This long weekend, you could listen to 25 Drake songs, or you could listen to this fun, funky, fresh new album from Gorillaz, The Now Now. I know what I'll be doing.
Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
I suppose this is as good a time as any to discuss the one album I've listened to since I moved, Panic! at the Disco's Pray for the Wicked. Man, that is a cool ass title wasted on a pretty mediocre album.
Why does it seem like most music now is either severely underproduced or overproduced? You've either got that droney, tinny stuff that sounds like a gnat cursing in your ear, or you've got this thing, which sounds like a bomb going off. Panic! at the disco, indeed.
Why did I listen to this instead of probably 50 more deserving albums that came out this year? Well, there's that cool title. I liked the first two songs I heard, "Say Amen" and "Silver Lining." And honestly, I have a pretty good history with this band. Pretty. Odd. is a beautiful Beatlesesque album that fits nicely on a playlist with early of Montreal. A Fever You Can't Sweat Out has that classic mid-2000s emo vibe, complete with ridiculous song titles you'll never remember. It was kind of a silly, over the top time, but by God it was something. There were guitars. There were live drums. There was a sense of deranged fun, which could almost make you forget that the songs were called things like "There's a Rock In My Heart and a Hole in My Shoe and You Put it There, Darling."*
*not a real song but I bet you had to look it up to be sure.
I wouldn't say I loved their (or I should say his, it's just Brendan Urie at this point) album Death of a Bachelor, but I liked a good half of it, maybe a little more. It had a good vibe, and while the pop production was definitely there, it didn't rub me the wrong way. I called it dance rock, and I think that's accurate. It's fun. This new album, I think, is trying to be fun but... that's just it. You can feel it trying, straining at the seams to be noticed. It's loud, but it doesn't say anything and it sure as hell doesn't rock. This is the first PatD album that hasn't felt organic to me, and I don't just mean instrumentally. Ultrapop production aside, there's just no there there.
I don't think Brendan Urie had much to say this time.
That might be okay, if more of the songs were like "Say Amen" (or "Victorious" from the last album). Songs that make you want to stand up and shout out their meaningless anthemic choruses, because you are drunk and happy. But I don't find the majority of this album infectious, and it definitely doesn't forward the cause of rock. They/he isn't rock anymore, and yeah, they were always pop rock at best. But they put out some good pop rock. Memorable. And while I wouldn't call this album "trendy" or "selling out," it somehow manages to be just as forgettable as if it was. I wasn't expecting this one-man "band" to save rock and roll, but by moving farther away from it, nobody wins. It's too pop for the old fans and not pop enough for the trend eaters. In the end, it just kinda makes me scratch my head and wonder why these bands don't even try to rock anymore. Music doesn't have to say anything, but it does have to make you feel something, even if it's just "wheeee this is fun!" And when the music is empty, making it louder does not make it seem bigger. Just the opposite, really.
I guess we'll see where he's at next album cycle, cause I feel like it's time for a change.
Why does it seem like most music now is either severely underproduced or overproduced? You've either got that droney, tinny stuff that sounds like a gnat cursing in your ear, or you've got this thing, which sounds like a bomb going off. Panic! at the disco, indeed.
Why did I listen to this instead of probably 50 more deserving albums that came out this year? Well, there's that cool title. I liked the first two songs I heard, "Say Amen" and "Silver Lining." And honestly, I have a pretty good history with this band. Pretty. Odd. is a beautiful Beatlesesque album that fits nicely on a playlist with early of Montreal. A Fever You Can't Sweat Out has that classic mid-2000s emo vibe, complete with ridiculous song titles you'll never remember. It was kind of a silly, over the top time, but by God it was something. There were guitars. There were live drums. There was a sense of deranged fun, which could almost make you forget that the songs were called things like "There's a Rock In My Heart and a Hole in My Shoe and You Put it There, Darling."*
*not a real song but I bet you had to look it up to be sure.
I wouldn't say I loved their (or I should say his, it's just Brendan Urie at this point) album Death of a Bachelor, but I liked a good half of it, maybe a little more. It had a good vibe, and while the pop production was definitely there, it didn't rub me the wrong way. I called it dance rock, and I think that's accurate. It's fun. This new album, I think, is trying to be fun but... that's just it. You can feel it trying, straining at the seams to be noticed. It's loud, but it doesn't say anything and it sure as hell doesn't rock. This is the first PatD album that hasn't felt organic to me, and I don't just mean instrumentally. Ultrapop production aside, there's just no there there.
I don't think Brendan Urie had much to say this time.
That might be okay, if more of the songs were like "Say Amen" (or "Victorious" from the last album). Songs that make you want to stand up and shout out their meaningless anthemic choruses, because you are drunk and happy. But I don't find the majority of this album infectious, and it definitely doesn't forward the cause of rock. They/he isn't rock anymore, and yeah, they were always pop rock at best. But they put out some good pop rock. Memorable. And while I wouldn't call this album "trendy" or "selling out," it somehow manages to be just as forgettable as if it was. I wasn't expecting this one-man "band" to save rock and roll, but by moving farther away from it, nobody wins. It's too pop for the old fans and not pop enough for the trend eaters. In the end, it just kinda makes me scratch my head and wonder why these bands don't even try to rock anymore. Music doesn't have to say anything, but it does have to make you feel something, even if it's just "wheeee this is fun!" And when the music is empty, making it louder does not make it seem bigger. Just the opposite, really.
I guess we'll see where he's at next album cycle, cause I feel like it's time for a change.
I wonder if we'll ever have another mainstream rock revival like in the early-mid 2000s with bands like The Killers, The Strokes, White Stripes, etc. (which probably led to later bands' success, like MCR and Paramore). What happened? Why did rock's relevance completely disappear with the new decade? Is this just another music "cycle," or has the current generation lost interest in rock? I feel like it's timeless and we'll have another revival in a few years, but I guess we'll see. Which isn't to say that rock is dead, by any means. A lot of these bands are still making good music, as well as newer bands like Creeper. It's just waiting underground til it becomes cool again, I guess. I'm sure eventually people will realize every trap song is actually the same damn song, and they'll get bored and be all, "what's that? a guitar? Hey, I haven't heard one of those in a while..." I swear that's all music trends are, just waiting for people to get bored with whatever's popular. Next! (And the good stuff usually comes back.)
Edited to add: Why does it matter if music I like is "popular," when I can stream or download and listen to whatever I want, whenever I want? Because I'm not a hipster. I like to feel like part of a society. Sure, there's some unusual stuff I like that I wouldn't expect to hear in the mainstream, and I like having some "on my own time" music. But I also like hearing music I connect to when I'm out in the world, at restaurants, shops, bars, etc.
Obviously no one wants to be constantly pummelled by shit they hate - for me, this droney trap rap trend has been misery - but it's more than that. You can somewhat tune that out. But - I don't want to tune out music. I want the "hey, that's my song!" feeling. The shared music experience. It's not like I hang out at places that are all teens and 20s, where I might not expect to relate to the current trends. These are shared spaces with people from all walks of life, yet they're still being controlled by these lowest common denominator trends. A little more variety would be nice, is what I'm saying. A little more organic music that some of us still relate to. And not just on 90s night! I love 90s night, but I hear that shit all the time. That's what I already have on heavy rotation. Play some NEW music that evokes the 90s or early 2000s, if that's what you're so hungry for, you know? I don't know why 90s ROCK = COOL, but any rock put out this decade is no longer relevant. Nostalgia has its place, but it's nice to feel you belong in the here and now*, too.
*Of course, that won't stop me from sneaking in a Letters to Cleo reference. :)
Edited to add: Why does it matter if music I like is "popular," when I can stream or download and listen to whatever I want, whenever I want? Because I'm not a hipster. I like to feel like part of a society. Sure, there's some unusual stuff I like that I wouldn't expect to hear in the mainstream, and I like having some "on my own time" music. But I also like hearing music I connect to when I'm out in the world, at restaurants, shops, bars, etc.
Obviously no one wants to be constantly pummelled by shit they hate - for me, this droney trap rap trend has been misery - but it's more than that. You can somewhat tune that out. But - I don't want to tune out music. I want the "hey, that's my song!" feeling. The shared music experience. It's not like I hang out at places that are all teens and 20s, where I might not expect to relate to the current trends. These are shared spaces with people from all walks of life, yet they're still being controlled by these lowest common denominator trends. A little more variety would be nice, is what I'm saying. A little more organic music that some of us still relate to. And not just on 90s night! I love 90s night, but I hear that shit all the time. That's what I already have on heavy rotation. Play some NEW music that evokes the 90s or early 2000s, if that's what you're so hungry for, you know? I don't know why 90s ROCK = COOL, but any rock put out this decade is no longer relevant. Nostalgia has its place, but it's nice to feel you belong in the here and now*, too.
*Of course, that won't stop me from sneaking in a Letters to Cleo reference. :)
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
*a tumbleweed blows by*
So, I appear to have bought a house. Wait, how did that happen?? This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. How did I get here? Letting the days go by, water flowing underground.
So. There's that. Hence the large tumbleweed population 'round here. I will resume blogging after we're settled in and my cats stop hating me. I haven't really listened to much new music lately. Stuck in the 90s and 2000s, doop de doo. There's an Oasis song FIRMLY lodged in my head right now. Those new FGL songs? Haven't heard em, can't say I really care. However, I did listen to my first ever Ghost song, "Dance Macabre." It's 80s AF and I dig it. Like, we're talking right out of one of those old Metal Mania videos.
Here's the thing. I like some harder rock, but "metal" is one of those musical descriptors that makes my brain shut off, like "trap" or "k-pop" or "industrial." I just associate it with screaming and noise. But what can one song hurt? And yeah, I guess it's "metal" in the 80s sense, not that current hardcore screaming shit. It's very melodic, and that's what I look for. So I'll probably check out the album, but for now at least I have a cool "new nostalgic" song in heavy rotation. It kinda feels like the right thing to start this new chapter in my life with, you know? Something that reminds me of the comfort of the past, while still being fresh. Old and new.
Total side note: I'm pretty sure IKEA is one of the circles of Hell.
So. There's that. Hence the large tumbleweed population 'round here. I will resume blogging after we're settled in and my cats stop hating me. I haven't really listened to much new music lately. Stuck in the 90s and 2000s, doop de doo. There's an Oasis song FIRMLY lodged in my head right now. Those new FGL songs? Haven't heard em, can't say I really care. However, I did listen to my first ever Ghost song, "Dance Macabre." It's 80s AF and I dig it. Like, we're talking right out of one of those old Metal Mania videos.
Here's the thing. I like some harder rock, but "metal" is one of those musical descriptors that makes my brain shut off, like "trap" or "k-pop" or "industrial." I just associate it with screaming and noise. But what can one song hurt? And yeah, I guess it's "metal" in the 80s sense, not that current hardcore screaming shit. It's very melodic, and that's what I look for. So I'll probably check out the album, but for now at least I have a cool "new nostalgic" song in heavy rotation. It kinda feels like the right thing to start this new chapter in my life with, you know? Something that reminds me of the comfort of the past, while still being fresh. Old and new.
Total side note: I'm pretty sure IKEA is one of the circles of Hell.
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