10/4: Baio's The
Names: Might not be the most immediate album, but tracks like the breezy
"Needs" make it worth a listen.
Why? Spotify recommended it.
Additional Thoughts: The Names is the debut solo project of Vampire Weekend bassist,
Chris Baio and though I’ve had my issues with VW’s work, they don’t really come
into play here. Baio’s synth/electro-pop is pretty far away his band’s
reggae-infused indie rock (except, perhaps, “Sister of Pearl”) and while it can
be… unassuming, it doesn’t feel as detached and overly mellow as some VW stuff.
I say “unassuming” and bring up the album’s immediacy, because despite being
very pop, none of the songs are what I’d call catchy, at least not overtly. The
songs don’t hammer their way into your head, but they can slowly wind their way
in if given the chance.
10/5:
Green
Day's Warning: Balanced and full of
well-crafted, timeless songs like "Waiting" and "Macy's Day
Parade."
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get
through. This time around I decided on Green Day.
Additional Thoughts: Warning has been ranked among Green Day’s best albums, which makes
sense as it’s one of their most consistent. It also shows further cultivation
of the musical experimentation and maturity found in Nimrod. Though it seems silly or contradictory to use “mature” to
ever describe Green Day, it’s difficult to find a better word for songs like
“Deadbeat Holiday” and “Hold On.” Plus, as my original tweet mentioned, “Waiting”
and “Macy’s Day Parade” are just everything.
10/6: Twin Shadow's Eclipse: Enjoyable vocals, but doesn't feel as cathartic as its
grand ambitions suggest.
Why? 2015 release that’s been sitting in my
Spotify queue for a while.
Additional Thoughts: This strikes me as
one of those albums I want to like far more than I actually do, which is always
a shame. It’s just… okay, George Lewis Jr (the man behind Twin Shadow) has a
great voice and could probably sing anything and sound wonderful and captivating.
Hell, Twin Shadow’s Spotify biography calls him “a born crooner,” which is an
apt description. Musically, Eclipse
it often tries to sound grand with soaring choruses, but it doesn’t work either
due to the production making everything (on the whole and in individual songs)
blend together or the fact that there’s just no meat lyrically. Discussing
universal topics is great, but these songs feel too impersonal and that makes
it difficult for me to really connect to it.
10/7:
Drgn
King's Baltimore Crush: "Hazy
Memories," a song that somehow reminds me of Nine Inch Nails and Vampire
Weekend.
Why?
Spotify
recommended it.
Additional Thoughts: Overall I’d call it
a solid rock/pop record. Their Spotify bio describes their work as “psychedelic
and electronic-inflected pop.” I think psychedelic part comes through the most
clearly at the end of “Alchemist’s Lament” and in the atmosphere of “Solo
Harp.” That bio also references their varied influences, which definitely come
through in the record. One big example of that being the aforementioned “Hazy
Memories” that starts off sounding like NIN’s “Closer” then settles into an
indie-reggae-pop bop. Reggae influence also shows prominently on “St. Toms,” but
unlike Vampire Weekend, Drgn King never really fall into the trap of feeling
laid back to the point of seeming lifeless.
10/8: Green Day's American Idiot: I know I'm a total sucker for stuff like this,
but... this is a masterpiece.
Why? Currently working through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: My relationship with
this album is a lot like mine with the Backstreet Boys’ self-titled. Basically, I spent a lot of time watching Bullet in a Bible and Green Day’s comp’d special, but somehow forgot to
ever listen to the album beginning to end. (Which really just means I missed
out on three tracks.) I love a good concept album and rock opera; give me some
recurring musical motifs and I will eat. it. up. But more importantly, American
Idiot is the culmination of all these musical ideas and lyrical themes
Green Day had been building toward for years and it’s so clever and biting and
fucking moving. I don’t much like trying to make predictions, but I think this
could be one of the most important albums of the 2000s.
10/9: Alex G's Beach
Music: If this is beach music, it's a beach covered in sleet and snow;
familiar, but slightly off.
Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: I realize my tweet
may sound odd, but the music really does evoke images of winter, intentionally
or not. Either way it certainly doesn’t evoke what most (after decades of the
Beach Boys and their influence) would imagine “beach music” to be. That’s not a
bad thing, just noteworthy and subversive, in a way, I think. But I think the
main reason I’d describe it as “familiar, but slightly off” is that it reminds
me of an even quirkier version of thenewno2, which itself feels like an
alternate universe project of George Harrison thanks to his son Dhani sounding
remarkably like him. The vocal similarities between the Harrisons and Alex G
are very apparent, but similarities are also there in the melody and music of a
song like “Ready.”
10/11:
Chris
Walla's Tape Loops: Abstract, but not
necessarily obtuse; capable of being enveloping and relaxing.
Why? Featured on NPR’s First Listen.
Additional Thoughts: Instead of filling
this section with observations about how “Kanta’s Theme” has echoes of Pink
Floyd’s “Wish you were here” and the like, I want to share a quote from Chris Walla’s interview with Sara Quin (of Tegan & Sara): “Sometimes I really
enjoy music that I'm very engaged with and dance to, but I feel like there's a dearth
of good music that isn't directive or commanding. I don't think this record is
passive, but it's also not commanding; it's not telling you what to think or
how to feel. So I guess if there is anything I hope, it's that it can find
people who maybe didn't realize they wanted it, or maybe didn't realize they
needed it, or maybe didn't realize that what they've been listening to has been
screaming at them.” As someone who
lives for music with big arrangements and even bigger emotions by some massive
personalities, this is the sort of album that I occasionally need as a reminder
that there are other ways of going about things, ways that are more subtle and
more quiet, and shows that one can have a large presence without being in your
face. If nothing else Tape Loops can
make one reconsidered how they define boring since this album of quiet,
unassuming loops somehow feels less repetitive and less of a slog to listen to
than albums with eighty times as much going on.
10/12: Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown: Upon first listen the story
isn't very clear, unlike John Lennon's influence.
Why? Currently working through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: Comparisons are a
tricky thing. They aren’t inherently pejorative, but certainly folks interpret
them that way and others often intend them to be insulting. I don’t, or at
least I try not to. I try use comparisons as a way to describe or contextualize
a work or understand possible influences and that’s definitely the case when it
came to my tweet about 21st
Century Breakdown. Though John is well-known for getting political in his
music, the influence here is more sonic in nature. It’s most apparent on tracks
“Last Night On Earth” and “Restless Heart Syndrome,” the latter of which has a
vocal melody that just screams John. And you know what? It makes total sense
that his influence would be so prominent, especially given that before going in
to record Breakdown Green Day
recorded a cover of “Working Class Hero” (which is also referenced in Breakdown’s lyrics.) One other thing I
found interesting about the album is how sweet and clear Billie Joe Armstrong’s
voice often sounds, whereas during most of Green Day’s output he uses that
snotty, punk brat voice. It’s a nice change of pace.
10/13: dumblonde's dumblonde: Not sure if their Danity Kane past will hurt or help,
but this is an awesomely weird album.
Why? 2015 release.
Additional Thoughts: Duo dumblonde
consists of former Danity Kane members Aubrey O’Day and Shannon Bex. I must
admit that I don’t really know much about Danity Kane, musically or in terms of
the public’s opinion of the group. The only DK song I know is “Damaged” and
dumblonde’s debut sounds nothing like it. That’s not an insult, by the way,
merely an observation I bring up should the DK connection make some
apprehensive. (Plus, I have a stupid amount of love for “Damaged” anyway.) Also,
it’s important to note that liking DK might not guarantee one will like it
either, because while certainly not inaccessible, most of dumblonde isn’t as
immediate as a song like “Damaged.” (The big exception to this idea being the poppy
“dreamsicle.”) The Wikipedia page for the album lists one of its genres as
“alternative dance” and I think that shows in the diverse blend of influences
and creative production. A particular high point of the album is the pair of
tracks “you got me” and “waiting on you,” which blend well into each other and have
great disco and funk flare.
10/14:
Emily
King's The Switch: "Aya" is
one repeated word with little accompaniment, yet it is so compelling and
moving.
Why? Spotify recommended it based on Lianne La
Havas.
Additional Thoughts: A solid, well-crafted
R&B record. In fact, as a further testament to her craftsmanship, the
Songwriters Hall of Fame awarded Emily King with the [Buddy] Holly Award a few
years ago. Most of this album’s first half feels laidback. However, after the
aforementioned “Aya,” it takes a lot of weird and cool musical terms. For
instance, there’s “Out of the Clouds” which sounds like a mix of soul, carnival
music, Christmas music, and surges from “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” a mix
that sounds like it shouldn’t work and yet it does. Other examples include “Off
Center” which builds while maintaining its soft beauty and the snaps and
rhythms of “Believer.” “Believer” also has a great chorus: “I’m not a believer,
what I see’s usually what I get. I’m not a believer, but I haven’t seen it all
yet.”
10/15: Green Day's ¡Uno!: With tracks like "Troublemaker" it proves they are
still solid pop craftsmen.
Why? Working through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: Billie Joe compared
it to early Beatles and I have to agree. It’s there in the vibes of tracks like
“Carpe Diem” and “Fell For You” and lyrics of songs like “Sweet 16.” More than
that, it’s in Green Day getting back (in a sense) to their pop craftsmen roots,
which for the Beatles was most certainly at a height in their early days. In a
way, ¡Uno! might be comparable to Let It Be, the Beatles’ attempt to get
back to that more straightforward work before the bells and whistles of
ambition took over. I don’t mean that as any kind of insult to the Beatles’
later work or to Green Day’s own American
Idiot and 21st Century
Breakdown, to be clear. Ambition’s great, but going somewhat back to basics
every so often is a good idea, I think.
10/15: Green Day's ¡Dos!: Among all the energy and volume, "Stray Heart" and
"Amy" stand out most for their heart.
Why?
Working
through their discography.
Additional Thoughts: The second part of
Green Day’s trilogy was meant to be more garage rock and a party, according to
Billie Joe. With tracks like “Lady Cobra,” I think they do succeed on the
later. That is, until “Nightlife” stops the party dead, which is odd
considering the album ends with a tribute to Amy Winehouse that, at least
conceptually and theoretically, one might think it would be the track to drag
the party down. Not to disparage “Amy,” of course, which is one of the best
songs on the album. I don’t have much else to say about this one, I’m afraid.
It has some great tracks, but doesn’t really grab me overall.
10/16: Green Day's ¡Tré!: With a few exceptions, I don't think they
hit the epic vibe they reportedly aimed for here.
Why? Working through their discography.
Additional
Thoughts: I think beyond “Dirty Rotten Bastards,” “The
Forgotten,” and maybe “Brutal Love” the album doesn’t hit the epic heights Billie Joe wanted, which is kind of
funny since his summations of ¡Uno!
and ¡Dos! were pretty on point.
However, I will agree with him on the album’s reflective nature (“X-Kid” and
again, “The Forgotten”) and more sonic variation. Either way, their melody work
is, as always, on point,
like on “Drama Queen.” It’s a good album on its own, but in the context of the
trilogy might not be as appreciated.
10/16: Coheed & Cambria's The Color Before the Sun: The mask of fantasy is gone, but the
stories and beauty still remain.
Why? New release.
Additional Thoughts: If it had fit my
tweet for this album would’ve just been the Oscar Wilde quote, “Man is least
himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you
the truth.” Though, obviously, I vaguely referenced it anyway. And while I do
think the quote is fitting, I don’t agree with the simplified assertion that is
their first “non-concept” album. It’s certainly their first non-Amory Wars work, but the album is very
much about that fact and about
Claudio Sanchez learning to write as himself directly, as opposed to writing
his thoughts and feelings through the Amory characters. (Of course, it all
depends on how one defines “concept album,” which I think is an interesting
discussion, but not one for this moment.) A long time ago I saw an interview
where Claudio said how much the Amory saga had been influenced by his parents,
so again I find it a simplification to say Color
Before the Sun is the first time he’s getting personal. He’s just more
direct here, as I said. Either way, it’s a great record and a good move on
their part. As cool as it sounds to be a band that exclusively does music about
a comic saga, realistically they can only do that for so long. The transition
to something else would need to happen eventually and if this album is any
indication so far they seem to be doing well with it.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
