Uncommon music criticized by the common man. (Or, exercises in futility masquerading as critical thought.)

Monday, August 14, 2006

CNN covers metal on a slow news day. Hilarity ensues.

Honestly, it's not a terrible article, just rather shallow and pointless. None of these elements (social/political commentary, drawing on literature or mythology) are new to the genre. They make it sound like there is this huge movement in metal to incorporate "mature" themes, which is a total crock. These elements have always been there, and probably always will be. Let's Just hope they don't discover Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow, or we might be subjected to a "women in metal" piece of equally useful content.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Paper Thin Walls
By posting three essential tracks a day, Paper Thin Walls hopes to work as a daily, A.D.D.-afflicted primer for obsessives and noobs alike. One click scores you all you need to know about the overhyped, underhyped, obscurities, oddities, locals, reissues, overlooked, underexposed, undercooked and whatever else crosses our desk—preferably while drinking your morning coffee, riding the bus home or sending lurid mash notes to your favorite doughy, curmudgeonly editor.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

For All The Fucked Up Children In The World, We Give You...

Spacemen 3

***

I just came across the above clip while searching for Spiritualized stuff on the great timewaster that is YouTube. I think one of the little joys in my life is reconnecting with art and music after its been sitting on the shelf for a while. I posted something similar about Sonic Youth a while back (you can probably scroll down and find it, since I've been neglecting this space something terrible and it's probably on the front page still), and Spacemen 3 definitely fall into this category.

I got into S3 via my obsession with Spiritualized, and have loved just about everything I've listened to. Of course, my listening experience is rather limited, as I've heard only Perfect Prescription, Playing With Fire, Dreamweapon, and Performance. All are ace, though Dreamweapon starts to test your patience after a while. Listening to "Suicide", even with the unfortunate fidelity my laptop provides combined with the quality of the clip itself, is still a complete thrill. The song feels boundless while also being somewhat claustrophobic, enveloping you even as it expands endlessly outward. Even a decade and countless hours of listening to other music removed, this band, and this song in particular, still touches me like little other music can.

(You eMusic people can download it here if so inclined. Both versions are swell.)