That's more than enough, I tried to get a mix of songs in here, but there's far far more quality tunes in the catalogue.
Well, either way, you've given some good recommendations here; I listened to them all from start to finish just then, and they're all great. I especially liked "Here Comes the Flood" - that song is just damn cool on so many levels . Their lyricism and choice of subject matter is also great - nice, fresh, original, and actually meaningful. Overall, it's good stuff.
Any chance I could get an album recommendation off you? What's their best LP?
Well, either way, you've given some good recommendations here; I listened to them all from start to finish just then, and they're all great. I especially liked "Here Comes the Flood" - that song is just damn cool on so many levels . Their lyricism and choice of subject matter is also great - nice, fresh, original, and actually meaningful. Overall, it's good stuff.
Any chance I could get an album recommendation off you? What's their best LP?
Glad you enjoyed them! I've been a fan this long-time so it's always great to spread the word.
I'd recommend 'Victory for the Comic Muse' and 'A Secret History' which is a greatest hits collection. If you're staunchley opposed to best of collections then i'd say Casanova. Comic Muse is Hannons best work IMO, it was just released post greatest hits.
I'd recommend 'Victory for the Comic Muse' and 'A Secret History' which is a greatest hits collection. If you're staunchley opposed to best of collections...
Hah, however did you know?
...then i'd say Casanova. Comic Muse is Hannons best work IMO, it was just released post greatest hits.
Thank you muchly .
I've put an in Amazon order just then, a) because the samples sounded good, and b) it was next to nothing. I look forward to hearing it. I'll probably check out '...Comic Muse' too if this one impresses me enough. Thanks again for the rec.
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Megadeth - "A Tout le Monde" - 10/10
I've been listening to Megadeth's 'Youthanasia' a whole lot since it arrived in the mail, and whilst all of the tracks are either very good or great, this is the song that has stuck out the most and grown on me significantly. Beautiful melodies and strong lyricism combine to create one of the most profound metal songs I've heard, and one of Mustaine's greatest musical achievements. I just wanna listen to this one repeatedly.
Cold Chisel - "The Party's Over" - 7.5/10
A nice little bonus track. Not one of their best (or even better) songs, but still a nice little relaxed tune complimented by Ian Moss's suitably smooth vocals. The certain jazz-iness to the song also displays the terrific versatility that the band had.
I'm with you on this one! An album (well, a good album) is intended to be listened to in a particular order, a greatest hits is a bit of a frankenstein cut.
I can't help but think that the LP's becoming something of a lost art in the digital age
Thank you muchly .
I've put an in Amazon order just then, a) because the samples sounded good, and b) it was next to nothing. I look forward to hearing it. I'll probably check out '...Comic Muse' too if this one impresses me enough. Thanks again for the rec.
Excellent! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It's more rock/pop than the other albums, just genius rock/pop.
Megadeth - "A Tout le Monde" - 10/10
I've been listening to Megadeth's 'Youthanasia' a whole lot since it arrived in the mail, and whilst all of the tracks are either very good or great, this is the song that has stuck out the most and grown on me significantly. Beautiful melodies and strong lyricism combine to create one of the most profound metal songs I've heard, and one of Mustaine's greatest musical achievements. I just wanna listen to this one repeatedly.
This really is a great song, I usually give Megadeth a hard time because i'm not the biggest metal fan and Mustaines vocals really irritate me (see 'Peace Sells') but this is excellent stuff all round. It's actually radio friendly, but it's not one of those sell-out songs.
I always thought Mustaine was both the bands best and worst asset all at once, really creative on guitar, particularly with chords and riffs, not the usual uncreative power chords or lazy open chugging of the low-E string you usually get in the genre. But for the most part, those vocals man!!
Cold Chisel - "The Party's Over" - 7.5/10
A nice little bonus track. Not one of their best (or even better) songs, but still a nice little relaxed tune complimented by Ian Moss's suitably smooth vocals. The certain jazz-iness to the song also displays the terrific versatility that the band had.
This, not so much. Sorta falls into all those stereotypical jazz trappings and doesn't really go anywhere.
I'm with you on this one! An album (well, a good album) is intended to be listened to in a particular order, a greatest hits is a bit of a frankenstein cut.
I fully agree. Well, that's one of the reasons, anyway. Another reason is the fact that bands'/artists' actual best songs are often left off of compilations in exchange for the better-known tracks (see Guns N' Roses' 'Greatest Hits'), and it's just another case of popularity-over-quality, and I'd rather not invest in products which do this.
Plus, being somewhat of a collector, I really see no point in buying compilations, because I'll often end up purchasing a band's entire catologue anyway, meaning that purchasing a compilation would just be a complete waste of my money.
I can't help but think that the LP's becoming something of a lost art in the digital age
That's something that I also worry about. I actually hate the popularity that digital music has gained, and I've ranted on the idea of digital music distribution in the past. Listening to an album is so much more rewarding and fulfilling than simply listening to a few songs from an artist/band, but the trends that have been brought about by digital music actually discourage musicians from even bothering with full-length albums anymore. And I don't ever want to see the day when I have to buy a series of my favourite band's singles off of the internet, instead of buying their new cohesive collection of songs every 2/3 years.
I'm yet to buy a piece of music digitally, and I'll probably hold out on doing so for as long as I can.
This really is a great song, I usually give Megadeth a hard time because i'm not the biggest metal fan and Mustaines vocals really irritate me (see 'Peace Sells') but this is excellent stuff all round. It's actually radio friendly, but it's not one of those sell-out songs.
I always thought Mustaine was both the bands best and worst asset all at once, really creative on guitar, particularly with chords and riffs, not the usual uncreative power chords or lazy open chugging of the low-E string you usually get in the genre. But for the most part, those vocals man!!
Hah, yes, I agree that his vocals can sometimes be irritating. But I find that (from what I've heard of Megadeth) his vocals have actually grown less annoying over time. Yes, "Peace Sells" is annoying in the vocal department, "Sweating Bullets" even more-so, and their cover of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" to a painful degree. But I find that a lot of the annoying edge comes from Dave trying too much to sound 'cool' and 'menacing', but he's sort of toned it down in his later years, and, as a result of just sounding more natural, his vocals are much more tolerable.
This, not so much. Sorta falls into all those stereotypical jazz trappings and doesn't really go anywhere.
Yeah, as I said, it's not one of their better tracks. But these guys were actually the first rock band I was into, so I'm automatically going to have a nostalgic positive bias towards all of their material .
Plus, they are primarily a classic rock band, so I can forgive them for slightly failing in their jazzier ventures/departures.
Nightwish - 'Imaginaerum' (album) - 10/10
One of the most overblown, excessive, ridiculously pretentious musical creations I've ever heard... I love it.
I had something to say, but I forgot now after listening to this. I liked it a lot!
Great to hear . Sadly the band never really got the worldwide recognition that they deserved. Hugely popular in Australia - almost regarded as royalty, in a sense - but completely unknown everywhere else. Which is quite sad, given the talent of the band.
I'd suggest checking them out further if you enjoyed "Khe Sanh". It's hard to know what to recommend, though, so I'll leave it up to you and YouTube.
Been listening to a lot of Serenity lately, they are a really good band.
Those guys are actually pretty great, from what I've heard of them. I was really tempted to buy their latest album, 'Death & Legacy', as all of the samples I'd heard kicked quite a considerable amount of arse. But, alas, I was unable to find a cheap seller, and never ended up doing so. I'll have to look into it again, though.
From what I can glean, the band certainly has a whole lot more imagination and musical creativity than most other similar-styled bands. There have been so many bland Symphonic Power Metal acts emerging since Nightwish popularized the genre (somewhat), so it's refreshing to hear some real quality amongst the myriad mediocrity.
The song of theirs that has played the most on my music player is Heavenly Mission. I just like the way it starts and feel kinda sad that it's only in the song 3 times. Oceans of Ruby is also really good, and let's not forget Fairytales.
Another song I have been listening to a lot is When We Stand Together from Nickelback's new Album, a really really good song.
The Divine Comedy - "The Frog Princess" - 10/10
Not necessarily the best song on the album, but certainly the one that I've been listening to the most off of 'Casanova'. It's just one of those songs where I can't help but feel good/happy when listening to it, even if the lyrical content is somewhat bittersweet (or not definitively positive). It sort of has the same effect on me as songs like Jethro Tull's "Fallen On Hard Times" (10/10), where the melody and vibe of the song just gives me this odd feeling of contentment. I like it.
Bible of the Devil - "Ol' Girl" - 8.5/10
This is an example of how to strongly wear your Thin Lizzy influence on your sleeve, whilst still infusing your music with fresh, original elements...
Sinner - "Back On Trail" - 3.5/10
...And this is a example of how to blatantly rip them off to the point where you can identify the exact song that they've tried to emulate.
Another song I have been listening to a lot is When We Stand Together from Nickelback's new Album, a really really good song.
Yeah, I wasn't really much of a fan of that song. I've gave it three or four listens upon its release, but, to me, it just suffered from the Nickelback-single syndrome. Yeah, the song's (arguably) passable, mildly enjoyable and quite catchy, but it's just so unadventurous, I find. To me, it's just a stock-standard Nickelback single; it's unoriginal, and it's traveling ground that's been trodden before.
It's a rock song written with a mainstream pop sensibility. Yeah, the lyrics are okay, but they do have some rather cliche moments, and the quality of the lyrical content doesn't quite make up for the shortcomings in the musical aspects.
I'd probably give it a 4/10, because it's the very definition of mediocrity, topped off with a dash of triteness. Don't let my criticisms tarnish your opinion of the song, though; I understand that the style and structure of the song is very appealing to some listeners. But I just personally think that the quality of Nickelback's music is found in the band's album-only tracks, rather than in their singles like this one.
"Follow You Home" - that's where you'll find some fine rock songwriting. "This Means War" and "Side of a Bullet" - that's where you'll find some some adventurousness and ballsy-ness. "Believe it or Not - that's where you'll find some melodic hard rock that doesn't intentionally cater to the masses, but songs like "When We Stand Together" actually go out of their way to do so, and they suffer for it.
It's the same case with "Far Away", "If Today Was Your Last Day", "If Everyone Cared", "Photograph" - they're all tailored to the tastes of the mainstream music listener. Nickelback's only truly good ballad-single, in my opinion, was "Savin' Me", because the music was prioritized over the damaging 'how can we make this popular?' mentality. On that song, I believe that some actual meticulous thought went into it. But, when I listen to "When We Stand Together", I just can't convince myself that the band put much effort into piecing that together.
I'm generally a critic of unoriginality and uninspired/going-through-the-motions songwriting, and a typical Nickelback single is a serious offender in that regard. They feature all of the elements a rock song needs to achieve popularity, but there is just no semblance of imagination or creativity in the song.
Though, that being said, the song does have its redeeming qualities. They do show some melodic prowess, and I must commend them on the lyrics: '...when we could feed a starving world with what we throw away, but all we serve are empty words which always taste the same...'. But that still doesn't save the song for me, as it's another cliche Nickelback single which is guilty of the unforgivable sin of playing-it-safe and reveling in its obnoxious unoriginality. In fact, ironically, the words 'always taste the same' apply almost perfectly to the bulk of Nickelback singles, which is why I'm increasingly critical of each one that's released.
P.S.: Gosh, that got rather long-winded, didn't it. Sorry, I just have quite a bit to say on Nickelback as a popular musical act, and was actually going to review/rate "When We Stand Together" a little while back, but forgot to. So that explains my rant.
And don't worry, my tirade wasn't entirely directed at you; more-so directed at the topic .
Electric Mary - "O.I.C" - 9/10
Good, straight-forward rock music from a band who have already firmly established an appealing trademark sound.
Eagles - "No More Walks in the Wood" - 4/10
Perfectly harmonized wankery. Only mildly enjoyable if I'm in a state of utter repose.
Eagles - "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" - 10/10
A great critique of Western culture conveyed through sophisticated lyricism, and accompanied by strong musicianship.
Iced Earth - "Boiling Point" - 6/10
A mediocre metal song.
The Compulsions - "Ea$y Money" - 3.5/10
A bad rock song.
Death by cliche. Whether the lyrics are an homage to other songs or not, they're still unoriginal and damn unimpressive. The melody in the song is okay, but it soon begins to drone on and wear thin. Besides, the shallow, thoughtless lyrics act as a perfect counterweight to any credibility or profundity that the music may show.
The this is the tune that appears in the credits of Megamind. I just can't stop listening to it.
It's not on the official soundtrack for some odd reason, which is a shame because it's the tune I like the most.
I'm not the biggest fan of Posner ("Cooler than Me" was incredibly dull, and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow"... no. Just no.) but this song was actually pretty good. It's a remix of the actual song, which I haven't heard, so I'm just going by the remix here.
The beat is very catchy. I can imagine dancing to it, which already makes it better than most of his work. The lyrics aren't that much to write home about, but then again, there isn't much material to work with when your hook is literally "She Looks Like Sex." But I can kind of understand the message of the song. The girl looks like someone I'd love.
I've been listening to my favorite album on loop the past few days and have been solidifying a lot of my thoughts on it. I decided I might as well them here just in case anyone gives a shit.
"Favorite album", here, refers to the album which I personally like the most as a whole. A lot of things factor into making this my "Favorite album". I like the construction of tracks, as a whole, as an exploration of a theme and its thematic progression. The vast majority of the songs are ones that I enjoy as single tracks, and those that I don't I can respect as part of the overarching structure, even though I don't particularly attach myself emotionally to them. "Favorite" is used in a very subjective sense, I don't claim that it is by any means the "best" album, which might require looking at a lot more albums in a more objective way with consideration for what they accomplished and what they are within the framework of their genres and dealing more strongly in terms of musical performance skill, and I'm not doing that here at all. I'm just thinking about this album in terms of emotional effect and enjoyment on my part, which is very much divorced from what I'd usually consider a more objective critique, which is something I tend to try and strive for in most things.
This song takes the atmosphere of Sax Rohmer novels, their harshness and antagonistic nature, and places someone right in it. There's a real desperation, but a despiration filled with this defiant energy, and I feel like he's really able to get across that prideful, desperate, defiant energy across in the way he sings these lines. Every song in this album has some element of being in a hostile cultural environment and how people react to this kind of situation, where a society has turned on someone for whatever reason. Here, the character faces an atmosphere that is naturally hostile, or that he thinks is, and reacts with defiance and hope.
Though at the end of the album, this song is very much Sax Rohmer #1's sister song thematically so I'm talking about it next. While Sax Rohmer #1 is filled with a defiant energy, this song takes the same theme and takes on a fatalistic acceptance. The energetic chords of the first song are replaced here with a somber piano . There's just a sense of defeat, there is no eventual victory in sight, none of that fervent, energetic hope that Sax Rohmer #1 owns and encapsulates.
The song references the end of Halloween 2, in which Michael Myers emerges from flaming wreckage and immediately falls over, defeated. He's no longer fighting. The song is told from a special effects point of view because, first, it provides really incredible imagery, but also shows a sort of preparation to walk through the flames. He knows it's coming and he's just setting himself up for it(I spent eight hours in my make-up chair/Waxed my chest and shaved off all my hair). That the album starts with defiance and ends with defeat is, I think, very powerful.
A very powerful and emotionally touching story here, I think, in which an unwed couple gives a natural birth in a cheap motel off the highway. Yet another unexpected, unplanned, hastily enacted action in lives that, obviously, are ruled by these kinds of things. The album continues here with the theme of social/cultural rejection, people who find themselves in a situation that is culturally hostile. These are people who will be rejected, who will be scoffed at, who will be judged as promiscuous and irresponsible and rash for the rest of their lives. There's a sense of love that comes from deciding to go ahead with everything and take ownership of this, in spite of the pressure, or at least to find some beauty in that singular moment regardless of what the future brings. The tune here gives off a feeling of fond recollection, of light and joy in spite of the cheap and broken-down surroundings, which are retroactively given a sort of magical glow, an almost poetic beauty.
Here we, go, the titular song of the album, and arguably its thematic core. This song has a defiant energy not all that dissimilar from that presented in the opening track, but now warped, turned batshit insane and turned up to 11. The "heretic" is ostracized, like the other characters throughout, but he doesn't use it as a driving force like in the first track, or accept crippling defeat like in the last, nor does he find beauty or joy in his surroundings like the second track, nor does he feel shame. He owns it in a completely different way, he takes pride in his status as a heretic, as a hated individual, as someone that the community has decided is unworthy of life. He laughs at them, he laughs at their concepts of what is right, he laughs at the very concept that his life even matters. He defies everything and just takes on this really powerful, really energetic, almost infectious pride and zeal that has a contagious appeal. While other heretics and outcasts are at the edge of a flame and are menaced by it or find comfort despite the scorching heat, this song jumps right into the center of it and laughs its ass off, and that kind of raw power and denial is infectious and appealing and makes this one of my favorite songs.
Another real favorite of mine. I really like the metaphor here, with an autoclave being compared to a heart that just destroys anything that gets inside it. I mean, we've all known(or been) at least one person like that. Someone who just won't, or perhaps can't, let anything positive or real get inside of them, or maybe that's just the way they see it. Every extension of love or kindness feels false and filled with the potential for betrayal.
I love the way this is portrayed, there's a sort of matter-of-fact admission that this is the way it is. It's a warning, trying to push someone away, because the character here identifies themselves as unlovable and untouchable and unsafe for others. This character's ownership of their isolation creates an almost pathological distrust of others comingled with a hatred of the self, a mixture of shame and blame, distrust and longing, and a self-perpetuating loneliness that I can personally identify with in a very real way.
This is the first song that I more respect than enjoy personally. It ties into something that I never really was a part of, as it links into a "Cultmania" sensation that I never personally experienced. Still, the cult imagery with this spin emotionally is fairly interesting to me, and I respect its place in the album's overall theme of cultural rejection.
This is a song that, on the first listen, I didn't care for all that much. My first reaction was that it felt "whiny", and this was a fairly shallow, surface-level judgement on my part. I first heard it as a song about being desperate, about being sad, with no real message to it. Thing this is that it's not really about the desperation itself, so much as it's about how desperation forces people together who really have no good reason to be together. Apply the album's themes to this song, and you have people who deal with their ostracism and rejection by grabbing on to anyone who will let them, and often that brings desperate people together for the sole reason that they're desperate, and it creates couples that never should exist in the first place. I personally love the way he's able to convey that weakness of spirit and the corresponding emotional hunger in the way his voice strains as he sings.
Another one of those "More respect than enjoy" songs. It's about locking yourself away from others, isolating yourself, guarding against some unknown and ill-defined disaster, and finding yourself in a state where that dread is the only comfortable emotion you have.
Lovecraft in Brooklyn
(ignore the shitty video content, it's the only one available)
This is a lot harsher than the usual Mountain Goats sound, but I still enjoy it. The song obviously preys on H.P. Lovecraft's time in Brooklyn, where he lived for a few years. What not everyone knows is that he lived in Brooklyn during the height of immigration and was, to put it bluntly, a racist xenophobe. This song soaks itself in that fear and suspicion and gives itself a harsher, fearful, conspiratorial feeling that has a powerful allure. Like the character in Heretic Pride who snaps and reduces everything to a joke, this character elevates everything to a pressing, urgent threat. It's a powerful image and a stark atmosphere that really gets inside you.
This song almost acts as an instantaneous 180 from the last song. It is as though the relatively harsh feeling of the last song strained them and let go, and this song relishes in lighter imagery. This song is about the Tianchi Lake Monster, and features some really pretty lyrics. The Tianchi Monster is alone, and ostracized, but it doesn't really care. It relishes in its beautiful surroundings, taken in by the lovely nature around it, its proximity to the heavens, and the beauty of the cosmos by the moonlight. It's a really peaceful, lovely song that counteracts Lovecraft in Brooklyn in every way despite fitting into the same thematic structure.
A song about fucking someone you recently split ways with, in the sort of encounter that you'll say that you never meant to happen afterwards. You don't know why you showed up, things get tense, and you end up in bed. The imagery isn't particularly clear to me without the explanation that he gave at a show I went to, but once that context is given it makes a lot more sense to me now than it did on the first listen. "I try to tell you/Why I've Come/It's like I've got/Molasses on my toungue!". He doesn't know why he showed up. He's just there, and filled with a powerful mix of emotions that doesn't let him have a cohesive, understandable voice or even a known reason for doing..anything that he does. I think most of us have been there to some extent or another.
Another song that deals with sex, directly. Specifically, anonymous sex in a Men's bathroom. This song resonates strongly with a sense of shame(And when I washed my hands/I ran the water hotter than I could stand; Face hidden from my view/I let myself imagine she was you, etc). The chorus line, (Weightless, Formless, Blameless, Nameless) shows an attempt to keep from becoming "material", from being "real", from seeing the other person as a "person". The song's title refers to an "incident", a thing that "happened", not a "person", and the song itself tries its hardest to remove "her" from the character's mind. The palpable shame of the act of anonymous bathroom-stall sex permeates the whole song and gives it a really creepy vibe, as the "weightless, formless, blameless, nameless" qualities are romanticized to try and keep away the shame.
This one is, honestly, pretty simple. I feel like this song's place in the album is to use the story Prince Far I(Michael James Williams) to show how sometimes people who try to do good and exhibit real emotional honesty are often violently attacked by the world around them. The whole track takes on a feel that is closer to Reggae which, considering what it's a tribute to, really fits. It makes it a really nice track to go before Michael Meyers Resplendent, which is the final track which ends the album in acceptance of defeat.
I really love this album. It encompasses...every idea, really, about being a true outcast. It fits together really well to give off messages that can really reach a certain type of person emotionally.
I'm here again,
A thousand miles away from You.
A broken mess,
Just scattered pieces of who I am.
I tried so hard,
Thought I could do this on my own.
I've lost so much along the way.
...Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole.
I've come undone,
But You make sense of who I am
Like puzzle pieces in your hand,
Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole...
I tried so hard! So hard!
I tried so hard...
Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole...
An outstanding musical score from Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, the song is so full of emotions even if it is quite short. But when you watch the movie the music really adds on the the emotions going on in that specific scene.
Rejected in the Rain from the Megamind soundtrack - 10/10
An outstanding musical score from Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, the song is so full of emotions even if it is quite short. But when you watch the movie the music really adds on the the emotions going on in that specific scene.
That is one of my favourite parts of the movie.
Pretty clever how they managed to really get you into that scene, but also manage to get a laugh in as well with a running gag.
That is one of my favourite parts of the movie.
Pretty clever how they managed to really get you into that scene, but also manage to get a laugh in as well with a running gag.
Haha, exactly.
But not to forget the emotions they put in to the characters faces, some of the best facial animations I have ever seen in a movie. No one in real life could show that much emotion in one face.
Transatlantic - "Dancing with Eternal Glory/Whirlwind (Reprise)" - 10/10
I got a really good chance to have a close listen to this on the drive home from a friend's place, and finally gave it the opportunity to sink in properly. I now really, really appreciate it. One of the best ways to describe it is 'grand'. It's a strong meld of several of the song's previous movements, but a very strong piece of music in itself, and a piece of melodic mastery, in a sense. Also, the piece features a very prominent sense of joy, but without sporting a cheesy 'happy vibe'. This displays a strong sense of songwriting skill on the band's part. The lyrics may contain too much of a blatant Christian message for some people's tastes, but, given my personal beliefs, this is no concern of mine (and, besides, they are well-written). Overall, it's a piece that I found quite profound and encouraging to listen to, whilst also being entertaining and enjoyable musically. A perfect way to conclude such a tremendous album.
10/10 - Out of all the songs in QOTSA's back catalog of b-sides and rarities this is easily the standout track with it's hypnotic guitar playing and just plain odd sound.
Comments
Well, either way, you've given some good recommendations here; I listened to them all from start to finish just then, and they're all great. I especially liked "Here Comes the Flood" - that song is just damn cool on so many levels
Any chance I could get an album recommendation off you? What's their best LP?
Glad you enjoyed them! I've been a fan this long-time so it's always great to spread the word.
I'd recommend 'Victory for the Comic Muse' and 'A Secret History' which is a greatest hits collection. If you're staunchley opposed to best of collections then i'd say Casanova. Comic Muse is Hannons best work IMO, it was just released post greatest hits.
Thank you muchly
I've put an in Amazon order just then, a) because the samples sounded good, and b) it was next to nothing. I look forward to hearing it. I'll probably check out '...Comic Muse' too if this one impresses me enough. Thanks again for the rec.
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Megadeth - "A Tout le Monde" - 10/10
I've been listening to Megadeth's 'Youthanasia' a whole lot since it arrived in the mail, and whilst all of the tracks are either very good or great, this is the song that has stuck out the most and grown on me significantly. Beautiful melodies and strong lyricism combine to create one of the most profound metal songs I've heard, and one of Mustaine's greatest musical achievements. I just wanna listen to this one repeatedly.
Cold Chisel - "The Party's Over" - 7.5/10
A nice little bonus track. Not one of their best (or even better) songs, but still a nice little relaxed tune complimented by Ian Moss's suitably smooth vocals. The certain jazz-iness to the song also displays the terrific versatility that the band had.
I'm with you on this one! An album (well, a good album) is intended to be listened to in a particular order, a greatest hits is a bit of a frankenstein cut.
I can't help but think that the LP's becoming something of a lost art in the digital age
Excellent! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It's more rock/pop than the other albums, just genius rock/pop.
This really is a great song, I usually give Megadeth a hard time because i'm not the biggest metal fan and Mustaines vocals really irritate me (see 'Peace Sells') but this is excellent stuff all round. It's actually radio friendly, but it's not one of those sell-out songs.
I always thought Mustaine was both the bands best and worst asset all at once, really creative on guitar, particularly with chords and riffs, not the usual uncreative power chords or lazy open chugging of the low-E string you usually get in the genre. But for the most part, those vocals man!!
This, not so much. Sorta falls into all those stereotypical jazz trappings and doesn't really go anywhere.
I fully agree. Well, that's one of the reasons, anyway. Another reason is the fact that bands'/artists' actual best songs are often left off of compilations in exchange for the better-known tracks (see Guns N' Roses' 'Greatest Hits'), and it's just another case of popularity-over-quality, and I'd rather not invest in products which do this.
Plus, being somewhat of a collector, I really see no point in buying compilations, because I'll often end up purchasing a band's entire catologue anyway, meaning that purchasing a compilation would just be a complete waste of my money.
That's something that I also worry about. I actually hate the popularity that digital music has gained, and I've ranted on the idea of digital music distribution in the past. Listening to an album is so much more rewarding and fulfilling than simply listening to a few songs from an artist/band, but the trends that have been brought about by digital music actually discourage musicians from even bothering with full-length albums anymore. And I don't ever want to see the day when I have to buy a series of my favourite band's singles off of the internet, instead of buying their new cohesive collection of songs every 2/3 years.
I'm yet to buy a piece of music digitally, and I'll probably hold out on doing so for as long as I can.
Hah, yes, I agree that his vocals can sometimes be irritating. But I find that (from what I've heard of Megadeth) his vocals have actually grown less annoying over time. Yes, "Peace Sells" is annoying in the vocal department, "Sweating Bullets" even more-so, and their cover of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" to a painful degree. But I find that a lot of the annoying edge comes from Dave trying too much to sound 'cool' and 'menacing', but he's sort of toned it down in his later years, and, as a result of just sounding more natural, his vocals are much more tolerable.
Yeah, as I said, it's not one of their better tracks. But these guys were actually the first rock band I was into, so I'm automatically going to have a nostalgic positive bias towards all of their material
Plus, they are primarily a classic rock band, so I can forgive them for slightly failing in their jazzier ventures/departures.
I had something to say, but I forgot now after listening to this. I liked it a lot!
Watching that video has become something of a holiday tradition for me.
One of the most overblown, excessive, ridiculously pretentious musical creations I've ever heard... I love it.
Great to hear
I'd suggest checking them out further if you enjoyed "Khe Sanh". It's hard to know what to recommend, though, so I'll leave it up to you and YouTube.
Those guys are actually pretty great, from what I've heard of them. I was really tempted to buy their latest album, 'Death & Legacy', as all of the samples I'd heard kicked quite a considerable amount of arse. But, alas, I was unable to find a cheap seller, and never ended up doing so. I'll have to look into it again, though.
From what I can glean, the band certainly has a whole lot more imagination and musical creativity than most other similar-styled bands. There have been so many bland Symphonic Power Metal acts emerging since Nightwish popularized the genre (somewhat), so it's refreshing to hear some real quality amongst the myriad mediocrity.
Oceans of Ruby is also really good, and let's not forget Fairytales.
Another song I have been listening to a lot is When We Stand Together from Nickelback's new Album, a really really good song.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Soundtrack: Crazy Chocobo
Score: -7,308/10
The music's actually worse than the games now. Well done Squeenix, I hope you're all proud of yourself.
Not necessarily the best song on the album, but certainly the one that I've been listening to the most off of 'Casanova'. It's just one of those songs where I can't help but feel good/happy when listening to it, even if the lyrical content is somewhat bittersweet (or not definitively positive). It sort of has the same effect on me as songs like Jethro Tull's "Fallen On Hard Times" (10/10), where the melody and vibe of the song just gives me this odd feeling of contentment. I like it.
Bible of the Devil - "Ol' Girl" - 8.5/10
This is an example of how to strongly wear your Thin Lizzy influence on your sleeve, whilst still infusing your music with fresh, original elements...
Sinner - "Back On Trail" - 3.5/10
...And this is a example of how to blatantly rip them off to the point where you can identify the exact song that they've tried to emulate.
Yeah, I wasn't really much of a fan of that song. I've gave it three or four listens upon its release, but, to me, it just suffered from the Nickelback-single syndrome. Yeah, the song's (arguably) passable, mildly enjoyable and quite catchy, but it's just so unadventurous, I find. To me, it's just a stock-standard Nickelback single; it's unoriginal, and it's traveling ground that's been trodden before.
It's a rock song written with a mainstream pop sensibility. Yeah, the lyrics are okay, but they do have some rather cliche moments, and the quality of the lyrical content doesn't quite make up for the shortcomings in the musical aspects.
I'd probably give it a 4/10, because it's the very definition of mediocrity, topped off with a dash of triteness. Don't let my criticisms tarnish your opinion of the song, though; I understand that the style and structure of the song is very appealing to some listeners. But I just personally think that the quality of Nickelback's music is found in the band's album-only tracks, rather than in their singles like this one.
"Follow You Home" - that's where you'll find some fine rock songwriting. "This Means War" and "Side of a Bullet" - that's where you'll find some some adventurousness and ballsy-ness. "Believe it or Not - that's where you'll find some melodic hard rock that doesn't intentionally cater to the masses, but songs like "When We Stand Together" actually go out of their way to do so, and they suffer for it.
It's the same case with "Far Away", "If Today Was Your Last Day", "If Everyone Cared", "Photograph" - they're all tailored to the tastes of the mainstream music listener. Nickelback's only truly good ballad-single, in my opinion, was "Savin' Me", because the music was prioritized over the damaging 'how can we make this popular?' mentality. On that song, I believe that some actual meticulous thought went into it. But, when I listen to "When We Stand Together", I just can't convince myself that the band put much effort into piecing that together.
I'm generally a critic of unoriginality and uninspired/going-through-the-motions songwriting, and a typical Nickelback single is a serious offender in that regard. They feature all of the elements a rock song needs to achieve popularity, but there is just no semblance of imagination or creativity in the song.
Though, that being said, the song does have its redeeming qualities. They do show some melodic prowess, and I must commend them on the lyrics: '...when we could feed a starving world with what we throw away, but all we serve are empty words which always taste the same...'. But that still doesn't save the song for me, as it's another cliche Nickelback single which is guilty of the unforgivable sin of playing-it-safe and reveling in its obnoxious unoriginality. In fact, ironically, the words 'always taste the same' apply almost perfectly to the bulk of Nickelback singles, which is why I'm increasingly critical of each one that's released.
P.S.: Gosh, that got rather long-winded, didn't it. Sorry, I just have quite a bit to say on Nickelback as a popular musical act, and was actually going to review/rate "When We Stand Together" a little while back, but forgot to. So that explains my rant.
And don't worry, my tirade wasn't entirely directed at you; more-so directed at the topic
It's ok, we all have out own opinions about things.
And if you can't unwind here, where can you.
Good, straight-forward rock music from a band who have already firmly established an appealing trademark sound.
Eagles - "No More Walks in the Wood" - 4/10
Perfectly harmonized wankery. Only mildly enjoyable if I'm in a state of utter repose.
Eagles - "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" - 10/10
A great critique of Western culture conveyed through sophisticated lyricism, and accompanied by strong musicianship.
AC/DC - "Rising Power" - 8/10
A good rock song.
Iced Earth - "Boiling Point" - 6/10
A mediocre metal song.
The Compulsions - "Ea$y Money" - 3.5/10
A bad rock song.
Death by cliche. Whether the lyrics are an homage to other songs or not, they're still unoriginal and damn unimpressive. The melody in the song is okay, but it soon begins to drone on and wear thin. Besides, the shallow, thoughtless lyrics act as a perfect counterweight to any credibility or profundity that the music may show.
Hah, indeed. That's not to say that I don't vent my opinions everywhere else as well, though
UHF, Party in the CIA, Perform This Way, Skipper Dan, TMZ, Another Tattoo, Fat Eat It, Dare to be Stupid, Smells Like Nirvana, White and Nerdy, etc:
All 10/10. Every. Single. One. I think Homer Simpson said it best: "He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tga6PgO2pqM
The this is the tune that appears in the credits of Megamind. I just can't stop listening to it.
It's not on the official soundtrack for some odd reason, which is a shame because it's the tune I like the most.
I'm not the biggest fan of Posner ("Cooler than Me" was incredibly dull, and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow"... no. Just no.) but this song was actually pretty good. It's a remix of the actual song, which I haven't heard, so I'm just going by the remix here.
The beat is very catchy. I can imagine dancing to it, which already makes it better than most of his work. The lyrics aren't that much to write home about, but then again, there isn't much material to work with when your hook is literally "She Looks Like Sex." But I can kind of understand the message of the song. The girl looks like someone I'd love.
Overall, solid. 9/10
"Favorite album", here, refers to the album which I personally like the most as a whole. A lot of things factor into making this my "Favorite album". I like the construction of tracks, as a whole, as an exploration of a theme and its thematic progression. The vast majority of the songs are ones that I enjoy as single tracks, and those that I don't I can respect as part of the overarching structure, even though I don't particularly attach myself emotionally to them. "Favorite" is used in a very subjective sense, I don't claim that it is by any means the "best" album, which might require looking at a lot more albums in a more objective way with consideration for what they accomplished and what they are within the framework of their genres and dealing more strongly in terms of musical performance skill, and I'm not doing that here at all. I'm just thinking about this album in terms of emotional effect and enjoyment on my part, which is very much divorced from what I'd usually consider a more objective critique, which is something I tend to try and strive for in most things.
With that out of the way:
Heretic Pride
the Mountain Goats
2008
Sax Rohmer #1
This song takes the atmosphere of Sax Rohmer novels, their harshness and antagonistic nature, and places someone right in it. There's a real desperation, but a despiration filled with this defiant energy, and I feel like he's really able to get across that prideful, desperate, defiant energy across in the way he sings these lines. Every song in this album has some element of being in a hostile cultural environment and how people react to this kind of situation, where a society has turned on someone for whatever reason. Here, the character faces an atmosphere that is naturally hostile, or that he thinks is, and reacts with defiance and hope.
Michael Myers Resplendent
Though at the end of the album, this song is very much Sax Rohmer #1's sister song thematically so I'm talking about it next. While Sax Rohmer #1 is filled with a defiant energy, this song takes the same theme and takes on a fatalistic acceptance. The energetic chords of the first song are replaced here with a somber piano . There's just a sense of defeat, there is no eventual victory in sight, none of that fervent, energetic hope that Sax Rohmer #1 owns and encapsulates.
The song references the end of Halloween 2, in which Michael Myers emerges from flaming wreckage and immediately falls over, defeated. He's no longer fighting. The song is told from a special effects point of view because, first, it provides really incredible imagery, but also shows a sort of preparation to walk through the flames. He knows it's coming and he's just setting himself up for it(I spent eight hours in my make-up chair/Waxed my chest and shaved off all my hair). That the album starts with defiance and ends with defeat is, I think, very powerful.
San Bernardino
A very powerful and emotionally touching story here, I think, in which an unwed couple gives a natural birth in a cheap motel off the highway. Yet another unexpected, unplanned, hastily enacted action in lives that, obviously, are ruled by these kinds of things. The album continues here with the theme of social/cultural rejection, people who find themselves in a situation that is culturally hostile. These are people who will be rejected, who will be scoffed at, who will be judged as promiscuous and irresponsible and rash for the rest of their lives. There's a sense of love that comes from deciding to go ahead with everything and take ownership of this, in spite of the pressure, or at least to find some beauty in that singular moment regardless of what the future brings. The tune here gives off a feeling of fond recollection, of light and joy in spite of the cheap and broken-down surroundings, which are retroactively given a sort of magical glow, an almost poetic beauty.
Heretic Pride
Here we, go, the titular song of the album, and arguably its thematic core. This song has a defiant energy not all that dissimilar from that presented in the opening track, but now warped, turned batshit insane and turned up to 11. The "heretic" is ostracized, like the other characters throughout, but he doesn't use it as a driving force like in the first track, or accept crippling defeat like in the last, nor does he find beauty or joy in his surroundings like the second track, nor does he feel shame. He owns it in a completely different way, he takes pride in his status as a heretic, as a hated individual, as someone that the community has decided is unworthy of life. He laughs at them, he laughs at their concepts of what is right, he laughs at the very concept that his life even matters. He defies everything and just takes on this really powerful, really energetic, almost infectious pride and zeal that has a contagious appeal. While other heretics and outcasts are at the edge of a flame and are menaced by it or find comfort despite the scorching heat, this song jumps right into the center of it and laughs its ass off, and that kind of raw power and denial is infectious and appealing and makes this one of my favorite songs.
Autoclave
Another real favorite of mine. I really like the metaphor here, with an autoclave being compared to a heart that just destroys anything that gets inside it. I mean, we've all known(or been) at least one person like that. Someone who just won't, or perhaps can't, let anything positive or real get inside of them, or maybe that's just the way they see it. Every extension of love or kindness feels false and filled with the potential for betrayal.
I love the way this is portrayed, there's a sort of matter-of-fact admission that this is the way it is. It's a warning, trying to push someone away, because the character here identifies themselves as unlovable and untouchable and unsafe for others. This character's ownership of their isolation creates an almost pathological distrust of others comingled with a hatred of the self, a mixture of shame and blame, distrust and longing, and a self-perpetuating loneliness that I can personally identify with in a very real way.
New Zion
This is the first song that I more respect than enjoy personally. It ties into something that I never really was a part of, as it links into a "Cultmania" sensation that I never personally experienced. Still, the cult imagery with this spin emotionally is fairly interesting to me, and I respect its place in the album's overall theme of cultural rejection.
So Desperate
This is a song that, on the first listen, I didn't care for all that much. My first reaction was that it felt "whiny", and this was a fairly shallow, surface-level judgement on my part. I first heard it as a song about being desperate, about being sad, with no real message to it. Thing this is that it's not really about the desperation itself, so much as it's about how desperation forces people together who really have no good reason to be together. Apply the album's themes to this song, and you have people who deal with their ostracism and rejection by grabbing on to anyone who will let them, and often that brings desperate people together for the sole reason that they're desperate, and it creates couples that never should exist in the first place. I personally love the way he's able to convey that weakness of spirit and the corresponding emotional hunger in the way his voice strains as he sings.
On the Craters on the Moon
Another one of those "More respect than enjoy" songs. It's about locking yourself away from others, isolating yourself, guarding against some unknown and ill-defined disaster, and finding yourself in a state where that dread is the only comfortable emotion you have.
Lovecraft in Brooklyn
(ignore the shitty video content, it's the only one available)
This is a lot harsher than the usual Mountain Goats sound, but I still enjoy it. The song obviously preys on H.P. Lovecraft's time in Brooklyn, where he lived for a few years. What not everyone knows is that he lived in Brooklyn during the height of immigration and was, to put it bluntly, a racist xenophobe. This song soaks itself in that fear and suspicion and gives itself a harsher, fearful, conspiratorial feeling that has a powerful allure. Like the character in Heretic Pride who snaps and reduces everything to a joke, this character elevates everything to a pressing, urgent threat. It's a powerful image and a stark atmosphere that really gets inside you.
Tianchi Lake
This song almost acts as an instantaneous 180 from the last song. It is as though the relatively harsh feeling of the last song strained them and let go, and this song relishes in lighter imagery. This song is about the Tianchi Lake Monster, and features some really pretty lyrics. The Tianchi Monster is alone, and ostracized, but it doesn't really care. It relishes in its beautiful surroundings, taken in by the lovely nature around it, its proximity to the heavens, and the beauty of the cosmos by the moonlight. It's a really peaceful, lovely song that counteracts Lovecraft in Brooklyn in every way despite fitting into the same thematic structure.
How to Embrace a Swamp Creature
A song about fucking someone you recently split ways with, in the sort of encounter that you'll say that you never meant to happen afterwards. You don't know why you showed up, things get tense, and you end up in bed. The imagery isn't particularly clear to me without the explanation that he gave at a show I went to, but once that context is given it makes a lot more sense to me now than it did on the first listen. "I try to tell you/Why I've Come/It's like I've got/Molasses on my toungue!". He doesn't know why he showed up. He's just there, and filled with a powerful mix of emotions that doesn't let him have a cohesive, understandable voice or even a known reason for doing..anything that he does. I think most of us have been there to some extent or another.
Marduk T-Shirt Mens Room Incident
Another song that deals with sex, directly. Specifically, anonymous sex in a Men's bathroom. This song resonates strongly with a sense of shame(And when I washed my hands/I ran the water hotter than I could stand; Face hidden from my view/I let myself imagine she was you, etc). The chorus line, (Weightless, Formless, Blameless, Nameless) shows an attempt to keep from becoming "material", from being "real", from seeing the other person as a "person". The song's title refers to an "incident", a thing that "happened", not a "person", and the song itself tries its hardest to remove "her" from the character's mind. The palpable shame of the act of anonymous bathroom-stall sex permeates the whole song and gives it a really creepy vibe, as the "weightless, formless, blameless, nameless" qualities are romanticized to try and keep away the shame.
Sept 15 1983
This one is, honestly, pretty simple. I feel like this song's place in the album is to use the story Prince Far I(Michael James Williams) to show how sometimes people who try to do good and exhibit real emotional honesty are often violently attacked by the world around them. The whole track takes on a feel that is closer to Reggae which, considering what it's a tribute to, really fits. It makes it a really nice track to go before Michael Meyers Resplendent, which is the final track which ends the album in acceptance of defeat.
I really love this album. It encompasses...every idea, really, about being a true outcast. It fits together really well to give off messages that can really reach a certain type of person emotionally.
Starts with a Secret Agent feel fitting for the show then OHMYGOD SO MUCH AUTOTUNE!
I give the whole album 10/10
Pieces by Red
I'm here again,
A thousand miles away from You.
A broken mess,
Just scattered pieces of who I am.
I tried so hard,
Thought I could do this on my own.
I've lost so much along the way.
...Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole.
I've come undone,
But You make sense of who I am
Like puzzle pieces in your hand,
Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole...
I tried so hard! So hard!
I tried so hard...
Then I see Your face.
I know I'm finally Yours.
I find everything I thought I lost before.
You call my name,
I come to You in pieces,
So You can make me whole...
So You can make me whole.
over 9000/10
An outstanding musical score from Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, the song is so full of emotions even if it is quite short. But when you watch the movie the music really adds on the the emotions going on in that specific scene.
That is one of my favourite parts of the movie.
Pretty clever how they managed to really get you into that scene, but also manage to get a laugh in as well with a running gag.
Haha, exactly.
But not to forget the emotions they put in to the characters faces, some of the best facial animations I have ever seen in a movie. No one in real life could show that much emotion in one face.
I got a really good chance to have a close listen to this on the drive home from a friend's place, and finally gave it the opportunity to sink in properly. I now really, really appreciate it. One of the best ways to describe it is 'grand'. It's a strong meld of several of the song's previous movements, but a very strong piece of music in itself, and a piece of melodic mastery, in a sense. Also, the piece features a very prominent sense of joy, but without sporting a cheesy 'happy vibe'. This displays a strong sense of songwriting skill on the band's part. The lyrics may contain too much of a blatant Christian message for some people's tastes, but, given my personal beliefs, this is no concern of mine (and, besides, they are well-written). Overall, it's a piece that I found quite profound and encouraging to listen to, whilst also being entertaining and enjoyable musically. A perfect way to conclude such a tremendous album.
I'm not seeing any ratings here, Mr. taumel.
10/10 - Out of all the songs in QOTSA's back catalog of b-sides and rarities this is easily the standout track with it's hypnotic guitar playing and just plain odd sound.
If you're more into numbers, you can look at this one.