Tryin' to keep this as official as possible.
311- Universal Pulse .... A "Listen While You Write" edition
I don't usually write about music on the first listen because I feel like music is, if enjoyable, something that needs to be listened to over and over, repeated to catch what you missed. Decided to give the other side a shot...
Shorter, this album may sincerely be the most listenable album since From Chaos. Cover to cover, I didn't hear a bad tune, it finishes really solidly, and it was composed and edited so that I didn't even think to skim. The cliché "I went for a ride" is what comes to mind, but even more literally now, because roller coasters are short. So short that as I'm writing this, I'm getting more and more livid about how roller coasters are way way way too short for the amount of pain i put my calves and bladder through to wait for them.
Ok…so I got a little distracted while I listened to them, but this is a pretty solid first version. I sat back and waited until about midway through the album so that things could sink in a bit, but it's very well composed. They don't overstay their welcome, and what they do while they're there is one more evolutionary step for them. They've been evolving since From Chaos, where Evolver (pardon the pun...), Don't Tread On Me and Uplifter have all been what I think sincere 311 fans would say are solid albums. The thing is, they've been pretty large albums, all between 40 minutes and topping out at an just under an hour (Uplifter, the deluxe edition...as if I'd come in with some weak REGULAR edition) With Universal Pulse, I feel like it's a Strokes kind of album, where they keep giving everything the "chop" and arranging things so that it's very fluid and succinct.
Speaking of The Strokes...
Ok…it's a new twist, and at first, I can't lie, it wasn't met with a warm welcome, but after coming to terms with what I was listening to wasn't one of my favorite AND one of the best albums I've ever owned, I was ok with going along with it. For one, some songs like Hard to Explain are incredibly good. An orchestral take on it, which brought me back to my cello days.
This version is one that I felt did the original justice.
*I need to remember to write an entry on the difference between "favorite" and "best." For the reader out there, note that there's a difference and put the shackles on the "Best list ever" critique.
Memory Tapes - Player Piano
Really solid album if you're into them. Quick summation: They're electronic, with these ambient, lofty sounds where they sound like they're playing in an empty airplane hanger or something. Things echo and snap with remarkable clarity at the same time but they're "happy to be alive" ambient kind of sound is lofty and quiet enough to be solid background music for folding clothes or driving.
This album, though, has a few bangers. The song Worries is one of them that hit very well with headphones.
This song, too...
The kind of music that keeps clouds floating by, now featuring ill beats. I really really wish I could've seen them at Pitchfork. So glad I'm moving back to Chicago.
QUICK NOTE ON A BAND THAT'LL QUICKLY TAKE OVER THE WORLD
BLACK JOE LOUIS & THE HONEYBEARS
I'm unbelievably bummed that I didn't know who these guys were yet prior to Bonnaroo. I'm sure they tore the house down, live.
GET THIS (relatively) NEW ALBUM
Questions to answer after hearing this, once again, incredible mixtape from 1/2 of Clipse:
- Why's he hafta be so awesome and not get more popular? I'm tired of having to tell everyone I know that you're the shit.
- What happened to his brother? Sure, most of the time, he's more entertaining, but the darkness his brother Malice brought made them even tougher to keep in a corner. Hell Hath No Fury is still the most repeated hip-hop album I've ever had.
- Can't wait for new album. When's it coming out? Gotta find that out...
************Using the same mixtape website, www.datpiff.com, also mention The Cool Kids and their new one THE BAKE SALE EP. Mixtapes are a friggin fantastic way to get your music to your fans, I wish better bands did it. Radiohead kind of does, which makes them, once again, even awesomer...if only that were a word.
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