A couple of quick impressions:
- My Bloody Valentine - m b v . They had a tough puzzle: how to follow up Loveless. Ditch the trademark swirling guitar noise? Lose the ethereal vocals? Update the 1991 sampled dance-beat drums? Answer to all three: no. Instead, they reduced the number and density of the guitars - now it sounds like one guy giving his whammy bar and effects pedals the workout of their lives. And, they reduced the warmth and sweetness in the melodies, which makes the album a lot less easy to get into. I'm not crazy about this, so far. Willing to give it more chances, though.
- James Brown - Live At The Apollo. Regarded by many as the best live album ever. Dunno. The band is tight, sure, but I'm not a huge fan of 60s R&B in general, nor of James Brown in particular, so tightness in service of music that doesn't grab me isn't going to get me there. Plus, the crowd noise is a bit overdone - those girls shrieking all the time are just distracting. Not my bag.
Hard to get new stuff without decent internet...
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The last 2 days I’ve been listening to myself on repeat… this weekend John and I made a rehearsal tape that I’m finding pretty edifying and fun to listen to. Best thing, and totally serendipitous, is the afternoon sun shining off the snow in my driveway, and later in the tape dimming. Check it out, Lonesome Nickel.
Have you listened to Rival Sons? Imitating Led Zep but done well so who cares. Rival Sons
Speaking of imitations, Tame Impala. Doing the Beatles as well as anyone I have heard. Tame Impala
All my new music seems to be retro.
I came across a song I didn’t even know I had, buried on some “Best of 2008” compilation that was on the cover of Uncut magazine, called “Lost Coastlines” by a band called “Okkervil River”. And it’s freakin’ awesome.
Can anyone tell me more about Okkervil River? as they have plenty of albums to choose from. They hail from Austin, TX I think.
Been researching. “Black Sheep Boy” is meant to be excellent, so it’s as good a place to start as any.
Here’s another link for Lonesome Nickel, we added another couple of songs yesterday.