Hello again, ok I have slacked off since before the holidays, so I better get back on track. In the spirit of MacWorld starting tomorrow, I’ll talk about some geekery. Yesterday I picked up a copy of Reason 4.0! I’ve been looking forward to this move. Some of my favorite new features include:
- New Transport! The new sequencer is phenomenal! I will need some time to get completely used to it, but it is a major overhaul. Editing and drawing notes is easier, making multiple note lanes for one track is a great addition, and Flash-like grouping and editing is nice.
- Thor, the new polysynth, has so many features that I may never fully understand its capabilities, but if you start with a preset and play around with changing modules, etc, you can have a lot of fun creating a rich sounding synth that far surpasses Subtractor, despite my professed love for it.
- Regroove seems very cool, but again, I haven’t grasped it fully just yet. I’m hoping with this version I will really dive into new styles of music and knowledge. It’ll take some time, but I have all the time in the world
I will probably bring this topic up again in the future, but that’s a quick take on how much I’m diggin. I’m now running Leopard on my machine, and it runs great. Only issue I had was with my Ozone not showing up. Apparently M-Audio is working on new drivers, but I did find a third-party program that fixed my problem. I’ll post here when I get a chance. Check out Reason 4 now!
Propellerheads
January 14th, 2008
Ok, here’s my definitive Top Ten list of 2007. I have not gone into full details about every album, which you can find in places such as Pitchfork Media, but more for a small taste of what I like. Each image is linked to the artist’s website, so be sure to click away!
#1 Underworld: Oblivion With Bells
It’s been a few years since we’ve seen a full LP from Underworld, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy. Over that span they released 3 mini-albums online, with a fourth dj mix of the three. This album clearly shows how complex and refined their work has become. Big grooves, sultry synths, meandering lyrics make for an album so very Underworld-like, but at the same time a fresh take on their sound. If you listen to the mini-albums, you get a sense of where this album came from, but not so far off from Hundred Days Off. I think the time off to just be all out creative with no strings attached really opened them up to new possibilities. Saw them live in Central Park, and it was by far my favorite concert of the year as well.
#2 NIN: Year Zero
Nine Inch Nails filled a hole in my soul in the 90s. Unfortunately there was something lost for a little bit of time into the early 00s, but when With Teeth came out it was clear where things were heading again. Trent came back strong, and Year Zero solidified my love for his amazing textures, nasty & raw sounds, and straight-to-the-point lyrics. This album is filled with noise, more so than anything prior, and certainly takes its cues from the progression of industrial into rhythmic noise that I’ve watched grow over the last 8 years. As a whole, we get the formula NIN fans love with warm instrumentals peppered in and the introspective conclusion. I still feel The Downward Spiral was his best, but he’s still going strong and doing what he loves. The great online game that went with this album also proves his devotion to his fans, and I for one will always be grateful for it. The latest remix album that compliments Year Zero (Y34RZ3r0r3mix3d) is one of the best remix albums since the Closer To God EP.
#3 Battles: Mirrored
I’ve been fascinated with Tyondai’s work for years now. I used to watch him play on campus all the time at UHA, and it captivated me every time. One of the greatest musicians of our generation, no doubt. So to my delight, Mirrored came out this year. This quintuplet are so tight, so innovative, and so fun! From the pitch-bended vocals, nihilistic lyrics, slamming drums, jazzy riffs, and mathematical genius… It’s not a style you generally would expect to gain so much praise and notoriety, but thankfully they have broken that mold. Purely talented musicians.
#4 Burial: Untrue
Dark, moody, soulful, and infectious. In recent months I’ve been picking up a lot more of the genre dubstep. Burial’s latest is so beautifully done with eerie sounds and lyrics of broken relationships based on untruthfulness. Where others like Skream and Vex’d use more dub/reggae party vibes thrown in to their overall dark minimal themes, Burial’s complexity shines above leaning towards Massive Attack or Portishead. Simply delicious!
#5 Band of Horses: Cease To Begin
Band of Horses’ debut record was a wonderful throw-back to the 90s rock I love. Would I have called the record the best of last year? Probably not. I think The Decemberists’ album Crane Wife was much more solid. But nevertheless, BoH did hit a sweet spot. Their sophomore album is even tighter, if not WAY too short. One of the things that pulls me in is the unique and wonderfully refreshing voice of Ben Bridwell, eerie and well-controlled. A perfect atmosphere for rocking and chilling to.
#6 Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha
A professional whistler? Fuck yeah! This guy has amazing lyrics, vocals, instrumentation (which he is a part of the elite loop-building club that gets more popular with every turn), and yes… whistling. The grooves, the tones, the riffs and melodies! So many good reasons to listen to and buy this album. Saw him live this year at the Webster with M, and despite being on our feet too long, we loved every minute of the show.
#7 Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
If not for anything else, I love the lyrics on this album. Fortunately the musicianship from Arcade Fire is also of high quality. A band that reflects on today’s humanity, politics, and philosophies intelligently also just plain rocks! The excursions feel like a mix of The Beatles’ White Album, Springsteen, CSN, and Dylan. With layers upon layers of guitars, vocals, choirs, piano riffs, string build-ups, wind instruments, echoey drums… it goes on and on, and then it gets stripped down to just minimal moody vocals, guitar, bass kick. Certainly harkens back to a more magical time in music when pop got a run for its money.
#8 Ãœberzone: Idealogy
This album screams old skool ‘Electronica’ (ok not really old, but 90s) with fresh synthy-chunky-robotic-breakdance mofo beats. A band that I only knew of through the occasional track on a compilation or from a remix of Crystal Method, it was a pleasure to pick up this album. Just when you thought all the greats of the 90s broke up or faded away. Thoroughly danceable and listen-able, with many joyous moments of “how’d they get that sound??!” thrown in. Check it out, and get out the cardboard floor!
#9 Luke Vibert: Chicago, Detroit, Redruth
Another important artist from the 90s, who has gone by the monikers Plug and Wagonchrist, among others. Luke serves up a fresh plate of acid house laced with drum n bass, jazzy snazzy loops, and my ever-favorite 303 loops! I can’t resist ‘em! Rightfully named Chicago, Detriot, Redruth this album is one of my favorites from Luke. It even hails to the Plug days with pitchy synthy goodness. Yum.
#10 Aesop Rock: None Shall Pass
Aesop is one of those rare hip hop artists that’s actually intrigued me enough to keep listening. His unconventional compositions (for hip hop anyway, and maybe only in my opinion) along with his infectious grooves and at times humorous lyrics stand for what I would want to hear in hip hop. He’s the blue-collar artist that shows true intelligence along-side other greats such as Blackalicious and Mos Def. I won’t go on like I know a lot about this genre, but I am grateful to Margaux to open me up to some of these groups.
December 16th, 2007
Granted I’m not much of a ‘Lite FM’ kind of guy, being into dark nasty noise, industrial, dubstep, IDM, etc. But nothing gets you in the mood of Christmas as much as the songs do. That’s where Lite FM’s all day Christmas songs station really comes in handy. Obviously the songs aren’t always great mind you, I can’t stand Mariah Carey for example. But nothing beats a good classic from the likes of Nat King Cole or The Drifters.
Funny thing about Christmas music, most of the greats have a very traditional language that goes back some decades and perhaps centuries. I was thinking about it today, and the classics really just flow beautifully giving them a sense of whimsey more so than the modern works. I’m not a very religious person, heck I’m actually quite against religion, but one thing’s for sure, Christmas music can really make you feel warm and fuzzy. If they don’t get anything else quite right, Christianity did a wonderful job conveying spirituality through music.
As for Lite FM, well, the commercials annoy me, Delilah needs to go away, and I can’t get the NYC station through iTunes. But it is fun listening to the Twin Cities’ station, or Hartford (my old stomping grounds). Anyway, a good Christmas Tree and some tunage can get you in the mood, even if you don’t want to pay that much for a talking toy animal.
December 10th, 2007
The latest tastiness from Underworld came out back in October, and I must say they did not disappoint. A more introspective, groovy, and guitar-centric album than previous, the feel does a great job of throwing you into their world. The album art reflects on past albums and plays on the journal they keep on their site filled with random poetic images and words.
Margaux and I had a chance to see them live in September at Central Park’s Summerstage, one of the best shows I’ve seen in the last couple years. No matter how often you are afraid to dance or express joy when listening to your favorite band for the sake of looking cool, you cannot stop yourself when Underworld is at the helm. I don’t usually stop myself anyway, and this is the band I will put 150% of love into when dancing about.
The set list for the show:
Luetin
New Train
Crocodile
Pearls Girl
Biro The Leggy
Two Months Off
Rowla
Glam Bucket
Rez / Cow
Nuxx
King Of Snake
Jumbo
Impressive as always.
November 30th, 2007
So Margaux and I went to see a favorite singer of hers at the Living Room last night. Well, she was a fave until the show. She has a beautiful and strong voice, but no real voice to her music. Every time she explained the meaning of a song, we cringed. Every time her hands went up in a diva-esque way, we flinched.
It was so utterly pop, that it almost stained the walls of Living Room with permanent pop marker. A place that I normally frequent for great singers with intelligent, meaningful lyrics all of a sudden had the next Celine Dion on their hands. One would have thought the audience would be overrun by 19 year-old girls, but instead most of them were guys. One could guess many various reasons for this, but we’ll leave it at that. Anyway, if you like pop-divas, the music isn’t that bad out of context, just maybe stay away from shows. Check her out: Natalie Walker
November 30th, 2007
