Thursday, 4 May 2017
Monday, 1 May 2017
Death Grips _ The Powers That B
"What have you been listening to lately?"
"Death Grips"
"Oh cool, why don't you write a blog article about it"
"I can't publish an article on Death Grips"
"Why not?!"
"Cause that's like writing an article on the Smashing Pumpkins; everyone knows who they are"
"But how else are you going to justify spending $50 on the THE POWERS THAT B?"
"OK, fine! But this a one time thing understand?? Only so more people can view your blog and discover obscure snooty albums alright???"
"You're only in it for the ad revenue!"
"What ad revenue??"
"Yea, true, you aren't one of those hip music blogs, you're more like a lower tier, high school project blog."
"Thanks, I guess..."
That was my internal monologue when I was considering writing an article about Death Grips. Yes, they are popular and a lot of people know about them, and the purpose of this blog was to ramble on about obscure music no one had heard of. But if it's so obscure (I thought to myself) no one is going to be able to discover my blog. So, after morally wrestling with myself, I decided to put this click-bait (technically) out, but only because I like it so much.
So, The Powers That B, is a double album is (their fourth studio release) by the Industrial Hip-Hop trio Death Grips, consisting of MC Ride, Flatlander and Zach Hill. The first half of this album, Niggas on the Moon was released on June of 2014 featuring heavily samples of Bjork. The first halve of this record I defiantly am little less fond of. It's more abstract and experimental (which I think is one of DG strongest assets) with less of the conventional structures of a song incorporated. I feel like they are on the edge of the cliff of experimentation, teetering on the point of falling off. One of the only reasons they don't is down to them chorus's which can be heard on 'Up My Sleeves', 'Billy not Really' and 'Black Quarterback'. On 'Black Quarterback' I love Bjork's samples in this, it brings up images of a broken glass ball being hurled around a grey industrial building, which cannot be said however for 'Big Dipper' which I cannot stand due to the way the samples are used. And despite its excellent title "Have a Sad Cum" suffered from the same problem. The rest of the album I really enjoyed with 'Billy not Really' taking me for a strange trip along a long winding hallway into some mental hospital on a rainbow. 'Up My Sleeves' using the Bjork samples to their best, reminding me slightly of 'Beware' with more glitches in it, the dark insidious DG undertones spattered in blood red on the walls. The drum beat in 'Voila I really loved as it felt so broken and Ride's croak melded well against his screams and Bjork's breathy singing voice.
The second halve of this record, Jenny Death, was released nine months later and, in my humble opinion, is almost perfect. A polar opposite to Niggas on the Moon, with it feeling like a stadium rock album, like something from a world where Rap-Rock from the 90's and 00's became mature and experimental (what a world that would be). We start of this musical adventure with 'I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States' (winner for the best song name ever) which is a digital-hardcore inspired techno-punk track ("I Don't care about real noise"), which is followed by a song, which I know has nothing to do with the Smashing Pumpkins but I somehow feel like it is inspired by them in some way. That song is 'Inanimate Sensation' and it has one of the best drum beats on it this side of 1999. So powerful, so raw, but at the same time it feels epic in proportions and never drags over the 6 minute run time, ever. 'Turned Off'' feels like it's in some kind of weird time signature with sun burnt guitars blowing the track up into a hardcore punk feeling track. 'Why A Bitch Gotta Lie' has more stadium rock vibes with a riff/drum combo that would put all rock bands since 2002 to shame and it is on a Hip-Hop album!! 'Pss Pss' is a creepy, groovy track that slithers across the dance floor so it can buy itself another glass of absinthe. I keep bringing up stadium rock with this album but the title track of this double album 'The Powers That B' is the moshing track to end all moshing track with a hook to match. 'Beyond Alive' and 'Centuries Of Damn' are two psychedelic rock tracks that don't feel like their trying to rip of Hendrix shamelessly (surprisingly I know!) with airs of elegance to them both. 'On GP; is a rock instrumental which features a rapper on it but it has the feeling of one with a lot of sincerity, like its wanting to try and have a conversation with you rather than try a slash your ears off. Ending the album is something for the future 'Death Grips 2.0' a busy mind melding instrumental that hints at something (maybe?).
This album is a classic. It will be in the history books as an album to show that rap and rock works together while also showing Death Grips at their best: mind bending and genre crushing. By this stage every music journalist has probably written actual university papers on this album but I don't care. I love it. The songs are great, the art is good, what more could I ask for in an album?
Death Grips - The Powers That B (Official Video) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2Oj57OJYA
Death Grips - I Break Mirrors With My Face in The United States-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSvL08isHo
Death Grips - Inanimate Sensation- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5GCn1BKkxg
<#3
"Death Grips"
"Oh cool, why don't you write a blog article about it"
"I can't publish an article on Death Grips"
"Why not?!"
"Cause that's like writing an article on the Smashing Pumpkins; everyone knows who they are"
"But how else are you going to justify spending $50 on the THE POWERS THAT B?"
"OK, fine! But this a one time thing understand?? Only so more people can view your blog and discover obscure snooty albums alright???"
"You're only in it for the ad revenue!"
"What ad revenue??"
"Yea, true, you aren't one of those hip music blogs, you're more like a lower tier, high school project blog."
"Thanks, I guess..."
That was my internal monologue when I was considering writing an article about Death Grips. Yes, they are popular and a lot of people know about them, and the purpose of this blog was to ramble on about obscure music no one had heard of. But if it's so obscure (I thought to myself) no one is going to be able to discover my blog. So, after morally wrestling with myself, I decided to put this click-bait (technically) out, but only because I like it so much.
So, The Powers That B, is a double album is (their fourth studio release) by the Industrial Hip-Hop trio Death Grips, consisting of MC Ride, Flatlander and Zach Hill. The first half of this album, Niggas on the Moon was released on June of 2014 featuring heavily samples of Bjork. The first halve of this record I defiantly am little less fond of. It's more abstract and experimental (which I think is one of DG strongest assets) with less of the conventional structures of a song incorporated. I feel like they are on the edge of the cliff of experimentation, teetering on the point of falling off. One of the only reasons they don't is down to them chorus's which can be heard on 'Up My Sleeves', 'Billy not Really' and 'Black Quarterback'. On 'Black Quarterback' I love Bjork's samples in this, it brings up images of a broken glass ball being hurled around a grey industrial building, which cannot be said however for 'Big Dipper' which I cannot stand due to the way the samples are used. And despite its excellent title "Have a Sad Cum" suffered from the same problem. The rest of the album I really enjoyed with 'Billy not Really' taking me for a strange trip along a long winding hallway into some mental hospital on a rainbow. 'Up My Sleeves' using the Bjork samples to their best, reminding me slightly of 'Beware' with more glitches in it, the dark insidious DG undertones spattered in blood red on the walls. The drum beat in 'Voila I really loved as it felt so broken and Ride's croak melded well against his screams and Bjork's breathy singing voice.
The second halve of this record, Jenny Death, was released nine months later and, in my humble opinion, is almost perfect. A polar opposite to Niggas on the Moon, with it feeling like a stadium rock album, like something from a world where Rap-Rock from the 90's and 00's became mature and experimental (what a world that would be). We start of this musical adventure with 'I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States' (winner for the best song name ever) which is a digital-hardcore inspired techno-punk track ("I Don't care about real noise"), which is followed by a song, which I know has nothing to do with the Smashing Pumpkins but I somehow feel like it is inspired by them in some way. That song is 'Inanimate Sensation' and it has one of the best drum beats on it this side of 1999. So powerful, so raw, but at the same time it feels epic in proportions and never drags over the 6 minute run time, ever. 'Turned Off'' feels like it's in some kind of weird time signature with sun burnt guitars blowing the track up into a hardcore punk feeling track. 'Why A Bitch Gotta Lie' has more stadium rock vibes with a riff/drum combo that would put all rock bands since 2002 to shame and it is on a Hip-Hop album!! 'Pss Pss' is a creepy, groovy track that slithers across the dance floor so it can buy itself another glass of absinthe. I keep bringing up stadium rock with this album but the title track of this double album 'The Powers That B' is the moshing track to end all moshing track with a hook to match. 'Beyond Alive' and 'Centuries Of Damn' are two psychedelic rock tracks that don't feel like their trying to rip of Hendrix shamelessly (surprisingly I know!) with airs of elegance to them both. 'On GP; is a rock instrumental which features a rapper on it but it has the feeling of one with a lot of sincerity, like its wanting to try and have a conversation with you rather than try a slash your ears off. Ending the album is something for the future 'Death Grips 2.0' a busy mind melding instrumental that hints at something (maybe?).
This album is a classic. It will be in the history books as an album to show that rap and rock works together while also showing Death Grips at their best: mind bending and genre crushing. By this stage every music journalist has probably written actual university papers on this album but I don't care. I love it. The songs are great, the art is good, what more could I ask for in an album?
Death Grips - The Powers That B (Official Video) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2Oj57OJYA
Death Grips - I Break Mirrors With My Face in The United States-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSvL08isHo
Death Grips - Inanimate Sensation- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5GCn1BKkxg
<#3
BECK PART !
Everyone loves a 'weirdo' in the music business. Maybe weirdo is the wrong term; eccentric is perhaps more the way that I'm going for here
Outsiders love them because they feel like they can relate to the ("they are just as messed up as me, they're on my wavelength!") and 'normal people' like them because they are the freak-show of the week ("oh my god, check this chick out shes wack, who cares what she said, what is she wearing?!"). Eccentrics can make money off of their image and also make awful, atrocious, cringe worthy music that you wouldn't dare show to anyone. They can also be brilliant amazing people, who are just a little strange, who don't care about whats best for their image or that no one cares about the art they make; all they care about is making themselves happy. Which segues nicely into whom I shall talk about in this post, Beck ( and no, not Jeff Beck)
From the first time I heard 'Where it's at' I knew that Beck would be a small hero of mine. He has made music which has his particular stamp on it. You know a Beck song when you hear one. And whatever genre he puts his mind to he nearly always pulls it off. But enough music journalism rubbish! Who is this man and why do you love him? I couldn't cover all of his records in detail without turning my blog into a Beck Wiki article. So, we shall start with two of his most popular records and then go into deeper cuts into a later post.
This is my love message to Beck. If anyone cares :D.
Beck is an Los Angeles based artist who has released some bloody excellent albums since 1993 (MTV quote). The song he's probably most well known for is from 1994's Mellow Gold, "Loser". This song rocketed Beck into fame and its not hard to see why. Following the Aerosmith's formula of writing a hit song, Beck bases it structurally around a chorus (except it's not shit (lol jj Aerosmith fans, we know Steven Tyler loves u)). Loser has an infectious slide guitar riff-drum machine loop combo which is played throughout the song which combined with dead pan rapped vocals about (to the average listener) absolute rubbish with a catchy chorus ("I'm a loser baby/so why don't kill me"), the acoustic hip-hop crossover song was bound from success. The rest of the album has a very cohesive feel of the acoustic guitar, Beck's dead pan vocals and a lazy drum machine, which is not to say that the album sounds bland. "Steal My Body Home" gives me Captain Beefheart vibes, while "Sweet Sunshine" and "Mutherfuker" have heavy, sludgy sounds that are rather Grunge inspired. "Soul Suckin' Jerk" sounds like it uses a programmed bass line over this despondent guitar line and digitally manipulated vocals. Overall, it is a very good first attempt and progresses a lot from his first two albums but, like Radiohead, compared to his later releases, it falls a little short.
The next major label release by Beck was Odelay and it is AMAZING. It takes Mellow Gold, says "oh nice job bro" and takes it to some strange, oddball, Cloud Nine. By a factor of a gazillion! To the power of 13 (you get the point).
Odelay blows anything on Mellow Gold out of the water, with better production, better song crafting and more appropriate instrumentation. 'Where it's at' will always hold a special place in my heart for its cute organ intro, lovable drum beat, sampling that would put most DJs to shame and gang vocals that work. Period. 'Jack-Ass' points towards the melancholic introspection that would appear later on Sea Change in 2002 with sweet lyrics and soft guitar. 'Novacane' has a such a strange mismatch of sounds that sound like a jam rather than a song. 'Devil's Haircut' has a snarl and sass in his voice combined with a great riff and breakbeat drum. 'High 5 (Rock The Catskills)' has a killer hook to it and 'The New Pollution' is creepily addictive, bringing thoughts of gross 50s and 60s TV ads to mind. I could list of how good every song on this album is but I think that would be a waste of time. All I want to say at this point would be implore you to listen to this record. Even if you were to go away from this article and listen to just one song, 'Where it's at' is the medicine that this doctor is prescribing.
So yes, these two albums are a little kooky, a little bit odd but that's why they are so good. They are pretentious songs which look down on you plebs that say "MP3 files are the WORST way to listen to music" or "Oh, you listen to that?". These songs are what they are, the results of the imagination of one man, Beck, and they are so refreshing. In a world of the image and party anthems, Beck shows us that its okay to be a bit strange and original, and do weird and unique things with instruments.
After all he's got Two turntables and a microphone.
Beck - Loser- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSPaXgAdzE
Beck - Where It's At- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPfmNxKLDG4
A great interview with Thurston Moore- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdzY49xlvdY
Beercan, great song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j44QKz10Dyk
<#3
Outsiders love them because they feel like they can relate to the ("they are just as messed up as me, they're on my wavelength!") and 'normal people' like them because they are the freak-show of the week ("oh my god, check this chick out shes wack, who cares what she said, what is she wearing?!"). Eccentrics can make money off of their image and also make awful, atrocious, cringe worthy music that you wouldn't dare show to anyone. They can also be brilliant amazing people, who are just a little strange, who don't care about whats best for their image or that no one cares about the art they make; all they care about is making themselves happy. Which segues nicely into whom I shall talk about in this post, Beck ( and no, not Jeff Beck)
From the first time I heard 'Where it's at' I knew that Beck would be a small hero of mine. He has made music which has his particular stamp on it. You know a Beck song when you hear one. And whatever genre he puts his mind to he nearly always pulls it off. But enough music journalism rubbish! Who is this man and why do you love him? I couldn't cover all of his records in detail without turning my blog into a Beck Wiki article. So, we shall start with two of his most popular records and then go into deeper cuts into a later post.
This is my love message to Beck. If anyone cares :D.
Beck is an Los Angeles based artist who has released some bloody excellent albums since 1993 (MTV quote). The song he's probably most well known for is from 1994's Mellow Gold, "Loser". This song rocketed Beck into fame and its not hard to see why. Following the Aerosmith's formula of writing a hit song, Beck bases it structurally around a chorus (except it's not shit (lol jj Aerosmith fans, we know Steven Tyler loves u)). Loser has an infectious slide guitar riff-drum machine loop combo which is played throughout the song which combined with dead pan rapped vocals about (to the average listener) absolute rubbish with a catchy chorus ("I'm a loser baby/so why don't kill me"), the acoustic hip-hop crossover song was bound from success. The rest of the album has a very cohesive feel of the acoustic guitar, Beck's dead pan vocals and a lazy drum machine, which is not to say that the album sounds bland. "Steal My Body Home" gives me Captain Beefheart vibes, while "Sweet Sunshine" and "Mutherfuker" have heavy, sludgy sounds that are rather Grunge inspired. "Soul Suckin' Jerk" sounds like it uses a programmed bass line over this despondent guitar line and digitally manipulated vocals. Overall, it is a very good first attempt and progresses a lot from his first two albums but, like Radiohead, compared to his later releases, it falls a little short.
The next major label release by Beck was Odelay and it is AMAZING. It takes Mellow Gold, says "oh nice job bro" and takes it to some strange, oddball, Cloud Nine. By a factor of a gazillion! To the power of 13 (you get the point).
Odelay blows anything on Mellow Gold out of the water, with better production, better song crafting and more appropriate instrumentation. 'Where it's at' will always hold a special place in my heart for its cute organ intro, lovable drum beat, sampling that would put most DJs to shame and gang vocals that work. Period. 'Jack-Ass' points towards the melancholic introspection that would appear later on Sea Change in 2002 with sweet lyrics and soft guitar. 'Novacane' has a such a strange mismatch of sounds that sound like a jam rather than a song. 'Devil's Haircut' has a snarl and sass in his voice combined with a great riff and breakbeat drum. 'High 5 (Rock The Catskills)' has a killer hook to it and 'The New Pollution' is creepily addictive, bringing thoughts of gross 50s and 60s TV ads to mind. I could list of how good every song on this album is but I think that would be a waste of time. All I want to say at this point would be implore you to listen to this record. Even if you were to go away from this article and listen to just one song, 'Where it's at' is the medicine that this doctor is prescribing.
So yes, these two albums are a little kooky, a little bit odd but that's why they are so good. They are pretentious songs which look down on you plebs that say "MP3 files are the WORST way to listen to music" or "Oh, you listen to that?". These songs are what they are, the results of the imagination of one man, Beck, and they are so refreshing. In a world of the image and party anthems, Beck shows us that its okay to be a bit strange and original, and do weird and unique things with instruments.
After all he's got Two turntables and a microphone.
Beck - Loser- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSPaXgAdzE
Beck - Where It's At- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPfmNxKLDG4
A great interview with Thurston Moore- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdzY49xlvdY
Beercan, great song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j44QKz10Dyk
<#3
Sunday, 9 April 2017
All Seeing Hand - Sand in Glass
The ambient pipes(?) and feedback on 'Temple of Bones', which are used throughout the album, create a whirling psychedelic trance combined with a disturbing baritone voice (which I have been told by a friend is Peruvian throat singing) and a chest pounding drum beat, infects instantly. These feedback samples and drums are used to great effect on the single off this album 'Cro-Magnon Corp' , a track which has the freakyist music video I've ever seen (seriously check it out, really weird). 'Lizard Brain' and 'Gravity' have similar levels energy thrusting into your ears with no form of protection to be found anywhere in their filthy, disturbed, minds. 'Dog Eat Dog' and the title track are two very atmospheric rides which transport the listener into strange and mystical landscapes. The last track 'Rag and Bone' samples Jonny Greenwood's 'Open Spaces' off of his soundtrack to There Will Be Blood (something that I plan on writing about at some point as it is incredible). An unassuming song that slowly builds into a psych-rock monstrosity, it is an excellent way to end off the experiance (especially with those strings).
There is little to fault this album apart from two which I thought need more work. 'Swam' samples fly's buzzing around creating a seething atmosphere, which I was distracted from due to high pitch synths which I personally felt could have been toned down a bit. 'Silicon & Synapse' had these 8-bit samples which were great but I felt did not really go anywhere interesting apart from repeat the sounds needlessly.
Apart from these small fly's in the ointment (music journos are now celebrating the use of connecting language features), this is a very solid album which I want everyone to listen to. I really hope that more people will want to hear these chaps and they don't simply fall into the forgotten, underground New Zealand music scene, which unfortunately tends to happen to these bands. Their sound is so unique and refreshing that have to succeed, hopefully. So don't waste any more time and listen to it now!!
Cro-Magnon Corp. Music Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiRxe8YfD9A
Bandcamp page https://the-all-seeing-hand.bandcamp.com/music
<#3
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
LCD Soundsystem- Losing My Edge
Let’s start off with a song which is not that controversial
to say that you like. Losing My Edge is a song about becoming uncool, old and out of touch. It is as
simple as that. The songs protagonist has becoming bitter about
these internet kids knowing about all the music which this dude (supposedly)
knew about before and to quote him; "But I was there". "I woke up naked on the beach in Ibiza in 1988" he says trying to compose himself as
23 year olds say "Oh cool, man" while they go off to listen to that
wack new band Liars (this song was released in 2002 so I can make that
statement, nerds). He's the guy at the music store telling you that all digital
is evil, while he raves about the Roland CR-78 being the saviour of modern
music. His record collection is so diverse and he showed Daft Punk to the rock
kids at CBGB's! He is desperately trying to keep his cool by spouting out his
music knowledge. However, towards the end of the song, he sounds like he’s losing
steam, as though he’s realising he's not what he was. Then the "We all
know what you really want" in a much higher pitch on the voice as though
its taunting him. There is something very funny and sad about something like
this as it happens to us all and it does it in such a funny way.
Getting onto the beat, my GOD THIS IS A GROOVE MAN. This is
a damn good hook. James Murphy (the chap with the shades) is a man after my own
heart and knows how to use bass and drums to create a brilliant song. The drum beat is way New Order and the weird electronic noises created through god knows what (a sampled theremin and a sequencers). Every so
often a new instrument pops in or a new drum groove or it changes ever so
slightly.
This is a great song to start with, DON'T LISTEN TO THE 4-MINUTE-LONG
VERSION! Please for you own sake check out the full seven minute, fifty-three
second version which is so much better.
All Links down there. Check it out if you have any soul.
Studio Version_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjDMdSwefk
Live Version_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmrOHxS_cK0
<#3
This is not a file sharing website. You can find that out on you own.
This is simply looking just a website that talks about music which I like, that may or may not be popular. I don't really care if it is 'in' to like to this it's just what I think aye.
Now that's out of the way, lets get on with what the stuff!
The posting will be sporadic as schedules are for old people. I want to try and cover as much music and as many genres as possible so if you have any suggestions, feel free to say. I'll also try and link in the bands websites so you can purchase their music or watch a music video by the artist. Anyways I'll do my first post today.
This is simply looking just a website that talks about music which I like, that may or may not be popular. I don't really care if it is 'in' to like to this it's just what I think aye.
Now that's out of the way, lets get on with what the stuff!
The posting will be sporadic as schedules are for old people. I want to try and cover as much music and as many genres as possible so if you have any suggestions, feel free to say. I'll also try and link in the bands websites so you can purchase their music or watch a music video by the artist. Anyways I'll do my first post today.
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