Crosswalking

Paedantic Basterd · 10-17-2011, 04:41 PM

Bon Iver - Bon Iver (2011)

Bon Iver's self titled album is hypothetically excellent. It is both a logical and well executed progression from For Emma, Forever Ago, but it's missing something I can't place my finger on. I would not go so far as to call it a soulless record, but it's severely lacking the emotion and intimacy that made For Emma a recent classic.

Even months after its release, the tracks of Bon Iver blur into a nondescript haze of anthemic melodies and tinny guitars. I took absolute ages to approach a review of this album, because while I did briefly consider it as one of the year's best album, I failed to connect with it on any lasting level, and it's left me somewhat ambivalent on the whole.

Bon Iver is a straightforward indie folk album, too balanced for its own good. The songwriting is solid and enjoyable, but I fail to empathize with it, and find its anthems paradoxically passive compared to its predecessor.

Paedantic Basterd · 10-25-2011, 11:50 AM

Feist - Metals (2011)

It is a shame that Feist's Metals came a short time shy of the Polaris Prize, as it's the only real threat to Arcade Fire to come out of Canada this year. Metals sees Feist find her balance between songwriting and vocal performance; her previous albums a smattering of ideas: collections of songs with no ultimate vision and caulked with unnecessary material.

On Metals, Feist takes away from the best work on The Reminder, prime material such as 1234 and Sealion, and capitalizes on their successful elements (while leaving behind the sickening sweetness) for an album that is finally well-rounded and consistent.

Metals stars her songwriting as well as her voice; it is precise and planned down to the chosen title--gray melodies, silvery guitars, and brassy saxophone (from Colin Stetson) drive the album, and give weight to Feist's light-as-air voice.

In Feist's previous work, I always found myself wanting for something more; seeing potential that was never quite fulfilled, and this album delivers. I would predict reasonably that Metals will hold out to make the top spot on my end of the year list, and more--will be shortlisted for 2012's Polaris Prize.

Salami · 11-05-2011, 09:36 AM

I liked the traffic lights. Now you've put stars in like the rest of us. You used to be so ingenuitive and now... you're not quite as special.

By the way, I come from Manchester and think your commentary of what it felt like to a Canadian visitor was quite amusing. I was in the USA in March (asserting my obnoxious superiority and losing a lot of cash), so I wasn't able to go to any of the concerts taking place then. My pet hate are the steel railings on the steps outside the MEN arena. Nobody needs them. And yes, those photos of the Decemberists got me exited for some reason.... (?)
Great journal, I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it..

Paedantic Basterd · 11-05-2011, 11:12 AM

Thank you, Salami! I admit that I kind of miss the traffic lights as well, but changes are coming to my journal at the end of the year, and the stars aren't going to remain a part of it. I'm simply finding that my writing is more worthwhile when I wait until I have to say something about an album, than when I review it purely because I listened to it. Sometimes I don't have anything to say until 30 or 40 spins! First Impressions is going to have to change, but to what I haven't quite decided.

Thanks for reading! I'm always surprised to see anybody does, haha.

Salami · 11-05-2011, 12:42 PM

I shall ernestly look forward to your next installment!

I think you should do another of those music tours (once you've recovered from our inhospitable little country), because it was amazing. I would loan you my camera, it's a $1000 Nikon which does pretty much anything.

Paedantic Basterd · 11-05-2011, 12:48 PM

Recovered? I want to live there, haha! Hopefully by the time I make it back I'll have my own lovely camera to go with. The things I would do to be unleashed at the front of a stage with a great camera!

Paedantic Basterd · 11-05-2011, 10:41 PM

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Salami · 11-06-2011, 02:18 AM

I don't really know what to say. I read that a couple of times before remembering that "Yes, I remember Pedestrian having a go at me for no apparent reason", and at the time I wisely decided not to post the slightly insulting reply that I'd thought up.
It was a very thoughtful article it it's own way (even if it wasn't entirely serious - although it probably was), and I don't think I could post something like that!
It certainly wasn't the kind of thing I was expecting to read on a music forum, certainly not when I heaved myself out of bed and crawled over to the computer very early this morning (yes, at 9:00 AM on a Sunday - I push myself too hard).
Thanks for that, from this day forth I shall never insult you again. I understand and agree - apart from the "keep criticism to yourself" bit, that's what I do best.
It's probably more relevant to my life than what I'll hear in church today, but I've not been expecting anything anything good from them for years, and I can come here knowing that a deep personal revelation often awaits me.

Mojo · 11-06-2011, 04:58 AM

Your writing here has impressed me before, and so your open and honest approach to it is no surprise to me. However I have rarely seen such a touching post in my time here. Thank you for sharing that with us.

You wrote about a number of things I was not aware of. There is no reason I should be aware of them, of course, but I am beginning to realise now more than ever that you can indeed be a rather reserved or private person. At least thats how it seems. If that is the case, then I appreciate what you have shared even more.

There are a number of things you wrote about that I would comment on but don't think this is the place in which to do so. However, in regards to your post as moderator here, I remember that I was championing that decision at the time. I wasn't the only one, but you were my top pick. I frankly was rather disgusted at the objections of a few members here, some rather long-standing ones, who made their opinions known publicly around the boards. After feeling very contented by knowing my opinion was shared or backed up by the majority of staff, I actually was rather excited to break the news and make your welcome thread, and some of the response was very disappointing.

It is of course worth noting that the objections were not from the majority, but rather the minority. And also I feel that although you hit the ground running with it (which is not a bad thing, per say) you also seem to have taken the time to hold off a little more and absorb the opinions of others in situations where a decision needs to be made. I think that our decision has been justified.

Trollheart · 11-06-2011, 05:51 AM

Excellent and heartfelt post. You definitely put your soul into that one. My (probably late at this point) condolences/sympathy for your mother -- is she still alive at this point? I know a little of such scary revelations, as my sister was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Schlerosis, not the much worse Micro Soft!) ten years ago now almost, and I, as the only brother left in the house, fell into the role of being her carer.

At the time I was still holding down a fulltime job, and did so for another seven years, until in 2009 I took voluntary redundancy to become her fulltime carer. As an offshoot of that, I found I had a lot more spare time (in between looking after her, as she had by now become bedbound and totally dependent on me for everything), and so, having been on MB before but unable to keep up the level of interest/contribution I wanted to, I returned here and found that in my new role I was able to update much more frequently, and watched with growing satisfaction and not a little humility as my viewcount steadily grew, till now, not even a year later, it exceeds the ten thousand mark. I think this is possibly unique, or certainly unusual for someone who has been posting for such a relatively short period, and I'm grateful people are reading and hopefully enjoying what I write.

What I have found, for what it's worth, is that MB can be a real source of therapy and release. I relax when I'm writing for my journal, and though I may suddenly be called by my sister in the middle of an account, review or the creation of a graphic, I can come back here when I've discharged my responsibility to her.

I never had a big social circle, and what few friends I had were either at work, whom I now see very little due to circumstances, or have drifted, or in one case, passed, away, leaving me fairly much on my own. My two other brothers do not help, nor keep in contact, so that I feel that other than the intervention of my older sister, my younger sister and I are left to flounder in a sea of disinterest and misery, but that's ok.

Without somewhere like this to come to, and the freedom MB allows us in our journals, the freeform aspect of it, I wonder if I would have dealt as well with Karen's illness as I believe I have. It's more than a port in a storm, it's almost a home from home, or even a social club (NOT network --- remember social clubs? REAL clubs?) that you can go to whenever you want without having to leave the comfort of your own home.

I've had lots of arguments on various forums, many of which have forced me to see that I am in fact not always right, though I may think I am. It's been something of a humbling process, but it has taught me a lot about myself. When I first came here I was shocked, annoyed and then outraged at what I perceived to be elitism, in that most people laughed at what they saw as my limited musical choices (rock/prog rock/metal/classical/bit of country etc), and seemed to think that if you weren't an avid fan of Declan and the Lamposts from Hell or Trees Talk Too, or a hundred other, to me, unknown bands, then you didn't know what you were talking about and weren't worth talking to.

I managed to reconcile this via a long post, and also via support from Jackhammer among others, and now I don't care who thinks my music is limited: I review what I like and hope people also like it. If they don't then that's fine too, but I'm not going to get into particular bands or worse, drop the ones I like, just because they are/aren't seen as being in vogue.

So a lot has been learned, water has flowed under many bridges and here we are at this point, older and hopefully wiser. Though I'm not into your music, or all of it, I do enjoy your posts. You write very well and with obviously great thought put into everything you say, and it's always at the very least interesting and articulate.

I think the journal section is really where the proper writers on the forum flourish. Anyone can write "Bon Jovi are crap" or "My favourite band is" or any of a thousand other generic posts, slag one another off with this band versus that band, but to review albums, concerts, discographies and write accounts in support of or against certain bands or types of music, the kind of thing we all do in our journals, and to try to introduce people to new music or explain how good what you listen to is and why, takes a certain amount of talent. Not everyone can do it.

So if there is an elitism in MB, perhaps it's here, in the Members' Journals.

Yay! I'm slightly better than other people!

Seriously, keep up the good work. I'll always check out any new posts in your journal. And hope things are beginning to work out for you at this point.

Best

Trollheart

11-05-2011, 10:41 PM	#77 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	. Last edited by Paedantic Basterd; 04-24-2021 at 01:47 PM.

11-06-2011, 04:58 AM	#79 (permalink)
Mojo Melancholia Eternally Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: England Posts: 5,018	Your writing here has impressed me before, and so your open and honest approach to it is no surprise to me. However I have rarely seen such a touching post in my time here. Thank you for sharing that with us. You wrote about a number of things I was not aware of. There is no reason I should be aware of them, of course, but I am beginning to realise now more than ever that you can indeed be a rather reserved or private person. At least thats how it seems. If that is the case, then I appreciate what you have shared even more. There are a number of things you wrote about that I would comment on but don't think this is the place in which to do so. However, in regards to your post as moderator here, I remember that I was championing that decision at the time. I wasn't the only one, but you were my top pick. I frankly was rather disgusted at the objections of a few members here, some rather long-standing ones, who made their opinions known publicly around the boards. After feeling very contented by knowing my opinion was shared or backed up by the majority of staff, I actually was rather excited to break the news and make your welcome thread, and some of the response was very disappointing. It is of course worth noting that the objections were not from the majority, but rather the minority. And also I feel that although you hit the ground running with it (which is not a bad thing, per say) you also seem to have taken the time to hold off a little more and absorb the opinions of others in situations where a decision needs to be made. I think that our decision has been justified. __________________ Last.FM \| Echoes and Dust

11-06-2011, 05:51 AM	#80 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Excellent and heartfelt post. You definitely put your soul into that one. My (probably late at this point) condolences/sympathy for your mother -- is she still alive at this point? I know a little of such scary revelations, as my sister was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Schlerosis, not the much worse Micro Soft!) ten years ago now almost, and I, as the only brother left in the house, fell into the role of being her carer. At the time I was still holding down a fulltime job, and did so for another seven years, until in 2009 I took voluntary redundancy to become her fulltime carer. As an offshoot of that, I found I had a lot more spare time (in between looking after her, as she had by now become bedbound and totally dependent on me for everything), and so, having been on MB before but unable to keep up the level of interest/contribution I wanted to, I returned here and found that in my new role I was able to update much more frequently, and watched with growing satisfaction and not a little humility as my viewcount steadily grew, till now, not even a year later, it exceeds the ten thousand mark. I think this is possibly unique, or certainly unusual for someone who has been posting for such a relatively short period, and I'm grateful people are reading and hopefully enjoying what I write. What I have found, for what it's worth, is that MB can be a real source of therapy and release. I relax when I'm writing for my journal, and though I may suddenly be called by my sister in the middle of an account, review or the creation of a graphic, I can come back here when I've discharged my responsibility to her. I never had a big social circle, and what few friends I had were either at work, whom I now see very little due to circumstances, or have drifted, or in one case, passed, away, leaving me fairly much on my own. My two other brothers do not help, nor keep in contact, so that I feel that other than the intervention of my older sister, my younger sister and I are left to flounder in a sea of disinterest and misery, but that's ok. Without somewhere like this to come to, and the freedom MB allows us in our journals, the freeform aspect of it, I wonder if I would have dealt as well with Karen's illness as I believe I have. It's more than a port in a storm, it's almost a home from home, or even a social club (NOT network --- remember social clubs? REAL clubs?) that you can go to whenever you want without having to leave the comfort of your own home. I've had lots of arguments on various forums, many of which have forced me to see that I am in fact not always right, though I may think I am. It's been something of a humbling process, but it has taught me a lot about myself. When I first came here I was shocked, annoyed and then outraged at what I perceived to be elitism, in that most people laughed at what they saw as my limited musical choices (rock/prog rock/metal/classical/bit of country etc), and seemed to think that if you weren't an avid fan of Declan and the Lamposts from Hell or Trees Talk Too, or a hundred other, to me, unknown bands, then you didn't know what you were talking about and weren't worth talking to. I managed to reconcile this via a long post, and also via support from Jackhammer among others, and now I don't care who thinks my music is limited: I review what I like and hope people also like it. If they don't then that's fine too, but I'm not going to get into particular bands or worse, drop the ones I like, just because they are/aren't seen as being in vogue. So a lot has been learned, water has flowed under many bridges and here we are at this point, older and hopefully wiser. Though I'm not into your music, or all of it, I do enjoy your posts. You write very well and with obviously great thought put into everything you say, and it's always at the very least interesting and articulate. I think the journal section is really where the proper writers on the forum flourish. Anyone can write "Bon Jovi are crap" or "My favourite band is" or any of a thousand other generic posts, slag one another off with this band versus that band, but to review albums, concerts, discographies and write accounts in support of or against certain bands or types of music, the kind of thing we all do in our journals, and to try to introduce people to new music or explain how good what you listen to is and why, takes a certain amount of talent. Not everyone can do it. So if there is an elitism in MB, perhaps it's here, in the Members' Journals. Yay! I'm slightly better than other people! Seriously, keep up the good work. I'll always check out any new posts in your journal. And hope things are beginning to work out for you at this point. Best Trollheart __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-17-2011, 04:41 PM	#71 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Bon Iver - Bon Iver (2011) Bon Iver's self titled album is hypothetically excellent. It is both a logical and well executed progression from For Emma, Forever Ago, but it's missing something I can't place my finger on. I would not go so far as to call it a soulless record, but it's severely lacking the emotion and intimacy that made For Emma a recent classic. Even months after its release, the tracks of Bon Iver blur into a nondescript haze of anthemic melodies and tinny guitars. I took absolute ages to approach a review of this album, because while I did briefly consider it as one of the year's best album, I failed to connect with it on any lasting level, and it's left me somewhat ambivalent on the whole. Bon Iver is a straightforward indie folk album, too balanced for its own good. The songwriting is solid and enjoyable, but I fail to empathize with it, and find its anthems paradoxically passive compared to its predecessor.

10-25-2011, 11:50 AM	#72 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Feist - Metals (2011) It is a shame that Feist's Metals came a short time shy of the Polaris Prize, as it's the only real threat to Arcade Fire to come out of Canada this year. Metals sees Feist find her balance between songwriting and vocal performance; her previous albums a smattering of ideas: collections of songs with no ultimate vision and caulked with unnecessary material. On Metals, Feist takes away from the best work on The Reminder, prime material such as 1234 and Sealion, and capitalizes on their successful elements (while leaving behind the sickening sweetness) for an album that is finally well-rounded and consistent. Metals stars her songwriting as well as her voice; it is precise and planned down to the chosen title--gray melodies, silvery guitars, and brassy saxophone (from Colin Stetson) drive the album, and give weight to Feist's light-as-air voice. In Feist's previous work, I always found myself wanting for something more; seeing potential that was never quite fulfilled, and this album delivers. I would predict reasonably that Metals will hold out to make the top spot on my end of the year list, and more--will be shortlisted for 2012's Polaris Prize.

11-05-2011, 09:36 AM	#73 (permalink)
Salami Get in ma belly Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 1,385	I liked the traffic lights. Now you've put stars in like the rest of us. You used to be so ingenuitive and now... you're not quite as special. By the way, I come from Manchester and think your commentary of what it felt like to a Canadian visitor was quite amusing. I was in the USA in March (asserting my obnoxious superiority and losing a lot of cash), so I wasn't able to go to any of the concerts taking place then. My pet hate are the steel railings on the steps outside the MEN arena. Nobody needs them. And yes, those photos of the Decemberists got me exited for some reason.... (?) Great journal, I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it..

11-05-2011, 11:12 AM	#74 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Thank you, Salami! I admit that I kind of miss the traffic lights as well, but changes are coming to my journal at the end of the year, and the stars aren't going to remain a part of it. I'm simply finding that my writing is more worthwhile when I wait until I have to say something about an album, than when I review it purely because I listened to it. Sometimes I don't have anything to say until 30 or 40 spins! First Impressions is going to have to change, but to what I haven't quite decided. Thanks for reading! I'm always surprised to see anybody does, haha.

11-05-2011, 12:42 PM	#75 (permalink)
Salami Get in ma belly Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 1,385	I shall ernestly look forward to your next installment! I think you should do another of those music tours (once you've recovered from our inhospitable little country), because it was amazing. I would loan you my camera, it's a $1000 Nikon which does pretty much anything.

11-05-2011, 12:48 PM	#76 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Recovered? I want to live there, haha! Hopefully by the time I make it back I'll have my own lovely camera to go with. The things I would do to be unleashed at the front of a stage with a great camera!

11-06-2011, 02:18 AM	#78 (permalink)
Salami Get in ma belly Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 1,385	I don't really know what to say. I read that a couple of times before remembering that "Yes, I remember Pedestrian having a go at me for no apparent reason", and at the time I wisely decided not to post the slightly insulting reply that I'd thought up. It was a very thoughtful article it it's own way (even if it wasn't entirely serious - although it probably was), and I don't think I could post something like that! It certainly wasn't the kind of thing I was expecting to read on a music forum, certainly not when I heaved myself out of bed and crawled over to the computer very early this morning (yes, at 9:00 AM on a Sunday - I push myself too hard). Thanks for that, from this day forth I shall never insult you again. I understand and agree - apart from the "keep criticism to yourself" bit, that's what I do best. It's probably more relevant to my life than what I'll hear in church today, but I've not been expecting anything anything good from them for years, and I can come here knowing that a deep personal revelation often awaits me.