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David Thom Bowers
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Wow, can’t believe I forgot……. if this list or my list included ALL Strokes songs, released and unreleased, then my #1 would be “Elephant Song” from a 2000 LIVE bootleg. They released the recorded demo, with only Jules on vocals and Albert on guitar, as a “Fan-club ONLY” single in mid-2002 – I think, as I’m not sure about when, but I know it was in 2002. First time I heard the song on that bootleg in 2001, I knew it was the best thing they had ever done.
I’m also a sucker for “Electricityscape” but I always thought it was too beat-heavy, especially the chorus. Instead of Fab doing “boom-boom-bap-bap-boom-boom-bap-bap”, I think the beat should’ve been more spaced-out, like “bap-bap – - – - bap-bap – - – - bap-bap – - – - boom-bap-bap”. It would’ve made the guitar stand out more because that riff during the chorus was written to be HUGE.
Sorry, concerning First Impressions of Earth, I’ve would’ve done every song of that album differently except for “You Only Live Once”, “Ask Me Anything”, “Fear Of Sleep”, “Red Light” and… the b-side “Hawaii”. I still like that album, though.
I agree with #1.
Hard To Explain is unlike anything they have ever done in terms of the their OWN sound. This could be said for ALOT their songs because they tend to have a particular sound that’s unlike any other sound currently or at the time the songs/albums were released, but that’s comparing them to everyone else. This is comparing The Strokes with THE STROKES and to me, Chris DeVille’s explanation of Hard To Explain hit it right on the money with suggesting The Strokes sounded like a “animatronic garage band” on that track because they haven’t made THAT sound used for THAT song again, to date.
Also, the lyrics of HTE fit perfectly because to me, the sound of the instrumental suggests exploration and non-stop movement with the driving, propulsive beat and bassline with stabbing guitar lines and Albert’s riff that leads into Julian’s words of confusion, search of knowledge & answers and rapid thoughts (specifically in the chorus) suggesting he’s on a journey and moving at a fast clip.
My Top 10:
10. Slow Animals
9. Barely Legal
8. Two Kinds of Happiness
7. You Only Live Once
6. Take It Or Leave It
5. Last Nite
4. New York City Cops
3. Reptilia
2. The Modern Age
1. Hard To Explain
I like the song though I have some reservations with the sample from Beirut’s “Nantes”. Not the sample itself, just the way it was used. I think Diplo didn’t have to use the entire instrumental without really doing anything to it from beginning to end. It almost sounds like a cover of the Beirut song. That said, I think this IS a good start and, to me, it seems Snoop is fully invested in this new direction.
HAHAHA!
I normally praise retorts but that was funny. I also read “terrible” as “tuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrible” as pronounced by Charles Barkley, a famous basketball player, who is currently an TV analyst for the NBA but he can’t pronounce “terrible” correctly.
If they ever play Two Kinds of Happiness live it will be a MONSTER, especially with the chorus and descending solo at the end of the chorus.
Wait, I meant the other way around: Whiz Kid MGMT and the band may have undermined the label with this since nothing was heard from both mgmt or band regarding the stream. Dunno why I said the label. Freudian slip, I guess, or maybe it’s because I do not like SONY as a record label. Their electronics are top quality, though. Apologies.
OF COURSE, P4K gets to it stream it first before anyone. Friggin’ SONY/RCA. I bet the band didn’t give this the ok, either, because they have the stream ready on their own soundcloud and the band’s website but you can’t access it. Now I now why. Oh, well. Sorry if it sounds like I’m bitching but we finally DO get to hear it, though:
They’re coming to The BRONX?!!!!!
Say WHAT?!!!!!
Hardly ANY touring acts come to The Bronx. Only Hip-hop, R&B, salsa, merengue and tejano acts come here, and FEW at that. The newly renovated Paradise is a beautiful place. Much respect for this band.
Beautiful. Thought their ”cleaner” sound was gonna be a hard sell since most of their songs are so melancholy and the more lo-fi production of their previous albums added to the “feeling”, for lack of a better word. But HEY, I’m buying!
“Maybe BECAUSE the video was shot in London”, he meant to say.
Yeah, especially “Good Fortune”. Maybe the video was shot in London. :)
This is GOOD.
Really GOOD.
I also liked it when Martin Crandall would play bass hopping up and down with a smile on his face, genuinely enjoying himself creating great stage presence. But isn’t the new bass player the old one from Rilo Kiley?
I’ve said this before on this blog and now watching them live, it cements it for me: I can’t take this band seriously. I’m sorry, I can’t. The new songs are great. “Simple Song” kicks ASS. The new band members are talented but the OLD Shins cast too much of a shadow for the NEW Shins, and that’s just it: we don’t call this band the Shins but the NEW Shins. The old band embodied everything the music they were playing suggested. Their image, their demeanor, their stage presence, how they played their instruments, their music videos, but seeing that photo of the new band above it’s look like a post-punk funk band and the guitarist looking and playing like St. Vincent doesn’t help either. I know I sound like a hater and I don’t mean too. The new songs are GREAT. I just think James himself doesn’t realize how much of a lasting effect the OLD Shins had on us. If James went under a different band name or his own name, there wouldn’t be an issue.
I’m sorry but seeing this just makes me miss the old band members. I know the music is supposed to be paramount over everything else, which includes aesthetic or image, but when they entered pop culture with “Chutes Too Narrow” and the Garden State OST, their image was everywhere and I think it became one with the music.
NOT saying this song isn’t good. It is. I think James Mercer’s NEW Shins will be playing catchup for the entirety of it’s tenure.
Adrenaline introduced them.
Around the Fur put ‘em on the map.
WHITE PONY made them legendary.
WHITE PONY is my favorite.
Mysterious Ways. Back in the day, the video used to be a staple on Nervous Thursdays (also called Alternative Thursdays) on Video Music Box on WNYC Ch. 25, local NYC TV.
REVOLVER. It was the beginning of how The Beatles changed pop music in sound, composition, song structure, arrangements, overdubbing….. pretty much anything that had to do with recording, forever.
To echo Anna Edwards’ comment near the top, I’m the 6th person who loved “Rock N Roll” and it’s my favorite Ryan Adams album because of how different it was from anything else he had done up until then. But if you really listen to it, it’s not much of a departure at all….. just everything is played LOUDER and HARDER, Ryan wails his vocals to shreads and plus, synthesizers join the party. In fact, that’s what I think of this album: Ryan wanted to throw a party of a different kind, in a different part of town without forgetting where he came from, and regardless of who would show up or how it would be received.
The riots were caused by reaction to the death of Mark Duggan being shot by police in Tottenham, in the northern of London, on AUG 4th.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14412752
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mark_Duggan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots
QUALITY work all around for the actors, director, crew, writers, choreographers.
Very well done, especially the surprise ending.
This video made the song BETTER.
I think the only reason they looked alike back in the day was because they both sported the same wavy mop haircut.
I like it. True, it sounds a bit under-produced and that yelling/screaming at the end is ill-advised, but this is SOLID……… as a ROCK.
Does anyone else hear “Drive” by The Cars in this song? Not complaining at all, it’s just what I hear and Iike it.
Also forgot to mention that the producer of Is This It, Gordon Raphael, was a HUGE factor in the making of “Hard To Explain” by tweaking the knobs on the console and coming up with that sound.