The Music Banter Members' Journals Monthly Update Thread

[Trollheart]

And so we're into the final update for May, as summer should be winging its way towards us --- unless you live in Ireland of course! Interesting and encouraging to see that the entire first page of the journals section is this week up for grabs, with a whole fistful of new entries and some resurrected journals too. So let's dive right in then.

Until Anteater makes his presence known in the journals again, it's at B we start and so to the Batlord, where in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...lks-about.html he's still on a female pop kick, with Britney already reviewed, now he's checking out Kylie and Ke$ha. Careful man: you're in danger of losing your post as Hardest Metal Guy on the Forum! Still, he does also review Lou Reed''s "Metal machine music", though he seems as bemused about it as most of us are.... Over in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...t-schemes.html he's looking at Dark Angel, the perfect antidote to those "up-and-at-em" mornings, apparently, and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-fidelity.html he's started talking about the songs, with Neil Young, The Smiths, Aretha Franklin and more!

Gavin B continues his musical journey while talking about The School, April March and Aquaserge, Caro Emerald, The National.... look, there's just too much to note it all here. Just rest assured that you'll find something to interest you in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...use-songs.html, okay?

Goofle11 is talking about that Catherine Wheel album again! Check out what he has to say at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-sessions.html

Another journal coming out of the archives is Hermione's http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ised-fire.html which seems to have had its last update in 2011. But now she's talking about Britpop, in particular the Stone Roses, so head her way to discuss.

Delight knows no bounds! Janszoon is back to tell us more about http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sible-man.html and as usual you'll get not only great and strange music here, but incredible prose. This time our insubstantial friend is listening to Byetone, "Death of a typographer". Cool. You need to check this journal out. And Jansz, you need to update more!

Ki's taking a short break from his journal, but before he does he's taking a look at the new album from Daft Punk, which everyone seems to love. Not my thing, you understand --- disco, vocoders, all that --- but it's a pretty fine review. Catch it before he heads off on his holidays at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html

And of course we then come to Ladyislingering, where she's paying tribute both to the late Ray Manzarek of the Doors, who died earlier this week, and legend Marc Bolan, who seems to be something of an obssession with her. They're all in her http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ic-memory.html, along with a lot of other cool stuff.

Pedestrian has completed her pilot script for a TV comedy! And it's pretty damn good, too. Check it out at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sswalking.html
and tell her what you think.

And Powerstars is widening his focus in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sicalness.html with reviews of the Beatles (no, wait...) Sonny Moore aka Skrillex apparently, an album I sent hs way by 3 and, er, Super Mario Brothers. Hey look: if you can't find something there to pique your interest there's something wrong!

Another to return to us this week is Screen13, always welcome, and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...album-day.html you'll find a feature on the movie Mondo Bizzaro: I don't know it but apprently it's very famous. Sixties nostalgia, eh?

I've been doing what I can to update my journals as regularly as possible, though I am currently writing a lot of material that won't see publication for some time. In http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html there's a review of one of what I consider a-ha's greatest albums, a new section called "Two sides of the same coin", along with a new "Words get in the way" and one of the closing few entries on my Rory Gallagher special. Red Dwarf season one comes to an end in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html, and Supernatural is getting there too: two more episodes from that as well as another from Spooks, with the announcement too of yet another new series due soon, this being the much-loved comedy Frasier. What about http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-reviews.html? Yeah, I've managed to throw in a review there too, well sort of. Just have a look, you'll see what I mean.

And so on to http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html, where Unknown Soldier introduces us to Angel, plus two live albums and a bunch of other albums that again, didn't make the cut for this year. So much to read, so little time...

But before US has the chance to lock the door Vanilla is sliding in (stop that, all of you!) and telling us all about the Pretty Reckless in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-eargasms.html. What a way to end!

Now, last week I promised Antonio I would feature his review on Tyler the Creator as the Showcase and, well, here it is.


Whether you're into this sort of music or not (I'm firmly in the latter camp) you really should read this because it is one hell of a great review. Sadly Antonio's journal has slipped off the front page, mostly I think because so many people are suddenly updating this week, but if you go to read this and his other material you'll be helping him by moving him back to page one, where he deserves to be.

Originally Posted by Antonio

ALBUM REVIEW
Tyler, The Creator-WOLF

If you have any of a handle on music today, then I don't think I have to tell you who Tyler, The Creator is or how WOLF is his third solo release following BASTARD and GOBLIN.

The thing with Tyler's solo releases is that much of the narrative and content focus on his personal life, both past and present. What makes it different from a number of other self reflective rappers is that Tyler doesn't necessarily go out of his way to explain everything. Alot of the tracks are wrapped up in subtle references to close friends, previous albums, and the OF collective itself. This may be confusing for some people who are just listening to Odd Future now; you may be wondering who this guy he's mentioning is or if he's talking about himself but differently or if what he's talking about is something that happened on a previous album. That being said, Wolf isn't exactly the first album I'd recommend to someone trying to get into Tyler's music or OF in general. I will say though, that there's this article written that more or less explains the "backstory" if you will of this trilogy and has some interesting clues and tid bits that make listening to this all the more intriguing. While I can't completely say that everything here is true, it's still an interesting read.

The themes central to this release are definitely a shift from some of the subject matter Tyler became well known for on Bastard and Goblin. There's still plenty of expletives and insults thrown towards everyone and plenty of "GOLF WANG, WOLF GANG, etc" calls that tells you you're listening to an Odd Future release. What changes here though is how much of Tyler is put in here. You can definitely map the change between the 3 albums from the more brazen and crude tracks that center around rape and cutting up bodies to the tracks that contain much more personal things like Tyler's estranged father, his past relationships and his feelings of isolation and loneliness. These were elements present in Goblin, and while some really good tracks were made it never really reached it's full potential musically. This is why tracks like Answer, Awkward, and IFHY(I ****ing Hate You) are great and the high point of this album; they really do well to convey the guy behind all the OF shoutouts and the Supreme clothing. IFHY and Answer especially, the instrumentals have this sort of broken melancholy to them, like a childhood toy that has been damaged beyond repair. That, along with his uneasiness and frustrations present in his rapping really do well to covey Tyler's sensitivity to these subjects and are two of the most introspective parts of the album.

It's clear that Tyler is a guy who makes music for himself and his friends, and whether you'll like the lyrical content of this album is highly dependent on whether you're interested or even know about Tyler's background or the inner workings of Odd Future. For people who are just looking for good lyricism though, you'll be able to find some really clever and even funny lines, but in terms of raw rapping it's a bit underwhelming compared to something like Bastard offered up. There's also a bit of overuse of those magical cursewords(f*ck, motherf*ck, who gives a f*ck, f*ggot) that Tyler just loves to use to the point of crutching it. Still, I always felt that his rapping, while pretty good in some points, was just half of what makes him who he is.

Where this release really shines is in its production. Even from the opening track Wolf, you can tell that the production has really improved and is starting to take shape with what he wants it to convey. The type of sounds you would expect from a release by him are still present(alot of synths, pianos and "cheap" sounding effects) but are more refined and have a certain cohesiveness to them. While some may see this and hate those types of sounds and find them mediocre, I find it as Tyler nailing down his own production style. Jamba comes up right after and is a pretty good following track, if not already expected, type of song befitting Odd Future. The chorus especially delivers this really cool arpeggio that really brings it together. Plus this is probably the best verse Hodgy Beats has ever done. No seriously; I actually didn't think it was him till I saw the feature, haha.

Slater and 48 both have these smooth RnB chords and sounds, and both feature OF alum Frank Ocean. Slater is a really chill, and to be honest aimless in a (good) way and 48 is something that I enjoy seeing Tyler doing; a legit RnB/rap track. While it talks about dealing drugs and it's less than good repercussions, it still has this nice feel to it that I have no problem playing in my car while I'm out on the town. Tyler has some aggression here, but in a way it's undercut by the production and really nice chorus.

A surprisingly good track on here is the 3 song PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer. Normally I'm not into multiple song tracks; I feel that most of the time the pauses between tracks breaks the flow and alot of the times the two tracks don't belong anywhere near each other, but the way these songs come together really works. They have a really nice set of instrumentals that are backed by Tyler's bassy monotone voice, as well as a few features that spice up the songs by adding some really nice melodies. My personal favorite is the group of kids singing on Campfire. At first this didn't really catch my attention but after a few more listens it really grew on me.

Now, don't think that this album is just a bunch of mellow, slow songs and that Tyler has just lost it or something. When Pigs and Parking Lot crash through, they deliver an anger laden and rough at best trip, outlining acts of violence with these sinister and almost unsettling beats. Rusty follows them up and diffuses some of the aggression, but still has it's own aggression to spare. In a way, Rusty really comes through and becomes one of the best parts of this album. Domo Genesis really delivers on his verse and Tyler has some good lines, but Earl Sweatshirt's feature felt underwhelming, where there wasn't as much of a personality that you had on his Earl album. It almost sounds like he's not really all there.

There's also tracks like Domo 23, Trashwang and Tamale which are tracks made to be the offensive and brazen OF you've come to know and love, and while I do enjoy Domo and Tamale, I fully acknowledge that the lyrical content is more shock oriented than clever or thought provoking. Still, Domo 23 is more or less a standard OF song, a la Rella from The OF Tape Vol 2, and Tamale offers a surprisingly catchy hook and the horns with the sample really add to the ferocity, especially when they go to a more sinister set of melodies halfway through. The fact that one of the first lines in this is "Tell Spike Lee he's a f*cking n*gger" really shows that this kid still has some teeth among the more reflective songs.

Trashwang is a different story. Listening to it I felt that they made it to be the Bitch Suck Dick of this album, but while BSD was a sharp and hilarious satire of rapping bravado and flashy posturing, Trashwang comes off as sort of limp. There's definitely some funny lines here, but the beat itself comes off as kind of lazy and too on the nose for something trying to make fun of "going hard" with a song.

That's not the only weak spot of this album, either. There's Colossus, which is pretty much meant to be Tyler's Stan, concerning an obsessive TtC and OF fan, but compared to the story with Stan who was obsessive to the point of fearing for your life, this fan just comes off as kind of creepy but ultimately harmless. The beat/composition of the song is nice, but the lyrics and the gravity Tyler is trying to give it come off as slightly pretentious and just ineffectual. I'm not too big of a fan of the song Cowboy either, it's beat just seems more paltry than purposefully minimalistic, and the chorus gets in your head, but I would just as soon kick it out once it reared it's ugliness.

There's also a point where a couple of songs aren't really that great of a fit for this release. Treehome95 is an RnB track that features Erykah Badu, but it's tone compared to the rest of the album is too different in my opinion. I like it, mind you, but it feels like this would have been better as a separate single. The closer Lone is an interesting track too, the production is much more jazzier than previously and almost seems unlike Tyler, but hey, that just means he's really spreading out his influences, right?

In the end, I really enjoyed this album. This wasn't a mindblowing release though(listen to Chance The Rapper's Acid Rap for that *wink wink*), but this was definitely a fine release from Mr. The Creator.

So I give it an 7/10.


Favorite Tracks-Jamba, Awkward, Domo 23, Answer, 48, PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer, IFHY, Rusty, Tamale
Least Favorite Tracks-Cowboy, Colossus, Trashwang

So that's it for another week. Great to see so many updates, renewals of journals and really top-notch writing all round. Keep it up, everyone!

Until next week,
Toodles!