Death From Above 1979

Death From Above 1979 was a bass/drum combo from Canada that broke up in 2006. I had only listened to them once before in high school, and i wasn't too impressed. in fact, i really didn't like it at all. The, about two summers ago, I read this in the note from the bassist, Jesse F. Keeler (who is currently in MSTRKRFT), telling of their split:

"we played our first show in a living room on long island for about 12 people and played our last in the calgary saddledome for 12,000. ha! what more could i have ever asked for?" (the whole note is humbling in itself - read it here)

after reading that, i bought the 2004 full-length, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine.



If you've heard a song of theirs, it is probably from this album. It was the one i first heard and didn't like. But that has changed. The songs on here are as polished as you can get while still being heavy. true, they can be repetitive and uninteresting (see Romantic Rights, Little Girl, and Sexy Results) but some songs offer a punch. the lyrics are for the most part, about sex in some form, and i think that is the appeal for some people. the drumming is fairly straightforward the whole time, but it's good. punchy. i would say that's how this band is as a whole - punchy and gritty.

now for the next piece:


This is the Heads Up EP. By far, my favorite of theirs. Six songs that will make you get up and want to do something - make music, beat someone up, or go clubbing. The sound quality is less polished as well; vocals are kinda of gritty, the drums are bigger, and the bass is grungy. This came out in 2002, when the band was still partially young. If you were to get anything from this band, it would be this. The bass riffs are potentially striking on this one. The drums are fairly simplified but go with the vocals overall. If i could see the band after this EP came out, say, at a house show, it would've been sick.

and finally:



Vinyl, anyone? The Romantic Rights EP came out in 2004, as a precursor to the full-length. It has four (though techinally three) songs on it. The two hits, a rare one, and a remix of a hit. The rare song is sweet. And it's got the best version of "Pull Out" in my opinion. it's worth having for collector's sake.


Well, that's my brief history with DFA1979. and here are selected songs from three records.

Going Steady - Death From Above 1979

this is one of the shorter songs from the full-length. when the bass goes higher to accomodate the vocals, it's great.

Do It! - Death From Above

check the vocoder in the middle. and the drums right after it.

We Dont Sleep At Night - Death From Above 1979

this is that rare song. fairly short, and i like the vocal pattern.

evaluation.

i guess i can keep apologizing for the lack of posting.

i've been looking through the posts and trying to see at what i was getting at with them. they all seem to be more reviews than anything. and i'm getting bored with that. the idea i would like to run with right now is trying to tell the story behind each band that i am listening to or what book i am reading - sort of a history book of each.

i think i will run with this because:

a) the postings would be more worthwhile to read and more well-written than just a review.

b) i'm not really the type of listener to look past the music/lyrics/written words and research what the songs/stories/books are about or what the musicians/authors was going through at the time or how exacty they compare to other works of theirs.

c) there is a reason each person listens to or reads the things they do. it defines who they are. honestly. who am i without these things? that is what i need to get across.

Pyramid Electric. Co. - Jason Molina (vinyl)

first off, i want to apologize for my lack of posting. i am swamped between writing this mondo 90-page paper for school, ChaCha, and ExpoTV. i haven't been reading much at a steady pace, or buying new music. though i have been given a few cds here to burn and whatnot, so i will mention those eventually too.

anyways.

Jason Molina is the main dude for Magnolia Electric Co. and the former Songs:Ohia. This record is part of a two album transistion from the latter to the former. the other album is Magnolia Electric Co., which i too have already reviewed.

This is a good album to have on vinyl. You get a cd version with it. Yea! The songs are strictly acoustic/electric guitar, and piano. Just empty, barren atmosphere. Molina is a good songwriter and knows how to set a mood. You'll find songs about pyramids feeling lonely, prostitutues in Chicago, and love lost. I am reminded of Songs:Ohia's Ghost Tropic in the sense that you enjoy this record and feel a bit bummed at the same time. I recommend putting this cd in your vehicle while you're making a long drive. The music is just there, and you don't have to think about it. This is nice sometimes.

The record is just plain back, which is a bummer. An insert with the lyrics (hand written by Molina - and pretty much unreadable) comes with it.

I got this record at a Magnolia show for $10. can't beat that.

Against Me - New Wave

Oh my. my my my. So there i was, minding my own business at the College of Communication, Information, and Media SuperParty (kind of like a meet-and-greet fair ordeal) when i came to the booth of WCRD 91.3. there was a large box full of cds that said FREE, so naturally i began to shuffle over there. Against Me!'s New Wave was the first cd i saw, sitting atop the rest. Before anyone else could move i snatched it, amazed that it would just be there for the taking. So i took it home with me, put it in my truck, and played it as i went for a drive the next day.

What resulted was this: i have a new favorite album.

I had heard some of this album before, but never got a chance to take and breathe it all in. This band is all about ATTITUDE. so much attitude. the drums are very punchy and never get out of hand in the songs. the guitars, everything - it fits nicely. the vocals are this pumped up yelling that would make aaron weiss crawl into his little humble, homeless world and grow a wimpy garden.

the songs are a good mix of punk riffs and rock emotion. the lyrics go from protesters and war to breaking up to an anthem for a party girl. even if that sounds goofy you will find yourself wrapped up in music that embodies the idea that being in a band like this is not only a total mood lifter, but also that there is still hope for rock n' roll.

Grizzly Bear - Yellow House (vinyl)

I first heard about Grizzly Bear back in March, when i was buying my tickets to see Radiohead in August. Figuring i should listen to this band, as they were opening, i did. I wasn't impressed. In fact, i was pretty bored. I think the song i listened to was from their newest EP, and that's about all i remember. Watching them live, though was pretty good. The drummer had a good style and they seemed like pretty humble guys.

So, a couple weeks ago, i was at the Village Green Record Store shopping for some new tunes, and i came across Yellow House. I was hesitant at first, but the art (or photo, rather) on the packaging is just so fucking cool. It's a stairway and floor of an old house. This house, in fact, is probably one of the two houses that this album was recorded in. One house, in Brooklyn, belong's to one of the guy's Mom, the other, a grandparent's. how cool is that? The record sleeves contain more pictures of these houses. Looking at these pictures, you get a good feel of what the music is going to be like.

It's hard, really, for me to full explain how it all sounds. Besides the guitar/guitar/bass/drums lineup, there are others: banjo, lap steel, xylophone, keyboard, and autoharp, to name a few. The music is reflective of a day in the fall, where the morning is bright and sunny, with leaves breaking from trees. And it also shows those afternoons that are cloudy, cold, and windy. Brooklyn in the Autumn, if you can imagine such a landscape, is what this album encompasses. Someone once said their music was spiritual, but i have a hard time getting that wrapped around my head, but that is just because of my views of music.

One of the record sleeves (as there are actually two vinyls here - each containing three songs on the A & C sides, and two each on the B & D) shows this one long paragraph of words on it - this is the album lyrics. They read like a story. Kind of. Through these lyrics you can get a sense of what this Yellow House is like and what things occur and revolve around it. I think that's an interesting route to go.

A side note: these vinyls are the sizes of 33's, yet play at 45. i listened to this record for about three days at the wrong speed. i kept thinking to myself "this is all really dreamy stuff. and i don't like the guy's deep voice. they didn't sound like this live" and then checked out their myspace and saw the songs were upbeat. then, after some heavy thinking, i changed the speed on my record player and everything sounded good. there's no markings or anything saying what speed to play it at.

This is a very good record that took me by surprise. I will make the stretch and say Radiohead (specifically In Rainbows and Amnesiac), the music/sound of Sufjan Steven's Seven Swans, and the general mood that Bon Iver gives off is a good representation of things you can flesh out in Yellow House. It's worth buying.

note: this album does not come with a digital download.

The Mae Shi - HLLLYH

You know, sometimes a band comes out of nowhere into your life and then you wonder how you ever got along without them. This is the case lately with The Mae Shi and me.

I saw them last year with Aaron and Luke at the Launching Pad at Aaron's recommendation. what ensued was one of the best live shows ever. songs kick in along with flashing christmas lights, dudes strip down to their boxers and change into white jump suits, and people are flailing about. so much energy and fun. ever since i have always wanted to buy this cd, better never got around to doing it. until last week.

The Mae Shi is a unique, quirky, electric, punk band. i believe they use a suzuki Q Chord. they use gang vocals like it's nobody's business. they are some of the forefathers of LA's The Smell, home to such bands as No Age and Abe Vigoda. Unfortunately i don't think these guys get as much recognition as the should. If you're familiar with Totally Michael, think about him on cocaine. oh, and punk rock!

The only downside of this album is an 11 minute song. yowza! but along the way you will find tunes about the apocalypse, big hearted-love, and anything in between. these guys are just fun. they're raw and they enjoy themsevles. Think about a better sounding, less serious Blood Brothers. with about 14 songs and 46 minutes worth of tunage, you are bound to find something enjoyable. this track shows some of their catchiness and rock at the same time.

Radiohead - In Rainbows (vinyl)

I don't need to tell you much about this album; I'm sure you already have it and have listened to it more than enough times, like I have. There are only a few points I need to touch on.

I bought this vinyl when Radiohead came to indianapolis. It was my first time seeing them, and hey, the album was only $20. I'd never listened to them on vinyl before, so i was anticipating something new and exciting. I assure you, i have not been let down (and hanging around...sorry). This album art is probably my favorite ever. Just look at it. When you are holding this massive sleeve in your hands, you start nitpicking it and trying to find little nooks you may have missed before. Being able to see this up close, not on a computer screen has been a joy. The record itself is a little heavier than most records. Because of this, i think it screws up my record player slightly. What i mean by this is that when rotating, the album dips down a bit more than any vinyl normally should on the player, thus resulting in a slight warped sound. It's only apparent on a few tracks, such as Videotape, when the piano part comes in. This could be that the record itself is screwed up and i need to get a new one. but oh well.

the biggest thing that makes me love this album and debate whether or not it is my favorite of theirs, is that fact that it is so crucial. it needed to come out when it did and it needed to come out as it did. everything about it is so Radiohead. i'm sure this makes sense to you already. with their concert experience, their video for House of Cards - everything. if Radiohead never makes another album (which we know for the most part, from several interviews thus far, isn't true), i can die happy knowing that i have it in two forms so far, because i honestly have no idea what could top this.

Watchmen - by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Ok. whew. if you are like me, you sat glued to your seat in awe a little after midnight on July 18, as a movie trailer appeared. masked heroes, some guy being disintegrated, a giant clock of some sort, and a bloodied smiley face took over, capturing my attention. i realized quickly that this was Watchmen, a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, which was on my list of Top 100 Novels to be read, and now i had a something compelling me even more to read it.

Watchmen is a series of comics, lasting only a year, set in an alternate history in 1985 (nixon is still president, America won Vietnam, and the Cold War is at full throttle) filled with crime and masked heroes. vigilante justice has been made illegal, however, excluding one actual superhero - Dr. Manhattan, who is working for the government - and The Comedian, a masked man of some kind of justice, also in cohorts with the feds. eventually you are introduced do heroes past in present, one of which in particular whom has become one of my all time favorite fictional characters - Rorschach.

as far as the story goes, there seems to be some killing going on; killing of some former heroes. fingers start pointing, and questions are raised - is there a mask killer on the loose? what's behind all of this? as this plot unfolds, the stories behind Dr. Manhattan, The Silk Spectre, Nite-Owl II, and others are opened up. This is some of my favorite parts. Also included are snippets or excerpts from certain literature - Nite-Owl I's biography, psychology reports, comic-book magazine articles, etc. Sometimes they seem unneeded and tedious, but all the same the break up the continuous pictures and word bubbles. at the end of each 'chapter', is a quote from somewhere - a bob dylan song, the bible - that gives the chapter its name. also is a picture of the doomsday clock approaching midnight, with a pool of blood dripping down to it.

I easily got through this book in a little over a day. It's like reading a movie. if that makes sense. the writing style is dead on and keeps you gripped - quickly you put yourself into this alternate universe and think of how you would react if the U.S. and Russia were only days away from imminent nuclear war. And, might i add, you quickly pick one hero and begin relating to them. you want to be them, to live their life - at least somewhat. Save for Dr. Manhattan, everyone is just a human behind a mask.

and with that, you also ask that very question...who watches the watchmen?

No Age - Nouns

I just recently heard about this band, and only heard part of one song from them. I liked the idea they had, using only guitar and drums, and from the slight buzz i gathered from others, i figured i should give it a try. I'm glad that i did.

No Age is a duo from LA, and they encompass the DIY art and music scene. That's how i could describe them. My Bloody Valentine and Black Flag are their two biggest influences. The drummer is the singer, and while most of the time it seems like a goofy idea it works really well. He only sings when necessary. The music is very upbeat and can stand alone just fine, but the vocals add to the excitement. Think Death from Above 1979, except with a guitar and a little more lighthearted.

Something that gets me going on this album is the way that it sounds. A few good chunks of the songs were all recorded at some different places, which keeps repetitiveness not an option. Everything is very raw, very i-recorded-some-songs-in-my-basement. But it all still sounds good. Things are catchy. Things are spazzy. Sometimes having only two people in a band are good (especially if they are both good at what they do), simply because it only mixes two sides of influence together. This can make things more interesting and complex than one might think. I know i like it.

Songs:Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co.

Again, this band has been hiding all around me. I finally got a copy of this album, which i believe is their best one. The common debate is whether or not this is a Songs:Ohia record, or a Magnolia Electric Co. one. I'll try to crack down what i believe.

From all i have heard from Songs:Ohia, the songs follow a basic mood or atmosphere to them: lo-fi, moody, bare, and sullen. Ghost Tropic is a good example of this, though darker than the other albums, but for the most part they stay the same. Magnolia Electric Co., however is more country-inspired and bluesy, not to mention that it is an actual band, not just Jason Molina. And here, with The Magnolia Electric Co., the full band is used and that southern twang pulls through. Slide guitars, honky-tonk pianos, and even a number sang by a local country singer appear. Molina's singing sounds more mature than in past albums. This is also a factor in deciphering between the two bands. Magnolia's What Comes After the Blues and Fading Trails emphasize on the deeper tones of his voice, i think. And this cd is no different.

But don't be fooled too much by the country-inspired comment. This is still very much a rockin' album. Things get pretty heavy at times. Ultimately, this has become one of my favorites albums of all time, simply for the style of music and of the messages put out in it. I suppose it doesn't really matter which band is truly put forth here, but what does matter is that it shows a good composite of two genres in a way most people haven't heard before.

Franny and Zooey

I haven't read anything of Salinger's for over a year now, and the wait was certainly worth it. The Catcher in the Rye is my favorite book, and here i find some similarities. namely his style of writing.

Franny and Zooey is a novel (or novella, in my opinion) composed of two short stories, centered around two siblings of the Glass family. Franny, the first story, follows a scene surrounding the youngest sibling and Lane, her college boyfriend. In my opinion, this is the better story of the two. Anyways, Franny shows up at the station and goes to the diner to eat, but acts sick or on the verge of death. she carries around some little book with her that could possibly be the result of her acting strange. the reason i like this portion is because it is fairly short, and is a prime example of Salinger's simplistic writing style with unique young adult characters.

Zooey, however, is a different story. His (yea, i thought it was a girl too) portion of the book is very long and somewhat drawn out. Zooey is like an older Holden Caulfield, with that arrogance, disrespect, and habit of smoking. he disrespects his parents (and siblings) and tries to get to the bottom of this book that Franny is reading. apparently, the Glass children were very promising and intelligent, until each went their own separate ways. one died in a war, one committed suicide. all in all, it is a very Royal Tenenbaums-esque background.

don't get me wrong, Zooey still has that Salinger style, but it's a little more drawn out and slow paced than Franny. Zooey is also about 160 pages, compared to Franny's 40.

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (vinyl)

I'm going to be honest. I hate the sounds of the 70s: you know, when all these pop bands started getting orchestras behind them and tried being elaborate. everything just didn't sound good. i'm a little bias, to be honest. the drums just didn't sound good. it's something that i knack about with bands about that era. but enough of that.

Jens Lekman has won my heart. simply put. i bought this on vinyl at the Village Green Record Store. the album cover is so awesome; one of the best. so, what kind of music are we talking about? This is that 70s-era orchestra pop that i so despise. however, everything sounds golden. Jens' voice is a soothing, deep Swedish love. he sings about love, first kisses, and leaving the one he loves. the drums are crisp and heavy. from the very start, the timpani starts rolling and the woodwinds begin to fade in. does it get much better than this? no.

the time period that Lekman is stuck in strikes a chord with me. maybe it's because he's in love and lighthearted about the things he's singing about. the songs are just so fucking catchy too! the vinyl-ness adds to the nostalgia. included was a code for a digital download, so that was totally a plus. what a good album.

Songs:Ohia - Ghost Tropic (vinyl)

Songs:Ohia is a band that has slowly been creeping around in my life. Thanks to Pandora Radio i have been opened up to them more. i bought this album on vinyl at the Village Green Record store. needless to say, this album is perfect for vinyl.

The cover art is something that should be worth mentioning, as it is a good representation of the music. i think that is something more bands should pay attention to. anyways, the songs are as bare as can be. guitar and piano compose most of the tracks, complete with jason molina's sultry voice. inside the record case is a poster; it is a picture of a dirt road curving through what appears to be a tropical forest. it is tinted a grey-blue. looking at this picture adds to one of the tracks, which is purely composed of a vibraphone and bird noises.

i can't imagine listening to this on a cd because the sound quality and the overall emotion just wouldn't be there, i don't think. i've found myself in the early hours of the morning sitting in my room and just soaking the empitness of Ghost Tropic in. that's all you can really do.

Mad Men.

Ok, so here we have another exception. Mad Men is a TV series on AMC that in just the last week i have been turned on to. Thanks to Comcast's OnDemand, I got to watch the entire first season before tonight's Season 2 premiere tonight.

"Mad Men" is a term used in the 60s describing the ad agency guys working on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. These men are the best of the best, really, who rock the advertising world and the entire citiy. Don Draper is our central character working at Sterling-Cooper; a family man, a total mystery, and a slick dude. The first episode shows us that it is he who comes up with Lucky Strike Cigarettes' motto: "It's Toasted". He is the creative director for the firm and certainly has a lot of clout. Each episode reveals more and more about him and the others of Sterling-Cooper: Peggy (the new girl), Pete Campbell (who i think is a fucking weasel), Roger Sterling, Betsy Draper (Don's wife who wants to find out more of her husband's past), and a whole slew of interesting people. The first season is simply a revelation of each person, and this second season will begin showing everyone's lives more in-depth.

Something that turns me on to this show is the historical aspect. Everyone drinks, everyone smokes, and everyone seems to have their own share of affairs going on. The men talk smooth and act smooth. The beginning credits play an awesome RJD2 song and display a sort of Saul Bass-type of art. Men are sexist. People are racist. Kennedy and Nixon are battling for the presidency. Sterling-Cooper is trying its best to keep up with the times. And, each episode closes with a great song from the time period that fits with the mood.

This show displays the era that i wished i lived in, which is another selling point for me. I'm trying to be a classy guy, and these are the people that are examples for me. The writing is very top-notch and well crafted.

New episodes are on Sundays, I believe, on AMC at 10 PM.

Tristeza - Spine & Sensory

I discovered Tristeza via Pandora Radio, on my Saxon Shore/Unwed Sailor station. So, off the bat, you should have a general idea of what to expect. Tristeza (Spanish for sadness) is an instrumental band involving Jimmy LaValle, whom you might know from The Album Leaf.

Spine & Sensory is the band's first album, and this copy is the expanded edition that contains three rare tracks on it. It's all very chill. Early-Saxon Shore is the best way to describe it, I think. The tone of each song differs from the other, as some are just ambient without much going on except for staggering samples and some chorus-y noise. Other times you will have the drums kick in and keep a steady beat as the oh-so-glorious buildup (which is mandatory for instrumental bands, sadly) begins. It's hard not to make some comparisons to the like of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, if only indirect ones, and therefore i will also mention that some of the guitars and structures remind me of the now defunct Lambert Post.

I'm finding it a bit difficult to say much about this album. I'm not usually an instrumental listening-to type of person. But i can't say anything bad about this album; it's about what i expected when i bought it. Chill, steady, and smooth. Good for the days that are the sucky transition between Fall and Winter.

The Good, The Bad, and The Queen

I remember this cd coming out at the beginning of the year and not really paying any attention to it. But i'm glad i finally got it!

Something that should be noted is that this cd isn't released by a band with the same name. The band doesn't have a name at all. But it's a total supergroup: Damon Albarn (of Blur and The Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (of The Clash), Simon Tong (of The Verve), and Tony Allen (co-founder of the Afrobeat genre). With that stated, how could you go wrong? This album is an immersion into the nooks and crannies of London as it could only be done by these dudes. Oh, and did i mention it was produced by Danger Mouse?

Off the bat, i'm going make a comparison to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. The Good, The Bad, & The Queen is kind of like a dark and scarier pet sounds, yet still holds the whole atmospheric tones and feelings throughout. There are songs with buzzing table-top organs, simple acoustic strumming, and probably the best bass tone i have ever heard. The bass drum is deep and punchy, yet always being done in the right place. I've been surprised at how well everything has come together and really caught my attention.

Best said, this cd is good for listening to on melancholy or rainy days. It's all pretty chill. Danger Mouse's touch is very apparent and much appreciated. Most of the vocals are very echo-y and distant, with the bass and keys in the center, and the drums on the other side of that spectrum. In a nutshell, i would say that four badasses came together and made a cd that is very attention grabbing, in a moody and dark sort of way.

Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew: Spirit If...

I'm starting to get tired of the whole 'solo cd' spiel. It's not such a bad thing when all the songs are composed of mainly yourself, maybe some other people, but not practically the whole band you are usually in. That, and the songs shouldn't really sound too much like that band, either. These two criteria are not followed in Spirit If... and it bothers me a little bit.

Kevin Drew is one of the co-founders of Broken Social Scene (the other being Brendan Canning, who also released a solo cd with the title of Broken Social Scene Presents:) and, being a fan of that band, I really wanted to get a copy of this cd. I had only heard one song, TBTF (which is an acronym for something very humorous/true, i believe) and it was enough to get me sold on it. There are 14 songs altogether - a little long - and most of the songs clock in at over four minutes.

Now, back to my original point: this is still, in my opinion, a BSS album. It's practically a sequel to their self-titled cd. This gets me a little hot and bothered. Sure, the whole Broken Social Scene Presents: hints at some distance from being a total solo album. Well then, don't make it one! I have a pretty firm belief that more than one person in the band can write songs and they are still songs from that band. But BSS i guess has different ideas. That's fine. And it could be that the whole Presents: thing helps people identify who Kevin Drew is. Whatever.

What you can expect in this cd is quirky song titles (i.e, "TBTF", "F-Ked Up Kid", "Gang Bang Suicide") and several parts to each song, especially since they are song long. You're going to find some different instruments being played, such as the vibraphones, distorted synth, and flutes. Since this is practically a Broken Social Scene cd, you should already have a good idea of what it sounds like, if you have listened to their self-titled album already. It's not a bad cd, though it might seem i am hinting toward that. It's just not a solo cd, in my mind.

Thom Yorke & Ed O'Brien Interview

The A.V. Club (associated with The Onion) just interviewed Thom and Ed from Radiohead. it's a good interview; very relaxed and informative. sorry, i'm just a little giddy from it.

read read read

i'm seeing them Aug. 3 in Indy with my really good Radiohead friends. hope that doesn't sound too nerdy.

the black and white album

i just recently re-discovered The Hives' Veni Vidi Vicious and fell totally in love with it. i remember watching Conan during the winter and seeing these guys play, and i thought "they're still around?" thank god they are.

Recorded almost entirely in Oxford, MS (home of William Faulkner and Colour Revolt), The Black and White Album is a dive into a mature, clean, and well polished Hives sound. Admittedly, it is a bit hard to swallow at first. The whole straight-rock feel is prevalent throughout the album, but there are a few songs ("Puppet on a String", "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.", "Giddy Up!") that go in totally different directions from the others. But maybe the whole black & white actually stands for something.

Organs, atmospheric keys, chimes, and even a cowbell can be heard throughout the cd, which is a contrast to the bareness of just guitars, bass and drums from Vicious ( i haven't heard Tyrannosaurus Hives yet). this clean and polished tone makes me a little nervous. what's the deal here? where's the rock and roll at? i detect some ska or swing influence. and, to top it off, Howlin' Pelle sounds so Jagger-esque that it's unreal. this album, though another great Hives album, seems like an attempt at trying to make it very commercially appealing. When top-notch producers like Pharell Williams get involved (as is the case here), the focus of an album gets lost. i believe this is true here, as it could've used a little more grit and less refinement.

but, nonetheless, The Hives are still showing that they can put out some good material and, excluding a handful of songs, prove they can still kick some serious rock n' roll ass on The Black and White Album.

invisible monsters

this is the fifth book of Palahniuk's that i have read. i certainly wasn't disappointed. i read it in one day even, which is a testament to his ability to keep the story moving and interesting to the reader.

the story revolves around our narrator (who remains unnamed [mostly], typical Palahniuk style), an ex-model who has recently been shot in the face while driving her car. as a result from the accident, she is unable to speak and can only communicate by writing things. she gets involved with Brandy, a beautiful woman who helps our narrator begin a new life, with fake names, prescription drugs, plastic surgery, and a whole slew of the fashionable lifestyle.

what we find out, as the story progresses, is the history of our narrator: a brother dead from AIDS. backstabbing friends. a glamorous life now gone. a two-timing fiancee. this past and these people are really all connected in a totally strange way that only Chuck Palahniuk could conjure up.

the storyline jumps between past and present, which can get a bit arduous from time to time. especially when each flashback starts with "Jump back to...", but i guess in all reality this is the easiest way to keep the reader engaged and able to understand the difference.

there are twists that left me wanting to throw the book out of the window, but at the same time i felt compelled to dig deeper and keep the pages turning.

if you are a fan of his work, i would recommend Lullaby, as i could see a lot of similarities between the two, mainly from the research he puts into each book to describe the self-destructive habits and unorthodox things people have to do in life to get what they really want.

introduction

hi everyone. this is sort of a new gig for myself, but i love reading books and listening to new music. and instead of just reading/listening to each one and briefly mentioning them, i think they deserve more justice than that. out of respect for each author/musician, if you will. the literature is not limited to just books, as i have picked up a few zines here and there, and the music will include everything, even those done by my friends.

both of these areas have greatly affected my life, and i think it is about time i try to fully explain in writing, as i can't say the things i am thinking all of the time.