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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Coldplay: Viva la Vida


I think I can safely say that I did a lot of unnecessary worrying about Coldplay. That aside, there are a lot of different things that I want to say about this album and in the process of taking notes on Viva la Vida during my last listen (yes, I take notes on my music) I was thinking that given the particular nature of this disc, the best way to tackle a review might be to write a track-by-track rundown. Before staring up though, I have to complain that there were no liner notes and with the variety of sounds coming steadily through the speakers, it's a real pain in the ass trying to figure out exactly what instrument is responsible for what sound. Oddly enough, I found an interview with the band on the MTV web site and that filled in a few blanks. Believe me, MTV wasn't the first place I would have thought to look. Anyway, here it is.

Life in Technicolor- The first surprise of Viva la Vida (for me anyway) was that this track is instrumental except for some distant sounding "ooh"s toward the end and if you're not paying attention, you won't realize that it's repeated at the end of the last track. It's like spacey bookends for the album. Not bad to start off.

Cemeteries of London- Darker tones set in here and it's the start of an album loaded with religious imagery/references, life and death interplay, and vaguely historical tones...Victorian in this case. Take the cover art, it's a painting from the French Revolution. It also feels like a starting point of a global jaunt, as if Coldplay started off in London and trekked around the world filling their suitcases with sounds from different places and used that suitcase of sounds in the studio like a painter would use a palette of colors. According to band, it's also the first time they use handclaps which do pop up here and there on other tracks.

Lost!- This song has kick. Also, unidentified percussion against organ. "Lost!" has a rollicking beat and lyrics reminiscent of some lines J.R.R Tolkien wrote in Lord of the Rings, "all who wonder are not lost" etc. Unfortunately, it loses steam nearing the end. There's just no follow through.

42- Clearly, old school Coldplay, piano and strings backing Chris Martin's high, wispy vocals. It sounds as if it might have had a home on Rush of Blood to the Head until about a minute and a half in when heavier instrumentation kicks in and it turns into a cut from X&Y. It's not a bad song, the band's evolution is just so obvious on this track.

Lovers in Japan/ Reign of Love- Honestly, if I had to point to a weak spot on this album, it would be this 6:51 minute combo. Don't get me wrong, they are by no means crappy songs, shoddily constructed or misguided musical meanderings. It's just a situation where it's a great album with some really great tracks and these just fall short by the standards of the album. To the credit of the former, the band figured out how to rig a harpsichord of sorts by putting tacks on the hammers of an old piano. Creative. Points for that. It sounds really cool but it's not enough to save the song which doesn't really go anywhere. In any case, it's better than "Reign of Love." I liked the sound of it for a while, but the rest of the song is just okay. "Reign of Love" reminds me of "Til Kingdom Come" but at the same time the music itself is light, airy with a whiff of classical influence.

Yes- I think this is the turning point of the album, it's consistantly excellent after this point. Martin sings way below his normal register on "Yes" and the effect is dark, brooding, and alluring. It is really one of the best tracks. Starting off, it sounds like it might be some weepy Coldplay ballad but surprises the listener when those notes fade out to be replaced by a sound that it anything but weepy or weak. Also, the use of middle eastern sounding violin is really cool, it adds some mystery and follows the song's alternating underlying currents of unease and purposeful lethargy.

Chinese Sleep Chant- Hidden track! This is the reason why "Yes" is seven minutes long. Before I realized what it was I thought it was random, especially on the heels of "Yes" but it definitely doesn't hurt.

Viva la Vida- Like I said, it's all gold after "Yes." The violin is crisp and it's one of the best tracks on the album, living up to the iTunes commercial. Here we find some of the better lyrics on the album, partly because there's more of a story line--former glory and corruption. Also, intsruments explode in the chorus, sounds great. I really like the phrasing. More religious imagery. Crusades? British occupation of a country? Don't know, can't place it, but that historical vibe is very much present.

Violet Hill- Hold your horses kids, I'm working what I have to say about this song into my closing statements.

Strawberry Swing- I have no idea what type of strings those are but they have that middle east to far east feel to them. Another solid track, one that is very intriguing and lovely.

Death and all His Friends- It's an awfully sweet song for having a name like that. But once again a dramatic shift takes place and what started off as possible a straight up love song turns into something of a defiant plea. To me what's funny is that the best line in the album, "cycle of recycled revenge" actually came from producer Brian Eno. Once that section ends, it fades back into the same strains from "Life in Techincolor" with the addition of those whistful lyrics "and in the end, we lie awake, and we dream of making our escape." Martin's "mmmm"s wind up being one of the prettiest sounds on the album amid the slight swell in the music which gently settles back down and boom; it's over. I pulled this quote from Martin when he was talking about "Death and all His Friends" to MTV.

"Well, this is supposed to be the theme of the album, really. We're aware of all the bad stuff in life, you know — i.e. Death and all his friends — but that doesn't mean you should ever give in to it, you know? So we all sing that bit together really loudly, as kind of a message to ourselves: never giving up and never focusing on the bad stuff too much."

Jumping back to "Violet Hill" as a statement about the album as a whole, I know I already talked about it but I do have to say that the release of this single was a tad misleading because it gave the impression that Viva la Vida was going to be a harder rocking album, edgier. That's what I was hoping for, that's what I was expecting. However, that's not to say that I'm disappointed because Viva la Vida is a good piece of work, it just went into a different direction. Sonically it ranges from pretty to lush and that's definitely something to take note of. There's always the danger of overloading on complicated arrangements, adding too many layers, and flat out screwing it up; a three foot pile of lace isn't that delicate. Coldplay did not fall into that trap. I don't think I'd call Viva la Vida a masterpiece but I think that it's a crucial piece in their catalogue because it's the point where they really figured out what they are capable of in terms of craftsmanship and artistry. It's an enjoyable album, very pretty and I know that I will be coming back to it many many more times.

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Shins Shun Sub Pop?


This rolled in about an hour ago from the always trusty Rolling Stone news feed. Apparently The Shins' fourth album will be released on Aural Apothecary, frontman James Mercer's label. And the exodus continues. What's surprising here, is that I thought smaller labels such as Sub Pop, though it does carry hefty indie clout, would be safe if only a little while longer. Hold up though, before you drop to your knees and start praying for the music industry, Sub Pop isn't totally out of the picture though its role might be of a supporting nature as a "partnering label."

In any case, TMI is more than a little giddy at the prospect of a new Shins album. At the moment the best we can do for a date is it won't be "due out until at least 2009." Well, I guess I can be content in knowing that The Shins are at work.

Look for the Viva la Vida review by tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

MGMT: Saline IV Not Included


As many of you know, Bonnaroo wrapped up on Sunday, and while The Musically Inclined didn't get its butt over to Manchester, TN for four shower-less days of non-stop music, the internet made it pretty easy to stay in the loop while avoiding a veritable smorgasbord of infections and hippie sweat. Early on in the coverage, Rolling Stone posted a couple videos featuring a Brooklyn duo by the name of MGMT. By now MGMT has played Letterman, made it onto a few "artists to watch lists," and of course debuted their first full-length release, Oracular Spectacular. In other words, they've been anointed.

After watching said video, I started investigating. The duo humbly proclaims on their web site that they are "celebrating the grand re-opening of the third eye the world with Oracular Spectacular, [their] much-anticipated first full-length album, an enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled pop tones for the new millennium," all this amid a cheeseburger-tiled background. I hate to break it to these kids, but synth was not exactly the baby of recreational drug use. In any case Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser are diehard about their psychedelic pop/rock. If the web site isn't maddening enough with the strange squares that follow your mouse around and its visual assault on your eyes, check out their music videos.

The video for "Electric Feel" is some kind of forest commune/ Lord of the Flies on acid, featuring a Chuck E. Cheese-esque band of animatronic woodland creatures. At one point the merry clan of stoners pulls the moon out of the sky and Vanwyngarden cuts it open to allow this sparkly, color-changing nail polish type goo to spill out. The scene is vaguely reminiscent of that scene for Un Chien Andalou (you know what I'm talking about. Ick.) It's trippyness is only surpassed by the video for "TIme to Pretend" which is an absolute hallucinogenic mess, including the giant cat that runs across the screen with Vanwyngarden on its back.

As far as the music itself, the vocals are nothing to write home about, they feel stretched and whiny at times though on a few songs it sounds as if they're channeling a little Mick Jagger. MGMT admits that in college they used more experimental sounds, like turntables hooked up to pedals, etc. but on this album stuck mainly to keyboard, drums, electric guitar, bass, and synth so they could replicate the sound on stage. "Electric Feel" is probably their best. It captures that 60's retro vibe well and has a shuffling, pulsing beat accented at times with clear, flute-like synth. It's not at all bad. In fact it's getting to be addictive, for lack of a better word. "Time to Pretend" comes off as a cross between a lament and proclamation of their chosen path in life. " Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?" Unfortunately the rest of the songs on their Myspace didn't quite measure up, but perhaps upon further inspection my idea might change.

I'm curious to see where MGMT winds up. Drug use has long been intertwined with popular music, producing mixed but typically determinate results. They've got a set mission and a clear penchant for whimsy as well as a desire to tap into that late 60s counterculture of "openmindedness" and life without mental limits. The unfortunate side of things is one they allude to in "Time to Pretend" when they say "this is our decision, to live fast and die young." Back in the day, the expiration age seemed to be around 27 for far too many folks.

In the meantime, MGMT is worth checking out...just maybe not if you're epileptic.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

No Such Thing as a Free Album


Recently I got wind that The Hold Steady is streaming the entirety of their soon to be released album, Stay Positive on their Myspace. I checked and sure enough, there it was. While I'll hold off on any comments about the album itself, it's worth noting that not so long ago record execs, fans, and artists alike would have balked at the notion of laying it all out there at no charge, even before the album is released for purchase. Can you do that? How does that even work? Well, these days-- yes you can and I get the feeling that there is a certain sense that there's really not much to lose or gain. As reported here at TMI a month or so ago, digital finally walloped regular cd sales and the trend is so drastic that it would be mind-bendingly naive to imagine that this shift could ever be reversed.

From the outside looking in, things are falling apart. Major record labels which at one time were the end-all, power-wielding dictators of protocol, are gradually losing leverage and clout. Sure the internet is infested with countless bands banking on novelty and grassroots type movements, but the big deal is that the established acts don't really need the big labels and can opt to employ their own home style marketing tactics.

When Radiohead announced they'd let fans name their own price, the risk was purely theirs and their sheer boldness earned In Rainbows far more publicity probably than would have been expected of a conventional Radiohead release. A positive side effect perhaps is reaching new potential fans, but it will still never be enough to offset the decline. Coldplay just offered a free download of "Violet Hill" in anticipation of Viva la Vida, and now of course, The Hold Steady put all their cards on the table, begging copyright infringers to get creative.

To an extent, I don't understand. At the same time it makes perfect sense, if there's going to be an evolution in the proverbial "way we do business," they might as well take it into their own hands and see what's left when the smoke clears.

Stay cool, kids.

Friday, June 6, 2008

"Shout" it Out


A couple weeks ago I added a song to my "Inclined Toward" list called "Shout" by a band from Nashville called De Novo Dahl. After hearing that name floating around for a while, I finally got hold of this song just to see what they are about. While I can't really speak for the rest of the album-- Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound, "Shout" is a fun, punchy, cathartic little tune that is fairly relentless in its spunk. Feverish and starved from the get go, there's a certain urgency in this call for release and expression, "Oooooh, we have got to let you know-ooooh...that you have to shout!" After bobbing seamlessly from verse to chorus, it ends leaving you a little breathless, wanting to hit "repeat" for possibly the third time in a row. Check it out. For an extra bizarre kick, Youtube the video and say goodbye to your bad mood.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Adventures in Getting Scammed by Interscope Records


It just so happens that I recently celebrated a birthday. It was good, thank you for asking. Anyway, I was given the soundtrack to Across the Universe, a movie which is much loved here at the Musically Inclined. Upon first glance all appeared to be well, I conquered the shrink wrap in record time, only to remark how odd it was that "Hold Me Tight" wasn't included. Okay, 1 song. I was still stoked but all of a sudden the euphoria settled and my wits returned. Also absent from the 16 track disc were "I Want You (She's so Heavy)," "Dear Prudence," "Girl," and "All You Need is Love," which is nothing short of ridiculous given it's the tag line of the movie.

At that point I figured something was rotten. Amazon.com confirmed by suspicions, not to mention a good dozen angry product comments on the site. Here's the deal. Interscope Records released said soundtrack in September of last year when the movie came out. You've got to know that anyone who wants the soundtrack has got to love the movie pretty well and there's a good chance there's a healthy dose of fanaticism thrown in the mix too. Less than a month later, Interscope released the Deluxe Edition-- 2 discs, 29 tracks, and for only $2 more. Unhappiness ensued. Opened cds can't be returned. Either you can spend another $14 for a cd that has 16 songs you already have, or you can suck it up and try to use Garageband to record off Youtube clips.

We got burned, folks. I don't mind that there's a 31 song edition available exclusively from Best Buy and iTunes...it's just 2 songs extra to download from iTunes,if you feel so compelled, but using a ploy like that crosses the line from sneaky marketing antics to dishonesty at the expense of people who found something in this rash of mind-numbing, Will Ferrell- infested, soul-killing movies that was worth owning. Interscope has earned itself a spot on The Musically Inclined S*#% List. Keep your eyes peeled, kids. This shan't happen to TMI again.