The Time of Our Lives

By R.J. | Published: May 7, 2012


Band: Miley Cyrus
Album: The Time of Our Lives
Best song: “Party in the U.S.A.,” of course.
Worst song: Oh, whatever.

In a radio interview I can’t find now, Ricky Gervais was talking about different types of art and called a song (any song) “The greatest piece of art someone can create.”

Since the album’s resurgence in the mid- to late-1990s, technology has — in my eyes — made it such that singles have become the preeminent want to digest music. iTunes and other such MP3 services make it so everyone can make their own playlist of songs they enjoy. Hit singles mean more and more songs become hits. Read More »

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The Complete Guide To Insufficiency

By R.J. | Published: April 30, 2012


Band: David Thomas Broughton
Album: The Complete Guide To Insufficiency
Best song: “Ever Rotating Sky” is a wonderful song.
Worst song: “Unmarked Grave” is not as good as the other songs.

In the sea of singer/songwriter music, it’s hard to make a serious impression. Because of the nature of the arrangements, singer/songwriters are seldom harsh. The troubadour styling speaks to a very easy shortcut toward “sensitive, gentle and wonderful.” And similarly, sculpting from the Nick Drake mode is a simple way to make things sound listenable and emotional; a whispery voice is a shortcut. It’s not necessary to be more lyrical, as the implication is inherent in the whisper. Read More »

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Cherry Pie

By R.J. | Published: April 23, 2012


Band: Warrant
Album: Cherry Pie
Best song: The title track, however derivative and silly, is fun as hell.
Worst song: Oh, whatever.

One of the wonderful things about music and our relationship to it is the function of it bringing back memories, snapshots in time. I, of course, write a lot about this and especially did an entire 30-piece project about it.

The making of playlists is a way to do this. On my first iPod, I had a playlist named after my ex-girlfriend — we were dating at the time, of course — that had songs that reminded me of her. On a lesser level, I did this last week, creating a “90s Junk” playlist on Spotify (the playlist is here). It was fun going through my memory, trying to think of the stuff I liked — on the fringes, mostly — during that time.  Read More »

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Snakes for the Divine

By R.J. | Published: April 9, 2012


Band: High on Fire
Album: Snakes for the Divine
Best song: The title track, “Bastard Samurai” and “Holy Flames of the Firespitter.”
Worst song: “Ghost Neck” is not wonderful, but is still a nice record.

I like metal a fair amount, largely thanks to a friend I met out here who reignited my love for it. However, I’m also pretty tied into vocals; a bad voice ruins nearly any music for me (see: Neutral Milk Hotel) and a wonderful voice can make a record a million times better (see: anything with Isobel Campbell). Read More »

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EP

By R.J. | Published: April 9, 2012


Band: Childish Gambino
Album: EP
Best song: “Be Alone” is great.
Worst song: “Freaks and Geeks” blows.

I often use any of these records as a entrance into writing/thinking about something other than the music therein. I imagine I could write about the brilliance of the show Community here, but I don’t know that I could do that as easily as I’d like. Read More »

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21

By R.J. | Published: March 26, 2012


Band: Adele
Album: 21
Best song: Half the album is great. “He Won’t Go” is my current favorite, but my favorites change daily.
Worst song: The other half is just OK.

So much of this space is devoted to the conflict I have in aging, my self image and my cultural tastes, so it will come as very little surprise that I’m going down that road once again. For the most part, I stick toward (not to, but toward) the margins of mass appeal popular culture. Read More »

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Systems/Layers

By R.J. | Published: March 19, 2012


Band: Rachel’s
Album: Systems/Layers
Best song: “NY Snow Globe” is wonderful.
Worst song: “Packet Switching” falls short.

Because this site doesn’t get a wide amount of traffic — and I’m thankful for this, by the way — I imagine I should try and reconcile my issues with Twitter, the outside world and the notion of intellectually masturbating. This is to say that I’m trying to actually figure out my own place on the privacy spectrum. Read More »

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The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

By R.J. | Published: March 5, 2012


Band: Genesis
Album: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Best song: The title track is amazing
Worst song: Much of the second disc is mediocre to just OK.

In college, I went through a progressive rock period. It was largely due to my love of post-rock and the influences progressive rock and jazz had on the genre. I was also not immune to the fact that the differences between progressive and psychedelic rock are not vast and the greatest band of those two genres just happened to Pink Floyd (a band I’d already loved). Read More »

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Gamera

By R.J. | Published: February 27, 2012


Band: Tortoise
Album: Gamera EP
Best song: The title track is unstoppable
Worst song: “Cliff Dweller Society” is not as good as the title track. Still great.

It’s hard not to think about one’s origins when thinking about music and its place in our lives. My music fandom and the places to which I go in said fandom, as mentioned here and here, come from a direct line to one evening and my taping songs off the local college music station. Read More »

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In the Court of the Crimson King

By R.J. | Published: February 20, 2012


Band: King Crimson
Album: In the Court of the Crimson King
Best song: “21st Century Schizoid Man” is a classic
Worst song: “Moonchild” is great, but a little long.

Progressive rock, like stadium rock, is often decried by the punk folks all too often as self-indulgent, obnoxious and overwrought. I’m not going to disagree, but self-indulgent is not exactly the worst thing in the world to me (example: this site). Punk rock — and by extension, the very essence of rock and roll — is a populist art form, born out of the notion that somewhat simple music is the people’s form. Read More »

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