A Stranger's music :: #46 Lemetre, Antlers and more Radiohead [video reviews]

[Stranger of Sorts]

Snip

You may be surprised to learn Helicopter by Bloc Party is one of my favourite non-metal songs ever. They, to quote Miracle, seem to have disappeared up their own arses since Silent Alarm but I do think that's a good album. Love The Bends by Radiohead, too. This is not meant to be macho, but Street Spirit (Fade Out) is the only music I've ever cried while listening to.

It does surprise me. I don't think I've ever cried to Radiohead, which to be honest I'm surprised about. The only song I can remember crying to for only beauty's sake was 23 by Jimmy Eat World, though that was quite a long time ago.

It wouldn't happen now of course, I'm much too manly. Grr.

 

[Aggressor and Usurper]

Snip

You may be surprised to learn Helicopter by Bloc Party is one of my favourite non-metal songs ever. They, to quote Miracle, seem to have disappeared up their own arses since Silent Alarm but I do think that's a good album. Love The Bends by Radiohead, too. This is not meant to be macho, but Street Spirit (Fade Out) is the only music I've ever cried while listening to.

It does surprise me. I don't think I've ever cried to Radiohead, which to be honest I'm surprised about. The only song I can remember crying to for only beauty's sake was 23 by Jimmy Eat World, though that was quite a long time ago.

It wouldn't happen now of course, I'm much too manly. Grr.

My music tastes are a lot more varied than you think. I can go from listening to Nina Simone to Annal Nathrakh. Or Radiohead to Morbid Angel.

Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying Porcupine Tree, so I'll write this off as a demonstration of how some people are tasteless fuckers a mistake, and move on.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Fear Factory is Death Metal, wat???

Arent they more like Meshuggah/Pantera, which is a diffrent subgenre?

Wait, are you suggesting that Pantera and Meshuggah share a subgenre? Last time I checked Meshuggah weren't a Heavy/Thrash band (Extreme/Experimental metal incorporating elements of Thrash yes, but they've got far more in common with Technical Death Metal or Progressive Death Metal than they do a band like Pantera).

But yes, my understanding of Fear Factory is that they're not a Death Metal band per se (though their sound does incorporate elements present in Death Metal so a layperson who doesn't actually like Metal that much could be forgiven for mistaking them for one).

That side project you described sounds interesting, I'll have to remember to give it a listen when I'm home tonight.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

[img_inline caption="Amnesiac - Radiohead" align="left"]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Radiohead.amnesiac.albumart.jpg/220px-Radiohead.amnesiac.albumart.jpg[/img_inline][HEADING=1]A Stranger reviews
[color=ahgug7]Amnesiac[/color]
by Radiohead[/HEADING]

 

[h4]Genre = Indie

Number of Songs = 11

Songs mentioned = Pyramid Song, Life in a Glasshouse + I Might Be Wrong[/h4]

 

It's been a while since our last little interaction. Metal and me don't fit together quite as well as many people hoped and reviewing it was pretty hard so I retreated deep into my collection of music before today. "Do a review." I said to myself, "You enjoy it." But what to review? So much good music has come my way recently that I haven't really settled enough in one album to review it properly. But "Amnesiac" with the lure of Pyramid Songfinally drew me in.

And good God is this a fantastic album.

As a band, Radiohead have developed hugely since their most early albums, for better or for worse is up to discretion but, for me, it has merely marked their transition of taste. All their albums are good, that can't really be denied of them, but the few that stand out aren't clustered at the beginning of their career, or the middle, or the end. Instead they're spread out throughout it. Amnesiac is odd in a way as it was released smack bang in the middle of Radioheads ongoing lifespan, but it seems as full of raw emotion and obscurities as most bands' first albums.


I've already mentioned Pyramid Song, let it be known now that this is by no means the best song on the album (something that surprised me greatly), but it is definately the most accessible. It is, in all ways, beautiful and who can deny it that? The way the voice dances around that simple piano part and the light percussion drives the song further and further into your head. The build up too, is very well done. Pyramid Song feels like it is really going somewhere and it takes you along with it, yes this may sound a bit flowery but this is what songs like this do to you. Or at least I hope they do, it would be a shame if I was the only one who experienced it.

How is this song not the best on the album. Surely, one of the the best written songs of the past 10 years (in my humble opinion) would lead an album and make all the other songs shit in comparison. No... on an album like this there will never be a song that is "the best". Every song is brilliant in its own way yet different to a point that it's impossible to directly compare them.

Let's take Life in a Glasshouse as an example. It isn't like Pyramid Song with its lack of piano and completely different feel. Life in a Glasshouse shows heavy jazz influences with the wind instruments that permeate it. It doesn't seem to have a general direction either, it's kind of like a madhouse with the overwhelming chorus and Thom's wailing voice in the background. But yet, like Pyramid Song it is also beautiful.

Should I pick out another song just to say how much I like it? I don't think that one more would hurt that much. I Might Be Wrong is a heavily distorted song with a strong, pulsating baseline. It seems to drive onward in the verse but then step back and become calm in the chorus, which is a break from the norm and oddly refreshing from my point of view. However, the inclusion of a 30 second or so outro simply makes the song for me. Mmmmm...

The conclusion for this review will be kept short and sweet: Amnesiac may well be the best album I've ever listened to. Go buy it.

[small]I spent a lot of time at a literature festival yesterday so that's probably affected my writing style somewhat. Also, 40th review and 1500th post. Yay.[/small]

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Well you've certainly done it now - you've managed to guilt me into listening to Radiohead, something I was perfectly content to just not do and leave my like/dislike for them in a state of quantum uncertainty. All that is gone now. I hope you're happy.

Right, well the verdict? That song wasn't half bad really - with a different vocalist I could even see that being something I'd set about intentionally listening to. As is though I'd just put it on the list of things I don't really like wholeheartedly, but which I don't feel strongly enough about to turn off if they ever happen to be playing for some reason. Whether that would carry over to the rest of their catalog remains to be seen of course (with bands like Coldplay for example I can tolerate maybe 3 of their songs without wincing and feeling emasculated).

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Well you've certainly done it now - you've managed to guilt me into listening to Radiohead, something I was perfectly content to just not do and leave my like/dislike for them in a state of quantum uncertainty. All that is gone now. I hope you're happy.

Right, well the verdict? That song wasn't half bad really - with a different vocalist I could even see that being something I'd set about intentionally listening to. As is though I'd just put it on the list of things I don't really like wholeheartedly, but which I don't feel strongly enough about to turn off if they ever happen to be playing for some reason. Whether that would carry over to the rest of their catalog remains to be seen of course (with bands like Coldplay for example I can tolerate maybe 3 of their songs without wincing and feeling emasculated).

With a little bit more exposure to them you'll be preaching about them as well.

Hello, and welcome back.

Mmm i rented Radioheads Rainbows yesterday in my library, i didnt quite get into it, although some stuff clicked for me.

This song for sure clicked with me.

You sure got me interested further in Radiohead, i hear a lot of good praise for it.

Good review as usual dude, id rather you were doing work as a proffesional reviewer, most of them are so piss poor at reviewing.

I'm glad you liked it, but as far as professional music reviewing goes I'm far too openly subjective to do it. But I agree with you when you say that many of the "pros" aren't very good at all because, well, they're not. Sometimes I even wonder if they have an appreciation for music at all beyond "something that you listen to, then write about it, then get paid."

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

[img_inline caption="Deadmau5" height="250" align="left"]http://www.6lyrics.com/images/artists/deadmau5.jpg[/img_inline]
[HEADING=1]A Stranger reviews
Deadmau5[/HEADING]

[h4]Genre: Dance/ Progressive House

Songs we're going to have a look at:

• - Ghosts'n'stuff
  - Strobe
  - Faxing Berlin
  - Raise Your Weapon

[/h4]

Ahh, I love trying something new.

 

Now, many of my regulars (only after 40 reviews in a series do I think I can get away with saying that) will be confused as to why I am trying out a new type of review with a type of music that is far out of my comfort zone. They may even be surprised and slightly euphoric. But now I can disappoint them by saying that Deadmau5 is in no way outside my comfort zone since, well, I'm going to ignore the bits that go against that. Namely all the early stuff.

My entry into the world of Deadmau5 was different than the usual "hear a song on youtube, torrent album" that I usually go by. I have a friend (surprising, I know) who is absolutely obsessed with the guy and has been flooding my Facebook inbox with youtube links since June. Possibly with the view to converting me from what he calls "nice but boring music". So is Deadmau5 all that good? Really it depends on what point of view you are reviewing him from. So here starts the review proper of "Deadmau5: as an experimentalist"


The funny thing about Deadmau5 is that his real mainstream success has come single-handedly from collaborations. 3 collaboration to be precise. He did Move for Me (not too good) and I Remember (a lot better) with Cascada and Ghosts'n'Stuff (the best one) with Rob Swire. Ghosts'n'Stuff, is with all honest a very good song, it manages to find the perfect balance between Swire's slightly faded out vocals and the music itself. There's the standard pumping bass pedal to get your heart going and it comes in pretty loud in the chorus, but Deadmau5 always remembers to put breaks in here and there to provide contrast. On top of this I know I'm not the only one who thinks the song is incredibly catchy, which is exactly what you want in a top-of-the-charts dance song.

The great thing about Deadmau5 is that his very best stuff id out the way, hidden near the end of his albums. Stuff like Strobe. Now Stobe is amazing in several ways, be it from the way it's incredibly original, or from the fact it makes you want to jump around, or from the incredible build-up or even the fact that there's over 10 minutes of it to enjoy. The problem is that I can't decide which one of these is the most important... damn. I guess one of the reasons I like this song so much is that it isn't really a dance song for about half of it, in fact the beginning is better suited in an indie album. But nevertheless it builds up and builds up to the point that it takes effort to stop your foot tapping.


Faxing Berlin is included as it is a perfect example of Deadmau5 experimenting and not confining himself into the dance-genre niche, even though it he did stay put he'd still be making a lot of money. That being said this isn't a particularly interesting song, but I do think it's good. There are a lot of looped tracks and more and more layers are added to give it a kind of trance feel.

Now the last song I'm going to talk about is very interesting indeed. Why? Because the recently released Raise Your Weapon is Deadmau5's first venture into dubstep and it is really, really good. He incorporates his masterful use of build up but keeps the female vocalist's (she's very good by the way) at a similar level, even after the drop. The drop itself is the only real weak spot of the song as it doesn't really "drop" enough, but I guess its done to allow the vocals to still be heard. Anyway, on the whole it's still a great song worthy of dozens of replays. Not quite as good as Strobe though but that is kind of expected.

I skipped around his pure dance stuff quite a bit because really I'm not very interested in it at all. Deadmau5 is inventive and unique and it seems like he does half of the dance stuff because he's expected to as it's certainly not up to the standard of his other stuff. But he created Strobe, so we can forgive him, right? Also, he splices in bits of the Zelda theme into his live shows. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqHaQvVSksQ]

So how did I do?

[small]Side note: I've noticed a ton of new music reviews and reviewers popping up recently, this makes me very happy :').

Other side note: I'm going to see Deadmau5 in December. It will be awesome.[/small]

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

So how did I do?

Aha, a blanket invitation to nitpick!

...is with all honest a very good song...

...his very best stuff id out the way...

...even though it he did stay put he'd still be making a lot of money.

...but keeps the female vocalist's (she's very good by the way) at a similar level, even after the drop.

Got a few problems with incorrect words turning otherwise coherent sentences into more nonsensical versions of themselves, and something that is either an entirely extraneous "'s" or indicative of a word that's gone missing because there's nothing that follows it requiring use of a possessive.

Super pedant away!

 

[Captain Pirate]

[small]Side note: I've noticed a ton of new music reviews and reviewers popping up recently, this makes me very happy :').

Other side note: I'm going to see Deadmau5 in December. It will be awesome.[/small]

Am I one of said music reviewers? If so glad it makes you happy.

Nice review of his stuff, I feel motivated to look up more of his music now.

Also, which gig are you going to? I was going to go to an extensive amount of concerts this winter, but they've all fallen through the roof, so I might go to a Deadmau5 one if I have the cash.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

So how did I do?

Aha, a blanket invitation to nitpick!

...is with all honest a very good song...

...his very best stuff id out the way...

...even though it he did stay put he'd still be making a lot of money.

...but keeps the female vocalist's (she's very good by the way) at a similar level, even after the drop.

Got a few problems with incorrect words turning otherwise coherent sentences into more nonsensical versions of themselves, and something that is either an entirely extraneous "'s" or indicative of a word that's gone missing because there's nothing that follows it requiring use of a possessive.

Super pedant away!

Haha, cheeky bastard. I'll change them later.

[small]Side note: I've noticed a ton of new music reviews and reviewers popping up recently, this makes me very happy :').

Other side note: I'm going to see Deadmau5 in December. It will be awesome.[/small]

Am I one of said music reviewers? If so glad it makes you happy.

Nice review of his stuff, I feel motivated to look up more of his music now.

Also, which gig are you going to? I was going to go to an extensive amount of concerts this winter, but they've all fallen through the roof, so I might go to a Deadmau5 one if I have the cash.

One on the 22nd I think, not entirely sure. I'll check today with the guy I'm going with.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Manic Street Preachers ?Postcards From a Young Man?

Ever since I picked up their first two albums for £4 in an HMV sale, Manic Street Preachers have always stood out for me as a band that are, all in all, pretty average. But since I gave myself the choice of either reviewing Preachers or reviewing ?Messy Little Raindrops? by Cheryl Cole I decided that I was a lot less likely to kill myself halfway through the brand new Preachers album, ?Postcards From a Young Man?.

Manic Street Preachers are one of only a few bands that are getting better as time goes on and seeing as they have been getting better for 24 years now, this album is very good indeed. Strangely, as far as the lyrics, guitar and singing go this is a very emotional album. Not in an ?I want to kill myself? way, but rather like the frantic, revolutionary thoughts of youth from an ever young 41 year old mind. It?s sad at parts, but also happy and, for a few songs, angry. However, the ever-present orchestra shows the maturity of the band, and unlike the album in which Muse attempted to mix rock music with an orchestra, it actually works very well in ?Postcards From a Young Man?. The addition of the several dozen instruments that the orchestra provides allows the Preachers to put a lot of variety into their songs, such as the trumpet interludes in The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever.

The great thing about ?Postcards From a Young Man? is that every single song is good, which to be honest with you is the last thing I expected to be writing when I chose to review Preachers. Personal favourites for me include The Decent (Pages 1 & 2), which contrasts the orchestra with distorted guitar and loud vocals and only improves the more you listen to it, and also It?s not War (Just the End of Love), which is a lot more fast paced and more guitar-centric, though manages to be just as complex and well done as any other song on the album.

There is a meaning to be found in ?Postcards for a Young Man? if you want to look for it. But I?m only interested in the actual music and the music is extremely good. Possibly the best album of 2010, though if not it?s certainly better than Cheryl Cole.

5 whatever-we?re-going-to-use-s

Okay, apologies for the length and change in tone but this is for my school newspaper-thingy and I thought I'd see if anyone though this was absolutely terrible before I submitted it. If Word has messed stuff up I'll try to fix it. Anyway, it's a review after all

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Though since I gave myself the choice of either reviewing Preachers or reviewing ?Messy Little Raindrops? by Cheryl Cole I decided that I was a lot less likely to kill myself halfway through the brand new Preachers album, ?Postcards From a Young Man?.

That sentence would read better if you revised it slightly, like so:

But since I gave myself the choice of either reviewing Preachers or "Messy Little Raindrops" by Cheryl Cole, I decided that I was a lot less likely to kill myself halfway through the brand new Preachers album, "Postcards From a Young Man".

Likewise, these two sentences need some revision:

Personal favourites for me include The Decent (Pages 1 & 2) which contrasts the orchestra with distorted guitar and loud vocals and only improves the more you listen to it. And It's not War (Just the End of Love) which is a lot more fast paced and more guitar-centric, though manages to be just as complex and well done as any other song on the album.

You appear to be lacking commas in the first sentence, and the second one isn't actually a proper sentence since you started it mid thought - it looks like you had a big old run-on sentence and just chopped it up at the "and", but what you're left with isn't grammatically sound.

Fix those issues and I'd say you're good to go. Though I probably vehemently disagree with your "best album of 2010" proclamation ("probably" because I haven't heard the album myself, so I'm just being contrary by nature, heh).

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Though since I gave myself the choice of either reviewing Preachers or reviewing ?Messy Little Raindrops? by Cheryl Cole I decided that I was a lot less likely to kill myself halfway through the brand new Preachers album, ?Postcards From a Young Man?.

That sentence would read better if you revised it slightly, like so:

But since I gave myself the choice of either reviewing Preachers or "Messy Little Raindrops" by Cheryl Cole, I decided that I was a lot less likely to kill myself halfway through the brand new Preachers album, "Postcards From a Young Man".

Likewise, these two sentences need some revision:

Personal favourites for me include The Decent (Pages 1 & 2) which contrasts the orchestra with distorted guitar and loud vocals and only improves the more you listen to it. And It's not War (Just the End of Love) which is a lot more fast paced and more guitar-centric, though manages to be just as complex and well done as any other song on the album.

You appear to be lacking commas in the first sentence, and the second one isn't actually a proper sentence since you started it mid thought - it looks like you had a big old run-on sentence and just chopped it up at the "and", but what you're left with isn't grammatically sound.

Fix those issues and I'd say you're good to go. Though I probably vehemently disagree with your "best album of 2010" proclamation ("probably" because I haven't heard the album myself, so I'm just being contrary by nature, heh).

You are both a gentleman and a scholar kind sir.

Though seriously I really enjoyed listening to this album and it's very well put together. Also this has been a pretty bad year as far as good albums go, though the new Deadmau5 one is yet to come out.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

You are both a gentleman and a scholar kind sir.

Well I try, heh.

Also this has been a pretty bad year as far as good albums go, though the new Deadmau5 one is yet to come out.

See, from my perspective this has been a banner year for quality albums, there have been so many that I've honestly lost track. I mean, just off the top of my head there's...

• Alcest - Escailles De Lune
  Allen/Lande - The Showdown
  Arjen A. Lucassen's Star One - Victims Of The Modern Age
  Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon
  Axel Rudi Pell - The Crest
  Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time
  Christopher Lee[footnote]Yes, that Christopher Lee - in addition to narrating on the latest Rhapsody Of Fire album, he put together a Symphonic Metal concept album Rock Opera about Charlemagne. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.[/footnote] - Charlemagne
  Edenbridge - Solitaire
  Fireflight - For Those Who Wait
  Freedom Call - Legend of the Shadowking
  Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion
  Kamelot - Poetry For The Poisoned
  The Letter Black - Hanging On By A Thread
  Masterplan - Time To Be King
  Mortemia - Misere Mortem
  Mutiny Within - Mutiny Within
  Myrath - Desert Call
  Orden Ogan - Easton Hope
  Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way Of ORWarriOR
  Poets Of The Fall - Twilight Theater
  ReVamp - ReVamp
  Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears of Angels
  Sister Sin - True Sound Of The Underground
  Tarja - What Lies Beneath
  Tarot - Gravity of Light
  Therion - Sitra Ahra
  Tristania - Rubicon
  Unsun - Clinic for Dolls
  Van Canto - Tribe of Force

... and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few somewhere. It's been a good year to be a fan of obscure European Metal (there are some things on that list that aren't Metal though!).

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Spoiler

You are both a gentleman and a scholar kind sir.

Well I try, heh.

Also this has been a pretty bad year as far as good albums go, though the new Deadmau5 one is yet to come out.

See, from my perspective this has been a banner year for quality albums, there have been so many that I've honestly lost track. I mean, just off the top of my head there's...

• Alcest - Escailles De Lune
  Allen/Lande - The Showdown
  Arjen A. Lucassen's Star One - Victims Of The Modern Age
  Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon
  Axel Rudi Pell - The Crest
  Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time
  Christopher Lee[footnote]Yes, that Christopher Lee - in addition to narrating on the latest Rhapsody Of Fire album, he put together a Symphonic Metal concept album Rock Opera about Charlemagne.[/footnote] - Charlemagne
  Edenbridge - Solitaire
  Fireflight - For Those Who Wait
  Freedom Call - Legend of the Shadowking
  Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion
  Kamelot - Poetry For The Poisoned
  The Letter Black - Hanging On By A Thread
  Masterplan - Time To Be King
  Mortemia - Misere Mortem
  Mutiny Within - Mutiny Within
  Myrath - Desert Call
  Orden Ogan - Easton Hope
  Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way Of ORWarriOR
  Poets Of The Fall - Twilight Theater
  ReVamp - ReVamp
  Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears of Angels
  Sister Sin - True Sound Of The Underground
  Tarja - What Lies Beneath
  Tarot - Gravity of Light
  Therion - Sitra Ahra
  Tristania - Rubicon
  Unsun - Clinic for Dolls
  Van Canto - Tribe of Force

... and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few somewhere. It's been a good year to be a fan of obscure European Metal (there are some things on that list that aren't Metal though!).

See the problem I have here is I haven't listened to any of them, at all. Anyway, I'll probably follow my usual tradition of listening to all the great albums of this year, next year, when people tell me about them.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

See, from my perspective this has been a banner year for quality albums, there have been so many that I've honestly lost track.

See the problem I have here is I haven't listened to any of them, at all.

Technically not true, as I've reviewed two of those albums and I can reasonably conclude you listened to at least one of the tracks I embedded from the second review, as I asked you a question about the band and you gave me what to all indications would be an informed answer. Plus I tossed a couple of Alcest tracks your way and I know you listened to (and enjoyed!) at least one of those, because you said so, heh.

So you haven't listened to the majority of the albums on that list there at all, and you definitely haven't heard any of those albums in their entirety, but you have heard some snippets. Yay pedantry!

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

See, from my perspective this has been a banner year for quality albums, there have been so many that I've honestly lost track.

See the problem I have here is I haven't listened to any of them, at all.

Technically not true, as I've reviewed two of those albums and I can reasonably conclude you listened to at least one of the tracks I embedded from the second review, as I asked you a question about the band and you gave me what to all indications would be an informed answer. Plus I tossed a couple of Alcest tracks your way and I know you listened to (and enjoyed!) at least one of those, because you said so, heh.

So you haven't listened to the majority of the albums on that list there at all, and you definitely haven't heard any of those albums in their entirety, but you have heard some snippets. Yay pedantry!

.... Smart ass.