October, 2009

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Day 6: John Frusciante – Curtains (2004)

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

My relationship with “Curtains” ranks among the purest I’ve had with any album, ever. There’s no baggage involved; no critic or overwhelmingly negative opinion can change the way I feel about these songs. Everytime I listen to “Curtains”, it’s just me and 33 minutes of acoustic guitar driven tracks filled with soul and emotion.

The album begins with “The Past Recedes” which is an instant stand-out because of it’s beautiful arrangement and solo. You’ll begin to notice that a lot of Frusciante’s lyrics are reflective of his own life with several references to his drug addiction.

“Anne” is probably the most touching song on the album. The opening ninety seconds are very sparse and seem to wander until transitioning into an emotionally driven finale, complete with an awesome electric guitar solo. “Control” is somewhat unsettling with its soft to loud dynamics and frustrated lyrics but “Your Warning” brings us back to the calmer and reflective side. “Ascension” is possibly the most important song on the album. While a lot of the other tracks are somber, I feel like this song has an encouraging message about accepting one’s self. Maybe one cannot truly ascend until they’ve come to terms with their past or their life.

“Woman
You do fine on your own
You’re free to cry and you don’t have to wipe your eyes”

“Leap Your Bar” is a beautiful end to the album, consisting only of Frusciante’s powerful vocals and piano chords. Take the time to really appreciate this album, and you’ll see exactly what I mean. Hopefully, it has the same effect for you as it did for me.

by Kyle

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Day 5: Tool – Lateralus (2001)

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Don’t get me wrong; Lateralus is one heck of a big puzzle. Just to think about it, my brain melts. Yet, this album bestows upon me such ophthalmic pleasure that it far exceeds my standards of excellence. Tool is an incredible band and “Lateralus” is the quintessence and zenith of the group’s entire work. It symbolizes one step further from previous Tool material into progressive/art-rock territory.

Critics usually tend to favour “Ænima” and though I absolutely adore it too, “Lateralus” just has something more. The band manages to maintain its dark and profound signature sound and tortured interiority whilst exploring a new vast and complex atmosphere it had not really trekked into with the previous albums. Many related themes are approached in “Lateralus” and this is probably the main reason why it as been pigeonholed as a concept-album, despite the fact that there are no real significant musical constants or leitmotivs found in it. I will try to exhibit the intricacy of this album by presenting some of its unveiled mysteries.

First, there is the restructuring of the album. Even if Lateralus already flows amazingly with its determined song set, you can reorganize the set list according to the Fibonacci sequence (look it up on Wikipedia or on video; it’s a mathematical pattern linked to spirals, the main theme of the album). Some speculate that the actual order of the songs MUST be rearranged so as to reveal the “true” message of Lateralus. The “must” part is somewhat extreme if you ask me, but hey, it’s still worth a try. For starters, the album has 13 tracks (a Fibonacci number). The most convenient arrangement would consist of the thirteenth track being placed in the middle of the new song order with each other tracks being grouped into pairs that sum the number 13. These have to surround the middle and form two spirals converging towards it. Appears like this:

6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 13, 1, 12, 2, 11, 3, 10 (the numbers in bold represent the two spirals).

If you do place them so, your enjoyment of the album should be increased, as the band pre-orchestrated all of it so the transitions between the songs are even more interesting. I tried it myself and I must say that I agree with whoever figured that out. Also, in the title-track, during the verses, the drumming and vocal rhythms correspond to the Fibonacci sequence in their syllable counts in addition to the fact that the main riff of the song is comprised of three different meters: 9/8, 8/8, 7/8, so 987 which is also a Fibonacci number. The upheaval with this Fibonacci sequence and the spirals is not only mathematical; it’s philosophical. It suggests living following the movement of a spiral; constantly growing and spiralling out, exploring and reaching toward the unknown.

This is only a hint of the mathematical connotation behind “Lateralus” and there is a whole lot more… You need time to deal with this album, but it does pay off. It is so deep in every manner conceivable. Danny Carey has to be one of the best and most innovative drummers out there (some even claim that the drums are the lead voice in Tool). Add to that an awesome guitar/bass section with skeletal riffs harmonizing together remarkably, as well as Maynard’s poignant vocals, sung with so much zeal and intensity. Tool stands out as a whole but every instrument gets its chance to stand out. Most metal-orientated bands right now suck and lack imagination and quality. If you are into metal and other related genres (although Tool isn’t really hard anyway), you should definitely give Tool a listen.

by Kerry

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Day 4: BK-One – Rádio Do Canibal (2009)

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

What Happens when American hip-hop artists come to my beloved country, Brazil? Let’s see… Madlib came here… Made a dope mixtape (“Speto De Rua”) and a collaboration album (“Jackson Conti – Sujinho”), Mos Def came here… Made a dope song (“Casa Bey” from his last album “The Ecstatic”), even the polemic Kanye came here, what has he done? Delivered one of the best beat of Jay-Z’s new album, “The Blueprint 3″, called “Thank You”, this song uses a Brazilian sample: “Marcos Valle – Eu E Ela”.

With so much examples of love in the first listen from American hip-hop artists with our music, the release of an album totally sampled from Brazilian music is more than natural. That’s what BK-One, better known as Brother Ali’s DJ, do in his new album “Rádio do Canibal”, a title inspired from the poem by famous Brazilian poet Oswald De Andrade titled “Cannibal Manifesto” (“Manifesto Antropófago” in Portuguese). Bringing a stellar list of rappers that goes through the predictable Brother Ali feature passing through some underground favourites like Slug and Murs, to the loved veterans Black Thought, Phonte and Scarface. BK-One finds exactly what he was searching for, the rhythm and soul of Brazilian music mixed with the hard sound from the hip-hop beats. From the funky horns in “Gittit” to the amazing-booty-shaking samba-funk in “Tema do Canibal”, BK adds a lot of variety and different sonority, making the album excel where a lot of hip-hop albums fail: The choice of the beats/samples, and how to break the monotony that sometimes appears in albums of the genre.

From the lyrical part don’t expect great concepts or introspective lyrics (except for tracks like “American Nightmare”), this is more a “having fun” type of hip-hop. This doesn’t mean that the rhymes are weak, actually almost every feature in the album lives up to the expectations.

Another great surprise is the skits with huge Brazilian musicians giving their opinion all over the album. We have Ivan Tiririca (from the soul/funk group União Black) and Hyldon (one of the most respected singers of the soul scene) talking about the influence of James Brown and how the soul music was introduced in Brazil. Caetano Veloso and Tom Zé are also there, two of the founders of what was maybe the most important musical movement in the country, the Tropicália, explaining their musical acts and how these acts revolutionize “our” whole music.

If you’re curious to know what more Brazil can offer to hip-hop, this is an album you should check. An album that reaches it’s goals, a celebration of the Brazilian music and the black influence in it. An album that, like the poem that inspired the title suggests, “eats” all the good stuff in Brazilian music and mixes it with the hip-hop culture. An album that makes me proud to be Brazilian.

by Arthur

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Day 3: Frank Zappa – Hot Rats (1969)

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

When talking about the great 20th century composer, Frank Zappa, it’s impossible not to mention his second solo release. Nowadays considered a classic, “Hot Rats (1969)” is one of the 3 straight up classic jazz fusion records (other 2 being “Waka/Jawaka (1972)” and “The Grand Wazoo (1972)”) that he released and one of the best album of his career.

The album starts off with the classic instrumental piece, “Peaches en Regalia”, and judging by the first 3 seconds alone you know this song is going to be something special. Indeed it is, when talking about amazing saxophone riffs, there’s Baker street, and then there’s this. The majestic glory of this masterpiece can’t be fully described in words, so I won’t ramble on, instead I suggest that you just go listen to this superman of justice league of songs.

Next up is a total turnaround from the slick, short and refined “Peaches en Regalia”, it’s the grimy, long and insane “Willie the Pimp”. Song that by sane logic shouldn’t last longer than 5 minutes, but since we’ve already established that it is insane, the song lasts 9 minutes, last 7 of which is nothing but the band jamming and Zappa’s soloing. Though slightly tedious at times, it still holds up as one of the best songs Zappa ever made, with a catchy violin riff by Sugar Cane Harris, that makes the first 2 minutes, before the fallout, very dynamic. Also featuring vocals from Captain Beefheart, that are being handled sort of like one of the instruments, since even with a little help from the lyrics, I can’t understand a word he’s saying and yet every single syllable feels essential to the song.

Then comes “Son of Mr. Green Genes”, another great 9 minutes of soloing and jamming. It’s an instrumental version from an earlier Zappa composition from The Mothers’ album Uncle Meat (which is the superior version, by the way).

At this point we flip the LP over (or let the CD spin for another nanosecond) and we’re greeted by the bastard child of the bunch, “Little Umbrellas”. A song no one remembers, knows nor wants. It’s still a nice little song, with a nice little ethnic, sort of Egyptian sound, but it won’t leave a very strong impression.

Second on side B we have “The Gumbo Variations”. Gumbo is a stew and here’s some variations of it, only in a more musical form. The song lasts a mind numbing 17 minutes and honestly could be 2 different songs, but fair enough. Consisting of a saxophone solo by Ian Underwood, a violin solo by Sugar Cane, and finally a guitar solo by Zappa it’s a one not-so-catchy song. Ironically in need of some variation, Gumbo represents the side 2 as a whole; it has excellent, professional musicianship but it’s more than what we actually needed.

Last but definitely not least is the straight up Jazz piece, “It Must Be a Camel”, rounding up the entire album. If the album was a live gig this would be the part where the ‘band’ is very tired from all the jamming and they wanna go home. The song is very mellow and low-tempo, until at the 2,5 minute mark, when they picks up some speed and have their final peak before finally giving up and letting the music fade out to a warm, soothing bliss.

by Saku

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Day 2: The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

Monday, October 19th, 2009

This is the kind of album that you don’t really want to like but can’t help it. What truly got my attention on this album was the cover. How great is a cover with a huge banana and Andy Warhol’s signature on a white background, anyway!? I was looking at this album and was wondering how does an album with a banana on the cover sound like. For those who don’t know the album, it’s probably not what your expecting, unless you’re familiar with the band.

First time I listened to it, I felt like it was just a really good album, but on the second and third listen, I knew it was a lot more than a really good album. It’s a melancholic trip through the tortured mind of Lou Reed. In my book, Lou Reed accomplished something with this album, not to take any credits away from the rest of the band nor Nico. His lyrics were on point, and even with such controversial subjects he was able to bring you in a world of debauchery and screeching electric guitar only with his words. Of course, when listening to songs like “Venus in Furs” or “Heroin”, you might be a little uncomfortable if you’re not used to those kind of lyrics, but if you can appreciate the beauty of the melody and how well-crafted are those songs, you will truly appreciate the real value of this album and how beautiful it really is.

Obviously, we can’t talk about Velvet Underground & Nico without mentioning Nico, her voice completely fits the dark theme of the album even if some conflicts arose when Warhol decided to add her into the band. She was a perfect addition to that experimental music, keep in mind it was made in 1967.

If you want to know what it sounds like when you mix a 60′s experimental rock band, Andy Warhol, and a female German singer, give a listen to this true masterpiece.

by Jean-Guy

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Day 1: Explosions In The Sky – The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (2003)

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

It’s a curious title for this album. It may well not be A Cold Dead Place, but if it was this could possibly get away with soundtracking it, but for the warmth it carries at points. This is a record that feeds into every hallmark of the post-rock genre, as you would expect from a band with a name that aims so heavily for grandiosity. Uplifting and depressing at once, naked guitars building to weepy crescendos typified by crashing drums and not a lyric in sight.

Not that this needs lyrics. The message is there to be found. I was surprised to learn that the band describe this as their ‘love’ album. The contrast of the emotions intertwined in every chord makes that quite peculiar, a difficult but massaging listen at once. Although never coming close to the angelic beauty of the finest moments in the Sigur Ros catalogue or the earth-sized Armageddon-mongering of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, rather threatening to blend too easily into the background at points, this is an excellent gateway listen for those unfamiliar with the genre before moving onto the heavyweights.

The one moment where it does match those reference points is the closing Your Hand In Mind, a capsule of devastating affection. If this is an album about love it surely has to be about the ability to appreciate the raw ferocity of it in every moment where it is slightly out of reach. This feels to me like an album of longing.