Archive | March, 2011

Ratatat (early music)

13 Mar

No trippy nonsense today. I’m preparing to release my own music sometime next week and therefore am pooling my creative mental energy. What kind of music it will be considered I have no idea. And considering how I listen to such a vast array of different music, hopefully it will make no sense. I am hoping to invent a new genre – electronic poetry. Wish me luck.

Among the artists that influenced me the most are Dungen, Flying Lotus, and Animal Collective. But one band I feel stands out in particular given the type of music I tend to make. This band spoke to me when I was an angst addled teenager and the type of music just made so much sense.

The band is named Ratatat, like the sound that bullets make when they bounce off things… It’s a two-man group from Brooklyn which makes very chill electronic and heavily processed guitar sounds.

Today I’m gonna be showing you some of their less popular and older, but nonetheless chill, songs. Their music is almost genre-less to be honest. But as they were starting out they found a very unique niche. They were very good at making hip-hop beats. Actually one of their first albums was simply entitled “9 beats”, and no too long after it was remixed to feature various famous rap artists (such as Jay-Z and the notorious B.I.G.) rapping over it. This attracted people who listened to rap, but their fame grew a lot more swiftly on the indie scene as a result of their first two LP’s.

The first, being self-titled, included one single. The song above, while not the single, I feel like is a exceptional song. Named Lapland , it starts out with a slow instrumental drive, and then a quick sample of a gentlemen saying “you know what?” drops the song into a intense beat which sets the foundation for vibaciousness. Throughout the piece, synths and guitars are brought in and out, but the beat remains the same. That is what most of their music does. In my opinion you either like the beat or don’t.

The second album, named Classics was very similar and included three singles (progress). It includes the song above, Nostrand, which is an exalting piece. Most of the beginning is a slow, bass driven drive. The guitar enters about a minute in and chills you out with a super smooth riff. But what it’s actually doing is preparing you for utter bliss that is the drop at about 1:50. A shout, some clapping, and something which could be a guitar, or a synthesizer, or pure glory, does it job cheering up even the most depressing of situations. Truly great.

Most of their is this awesome. I’m showing you none of the singles because when hopefully you decide to give this band a listen on your own, the singles is what you will most likely hear first anyway. And then these other songs might go unheard.

A lot of their music is used in popular media, namely movies, commercials, and television series, so you actually may have heard some of it before. It definitely has to do with the simple, yet calm nature of their music and the lack of words. I almost consider it modern day elevator music, but obviously exponentially better. If they played this in elevators people would start camping out in them and I assume that wouldn’t be safe.

But let’s get back to the lack of words notion. As a kid and to this day the very idea of rap abhors me to my very existence. I could never understand what the rappers where trying to say and the only words I heard were things like “guns, titties, and diamonds” which would make me want to hit the nearest wannabe gangster in the face with a flail.

People would then use the excuse that it’s “funny”. No, it’s not funny.  These people aren’t being serious, their acting. Funny is a comedian, or better yet youtube videos. This on the other hand is the media industry fucking with your child-like minds. They’re telling you that excessive drinking, drugs, lavish parties, and such are ok because they want you to fail at life. Or at least be more depressed as an adult. It’s 60’s psychedelia gone haywire. It’s a form of mind-control and it’s working.

…Sorry tangent. Nonetheless I spent my teenage years not listening to rap, and then one day I heard Ratatat. Hip-hip beats… but without the rap! My mind was blown, as I assume many other’s were because I am pretty sure that this band is responsible for the Trip-Hop movement to which artists like Flying Lotus now belong to.

I honestly would have no problem with rap, IF IT MADE SENSE AND WAS INTELLIGIBLE! (cough electronic poetry lol) And besides, trust me, I know about lyrics that don’t make sense – I’ve listened to the Mars Volta since I was like 15. But that’s for another time.

&)

-oko

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March Madness Music – 16-1 Best Album of 1967

12 Mar

Selection Sunday is this Sunday and the college basketball March Madness tournament begins next week. The month of bracket crunching is upon us. I enjoy filling out brackets so much that I decided the Music Court was going to embark on a similar competition. 1967 was arguably the greatest year for album releases ever. It was the Summer of Love and bands like the Beatles and the Doors were releasing exciting and original material. That material flew off shelves at record stores and now finds its way onto the Music Court.

What is the best album that was released in 1967. We will pin album against album in this 16 album tournament. Yes, the best albums of 1967 will be going up against each other in this multi-week tournament. Here is how it is going to work.

I have ranked 16 albums from 1 (meaning the best) to 16 (meaning the 16th best on our list). Yes, 1-16 will have tremendous albums and your favorite may not be included. Many albums were released in 1967 and it is very hard to choose the best (1-16) but I am trying. There is no genre discrimination. If I feel that the album was the best, it will be on our list.

The tournament will see four match-ups in the form of polls two days a week. So, today, below, you see the one seed vs. the sixteen seed. It is a little taste of the tourny. Tomorrow we will will do three more match-ups. You vote for your favorite. You have until the end of the first round (March 21) to vote. After the first round I will tally the votes and we will move onto the elite eight and then the final four and then the finals. Here are the rough dates of when everything will be posted.

March 13 (Tomorrow: 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13

March 16: 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9

March 21: Elite Eight (First two matches)

March 25: Elite Eight (Last two matches) Voting for Elite Eight ends April 1

April 1: Final Four – Voting for Final Four ends April 9

April 9: Finals – Voting ends April 15 and winner is crowned.

REMEMBER: THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU ALL VOTE!!!

Let's Begin!

#1 Seed: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles  VS   #16 seed: Absolutely Free by The Mothers of Invention

 

 

 

 

 

 

The favorite of the tournament has to be perhaps the greatest Beatles album of all time. It goes up against Frank Zappa and one of his best albums in Absolutely Free. Can Zappa pull off a huge upset, or will the Beatles fly on to the next round? We will see!

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Last Night on Earth – Happy Birthday Dean

10 Mar

Noah and the Whale Release New Album

Noah and the Whale’s pervasive optimism was challenged with their last album The First Days of Spring. But, with the recently released Last Night on Earth, the band takes their album title seriously and performs an exciting ode to optimism. If it was my last night on Earth I’d party it up too. In some ways, the band fell into the trap of the sophomore album slump, but this third release reveals 11 tracks, some upbeat and catchy and some more low-key but still positive. Every release, creative in its own right.

Adrian from music-news.com calls it, “a very uplifting, competent album from an act that will ride the wave of nu-folk and potential top it.” I like that title. Nu-folk. That is what bands like Noah and the Whale and Mumford and Sons play. Modern folk tinged with old inspiration and new Indie modernity.

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A Dead Man’s Curve Happy B-day

From nu-folk to surf pioneers. Dean, of the surf music pioneers Jan and Dean, is 71 today and we celebrate by looking back at the surf genre that they mastered. Surf music follows a similar construction. The songs have high-pitched simple chord structures and vocal harmonies. It is based off of the example that the Beach Boys set.

Jan and Dean mastered their vocal harmonies and saw success because of it. In 1964 they released “Dead Man’s Curve” which neatly fit into the surf pop teenage tragedy genre that was soaring at the time. For some reason, listeners wanted to hear about teenagers meeting an unfortunate end because of youthful stupidities, like drag racing around dead man’s curve. The Shangri-La’s had three examples of tragic songs. Perhaps the best is Wayne Cochran & the C.C. Riders’ “Last Kiss” from 1962, but Jan and Dean’s drag race is up there. Here it is:

Things to Never Do: Worst Album Titles

9 Mar

Album titles are tricky. Rarely are musicians able to both create landmark music and exceptional album titles. There are not many examples. Dark Side of the Moon is both a remarkable display of music and a tremendous album title.

So, what makes Dark Side of the Moon a good album title? Better yet, what makes album titles terrible?

Dark Side of the Moon holds a special quality in that it is referenced in the music itself, impeccably (may I add). But, taking only the album title into account, let’s analyze why it works. First, it is short and to the point. Often album titles drag on, but, in order to be effective, titles need to be catchy. Catchy generally means short and easy to remember. Why do you think the best rhythms are always the most simple?

Album titles cannot be overly pretentious either. For example, any album title that makes substantial claims like “this music is awesome” tells the listener that the music is going to be arrogant and condescending. It also will probably suck. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, don’t be an idiot and misspell words. Seriously, do not!

Also, don’t you just hate album covers that are extremely nebulous and confusing? Seriously, who wants to be confused by the album title. It doesn’t make me want to buy an album. Think of some other great album titles. The White Album, Nevermind, American Beauty. Simple and straight forward. I like that. But, also, album titles that are just dumbed down like Madonna’s Music are terrible. Seriously, we know it’s music because it’s a freaking album.

Here are five album titles I dislike strongly.

1.) When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king
What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight
And he’ll win the whole thing ‘fore he enters the ring
There’s no body to batter when your mind is your might
So when you go solo, you hold your own hand
And remember that depth is the greatest of heights
And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land
And if you fall it won’t matter, cause you’ll know that you’re right By, Fiona Apple

Yeah, I’m serious. This is the full album title. It is one of the longest album titles of all time. Chumbawamba has an 865-character album. Here is my issue with long album titles. I do not want to disparage Apple’s poetry, but it does not belong as the album’s title. Stick it in the liner notes as an addition. This is the opposite of a short, catchy album title. I wonder if anyone has memorized the full album title. Do those people refer to the album in full (as opposed to simply When The Pawn, the fragmented used title). Oh, did you hear the new Fiona Apple album. When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king… The abridged version is like Pi. Easier just to cut it to 3.14.

2.) The Ego Has Landed by, Robbie Williams

Robbie didn’t listen to me. This is beyond pretentious. He just flat out says that his ego has landed. Really?

3.) Julie’s Sixteenth Birthday by, John Bult

This takes the cake for two categories (like the b-day reference). The album cover is just weird, pedophilia-esque. This must have been a really bad birthday, like criminally bad. The album title is also terrible. Julie’s Sixteenth Birthday. How can that translate into good music? We are put in a place where we do not want to be, Julie’s horrible birthday party.

4.) The M-Pire Shrikez Back by Originoo Gunn Clappaz

Well, the band name is spelled wrong, so I guess a misspelled title was sort of inevitable. But, really? I am not too worried with the M-Pire part. Hell, that is some creative input. But, shrikez. That’s not English, it’s gibberish. I don’t mind one misspelling, but a terrible one that makes no sense is inexcusable.

5.) Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit

This album sold 1.05 million copies in its first week. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. This has to be the worst album title ever. It does everything wrong. It is not catchy, it’s stupid and it completely turns you off to everything. It is just gross. Why are we talking about hot dog flavored water. We should never talk about that. And look at the little people on the album cover. They are bathing in hot dogs. Why? This is the quintessential example of the confusing album title. What the hell does this mean? Not much, obviously. I mean it is Limp Bizkit

“You’re Gonna Miss Me” by 13th Floor Elevators – Early Psychedelic Garage Rock

8 Mar

Okocim issued a challenge in his last post. He posed the broad question, what is the 60’s psychedelic music? As a single question, I believe it is impossible to answer. The genre expanded into many sub-sections and there is not one sole example of 60’s psychedelic music that I can give to him and say this is your answer. The sub-sections make 60’s psychedelic music unique. Because, in itself, psychedelic cannot be a genre. Psychedelic becomes a genre when it pairs with a type of music (like rock or pop). Therefore, the music is always perpetuating more sub genres because in order to survive it needs to. Following my thinking?

This is why I find psychedelic music (specifically of the 60s variety) to be so intriguing. Psychedelic, in itself, can be esoteric and abstruse. In order to make rock or pop psychedelic, a musician needs to add an oddness to the melodic structure, thereby expanding the listeners mind. Yes, a lot has to do with drugs, but a perfectly sober listener (like myself) can get just as much out of it. The music itself is a drug.

I could not turn down Okocim’s challenge though. I proposed in my comment to him a new sub-section of “Journey To The Center of the Mind” called “The 60’s Psychedelic Experiment.” Damn, this post already sounds like “Inception,” a section inside a genre inside a section. That is what psychedelic music is, in a way. It delves deep into music’s structure, like a genetic mutation, and morphs it into something different (either slightly or tremendously).

I am going to answer Okocim’s question of what is 60’s psychedelic music by exploring different songs by different artists over the course of several weeks, answering the question of what makes it “psychedelic” and what specific genre it finds itself swimming in. We begin with one of the aboriginal psychedelic bands, hailing from Texas (starting in 1965), the 13th Floor Elevators.

At the beginning of the psychedelic rock revolution, the psychedelic garage rock component was strong. Garage rock is generally raw and easily tourable. It needs no special studio effects and is solid the way it is. This made it an easy for psychedelic music to manipulate. It was not the first of its kind, this still being reserved for psychedelic folk that came on the scene 1-2 years earlier. But, it is the first example of psychedelic rock. The Cream and the Beatles would explore psychedelic attributes in their music at around the same time, but of the limited examples of 1965-66 psychedelic music, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” the 13th Floor Elevators 1966 single, is the best example of early psychedelic garage rock (a sub-section of a sub-section).

Now when I say garage rock, I am talking about the genre that formed in the late 50s, but really blossomed in 1963. Think of “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen. It is that ol’fashioned rock. That’s why many consider garage rock to be the distant ancestor of punk, because of its chordal simplicity.

13th Floor Elevators came on the scene two years after garage rock’s blossoming and they transformed the genre with a psychedelic component.

The question posed by Okocim is basically what makes this (and any other song during the time period) 60’s psychedelic and how did it help form the term “60’s psychedelic music” which is just way to large to ever conquer.

Well, the first four chords sounds like a variation of the Yardbirds “For Your Love” which was released a year earlier. The guitar is amplified with a little reverb and a slight echo. Their bluesy sound is original. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top cites the guitar work as inspirational.

At around 6 seconds, you hear this muffled noise in the background of Roky Erickson and Stacy Sutherland Gibson guitars. That is an electric jug of Tommy Hall. Hall created vocalized sound with the jug that gave each song an underground stutter. This is paired with Erickson’s powerful voice (with bluesy screams).

Hall also inspired band members to record and perform music while on LSD, which was unique during the time.

The best psychedelic rock example occurs at the breakdown at 1:30. Listen to the combination of time. The electric jug competes with the drums while the voices sing “I’m Not Coming Home.” This takes in the psychedelic effect. The jug combined with the reverbed guitars do this. It is garage psychedelic because it is simple, but, it is different from typical garage rock examples because it adds different elements that make the music more acid-inspired and art-based.

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