Colour Coded Album Reviews

Roygbiv · 05-30-2009, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder

Thanks for the review. I've had Marquee Moon for about 3-4 years and play it on occasion, each time it grows on me. The last time, I got curious about their other work, and obviously Adventure is the next step. Still haven't gotten it though.

adventure is definitely a grower. it just takes much longer than marquee moon to grow on you.

Roygbiv · 06-03-2009, 11:28 AM

ORANGE
MERCATOR PROJECTED EAST OF EDEN

I didn’t enjoy Mercator Projected. First: it’s an hour long, and second: it’s a lackluster progressive album. Now don’t get me wrong, I love progressive rock, but like I stated in my review of Yes’s Close To The Edge, the word “progressive” shouldn’t mean innaccessible - enjoyable to only bearded fellows, and it certainly shouldn’t mean overlong. But that’s exactly what Mercator Projected is.

Opening number “Northern Hemisphere” is probably the most accessible song on the LP. The familiar hook and rhythm and the reverby vocals make it stand out, but there’s no other song that sounds like it. The rest of the album is, in fact, very different from Northern Hemisphere, becoming less funky and more folky, at times more jazzy, and certainly psychedelic. Now you may be thinking, “The album sounds like it’s too disjointed to be progressive,” to which you would be right in one aspect: it’s an especially disjointed album. Thing is, it’s also a very moody album, so it doesn’t necessarily matter that track two sounds nothing like track one, and so on, if they all feel the same. However, when all is said and done, Mercator Projected is more Rock than Prog Rock.

Listen to Mercator Projected if you’re a diehard prog fan, but if you’re just starting out, or want to know what all the fuss is a about, you could do much, much better.

4.9

Fruitonica · 06-04-2009, 03:26 AM

Is it really all that inaccessible for prog? I've cooled on it a little and definitely agree that it's too long, but I feel that even if the instrumentation is quite eclectic, most of the melodies are quite catchy in their own way.

Roygbiv · 06-04-2009, 06:21 AM

I was thinking the same, but compared to other prog efforts it really doesn't do very well. It just didn't hold my attention, that's all.

Roygbiv · 06-04-2009, 10:14 AM

YELLOW
EMPEROR TOMATO KETCHUP STEREOLAB

Stereolab is just one of those bands: good luck finding all their albums, but damn if you do. Emperor Tomato Ketchup isn’t a specially difficult album to find, however, and that’s a fantastic thing. Why? It’s the best in their discography thus far, and that’s due in no small part to Jim O’ Rourke’s (Wilco, Sonic Youth) and John McEntire’s (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake) involvement. Varied, dense, eclectic - ETK is Stereolab’s most accessible and worthwhile album.

Chemical Chords challenges my thesis. Though not their most worthwhile album, their 2008 effort is bold enough to be accessible, but ETK is still the best place to start. The album opens with 7 minute funk/krautrock/electronica epic Metronomic Underground. Though 7 minutes doesn’t necessarily embody accessibility, consider the aforementioned sounds. Couple the repeating rhythms with repeating vocal phrases and you’ve got a song with so much atmosphere you can almost picture the titular Metronomic Underground, wherever that is. From there, the album jumps all over the place, incorporating and coupling so many disparate genres it’s almost overwhelming. You’ll go from French pop to Post-Rock, Krautrock, Punk - you name it. And it’s always engrossing. There’s definitely filler (Monstre Sacre is frustrating to listen to), but there’s too much quality throughout to miss.

Stereolab may be one of those bands, but Emperor Tomato Ketchup is definitely one of those albums: Underground enough for you to make it your own, but great enough to become a favourite. Don’t miss it.

9.6

simplephysics · 06-04-2009, 10:22 AM

This is one of the few Stereolab albums I've aquired, and I enjoy it thoroughly. I hold both Jim O’ Rourke's and John McEntire's projects in high regard so I can't really challenge you on the fact that they helped make ETK is a complete knockout.

Roygbiv · 06-06-2009, 08:16 AM

GREEN
IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL

If you’re a fan of independent music you’ve already heard everything you ever needed to hear about this album: that it’s the most important independent album of all time, that it’s a piece of ****, that it’s absolutely revolutionary, unlistenable, a waste of time - a revelation. Yes, criticism of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea can go from ridiculous hate to even more ridiculous praise - a cluster**** of opinions. Forget all of that and think back to 1998 when the album was first released and you were lucky if you had ever heard of the band, or even gave a damn. Critics didn’t get it, people were likewise confused, and hipsterdom was not yet an epidemic. Picture yourself in a key moment in your life when you were upset, ecstatic, depressed, confused, and came home after buying the album because the store clerk said it was a great album to listen to. You unwrap the CD, pop it in your CD player that sometimes skipped and sometimes didn’t, and listen to the album from beginning to end because the first song is so catchy, the second song is so frighteningly brave, and everything after that is so unavoidably strange.

And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster****. The lyrics go from making absolutely no sense, to psychedelic, to heartwrenchingly direct. It’s a web of confusion and passion that bounces the album back and forth from relateable to transcendental, or, in what’s most people’s case, from **** to ****tier. The reason there are, I’m guessing, five detractors for every fan is because most people listen to the album after being raved at that it was all the great things a human being needs. Honestly, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is whatever you want it to be. It could be the most revolutionary album you’ve ever listened to or it could be a great pile of cow dung.

So I won’t call it the greatest album of all time. I won’t even call it the worst. I’ll simply give it a perfect rating because, personally, it’s one of the deepest albums I’ve listened to.

10

Son of JayJamJah · 06-08-2009, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roygbiv

GREEN
IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL

If you’re a fan of independent music you’ve already heard everything you ever needed to hear about this album: that it’s the most important independent album of all time, that it’s a piece of ****, that it’s absolutely revolutionary, unlistenable, a waste of time - a revelation. Yes, criticism of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea can go from ridiculous hate to even more ridiculous praise - a cluster**** of opinions. Forget all of that and think back to 1998 when the album was first released and you were lucky if you had ever heard of the band, or even gave a damn. Critics didn’t get it, people were likewise confused, and hipsterdom was not yet an epidemic. Picture yourself in a key moment in your life when you were upset, ecstatic, depressed, confused, and came home after buying the album because the store clerk said it was a great album to listen to. You unwrap the CD, pop it in your CD player that sometimes skipped and sometimes didn’t, and listen to the album from beginning to end because the first song is so catchy, the second song is so frighteningly brave, and everything after that is so unavoidably strange.

And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster****. The lyrics go from making absolutely no sense, to psychedelic, to heartwrenchingly direct. It’s a web of confusion and passion that bounces the album back and forth from relateable to transcendental, or, in what’s most people’s case, from **** to ****tier. The reason there are, I’m guessing, five detractors for every fan is because most people listen to the album after being raved at that it was all the great things a human being needs. Honestly, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is whatever you want it to be. It could be the most revolutionary album you’ve ever listened to or it could be a great pile of cow dung.

So I won’t call it the greatest album of all time. I won’t even call it the worst. I’ll simply give it a perfect rating because, personally, it’s one of the deepest albums I’ve listened to.

10

As much as any album I've scene it's reputation influences it's place in peoples minds both good and bad.

Gone Sugaring · 06-08-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roygbiv

And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster****.

Nice review and I completely agree with the quote above.

Astronomer · 06-22-2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roygbiv

GREEN
IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL

If you’re a fan of independent music you’ve already heard everything you ever needed to hear about this album: that it’s the most important independent album of all time, that it’s a piece of ****, that it’s absolutely revolutionary, unlistenable, a waste of time - a revelation. Yes, criticism of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea can go from ridiculous hate to even more ridiculous praise - a cluster**** of opinions. Forget all of that and think back to 1998 when the album was first released and you were lucky if you had ever heard of the band, or even gave a damn. Critics didn’t get it, people were likewise confused, and hipsterdom was not yet an epidemic. Picture yourself in a key moment in your life when you were upset, ecstatic, depressed, confused, and came home after buying the album because the store clerk said it was a great album to listen to. You unwrap the CD, pop it in your CD player that sometimes skipped and sometimes didn’t, and listen to the album from beginning to end because the first song is so catchy, the second song is so frighteningly brave, and everything after that is so unavoidably strange.

And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster****. The lyrics go from making absolutely no sense, to psychedelic, to heartwrenchingly direct. It’s a web of confusion and passion that bounces the album back and forth from relateable to transcendental, or, in what’s most people’s case, from **** to ****tier. The reason there are, I’m guessing, five detractors for every fan is because most people listen to the album after being raved at that it was all the great things a human being needs. Honestly, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is whatever you want it to be. It could be the most revolutionary album you’ve ever listened to or it could be a great pile of cow dung.

So I won’t call it the greatest album of all time. I won’t even call it the worst. I’ll simply give it a perfect rating because, personally, it’s one of the deepest albums I’ve listened to.

10

I just want to say I love this review. So often on this forum albums get called a whole plethora of radical things and it sometimes taints your opinion of it when you listen to it. I took this album as it was as well. I don't know if I'd give it a 10, but I do love it. I think it's a really honest album.

06-03-2009, 11:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Roygbiv marquee moon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 759	ORANGE MERCATOR PROJECTED EAST OF EDEN I didn’t enjoy Mercator Projected. First: it’s an hour long, and second: it’s a lackluster progressive album. Now don’t get me wrong, I love progressive rock, but like I stated in my review of Yes’s Close To The Edge, the word “progressive” shouldn’t mean innaccessible - enjoyable to only bearded fellows, and it certainly shouldn’t mean overlong. But that’s exactly what Mercator Projected is. Opening number “Northern Hemisphere” is probably the most accessible song on the LP. The familiar hook and rhythm and the reverby vocals make it stand out, but there’s no other song that sounds like it. The rest of the album is, in fact, very different from Northern Hemisphere, becoming less funky and more folky, at times more jazzy, and certainly psychedelic. Now you may be thinking, “The album sounds like it’s too disjointed to be progressive,” to which you would be right in one aspect: it’s an especially disjointed album. Thing is, it’s also a very moody album, so it doesn’t necessarily matter that track two sounds nothing like track one, and so on, if they all feel the same. However, when all is said and done, Mercator Projected is more Rock than Prog Rock. Listen to Mercator Projected if you’re a diehard prog fan, but if you’re just starting out, or want to know what all the fuss is a about, you could do much, much better. 4.9 __________________ Roygbiv's Review Revue LATEST REVIEW SILENT SHOUT BY THE KNIFE

06-04-2009, 06:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
Roygbiv marquee moon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 759	I was thinking the same, but compared to other prog efforts it really doesn't do very well. It just didn't hold my attention, that's all. __________________ Roygbiv's Review Revue LATEST REVIEW SILENT SHOUT BY THE KNIFE

06-04-2009, 10:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
Roygbiv marquee moon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 759	YELLOW EMPEROR TOMATO KETCHUP STEREOLAB Stereolab is just one of those bands: good luck finding all their albums, but damn if you do. Emperor Tomato Ketchup isn’t a specially difficult album to find, however, and that’s a fantastic thing. Why? It’s the best in their discography thus far, and that’s due in no small part to Jim O’ Rourke’s (Wilco, Sonic Youth) and John McEntire’s (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake) involvement. Varied, dense, eclectic - ETK is Stereolab’s most accessible and worthwhile album. Chemical Chords challenges my thesis. Though not their most worthwhile album, their 2008 effort is bold enough to be accessible, but ETK is still the best place to start. The album opens with 7 minute funk/krautrock/electronica epic Metronomic Underground. Though 7 minutes doesn’t necessarily embody accessibility, consider the aforementioned sounds. Couple the repeating rhythms with repeating vocal phrases and you’ve got a song with so much atmosphere you can almost picture the titular Metronomic Underground, wherever that is. From there, the album jumps all over the place, incorporating and coupling so many disparate genres it’s almost overwhelming. You’ll go from French pop to Post-Rock, Krautrock, Punk - you name it. And it’s always engrossing. There’s definitely filler (Monstre Sacre is frustrating to listen to), but there’s too much quality throughout to miss. Stereolab may be one of those bands, but Emperor Tomato Ketchup is definitely one of those albums: Underground enough for you to make it your own, but great enough to become a favourite. Don’t miss it. 9.6 __________________ Roygbiv's Review Revue LATEST REVIEW SILENT SHOUT BY THE KNIFE

06-06-2009, 08:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
Roygbiv marquee moon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 759	GREEN IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL If you’re a fan of independent music you’ve already heard everything you ever needed to hear about this album: that it’s the most important independent album of all time, that it’s a piece of **, that it’s absolutely revolutionary, unlistenable, a waste of time - a revelation. Yes, criticism of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea can go from ridiculous hate to even more ridiculous praise - a cluster of opinions. Forget all of that and think back to 1998 when the album was first released and you were lucky if you had ever heard of the band, or even gave a damn. Critics didn’t get it, people were likewise confused, and hipsterdom was not yet an epidemic. Picture yourself in a key moment in your life when you were upset, ecstatic, depressed, confused, and came home after buying the album because the store clerk said it was a great album to listen to. You unwrap the CD, pop it in your CD player that sometimes skipped and sometimes didn’t, and listen to the album from beginning to end because the first song is so catchy, the second song is so frighteningly brave, and everything after that is so unavoidably strange. And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster. The lyrics go from making absolutely no sense, to psychedelic, to heartwrenchingly direct. It’s a web of confusion and passion that bounces the album back and forth from relateable to transcendental, or, in what’s most people’s case, from to tier. The reason there are, I’m guessing, five detractors for every fan is because most people listen to the album after being raved at that it was all the great things a human being needs. Honestly, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is whatever you want it to be. It could be the most revolutionary album you’ve ever listened to or it could be a great pile of cow dung. So I won’t call it the greatest album of all time. I won’t even call it the worst. I’ll simply give it a perfect rating because, personally, it’s one of the deepest albums I’ve listened to. 10 __________________ Roygbiv's Review Revue LATEST REVIEW SILENT SHOUT BY THE KNIFE**

06-04-2009, 03:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
Fruitonica Pale and Wan Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Aus Posts: 917	Is it really all that inaccessible for prog? I've cooled on it a little and definitely agree that it's too long, but I feel that even if the instrumentation is quite eclectic, most of the melodies are quite catchy in their own way.