Trollheart's Listening List 2015/2016

The Batlord · 12-15-2016, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Hmm. May I remind you...?

That is a masterpiece compared to that Windows 95 art piece of trash cover, but I wouldn't expect someone who insists on using Comic Sans and refuses to use any kind of pleasing formatting in his posts to understand.

Trollheart · 12-15-2016, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

That is a masterpiece compared to that Windows 95 art piece of trash cover, but I wouldn't expect someone who insists on using Comic Sans and refuses to use any kind of pleasing formatting in his posts to understand.

Who the **** cares about the sleeve? It's what's inside that counts. Oh, and I've stopped using Comic Sans if you bother to check my most recent posts, but not because of anything you said. Just got bored with it.

The Batlord · 12-15-2016, 09:25 PM

How on Earth could you ever get bored with the aesthetic loveliness that is Comic Sans? Why, the very fact that you would see something so marvelous in it to begin with is evidence enough of your taste.

Trollheart · 12-16-2016, 02:10 PM

Title: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
Artiste: John Grant
Year 2015
Nationality: American
Genre: Pop
Rank: Novice
3

Expectations: I certainly enjoyed Pale Green Ghosts, though that is the only album from John Grant I have heard. I hope this will continue that appreciation of him for me, though I do note that he mentioned that he wanted to “sound angrier on this album”, so maybe it might be a totally different proposition.

1. Intro: Spoken intro; two voices, think one is speaking a foreign language. Interesting. Weird vocal effects applied near the end are almost disturbing and turn into one big effect that takes over the piece.
2. Grey tickles, black pressure: I love his simple lyrics: “Haemerrhoid commercials on the TV set”

Song has a Beatles mid-paced vibe to it. Mostly driven on piano, nice vocal chorus a la ELO. Beautiful orchestral backing, just sublime.
3. Snug slacks: In contrast, not at all mad about this one. His more synthpop compositions can leave me cold. This does.
4. Guess how I know: No, not into this either. Not as bad as “Snug slacks” but it's too in-your-face for me.
5. You & him: This is a bit better, though I'm still waiting for anything of the calibre of the title track. Powerful, stabbing synths and snarling guitars with a strong vocal.
6. Down here: Ah, and now we're getting there! Great little rocker with some fine brass and an engaging organ line. Bops along nicely with a vaguely Gerry Raffertyesque feel.
7. Voodoo doll: And this one is great too. Smooth synthpop line that, um, suddenly goes all funky which I'm not too happy about. Feel like it has changed too radically now. Yeah .... I think it can retain its Green, but just barely.
8. Global warming: This has a beautiful soft opening on accordion I think, and it may be heading for another Blue. Yeah, it is. Lovely orchestration, and I like the honest feelings about his homosexuality expressed in the lyric.
9. Magma arrives: Could be another ballad. Lovely piano line. Getting more powerful now, though still slow. Very dark.
10. Black blizzard: Love the slow, lazy, undulating synthline in this and the other, squelchy one too. Real sort of ominous feel to it. Marches along with a sense of dark purpose. Vocoder is great as is the whiny synth near the end; reminds me of Genesis on “Mama” or Gary Numan on “Are Friends Electric?”
11. Disappointing: This is quite funky, but I really like it. Excellent turn by Everything But the Girl's Tracy Thorn on guest vocals.
12. No more tangles: Another lovely ballad with some great percussion and orchestration.
13. Geraldine: This is the longest track, and I can already feel a Blue coming on again. Gorgeous, almost progressive rock opening, with some lovely rippling piano and synthy lushness.
4. Outro: Meh. More or less a repeat of the intro, but spoken by a little girl. Nice idea but I can hardly rate thirty seconds of speech.

Final result: Another excellent album from Grant. True, there are a few tracks I'm not overly impressed by, but then, look at all those Blues. An instant classic, without doubt.

Rating:

Trollheart · 12-18-2016, 11:15 AM

Title: Burning Bridges
Artiste: Bon Jovi
Year: 2014
Nationality: American
Genre: Rock
Rank: High Priest
13

Okay then, the first thing I have to say is **** me sideways with a cucumber but that is one horrible album sleeve! It looks like they just wrapped the thing in brown paper and asked a six-year-old to write on it! If this level of couldn't-give-a-****ness translates to the music, then I will be very disappointed and all you haters can laugh and point at me and tell me you told me so. Described as a “fan's album” (whatever the hell that is!) this is Bon Jovi's thirteenth studio album and their first since 2013's What About Now? Unlucky for some? I don't know, but apparently they were at this stage already planning the fourteenth for next year, so I wonder how much actual care and attention has been put into this?

Well, according to Jon, the album consists of “songs that weren't finished, songs that were, some new ones...” Yeah, getting excited already, JBJ. No, not really. Hopefully I'm wrong, but this whole idea gives me the feel of something that's maybe contractual obligation, or thrown out to keep the fans happy till they can release their real album. Perhaps I'll end up eating my words, who knows, but right now I'm looking and feeling very small in my corner as I prepare to defend one of the most maligned and reviled rock bands since Nickelback.

1. A teardrop to the sea: Okay, this is a bit weird the way it starts, kind of downbeat, then that familiar and overused “Woh-oh-oh!” comes in. Nice basswork. Song reminds me of something off These Days, the chorus sounds very familiar. Bon Jovi are known of course for using the same ideas and themes in various songs. Can't place the melody but it is familiar. Not exactly the explosive start I expected, but not bad.
2. We don't run: This kind of sounds like a sub-Imagine Dragons song. Meh. Not very impressed I must say. Parts of the vocal are almost delivered in a rap style, and if I didn't know better I'd suspect Steinman's hand in the music, but he doesn't appear to be involved. Okay, it has that us-against-the-world motif that Bon Jovi use so much in their songs, and I will remember it more than the opener, but it's still a little substandard.
3. Saturday night gave me Sunday morning: Before I even start listening to this, let me say that I am sick of Bon Jovi using Saturday night in their lyrics. That said, it looks like it's going to develop into a decent song, but again, the melody is very familiar. Quite anthemic, probably the best so far.
4. We all fall down: The “don't let the bastards grind you down” message is getting a little stale. This is okay, but just okay. Slower song, though not what I'd call a ballad really. Another anthemic chorus. They're really writing for the kids now, which is a little silly, given the age of these guys.
5. Blind love: Could I hope for a Waits cover? Thought not. Nice piano though, seems like this may be the first ballad. Alright, this is beautiful. Orchestral accompaniment? Can't tell; there's very little information and the Wiki and Discogs pages are useless. Don't even know who's taken Sambora's place on the guitar. Is there something in the fact that this is one of only two tracks Jon writes solo? On the rest he's mostly collaborating with either John Shanks, Billy Falcon or, on one, Richie, which I assume is an older track.
6. Who would you die for: This has a somewhat sort of trip-hop feel to it, another quite downbeat song; doesn't really do it for me. Great guitar solo. The middle eighth is stupid though.
7. Fingerprints: This is much, much better. Sort of a swaying balladic song, mostly on acoustic guitar.
8. Life is beautiful: The “Woh-oh-oh!”'s are back.

I guess we need a bit of an uptempo track after the last three, but this is a little weak to be fair. Also, it's a little easy for a millionaire like Jon to tell us life is beautiful. Maybe it isn't for those sleeping rough or who can't find a job. Just sayin', it's not all roses out there and sometimes Bon Jovi seem to live in a world separate from the rest of us.
9. I'm your man: Please be the Wham! song, please be the Wham! song, please be the .... aw.

That would have been so cool, and also funny. Oh well. Bon Jovi don't really do covers, and the chances they'd do that one... Meh, it's another throwaway. Lyrically it's very close to “I could make a livin' out of lovin' you” from Crush.
10. Burning bridges: Oh. Dear. God. No. Just no. A Country song? Dear God in Heaven, why?

Conclusion: Certainly not the greatest Bon Jovi album I've ever heard. Not the worst either, but some of the filler is hardly even good enough to be called that. There are some very good tracks, but whether they justify the pretty low-quality collection of songs that masquerades as an album here is very debatable. I suppose if you look on this as not really an album maybe you can get away with it, but all I can say is the next one had better knock it out of the stadium or I'll be seriously rethinking my devotion to these guys.

Oh, and you can all shut up, while you're at it.

Rating:

The Batlord · 12-18-2016, 11:21 AM

queer

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-18-2016, 12:36 PM

there is nothing I hate more than Bon Jovi

The Batlord · 12-18-2016, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwertyy

there is nothing I hate more than Bon Jovi

I don't know about that, I mean, "Livin' on a Prayer" is drunk royalty, but taking them seriously as a band is hilarious.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-18-2016, 12:38 PM

i said i hate, not you hate.

**Frownland** · 12-18-2016, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I don't know about that, I mean, "Livin' on a Prayer" is drunk royalty

This is the kind of thing that gets innocent drunk people murdered in the streets. Stop it.

12-16-2016, 02:10 PM	#134 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Title: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure Artiste: John Grant Year 2015 Nationality: American Genre: Pop Rank: Novice 3 Expectations: I certainly enjoyed Pale Green Ghosts, though that is the only album from John Grant I have heard. I hope this will continue that appreciation of him for me, though I do note that he mentioned that he wanted to “sound angrier on this album”, so maybe it might be a totally different proposition. 1. Intro: Spoken intro; two voices, think one is speaking a foreign language. Interesting. Weird vocal effects applied near the end are almost disturbing and turn into one big effect that takes over the piece. 2. Grey tickles, black pressure: I love his simple lyrics: “Haemerrhoid commercials on the TV set” Song has a Beatles mid-paced vibe to it. Mostly driven on piano, nice vocal chorus a la ELO. Beautiful orchestral backing, just sublime. 3. Snug slacks: In contrast, not at all mad about this one. His more synthpop compositions can leave me cold. This does. 4. Guess how I know: No, not into this either. Not as bad as “Snug slacks” but it's too in-your-face for me. 5. You & him: This is a bit better, though I'm still waiting for anything of the calibre of the title track. Powerful, stabbing synths and snarling guitars with a strong vocal. 6. Down here: Ah, and now we're getting there! Great little rocker with some fine brass and an engaging organ line. Bops along nicely with a vaguely Gerry Raffertyesque feel. 7. Voodoo doll: And this one is great too. Smooth synthpop line that, um, suddenly goes all funky which I'm not too happy about. Feel like it has changed too radically now. Yeah .... I think it can retain its Green, but just barely. 8. Global warming: This has a beautiful soft opening on accordion I think, and it may be heading for another Blue. Yeah, it is. Lovely orchestration, and I like the honest feelings about his homosexuality expressed in the lyric. 9. Magma arrives: Could be another ballad. Lovely piano line. Getting more powerful now, though still slow. Very dark. 10. Black blizzard: Love the slow, lazy, undulating synthline in this and the other, squelchy one too. Real sort of ominous feel to it. Marches along with a sense of dark purpose. Vocoder is great as is the whiny synth near the end; reminds me of Genesis on “Mama” or Gary Numan on “Are Friends Electric?” 11. Disappointing: This is quite funky, but I really like it. Excellent turn by Everything But the Girl's Tracy Thorn on guest vocals. 12. No more tangles: Another lovely ballad with some great percussion and orchestration. 13. Geraldine: This is the longest track, and I can already feel a Blue coming on again. Gorgeous, almost progressive rock opening, with some lovely rippling piano and synthy lushness. 4. Outro: Meh. More or less a repeat of the intro, but spoken by a little girl. Nice idea but I can hardly rate thirty seconds of speech. Final result: Another excellent album from Grant. True, there are a few tracks I'm not overly impressed by, but then, look at all those Blues. An instant classic, without doubt. Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-18-2016, 11:15 AM	#135 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Title: Burning Bridges Artiste: Bon Jovi Year: 2014 Nationality: American Genre: Rock Rank: High Priest 13 Okay then, the first thing I have to say is ** me sideways with a cucumber but that is one horrible album sleeve! It looks like they just wrapped the thing in brown paper and asked a six-year-old to write on it! If this level of couldn't-give-a-*ness translates to the music, then I will be very disappointed and all you haters can laugh and point at me and tell me you told me so. Described as a “fan's album” (whatever the hell that is!) this is Bon Jovi's thirteenth studio album and their first since 2013's What About Now?* Unlucky for some? I don't know, but apparently they were at this stage already planning the fourteenth for next year, so I wonder how much actual care and attention has been put into this? Well, according to Jon, the album consists of “songs that weren't finished, songs that were, some new ones...” Yeah, getting excited already, JBJ. No, not really. Hopefully I'm wrong, but this whole idea gives me the feel of something that's maybe contractual obligation, or thrown out to keep the fans happy till they can release their real album. Perhaps I'll end up eating my words, who knows, but right now I'm looking and feeling very small in my corner as I prepare to defend one of the most maligned and reviled rock bands since Nickelback. 1. A teardrop to the sea: Okay, this is a bit weird the way it starts, kind of downbeat, then that familiar and overused “Woh-oh-oh!” comes in. Nice basswork. Song reminds me of something off These Days, the chorus sounds very familiar. Bon Jovi are known of course for using the same ideas and themes in various songs. Can't place the melody but it is familiar. Not exactly the explosive start I expected, but not bad. 2. We don't run: This kind of sounds like a sub-Imagine Dragons song. Meh. Not very impressed I must say. Parts of the vocal are almost delivered in a rap style, and if I didn't know better I'd suspect Steinman's hand in the music, but he doesn't appear to be involved. Okay, it has that us-against-the-world motif that Bon Jovi use so much in their songs, and I will remember it more than the opener, but it's still a little substandard. 3. Saturday night gave me Sunday morning: Before I even start listening to this, let me say that I am sick of Bon Jovi using Saturday night in their lyrics. That said, it looks like it's going to develop into a decent song, but again, the melody is very familiar. Quite anthemic, probably the best so far. 4. We all fall down: The “don't let the bastards grind you down” message is getting a little stale. This is okay, but just okay. Slower song, though not what I'd call a ballad really. Another anthemic chorus. They're really writing for the kids now, which is a little silly, given the age of these guys. 5. Blind love: Could I hope for a Waits cover? Thought not. Nice piano though, seems like this may be the first ballad. Alright, this is beautiful. Orchestral accompaniment? Can't tell; there's very little information and the Wiki and Discogs pages are useless. Don't even know who's taken Sambora's place on the guitar. Is there something in the fact that this is one of only two tracks Jon writes solo? On the rest he's mostly collaborating with either John Shanks, Billy Falcon or, on one, Richie, which I assume is an older track. 6. Who would you die for: This has a somewhat sort of trip-hop feel to it, another quite downbeat song; doesn't really do it for me. Great guitar solo. The middle eighth is stupid though. 7. Fingerprints: This is much, much better. Sort of a swaying balladic song, mostly on acoustic guitar. 8. Life is beautiful: The “Woh-oh-oh!”'s are back. I guess we need a bit of an uptempo track after the last three, but this is a little weak to be fair. Also, it's a little easy for a millionaire like Jon to tell us life is beautiful. Maybe it isn't for those sleeping rough or who can't find a job. Just sayin', it's not all roses out there and sometimes Bon Jovi seem to live in a world separate from the rest of us. 9. I'm your man: Please be the Wham! song, please be the Wham! song, please be the .... aw. That would have been so cool, and also funny. Oh well. Bon Jovi don't really do covers, and the chances they'd do that one... Meh, it's another throwaway. Lyrically it's very close to “I could make a livin' out of lovin' you” from Crush. 10. Burning bridges: Oh. Dear. God. No. Just no. A Country song? Dear God in Heaven, why? Conclusion: Certainly not the greatest Bon Jovi album I've ever heard. Not the worst either, but some of the filler is hardly even good enough to be called that. There are some very good tracks, but whether they justify the pretty low-quality collection of songs that masquerades as an album here is very debatable. I suppose if you look on this as not really an album maybe you can get away with it, but all I can say is the next one had better knock it out of the stadium or I'll be seriously rethinking my devotion to these guys. Oh, and you can all shut up, while you're at it. Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018