January 2008
Pre-Leak Record Reviews #2: Tapes N' Tapes "Walk...
I’m writing about this album for a magazine, and I’ve heard it about 1.5 times now, and I think it’s going to be tricky to figure out the tone of the review. I mean, it’s a major improvement over their blah yet hyped first record. David Fridmann did a very good job with the production — it’s more The Woods than The Soft Bulletin — and the band have some...
Just So You Know, This Chat Contains 'Trapped In...
MCP: I feel like if you were a large muscular black man, you'd basically be Twan
Todd: I don't know if that is positive
MCP: ok, tell me this -- if your ex-girlfriend had a lesbian lover, would you try to murder her?
Todd: no
MCP: how often do you feel that you can murder your way out of problems?
Todd: never
MCP: do you find it virtually impossible to contain your rage?
Todd: yes, i am like the hulk
MCP: do you wear brightly colored loose-fitting clothing as often as you can?
Todd: yes
MCP: ok. this is the most important question
MCP: if you got shot in the arm, would you lose a massive amount of blood, but basically be okay within an hour after getting some small bandages?
Todd: absolutely
Pre-Leak Record Reviews #1: R.E.M. "Accelerate"
MJK: just heard Accelerate.
MCP: oh yeah??? tell me more
MJK: really fucking like it. a lot. I predict people will take issue with the production, tho i really like it
MCP: how so?
MJK: it's very compressed, very rock 2008, everything is in the red, there is no space between the instruments at all
MCP: that's surprising for them, but not shocking for Jackknife Lee
MJK: it just barrels & punches, which, again, i loved but can see people not liking
MCP: what record would you say it sounds like, in terms of production?
MJK: all of the examples i'm thinking of are not quite right, it does not sound like an "REM Rock Record." American Idiot comes to mind, but that's really not quite right... but its got that kind of force
MCP: oh, okay, that's kinda what I thought
MJK: its fucking big
MCP: just like mall rock stuff
MJK: kiiiiinda, but not quite. put it this way: its more mall rock than Monster
MCP: how about the last U2 album? like "Vertigo"
MJK: its a bit like that, yeah, except it's fucking way louder. it's just really loud, in a good way. like "Horse to Water," they just keep piling on the guitars
MCP: "loudness war" people are gonna be pissed!
MJK: they are, all the "music scholars" who bore me will not like it. having said that, also some verrry REM moments. the completed "until the day is done" is awesome.
MCP: how did "Mr. Richards" turn out?
MJK: i was just about to say, "Mr Richards" is amazing. "Supernatural Superserious" completed is terrific, and totallly makes sense for the single. it's got a new chorus. like, it's got all these big bruising punk aspects but at the same time it's a classic rock record in the best sense. the Mike Mills harmonies are back in full force, and sound like the fucking Beatles at times
MCP: yeah, I'm sooooooooo glad that he's singing again
MJK: he's on almost every song
MCP: how are the drums
MJK: drummer for the first time in forever sounds like a part of the band, the drums are barrelling. i listened to it with AZ, who is a drummer and he kept saying "my god, the drums on this record" in a good way.
MCP: the drums on Around The Sun sound like they were recorded in paper bags
MJK: yeah, this is so far removed from that. it weird, listening to Accelerate, its like the band who made ATS wasnt even REM, its like this weird straight line from Hi-Fi to this record
MCP: well, I feel like in a lot of ways they were not
MJK: Stipe's vocals on this one are ridic. he sounds very old, but old and PISSED, like a beery old punk, in a good way
MCP: man, it's nice to see REM really trying, really hungry. it's like "you ain't been hungry since Monster!" I feel like they were really complacent for a while, really "who cares, we're doing what we want, we're comfy" and I think the incremental lack of respect really got to them. they were so used to people praising them that they could burn up their capital
MJK: the weird thing is, there's a lot of self-reference on this record. on "Sing for the Submarine" he sings something about "Electron Blue," and then "Feeling Gravity's Pull," and then "...the world as we know it" within like a few verses. that song i think is a reflection on the last few years
MCP: "dot dot dot and I feel fine"
MJK: haha, exactly
MCP: what is that song like?
MJK: "sing for the submarine" doens't sound like any other REM song at all, a lot of these are totally new sonic territory
MCP: nice
MJK: the record is really dark, i dont know what it is about it
MCP: that's funny since a lot of them seemed so IRS back last summer
MJK: but it feels really fucking desperate, in a good way. like, the last word before the bombs go off
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Listen to, listen to Stephen.
Enter The Tumblr
Let’s face it, you guys — I needed another blog. Basically, this site is meant to be supplemental to Fluxblog, with links and little bits of writing that are relevent to a larger audience, but not quite right for the regular site. Enjoy?