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The Feelies at Mass MoCA 11/11/2011

16 Nov

I discovered The Feelies in the summer after high school.  I was screwing around on allmusic.com looking at Pavement’s page when I noticed the “Influenced By” section.  At the time (and not much has changed) I was totally obsessed with Pavement.  I figured, why not give some of these bands a shot that supposedly influenced them?  As it turns out, the list was a gold mine.  I recognized some bands, but that list introduced me to Wire, Can, Swell Maps, Half Japanese, Pere Ubu, oh, and The Feelies.  I downloaded their 1980 debut (I was a poor-ass college kid…I’ll make up for it later).  “Crazy Rhythms” became one of my most listened to albums of that year. Continue reading

David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time

14 Nov

A review/track-by-track analysis of “Crazy Clown Time,” or at least until I’m sufficiently weirded out.

David Lynch released his “first” album this year.  I say “first” because David Lynch has been collaborating on music for his films for years with his soundtrack man, Angelo Badalamenti.  It’s David Lynch so I knew it was going to be weird as all get out and intermittently creepy, if not creepy through and through.  It’s all of that, but it’s got some surprises. Continue reading

M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

6 Nov

Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming turned out to be one of the more pleasant surprises of 2011.  Anthony Gonzales remarked some months before the release that it was going to be epic.  He wasn’t too far off.  It’s a neon glitter bomb.

It has all of what made M83’s prior albums great, and despite being a double album, the listener comes away feeling as though some of the fat has been trimmed.  Few songs exceed five minutes and those that do are very listenable unlike some of the sparse, sprawling bon voyages on Continue reading

The Auteurs – New Wave

29 Sep

New Wave by The Auteurs (1993)

This debut album has a slew of great tracks.  The Auteurs, unlike Oasis and Blur, find themselves amongst a number of other Britpop bands that never made a [big] name for themselves in the US: namely Suede, Pulp and Denim.  (I feel like I need to start a Britpop band named “Flannel”…who’s with me?)  The Auteurs’ sound, Continue reading

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today

19 Sep

Before Today by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (2010)

I was introduced to Ariel Pink’s Worn Copy and The Doldrums in college by my glorious roommate, Robakabob.  Before Today isn’t a complete departure from the Ariel Pink that I knew and loved [parts of], but it is certainly a more focused and market-saavy approach.  It is technically Pink’s 10th album.  His albums prior to Before Today were often sprawling, lacked consistency and were even unlistenable at times—not unlike his mentor Continue reading

The Olivia Tremor Control – Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle

11 Sep

Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle by The Olivia Tremor Control (1996)

The Olivia Tremor Control’s first album, Dusk at Cubist Castle, is a psych pop tour de force.  It is supposed to be the soundtrack for an unreleased film about two girls, Olivia and Jacqueline, and an apocalyptic quake in California.  The album offers a wide range of genre exploration: neopsychadelia, indie rock, lo-fi, folk, Krautrock, surf rock and noise.  The first time I listened to it, I expected Continue reading

The dB’s – Stands for Decibels

4 Sep

Stands for Decibels by The dB’s (1981)

This debut album is experimental and mercilessly catchy.  Chris Stamey (formerly of The Sneakers) and Peter Holsapple take a creative approach to the blossoming genre of power pop.  Stamey’s post-punk/psychedelic leanings and love of playing with sound(s) are reined in by Holsapple’s more conventional, simple songwriting that is at the same time completely infectious.

The album starts off with a powerful Continue reading

My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything

31 Aug

Isn’t Anything by My Bloody Valentine (1988)

This album, although frequently overlooked as the less attractive older sister to 1991’s Loveless, is an impressive and well-balanced introduction to shoegaze in its infancy.  It is a near-perfect marriage of terror and warmth.

The wonderful, wandering bass-line in “Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)” immediately draws the listener in. Continue reading

Beat Happening – You Turn Me On

28 Aug

You Turn Me On by Beat Happening (1992)

I figured I would start the music reviews with a bang (a bang of an album that is…hopefully the review is passable).

You Turn Me On is one of my favorite albums by Beat Happening, one of my favorite artists.  It is Beat Happening’s fifth and final album.  It is also a sonic departure from Beat Happenings earlier repertoire of two-minute, lo-fi, twee-ful pop diddies.  In fact, there isn’t a song under three minutes on the album. Continue reading