Think what a brilliantly schizophrenic tour he could throw together if he really wanted when things start up again. I know it'd be a lot of musicians to pay, but a half-Cuttin Grass, half-Sound & Fury show would be wild.
Sunbathing Animal's probably the one I've connected with the least of their "major" releases, but hey, I'll take some new-to-me PC, especially after the 10th Anniversary Show announcement got me thinking about them again (that'll be the first pay-virtual show I attend since, like a dummy, I missed Waxahatchee do Saint Cloud).
Other scattered thoughts:
- They were prolific as Hell around this time.
- I love how, especially in this transitional middle period for them (which, again, not my favorite per se), they could rescue or supercharge a song with exactly the right kind of solo - sometimes really noisy and jagged, sometimes lyrical - which is on display again here.
Yeah they're hard to top with the American requirement, especially because they've continued to evolve in ways that people have enjoyed and, as far as I'm concerned, improve as they've gone. I wouldn't say a band like Deerhunter, whose consensus favorites end before PC even hit their stride, can claim anything like that.
Yeah but.........what about The Wire? And Deadwood, for that matter? And Bojack, for that matter? And Planet Earth? And (fill in your other favorites that were the best since/better than The Sopranos)?
Atlanta is excellent, he has strong screen charisma in general (great call for young Lando), his videos can be cool, and he made "Redbone"; those are all solid notches on the belt.
Overall though, he musically is pretty middling- he's got the right influences and ideas but it's usually not overly compelling and he seems like he takes himself way too seriously.
That balance probably keeps him from earning your superlative, though.
I guess given DP's influence on NIN it's hard to point to NIN-sounding moments in Annie's discography and say they're NIN-inspired but not DP-inspired, but I've always thought that the synth breakdown in the back end of "Sugarboy" sounds like pure Pretty Hate Machine.
Did you skip their old friendly rival Jack White a few weeks ago? The performances from the Class of 2001* have been basically the sole worthwhile aspect of SNL so far this season and both representatives have shown the f up in a big way.
*obviously I know the Stripes had two albums out before '01, but they hit big and were part of the moment in '01
* n
Damn, they were fantastic! I'm so glad they did two new songs, too - we haven't gotten to hear live, full-band versions of practically any of the new songs from this year, and that is one cool thing SNL can still provide while we're not doing concerts.
Julian crushed it on his vocals, he seemed really tuned in.
So enable the guy who will aggressively move as far in the other direction as possible while also ruining and plundering the country in every other way for 4 more years right?
I don't think gigaton has a parallel in the U2 catalog as of yet. U2's last albums were near universally loathed, laughed at, and meme'd; PJ just put out their first sign of studio life in 14 years.
I know I can be a bit of a broken record on this, but her Lux Prima album with Dangermouse last year was the best album that nobody seemed to give a damn about. Like my #2 for the year behind Legacy! Legacy!
So I am very interested in what she's got in store for us...much more than I was when that awful Mosquito album dropped from YYYs, that's for sure.
On one hand, anything other than Aquemini at #1 seems blasphemous, but I guess I should just be happy the consensus has moved towards agreeing with me there over the last few years.
OTOH, nice inclusion of Sir Luscious - my 2010 AotY and just so fun, even with a skit that basically amounts to being an accessory to rape ("The Houdini").
Imagine if the label hadn't been shitty and they could have included "Thinkin Bout You" & "Royal Flush", and cut the two weakest tracks (whatever each of us thinks they are)!
I definitely had the CD (well I think I still do), and it was their last new release I ever bought. Not because I didn't/don't like ATYCLB, but I was working in an FYE when the next one came out, got to hear the promo copy plenty...and didn't feel at all compelled to add it to the collection. It was ok I guess, but that's about it. And oh man, did it hurt listening to the uninspired Songs of...'s.
I'm a big fan even with how little I care for Backspacer and Lightning Bolt, but even if you feel they fall short based on their studio stuff, I think the live juggernaut they became earns them a spot.
Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam/Avocado album (right down to how it's actually really good, but it's back to basics after some experimenting and precedes a long decline into being booooooooring...I do like Gigaton, though)
"More Human Than Human" and "House of a Thousand Corpses" both find their way on to just about any extended Halloween playlist I make, that's for sure.
Damn, Tom really nailed my general mixed (but overall positive) feelings about this album.
At its best, nobody ever did it better. But in the overall 'Kast narrative, it's such a bittersweet release because the seeds of their dissolution are so clearly there and they're already exerting influence on this album. Even as he's dropping scalding-hot fire on most of his verses, you can see Andre pulling away from rapping - and it's like "yes, follow your muse, you are a god-level MC who has nothing left to prove at dropping bars....but you're a god-level MC and we're going to miss the fuck out of you when your rapping frequency plummets to less than a verse a year!" And his absence tells on some of the tracks where he's not engaged. And then there's the fact that the guests don't all fit in or carry their weight to the level they did on Aquemini (best rap album ever, Top 5 or so regardless of genre), which just compounds my previous gripe. And the skits....so many skits....
But at the same time...this album goes. I'm glad we've moved away from unanimously thinking this is their opus, but the creativity and power on display through much of it is breathtaking.
I know it's the uncool, minority opinion, but I'd rather get something that resembles Wildflower more closely than SILY. Wildflower is such a warm ray of fun, loving sunshine.
And yes I know that's been part ofthe comrpomise of being a rap fan who's not down with Elijah/Louis for at least as long as PE has been at it, but that doesn't mean we can't expect some evolution on things, especially since Louie has only doubled and tripled down on his scary, hateful side over the last 30 years.
That's a good thing for me because on their own most of these tracks have been letdowns. But the positive is that this and especially "Take Care In Your Dreaming" have been the two exceptions, so maybe we're just starting to hit the album's paydirt.
Farrakhan is on the album? I hope it's one track I can easily skip or something - Jay Electro has already used up my "listen to artists I love/respect act like a misogynistic/homophobic/anti-Semitic asshole deserves endless praise because the NoI has done some positive things for black men" limit for the year.
Otherwise, this album sounds fucking awesome, especially given the quality of most of Busta's performances going back to at least the last Tribe album.
I'm glad you guys ran this, because I love OME and hadn't listened to the album yet until I clicked play on the embedded Bandcamp link just now. The anime angle turned me off back when the "Joestar" song came out because I didn't want to have to look up anime references every 30 seconds. And then maybe the divorce angle added to that even though I generally like a good one of those.
But 3 songs in, you're right, Tom. It's a good album regardless of any of the above and I'm digging it, feeling weird that I took so long to dive in, even with the rush of Whiskeyclone-friendly releases over the last three weeks.
Please...no more....good new releases for a while! I'm still processing the torrent of strong releases from the last two or three weeks (but actually this week works fine for me because none of that list revs my engine - thanks music gods!).
I didn't know about the original EP, but lol - A Mark Lanegan Christmas album. That is definitely one I never thought I'd get to hear (and the only one of these I likely will).
God, I wish I liked anything M. Ward has done post-Post-War enough to advocate for it.
To be fair, I think the first half or so of Hold Time was up to the high standard he established on Vincent/Transistor/Post-war, but once the second half of that album dropped off I don't think he's ever sounded inspired again since.
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