Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 666652) john coltrane is now cued. what's that album by roxy music?

Originally Posted by music_phantom13 (Post 668515) Um yeah... I feel like a dumbass now. Here's the Blue Train album art: http://www.lipsticktracez.com/reggie...in%20cover.jpg The Roxy Music album appears to be Siren. Ironically, I don't really know how I ended up with that art for John Coltrane, seeing as how I don't own or in fact even like Roxy Music. I suspect Siren is a bad album and wouldn't be bothered if you skipped it for something better :p Oh. And are you really going to do a rainbow review and not include Nevermind? I feel that's somewhat necessary as a blue...

Originally Posted by dreadnaught (Post 668385) Very raw and sexy album. They picked up quite a following with this one and rightfully so, it's a perfect 'dude' album. What do you think of their solo material? I only have Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains and I don't think much of it to be honest, and I've never heard anything by MSTRKRFT.

RED
ADVENTURE TELEVISION
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HsSvQf9Q5p...-adventure.jpg

Television put themselves in a tough spot after their masterpiece debut LP “Marquee Moon”: What music will you make when you explored the pinnacles of your talent on your first go-round? If Marquee Moon was ground breaking, if it split the Earth into valleys and grooves, then Adventure fills those valleys with cement. In other words, it’s a fine companion to Marquee Moon, but it’s not as reckless as its older brother.

In fact, “Adventure” is so musically reserved, if it weren’t for Tom Verlaine’s easily recognizable vocals you wouldn’t think it’s the same band. I can’t think of a better example than Adventure and Marquee Moon as two albums in a band’s discography that should switch titles. Marquee Moon conjures the image for a sombre night, an image perfect for the predominantly subdued songs on Adventure, whereas Marquee Moon’s songs are more exploratory, and it’s 10 minute centerpiece is a journey onto itself. But that’s just a futile fantasy, so let’s focus on what we’ve got already.

Adventure is more roots rock than garage rock. The spiraling guitar work is still present, albeit anemic compared to Marquee Moon. It’s not a bad album, don’t get me wrong; it’s catchy as hell. But listen to Marquee Moon first, please. I recommend it so greatly that the Youtube video at the end of this review is actually a song from Marquee Moon.

MARQUEE MOON



8.0

Originally Posted by sidewinder (Post 669060) 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.

ORANGE
MERCATOR PROJECTED EAST OF EDEN

http://www.robbierocks.ch/LP%20Cov%2...0projected.jpg

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

YELLOW
EMPEROR TOMATO KETCHUP STEREOLAB

http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/s/s...to-ketchup.jpg

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

http://whatilove.files.wordpress.com...overthesea.jpg

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

Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 674965) GREEN IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL http://whatilove.files.wordpress.com...overthesea.jpg 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

Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 674965) And that’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Like it’s criticism, the music within is a cluster****.

BLUE
SILENT SHOUT THE KNIFE

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ilentShout.jpg

It’s not immediately apparent, but The Knife are a real emotional band. It’s not apparent because they’re an electronica - excuse me! IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) group, a genre that has its share of beautiful tracks (Aphex Twin’s “Fingerbib”, Boards of Canada’s “Roygbiv”), but the emotional that I’m referring to here is lyrical, so it’s only coincidental that The Knife are emotional and IDM. The Knife’s vocal delivery and lyrics can be anxious, fleeting, hopeful, definitely catchy - you can count on them to connect. It’s no surprise then that Jose Gonzales covered, and made famous, their 2003 single Hearbeats. They follow suite with Silent Shout, an a dark, dark album that’s also incredibly danceable (throw it in the mix at a club, it won’t feel out of place). Inspired by Charles Burn’s black and white graphic novel Black Hole, Silent Shout immediately smothers the listener with pulsating beats.

Don’t let the electronica/IDM tag fool you, this is an album you sit down and listen to first before moving to it. There are only two instances I can think of that a reverse order is acceptable, and that’s when We Share Our Mother’s Health and Like A Pen come on. Due to its conceptual nature, the song progression is smooth and timed for momentum. The best example of this happens between 6 minute nightmare The Captain and club friendly We Share Our Mother’s health. It’s safe to say you won’t get bored or tired of the album. All the beats and songs are varied enough for a possible entire listen-through. If you couldn’t sit through all of Music Has The Right to Children or Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92, give Silent Shout a chance.

WE SHARE OUR MOTHER'S HEALTH



9.0

Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 674965) GREEN IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL http://whatilove.files.wordpress.com...overthesea.jpg 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

Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 700461) Man, I really lost interest in this project : S

INDIGO
2ND AGIGATION FREE

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9320/510749nl1.jpg

German Krautrock, the way it should be. For decades the Germans have dominated the genre they pretty much invented, which is just right in my eyes. Sure, Tortoise have had their moments of pure krautrock bliss, but the truly great bands have always been German: Can, Kraftwerk, Neu! Those are the heavyweights, but there are tons more. Like Agitation Free, a relatively unknown band from the late 60s and mid 70s. With their sophomore album, properly titled 2ND, Agitation Free proved that they’re just as talented and inspired as their more popular peers.

If you like Can (Future Days Can, by the way), you’ll appreciate Agitation Free. Though 2ND is more abrasive than Future Days, you’ll notice the similarities: the jazzy sound and production, and the progressive foundation. Agitation Free keep a steady beat throughout the album, reaching its pinnacle in its centerpiece, Laila, Part 2, which often climaxes, settles, and climaxes again. Agitation Free never give up the beat, making 2ND a relatively easy to listen to album. That is, if you haven’t exhausted your music taste buds with the heavyweights. If you’ve been listening to post-rock/krautrock seriously, or at least very often, for some time, 2ND really doesn’t offer anything new. For a first time listener, I can imagine it’d be a completely different experience. The album is bright and breezy, and completely worth your while, even if you’re planning to keep it playing in the background while you worry about other things.

7.8

Originally Posted by Roygbiv (Post 653396) RED 77 TALKING HEADS http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...g_Heads-77.jpg Here’s my relationship with Talking Heads: I’ve never been satisfied with anything less than the polyrythmic, quasi-progressive, general-funkyness of Remain in Light. Fear of Music comes close, but it’s much, much closer to More Songs About Buildings and Food and, well, the record I should be reviewing. But then I realized that Remain in Light was its own deal, a record so far-out even for a band already warped and twisted that having it exist in this world is privilege enough and that asking for anything like it is a battle I’ve already lost. So I try to like everything else by them, and I often do. This isn’t one of those times. The universe is a harsh mistress. 77 is indeed a great debut album that showcases great muscicianship and general quirkiness that defines Talking Heads and David Byrne even today; but we’ve come to the point in history where nobody starts with 77 as their first Talking Heads album. Thus we’ve come to the point where to like 77 one has to disregard the fact that its successors are much stronger albums, including its aforementioned immediate successor More Songs About Buildings and Food. Everything succeeding 77 is catchier, smarter and funkier, but that doesn’t mean that 77 does not have tracks that succeed others in their library in terms of quality. Here are the obvious choices: “Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town,” “Who Is It?” and “Psycho Killer.” Honestly, 77 is a meh record only because everything afterward - records you’ve listened to before 77 - are just better, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t listen to it. Don’t skip it if you’ve enjoyed everything else by the band so far, but only if. PSYCHO KILLER 7.4

Originally Posted by boo boo (Post 706969) Heh, it's one of my favorite Talking Heads albums. I could understand why people wouldn't like Remain in Light, I can't understand how anyone wouldn't like this one.

Originally Posted by Gavin B. (Post 710555) I'm too dense figure out what the deal with the color code is. Don't be offended, it's not you, it's me. Is this a experiment to determine if the color of the album cover has a relationship to the quality of music on the CD? Should I avoid buying green records? Has anyone on this thread graduated from high school yet? Maybe someting entirely different is going on with these color codes. My fevered brain is imagining all sorts of bizarre subtexts and double meanings. Hmmmmm....Wasn't there some kind of color coded warning system for terrorist attacks? This isn't a sleeper cell is it? Maybe the thread is a harmless ritualized circle jerk for people with a fetish for a certain colors. That's getting uncomfortably close to a discussion between fashion designer and hairdresser I once overheard. Are you getting my drift? Don't be offended by my remarks. I don't have anything against those of you who have a fetish, expcept maybe for pedophilia. Ditto for those you with gender indentity issues. I'm just hoping that expressing my view on color coding isn't a hate crime.