that smooth and easy voice. It's like a calm breeze of wind that doesn't have that violent clashes and always subtly changes throughout the day. This is kind of music theory is the one that I want to explore more of. The lyrics are also very complementary of Sinatra's vocals, having this mellow feel to them and something that I can definitely relate to. I feel like this could get a better understanding from future listens. _________________
Dilemma Time! (I thought this'd be appropriate if I can give this it's own separate entry.)
From my time on BEA, when I'm describing why I like a particular album, I always seem to notice that I rarely talk about the album's lyrics. You see, the thing with me, I'm more of a soundscapes kind of guy. I always base my judgement on an album based on whether the album's sound appeals to me or not. Plus, it's a lot easier for me compose songs based on the instrumentals rather than lyrics. Maybe that's why I love so much shoegaze, the lyrics don't matter as much as the melodies they're based around of.
But, my dilemma is that I feel like I'm only giving the album and/or artist half of the credit. I want to focus my attention more on the lyrics and trying to decipher what they mean and I want to become a better lyricist. But I feel like in order to become a better lyricist, I have pay more attention to the lyrics.
But, I want to make this interesting and creative. If anyone is reading, how do you go about lyrics? _________________
Sending help messages in morse code from the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile on the other end of the line, it sounds like you're browsing channels on the radio. So basically, you're fucked.
Guided By Voices, specifically Bee Thousand, came right the fuck out of nowhere and plummeted into my life like a meteor. Before listening to that album for the first time, I thought I'd like it enough to warrant an 70, 80 if it was lucky. Then after listening to it, I wanted to listen to it again, and then after the second listen it went straight to my top 50. One of the most perfect albums I've ever heard. With that said, the fact that they followed up Bee Thousand with this is just one of the most unsatisfactory things I've ever experienced.
I must be dreaming! There's no way that Guided By Voices would make an album so devoid of what made Bee Thousand so mesmerising. Like it's another derivative indie band vaguely remembering that record and making a bastardised version of it. Even on it's own, this album is just so devoid of engagement that I'd rather listen to something else. I can't believe I'm saying that about a band that I was really excited to delve deeper into their discography, then I listen to this, and all of that was for nothing. I just hope that it hasn't had the time to click with me, and hopefully it will get better with future listens, but right now, I'm not feeling it.
I don't want to be saying bad things about it, I wanted to like it, but in the end, I don't know what happened to these guys. The only positive thing I can say about this is the song Game Of Pricks - which is obviously the best song on the album and the only reason that it pushes this from a 45/100 to a 55/100. And because it exists, we got this scene from one of the best comedies ever:
The inner rebellious feminist in you comes out and causes anarchy and riots across the streets of Olympia. It feels so good to fight for the rights of others.
So, I first heard of this band thanks to music critic and meaningful acquaintance of mine on twitter: The Rock Critic. If you haven't seen his videos, I can't recommend him enough, he's an absolute joy to watch. And I can see why this is one of his favourite bands and will have to thank him even more than necessary for recommending them to me.
Not much to say about this album but, it's sharp and holy shit, that voice is powerful. These girls have some ferocious and unadulterated force, don't mess with them. I've also heard that they're releasing their new album, their first in 10 years. It gives me a bit of time to catch up.
Imagine if the concept of Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll was submerged into a psychedelic haze.
I was expecting to like this, since my love for Pixies is already growing with every passing day. Even with the insane things to come out of Francis Black's mouth in their songs, I've always assumed that Kim Deal was the most plausible in giving Pixies songs their driving spark, and that Joey Santiago's venomous guitar work and David Lovering's rapid drumming was just the cherry on top. Her flow was the reason why Pixies are so fucking amazing. And it's no difference for her solo project.
It's that mix of alternative rock with sparkling indie touches is what makes this album so magical. If Nirvana and Pavement had a child (pleasant image), this would be the result.
Right, I'm going to take a break from writing for a couple hours. _________________
I must be dreaming! There's no way that Guided By Voices would make an album so devoid of what made Bee Thousand so mesmerising. Like it's another derivative indie band vaguely remembering that record and making a bastardised version of it. Even on it's own, this album is just so devoid of engagement that I'd rather listen to something else. I can't believe I'm saying that about a band that I was really excited to delve deeper into their discography, then I listen to this, and all of that was for nothing. I just hope that it hasn't had the time to click with me, and hopefully it will get better with future listens, but right now, I'm not feeling it.
Don't lose hope yet! I initially thought that Alien Lanes was uninspiring after Bee Thousand, but it grew on me. It's essential Guided by Voices!
The drawbacks in being blinded by your own arrogance are so high, that you haven't realised that you've made a fatal miscalculation in your proposition. Mass hysteria ensues.
Is it okay if I have a sneaky listen to end the first day of this ULL? Pretty sure it's perfectly normal to do so, but be warned, I'll probably be to tired to elaborate on details and I'll probably miss some obvious spelling errors along the way.
Wire was probably the most divergent band to come out of the wave of British punk during the 70s. They have mastered these seamless transitions from being a bare bones standard punk band with simple catchy hooks, to delving into murky post-punk territory with a bit more complexion in tone, or even decide to mix the two of them together to make an amalgamation the most derivative of punk rejects can only dream of. They feel uncomfortable being just categorised into one form of punk and decide to rebel against their own statements. That, my friend, is the mark of a true punk and this is why Wire are one of the strongest and consistent bands for their time.
With that being said, 154 is definitely the weakest out of their late 70s period. With every subsequent release from them, there are considerably more experimental tracks on here. While Chairs Missing had some experimentation it also had some more immediate tracks to balance out the alienation with this particular sound. With this album, you don't see any sign of a simple progression with a structure to it until track 9 arguably. Sure there may be a bit of drag at the start, but that's not to say that the drag is bad, I would've just preferred it to be trimmed down a bit.
So for me, my Wire ranking would consist of:
Chairs Missing =/> Pink Flag > 154
But one thing the other two records don't have, MY FUCKING JAM:
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