Absence
Here I am, clockin in at 45.2 Kbps and waking my folks with the dial-up sound at 1:00 a.m. just for you fucks. Just kidding, I can’t sleep. The truth is I haven’t been on here in a while and felt like it was time for my comeback. Sometimes after a rough day, when a few drinks aren’t enough, I find a bit of song is what soothes me best. This “epiphany” made me realize the importance of what I do here. So what if nobody reads my shit? It’s the few that do that benefit. Fuck it – I’m just trying to lead you guys to a step in the right direction. Illuminate and enlighten you with my knowledge, though minute, of the arts. So keep an open mind and be patient.
So far the two best albums this year, which I guarantee will still be on everybody’s Top Ten lists at the end of the year, (I’ll bet ya) are:
1. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
The Monkeys got hyped a shit-ton but, let me assure you its not without reason. This group makes me jealous, I’m not kidding – they’re all under 21 – which could make any of us jealous. They are definitely the most hyped group out of the UK since Oasis. Funny thing how the Brits figure out this shit before we do – Jimi Hendrix got his start there and so did the Backstreet Boys and the Strokes, but they were American bands. Anyway this group is actually from the UK and therefore they now have something to brag about besides Coldplay, who are so big here I don’t think anyone considers them British. Standout tracks: “I Bet You Look Good on The Dance Floor” and “A Certain Kind of Romance.”
The YYYs toss aside the art-punk noise of 2003’s LP Fever to Tell for a more concentrated an effective sound on Show Your Bones. The result is raw, naked and vulnerable. If you were a fan of the elegiac “Maps,” (their first single) but was alienated by the sneering, scattered raunch on the rest of Fever, you will love this album. All the angst is still there but it’s now hidden under the surface. Perhaps because the band had an internal blowup during the recording of this album – (sidenote: Rage’s best work to me was Evil Empire, which took them 4 years to complete due to personal strife in the band which eventually lead to their breakup anyway.) What mostly impresses me about this album is its guitar architecture: Nick Zinner is my newest guitar hero, and it doesn’t take a musician to hear what is so amazing about his playing, it’s just right. The main sonic difference between this YYYs album and the others is the presence of an acoustic guitar which now bolsters most of the tracks here. No it’s not the end of the world, but it’s pretty close. Show Your Bones shows growth. Standout tracks: “Cheated Hearts,” “Dudley” and “Turn Into.”
It’s now 2:18 a.m.
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