Glancing Over...

Zarko · 08-23-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beszpilman

Well, it definitely helps that your journal's relatively recent and doesn't have 10+ pages full of great recommendation I'd feel I couldn't miss! And unfortunately for me I do feel like that about longer journals and.. gasp... read it all!! So I do hope your journal reaches those heights and maybe mine too

Needless to say, I should start off with The Velvet Underground & Nico, hopefully by year's end!

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds is intriguing me too. Do you think it would be a better experience to hear From Her to Eternity first or I should just skip right through to The Firstborn Is Dead ? I usually feel I should give an artist's justice and listen in chronological order, especially when the debut's a good album, but most of the time I don't actually do it.

Can I offer a suggestion?

Cave is such a random 'beast' when it comes to the style of his albums, its difficult to pin down a suggestion for anyone. Which ever way you go about it you will be richly rewarded for putting in the time.

I'm not a huge fan of his earlier stuff (In comparison to his later stuff) and would personally suggest starting @ the 90's. However, that is just one fan, and if you talk to five people you will get five suggestions. He is one artist you DON'T have to start from the start with. So yeah, Firstborn is a good way to go, or Let Love In, or Tender Prey, or Abattoir Blues etc etc

beszpilman · 08-23-2009, 12:22 PM

Wow, the freedom! Thanks for shedding those shackles ;D
So yeah, I owe it to the journal owner to start from the First, then I can jump both feet into the 90's. Wish me a fine ride.

Zarko · 08-23-2009, 12:33 PM

Forgot to add, great journal, love the way you review albums.

Schizotypic · 08-23-2009, 12:43 PM

Comus
First Utterance (1971)

First Utterance is hands down the most (lyrically) twisted album I have ever heard, and at the same time among the most beautiful instrumentally and also one of the most intense. Even standing as a lone beast against the numerous and varied discographies of it's time, it seems that Comus in their effort had made an album which achieved with ease the goal of bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, and King Crimson: to take you to another place completely. In my opinion they did it better.

Bongos, violin, acoustic guitar, electric bass. If you had to guess what this album was going to sound like based only upon the bands instrument choice, you would almost undoubtedly be wrong. The sound here is as abrasive as it is experimental and is relentless in striving to create the perfect mood for murder, rape, and eternal suffering. Don't let this mislead you, once you've spun this enough you'll notice how beautiful it really is; it reminds me of mountains and torture and sky.

Lyrically each song is its own epic story. First Utterance is the best of storytellers here, as it makes certain you feel the suspense of every single second. Despite the vocals being extremely layered, they sound as acoustic as the rest of the album- and also thoroughly raise you up and drop you as they please. "As they please" are the key words of my summary. Comus has all of the power, they know what they want you to feel, and you're going to feel it. It's just what makes this particular gem a rating of 6/5.

Of course highly recommended. Listen to this at 3:00am.
Sincerely, Schizotypic.

6/5

Ratio: 4/5

Schizotypic · 08-23-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beszpilman

Wow, the freedom! Thanks for shedding those shackles ;D
So yeah, I owe it to the journal owner to start from the First, then I can jump both feet into the 90's. Wish me a fine ride.

When I started I told myself I should always go in chronological order, one discography at a time, and I'd review every album... like a machine! Turns out music doesn't work like that. I mean, yeah, I try to start with the first (or at least the early) album(s), it just helps me understand the bands progression, but, it takes so much time for an album to really "simmer" that there's really no harm in doing what's most comfortable. I think as far as Nick Cave goes, all of his albums are good. Honestly I have listened to two, so who knows, maybe his later stuff is even better!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarko

Forgot to add, great journal, love the way you review albums.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate some nice compliments on the way I write. I try to be pretty laid back and honest about it all rather then perfectionist. I think this Journal has actually been healthy for me!

Thanks for all the comments etc, etc. I should have the next review up pretty soon.

debaserr · 08-23-2009, 01:57 PM

your scores are grossly inflated! stop liking everything damnit!

edit: post #666

Schizotypic · 08-23-2009, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trace87

your scores are grossly inflated! stop liking everything damnit!

edit: post #666

Here's a quote from one of my reviews: "If you'll notice I give my all time favorite albums (which there are what, five of?) a rating of 6/5. This may seem confusing, so let me explain; not only are every single track on these albums stunning, but there's also something more there. That something may be different from album to album..."

My scores are actually pretty harsh, I just don't review anything I think is below a 5/5. I'll admit there are things like The Album Leaf which just happen to hit me in the right spot, but I'm not going to not include something because of what other people may think- I think it's a 5/5 album.

Trust me, if I were to try and review the albums I thought were a 4/5 I'd be in over my head. To give you an idea, I'd be reviewing undoubtedly every PJ Harvey album, a bunch of Crime & The City Solution, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Gram Rabbit, Lou Reed, Morphine, the list can go on and on. I mean, honestly, sometimes an album will be a 4/5 and one day it'll grow on me enough to make the cut (like The Album Leaf) and those are borderline. Really, though, I'm not as easy a grader as you think I am... these albums just mean a lot to me.

debaserr · 08-23-2009, 03:39 PM

fair enough

beszpilman · 08-23-2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trace87

your scores are grossly inflated! stop liking everything damnit!

edit: post #666

Congratz on post 666, now go listen iron maiden and never post again lol.

Yeah, Schizotypic, I know what you're getting at. And I like your 6/5 solution. It's like a godlike, blackbelt status to an album. Sort of like a top ranking, where one newcomer is likely to take the place of another, as you taste more and more albums. Me, I use 5/5 for that kind of status. Most of the albums I love are 4/5, which would mean 5/5 to you. Actually, I've yet to come across a 5/5 album in my journey (but then I haven't gotten REAL deep with any one album). It's that special.

Schizotypic · 08-25-2009, 04:14 PM

The Arcade Fire - Funeral

*extremely* personal album review for a person album:
A 2004 LP by the name of Funeral released by The Arcade Fire. First impressions usually barely scratch the surface for me, and although that is true of this album it is not a grower. It's so accessible that you can literally dance to it and it's immediately beautiful sounding. Because of this I originally passed it off as pretty good indie-label popular music. Of course I was embarrassingly wrong.

If you don't want to know about my personal shit, see last paragraph.

A warning to those who only like prog- it's not the musicianship which impressed me, and actually I'm not even impressed. This is an album which let me open-up my defenses and feel things I've been trying to work through for several months. I'm talking adult shit here, too, no over dramatizing. Into the bowels of self and family, through the deep and unknown of the pain, validating all the abuse was there, cutting webs of resentments, the rock and hard place of the last stop at co-dependence peak; basically truly and really accepting reality at it's grittiest.

The album is ahead of me as the end of it is acceptance, I'm not there yet. But It will be waiting for when I am. And I'm so grateful for Davey Moore's review on this, which I read after listening to it, in that we must share some common ground- as I agree, this album is an exorcism.

There is some beautiful music and real emotional depth to Funeral which reminds me why music is so amazing. This album is an exact picture of the very center of someone, the roots of the core problems which weave their way into every one of us humans who are capable of feeling them- despite how differently we deal with it, the pit of the fruit is always the same. And here it is, a photo X-ray, staring you in the eye. Right at you.

YouTube - Arcade Fire- Neighborhood 3 (Power Out) with lyrics

n/a

08-23-2009, 12:43 PM	#24 (permalink)
Schizotypic Souls of Sound Sailors Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mojave Posts: 759	Comus First Utterance (1971) First Utterance is hands down the most (lyrically) twisted album I have ever heard, and at the same time among the most beautiful instrumentally and also one of the most intense. Even standing as a lone beast against the numerous and varied discographies of it's time, it seems that Comus in their effort had made an album which achieved with ease the goal of bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, and King Crimson: to take you to another place completely. In my opinion they did it better. Bongos, violin, acoustic guitar, electric bass. If you had to guess what this album was going to sound like based only upon the bands instrument choice, you would almost undoubtedly be wrong. The sound here is as abrasive as it is experimental and is relentless in striving to create the perfect mood for murder, rape, and eternal suffering. Don't let this mislead you, once you've spun this enough you'll notice how beautiful it really is; it reminds me of mountains and torture and sky. Lyrically each song is its own epic story. First Utterance is the best of storytellers here, as it makes certain you feel the suspense of every single second. Despite the vocals being extremely layered, they sound as acoustic as the rest of the album- and also thoroughly raise you up and drop you as they please. "As they please" are the key words of my summary. Comus has all of the power, they know what they want you to feel, and you're going to feel it. It's just what makes this particular gem a rating of 6/5. Of course highly recommended. Listen to this at 3:00am. Sincerely, Schizotypic. 6/5 Ratio: 4/5 Last edited by Schizotypic; 08-23-2009 at 05:24 PM.

08-23-2009, 01:57 PM	#26 (permalink)
debaserr eat the masters Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 5,470	your scores are grossly inflated! stop liking everything damnit! edit: post #666 __________________ Last.FM Last edited by debaserr; 08-23-2009 at 02:07 PM.

08-23-2009, 03:39 PM	#28 (permalink)
debaserr eat the masters Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 5,470	fair enough __________________ Last.FM

08-23-2009, 12:22 PM	#22 (permalink)
beszpilman Groupie Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 11	Wow, the freedom! Thanks for shedding those shackles ;D So yeah, I owe it to the journal owner to start from the First, then I can jump both feet into the 90's. Wish me a fine ride.

08-23-2009, 12:33 PM	#23 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Forgot to add, great journal, love the way you review albums.

08-25-2009, 04:14 PM	#30 (permalink)
Schizotypic Souls of Sound Sailors Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mojave Posts: 759	The Arcade Fire - Funeral extremely personal album review for a person album: A 2004 LP by the name of Funeral released by The Arcade Fire. First impressions usually barely scratch the surface for me, and although that is true of this album it is not a grower. It's so accessible that you can literally dance to it and it's immediately beautiful sounding. Because of this I originally passed it off as pretty good indie-label popular music. Of course I was embarrassingly wrong. If you don't want to know about my personal shit, see last paragraph. A warning to those who only like prog- it's not the musicianship which impressed me, and actually I'm not even impressed. This is an album which let me open-up my defenses and feel things I've been trying to work through for several months. I'm talking adult shit here, too, no over dramatizing. Into the bowels of self and family, through the deep and unknown of the pain, validating all the abuse was there, cutting webs of resentments, the rock and hard place of the last stop at co-dependence peak; basically truly and really accepting reality at it's grittiest. The album is ahead of me as the end of it is acceptance, I'm not there yet. But It will be waiting for when I am. And I'm so grateful for Davey Moore's review on this, which I read after listening to it, in that we must share some common ground- as I agree, this album is an exorcism. There is some beautiful music and real emotional depth to Funeral which reminds me why music is so amazing. This album is an exact picture of the very center of someone, the roots of the core problems which weave their way into every one of us humans who are capable of feeling them- despite how differently we deal with it, the pit of the fruit is always the same. And here it is, a photo X-ray, staring you in the eye. Right at you. YouTube - Arcade Fire- Neighborhood 3 (Power Out) with lyrics n/a