N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds (2008):
If Fly or Die was a garage record (for the sake of argument, it could have been), Seeing Sounds was a mostly-vacant nightclub album. It feels somehow sleazier and less teenage-y than Fly or Die. Same kind of vaguely funky rock, but less endearing?
N.E.R.D. - In Search Of… (2002):
Funky and falsetto. Boy, Pharrell really lays it on thick. Just… try to play it cooler, alright? I think I’d like this more if it weren’t so tediously sexual.
Nada Surf - This Weight Is A Gift (2005):
Nada Surf is just Band of Horses from / for the suburbs. This is just Cease To Begin. (“Comes A Time” = “Detlef Schrempf”.)
I’m listening to all of the ostensibly unlistened music in my iTunes library. I’ll be doing very short reviews of what I listen to from here on in. Here goes.
N.A.S.A - The Spirit of Apollo (2009):
The triumph of getting man into space brought us all together. A rap album attempting to replicate that feeling. Overdose of guest spots leads to an inconsistent listen, not a unified one. For the best, listen to “N.A.S.A. Anthem (Part 1)”.
N.E.R.D - Fly or Die (2004):
I can’t decide if this is a teenage album. The first three songs weave a narrative about a kid running away, but then N.E.R.D. throws in the raunchy “She Wants To Move”. It’s a fun listen, with occasional funk-bass, but certainly not a sophisticated one. Nothing with the line “her ass is a spaceship / I want to ride” followed by cartoon spaceship noises deserves that characterization.
I made another Beatles flowchart. Sing along with someone you love.
(Then buy them a print!)
Sometimes I marvel at the fact that, according to Nintendo’s “2020 Super Baseball”, we’re only eight years away from jetpack-assisted players, computer sensors, and robot athletes all playing crucial roles in our baseball leagues.
Eight years.
This is how I spend a free evening.
My cover of Neon Indian’s “Hex Girlfriend”.
Give it at least a quick listen? You’ll like it or your money back.
Is it bad that I don’t get The Knife in the same way that I didn’t get James Blake at first?
It’s a long-standing musical goal of mine to re-record all of The Strokes’ seminal debut album “Is This It” in a lo-fi acoustic style much more reminiscent of something like Belle & Sebastian. I’m through the first three tracks (though they all need a bit of tweaking still).
It’s good I’m doing the Strokes, because I hate polishing songs once I record them. I’d rather pound them out over a single afternoon.
Will post when more’s done. I don’t plan on putting any of the mp3s up until the whole album’s complete, though. Watch for that.
The “Honorable Mentions” will be a bit more varied, but they are no less valid for it.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Hysterical
Lead single and first track “Same Mistake” rehashes what was great about CYHSY (“The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth”) without sounding like the singer can’t sing properly because he’s being electrocuted.
Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto
Look, these guys have an ear for melody. It’s all arena-rock, and it’s pretty much what was expected from Coldplay, but I’m not embarrassed to admit that I like it. It won’t change your mind if you don’t like them.
Daft Punk: Tron: Legacy (Original Soundtrack)
This was one of the weirder ways that Daft Punk could have returned to the scene, and it’s a bit more understated than what we’re used to. That being said, it’s a pretty accurate representation of what I imagine it would be like to be miniaturized and running around inside a computer.
The Go! Team: Rolling Blackouts
High-energy, whirlwind songs complete with spitfire ladyraps and indecipherable, vaguely Japanese-sounding vocals. Not “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” but it’s good.
Peter Bjorn & John: Gimme Some
These songs must have taken about as long to write as it takes to perform them. Bare-bones, hooky, loud, fast rock music. (Check out RAC’s remix of “Second Chance”. That’s killer.)
The Strokes: Angles
My ranking of Strokes albums is chronological (although Room On Fire might beat Is This It). I suspect Angles will garner the least play long term. It’s interesting watching the band morph and change. If you long for early Strokes, listen to Albert Hammond, Jr.’s solo albums instead.
Washed Out: Within and Without
I don’t know what chillwave is. But if it’s Washed Out, then it’s alright by me.
That’s it for now.
