MUSIC IN 2012 - The Year So Far

I’ve gone through Moving Pictures once now, and I’m still working on that review. In the meantime, enjoy this video-laden post that shows my current consciousness of the music industry, which is probably a bit limited.

Is it just me, or did things get weird while I was out?

I exited in early March, just as fun., Gotye, and Carly Rae Jepsen were rising to superstardom, the former and latter of which have released follow-ups that haven’t captured the public imagination with quite the same verve (though “Some Nights,” easily my favorite song from a shockingly good album, is apparently gaining traction at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.) As far as all their songs go, I’m a pretty big fan and want to hear more, though Jepsen’s “Good Life” is pretty dull.

But since then, the artists that usually excite me have been failing, and others have been seriously gaining. I missed R. Kelly’s new album (though the lead single, “Share My Love,” is pretty much a permanent summerjam) so he still has a chance to wow me, but I’ve been underwhelmed by new outings by Usher, Kanye West (whose “Mercy” I maintain is one of the worst songs he’s ever put together), Train, Katy Perry, and B.o.B.

And am I crazy, or do Pitbull and Nicki Minaj have two of the best-produced pop songs of the entire summer?

I can’t get over the beat on “Back In Time,” and I’m practically jumping for joy at the prospect of its sequel featuring Kanye and Enrique Iglesias. And, well, as for “Starships,” Pentatonix is to blame for sending me down a bad, bad path with their brilliant cover of a song I already have to admit I liked.

They both carry this bizarre dichotomy of combining modern dance production with throwback guitar and hooks. In a weird way, they’re both very decidedly 90’s.

Speaking of the 90’s, how did Green Day and No Doubt suddenly pull ahead of everyone else to come and crush anything alternative can throw at them? Green Day’s releasing three albums (!) in the next six months, and No Doubt is releasing their new album Push & Shove the same day as Green Day’s ¡Uno! Between the two lead singles, I find myself leaning heavily towards No Doubt, who I have never been a huge fan of before now. That said, of the Green Day albums (three?!?) the second is the more “garage”-focused album, so that’s probably the one for which I’m really excited.

That’s not to say nothing’s happening in the alternative scene. The Dirty Projector’s new album blew my socks off the first couple times I listened to it, so expect a review of that relatively soon. Fun.’s album, Some Nights, is actually pretty darn excellent. And that’s ignoring, of course, that Metric, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slash, The Hives, Tenacious D, and Jack White all came out with albums I haven’t listened to yet.

To make an awkward transition, Fiona Apple and Norah Jones have both released new albums that are being adored, while Regina Spektor came out with something new as well. Now seems as good a time as any to jump into a genre with which I am highly, highly unfamiliar.

Hip-hop has been mostly dead so far this year. Cruel Summer, the G.O.O.D. Music collaboration album, has also been delayed into September, and nothing came of the supposed Outkast reunion that was potentially going to happen this year. I do need to listen to Nas’s Life is Good, though, as it’s supposedly very solid.

Frank Ocean’s R&B smash Channel Orange is perfectly pleasant, but on my first listen I wasn’t blown away by it. I’ll be sure to try it again pretty soon, though. Again, there’s R. Kelly and Usher to check out as well, and Justin Bieber’s voice drop has me tempted to give him another shot with his new album. Chris Brown is still being allowed a career for some reason, and I’ll continue to ignore him. As far as quality vocals go, I’ve mostly been distracted by the really excellent Pentatonix EP, which you really ought to check out.

Things are getting weird on the pop/rock scene, though there’s still plenty of the same drivel that’s been being played for years (looking at you, Guetta and Flo Rida.) As far as electronica goes this year, I haven’t gotten to hear very much since Bangarang. And while there’s not a ton of albums to be excited for, it’s been a period of surprises and, well, change. That’s pretty darn exciting in and of itself.

RUSH - A Return

I don’t remember if I’ve made it clear in my previous blogs (if so, it was likely during my Lamb of God review) but I really, really dislike Rush. I find them to be a group of talented players who write music to flagrantly display their talent rather than put together something cohesive. I believe the only thing holding most of Rush’s music together is the truly awful vocals of Geddy Lee, a piece I regularly cannot abide.

What’s more, Rush isn’t the most talented band in the world, so where do they get off? Sure, their major competitors in the field either do exactly what Rush does in an effort to show off (read: most prog, after Rush) or have broken up as of long ago (Led Zeppelin, The Who, Derek & The Dominos,) but that does not give them permission to play the full-band equivalent of Yngwie Malmsteen.

And yes, there are a few Rush songs I like. “YYZ,” “Tom Sawyer,” and “The Spirit of Radio” all have their own merits, and “Limelight” is actually just a really excellent song. And their role in the Jason Segel comedy I Love You, Man is indelible and hilarious. But most of the rest of what I’ve heard through the radio is either mindless drivel or (at least partially) unlistenable.

This summer, I intend to give them the old college try. Why? Because people adore them, and after three years of maintaining that Rush is my least favorite band, it’s time to challenge the beast once again. My musical tastes have drastically changed since I held that opinion, so, who knows? Maybe I’ll come out of all this liking them.

As a result, you can expect three Rush reviews by the end of August. No, they will not necessarily all be in sequence, and yes, they will be chronologically out of order. I’ve been recommended to go listen to Moving Pictures (an album I own and once liked,) then Fly By Night (whose title track I at least somewhat revile at the time of this writing,) and then, lastly, 2112 (whose title track I most certainly found unlistenable last time I gave it a shot.)

I’m moving the files for Moving Pictures onto my computer with better speakers now. Wish me luck.

Overexposed Review

OVEREXPOSED
Maroon 5
2012
A&M/Octone
Prod. by Max Martin, Noah “Mailbox” Passovoy, Shellback, et. al.

Those of you buying Overexposed to learn more about Maroon 5 as a band had best steer clear. Overexposed is clearly an Adam Levine affair, and it’s a series of pop songs that ping-pong between their own hit, “Payphone,” and an imitation of the pop stylings of Coldplay.

Perhaps similarly to Mylo Xyoto, you’ll occasionally wonder if there really is a band behind Adam Levine. The first three songs do very little to justify the album as anything other than an Adam Levine solo record, including the six-writers-pop-starlet “Payphone,” which has never very much impressed me beyond a nice drum line on the verses. However, the guitarist, James Valentine (who helps to write a third of the songs on the album, though not the guitar-heavy ones) comes to life on “Lucky Strike,” a moment that finally aims for the energy of “Moves Like Jagger” last year. The rest of the band is hidden behind your standard synth-pop backing, but it’s a nice reminder that there IS another member to Maroon 5.

However, album then sinks back into washed out pop nonsense. It’s perhaps telling that I have trouble differentiating most of these songs from Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” These aren't especially good pop hooks or productions, and it's overall a very meandering affair. An effort is made to return focus to bass player Mickey Madden on “Lady Killer” (for which Madden actually receives a writing credit) but it’s not quite enough to make his presence notable. The only break from the monotony of completely disposable candy before the finale is the ninth track, “Sad," which is perfectly fine but not lyrical or virtuosic enough to propel it beyond the album. The finale, “Beautiful Goodbye,” is destined to become a moderately popular single or concert closer, but it’s still not especially different from anything before it. There are a couple of iTunes bonus songs that fail to impress any memories upon me, leaving the original finale as the superior place to stop.

Credit must be given to drummer Matt Flynn for his mostly thankless job as a drummer on what really amounts to a pop album. Flynn manages to consistently contribute lines that are more interesting than the songs require without ever distracting the listener from the song. Flynn’s drums on this album are actually a strong example of the kind of more technical drumming I like, in comparison to the stylings of Peart on Rush songs.

Spotify seems to have an exclusive performance of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” that drops all performance by members other than Levine, Valentine, and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael. It perhaps summarizes the entire experience that no part is truly impressive or even exciting, no matter how pretty Levine’s voice can be, as the instrumentation never comes in to back him up.

I booted up “Songs About Jane,” the breakthrough album with “This Love” and “Harder to Breathe,” for the first time in years yesterday for comparison’s sake. It opened my eyes and saddened me as I laid witness to the fact that these are talented players when given the opportunity to actually perform. Here, Maroon 5 is effectively reduced to Levine and session musicians.

2/5
HIGHLIGHTS: “Daylight,” “Lucky Strike”
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: “One More Night,” “Doin’ Dirt”
CATALOG CHOICE: Songs About Jane
NEXT STOP: A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Coldplay
AFTER THAT: C’est Chic, Chic

I'm Back

Hey everybody!

After months off, I've returned and begun to review again. I've missed it, and so I'll begin writing again. It'll probably be more fast and furious than before, as it's summer and I have more time on my hands.

If you want to follow my game reviews, follow my account on GiantBomb.com. I'll also be writing film reviews at Screened.com, which operates on the same good-old Whiskey Media tech. I'll be accepting requests as well!

-Alex