My Musical Opinion
 

I'll start with a list of my favourite bands so that anyone who won't be interested in my journal doesn't need to spend time going through it :P I'll organise by genre, favourites underlined:

Electronic - Biosphere, Fluke, Basshunter, The Chemical Brothers, Scooter, Mistabishi, The Qemists, Pendulum, Sub Focus, Crystal Castles, Nero, The Prodigy, Hadouken!, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Basement Jaxx

Electropop - Owl City, The Postal Service, Royksopp

Alternative - The Bloodhound Gang, Coldplay, Gorillaz, Idiot Pilot, Kings Of Leon, MGMT, The Temper Trap, Bloc Party, Florence + The Machine, Kasabian

Rock - Hollywood Undead, Linkin Park, Green Day, The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Oasis, Papa Roach, The Strokes

So essentially, I limit myself to adding one album a week to my library (or at least I try to!) and I intend to use this to introduce people to stuff I find that I enjoy, and that hopefully they will too. This at least ensures that there will be new stuff to talk about each week. I don't know how much time I will have to write genuine reviews, so it will mostly be a "music dumping ground" with my comments, which will be quite opinionated, so don't expect too much professionalism :P

I will initially give you a review of "For The Masses" by Hadouken! - an album I am very fond of! I wrote this a while ago, but what I've said still stands (in my opinion at least!):

So yeah, I hope you enjoy the start to my journal, and please do feel free to message me to talk about anything that I have mentioned, or even stuff that I haven't mentioned that I might like to listen too. I'm always up for new music, within the genres I listen too or even outside it :)

Had a two hour car journey this morning which allowed me to listen to a couple of bits and pieces. Think I might report them here, I'm becoming quite fond of both these albums - I haven't had either that long yet:

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1. It Was Supposed To Be So Easy
2. Could Be Well In
3. Not Addicted
4. Blinded By The Lights
5. Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
6. Get Out Of My House
7. Fit But You Know It
8. Such A Twat
9. What Is He Thinking?
10. Dry Your Eyes
11. Empty Cans

A very interesting album - I remember people taking the piss out of the streets back at school after "fit by you know it," and I must admit I initially bought it for the humour value, but it's really not that bad. There are only a couple of songs that I'd actively skip, and it has some absolute classics like "It Was Supposed to be So Easy," "Such A Twat," "Dry Your Eyes," "Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way."

One touch I particularly liked was the way the album essentially tells a story going through his relationship with his girl, from a little before he meets her to the aftermath of his break-up. I found it quite emotional, it really adds a real feel that this isn't just a collection of songs, but a logical progression through the music, which you tend to find in top quality albums.

The style itself is quite grimy, and very individual, not exactly, just talking - but it works. He uses some strange rhythms and phrases which keeps you on your toes the first few times. I'd suggest that if you like the first track you'l probably like the rest of it, but give it a chance, it's not the easiest stuff to get into - but well worth it if you do :)

Haduken are ok, at least judging by the song that I've heard. I hated that Streets album when I bought it just after it came out though, and I'm pretty sure I ended up flogging it so I could buy some cigarettes not long after.

Don't let me put you off though ;) Always good to see new journals popping up around here.

Heh, no problem. No shame in two people having a different opinion. I always get back from Uni and have everyone complain about the music I listen too so I'm well used to it anyway :P Cheers for your encouragement, though :)

The other thing that I listened to in the car was "Further" by The Chemical Brothers, their new stuff. I've never picked up a Chemical Brothers album before (only their singles compilation - which I wasn't too impressed with) so I didn't really know what to expect. As someone said - this album hasn't set the world on fire, but I've been really impressed by it.

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1. Snow
2. Escape Velocity
3. Another World
4. Dissolve
5. Horse Power
6. Swoon
7. K+D+B
8. Wonders Of The Deep

I quite enjoy the way this album progresses through styles. Snow is an ambient, spacey track which feeds into Escape Velocity which is a little more up-tempo, more dancy electronic track. I would criticise it slightly in that being 11 or so minutes long, it doesn't progress perhaps as much as it should, and gets a little repetitive towards the end. Another World and Dissolve grab it back in the middle of the album, both have some good riffs and sounds, and are excellent up-tempo tracks.

Horse Power is quite a housey track, which is going to be one of the more acquired tracks on the album. I has some stuff going on underneath the main lyrical line, but they're slightly harder to pick up than in some of the earlier tracks.

Swoon - K+D+B - Wonders Of The Deep is a fantastic end to the album. Swoon is the headline song, the single which is an excellent track which had me bopping along in the middle lane of the M4. I can see how some people have said that the riff is annoying, but it works perfectly for me. The last two tracks are a wonderful immersive "epic" ending to the album, something I'm always up for. Think the ending of "The Tempest" by Pendulum, excellent electronic tracks.

Overall, I'd say it's worth a listen if you're into electronic music, it's definitely worth a listen, and there is definitely a track for everyone in it, the style progression ensures that. I really like it, will definitely listen to it again, I hope you all will to :)

Ambient House - "A music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. Tracks in the ambient house genre typically feature four-on-the-floor beats, synth pads, and vocal samples integrated in an atmospheric style." (Wikipedia)

Nothing going on Saturday Mornings - what better time to talk about a couple of my favourite Ambient / Ambient House artists. I'm going to write just a small amount on Fluke and Biosphere. Ambient House isn't a genre that I follow religiously, but what I did find it was good for was for background music, especially if I'm working late into the evening (like I was last term for my exams.) A nice coffee and a Fluke album kept me going long into the evening :P

So I'll talk about Fluke first. I have three Fluke albums: Six Wheels On My Wagon, Risotto and Puppy. Puppy is my favourite album, probably because I picked it up first and it has the classic "Blue Sky" on it. I find songs don't really stand out as much in Ambient House as they do in other genres, as I said, background music, so you're not checking to see what this track is called. The album flows naturally as it progresses through the tracks. I can sample you a couple of tracks, and give you all three album artworks, as I think they're amazing!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...puppy-2003.jpghttp://images.artistdirect.com/Image...976510711y.jpghttp://images.artistdirect.com/Image...12606ubbno.jpg



They don't seem to be on Youtube that much, though. Definitely worth checking them out - Spotify also has all their tracks! Worth remembering that it's more the album experience that's important, so next time you sit down to get something done, give Fluke a go :P


Fluke are definitely more House than Biosphere, who is more the Ambient side of Ambient House. Substrata is supposed to be the album in Ambient music, and Microgravity incorporates more House elements, and is still a spectacular album. Again, individual tracks are all very well, but this is definitely more about the album experience!




I'll be doing a large-ish thing on The Qemists some time during the week as their new album comes out on Monday - I've been waiting for at least half a year for this, so I'm very excited!

Aaaaaa! New Qemists Album!:

As promised a larger bit on The Qemists. First album Join the Q (2009):

http://www.musicatnorthbrook.com/ima...sts_header.jpg

Stomp Box
Lost Weekend (feat. Mike Patton)
On The Run (feat. Jenna G)
Dem Na Like Me (feat. Wiley)
S.W.A.G (intro)
S.W.A.G (feat. Devlin Love)
Drop Audio (feat I.D.)
When Ur Lonely
Soundface (feat. Beardyman)
Got One Life (feat. Navigator)
The Perfect High

The Qemists are a Rock / Electronic / Drum and Bass fusion group that I was introduced to about 10 months ago. Their debut album Join the Q covers it all, they have a Drum and Bass track featuring Beardyman which is really worth checking out, Grime in Dem Na Like Me, Lost Weekend which is a hardcore rock track and so on...

Stomp Box is a properly electro'd up track and a nicely hyped up introduction to the album, there's also a very good Spor remix floating around. The album process to move through hardcore rock, and grime whilst mixing in some "slower" tracks that are no pushovers themselves. There isn't one track on this album that I would skip.

The Perfect High is one of my favourite electro tracks of all time. The synth lines along with the rock-electro bass sounds that the Qemists produce really come together in this track to produce a masterpiece. Here are a few tracks for your enjoyment:

You like Fluke and Biosphere? Hats off to ya :thumb:

I haven't listened to either of them for an age or two, but love what I've heard of them. Fluke's Puppy is certainly one of my favourite electronic albums of any kind from the last decade, to the point that I've been mulling over typing something up about it for my own journal. I'm pretty sure the phrase 'kick-arse' was patented to describe that album. Risotto's top-drawer stuff too.

Cheers :P I've been trying to find music akin to Biosphere's "Substrata" for a while now, but I am yet to find something that fits the Ambient genre inthe same way. Most of the stuff I find seems to have the "House" element in it too, which is good, as in the case of these artists, but not quite what I'd like to find! Do you know of any albums / artists like this?

Yeah, Puppy is a top class album. If I have work to do, Puppy, Cup of Coffee and I can keep going all night!

As in the more spacey kind of ambient stuff? I'm pretty sure you'd love these albums if you havent got them already;

Pete Namlook & Geir Jenssen - The Fires Of Ork (volumes 1 and 2)
Spacecraft - Earthtime Tapestry

If you haven't got any of Brian Eno's Ambient series already, you should try and his Ambient 1: Music For Airports and Ambient 4: On Land albums too, as they've got a similar kinda vibe to them.

As for stuff with a bit more of a lively beat, these are a couple of my favourite ambient house albums;

Higher Intelligence Agency - Freefloater
The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld

^ Those should keep you occupied for a bit ;)

You could probably get a bundle more good recommendations if you post about the kinda thing you wanna find in this thread as well.

Cheers, that's great for now. The spacecraft stuff especially sounds really good - will purchase that some time next week!

I have Little Fluffy Clouds, but none of the rest of The Orb's album, it was something I had considered getting so if you're reccing it, I'll definitely get it at some point!

If you check the last post in that thread you'll see I already tried :P It appears you're better than the entirety of the MB Electronic section!

Couple of things just to comment on. Today I drove between my parents two houses, about an hours drive maybe slightly more and decided I wanted something that would relaly wake me up, so I went for this:

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1. Through The Fire And Flames
2. Revolution Deathsquad
3. Storming The Burning Fields
4. Operation Ground And Pound
5. Body Breakdown
6. Cry For Eternity
7. The Flame Of Youth
8. Trail Of Broken Hearts

This is an amazing album, especially to drive to. Turned a 1 hour 15 journey into an hour one! :P The mental guitar, lyrics that are audible over the amazing mess of sound, yet aren't too screamy, and a slightly mellower final track make this a fantastic listen!

Anyone familiar with the genre has definitely heard "Through The Fire And Flames" and most who aren't probably still have. But trust me, if that floats your boat the entire album will, full of very similar stuff, but different enough to keep you interested. Perfect hour's listen if you're looking for something really hyped up. Set it as your alarm in the morning, that will get you up.

I can't shower this with enough praise, I haven't enjoyed an album as much first time since Subfocus, and I've been sceptical of Metal for months!

So Imran, what do you actually listen to?

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I am quite proud of the variation in my top 50 or so, definitely better than some people whose top 20 or so are all by the same artist! :P Obviously my favourite bands do come out, Hollywood Undead especially which is strange as there are very few other Rap Metal bands up there, Limp Bizkit being the only other. I'll take you through my top 5 ;)

This Love This Hate / Sell Your Soul - Hollywood Undead



A perfect song in my opinion, the verses are lyrically well crafted, a really good sounding catchy chorus and the bit that would take the place of the third verse that I can't remember what it's called. The bit that start "And I'm floating right above my coffin..." I think the reason I love this song so much is I can listen to it no matter what mood I'm in, it's an amazing track (I'm running out of superlatives to describe it :P) and wholly deserves it's place at the top of my list.

Set Me On Fire - Pendulum



A beautiful Dubstep (or at least what Pendulum would have us believe Dustep is) track. This is one of the successes of the search for good sounds in Electronic music. The way that all the sounds work together in the main section of the music is pretty orgasmic tbh. I'm a big fan of the most musical sound in that section (it is also used to good effect in "the vulture") and throughout the album iirc. Fantastic track that I think is pretty laid back. It's managed to make it's way onto pretty much every one of my "mood" playlists. Very versatile track :)

Not In Love / Untrust Us - Crystal Castles



Two very similar songs, one form the first album, one from the second album. Untrust us is the anthem from the first album, the track that introduced me to Crystal Castles in the first place and encouraged me to buy their first self titled album. Not in Love is the 5th or so song that struck me as top quality on the second crystal castles album and is another one that I can listen to in any mood. It's got quite a melancholy feel to it, whilst still being a top electronic track!

On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz



Another laid back track from the Gorillaz new album. There are again so many good tracks on this album, and I am even myself quite surprised that I've listened to this one more than I have some of the others (I would have said that Glitter Freeze is my favourite), both of these are pretty electronicy which I think is why I like them the best. Top track!

Omen (Reprise) - The Prodigy



This is an example of me liking the stranger tracks on albums. Omen (Reprise) is certainly not the headline tracks on the album, in fact it's probably more of an afterthought, but it really is an excellent track. Again more laib back or melancholy, as most of my most listened to tracks generally are, so you know, there's a trend I hadn't realised until recently!

So here's the new thing. I tend to buy one album a week (when I can limit myself) and to ensure that each one gets a proper listen to and examination I will endeavour to listen to each once a day for the week in which I buy them (Monday to Friday) and see how my opinions evolve / which tracks start to jump out at me during this listening period. So here's this weeks, opinions and commentary will come from tomorrow!:

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1. Prangin' Out
2. War Of The Sexes
3. The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
4. All Goes Out The Window
5. Memento Mori
6. Can't Con An Honest John
7. When You Wasn't Famous
8. Never Went To Church
9. Hotel Expressionism
10. Two Nations
11. Fake Street Hats

First Listen

Strikes me as not as good as "A Grand Don't Come For Free" initially, perhaps the habits that Skinner is portraying in this album is showing in the quality of his music. I must admit I bought this mostly for the portrayal of his experiences as Wikipedia promised me and that bit I found quite interesting. When You Wasn't famous is a good example of that. Stand out tracks at the moment? Definitely Memento Mori, When You Wasn't Famous and Never Went To Church.

Second Listen

Album definitely growing on me. Still not sure that it can rival "A Grand Don't Come For Free," but Pranging Out, The Hardest Way Make An Easy Living, All Goes Out The Window, When You Wasn't Famous are all absolutely genius and the rest of the album is still very listenable. Although the whole "experience of being famous" vibe is wearing off after two listens I still find what he has to say interesting, regardless of whether or not I believe him. Especially if when you wasn't famous is talking about Cheryl Cole!! Skinner is an odd guy, but he's definitely very good at producing catchy lyrical lines such as those in Pranging Out and The Hardest Way...

Would definitely recommend this album at this point, definitely a good buy.

Oh and a casual Drum & Bass playlist I put together. Most of it is Liquid, or at least mildly relaxing, sometimes drifting into electro - if you like that kind of thing:

View From Nowhere - Mistabishi
1 N 2 - Jonny L
Secret Agent - Netsky
9,000 Miles - Pendulum
Solid Air (feat. Alana) - Nero
From Memory - Mistabishi
Hold Your Colour - Pendulum
End Credits (feat. Plan B) - Chase & Status
In For The Kill (Skream's lets get who gives a **** remix) - La Roux
Last Jungle - Sub Focus
Bones (feat. Kellermensch) - The Qemists
A Song For Lenny - Skream

Third / Fourth Listen

Favourite tracks are still my favourite tracks, definitely. The thing that's annoying me about this album is the poor ending. The last three tracks aren't brilliant - well - they have a really annoying habit of sticking in my head which doesn't bode well because the premises either annoy me or are completely beyond me !_!

That said the first half is getting a lot stronger, all goes out the window impressed me today and so did can't con an honest john which I think are two I haven't really mentioned before! So yeah, at the moment this albums heading for "decent" I'll try to give a score out of 10 tomorrow, I think I'll have listened to it enough by then.

So overall, a mini review.

The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living

Having spent a week with this album I'm starting to get to know it quite well now, there are a few elements that I want to talk about.

The Message

None of these songs can I really relate too, I've never had a heavy involvement in drugs, fame or a crazy party lifestyle. I like to describe myself as easy, the middle road is definitely the best way, too much of anything, being too obsessed or not caring enough about something is rarely a good thing. Anyway, that's quite a long way off the point, my point is that I try not to have too heavy involvement in that sort of thing, without being a social recluse. I think I balance it rather well.

I can understand what he is trying to say in some of them, and I think he may have some touching points in some songs and some very down to earth points in others. War of the Sexes is a particularly interesting song in terms of message, I think. Anyway, I think some of the songs really aren't saying anything important or meaningful, and some I "just don't get at all." So not an amazing album in terms of message, definitely nothing compared to "A Grand Don't Come for Free."

Musically

I think musically the album has a lot more to say. Skinner is especially good at making up catchy lyrical lines, as are observed in Pranging Out, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, Memento Mori, Never Went to Church, ... the list goes on. I can sing along to those all day.

Also, his fairly unique talky, conversationally rappy style is quite endearing and adds a lot to quite a lot of songs.

Conclusion

Really quite enjoyed this album, but some songs leave a sour taste in the mouth with the message, and others are just a bit too hard to get in to. Definitely decent, but not as good what I had hoped. I'd give it 6.5/10.

Looking forward to next week:

Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns

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1. The Requiem
2. The Radiance
3. Burning in the Skies
4. Empty Spaces
5. When They Come for Me
6. Robot Boy
7. Jornada Del Muerto
8. Waiting for the End
9. Blackout
10. Wretches and Kings
11. Wisdom, Justice and Love
12. Iridescent
13. Fallout
14. The Catalyst
15. The Messenger

First Listen

So first listen today. Three very solid albums in Hybrid Theorey, Meteora and Minutes to Midnight to follow up here, and the first impression isn't great. None of the songs really stick in my mind yet, Burning in the Skies is the only one I really remember noticing when I was listening to it, and it's not really that heavy. I'm not really sure how heavy I was hoping this album would be, as heavy isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but you know it is Linkin Park and their two heavier albums definitely are their classics, and more importantly my favourites.

So yeah, initial thoughts, not as many anthems as I might like and not really as heavy as I'd like either. We'll see as the week progresses!

My goodness that was awesome.
Actually, most of the songs you've posted are awesome and I'm definitely going to have to check out Biosphere too but "Sunshine" was just absolutely great. Downloading Puppy right now.
thnx thnx thnx!