Radiohead – The King of Limbs – Album Review

20 Feb

 

* Brief Intro *

I traversed the old and treacherous forest path with careful footing and a steadfast swagger. While other human souls did exist every now and then along the path in this preserve, none of them where tuned into the show, not that they were fly enough anyway. With my random assortment of color, complemented by the length of my hair and the aviators covering my eyes, I stumbled with precision on the haphazardly placed stepping planks. I also was the only one, I think, who was aware of the festivities. All around green party-animals were getting drunk off sunlight and dancing to the beat of the breeze. I would stop to socialize, but I was an important guest. Like a peacock feigning bliss, I took the turn off the main path and climbed my way up the mountain, god knows what assumptions would be made if anyone saw. As I entered the hall, familiar bark faces greeted me, and as I made my way up to the majestic giant oak which resided in the center I was greeted by his booming voice. “Finally!” a brief chuckle, “The witness has arrived!!! Now let’s turn this party into an epic!!!” bellowed the Tree King.

* End Brief Intro *

And I thought I was the only person who talked to trees. It seems like Radiohead has proven me wrong, with their latest album The King of Limbs. I guess I’m going to have to find something else which is alt (alternative).

The title of the album is named after a tree which is located somewhere in the Savernake Forest in England, and according to the internet is one of the oldest tree’s in Europe. My tree is more gangster though. But I guess all woods have their respective kings and queens, and since now its the cool thing to do *sigh* get acquainted with your local forest king/queen today! Magic will help.

The sign's gotta be legit.

Apparently the whole album has been put up free to listen by the band  HERE
So listen to it while you read. Aren’t they a bunch of nice guys?

Basically, this album is amazing, and not like listen to it a few times and you get into it amazing. By my second listen, I’m sitting here typing this and rocking the heck out. It’s everything you loved about their previous albums, but in the future.

What I mean by this is that Radiohead is using cutting-edge elements of dub-step and even trip-hop in their songs. A friend of mine pointed out on facebook that it seems very Flying-Lotus influenced. I completely agree and it makes sense considering how they are on the same label and Thom Yorke has been featured in a Fly-Lo song. And the dub-step makes sense since they are British.

The very first song on the album, Bloom, showcases the Fly-Lo influence perfectly. While it opens up with some traditional Radiohead sounding synths, it quickly introduces a beat that normally would make no sense, but because of the way it is looped fits very well. Thom Yorke’s vocals then finish the song, with beautiful layering and harmonics, a trend that will continue throughout. A very experimental first song which pays off heavily.

The next song, Morning Mr. Magpie, goes in the completely opposite direction with a most basic dub-step beat, which is only truly revealed half-way through. At this time, the band chooses to implement what I like to call a chill-down (As opposed to a Hardcore Breakdown). The beat continues, while most of the other instruments cease playing, resulting in a sort of dreamlike sequence or bridge. This is very masterfully done, and, with a name like Morning Mr. Magpie, I’m pretty sure this song also is alluding to the British psychedelic era.

That is until you listen to the next song, Little by Little. The song sounds like something that was made in the 60’s and ripped entirely. The singing is actually the only thing that exposes the song’s true time period. It’s a modern day take on a 60’s style, absolutely proper experimentation on Radiohead’s part.

I don’t know the name Feral, or the ruthless trip-hop beat, but I’m pretty sure that this next song is my favorite off the album. This song captures perfectly that sort of mystic and eerie vibe which I have come to absolutely love. Something between the non-existent vocals, the unrelenting drums, and that one short synth riff that plays only a total of three times, absolutely sells me. Oh, and when it ends with that bass riff, even if but momentarily, just forget it. I’m going to write a whole post one day about the merits of outros, regardless the length.

The next song Lotus Flower, I personally believe is a reference to Fly-Lo. What I believe stands out in this song, while hard to notice since they are not the focal points, are the guitar and the background vocals. I enjoy the small things in music. Another very good song by all standards. Oh, and there’s this…

I cannot stress enough how much those dance moves speak to me. They are awe-inspiring.

The next two songs Codex and Give up the Ghost I refuse to review, the reason being that I have always been traditionally biased against Radiohead’s slower pieces. I have nothing against the quality of the music, it’s just my own personal preferences don’t allow for a sincere positive review. Basically they bore me to death and tread towards depressing. The only redeeming part in my book is the bird noises transition between the two songs. But don’t let me sour them for you; I’ve heard from a few online sources that people actually consider the last three songs to be the best off the album, so it honestly depends on your tastes.

And in that case… moving on to the last song Separator, the drum & bass line seem promising off the bat. The vocal’s teeter on falling into the same category as the previous two songs, but once the guitar comes in I’m thoroughly pleased to say that this song is an amazing, chill, vibe-out tune. A pretty synth kicks in and the album ends on a very light, mysterious, and optimistic note.

One word: Professional.

I said earlier, but just to re-iterate, the album is amazing.

If I had to scale it I would give it a 6.84/7.25

This has been my first ever song-by-song review of an entire album. The rating scale is here to stay and I might explain it at some point in the future, but right now I need to stop listening to this album on repeat before I kill it for myself.

Happy listening! And don’t forget to talk to trees now that it’s mainstream… conformists.

&D

P.S. Apparently there is crazy amounts of conspiracy that this is only half the album and that the psychical LPs have two records in them. I mean, the last line of the last song is “If you think this is over, you’re wrong”. This post might have a part two… just saying.

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Vote Sheepdogs – Arizona Benefit Concert – Music’s Downwards Spiral

17 Feb

Sheepdogs Appear in Rolling Stone Contest
Rolling Stone magazine has posted an ultimate music contest for selected unsigned bands. The magazine will pin the musicians against each-other in a tournament for the prize of being featured on the cover of the magazine. Awesome, right? And guess who is in the competition? The Sheepdogs. I featured the Sheepdogs a while back and you can see the feature by clicking on their name.

On March 16, after the votes narrow 16 bands to eight, will be invited into a studio with a major producer before the next round of cuts. When the Rolling Stone are down to two bands, the bands will battle at Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Vote for the Sheepdogs.

Follow this link and listen to some Sheepdogs:

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Alice Cooper will be joined by Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Graham Nash and other artists, at a concert in Tuscon, Arizona, to benefit a charity set up to after the Jan. 8 shooting.

Mark Kelly, the husband of wounded representative Gabrielle Giffords, plans to speak at the event.

The eleemosynary concert will raise money for the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding, a charity set up by Ron Barber, a wounded Giffords aide.

The event will be held in the Tucson Convention Center and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.

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A Scary Chart

I pulled this chart from Business Insider’s Chart of the Day. They pulled it from another source so make sure to check it out. The chart paints a pessimistic picture of Global Music. Digital music sales are significantly down and the future looks grim. It’s a provocative chart.

Ari Hest: The Definition of Hard Working

16 Feb

Ari Hest knows the true meaning of hard work. After achieving many artist’s ultimate goal of releasing an album on a major label (The Break-In in 2007 on Columbia Records) he dropped Columbia and decided to gain more control over his art. This fearless act allowed him the freedom to release unadulterated music. And, in 2008, he embarked on the ambitious 52 project, where he recorded one song every Monday of the year and, at the end of the year, had fans vote for the favorite 12 songs for his 2009 album Twelve Mondays.

Understand something. Hest is an old-fashioned folk artist whose sultry baritone echoes. His lyrics are cogent and interesting, spanning from political commentaries to original love pieces, and he has expanded his guitar-wielding repertoire to include piano and strings. I tell you this because his 52-song salute was not just slouchy, pablum recordings. Each was fresh and original. So, what happens when you give a prolific performer like Ari Hest some time to actually work on a full-length album? Well, this!

Sunset over Hope Street is Hest’s first release in four years. It is a wide sampling of Hest’s fine content. As one can gather from the title, the album is not an ode to optimism, but Hest’s heartfelt songs do not overrun listener’s with clichéd pessimism. The album is realistic and candid, two concepts that Hest deals with in his music.

“Business in America” provides realistic commentary on how America often forgets about the poor. Hest croons, “It isn’t what you are it is what you got. Pay no attention to the dying man, if he ain’t got cash we won’t lend a hand.” The beat is constant and the picked guitar leads the lyric. It is catchy and informative.

“How Would I Know” adds Hest’s personal touch. He opens up about uncertainty about a relationship and what will happen in the future. It is somber and melancholic and held together by excellent singing and melody.

Hest’s album is most certainly worth a listen. It’s diversity is its strength and Hest continues to expand his music and lyrics.

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Buffalo Springfield Listens to The Music Court (ME)

14 Feb

Buffalo Springfield Will…might…tour

Awesome Picture of Buffalo Springfield

One thing I love about doing this blog is going back and reading old posts. Today, when I read the news that Buffalo Springfield may actually be touring, I remembered that I wrote something about this some months ago. I have a terrible memory. This news just sparked my memory. I searched the blog for Buffalo Springfield and, wouldn’t you know it, back on Sept. 14, I wrote about how Buffalo Springfield was reuniting for Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California. It was a two-night gig for original members of the band. It went well. Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay sounded young and energetic (as I have heard).

I wrote:

Will they listen to me and tour after the benefit?

“Whether anything happens after this, I certainly don’t know. Generally speaking, it’s Neil that gets these things set up and happening. We’re not really saying ‘Hey New York and Chicago and Miami and Denver, we’re coming to your city.”

Well, it is not a no.

The quotes in that section are from Furay. On Sept. 14, I was not particularly happy at the Jets for losing their opener against the Ravens. I still am disgusted at their loss to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. So, as I wrote there, news of Buffalo Springfield’s reunion should make everyone happy. Today I have news that will really have you saying hooray for our side.

David Crosby, longtime friend of the band and member of Crosby Stills & Nash, has confirmed that the band will hit the road this Fall, joining forces on tour for the first time since their 1968 break up. This has not been fully confirmed yet, but I do have to say Crosby’s word is probably solid. Crosby goes on to say that he wishes his old band, The Byrds, would tour with Buffalo Springfield, but folk-singer (and former Byrds’ member) Roger McGuinn is having none of it. So, let me work my Music Court charm one more time and start boiling the cauldron again.

Boy, I really hope The Byrds join Buffalo Springfield in the Fall. Now this must happen supposing the Jets continue to make me miserable…which is likely.

I may have some more links for you today. Keep posted.

Mice Parade – Tales of Las Negras

12 Feb



I walked down a long, wide corridor. I knew that it stretched down infinitely, but I walked down it anyway because it was interesting. Every now and then there would be a window. I wouldn’t look out it; I would just knew that it was there. The corridor seemed to twist, yet from my perspective it was perfectly straight. It was also inhabited by familiar faces standing at random places not moving at all. As I walked farther, holes began appearing in the ground. I paid attention to these until I found the one. It was a staircase leading down to a pulsating purple portal of sorts. As I walked through I just saw just white, yet I heard the most amazing music I have ever heard. The drum beat rocked my soul, imbibing in me the strength to live eight lives, the synthesizer capturing the mystery of my dream perfectly.

The first time I heard this song I was woken up to it by my iHome sometime back in high-school. Let me just say that I stayed in bed until the song finished, and continued the day with a sort of unnatural energy and an air of bliss.

This song scales pretty highly on my personal psychedelia scale for that same reason. Everyone has their own personal psychedelia scale, the reason simply that everyone has had different experiences throughout their lives, and different memories act in their own unique ways. Ever hear a song from your childhood which you haven’t heard in a while and upon doing so you relive long-lost memories and forgotten feelings from ages past? That is the most simple of psychedelic experiences and it can happen with any song, psychedelic or not, and can be negative or positive.

Something as terrible as Justin Bieber could even have this effect on someone if they were listening to it at a significant point in their lives. Granted a Justin Bieber flash-back would most likely be terrifying, I’m warning all young girls to limit their exposure to it before their minds make irreversible connections and we hear on the news that someone got murdered while this song was playing. I ain’t kidding either. That would be a terrifying way to go out. “Baaaby Baaby Baby Ohhh, Baaaby Baaby Baby Nooo…. I thought you’d always be mine” and some crazy woman with a knife stabs you.

The future’s gonna be a scary place.

lol

How’d we get here? Let’s get back to the car now and continue this post.

And let me play you the actual song so that you completely forget what happened back there in those woods.

Whenever I hear The Tales of Las Negras I still can feel that one morning in all of its tranquility and happiness.

If you asked almost anyone what genre of music Mice Parade was, I doubt that anyone would give you the answer ‘psychedelic’. Most likely you would get indie and possibly shoegaze. I personally would go further and call it good music, but even I wouldn’t say its psychedelic per say. It doesn’t have the weirdness that we all come to expect from psychedelia.

Nonetheless, I feel like anyone could appreciate this song. The Tales of Las Negras opens in one of the dreamiest ways possible. The drummer is really good and makes one of the coolest beats ever in this song. The synth/keyboard in the background creates that sort of mysterious yet uplifting sound you would expect in the turning point of some sort of moody indie film.

The singing is relaxed and gentle, sort of like a lullaby about some sort of fairytale which you know isn’t real but you listen anyway because it intrigues you. It serves to distract you while the song ever so slowly and continuously builds and gathers strength. By the end the song is like a refreshing spring breeze that would prepare you for the day ahead. And before you know it stops playing and you are left planning a successful day for yourself, or another listen, and definitely not murder.

This song would however make for an excellent song to play during the love fueled murder scene of some moody indie film… and only if it turns out that the act based on some sort of false pretense. And then it all turns out to be a dream.

lol

Any directors out there?

This beautiful song is off of Mice Parade’s self titled album Mice Parade.

&)

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