tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26620615888790535922024-03-12T19:06:17.532-07:00Something about musica blog about music that is good to listen to yesDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-6154857611700739382012-01-31T02:58:00.000-08:002012-01-31T02:58:41.379-08:00What makes an album?<a href="http://mrldavis.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/opinions1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://mrldavis.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/opinions1.jpg" width="320" /></a>So before I actually start ranting, here's a little intro to this. I am most definitely pretentious. I am a middle class 17 year old on the internet trying to think critically about music, and failing at it so damn much. However, I'm not trying to impress anyone, I just like listening and thinking and talking a lot about music. So following that, I've a shitload of opinions so let's get this shebang going.<br />
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This topic was prompted by my dad who, though is a nice and intelligent person, can be a complete fuck-knuckle sometimes. He argued that to make a good album, you need to put weaker tracks at the beginning of an album and end with your best song. For evidence, "The Bends"-Radiohead (Fucking good album, don't try and argue now), ending on what I'd describe as the most beautiful Radiohead song to date, "Street Spirit (Fade Out). Ok, ending the album on that song was a good idea and yes, the opening song "Planet Telex" isn't exactly the best on the album. But there's a reason those two songs were put there. They were the best songs on the album to open and close the album. And that in my mind is what changes a collection of songs into an album; song placement. Put some actual thought into your song order and actually give your listener a smooth and enjoyable experience.<br />
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And yes, I get that flow is important too but it's not that hard to create, because you're keeping the same style/using the same instruments, and these similarities create flow. So unless you're desperately unimaginative and decide to stick a piano ballad next to a 20 minute prog rock epic, you've got flow hands down. So how do you get your audience to want to listen all the way through. Well, apart from making good music, invite your audience in and then leave them on a high note. Let's look at some examples...<br />
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How bout we try the greatest indie rock record ever first? How does "Funeral" start? With a light piano a catchy guitar riff, slowing bringing you into the album, which then builds into a gushing and pounding song by the end. How does it end? With loud violins, drums and guitar slowly softening to a single violin line before becoming nothing. Now, in my opinion neither song is the best on the album (that honour goes to "Wake Up"), but they open and close the album perfectly, whereas "Wake Up" would feel clunky in either position. Convinced? Cause I've got more...<br />
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Let's try last year's most acclaimed album. Bon Iver, Bon Iver, good album, good album. Its opener, "Perth" goes from one guitar to a whole menagerie of instruments at the end;its one giant crescendo mark. Its closer, "Beth/Rest" slowly gets louder until a minute from the end, then it dies out along with the album. It works. But I've got one more.<br />
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Let's do the most acclaimed album of all time, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Starting with the title track, at first all you can hear is the muttering of people and the tuning of instruments. Then, BAM, killer riff with awesome drums, that's the way to start an album. And how does it end, you may ask? "A Day In The Life", with its flurry of strings, horns and cymbals and then a final blast on a trumpet and a long held piano chord. Sex.<br />
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Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a bunch of songs put together on a cd, because you just described a mixtape, and I love mixtapes, but there's something special about a carefully crafted album which to me make it that much more enjoyable. Enough of my opinions, go out and listens to some albums.<br />
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CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-73514323936413601702012-01-25T02:35:00.000-08:002012-01-25T02:35:16.068-08:00DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Endtroducingcover.jpg/220px-Endtroducingcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Endtroducingcover.jpg/220px-Endtroducingcover.jpg" /></a>So suppose a friend comes up to you and goes, "Dude, watch this". He then flips onto his head, pulls out some ingredients and starts making a sandwich. Once he's done, he flips back onto his feet, bows, and hands you the sandwich. You think, "Wow, that was amazing, wonder how good the sandwich will be?" So you go to take a bite and you discover that this is the best sandwich ever created. You start shouting, "HOLY SHIT! THAT WAS AMAZING JESUS FUCK HOT DAMN! HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD?", and he only smiles and says, "That's because I'm *puts on glasses* DJ Shadow".<br />
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And so through that tortured analogy is the best way I'd explain his 1996 debut trip-hop album "Endtroducing...". It is an album entirely made of sampling other music/movies, along with a few spoken words of his own. Now that's impressive, as good sampling is really hard to do. The fact that all the songs are cohesive and have good flow is what really elevates this album.<br />
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Shadow likes to begin some of his songs with a single element, and then progressively add and subtract away instruments and vocals to produce the hypnotic and atmospheric sound typical of trip-hop. On "Changeling", a slow organ loop becomes overpowered by a strong drum beat, bass, distant vocals, ethereal horns, chopped up vocals and more organ. On "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt", a piano riff becomes intertwined with guitar, drums and vocals before being eventually reduced to that one piano riff closing out the song.<br />
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He is able to expertly combine together hip-hop and electronica together on tracks like "The Number Song" and " Mutual Slump", using a pulsing beat with electric noises to create a mesmerising effect on the listeners. On others a drum beat and warped vocals are all he needs to make the song. Altogether he shows a great deal of craftsmanship and attention to detail when creating every one of these songs.<br />
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No doubt the best example of his synthesis of samples comes from the psychedelic "Midnight In A Perfect World". Beginning with a vocal sample, it falls into slow repeated organ chords, with soft female vocals behind it. Pounding drums and gentle piano are added, along with a delayed guitar and scratching. And when each of these elements appear, they appear at precisely the right moment to create the song's feeling of propulsion. The steady repeating of the word "Midnight" only reaffirms this. The song ends with the words "Now approaching midnight" being chopped up and repeated with incredible speed before finishing on a triumphant "Midnight!" and ending with the ticking of a clock. All brought together form different sources to produce a mastery of deep, hypnotic atmosphere.<br />
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The only significant problem on this album is that the songs get too similar by the end and become forgotten. But apart from that I have to recommend this album to fans of electronic music, even fans of the wub. Maybe then dubstep creators can learn how to fucking create buildups effectively so that bassdrops actually mean anything. Just sayin...<br />
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Rating: 4.5/5<br />
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Best songs: Midnight In A Perfect World/ChangelingDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-74898141026774640362011-12-25T01:04:00.000-08:002011-12-25T01:05:26.640-08:00Bon Iver, Bon Iver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUijQ4IgYc8G4UFCMCldV10De5gEKTeQjHuD0WgiuXk3uwu6WVBjlM1XoMQelfF4-F7fLKtAZS5Nr_oxrDvMkfYSRsBbcQFCbHUUn2w-Cui0NDFwcRpJ2Jn4ssN-8-XE_CAphFmHhoUQw/s1600/new-bon-iver-1024x1024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUijQ4IgYc8G4UFCMCldV10De5gEKTeQjHuD0WgiuXk3uwu6WVBjlM1XoMQelfF4-F7fLKtAZS5Nr_oxrDvMkfYSRsBbcQFCbHUUn2w-Cui0NDFwcRpJ2Jn4ssN-8-XE_CAphFmHhoUQw/s320/new-bon-iver-1024x1024.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yep, its a Christmas update. Just a short review of an album that came out earlier this year because, honestly, there's fuck all coming out now. So here ya go...<br />
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Early this year, I'd never heard of the whole heartbreak followed by cabin story that so inspired Justin Vernon to write For Emma, Years Ago, I just knew of a simple yet catchy song called Skinny Love. One voice, one guitar. Then my girlfriend at the time lent me his second album and upon playing the first song "Perth", I was shocked at the number of new elements that were present throughout the song. An electric guitar, marching band style drumming, a backing choir, a chorus of trumpets. All slowly building together to form a powerful and triumphant song. While his EP Blood Bank hinted at a progression from one man one guitar, the leap made was great enough to create one of the most breathtaking albums of 2011.<br />
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As Perth finishes on a delayed guitar, it flows into "Minnesota, WI", offering its jaunty guitar and Vernon ranging from a deep voice to his trademark high falsetto, with both a banjo and a horn section accompaning him, all combine to form an excellent track. "Holocene", possibly the most emotionally charged song on the album, has Vernon crooning about his inferiority to the world around him, knowing that he "was not magnificent", all while accompanied by delicate guitar and piano. He uses an organ, a sombre sax and guitar on "Michican't" to enhance the magical feeling of young love he once felt. On "Calgary", a singular organ evolves into a great wall of instruments all accompaning a single melody being sung by Vernon before dying out by the end of the song. On the final song "Beth/Rest", a wandering guitar solo and strong background xylophone and synth accentuate Vernon's lyrics of finally being happy with someone else.<br />
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The differences between Bon Iver's two albums could not be more profound. While For Emma, Years Ago achieved its emotional power from its lack of instruments, only one voice, one guitar, all the new instrumentation and techniques Vernon has applied on this album make it extremely passionate and overwrought. But while limiting himself to his sole voice and his acoustic guitar restricted the breadth of his music, on his sophomore he was able to go deeper than we could have imagined.<br />
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Rating-Very Good<br />
Best Songs-Perth/Holocene<br />
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CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-12005078045354116842011-05-15T02:17:00.000-07:002011-05-15T02:17:07.411-07:00The JellybeansOkay so today I'm doing something way different. I'm sure that you have never ever ever heard of this band unless you're Deborah. *HiDeborah* Or Katherine. So these two ladies have joined forces to give to you the wonderful song "What I thought I Had". And yeah I know these two so Deborah asked me to take a look at her on <a href="http://www.triplejunearthed.com/">triple J's Unearthed</a> and so you can find her and Katherine <a href="http://www.triplejunearthed.com/thejellybeans">HERE</a>. GO THERE AND BE COOL.<br />
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SOSOSO. This one song that they did. It is very different from anything you have heard. Thankfully they sound very unique which is a nice change from constantly hearing new bands trying to recreate Paramore or Silverchair. So most of the instruments are played by either Deborah or Katherine. The only computer made thingy are the drums (I apologize for bad sentence structure). BUT TO THE ACTUAL MUSIC.<br />
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The song itself has a very nice floaty feel to it which I really like and so should you. Why? Because I said so. ANYWAY. I can't really say much else except that they should make more. More is always good. There was however ONLY ONE THING that pissed me off. It's that they damn well 'broke up' as a band if that's even possible to do after making only one song. I MEAN SERIOUSLY. WHAT THE CHICKEN. I do think that if only one of them sung for the start it could have been a lot better than going straight into it but what am I going to do. I just shout into the distance hoping people will hear.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ow5aiJ96LEel4hv7Sq8RZyImbZGA_ED3c0r4gNVDHSpC4tudvJSvzSbHkoWDlmA9fXY1U5kH3Ff5zCooZO95y_HcWMXW-TOGmchODzfHbEFAUcbE6K4iFnrFHAmumVnBbTF8-jKulnbW/s1600/display+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Ow5aiJ96LEel4hv7Sq8RZyImbZGA_ED3c0r4gNVDHSpC4tudvJSvzSbHkoWDlmA9fXY1U5kH3Ff5zCooZO95y_HcWMXW-TOGmchODzfHbEFAUcbE6K4iFnrFHAmumVnBbTF8-jKulnbW/s1600/display+picture.jpg" /></a></div>So go listen to it and then YOU TO could be as cool as me. Really. I am extremely cool. GOODNIGHT.Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-73062865107133416142011-04-30T03:39:00.000-07:002011-04-30T03:39:43.014-07:00SparkadiaG'day, Cook here. So I noticed that all our album reviews so far haven't exactly been topical (Metallica? Pretty sure they haven't been relevant since the Black album ,just sayin), and have gone for a newer choice. Unfortunately, I can't just rant nostalgically and pretend to be a critic, I have to listen to the album, so here goes.<br />
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Sparkadia are an Australian band formed in 2004 and have just this year released their second album, entitled "The Great Impression"; whether that has any relavance to the music I don't care and unless you're a Pitchfork staff member, neither should you. The album is quite a depature from their first, changing style from a frenetic hard rock band to a slower indie rock sound. They even bring in the strings and weird percussion instruments, as all good bands should. Both singles, "Talking Like I'm Fallin Down Stairs" and "China" are some of the best tracks on the album, Talking going for a sweeping song with guitar taking a back seat behind all the piano and violins, and China, one of the more lively songs, caused me to sing the line<em> "She breaks line China"</em> for the rest of the day, which is always a good sign. The other songs are all consistently good and also original, with props to the cheery sounding song "Hurt Me", thrown in there probably just to confuse emo people. However as with alot of albums the later the track, the worse they seem to get, which is a shame. Go for Talkin first; if it gels then give this album a shot.<br />
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I shouldn't make fun of Pitchfork and their staff, 'cause good reviews is hard. I'll try to stay current with my reviews from now on, but we'll see.<br />
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-CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-29412493572703334192011-04-22T00:47:00.001-07:002011-04-22T00:47:36.532-07:00Change of nameNOTICE- this blog has now changed its name. Deal with itDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-71023618937350382442011-04-19T05:15:00.000-07:002011-04-19T05:29:05.487-07:00At first you might think "eewwwwwww Gorillaz not THAT trashy shit." But if you actually take the time to listen to their songs in full you come to appreciate just how much effort they put into their music. And they're British. That immediately makes them 50% more awesome (but minus 40% for adding a "z" onto the end of their name).<br /><br />Now I'd like to talk about one of their older albums called Demon Days. I bought this album a few years back when it first came up and didn't really listen to it properly until quite recently. You can listen to this and pass over most of the album and not really be impressed but there are a few little awesome things in there if you listen far enough into the song. For example: in Kids with Guns, the opening vocals are so boring an elephant seal would be motivated to press skip so as to not be bored into submission. But when you get to about 40 seconds this fantastic groove starts up (much like at 1:05 as well). Eventually you WILL get addicted to this song. Well.. I did...<br /><br />NEXT GOOD SONG: "O green World" Again this is a bit of a weird start and the whole thing is a bit eeeeehhhhh if you don't actually LISTEN to it. So at around 40 seconds (AGAIN... seriously whats up with that) the good stuff kicks in and you can get your shake on. As with Kids with Guns, this song has a very boring voice. I'm guessing it's a satirical tone? Kind of if the singer really really doesn't give an ass as to if he sounds good or not. I ADMIRE THIS.<br /><br />So really I'm not going to push you to buy this. I would actually expect you to know this album already as it has Feel Good Inc on it (NO. I refuse to review that song. It's already awesome enough). Just listen to the album on youtube or some other stuff at the Gorillaz website which is riiiiight <a href="http://gorillaz.com/g-player">HERE</a>. SHWWEEEEET<br /><br />-Alex (not cook)<br /><br />ALSO I posted a draft that I did a while ago so scroll on down and check it out. Or if you're that lazy it's <a href="http://ilistentomusicilike.blogspot.com/2011/02/arcade-fire.html">HERE</a>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-31153666668832231822011-04-12T20:50:00.000-07:002011-04-12T21:19:06.553-07:00Lifeline - Imogen Heap<span class="Apple-style-span"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.35em; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-size: 13px; "></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I for one find it’s appropriate to speak of this incredibly driven songstress in the wake of her fast coming concert this month in Melbourne. So Imogen or Immi as she’s affectionately known has begun an inspired fourth solo album. What’s the fuss? After the crowd sourced footage for her<a href="http://www.lovetheearthfilm.org/main.html"> Love the Earth orchestral film</a> we were pretty impressed but see, she has taken interaction with her audience to a whole new dimension. For this album she will release a new song every 3 months over the time frame of about 3 years. <span style="text-decoration: none; "><a href="http://heapsong1.imogenheap.com/">#heapsong1</a></span><strong> </strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; ">(later taking the title <i>Lifeline</i>) is a crowd inspired song completed on a deadline of 2 weeks. Here’s a brief overview of how it went:</span></strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 1 – Crowd samples uploaded, later selected and incorporated into the song<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 2 – Wordcloud: trigger words are uploaded by the public and added to the lyrics (ie. <i>teaspoon</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 3 – Images as inspiration submitted<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 4 – Video submissions uploaded by public for the coming music video<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 5 – Middle section revealed <o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 6 - The public encouraged to upload solos over the top of the middle section<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 8 – Virtual evolving artwork online that will change over the course of the last week</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 13 – Feedback session, a chat with viewers</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 14 – Last bits of work done</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Day 15 – Release of the single</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">The finished product, though perhaps a bit unpolished both instrumentally and lyrically is a true reflection of her intentions. Starting with the lighting of a match, it just morphs again and again with layer upon layer waiting to be discovered. Kinda leaves you going whoah, I can literally hear the passion. Add some sexy syncopation and the quintessential kooky instrumentals and it’s really getting there. What really hooked me was the beautiful, angst-ridden harmony that sweeps through the verses, driving the piece. A good pair of speakers makes nifty work of this. For two weeks work, Imogen has more than delivered and who knows; next time around YOU could get involved.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p> </o:p>Wait. 10 points for whoever can tell me what the word is for where the music mirrors the lyrics cos there’s a hell-ova-lot of that in Lifeline.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p> </o:p>Congrats or not for killer instincts on who I am (ie. not Cook or Alex)</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Signing out for the first time,</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">-timeliner.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><a href="http://www.imogenheap.com/">Imogen Heap bandpage</a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-size: 13px; "></p></span>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-36009244047381817382011-03-29T03:14:00.000-07:002011-03-29T03:18:15.943-07:00WELLIt would seem that cook shall be bringing on a newcomer. No it's not Luigi. WHO? WE SHALL SEE. Also the next album review should be coming shortly just hang in there whoever sees this. Could you guys like post comments just so I can see whether there actually are people or whether this is just an illusion due to friends clicking multiple times THANKSDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-38930976442632724572011-03-21T13:10:00.000-07:002011-03-21T13:24:34.036-07:00Crap...Due to school and other menaces in my life at the moment, I won't be able to keep this blog going so check back during school holidays and there should be something there! ALSO 2000 views! :D:D:D<span style="font-family: verdana;"></span>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-2669806604169712542011-02-27T17:27:00.000-08:002011-04-19T04:54:49.764-07:00Arcade FireArcade Fire is one of those bands that you expect to crumble under their own success. Fortunately that hasn't happened... yet. They've managed to stay together long enough for them to put out this brilliant new album: "The Suburbs".<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Suburbs is an album that you actually need to <b>listen</b> to to actually like it. You can't just pick up the album, find a few songs that you like and then put them on shuffle while you cook some delicious pancakes for me. No this album needs to be appreciated like Jimi Hendrix needs to be close to a guitar.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The whole album kind of runs into one another. Each song exists with the other and it's quite easy to pick out different aspects from one song in another. But to start at the start (and not at the beginning) THE SUBURBS! (tha- that's the first song). IT IS INCREDIBLE. This is not my favorite song of the whole album but it is definitely a gem that fits the album's opening.<br /> I'm going to keep this short as there are a few other reviews on the way. So basically the best song according to me is Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). It is a bit of an odd song out as it features a female voice instead of the usual male voice that heads the band. The general style of the song is a bit more electronic than the other songs featuring a bit of an interesting synthesizer lead that I am yet to find in any other song.<br /> Okay so basically I cannot find anything else to say on this album other than JESUS CHRIST BUY IT. THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU. Or maybe it's Satan... I can never remember. GOODNIGHT/GOOD MORNING<br /><br />-Alex (not cook)<br /></div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-69466111309510272232011-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:002011-01-24T18:04:12.108-08:00Hey, Cook here, so I was planning to do a unique and interesting article like best non-guitar/bass riffs, or less famous Australian alt-rock bands, or why Guitar Hero 1 contains the best music soundtrack of all time. Then I thought, FUCK IT (literally throwing my hands up in the air in contempt for work), I'll do something easy. So this, in no particular order, my top 5 favourite songs of all time.<br /><br />Soothsayer-Buckethead: Buckethead has barely any time to wipe off the saliva after all the toungebaths I've been giving him but I can't help it. Buckethead is the sexiest guitar player I've ever heard. Sure he may have some weird fetishes (mechanical noises) and some plain annoying ones (Releasing too many albums too often. 29 of them? Fuck off I'm not that rich) but this is enough to bring anyone to orgasm. 4 minutes of buildup followed by 5 minutes of shredfull bliss, it's the perfect instrumental.<br /><br />No One Knows-Queens of the Stone Age: Would've reviewed this album but Walker's got it (that was subtle). Right off the bat, it feeds you a chord 4 times followed by a killer riff which makes the song feel bouncy and alive. The chorus has really heavy guitar chords, which I love, and the solo has a weird distortion filter I'm guessing on it and it's awesome. Some bass is heard and then back to the killer riff. The song ends with the same 4 strong chords on which it started. A great song to get you pumped up for anything.<br /><br />YYZ-Rush: You ever have a song that everytime you listened to it on your ipod or heard it on the radio you had to sing along or even just mouth the words to feel like you were a part of the song? Yeah, YYZ is my song, except there are no lyrics so I air guitar/drum along. This song is pretty old, being from the 80's but it stood the test of time. The guitar is one of my favourites and the drumming is superb. This is best listened to in the privacy of your own home if you're as neurotic as me (and you are, don't deny it).<br /><br />Chop Suey!-System of a Down: If like your music cheerful and wholesome, avoid this song then just hide under your protective blanket and listen to Hi-5 all day. However, to dismiss this because of its solemn lyrics would be biased and stupid. Some songs need depressing lyrics; would Hurt have been as good if Trent Reznor had sung about finding love and happiness while on the edge of suicide? Fuck no, that would be stupid. Chop Suey! is my favourite kind of song, it builds up to a crescendo in its final chorus and when it finishes, you feel emotionally drained and satisfied. Hell, even my mum likes this song, so give it a try.<br /><br />Heart's a Mess-Gotye: Another depressing song, I'm afraid. This song's is a lament to a lost lover and the song gives the impression of the man having nothing to live for anymore. All this is wailed over strings, percussion, and synth. Its so complex but simple all at once. The creator, Wally De Backer, collected all the sounds for this song and every song from the album in bedrooms around Melbourne, making just that much cooler. I recommend this to everyone.Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-27155269559369975392010-12-12T23:34:00.001-08:002010-12-12T23:59:22.179-08:00Only By the Night"Oh wow. Now I have a choice between following in Cook's steps and reviewing an album I hate, or just following my rainbow-filled path in reviewing good albums. OR: I could do both! HA! That would certainly out-indie Cook!" Well, now you know my thought process of how I come to review Only By the Night by the famous Kings of Leon. This album I have a love-hate relationship with: all the songs are actually brilliant and I like listening to them but they ALL SOUND THE SAME >:( This obviously doesn't make me very happy.<img style="-webkit-user-select: none; cursor: -webkit-zoom-in; " src="http://www.deejay.de/pics/images/x/4/7/23347.jpg" width="702" height="702" /><div>So to begin: the instrumentals can be extremely awesome at times. But at other times? Not so much. A prime example is in "Crawl". The song seems just like a mash of random sounds from a guitar, drum set, bass and voice. None of it works in conjunction so you end up having the feeling that each player is trying to out-play each other on a subtle level. Then there's things like in "I Want You". There's an insistent cowbell playing through pretty much the whole song. It makes no sense to put it in! They could have just inserted a ride cymbal or something but nooooo they had to be hipster and all and put in a fucking cowbell! Oh well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay so there are some good songs on the album. Such as the famous "Sex on Fire" (which I'm NOT going to talk about) and "Closer". Closer is incredibly weird but is still awesome. Not much else to say really... mainly because it is one of the few songs on the album that WORKS.</div><div>Another thing that pisses me off is the singer's voice. I mean jeez! How bad can it get? As bad as J_____ B_____ (common decency doesn't allow me to mention this name)? Gosh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thats really all I have to say on this album. Not much ey. Oh well. The next one will be LOOOOOOOOOONG. I promise.</div><div><br /></div><div>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-78830111559148678212010-12-08T21:50:00.000-08:002010-12-08T22:19:59.915-08:00Metallica-...And Justice For AllHey, Cook here, so yesterday I was rummaging through my CD collection trying to find something I felt like listening to and I cam across this. I never gave it a good listen through so I put it on. And the result? Let's just say I'm tired of all the positive reviews here and I want something to rip into for a change.<br /><br />This CD, being their 4th LP was met with great critical claim and became the standout Metallica album before The Black Album overrided that status 3 years later. The album contains fantastic guitar/drum work but they're a thrash band, so no points for that. It contains 9 songs and the album runs for around 70 min. Notice a problem? Now I have nothing against long songs, I mean I've listen to Brain Salad Surgery, I know what I'm talking about. But as for this album, they're consistenly long with very little change within each other;intro, riff for 3-4 min, guitar solo, riffage, mini outro. You could apply this outline to 8 of the 9 songs on the album. It is criminal for an album to contain 8-12 songs that run extremely long with little change between each track (Dragonforce/Tool, heed this warning). The album does have one saving grace, <em>One.</em> But it doesnt even pull this off uniquely. After a slow intro and a few beautiful verses/choruses, it goes into another thrash riff/solo/outro, albeit it manages to keep the slow feeling of the first few minutes. Doesn't stop it from being the best song on the album.<br /><br />Metallica have a bad habit of creating an extremely similar album allthroughout it and getting universal claim for it. Personally, I prefer this band's rival, Megadeth. Their songs are repetitive but alot shorter and Dave Mustaine's voice doesn't want to make make me stick pins in my cochlea. To like this album you really need to worship Metallica as a band, otherwise its boring and bland. Maybe not though. Maybe I'm just biased because Megadeth have gotten so much shit because of the fact they're not Metallica. Maybe this album is the magnum opus of thrash metal everywhere. Of course that means Nickelback have artistic potential, Good Charlotte have totally released some good songs, and Karen O isn't the sexiest thing to happen to music since Marylin Munroe got her tits out at the President's birthday.<br /><br />Pros<br />- Great guitaring/drumming<br />-1st half of One is great<br /><br />Cons<br />-Repetive/Dull throughout the album<br />-Songs all follow the same pattern<br />-Too longDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-43099233550544592682010-12-03T23:35:00.000-08:002010-12-04T00:43:18.551-08:00The Flaming LipsWell well well. It is nice to see cook take some initiative and do my job for me! Anyway. This is one very special review as it is of one of my personal favourite bands: The Flaming Lips. So straight to their not-so-recent album "At War with the Mystics".<img style="-webkit-user-select: none" src="http://blog.scriptedfailures.com/gallery/1/The-Flaming-Lips-At-War-with-the-Mystics.jpg" /><div><br /></div><div>This is, again, not an album for the faint hearted. If you buy the deluxe edition like I did, you end up with a bursting 16 songs (totalling about 1.2 hours). If you decide to be a cheap-ass and buy just the normal edition you end up with 3 less songs, which are namely "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Time Travel... Yes!" and the longer edition of "The Yeah Yeah Yeah song." Okay, so "Time Travel... Yes!" is not really a song at all, just a guy talking about how time travel exists in our own minds with some awesome trippy effects in the background. "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the other hand is a cover of Queen's original version and thus it is immediately awesome. "The Yeah Yeah Yeah song"... well its a longer and better version of the original one.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the best song is most definitely "The Yeah Yeah Yeah song". It's really catchy and still retains the band's<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>unique and sometimes weird sound. But of course, me being me, I'm not going to talk much about that song as although however catchy it is, it's still boring compared to the other songs. The most INTERESTING song is of course "Haven't got a clue". And as the name suggests, I've got no fucken idea what's going on with the key. It seems to be in one key but then SUDDENLY! It changes leaving you saying "W.T.F" over and over. On top of this, there are weird insertions of the band members coughing, burping etc. In one instance you can hear one of the members saying "I'll kill you" but the voice is sped up so it sounds incredibly cute.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then there's "The Wizard Turns On..." Now this... I really have no idea what this is all about. There aren't any lyrics but this isn't what is weird. Lots of songs do this. It's just the fact that there isn't any real main melody/riff or anything. It's just, well, texture. Kinda like elevator music on lots and lots of crack and drunk at the same time. But it is still a brilliant piece of... texture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, there's "Pompeii AM Gotterdammerung". This song comes pretty darn close to beating "The Yeah Yeah Yeah song" to the best song of the album. It has this orgasmic harmonic progression that repeats almost over and over again but still it never gets old. The lyrics are un-deciferable as the band sings in falsetto (squeeee!). There really isn't much else to say about this brilliant song other than the interesting choice of instruments. There's an electronic organ, many synthesisers, a flute sound and also an extremely prominent bass line.</div><div><br /></div><div>Buy this album! Even if it did come out in 1999, it would make a brilliant edition to your CD/iTunes library. Trust me. You will be listening to this whole album for years to come. Not one song on it is mediocre and all are overly awesome. :D</div><div><br /></div><div>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-2426829960614164732010-12-03T01:12:00.000-08:002010-12-03T01:33:09.771-08:00Amazing and Unqiue Guitarists pt1Cause I hate to see a good thing die and cause walker is a lazy shit I've decided to secretly update this blog. Anyway...<br /><br />I've always been a fan of rock and always will be. The core element of a rock band is their guitarist. Actually, this topic stems from a conversation with a friend; I asked him some of his favourite guitarists were and he responded without the slihtest bit of irony Benji and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte. Instant facepalm followerd by instant rant. So these are some of guitarists who are the best in the area they specialise in and you should definitely check them all out<br /><br />Buckethead-My favourite guitarist of all time, Buckethead can do everything: Slow, beautiful ballads (Padmasana/Whitewash);pure noise craziness (The Android of Notre Dame/We Are One);riff based jams(Jumpman/Spokes On The Wheel Of Torment) and pure shred awesome(Soothsayer/Nottingham Lace). Whoever you are, check those last two songs out, I've managed to convert some rap/techno friends into liking these songs. You can't go wrong<br /><br />Tony Iommi/Angus Young-If you recognise these two (Black Sabbath /ACDC respectively), youll know they are the best riff creators of all time. Iommi can boast Iron Man/Sweet Leaf/Fairies Wear Boots while Young has Hells Bells/Back In Black/Thunderstruck up his sleeve. Knowledge of these two essential for any fan of rock is required.<br /><br />Dave Gilmour-The champion of slow but emotional solos. His best works come from PinkFloyd's big 4 (Dark Side/The Wall/Animals/Wish You), but pay attention especially to Shine On You Crazy Diamond/Comfortably Numb. Not even all the butchered covers on youtube can diminish the quality of Gilmour's playing<br /><br />Paul Gilbert- The champion shredder, you want insane fast music you come to this guy. He's been in several bands such as Racer X and has had a very good solo career and was a core inspiration to Buckethead. Go to youtube and listen to Get Out Of My Yard/Technical Difficulties, he can make any amateur guitar player shrivell in fear.<br /><br />I was thinking about adding more but then I realised this post was getting too long, sorry :). Btw, a person at my work has started up a band called Constant Congress and they're rooly rooly good, great instrument playing all around and excellent vocals. I'd be very happy if you checked them out. Now, Go Go Gadget end post<br />CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-75985115155496036842010-11-01T21:50:00.000-07:002010-11-01T21:51:34.692-07:00Normally...Now usually you would think that I would have more time during the long weekend but... well... exams and such eat through my time. SORRY :(<div><br /></div><div>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-71661850846944763602010-10-29T02:21:00.000-07:002010-10-29T02:48:46.572-07:00Toxicity - SOADThe more cultured people bitch about how modern day music is too repeatitive. Coldplay have gotten a lot of shit for this and I agree, a Coldplay album is too repeatitive to be enjoyed as a whole album. However I am now about to be a hypocritical arse and talk about one of my favourite albums of all time, Toxicity by System of a Down.<br /><br />Toxicity is SOAD's 2nd full length album and is the one that brought them into the limelight. Being one of the 1st albums I ever got, yes there will be nostalgia interjected into my opinion. Now the problem; 11 of the 14 tracks on the album sound extremely similar and you could be forgiven for mistaking one for another. But I think they're all great. Not good but great. Putting aside the repetition of instruments and the vocals, done by the extremely talented Serj Tankian, are bloody brilliant. He shines through on tracks such as Forest, Psycho and X. But now the other 3 songs, Chop Suey!, Toxicity and Aerials. They are all fantastic with great composition and flow. They're all slower and softer than the other 11 and that's what makes them stand out.<br /><br />I can't give this album anything but a 10/10. Every song is great and in some cases perfect. Buy it now as a real copy, you'll want to listen to this all the time.<br /><br />Recommended Songs:<br />-Chop Suey!<br />-Toxicity<br />-Needles<br />-Forest<br />-Aerials<br /><br />CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-80965263577215020182010-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:002010-10-26T14:25:24.471-07:00MIXHay hay HAY! What have I done with the traditional album reviewing? I felt I should give you guys a mix of single songs that I listen to in my itunes playlist :D ENJOY or else >:(<div><br /></div><div><b>The Ghost Inside (Broken Bells)-</b> This song is very catchy but still pretty awesome. It has everything a good song needs: music, instruments... all that stuff. Check it out!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Myriad Harbour (The New Pornographers)- </b>A<b> </b>brilliant song from this fine band, which I have yet to review. Myriad Harbour is a collection of interesting sounds fused together to create some of the awesomest music I have heard. Ever.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A Day in the Life (The Beatles)- </b>C'moooon. Everyone likes the Beatles right? Right? Of course they do. But this song is clearly so awesome that you could listen to it forever and never get sick of it. Hmmmm I can feel the need to review this album!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Viva la Vida (Coldplay)- </b>A fine song from the masters of making songs sound the same, Coldplay! This song comes from one of their more unique albums where NOT every song sounds the same. i am of course talking about Viva la Vida (tha- thats the actual name of the album. AND the song... how original).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Forever Young (Youth Group)- </b>An old classic from a not THAT old band... Youth Group! Everyone should listen to this song at least 500 times during their life.</div><div><br /></div><div>These songs are just SOME of the songs in my favourite playlist. There are of course most of the songs from the albums past reviewed (except Operator Please... bleeeeagh). So do your ipod a favour. BUY THESE SONGS. :D</div><div><br /></div><div>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-12143402680116813062010-10-24T14:57:00.001-07:002010-10-24T15:10:13.576-07:00MGMTOkay so I now discover that I have to review Congratulations! Congratulations is MGMT's latest album and many people seem to think that it is their worst. But, being the fantastic non-conformer that I am (dear god that sounded emo-ish), I actually LOVE this album.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Congratulations is a nice change from the heavy guitars and/or annoying synthesizers that frequently appear in modern conventional music. Congratulations is a culmination of fresh sounds that you probably wouldn't hear from anyone BUT MGMT. So obviously when you hear it on the radio you can impress you're existent/non-existent friends and say "HOLY SHIT THAT'S MGMT".</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There isn't really a 'best song' on this album I find. All the songs are equally as awesome and they all get better the more you listen to them. So at first you might hate this album but listen to it a bit more and you might find yourself toe tapping or something as equally corny to signify to the rest of the world that this music is awesome.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Really you have to hear this album before you buy it to decide whether it's worth it. Many people I have talked to about Congratulations say that it wasn't worth the money. So I guess it's up to you. You can listen to the album FREE on MGMT's website: http://www.whoismgmt.com/au Just click on the link: "Listen to Congratulations"</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Have fun deciding! :D</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-42435802164070095092010-10-20T02:23:00.000-07:002010-10-20T02:32:13.994-07:00THE OFFSPRING!The Offspring. How awesome! Specifically their album "Conspiracy of One". This album is fantastic. Almost all of the songs are catchy (ones which are not include "Vultures") and all of them are GOOD catchy.<div>As with all offspring albums, this album starts with a 'song' called intro. Well, really it isn't a song its just the band saying a few words to lead into the first REAL song (Come out Swinging). Of course, all of the songs on here are fantastically ROCK. Guitars and heavy drums and stuff! WOO!</div><div><br /></div><div>Best song on this album? Deffs "One fine Day". This song has funny lyrics that you can sing along to. Drunk. Fun for the whole family! ^^. But not only that! The song is immensely catchy. You'll find yourself singing it in history and then getting told off for shouting in class :D.</div><div><br /></div><div>SO. Buy this album? Definitely! DO IT! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>-Alex</div><div><br /></div><div>PS: sorry for the shitty review. I'm under pressure with work so forgive me please.</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-14263455407232720302010-10-19T14:02:00.001-07:002010-10-19T14:03:33.491-07:00I hopeI hope to god that you guys liked Cookie's post. My posts (which are obviously substantially better :D) should resume as normal today. <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>-Not as lazy and opinionated</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>-Alex</div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-3839565546351705202010-10-19T03:11:00.000-07:002010-10-19T03:43:43.544-07:00RIOT!!!!! - ParamoreI am cook, and I'm graciously accepted to review an album today partly so Walker could gain a rest for a change but more likely that I want to rant about things that I like. But not today...<br /><br />Paramore's 2nd album <em>Riot</em> was one of the 1st albums I bought with my own money and this is why I had never fully listened to it until now. After giving it a full listen I fell disappointed and un satisfied. There are of course great moments: Hayley William's soaring voice over the multi-layered guitars in "Hallelujah"; the enticing bridge where Hayley Williams's voice gently strokes your cochlea for aural pleasure in "That's What You Get"; the build up of Hayley "hotness" Williams's lines into the guitar solo in"Misery Business". The more alert of you will have noticed that Hayley Williams is the best performer who carries the album with her magnificent voice. Not to say all other performers are shit, the drummer has some interesting moments while the guitarist/bassist exist for the sake of being there.<br /><br />Of course Hallelujah is the best song, closely followed by That's What You Get, but some other songs are simply horrible. When It Rains/We Are Broken are painfully emotionless ballads, Let The Flames Begin sounds like a weak Evanescence ripoff and Miracle is boring pop rubbish. Buy the album if you see it for $10, her voice is worth it<br /><br />Lazy Opinionated Bastard<br />CookDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-90284067880808816412010-10-18T00:25:00.000-07:002010-10-18T00:26:11.562-07:00No postNo post for today. too snowed under with workDementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662061588879053592.post-34727420188906819172010-10-17T04:13:00.000-07:002010-10-17T04:14:42.582-07:00100 VIEWS<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! 100 VIEWS! WOO! :D</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Over excited much :/</span></div>Dementoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00425531478046053730noreply@blogger.com0