Machine

Next review is coming I've just been really lazy.

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ALBUM REVIEW

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas

Well I'm sorry this review is a few days late, but I've been chilling about all weekend and procrastination took a hold of me again. So without further ado here it is.

There isn't an album that sparks to mind Christmas more than A Charlie Brown Christmas in my opinion. The album just somehow perfectly encapsulates that sound of snow, and the cold so well its almost superhuman. Maybe it's just because of how the album is associated with Christmas or maybe there is genuinely a sound to it that shouts Christmas. What's so special about the album is how well it holds up all this time later, and how not only the hooks of the songs and pieces are memorable, but you might even find yourself humming to some of the improvisation on the album. Every song is memorable without without a moment ever being wasted or feels like it might be going on for too long.

The album starts with the instantly recognizable O Tenanbaum kicking the album open with a track that really fully encapsulates the sound of the album



Following this come What Child is This, and My Little Drum two more Christmas classics that even if you're not familiar with the record I'm sure you would recognize the melody's.




What so amazing when I listen to the album is just that sense of wonder I always had listening to this album as a child, like all that cynicism and boredom fade away instantly and are replaced by the starry eyed wonderment of looking at the snow and Christmas lights in the car as we would drive past ah those were the days. Not back to the actual review.

Next up is Linus and Lucy, what most would recognize as the theme song for Charlie Brown specials. It completely is and what makes the track even more special for myself is the changing of styles starting with the theme before moving into a more Latin section, back to the theme, to a swing section, back to the theme. It really demands the attention of the listener as a legitimate jazz piece as almost all the songs on here do.



Next up comes my personal favorite on the album and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The track is Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental), and nothings brings the feelings and sensations of Christmas morning, honestly every time I hear the track I get a little misty eyed, thinking of all the great memories. The melody is the most instantly recognizable on the album, and that's saying something from an album that seems to lay out catchy song after catchy song. And that really says something about the album as a whole to make a jazz album focused on improvisation as insanely catchy ad this one is a real feat in my eyes.



Afterwards comes Christmas Time Is Here with vocals in my opinion the weaker of the two I don't know why. It's still a great track but for whatever reason the vocals don't do it for me. It might be due to the fact that I've never been a big fan of vocals in jazz.



Skating the next track is another one of "those" tracks that encapsulate the sound so well, yet oddly enough it reminds me of a track from the Thanksgiving special.


Next up Hark, The Herald Angel Sings well this one always will remind me of the section of the special where Linus gives his speech. The singing doesn't bother me on this one at all because it's not really a jazzy song so it gets a pass from me.

Alright! The next one is Christmas Is Coming, this track is just so fun! Really try listening to this one and not be a little tempted to move around or dance, it's just such a danceable track. Again it's up there with O Tenanbaum and Christmas Time Is Here as one of my favorites on the album.



Now the next is a brief rendition of Für Elise and the one track I would say the album could do without. I know it's short and it is in the special, but to me it breaks up the otherwise amazing flow of the album.

The Christmas Song and Greensleeves finish out the album on a high note both really using the sound to their advantage especially Greensleeves which is such a great closing track in every way. It almost makes you sad that the album is over but also reminds you of what great music it has given you over the last 40 or so minutes.



All in all the album is a need to hear weather you like jazz or not and to not listen to this thing around Christmas - time is doing it injustice so go! Go and get the album now!

Rating: Must Have

Favorite Tracks: Christmas Time Is Here, Greensleaves, O Tenanbaum, The Christmas Song, Christmas Is Coming

Least Favorite Tracks: Für Elise

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Next review isn't coming until Christmas and it'll be a but different get hype!!!

Also the week after that i'm stealing from theneedledrop because I'm doing classics week.

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Machine

If you haven't noticed it at this point I'm just going to say it, I'm a HUGE Flaming Lips fan I love quite a bit of their output and have a large part of their discography on CD and Vinyl, to say they are one of my favorite bands I've ever found would be about right. So I got this idea of using this journal as a way to review some of my favorite bands complete discographies, that includes albums, EP's, singles, side projects, and whatever else so why not start with The Flaming Lips.

The way it will go is I'll be reviewing them chronologically for the most part, if I skip over some singles, EP's and bootlegs I'll be sure to go back and review those as well, and I don't plan on going to another discography until I'm done with this one. So now that I have a good a week and a half of time OK my hands before school starts back up, I'm going to try and do as much as possible now rather than wait. I'll be starting with Hear It Is, and it will be my first impression seeing as I've never taken the time to listen to it.

I'm really excited about doing this discography because there's so much to go through and so much that I like about it, if anything I hope I can turn a few people onto these guys. So look out for the reviews they'll start coming in soon.

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boost my ego

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Machine

Hear It Is: ALBUM REVIEW

New years is coming early, why? Because it's late and I'm bored so why not do an album review.

Right the hear we go (see what I did there?). That was really stupid... Hear It Is is the first full length album, from seminal psych pop band The Flaming Lips. The album came out after the departure of Mark Coyne (Wayne Coyne's older brother) leaving Wayne with guitar and vocal duties. The style and sound of the record doesn't differ far from the punk, garage rock sounds that were heard on The Flaming Lips EP ( 1984 ), in fact they didn't start to let go of the punky sound until 1990's In A Priest Driven Ambulance which I will review at a later date. The only real difference from this and TFL EP again is the new vocalist everything else remains the same they just sound tighter.

So now that the pleasantries are out of the way let us get to the actual album. Also as a note my tracklisting is messed up so excuse that. With You starts us off, it starts off really gentle and acoustic like, with lyrics with about feeling strange around someone. Suddenly the tempo picks and some noise guitars and drums start to fly in everything deteriorates and goes straight back to the beggining this time with bass. This is my kind of song, the lyrics shift to more sexual overtones about hallucinations at touch, which also could be a drug reference I'm not sure. And yep as I suspected everything breaks apart (which is kind of as part chorus).



Alright quick to the next song which starts off with a really garage rock riff that sounds pretty badass, this one is called unplugged which is a lie, this is a very punky song probably the punkiest song I've ever heard from The Lips. So far so good, my only problem is that the lyrics are really hard to distinguish.

And another quick entrance to the next song called Trains, Brains & Rain. This one sounds a lot like a R.E.M song or maybe an early XTC song to me. So far it's the poppiest song on the record and I'm loving the melody on this one. The lyrics again I'm not to sure as I'm not having too much time to digest them. Cool song probably my favorite so far.

Next up is Just Like Before, oooo right off the bat I'm getting a little Sonic Youth from the riff. The main riff is cool, but I'm not really feeling the rest, and the lyrics are really cheesy, I don't think they were really trying to all that weird yet, and seriousness doesn't really suit them well. Nice dissonant solo right in the middle, I like that. Nothing all that notable on this one unfortunately kind of middle of the road punk, nothing that special.

Alright now we're coming to She Is Death, another more acoustic song it seems. It starts off with some weird guitar effects that remind me of a Can song. I'm liking this one a lot actually, the lyrics aren't anything amazing, but they're a hell of a lot better than the last track. During the hook the full band comes in and gives us a pretty melody to work with. A guitar lead just popped in to add a bit of dissonance to the track which is always appreciated. Sadly the track just kind of fizzled out after that weak ending to an otherwise good song.

Alright so this next track is called Charlie Manson Blues, and the intro kicks serious ass oh goodness me is that good. Alright on to the song, again fairly punky like much of the rest of the album. The lyrics are what you expect from a track called Charlie Manson Blues, but the backup vocals are worth mentioning because they're delightfully weird almost creepy, it's my favorite thing I've heard on this album so far to be honest. Boy this song just kicks all sorts of ass, most definitely contender for favourite track on the album. Cool noisy speed up outright as well!



Man from Pakistan is up next, and the intro yet again is pretty killer, that's one thing I can say for sure positive is that all the intros are really great. As far as the song goes it's one of the stronger ones on the album, as far as songs go it's just good. Nothing really noteworthy about it just that it's a really killer song.

( never mentioned this, but this is my first time listening through this whole album, so that's why I'm opting to go in a more overall track by track style because it's the easiest to get my thoughts down that way)

Another acoustic one Godzilla Flick, really pretty the bass sounds a bit 80's though (you'd know what I'm talking about if you heard it). Coyne's singing in a much lower register than normal, more like how he actually talks rather than his usual high pitched out of tune yell of his. The backing vocals add something really nice to the mix as well nice poppy chorused-out feel. Very 80's, but very nice, pleasent would be the way to describe this one perfectly.



Second track with blues in the title, this one being Summertime Blues. Another really punk rock song, like classic punk rock think Ramones or Modern Lovers. This one is actually really fun to listen to, even though it's kind of derivative.

Alright two more tracks to go, this one is a sequel to the first track With You, it's called Staring At Sound - With You II, very punky yet again as most of this album is. Again getting getting a R.E.M vibe from this one. Right in the middle there's a weird breakdown that's dissonant in an almost jazzy way, it just kind of stops and goes back to the song, weird. Again the lyrics are much like With You talking about being with someone you like a lot, again it could just be a big drug metaphor. After the second chorus, we literally go back to With You again as a sort of reprise (I'm a big fan of reprises) what what a pleasent surprise it actually makes the record feel like more of a whole. Nice...

And finally.... Jesus Shooting Heroin. This is by far my favorite track on the album, and is one of my favorite Flaming Lips songs in general. The lyrics are actually great about war and how we'll never be at peace in the world, there's also religious overtones (or rather a distrust of religion), best lyrics on the album by far. The music during the verses is really subdued and the chord progression is really simple but hits in the right way. And the chorus legit kicks ass with those thudding notes and Floydish back round vocals. In fact this track I'd probably the most Floyd - like on the album, and the longest clocking in at over seven minutes.



Hear It Is is an astounding debut from The Lips because it's so different from almost anything else they've ever made since. If by far got the most punk influence from any album I've ever heard from them. There are definitely highlights like the opener With You, Charlie Manson Blues, Godzilla Flick, and Jesus Shooting Heroin, but there are pitfalls as well, and the songwriting wasn't nearly as complete from Coyne and Ivins yet, as they were still just starting off. And without Drozd for years to come they didn't have any of the expanded instrumentation or songwriting capabilities that he brought to the table.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Jesus Shooting Heroin, Godzilla Flick, With You, With You II, Charlie Manson Blues

LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS: She Is Death, Just Like Before

OVERALL RATING: 6/10

__________________
boost my ego

listen to me stroke my delay pedal

ever wanted to hear death grips songs... but they're acoustic? me neither.

Machine

Oh My Gawd... It's The Flaming Lips:
ALBUM REVIEW

So since my last post was before the new year, happy belated new year's everyone I hope you all are having a great first week of 2015.

Alright when we left off I'd just reviewed Hear It Is as the first album to be reviewed in my entire The Flaming Lips Discography Extravaganza and now we come to their sophomore record Oh My Gawd... It's The Flaming Lips, and besides it being one of my favorite titles of all time is probably my favorite Lips record from the Garage Rock/Punk/Noise Rock era that lasts until In A Priest Driven Ambulance. The record has a driving force behind it that some of Hear It Is was lacking almost completely. Sure it had rockers on in and had no shortage of energy, the listening experience left much to be desired, as I feel they really stepped up the production on this one as well. Another thing noted is that while this did come out in the 80's like Hear It Is, I noticed it also feels much less of an 80's album, no reverb and completely chorus soaked instruments and weak attempts at studio manipulation. Oh My Gawd hits much harder, ****s around less, and the slower songs are better laid out.

One of the first things that I noticed going into this record were how strong the songs were overall. Almost every song does what it needs to and none feel like failed experiments, even when samples are brought in on tracks like Ode To C.C Parts 1 and 2, Can't Stop The Spring, and Everything's Explodin'. The opener the aforementioned Everything's Explodin' kicks off like a rocket and trumps nearly everything on Hear It Is, it's one of the many punkier tracks on the album, but unlike earlier tracks nine of them feel meandering and not as many of the lyrics sound corny either like they did before.

Everything's Exploding


Ode To C.C Part 2


There's also a number of slower tracks on the album that really pull it together and feel more cohesive than previous efforts, the nine-minute long epic One Millionth Billionth Of A Millisecond On A Sunday Morning has a great build up that sucks you in and doesn't let hold of you, not to mention it's great crescendo at the climax of the track. And it happens again at the very end of the album with Love Yer Brain which is a piano led ballad that feels very Beatles-esque in my opinion (at the end they literally smash the piano to pieces (and there's a John Lennon sample at the very end)).

One Millionth Billionth Of A Millisecond On A Sunday Morning


Love Yer Brain


Other tracks come off as successful experiments like both of the Ode To C.C tracks, and the little instrumental that spans the first half of Operation: Love. There's also a number of low-key acoustic tracks that yet again really add a lot of depth to the album that it wouldn't have had if it were just straightforward punk rock songs like on Hear It Is.

All in all, Oh My Gawd... It The Flaming Lips comes across as a far superior version of Hear It Is, all the songwriting was improved and even when it doesn't quite work as well as it would later on, it truly feels like a rewarding listen all the way through, never muddled or dragging like earlier releases even with the inclusion of more long or drawn out songs and song structures. The album proves that even without Drozd in the mix yet, Coyne and co. were able to write songs that hit hard and we're as memorable as many albums that would come later. What I will say is lacking is the album still sounds quite amateur at times, the production while it is a step up from Hear It Is doesn't come close to the absolute studio mastery of albums like Yoshimi, The Soft Bulletin, or At War With The Mystics and this due to two things one being that the Lips themselves were not well versed in the studio yet, and two mastermind Dave Freidman hadn't joined them at the helm yet, and no got the Lips sound better on recording than him. Also like I said Drozd hadn't joined yet and his multi-instrumentation brought something to the table without it The Flaming Lips can feel very empty at times even though piano is on Oh My Gawd, the subtle layering Drozd would bring added something absolutely amazing to the band with his knowledge of music theory and layering.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Love Yer Brain, One Millionth Billionth Of A Millisecond On A Sunday Morning, Ode To C.C Part 1, Everything's Explodin', Can't Exist, Prescription: Love

LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS: Thanks To You

OVERALL RATING: 8/10

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boost my ego

listen to me stroke my delay pedal

ever wanted to hear death grips songs... but they're acoustic? me neither.