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My Lovely Horse posted:Given that I still have one left to write myself I probably shouldn't be saying anything, but any chance of getting a review for my mixes before the next thread goes up? I'll try. I really will.
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| # ? Feb 6, 2013 20:58 |
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| # ? May 21, 2013 18:05 |
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Chiming in with a long overdue review. Baby Ryoga Presents A Category of "Step" Nothing Could Ever Prepare You For 1. kors k - one more time (electrostep cover) time...time...time...time... decent sounding beepy boopy music 3/5 2. A-Rival - Venus This track is a ton of fun. It has a great beat, and sounds a bit video-gamey. 4/5 3. Aphex Twin - Windowlicker 4. Cylob - Smack 'em up Sharp Sharp and a tiny bit abrasive. Something I would like to hear on the dance floor 3/5 5. Plaid - Diddymousedid Sounds very mellow. A very pleasant, bouncy track. 4/5 6. Slugabed - Quantum Leap Another track that feels a bit video-gamey. Reminiscent of some sort of 8-bit adventure game thrown into the wub machine. 4/5 7. Shnabubula - Where's My Z Pack Yet another track with a sort of game feel to it. This one however is a bit much, kind of grating. 2/5 8. Moa Pillar - Haema Sludgy and grimey with a creepy voice in the background. 4/5 9. Derris Kharlan - Forcystus Again with the video game feel. Not something I'd put on everyday, but I don't hate it. 3/5 10. Bonobo - Eyesdown (Machinedrum Remix) Feels somewhat tropical. Colorful, vibrant track that grabs me from the beginning. 5/5 11. Alesso - Nillionaire (Original Mix) Something to dance to, not much else. 3/5 12. Avicii - Levels (Skrillex Remix) No. I can't stand this at all. 1/5 13. Ceephax Acid Crew - Camelot Fossil Very fast, another gamey track. Not really up my alley. 2/5 14. Shobaleader (?) One - Laser Rock Thick, eerie. It has a ton of texture underneath the vocals. 4/5 15. Andrew Rayel - Aeon of Revenge (Original Mix) Track is built for dancing. 3/5 16. Manabu Namiki - Shoot 'em All I can't really get in to this. 1/5 17. DMX Krew - Mr. Blue Not bad. Feels funky, makes me want to get out the Parliament. 4/5 Unfortunately this mix was a bit difficult for me to get through in one sitting, because I have a fairly low threshold for dancey and chip-tuney music. Ultimately it sat well, and there were only two tracks that I really couldn't give the time of day. The Bonobo and Shobaleader tracks were my favorites of the lot. I preferred your first mix vastly more (I still play Little Boots - Earthquake often) but this was still a fun disc. Sorry for making you wait so long. I would say I had a reasonable excuse, but I definitely don't.
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| # ? Feb 6, 2013 23:33 |
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Edit: Well, I'm stupid.
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| # ? Feb 12, 2013 19:51 |
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Okay. LET'S DO THIS! My Lovely Horse's first mix GO! Actually before I begin I just have to say overall this mix is just really failing to make any sort of impression on me. Like I've listened to it a few times and have trouble really getting any impression at all from the songs. They're just kinda there. They aren't bad but almost non of these have managed to catch my ear, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to talk about them. STILL, I will try. 1) Tinderstick - Until the Morning Comes: It's a nice pretty little song. I think the piano adds alot to it but it's really one of the only parts of it that really grabs my attention. It gives a much needed sharper sound to what it a very floaty, dreamy kind of song. 3/5 2) Dirty Three - The Last Nights: This is what I was talking about. I've listened to this song like six times and it always leaves no impression on me. I can't for the life of me really even think of much to say about it. I'm having trouble even saying why. It's not badly played or anything but there's no real element I can really grab on to either. It just feels like there should be something else here. That doesn't even seem fair but it's the type of song where I kind of feel like I'm waiting to see where it's leading and then it ends. That isn't to say it doesn't change or even build but it just kind of feels like the same thing for seven minutes played with increased intensity. The primal screams at the end are pretty neat I guess. 2/5 3) Do Make Say Think - Auberge Le Mouton Noir: This is pretty much like the last one. I just kind of find it dull I guess. I can't find anything technically wrong with it but no part of it interests me either. I do kind of like the heavily distorted, almost synth like, guitars that happen pretty late in but it's not really enough. 2/5 4) Ataxia - The Sides: This is still alot like the other ones but the vocals do add alot to it seeing as they are quite good and add some emotion to what it a pretty mellow and low key affair overall. I don't really like the guitar work at all though. I find it ore annoying than anything else 2.5/5 5) Portishead - It Could Be Sweet: Trip Hop is one of my favorite genres that no one seems to like but despite that I could never get into Portishead. I don't even know why. Still, I can't really fault any part of this song, it's just, once again, a bit too low key and low energy with nothing that really grabs me. 3/5 6) John Frusciante - Remain: I'll admit the lovely electronic beat here does an odd amount to spice this up. It takes a song I would find kind of bland and makes it at least kind of interesting. As the electronic elements overtake the non-electronic elements it just becomes better really. Not sure if I like this guys voice though. 3.5/5 7) Qua - Devil Eyes: I actually like most of the elements of this song but once again it doesn't really go anywhere I find particularly interesting. It has a nice, eclectic and very percussiony insturment set but it doesn't add up to all that much in the end. 2.5/5 8) The Legendary Pink Dots - Just a Lifetime: This song is interesting, I'll give it that. I'm not sure if I like it though. I just don't think I like Bowie-esque vocalists that aren't David Bowie. Gotta love this band name though. 3/5 9) Grape Digging Sharon Fruits - Messy Bones: This ain't doing a thing for me. 2/5 10) John Frusciante & Josh Klingof - Sphere: At first I thought I was gonna like this with it's nice little electronic doodling but it just kind of goes on...and on...and on and just nothing really seems to happen. It's just that doodling for 8 minutes. I just got really bored with this really quickly. I can like largely unchanging electronica songs but I kind of like them as mood setting background noise. This didn't have much of a mood and was a little to pronounced to just fade into the background. 1.5/5 11) Current 93 - Time Tryeth Truth: Man I do not like this vocalist at all. The other vocals are fine and work well but I kind of just want totell the lead singer to shut up. The flute here is very nice though. 3/5 12) The Legendary Pink Dots - New Tommorow: Basically the same as the other song by this group on this mix. More interesting than the other one though but still don't' care for the vocalist. still 3.5/5 Well, sorry to make you wait so long to tell you I didn't care for your mix. Maybe the next one will fair better.
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| # ? Feb 13, 2013 17:26 |
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I guess I was taking chances when I made my mixes. Actually with that one background music was more or less what I was going for. Background for what exactly I'm not entirely sure. Anyway I knew it was most likely going to be hit or miss (similar to depending on whether or not you like 80's punk/goth/new wave already or not I can prrrobably take a decent guess at how the review for the other one's going to turn out) so don't worry.axleblaze posted:1) Tindersticks - Until the Morning Comes quote:4) Ataxia - The Sides: quote:7) Qua - Devil Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFbceSyo-Xg quote:11) Current 93 - Time Tryeth Truth: Looking forward to hearing how you like the other one!
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| # ? Feb 13, 2013 19:52 |
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Hey everybody, I'm not dead or anything, just been putting off alot of stuff. I'll get the new CD Swap up and running sometime this week but in the meantime here's the last mix I have to review. This doe mean that you no longer have an excuse to not review my last mix My Lovely Horse. 1) The Stranglers - Hanging Around: Pretty standard new wave really. I like the way it builds but I wish it kind of built a little more if you know what I mean. If this song had built a little more it would have done alot because as it is it's a little repetitive. It never really reaches a fever point. Still, pleasant enough with some good keyboards going on in the background. 3.5/5 2) Tales - Enough: Seems to be a fairly typical example of this kind of punky music. Not really doing alot for me. I don't really like the typical kind of low energy punkish vocalist and while the guitar work is nice, I don't like that echoey sound they ue on it. 2.5/5 3) Magazine - Because You're Frightened: I like the energy of this song. It has a really good driving beat. I also really like that kind of high note pianoish sound that they use during the chorus. It's kind of out of place but in a good. I'm kind of keep going from liking to hating this vocalist. There are some notes he's hitting where I find his voice really irritating but overall he seems to be selling it. 4/5 4) The Gun Club - Give Up The Sun: I hate this guys vocals. I kind of want to punch him. There's like on point before the chorus where I think he's actually gonna put some pasison into it and then the energy gets even lower. The strings are nice in this song and the breakdown was really nice but that's about it 1.5/5 5) Nomeansno - Rich Guns: I think in general I enjoy New Wave more than gothy music, even though I don't really listen to either and they both have some similarities. This has a nice wackiness to it and I kind of like those lost souls type of voices in the background. The main vocalist is kind of sounds like a lesser version of this type of vocalist than I typically here but overall I like this a bit. How can I hate that silly bassy riff? 5/5 6) Spizzenergi - Mega City 3: I like the opening electronic bit but I think everything else just kind of makes it dreary and doesn't really work with the kind of fun electronic stuff and makes it just sound kind of odd. 2/5 7) Joy Division - She's Lost Control: I've never really been able to get into Joy Division because I just don't really like his voice. The rest of this song is quite good though, from the low key, almost electronic backing bass to the sharp guitar. It also builds quite well. 3.5/5 8) Sisters of Mercy - A Rock and a Hard Place: Sisters of Mercy have the gothiest of goth vocals. It almost sounds like he's doing a Dracula voice (well, closer to the Count, but I'll be nice). Still, though I haven't listened to them much, I've always kind of liked them. 4/5 9) Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Temptation: Kind of generic but I admit it's kind of getting into my head despite that. i like the backing vocalist way better than the main one. 3/5 10) New Math - They Walk Among You: Not doing a thing for me and not really interesting enough for me to comment on it further. 2/5 11) Pekinska Patka - Monotonija: This one also isn't grabbing me. Typing the songs name in was more interesting than the song. 2/5 12) Warsaw - No Love Lost: This song is like all a slow build to not much. Like when it takes that long for the vocals to kick in I want it to have a little more impact. Overall I enjoyed it though. 3.5/5 13) The Cure - All I Want: Yep, that's a Cure song. 5/5 14) New Order - Blue Monday: And this is still way better than the Orgy version. 4.5/5 15) The Human League - Don't You Want Me: I've never really like this song all that much. 2/5 16) The Boys Next Door - The Voice: I like the bass riff in this song and while there are parts that don't do alot for me it all kind of builds to a nice chorus. This is also another one where I'm not sure if I like this guys voice or not. 4/5 17) Poison Girls - Price of Grain: This is pretty great. There's almost something theatrical about it and also very god damned Irish. Also that is a great band name. 5/5 18) Basking Sharks - Theater of War: Good way to end the mix. These are some aggressively old school keyboards. Kind of disappointed when the vocals came in. They aren't bad and still get out of the way for some more keyboard action but still...3.5/5 So there! Done! As I said, I'll have the new one up this week. I may or may not have lost the e-mail list so be aware of that...
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| # ? Mar 9, 2013 21:24 |
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axleblaze posted:This doe mean that you no longer have an excuse to not review my last mix My Lovely Horse. quote:3) Magazine - Because You're Frightened: quote:5) Nomeansno - Rich Guns: quote:7) Joy Division - She's Lost Control: quote:16) The Boys Next Door - The Voice: quote:17) Poison Girls - Price of Grain: quote:18) Basking Sharks - Theater of War: And now for the long-put-off final review! Gåte - Knut Liten Og Sylvelin Good opener that starts with vocals hinting at Scandinavian folk, but quickly leads into something quite a bit harder and more modern than what you'd at first expect. Kind of like what I'd expect if Björk recorded with Dirty Three. Actually I can't be sure that hasn't happened. 4/5 Tub Ring - Killer in Love Not entirely unlike modern goth rock/metal going into a more modern progressive rock direction. Not a big fan of the scream vocals, but even those are at least somewhat unique. 3/5 Diablo Swing Orchestra - Vodka Inferno Good band name, good song title. And it proves to be roughly what I expected, which is a mix of metal and Eastern European cabaret music with, of all things, operatic vocals. Although that kind of description paints it in a more formulaic light than it deserves because I really enjoy that sort of thing, even if it's not my go-to genre. 5/5 The Protomen - The Hounds Heard so much of the Protomen, looking forward to finally sampling their oeuvre. ... it's definitely much more of a psychobilly thing than I would have expected. But pretty soon a horn section kicks in that gives it more of a swingy feel. Kind of reminds me of World/Inferno Friendship Society. Except apparently it's about Mega Man. Well I gotta admit I wouldn't really have expected a Mega Man concept band to stand on their own musically like this, credit where credit's due. 4/5 Judgement Day - Klagenstuck The folk/cabaret/swing mixed with metal is gonna be the theme of this mix, isn't it? This one's alright with the juxtaposition of violins and double bass drums but otherwise, not my cup of tea. 3/5 Devin Townsend Project - Kingdom I, uhm, I just don't think I'm a Devon Townsend person, on a basic level. Too much going on here. 1/5 Dog Fashion Disco - Silent Film This one's kind of all over the place, has some okay parts but in the end, too many that are just dense blast-beaty metal, and especially towards the end the structure changes practically from second to second. 1/5 Made Out of Babies - Invisible Ink More consistent but despite the decent vocals, not my thing. 2/5 Forced Fed Shovel Head - Duh I had forgotten rap metal was ever a thing.  Kinda feels like this one's from a bit later than the 90s though? 3/5Animals As Leaders - Song of Solomon I appreciate the technical quality of the guitar work, but it's too busy for me to really like it. And apart from that there's not much more to the song. 3/5 MUCC - Oz Pretty straightforward after all that prog metal, nothing outstanding but I do like those wailing synths in the background. 3/5 Paul Wardingham - Ghost in the Machine Another strongly guitar-focused song but not as busy, seems to mesh with the other sections a bit better, plus it sounds like F-Zero music, which is good. But ultimately, just another guitar skills showcase. Goes on for a bit too long, too. Cubanate - Oxyacetylene Venturing into Industrial now. I find myself liking this one a lot more than I thought I would, probably precisely because it's just basic 90s industrial metal with no prog or avantgarde frills. 4/5 Stolen Babies - Don't Know This was just kind of there. 2/5 Rabbit Junk - Old Heroes, Young Villains Interesting track with hip hop vocals over a really unusual backing for hip hop and WHOA METAL OUT OF NOWHERE. Fits together surprisingly well, tied together by those more unusual elements. Gonna give 4/5, not so much because I explicitly like it but because it's so interesting. HORSE the band - The House of Boo I strongly feel I should like this. :v Not really though, metalcore just really isn't my thing on general principles. Still, decent bassline, really really good synth sounds. Less METAL GUITAR and METAL SCREAMING and more of those synths and I'd be more open to it. 3/5 as an average of 2/5 for the metalcore and 4/5 for the synths. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion I'm starting to see a trend with my reaction to experimental and avantgarde metal: I'd like nearly all of it a great deal more if there wasn't so much guitar. Although this one, I don't think it can be saved for me. 1/5 She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart Ha, after my punk/goth/new wave mix it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I actually really rather like this. 5/5 And I guess that's really it for this swap! Patiently waiting for the new thread, I already have a few concepts for new mixes and a few specific songs in mind.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 19:12 |
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When's the next one starting? I've been itching to burn some mixes and exchange then with other cool people.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 20:50 |
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screenwritersblues posted:When's the next one starting? I've been itching to burn some mixes and exchange then with other cool people. Sometime this week when I get around to it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but soon. Also I may or may not have lost the e-mail list so if I don't e-mail y'all about it don't get mad  Also, My Lovely Horse, thanks for the review, I'll response to it in a bit.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 20:53 |
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I'd just like to say, I didn't receive mixes from two of the three people I was paired with. I was of course very late getting their mixes out, but I did keep in communication. The Australian lad never even acknowledged receipt of it. Maybe it didn't get there. I don't know. I may as well post pictures of the mix I made this year. Nobody else is gonna do it. It is called The Matriark Emeritus.  The front and back of the set. Very mildly  for art nudity. It is in five parts, with a front piece, in a box.  The front sides of each part. 5x7" art prints mounted on foamcore. The idea was that the set would be a showcase for both music and visual art. All the front pieces are by my friend Meghan Olson. I made these prints from pictures she made while she lived in my house before me. Each one inspired the songs on its respective disc.  The back sides of each part. Each features original art and a Mini CD (3 inches, 22-24 minutes). The one in the upper-left corner, for instance, the disc art was done by my friend Patti. We live 1500 miles apart so we would mail the discs back and forth. Others were done by local friends and artists - Rebecca and Sam both did collage work on the two bottom parts. The last part, in the upper-right, is a two-disc all-Ween mix. My friend Josey did some amazing engraving and cutting work for the metal plate. I drew the upper middle piece, an intricately-detailed landscape scene featuring a stick lady on the moon, playing guitar, while stick figures dance to her music around a campfire in the forest below.  The back side of the front piece and the box. This was my first time doing woodwork. I'm satisfied with the results, but they're far from perfect.  Closer shot of the back of the box, with the tracklisting. Apologies if you can't make out the artist names at this resolution. Marginal art by Patti Nunez. Each set is personalized with the recipient's name, and the edition number is woodburned into the lower right corner.  The full set of 12, resting peacefully beneath the original art which inspired them. It was a wonderful project, which wouldn't have been possible without the joined efforts of all involved. It took three months from conception to completion, cost too much money to dare mention, and feels really awesome in your hands and in your ears and eyes. Alas, this is the third time in a row I've been burned by my partners, so I guess I've learned my lesson and will not be participating in any future swaps. Good night and joy be to you all.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 02:25 |
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poo poo, now I feel terrible for bowing out of reviews this time.  Did you at least get my mixes?
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 02:56 |
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That is an amazing box of art and music. For serious, that blows anything I could have done out of the water. Along those lines, however, since my swap partner did not review my disc, here's the art I did for mine---very minimalist, but I figured less was more since I'm not much of a visual artist. It's a gatefold, so it folds over, left half on the back, right half in front. The lines, obv., are for cuts and folds because I knew I'd gently caress that up if I didn't mark it. 
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 05:06 |
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pwn posted:I'd just like to say, I didn't receive mixes from two of the three people I was paired with. I was of course very late getting their mixes out, but I did keep in communication. The Australian lad never even acknowledged receipt of it. Maybe it didn't get there. I don't know. I'd send you a mix every month for a year if I got a neat artistic piece like that one. Don't let a few stragglers get you down, bad luck always eventually comes to an end and some of the more active swappers would likely be more than glad to send something your way if you end up getting stiffed.I'm gonna do this next time, I think. I'll send out mixes a month or two in to people who are not satisfied to make them feel welcome.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 05:58 |
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Holy poo poo, pwn, you make me feel shame for the quality of packaging that I deem acceptable to send to other people.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 06:36 |
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...good Christ. I can only hope that the people who got your mixes were so awestruck that it's taken them til now to recover.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 10:28 |
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 I might as well not participate anymore, I don't want to insult you.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 10:40 |
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Holy crap. I thought I spent too much time/money on mixing and printing art in the previous swap, but that's incredible. Pwn, I have a couple extra mixes sitting around doing nothing. Send your details to suitsofthefree@gmail.com and I can mail something your way. No need for cds in exhange. Anyways, I missed this swap and now I'm jonesing for more mixtape shenanigans. Looking forward to the next! E: Just sent you an email, Pwn. Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at Mar 13, 2013 around 17:06 |
| # ? Mar 13, 2013 16:36 |
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NEW THREAD: http://forums.somethingawful.com/sh...hreadid=3538415
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| # ? Mar 14, 2013 18:38 |
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Allen Wren posted:I do, in the end, appreciate the effort that's gone into this and hope that my mix has arrived by now and will in turn enliven an evening or two at your place. Your mix did arrive, and, while it didn't enliven an evening, it did enliven a plane trip to Thailand and back. Yes, I've had rough draft notes since December and have no excuse; I am in fact The Worst Person and should probably die. My karmic punishment may take a few decades, however. In the meantime, reviews: 1. I Ain't Saying by Dinosaur Jr - I really disliked this when I first heard it, and I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s grown on me, but over these months my opinion has mellowed a lot. The real obstacle to me getting into this is the singer, who sounds like someone with emphysema singing through a Bill Clinton impression. The harshness might work if, like Jeff Mangum or Bob Dylan, the young dino wrote poetry made for his voice, but the lyrics are generic and he doesn’t seem suited to what the song’s trying to do. The audio mix doesn’t help; it seems like they wanted to hide the fact they recorded guitar and instead just made the singing center stage. As mentioned, though, what was initially grating now feels less so, and I wouldn’t say I dislike it; there just isn’t much (in my mind) to really enjoy. 6/10 2. The Great Pan Is Dead by Cold Cave - I actually like the chaotic wall of noise here, and the vocals are used for effect, so I don’t mind that they’d probably be irritating in isolation. The problem is the wall of noise begs for a counterpoint and nothing like that ever comes. Aside from the very end and a cool spacey lilt from time to time (not even a halfway decent way to describe that, I know), the song just doesn't offer any respite. The section beginning at 2:40 or so is a high point and I don’t dislike the music as it stands, but the trip into solid-black waveforms is tiring and not something I'll remember in a day. 7/10 3. The Valley Of Malls by Fountains Of Wayne - This is the opposite of Great Pan; that was too on and this is too muted, though I strongly prefer this approach. The singing is way too one-note (he sounds like he just wants to go back to bed) and the instruments seem like they’re trying to make a rock song without waking somebody up. I'd like to hear a cover of this since I think it has real potential, but I'm not sure if it's early Modest Mouse detached hipster potential or modern Modest Mouse college rock potential; the band is like Buridan's rear end between the two. That said, it works for me despite this; I do enjoy the song and would listen to more. 8/10 4. Plock by Plone - The false start effect at the beginning is really nice. The bulk of the song is a distorted robot voice over muzak. The effect is interesting in how subtly unnerving it is, and I think I would love this as part of something like a game or short film, but on its own I get the point after a minute and it goes on three more; by the three minute mark I want to throw something. I'm not entirely sure what I meant here, but my first listen notes said "It's the musical equivalent of a room covered in plastic." I find myself confused but still agree. 5/10 5. Lost On Your Merry Way by Grandaddy - Honestly, most of my criticisms of other songs apply here as well, but this is the kind of whiny and muted performance I like so its good. The music does enough to stay interesting (of note is the neat staggered echo) but the effects are sensibly kept in the background. There's a progression to the song that keeps its simplicity interesting and, while the singing is not world class, he's writing with his limitations in mind and understands how to use his voice. The abrupt changes in the middle are awesome; there's a clear understanding of when an idea's run its course and it's time to move on. It never feels like it’s rushing itself or doing things just for the sake of it, though I would have cut thirty seconds to keep the song tight. 9/10 6. Lose It by Austra - This sounds like the twenty second intro to a different, better song stretched into a four minute track of its own. The lyrics would be boring even for dubstep and are especially bad when the music doesn't back it up; it feels like half the backing tracks were lost. In particular, the section where everything dies out except for the words and a metronome (a cool idea I've heard used very well) is just boring since nothing seems worth my attention. I really, really like the ethereal voice that's both operatic and slightly machine-like, but she isn't given anything to do. Come on, Austra, collaborate with Danger Mouse or someone else who can add depth. 5/10 7. Somewhere In My Heart by Aztec Camera - Everything about this song works, which is almost a shame; it introduces a "what could have been" component that kind of distracts. The singing is great. The fifteen second guitar solo is great. The instrumentation is pretty standard rock, but there's no weak link and the horns add a nice bit of flavor that perfectly fits. The length is perfect: enough to play around and go nuts but not enough to run out of ideas. Basically, I think they could afford to be far more ambitious given how well it all works, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “generic” or claim that's a flaw. They know exactly what they’re doing and they're doing it well. 9/10 8. Born by Steven Drozd - I love both the slow, careful intro and crashing low-fi instrumentation. I love how the melodic singing and decidedly not melodic background clash without sounding cacophonous. I love the constant tonal shifts that offer both relaxing breaks and exciting unpredictability, and I love that the song ends right as I start to understand what's going on. It's a perfect blend of chaotic and controlled, and it never even hints that it might become boring or irritating. I have no idea where it's going, but Drozd does, and I'm happily enjoying the ride. 10/10 9. I Can't Tell You Why by Chromeo - The pseudo-Michael Jackson parts are great, the autotuned repetition and aimless turning of knobs on machines are not, and the two don’t complement or play nice with each other at all. As with Aztec Camera, I think there's enough talent here to make something great, but unlike AC I think they ruin it with gimmicks and try as hard as they can to bury it a few layers deep. If they needed to spend half the time on knob turning, the song should have been a bit longer; they don't give themselves time to really explore things, so it's not even an interesting mess. If they didn’t, they should have cut it in half; they run out of knobs early on and the last two minutes offer nothing new. 4/10 10. Drive It All Over Me by My Bloody Valentine - I apologize if this is sounding like salt in the wound after taking so long to write this thing, but this may be the worst-sounding mix I've ever heard. Like, shoegaze isn't my thing, but at least I'm usually aware I'm listening to something someone played around a mic. Here I honestly can't make out a song, just an extremely muffled attempt to show Fountains of Wayne how letting bandmates sleep through songs is done. After a while it seems they realize this and just make a wall of static so the waveform has some evidence of life. And yes, I did listen to other versions on Youtube and can confirm it’s just how the song is. Incomplete/10 11. Tethered To The Polestar by Earth - This is way too minimal for me; it feels more like a mic check than a song and makes me lose interest within the first minute. It picks up a bit at the 2:30 mark, but it’s still so slow and almost dreary that it doesn’t make me perk up for long. I like the synthy chimes (the worst description) at the end, but they aren't given anything to do. I mean... I guess the mic works pretty well. v  v/1012. Lullabye by The Jimmy Chamberlain Complex - My first pass notes said “take away the annoying (slowed-down?) vocals and this would be perfect”, but again I’ve relaxed that judgement as I’ve listened more. The effect of this song is fantastic -- ethereal with a touch of rock trying to find its way out -- and the interplay is both relaxing and engaging. It reminds me of Bends-era Radiohead, which I love. While I'm still not nuts for the vocals, they're used well to complement the suffocated rock song and by no means are they grating. It's a neat idea, the length is near-perfect, and it's tightly controlled without getting dull. 9/10 13. The Sprawling, Glorious Newness by Geotic - This is the version of Polestar that has things to do. It's just a collection of simple variations on even simpler themes, but Geotic is able to pull this thing off by having a clear mood in mind and just targeting that. They know it's insubstantial and offer no pretense of substance. Who cares? It's a neat and relaxing effect that easily holds my attention for 210 seconds or so. 8/10 14. From The Morning by Nick Drake - I love his voice -- a lot -- but there isn't very much for me to judge. This is another one of those ultra-minimalist things I’m not sure I’d actively listen to on my own, and it’s a bit hard to talk about Drake since he gives himself little to do, but it perfectly follows Geotic and wraps the mix. I certainly don’t have complaints. 8/10 I enjoyed this mix despite not being a fan of several songs. There was nothing I thought was awful by any stretch and it perfectly succeeded in killing time on transpacific flights. My Bloody Valentine was the only group on here I'd heard of, and even then I'd never heard their songs (and still haven't! Ho ho!), so I appreciate how completely new the whole disc was. Please forgive my time-related transgressions. Thanks a bunch for the mix! Quovak fucked around with this message at Mar 31, 2013 around 02:06 |
| # ? Mar 31, 2013 02:04 |
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| # ? May 21, 2013 18:05 |
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I'm honestly surprised that you hadn't heard any of these artists previously, as I had worried that a lot of it would have been seen as old hat by the rest of the goon community---though, to be fair, some of the groups or people here are side projects or collaborations where the main groups may be more notable. (Steven Drozd being a member of The Flaming Lips, Jimmy Chamberlain being ex-The Smashing Pumpkins, Bill Medley (singer on the Chamberlain track) being half of the The Righteous Brothers...) To clarify a few points, the Chromeo track is an Eagles cover, so we can blame Don Henley for the song structure---their original material focuses on the Jackson moves and actually comes off better for it. I wanted something more down-tempo for that slot, though---which in retrospect may have been a misstep. I'm not sure whether I should have tried to get the remastered version of the My Bloody Valentine song on here, to sound slightly less obviously produced in the very late 80s, but it probably wouldn't have sounded much different either way: Kevin Shields is all about guitars made of blenders. As for Nick Drake, he's best taken an album at a time, since most of his songs are fairly brief in feeling. I appreciate the review, though, it's definitely food for thought. I'm definitely going to have to be more daring with the next disc---two of the songs you mentioned as being lesser moments (Austra, Chromeo) were, in my mind, conservative picks.
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| # ? Mar 31, 2013 04:18 |
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