So last time I submitted I noticed I was one short... uh...crap. Little late but here's a blog! No theme here this time, other than these a couple bands I just never got around to listening to but I've had to listen to for awhile.
Pharoahe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)
Pretty interesting rap album here. It opens with a message from Idris Elba in the future saying it's a warning for a war. Basically it's a concept album about a future war and abuse by the government. It was a rather interesting story but it's been done before. What I liked was the many styles in this album, almost each track has a very separate style which is something I always love. Like the track above, it sounds very akin to a Madvillain or any MF DOOM style track in terms of delivery, it plays out like a story, it's like if a comic book was rapped and it was actually good. Sounds pretty dumb but I think it's a rather cool style. But while this one is like that, other songs get crazy with their instrumentation, from electronic beats to hairband sounding guitar solo's. All with some pretty excellent rapping, lyrically and flow wise. I was really impressed with this and it'll probably get better with repeated listens, can't wait. Loving it.
Oh and this whole album is up on youtube it seems. Here:
The Script - Science and Faith
Most of the time, I can't listen to bands who just center on love as their theme. It just seems too bland to me, too overdone, and boring. Not to say there aren't exceptions, Yellowcard for instance is still one of my favorites, though I always figured that was primarily for nostalgia. So I was really surprised that I enjoyed this album after the realization they were nearly all about love, usually break ups and trying to fix them. I honestly am not quite sure why I liked it. They lyrics do seem above average to me, and the band just sounds great in the background especially the guitars, not that they sound to be doing anything particularly difficult. Everything just kind of... fits I suppose. And I do like the singers voice. Honestly this is just really weird to me and I'm surprised I like it at all. It might be because some of them are about being drunk in love, I have a strange weakness to songs about drinking. Who knows, it was a pretty decent album though.
Right, so I have confusion regarding why indie is considered a genre. I figure it should mean that the artist is "independent" and publishes their music with no help from a label. So I don't understand at what point did we collectively decide it should define a certain type of sound. Never understood that. In addition some "indie" musicians actually have labels. Just don't get it. Not that I dislike any of it. Just putting that out there. Anyway here are a bunch of things I really should've listened to before now, all of I have heard referred to as indie.
Arcade Fire - Funeral
See here's an example, these guys are referred to as indie but are HUGE now. Hell the song above hs been popular for awhile and it came off of their FIRST album. But more to the point HOW HAVE I NOT LISTENED TO THIS YET WHAT AM I DOING. Oh well. To be honest I wasn't a huge fan of it, maybe it was just al of the hype or maybe it's just because I haven't listened to it enough times yet. There just wasn't anything in particular to draw me in. I would almost call it bland. Hopefully I'll come around to it eventually so I can see what the fuss is. But so far everything just sounds very average to me.
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World
These guys are more folky I'd say, but I rather liked this album. Had a pretty unique sound, was rather short which is actually something I liked. Not every album needs to be an hour long. The lyrics were enjoyable and were quite clever in some parts. The singer had a very unique voice, which clearly cuts out on purpose at some points, which actually helps the emotional aspects of the songs. Overall I really enjoyed these guys.
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not
Also described as indie but I would say they're more punk rock. I heard their sound changes as you go through the albums so maybe they get more indie. Irrelevant though, I loved this stuff. I haven't heard a good, interesting punk sound in awhile. It's just pure punk sounding, aggressive and whatnot, and the lyrics are catchy as hell. Now as an indie band and what they typically stand for, somber artistic lyrics and an experimental alt rock feel, not quite good. But as a punk rock album with a few twists here and there with a great vocalist and instrumentation as well, it exceeds most punk bands. It takes whats fun about punk, cuts the boring crap, and fills it with their own touches of crazy sounds and vocals. Few punk albums make me want to dance.
