2007 was an excellent year for music. New National, Radiohead, and Animal Collective, etc. However, 2008 has been quite impressive, mostly w/ records I never would have anticipated and bands I'd never heard of. Thus far, the best:
White Denim - Workout Holiday/Exposion
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Dept. of Eagles - In Ear Park
TVOTR - Dear Science
No Age - Nouns
Times New Viking - Rip it Off
Kills - Midnight Boom
Beach House - Devotion
Walkmen - You & Me
All excellent records.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
More musical goodness
In addition to what's mentioned below, some more excellent records have surfaced:
Quiet Village's Silent Film
Grouper's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
Vivian Girls' S/T
Girl Talk's Feed the Animals
Shearwater's Rook
and, of course, the newest Sigur Ros record.
Monday, June 9, 2008
2008's Best Music
At the moment, the best records of the year would have to be:
Lil Wayne's "Carter III"
Times New Viking's "Rip it Off"
White Denim's "Workout Holiday"
No Age's "Nouns"
Deerhunter's "Microcastle"
The Kills' "Midnight Boom"
Wolf Parade's "Mt. Zoomer"
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Stuff I'm Digging Thus Far This Year
Well, in addition to getting heavily into Brazilian Tropicalia music this year, I've been exploring the usual indie fare and checking out some stuff from last year that I never caught.
For instance, MGMT's album "Oracular Spectacular" is definitely the latter. I cannot believe I didn't catch the hype around this album--if any existed--last year. One of the problems w/ Pitchfork is that they sometimes miss the mark and consequently cause me to miss out on a great record. They gave MGMT's debut a 6.8. It's easily an 8.0, probably higher. Cannot wait for their show w/ Yeasayer in Brooklyn this Valentine's Day...
Other albums that are sounding nice thus far:
The Evangelicals' new record; Beach House's "Devotion"; Atlas Sounds' latest; and Los Campesinos! really delivered on their debut LP, following up their terrific '07 EP w/ a stellar full-length, "Hold on Now, Youngster..."
For instance, MGMT's album "Oracular Spectacular" is definitely the latter. I cannot believe I didn't catch the hype around this album--if any existed--last year. One of the problems w/ Pitchfork is that they sometimes miss the mark and consequently cause me to miss out on a great record. They gave MGMT's debut a 6.8. It's easily an 8.0, probably higher. Cannot wait for their show w/ Yeasayer in Brooklyn this Valentine's Day...
Other albums that are sounding nice thus far:
The Evangelicals' new record; Beach House's "Devotion"; Atlas Sounds' latest; and Los Campesinos! really delivered on their debut LP, following up their terrific '07 EP w/ a stellar full-length, "Hold on Now, Youngster..."
Friday, December 21, 2007
Fallout
(Hiroshima, post-bomb, 1945)
(Same)
(Aerial view of Nagasaki, days before the bomb, 1945)
(Same view, 3 days after the bomb)
Additionally, some images of Japanese radiation victims can be found here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mctv.ne.jp/~bigapple/Skulls.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.mctv.ne.jp/~bigapple/&h=327&w=482&sz=141&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=YjsxwxQxabcvfM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhiroshima%2Bnagasaki%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
And a great collection of primary sources can be found here:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm
Firebombing, Hiroshima, the Holocaust, Rwanda...
To my sensibilities, there's no difference between the above events--certainly in destruction and pain caused, but in terms of morality as well.
I'll never forget the scene in "Fog of War" where they survey the damage done to then-wooden Tokyo after the WWII firebombings there...and now, reading "American Prometheus"--an absolutely tremendous biography of J.R. Oppenheimer--it is hard to even fathom the events the preceded and then followed the dropping of our two atomic bombs on Japan.
At that time, not only was the European phase of the war over, but Japan was offering to surrender. Despite resistance from many of the Manhattan Project scientists to any use of the bomb on Japan--at least w/o giving the Japanese a chance to reject a surrender, and being given knowledge of what they were up to at Los Alamos--the Army and the American government went ahead with a plan of mass destruction. Not only that, but a civilian target was casually selected to more greatly influence the "psychology" of the Japanese.
It seems to me that killing 210,000 people--95% of whom were civilians--especially AFTER killing > 100,000 in the firebombing campaigns, and after all intelligence suggested that either (a) Japan was going to surrender on America's terms; or (b) Russia would enter the Pacific in mid-August and surely destroy any hope the Japanese had of continuing, is tantamount to genocide. Is it any wonder that we acquiesce to the slaughter of innocent people in Sudan and elsewhere? Of course not.
Somehow, we are at root an evil, horrific species. And events of half a century ago still haunt us...
I'll never forget the scene in "Fog of War" where they survey the damage done to then-wooden Tokyo after the WWII firebombings there...and now, reading "American Prometheus"--an absolutely tremendous biography of J.R. Oppenheimer--it is hard to even fathom the events the preceded and then followed the dropping of our two atomic bombs on Japan.
At that time, not only was the European phase of the war over, but Japan was offering to surrender. Despite resistance from many of the Manhattan Project scientists to any use of the bomb on Japan--at least w/o giving the Japanese a chance to reject a surrender, and being given knowledge of what they were up to at Los Alamos--the Army and the American government went ahead with a plan of mass destruction. Not only that, but a civilian target was casually selected to more greatly influence the "psychology" of the Japanese.
It seems to me that killing 210,000 people--95% of whom were civilians--especially AFTER killing > 100,000 in the firebombing campaigns, and after all intelligence suggested that either (a) Japan was going to surrender on America's terms; or (b) Russia would enter the Pacific in mid-August and surely destroy any hope the Japanese had of continuing, is tantamount to genocide. Is it any wonder that we acquiesce to the slaughter of innocent people in Sudan and elsewhere? Of course not.
Somehow, we are at root an evil, horrific species. And events of half a century ago still haunt us...
Friday, December 7, 2007
What I Whiffed On...
Well, at this rate it seems like this blog was created solely for year-end music analysis. It wasn't. It wasn't created for any particular purpose. However, since it's the end of the year, and this is when I started it, well....there you have it.
Anyway, two records stand out that I just completely missed the boat on.
Gui Boratto - "Chromophobia"
"Chromophobia" is as sensual and textured a any piece of music you're likely to hear....maybe ever. Take a look at the cover-art, above. The album actually sounds like that. I listen to this record, particularly "Acrostico," and I feel like I am out in the middle of the ocean, with the sun beating down on me, and I'm floating. And I'm not afraid. This album inspires hope without using a single word. Never has the beauty, depth, and warmth of color come across so clearly in "sound." The album isn't about a fear of colors, but the opposite. It is about embracing the joy that is borne of the visual experience.
Robert Wyatt - "Comicopera"
I guess Robert Wyatt has been around for a long time, and if he's been making music like he's done on this record, I'm sorry I've missed it. "Comicopera" is an eclectic collection of sounds and styles, ranging from salsa to rock to spacious instrumentals. This album is like a mature Ween record. Wyatt sings in a jaded, British accent, and at times evokes Meddle-era Pink Floyd. It's a beautiful album, and it's nice to see it getting some recognition on the year-end lists, unlike some other albums that have stayed firmly under the radar.
Anyway, two records stand out that I just completely missed the boat on.
Gui Boratto - "Chromophobia"
"Chromophobia" is as sensual and textured a any piece of music you're likely to hear....maybe ever. Take a look at the cover-art, above. The album actually sounds like that. I listen to this record, particularly "Acrostico," and I feel like I am out in the middle of the ocean, with the sun beating down on me, and I'm floating. And I'm not afraid. This album inspires hope without using a single word. Never has the beauty, depth, and warmth of color come across so clearly in "sound." The album isn't about a fear of colors, but the opposite. It is about embracing the joy that is borne of the visual experience.Robert Wyatt - "Comicopera"
I guess Robert Wyatt has been around for a long time, and if he's been making music like he's done on this record, I'm sorry I've missed it. "Comicopera" is an eclectic collection of sounds and styles, ranging from salsa to rock to spacious instrumentals. This album is like a mature Ween record. Wyatt sings in a jaded, British accent, and at times evokes Meddle-era Pink Floyd. It's a beautiful album, and it's nice to see it getting some recognition on the year-end lists, unlike some other albums that have stayed firmly under the radar.
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