Rilo Kiley "Under the Blacklight"
 

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/877931.jpg
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Release Date: August 17th - 21st 2007
Genre: Pop
Tracklist:
1. Silver Lining
2. Close Call
3. The Moneymaker
4. Breakin' Up
5. Under The Blacklight
6. Dreamworld
7. Dejalo
8. 15
9. Smoke Detector
10. The Angels Hung Around
11. Give A Little Love






LOL

Moderator cut: image removed

You can borrow this if you like

oh god disgusting.


disgustingly accurate :(

Yeah honestly, this wasn't even a disappointment, this was a "Who the **** is this?" the only songs that don't remarkably blow are "moneymaker" and "smoke detector" but this is a problem that is:
1. Rare
2. Something we can blame the Beatles for
3. And misguidedly arrogant.

I wouldn't say this happens to a lot of bands. More often than not they just put out mediocre boredom, or mail it in but the last occurrence I can remember of something like this happening was Jewels 0304. And while they never come out and say it I have to imagine there idiot reasoning goes something like this:

"well if we like the music, why shouldn't we make it?" to which i might respond that no one is faulting you for making it, but releasing it as an album is punishable by death. Bands occasionally forget that when you have a band name people are expecting a sound, or at least an ethos, and when you do something like we've seen here it comes off as, well for one thing its a rip off but secondly I think people see it as a "we can do no wrong mentality."

"you mena you put this **** out as Rilo Kiley and expected us to buy it? **** you"

And I mention the Beatles because as one writer once put it "there the reason your favorite band always wants to change its sound" and its true, but even the Beatles had the good sense to release it under a different name, even if that didn't come to fruition.

Edit: By the way, you review was great. I can't wait to see how greatly this fails. Im sure the sons of those who fetish'ed the B side of Tattoo You will rear there ugly head but otherwise I think this will lead to a revolt and a movement toward the elected.

What annoys me most is the rilo kiley fans who do like it who criticize the rilo kiley fans who don't like it. Seriously I don't think their is any denying they sold out and that they changed directions for worse. Some of these fans of it are ridiculous and say such thing as: "Rilo Kiley have changed their sound with every album", "they're happier now, so they're going to make happier music" I mean they never really changed their sound much per album, sure there was some slight experimentations with More Adventurous but that was just them dabbling in country and happier? Rilo Kiley have never been a Joy Division. Its so ridiculous, and i'm also tired of being referred to an "elitist indie fan" for my criticism against it.

Yeah I read that in one of the iTunes reviews and I was like "oh jesus another 'i liked their earlier stuff' crowd that throw that out to fit in" but this was just...I really have no idea how this made it to post production without someone going "um...wtf is this." I mean selling out is a stretch.
This.
will.
not.
sell.

Well look at who the producers were, Jason Lader and Mike Elizondo, who've given us such artists as Gwen Stefani, and 50 Cent. I was kind of expecting some bad things but this was shockingly bad. I thought they would maintain some facade of being the same band. I hope it doesn't sell and its just a flop, that way they'll probably go right back to the studio and try and salvage some of their ever disappearing credibility.

You'd think this was posted in the mod cave. No one else has anything to say about this album? I mean, it has to be one of the largest impacts in the indie world.

I listened to it and I honestly don't see what has you so riled up. It's fun, unpretentious pop music. The only song that genuinely sucks is The moneymaker. Lewis has a great voice and sings really well. It's not a memorable album, but have they ever made one?

I was about to argue then I remembered you were a Mika fan...

You were gonna argue what? Mika made a good pop album, it's not my fault that you have an inherent teenage dislike of anything mainstream. It's hella gangster of you.:rolleyes:

I'd say this one is one of the better pop albums of the year. Ranks right up there with Feist's The Reminder, in both style and quality. Do you hate that one too?

I listen to Avril, Vitamin C, and Maroon 5.

Feist is icky, and this album is terrible. It holds a watered down and overproduced sound that even Hilary Duff could admire. Lyrically its disgrace I find it hard to believe the same woman who wrote "But it's a jungle when war is made / and you'll panic and throw your own shit at the enemy / The camera pulls back to reveal your true identity / Look, it's a sheep in wolf's clothing / A smoking gun holding ape." Could write such crap like "I was your silver lining high up on my toes / while you were running through fields of hitchhikers, / as the story goes / hooray, hooray, i'm your silver lining / hooray, hooray, but now i'm gold." Musically its okay, but the entire album stays too rooted in bland overproduced pop to be very interesting, and it goes all over the place but not with enough subtly to avoid sounding like a poorly assembled mixed tape made by a preteen who thinks High School Music is the greatest soundtrack ever.

Can pop music really ever be "overproduced"? I understand that they may have changed their sound and spruced up their production when transferring to a major label (thus getting access to better producers and equipment), but to discard the album completely because of it...well, lemme just say that you sound a little like a sulking child.

Per usual, I don't really give a shit about the lyrics, but I'm betting you chose the most superficial song on the album. Are we saying she's never written anything of the sort before? Because I find that hard to believe....this is not the Arcade Fire. This...is...pop. Plus, ...Pitchfork disagrees.:-/

There's one thing you have gotten right, there is not concept they stuck to, no clear guide line or theme so it does sound a little like a mix tape. The songs, however, are good enough on their own not to make this a major issue.

I give it a solid 4/5...it will definitely rank at the top of my 2007 list.

The album sounds so incredibly polished over and the vocals so safe and instruments tame that the overproduction becomes amazingly noticeable. Blake sounds nothing like he normally does in Dream world.
Shes written some crap like all lyricist but overall shes a very solid songwriter minus this album, and if I were to choose the worst song lyrically on the album I could've gone with the Moneymaker. And who says pop can't have good lyrics? Look at Morrissey.

Are you using pitchfork as your source for disproving something I said? Like seriously?

Thats where I disagree, these songs suck. I'd easily rate this as one of the biggest disappointments of this year.

That's what pop is about.

I never said all pop should be shallow, but that's what it is for the most part, mainstream pop anyway. So you shouldn't be so outraged...And I quoted Pitchfork because they gave a very negative review and yet focused on the lyrics as the only positive thing. And apparently they're not the only ones that praise Lewis' abilities...

Ok. Agree to disagree.

I disagree, lets look at the Beatles, or the Smiths They're better than the all the pop artists that fall under the safe overproduced category, and why? Because they didn't take the easy way, lets look at the Smiths they could've had amazing production and a high polished debut but did they? No, they went with an indie label and sub-par production why did they do that? To have complete control over their music.

Yeah but pitchfork is indie hipster trash man, lets be real.

Alright then.

The Beatles were as well produced as bands got in those days. And the Smiths are a cult indie rock band, and as far removed from pop, especially the mainstream version, as a band can be. I don't know why you assume RK didn't have "complete" control over their music. You think this isn't actually the final product they wanted to put out? Maybe this is actually the sound they've been searching for all these years. And I bet it goes on to become their most successful album. It's certainly the best they've ever made.

who cares about what kind of music they make?

Jenny Lewis = bangable.

That maybe true now but it wasn't in the 80s.

No, its easily their worst and just become something is successful doesn't mean its the best going by the logic you've been using Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are two of the greatest artists ever, theres a big difference between a fun album and a good album.

Us fags?http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/c...wer/unsure.gif

But yeah, she is uber sexy...vocally at least.

Yes it was. They never had "major" commercial success, at least not in the realm of other, mainstream pop artists of the decade, such as Madonna, Michael Jackson and the likes...I'm pretty sure...

Is there? I'd say Christina and Britney are easily among the greatest POP artists of all time. They didn't achieve the success they've had by performing crap music. Even if elitists like yourself can't see it.

Yeah, and so far Rilo Kiley hasn't either and they've released two singles with music videos to accompany them. So success wise, the comparison between the Smiths and Rilo Kiley really wasn't so far off, now was it?


Crap music? If you think old Rilo Kiley is crap then maybe you should examine yourself, Mr. Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons and anything else the british radio adores fan. And saying their greatest pop artists of their time isn't saying much when you're stacked aside the likes of a bunch of 50 Cents, Ushers, and Backstreet Boys.

Really? You're comparing The Smiths and Rilo Kiley? Lol. Granted, I never really understood what all the fuss was about with The Smiths, but let's assume RK was never going to achieve the cult status or the impact The Smiths had.

...

What are you so pissed about anyway, that they decided to make their sound more mainstream, or that they changed their sound at all? Is the artist's mission now to please the fan instead of making what they want to make? The only reason why you're so offended with UTB is because you can't stand mainstream pop music (and don't try to sell me that Avril bullshit). That doesn't make you the best judge of the genre. Try looking at this album by its own merits, not with regards to what you think they should've made. I dare say it might make you change your mind.



Again with disrespecting a perfectly legitimate genre. If you don't dig it, don't diss it. I hate to sound like a broken record but I don't go around dissing death metal.

P.s. Get rich or die trying is a very good album.>.>

You know I wasn't comparing them to the Smiths in the cult status/impact sense. I was comparing them in the fact they're both pop bands and using the Smiths as an example of a pop band who didn't do what would well, but did what they want.


Well, see when a fan likes a band, and then that band goes and releases a shit album the fan isn't going to be doing cartwheels now are they?

Didn't you make a thread on why you hate Metallica/Iron Maiden? And pop today is a completely superficial genre, so you know theres a difference between hating that and death metal.

And no its not and thats a fact, not an opinion. Theres plenty of better rap. Hell theres even plenty of better mainstream rap and thats a genre wheres there's next to none that are good.

The new album is really disappointing. With that said, I'm going to see them on the same day as Blonde Redhead, not sure how i'll make it to both shows though...

You assume they did this only to make money. I think otherwise. It's like saying Tegan and Sara "sold out" because they made a catchy album...or an even better example, that The Rapture sold out with Pieces of the People We Love. They just decided to go in a different direction. I appreciate both Echoes for it's breakthrough impact and POTPWL for it's pop/dance qualities. I think you're in the minority there.
Yah, like 2 years ago. Besides, that was an exception to a general rule, Metallica I hate out of principle, I don't hate their music per se. Iron Maiden is a joke band that everyone should ridicule. :-|

And pop was ALWAYS a superficial genre, goddamnit. >:[

Edit: Hi Leroy :wavey: ...stick around, bitch.;)

Actually I don't think im in the minority when I say they sold out, plenty of fans have voiced disappointed. It really shouldn't be doubtable they sold out regardless of your opinion on the album, the two things that usually are common when bands sell out are:

1. Going to a major label
2. Changing sound

Rilo Kiley did both. But i'm not going to debate this further, because we obviously see completely different on this. Agree to disagree?

And Metallica and Iron Maiden do suck pretty hard, I can't really argue that. =/

EDIT: and I don't know if you grabbed them or not, but I uploaded two b-sides from this album in the RK thread.

^ the new tegan & sara is kinda hard to get into, but there's still a few good ones on there. not as catchy as so jealous.

Rilo Kiley "Under the Blacklight"
 

I think this is possibly the best album I have heard from this band. The riffs are roughly the same, but the lyrics are so poetic, its just mesmerizing listening to this CD.

Terribly generic album, overproduced, dull and the lyrics are far from poetic, they're some of the worst they've ever written. Blake doesn't even sound like the same guy on Dreamworld.

What the bleep. Merge?

Well...I guess I don't know them that well then. I still like the album tho. :shycouch:

15 is the only thing that could be salvaged from this album :D

Eh, 15 is one of the worse songs. Dejalo being the worst.

I'm a Rilo Kiley fan. Not a fan of this album.

I can't say it's a bad album. It's just extremely disappointing.

Yeah, maybe... its the only song i skip through to listen to... purely for the singalong chorus and a theme i can.... *ahem* almost relate to

I've never heard any of their old music, but I bought this album just at random cause I had money and I quite liked it.

Well, it appears that I am in the minority here, but I had heard only two of their previous efforts, and enjoyed pieces of both, but I really enjoyed this one all the way through. I don't know if it is because I was raised on polished, sensible Pop music, but I enjoy the influences of Fleetwood Mac that can be found on this record.

Just because something has high production values, does NOT make it crap.

You're right, what makes it crap is the fact it's generic garbage you could hear on any contemporary pop station.

thats quite amusing cause that is the first thing i said acutally outloud to someone... why dont we hear this on the radio?