(no subject)
Today was great. I came in early and hung out with Kat, Melissa, and Rachel outside of some class of theirs or another for awhile. Today's schedule was all disjointed, as we were supposed to have recieved our transcripts today. Of course, Cascio lost my class's, so it was just a waste of time. Then again, it's not like I have much better to do.
I finally stopped procrastinating and got my ticket to "Arsenic" and paid for the mock trial shirt they're printing. I left it up to the Tribunal of Danielle, Marissa, and Stephanie as to whether it says "SETHY," "SETHIE," or "SETH-Y," though I'm leaning towards the first.
So I re-downloaded BitTorrent, and though it's a pain to have to use Internet Exploder to download dot-torrent files, it's been working out well. In fact, I got the new Streets album off it in scarcely any time at all.
I've been waiting for Mike Skinner to follow up the stellar "Original Pirate Material," but that also dictates how high my hopes were for "AGDCFF." First, a track-by-track:
-'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' is somehow indicative of the disc as a whole. It's pleasing, acoustically, a catchy anthem for sloth (as though one is even needed). The lyrics are so much tamer than the club tracks off of "Original Pirate Material," but it sets the tone of the rest of the CD.
-'Could Well Be In' is even tamer than 'So Easy,' but hey, every hardcore gangsta is allowed a love song or two, right? The piano loops in the background combined with the imagery of the baddest motherfucker in the British Isles watching a girl twist her hair around her fingers idly is really what lets it slip under the radar with such ease.
-When I heard the beginning lines of 'Not Addicted' on my virgin trial of the track, I expected one of the odes to the rave scene that would someday be remixed by Royksopp. Not so-- betting is the vice at hands. Unfortunately, due to either Skinner's lack of acquaintance with the betting scene or my own, the song comes off as nothing more than a catchy if studio-smooth filler track.
-Let me say, I refuse to put 'Blinded By the Lights' on a pedestal all its own. I won't. But I will say that it gives sight to the blind, turns the hearts of men, and is exactly the club track I was so sorely aching for. The female vocalist-- forgive me for not doing my homework here-- makes a nice contrast, although she admittedly gets 'chorus duty' like many females in rap. Lyrically, this song is the usual club narrative that I seem to be partial to.
-'Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way' seems like late afternoon to the late night of 'Blinded by the Lights,' but the contrast is really quite pleasing. The R&B influence is a little more stated here. It seems to be spread rather thin rather slowly, so it's not among the best on the disc.
-'Get Out Of My House' might be a jarring transition from 'Any Other Way,' but it gives some variety to the album. Some might compare it to 'The Irony of It All,' and while I prefer 'Irony,' 'Get Out of My House' is eminently enjoyable. Good times for all.
-I want to like 'Fit But You Know It.' It's got some neutered form of the pure garageness this album is rather deficient of. The lyrics are cute, and perhaps I'm being a pedant here, but the chorus's 'Gosh' pisses me off. FOR GOD'S SAKE, YOU HAVE THE WORD "TWAT" IN A SONG TITLE! DON'T COVER MY EARS THE ONE TIME YOU NEED THE EMPHASIS! Anyway, if and when Mike Skinner hits it big Stateside, I expect I'll see this on every Bally Total Fitness commercial aired.
-I don't like the word 'Twat,' and that damn synth twanging irks me to no end. Sorry, Mike. The lyrics are strangely absent from the big lyrics site, but I have no desire to listen to this song any more than I feel morally obligated to already. And is there a lot of bitching about cell phones on this CD, or is it me?
-Apparently no one else likes 'What is He Thinking?' any more than I do, because you can't easily find its lyrics on any of the big sites either. I'm still on one of my first few listen-throughs of the track, so if there's any hidden meaning here, it's lost on me for now. It's a little chorus-saturated, but it's a decent if run-of-the-mill club track.
-'Dry Your Eyes' tugs at the heartstrings. It really does. Okay, maybe the lyrics aren't quite Shakespeare, but they're potent all the same. In my mind, this song is the logical conclusion to the story began in 'Could Well Be In'. Forgive me if I'm stepping on the feet of my noble rock forebears, but I even like the chorus. Yes, I admit it.
-Actually, maybe the bitter 'Empty Cans' is the end of that storyline I mentioned. I assumed the narrative to be fiction, while this song seems to be non-fiction, but who knows? Not I. Anyway, there's good and bad Brit slang, and I'm sorry, but 'jacksie' happens to fall in the latter group. Perhaps that's why I have such a great distaste for the chorus. It seems quite juvenile and passive-aggressive. Such is life.
Then, there's that little break in the song, the piano loop begins, and I start to like the song. It only gets better from then to the song's conclusion, which ends the CD on a high note quite nicely without seeming too forced.
So in whole, I surely enjoy "A Grand Don't Come Easy." Then again, what I enjoy doesn't necessarily reflect good mental health, so there you go. On the first listen-through, I was rather disheartened by the album seeming so... studio-ized. I like commercial music as much as your average radio listener, and don't have any particular thirst for obscurity, but I miss the jagged edges of "Original Pirate Material."
Anyway, it's raining, so the headphones are going off. Perhaps the computer will follow suit, soon.
Be well!
I finally stopped procrastinating and got my ticket to "Arsenic" and paid for the mock trial shirt they're printing. I left it up to the Tribunal of Danielle, Marissa, and Stephanie as to whether it says "SETHY," "SETHIE," or "SETH-Y," though I'm leaning towards the first.
So I re-downloaded BitTorrent, and though it's a pain to have to use Internet Exploder to download dot-torrent files, it's been working out well. In fact, I got the new Streets album off it in scarcely any time at all.
I've been waiting for Mike Skinner to follow up the stellar "Original Pirate Material," but that also dictates how high my hopes were for "AGDCFF." First, a track-by-track:
-'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' is somehow indicative of the disc as a whole. It's pleasing, acoustically, a catchy anthem for sloth (as though one is even needed). The lyrics are so much tamer than the club tracks off of "Original Pirate Material," but it sets the tone of the rest of the CD.
-'Could Well Be In' is even tamer than 'So Easy,' but hey, every hardcore gangsta is allowed a love song or two, right? The piano loops in the background combined with the imagery of the baddest motherfucker in the British Isles watching a girl twist her hair around her fingers idly is really what lets it slip under the radar with such ease.
-When I heard the beginning lines of 'Not Addicted' on my virgin trial of the track, I expected one of the odes to the rave scene that would someday be remixed by Royksopp. Not so-- betting is the vice at hands. Unfortunately, due to either Skinner's lack of acquaintance with the betting scene or my own, the song comes off as nothing more than a catchy if studio-smooth filler track.
-Let me say, I refuse to put 'Blinded By the Lights' on a pedestal all its own. I won't. But I will say that it gives sight to the blind, turns the hearts of men, and is exactly the club track I was so sorely aching for. The female vocalist-- forgive me for not doing my homework here-- makes a nice contrast, although she admittedly gets 'chorus duty' like many females in rap. Lyrically, this song is the usual club narrative that I seem to be partial to.
-'Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way' seems like late afternoon to the late night of 'Blinded by the Lights,' but the contrast is really quite pleasing. The R&B influence is a little more stated here. It seems to be spread rather thin rather slowly, so it's not among the best on the disc.
-'Get Out Of My House' might be a jarring transition from 'Any Other Way,' but it gives some variety to the album. Some might compare it to 'The Irony of It All,' and while I prefer 'Irony,' 'Get Out of My House' is eminently enjoyable. Good times for all.
-I want to like 'Fit But You Know It.' It's got some neutered form of the pure garageness this album is rather deficient of. The lyrics are cute, and perhaps I'm being a pedant here, but the chorus's 'Gosh' pisses me off. FOR GOD'S SAKE, YOU HAVE THE WORD "TWAT" IN A SONG TITLE! DON'T COVER MY EARS THE ONE TIME YOU NEED THE EMPHASIS! Anyway, if and when Mike Skinner hits it big Stateside, I expect I'll see this on every Bally Total Fitness commercial aired.
-I don't like the word 'Twat,' and that damn synth twanging irks me to no end. Sorry, Mike. The lyrics are strangely absent from the big lyrics site, but I have no desire to listen to this song any more than I feel morally obligated to already. And is there a lot of bitching about cell phones on this CD, or is it me?
-Apparently no one else likes 'What is He Thinking?' any more than I do, because you can't easily find its lyrics on any of the big sites either. I'm still on one of my first few listen-throughs of the track, so if there's any hidden meaning here, it's lost on me for now. It's a little chorus-saturated, but it's a decent if run-of-the-mill club track.
-'Dry Your Eyes' tugs at the heartstrings. It really does. Okay, maybe the lyrics aren't quite Shakespeare, but they're potent all the same. In my mind, this song is the logical conclusion to the story began in 'Could Well Be In'. Forgive me if I'm stepping on the feet of my noble rock forebears, but I even like the chorus. Yes, I admit it.
-Actually, maybe the bitter 'Empty Cans' is the end of that storyline I mentioned. I assumed the narrative to be fiction, while this song seems to be non-fiction, but who knows? Not I. Anyway, there's good and bad Brit slang, and I'm sorry, but 'jacksie' happens to fall in the latter group. Perhaps that's why I have such a great distaste for the chorus. It seems quite juvenile and passive-aggressive. Such is life.
Then, there's that little break in the song, the piano loop begins, and I start to like the song. It only gets better from then to the song's conclusion, which ends the CD on a high note quite nicely without seeming too forced.
So in whole, I surely enjoy "A Grand Don't Come Easy." Then again, what I enjoy doesn't necessarily reflect good mental health, so there you go. On the first listen-through, I was rather disheartened by the album seeming so... studio-ized. I like commercial music as much as your average radio listener, and don't have any particular thirst for obscurity, but I miss the jagged edges of "Original Pirate Material."
Anyway, it's raining, so the headphones are going off. Perhaps the computer will follow suit, soon.
Be well!