I Ate It and It Felt Good

Volume 8 (ate): Danbient (Hylton, April, 2006)

When giving an overall grade to each song I use this:  Best song EVER! = 10,
Loved it = 9, Liked it =8, Not bad = 7, Could take it or leave it = 6,
Uninspiring/boring = 5, Didn’t like it = 4, Hated it = 3, Worst song EVER! = 2,
You’re an idiot for putting this on a CD = 1.

0. Number of new songs to me on this album.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11. Song number 1’s lyrical grade. Witch Doctor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12. Song number 1’s musical grade. Witch Doctor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13. Overall grade for song number 1. Witch Doctor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

14. What do like about song number 1? Witch Doctor

I love the “Witch Doctor” voice. The beeping in a dark cavern deep underground is very haunting. What’s coming around the corner? Will I be captured? I also like the beating aspects to this song. It seems as if there is a pace master trying to keep the dwarfs on a certain pace to meet a specific goal.

15. What do you dislike about song number 1? Witch Doctor

“Are we ready to go?” At the very end those words echo out and seem to disconnect the song. I thought that it was the beginning of song two for the first few listens. “Ok, ok, ok, ready?” Not a good ending in my opinion.

16. Additional comments for song number 1: Witch Doctor

I thought that this song was a good way to grab us by the horns and rustle us into the Ambient Ranch. I love the whole witch doctor theme, but I felt as if they could have done more with that. Especially the end as I already stated above. I wish that there could have been more bizarre instruments or sounds in there somewhere. Not a bad song by any means. It did receive a 9 from me, so let’s see if it gets beat out by another tune.

21. Song number 2’s lyrical grade. Café Coca

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

22. Song number 2’s musical grade. Café Coca

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

23. Overall grade for song number 2. Café Coca

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

24. What do like about song number 2? Café Coca

I like the little monolog about meeting in one of the seventh layers of Hell. He is going to be there for not helping someone and so will the person who didn’t stop him. Interesting topic Hell is. Whoa! Yoda just possessed me for a second. A lot of people have a lot of different points of view on Hell. Not going down that road, so I will leave it at that. Another aspect that I like about this song is the pickaxe sound. I think that it might be two pieces of wood or blocks being hit. It could possibly be a stick on the edge of the drum too. I am not sure, but it sounds like a pickaxe hitting rock. Is he digging in Hell? Those going to Hell will have to send me a postcard to let me know if that’s what he is doing.

25. What do you dislike about song number 2? Café Coca

I can appreciate the lyrics of “You blow my brains out”, but they say it a little two much. Towards the end of the song, I heard enough of it. The beat for me was a little dry. The music grabbed my attention more than I think ambient music should. Not in a good way either.

26. Additional comments for song number 2: Café Coca

I would like to add that I sense a jazz connection to this song. I can hear the brass in the background. It also has a blues feel to it. There are some good aspects to this song and some not so good aspects. I felt like I was in a twisted little Jazz club somewhere in devastated New Orleans.

31. Song number 3’s lyrical grade. High Roller

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

32. Song number 3’s musical grade High Roller.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

33. Overall grade for song number 3. High Roller

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

34. What do like about song number 3? High Roller

This song has a great beat. For being ambient music this song is energizing. I see myself running around the starship Enterprise looking for stowaway aliens. I love the robot crickets chirping. The other vibration on the track sounds like a giant Venus flytrap gasping for air as it slowly digests a fuzzy tribble. A lot of great aspects in this song.

35. What do you dislike about song number 3? High Roller

I wish that there could have been a few more different sounds that took you out of this world. The chirping, the flytrap, and mission control lyrics were great, but I felt that this song had room for more different sounds. This song could have been a 10 for me if it would have completed its mission. It missed being a 10 by its inability of being slightly more creative.

36. Additional comments for song number 3: High Roller

This song has the making of being my favorite, but I have seven more songs to evaluate yet. It will be hard to beat a nine. It is possible to tie it though. As you recall, Mixdorf’s album got me to choose five of his ten as my favorites. Good stuff so far brother. I will have to go back and read other posts to see what was said about this song. With a title of High Roller, it makes you think that it should be about gambling.

41. Song number 4’s lyrical grade. Le Soleil es Pres de Moi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

42. Song number 4’s musical grade. Le Soleil es Pres de Moi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

43. Overall grade for song number 4. Le Soleil es Pres de Moi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

44. What do like about song number 4? Bonus: Tell us of a 44 memory that you have.

I really like the cymbals at the beginning of the song. I also like the speeder bike slowing to a stop at the 2:36 mark. There are some great parts to this song, but most of those where burned by the irritating things. There is some nice keyboard work at about the 3:14 mark. It is almost a solo, but I think that there is something else going on there too. I am not 100% sure about that.

45. What do you dislike about song number 4? Le Soleil es Pres de Moi

I didn’t like the soft lyrics in this song. I have to blast the song just to kind of understand what they are saying. It bothers me when I don’t understand what the artist is singing or saying. This song sounds as if it should be played in the restroom at K-mart. Not a groovy song brother. It basically sucks.

46. Additional comments for song number 4: Le Soleil es Pres de Moi

I will use this space for my 44 memory. I recall when 44 came down to UNI for a concert. They made like $600.00 bucks from that gig and they played to about nine people. That’s good money for not having anybody at a weekend party that was set up by UNI. Funny thing is that everyone from UNI went home or something because it was during Spring Break. Crazy time! I loved it thought. The worm made an appearance I think.

51. Song number 5’s lyrical grade. Kaye

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

52. Song number 5’s musical grade. Kaye

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

53. Overall grade for song number 5. Kaye

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

54. What do like about song number 5? Kaye

I like the bizarre beeps at the beginning of the song. They are also carried throughout the song. The beat is also something that I like a lot. For me this song is carried by its musical creativity. Like I said, I like the beeps along with the beat. It gives me the feeling as if I am traveling through space. The space type ambient sounds are really tripping my trigger. Sounds as if this song should be on the soundtrack to Ice Pirates. I loved that movie and I really like this song.

55. What do you dislike about song number 5? Kaye

What I didn’t like about the song was the lyrics. They were hard to understand. I realize that sometimes lyrics are subtle for a reason. Whatever the intent, it is a great pet peeve of mine to have lyrics in a song that I can’t understand. It pisses my off. My ears struggle and it throws the whole song off for me. With that said, I gave this song a high rating because the musical component really spoke to me. The lyrics were thrown out and I went with my heart. A good song Dan.

56. Additional comments for song number 5: Kaye

The voice in the song sounds like a British Prince. I am not talking about royalty. I mean the musician from Minneapolis. I should mention that the female voices are very pleasant. A wonderful harmony that is interwoven with the already subtle lyrics. Clever and it worked. Probably the thing that kept me from giving the lyrics an even lower mark.

61. Song number 6’s lyrical grade. Sea of Tranquility

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

62. Song number 6’s musical grade. Sea of Tranquility

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

63. Overall grade for song number 6. Sea of Tranquility

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

64. What do like about song number 6? Sea of Tranquility

The things that I liked about this song included almost everything. The beat was great and the musical component again struck a good cord with me. I will talk more about this in the additional comments section, but the lyrics were great. I know what you are thinking. Anyway, the lyrics were like radio transmissions that were being broken up while the astronauts were slipping onto the backside of the moon. As you know the sea of tranquility is on the moon’s surface. The Apollo 13 mission was a great human story of endurance and problem solving.

65. What do you dislike about song number 6? Sea of Tranquility

The biggest thing that would fit in this section of the songs review is the length of the song. It is good to have a good song last more than two minutes, but seven plus is a bit too long for this song. It is great, but sometimes a little less gives it a whole lot more. It is not song killer by any means. I caught myself looking at the clock on this one and that generally means that my attention span is eroding a bit. I fear some of the other songs may fall to this fate. I see a song that is 8 minutes and something long. WOW!

66. Additional comments for song number 6: Sea of Tranquility

Alright, I will try to defend my back and forth stance on lyrics. The lyrics in this song are designed to be scrambled and weak. They are broken radio signals. But when a song has hard to hear lyrics and when they are presented in a manner not like the lyrics in this song, they blow. I get Enya and also the lyrics in this song. However, I don’t get them in others. To put it simply my reason for harsh criticisms for some songs and not others is purely subjective. If it makes sense to me then I like it.

71. Song number 7’s lyrical grade. Wilderness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 N / A

72. Song number 7’s musical grade. Wilderness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

73. Overall grade for song number 7. Wilderness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

74. What do like about song number 7? Wilderness

Cleaver little song here Dan. The beginning was very impressive. The popcorning sounds were awesome. I don’t mean popcorn, but the way they move around from speaker to speaker. The instruments made insect sounds and other unidentified creature sounds. Could me imaginary creatures too. Who knows? The sound is great. I also really liked the echoing effects. It appears that the wilderness is inside some unknown and enormous cave. The cave echoes on forever it appears in a few instances. What’s ahead? Are they friendly creatures or hungry alien carnivores?

75. What do you dislike about song number 7? Wilderness

I like everything again. If there is room for improvement, I suggest that there be some type of lyrics in there. Maybe some lyrics along the lines of someone echoing something or screaming for help. “Help, I stepped in a deep pile of bat guano!”

76. Additional comments for song number 7: Wilderness

At about the 3:14ish mark there are some groovy electric banjo / guitar hybrid playing some funky strings. I really liked that aspect a lot. Good find brother.

81. Song number 8’s lyrical grade. Devotion No. 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

82. Song number 8’s musical grade. Devotion No. 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

83. Overall grade for song number 8. Devotion No. 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

84. What do like about song number 8? Devotion No. 1

LOVED THIS SONG! Best song on the album! I thought that this was a Beatles song at first. The Indian influence on the Beatles was strong, so I thought hey what gives Dan. Beatles aren’t Danbient. Then I heard the frogs, the wonderful frogs and I knew that this was not a Beatles song. I am taking liberties here as I make up my, I thought was the Beatles story. I knew it was not the Beatles. I Love the frogs! The drum sounds like a giant bullfrog slowly thumping his vocal cords inside his enlarged chin skin.

85. What do you dislike about song number 8? Devotion No. 1

Even though it was long, I was captivated by the lyrics. They were very hypnotizing to me. Great touch to the song. There is nothing that I didn’t like.

86. Additional comments for song number 8: Devotion No. 1

This song is my favorite. I know that High Roller has the same grades as this song, but Devotion No.1 has that little something extra that allowed for it to climb to the top. I think that it is the vocals that give it that twist.

Best song on the album! I will say it yet again, “Best song on the album!”

91. Song number 9’s lyrical grade. Numero Deux

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

92. Song number 9’s musical grade. Numero Deux

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

93. Overall grade for song number 9. Numero Deux

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

94. What do like about song number 9? Numero Deux

There are some nice components to this song. I like the heavy breathing and the I assume egg rattles (maracas?). There was not a lot of lyrics in this song, but I did like “What’s that flying in the sky?”

95. What do you dislike about song number 9? Numero Deux

I really didn’t like the beat. It seemed too familiar or common. I would rather hear more drums and less bass guitar. That’s just a preference of mine.

96. Additional comments for song number 9: Numero Deux

I thought that the song could have used a few more vocals. Ambient music is tricky. We are use to lyrics in our songs, but ambient music can and does often not hold to that standard. One of my favorite CD’s is the Myst soundtrack. That is all ambient music. It is hard to be objective, and not to grade in comparison to the norm.

101. Song number 10’s lyrical grade. Rapture at Sea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

102. Song number 10’s musical grade. Rapture at Sea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

103. Overall grade for song number 10. Rapture at Sea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

104. What do like about song number 10? Rapture at Sea

I really liked the bubbling beeps throughout the song. This song had a great beat also. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t stand out for me.

105. What do you dislike about song number 10? Rapture at Sea

The length again was long for this one. I missed some vocals. Not every song has to have them, but it didn’t stand out on it’s own not to have at least some to make it special.

106. Additional comments for song number 10: Rapture at Sea

This is a good song that could have been made better with some more creative aspects.

Final Grade for: Danbient

1 2 3 4 5 6 7.1 8 9 10

The chance of me hearing this album again in the next year is at what percentage?

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

My favorite Dan created CD to date: DanPR

Final comments: Wow, what a bold theme! I applaud Dan with his bravery and vision in putting an album like this together. I really enjoyed it and I know that I will be listening to it again and again. Some of the songs were ok and could have been better, but all in all there was not a song that I will skip over. When I listen to this album, I will listen straight through and enjoy it completely. This is a good album to listen to while you work. I have a prediction about Dan’s next album, but I will wait to tell you that I was correct when the next Dan album comes out. I will tell Gibbs and he will verify it for me when it comes to be.

Mighty Tom REhabilitated by Volume Nine!

Volume 9

RE

Re re re re. No, not Scooby Doo, Aaron Johnson’s Volume 9! A very interesting idea, but a tricky one for me. I am normally not a huge fan of remakes, specifically recent remakes of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ and the even worse cover of Rick Springfield’s 'Jesse’s Girl', the names of the bands luckily escape me. The songs in this collection do not fall into this category. How could it? Beck and Hendrix are two of my top ten artists. I love Costello, Bjork, and lately I’ve been digging some Cash. The majority of this collection was familiar to me from the start, with a few pleasant surprises and only one unpleasant surprise.

I plainly see distinctions between remakes, covers, reversions AND remixes.

I like Aaron’s use of the word Reversion to indicate a worthwhile visit by an artist to an older recording of a song. An interpretation. For me, these are few and rare. Covers and remakes stand on suspect ground. I’ll explore a little on “why.” Covers are an essential part of pop music. I may bemoan it from time to time (due to lack of interest and ability), but the fact is thievery IS the beautiful act of song writing. Original thinking IS building on what you heard a second ago. Scooby Doo poops so that YOU may pick it up. The Beatles cut their teeth on covers and are the first to admit to borrowing or stealing on those that went before. I admit it as well. There is nothing wrong with it, except in some cases, EVERYTHING. The recent King Kong comes to mind. But back to the good – I should replace stealing and borrowing with GROWTH. I think in terms of art, this may be the more appropriate word. In most cases. So many terrible violations. I told you covers were on suspect ground, right? I keep telling myself that covers are important and necessary, but always on the verge of thinking they are useless. The Beatles cut their teeth on covers, but earned their stripes with their original compositions.

How do I like a cover?

-The only version that I was aware of, or a version I grew up with. Example: Twist and Shout by The Beatles.

-I liked the song originally and like the band that recorded it again. Example: Bohemian Rhapsody by the Flaming Lips. This is a little complex. I like the Flaming Lips and like their version of the song. As much as Queen’s? – not even close. This was a bonus track for the Flaming Lips. I am glad it was not part of an album, because a recorded version of any cover is always on especially suspect ground. What’s the point!? The time, the resources.

I see a big difference between Sinead’s use of ‘All Apologies’ on Universal Mother and the recent covers of ‘Smooth Criminal’ and ‘Jesse’s Girl.’ It is often a shameless attempt for a band (and their producers) to use a lame cover to score a hit on top 40 radio. This is my conflict. Are recorded covers worth it? I think in the end it balances out. Sinead’s cover balances out the Jesse’s Girls of the world. It has to. There are many examples of recorded covers that I deeply enjoy, but for every one I fear there is also another example of horrid music making. (This is to say nothing about ORIGINAL horrid music makers. These are your braver souls.) The Alternative Factor. Wrestling forever to save us from annihilation. Do they cancel each other out? What are they saving us from? Wilma?

-A live version. The most forgivable and enjoyable form of cover is the Experience of Live Music. If you are witness to a band performing live and they break into a cover it can be among the most magical of musical moments. U2 comes to mind. Occasionally these can trickle down to albums or live albums – for better or for worse. Again, the balance of the Universe. Teela help us!

Remixes: This is out of balance. There are so many more BAD remixes out there compared to good ones. A producer or DJ adds some bongos and bam! ‘You Can Dance’ by Madonna is released – eagerly grabbed up by Mighty Tom who forces a young student by the name of Mixdorf to sit in front of speakers and listen to the whole DAMN thing!! A hilarious story of friendship and torture.

Really Regarding RE

Once again, excellent design. Obviously a fan of the bonus disc, I like the idea of the bonus/source disc. I will reference the originals in terms of how I feel they compare to the remakes and/or remixes.





1. Bit Rate Variations in B Flat (Girl)

I have both Guerro and the EP and so I was fairly familiar with both of these versions. I know it is very Becky to use arcadey sounds and effects, but it is a little much with this remix. I kinda like how the sounds become a little more cohesive during the chorus, around 39 seconds and then later on as well. I am not a “gamer” and as mentioned above, not a huge fan of remixes, so this song had little chance of making a huge impact on me.

I much prefer the original from the album, the definitive version, which I really like. Beck may not have even had much to do with this remix – the vocal track sounds pretty much the same, just dialed back a bit to favor the arcade. This remix pales in comparison to the original. The song is so good, in my opinion, that had the original not existed, I would probably like this version more than I do currently. It would be a very interesting experiment, would I like all Beck songs more if all the arcade sort of noises were stripped away? How much more could I like Beck? So, do I hate this version, no. I simply prefer the original, a song I really like.

Original version wins.



2. Against All Odds

Where song number one was a remix, here we have our first cover. The intro seemed redundant, about a minute long. This was a cheesy song to begin with, was the reason to record this version only for humor? A deeply personal favorite of one of the band members? Or an attempt to score an easy chart hit? Was this released? Recorded for an album? I think it would have been most effective as a live version, even cool AND funny. I know this was the Postal Service, but it was effectively death cabbed. Novelty gave way quickly to staleness.

I can appreciate Phil’s version: melody, arrangement and if I let myself go just a bit further, it can almost make me cry, but the words stink so bad that the passion makes me laugh.

Original version wins.



3. God Only Knows

I love this song. I love this version. I really like the Beach Boys version. I still need to zone out and hear Pet Sounds. Love the French Horn, great song, melody, singing, and though the words are not much better than Against All Odds – I believe the combo of words and music transcend the individual components, like so much music from that time period.

I’ve been intrigued by the Brodsky Quartet and love Costello, listening to a ton over the past year. I love the sounds of the strings. A live version, an excellent performance, wonderful interpretation – a GREAT, worthwhile version of God Only Knows. A treat. I cannot believe how good Elvis sounds. I do not know if I have heard him live before. A superb artist – in every sense of the word. He never ceases to amaze me.

Where The Postal Service lamed out with their intro, here we have an interesting “Nature Boyish” intro complete with beautiful musical flourishes. Elvis Costello at his most triumphant.

Tie game.


4. Little Wing

So much about a remake is about context. SRV is a fantastic guitarist, but consider the context of a Hendrix cover to jam to – a luxury. SRV didn’t have to record vocals because WE know the vocals so well. They are so much a part of the song.

The craft of the Hendrix version is startling. The exercise of the SRV version is respectable. SRV has a mastery of the guitar and he played the piss out of Little Wing, no doubt, but it doesn’t hold a moonbeam, for me, to the original.

It is neat to hear, and it will go on the ole iPod.

Original version wins.




5. Like Someone in Love

I knew Bjork didn’t write this song, but was Coltrane really the first to record it? Who wrote the words? I like the song and thought it fit in well on Debut. I like the background crowd and ocean noises as well as the harp. I really like the vocal thing she does at 3:10. Bjork is always good for neat vocal thingies. I enjoyed the Coltrane version, wondered when we might hear some jazz come Johnson way. Great sax playing. Only Daphne could play it better. All about mouth muscles.

All the more amazing if Bjork wrote and sang the words based on Coltrane’s recording, if that is the way it went.

Remake version wins.


6. Friend of the Devil

Sorry dude. Not a fan of the Grateful Dead or Lyle Lovett and this song did not do anything to change that, unfortunately.

Game called off.


7. Mixed Bizness

How exciting that day must have been for you, to recognize the song on the way to work and then track it down. I can really appreciate that.

I love love the original, but this is a good interpretation. I have never heard of Dr. Lonnie Smith. It took me a while to get into it, but I dig it. The good ole doctor giving us a dose of Beck. I really like the faint vocal in the background. It embodies other songs too – don’t you think?

Original version wins.




8. Father Lucifer

I love this song.

The remix to me is really more a remake. It just happens to be the same artist remixed by somebody else. An amazing remix then, since that is what it is officially. And, I’ll go on, this is quite possibly the GREATEST REMIX I have ever heard in my life!

I like it better than the original. A remix! Only on a Johnson compilation would this be possible! The original has a very old timey piano sound to it, which is my favorite part from the original. The song itself is very Amos like and I think too Amos like (voice, thematic hang-ups, easily could have been on Under the Pink) which could be why I like the remake so much – it is Amos, but it’s as if she worked with Eno or went for something very differently stylistically. I think it is pretty wild. I love the new sounds and how they work with the piano and vocal. Love that bendy stringy sound. To call this simply a worthwhile remix would be an understatement! I love this remix! If I only heard the original, I would have only thought of it as an OK song, but this remix has elevated it into a song that I love to hear. I had never heard either of these versions prior to this volume.


Remix version wins.


9. Big Time Sensuality

It would be hard not to like any version of this song. Bjork was something totally new with her ‘Debut’ release. This is a great song. It really moves. I love the original, but I also really enjoy this remix. What an acrobatic voice. I completely LOVE the “knee haw” at 2:49 in the original or 2:50 in the remix. I also like the way the added horn(y) bit develops around 3:04 and 3:06. The remix has a dramatic intro. A bit Danbient, if you will. I do like the remix and glad to have heard it, but I do think the original is great enough to have survived on its own.

“it takes courage to enjoy it…” Not much Bjork. Not much.

If Big Time Sensuality has you thinking again about Daphne’s powerful mouth muscles, that’s OK.

Original Version wins.





10. Hurt

I like the Johnny Cash version. Powerful, emotive telling. Aaron made a mix CD for me that I refer to as Aaron Moving (it became a sort of soundtrack for me during my move) and this version of Hurt was included. It was too depressing initially, and I would often skip over it in favor of some Costello, but with additional listens I’ve grown to really like it.

Powerful build-ups mixed with his voice add an “endness” feel to the man singing, very poignant. This is a little more difficult to compare to the original. I like the original, an END to a pretty incredible album, very much a part of a larger work. The newer version works more as a single, a stand-alone.


Tie game.



Final Scores

The originals: 5
Remakes: 1
Remixes: 1
Tie Games: 2 (both included a remake and an original)
Called off: 1

An interesting exploration into my feelings and thoughts about covers and remixes; and though five originals did win as suggested by my earlier comments, five originals also did NOT win. In fact, not only did a remake win, but there were two ties, and most surprising, a remix actually won. Out of the ten songs (originals included) I really like/love eight of them.

What do I take away from this besides some fun additions to my iPod? That, in general, I am more of a fan of originals, BUT, there are no absolutes for me in the realm of music. I can be powerfully moved by music no matter who is performing it, who wrote it, and whether or not it was live or studio recorded. If you simply like it or not is the beginning of any deeper analysis. The essence of this club. You like. You don’t. The foundation for more interesting conversation and comments.

As unpaid music reviewers we have the privilege of pressure free, BS free, music reviews, outside of an industry focused on a target and advertisers. This is our power. Our joy. No Shaggy. Only Doo.

At the bookstore, we sell a few music magazines (and some other more interesting types of mags) and what I like best about CMC (aside from doing it hard with friends) is the honesty and the lack of fucking advertisements.

Thank you Aaron for your efforts putting these two compilations together. Another enjoyable twist of the club, like a twist of orange, I’m always underneath with mouth agape, waiting for the next drop.




My BS of the collection

God Only Knows – Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Boys

Father Lucifer was the runner-up.


SIWHI

‘Memphis, Tennessee’ Beatles version of the Chuck Berry shuffle

REmix Music - Pat Reviews Volume 9

REmixes – tracks 1, 8 and 9
Covers – tracks 2, 4, 6, and 10
Live – track 3
InspiREd by – track 5 and 7

That’s my tally anyway, and actually quite a diverse assemblage under such a simple banner. I have opinions generally about all of these subtypes and will elucidate further as things progress.

General thoughts:

The idea of an all-cover collection crossed my mind, and I pursued it far enough to know I couldn’t really pull it off in a very satisfactory way. Perhaps AJ went through the same contortion, finding himself on right foot red, left hand blue and no way to get left foot yellow. Maybe not. I half expected an intro to jazz this time around.

This is the first collection put together by someone other than me where I 'know' all of the songs (the source material) though not necessarily these versions. I’m not sure whether that makes me a fair judge relative to these varREations on the themes, since I have a strong connection to most of these.

Quite a wide variation of quality to my ear, ranging the full gamut on TClog’s crossed rubricon of music (more on that coming from the man himself). And with that, onto the specifics. (and I’m going to review these without listening to the source material, relying on my memory to draw the comparisons – there will be errors)

The REmixes

In my experience, REmixes are made by people who think the original songs aren’t quite dancey enough to make frequent rotations at dance clubs. To that end they add a bass track that deaf people could dance to, one that you feel more than you hear. All subtlety found in the original song is thrown entirely out the window, and you’re left with something that people who otherwise would get lost in the rhythm can navigate with ease. In most cases, I despise Remixes, as you well may have guessed from the previous passage, but occasionally there can be a good one.

Track 1 – Bit Rate Variations in B-flat (girl)

This is not one of the good ones. It doesn’t really suffer from the usual REmix problem, but where ambient artists LOVE space, REmix artists seem to revere early video game music, and this song takes that love to a whole new level. I’m actually surprised that the title doesn’t say something about Nintendo circa 1984. My ears hear the original Super Mario, perhaps a little Excite Bike, and a whole lot of Moon Patrol. Yuck. If the original people who created the music for those games could have programmed something more elaborate than they did, they would have, and while their original efforts should be praised for making the most of a bad situation, it should not be held up as a goal. This version takes a good little Beck song and makes it something far worse than it was. As someone who rode the wave of early video games, and loved every minute, I might be one who would feel some nostalgia from this, but I do not. It makes me wince.

Ah, driving across the lunar landscape jumping craters all the while. I was never good at that game.

Track 8 – Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen Remix)

Now this one is subtle. This one, with the last totally destroys my premise about REmixes, though I’ll stand strong on that even still. I like the original version of this song, and like this version as well. This seems like it could have been the original version, and that’s a good thing for me.

Tori Amos exploded onto my scene in my last year of college. Her first album (Little Earthquakes) was quite amazing. The albums since have been good though none quite as remarkable as the first. Hard to follow up such a strong debut. I saw her in concert once, in Cedar Rapids, and she was excellent.

Track 9 – Big Time Sensuality (Indeterminate Remix)

I know this version from somewhere, though I cannot recall where or what. Perhaps it shows up in a movie?

This one fits the dance club mold of Remixes a bit better than the other two. It does more than the original version to maintain a danceable beat, though it still has the slow beginning, which I would think is just death for a dance club.

All in all I find this version to be palatable though I would never seek it out in lieu of the original.

The Covers

Covers have a generally long and positive history. There are plenty of bad ones, but where would the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin have been without their early versions of 50’s blues and early rock and roll songs; probably far less popular than they were. I’m pretty tolerant of covers. If it’s a song that moves you, and you feel you can do something with it, have at it. If there were no covers would anyone know All Along the Watchtower?

Track 2 – Against All Odds

Boy, who would have know the splash that Mr. Gibbard would make in this club? He’s now shown up on 1/3 of all the collections so far, in one form or another. And what of Phil Collins? Recently divorced from his latest wife, a lifetime removed from his success of the late 80’s. The man was nearly unstoppable. From the last years of Genesis, to his performance at both venues of Live Aid (London and Philadelphia) to his appearances on Miami Vice, the man was everywhere. Then what? Too much success stripped him of what edge he had and then the dreaded Disney. Today, a footnote.

I have to say, the lyrics of this song are pretty good for what they are. I wouldn’t play it at a wedding, but there are some good things in there. As to the Postal Service version….I don’t find that it adds significantly to the song either musically or emotionally. I’m not a fan of the distant vocals at the beginning, and while the staccato/syncopated percussion is interesting, I find it distracts from the message of the song.

Track 4 – Little Wing

I’ve long owned The Sky is Crying, and while I don’t listen to it often there is a great deal to like on it. The man was a virtuoso guitarist and this song shows his talent off to a great degree. He doesn’t overdue it or ham it up. It seems to be in the spirit of the original, though compared to inimitable guitar virtuosity, it would be hard to match the original. A good song.

Track 6 – Friend of the Devil

Torn. My dislike of The Grateful Dead is deep. I find them unbelievably bland, in the same way that I find Steely Dan boring to tears. Both may exhibit remarkable musicianship, but despite rather large lexicons neither has created much that cheered my heart.

I do however like Lyle Lovett. He’s a credit to music. Anyone that can make a beautiful song about riding a pony on a boat gets kudos from me.

So lucky for me, Lyle has decided to cover one of the Grateful Dead songs that I kinda like. That and Ripple, of which Jane’s Addiction does a lovely version on the same tribute album.

Track 10 - Hurt

This song fascinated me when I first learned of its existence. Johnny was going through an experimental stage (some may call it crass commercialism) at the time and this seemed like an interesting choice from a man who had spent a portion of his life battling the demons that this song seems to summon. I was a fan of the original, a NIN tour de force from an excellent album.

Alas, listening to this song over and over as part of the club, its weakness has been made apparent. The lyrics don’t seem strong enough for such a spare arrangement. The soundscape of original did more for it than I would have thought. But I still like it. It’s just less than I imagined it might be.

Live

Live tracks are tricky bunch. If you weren’t there it’s often tough to get the most out of them. There are things that the crowd is responding to that you obviously can’t fully understand. (this is for tracks recorded live including crowd noise – as opposed to tracks recorded without) You can get some pretty good performances, and there are some live versions of songs that I like as much or more than the originals, but more often than not they are best if you’ve experienced the live in person.

Track 3 – God Only Knows

When I bought the Juliet Letters shortly (1993) there was no ‘bonus disc’. Or perhaps I was too cheap to buy the 2 cd version. I simply don’t recall. Update - according to Allmusic, the 2cd version is from 2006.

I know this song, but it is not on the Juliet Letters that I have. Duh. Beach Boys. From the supposedly revolutionary Pet Sounds – the Sgt Pepper of the west coast beach scene. I still have never listened to Pet Sounds and I’m reasonably certain I would be underwhelmed, now almost 40 years removed from the context that made it revolutionary. I struggle with the revolutionary nature of Sgt. Pepper too, though it’s filled with great songs. I just can’t put myself in the place of 60’s teeny bopper; too much water under the bridge.

Back to the task at hand…. the Juliet Letters cd has lots of good stuff on it, though since I am not the one to be judging the quality of classical quartets, I’m left reviewing the Elvis Costello parts. This version is certainly an enjoyable one, though I find myself distracted by the crowd noises. They seem to be in on something that I never will be, and that hurts me. I want to be part of the in crowd. But again, alas, I shall sit here alone typing my comments, the sound of happy people reverberating through my head. EC is in fine voice, for him, and the vibe of the whole thing is fine enough.

InspiREd by

Hollywood has taken the Inspired by notion and turned it into a minor soundtrack industry. My first recollection of this sub-sub genre was the soundtrack to Dick Tracy, which I think Mighty Tom may have owned – may still – more as a symptom of his Madonna-mania than anything else, and possibly for revealing pictures of said artist to be found therein. There have been a number of such soundtrack-esque albums since then.

These two tracks aren’t exactly that phenomenon, though they do seem to be in the same family.

Track 5 – Like Someone in Love

I get the jazz standard connection, but this track of the ten is a stretch to fit in the RE concept. I suppose that I could have lumped EC and TBQ into the ‘inpired by’ camp, though TBQ is a classical quartet, so it would really only be EC being inspired. Whatever.

I like Bjork a lot, and I like this song too. Lots of interesting things going on in the background at various times, and her accent makes her all so lovable.

Track 7 – Mixed Buziness

This track sounds familiar, though without listening to the source material, I’ve doomed myself to ignorance.

I like Beck, and this jazzy interpretation is enjoyable.

Wrap It Up

I feel like I was pretty hard on AJ, or on his choices, but despite my criticism most of what I found here-in was very listenable. The only track I found objectionable was the first one. Sadly, this collection doesn’t really open any doors for me. Oh well. Better luck next time.

BS – the Remix of Father Lucifer.

SIWHI – too hard to choose

Volume 9: RE

RE-made, and RE-mixed. That is what ties this collection together. Each song is a remake, or a remix.

Before we go any further, and before Dan gets his panties in a bunch, I want to warn you that when you open the packages that will be arriving in the next few days, there will be two CDs enclosed. One is the actual collection; the second is a companion disk (RE wound) that contains the original recordings/versions. The "RE wound" disk is for reference only, and then only if you wish to use it. If you want to make comments specifically on these original versions I would suggest we do that in The Annex. In fact, I will be posting info on the originals in that space soon. Make no mistake, this collection is about the "RE" versions.

I thought about seeking out other remakes that might be more obscure, but I decided that this should be about songs I know, and there were enough already that I love to fill the disk. I'm not going to comment on my feelings on these songs (I will later), I'll leave that to you for now, but I will give a little background on each.

1. Beck: "BIT RATE VARIATIONS IN B-FLAT (Girl)," Hell Yes - EP
This is a remix of "Girl" from Beck's album Guero. This is actually the first version I heard of this song. It is from an exclusive iTunes pre-release EP.

2. The Postal Service: "Against All Odds," Against All Odds - Single
I discovered this one after DaNPR, while looking for more on "Such Great Heights."

3. Elvis Costello; The Brodsky Quartet: "God Only Knows (live)," The Juliet Letters (Bonus Disc)
Just like it says, this is off the bonus disk of The Juliet Letters, Costello's collaboration with The Brodsy Quartet.

4. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: "Little Wing," The Sky Is Crying
SRV's cover of a Jimi classic. He died before the vocals were recorded, but I don't think that matters.

5. Björk: "Like Someone In Love," Debut
This one is Björk's take on a jazz standard. It is off her solo debut, "Debut."

6. Lyle Lovett: "Friend of the Devil," Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead
I'm not sure how I came across this one. Most likely during my short venture into file sharing. The album is self-explanatory. I don't own it.

7. Dr. Lonnie Smith: "Mixed Buziness," Boogaloo To Beck
I became aware of this album thanks to The Current. Heard that jazzy organ on my way to work, and recognized it as a Beck tune. I got to work before hearing who it was, so I emailed The Current, and had ordered it later that day from YourMusic.com

8. Tori Amos: "Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen Remix)," Jackie's Strength (5" EP)
Remix of "Father Lucifer." The original appears on Boys for Pele

9. Björk: "Big Time Sensuality," ???
I first heard this version in a video on the Volumen DVD. Tracked it down, again during my short venture into file sharing. I have no idea which single, or EP this might be from. I'm not even sure of the actual title of the remix.

10. Johnny Cash: "Hurt," American IV: The Man Comes Around
J. R., meet Trent. Trent, J. R.

Danbient and the Aaronosphere

First of all who is that Andorian on the cover?

Ambient music is not generally something I seek out, but it can have its place. My biggest problem is that I don't find most of it that interesting. So much of it is loops that could be easily created by anyone with the right software. In fact, I created a bit of what might pass as ambient as a music bed for the intro, transitions, and menus for my resume DVD using Apple's "Soundtrack” software that ships with “Final Cut Pro.” If I had "Garage Band" it would be even easier. Maybe I'll e-mail a sample to everyone.

If I want some background music, I am more likely to put in some classical/baroque music, or some modal jazz. For me these genres have many layers of listenability. They can act as background, and yet can be incredibly emotive, and complex. Kind of Blue (Miles Davis) is likely the pinnacle of modal jazz (and possibly recorded music). It is an incredibly versatile recording for me. Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik was composed as ambient music. “A Little Night Music.” Most chamber music was in fact meant to be played in the background.

So, I tend to choose music I see as even more versatile than most of what is called “Ambient.” But, I'm no music snob, and I refuse to dismiss Outsider Art (which I believe loop based music can be to an extent). It is still art, and this is still music. Is it good music? Let's see.

(One additional note concerning Dan's introductory comments, if I am not mistaken (and I am pretty sure I am not) dub really isn't a form of electronica. It is more akin to reggae, with the artist being the DJ spinning records, and rapping over them. Does that sound right, or are there two types of dub?)

1. "Witch Doctor," Small Axe:
Blah. This one does absolutely nothing for me. I find this one slow, plodding, and boring. I actually find the bass line annoying. I'm pretty sure this was all loops, except for the spoken bits, and it simply doesn't hold my interest. This is one I will be skipping over if it comes up in party shuffle.

2. "Café Coca," De-Phazz:
An improvement. It sounds like mostly loops, possibly sampled. Overall it is decent background, and starts to rise to a higher level. Just as I am about to become bored with it all the trombone solo comes in. It is a tasty solo that fits with the piece well, but nothing terribly interesting. I wonder if it is sampled, or was new to this piece. This is one that could be added to a party mix, nice enough, without overpowering the conversation. Good background, but it doesn't blow my brains out.

3. "High Roller," The Crystal Method:
This is the one group that I have heard of, and I have heard a couple of their songs, but I couldn't tell you which ones. I find the repeated "this transmission is coming to you" at the beginning a bit annoying, but musically this one progresses nicely. Elements come in at the right times to keep it interesting. I too love the guitar at 2:30. Dan's right about the space thing, "We can see the Earth now..." But musically, I can also envision a very stylized video shot in time-lapse driving down the Las Vegas strip, and walking down Freemont Street in downtown at night. With one minute left, they're leaving Las Vegas, and heading into the quiet lonely desert. This one is a keeper

4. "Le Soleil est Près de Moi," Air:
I think I have to disagree with Dan on the bass here. I think it is a sampled bass, the attacks are too uniform to be live. This one keeps it interesting. It doesn't rely heavily on loops, and there are more melodic elements, and a more interesting harmonic structure than some of the other selections. I really like this one, it is relaxing, and works well on many levels, which we have established is necessary.

5. "Kaye," 7-Hurtz:
This one is ok. Good background, and could be added to the "party mix." Not much in here rises above pleasant background for me though.

6. "Sea of Tranquility," John Stanford:
Another good background piece. Some nice dynamics to keep it from getting boring, but not much in the way of harmonic variance. The repeated keyboard (which one, right?) part grows a little thin for me. Also could be added to the party, but not much jumps out at me.

7. "Wilderness," Bluetech:
The melodic nature of this one tells me that there is more to this one than just pre-recorded loops. I could stare off into nothingness and zone to this one. There are enough changes here to keep it from becoming tiresome, but more ignorable that interesting. A good background piece, but not much more for me.

8. "Devotion No. 1," Loop Guru:
I really dig this one. There is a great deal of interesting things going on, and new elements coming in at regular intervals. This is a wonderful meditative groove that, as Dan mentioned, makes sense given their name. I don't own much Indian music, well none really, except Ravi's bit at the beginning of “Concert for Bangladesh,” which I love. I have cued this one up a few times at work when I need a quick calm. I usually have some CD that I can use for this (When you work with morons...), but Loop Guru has taken over due to my repeated listenings getting ready to write these comments. This song seems shorter than it's 8:02 run time.

9. "Numero Deux," The Dining Rooms:
I am not completely convinced that it is a real bass. Well, actually I do think it is at the beginning, but not for the reasons Dan does. The squeaks could be samples in and of themselves. Many syths have entire banks of string noise effects like these. But I do think it is live at the beginning, because the attacks aren't quite uniform. Later I think it goes to a loop, and the squeaks seem to disappear. But what do I think of the song? It's ok, but this is another that doesn't hold my interest beyond pure background music. One thing that I have tried with each of these while listening on my iPod is to scroll ahead 15-13 seconds at a time, and see if there is much of a change. This one is the most uniform throughout. Still, it is pleasant enough, and I wouldn't pass it by in the Party Shuffle.

10. "Rapture at Sea," Eastern Sun & John Kelley:
Yet another selection that has nice elements, and makes a wonderful backdrop. It builds nicely in the beginning, but then kind of reaches a plateau, and doesn’t seem to develop further. Nice for a party mix, but again, this is one that doesn’t rise above the background for me. Entrancing, but not compelling.

Wrap it up:
Well, overall I enjoyed this collection. The only selection I disliked was Witch Doctor. While I found most of these pieces to be pleasant, and ignorable (not a bad thing in this genre it has been established), only a couple rose to the level of interesting for me. As I mentioned over and over in the individual comments, most of these will not be passed up when they appear in iTunes Party Shuffle, and quite a few will be making their way into the iPod party mix and will be heard on poker nights in the garage.

BS: It comes down to a tie. I tried to decide between one and the other, but just couldn’t. “Le Soleil est Près de Moi,” and “Devotion No. 1”
SIWHI: “So What” Miles Davis

It was here, but now it's gone...

Um, again, because I didn't write it down, 7-Hurtz, "Kaye," or "Tension on Sight?" And either MT or Mix missed it too. My comments are all but done (since Sunday), just one more song to get to tonight.

Mighty Tom basking in the Danbience!

Volume 8

Danbient

I really enjoyed this collection. I also enjoyed reading and rereading your comments. Very nice! I knew that Dan had been listening to ambient music, but did not guess that this would have been his next offering. The album art is really great! I love the colors and the eclipse reflects the musical themes of many of the songs perfectly. The word ‘Danbient’ is quite clever in and of itself.

Ambient. Atmosphere. Coming at you from all sides. The ambient function on the drum machine that Dan and I have used actually has a setting called “space” which is funny because of the multiple space connections that Dan has noted on many of these songs. Good ole space!

My clock radio has a relatively famous “ambient” setting. Some folks sit around with pot and lava lamps. How about pizza and ambient clock radio sound? Whoa! Nothing like that to relax after a viewing of a Star Trek episode – unless it was simply another episode of sleep, in which case you really might need that ambient sound of your alarm clock!

What is ambient MUSIC then? I think Dan’s service to the club is at least two-fold. One, he has educated us a bit about what ambient music is and two, he has weeded through so much ambient music to filter out this fine representation of a genre we may not have been very familiar with.

I am very grateful that Dan chose ambient music with funk, dance, and hip-hop inclinations! So easy to swallow.

Dan’s “non-demanding background aural landscape” works for me, as does the quote by Eno to explain what ambient music is.

Ambient music, especially the selections here, can be related to transient, techno, atmospheric, and hip-hop music. Mortal Combat Soundtrack songs and The Beastie Boys are about as close that I come to owning anything close to ambient music (that is, until the arrival of Vol. 8). I have had to separate myself from thinking of ambient music as pop songs. This is certainly a departure for the club. They are very long songs that, like hip-hop, have arrangements where a new element is added at strategic points, until at which time the producer feels he or she has had enough and fades it down. Unlike hip-hop and pop in general, these songs have no lyrical direction and are free to meander through a mood or feeling– the essence of ambience. Many of these songs could easily be used as soundtrack material.

This marks the first time in the club when I did not already own one of the songs – or even anything by any of the artists. All songs and artists were entirely new to me. I may have heard of the Crystal Method before, but that’s about it. Very new to me through and through.

I love Dan’s “..French guys in one of their mother’s basement” just cranking out these songs. Living in their Nerdtopia.

I can and usually do DO stuff while listening to music, though I can also simply do nothing BUT listen to music. However, ambient music and jazz fall into the category of music where I really need to be doing something to listen. I listen better to rock/pop and classical music when I just listen and do nothing else. I listen better to ambient music and jazz when I am doing something. Preparing food, cleaning, and especially driving. In fact, ambient music is GREAT to drive to. A somewhat interesting connection between jazz and ambient music – ambient being simpler, but both incorporating free forms and both excellent in the background.

I truly love McCartney’s Fireman and had hoped to see a song or two included here, though Dan has informed me as to his reasons why he did not. For those that do not know – Paul McCartney (former Beatle) under the guise of Fireman, has put together at least two ambient/transient sort of albums-both excellent. Dan can tell you more if you would like more information.

I have no basis to make comments on the artists except to echo Dan’s hilarious remark about The Crystal Method being France’s answer to The Chemical Brothers. Every country and their mother (usually England) has an answer for The Chemical Bros. No band has ever demanded so many answers as the Chemical Brothers. Now with Danbient, we have ALL the answers!

Now, a few comments about each of the songs.



1. Witch Doctor

I really like the bass line.

The constant reminder that the song is entitled “Witch Doctor” constantly reminds me that the song is titled “Witch Doctor.”

Like many of the songs, these could be used as a backdrop to scenes in movies. Yes, scenes in movies about dwarves. I can see the dwarves digging in the deep under the cruel supervision of the Doctor. The dwarves are oppressed, but sing while they dig, despite the horrid conditions. More Disney than Tolkien here.



2. Café Coca

I think the music matches the title very nicely, if not the subject matter. I was struck by the connection to Dante’s description of hell. The Seventh circle contains the realms (circles as referred to by De-Phazz) of violence – against neighbor, self, and god. The line “you’ll be there for not being able to stop me” refers to the “blow my brains out” bit (violence against self).

Instead of an inferno, we have a setting of a wild alienish café. A new take on hell. Wonderful!




3. High Roller

One of my favorites on the CD. The pimply spaz with no date is out of control. I love Dan’s description in his comments. The cool as a cucumber guy is Johnny Cash! “We’ve got it.” Listen carefully to the voice – cool Cash! If it is a Johnny Cash sample, the title would suddenly make perfect sense!!!

I like this song for many of the same reasons as Dan. It really gets you going, exciting and dramatic, with excellent build-ups. I can see myself dialing this song up occasionally on the ole iPod.




4. Le Soleil est Pres de Moi

Reminds me of the creepy robots from the Bee Gee infested Sgt. Pepper movie. This song has a 70s afternoon feel to it.



5. Tension on Sight

Ewan McGregor – now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.

The woman is so hot that your light saber turns on instantly. An awkwardness exists, only one thing can cut this tension and it’s all ready to go. Do you explain it? Walk away? No you cannot walk away. Someone might see. What would you say? What could you do?



6. Sea of Tranquility

This song took a little while to grow on me, but I have become a fan. It definitely captures a feel. Helplessness, a slow journey into an unknown. A little Space Oddity feeling going on.

There is a Stingish/Enyaish sound that is playing a nifty little lick – a type of melody unique on this CD. I like it.




7. Wilderness

Oh yes – I can totally see this in Master Blaster. The Lost Levels. Mixdorf, as the only person in the world to have found them has achieved fame and renown amongst the international gaming community. I like some of the sounds used in this one, especially the steel drum through a wah wah pedal type of sound.



8. Devotion #1

I am a sucker for Indian music or music made with Indian instruments. It was practically a given that I would like this song. It could be that when and if I ever have my fill of rock music, I just might spend the rest of my days listening to Indian music.

I love the sounds of nature mixed with the drums, voice, and other Indian instruments. The mantra is effective and I wish I knew what the words were saying. Any clues from your source Dan? The voice is airy and works in well with the rest of the sounds. It builds nicely and never loses the focus on the repeated phrase.

Reminds me occasionally of ‘Baby You’re a Rich Man’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. I really like this one.




9. Numero Deux

When I mentioned The Beastie Boys, this is the song that I was specifically referring to. You can almost hear Ad Rock squawking over the top. The marimba type instrument totally reminds me of ‘Hello Nasty’ as does the sound that begins at 2:28. “What’s That Flying in The Sky?” just the B-Boys like sardines in a tin can – that’s all. I’d like to know the names of the people who worked on this record. I wonder if we’d recognize any of them. Great beat.



10. Rapture At Sea

Eastern Sun stopped working with Mike Kelley in the late 20th Century. Mike was getting into coke (like who was into coke in the late 20th century?) and was clouding up Eastern Sun’s vision. I really liked your gravity car description.

Hickaman. He once had an idea for magnet cars - back in Intermediate School. Grids and huge magnets and copper cars and traffic controls. I watched him as he spoke. He had some real passion for it. That boy was swell.



Closing Comment

Great addition to the club. It was fun getting to know ambient music and I look forward to these songs popping up in the shuffle. Cover art, comments, song selection were all very strong. As stated before – I do appreciate these songs being culled with care and presented to us, your club mates, for review and enjoyment. Thanks!


My BS of the collection

Devotion #1

High Roller was a fairly close second. Sea of Tranquility was under surprise consideration.


SIWHI

Anything from The Fireman.

Ambidextrous: Mix Reviews Volume 8

No matter what the musical genre is, if it's got a hook, be it a groove, or just a great melody, there's a good chance I'll like it. So it is with whatever this genre is. I certainly have some issues with it, which I will try to elucidate in my song by song run down, but there's plenty to like.

Would I enjoy an entire album from any of these artists? Maybe. Would I listen to it often? Probably not, for it's relatively rare that my musical listening finds me wanting just background noise. At work, if I listen to music it means I have the chance to listen solidly, otherwise I tend not to listen because I'm getting constantly interrupted or out of my seat too often. So I'm not sure when I would find a place for this music. It would actually be good party music, given the right crowd. Like Brian Eno said, 'it must be as ignorable as it is interesting'. I find myself listening to music at parties more than I think other people do (probably because I'm horrible at small talk) but so for most people this kind of background groove would be perfect. And it's danceable.

I think the single biggest problem that I have with it is that a significant amount of it seems lilke something I could make with a Mac and a couple of other pieces of equipment. Catchy grooves, layering, and odd snippets of spoken word thrown in to make it sort of mysterious. That seems to be the recipe, and though most of what I would make would be crap, that may be true for these artists as well.

And this would be unimaginably bad concert music.

So on to the individual songs....

1. Coming Up From Waterloo Jam...I mean Witch Doctor by Small Axe
This is my least favorite of the songs on this collection. More than any of the others it totally seems like it could have been created in the Johnson Street/New Brighton days when we would play music together, particularly if more of us knew how to play instruments well. There's a number of songs on the Mixdown collection that have the same feel for me as this song. Who knew we were creating ambient music. Two French guys in a basement become 2 musicians, a valedictorian, and a wannabe French guy in a basement, or a small apartment.

Good baseline here. The 'witch doctor' seems totally irrelevant though, since nothing about the music strikes me as from any ethnicity that contains witch doctors. I don't hate it, but I would happily live the rest of my life without it.

It also suffers from ending as if it is the lead up to the next song, which it is, though not the song they intended. Put it back into its context and maybe I like it more, but in this setting, poo.

2. Cafe Coca by Dephazz
Slightly bassanova-y groove going on here that is appealing. Not reliant on a relentless baseline to drive it forward, which tends to be the crutch of many of the songs in this genre. The musical parts seem to fit the title, bringing to mind perhaps an open air Caribbean or South American cafe.

The lyrics on the other hand seem to be completely alien to the music. Seventh circle? Blow my brains out? And otherwise a slightly bouncy tropical vibe? Weird and tough to reconcile for my simple brain. I get irony. I get contrast. I get satire. But I don't get the lyrics to this song relative to the music.

But still, it's very listenable, and if I don't focus on it, it slips languidly through my mind and leaves me content. I also like the woman's voice that's used like an instrument doing the 'ayyyyyyeeeees' (or whatever that sound is - not sure what the last syllable is) that echo through various parts.

3. High Roller by The Crystal Method
This is the only band on this collection that I've heard anything by. They had a song called Busy Child on one of my CMJ collections (the offical progenitor of this coalescence).

Amongst my favorites on the collection, particularly for the doppler build-up that follows with the drums blasting the doors wide open, Damn Yankees style (Ted Nugent's got nothing on this). Makes we want to make a video for this song. Also some very Doctor Who moments in this song, particularly the doppler-esque effect at the beginning. Add some 'oooo eeeee ooooos' and you'd have it.

Within this dialogue, one or both of these people is not hearing the other, and after the fiftieth time that I announced that 'we've got it' I would sound far more annoyed. 'You can see the Earth? Well so the fuck can we. We're in space too, dipshit. Is this your first flight? Me, I do this every god damn day.'

Could be a good song to run to. That drum kick would send me flying.

4. Le Soleil es Pres de Moi by Air
For those long trips through space you definitely have some long stretches of nothing, and even better, if you're in cryo-sleep, this might be a good way to rock daddy night night.

Ahh, the vocoder, presumably anyway, though with all the electronic possibilities perhaps they're manipulating the vocals in post production. Either way, vocoder-esque. Think Frampton Comes Alive! An interesting effect that has its place in the musical lexicon, and seems appropriate here.

This song doesn't stick out in any other particular ways. It's soothing and pleasant and that's all I have to say about that.

5. Kaye by 7 Hurtz
This one seems like it could have been on the soundtrack of some Tarantino-esque film, though possibly on an album of songs inspired by the film. The film would be filled with wacky unexpected dialogue and situations, interspersed with ridiculous violence.

The organ part at the beginning also has that Doctor Who vibe. Sultry vocals are excellent. Will TClog confuse it for a male voice?

Listenable but otherwise unremarkable.

6. Sea of Tranquility by John Stanford
What the hell is that voice saying? 'Hello this is dow chemicnine give oaf'? Damn you crappy transmission! I wouldn't want those to be my last words as I spiralled off into space. David Bowie had better last words for the intrepid space explorer....'tell my wife I love her very much....'

This song, more than perhaps any of the others is narrative, or seems so to me. Not just floating free of the ship, spiralling off. Maybe not worse (for the slow death that would be)...floating towards a much more immediate collision with debris, or a comet, or some other object that cuts your life short after 7 minutes and 43 seconds. Otherwise you need the extended remix and less of the urgency that you experience as this song builds. Or perhaps you have one chance to save your life as you float away and as that chance grows nearer and nearer the tension builds, the excitement grows, and when the moment arrives.......you miss and the music just trails off to infinity.

Too much tension to be just ambient for me. But of the songs reviewed so far this is number two on the most popular list.

7. Wilderness by Bluetech
Some post apocalyptic wilderness populated by self-aware robots, feral machines and small oases of what's left of the human race piecing their lives back together out of the rubble of a world that is no more. This is the day to day soundtrack. No threats from the dangers that lurk outside the corrugated sheet steel walls. Just unwashed people, clad in scraps trying to get by, collect water, trade for food, and make the future a little better. Good luck I say, though we tried to warn you. But would you listen? No, of course not. It is a tough lesson to learn.

As for the song, it floats along unthreatening and uninspiring.

8. Devotion No. 1 by Loop Guru
One or both of these guys is Indian, and loops they use, tying together the traditional Indian sound with the electronic manufacturing of ambient music. So says Allmusic.

What this is missing from true popular Indian music is the high-pitched female voice singing in a way that makes me wince. Watch any Bollywood blockbuster. For its lack I am grateful. The gentle female voice found therein is quite pleasing to me, and the strange Hindi words she speaks are certainly in accord with the instrumentation.

I understand Loop Guru was George Harrison's favorite ambient band.

I imagine sitting in some far off tropical glade facing a statue of Vishnu or Ganesha, entranced in a moment of pure reflection, sending my mind off on a trip through both the internal and external universes in search of absolute truth. What do I find there?

In a possible tie for second place, and given a change in mood, possibly alone there.

9. Numero Deux by The Dining Rooms
Coming Up From Waterloo Jam: Reprise. This time, new and improved, with xylophone and vocals. Not bad, but like the first song, too easily recreated.

10. Rapture at Sea by Easter Sun and John Kelley
I have known two John Kelleys in my life, and neither was involved in this. Nor Mike, that is for certain.

Another song that doesn't give me the vibe that the title implies. I like that little skipping tone, but that sounds wildly un-sea-like as anything I've ever heard. Perhaps it is the song of the elusive giant squid and you are a sperm whale.

I like the progression of this song. It's got enough appealing elements going on that it holds my interest if I let it. Put this in the middle of the pack.

So, a new genre, or genres or multiple sub-genres or whatever has been added to our little coalescence, by someone that few would have expected it from. Good job. The bad part is, while I like some of these songs, and will listen to this collection in the future, I'm not really inspired to seek out more from these artists, and I think that is the nature of this genre for me. Plenty of good stuff, but I can't imagine a whole album of it.

SIWHI?
Anything by Propellorheads
A few songs from Moby fit the bill - Everloving for example
Many things by Thievery Corporation

Put Me Squarely in the Other Camp

I don't like Gibbons' idea of skipping a month. We're either the "one CD a month club till the Rapture" or we're not. I've tried to stay a bit above and beyond the "shit or get off the motherfucking pot" controversy, but I have a feeling that this movement to get to different months has more to do with CD creation/review fatigue than getting us on a different schedule.

I, for one, already wish I didn't have to wait six months between releasing a collection. The last thing I want is to extend that wait. Why can't we just keep on going like we're going? Why the need for the shakeup?