A Stranger's music :: #46 Lemetre, Antlers and more Radiohead [video reviews]
- Thread starter Stranger of Sorts
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Haha, "T-Pain" does not take himself seriously... I thought his stint on SNL proved that much. I think he realizes how much this makes fun of rap in general, and it was probably a LOT of fun to do. No love for Natalie Portman?Stranger of Sorts said:
hey could you review some of these albums if possible, and yes... they are very VERY popular. I wanna see what you think of these.
Albums: Boston by Boston, The Wall by Pink Floyd, As Far as Siam by Red Rider, Death Magnetic by Metallica, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, and Facelift by Alice in Chains.
Albums: Boston by Boston, The Wall by Pink Floyd, As Far as Siam by Red Rider, Death Magnetic by Metallica, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, and Facelift by Alice in Chains.
Yeh sorry I have one game review coming up then I'm going to do a few of these in the next week.stuartclement said:
Might pick up on the Beatles and Pink Floyd. I always enjoyed listening to them. Although Metallica will be good for when I want to rant again.Burningsok said:
Last one I did = this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.195331-Infamous-and-superhero-games-in-general]stuartclement said:
I've done about 20 more.
You should try reviewing some Japanese music. Yeah, weird request, but there are plenty of good Japanese groups you should check out. I like Ikimonogakari, Flow, and Home Made Kazoku. But there are plenty of other groups out there I'm told are better (I'm just too lazy to look into them). 
Cool, but why rant on Metallica lol, they are one of my favorite bands.Stranger of Sorts said:
I liked The Lonely Island review, pretty much spot on, and i agree they do it all to take the piss out of rap etc.
i do get what your saying, but their "childish fascination" with sex is part of their ... "attack" on rap for want of a better word, because the huge roll that sex has in rap music and culture.
So glad I stumbled across this thread at the wee hours of the morning. I will for sure be keeping an eye on this thread- your reviews are excellent Stranger. I saw another poster suggest Mastodon's 'Crack the Skye' earlier; I'd love to hear what you think about it whenever you get around to reviewing it.
Keep up the great work!
Keep up the great work!
Seeing as many of you have been asking me either here or in PMs why I have been taking so long with the next review I thought I'd post the answer here. Firstly, I'm smack bang in the middle of some of the most important exams of my life so free time only ever comes in short bursts. I like to do these in one go so I only get enough time to do that once a day, even then I'm usually to exhausted to put together a sentence.
Furthermore, I do actually do other reviews and since I've been playing around with what I do in them recently they have absorbed most of my attention. They are in no way more important than these music reviews but as many of you may have guessed, I enjoy doing new things. I've finished doing this however so this is no longer an issue.
This last reason is more short term but since I'm nearing 50 full length reviews on this site (I'm now on 49) I'm going to write up something to commemorate this feat. I can only think of one other reviewer who's managed this and they took 8 times longer to do it than me. So yay.
Once that is over I do get a 9 day break for half term between exams so I plan to write quite a few reviews up here in that time. Not quite sure what I'll review yet but I'll probably take 2 suggestions (The Oddysey/ Sergaent Pepper) and 2 albums that I'll dig up from my collection (OK Go's latest one/ an old Muse album)
Furthermore, I do actually do other reviews and since I've been playing around with what I do in them recently they have absorbed most of my attention. They are in no way more important than these music reviews but as many of you may have guessed, I enjoy doing new things. I've finished doing this however so this is no longer an issue.
This last reason is more short term but since I'm nearing 50 full length reviews on this site (I'm now on 49) I'm going to write up something to commemorate this feat. I can only think of one other reviewer who's managed this and they took 8 times longer to do it than me. So yay.
Once that is over I do get a 9 day break for half term between exams so I plan to write quite a few reviews up here in that time. Not quite sure what I'll review yet but I'll probably take 2 suggestions (The Oddysey/ Sergaent Pepper) and 2 albums that I'll dig up from my collection (OK Go's latest one/ an old Muse album)
Just a random suggestion here. I'm hoping you'd be willing to review 80kidz' album This Is My Shit.
Good reviews. Perosnally I quite like The Lonely Island, but that's my opinion. And on the second Enter Shikari album I really like the dance interludes, whilst the whole political thing they have going on is too blatant and a little annoying.
I have a request: Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus. It's an... interesting album, to say the least.
I have a request: Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus. It's an... interesting album, to say the least.
[HEADING=3]25. random shit...[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]A weird electronic internet music special![/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_______Round 2[/HEADING]
[h4]Today we're looking at:[/h4]
- Another song by Dakent
A very certain website
More random stuff
I found that since I have an hour and a half today in which to do whatever I want, I'll type up another entry in here. This isn't an album review as such, I'm still listening to the requested albums so I can take a proper stab at them with out making (too many) mistakes, but a random type up of things I've found on the internet and wouldn't otherwise tell you of. Some of the stuff isn't even electronic, weird or even from the internet. It's just "pretty god damn awesome". So hear we go!.
[HEADING=2]Dakent[/HEADING]
The only draw back to Dakent is that their songs often use the same effects, but then again this could be seen as a positive as they are used so perfectly. Anyhow, Banger is a calming song that provides a perfect contrast to the screams and shouts of the night that are audible through my window. Give it a listen if you aren't listening to it already.
[HEADING=2]_____________________So... where do you hear about all these random bands?[/HEADING]
It's a question often asked to me, though not often on The Escapist but from the poor friends and family who have had to endure my taste in music. Well the truth is, is that you have to know people who are into the same type of music as you. This way you don't miss anything good that comes out as they will tell you about it. However, when friends fail there is always the internet...
What I do is to have a variety of podcasts and blogs that I frequent that filter through all the crap that comes out to bring me the good stuff. One in particular that brings me really obscure music that is distinctly better than average (although not all is good) is a site called musigh.com. It has supplied me with random artists like Dakent for well over a month now. Wait, does this count as advertising? Hell, I'll put it up anyway.
[HEADING=2]Other random artists[/HEADING]
There have been many albums and artists that I'd love to share with you, but it's just that while they may have released a brilliant single, their album is crap. Such is the case with Empire of the Sun. They released We are the People, a refreshingly feel-good indie song that was only made more refreshing by the rubbish songs it was accompanied with in the album. The song takes a while to get going as the verse isn't too great but they decided to run it through twice before entering the extremely upbeat chorus. Sure, the lyrics don't make sense and the music is simple but that's the point with songs like We are the People. The song has been pretty popular all round and since Empire of the Sun were basically unknown before it came out, it only emphasises how good the song is. Have a listen.
This next, and last, band that I'm going to mention is neither random nor unheard of. The band is Radiohead and I have just rediscovered them for the 3rd time this year. Especially the new album "In Rainbows" and the song Reckoner. It will surprise me if any of you haven't heard of the band, but I know that many of you won't have listened to then. All I can say is, that if you agree with my music tastes only a tiny bit, you will be able to appreciate the genius that is Reckoner.
[HEADING=2]Wrapping Up...[/HEADING]
I hope that this is enough to constitute as another review, as I've said before I'm rather pressed for time (Maths AS C1 coming up in 3 days...yay...) but as soon as the exams finish I'll be back to churning the proper ones out as per usual. Anyway, comment with any concerns/ feedback and I'll see you all again soon.
Thanks for reading.
[HEADING=2]Dakent[/HEADING]
I've talked about Dakent before, in fact I mentioned them in the last "AWEIMS". They make very unique, instrumental songs that border on many genres (most notably Dubstep) but seem to define a genre of their own. Most of their music is chimes and other sharp tones with an underlying sea of bass and synthesisers. I don't know why I like Dakent so much, but it probably has something to do with the pure genius of the build-up quality and how it demands some sort of emotional response. The song Banger shows this perfectly. It's weird that even though the song is soft and, for the most part, quiet; I do not miss a voice at all.The only draw back to Dakent is that their songs often use the same effects, but then again this could be seen as a positive as they are used so perfectly. Anyhow, Banger is a calming song that provides a perfect contrast to the screams and shouts of the night that are audible through my window. Give it a listen if you aren't listening to it already.
[HEADING=2]_____________________So... where do you hear about all these random bands?[/HEADING]
It's a question often asked to me, though not often on The Escapist but from the poor friends and family who have had to endure my taste in music. Well the truth is, is that you have to know people who are into the same type of music as you. This way you don't miss anything good that comes out as they will tell you about it. However, when friends fail there is always the internet...
What I do is to have a variety of podcasts and blogs that I frequent that filter through all the crap that comes out to bring me the good stuff. One in particular that brings me really obscure music that is distinctly better than average (although not all is good) is a site called musigh.com. It has supplied me with random artists like Dakent for well over a month now. Wait, does this count as advertising? Hell, I'll put it up anyway.
[HEADING=2]Other random artists[/HEADING]
There have been many albums and artists that I'd love to share with you, but it's just that while they may have released a brilliant single, their album is crap. Such is the case with Empire of the Sun. They released We are the People, a refreshingly feel-good indie song that was only made more refreshing by the rubbish songs it was accompanied with in the album. The song takes a while to get going as the verse isn't too great but they decided to run it through twice before entering the extremely upbeat chorus. Sure, the lyrics don't make sense and the music is simple but that's the point with songs like We are the People. The song has been pretty popular all round and since Empire of the Sun were basically unknown before it came out, it only emphasises how good the song is. Have a listen.
This next, and last, band that I'm going to mention is neither random nor unheard of. The band is Radiohead and I have just rediscovered them for the 3rd time this year. Especially the new album "In Rainbows" and the song Reckoner. It will surprise me if any of you haven't heard of the band, but I know that many of you won't have listened to then. All I can say is, that if you agree with my music tastes only a tiny bit, you will be able to appreciate the genius that is Reckoner.
[HEADING=2]Wrapping Up...[/HEADING]
I hope that this is enough to constitute as another review, as I've said before I'm rather pressed for time (Maths AS C1 coming up in 3 days...yay...) but as soon as the exams finish I'll be back to churning the proper ones out as per usual. Anyway, comment with any concerns/ feedback and I'll see you all again soon.
Thanks for reading.
Well, most of dubstep isn't free. It's just that some of the lesser known producers give it out for free, Although, dance music producers are usually ahead of the curve with that sort of thing. I'd also argue that dubstep isn't really heard by the masses yet, and if it is, it's probably more because of Skream's La Roux remix.Stranger of Sorts said:
It's not really that similar to drum and bass. The basslines are differently constructed, plus the beat pattern is completely different.
And it's not really that others are terrible, they just do it for a different purpose, that being to make people dance. Having been to dubstep club nights, I know that it works excellently.
Anyway, my main point is that I think you are trying to pigeonhole drum and bass too much. Drum and bass isn't all the same, there are masses of different sub genres. The influence of dubstep is itself making drum and bass more creative. My point is, that a lot of drum and bass isn't just about making heavy basslines. Yes, some is, mainly jump-up drum and bass, but it's not trying to be anything original or clever, it just exists to make people dance. If you want something different there is stuff like High Contrast, which is liquid funk, using sparse bass and sampling. Or intelligent/ambient drum and bass. You'd be surprised by how many adverts and such use drum and bass in the background.
Theres even the dark ominous stuff like sabre, who doesn't try to make people dance using heavy basslines.
This is also a bump
No need, you posted this just after I put another "review" up.razer17 said:
Anyway I can see what you're saying, I'm in no way an expert, especially when it comes to Drum and Bass. I just know what I like. The reason I'm so eager to dismiss Drum and Bass is that it's mostly a fast paced genre to (as you say) make people dance. But I'm a laid back person who loves to chill which is why I see dubstep to be a step in the right direction.
And with the whole dubstep being free thing, at the time the only dubstep people I'd come across gave away the majority of their stuff but greed will always catch up I guess. I've always wondered what the specific difference between dubstep and Drum and Bass is. All I know is the difference in beat structure (dubstep being mostly 2 step).
[HEADING=3]26. Post exam depression[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Of the Blue Colour of the Sky[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]____ by Ok Go[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = Indie
Number of Songs = 13
Highlights = White Knuckles, Before the Earth was Round + In the Glass[/h4]
I had my first Maths AS exam today, suffice to say it went horribly. Trust them to put out the hardest exam they ever have on the year that I'm taking it. Anyway, since I got quite stressed I thought it would be best to do one of these to relax myself. Enjoy!
Ok Go are a very unique band, but this time they are one that you've heard of. Even if you can't name any songs from them I can point you towards one of their music videos where they danced on treadmills and you'll recognise it. In the days of the last album they were a typical teenage indie band; full of energy and ideas, many of them bad. Since then they have matured greatly and released us with "Of the Colour of the Sky", an album that I can proudly state to be one of the best I own.
This album can be best described as experimental, it's jam-packed full of weird and wonderful noises that you rarely here from other bands. Along with this there is a fair amount of voice distortion but they don't go overboard with their ideas. If, say, one song had a distorted voice then the instruments wouldn't be. A nice example of this would be Before the Earth was Round, a drifting, soulful piece that joins a simple, repeating guitar part with a hauntingly mellow voices. Granted, it takes a hell of a lot of getting used to. I first considered the voice to be a bit too weird but it, like the rest of the album, eventually grew on me.
By far my favourite song on the album is White Knuckles, an incredibly frantic song that is energetic yet somehow relaxing. It contains a lot of the Ok Go "style" such as the heavily distorted guitar and randomly places samples yet sticks to the typical song structure. The reason why the song is so good is because it's just so catchy and upbeat; the chorus of "Well maybe it's not so bad" followed by a chirpy riff is well done and refreshingly unique.
The style of this band is something that's very prevalent. Each song is unmistakeably theirs and easy to spot amongst the sea of similar sounding indie bands that we are plagued with. Along with the distortion, Ok Go employ heavy bass, backing singers and seemingly random percussion instruments in almost all of the songs on this album. Despite this, there is plenty of variety on the album: from the raw energy of White Knuckles to the almost jazz-style chillout of Skyscrapers. While variety is almost always a good thing, it does mean that the album is not perfect as there is bound to be something that you won't like. For me, that would be the opening track, WTF? that comes across as quite pretentious as far as indie songs go.
One song that definitely does work for me however, is In the Glass; it incorporates a gothic feel with an organ in the background with calm singing and a progressive build up. It's an interesting mix but the end result is fantastic, not to mention unique. What this song does best is the contrast and breaks. You are not greeted with an unrelenting torrent of lyrics and effects but small chunks of them filled in with a chilling organ line. In the Glass almost appears to have a certain lunacy to it, which is surprisingly infective. However, this is just the first half; the second half is what can best be described as awe-inspiring build up. A repeating line gets louder and louder till the song, and the album, end in a crescendo of about every instrument under the sun.
"Of the Blue Colour of the Sky" is an album that I can never reckomend highly enough. It is an example of indie-musical genius that is all to rare these days. I did mention that everyone will hate one song on the album because of the variety, but that also means that everyone will love one song. One thing though, after watching them on youtube they aren't half terrible live... Thanks for reading.
Ok Go are a very unique band, but this time they are one that you've heard of. Even if you can't name any songs from them I can point you towards one of their music videos where they danced on treadmills and you'll recognise it. In the days of the last album they were a typical teenage indie band; full of energy and ideas, many of them bad. Since then they have matured greatly and released us with "Of the Colour of the Sky", an album that I can proudly state to be one of the best I own.
This album can be best described as experimental, it's jam-packed full of weird and wonderful noises that you rarely here from other bands. Along with this there is a fair amount of voice distortion but they don't go overboard with their ideas. If, say, one song had a distorted voice then the instruments wouldn't be. A nice example of this would be Before the Earth was Round, a drifting, soulful piece that joins a simple, repeating guitar part with a hauntingly mellow voices. Granted, it takes a hell of a lot of getting used to. I first considered the voice to be a bit too weird but it, like the rest of the album, eventually grew on me.
By far my favourite song on the album is White Knuckles, an incredibly frantic song that is energetic yet somehow relaxing. It contains a lot of the Ok Go "style" such as the heavily distorted guitar and randomly places samples yet sticks to the typical song structure. The reason why the song is so good is because it's just so catchy and upbeat; the chorus of "Well maybe it's not so bad" followed by a chirpy riff is well done and refreshingly unique.
The style of this band is something that's very prevalent. Each song is unmistakeably theirs and easy to spot amongst the sea of similar sounding indie bands that we are plagued with. Along with the distortion, Ok Go employ heavy bass, backing singers and seemingly random percussion instruments in almost all of the songs on this album. Despite this, there is plenty of variety on the album: from the raw energy of White Knuckles to the almost jazz-style chillout of Skyscrapers. While variety is almost always a good thing, it does mean that the album is not perfect as there is bound to be something that you won't like. For me, that would be the opening track, WTF? that comes across as quite pretentious as far as indie songs go.
One song that definitely does work for me however, is In the Glass; it incorporates a gothic feel with an organ in the background with calm singing and a progressive build up. It's an interesting mix but the end result is fantastic, not to mention unique. What this song does best is the contrast and breaks. You are not greeted with an unrelenting torrent of lyrics and effects but small chunks of them filled in with a chilling organ line. In the Glass almost appears to have a certain lunacy to it, which is surprisingly infective. However, this is just the first half; the second half is what can best be described as awe-inspiring build up. A repeating line gets louder and louder till the song, and the album, end in a crescendo of about every instrument under the sun.
"Of the Blue Colour of the Sky" is an album that I can never reckomend highly enough. It is an example of indie-musical genius that is all to rare these days. I did mention that everyone will hate one song on the album because of the variety, but that also means that everyone will love one song. One thing though, after watching them on youtube they aren't half terrible live... Thanks for reading.
Instead of rambling on here like I usually do, I thought I'd leave you with a picture.
I'll look into it, but I can't promise anything. I'm quite swamped with requests at the moment and I try and balance requests with random albums so if I were to do every request I'd probably be writing my 100th review as we speak.Freebird. said: