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rayword45 01-11-2015 12:04 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 81: The Albatross by Foxing (Album Choice: ChikaraGuy)

Okay here we go short album it's late at night I want a drink blahblahblah my internet is total booty right now and I'm at high risk of losing this review so I'm not gonna put much effort into it. That's not the actual reason I'm putting little effort in, that was what I was planning to use as an excuse until I didn't. This is a blind review. Will I be rewarded or do I face horrors?

None of the above. Another post-rocky emo album, but it's been long and sparse enough that I don't feel burnt out on the genre. So for this album, I feel fresh. Is it any good? Well, I actually enjoyed a few tracks here and there, and I can appreciate the short length and some of the genre mixing (chamber pop moments and psychedelic bits) but like many emo albums, the vocals got grating at times, here not so much for the overemoting (which was fine) rather than the warbly vocal style. Other than that, this one was solid! There were a few seriously bad tracks though.

Best Track: Bit By A Dead Bee Pt. 2 but part 1 is horrid
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 01-11-2015 09:54 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 82: E18 Album by Detektivbyran (Album Choice: FoJaR)

I'm in the mood for something different. I'm not gonna look this up again, but if I recall correctly, this is folktronica. The only folktronica I regularly listen to, if you can call it that, is The Books. And maybe some occasional Four Tet or Caribou. As a matter of fact I doubt that any artist considers folktronica a real genre, like nobody wants to be called post-grunge or cock rock, even if those two sound way worse than folktronica. Man enough of this tangent.

There are folk music influences to say the least, but sadly it's not what I usually expect when I hear the term folk. No, these guys meant actual traditional European folk music, with accordions and music boxes and such. This reminds me of trying to get into folk metal on multiple occasions only to realize in the end everytime that those guys are never talking about acoustic folk but rather some weird ass Norwegian traditional shit. I'm always one with open ears but that shit just leaves me wondering what the eff I just listened to. But enough complaining, let's get back to the album on hand. For a folk based album, the first couple of tracks lack the warmth I would hope to get. Thankfully, third track Nattoppet has the warm nostalgic feeling I'd hope to get from this kinda music. And that's how far I am as of now! Now, time to do some homework.

I am the worst procrastinator of all time, but anyways, this was a pretty short album so let's say things now. The best tracks are ones that make use of the music box and accordion and other traditional type instruments. Strangely enough, I found myself getting tired of their sound by the end of the album but undeniably those tracks were the strongest. The album as a whole is very spare and minimalist, and I found the more layered (relative term) it got, the warmer it felt and the more I enjoyed the music, with songs like
Dansbanan and the aforementioned Nattoppet being the best tracks on the album. On the other hand, tracks like Granmon and Home Sweet Home where the whole track consists of one instrument, usually a piano, do nothing but cure my nonexistent insomnia.

Not a fantastic album, but not a particularly bad one, though I can see the constant sparkly tones grating on some people. When this album was good, it was enjoyable if not mind blowing. When this album was bad, it wasn't really bad so much as just mindnumbingly dull. The highs really aren't high enough for me to recommend this album, but if you cut out Monster, Granmon, Hem Ljuva Hem and Home Sweet Home you have a decent short album that overdoes the accordion a bit.

Best Track: Nattoppet
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 01-14-2015 12:36 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 83: How To Save A Life by The Fray (Album Choice: MsKitty)

It feels kinda mean spirited to say this, but I'm about to indulge in copious amounts of caffeine because I need to take 10 chapters of notes so I ain't sleeping. Because these 10 pages of notes suck dick, I'm gonna be honest and say I'm listening to this album because I saw it on my phone and something about it said "Hey, this sounds boring" which makes it a great Biology companion piece. Time to take notes! And... Listen I guess. I need cranberry juice.

Okay I got my cranberry juice. As for this album, it sounds like Coldplay.

Or rather, Coldplay with less of that corny airy orchestral sound, and more piano and nonchalant emoting (there is absolutely no better way to describe the sound of the vocals).

I hate Coldplay.

Best Track: I'll be frank and say I wasn't paying enough attention to choose a favorite track. I'll be frank again and say I don't think I would've had a favorite track had I payed attention cause these songs mostly sound the same.
Rating: 3/10

rayword45 01-14-2015 04:37 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 84: The Art of Living Obnoxiously by Satellite High (Album Choice: Sheri C.)

This caffeine overload has me feeling paranoid as hell. Maybe it's nocebo effect, but either waHOLY CRAP WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!

Excuse me missus I confess I'm loving your architecture hey you know what I think if Tim Taylor had never died Brainiac would be a huge band now. I'm gonna show everybody Pussyfootin and tell them my theory. They went from being no names to touring with Sunny Day Real Estate and The Jesus Lizard to opening for Beck in the course of 5 years. Why did I have to be born 4 months after their lead singer died this band is too damn good.

AP Biology sucks.

I wrote everything here before actually choosing an album. I'll choose an album after I eat some rum cake.

I didn't eat any rum cake but I'm gonna go choose an album now.

Okay I chose an album.

Just kidding I didn't choose an album yet. I'm gonna finish this chapter for AP Bio then choose another album.

I have the urge to practice this melodica I got for Christmas but I feel like if I was to play it at 2 AM I'd get the whole neighborhood to beat my ass and my neighbors are pretty nice people so I don't wanna get on their bad sides.

Holy crap why am I not taking notes.

This is the stupidest review I've ever done.

Hey guys for the record, Colour Haze is great music for studying. I feel more focused than ever. Or at least ever this night. Yet I'm writing this bullshit.

HOLY MOTHER OF GODDAMNED TO DIE JESUS IT'S 4:30 AM AND I'M NOT DONE AHAHFAFHADFHASDFOSHVYUFHU okay album chosen

According to RYM this person/group/band/whatever is hip-hop but they only have this artist/collective/supergroup/whocares and not this actual album so it may not be the same singer/rapper/project/pseudonym/stoppingnow. Hip-hop, that's probably the worst studying music genre ever bar Liquid Swords but whatever I'm going for it. Mainly because I've been meaning to listen to Six Finger Satellite for a while. They tell me they sound like Brainiac and oh man do I love me soAGESTGHERGAERGBL

This guy calls himself the hip-hop Rob Pollard. Oh yeah, I looked up, it's one guy. These songs are all way too long for him to call himself anything close to Rob Pollard.

Again, passive listen. I'm kinda shafting these albums when I do this but whatever. Nothing here was offensive or anything. The nerdcore shtick that I somehow noticed without understanding any of the lyrics didn't really get tired. Just, the whole album got tired because this has the same problem of most modern hip-hop albums in that it's TOO DAMN LONG. Seriously, 20 tracks? What is with you people and your goddamn overlong albums? Concision, people! Concision!

By the way, chocolate rum cake is great.

Best Track: None, but the only one that caught my attention was Wrestling Still Rules (Theme)
Rating: 5/10 not that it entirely matters since this isn't on RYM anyways

rayword45 01-14-2015 08:08 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 85: Epsilon by Blood Stain Child (Album Choice: Kevin G.)

Still note-taking, haven't slept in 26 hours now, won't sleep for another 14. I hate my life. But either way, let's knock one more passive listen out while we can, cause why not? I don't know what genre this is but I can be presumptive. I can be very presumptive. And hey, let's try something different and see how my focus works. Starting now without any nonsense spiels this time.

My presumptions were only 50 percent correct. The other 50 percent is... effing trance music. See, I'm thinking I'm in a crappy mood due to sleep deprivation, but this is just grating. Who ever thought it was a good idea to mix metalcore/death metal with trance music? That is not a good combination. I'm never one to write off genres with the exception of crunkcore, but I have not personally heard any enjoyable trance metal.

Somehow, I fell asleep during tracks 7 to 9. I have no intention of listening to them again.

Looked this up during the last track, found out this is a Japanese band. Is there no middle ground for Japanese music? Either I get kickass stuff like Boris and Boredoms or I get shit like BabyMetal and this. At the very least, I'll give it a bonus point because it got me productive when it didn't put me to ironic sleep.

Best Track: Tracks 7-9
Rating: 3/10

rayword45 01-16-2015 11:13 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 86: Red Flame by Lil B The BasedGod (Album Choice: Arkuski)

Today I'm in an oddly good mood. So I decided to play something funny but at the same time torturous. I expect to be amused at first, then the groans come on, then sobbing or physical pain. Why do I do this to myself, I don't know. Hey, at least the album isn't 05 Fuck Em... I'm so not ready for this shit.

So, I decided I'm gonna give this a brainvomit review. There is an actual proper term that I'm looking for but I can't find it. Literally ANY thought that goes into my head that isn't incriminating is going to be put down here once I start listening.

-Why the fuck am I listening to this?
-I just want to play my 3DS
-Oh my goodness, seriously, what am I doing with my life
-I hate AP Biology with a burning passion
-There's a basketball next to my bed and I don't know how it got there
-I'm gonna go make myself an egg cream and eat some rum cake
-Ever had Konditor Meister cake? That stuff is good man.
-Dude, carrying your laptop down the stairs is not fun
-This album has some of the most idiotic artwork I've ever seen
-Bandwidth limits suck so bad, I'm trying to download stuff and I have to stop cause my sister has to file taxes
-Track 4 has a pretty nice beat... How am I only on track 4?
-What makes Based God so garbage? When I think about it, his beats are lo-fi but they aren't horrible, his lyrics are no stupider than many, slightly (and only slightly) more seriously taken artists like Chief Keef and Trinidad James and his flow ranges from piss-poor to middling but I've seen much worse.
-Yeah I've made it to track 7 and this is grating but it has yet to induce vomiting.
-Dude, why does he use so much dynamic compression? I NEVER give a shit about dynamic compression, I can listen to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea just fine, but here it actually kinda hurts your ears. Like, that's just ridiculous. Is this part of the joke? EVERYTHING IS PART OF THE JOKE.
-I haven't gotten my rum cake yet.
-"If you fuck with the best, you fuck with me" okay that line actually got me to laugh
-I expected more pain, but there is no pain. This review must be like reading a biography for Donny Osmond.
-How much is this guy worth? I wonder how much he's made from this foolish career.
-Other than the fact that I'm clearly not typing out everything I think of... I'm thinking real slow today.
-This guy is trying to do political rap with Black Skin and it sucks horribly.
-For some reason, New York Subway makes me think of Chance The Rapper if he had any semblance of talent sucked out his ass, and all the acid he was dropping turned out to be 25i.
-This dynamic overcompression is ASS.
-Like A Groupie is actually hilarious.
-I bet you that doing drugs to this album would end in disaster.
-And Robberversiary has me convinced that this is the funniest album ever.
-I am thoroughly convinced that Lil B has plenty of talent, because it does take talent to crap out thousands of horrible songs, but he wastes on crapping out thousands of horrible songs.
-I remember talking to a guy who went to high school with Lil B, when people still called him Brandon. Apparently he had braces for 5 years. Poor guy.
-My stomach hurts
-I honestly can tell if I'm tired of this guys shtick at this point (Bitch I'm Bill Clinton, track 22) or just plain tired, because I'm kinda annoyed by this album and want to take a nap, but it's also effing hilarious.
-I just wanna watch some Seinfeld at this point. So close to the end.
-Listening to music while using an electric toothbrush isn't usually enjoyable, but in this case it's keeping me awake
-Goddamnit my retainer has been split for two weeks I need to get that shit fixed
-How many people actually listen to this unironically? I had to say that out loud during the intro to Woo Woo Swag. Could not think of a better time to ask that shit.
-My face itches
-Last track! Holy crap, I made it. This thing is freaking movie length and it's all garbage.
-I wish I skipped a song. This ain't no classic... Or actually, well...
-MF DOOM is the GOAT. You're the most based of all time at best.

When the album finally concluded I ripped off my headphones and let out a soft "Agghhhh!". This album was hilarious at times, grating at others. I would complain that it was too long but that's kinda part of the joke. I can't write anything else.

Best Track: Robberversiary
Rating: 0/10 (I almost went with 10/10)

rayword45 01-18-2015 01:24 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 87: Time Heals All by ASC (Album Choice: WSCB)

Well, after yesterday's life-changing experience, anything goes today. Seriously, there is no way anything could be worse (or better) than Red Flame so I go into anything with fully open ears.

Looked this one up, it's ambient/drone music. It's late as hell, let's hope I don't fall asleep.

This album reminds me of Pop by Gas, which I pretentiously reviewed a few months ago and fell in love with immediately, probably because of the constant tape hiss noise. This album reminds me of Pop with less emphasis on percussion tracks, more of an emphasis on samples, and generally being not as good while being twice as long. And it's not like Pop was a concise album or anything, this album fills up 2 CDs... Seriously, 2 CDs? Was that at all necessary here? The first CD is warm and nostalgic, with some great cuts like If Only For A Minute and Snow In Summer and not too much filler for an hour. Honestly, if this first CD was the whole album, I'd be singing its praises right now. Then we reach CD2. CD2 is MUCH darker than CD1, sounding more like Thomas Koner than Wolfgang Voigt. It's also not nearly as good, with no really memorable melodies to be found anywhere. Frankly, this could be a mood thing, but if that's the case then the two halves don't make a cohesive whole at all.

Actually, I dunno, this one may end up being a grower. I'll return to it eventually. In the mean time, take that as my excuse for not writing a conclusion.

Best Track: If Only For A Minute
Rating: CD1 gets 7.5/10 and CD2 gets 4/10. Average that if you desire

rayword45 01-19-2015 12:21 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 88: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!) by The Beach Boys (Album Choice: Sayaka)

Ah, The Beach Boys. Ask me, and I'll tell you that they were superior to The Beatles and were probably the most important pop group ever. I don't care what the fuck Steve Albini has to say about it, Pet Sounds is singlehandedly THE MOST important album of the 60s. The SMiLE Sessions is downright amazing, among my top 20 albums ever. And then... There's the rest of the discography. I guess the reason The Beatles are more respected is because they had more than one completed great album arguably (I for one don't care about Sgt Pepper, but will fully respect Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road). The Beach Boys had some pretty good albums in Friends and Surf's Up, and maybe Sunflower, but nothing compares to Pet Sounds or SMiLE. Why am I bothering to type this out this is commonass knowledge. Anyways, this album is supposed to be less in the vein of the mid 60s achingly gorgeous psychedelic pop and more like the early 60s Chuck Berry wannabe surfing-in-a-car-in-Hawaii-with-girls-during-the-summertime genericrap albums. However, it's supposed to be the best of the Chuck Berry wannabe surfing-in-a-car-in-Hawaii-with-girls-during-the-summertime genericrap albums. So let's go in this with optimism why not?

HOLY CRAP THIS IS A DIABETIC ALBUM. For someone who can totally enjoy the twee pop of K Records with a wide smile, this album, or at least the first side of it, is way too sugary. Interestingly enough, through all the hyperglycemia, there's a slight creepy vibe to it all. Amusement Parks U.S.A in particular has me wondering just how loony Brian Wilson was at this point. Unfortunately, it's also awful. And all the surrounding songs are throwaway until we reach Girl Don't Tell Me, which is a terrific little strummy pop song made not throwaway by Carl Wilson's fantastic vocal performance.

Not quite as terrific but still quite so is the classic single from this album, which gets its own paragraph and paragraph break because I need to make this review seem longer. I am obviously talking about Help Me, Rhonda. Just kidding, but for the record, this version is inferior to the Today! version, and honestly I think its garbage.

Now, real paragraph. California Girls is the classic. The intro is probably one of the greatest things Brian Wilson had done up to this point, and the song is amazingly catchy if a little too sweet without substance. It's a great song, but it's not THAT great. The idea that some people define The Beach Boys by this song is almost as gross as the idea that some people define them by Surfin USA. Eff you Mike Love.

Everything after California Girls make the second side of this album much stronger than the first. I feel like it was Beach Boys tradition to put all the garbage on the first half and put all the good stuff on the second half. Surf's Up and Today! certainly speak to this idea, and I'd argue the same applies to Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile. Both Let Him Run Wild and You're So Good To Me are fantastic pop songs that aren't too sucrose-heavy, And Your Dreams Come True is a showcase of the band's barbershop-esque harmony skills, and Summer Means New Love, holy crap that is a fantastic one. Brian didn't get enough respect for his instrumental songs. He got a lot, but a lot isn't enough. The only song on the second side I don't care much for is I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man which is goofy and not that catchy, and pretty creepy foreshadowing of Brian Wilson's future.

Anyways, this album was decent. The first half was painfully weak but the second half made up for it. This gets an average rating.

Best Track: Let Him Run Wild
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 01-20-2015 12:24 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 89: Holland by The Beach Boys (Album Choice: Sayaka)

Well hey, why not do two Beach Boys in a row? It makes a nice pairing for the most obvious reasons imaginable. Also, it means I don't have to write any introductions. Expect this review to be more concise and less detailed because per usual I have last minute work to do. Should I say "more concise and less detailed" or does the former imply the latter?

The first two songs are effing astounding. Sail On, Sailor in particular is one of the best things I've heard from Brian Wilson post-SMiLE, just below Til I Die. Then we have the California Saga... What were they thinking? Crappy country-pop, followed by shallow spoken word, followed by more country-pop with a horrid bluegrass tinge. This is one of the worst things I've heard from The Beach Boys thus far, which goes to show I've avoided their 80s and 90s albums quite well.

Literally everything on this album is great besides that California trilogy. This is one of the most consistently high Beach Boys albums out there. Too bad that makes approximately 28% of the album garbage.

I'm feeling relatively generous today.

Best Track: Sail On, Sailor
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 01-25-2015 03:26 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 90: Sorry 4 The Wait 2 by Lil Wayne (Album Choice: David H.)

I made an agreement with my friend that I'd listen to this piece of shit album if he would agree to listen to Doris minus 3 songs (because I find those songs to be trash). I know I'm clearly on the losing end of the deal, but it's worth it to spread the underrated genius of Earl Sweatshirt. If you think Earl raps too monotone screw you, nobody ever complains about MF DOOM rapping with little inflection. Let's get this bullshit over with shall we?

I was told that the best song on the album was the remix of Hot *****. I enjoy the shmoney dance as much as any other but if that's the best song I'm not looking forward to this mixtape. We aren't there yet though. First up is a cover (or is it?) of Coco. You know the song. Well, here, it's made even stupider without the same trap house dance appeal. Things just get dumber from here. The beats are third rate Chicago horse feces (which makes sense, seeing how these beats are all ripped from currently popular songs), the delivery is marred with that famous Lil Wayne touch of too much damn autotune, and the lyrics, oh ho ho them lyrics. The vocals would be grating enough to ruin good lyrics (and I'm not one to complain about voice), but "I got my main bitch feeling immortal"? "Give her pussy a hickey"? What is this garbage? Trap music gets away with its stupidity on the basis of being catchy (which is why often times it fails to RHYME) but this crap isn't even catchy. Even worse, when he tries to get political, "Black president ain't do nothing, we need a real ***** up in that office, got the White House jumping like Jordan". Why? Why? Why?

The aforementioned remix of Hot ***** is a lowlight because it strips the original song of all its danceability, and his voice just isn't fit for the beat. On the other hand, the remix hold up a second why am I calling these remixes? They aren't remixes. They're just stolen beats with a new rap. It's like all those YouTube commenters with their horrible lyrics, made dumber and actually put to microphone. But anyways, on the other hand, the "remix" of You Guessed It is what I'm gonna end up choosing as best track, because he took a really stupid song and made it stupider, which is hilarious. Plus, he said "I smell like pussy" which is so awful as to be hilarious.

Actually, new nadir song. Alphabet uses the beat from Tuesday and that song gives me post-traumatic stress disorder. I'm not gonna share the reason why, it's too personal so consider it a noodle incident.

This mixtape ends rather anti-climatically with Dreams and Nightmares, probably because these songs all follow the same formula, and they're for the most part all on par with each other. Par being crap +2. Okay now I've listened to this garbage and gave it a fair enough shot. I totally regret it. David, if you don't hold up your end of the deal I will beat you down.

Best Track: You Guessed It
Rating: 1/10

rayword45 01-25-2015 09:53 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 91: Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 by Aphex Twin

After a particularly bad album, it's nice to go into something you expect to like. Aphex Twin released this EP two days ago, and it's supposed to be much more experimental than Syro. Let's give it a try.

There are 13 tracks on this EP, but only 5 of them go beyond two minutes, and an equal 5 being fragments under a minute. The short tracks are completely superfluous, ranging from jungle beats that are too short to be interesting (0035 1-Audio, diskhat2) to banging on a piano (disk aud1_12) to NOTHING BUT BANGING ON A SNARE FOR 20 SECONDS (if you get this EP you'll know which track it is). The longer tracks are mostly interesting in terms of experimentation but far too empty to really maintain interest, bar the first track, diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13. I don't really have much else to say about this album.

That first track is really good. The rest is mostly self-indulgent noodling. And the song titles suck. I say give it a shot anyways. This does not kill the pain of Lil Wayne.

Best Track: diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13
Rating: 4/10

rayword45 01-25-2015 10:56 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 92: Exit! by Fire! Orchestra (Album Choice: Lord Of Sushi)

No real attempts at an first paragraph. Actually screw it, no attempts at all. Let's just hop right into this one.

There's two songs on this album. They both fall under the genre of free jazz, though they're considerably more melodic than most free jazz songs, with some soulful vocals to top it off. The first song has two sections. First there's a whole lot of glorious cacophony over a repeating three note bassline and some singing about glue shoes. Then it moves into a slower, groovier section topped off by funky guitar, more noisy improv and more singing about who knows what, plus a spoons and glass solo. This is a really cool first track. That sentence alone sucks.

The second track starts with an unnerving 3 and a half minutes of nothingness, some piano plinking and creepy vocals, before beginning to crescendo into some minor-key cacophony mess. Then it gets quiet again and moves into another empty section, except replace the piano with brass, and make it not at all creepy, and instead rather grating. And that section lasts for 14 minutes. Why?

Seriously why? Why end your thus far great album on such a crappy note? hose last 14 minutes could've been something good and not obnoxious. Whatever. These reviews as of recent I feel have been pretty shitty but I don't care. This album, coming from a guy not into jazz much, has a great first track, and half of a great second track. That's like 30 minutes of great content. Then 14 minutes of annoyingness. Theoretically the ratio means this album should get a middling score but nah.

Best Track: Exit! Part One
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 01-27-2015 11:39 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 93: Watching Movies With The Sound Off by Mac Miller (Album Choice: Nemesis)

I dunno, I've never been one to enjoy Caucasian rap. I respect Eminem but his discography is far too hit-or-miss for me to really enjoy, like I'd be damned if even one of his unnecessarily 70 minute albums didn't have 40 minutes of filler. I can dig the Beastie Boys at times, other times they're just annoying. Who else is big in white rap? Macklemore? TRASH. Iggy Azalea? Confirmed TRASH. Vanilla Ice? Limp Bizkit? I think I've made my point clear. Call it discrimination, but I don't really care. I mean, I'm a fan of Beck if that counts as white rap. But either way, I'm definitely gonna go into this with a fresh mind, because I can't remember one damn song from this guy. The closest thing to a song from this guy I remember is his guest verse on Earl Sweatshirt's Guild. That was one of the 2 worst songs on the album. I'll remember a single when I inevitably hear it, because I'm pretty sure at least one of the singles from this album got big.

I haven't heard any singles, but I'm only halfway through. What I can tell you about this album thus far is that it's actually pretty good. I think. The best part of this album by far are the beats, which sound stoned and hazy in the best way possible, often with an array of subtle samples and instruments. There's a wide amount of variety thus far, yet there's a clear theme, and everything is aurally pleasing enough for this album to breeze by relatively quick (which, when you're dealing with 70 minutes, is a VERY good thing). But this isn't an instrumental album. And therein lies literally all of the problem. Mac has a decent voice. Mac has flow. What Mac doesn't have is lyrical talent. Seriously, this may be one of the dumbest releases I've heard lyrically ever that wasn't satirical, this guy's writing skills are barely above a Lil B release, and this guy isn't pooping out a new 2-hour mixtape every 12 days.

When this guy tries to get metaphorical or introspective or whatever, the result is downright laughable. "There's a bird in the sky, look at him fly, why? (repeat why? ad nauseam)" What the hell is that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to go "DAAAAAAMN" or something? That's awful! And that's the least of it. How about "People selling drugs cause they can't find no job, wonder if Christ made a million off selling the cross"? Or try "God loves me, what if he does, what does it mean?". I get more intelligent meaning from Arab On Radar lyrics sheets. Sadly, the hackneyed attempts at being poetic are probably the least cringeworthy aspect of this guy's writing. His braggadocios range from "Spit the shit that leave a diaper brown, poo" " to "Your girl pussy smell like Sour Cream & Onion".

I think the best example of this problem would be REMember. It has a wonderfully melodic hook, a great chilled out beat with a mediocre guitar solo placed so well as to make it sound amazing, and smooth lazy delivery of what could be some of the most dreadful lyrics ever. I said "wow" when that guitar came in, and I said "What the hell why" when I heard "You had a girl, I kinda wish you knocked her up, so I could meet your son and talk you up".

I'm really torn on this album. I'm probably just gonna go with my benchmark rating, but seriously, lyricism is very important to hip-hop, and here it's absolutely dreadful. I don't think I've given enough credits to the beats, they're seriously wonderful most of the time. A few songs here and there lack, but this album definitely feels shorter than 70 minutes and it's all thanks to the beats. The dreamlike, psychedelic atmosphere with all those little touches (guitars, field recordings, bongos, cowbell, synths of all varieties, well actually not as much variety as I thought but whatever) really make this album enjoyable. Instrumental wise.

But those rhymes are ASS. Ugh I'm conflicted. Not on rating, I've already decided on a solid benchmark. I'm more conflicted on whether this one is worth keeping or not. An instrumental version would be most pleasing.

Best Track: I Am Who I Am (Killin' Time)
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 01-28-2015 02:34 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 94: Hello Everyone, Nice To Meet You, We Are Midori. by Midori (Album Choice: Lord of Sushi)

Pretty awesome album title, pretty unappealing album cover (how do you make boobs unappealing?). Another Japanese band, this one is described as jazz punk. Doing a short review. Expectations are weirdness.

Well, yeah, this is definitely weird. This one starts off annoyingly cutesy before moving into some really abrasive, experimental punk. I don't like either side. Then they attempt to mix both sides (Track 5 is an example of this) and it's both jarring and not enjoyable. By far, the most enjoyable tracks are when the jazz goes into full-play (track 7, all these titles are in Japanese so I'm not typing them out), but even then, the vocals are slightly cringeworthy. As a matter of fact, the last 4 tracks on this album blow away the trash first 6. Track 8 is fun sludge-pop which grates only a little bit, track 9 is schizophrenic hardcore punk mixed with piano rock, and track 10 is a gloriously noisy near-instrumental which is incredibly self-indulgent yet still enjoyable.

Overall, although it did redeem itself a bit at the end, not a fan of this album. I give props to the band for being extremely experimental, but with being experimental, you should also be enjoyable.

Best Track: Track 9
Rating: 4/10

EzExZeRo7497 01-28-2015 07:56 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Midori is insanely gimmicky and considering your dislike for j-pop a la Perfume and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, I'm really not surprised that you didn't like the album. Given, I do think you're being a little too level-headed with the album - it's really one of those albums where you shut your brain off and just listen to the intensity and goofiness of the tracks.

I don't necessarily agree with your review (I'd give it a 7.5 personally), but I can definitely see where you're coming from with the vocals being jarring, it's an acquired taste.

rayword45 02-2-2015 12:51 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 95: Fire of Unknown Origin by Blue Oyster Cult (Album Choice: Alie R)

These guys need no introduction. This time I'm not being lazy, they really don't. Random facts, I don't think I've ever heard a song by these guys. Maybe I've heard Don't Fear The Reaper in a restaurant or something but that obviously doesn't count. Never seeked these guys out because I'm not fond of their look I suppose.

The first 3 songs were good. Then it just felt cheesy. Not a fan.

Best Track: Fire Of Unknown Origin
Rating: 4/10

rayword45 02-3-2015 03:03 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 96: Origin of Symmetry by Muse (Album Choice: korny)

This band is from England. They do alternative rock that isn't usually called britpop. I like some britpop like Pulp but loathe the vast majority of it. That's not important since this isn't britpop. Anyways, that's literally all I know about these guys.

Why the hell is Club Nintendo so unreliable now? Did they not prepare for an influx of people which would inevitably come with the announcement of closure? What's their max capacity, 14 people? This guy sounds kinda like Thom Yorke. I swear I'm not saying that just because he's British. I may be saying that just because of the falsettos though.

I'm playing Cave Story, about to beat the campaign for what must be the 8th or 9th time, and I still completely suck at hell. What is this? These guys can make some pretty decent riffs I'll say. Not mindblowing, but catchy enough.

Yeah it's pretty obvious what kinda review I'm going for here, but I'm just about done with it because I'm too lazy to add any more filler. So straight up, these guys are good songwriters and riffmakers. But the lyrics can sometimes suck, and the vocals can seem overwrought or bombastic at times.

That was a good album.

Best Track: i dunno lol
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 02-3-2015 11:24 PM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 97: New World by Mord Fustang (Album Choice: Arkuski)

Okay, this is an EP under a genre called Complextro. What the hell is that? That's the stupidest name for a genre I've ever heard, or second worst next to crunkcore. Or third worst, next to deathcore. Or fourth worst, next to brostep. Actually there are a lot of horrible genre names. Anyways, time to a listening.

Eh, let's just do this one track-by-track:

A New World: Chiptunes + dubstep bass tones + chopped up vocals = I don't really care about this track. Is this what Complextro is? Man, such a stupid genre name.
Lick the Rainbow: Follows the same formula as the last track, but is much more danceable. Thus, it's better.
Milky Way: Not as good as the last track, better than the first. Not as chiptune-y as the others.
Super Meat Freeze: If it wasn't for the dubstep parts, this would remind me a lot of Homework. That's still the best Daft Punk album I don't care what you say about Discovery you're wrong.
The Electric Dream: CRAP MY HOT CHOCOLATE FELL OVER IN THE MICROWAVE

Well, this was okay. I'm not a dubstep fan, but those parts were minimal, the rest of the parts were good old electro house, which is a genre I find for the most part perfectly passable (some of it is really good, but most of it sounds insipid if not pleasant enough). While I clean up this hot chocolate I'll say that this made me want to dance like a dimwit more than a few times, which hopefully was the goal. Also worth noting, that's still a horrible genre name.

I think my ELA teacher is a casualty of the Woodstock epidemic of LSD brain-frying that man is completely bonkers.

Best Track: Lick The Rainbow
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 02-5-2015 01:08 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Day 98: The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths

Because something told me I need to listen to more gay bands, I've been listening to The Smiths albums in order, taking my sweet ass time. For some reason, I decided not to review the first two albums. I thought they were okay at best. Actually I'm only reviewing this to help me focus on my homework. I'm looking most forward to Strangeways because that one has all my favorite songs. This one has the best reviews so here we go. Let me finish my Hot *****. Yes, I'm listening to Hot ***** outside of a party context, shoot my stupid ass.

This opener is actually fantastic. It sounds a lot fuller and more produced than anything on the last two albums, which is probably why I like it more. This album as a whole sounds a bit better recorded than their previous two albums, especially the debut which I thought was quite tinny and needed a remaster. But since I like lo-fi anyways, let's discuss the actual songs. When these guys get sad, they know exactly what they're doing. The downbeat songs (title track, I Know It's Over, Never Had No One Ever do I really need to give song titles here?) are all fantastic. I wish I could say more about their jauntier songs, but really, they just seem way too smirky. They're still good melodically but the lyrical content is groanworthy. This is especially true of the closer. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others? How the flying eff could anyone think that's a good idea for a song?

Yeah I liked this better than the last two albums thanks to a fuller production, but the comedic side made this pretty damn inconsistent. Also, I find Morrissey's voice to be incredibly grating at times. Still, not at all a bad album.

Best Track: The Queen Is Dead
Rating: 7/10

Kanzas 02-5-2015 01:36 AM

Re: Meh, let's do it again, this time for a year
 
Still doing this? If so, Band: The Vincent Black Shadow - Album: Fears in the Water


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