I've read in more than one place that The Way Out is "another Books album, and that's all you need to know," or something along those lines. It's true that the Books have consistently delivered amazing material every time they've released a record, so it's fair to expect another strong effort from their latest release. It's also true that they have a singular, characteristic sound that makes every Books album instantly identifiable as theirs. However, this is NOT just another Books album. NO Books album is just another Books album. Every record they've released has been unique to the ones that came before it, building and expanding on past elements of their sound, breaking apart other elements, and bringing in new ideas that the band has conceived and encountered along the way.
In the case of The Way Out, one of the most important of these new ideas for the Books is hypnotherapy. At a Books show at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art in 2009, Nick Zammuto, one half of the band, explained that the duo had discovered and gotten heavily into hypnotherapy, and that this had heavily influenced their forthcoming album. Of course, he meant that they had been listening to recordings of hypnotherapy, not that he and fellow Book Paul de Jong had undertaken hypnotherapy themselves. Their discovery is indeed evident on the album in question, and the recurring spoken hypnosis extracts have a way of making the listener part of the experience. The Way Out is also harder than much of the Books' previous work; there's an edge to it that distinguishes it from earlier Books music, particularly evident on tracks like "I Am Who I Am" and the hilarious "A Cold Freezin' Night."
But whatever can be said about it, all that really matters is that when you sit down and play The Way Out, it's an absolutely amazing listen, a truly moving experience. As always, their music is overflowing with beauty, imagination, humor, and optimism. So yeah...just another Books album.
Another innovative 6 string madman on candyrat records that I would love to see live. There's a small delay effect which gives an echo, but he still picks flawlessly and fast giving it a real trance-ish effect.
So I've written about this before, but it's true: 2010 was an astoundingly good year for music, one of the best in a long time. Here's a rundown of some of my favorite albums of the past year (in alphabetical order for now..if you're wondering, The Suburbs was my number one).
The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe Before Today - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Black City - Matthew Dear Brothers - The Black Keys Congratulations - MGMT Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus Fang Island - Fang Island Forgiveness Rock Record - Broken Social Scene Hearbeats - Grum Maya - M.I.A. Melted - Ty Segall My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West Plastic Beach - Gorillaz Rated R - Rihanna Say It - Born Ruffians Senior - Royskopp Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty - Big Boi Swim - Caribou The Suburbs - Arcade Fire Teen Dream - Beach House This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem Together - The New Pornographers Treats - Sleigh Bells Under Great White Northern Lights - The White Stripes Volume Two - She & Him The Way Out - The Books Write About Love - Belle and Sebastian
Our review of the year 2000 in music concludes with our top 25 albums of the year (actually 28, since there was a 4-way tie for #25). The album list was compiled in the same way as our singles list, with IMBW contributors submitting point-weighted lists of their favorite albums of 2000 (you can take a look at our individual contributors' lists here). Only albums released within the calendar year of 2000 were counted; greatest hits albums and most other compilations were excluded. A total of 106 albums received at least one mention.
It was fun looking back at the music of 2000, remembering what music was important to us then, and comparing that with what we find interesting to listen to now from that time period. For me, it's really interesting to look at a year in music historically; to see how things have held up over time; to remember things that were sensations of the moment but quickly faded from consciousness; to think about things that were overlooked at the time but gained recognition as time went on; to see how the music of a given year has influenced the music of today.
So, here's our list. You'll find a link to listen to each album in full at grooveshark.com. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
5. Since I Left You The Avalanches Points: 58 / Mentions: 3 [Listen at grooveshark.com] Since I Left You is one of the premier records of sample-based music. In all, over 900 samples went into the making of this album, and the result is a mindblowing collage, a collection of sounds that together form a whole that is completely unique and something all its own. / David Mickelsen
4. Voodoo D'Angelo Points: 60 / Mentions: 3 [Listen at grooveshark.com]
D'Angelo's first album, Brown Sugar, was an important moment in contemporary R&B and neo-soul. It took him five years to release a follow up, but it was worth the wait: Voodoo stands as D'Angelo's masterpiece, a masterwork of the neo-soul sound. / David Mickelsen
3. Stankonia OutKast Points: 72 / Mentions: 6 [Listen at grooveshark.com] Stankonia is a head-spinning listen, a kaleidoscopic array of sounds that ten years later still reveals something new upon each listen. On top of its sonic brilliance, Big Boi and Andre 3000 are two great rappers in top form, effortlessly delivering rapidfire raps on "B.O.B.," telling heartbreaking stories on "Ms. Jackson" and "Toilet Tisha," and keeping it gangsta on tracks like "We Luv Deez Hoez" and "Gangsta Shit." It's hard not to be disappointed that OutKast only made one great record as a group after this one..but of course, we always hold out hope that they hold something in store for us in the future.... / David Mickelsen
2. Supreme Clientele Ghostface Killah Points: 73 / Mentions: 4 [Listen at grooveshark.com]
Ghostface Killah has been arguably the most consistently interesting Wu-Tang member as a solo artist, and his furious stream-of-consciousness rhyming was at a high point on Supreme Clientele. Numerous excellent guest appearances by much of the rest of Wu-Tang also boost the album, making one of the best of the Wu-Tang solo albums. / David Mickelsen
It seems pointless to try to say anything new about Kid A, since so much has been written and said about it. What remains important is that ten years later, Kid A is still a compelling listen, as stunning and affecting as it was upon its release. Radiohead's adoption of electronics and heavy use of vocal filters, converting Thom Yorke's voice into things inhuman, was and still is sure to be polarizing, but if there were risks involved, they yielded fantastic rewards: an album as adventurous as it is beautiful, as challenging as it is ultimately rewarding. / David Mickelsen
Happy New Year! We begin our look back at the year 2000 with our top 20 singles of the year. The list was compiled using a system modified from the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll: IMBW contributors were asked to submit lists of up to 100 of their favorite singles of 2000, assigning points to each to weight them. The maximum number of points any one single could receive was 30, and the minimum was 5; the number of points a contributor had to give out for each list was equal to the number of singles in the list times ten.
Any single released in 2000, as well as any single that appeared on an album that was released in 2000, was eligible for this list. Only officially released singles were considered..with a few exceptions that it seemed wrong not to include. In all, 130 singles received at least one mention.
So, with the math and technical stuff out of the way, it's on to the list. You'll find a widget or link provided to listen to each track. Here we go....
19. "You Can Do It" Ice Cube [ft. Mack 10 and Ms. Toi] Points: 17 / Mentions: 2
Coldplay would go on to be one of the most respected and commercially successful bands of the decade, but they were never better than on their second single, "Yellow." Elements of Britpop, shoegaze, melodic pop, and vocal harmonies came together in a beautiful moment of rock music. / David Mickelsen
5. "Music: Response" The Chemical Brothers Points: 25 / Mentions: 2
Man fucking "Music: Response". when i heard it back in 1999 i was like "this shit is such shit for gay euro clubs". then i fell in love with "Block Rockin Beats" a year later and then i was afraid of "Music: Response": "Music: Response" became the known-uknown for me; the geek i picked on in high school and was now going to be my boss. When I heard it that year, I don't think I really comprehended what I heard. When heard it a year a later, the universe made sense again. Music response was quietly yelling at me, "Do you fucking see? Do you fucking understand how beautiful a song can be using only one note and it's octave? Is your fucking brain melting yet?" / Jeff Kim
5. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" Jay-Z Points: 25 / Mentions: 2
One of the Neptunes' first major hits, "I Just Wanna Love U" features Jay-Z in party mode, with rising star Pharrell threatening to steal the show, as he would with numerous other guest appearances throughout the following decade. This was one of the party songs of the early part of the decade; here, Jay-Z showed a party side to complement his street hustler side. / David Mickelsen
2000 was part of a very long period during which everything Timbaland touched turned to gold; his productions were endlessly creative, and resulted in massive commercial success. For "Big Pimpin'," he sampled the Egyptian composition "Khosara," giving the beat a Middle Eastern feel instantly recognizable as Timbaland's. Jay-Z was also in the midst of a long spell of brilliance during this time, and over Timbaland's beat he, Pimp C, and Bun B told us in typically convincing fashion that they were the shit, three great rappers at the top of their game. / David Mickelsen
Radiohead didn't release any official singles from Kid A, but some songs did get radioplay as promo singles. Of these, "Optimistic" was the one that received the most airtime. This stands to reason; it's probably the most accessible song on Kid A, and the one that would most accomodate fans looking for another OK Computer. These things aside, it's also a beautiful song, the centerpiece to what was one of the great albums of its era; even if Kid A did alienate some fans of their earlier work, it was a stroke of artistic brilliance that would gain them a legion of new followers. / David Mickelsen
It seems only fitting that these two singles, which would prove to be two of the best singles of the decade, by one of the great hip-hop groups of their era, would tie for number one on our list. OutKast were a dominating force in pop music in 2000 (as well as several years before and after), and "B.O.B." and "Ms. Jackson" were two landmark achievements: for the year in music, for the group themselves, and for the entire genre of rap music. / David Mickelsen
It's that time of year: the time of year when music blogs around the world publish their year-end best-of lists. Being a music blog, we are taking part: tomorrow, we will be publishing our list of the best singles of 2000, and on Sunday, the best albums of 2000. Thanks for reading..happy holidays!
Another entry in the series on music in Buenos Aires. La Bomba de Tiempo is a largely improvised drum circle/percussion fest that goes on every Monday night at Ciudad Cultural Konex. It's a pretty impressive experience. The microphone in my camera doesn't exactly capture the power of the band, but the video gives you a pretty good picture of what goes on.
In response to Jay's post, here's another Bieber track: "U Smile." Only this version is slowed down by 800%. Nick Pittsinger is the genius (or at least the first guy to have the idea) who created it; I know I'm certainly not the first to post it, but it's worth reposting. There's not much to be said about it that hasn't been said, really; Buzznet may have said it best when they called it "the soundtrack to approaching the gates of heaven." Anyway, check it out.
