It's nights like this that make me wish the world wasn't such a terrible place.
I walked home from campus tonight. Or thereabouts. It was about a half hour walk, and aside from a little confusion about getting from point A to point B in a couple instances, it was largely fantastic.
It just saddens me that I can't ever feel completely safe doing that kind of thing. There's always this lingering idea that I'll get robbed or murdered or something. And as much as that's an irrational fear, it's not that irrational. Especially after having to walk through a series of decidedly Resident Evil-esque walkways and staircases.It's honestly too bad, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of the things I miss about St. Peter. Not that I even felt completely safe there, but there was a point where it seemed reasonable to go for a walk alone at 2 am with headphones on.
I picked up a couple albums today. I got She & Him (M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel)'s Volume One because it seemed like a concept I could get invested in. I think I was right. I haven't really gotten into anything beyond the songs I had already heard on Myspace, and I've been generally disappointed in the covers. But I think there's a good chance I'll really like it.
I also got the new Raconteurs. I'm 7 songs in and largely disappointed. If I were to make an SAT-esque analogy, I'd have to say Broken Boy Soldiers : Consolers of the Lonely :: Get Behind Me Satan : Icky Thump .
I've always been more of a Brendan Benson guy than a Jack White guy, and while I'm sure they both had an influence on the direction of the album, it seems to have taken on a feel that's more reminiscent of Jack's most recent work. I've always been a sucker for a good pop song, and this album seems to have eschewed that idea in favor of something more eclectic. At the very least, I'm disappointed so far. It's ok, but unless it really picks up it runs the risk of getting lost behind Destroyer, Bon Iver, British Sea Power, and She & Him.
It just saddens me that I can't ever feel completely safe doing that kind of thing. There's always this lingering idea that I'll get robbed or murdered or something. And as much as that's an irrational fear, it's not that irrational. Especially after having to walk through a series of decidedly Resident Evil-esque walkways and staircases.It's honestly too bad, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of the things I miss about St. Peter. Not that I even felt completely safe there, but there was a point where it seemed reasonable to go for a walk alone at 2 am with headphones on.
I picked up a couple albums today. I got She & Him (M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel)'s Volume One because it seemed like a concept I could get invested in. I think I was right. I haven't really gotten into anything beyond the songs I had already heard on Myspace, and I've been generally disappointed in the covers. But I think there's a good chance I'll really like it.
I also got the new Raconteurs. I'm 7 songs in and largely disappointed. If I were to make an SAT-esque analogy, I'd have to say Broken Boy Soldiers : Consolers of the Lonely :: Get Behind Me Satan : Icky Thump .
I've always been more of a Brendan Benson guy than a Jack White guy, and while I'm sure they both had an influence on the direction of the album, it seems to have taken on a feel that's more reminiscent of Jack's most recent work. I've always been a sucker for a good pop song, and this album seems to have eschewed that idea in favor of something more eclectic. At the very least, I'm disappointed so far. It's ok, but unless it really picks up it runs the risk of getting lost behind Destroyer, Bon Iver, British Sea Power, and She & Him.
posted by Mike at
2:10 AM
1 Comments:
7 songs! You've got half an album to go!
Seriously though, my overall reaction, at first, was disappointment as well. There were many times throughout the album where I was confused as to what they were doing. After several listens, I realize it was the good kind of confusion - kind of like the same reaction I had with Of Montreal's last full-length. "You Don't Understand Me," "Many Shades of Black," and "Rich Kid Blues" (the latter two reminding me most of Benson) - I thought - were extremely bold choices that at the outset turned me off, but I've come to appreciate them for exactly what they are. Now "Rich Kid Blues" is one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Also, COTL has just enough of those BBS-reminiscent tracks - "Consoler of the Lonely," "Salute Your Solution," "Hold Up," "Five On The Five," and "Attention" - where you can seemingly divide the two influences rather neatly - perhaps too neatly.
A complaint about the record that has stayed with me through all my listens is the prevalence of those Memphis Horns. I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason, I like my horns sparingly, if at all. They seem glaringly unfitting from either White or Benson - or The Raconteurs, for that matter - and they seem to take over whatever song they show up in, and always illicit a "Horns? Really?" from me. (I can't help but compare it to Icky Thump's "Conquest," a song that I've probably listened to in its entirety twice.)
I guess the overall thing that appeals to me about this record is perhaps how much fun it is, and how much fun they seem to be having. Even the macabre "Carolina Drama" is somehow jovial.
So, that's going to be the longest comment on the Mike Phil blog to date. For some reason, I found this the most appropriate place to post my quasi-review.
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