Chris Hall47 said:I suppose the best tracks always seem to end up on those standout albums of the year—those rare, cohesive records that actually manage to hold everything together. It’s a bit of a pattern, I guess. 😁
Is that Oklen’s take? I don't know—I guess I'd say the new Futureheads record is pretty garbage, though even if it is, they still managed to snag one of the biggest hits of the year. Okay, maybe "garbage" is too strong—I can't really call it trash when the opening is actually brilliant; those first four tracks are genuinely great. But everything else... well, the rest is just a letdown. 🙂 It’s definitely not making any "Album of the Year" lists for me. Honestly, if I had to pick just one track from the new Silver Jews record that actually holds its own—maybe even deserves a spot on a year-end hits list—it would be that one single song. As for the Killers, I haven't even touched their new material yet, so I really can't say much about the album as a whole... though, I will say, human Los Campesinos is an absolute massive hit in my book.
I suppose I should also point out that I don't really feel the need to turn on the radio anymore just to stumble upon something decent. If anything, two things have shifted since those days when I’d spend hours every single day tuned into the airwaves: the commercials have become significantly more aggressive—borderline obnoxious, really—and my own taste has evolved into something much more nuanced than what you typically hear during the daytime or evening slots.
I suppose the digital revolution has really just provided a way for people to finally act according to their true nature. Those who were always scavenging—you know, hunting for some new record, a cassette, or even just a low-quality bootleg copy of a tape—now finally have an open road to satisfy that hunger. And those who used to be more selective, buying less but diving deep into what they owned? Well, they’re doing the exact same thing today. (I won't get into the whole "which format is better" debate, because honestly, that's entirely subjective and there's no such thing as "better" or "worse.")
Personally, I find myself in these weird cycles where I won't download a single thing for a month or more, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, I'll grab fifteen albums in a single afternoon. But somehow, I always gravitate back to what I genuinely love, and I'm always willing to give something a second chance if it didn't click immediately—sometimes a mediocre track turns into a favorite. Or vice versa, I guess.
For instance, TVotR really blew me away when I first saw them on TV. It was the music video for Staring at the Sun, which is easily one of the most beautiful things ever made. 😳 After that, I listened to the first album, then the EP, but eventually, I realized the band wasn't quite hitting me the way I wanted them to. I didn't even bother downloading the second album. Then their third one came out, and Cici nudged me to check out a few tracks from the second one. So, naturally, I recently ordered all three LPs. 😳
I think the way I listen to the albums and bands I like now is pretty much the same as it always was. It’s just that, back in the day, I had to navigate so many filters because music was so hard to come by—I mostly listened to whatever someone recommended, lent me, recorded for me, or gave me as a gift. Nowadays, I suppose I can be a lot more liberated in that regard.
So, let me get this straight—you call yourself a man, yet you barely weigh a hundred pounds, you’re rocking those skin-tight jeans, some sort of outdated mustache, zero sense of style, and a haircut that looks like your uncle did it with a pair of kitchen shears... and because of all that, you think looking for better entertainment on a Thursday night is actually going to work out for you?
Big Steve is on The drum set Counting IT four by four Little Jimmy jamming The six string Giving The People more count Violent's bringing The Low end Cause that's All that He knows What to do and my name's Ted That's What i Said and The western World will perish in fifteen years and then in The Year Sixteen When The World is clean clean of this hipster scena All their ghosts will scream for What their Souls have seen and The tapas They could have been eating but The World is in The terlet The World is in The terlet The World is in The terlet and we're All gonna die oh The World is in The terlet The World is in The terlet The World is in The terlet sol don't ask why no no Nothing to drink I've Got nothing to eat I'm barely Alive I'm dead on my feet The East River boiled and felched up
I'll be stuck at work this Thursday, so you'll get it then—though, honestly, some incredibly slimy, overly nice soul online will probably beat me to it anyway.
Sons and Daughters ***** Tinariwen **1/2 Stereo MCs **1/2 The Prodigy *
As for everything else—well, I either missed it entirely or just couldn't bring myself to care. There was one glaring exception, though, which was The Go! Team—though I did end up being a bit late for them. I also managed to miss the first track (or maybe even the first two?) from Hot Chip, and the opening few songs—three? Four?—from Sons and Daughters.
On the bright side, I didn't get too hammered, nor did I get too rowdy.
The technical organization felt a bit more polished than last year, I suppose, but the musical scheduling? Much worse. It honestly irked me that the gap on the main stage between S&D and Armenca stretched on for over an hour. And S&D felt far too brief. As for the performers themselves, I'm not quite sure what to make of them—it almost feels as if the lineup hasn't actually leveled up since last year. Though, mind you, my priorities have shifted; last year I was dying to see those two headliners (SY and !!!) along with a "smaller" act like The Hold Steady, whereas this year, I was much more focused on the afternoon sets (The Go! Team, Hot Chip, Sons & Daughters) and perhaps less invested in Cave.
Well, what now? I suppose I’ll just find some way to blow my paycheck like a total Japi. All I really need to do is track down a victim willing to hook me up with a VIP discount, and then I'm golden.
Kejvo and I both love it, so it doesn't feel like much of a loss, really. Actually, things have almost leveled out now—I guess you could say the balance is finally returning. Though, it’s still quite a bit since I wasn't about to go risking my neck just to pay the initial asking price. 🙂