The Syndicate

whatevs nutella, whatevs.

I thought the album was neat. It started a bit sluggish for me, but I'd say from about the 2nd-4th quartile it improved. It is rhythmic and engaging in such a way that the foot is going to tap and the head is going to bob with or without one's direct encouragement. I cannot say whether my being barely competent with the language made it a better or worse experience.

3.5 stars

*flickers lights on and off a few times*

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:34 pm *flickers lights on and off a few times*

Don't look at me, man. I'm still figuring out Rishloo.

This album has the best first track of anything submitted.

Sorry all, I should be able to get to this one, but things are crazy lately so I've been spinning familiar stuff (less likely to distract). Looking forward to checking this out!

So I gave Pescado 2 a listen earlier this morning and sorry to report it bored me to death pretty much during the entire duration. I felt it was the very definition of a 2.5 rating, just OK/inoffensive but not engaging at all. Admittedly I'm not much of a fan of 60s/70s psychedelic/blues rock stuff, even if this release does have some more unconventional stuff going on. I'll try to give it another shot later in the day and perhaps it'll make more of an impression on me.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2018 6:32 pm This album has the best first track of anything submitted.

Hey there! Sorry for the long-winded intro, but here goes:

Everyone has a band that they're fixated on/obsessed with in middle and/or high school. For me, it was Local H. In the grand scheme of things, they're just another rock band that almost hit the big time. At the time, they were (in my eyes) an awesome band that everyone needed to hear.

Local H hails from Zion, Illinois and wears its Mid-Western blue-collar angst on its sleeve. The band consists of guitarist/lead vocalist Scott Lucas, his ego, and whoever he can find to drum for him at the time. When Pack Up the Cats came out, Lucas was still playing with the band's original drummer, Joe Daniels.

The most notable feature of Local H is that they are a duo. That's not such a big deal now, what with the popularity of The White Stripes and The Black Keys, but in the mid-90s, a two-piece band was a novelty. Originally a four-piece, Local H saw its membership cut in half just as their demo started circulating. Lucas chose not to hire new bandmates. Instead, he installed a bass pickup on the two low strings of his guitar and an extra output to make it all work.

The band signed with Island Records during the grunge/post-grunge boom. Their first album, Ham Fisted, was largely written off as second-hand Nirvana. Their second album, As Good As Dead, produced two moderate hits on the rock charts- "Bound for the Floor" and "Eddie Vedder." It was warmly received but critics.

This all sets the stage for Pack Up the Cats. With the momentum of their previous album behind them, Island Records set them up with producer Roy Thomas Baker, who was behind the console for several albums by Queen and The Cars. Island was building up hype and promotional material for the band and album when Island's parent company, Polygram, was sold to Seagram, who intended to merge Island with Universal Music Group (UMG).

The end result? UMG pulled the plug on many Island artists, including Local H. They released the album but had little to no support from the label, despite the album garnering a number of positive reviews. UMG opted not to re-sign the band in 1999, stalling Local H's momentum and career trajectory.

For me, Pack Up the Cats remains Local H's apex. Joe Daniels quit the band after the label dropped them. Lucas got a new drummer but it changed the band's sound and studio production never got back to the level of quality as Pack Up the Cats. This was the first album that I ever listened to where all the tracks attempted to flow together in a (mostly) seamless structure.

I read an article years ago, where Scott Lucas claimed this is a loose concept album about a guy trying to make it as a rock and roll star, sells out, gets his big break, and totally blows it:

Tracks 1-3 are supposedly about the monotony of playing a local scene and the decision to move to the big city to pursue the dream.

Tracks 4-6 involve the dark side of the big-city music scene, as the narrator makes in-roads.

Tracks 7-9 feature the narrator struggling and ultimately giving in to what the record label people want.

Tracks 10-12 feature personal drama as his life starts to fall apart just as he gets his big break.

Tracks 13-15 cover the narrator's disastrous 'big break' gig, the funk that he falls into afterwards, and his cathartic coming to terms with it all.

Is all that really in the album? If you listen for it, I guess so. It's a little autobiographical and even kind of sad that Lucas wrote an album about reaching the cusp of stardom only to have it snatched away at the last minute, because that's basically what happened to him.

Would Local H have become monsters of rock had the record label supported this album more? Probably not, but they could have extended their career for two more quality albums. Instead, Scott Lucas got a new drummer and got bitter. Subsequent albums showcase his cynicism, sarcasm, and disdain for the rock and roll rat race. He never did get over it but nor did he give up on the dream either. Nothing any incarnation of Local H has done since has matched Pack Up the Cats in terms of quality or popularity but they still make adequate music.

This album isn't sacred to me but rather more like an old friend. I'm curious to read your thoughts on it!

[mention]JaggedJimmyJay[/mention]- The band's name is Local H, not Local K.

Good call

Cosmogramma

I'm going to eschew my usual pattern of picking tracks and following the momentum of an album. I need to catch up, so I'm going to be a little more direct.

This album landed at the wrong time for me. My ability to soak in an album at work was minimized as I began working at a break-neck pace to accomplish major work tasks. With this album being so different, I found myself unable to keep tracks straight and/or too distracted by its nature to give it a spin while working on anything requiring attention. The Christmas season kept me busy enough to hold me back from listening at home.

So, yeah. This album was weird but a good weird. Some of the tracks are so short that they challenged my ability to box them into a rating. Are they intros? Are they vignettes? Are they stand-alone tracks? I still probably couldn't tell you with some of them. Sometimes I found myself wishing more would have been built upon a segment.

I think it lagged a little bit early and also after the mid-point (tracks 11-13 specifically), which disrupted some otherwise good flow. I can agree with those who said Cosmogramma would work as background music. I could see playing it at a party with the right people while we play a game in the next room.

I bumped my rating up to an even 3.5 for the overall quality of the vision, if not the consistency.

G-Man Scale: 3.5 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3.5 out of 5

A Piece of Strange

I grew up in a household that was unwelcoming toward hip-hop and rap music. While I haven't added much of either genre to my personal collection, I like some of it. I have particular biases against each genre and find that I like small doses rather than extensive stays. A Piece of Strange was a welcome exception.

A lot of rap and hip-hop focuses too much on big beats and grandiose sound, as if the most important thing is to sound bigger and more bombastic than everyone else. Cunninlynguist gets it right by not focusing on rap and hip-hop stylistic tropes and making something that sounds excellent. I don't know how much of the album was generated from samples (what are the odds that we visit Artur Brown twice in the same year?) and what was composed by the artists but their music choices are arresting at times.

The music has to draw me in for me to really open myself up to the lyrical content of this genre. I'm a clean-cut, middle-class white guy from the corn-country suburbs, so urban issues, crime, race, and all those issues are far removed from my day-to-day reality. The lyrics are deeper than the average rap and hip-hop song, which I appreciate. There's wit, intelligence, and breadth to what these guys write about. Social, political, personal- it's not surface-level stuff.

Not all of the tracks appealed to me but I was never indifferent. If I ever circle back to this one, it might even inch higher.

G-Man Scale: 3.5 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3.5 out of 5

Feathergun

For only 10 tracks, this album goes on for a tad too long. Perhaps that just because I didn't hear anything that made my ears perk up.

It's easy to throw the Tool comparisons out early on this album but that's just because the few Tool songs that I know sound similar. I've never listened to a Tool album, so I don't really know how much mileage such a comparison actually gets or if it's truly warranted. There are definitely sounds and songs that don't remind me of Tool, so these guys are bringing something original to the table. It just isn't a genre that trips my trigger.

Between the brooding tones and lyrics that sound a little try-hard to my ears, I just can't say that I enjoy this kind of music. It's clear that they're good at playing the style but it's just not a good fit for me. Maybe I'm too peppy and optimistic. Probably not, because I like some darker stuff on occasion.

When you play the kind of rock music that crotchety old G-Man thinks all sounds the same on modern rock radio, it's hard to make yourself stand out. Perhaps it's the time period I'm listening in. I'm busy and that means songs are more prone to blur together in my head right now. Rishloo has a proggy feel to it in places, which explains why most songs are five minutes long or more. Prog doesn't have to mean long but for some reason that seems to be what I get when I come across it.

I'll put this one in the 'come back to it at a better time' pile and move on for now.

G-Man Scale: 3.13 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3 out of 5

Aight still on Pescado 2 second listen

1. Panadero Ensoñado - silly cute fun
2. Iniciado del Alba - this track is actually quite good I like it!
3. Poseído del Alba - also good [mention]dunya[/mention] see I'm liking it more the second time around :P
4. Como el Viento Voy a Ver - not really my style
5. Viajero Naciendo - this one doesn't really do a ton for me either
6. Hola, Dulce Viento! - meh
7. Nena Boba - also meh
8. Rock de la Selva Madre - slow... the guitar in the last minute is ok
9. Amame Peteribí - this one's kinda fun. decent jammin'
10. 16" de Peteribí - this doesn't count lol why is it separate :S
11. Señorita Zapada - ok lil interlude
12. Credulidad - ok
13. Hola, Pequeño Ser! - first half of this one is again not really my style but I can see the appeal, some fun instrumental bits. I love the last couple minutes though v nice
14. Mi Espíritu Se Fue - ok
15. Sombra de la Noche Negra - this one's pretty solid
16. La Cereza del Zar - nice I guess
17. Corto - ok
18. Aguas Claras de Olimpos - pretty good

mayyybe 3.0? Sorry dunya there are some parts I really enjoyed but for the most part it just doesn't stand out as anything particularly special.

Pack Up the Cats

1. All-Right (Oh, Yeah) - boring
2. "Cha!" Said The Kitty - ehh
3. Lucky - meow meow meow
4. Hit The Skids - I might fall asleep
5. 500,000 Scovilles - this is a different track? what
6. What Can I Tell You? - this one is slightly better
7. Fine And Good - this is ok actually
8. Lead Pipe Cinch - short lil emotional interlude? I can appreciate that but also.... boring
9. Cool Magnet - generic af
10. She Hates My Job - I don't blame her
11. Stoney - half-decent interlude/transition fluff
12. Laminate Man - generic
13. All The Kids Are Right - the verse melody is actually decent (kinda sounds almost more early-2000s pop-punk than the 90s grungey vibe of the rest of the album). chorus is boring and repetitive though
14. Deep Cut - blah
15. Lucky Time - ehh pretty generic again


Sorry G. Not my genre. I appreciate that it has sentimental value for you but pretty much nothing about this music is original or impressive or interesting to me. I might give it another chance based on the context you gave and the concept structure you outlined but from a first pass there doesn't seem to be much to the lyrics (mostly repetitive) and it just doesn't seem compelling to me at all. Just... generic cookie-cutter 90s rock. For now... 1.5?

I'm only a couple of tracks into it now, but so far I am having a ton of fun. The heavy riffing is almost industrial in sound, and it works really well. I am reminded a lot of Shihad, a primarily '90s/'00s (still active) alt-rock outfit from New Zealand who specialized in that industrial flair.

I've finished the album now. While it didn't quite sustain the fun that was the first couple of tracks, it was still worthwhile. It may sound a bit dated, but I always thought that criticism is absurd anyway. For the most part I dig it and will hand it 3.5 stars.

Oh my! What an interesting pair of opinions so far.

[mention]nutella[/mention] I think the fact that the band only has two members has held back their sound for their entire career. They have a roadie play with them in concert to help replicate some of the guitar work but when the same guy has to be able to sing while playing the guitar and bass sections, it's probably pretty limiting to their song structure. I would agree that the lyrics aren't the strongest in retrospect. The album after this one had better songwriting but the production sound was lame.

I guess the one caution with listening for the supposed concept structure is that, once you hear bits of it, you'll always hear it unless you're doing a surface listen. Kind of like how when you read the obscene lyrics some people hear in "Louie, Louie" you always hear them. I found out about the supposed concept a few years after I got the album, so I can go either way on it. Part of me wonders if the singer just made up some BS story about a concept after the fact to make him sound cooler and make the fact that the album got the shaft seem more tragic.


[mention]JaggedJimmyJay[/mention] Never heard of Shihad. I agree that it sounds somewhat dated, especially when he's singing about all the kids being plugged in to the Net. Like I said, it's nothing mind-blowing but a nice reminder that latter-90s rock was more than just Creed or nu metal.


Fun facts:
1) The last part of track 3 ("Lucky") foreshadows (not sure if this is the right term for music) the chorus on track 15 ("Lucky Time").
2) Track 8 ("Lead Pipe Cinch") is the same tune as the chorus of track 13 ("All the Kids Are Right") but acoustic.
3) Local H recorded a cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" that ended up making a mild (but novelty) splash on modern rock radio stations in 2005:

Sorry G, this kind of music generally really isn't my thing. I have practically no desire to "rock out", and when I actually do, I'll pick up something weirder like Pixies or heavier/noisier like Boris. As a 90s kid, I had a tough time not hating most of what was on rock radio at the time, and that hasn't changed.

I suppose this was alright at times, but overall a definite slog to get through. I'm giving it a 2.0. That said, I like it about as much as I like other "big name" contemporaries of the time like Nirvana; in fact, I like this more. So this fared about as well with me as it probably could have.

Also, I didn't at all hear the "industrial" bend that Jay mentioned, but maybe that's just me. Sounded more like it was grunge-influenced than anything.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2018 1:41 pm Also, I didn't at all hear the "industrial" bend that Jay mentioned, but maybe that's just me. Sounded more like it was grunge-influenced than anything.

That only lasted through the first few tracks. From there it settled into a more standard alternative/post-grunge niche.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 8:55 am

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2018 1:41 pm Also, I didn't at all hear the "industrial" bend that Jay mentioned, but maybe that's just me. Sounded more like it was grunge-influenced than anything.

That only lasted through the first few tracks. From there it settled into a more standard alternative/post-grunge niche.

Oh, okay, make sense. I can see that.

A bit about this submission:

I think we're presently in a golden age of woman-fronted pop music, and it isn't entirely acknowledged among music enthusiasts given the tendency for some to denigrate pop music -- especially this manner of pop music. The likes of Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift have achieved mega-stardom, and I think it's deserved given their obvious talents for crafting addictive pop hooks, but there are so many more artists of comparable [or in my opinion greater] songwriting talent who don't quite live on that plane. There's another tier of high-popularity without necessarily being a household name featuring the likes of Lana Del Rey and Carly Rae Jepsen, and a more niche tier for musicians like Robyn and the one I have presented: Marina & the Diamonds.

The name can be misleading. This is not a band. This is a solo artist playing on her actual name (Marina Diamandis). This album came at the perfect time for me, having been released in 2010 just after Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster. That latter album played a role in initiating my interest in this genre, particularly because I first hated "Poker Face" and was later forced to reassess when I couldn't deny "Bad Romance". I'd been taken by the sound, and when my friend introduced me to The Family Jewels, it was exactly what I needed to hear to become an enthusiast for music like this.

It's easy to look at this sort of thing and dismiss it as teenage girl drivel, written for a different demographic and useless to most other music explorers. I would have probably dismissed it myself 10 years ago. I have come to recognize though that a real talent is necessary to generate music like this, and that it doesn't come a dime-a-dozen. There is a ton of electropop music out there, and the vast majority of it does not meet this standard. She's awesome.

...I've known and loved the song "I Am Not A Robot" for years but for some reason never really got around to checking out anything else by her. Now I realize that's been a gross oversight on my part. Loving the album.

My uninformed musical opinion from my first post in the topic.

46. JaggedJimmyJay - Marina & the Diamonds - The Family Jewels 2.5/5

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:50 pm I think we're presently in a golden age of woman-fronted pop music, and it isn't entirely acknowledged among music enthusiasts given the tendency for some to denigrate pop music -- especially this manner of pop music.

Agreed.

That said, Marina and the Diamonds isn't one of my personal favorites, and you picked my least favorite album of hers from my recollection. If one name came to mind to support the above statement, my choice hands down would be Grimes. Her music occupies a very different part of the female-fronted pop spectrum than Marina's though, that's for sure.

Nonetheless I find Marina's music generally enjoyable. I'm seriously overdue revisiting her material, so thanks for nominating this.

Surprised there hasn't been more discussion for Marina and the Diamonds. Where is everyone?

While I wait for JJJ to update the album for the week, I'll go ahead and introduce my submission, and the band/project it comes from.

Ayreon is one dude, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, a talented Dutch musician. To be more accurate, this is one of his projects. Ayreon was a project he started in the nineties, with a few rock operas that spelled out a cosmic fantasy/sci-fi epic story. This project continued into the 21st century, and in my personal opinion, that is when it hit its stride.

Each Ayreon album is a two disk epic, ranging in length from 90 minutes to over two hours. The vocalists in these albums, mostly guest vocalists from other bands, sing to portray conversations and stories, as if this were a stage play or opera. As a result, the music can sometimes be cheesy, but I am a cheese fan. Arjen himself created most of the music, but for the drumming and some particular solos that he calls in guest musicians for. Notable guests include Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Tommy Karevik, Devin Townsend, James LaBrie, and probably many others that people with different tastes might recognize.

I have five Ayreon albums that I really enjoy: The Universal Migrator (I submitted part one of this), The Human Equation, 01011001, standalone album The Theory of Everything, and The Source. I could explain where each of these albums fit into the story and what I like about each, but we're looking at Universal Migrator Pt 1: The Dream Sequencer.

If Ayreon is prog metal, then The Universal Migrator is an album that separates the prog and the metal. This is the prog half. It is softer than most Ayreon work, more whimsical, and with less storyline to hold it together. The story of this album is of a colonist using a machine to 'pre-incarnate' back in time to his past lives or some such. This allows the half-album to explore a lot of different lives, times, and atmospheres. It is different than most Ayreon work in that way.

The reason I submitted this is that Ayreon is one of my favorite projects, bar none. Despite, and perhaps because of, the bombastic pretentiousness and the silly sci-fi stories. Because of the gathering of great talents, the way that different vocalists play off of the instrumentation. Because of the power and finesse, the structure of the albums. Everything about these albums pumps me up, makes me feel, and has me wanting to sing along.

The Dream Sequencer is the shortest complete piece of Ayreon work that I could submit, and perhaps the best suited for SAW. If I were to submit something longer, it would be The Theory of Everything, my favorite album. But I hope you guys enjoy some aspect of this, and I hope at least one of you reads my ramblings here. I'll shut up now.

Sorry, I've been part of the problem. Once I listen to Ryoji Ikeda, I can post reviews for him, Kansas, and The Goat Rodeo Sessions. Pescado 2's length has me getting lost somewhere in the middle, making it hard to finalize a score. I just wrapped my score for my pick, Local H, and I listened to Marina and the Diamonds over the weekend while taking apart my daughter's crib. I hope to be completely caught up sometime over the next two weeks so I can share my thoughts in real time.

That album title is giving me the Dream Theater twitches.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:34 pm That album title is giving me the Dream Theater twitches.

Is that a bad thing? I may have bad taste in music.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:01 pm

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:34 pm That album title is giving me the Dream Theater twitches.

Is that a bad thing? I may have bad taste in music.

I like to make fun of Dream Theater, but no worries.

There are no wrong answers in music tastes. I will definitely give it a listen.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:03 pm
There are no wrong answers in music tastes.

I shall prove you wrong on this one. Mwa haa haa.

Oh boy cheesy epic scifi. Sounds fun

Yeah, full disclosure, and I've already told speedchuck this elsewhere, but Ayreon was a project I never even liked in my prog fandom days. I expect I will like this about as much as I liked Drake if I'm lucky. But we'll see! Lol.

Also, the whole subjectivity v. objectivity in music bugs the fuck out of me. Even I used to previously argue the wrong side of this issue. As much as I hate to admit, clearly it's all subjective.

I have never listened to Ayreon. I obviously knew of Ayreon, but never bothered to buy any albums. It always seemed over-hyped on PA and I am picky regarding metal bands.

I gave the album a spin and it was generally underwhelming. I kinda figured; this stuff is not for me. It wasn't a terrible experience or anything, and thankfully it was not Dream Theater. I did think the final track was nice though.

2.5 stars

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:07 pm I gave the album a spin and it was generally underwhelming. I kinda figured; this stuff is not for me. It wasn't a terrible experience or anything, and thankfully it was not Dream Theater. I did think the final track was nice though.

2.5 stars

What's wrong with Dream Theater? I think select albums of theirs are masterpieces, others are good listens, and others still are trash.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:36 pm What's wrong with Dream Theater?

To me they represent the worst of a mentality I find loathsome in music: that technical skill is what's most important. I find them to be awesomely skilled players of instruments and generally terrible writers of songs. I consider Images and Words and Scenes from a Memory to be listenable at least. I don't like anything else.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 11:55 pm

Epignosis wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:36 pm What's wrong with Dream Theater?

To me they represent the worst of a mentality I find loathsome in music: that technical skill is what's most important. I find them to be awesomely skilled players of instruments and generally terrible writers of songs. I consider Images and Words and Scenes from a Memory to be listenable at least. I don't like anything else.

I hate Images & Words.

Scenes from a Memory is my favorite metal album. I love Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and Black Clouds and Silver Linings.

Yeah, I can't really stomach Dream Theater much anymore. Their first two albums are good for what they are though; after that, it's a gradual descent into awfulness. SFAM has some cool parts, but it gets too muddied down in technicality and cheese for its own good.

One track into Ryoji Ikeda's Dataplex and I'm so mad I'm laughing.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:36 pm One track into Ryoji Ikeda's Dataplex and I'm so mad I'm laughing.

It's a trip. I liked it though.

Marina is 4-4.5 stars for me. Totally love it.

Will probably get to Ayreon tomorrow

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:36 pm One track into Ryoji Ikeda's Dataplex and I'm so mad I'm laughing.

Well, laughing is good, right?