Boorishly listens to your young people's music

Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:53 pm

Man the music press convinced me for years not to buy Mastodon. I was always like, "It's a heavy metal album about Moby-Dick!" And the music press was always like, "Yeah but the concept is way better than the execution." Also Tom Meade seems to be a big fan of theirs so maybe he can weigh in with his opinion.

Also thanks for the Drive-By Truckers recommendation! Like I said, I only really cared about authenticity for like two minutes. Besides, hill country feuds are sweet no matter what anybody says.

Christmas came early Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Posts: 9225

'the dirty south' is also good in an almost identical way in that it has some really great songs and then a lot that aren't very memorable. there are a lot of songs about racing on that album too and those are always my least favorite. there's one about 'The Sands of Iwo Jima' and 3 about that sheriff in tennasee that Walking Tall is about.

they have a new album too that i'd be interested in hearing, but at the same time i really don't need more than one of their albums if Decoration Day is going to be so great. it's not like thats a sound i'm clamoring for all the time.

and also boorishly the album that made me learn to not dismiss heavy music outright was Blood Brothers' "Burn Piano Island Burn" but it is hardcore punk which i guess is a different way of hurting your vocal chords while you play the same 6 chord progressions on your guitar

Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:26 pm

I decided to check out Mastodon partly because I am sure there must be another hard rocking heavy metal band as awesome as Clutch. I just have not found them yet.

I do respect Tool, but I don't really know much about them. And I went through a pretty tentative Helmet phase in high school that mostly involved liking three or four songs. Uh same thing with Ministry in fact. So I am still searching for that heavy metal band that will really rock me like a hurricane.

Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 8693

Man who have you been talking to about Mastodon the Baber? Obviously not damn near anyone who likes modern metal, that's who.

Also it's pretty proggy, so you can't really lay a charge against it of limited musicianship. And the break-down at the end of "Heart's Alive" is one of the best things.

Gojira have an environmentalist concept album involving flying whales that is super melodic and really great.

Boorishly I guess this means that you will not be reviewing a Drones album.

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:19 am

Boorishly P. Foundry wrote:

This is a heavy metal album with a song cycle based around Moby-Dick. I want you to read that sentence again because that concept is awesome.

I can't quite remember what my argument was before about concepts/premises not being that important, but whatever it was I think this is probably a point in your favor on that one.

Christmas came early Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Posts: 9225

Tom Meade wrote:

Man who have you been talking to about Mastodon the Baber?

nobody. that was my point

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:52 pm

Boorishly, what did you think of Around the Sun? I never listened to it. I think the last R.E.M. album I have is New Adventures. No, wait, I may have Reveal. I forget. I may have to check out the new one.

Life's Rich Pageant is still the album I listen to as a whole the most though.

Cloud Cult and Mastadon both sound interesting. Same with Drive By Truckers. I need to start a "music to get" list.

When I worked at B&N, we had Songs from the Labyrinth on in-store play one month. I liked what I heard pretty well, but it was too quiet to hear over the PA system most of the time.

What is Clutch? I have a taste for epic ridiculous fantasy metal that I'm not ashamed of at all, because it is awesome and unafraid to be awesome and ridiculous at the same time. Usually the bands have names involving "Dragon" or "Iron" or "Eagle". Like Dragonforce.

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:23 pm

I actually like Around the Sun quite a lot. Musically, it falls roughly in the Out of Time/Automatic for the People zone of R.E.M., though not exactly. It has some songs that I think are really great, partly because some of them take a few detours away from the usual R.E.M. stuff. There's some rapping on one song (not a first, but still unusual), and another has some of the most soulful singing I've heard out of Michael Stipe outside of a concert, and another one sounds like a folky protest song. I was pretty surprised to find out that a lot of fans don't dig it -- I'm not sure what they're complaints are, to be honest. It's not a really consistent album, but it's got a lot of good stuff in my opinion.

Also, Lifes Rich Pageant is also my favorite R.E.M. album ever. That is a great record.

Songs from the Labyrinth is partly just interesting for being a historical curiosity, partly unintentionally funny because I can't help picturing how EARNEST Sting must look while singing these songs, and partly actually full of some good music. It's still kind of hard for me to wrap my head around it, but I can't help feel charitable towards anything that includes songs called "Fine knacks for ladies" or "Wilt thou unkind thus reave me?" (Man if I had a dollar for every time I said that to my college roommate while we were playing Starcraft...)

Clutch is not really the kind of metal band you're talking about. They are more like a hard rock band that combines the right mix of musical experimentation, literary/Biblical/mythological/historical/pop culture allusions, humor, politics, and rockin' out to suit my tastes. The closest they get to epic is their album Blast Tyrant, which is ostensibly about a soldier (called "the Worm Drink") who deserts from the army of the apocalypse and is hunted down by the crew of a ship called "the Swollen Goat". But they don't really cleave too close to that story and a lot of the other songs are about other stuff. Anyway, they are mostly just a good band who has a lot of fun with the hard rock genre.

Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 8409

dude are you serious w/r/t dragonforce? you know that herman li cant actually play? he just flails like he's playing guitar hero and hoes "yup thats about right game set match" and they have to fill in his solos with synth in concert.

please tell me you listen to power metal with at least a little cred.

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:05 pm

Dude, I don't listen to ridiculous fantasy metal for cred. Did you miss the entire post? That's exactly NOT why I listen to it.

If however you want to suggest some bands? That's cool.

Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 8409

i think by cred i really meant "talent and reputation for talent," not really so much cred in a scene sense.

and honestly i dont think you'd like any actual power metal sry i brought it up.

EDIT: maybe turisas they're pretty lol ironic.

Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 8409

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y150Lm4kZ_M

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:05 am

It's not about irony, dude. It's the opposite of irony. Yes, the songs and/or music can be ridiculous, but that doesn't matter. They can also be awesome. It's the lack of irony that's refreshing. At least for me.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:11 am

I kind of liked that, but it really wasn't very different than the Boney M version.

Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 8409

B- but dragonforce is like the definition of ironic power metal.
dude you are confusing me it is hard to be aggressive and mean when i cant figure you out.

Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 16347 Location: TaBB Graveyard

Boney M is better and always will be but covers of that song are always golden

Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 3795 Location: Gotham City

someone please link to the dragonforce car

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:25 am

Armchair Revolution wrote:

B- but dragonforce is like the definition of ironic power metal.
dude you are confusing me it is hard to be aggressive and mean when i cant figure you out.

They're being ironic? Well, shit. That takes half the fun out of it.

I'll admit I haven't really listened to the words in the songs, or read any interviews by them, but if I want to enjoy metal songs about vikings and stuff at face value, I can, even if the band intends them to be ironic. Or whatever.

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:28 am

What is it when you know something's ridiculous, but don't care that it's ridiculous and enjoy it anyway? While fully realizing it's ridiculous at the same time.

Is that sincerity, or just ironic irony? Or is it like the power level 9000 of irony?

Sorta like Dr. McNinja fighting Dracula on his moon base.

Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 16347 Location: TaBB Graveyard

like Aqua and Toy Box

Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:44 pm

Forsyth wrote:

What is it when you know something's ridiculous, but don't care that it's ridiculous and enjoy it anyway? While fully realizing it's ridiculous at the same time.

Is that sincerity, or just ironic irony? Or is it like the power level 9000 of irony?

Sorta like Dr. McNinja fighting Dracula on his moon base.

Either sincerity or enlightenment.

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:45 pm

So I just got around to listening to Vampire Weekend, and I have to say I really rather liked this album! It wasn't what I expected really at all. Except I did kind of expect the guy's voice.

I don't know if this is one that I'll still be listening to in a year or something but so far Boorishly's criticisms seem kind of dumb and I like Oxford Comma.

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:31 pm

This guy on the radio said they were like "They Might Be Giants style music" and that struck me as a real what the hell moment, but you likes the TMBG more than the average bear Miles so what's your take?

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 2:49 am

They are not really anything like TMBG if you ask me. On the other hand, sometimes when you're really familiar with something, nothing else seems similar to it because you're aware of all the minor differences and so maybe you don't see that they could be broadly grouped together.

Vampire Weekend is surprisingly ska-influenced though in a way, which aligns with other musical tastes of mine. I'm sort of finding myself mostly over ska, but this is kind of like, I dunno, post-ska? Gosh, that sounds pretty awful. But I like it!

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:04 am

all disaffected drummers refusing to pick it up.

Christmas came early Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Posts: 9225

midgets wearing face guards
that guy in the mighty mighty bosstones scouring craigs list looking for "dancer wanted" ads

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:37 pm

Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me Miles sorry if I want songs to have a second verse that is different than the first verse I guess that is just a dumb criticism.

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:41 pm

I guess that post makes it sound like I am offended that Miles disagreed with my opinion of Vampire Weekend but mostly I was just trying to be funny.

Joined: 08 Dec 2005 Posts: 9009 Location: SOMEWHERE EXTREME

i want songs to have a second verse that is different than the first verse
despite having the lyric "second verse, same as the first" in between

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:53 pm

I don't want to start a "lyrics vs. music" kind of debate or anything but I tend to find that, while good music with good lyrics is obviously best, if you can only have one, good music is better for a song. Sometimes a mediocre song can be saved by great lyrics, but the lyrics have to be really quite bad to ruin a song with good music.