February is Music Writer Exercise Month #MWE • Page 58

Fun one today

 

Day 24: Summer Sun by Yo La Tango

Went into this one almost entirely blind. Don’t really know what Yo La Tango sounds like and the only song I do know by them was off this album. Little did I know, the whole album sounds like that song. This album is hazy, mellow, and an excellent auditory interpretation of being sun dazed. Being over an hour long, the lack of variation can get a little old till the end, but easier to ride out than many 40 minute albums. I really appreciated the stronger cuts on the album and feel like a solid 8 or so songs could be pulled out to make some very strong additions to a summer playlist. Still wouldn't feel comfortable to claim that I know what Yo La Tango sounds like though.

Favorite Tracks: “Season of the Shark”, “How to Make a Baby Elephant Float”, “Georgia vs. Yo La Tango”, and “Moonrock Mambo”

 

Slipped a bit over the weekend, but what should have been my day 25 album was Pang by Caroline Polachek from 2019. It's electro-indie pop music, that's a bit Imogen Heap-y, a bit modern Tegan and Sara esque and with bits of R'n'b and more glitchy electronic stuff. There's a lot being mixed in here, while still all feeling very familiar, reminding me of a dozen artists all at once. She's got a great voice, and the songs are interesting and well put together.

 

Yeah, my last few days of albums are piling up. Sorry MWE, too many other things I wanted to listen to!

 

Day 25: Make Believe by Weezer
Because of the monolithic radio presence of “Beverly Hills” back in the day, I never felt the desire to visit this album. While it may not be an album worth revisiting on the regular, I did find some enjoyable tracks on this one. The sounds of the album is pretty standard Weezer. The dynamics, the huge choruses, and River’s signature lyrics are all present. I was impressed to hear some pretty sincere lyrics on this one, as you never know how serious they will be from release to release. All in all, it’s a Weezer album, and not one of the Great ones, but I did find some new tracks to add to the rotation. Hey, it’s Weezer, every album has some good ones.

Favorite Tracks: “This is Such a Pity”, “Peace”, “Freak Me Out”

 

Coming in nicely to a close with a lovely bit of Joni Mitchell juvenilia. I'm caught up from a listening POV but I want to listen to Sketches of Spain again before trying to write about it.

 

Day 26: Everything All the Time by Band of Horses
Filling a pretty glaring gap in my listening here and wishing I had done so sooner. If you dig “The Funeral”, you’ll be down for the rest of it. This album if full of folk/indie/alt greatness. Beautiful guitar lines and melodies weave a comfortable nostalgia throughout. Moments of mandolin and slight country influences add to the album’s earthy appeal and obviously Ben Bridwell’s presence is the bow that ties it all together. This album deserves more of my attention and probably everyone else’s.
Favorite Non-Funeral Tracks: “Wicked Gil”, “Our Swords”, and “Weed Party”

 

The word "cinematic" is overused, but this one truly felt like a movie score.

 

Day 27: Mirrored by Battles
You ever find yourself listening to some post-rock and wishing it was danceable? Well, Battles has you covered. This album is a straight up party, and a terribly impressive debut. I was frequently blown away at how fresh these songs sounded despite coming out 15 years ago. The boundaries of genre are completely gone here. Some of the drum patterns remind me of hip-hop beats and the guitars often resembled something off of later Talking Heads projects. Within the mostly upbeat jams here, unique elements such as whistling and processed vocals push these songs into a sound unique to this band alone.

Favorite Tracks: “Atlas”, “Tonto”, and “Rainbow”

 

Day End: Sailing the Seas of Cheese by Primus
This last one is a weird one. A certain moment of the last album I wrote about reminded me of Primus for some reason, so I decided to roll with it. I know 3 Primus songs total and felt like it was time to dive deeper. This album is definitely weird, but if you are able to embrace that, it pays off. Except for a skit and some mellower moments, this album is pure frantic energy. Sometimes the energy of the songs kind of remind me of SOAD but just a bit. Mostly, this is a sounds all Primus’ own. The bubbly, pinging bass lines intersect with the ferocious guitar work and drums to capture you. I was surprised by just how heavy some sections of this album are, and how many straight up guitar heroics it possesses as well. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief, it’s a fun ride.

Favorite Tracks: The “Sgt Baker” to “Eleven” streak is everything you need to know about this album. Awesome fun

 

Primus is partly why I never really feel any urge to listen to SOAD.

 

Falling behind with this, but I’ll get there. Today’s album was David Bowie’s Heathen from 2003, and one of the few remaining Bowie albums that I hadn’t heard.

This was always going to be one that I’d enjoy, was just a question of what sort of Bowie album it’d be, and it’s broadly speaking an uptempo rock album, with bits of electro / trio hop influences buried in here too. It’s high energy and a really fun and immediate listen. I can see there’s quite a lot of commentary on the lyrics about it being a post 9/11 type thing, but almost always on a first listen, I didn’t pick up much lyrically.

Reading up about it, interesting that there’s three covers here, and the cover of Cactus by Pixies has Bowie playing all the instruments, apart from bass, with his only recorded drum performance, which is kinda cool.

 

Final week:

2/21 - Spoon -Lucifer on the Sofa - As enjoyable as all other Spoon albums

2/22 - Metallica - Death Magnetic - Was interested to complete the discography after completing St. Anger earlier in the month and actually enjoyed this one even more than St. Anger

2/23 - Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia - Some good pop bops here

2/24 - Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion - Inspired to listen after the passing of Mark Lanegan, fits in with my grundge rock love

2/25 - Yo La Tengo - I can Hear the Heart Beating As One - A long album that I can see myself returning to

2/26 - Garbage - Self Titled - Another 90s album that I never gave a listen to, know the singles beforehand, but nothing that made me want to return to their discography

2/27 - Metallica - Hardwired to Self Destruct - Have now completed the Metallica discography and hope to catch them at least once before they call it quits

2/28 - Closing out this year with the Red Hot Chili Peppers Uplift Mofo Party Plan - it's so odd hearing these albums after hearing their hits, the sound is a totally different vibe from the major studio John curated stuff...still enjoyable and fun stuff to hear the beginnings

OVERALL BEST MWE ALBUM of 2022 - Bjork
OVERALL WORST MWE ALBUM of 2022 - Big Thief

 

Penultimate album for this challenge is Aaliyah's self-titled and final album from 2001. I think I've listened to One in a Million before, and I know a few of her songs from various places. This is enjoyable, it's very much the sound of it's time, a classic early 00s R'n'B album, can see it's influences on the likes of Beyonce or Rihanna or something even like Justin Timberlake. The songs like while broadly still soulful pop music are pretty interestingly diverse at points, with the little beat-boxing on I Care 4 U, or the funky bass and strings on Extra Smooth.

Great stuff, managing to sound both of it's time to 2001 and also a glimpse at what would come for popular music in the rest of the decade.

 

Final album for this challenge, a few days late, was They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top by Liars from 2001 (though I picked it because I'm sure I read it was a 2003 album...)

This is excellent stuff, kind of finding that weird space between unhinged post-hardcore like Drive like Jehu or The Blood Brothers, meeting that kind of turn of the millenium New York Garage Rock stuff. It's a difficult listen, with heavy basslines, and vocals just belted out without much regard for tune, but there's some really interesting stuff buried in here. Gets loud and intense at times, but also quiet and mellow. There's a lot of control and a lot of anarchy here, which is a difficult line for a band to walk, but they did this really well.

Really enjoyed this one, a great way for the month of music to finish.

 

Finished it out strong.

 

...I like "I'm Not Sleeping".

 

haha I do not

 

Ha, I also like that song! The way he sings the “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…A.M., all alone again!!” is so killer.

I’ll admit it’s a record that left me a little baffled at first. As you say, it seemed too long, too full of weird little tangents, just generally exhausting. But I really came to love those things about it over time.

 

I appreciate that they didn’t want to make August 2, but they absolutely could have stripped this down to a nine of ten song tracklist that in my mind would have been stronger first/second/third listen experience.

 

This is cool! I am finally catching up on some stuff now

 

@Meerkat kinda like the idea of continuing this thread (not just 'cuz it's mine haha).

 

Not sure which thread we're using so posting it in both:

1. Television - Adventure
2. Pete Townshend - All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
3. Ken Yates - Cerulean
4. Magic Sam - West Side Soul
5. Mary Lou Williams - Zodiac Suite
6. Cris Williamson - The Changer and the Changed
7. Joe Cuba Sextette - Steppin' Out
8. Kid Creole & the Coconuts - Tropical Gangsters
9. Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Keyboard Fantasies
10. Chico Buraque - Construcao
11. Lauren Mascitti - God Made a Woman
12. Mort Garson - Mother Earth's Plantasia
13. Youssou Ndour - Immigres
14. Digital Underground - Sex Packets
15. Dr. Feelgood - Down by the Jetty
16. Finis Henderson - Finis
17. Leon Thomas - Blues and the Soulful Truth
18. Dane Donohue - Dane Donohue
19. Omar Rafaat - A Way Home
20. Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur
21. The Roches - The Roches
22. Caravels - Lacuna
23. Michael McDonald - If That's What It Takes
24. Tony Banks - The Fugitive
25. Pool Kids - Pool Kids
26. The Associates - Sulk
27. Ian & Sylvia - Northern Journey
28. Jawbreaker - Dear You