SAW [Week 64 - "Home of the Strange"]

[G-Man]

Available on YouTube single video or playlist and Spotify

I added a link to a playlist on YouTube for Charlie Brown. The single video cuts out partway through the last bonus track (if you listen that far).

[speedchuck]

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I guess I'll provide some perspective.

This was really, really good. I've heard a lot of these songs before, at some point or another, but I've never listened to this album or seen A Charlie Brown Christmas. I went in without expectations, I guess. Some tunes were familiar, some weren't, but I feel like I could listen to this at any time of year and be satisfied.

The tunes work best as background music, in my opinion. But I could reasonably just close my eyes and listen. I guess this is what iconic music is. There's a reason this movie was so popular, and I'll bet a lot of it has to do with the music.

I'm not going to go into detail like some of you do. I have an ear for musical intricacy, which is why I listen to prog, but I'm not good at explaining what a piece does or how it does it and why that makes it good. All I know is that I like it. And I like this.

4.5/5

[Tangrowth]

Available on YouTube single video or playlist and Spotify

I added a link to a playlist on YouTube for Charlie Brown. The single video cuts out partway through the last bonus track (if you listen that far).

Thanks, G-Man!

[G-Man]

Take Care

Listening to this album made me realize a few things. First, most of the hip hop and/or rap that I've listened to is either white guys or part of the greater rap-rock genre. I hope that doesn't mean I'm subconsciously racist. Second, this album's lyrical content made me realize just how tame and responsible my life has been. Sure I've had moments of stupidity but I've never lived or even encountered the kinds of lifestyles on display with Drake's album.

Track 1 ("Over My Dead Body") has some great beats and backing vocals. It was lovely until Drake started his droning style of rapping, which left me on the fence. Take away his foul-mouthed braggadocio and you've got the potential for a really sophisticated and chill R&B or even rap tune. Track 2 ("Shot For Me") is smoother and better than the opener. If that is Drake singing, then he should stick to that. I thought I detected some autotune on the talk-rap, which surprised me. Did he really need autotune to keep his talking in tune or is it just an effect used to sound cool in the rap genre in general? Track 3 ("Headlines") has the best beats yet and also features the best rapping so far. Drake uses a little more vocal variety, which helps break up what could otherwise sound monotonous. The lyrics hold it back yet again.

That was a common theme I found throughout the album- Drake's lyrics fail to aspire to the same heights as his beats. The production values are lovely. I enjoyed the EDM-influenced beats and the use of ambient strings and other elements missing from the few rap songs I've stumbled upon when switching through radio stations. At times, it's a real shame.

The one track where the lyrics and production mesh perfectly is the title track, "Take Care." That is a great tune and the duet nature makes it stand out like a beacon of light. The lyrics are honest, a little vulnerable, and mostly clean. It's my choice cut for the album. Rounding out my three to take with me are "Headlines" for its blend of singing and rapping, and "Lord Knows" for its big sound that actually warrants to showy nature of the lyrics.

As a white guy from teh suburbs, I don't get rap culture. Very little exposure to the kind of "look at me mother @#%*er" self-promotion present here on many tracks caused me to reject a lot of the lyrical content. Old school rap wasn't as vulgar but I understand that gangsta rap's shadow looms long over all corners of the rap and hip hop genres. Maybe I just need to get used to hearing it because it is such a foreign element to me. I don't think I'll ever be able to say "b****es and rappin' and rappin' and b****es" is justifiable as lyrical content or as a lifestyle/worldview.

The album is inconsistent in the ebb and flow between droning raps and smooth R&B. I think that's why the length of the album is a negative aspect for me. If an album is great, you won't care how long or short it is. When it's not doing it for you, people have a tendency to check their watch. I checked mine a few times. Momentum grows over the first few tracks, then it craters through the midpoint. It picks back up again but flat-lines through the final three tracks. Despite good production, the lyrics dragged seven tracks down to 'indifferent' status. If you cut those seven tracks out, the album is shorter, tighter, and would have scored a B in my book.

G-Man Scale: 2.99 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3 out of 5

[dunya]

Thanks G-Man, that's a great review! And you'd be surprised, but I agree a lot with your last point of having rated it higher had he cut some filler tracks out of there. Your top album picks were pretty agreeable, though Marvin's Room is another important track for me and HYFR and Shot For Me are also noteworthy in my book. For what it's worth, I gave it a 4/5, and that's also because I actually did relate to some of the songs hahaha. I wanted to suggest more rap, and pop rap seemed liked the safest way in here. I should have definitely listened to my better instincts and gone with something with a little more funk than pop and it would have been better received. Not all rap is about bitches and hoes. I have been an avid hip hop listener for about 13 years now, so I can guarantee there's a lot of content that any average Joe can reason with too, where it's just fun every day stuff (not even going to try and recommend political hip hop on here, ever, ever ever ever lmao).

[speedchuck]

I can listen to music at work now. Yes I'm doing this.

1. nutella - The Family Crest - Beneath the Brine

Beneath the Brine has one of the best album openings I've ever heard, and the first song mostly lives up to that promise. Blending the beauty of voice and strings with the frenetic energy of alt rock seamlessly. It's a new combination to me, it's catchy, pretty, fun, and I love it.
The World calms down and gets snappy, providing an uptempo groove that immediately showcases the variety of the band while still fitting into the mold the first song provided. Around the end of the song, though, I began to notice another pattern. When it seems like the vocalist is improvising/warbling against a repetitive part of the song, I grow bored quickly. The music, in these rare cases, falls back and loses its unique flavor.
I loved everything about Love don't Go except for the vocal hook. Little generic pop/altrock missteps like this bring the album down in places, make it lose its energy and majesty.
William's Dirge is . . . dirgy. And swanky. Good for what it is, I guess, as an introduction to Howl, which is amazing right off the bat. Jazzy, groovy, and intoxicating. I don't listen much to this type of swingy music, so my expectations might be low, but dang. It knows when to drop off and pick things back up again. Love it.
The Water's Fine starts really strong, like Beneath the Brine did. And it just . . . stays strong.
I am the Winter is probably the most beautiful song on here, but I'm not sure it holds the same uniqueness as the rest of the album thus far.
She Knows My Name is good, pretty. It's got a lot of mood to it, though the music doesn't include anything that surprises me or catches me like some of the other songs did. Solid and well done.
As We Move Forward moves forward. Straightwforward. I feel like I've said everything I need to say about the style already. Both this song and the previous song have a slight feeling of . . . catharsis, maybe? Feels like something's been accomplished.
Atomsperic pieces and acoustic guitar jump us into When the Lights Go Out. Once again, after a couple of somes that were 'normal,' I feel like we're going somewhere new. And while the rest of the song doesn't continue to surprise, the way it swells and dims is legitimately emotional. And then the end of the song is perfect.
We end with There's a Thunder. It makes a good finale song in feel, with more of that cathartic feeling. It's a strong finish, but not one that pushes the band rating up. The choiric part really contributes to the unique feel of the song.
Overall, I enjoyed this album immensely. The music is beautiful, with hints of something even greater. Like the album is about 2/5 masterpiece, and the rest is along for the ride and merely excellent. There were no really low points, and I loved the sound of the vocals. The lyrics didn't stand out to me as something you should play close attention to, but did give me the feel of a concept album. The struggle and hope of love out of reach or something like that. It felt thematically consistent.

Beneath the Brine, Howl, and The Water's Fine are the 3 songs I would take with me. (I'm going to do this for any album I want to)

4.3/5 stars (round it up to 4.5 I guess)

[speedchuck]

[mention]nutella[/mention]
I think I'm going to link people when I review their albums as I go through. I'll quit if somebody thinks it's obnoxious.
For the record, Nutella, I just reviewed your OG submission.

[speedchuck]

[mention]MovingPictures07[/mention]
2. MovingPictures07 - Fishmans - Otokotachi no Wakare

Spoiler: show

Whoa dang this is really long. And live. But it has a good sound. After the cheering, I can't really tell it's live. Which is good. :P
ARE YOU FEEL GOOD? I'm probably not going to do a song-by-song on this. I'll just throw in thoughts as they come.
This first guitar riff goes on a long time. The sufferings of a live album, I guess. At least it's a good riff to have in the background, and others are doing their stuff.
So far, nothing is bad. But it's (according to the OP) dream pop. Never heard dream pop before. And I'm not big on it. The music is just kinda... there, and I can't understand the lyrics (though that hasn't stopped me from liking songs before). I suppose the beats are sometimes catchy, and as of 30 minutes in, I've liked some of the riffs and solos okay. But the plodding pace and repetitiveness in parts makes me feel like I could have heard everything I've really liked from this album so far in about 7 minutes of time, if that.
Even when the album starts doing something interesting and fun, it ends up back at the plain muted cord progessions or repeated same-y notes.
Some strong grooves in places. Back to my bolded point, though. Everything is swamped in chill dream pop that doesn't really do much for me, and often that pop is repetitive. Especially when the lyrics come in.
Bass guitar sounds pretty good, even in the parts that are meh.
In the Air ends with some awful whining vocal sounds. It is the worst part of the album thus far.
5 minutes into Long Season, and it's a definite step up. I expected a bigger step at the very beginning, but it lapsed back into the same style (don't know what I expected) but maye better. The piano repetition 5 minutes in is killing me though.
This all works better to me as background music. Maybe it's the reggae I don't like. Hrm.
The piano riff never goes away.

I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

This album was well-put-together, especially for a live album, and had some good grooves and solos and instrumentation. The closest this got to me liking it was criteria #3, during some little parts. I somehow didn't get #5 from it at all. To each their own.

1.5/5

Didn't know albums this long were allowed. Anyone against me picking my favorite album for the next poll? It's about 1.5 hours.

[dunya]

I think I'm going to link people when I review their albums as I go through. I'll quit if somebody thinks it's obnoxious.
For the record, Nutella, I just reviewed your OG submission.

I did the same, I think it's ok.

I was stuck at MP's album cos it was so long

[Tangrowth]

I realized quickly in retrospect that it was probably a poor choice for submission, but I love that album (and was especially obsessed with it at the time we started this thing), and I thought it would be a good introduction to an overlooked band, especially given their transition from dub to dream pop. I don't plan on nominating anything remotely close to that long in the future.

[Tangrowth]

That said, I don't really care how long the albums are that people submit, as long as it's not anything ridiculous (like 4 hours or something).

[speedchuck]

I realized quickly in retrospect that it was probably a poor choice for submission, but I love that album (and was especially obsessed with it at the time we started this thing), and I thought it would be a good introduction to an overlooked band, especially given their transition from dub to dream pop. I don't plan on nominating anything remotely close to that long in the future.

I'll probably do the same then. But I don't resent it. It was interesting looking at a genre I've never seen.

[Tangrowth]

I realized quickly in retrospect that it was probably a poor choice for submission, but I love that album (and was especially obsessed with it at the time we started this thing), and I thought it would be a good introduction to an overlooked band, especially given their transition from dub to dream pop. I don't plan on nominating anything remotely close to that long in the future.

I'll probably do the same then. But I don't resent it. It was interesting looking at a genre I've never seen.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it really, especially since it's such a long album, but I'm glad you stuck it out and appreciated it nonetheless.

My taste is relatively diverse I guess, but Dream Pop is generally a favorite subgenre of mine due to what I hope to gain from music (more on that in a follow-up post). That said, I can admit that the subgenre can be full of artists that sound similar in that they are all trying to evoke a similar experience. However, I would assert that FIshmans occupy a very unique space within it due to their unique progression from a dub band.

If you're curious to learn about it, check out the RYM subgenre description. And if you're willing to give any other album a try, absolutely check out Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins. If I had to pick any one dream pop album that was most representative of the subgenre and of ideal quality, it would be that. It also happens to be one of my favorite albums of all-time and I'd recommend it to anyone any day. I can respect that it may not be everyone's thing, but it's nonetheless the one dream pop album I'd throw at anyone if they only were to hear just one ever.

[Tangrowth]

That said, now that I think about what you listed above, you may enjoy something else more... such as relatively complicated shoegaze or something like Sweet Trip. Don't mind me. Just rambling.

[nutella]

[mention]speedchuck[/mention] you're missing the bonus final track, Make Me A Boat. I recommend finding it. Enjoyed reading your review

[Tangrowth]

I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

I also just wanted to say I thought it was very interesting and commendable for you to self-analyze what you like in music.

I like to think I can appreciate various types of music, but I have similar things that I gravitate towards (and the converses of those I gravitate against). Interestingly, we don't really share any of these, except perhaps #5 (which is ironically what I like about dream pop as a genre, despite the fact that you personally didn't detect it in Fishmans). I absolutely don't care at all about #1, #2, or #4 (in fact, I think I actually prefer instrumental music to some degree, and I'm all for well-executed music that puts me in a coma as someone who loves ambient, dream pop, and post-rock). I used to care more about #3, but I think it varies with the product these days.

I imagine, as someone who got into music via prog even though I've drifted increasingly from it over time, you and I do have some decent musical taste crossover, but based on what you listed here it makes a lot of sense why our viewpoints of that album diverge so much.

[speedchuck]

I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

I also just wanted to say I thought it was very interesting and commendable for you to self-analyze what you like in music.

I like to think I can appreciate various types of music, but I have similar things that I gravitate towards (and the converses of those I gravitate against). Interestingly, we don't really share any of these, except perhaps #5 (which is ironically what I like about dream pop as a genre, despite the fact that you personally didn't detect it in Fishmans). I absolutely don't care at all about #1, #2, or #4 (in fact, I think I actually prefer instrumental music to some degree, and I'm all for well-executed music that puts me in a coma as someone who loves ambient, dream pop, and post-rock). I used to care more about #3, but I think it varies with the product these days.

I imagine, as someone who got into music via prog even though I've drifted increasingly from it over time, you and I do have some decent musical taste crossover, but based on what you listed here it makes a lot of sense why our viewpoints of that album diverge so much.

Yeah, at least for a while, Rush was my favorite band. Still rotates in my top five. I hear you like them too. Prog is what really got me into music, and was all I would listen to for a time. But now I've mellowed out, in a different direction than you it seems. I often listen to 'fun' music (call me shallow if you wish), and can, believe it or not, actually withstand some modern top 40 depending on the song.

Moodsetting music that gets to me is rare, and most of the time when it does it's because the music is soundtrack related and I was in a place or doing a thing when I first heard it. But I'll give those albums you linked a shot when I get the time (if I remember).

@speedchuck you're missing the bonus final track, Make Me A Boat. I recommend finding it. Enjoyed reading your review

I'll have to go find it. :P

[speedchuck]

3. [mention]Boomslang[/mention] - Goat - World Music

Spoiler: show

Right off the bat, I'm hit with some strong moody bass warbling with guitar joining in and I like it, then the song kicks in hard. Diarabi, it's called. It's got some power to it. And it keeps that power and energy going unitl it's about to get bored, then stops. A good introduction to the album.
The insteresting beats and fun warbly instruments continue into the next song until the vocals come in. And then after. But I want to talk about the NA NA, NANANANA vocals. They're kinda yelly, repetitive... not super annoying, but I'm not getting much out of them. The spastic guitar that pops in between verses does a much better job of complementing the jungle-y beats and stuff. If all the vocals are like this, the album would be better off instrumental.
Speaking of Goatman, the talking part at the beginning was interesting. It didn't make much of an impression on me, tough. It's like with That Handsome Devil. The speaking parts are there, but I probably won't remember them.
Goathead continues the trend with some crunchy bass and musical guitar orchestration that half sounds like a SEGA Genesis soundtrack on hard drugs. And then the singing comes back in and lowers my estimation of the song. The latter part of Goathead calms down and plays come acoustic guitar in a pleasing way, with background ambience that suggests a quiet highway in the rain. The two are really well put together.
Disco fever picks things back up, and includes the least offensive use of the vocals thus far in a tumbling beat held together by needly guitar licks. (I don't know what these words even mean, but they sound about right.) The use of a synthesizer/organ on the interverse solos really works.
16:28
Had to take a break, but I'm back into the game. I've got to wonder what the ethnic influences are for this album. I'm unning into some unique percussive bits.
Golden Dawn now. Starts with a disclaimer that this is totally psychadelic. (not really, but it was a little cliche) I love the smooth rolling bass grooves and the way they sync with the drums. Again, could give or take the lyrics. Sometimes, with this particular album, I'm not sure what instrument is playing. I need to figure out what dulcumers sound like. (This music is making my thinking sporadic.)
In any case, Golden Dawn pulls right into the crazy-fun instrumental warbling and keeps mixing it up as I go, straight through to the end. A welcome addition to the album.
Let it Bleed. What, bongos? I appreciate the wide variety of instruments being used. Vocals are just killing this for me whenever they appear, but they rarely show so far. It's worth pushing through for the groovy tunes man. The sax warbling near the end of the song goes on a little too long. When the primary draw of the music is being pulled into new infectious rhythms with a variets of instruments, overstaying your welcome can be aggrivating. Small complaint, really, but I'm weird enough to notice I guess.
Run to your Mama: The atmosphere around this piece sounds different. And by atmosphere, I mean environment. The percussion is still really cool, but the guitar that it starts with echoes more, and that changes the tone of the piece a lot. Other than that, the piece is very minimalistic, which stands out, and the vocals work with it better that way too.
Goatlord reminds me of Arabian Nights right at the beginning. The sound is haunting, but not in too spooky a way. Mysterious maybe. The crisp guitar works with everything else being smooth and flowy, though I'm unsure how I feel once the guitar starts literally screeching at me. I don't know if that fits the feel I had going.
Then the last song comes along, Det Som Aldrig Förändras / Diarabi. I feel like it starts weak. The beat isn't as nuanced, the instruments don't do much different than what I've seen before, the tone is pretty similar to what I've heard already. Either that or I'm fatigued of this particular sound. And it doesn't change much. I could cut out four minutes of this song and still make it flow together, and everything in the middle would be the same. I don't handle stagnation well.
All in all, this album barely overstays its welcome. While I was enjoying the album, it was flitting from beat to beat, contrasting delightful moodsetting pieces with diverse and energetic instrumentation that was quick to switch before getting tiresome. Each piece, except for the last one, introduced a new sound. The bass-y songs were fantastic. The punk-ish singing on most track wasn't really my thing, and in some cases, DEFINITELY wasn't the music's thing. That, along with the last track, brought the album down from what could have been a solid 3.5.

I give it a 2.5.

Note: You guys don't have to read these. I'm enjoying the exposure to different types of music, and these written logs are here to affirm that I did it and remind me what I liked for later. If you like seeing what I like even though the discussion time has passed, then by all means. :P

[Tangrowth]

I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

I also just wanted to say I thought it was very interesting and commendable for you to self-analyze what you like in music.

I like to think I can appreciate various types of music, but I have similar things that I gravitate towards (and the converses of those I gravitate against). Interestingly, we don't really share any of these, except perhaps #5 (which is ironically what I like about dream pop as a genre, despite the fact that you personally didn't detect it in Fishmans). I absolutely don't care at all about #1, #2, or #4 (in fact, I think I actually prefer instrumental music to some degree, and I'm all for well-executed music that puts me in a coma as someone who loves ambient, dream pop, and post-rock). I used to care more about #3, but I think it varies with the product these days.

I imagine, as someone who got into music via prog even though I've drifted increasingly from it over time, you and I do have some decent musical taste crossover, but based on what you listed here it makes a lot of sense why our viewpoints of that album diverge so much.

Yeah, at least for a while, Rush was my favorite band. Still rotates in my top five. I hear you like them too. Prog is what really got me into music, and was all I would listen to for a time. But now I've mellowed out, in a different direction than you it seems. I often listen to 'fun' music (call me shallow if you wish), and can, believe it or not, actually withstand some modern top 40 depending on the song.

Moodsetting music that gets to me is rare, and most of the time when it does it's because the music is soundtrack related and I was in a place or doing a thing when I first heard it. But I'll give those albums you linked a shot when I get the time (if I remember).

@speedchuck you're missing the bonus final track, Make Me A Boat. I recommend finding it. Enjoyed reading your review

I'll have to go find it. :P

Yeah, I started with Rush as well, and although I'm not sure how they stand among my favorites anymore (I suppose I'll find out to some degree when I finally get to them in my current, massive project to rate most of what I've heard over the years as well as some new stuff), I can empathize with all of that. I exhausted the heck out of prog or prog-related myself, then mostly moved onto avant-garde, jazz, electronic, etc. I developed an appreciation for pop along the way as well, but as you note, in a different way than you -- what really attracts me to a piece of music the most if I had to pick just any one thing is probably immersion in a unique atmosphere. It's what led to my ever-increasing love of electronic music, which is certainly my favorite genre these days, again if I had to pick just one. Interestingly, I historically and mostly currently avoid soundtrack stuff; I prefer for the music to create its own journey so to speak.

Sorry to ramble on about all of this; I just think it's fascinating to explore how people fell in love with music and how their musical tastes have developed ever since. Each person's journey of musical discovery is unique and that's what makes it so interesting to discuss I suppose.

[G-Man]

To get us back on track with this week's album, I was intrigued by speedchuck's comment about being able to listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas any time, not just at Christmas. I associate it with Christmas, so it falls under my list of albums and songs that can only be listened to between Black Friday and New Year's.

But there are two types of tunes on the album. There are the original pieces and re-workings of existing compositions:

Originals:
4. Linus and Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here
6. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
7. Skating
9. Christmas is Coming

Re-workings:
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
8. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
10. Für Elise
11. The Christmas Song


To the jazz fans out there- how to the re-workings sound to you? Guaraldi throws some jazz breaks into four of those six tracks (1, 2, 3, and 11). Are the re-workings with jazz flourishes admirable for Guaraldi's ability to add those touches or is adding jazz to preexisting pieces not that big an accomplishment? Or do the jazz flourishes sound forced and confined to the song's traditional arrangements?

[Tangrowth]

My apologies, I didn't mean to derail the discussion. I'll be listening to this album today.

[Tangrowth]

To get us back on track with this week's album, I was intrigued by speedchuck's comment about being able to listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas any time, not just at Christmas. I associate it with Christmas, so it falls under my list of albums and songs that can only be listened to between Black Friday and New Year's.

But there are two types of tunes on the album. There are the original pieces and re-workings of existing compositions:

Originals:
4. Linus and Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here
6. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
7. Skating
9. Christmas is Coming

Re-workings:
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
8. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
10. Für Elise
11. The Christmas Song


To the jazz fans out there- how to the re-workings sound to you? Guaraldi throws some jazz breaks into four of those six tracks (1, 2, 3, and 11). Are the re-workings with jazz flourishes admirable for Guaraldi's ability to add those touches or is adding jazz to preexisting pieces not that big an accomplishment? Or do the jazz flourishes sound forced and confined to the song's traditional arrangements?

I could understand how someone would be able to listen to this album any time, given that the compositions themselves are mostly cool jazz, but I'm not one of those people. I specifically associate this album and many of these songs with Christmas and it inevitably ends up being a mood album for me.

Frankly, this is a strange one for me to rate. I ended up giving it a 3.0 but it's probably the strongest 3.0 I can possibly give. I just cannot award it more because it's the most mood-dependent album out there; despite thoroughly enjoying it, I'm not ever sure if I'll ever listen to it again in any non-Christmas context, let alone out of my own accord at all.

Regarding your jazz questions, those are good ones. I personally think the jazz flourishes are pretty cool. I'm not sure I can speak as to how big of an accomplishment they are, but it's clear that Guaraldi was able to make his interpretations of those songs his own (for the most part, with Fur Elise the only exception I think), so that's commendable at least.

[G-Man]

For those who haven't seen it before:



Watch it before it gets taken down!

FYI- The sound is really low on the video.

[Tangrowth]

Definitely worth watching.

[Epignosis]

I love the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. That is all.

(I didn't even listen to it to comment on it this week)

[JaggedJimmyJay]

I listened to the Charlie Brown Christmas album earlier in the week and found it very easy to enjoy. I'm neither a lover nor a hater of Christmas music, but the jazz touch suits it beautifully. It's not something I'd be likely to listen to very often, but it's a pleasing sound when it's there. 3.5 stars.

[JaggedJimmyJay]

Week 38: Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Submitted by MovingPictures07

Available on YouTube and Spotify

[JaggedJimmyJay]

Also, given the light submissions block last time I think we're okay to allow anyone to submit albums this time around (even those who just had contributions heard). If we can get more than seven I'll do a poll, otherwise that number will get us back to a multiple of five.

[JaggedJimmyJay]

Submission: JaggedJimmyJay - CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange / 2005 / Southern hip hop / 16 tracks / 54:19 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

[speedchuck]

Submission: speedchuck - Rishloo - Feathergun / 2010 / Prog Rock / 11 tracks / 58:15 / Youtube and Spotify probably

[speedchuck]

38. MovingPictures07 - Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Spoiler: show

Within the first 30 seconds I've been greeted with retro gaming vibes, asian styled music, and various electronic wibbly-wobblies. I have to start the thing over to make sure this is what I heard. Answer: Yes, but there's more!
At least the second song reminds me of gaming sountracks from the early 2000s. Frogger 2, maybe (muh childhood!). Some VVVVVV in the more digital-heavy parts, but still with more substance/style. This is really neat background music, constantly changing and moving and (my favorite word) warbling. I usually have trouble finding good background music outside of soundtracks. Mostly because I'm not into/know nothing about electronic music.
Everything stays that way till Intro//A Cosmic Drama showcases some soft (electronic?) strings and whimsical mood-setting flourishes. Very different than what came before. That mood-setting high feeling continues into the next track. Computer face brings us back brings us back.
I doubt I'll have much esle to say about this album unless something changes. The electronic parts make me feel nostalgic for some reason, and the softer, more moody parts are genuinely good chill mood setters. I do prefer the electronic pieces more, but I can see myself saving this album and putting it on in the background. Not while writing, though. Wouldn't fit my type of writing.
I do have another thing to say. This album is like onions. There are so many laters, so many pieces to the music. It has depth, but it meshes well and doesn't get confusing or overblown.
...And The World Laughs With You has singing, which surprised and pleased me, and a clicking sound in the background, which hurt my ears and made me turn the album down.
I keep thinking I'm done commenting, and then new things are introduced. I underestimated the variety, it seems. Arkestry is more percussive than anything, but pulls together the mood-setting and electronic bits from before with a little sax. It's a little too unfocused for my taste, and anything with that ambient (staticy?) noise in my headphones bothers me. Ends well though.
I appreciate the artistic choices in most of the music tracks, but based on the music videos, I have to wonder if they're marketing this to people that are high? I don't understand that kind of culture or their videos. I just kinda get that vibe from the way it looks, and it sort of taints my perception of certain songs. But when I close my eyes and listen to the music alone, it sounds good. So idunno.
Satellite would be better without vocals IMO. Just didn't jive with me.

From my single listen, I give it a 3.5/5. Were it not for the couple of songs that hurt my ears, I'd have given it a four. Enjoyable background music with enough meat to focus on if I'm listening attentively. Pleasant. Varied. Good.

[speedchuck]

As an aside:

4. insertnamehere - Scott Walker - Bish Bosch

Spoiler: show

bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu bum bu
*guitar riffs rip in*
"LIKE PLUCKING FEATHERS FROM A SWAN SONG"
I'm confused. I love the beat, the guitar, the ambient noise, the singing... all individually and the way they fit together. But this first track is so repetitive that I feel like I shouldn't like it. But I do. Rrrgh. I'm ready to groove.
And then I proceed to do the opposite of grooving. Slower, longer track, pleasant until the fart sounds started. I'm... honestly aghast. Am I in the wrong place? What's going on?
What the hell?
. . .
This is music I would troll people with. And the first song was so good. And musically, nothing is wrong, necessarily. I just-- I uh-- um. Looking at this out of context. Not my thing. Lyrics are good, but even in my comedy, I want music. Funny and trajic on a meta level.

1.5/5

pls ignore.

[speedchuck]

Don't mind me just doing a thing.

5. [mention]thellama73[/mention] - Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Spoiler: show

Oh hey actual music. It's pleasant. The vocals and crazy synth/organs sold me on the first song. Crazy fun.
I was usure for about 20 seconds if the second song would keep things up. And then the music kicked into gear, and even with the man talking craziness over it (or maybe because of that), I loved it. This stuff has the right amount of grooviness, zaniness, energy, and I'm laughing as Arthur Brown falls into the flames.
Track 3. I'm beginning to suspect this is a concept album. It's dark but happy about it, and the organ really sells it as a poppy little tune that defies the subject matter.
Come and Buy is lovely. The fast-spitting lyrics juxtaposed against the slower, deeper dirges really catches my attention.
Time exemplifies how much better these songs work when they have more energy.
There's a bit of a lull until we get back to fire again. Interesting that the three songs (sort of at least) repeat. Fire & Come and Buy are my favorite part of the album, so I'm not complaining. If only the intro repeated as well.
The rest of the album didn't wow as much, but didn't really have low points either.

4/5 solid. This is a fun album, and there's nothing I really dislike about it. It doesn't fit my musical preferences in a way that I would put it on repeat and listen to appreciate, but as a full album experience when I'm in the mood, it works great.

pls suggest another llama

[nutella]

Submission: nutella - Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma - The Goat Rodeo Sessions / 2011 / Bluegrass/Classical fusion / 11 (+2 bonus) tracks / 57:18 (without bonus tracks) / Youtube (though this playlist seems to be missing the last track for some reason as well as the bonus tracks but they can be found separately) and Spotify (also missing bonus tracks they're really good though and I'm used to them as they're on the CD edition that my mom owns)


I loooooove this album a lot and I hope you guys do too, it's an extremely impressive collaboration between several amazing musicians

[Tangrowth]

Cosmogramma is one of my favorite albums of all time. A truly exhilarating and unique slice of electronica. Hope you all enjoy it.

[Tangrowth]

Submission: MovingPictures07 - Ryoji Ikeda - dataplex / 2005 / Microsound / 20 tracks / 55:31 / YouTube and Spotify

This one should be interesting.

[speedchuck]

Cosmogramma is one of my favorite albums of all time. A truly exhilarating and unique slice of electronica. Hope you all enjoy it.

Well, I did. Probably going to listen to it again today.

[Tangrowth]

Cosmogramma is one of my favorite albums of all time. A truly exhilarating and unique slice of electronica. Hope you all enjoy it.

Well, I did. Probably going to listen to it again today.

[G-Man]

I gave the current album of the week a listen just now. It was interesting enough but I don't know that I fell in love with any of the tracks. Some of them were too short. By the time they were over, I had just gotten a feel for them.

Also, the genre title is pretentious and I'm going to have to work past it to listen to the album objectively.

I'll do a review for Charlie Brown once I can find time to give it one last listen with my headphones on.

[Tangrowth]

I gave the current album of the week a listen just now. It was interesting enough but I don't know that I fell in love with any of the tracks. Some of them were too short. By the time they were over, I had just gotten a feel for them.

Also, the genre title is pretentious and I'm going to have to work past it to listen to the album objectively.

I'll do a review for Charlie Brown once I can find time to give it one last listen with my headphones on.

Ugh. Don't get me started. I'm about the biggest IDM fan on the planet, and even I hate the genre title.

Nonetheless, I would implore anyone not to let that affect their judgment of the music. It only is used at this point because of its widely-acknowledged representation of a specific sound of and approach to composing electronic music that became popularized by Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, and similar acts in the early-mid 1990s. As someone who is intimately familiar with this style and era of music, I would assert that in spite of the awful name, unfortunately the subgenre's usage is accurate and necessary to describe these particular types of music, and that's why the name has stuck around. You'll be better off though to ignore what it stands for. I refuse to acknowledge it by its full name; I just always use IDM as if it's not an abbreviation.

That said, if I have to explain it to people, instead I just try to tell them that it's best to think of it like this: EDM = extrovert (instead of electronic) dance music (i.e., dance music you'll hear at clubs) and IDM = introvert (instead of intelligent) dance music (i.e., dance music you should listen to at home with your headphones). That way it doesn't sound nearly as pretentious and it's certainly a more accurate description of what you're going to get.

[Tangrowth]

Regarding what you said about the tracks being short though, G-Man, personally I've found that it's part of the album's charm, and I typically view the whole album as one whole piece consisting of many little parts that fit together. It's a grower though. I think the first time I ever heard it, if I was rating it based on my current system now, I'd probably have given it a 3.5. It was around listen #10 or so over the span of a few years that it really started to knock my socks off. My appreciation and love for it has grown ever since. It's incredibly immersive.

One of the reasons I chose this album as well instead of a different IDM album is that a common response I get when I've recommended or shown people my favorites in the past is indifference to how inhuman, cold, detached, etc. electronic music is. I don't personally feel that way about any of them, and I don't even view those descriptors as negative, but based on feedback regarding this album, I do think this one is relatively more approachable and "human" to music listeners who aren't crazy like me binging weird electronic stuff on a regular basis. I'd say part of its accessibility is due to the shortness of the tracks; nothing gets overly repetitive like other electronic music often can.

[Tangrowth]

Random trivia about Flying Lotus and Cosmogramma:

- Flying Lotus is the stage name of a music producer named Steven Ellison. He also is a DJ, filmmaker, and rapper.

- Ellison is the grand-nephew of the late jazz pianist, harpist, singer, and composer Alice Coltrane, the wife of jazz legend John Coltrane.

- Cosmogramma contains a healthy mix of both sampling (for example, "Arkestry" includes a sample of experimental jazz musician Sun Ra and His Arkestra, while "Drips/Auntie's Harp" includes a sample of his late grand-aunt Alice Coltrane's "Blue Nile", among many others) and live instrumentation (harp, strings, bass, drums, sax, keyboard, and trumpet).

- This album was initially conceived out of Ellison grieving his mother's illness (hospitalized due to diabetes complications) and death (she died a few months before the album's completion and release). He used to bring his laptop to record various field recordings when visiting his mother in the hospital room. One of my favorite uses of sampling on this album is Ellison inserting his recording of his mother's respirator and vital-sign monitors in the album closer, "Galaxy in Janaki", as a tribute to her.

- The album title comes from Ellison mishearing "cosmic drama" as "cosmogramma". Ellison said of the title: "My aunt had an Ashram in Agoura full of devotees... And I was listening to one of her recorded discourses talking about how once this earthly experience is over, we won't be wearing our costumes anymore..."

- The album includes contributions from Thom Yorke (who sings on "...And the World Laughs With You", which is why I always think that song sounds like a collab with Radiohead), Thundercat (who is known for his solo career and guest bass performance on Kendrick Lamar's widely-acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly), Laura Darlington, Ravi Coltrane, among others.

I could gush about this album for too long.

It's a 5.0 without hesitation. One of my most treasured without a doubt.

[nutella]

This is pretty cool and I enjoy listening to it (lots of cool sounds/beats/mixing/samples/etc) but it's not really leaving a huge/distinct impression on me so far. I have listened to FL before and generally feel that way about his music -- it's fun but doesn't astound me or leave a lasting impression. I'll give it another couple listens though and try to figure out a rating.

[JaggedJimmyJay]

I had heard Cosmogramma once or twice before and liked it. I still do. I tend to appreciate any album as diverse as this one, particularly when that pursuit of diversity doesn't end up sounding forced and convoluted. There's a purposeful structure to this thing and it all works well together. I wouldn't say it has gripped me tightly, and I don't really draw any emotion from it -- but it's a good sound. 3.5 stars.

[speedchuck]

6. [mention]G-Man[/mention] - Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is on Top

Spoiler: show

Jumping right in. The beat is infectious, the older music cheery and catchy, but I'm not a huge fan on the reliance on background singers.
The second album throws me more into what I was expecting. Twangy, twisty guitar riffs and an unrelenting beat that pulls the piano and geetah together. It's kinda hard to describe this music because, even having not heard the album, it's something I've heard a hundred times any time a movie wants to have a retro soundtrack.
Can't help but tap my heel to the music.
One thing that bothers me is when music gets too repetitive. A few parts of this album do that sort of thing. Mostly with the lyrics, but also with the main riff of Carol. It's mitigated by how short most of these songs are.
This may be rock and roll at it's roots, but I don't often get to hear electric guitar and actual honest-to-god piano in a song. I always hear guitar with synthesizers, keyboards, and organs. Not piano. I appreciate the sort of dueling solos between the two.
There is some variety on this album, but when I cam across it, I found myself split. I like variety. But I also like the 'rock' side of the heavier rock and roll tunes. The variety always goes in the opposite direction, especially near the end of the album.

3/5

[nutella]

for my second listen of Cosmogramma I'm taking down some brief track-by-track reactions bc otherwise I won't nail down my feelings about it. most of this will be gibberish/very general/not fancy reviewing words hahah

Spoiler: show

1. Clock Catcher - the good good sounds. love it
2. Pickled! - even more fun sounds. also love it.
3. Nose Art - I'm not usually a fan of the, idk what you call it, the very staccato/cut-off sounding style of electronic music, so this track is lower for me
4. Intro//A Cosmic Drama - pretty, feels like it should be evocative of some kind of scene but can't settle on what.
5. Zodiac Shit - feels a bit more generic/standard electronic music, meh
6. Computer Face//Pure Being - meh. I like the end I guess
7. ...And The World Laughs With You (ft. Thom Yorke) - could easily be a TKOL- or AMSP-era B-side. Love it
8. Arkestry - the first half of this with the drums reminds me of something idk... jazz sample is good, haunting vocals at the end feel separate but nice
9. MmmHmm (ft. Thundercat) - longest track on the album at a whopping 4:14, wow! not getting much out of the vocals/lyrics. they feel trite and out of place and I'd rather just have the background instrumental stuff that sounds like the rest of the album
10. Do The Astral Plane - dank beats yo. can't decide how I feel about the scatting. the rest of it is decent low-key bounce-to-the-beat fare, would definitely enjoy it a lot more under the influence of some green herbs
11. Satelllliiiiiiiteee - weird funky vocal effects that I'm generally not into. as with a lot of this album, this track has nice enough beats/sounds but doesn't really stand out at all
12. German Haircut - pretty I guess
13. Recoiled - I like this one quite a bit actually, it's very pleasant, I guess in the same way that I liked the first two tracks
14. Dance Of The Pseudo Nymph - ditto. this track is awesome. love the handclapping sounds and everything
15. Drips//Auntie's Harp - beautiful orchestral bits/harp sampling, and especially given the context MP explained this is lovely
16. Table Tennis (ft. Laura Darlington) - very clever!! I hope/assume that's an actual recording of actual ping pong (sure sounds like it), that's super cool. the vocalist and echoey-ness sounds very ethereal and floaty. goes well with the harp parts before, during, and after it in the album
17. Galaxy in Janaki - good closer, it feels very fast-paced and busy compared to the previous track but in a good way. it's fun, I like all the different timbres in it.

ok, so to summarize, I really liked the first two tracks, and I really liked everything from 13 to the end -- that's a great stretch. everything in between is pretty meh to me. Overall I'm feeling a 3.5.

[JaggedJimmyJay]

Submissions so far:

JaggedJimmyJay - CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange / 2005 / Southern hip hop / 16 tracks / 54:19 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

speedchuck - Rishloo - Feathergun / 2010 / Prog Rock / 11 tracks / 58:15 / Youtube and Spotify

nutella - Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma - The Goat Rodeo Sessions / 2011 / Bluegrass/Classical fusion / 11 (+2 bonus) tracks / 57:18 (without bonus tracks) / Youtube (though this playlist seems to be missing the last track for some reason as well as the bonus tracks but they can be found separately) and Spotify (also missing bonus tracks they're really good though and I'm used to them as they're on the CD edition that my mom owns)

MovingPictures07 - Ryoji Ikeda - dataplex / 2005 / Microsound / 20 tracks / 55:31 / YouTube and Spotify

Epignosis - Kansas - Somewhere to Elsewhere / 2000 / Progressive rock / 11 tracks / 68:09 / YouTube and Spotify

Remember that everyone is eligible this time.

[Epignosis]

Kansas- Somewhere to Elsewhere

[G-Man]

I'm going to be old-fashioned and sit out for this next submission round.

[speedchuck]

Kansas- Somewhere to Elsewhere

Fantastic suggestion. I had this one on repeat a few years back.