Posts Tagged ‘God is Saying This to You’
December 25, 2009
Posted in 2 Step, 8Bit, Ambient, Blues, Classical, Dreampop, Drill 'n Bass, Dub, Dubstep, Electronic, Electronic Pop, Experimental Hip Hop, Folk, Freak Folk, Garage, Garage Rock, Glitch, Grime, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, IDM, Jazz, Life, Mashup, Metal, Minimalism, Music, Noise, Noise Pop, Plunderphonics, Pop, Pop Punk, Post Hardcore, Post Rock, Power Pop, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic, Punk, R&B, Rap, Rock, Shoegaze, Shows, Slowcore, Trip Hop, World Music | Tagged ( ), 2-Step, 2000s, a sunny day in glasgow, acid mothers temple, Aesop Rock, Agaetis Byrjun, Akron/Family, Akuma no Uta, alcest, Alive 2007, Alternative Rock, Ambient, Americana, amnesiac, And the Glass Handed Kites, and their refinement of the decline, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, animal collective, aphex twin, arcade fire, Arular, arvo part, Ashes Grammar, asobi seksu, Backini, Beach House, beck, Best Albums of the 2000s, Best of the 2000s, Beyond, bjork, Blue States, boards of canada, body riddle, Bon Iver, Boredoms, Boris, Boris at Last -Feedbacker-, Boris with Michio Kurihara, Broken Social Scene, Burial, citrus, clark, Classical, Clipse, cLOUDDEAD, Coil, Crystal Castles, Daft Punk, dance, Deerhunter, Devendra Banhart, Devotion, Dinosaur Jr., Donuts, Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill, dream pop, Drill 'n Bass, Drukqs, Dub, Dubstep, Electroclash, Electronic, Electronic Pop, Electropop, Elephant, Endless Summer, Erykah Badu, experimental, Experimental Hip Hop, Feels, Feist, Fennesz, fleet foxes, Flying Lotus, Folk, For Emma, Forever Ago, Freak Folk, Funeral, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Gang Gang Dance, Garage Rock, geogaddi, Ghostface Killah, girl talk, Give Up, glitch, God is Saying This to You, gorillaz, Grime, Grouper, Guero, Guitar Romantic, Hail to the Thief, Heavy Metal, Hell Hath no Fury, Heroes to Zeros, Hip Hop, idm, in a beautiful place out in the country, in rainbows, indie, Indie Rock, Interpol, Is This It, J Dilla, Jangle Pop, Jay Dee, Jazz, Kala, kid a, Kill the Moonlight, Kurt Vile, Labor Days, Lamentate, Leaves Turn Inside You, lesser matters, Let it Die, Los Angeles, M.I.A., Madvillain, Madvillainy, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Metal, Mew, Michio Kurihara, Microcastle, modest mouse, More Adventurous, Music, My Morning Jacket, New Amerykah Part One (Fourth World War), Night Piece, night ripper, Noise, noise rock, Nothing Changes Under the Sun, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II, Original Pirate Material, Outkast, panda bear, person pitch, Phoenix, Plunderphonics, Pop, portishead, Post Hardcore, Post Punk, post rock, Power Pop, Progressive, progressive rock, Psychedelic, Punk, Punk Pop, R&B, radiohead, Raekwon, Rainbow, Rap, Rejoicing in the Hands, return to cookie mountain, rilo kiley, Rock, Rossz csillag alatt szuletett, Saint Dymphna, sakura, Sea Change, Shoegaze, Shugo Tokumaru, sigur ros, Silent Shout, Since I Left You, Slowcore, Sludge, Southern Hip Hop, souvenir's d'un autre monde, Spoon, Stankonia, stars of the lid, Supreme Clientele, Susumu Yokota, takk, The Ape of Naples, The Avalanches, The Beta Band, The Crane Wife, The Dandy Warhols, The Decemberists, The Disintegration Loops, the eraser, The Exploding Hearts, the flaming lips, The Glow Pt. 2, The Knife, The Microphones, the moon and antarctica, The Postal Service, the radio dept, The Reminder, The Streets, The Strokes, The Tired Sounds Of, The Walkmen, the white stripes, The xx, third, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, thom yorke, Threads, Trip Hop, Turn on the Bright Lights, tv on the radio, Univers Zen ou de Zero a Zero, Untrue, Unwound, vampire weekend, Venetian Snares, vespertine, Vision Creation Newsun, Vivian Girls, Weird Era Continued, White Blood Cells, wilco, William Basinski, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Wu-Tang Clan, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, yo la tengo, yoshimi battles the pink robots, You & Me, You Forgot It in People, Z | 1 Comment »
August 23, 2009
I’m going to be honest, 2009. You’re really disappointing me. We’re almost a full eight months into the year, and musically this is one one of the most disappointing years I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s just last year’s utter blowout that couldn’t help but put this year to shame. Even since my end of the year Best of 2008 list was published, I keep on finding awesome albums from 2008. So maybe this year just seems like it sucks in comparison. It’s not like there haven’t been any good albums this year: Animal Collective, Neko Case, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix and Dinosaur Jr. have all released albums that I have liked a lot, and there are a smattering of other albums that I’ve also enjoyed well enough (Tiny Vipers, Clark, and Matt & Kim have had some of the more low key releases that I’m fond of). But the truth is that only one album this year has really wowed me, and as far as I’m concerned it is the only great album of 2009 thus far that I’ve found. By all means, prove me wrong! Give me some recommendations here! I’d be more than willing to give this album some company, but for now I want to give said album some recognition.
Kurt Vile - God Is Saying This to You...
The truth with folk singer Kurt Vile is self evident; he is a gifted songwriter, and although Constant Hitmaker might be more of a sensible, song based release, there is something special and unique about God Is Saying This To You, a limited release album packaged with the vinyl reissue of Hitmaker. For starters, it is more toned down and acoustic compared to Hitmaker, making it much more personal and understated. Of the twelve songs here, six are fully formed folk songs and they are all excellent, and among the best and most emotionally affecting songs of the year. Of the remaining six, one (“White Riffs”) is a tiny guitar interlude and the other five are short retro electronic experiments. I can anticipate the complaint that the album would seem like only half of a fully formed folk album, the other half useless ham. But those six songs are just too interesting to ignore. They feel like the norm, some strange everyday events, and also further accentuate the folk songs. When Vile sings on the folk songs, he makes every word count, and his lyrics are just as haunting and gripping as his guitar work, mostly because they, like the interludes, feel like regular events with powerful gravity. Often times Vile leaves large instrumental gaps in his pieces, and when he finally speaks subtle words about social anxiety or simple pleasures, they are completely memorable. I wish I could cite them here but I would hate to ruin them for a first listener. And the first time I listened to this, it ended in what felt like just a matter of minutes. Granted, it is a short album, but it strikes a very strange, personal chord. Don’t be surprised if you come back begging for more like I did. I hope Vile’s excellence really is as reliable as it seems. He’s just signed to Matador, and his new album, Childish Prodigy, is due out in October, so keep an ear open. Vile has a two album winning streak going and he’s at a full sprint, so let’s see if he can keep it going.
Posted in Folk, Music, Rock | Tagged Best New Music, Constant Hitmaker, Folk, God is Saying This to You, Kurt Vile, Matador Records, Music, New Music, Rock | Leave a Comment »
