I'm basing my initial comments on the first impression of each song and Neal's comments about it.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
May Brothers Mix CD #2 - From the Middle of Everywhere
I'm basing my initial comments on the first impression of each song and Neal's comments about it.
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Album Art
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you went with a physical disc rather than purely digital. I enjoy the tangible and arts and crafts. Also, outer space is intriguing, and the inner cover EGG! is classic.
DeleteOne thing though, I don't like slimline jewel cases because I am clumsy and always break them.
DeleteThe cover made me think of the Marshall Islands with interesting solar activity.
DeleteI went with physical since I don't quite trust file lockers and all with some of them being shut down by the government and their corporate masters.
DeleteI have soooo many slimline cases, I will mail replacements if you need 'em. (Sooooo many)
I also thought of the Marshall Islands. Well, not specifically but of some archipelago in the Pacific. I like islands and surreal space tomfoolery.
It definitely caught my eye, as I've been starting to have a fascination with astronomy as of late.
DeleteI was just staring at the cover art, and Rush's "Tom Sayer" popped into my head! No joke! It would totally work as a scene for the music video.
DeleteTrack 1 - On The Bound - Fionna Apple
ReplyDeleteI started with "On The Bound" by Fionna Apple. I liked a few of her popular songs so I thought I would borrow her albums from the library and give 'em a whirl. I actually liked a lot of her songs. This one has some strong piano, attitude, and great vocal work.
This track is familiar to me. I used to frequent the album this came from. It's a very gravitating opening track that featured everything cool that is to come from the album. The bridge "baby lay your head on my life one more time" gives me chills every time. Plus the wild keyboard sounds speak my language, keeping it from being a perfect generic pop song; meanwhile, it is perfect.
DeleteI thought it was "head on my lap" and I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment.
DeleteI like how the song busts right in with the low register piano melody. It has the feel of a song that would play at the beginning of a more contemporary movie with the opening shots taking place somewhere in the rainy northwest with the "bleach bypass" look to the cinematography. I dunno, that experience to me is reminiscent of Audioslave's song in the opening of Casino Royale.
DeleteFunny thing about this song, there are parts of it that I really like and other parts that make me want to throw my work computer out the window into the spot where oil is coming up through the pavement. Not sure how to deal with the dichotomy.
DeleteTrack 2 - Little By Little - Radiohead
ReplyDeleteI showcase my favorite band next from their latest album. The drum work and flow of "Little By Little" appealed to me.
Nice chord progressions and melodies. Good, mild tension building is one of my favorite trademarks of the band. A surfboard rolling over a small wave, because the rider is hoping the next one will be bigger.
DeleteAlso a great selection, I also feel that mild tension that you refer to. While it is great background music, the melody is such that when you actually pay attention and try to decipher what's going on, you actually sit and have a million things go through your mind. I guess mentally stimulating is the term I'm looking for.
DeleteTrack 3 - Cotopaxi - The Mars Volta
ReplyDelete"Cotopaxi" is just a powerful song. The buildup middle 8 with the lone double bump bass drum keeping rhythm is just awesome.
The rhythm makes me want to dissect the math within. Too bad they go standard on the chorus, or "The Gay Part" as Brian Posehn calls it.
DeleteNow that I know who Brian Posehn is (thanks Wikipedia) my opinion is unchanged.
DeleteUsually I don't care what famous people think, I would say this is no exception, except Brian Posehn is not famous....
DeleteI still hold that The Mars Volta is among the best coding-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-a-2-liter-of-Mountain-Dew-and-a-9:00am-deadline music.
DeleteYeah, Brian, you bastard! Oh wait, that was my opinion, not his. I was just adding his generalization of a part in a song where it becomes "Gay," like sing-song, or happy melody.
DeleteI still haven't quite warmed up to Mars Volta's vocals, but I also have a hard time thinking of a different vocal style that would work with that type of music. I really liked the main riff a lot.
DeleteSorry to accuse Brian, man. His wiki talked about him doing a lot of scrutiny of hard rock music...so I thought that it was a review of the album he might have done. But now your statement makes more sense.
DeleteWhenever I listen to the vocals, I always think that it would be pretty difficult to like the sound. It is somewhat grating and the lyrics themselves are definitely strange at times. Quite a few of their earlier songs are in spanish, also, but the music is so good I couldn't stop listening...then I got used to his vocals.
I find that its best not to try and figure out what they are saying, it only adds to the sensory overload. Did any of you see the video for their song Televators? I haven't watched it for a few years but I thought it was cool.
DeleteTrack 4 - Amongst The Waves - Pearl Jam
ReplyDeleteI followed up with "Amongst The Waves" from Pearl Jam's latest effort. Just a great song all around. I don't know how much y'all have been keeping up on some of the old bands that have faded somewhat so I thought I would plant this song in the mix.
I haven't followed Pearl Jam since Riot Act. Even then I was falling out of their fanbase. I have to answer to this often, because I used to love everything about the band so much. I think I used to relate more with them back in the day when I was angrier and sadder. I know they have evolved beyond those initial tones as well, but we just haven't had any reason to hang out, or talk. Hearing this song is nice, though. It's good to know they're doing okay.
DeleteI also enjoy the word "Amongst" especially because spell check always hates it!
From the guitar solo, to the end, it rocks. That's what I like to hear.
Do we need to leave you alone with Eddie?
DeleteYeah, me and Eddie on a back porch in Portland, with some wine coolers and Bon Iver playing in the background.
DeleteI agree that most of the song is a little been-done-before but the solo made it good. Sort of uplifting.
DeleteConcurred. It is kinda like seeing a friend from High School and being like "hey dude! what have you been up to? ... Cool. Catch ya later."
DeleteI agree with all of the above statements. While I don't foresee Pearl Jam breaking new ground with this song, I think the guitar solo is the saving grace.
DeleteTrack 5 - Ballad Of Maxwell Demon - Shudder To Think
ReplyDeleteHearing the "Ballad Of Maxwell Demon" by Shudder To Think made me want to listen to some more of their music. I haven't done that but this song is great! It rocks, has interesting lyrics, and has a swagger to it.
Nice hook in the chugging guitar chorus, at a tempo in which I can't help but feel the ghost of Weezer. His shaky vocals didn't turn out to be as annoying as I first thought they might.
DeleteI am reminded more of the Toadies slower stuff, the songs without the yelling. I am not widl about this one but I do find myself singing along, like a lot of the radio music now-a-days.
DeleteNailed it with the Toadies reference!
DeleteI definitely hear the slower Toadies connection. There was also that little piano riff in the chorus that reminds me of "Hurt" by NIN.
DeleteTrack 6 - Ambulance - Eisley
ReplyDeleteEisley is a band that made a point to give away their music to promote the band. One of the tracks, "Ambulance," is a great art-alt-pop song. The song is very well written and I couldn't get the "No, no, nooo...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, yeah" out of my head.
I get hung up on this vocal style. Mixing whispering and vibrato with some Vedder. Billy Holiday was cool, though. The slow marching orchestration is bad-ass. And the "No, no, nooo...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, yeah" is great. Is there a "Maybe" in there toward the end?
DeleteGreat tune!
DeleteThis song makes me think "Oh Wailey, Wailey" (see The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchet. Funny read) i just feel really depressed by the time the song winds down.
DeleteTrack 7 - Rings - Toad The Wet Sprocket
ReplyDeleteI reached back in time to listen to some Toad the Wet Sprocket and actually enjoyed a lot of their stuff. "Rings" is perfectly catchy. The song has a slightly different rhythm, great vocals, insightful lyrics... I felt kind of bad that I ignored them back in the 90's.
I'm sure the band is happy having Neal as a new fan now. In the 90's, a lot of bands sounded like this to me. Pleasant, and clean, but without the edge to cut through the mess.
DeleteI liked this one! I especially like the urgency throughout the song. It kinda reminds me of some pop songs in Spanish.
DeleteTrack 8 - Hersey, Hypocrisy, And Revenge - Good Riddance
ReplyDeleteI noticed Reid had some punk on the last mix. "Hersey, Hypocrisy, and Revenge" has all the angst of punk with an oppressive father to loser son argument to kick it off.
It's awesome that the dad got his son's age wrong! Is it from a movie? The son's voice sounds like maybe it's the lead singer's.
DeleteThumbs up on this one for blasting through with balls exposed!
You'll have to listen to the prelude again. Dad says, "You're only 18...". Sons response, "Then I'm 19, then I'm 20...when does my life belong to me?!" I have no idea where the song is from other than a CD Melissa had called Life In The Fat Lane Vol. 1 (plus some other words following). A compilation album...that was probably free.
DeleteSee what happens when you only listen once? I'd better listen again.
DeleteI agree that it would have been awesome if he didn't even know how old his son is though...
Deletewikipedia says that the dialogue is from a movie called Some Kind of Wonderful
Delete'Twould also be funny if the dialog went, "Son, you're 18 now..." and the son replies, "I'm 19, and I'm your daughter!"
DeleteThe energy of punk rock as such is always refreshing to hear. The shouted vocals kinda remind me of a contemporary thrash metal band called Warbringer (we opened for them when they came through Fresno last year).
DeleteTrack 9 - Rhinemaidens - The Envy Corps
ReplyDeleteThe Envy Corps is a band from Ames, Iowa... so, yeah, go local! I liked "Rhinemaidens" even though it does have a Modest Mouse (me no likey) type sound. The lyrics "Laugh because you know you're free for the time being" helps bring the carefree sound of the song to the dire end we may face when the fun is over.
Trust me, every town has at least one Modest Mouse band. Maybe they'll get famous and that demo EP of theirs you have will be worth money on eBay one day. But if it's merely a download, I'd say it's worthless.
DeleteI really liked the chord progression on this one. It brings back some memories of the Trumpet Solo days and some of the bands we played with, as well as going down to Tokyo Garden to catch a lot of the bands that would play for Art Hop.
DeleteI actually really liked that one. Of the stuff on this mix that I have never heard of, this is the best to me. I would like to hear more. Not enough to pay for it, mind you. I haven't paid for mucu music in the last few year, not that I pirate it, only that not much interests me enough to spend my hard earned cash. So what I am trying to say is... Neal I want to borrow that EP.
DeleteSorry, but it is just a download from iTunes. I think I got free credits somewhere so this is one of the songs I picked...that way I can have some semblance of knowing about the local music scene to impress you guys.
DeleteTrack 10 - Life Beyond L.A. - Ambrosia
ReplyDeleteAmbrosia, the band that gave us such sappy songs as "How Much I Feel" and "Your're The Only Woman" surprised me with some early progressive rock music. "Life Beyond L.A." sounds like Dream Theater if they were around in the 70's. The heavy synth keyboard so fits the era but the music is great.
I can safely say that I've never heard anything like this. Some great musicianship and recording on this track. I can almost feel the cocaine on my gums. It's all over the place with some familiar styles, but the blend on this one is wild. I like it.
DeleteWhen I told the drummer guy from work that I was surprised by what I heard, he said that they were awesome until they sold out, BIG TIME, a few albums later. He strongly recommends their first album.
DeleteAlso, I toyed with putting this song or another song "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" on the mix. I would check it out if you have the means. The lyrics are from a song in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle.
DeleteJust watched a funny home-made video with "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." Mostly photos of the outdoors and lightning, except when there were lyrics, he showed some pretty literal shots.
DeleteThis one's awesome! I don't know what I can add to this that you guys haven't already said... With the exception of the vocals, I could totally imagine a song like this being on Pink Floyd's "The Wall". It has that rockin' 70's vibe that you'd hear in songs like "Young Lust" as well as Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious".
DeleteTrack 11 - Hurricane - 30 Seconds To Mars
ReplyDelete"Hurricane" is just a great performance. Heavy bass, some lasery robot sounds, and introspective lyrics. The name of the album is This Is War. The lyrics "Tell me would you kill to prove you're right?" is sadly, one of the reasons we send soldiers to fight.
I was surprised to hear a track like this come from Neal's trenches. I suppose that Wired magazine he left with me was a hint to his love for tech, and this is a great example of its marriage to pop music. The recording sounds very modern, but what I like about it is that it has the feel of sci-fi movie soundtracks of the 80's.
DeleteI swear it has nothing to do with the band's name, but I concur with Reid about the sci-fi soundtrack feel of this song. It strikes me as similar in some ways to the main theme of Total Recall with the lasery synth sounds as well as the rhythm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUZ1aIp4OE if anyone cares to check it out. I wonder if they'll include this song in the remake of Total Recall that's set to come out in theaters this summer.?
DeleteYeah, I just watched the trailer this morning. I can't say I'm not skeptical, because I think no Arnold movie could ever be remade, but I'm still interested and will probably go see it. I am more interested in seeing "Prometheus" though.
DeleteRemakes...Hollywood sucks! I mean, is Total Recall really that old? Prometheus definitely looks cool. Plus, the guy from the Alien Trilogy is involved so it could be good.
DeleteThe original Total Recall was released in 1990. Saying "1990" doesn't sound that old to me, but saying "Twenty-two years ago" does.
DeleteI saw the poster for Total Recal at the $3 theater by my house when we went to see John Carter, and I thought, ...pass. The 30 Sec to Mars song, speaking of John Carter, is good until the last minute of so. it gets all Never Ending Story right up until the last 10 seconds.
DeleteMy beef with the whole album is the end of every song finishes with crowdsing. But I guess they did a promotion with fans to be "on the album" but they could have kept it to one or two songs.
DeleteTrack 12 - The Fad - Chevelle
ReplyDelete"The Fad" will have you raising your air guitar during the middle 8. Chevelle has some powerful music and this song is one of their best.
Chevelle is probably the last of the KRZR rock bands I could enjoy. Totally sweet air guitar break. I also imagine arena lights and headbanging and crowd surfing, or at least watching others do it! I am doing the head-nod in my chair, as type! But it makesth me want to, like, break thstuff!
DeleteAside from the Good Riddance song, this one is probably among the harder edged stuff on this mix CD. I also concur with Reid, Chevelle was one of the last bands featured on KRZR that I could tolerate.
DeleteIsn't KRZR now mexican dance music? I think there is always room for a good Chevelle high adreniline tune to make me crank out the paperwork.
DeleteTrack 13 - Engines - Snow Patrol
ReplyDelete"Engines" by Snow Patrol is kind of a pop song but very different. I enjoy the verse/chorus transition.
I've avoided listening to this band forever, based on their album artwork, and overwhelming presence at Target (no offense to Target, of course). Nothing really to say, good or bad, about it. I suppose that's bad though. I think I could listen to more, but wouldn't buy it.
DeleteA decent listen.
DeleteTrack 14 - Minnesota, WI - Bon Iver
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Bon Iver until I saw some lists of the top 10 albums of 2011 from various sources. Most of them had their self-titled album so I thought I would check it out. I wouldn't say that the album is all that great. Maybe the first three songs but the rest just kind of drags on.
As this track begins, I'd like to say I wish you never heard of Bon Iver. I have trouble suffering this level of cute music. Granted, there are some interesting moments of sound, but generally, the band's wimpyness to the ears is like lemons to the eyes.
DeleteProbably not anything I would go out and buy myself, but I did like the banjo roll riff in the chorus... Now whether it's actually a banjo or a keyboard, I don't know.
DeleteI concur, it is wimpy. But sometimes you need a little wimpy...like when you are sitting on a porch with Eddie Vedder in Portland after your bst days are behind you.
DeleteI get sick of this song really quick. Probably becasue it reminds me of Coldplay, and they are way overplayed in Bakersfield on one of the channels that has decent music. There are some parts that remind me of Dark Side of the Moon, that is all...
DeleteTrack 15 - Grim Goodbye - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
ReplyDeleteFinally, "Grim Goodbye" rounds out the mix with a nice heavy, emo-scream song. Lots of variation in the music and vocal styles with some cool guitar work.
I'm glad I don't have to look at these guys. They sounds like the kids who open for System Of A Down at Ozzfest.
DeleteIn the words of Danny Glover, "I'm gettin' too old for this shit."
C'mon song. End already, so I can post this comment.
Okay, the ending "blah!" was cool.
Funny you quote the Danny Glover phrase, because I recently watched all of the Lethal Weapon movies except 4 (yet). I already have a pretty good idea of what the dudes in this band either look like or at least dress like: http://www.yourscenesucks.com/ then click under crabcore or generic emo boy. The other ones are hilarious, too! But yeah, this stuff is way too trendy these days for me to embrace it.
DeleteI don't listen to the radio much (if at all) these days. So if this is trendy, then I didn't know it. I remember hearing the name somewhere a few years back and came across it in the library and gave it a listen. I think the album is four or five years old...so yeah, opening for System of a Down at Ozzfest is probably exactly what this band did.
DeleteI'll label this comment the after effects comment.
ReplyDeleteSo four days after the initial listen, I haven't given it another, but there are a few things I'd like to mention. The first day after I listened to the disc, the "No, no" part of "Ambulance" was in my head. Then, I kept thinking I had a King Crimson riff in my head, but couldn't figure out which song it was, until I remembered that it was the breakdown riff in "Cotopaxi." And just as frequent as the Mars Volta song is in my head, "Rings" chorus chords go through it, with that long-held and harmonized word he sings, whatever it is.
I listened to the CD the day it arrived in the mail. Once my phone started blowing up with emails about your guys' comments on this thread, I decided that I needed to listen to it once again on a quiet night without interruptions in order to do the reviewing part fair justice. I'd have to say that my favorite moments overall were the Ambrosia and 30 Seconds to Mars songs. I might not be the biggest fan of the bands included on this compilation CD, but I thought the variety of songs was good while retaining a consistent flow to keep it from being boring or making me want to skip to the next one. Great job, Seagull! I'm pretty excited about having my turn to put together a mix CD for everyone, and am always thinking of what songs to include. For that reason, I wish summer was already here! LOL.
DeleteThe last-held word the "fire" part of "brushfire". The song is about him being a tree and if you want to see how his life went then you would have to cut him down and look at the rings inside. So you hear the "good year", "dry spell", and "brushfire".
DeleteI know I haven't commented on all the songs yet, but thanks for supplying a CD that I can play on my computer at work (no thanks Reid). Although some of it is boring to me I didn't feel a need to skip to the next one as Pierce put it, and there were even a few that I find myself replaying at the end of the song.
DeleteYes, mine is better suited to accompany playing Guerrilla War, Ikari Warriors, N.A.R.C., Rampage, or any other game with mass killing and destruction.
DeleteDoom, Quake Rise of the Triad...
Delete