Personal Life

The American punk sometimes-trio-sometimes-duo, The Thermals have a new album coming out on Tuesday and I was gloriously endowed by the gods of rock with an advanced copy! Being a huge fan of The Thermals, I was excited, but somewhat concerned. I had no idea what to expect.

When I first heard their 2004 sophomore release 'Fuckin A' I was floored. The unbridled punk energy was exactly what I was looking for and it had the lyrical and thematic complexity to match. The strong authorial intellect conveyed the in ‘Fuckin A’ made it easy to believe their next 2 albums would be a little bit more focused and a bit more pointed. 2006’s ‘The Body, The Blood, and the Machine’ proved me right while delivering a more controlled album, interested just as much in kicking ass as telling a story. ‘Now We Can See’ followed suit in 2009. The group’s second concept album shifted from a politico-religious story to more of a personal philosophical aesthetic.
Running the gamut from a violent, angst-punk band to a sophisticated mainstay of modern music I didn’t know where ‘Personal Life’, their newest album, would land on the spectrum.
After diving in to the album and digesting as much as I could, I’m still not sure. A forlorn, unavoidable aloneness seems to permeate the beginning of the album, which might not be a surprising follow-up to albums about fleeing a failed society followed by an album about a person’s death decay and fading from existence, but the album ends with a kind of understanding or lesson learned about life and its trappings.
Thematically much more interested in a singular, personal relationship; a shift from the grand ideas of their last 2 albums and a shift towards ‘Fuckin A’, the album strikes me as a retrospect of the first youthful foray into a relationship. The thematic motif mirrors the sound of the album dwelling on the lilting adolescent delivery of “You Changed My Life” and naivety of “I’m Gonna Change Your Life”.
The teenage mentality begins to dissolve with the disappointed “Power Lies” and the hopelessly down-tone “Alone, a Fool”, but the brightness resumes with “Your Love Is So Strong” and finishes out the album. While initially seeming juvenile sapience seeps in to the latter tracks concluding with a feeling of lessons learned along the way.
From beginning to end the album follows the arc of a wide-eyed youth infatuation. To me the ability to sound mature and comfortable telling the story of juvenile awkward relationship proves exciting aptitude. It seems The Thermals are indeed easing into a sound that is undeniably The Thermals and I love it


~JM

This is Happening

I find myself becoming a bigger and bigger fan of electronic music. With Crystal Castles newest (great) album and now LCD Soundsystem, I think it safe to declare myself a fan of the genre.

"The Is Happening" The new jaun from LCD Soundsystem blends absurdity with unrivaled timing and skill to create one of the most confusing mixes of aural assault I've experienced in months. Track one, "Dance Yourself Clean" is a perfect example of the phenomena. The song starts with humorous, almost silly, lyrics told in a lazy drawl only to give way to obnoxiously awesome synth face melting later in the song.

The bipolarity of the album creates, rather than anger, a sense of frenetic, carefree, happiness. "Drunk Girls", for example, the second track and first single is a jaunty romp that gives the feeling that LCD Soundsystem is playing at party that you are attending (perhaps at my house... my house). Gang vocals and unflappably upbeat, the song hides deep and somber lyrics beneath.

My personal favourite track on the album, "I Can Change", exhibits the lyrical (and mostly thematic) depth that I didn't expect from the album in a really easy to swallow and comprehend candy-coated package. The mournful and longing lyrics are delivered beautifully. The song, to me, is a beautiful summary of modern romance and its split personality.

I also feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention another opus off the album "Pow Pow". I think Mr. Murphy has either been listening to too much Talking Heads or just hanging out with David Byrn too much. It is a 8 minute spoken word gem riddled with things than remind me unmistakably of the state of the world 10 years before my birth.

The album, not only ensured my love of the electronic genre, but reinvigorated my appreciation for wordplay. I would most definitely recommend a DL asap.

~JM

Brothers

I just got the new Black Keys album a bit early (retails on May 18th in the US) and I gotta say: After listening to their other most recent album "Attack & Release" I was expecting more of the same... the glorious blues rocky same, but I was surprised (both pleasantly and not so) at the differences.

The first song (and what I assume will be a single) "Everlasting Light" starts with a kind of poppy base and drum line that would feel at home in a funky Passion Pit song gives way to distorted falsetto Dan Auerbach vocals that... also feel a little Passion-Pitty. You can see, now, why I was so thrown when first listening, but hell... I like Passion Pit so it was fun. I was worried, however, that the rest of the album would also be a departure from what I tend to expect from the traditional blues jamming duo.

The kind of experimental, less raw instrumentals feel equally at home in the next song "Next Girl" as well, but it feels more like the Black Keys. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this more synthy transition in their style. It does seem to be in vogue these days (see: Contra - Vampire Weekend, LP - Discovery, et all) and they HAVE kind of been easing their listener-base into the feel with Attack & Release being produced by Danger Mouse and Blakroc featuring Black Keys hip-hop loops.

Interestingly enough, the change to the more relevant, post-production-heavy, style that The Black Keys seem to have latched onto for this album doesn't always produce tracks that feel at home next to the likes of Broken Bells. The penultimate track "Never Gonna Give You Up" (you aren't getting Rick Roll'd I promise) feels like it was released by a soulful 4 piece from the 60's. It's a kind of eclectic feel, but I do like it.

While this change in style doesn't pervade the album as much as it does on the first track, it is still there on the rest of the album. I will always love "Magic Potion" for the unadulterated ROCK there, but I guess this is how the Black Keys are evolving sonically. While its different, it is by no means bad. In fact its more delicious Black Keys stylings, and that is something I will always be happy to see.

~JM

P.s. If the leaked album art I saw is truly the album art (pictured above) I love the shit out of the Black Keys even more

Why Can't We Be 'Born Free'

M.I.A. has a new music video. Haven't you heard? Its big news apparently, as CNN writer Lisa France has a nice article about it. It is also, apparently, big news because there is graphic violence and sex in it. After reading hte article I was intrigued so I ventured to find the video.

As the article explained, the video was at one point removed from Youtube much to M.I.A. herself's chagrin. She was quoted as saying (through Twitter)"FUCK UMG [her label] WHO WONT SHOW IT ON YOUTUBE! FOR THE U.S". She then linked the video to her own site where it currently plays on loop. So now ignoring the fire of internet hype-machine (exacerbated by Youtube and stoked by M.I.A.) and focusing on the video itself.

Yes there is graphic nudity and violence. Yes it is almost 9 minutes long. What I don't understand is why this video is such a big deal. I guess I have a unique point of view, not being a college professor on the media or a journalist, but I don't get the hullabaloo. Sure M.I.A. is loving the press, but why are all of these outlets so willing to throw it at her?

Flanel-adorned MTV.com writer James Montgomery hails M.I.A. as being bold and citing this video as "A reason I love M.I.A." Maybe I am just so desensitized to the things this video shows, but it is simple sensationalism. This isn't to say I didn't like the video or that I felt it had no impact. I just don't think the danger surrounding this video is deserved.

M.I.A., for those who don't know is the daughter of a Sri Lankan revolutionary and has always been a little volatile with political messages. The message in this video, while volatile is clear(not warranting response tweets like user Ziggy0Stardust's "@ M.I.A. can u tell us what u were tryin [sic] to say wiv [sic] the born free vid please". The events in the video are an allegory for the current times. The redheaded children that are rounded up and killed are a placeholder for any ethnicity, religion, or group that is oppressed.

Redheaded people are the perfect group to be oppressed in the video with the satire already surrounding the minority (see southpark), but more-so for the knee-jerk reaction that most have when seeing it. I heard "Why redheads?" more than once while on-lookers watched the video for the first time. This is one of the most roaring successes of the video. A viewer is forced to ask this question and then consider "Why Arabs?" or "Why Mexican immigrants?". While obviously the prejudice held against some of these groups is not as extreme as that held in the video, the point stands.

The video, and the brutality therein, also forces viewers to think about those carrying out the violence. While they do bear resemblance to American riot police or SWAT members, they are never explicitly stated as such (a point that Montgomery doesn't seem to realize). They bear no insignias and are completely dehumanized. They carry certain symbols of totalitarian police oppression like the riot shield, gas mask, and M16 to further reinforce the anonymity and universal-ness of the oppressors. The viewer gets the sick feeling in their stomach that this could happen tomorrow or even that this has already happened.

The vaguely European looking redheaded children in the video also reinforce the gritty realism of the video. They don't look like movie stars or poster children. They look like that kid from down the street or a grammar school friend. Their moroseness and helplessness and then absolute fear seem genuine and I must applaud both the actors and casting director for another success in the video.

It isn't all blood soaked rainbows and unicorns however, for the video. Some shots in the video just seem unnecessary and there so people will talk about them. I'm sure M.I.A. realizes this, but they don't contribute to the video as a whole. Call me a critic or whatever, but the sex scene exists in the video simply so people like Linda France can say the video not only has graphic violence, it also has sex. It covers all the controversy bases so now chumps like me are writing about it.

I suggest you watch the video, regardless of my feelings, and generate your own opinion. It can be found at MIAUK.com and I'm sure it will remain there for a while. It /is/ graphic so... whatever.


~Mike


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