Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World

Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World

Published in 2006

Wikipedia

First off, let's all say thanks to Cole, for having an interesting enough life to make a blog about himself, and secondly for suggesting this album.  So, thanks Cole.

As someone who is into music (could you guess), I have noticed something of a conspiratorial air about. Someone out there in the universe has declared that folk music is going to be the new thing for indie kids.  Why this is happening, well I have some theories, but it's happening more and more, and the Freak Folk mantle is being brought up quickly to the in-thing.

As I said in my Mumford and Sons write up, I don't understand 'Freak Folk'.  I understand that people don't want you to confuse old folk with new folk, and it is strange to hear the two versions in the same area, but really, is there such a big difference between classic folk and modern folk?  Both of them deal with subjects that were important to those writing the songs.  I don't think that folk has ever been considered the pinnacle of formulaic art, and actually one of the reasons it is folksy, is because it deals with realistic subjects important at the time of the song's writing.

One reason I think modern folk is doing well is because it is so appealing to a side of people who just want to hear good performers playing simple music.   The nostalgia bumper crop appeals to people who either grew up with this on their radios, or (like me) listened to a lot of Prairie Home Companion as a kid.  There is a certain appeal to this kind of music that sounds down home, and simple, and that is a beautiful thing.  

Old Crow Medicine Show is a group that is making perfectly serviceable folk music.  I mean that in the most neutral way possible.  I don't think they are as good as Mumford and Sons, but that is because I listened to them first.  I think they sound somewhat similar, although Mumford and Sons is a bit darker, and it makes a difference for the listening experience.

The lighter moments on the album though, are some of the best.  I love that they included the singer screwing up on the first verse and the band starting again.  I think that the funnier songs are good, and as a child of the I-95 corridor, good stuff is on this album.  

I cannot say that this album is anything but optional, but if you're a fan of folk music and bluegrass, you should probably pick it up,  it's fun and light and enjoyable.  If you don't really like bluegrass, this could be a way in, but I'd look other places first.

Anyway, thanks again to Cole, I hope I did this album a little justice, and I can't wait to hear how I am wrong about it Mike H. style.  

"Love is about compromises, Zorak, compromising your future to the city council of Bethesda Maryland."

Matt

PS.

Phil! Five? Give Him!? 

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Published in 2006

Wikipedia

Welcome back to the Matt loves Dangermouse in all of his forms variety hour, I'll be your host and chief lover of Dangermouse, Matthew "Oh, My God, I Love Dangermouse" Butler, Esqizzle.  This hour, we will be looking at the most impressive collaboration Dangermouse has made, and the only band that made me leave a job in the hands of my sister to go see them.

It would be an understatement to say that this was one of my favorite albums of all time.  This is in the running for the best album ever made by humankind, for Matthew Butler.  I could not tell you one song that I don't like, and I love all of them, in actuality.  Our contestants for song of the album are as follows.

Crazy - A sweet little number, recalling some of the great spaghetti western inspired songs, such as Clint Eastwood and others, one of the most popular commercial songs that I like ever.

Gone Daddy Gone - Awesome funky cover of an already awesome song? Sign me up!

Just a Thought - One of the weirdest tracks on the album, it has the strangest suicidal lyrics on any mainstream awesome song.

Necromancer - A great what the fuck song, it's impossibly well produced and Cee-lo knocks the mood out of the park.

Storm Coming - nominated for the first 5 seconds alone, the stutter sells it, and then it is followed by some of the most melodious production of the album.  Also, that 5 seconds is just part of an amazing intro.

And finally, The Last Time - a dancey number that closes out the album, it's just an astonishingly well made song, and one of my favorites to sing along to.

So, to recap, on an album of 14 tracks, six of them are in the running for best track of the album, and all 14 are in the running for second.

Allow me to drop some history here.  I bought this album because of two things. 1. Dangermouse, obviously. 2. Crazy was perhaps the best crossover hit that I had heard made in my lifetime.  For future aliens, this means that in the summer of 2006 you could literally go nowhere without hearing this song, and for once, that was a good thing.

I went in expecting to be blown away by the production, and I ended up becoming a Cee-lo fan for life.  The amount of personality on display in these 14 tracks is endearing in a way that even charismatic people would envy.  No matter what song he is doing, it sounds like he is pouring his whole being into making it the best performance of that song of all time.  Seriously, pick a track, and you'll hear a man's soul on display.

This disc didn't leave my CD player for months.  Months!  Incubus came out with a new album, and I had difficulty removing Gnarls Barkley!  It was the soundtrack to that part of my life!  How many albums have that kind of an effect on people?

I'm actually shocked that it took me this long to get this album again.  I just recently realized that I hadn't listened to it in months, since the great wipe and the desire to put new music on my iPod.  Listening to it now, I cannot understand why it wasn't the first thing that I downloaded and put on my iPod again.  I'm kind of an idiot.

The production is superior, the songs are great, the voice is awe-inspiring, and the album is fun.  It's like your favorite food, wrapped in your other favorite food, pushed in a blender, made into a milkshake, served with five guys, and the flavors mix together like beauty itself.  It's like raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiin, on your wedding day.  Wait, no, it's not like that last one.  Seriously, it's good.

Look, I'm not saying that we're not friends if you don't like this album, I'm saying that you're not a human being.  I don't care what genera of music you like, I don't care if you hate everything made after 1965, I don't care if you are made of swiss cheese, you will find something on this album that will enchant you and completely win you over.  This is not just Not Optional, it's almost an enforced torture to know that people out there have not listened to it.  It is simply a perfect album.

And I haven't even written about the (perhaps) even better sequel yet.

"The Plot Thinn-ens!"
Matt

PS. Hey, I know I've been bugging you a lot, but I wanted you to know that you should Give Phil Five, so I can get a new heart, to replace the one that I stuck on Dangermouse's doorstep with a knife through it with a note saying "You."  Thanks to Jack Handy for the idea!

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

Published in 2006

Wikipedia

AVClub - Best of 2006 #1

So, today is February 17th in my reality, but if you're seeing this, it's actually March 26th to you.  So, I'm working at about a month backlog, which is quite nice.  I've found that this is about as far ahead as I can get without getting burnt out.

I figured I'd do an inside The Album Project post for a couple of reasons.  First, I have no personal attachment to this album, so I can be more objective in the way I am treating it.  Second, Best of March is kind of boring to write about, because they albums are generally too good, but not my style.  Third, I'm sitting at school on graduation day, just waiting for time to pass.  So maybe I'll get a bit more of a backlog by the time this is done, but I can always spend some time on this.

When I sit down to write an album project, my first step is, unsurprisingly to listen to the album at least once.  I try to not do that much while I am doing that, chatting on the internet is the most time consuming task, and I don't find it that distracting.  I actually enjoy polling my friends that I chat with about their opinions about bands and sounds and what they like.  This makes it a lot easier for me to get the writing flowing too.  So, last night, after I finished writing some stuff for another project, I put on The Hold Steady, and just hung out and chatted with people.

Since I don't personally know that any of my friends were big fans, I just chatted and set up the header for this album project.  Usually just three searches on google, one for album cover, one for the wiki and, in this case, one for the AVClub.  I actually try to avoid reading these, because I am trying to give you just my opinions without being shaded by the outside.  Some albums are already spoiled for me, but these are usually the ones that I already have a bunch to say about.  The header, if you've noticed is the only thing that stays reasonably consistent through the whole project.  So, there is that.

I did all of that stuff last night, so that today, I could sit down and start writing.  I usually look for some kind of in on the album, or something that I have a bit to say about.  This is generally the hardest part of the writing process to me.  Once I get some words flowing out of me, I can usually just go until the end, but getting the flow started takes some doing.  (Notice: I have used this as the spike to get the writing flowing, so I am good to go for the rest of this project.)

The Hold Steady is the center of my world at this point.  It is dependent on the album, of course, because the more I enjoy the album, the more locked into it I get.  I try to listen to the album at least three times if I like it a ton, two times if I am not completely into it.  This number is entirely variable.

The album that I am listening to is actually pretty incredible on the second listen.  Last night, I was just trying to get locked into the album, and get a sense of the space and time of the album.  I usually will attempt to put the recording into a place, so with The Hold Steady, I am seeing a small empty bar, a place of dark wood, that is the place that everyone goes before the house party later that night.

Then, I attempt to look at the music itself.  It's interesting to me that The Hold Steady keeps an interesting tension between the subjects of the songs and the sound.  What I mean is that the songs are obviously about drugs, alcohol, sex and youth, but the world weary voice and the sound of the music is obviously designed to make you think that it is a retrospective look at the life lived.

The music is usually the next thing, because it (in a good album) enhances these themes or (in a bad album) detracts from them.  The Hold Steady's lead vocalist has an incredible talent for injecting every syllable with feeling and the tension that I mentioned before.  The hints of keyboard and the general talent on display is pretty amazing.  The songwriting is good, and the touches of jazz, blues, folk and other major styles really enhances the sound of the album.

About here is where I start thinking about good ways to wrap up the project.  I'm looking for that thing to go out on, that I am happy to leave the conversation at.  I usually have written myself into a corner praising the album at this point, so I have to think really hard about the things that I don't like.  For instance, while I understand that Chillout Tent needs the different voices to highlight the different perspectives, it was somewhat shocking and unfortunate, because the lead singers voice is so distinctive that it is difficult to listen to other voices when you could hear his.

Anyway, this album is incredibly good, well done, and really fun to listen to.  It actually reminds me of Bruce Springsteen a ton, which is a good thing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, and hope you enjoyed this peek behind the album project.  I'm going to get to work on the next one.

"The parrot wipes it's beak, even though it is already clean."

Matt

PS. Comments are good! Give Phil Five! Want to write an album project?  Want to read one about your favorite album?

PPS. Thank God, Best of March is over.  HIPSTERS!

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not

Published 2006

Wikipedia

Weird one today, and also iPod-riffic, so blame it for anything super strange.

... And the time and place album. 

Or a tribute to Dr William Hollingsworth. 

Imagine that you were told a day before that you were going on a road trip. That you would take it with two of your good friends and a guy who you thought was cool, friendly and interesting that you didn't know so well. Imagine that the purpose of this trip was to go to an alien landscape and get very, very ,very drunk with a bunch of other college kids who you have never met and anticipate never meeting again. Imagine that you had a couple hours on the road with an iPod and three other guys. 

This is a recipie for one of two things. Thing one: a ton of awkward picking of weird music to try to out indie each other, or thing two: a group of guys picking awesome music screaming at the top of their lungs about tire fires and how crazy they were going to get. 

This is the situation in which I was introduced to the arctic monkeys. And what an introduction. I probably never would have given this band a shot if it had not been for that introduction.

For a first album, it's suprisingly well put together and obviously well done. This is one of those bands that everyone you know will claim to have known about them first and that you are late to the party. Because all your friends are pricks. Or something. Wait where was this going. 

Oh right. There are albums that exist to be heard in a certain time and place. They must be heard there or they might not flourish into the album that you understand. For an obscure comparison, it's like that flower that mr Wilson cultivates In the Dennis the menace movie, which only blooms every forty years or something. 

This is an album that needs to be heard in the company of people who want to enjoy a good solid rock album. This is not an album to be listened to alone. Which I am violating just by writing this solo, but fuck it right. You need to have some Streets to build on, you need to have some Man Man to follow up with and of course some Death from Above to finish it off. 

These are not the greatest artist ever, but they fucking try to be. They obviously attended the Liam and Noel Gallagher school of becoming brother pop stars, but in this case it is not to be begrudged. They make some really solid songs along the way and want to make some people fucking move. So fucking hats off to the fucking monkeys and don't listen to any of their other albums because they are mediocre as shit. 

Anyway, thank you Will. I still consider you one of the coolest people I know, and I wish that we had more time together. But I guess that is what the next roadtrip is for.    

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

Published 2006

Wikipedia

I have a confession to make.  I unabashedly love Justin Timberlake.  We're going to get married on top of a mountain and you're not invited.  I think that he is actually a pretty good artist, and he makes pop songs that are not rivaled today by anybody.

Yeah, I'm a bitch.  I know.  I don't like Metallica, but I love Justin Timberlake.  I have no reason for why that is, other than this record.

First off, this was the first full pop record that actually was interesting to me.  As a proud owner of a model 1989 little sister, I've experienced all pop music through her.  I've listened to way more Spice Girls than I care to remember, I remember LFO being huge in her mind, and I remember every variation on the boy band, including 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, O-town, and every other boilerplate fucking mass produced mass market pop act from the late 90s and early 00s.  I didn't listen to pop radio, but my sister did, and that was how I kept up with the craziness therein.

It was a time of great eye-rolling when I had my licence and my sister didn't, and we were in the car together. At every commercial break on the other's station, we would punch the preset button for our station, and listen to it till they did the same.  We remarkably agree on a lot of music now, but before, she thought that I listened to rock too much and that it was crap, and I thought she listened to pop too much, and that it was bullshit.  But now, I think we see eye to eye on a lot more stuff, and I hope she reads this.  It's been interesting to hear her perspective on music, coming from what was the same basic background as me, but developing taste differently.

Anyway, this was the first album that actually let me listen to pop music, and allowed me to realize that just because it was usually bullshit music, it can be fun.  These songs are, for the most part, fun and poppy and romantic.  I mean, the whole first half of the album are great dance songs, that anyone can feel the beat to, and you can get down with all of them.  Sexyback, while nowhere near as revolutionary as the radio claimed when it came out, is a really really really solid dance song, that is well outside the R&B core of Mr. Timberlake's earlier work.  His first album Justified, was a good album, punctuated by great songs.  This album is the other way, a great album with one song that just fails to be as good as the rest.

Yes, Justin Timberlake wrote a song about a methhead.  It's interesting that he felt enough to write the song, and it's commendable that he felt enough to write the song, however, I think that it is the albums low point, by about a mile.  It's just difficult to hear this sweet little R&B voice singing about how hard addiction was, and how he had lost his way.  I understand that it was something that was important to him, but I just think it feels so out of place on this album that it's difficult for me not to just skip the song.

But after that down note, let's just talk about the greatness that is the rest of the album.  And it is the rest of the album.  Justin, for the most part, at least tries to play around with the pop song formula.  Instead of being exactly the same song, over and over, with the same breaks and choruses, he tries to vary it up, using distinctly hip-hop beats produced by Timbaland.

Now, this is a producers album more than anything else.  It's not remarkable for the writing, and the performing is rote, but the way that the sounds develop and change, it becomes more and more about the beat and the music that is backing up the frontman.  Justin Timberlake is a multitalented performer, and he can do quite a lot with his voice.  He works really hard on making every song his own, and he seems very comfortable in the role that he is playing in this album.  However, every track is heavily influenced by the production, and Timbaland and Danja deserve a great deal of credit for making this album not sound like some basic pop album.

But fuck it right?  Let's just give credit where credit is due.  This is a dance album.  It has some amazingly complex beats, and if you can think of a better mid song transition than in LoveStoned/I Think That She Knows, I'd love to hear about it.  I'm going to be a fan of Justin Timberlake because of the team that has put this album together, and his ability to actually entertain.  I'm sure that he would never live up to the fun guy that I have in my head, because who could, but I really want him to keep making records like this, where the experiment is the fun.

Anyway, thanks again to me, for suggesting that I write a love letter to Justin Timberlake. Hope that you all enjoy calling me gay in the comments, and I will take it with the proper shame that I should, you hipster douchebag, metalhead, or whatever else I can say.
Just wait till I do David Bowie,
Matt