http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Thu, 5 Jan 2006 10:33:17 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/05/103317.php Max BurkeIn about eighteen months, Paid In Full will be twenty years old. Twenty years of hip-hop as the pre-eminent cultural form of the young and cool. So what makes Paid In Full so important? Well, if one looks beyond the history and influence of what is certainly the greatest MC/DJ team of all time, what you have is one of the best records ever made in any genre. Paid In Full jumps right out of the box with "I Ain't No Joke," the greatest "I have arrived" rhyme in the history of hip-hop, all built around an incredibly simple and simply perfect back beat. Rakim's MC skills her are absurdly smooth and hypnotic. He's not my favorite MC of all time, but he's probably the best."Eric B. is on the Cut" is a stunning piece of almost-instrumental turntable tomfoolery. I like DJ Shadow as much as the next guy, but this piece really begs the question whether his entire career isn't just a follow-up act to a headliner that nobody can touch. Midway through the album comes the first of two songs on which the legend of Eric B. & Rakim is built - "Paid In Full." A quick little spoken introduction announces the song, and then one of the most minimal and memorable pieces of hip-hop production drops. Nothing but a subtle bass line, a simple drum track, and an infrequent, hypnotic, flute loop pulls the song along. At the halfway mark it becomes an exhibition of Eric B.'s scratching skills which is quite instructive.The other landmark piece is "Eric B. is President," potentially my favorite hip-hop track of all time. When was the last time you heard a straight hip-hop track over six minutes long? Not in a while, and not on this level. It is impossible to explain just how complex and profound this track is - Eric B.'s scratching is relentless, the vocal effects are extraordinary, and Rakim's verse is so complex and well-considered it anticipates the smooth and intellectual flow of GZA. "Eric B. Is President" indeed.The record also harkens back to a more innocent time in hip-hop. The misogyny, violence, and incessant cursing that defines hip-hop today is nowhere to be found on Paid In Full. I am no stickler for content, but I think this record immortalizes a time when a devout Moslem MC and his prodigious DJ companion could make a fun, brilliant, and hilarious rap record that is, in fact, family-friendly.The Deluxe Edition of this record is pricey, but worth it. The remastered original LP sounds crisp and clear, like a fresh piece of wax straight outta '87. The bonus tracks are where it's at, though, opening with Coldcut's "Seven Minutes of Madness" - which approaches the remix in a way that would be ripped off again and again in the years to come. The track is hilarious, unpredictable, and brilliant - it is the definitive blueprint for all forward-thinking hip-hop remixes, and anticipates the sample-frenzy turntablism of the mid-90's. Other tracks cop John Cougar Mellencamp's "Jack & Diane" and a sample of "Eric B. Is President" winning a best street single award. There are also three dub mixes that are more interesting than they deserve to be and the original version of "My Melody," which is an essential listen. The second disc plays as it's own remix album, and is a perfect and worthy compliment to this magnificent record. Music41860@blogcritics.org Thu, 5 Jan 2006 10:33:17 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/03/080327.php Max BurkeSomewhere between heavily getting into jazz and buying the complete works of every band on Nuggets I & II, the typical music nerd starts listening to metal. For me, it was hard to come around to. Metal has a cultural stigma, not to mention the fact that bad metal is a very easy to accomplish and is an ubiquitous form, whereas good metal is an extreme rarity. High on Fire is good metal. Yes, it's still metal - blazing fast guitars and threatening, throaty vocals, but this band is so far ahead of the game in terms of song structure and production (thanks to Steve Albini on this effort) that even those who don't "get" it must admit what a fine record Blessed Black Wings is.Opening with the scorching "Devilution" and not letting up through it's nearly hour-long playtime, Blessed Black Wings isn't an album that one can just put on casually, but for fast driving, drinking, and general aggression/rage at the world, nothing beats it. Despite an obscene guitar sound and extremely dynamic vocals, it's the percussion that really drives Blessed Black Wings. Every song lurches along at a workman-like pace, but there is enough room in the mix to let every devastating thump be heard in all it's glory."The Face of Oblivion" is the second track on the record and at nearly seven minutes, it is a true epic. The distorted guitar solo around the four minute mark eventually builds to a reaching climax, replete with what sounds like acoustic guitar matching the fuzz note-for-note. Then the drums kick in, and everything goes to hell with a pulsing rhythmic climb that you can't not nod your head along to.It would take paragraph-upon-paragraph to deconstruct the nuance of every track here, so I will just say a few words about the incredible seven minute closer, "Sons of Thunder". First we get about a minute-and-half of meandering solo guitar work that sets the scene and lays down some heavy, anticipatory tension. Then the full band kicks in, again with the incredibly powerful percussion. At about four minutes, despite the stunning display, patience is wearing thin. Then the guitars turn towards a very familiar and aggressive chugging sound, as if to say "We're not gonna let you down." The percussion comes to the forefront of the mix, and we get to really hear how incredible the drumming is. Finally, we are treated to a lengthy, punishing guitar solo and then - nothing. The song has exhausted it's seven minutes and there is no relief - no vocals, no power chord breakdown, just the distinctive sound of High on Fire: all tension, no release. Editor's note: This work of yours now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.One such site is here. Music41754@blogcritics.org Tue, 3 Jan 2006 08:03:27 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/02/090521.php Max BurkeI saw Ben Chasny - Six Organs of Admittance's core member - once, opening for pre-eminent Japanese psych-rockers Ghost. It was just him and a guitar, and he just sort of played it and belted out some falsetto...vocalizations. It was a bit underwhelming, considering all I had heard about SOoA, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Fortunately, his latest major release, School of the Flower, opens his sound up quite a bit. Basically what we have here is eight tracks of immaculately conceived and performed folk guitar, with occasional vocals. On its own, that would be all well and good. The secret weapon in Chasny's arsenal here is drummer Chris Corsano - he blows these tracks wide open with his distinctive style (think Glenn Kotche of Wilco in his more unhinged moments, a la Loose Fur, but even more unhinged and with much more raw power).Corsano opens the record with a one-minute or so drum solo that constitutes the opening of "Eighth Cognition/All You've Left." The song seamlessly transforms into an aching, beautiful tune by Chasny. The short, sweet "Words for Two" follows, a perfect segue into this all-to-short album's final six tracks. "Saint Cloud" is an aggressive piece of finger-picking guitar work matched with Corsano's drumming, and if a piece of music was ever deserving of the word "hypnotic," it is this one. Beautiful atmospheric touches float in and out of the mix as the track evolves and pulsates with passion and beauty.The album continues in this was on the next two tracks, "Procession of Cherry Blossom Spirits" (which is as beautiful as its title would suggest) and "Home" (probably the most abrasive track on the album, but still gorgeous in its own way). Then the album's namesake - "School of the Flower" - is unleashed. A never-tedious thirteen-and-a-half-minute track that is completely jaw-dropping. As the central composition on the record, this song is truly something to hear again and again. Every time one approach seems to has worn out its welcome, a new element is introduced and then transformed. One of the most beautiful and organic pieces of solo acoustic guitar work I have had the pleasure to hear.The album closes with two shorter tracks, "Thicker than a Smokey" and "Lisboa," which are beautiful little come-downs required after such a monumental listen as the title track. School of the Flower is an album so deceptively simple in its approach, that the level of sophistication, restraint, and sheer beauty on offer in its short running time is profound. Certainly one of the finer releases of this past year, School of the Flower is a record for everyone.Editor's note: This work of yours now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.One such site is here. Music41702@blogcritics.org Mon, 2 Jan 2006 09:05:21 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/01/133751.php Max BurkeDespite generally great critical response to this album and the first Holopaw record, being on Sub Pop, and a Modest Mouse connection, the band has yet to break out of basic indie-rock circles and into the wider public eye and this is a tragedy. I picked up Quit +/- or Fight on a whim, after hearing great things about the record from trusted sources (read: people on the Guided By Voices message board I have become unhealthily obsessed with). It is one of the most immediately beautiful records I've heard in a long time.Holopaw is fronted by Jeff Hays and John Orth, who helped to create the one-off Isaac Brock project Ugly Casanova. The instrumentation on Quit +/- or Fight is sometimes similar to that celebrated, masterful record, but the overall effect is much different. Holopaw make the most beautiful and precious music in the world, but it is not cutesy or twee whatsoever. Sleepy would be a good word for it, delicate an even better one. Orth's vocals are impeccable - a whispered, semi-falsetto that wraps itself around the ambiguous, allusive lyrics.The production on this record is mind-boggling. Everything in it's right place, to cop a phrase. Case in point, the second track "3-Shy-Cubs" which beings as a somewhat sparse and seemingly directionless composition with hand claps and electronic noises, but at just the right moment Holopaw pulls out all the stops and the song becomes a full on soft-pop anthem right before your ears. It's an astounding moment, and demonstrates just how sophisticated the writing and playing on this record is.The rest of the record follows suit, and although the album has a definite atmosphere and feel that is somewhat downbeat and ethereal, the sound never bores or becomes too predictable. Holopaw are simply too good at what they do to let that happen. They also keep the average song length at around three minutes, demonstrating they know the value of traditional three-minute pop structure, although this is bent to their unique ends. An exception is the final track "Shiver Me" - which at nearly five minutes, qualifies as a mini-epic. It is one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous songs I have heard in a long time, and the mix of perfectly-executed acoustic guitar work, and a vocal performance that is simply beyond belief make it one of the standout tracks of 2005. Quit +/- or Fight is an essential release in a year that saw many lesser indie bands (Wolf Parade, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, et al.) garner much more hype with only a fraction of the maturity and talent of Holopaw.Editor's note: This work of yours now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.One such site is here. Music41673@blogcritics.org Sun, 1 Jan 2006 13:37:51 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/14/052449.php Max BurkeIn 2001 Mark Kozelek released an entire album of AC/DC covers under his own name entitled What's Next To The Moon. For fans of Red House Painters, the album was something of an expected revelation. Kozelek tore the songs down to their very basic core and then built them back up in his own inimitable style.It is now 2005, and Kozelek has done the same to a cross-section of tracks from once indie darlings, now international superstars Modest Mouse. The first question is: why? Apparently Kozelek came across the Mouse's music in 2003 and became enamored with lead singer Isaac Brock's lyrics. He started covering some of the songs live and then decided to do a whole album. Rumor has it the only reason this record was released under the Sun Kil Moon name is for market identification - the first Sun Kil Moon record sold very well. However, this album is all Kozelek.Full disclosure: I am and have been a huge fan of both Modest Mouse and Kozelek/Red House Painters since mid-high school and still adore these musicians. As much as this ought to raise my excitement for this record even more, it actually filled me with dread. It just didn't make sense. Brock's rapid-fire vocal delivery is key to the Mouse sound, and I was worried that the "attitude" of his songs wouldn't fit with Kozelek's mellow, heartbreaking style. How wrong I was.Tiny Cities is a triumph, whether you're a fan of Kozelek or Modest Mouse, or just a fan of music in general. Kozelek owns every song, and the album flows perfectly. My personal favorite is "Space Travel Is Boring" a very short song when it appeared as the closer to Modest Mouse's debut This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About (still my favorite album of theirs), but Kozelek stretches it into a nearly-four-minute "epic" that is absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking.Tiny Cities isn't a tossed-off cash-in album of covers - it is a cohesive Mark Kozelek record where he just happens to be singing someone else's lyrics. I have read a few disgruntled Modest Mouse fans who think the whole thing amounts to blasphemy and is a betrayal of the trademark Modest Mouse sound. For me, Kozelek's approach is reminiscent of another time in rock music, when covers were the standard fare for many musicians and original tunes were the exception. Nico's Chelsea Girl is arguably her definitive album, yet it contains exactly zero original Nico compositions. Yet no one would claim that she doesn't make the songs her own. Oftentime, a cover version becomes more definitive than the songwriter's original. (Just ask Bob Dylan.)The truth is I just can't stop listening to Tiny Cities. It is a gorgeous and all too brief treatise on what happens when two very unique talents (Kozelek's playing, arranging, and singing and Brock's lyrics) meet and something beautiful happens. Neither a novelty nor a misguided but ambitious experiment, Tiny Cities stands on its own as one of the best "indie" albums so far this year. ed/pub:NB Music39471@blogcritics.org Mon, 14 Nov 2005 05:24:49 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/02/183236.php Max BurkeFive years ago, Guided By Voices released the first installment in their box-set series of unreleased tracks, Suitcase. This year, the sequel has finally arrived and it follows the same format as the original Suitcase: Four discs, 25 songs each, 100 songs total, spanning every era of Guided By Voices history. For the uninitiated, GBV were one of the longest-running, most prolific, and hardest touring indie rock bands in America for over twenty years before they called it quits in 2004, much to the chagrin of their small but incredibly rabid fan base (full disclosure: I am very much a member of this fiercely loyal group).Suitcase 2 is not for the casual fan or newcomer to the GBV saga (the cheaply priced, astonishingly consistent best-of Human Amusements at Hourly Rates would be the best entry point), but for those who ever wondered what exactly everyone is going on about in regards to GBV, Suitcase 2 is a great starting point, and arguably better than the original Suitcase. It is difficult to review a record that has so many songs of such varying quality, but since I started listening to Suitcase 2 I have added over thirty songs to my "Best of Suitcase 2" play list, and I add about three or four on average every time I listen to it. By the time I'm finished, about fifty of the 100 songs will probably be must-listens, worthy of real scrutiny.When you consider how many albums come out that have one or two great singles and tons of filler, that's actually a pretty great ratio. And the songs that I choose not to include might end up being some of your favorites, and you might think some of my choices are toss-offs. Half the fun of this set is its interactivity - you can make your own favorite "Suitcase" of songs to carry around with you.Thankfully, there is no lack of material here. The booklet is also a joy to behold - it consists mostly of made-up album artwork for singles and LPs by bands that never existed (another conceit of the Suitcase series is that every song is credited to a different band), and some of these could be your favorite bands as well, even if they never existed.The album's subtitle, American Superdream Wow, is particularly appropriate given that one of the major appeals of GBV is they operate on the idea that anyone can create their own private mythology of great rock bands from marginal towns like Dayton, Ohio - GBV's home base and point of origin. In every garage, dive bar, and basement in the country, your new favorite band could be putting together the best 2-minute pop ditty you've never heard. The fact that Guided By Voices was able to capitalize on this myth and become one of the most prolific and, it has to be said, quality rock bands of any stripe in the past twenty years is made abundantly clear by the sheer amount of breathtaking moments on this labor-of-love.I hope this review inspires you to make your own Suitcase supermix, but for the moment my top five tracks are "Lonely Town," "Paper Girl (Different Version)," "Cox Municipal Airport Song," "Do Be," and "What About The Rock?" Published:CMP Music38951@blogcritics.org Wed, 2 Nov 2005 18:32:36 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/20/202203.php Max BurkeFeels is the one you've been waiting for. After the critical explosion following last year's Sung Tongs and the still-resonant impact of 2003's dual statements of purpose, Campfire Songs and Here Comes The Indian, Animal Collective have pulled off a rare trick in the indie music world - at the same time that they have delivered on the promise of their current aesthetic, they have also shown an infinite number of paths the future direction of their music could take.If "Who Could Win A Rabbit" was your pop hit that should have been from last year, I'd like to introduce you to "Grass." Clocking in at a hair less than three minutes, "Grass" takes the genuinely bizarre atmosphere of the aformentioned pop coup and expands it into about a million different musical galaxies at once. Is it the thudding drum sound, the buzzing guitar, or the perfectly unexpected but perfectly acceptable screeches at the end of every chorus that make "Grass" a total aurual head-trip in less time than it takes to prepare a Pop Tart? God knows, but by the time you're done with it (to say nothing of opener of "Did You See The Words" - because, really, there are no words), you need a brief respite in "Flesh Canoe" (these are the best song titles I have heard since Guided By Voices closed a 20-year career with Half Smiles of the Decomposed last year). But just as quickly as your cerebral matter has been lulled by its charming, howling vocals and insane atmospherics, your mind is dug out of the fallout shelter and exposed to another 50,000 volts of pure folk-rock action with "The Purple Bottle" which, although it is not the ultimate AC track, may well be the penultimate one. Here, all becomes clear - and you realize that 2-3 minute gems like "Rabbit" and "Grass" are the exception, not the rule. AC works their truly unique magic by coming on strong with a seemingly predictable dynamic in regards to sound texture - dissolving effects and novel lyrics paired with skittery percussion - but then you realize this song is almost seven minutes long. That's two "Grasses" and, like, three-and-a-half "Rabbits" - so where the hell are we going? That's easy, we're going to friggin'-awesome town. At about 3:40 the song could end, or stretch on to infinity, whichever you prefer (or whichever, you perceive but we'll get to that later [actually, we won't - figure it out for yourself and check out where I live]), but instead it gets a bit conventional in its rock-breakdown approach (just to confuse you further, methinks). And then out of nowhere the vocals come back, but the whole sound is fuller and deeper than before. How? Why? Don't question, just sit back and enjoy the trip. After that, we get "Bees," and if there is going to be a critical divide on this record its gonna start here. Thankfully, "Bees" is a beautifully composed and gorgeous song that elicits just the right mood for the transition to the second half of the album - and if any "blogger" tells you different, tell him to learn how to play lacrosse. Plus, you get "Banshee Beat" on the back of it, an 8-minute-plus juggernaut that those who claim Campfire Songs as the New Testament will treat like the effing Second Coming - and more power to them. This is a song that conflates the hallmark whimsy of AC with a confidence that says:"Ignore this band at your own risk, indie snob." Whereas earlier examples of long form AC were sonic experiments with delightful surprises, "Banshee Beat" is fully-formed.Animal Collective simply will not let up, and the nearly 8-minute "Daffy Duck" follows hard upon "Banshee," but who really cares at this point? This is already your new favorite album, and like an old friend arriving unexpectedly, you're just happy that "Daffy" has all the requisite wavering guitar and ghostly/sexy vocal delivery to make your cramped squat feel like home all over again. Even if you wake up the next morning with a splitting headache and an emptiness inside that you will never fill, you can always put "Loch Raven" on your iPod as you walk alone in the bitter cold and you won't feel very lonely at all. Life is full of possibilities, but there are suicidal rickshaw drivers around every corner. If one happens to collide with you, just pray they're blasting "Turn Into Something" - in all of its ramshackle, optimistic glory - out of their pawn shop boombox so the last words you hear are "Yes, you'll turn into something" as the blood spewing forth from your headwound mixes with the crisp autumn air and eclipses that nagging sliver of a moon. Feels indeed.Ed/Pub:LisaM Music38259@blogcritics.org Thu, 20 Oct 2005 20:22:03 EDT