Listening To...

Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality. Have you ever put on a record, not really expecting much from it except background music, but somehow find yourself completely falling into it? Every song and verse absolutely resonates with you; and when it's over, you're a little amazed at what just happened ? Yeah, that happened with this record a few weeks ago. This puzzled me because, while I like Sabbath well enough, I don't consider myself to be a huge fan, nor a huge fan of metal in general (at least not since high school). But, nonetheless, it happened. I was one with Ozzy and Tony. Mostly Tony. I think it had something to do with the copious quantity of Allagash Black I had consumed. Four Psis for each: ΨΨΨΨ .

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash. This is the first album from them that annoys me less than it pleases me. I think it's because much of the record has a real live-in-the-studio feel; many of the songs have long loose sections where you can hear the members playing off each other, waiting for cues, taking chances, etc.. No, they aren't a jam band, or even close, but this record definitely has a more relaxed feel than most of their other stuff. That interplay also makes the record seem like more of a group effort than just a Stephen Malkmus [with backing band] record. Three Psis: ΨΨΨ .

Paper - An Object. Like Joy Division + Red Bull. They've got that raw goth/punk feel of classic Joy Division, but Paper is louder, faster and twitchier. There's a clip at Flux-Rad. Four Psis: ΨΨΨΨ .

5 thoughts on “Listening To...

  1. Fleem

    Mmm. Allagash. We live in Maine so Allagash is ubiquitous here. Most of the local beers are really good, so we’re quite spoiled. Once we were eating at a local pizza joint and were talking with friends about being big Allagash fans (of the Double, I think) and a guy over at the next table came up to us and said he worked for the company and could he buy us a round? Why, yes, he would be welcome to!

    Stout isn’t my thing. I’m a girl so I like the White. My husband likes it too but I pick on him for it. Guys shouldn’t be drinking beer with slices of lemon in it.

    I’m not sure even copious quantities could get me that into Sabbath though. My husband blasts “Best Of” (which was acquired, I believe, in a fit of irony) sometimes, and always proclaims the lyrics (especially “Sweet Leaf”) to be horrendously awful. I say, it’s not awful, it’s Sabbath doing their job. They’re SUPPOSED to be that way.

  2. cleek

    Allagash is pretty hard to find here in NC. but there are a couple of places around town i can find it, and i always grab a qt when i can.

    Guys shouldn’t be drinking beer with slices of lemon in it.

    this is true. i love the whites, but that fruit needs to get off the glass ASAP.

    Sabbath… i’m liking them more as i get older – mostly the music, though. and Ozzy’s fine as long as you don’t actually listen to his lyrics. his silliness-to-popularity ratio might be the highest in all of popular music (and the endless stream of couplets! gah). but his voice and his attitude definitely has just the right amount of drunken, malevolent, creepiness for the music.

  3. Rob Caldecott

    This month I have mostly been listening to:

    Doves – Kingdom of Rust
    Gets better with every listen. Check out the title track on YouTube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhbK8kQW4LI

    I love these guys so it’s easily a 9/10.

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
    Didn’t like this much at first – sounded too Scissor Sisters – itself no bad thing, but this is the freakin’ Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Synths? WTF! Where’s Nick Zinner’s guitar?

    However, patience is a virtue, and after more than a few listens, I fell in love with this record. The YYYs seem to do something different with each album, and I’m for bands that don’t stick with the mould.

    Check out ‘Zero’ here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxBTsmuRIk

    BTW, I’m in love with Karen O.

    8/10

    Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
    OK, there’s a lot not to like about this album: They’ve stuck to the same formula as Americam Idiot rather than do something a bit different (I loved their Foxboro Hot-tubs side project), the lyrics are, in places, nonsensical. It’s probably too long (18 tracks), as a supposed ‘rock opera’ is incomprehensible, one of the tracks is a blatant rip-off of a Hives tune and they use a lot of the same tricks – start a song off sounded tinny and compressed before turning everything up to 11 and coming in with a BANG!. To be fair it’s more Queen than The Clash (who they worship).

    But… every time you listen to it you wonder how the hell they’ve come up with Yet Another Three Chord Trick that sounds oh-so-familiar but unique at the same time. And it crawls under your skin and plants a flag in your brain. I hum a different track every day and when I get in the car or get to the gym I can’t wait to hear it again.

    So, in my everso humble opinion, it’s a winner.

    9/10

    Graham Coxon – The Spinning Top
    In which one of my favourite artists comes over all Nick Drake, but, sadly, it doesn’t deliver and I can’t get into it. The idea, an acoustic story of a man’s life from birth to death, is interesting and Robyn Hitchcock guests, but it doesn’t quite click for me, which is a shame.

    5/10

    The Horrors – Primary Colours
    Another band trying to perfect the dark side of the 80s. The reviews for this album are stellar, but I’ve only listened to it once so it wouldn’t be fair to give it a score. It’s all a bit Jesus & Mary Chain one minute and Neu! the next, and whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your frame of mind. I persevere though as even after a single listen, there’s definitely something there…

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