Getting this CD out of it's JB plastic I was already disappointed. The CD contains 11 tracks, 3 of which I had already spent about $40 to get. "My Happiness" the latest single can be excused obviously, but to put the "special new tracks for soundtrack only" songs "These Days" and "My Kind of Scene" a lot of fans already shelled out to get seems like a cop out to me.
This album is dominated by layed back acoustic guitars. There are rocking moments (Like A Dog) but mostly the songs are basic acoustic numbers with Bernard singing sweetly over the top with electric added here and there to add colour. And it doesn't work for me.
For the most part I found the songs to long. Most were light on the ideas, wern't magic in the melody department, nor in the guitar department. They seemed flat. I tried to think of an anology about solidifing the music, sticking it in a sock and hitting it with a hammer so all the soul was squashed out, but decided this was too harsh...
For example, the 3rd song "The Metre" is nice enough and has a fantastic instrumental jam in the middle but it just doesn't seem to have the hook of "Passenger" or "Hindley Street" or "JC".
I found myself deciding the best songs on the album were those that had already been released and that I had already decided I didn't really like. "My Kind of Scene" has grown on me but again is very flat at the start. The David Bowie-esque "OH yeah" in the chorus is the song's main hook and if it wern't for that it would still be very low on my list of PF favourites.
So what more can I say? I liked the CD, but in a background way. I'm much more into in your face GOOD songs these days and the direction PF seems to be taking to towards layed back, strung out 'hmmmm' songs.
Maybe it will grow on me. I seem to remember not liking Internationalist much when I first heard it.
Pre_Shrunk - Digital Sunrise
Working at a music related company has it's moments. I recently got to hear the latest Pre_Shrunk album (out on the 15th). In fact, I'm listening to it right now sitting at my desk at work. It's always a tiny disapointment to me to get an album and only have 3 songs on it that I havn't heard before. But this album was always going to be like that, an album of songs I'd been hearing for years.... except it isn't. Of the songs on this album, only 6 (of 14) could be considered "old songs", and even then "Kite" has only been around for a few months. But I'm over that now...
This album was always going to be a "see how well this stuff sounds in the studio album" and to have 8 completely new songs.. well, I should be ecstatic shouldn't I? (I am..)
I'm not prepared to fully review the album yet, track by track, as it has not been released and isn't really fair on the fans or the band. But think Underworld, meets King Missle, meets 1000 distortion pedals, on a porch wearing a straw hat and foot tapping along to some country/metal/dance/pop.
Or something equally wanky. Thanks for coming through with the goods guys.
All I wanna do is...
...share
I'm always wondering what sort of things would go up on the web if copyright were abolished. Personally, the first thing I would do is put up the thousands of hours of MP3s I have of music that is difficult to get. B-Sides from Powderfinger, Whitlams, Faith No More. I've spent thousands of dollars buying CDs / vinyl just to get these songs. Most of the time I just wanted to hear a song. Why should I have to pay $65 for the old Sounds magazine with Faith No More's "New Improved Song" on vinyl on the front cover? Or $120 for the Kerrang with "Sweet Emotion" on it?
I used to run a website where I put these b-sides up for all to get in 64kbps, 22hz stereo MP3. Lots of people were very happy. A few complained the quality was bad and demanded 96kbps (then 112, then 128, then 256). I took it down for these very reasons.
Generally these days you can find what you want if you know where to look (IRC, Napster, band related net communities) and this is great. And it's all because people want to share. They want other people to hear this stuff they struggled so hard to find.
I'm looking for Powderfinger's first EP. Apparently they only printed 600 of them and released them only in their home town in Queensland. I've no hope. But if I could just hear it!
I have a lot of material just like this that I want to share. Since the FNM b-sides days I have gone to the effort to ask bands if they want this stuff released. Some bands, like Secret Chiefs 3 are happy to have their live material released. Some bands, like Pre_Shrunk are happy to have material released but only something people can then go and buy on CD (so no unreleased songs etc.). Some bands, like Mr Bungle, flat don't want it. And I'm happy with that.
But it's getting to the stage now that if you don't want it released, you shouldn't release it.. ever. Because it will end up on the web if you like it or not.
Underworld - Everything, Everything
Underworld, an amazing dance act I have just begun to love, have just released a live CD. A dance act (using mainly machines and vocalist) releasing a live CD? Welcome to the year 2000.
By the way, it's frigging great.