Records of the Week: 12/11/10

Lets try this again, shall we?  I know I’ve been fairly lax with this blog lately – I haven’t been posting nearly enough.  But I’m going to have a lot of free time because of school ending and other stuff freeing up time, so I figured this is as good of a time as any to try and be more active.  The funny thing about this blog is that I’m getting 5-10 views a day without even posting anything.  It’s weird to have that kind of self-sustainability, and it makes me believe that if I keep posting I can increase my view count and make a lot of people happy with my musical recommendations and stuff.  We’ll see.

Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The 36 Chambers

Wu-Tang is one of the most unique rap groups out there, and 36 Chambers is the crown jewel of their career.  The production is incredible and sounds nothing like music that has been released since.  There’s a readily apparent dissonance to the beats – almost everything is in a minor key – and the instrumentation as a whole is very sparse, leaving room for Wu-Tang’s many talented members to shine lyrically. The lyrical style is also a lot different than average rap.  The Clan has a huge interest in Samurai movies and martial arts, and mix that in at almost every chance they get.  36 Chambers is pure Wu-Tang and is the perfect introduction to the group’s (and the member’s solo efforts) career.

“C.R.E.A.M”, one of the only songs in a major key, is a standout and rap classic.  Over a simple yet oddly beautiful piano line, Wu-Tang raps about how “Cash Rules Everything Around Me (them)”; how living life in the pursuit of money has led them through some tough times.  It’s message is the opposite of what is expected from rap – which is known for its glorification of “getting money.”  And on a record focusing on “Bringing the muthafuckin ruckus” and “Protectin’ ya neck,” (great songs, by the way)  “C.R.E.A.M” really shines.  If you’ve always heard of Wu-Tang and are into rap music but never checked them out, definitely use this album to begin your foray into the world of the Wu.

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Records of the Week: Week 5

What’s up, guys?  Sorry for the lack of updates recently – writing blog posts is a lot of fun, but a lot of times I end up putting it off unless I impose a strict deadline.  In comparison to my 6 month hiatus from late 09 to June 2010, this is probably nothing, though.  Anyways, I just realized how few blog posts I’ve posted since my return in June – only five – and it slightly depresses me.  In a perfect world, I’d be writing 1-2 posts per week, hopefully more, but that’s kind of unrealistic so we’ll just see how much I can do.  Anyways, on to Records of the Week #5!

Cap’n Jazz – Analphabetapolothology

The album name may be a mouthful, but this is a great listen.  Cap’n Jazz are a fairly obscure but influential “emo”/”hardcore” (in quotes because I can’t stand either of those musical classifications) band who was active in Chicago during the late 80s/early to mid 90s.  They released one full length album and a few EPs, which are all on this two disc compilation.  It’s long track length might seem a little daunting to some, but focusing on the first disc for a while before moving on to the second makes it seem like less of an arduous task to listen to the entire thing.

Cap’n Jazz’s sound reminds me more of the mid 80s DC scene than the emo bands they spawned (bands like Scary Kids Scaring Kids took their names from Cap’n Jazz song titles).  It’s a heavy album, but still very melodic, instrumentally and vocally.  The band’s two guitarists, Victor Villareal and Davey von Bohlen, manage to blend together brilliantly – it’s not often that you hear bands that can combine guitar riffs or chords together so seamlessly that you’re not sure where one part begins and the other ends, and vice versa.  “Little League” is a great example of this.  It starts out heavy, calms down in the middle , showcasing the dual guitars, before building up to its climax.

Cap’n Jazz reunited in early 2010 and are on tour now.  They put on an excellent show.  If you’re in the area, I recommend checking them out.

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Records of the Week: Week 4

So it’s been about 8 months since my last records of the week post, but honestly, this blog needs to be more active; despite the crazy amount of views I’ve gotten lately, I’d like to attempt to top last month’s total of 1,142 at some point in the next year or so.  And the only way to do that is to constantly post cool stuff!  Therefore, Week 4 of RotW.  Enjoy.  (Hopefully the next one isn’t in eight more months).  Also, expect Nick’s Tape Vol. 1 soon.

Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me

Along with Pavement’s Slanted and Enchanted and Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Massachusetts based Dinosaur Jr’s You’re Living All Over Me is a quintessential album of the late 80s/early 90s independent music scene.  The album is filled with heavy guitar and punk-sounding drums, but the thing that makes this album is guitarist/vocalist J. Mascis’ melodic vocals and obscenely great guitar solos.  “Kracked” is the perfect example of this.  While the song is relatively fast paced, Mascis’ vocals contrast the speed and heaviness of the song in such a unique way that hasn’t been replicated in the same way since.  The great thing about Mascis is that in addition to the Black Flag, Minor Threat, and other punk influences, Mascis was also a big fan of Neil Young, and it shows in his melodies and chord progressions.  Lou Barlow, Dino Jr’s bassist, is an often overlooked member of the band; while his bass playing is nothing complex, its simplicity and heavy sound really help the music.  Dinosaur Jr released many albums after this one (with differing lineups) and eventually reunited with this lineup in 2005 and came out with two stellar albums, Beyond and Farm.

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Records of the Week: 12/21/09, Week 3

It’s been a while since my last “Records of the Week” post, but since i’ve been digging a lot of new stuff lately, i decided to write another post for you guys.  Also, at some point before or slightly after the New Year, be on the lookout for my Top 5/10 of 2009 (haven’t decided yet) and my top 25/50 of the decade.  Sorry for taking a few days longer than I said for this – but I have been celebrating the fact that it’s winter break, so I have an excuse.  Haha.   Anyways, please leave comments – I would love some discussion on my blog.

Quasi – Featuring “Birds”

Quasi is a band I got into fairly recently – I downloaded this album after learning that Sam Coomes (the band’s keyboard/occasional guitar player and vocalist) was in Heatmiser with Elliott Smith, and that Elliott was a fan of Quasi.  I also found out that Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, The Jicks) was the drummer, which made my interest even higher.  Featuring “Birds” has one of the coolest openers I’ve heard in a while – “Our Happiness Is Guaranteed”. Coomes plays a little bit of dissonant piano along with one of Weiss’s drumbeats, which transitions perfectly into Quasi’s trademark – Coomes’ unique vocals over distorted keys and Weiss’ fantastic drumming.  I don’t wanna get into the rest of the album, because i’d write for too long – if you like my description, then check it out.

Listen To: “Our Happiness Is Guaranteed”, “I Never Want To See You Again”, “You Fucked Yourself”

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Nick’s Favorite Records of the Week: 11/8/09, Week 2

Okay guys, I know I said i’d be posting these every friday, so i’ve been slacking, but i’m not going to try not to let this blog fail.  I’ve given up on too many projects and this one has done fairly well so far (141 views in the week or so I posted in October, and many views in November so far) so it’s definitely worth it to keep going.  Later this week, expect another one of these Record of the Week segments (unless my favorite albums have remained unchanged), and an interview with Tubby Boots that was conducted Thursday.

Now, onto the albums!  (Please leave some comments if you have anything at all to say.  I enjoy musical discussion).

Pixies -Doolittle

This album was the last one I mentioned in last week’s “Favorite Records” post, but after seeing the Pixies last Thursday at the Hollywood Palladium, this definitely has to be the first album I mention.  The songs have this whole new meaning to me now, especially songs like “Debaser” and “Monkey Gone To Heaven”, which are extremely fun to sing along to in a live setting.  Screaming “Got me a movie, i want you to know, slicin’ up eyeballs, I want you to know” along with a thousand other people is an event I’m going to remember as a highlight of my concert-going life.  The album is just a lot better to me now as a whole, and I thought it was amazing before.  Songs I didn’t like as much as the others before hand, like “Dead” and “No. 13 Baby” now are an integral part of the album for me.  Doolittle is definitely one of the best alternative/pop albums of all time – the two genres combine to form something totally unique and amazing.  This has become less like an interview and more like an advertisement for the Pixies Doolittle tour, so…go see them if they’re playing in your area!  I promise you it will be worth it.

(Click read more to continue on your blog reading quest).

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Nick’s Favorite Records of the Week: 10/30/09, Week 1

Every Friday starting today, i’m going to post a list of the albums i’ve been enjoying the most lately.  Hopefully i can have three to five albums each week.  Albums can be on my list multiple weeks in a row, so you can see what i’ve been really digging week after week if i keep up.  Hopefully you’ll check out some of the records i reccomend, enjoy them, and listen to more by the artist if you haven’t already.

The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

This is definitely a beast of an album.  The only Flaming Lips album i’ve heard before this one is Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and this album is totally different from that one.  It’s mostly loud, fuzzy, and extremely experimental, especially comparing it to Yoshimi; however, there are a lot of amazing quiet tracks, that kind of break the cacophony every once and a while.  And the contrast is what makes each individual song beautiful.  I’d consider Yoshimi more of a pop record, while Embryonic is definitely a complete aural experience – it’s one of those albums you just want to listen to start to finish, with a decent pair of headphones, with absolutely no interruptions.  It’s fantastic, and i highly reccomend it, especially if you’re a fan of the band’s other works.  I know i’ll be checking out more Flaming Lips after this.

Listen To: “Convinced Of The Hex”, the album’s opener, a very fuzzy, jazzy even song that very nicely sets the tone for the album; “If”, an extremely beautiful song, and also “I Can Be A Frog”, which features Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Two more albums if you click “more.” please do.  I promise it’s worth it.

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