Filed under: reviews | Tags: alexisonfire, black lungs, dallas green, foo fighters, music reviews, rollingstone
I’ve come to realize that writing reviews for music is pointless… because the reviews will always be rushed. Here I am, months later after the release of Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace by the Foo Fighters and am now prepared to say this easily is one of my favorite Foo albums to listen to. Back when I first got it though, I never would have said that. And when I tried to write about Dallas Green’s album, I waited almost two weeks before I could comprehend what I really wanted to say, to do the music justice. So it just seems that like, when people rate music for websites or magazines, their words just can’t be trusted because they’re probably listening to the cd only a few times and writing all their thoughts and feelings down within a span of a week or something. That’s totally not fair to music. Foo Fighters got like, two and a half stars in Rollingstone for their latest album… and gosh. That is absolutely a crying shame. However, the month afterwards, under the list of cds “You Must Buy Now”, the Foos were on there. It’s practically evidenced right there that although it rated kinda low, people in the office were saying, “Hey, this is totally worth owning.”
Another thing about rating music too is the fact that like… everyone has different tastes. No one’s music tastes can be predicted either. Just because I like the Honorary Title doesn’t mean I’m gonna like another band who sounds just like them. Or just because I like Alexisonfire doesn’t mean I’m gonna like Black Lungs. Id give the new Foo album a nice 4/5, but rollingstone gave it 2 1/2. So someone who reads Rollingstone might not pick up the cd… but someone who read a review of mine might… yet that person who bought the cd because of me might be disappointed.
I dunno, yet again. The words I want to say just aren’t coming out nearly as well as I want them to/need them to.
Reviewing music is a hard thing.
A lot of the music I find comes from movies/shows. Let’s analyze what I’ve been listening to lately and how I found it: The Pillows? Came from the anime show FLCL. Just about all the JPOP I listen to? Anime, in general. The techno I’ve been listening to lately? The Animatrix. What’s super important in the film we’re watching in Cinema and Comp? The music. What’s my favorite piano piece from? The movie Kikujiro. Moving image productions are a goldmine for priceless music! The artistic world is one that can be enhanced with many parts of the same whole.
What do I mean by this?
A movie can be great because of the story (writing), the cinematography (photography/directing), the music (music), the costumes (fashion), the acting (theatre/acting) and so much more. Video games can be great because they blend art, music, writing, design, and so much more as well. Like, every element of the artistic world can stand alone… art can be good as is. Acting can be great on its own. A story can be remarkable as just a story. Etc. etc. But when you take all these parts and put them all together, something magnificent is produced. I think that’s something very interesting to ponderl…
I dunno, I’ve got a slight headache so I can’t focus on my thoughts very well. But I love how the most creative works are pieces that take the whole world of art and combine them into one. So many different pieces of a puzzle coming together to form a masterpiece.
Brilliant!
I’ve been watching the new Pillows dvd on Youtube for the past two days. Haven’t gotten very far, but I’ve been watching it nonetheless. One thing that happens during the DVD is that the creators will jump back and show some old music videos of the Pillows- rather ridiculous ones. It’s when they show these old videos that you realize how old these guys are. Then you analyze the facts: they’ve been together since 1989. So they’ve almost been a band for twenty years!
On the way home from bass lessons I realized something. Sure, they’ve been a band for almost 20 years, that’s bodacious… but it’s been the same two guitarists for those twenty years… and that struck something inside of me. That made seriously yell out, “holy shit that’s amazing.” Why? Because these two guys have not only been friends for 20 years… they’ve been bandmates. They’ve been creating music together for a huge chunk of their lives and to be together for that long is jaw-dropping.
I mean, think about it this way… when I create music I’m putting my heart and soul on the table and I’m expressing myself creatively and trying to create something that can’t be taught or learned. Now imagine if I were doing that for twenty years and it was my job, my entire life… Now imagine that I’ve had someone by my side for all of those 20 years helping me do these things/doing the exact same thing as me… That’s phenomenal! I can barely wrap my head around it.
I dunno, there’s not much else to say. If you don’t understand the gravity of the situation by what I’ve just said, there’s no point in explaining.
With that note, I’m gonna watch some more of that dvd…
Filed under: reviews | Tags: bring me your love, cd reviews, city & colour, dallas green, the girl
Let’s do this.
City & Colour review.
Right now.
It would appear Dallas Green has created a perfect album. It’s devoid of any bad tracks and never once does the subject material of his songs grow tiresome. They’re all so varied and often times thought-provoking/deep. It’s an honest album, too, that’s for certain. Some of the things said make you realize that Dallas is well aware of who he is and the world he’s living in. Maybe things aren’t always perfect… but clarity amidst turmoil is better than being blind. This theme alone for the album is a great lesson to be learned.
The main thing I picked out from listening to Bring Me Your Love is that it’s a more full experience. The first City & Colour album felt cold and desolate. It was just one, two, maybe three acoustic guitars with some nice reverb on them for each song going and Dallas singing. It’s was a bare bones album, but still beautiful nonetheless. That same beauty is captured yet again… only it’s amplified to a mind-bending degree. The vocal harmonies are better/more frequent, the number of instruments on each track is increased, and the song-writing just feels so much more developed. I see this album as Dallas really breaking out and creating a real solid solo project. The first time around was an experiment/for fun… this is more serious and experiments yet again with a fuller sound… and I think on his third album (assuming he makes one) Dallas might just change the shape of the earth with his confidence in this new, big sound.
That’s really all there is to say. If you know Dallas, you know that he’s got one of the most amazing voices ever. Take that voice and set it to incredible music and you’ve got City & Colour’s album Bring Me Your Love. Every track is exceptional in its own right. Even the slower, minimal songs still pack a certain punch. There are a lot of subtle surprises lying throughout the album that will excite you and by the time the cd ends, you’re left thinking, “Wow, I need to listen to that again.”
This is a crappy review,
but Bring Me Your Love deserves a 10/10.
This is a wonderful album that never once disappoints and has so much heart, talent, and soul attached to it. This is so much more than music. This is Dallas having a conversation with you. His thoughts and feelings are on this cd and the music just gets his points across that much more intensely.
If you download one song, get The Girl. Every time I hear it I wanna cry from pure joy because it’s so beautiful and gets so far under my skin.
Filed under: reviews | Tags: bring me your love, city & colour, dallas green
Every now and again an album will come across that just sweeps you off your feet. It gets into your soul and refuses to rest anywhere else. Sure, you may buy a cd and think it’s really great and some songs may totally blow you away, even move you. But there’s a difference from those amazing cds… and the ones that really inspire. Dallas Green’s latest effort is the latter. Under the name City & Colour, Dallas released his latest album, “Bring Me Your Love” on Vagrant records last Tuesday and I have yet to stop listening. It’s a work of beauty that I recommend to anyone who desires a bit of rejuvenation in their life.
Okay. I gotta admit. It’s really hard to write about this cd. It’s still too early for me to do a write-up. I’m still too esctatic over it. All my thoughts just collide into one another and I can’t really convey what I want to say. So… yeah. As of right now, if you’re even considering purchasing Bring Me Your Love- DO IT. A review will be up as soon as I can comprehend the fact the Dallas created such an incredible album. Which… could be a while.
Filed under: reviews | Tags: angel, enemy, jack johnson, sleep through the static, what you thought you need
The laidback, summer vibes of Jack Johnson came at a perfect time… right in the dead of winter! (Please note the sarcasm) When I picked up this album last week upon its release, I was eager as ever, dying to hear some music I was definitely craving. In Between Dreams was a beautiful escape I’d never witnessed before on a music cd and I was hoping Sleep Through the Static might find a way to trump the masterpiece, especially since Zach Gill’s presence has now been officialized (he’s the amazing singer/pianist that was featured on In Between Dreams and played big parts at his concerts ever since).
When I first popped in the cd, I was skeptical. Things started off really slow… almost in a bad way. But then halfway through the song you realized that it was actually a near-perfect tune that brought you in so wonderfully. So once I accepted Jack’s slowed down nature, I unwinded in my bed and made my ears attentive. What would ensue would no doubt be a pleasurable experience, but one that falls short of greatness.
The first song, All At Once reels you in, and Sleep Through the Static follows which continues things in one nice, fluid segway. The immediate thing about JJ is that he never compromises his style for no one. When you want mellowed out tunes to relax to, Jack will always be available. But I suppose that’s where his downfall is… While listening to this album, I always wanted to go and lie out in my hammock. Sadly, it’s a frozen paradise outside and I can’t do any such thing. So the full amazinginess of this album may never be realized until it can be warm out and the aesthetics of nature can enhance the listening experienced.
That’s not to say Sleep Through the Static isn’t awesome though.
While maybe Sleep Through the Static came out at the wrong time of year (at least for those of us who have to deal with, uhm, cold weather), it still has a lot to offer and is totally worth the $10 it might cost you.
There are two songs that kinda go together, Angel and Enemy that knocked me off my feet. Angel contains some of the most romantic lyrics I’ve ever heard in a song and Enemy is a very, very cool stand-out song. Then another song, What You Thought You Need was another tune I heard and had to listen to again because I thought, “Wait, did I really just hear something that awesome?”
After listening to the album in full, there were a couple of tracks that bored me… and I was kind of upset at this. But when I thought about it, Jack has never made a flawless album in my opinion. There are always a handful of tunes I don’t like- In Between Dreams was the first and only cd of his where the whole package interested me. And on this album, there’s only like, 2 or 3 songs that I could have done without. So after analyzing it, Sleep Through the Static is my second favorite Jack album, but is totally necessary for any Jack Johnson fan. There are some songs on here too good to pass up.
The verdict? 8/10.
It’s not perfect. But it’s still better than anything you’re listening to right now (except Dallas Green’s new album: expect a review very soon). and let’s face it, we all need more laidback grooves in our life.
I came to the realization today that I’m tired of playing guitar. I’m tired of writing songs with a guitar in my hand and I’m bored of coming up with lyrics. I love writing bass lines and drum parts and organizing songs. I also love coming up with harmonies. That’s what I love to do musically.
Songs like Shine by AD and New Bang by Appa are like, two of my most favorite songs ever I’ve been apart of… because I had a hand in writing them, a huge hand really, but I didn’t write the guitars or lyrics. I got to sit back and add my own flair to the song. I like that kind of power. Being able to collaborate. But being able to just enhance… not necessarilly create.
For Shine I wrote the bass and drum parts. I wrote the second verse lyrics and added harmonies. I pretty much organized the song. That was off the hook.
For New Bang I wrote the piano part and the bass part and will be adding harmonies to it and I helped in the arrangement.
I realized this today as I was thinking about writing new music and how I believed in AD and Appa songs so much more than my own. Not necessarily because they’re better… but just because I feel more comfortable with those songs. They’re much more exciting for me. I also realized how empowered I felt holding a bass tonight at lessons. It’s just one of those things in life that feels so right. You can’t always explain it… but you understand it deep inside your soul.
So… am I putting up the guitar?
Possibly. At least… for a while.
Alright,
I’m gonna make a quick post before school because yesterday was a nice experimental day for recording that I enjoyed immensely.
You know, people always say, “Record guitars for the left ear and the right ear.” I always understood why you’d do that and how it’d be awesome… but I just felt with my equipment it’d be muddy all the time. So I stuck with that notion and said, “Eff that, not gonna deal with something I know is gonna suck.” In fact, once I did try just like, duplicating a track, a panning the one to the left ear and the other to the right, and I didn’t notice the difference. However, that was a dumbass move on my part, because if you do that with vocals, you can’t tell either. It’s the different recordings that create awesome layers- I should have known better. Then after listening to New World by L’Arc-En-Ciel, I noticed that the guitars were in the left and right ear quite obviously- because they were the same rhythms, just, you could tell there were some discrepancies in them… yet it was fine! Sounded marvelous! With this in mind, I decided to try it out on the latest song I recorded.
Sure enough- it sounded bad ass. It was a bit bassy, but with the “Bass reducer” option on iTunes, that problem is gone. The bass doesn’t sound as intense, but it still sounds great… the overall package feels really great. What I noticed though was that it only makes the biggest difference when doing palm-muted segments. So I suppose I’ll do it that way only?
Okay, here’s a wrap-up of what I learned/did yesterday:
-When recording guitars, it’s best to record one track for the left ear, another track for the right ear.
-However, it’s best to only do this when you want to convey a sense of intensity and/or when you’re plam-muting. Like, if I were to have an acoustic song and do this, it just really wouldn’t fit that well. It’d feel so in your face and not nearly as pretty because things are a bit jumbled at times. For acoustic songs, it’s all about articulation. When recording one guitar for each other, articulation is not what you’re aiming for. Intensity is what you’re main end is going to be.
-Don’t use tihs technique for lead guitars. Unless of course you want that supreme intensity.
Final note: Only use this technique when you’re trying to be “in your face.”
From now on we will refer to recording one guitar for each ear as the “In your face” technique or the “Intensity Function”.
So I’m… rather depressed right now.
No, nothing bad has happened. It would seem that something miraculous has happened, actually.
Now you’re lost, aren’t you?
please allow me to explain.
Yesterday Glenn came over and we did some recording: got vox to Twilight Princess down, finished guitars for Shiro and started Yours Truly. It’s the song Yours Truly that really gets me. For so many different reasons it moves me so much inside.
First of all, it’s rather moody and totally epic. It’s basically designed to get under your skin. Then there’s the fact that it’s the last AD song we’ll be recording for the album. It’s the last song we’ve written and includes, easily, my best drum work. It’s going to be best showing of my recording abilities. Yours Truly is all these amazing things and I dunno, it just really makes me think, makes me feel a lot. Without even really trying it’s this 6:46 song that is just incredible, in my opinion. I can’t stop listening to it. Glenn and John are worried about it being so long… I say fuck it. If a song is really long, who really cares? Yours Truly is highly entertaining the whole way through. That’s the thing about really long songs… they’re not bad. They’re only bad when they clearly just aren’t that great… when there’s maybe like, just a bunch of really long solos or just a thousand different parts that keep changing… I dunno. The “epic long song” can be done very well, and this one is. Shieet. I can’t talk right now. I’m just not in the mood to do anything right now, but I wanted to say this.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: apollo's dream, appastar, making music, new bang, shine
Today was Appastar practice. We focused on practicing for the acoustic show we’ve got on March 15th at Mojoe’s Hot House and writing new material. This new song with the working title, “New Bang” has so much promise. After being inspired by Sono Mirai Wa Ima by the Pillows, how can the song go wrong? It actually blends both the Pillows and the Honorary Title quite seamlessly/perfectly. The whole first 3/4 are very Pillows-esque… then the very end breaks into something that sounds straight from the track “Along The Way” by THT. I gushed hardcore when that happened.
But yeah, about writing music. Appastar has finally honed in onto what I believe is the best method of writing songs: JUST JAMMING. You take someone’s idea and run with it. Whether it’s a pre-meditated idea or one that just springs out from nowhere, I think the best way to write something is to jam on it and start going “Hey, this is cool… now let’s do this…” etc. etc. and before you know it, you’ve put together a really cool song that takes everyone’s specialties/creativity and throws it into one. It’s this joining up of creativity that is the best part about making songs this way. Take it from me: having a solo project is awesome and all, but everything, after a while, starts to feel the same, because one person can only write so many songs alone before his own creativity begins to run itself into circles. I did the math… I’ve written over 200 songs in 3 years. Over a hundred of those are easily distinguishable… but I’m definitely starting to hit a time in my life where things run into each other. But yeah, back to my main point: this new song is easily my favorite song of ours… Apollo’s Dream writes in this same fashion… and idiot ambush did too. It’s just the way to go. All three of those bands mentioned are original and have/are gained/gaining a lot of notoriety. It’s also the most fun way to write music. It feels so organic and the sense of accomplishment associated with it all afterwards is unbeatable.
We also started writing a really cool song that starts with bass I was gonna use for Apollo’s Dream, but since John shat all over it and said he didn’t like it, Appastar got it. And I must say… John’s a fool for getting rid of this one. It’s going to turn into a stellar song.
Today I showed Melinda “Shine” by AD… and we dissected it into three different parts: the first part, where the song stays the same feel until the bridge is the “Infatuation” stage of a relationship. Everything is really explosive and happy! Things start off great… you dig it… then things just keep getting better and better. Finally we reach the bridge and you start thinking, “Is this love, maybe?” because things get mellower and actually, things get really mellow and almost romantic. But then everything explodes out again and it’s the part where you’re all “Yes.. this is TOTALLY love! and its the BEST thing EVER!”
So yeah. I gotta do my damn homework.
Peaceizzle.
