The Syndicate

Also, let's get those new submissions. I'm going to just call it another open submission period with no poll.

JaggedJimmyJay - Marina & the Diamonds - The Family Jewels / 2010 / Electropop / 13 tracks / 46:22

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:22 am I may have hated it, but it's still a unique listening experience. I'd recommend it to people who I think have a taste for that sort of stuff.

Hey, thanks for giving it a fair shot.

I'll nominate another, but don't feel obligated to put me in the order early again; just add me to the end.


My nomination:

MovingPictures07 - Madvillain - Madvillainy / 2004 / Abstract Hip Hop / 22 tracks / 46:13

I'm definitely going to give it a shot

My nomination:

speedchuck - Universal Migrator Pt I: The Dream Sequencer - Ayreon / 2000 / Rock Opera / 11 Tracks / 70:14 - Youtube

This is technically a playlist for both parts of the 'two part album.'

HOWEVER!

The album in question was made in two separate parts, at separate times, with different musicians, different themes, different tones, and a different (but related sequel-ish) story. They are two separate albums.

Thus, I am submitting only the first eleven tracks of the playlist. Part I.

dataplex is probably a 4/5 imo, i should relisten. i think the first time i heard him it was because someone used one of his pieces in a skate vid that was posted to reddit.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:18 am I'll nominate another, but don't feel obligated to put me in the order early again; just add me to the end.


My nomination:

MovingPictures07 - Madvillain - Madvillainy / 2004 / Abstract Hip Hop / 22 tracks / 46:13

i'll nominate

dunya - Pescado Rabioso - Pescado 2 / 1973 / Psychedelic Rock / 18 tracks / 73:40 - YouTube

I'm trying to catch up. I'll dump reviews in spurts at some point soon. As for the new round of submissions:



G-Man- Local H / Pack Up The Cats / 1998 / Rock / 15 tracks / 47:38- YouTube & Spotify

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:44 pm

Week 43: Ryoji Ikeda - dataplex

Submitted by MovingPictures07

Available on YouTube and Spotify

listening now based on Jay and Epi's reviews.

thought my computer was crapping out initially lmao.

data.index - weird, believed my computer was making weird noises until I realized this is what I'm listening to
data.simplex - felt the music in my throat?????? is that normal?
data.duplex - slightly easier than data.simplex, despite being duplex. sounds like a receipt being printed and never ending.
data.triplex - definitely easier on my ears, louder and feels better. a little more wholesome. but annoying as fuck with no conclusion.
data.multiplex - went back to higher frequency, I don't like this tone. My ears don't like it. pretty sure if I had my rottweiler here he wouldn't either. it tries to incorporate some of triplex, but those frequencies ruin it.

ok I need a break.

I'm enjoying this.

WHY AM I ENJOYING THIS

IT DOESN'T FIT MY TASTES

speedchuck wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:39 pm I'm enjoying this.

WHY AM I ENJOYING THIS

IT DOESN'T FIT MY TASTES

ok, I've just started. there's.... not a whole lot going on so far. not a huge fan of the super high frequencies but I like the crackling and tapping sounds. I'm... okay now I'm three tracks in and I'm starting to see how it's building on patterns/getting more complex, that's interesting -- from the first track I was afraid I wouldn't really call it music lol but it's doing some stuff now that's actually pretty cool.

track 4 is very reminiscent of The Gloaming by Radiohead (which I think Lent once described as a "digital rainstorm" -- this is a little less intense than that but similar timbre and rhythm) I'm actually liking this now omg

I listened to the whole thing. And I would do it again.
Wasn't expecting to enjoy this thing. But lo and behold, I had no issue sitting through it. Even the high-frequency sounds fit the music, and I can't say that I wished they were gone.
By using the digital sounds, outside of the normal spectrum for music, dataplex has become something special. It demonstrates how you can take harsh or unpleasant sounds and link them together to make something good. The beats were what I appreciated most. They made me want to move, which is one of my 'things that I appreciate in music'. With the album moving a variety of beats along at a rapid pace, I didn't have to worry about getting bored or fatigued. Whenever something I didn't like came along, I just waited two minutes.
I put this music on in the background while working. It's surprisingly good for that. The music sounds like the way that my brain works, rapid paced, processing several different things at once, never letting up. It speaks to me.
Of course, all is not good. My praise doesn't change the fact that I would have enjoyed the album just as much at half the length. It doesn't change that I had to listen to this on headphones, so as not to have people scream at me. This is still a harsh album with an unpleasant tone, one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. It still doesn't have many different avenues by which I enjoy it.
But dang, I could actually see myself listening to this again.
...

3.5/5

speedchuck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:45 pm I listened to the whole thing. And I would do it again.
Wasn't expecting to enjoy this thing. But lo and behold, I had no issue sitting through it. Even the high-frequency sounds fit the music, and I can't say that I wished they were gone.
By using the digital sounds, outside of the normal spectrum for music, dataplex has become something special. It demonstrates how you can take harsh or unpleasant sounds and link them together to make something good. The beats were what I appreciated most. They made me want to move, which is one of my 'things that I appreciate in music'. With the album moving a variety of beats along at a rapid pace, I didn't have to worry about getting bored or fatigued. Whenever something I didn't like came along, I just waited two minutes.
I put this music on in the background while working. It's surprisingly good for that. The music sounds like the way that my brain works, rapid paced, processing several different things at once, never letting up. It speaks to me.
Of course, all is not good. My praise doesn't change the fact that I would have enjoyed the album just as much at half the length. It doesn't change that I had to listen to this on headphones, so as not to have people scream at me. This is still a harsh album with an unpleasant tone, one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. It still doesn't have many different avenues by which I enjoy it.
But dang, I could actually see myself listening to this again.
...

3.5/5

...Yeah, I just finished and I agree with a lot of this post tbh. It was really interesting actually, nice in the background but I think it is too long. There were definitely some grating parts but overall I was surprised at how much I liked it. I'll give it a light 3.0.

Well, I'm just glad at least you all got something out of it, so that's cool.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:47 pm On a side note, as of today, I have reviewed/listened to 25 of the 43 albums in this topic. I want to give every piece of music submitted at least one chance to catch my attention and broaden my horizons. I am going to catch up.

I'll be intrigued to hear your thoughts! Be sure to keep me updated, even if via PM to link me systematically -- if you don't want to dump into the thread.

As for my history with dataplex, I became vaguely acquainted with Ryoji Ikeda years ago, but only within the past year or so did I really fall in love with his discography. My musical journey started with prog rock way back when, but I quickly became fascinated with unconventional electronic and ambient music via Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Brian Eno etc., and that fascination has only grown and expanded into as many realms of electronic music as possible over the years. Despite relatively eclectic tastes, if I had to point towards just one musical bucket of things that I'm most in love with these days, it's all of the electronic, ambient, and glitch stuff. More than almost anything else, I love music that sets a unique mood and takes me on a journey. So when I revisited this album last year, my mind was completely blown. Personally, I feel it is best listened to on headphones, but I've even listened to it in the car and laptop speakers and it's held up pretty well. I've never had any issue with the high frequencies, but maybe that's just me being a weirdo. speedchuck made a really cool observation that I agree with: this album in particular does something really incredible by splicing and reassembling a bunch of otherwise static bordering on unpleasant glitches and noises and creates something substantial out of it. I don't agree with the assertion that the album should be shorter, but that's perhaps a function of me loving the way the overall album builds as well as a my strange inability to be bothered by any of the frequencies.

I'd give dataplex a solid 4.5 out of 5, with the sole reason it not being a 5 because (1) I'm a stickler with my 5's and (2) I suppose I don't absolutely get absorbed into and love 100% of it literally every time I listen to it, so perhaps it is slightly mood dependent even for me. Compared to other glitch albums like Endless Summer by Fennesz, which I would give a 5 every day of the week, this one lacks just a bit of emotional connection as well. Still, I can assert with confidence that it is an absolutely groundbreaking and fascinating album that always captivates me.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:57 pm

speedchuck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:47 pm On a side note, as of today, I have reviewed/listened to 25 of the 43 albums in this topic. I want to give every piece of music submitted at least one chance to catch my attention and broaden my horizons. I am going to catch up.

I'll be intrigued to hear your thoughts! Be sure to keep me updated, even if via PM to link me systematically -- if you don't want to dump into the thread.

He has them all in a spoiler in his first post here

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:05 pm Compared to other glitch albums like Endless Summer by Fennesz, which I would give a 5 every day of the week,

Listening to this now and it's great so far! Definitely more... more music-y than dataplex, lol

nutella wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:51 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:57 pm

speedchuck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:47 pm On a side note, as of today, I have reviewed/listened to 25 of the 43 albums in this topic. I want to give every piece of music submitted at least one chance to catch my attention and broaden my horizons. I am going to catch up.

I'll be intrigued to hear your thoughts! Be sure to keep me updated, even if via PM to link me systematically -- if you don't want to dump into the thread.

He has them all in a spoiler in his first post here

Yep! Thanks for linking it.

Oh, sweet! I'll check that out systematically then. Thanks!

nutella wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:51 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:05 pm Compared to other glitch albums like Endless Summer by Fennesz, which I would give a 5 every day of the week,

Listening to this now and it's great so far! Definitely more... more music-y than dataplex, lol

And OMG, I could gush about Endless Summer for hours. One of my all-time most treasured albums. I almost submitted it instead, but decided to go the edgier route with dataplex. I still might in the future anyway, not sure yet, just so many albums to choose from. I'm trying to do something different with each one, anyway, at least for a while until I inevitably run out of different subgenres I love to throw at you all.

Glad you're checking it out and enjoying it. It's a real grower too, just slowly revealing more and more nuances over time. It's absolutely transcendent when it wants to be; I can't ever get enough of it. I am always amazed it's the result of Fennesz chopping up and piecing together basically manipulated guitar sounds (instead of tones and frequencies like dataplex) and glitchifying them to death; he knows exactly just how to piece them all together to craft something really uniquely beautiful. Sometimes I like to think it's like a machine's interpretation of what pop songs about summers at the beach sound like except when it tries to compose them it malfunctions and the album is the result. I still can't believe how groundbreaking it must have been to hear it come out in 2001. It's simultaneously fascinating but emotionally engaging on every level, at least for me. It's a perpetual summer soundtrack. I really love everything about it so much.

I won't go on more though. Just glad you checked it out.

Oh, I should also just speak to what you actually said, lol, and say yeah, you're right, even though both albums technically fall under the Glitch subgenre (Ikeda's work also occupies Microsound, which basically just means working with super short-period tones and frequencies lasting fractions of a second), Endless Summer is definitely more musical than dataplex. So I suppose for anyone who was intrigued by dataplex but thought it wasn't musical enough, this would be probably the better album to check out.

*

Igor Stravinsky - Petrushka / 1910-11 / Classical, Ballet Music / 4 tracks / parts / 34:58 / YouTube

*not yet decided on the version, I have three in mind so far (of those on official recordings, of course), will decide till the end of the week or till it comes up in the queue

Oh man, I am such a classical noob, but I can confidently say that's a solid one. I haven't listened to Stravinsky in too long. Looking forward to it. Nice nomination.

Dataplex is such a tactile album if you listen with headphones, it's like someone is literally tapping on them at points. I like to think of it as a brain massage.

A Person wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:17 pm Dataplex is such a tactile album if you listen with headphones, it's like someone is literally tapping on them at points. I like to think of it as a brain massage.

Agreed.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:26 pm

A Person wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:17 pm Dataplex is such a tactile album if you listen with headphones, it's like someone is literally tapping on them at points. I like to think of it as a brain massage.

Agreed.

I used headphones as well, much to my wife's horror.

Yeah it does sound like the kind of thing that would commonly trigger ASMR (which I don't think I actually get per se but I have enjoyed a lot of the same types of sounds)

I ordered the next queue based upon when each individual's most recent album was presented, and then flipped dunya and Rico so the latter has more time to choose a preferred version.

dunya - Pescado Rabioso - Pescado 2 / 1973 / Psychedelic Rock / 18 tracks / 73:40
G-Man- Local H / Pack Up The Cats / 1998 / Rock / 15 tracks / 47:38
JaggedJimmyJay - Marina & the Diamonds - The Family Jewels / 2010 / Electropop / 13 tracks / 46:22
speedchuck - Universal Migrator Pt I: The Dream Sequencer - Ayreon / 2000 / Rock Opera / 11 Tracks / 70:14
MovingPictures07 - Madvillain - Madvillainy / 2004 / Abstract Hip Hop / 22 tracks / 46:13
Ricochet - Igor Stravinsky - Petrushka / 1910-11 / Classical, Ballet Music / 4 tracks / parts / 34:58

I object to the queue change. I am to be last.

Ricochet wrote: ↑Mon Jan 22, 2018 2:15 pm I object to the queue change. I am to be last.

That's fine if you prefer it.

hope you all like this! Pescado Rabioso is a really cool Argentinian ((soft(er))) psychedelic rock band, that was created by Luis Spinetta if you've ever heard of him (of course you have) and while I don't speak Spanish, I have listened the shit of this album! I'll be the first to admit there are a few mediocre songs in there, but the majority of it is gold.

holy poop, was just looking at vinyl prices for this album. If you fall in love with it Rico, you're gonna go broke early in February.

ok I'm at the end of the album and it's... fine, I enjoyed it but didn't get anything super special out if it? I can understand a fair amount of the lyrics and they have some really cool imagery, and there have been some nice melodies and instrumental parts, but I'm not wowed by it or anything.

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!