Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012 | 14:08
Fire On Babylon
At work today I listened to a few Sinead O'Connor albums. I remembered listening to 'Universal Mother' in high school or college. I think it was my sister's tape but I purloined it for driving in the car or something. I recall being bored with most of the album, repeatedly returning to "Fire On Babylon" because of its bassline.
That's what it is. That's why Bitches Brew or Dark Magus or Live-Evil got me into jazz. That's why I love "Echoes". That's why dance music works for me. I love the groove. I love a repeated bassline. I want to move, dance, repeat. I like funk. I like disco. I like the beat. No, the groove. Bass.
Any other music, anything that gets away from a groove, challenges me. Sometimes in ways I find interesting and worthwhile, but often in ways that don't work for me. The music I like best takes that groove and does interesting things with it, as the 60s Miles Davis does. As Underworld does.
I nod my head and roll.
Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012 | 09:14
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
as sexist and violent as n.w.a. is, i appreciate their anti-drug raps. the group is defending itself against everything, be it opportunistic women, overzealous policemen, economic disparity, or drug dealers destroying their neighborhoods. not that i'm defending their statements, but at least on 'straight outta compton' they seem to be presenting a consistent message of pride and self-defense. what i'm saying is, they're not all bad.
Thursday, Jul. 19, 2012 | 13:37
the flaming lips and heady fwends or, the freaks are slowly taking over
the flaming lips and heady fwends is pretty good. it's clear that after flirting with one-hit-wonder status in the 90's and mainstream critical acclaim in the past decade, the lips have decided to return to freakout land. this is where they belong. somehow, despite the diverse list of contributors, this sounds like a lips album. it's a flaming lips album with extra weird sounds. it's also another lips album with dave fridmann producing, which means overdriven, distorted percussion. if you liked 'embryonic' or the lips' take on 'dark side of the moon' you'll probably like this. if you yearn for more 'yoshimi' and 'soft bulletin' you'll be disappointed--this is not a band to go backwards. that said, what could possibly be next for this group? they're only a few steps from global domination on their own terms. do the take it?
