I bought this album for my father (Who bears a VERY striking resemblance to the man himself), and since I got a free copy sent straight to my Amazon library, I thought "Why not?"
Does James still have it? Kinda.
Just for clarity's sake, I have listened to most of his discography up to this point, and I've been to see him live. It's not like this is my first interaction with this artist.
The album's start, "Today Today Today" is...eerily reminiscent of earlier James. It's a strong piece, yes, and if anyone else had played and written it, I'd be tempted to tell them they'd just built a career of ripping off James Taylor. Since it's James, though it sounds more like he's been pitched a country song, and instead of having a little integrity, he just said the hell with it and called in a bunch of studio musicians.
Maybe I'm just in the wrong head space. Maybe I'm too young to adequately appreciate what this artist is trying to say. Maybe the over the top production and lyrical apathy that's swarming all over this song are just out of my reach.
I just feel like he's out of things to say. Like all that turmoil that bred amazing experiences to write about is over for him, and he's happy and settled in with nothing more to say about the human experience than "I'm incredibly rich, happy, healthy, married, and...yeah, *Toot toot*." Hence my Animosity for "You and I Again".
Angels of Fenway is doing nothing but PISS ME OFF. The lyrics are SO on the nose, and the story is SO trite and cliched that I wonder who's stroking his ego in the studio. Who heard this the first time and said, "Yes! What a beautiful piece! I can't wait to see how much money it makes us!" Why would you let James Taylor put this song out? Did he fire all the honest people around him?
Stretch of the Highway has the distinction of literally jarring the cans off my head with the line, "Just for example, lookie yonder over there/ Chicago got the finest, high-test, first class poon-tang anywhere." Okay, yeah, that's funny out of context, but in the middle of this jazzy, down-low-and-slow song with not a whole helluva lot to say, it's like hearing your grandfather fuck your grandma vigorously in the next room. You don't wanna say anything, but you sure as hell don't wanna stick around either.
Montana seems like a step in the right direction. Honest, at least. Over produced, certainly. James, do you really need all that extra shit clouding up your lyrics? Pianos and drums and oohs and ahhs and strings and little clicky instruments only music majors recognize by ear? Also, your melody line is bland as celery. Could you at least pass the peanut butter?
Watchin' Over Me. What happened to your ideas about time signatures James? Your lyrics just lag and strangle at the ends of your lines. This of course sounds like nit-picking at it's finest, but the song is so lack luster and elevator ready that I can't even be bothered to do it a proper send up.
Snowtime. "Say, do you have that book of tired metaphors handy? I wanna write a new song..." And as you mentioned on the enclosed DVD, Yeah, NOTHING RHYMES WITH TORONTO. Especially not a force-fed version of "Want to". Lazy. Very Lazy.
Before This World. Okay, okay, this is really good. Sting, 5 points to you for having the good sense to be on this track. Jolly Springtime, however, is an ABOMINATION. Burn it with fire.
Far Afghanistan. No comment. I don't have any experience to write anything on this.
Wild Mountain Thyme. Are you Irish? Scottish? No wait, you're a Carolinian. Don't call me "lassie" you disingenuous fuck.
He's done. James Taylor has nothing more to say folks. I can't recommend buying this album.
The fact that he hit number one with this album should trouble you endlessly if you like good writing and well-played music. This album will fade from memory, and ultimately mark the very real end of James Taylor's career.
Final Score: 1 out of 5
Monday, June 29, 2015
Saturday, June 27, 2015
The Milk Carton Kids, "Prologue"
Stop, stop everything. This review isn't gonna be half as good as the album. Go listen now. Buy this album, and go to see these people perform live. Buy stickers and t-shirts and whatever else they're selling. If this band dies for lack of participation I swear to god I'll burn this world to the ground.
Melodic, passionate, real. I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I'm getting over a break-up. I couldn't have happened upon a better soundtrack for it. "Michigan" took me right to where I wanted to be in mourning. "Undress the World" got in my ear and helped me smile a little, then a lot.
I've spent years thinking "Who's gonna do this when Paul Simon dies?" Finally, and resolutely, I feel safe giving my heart to a band.
"Milk Carton Kid" says things I didn't realize I was thinking, to beautifully arranged and played acoustic guitars.
I don't care to dissect the influences, and the sounds-likes. I don't care about my credibility as a writer or a critic that much. I don't care about the cliche little bits that don't digest in the lyrics.
They can play, they can write, they're in a head space that feels like home as soon as I put them on. Break-up or not, this album is where it's at. It's simple, the way they've done it. And keeping it that way is where the complexity is. They could've brought in strings and pianos and drums and everything they could find or afford to play, and instead? They offered up what they could do with both hands and their voices. It's more than enough.
My only real complaint is that we've heard this before. So, not a perfect score, but so much better than most things branded "original" that I won't dock that many points.
Seriously, if you're all about that folk scene...this is where you're gonna wanna be. This is who you're gonna try and cover on YouTube in a desperate attempt to pull a First Aid Kit. <--It won't work because you've got pitch issues and you bought a Rogue instead of a guitar, but hey, it's more than most critics do...Anyway!
Go buy "Prologue".
Final Score: 4.99 repeating.
Melodic, passionate, real. I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I'm getting over a break-up. I couldn't have happened upon a better soundtrack for it. "Michigan" took me right to where I wanted to be in mourning. "Undress the World" got in my ear and helped me smile a little, then a lot.
I've spent years thinking "Who's gonna do this when Paul Simon dies?" Finally, and resolutely, I feel safe giving my heart to a band.
"Milk Carton Kid" says things I didn't realize I was thinking, to beautifully arranged and played acoustic guitars.
I don't care to dissect the influences, and the sounds-likes. I don't care about my credibility as a writer or a critic that much. I don't care about the cliche little bits that don't digest in the lyrics.
They can play, they can write, they're in a head space that feels like home as soon as I put them on. Break-up or not, this album is where it's at. It's simple, the way they've done it. And keeping it that way is where the complexity is. They could've brought in strings and pianos and drums and everything they could find or afford to play, and instead? They offered up what they could do with both hands and their voices. It's more than enough.
My only real complaint is that we've heard this before. So, not a perfect score, but so much better than most things branded "original" that I won't dock that many points.
Seriously, if you're all about that folk scene...this is where you're gonna wanna be. This is who you're gonna try and cover on YouTube in a desperate attempt to pull a First Aid Kit. <--It won't work because you've got pitch issues and you bought a Rogue instead of a guitar, but hey, it's more than most critics do...Anyway!
Go buy "Prologue".
Final Score: 4.99 repeating.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Plans!
So, I've been a bit distracted lately. Redheads will do that to you. Anyway, focusing more on my creative endeavors, I have a few new offerings and a little news on the horizon. Recently I tweeted that I was working on a short piece, and even shared a pic of the dialogue I was working on. That feels like it's going to bloom out into a short work of indeterminate length, so there'll be new Huffercorn Fiction on the way!
I'm also extremely excited to announce that I've bought a small midi keyboard that I'm training myself to play. Look for my next album to be very...lush. Speaking of albums, I'm doing a collaboration with my father, under the name "The Flick Poets", you can check the new tune I've written here. Specifically, "Walk On". I'd entered the Tiny Desk Contest with it...no luck there. Ah well, their loss.
I've got a top secret plan in the works with a very dear friend of mine to get some new photography into my portfolio. News on that as it develops.
All things considered: I'm working, writing, crafting, thinking, reading...I'm in a great place for making the best art I can.
Drop me a line in the comments!
I'm also extremely excited to announce that I've bought a small midi keyboard that I'm training myself to play. Look for my next album to be very...lush. Speaking of albums, I'm doing a collaboration with my father, under the name "The Flick Poets", you can check the new tune I've written here. Specifically, "Walk On". I'd entered the Tiny Desk Contest with it...no luck there. Ah well, their loss.
I've got a top secret plan in the works with a very dear friend of mine to get some new photography into my portfolio. News on that as it develops.
All things considered: I'm working, writing, crafting, thinking, reading...I'm in a great place for making the best art I can.
Drop me a line in the comments!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Third Eye Blind, "Dopamine"
Granted, I have a very large soft spot in my heart for Third Eye
Blind. I fell in love with their self-titled album when I was in grade
school, and I've followed them album after album ever since. I've never
given them undue credit though. When they suck, I frown, and hope for
better offerings.
When I saw the new album on Amazon Prime my heart DID skip a beat. "Oh could it be? Is this the one? The comeback? The return to lyrical form? The one that's gonna crush me and reveal new and interesting insights into what it means to be human?" Short answer: no.
I brewed up some coffee, put on my ATM's, and wrote as I heard it, during my first listen. Here's my first listen review of "Dopamine":
Track one, "Everything is Easy". A vaguely Cure-esq ditty with a moment or two of lyrical truth, but ultimately feeling like they had nothing to say. In fact, I can't actually remember any of the lyrics save for the chorus.
Track two, "Shipboard Cook". What the fuck is this even about? Why are you relying on this piano melody line to make something out of nothing? You're really out of things to say by track two? Just the end bit with Stephan Jenkins and a shitty guitar is better than the rest of the track.
Track three, "All The Souls". Finally something that sounds like Third Eye Blind moving forward. Is it just me, or do all the best songs wind up as track three's? Peppy, and at the same time dark. The lyrics are slightly more coherent. The strain of that falsetto is completely un-doable live. It's so fun to hear though that I'm not above putting that aside. It's really quite lovely. The song is repetitive in that way that pop songs are now. Musically super diverse though. I wonder if this was meant to be the single that was gonna sell this album.
Track four. "Dopamine": Uh...A little too on the nose. I guess being subtle isn't really what pop-and-roll is about. It does say something substantive though about the nature of love and what it feels like to be in a relationship where one or both parties is feeling detached.
Track five: "Rites of Passages." Feels meditative. Lyrically it's kind of like an inward look at a career I can't even imagine. Living in this kind of eternal summer because they got famous just as the temperature hit the 90's. Probably should've left the Bowie line out. The lyrics are talking to someone going through...fucking cha-cha-cha-changes. Emoji's can't fully express my disappointment.
Track six. "Back to Zero." Not a single meaningful thing.
Track seven. "Something in You." So close to saying...something. Note to self, don't use "something" as a lyric, it's devoid of descriptive power. "His hat looked like...something." "Her dress was pretty like...something". Lazy. Very lazy.
Track eight. "Get me out of here." FINALLY, something coherent. Something truthful. Something fucking fantastic. Seriously. I had to wait five more tracks from All the Souls to get to something this good. Fine, I'll wait for it. That's why I'm here. I WANT you to be this good. I WANT you to be this heavy, lyrically, emotionally. Giving a fuck! So goddamn important. Didn't need all that fucking production hype-tastic bullshit you've been trying to wear this whole time huh?? Could've just stripped it back to guitar and drums and vocals and made something fucking incredible. Did you learn your lesson??
And then, track nine, where they didn't learn a goddamn thing. "Blade". Not as good as Get me out of here. Pretty good though. Builds the tension nicely. Pretty good guitar playing. No real payoff to all that tension building.
Track ten. "All These Things." I don't know. Kinda fucking...uh...like Third Eye Blind aping The Decemberists, The Lumineers...Poorly.
The remaining two tracks are so forgettable I didn't even bother scratching out thoughts on them.
In sum? Don't buy this album. Pirate this album's two best tracks "All the Souls" and "Get me Out of Here", and disregard everything Third Eye Blind does until Stephan Jenkins really has something to say again...whenever that may be.
Final Score: 2 out of 5
When I saw the new album on Amazon Prime my heart DID skip a beat. "Oh could it be? Is this the one? The comeback? The return to lyrical form? The one that's gonna crush me and reveal new and interesting insights into what it means to be human?" Short answer: no.
I brewed up some coffee, put on my ATM's, and wrote as I heard it, during my first listen. Here's my first listen review of "Dopamine":
Track one, "Everything is Easy". A vaguely Cure-esq ditty with a moment or two of lyrical truth, but ultimately feeling like they had nothing to say. In fact, I can't actually remember any of the lyrics save for the chorus.
Track two, "Shipboard Cook". What the fuck is this even about? Why are you relying on this piano melody line to make something out of nothing? You're really out of things to say by track two? Just the end bit with Stephan Jenkins and a shitty guitar is better than the rest of the track.
Track three, "All The Souls". Finally something that sounds like Third Eye Blind moving forward. Is it just me, or do all the best songs wind up as track three's? Peppy, and at the same time dark. The lyrics are slightly more coherent. The strain of that falsetto is completely un-doable live. It's so fun to hear though that I'm not above putting that aside. It's really quite lovely. The song is repetitive in that way that pop songs are now. Musically super diverse though. I wonder if this was meant to be the single that was gonna sell this album.
Track four. "Dopamine": Uh...A little too on the nose. I guess being subtle isn't really what pop-and-roll is about. It does say something substantive though about the nature of love and what it feels like to be in a relationship where one or both parties is feeling detached.
Track five: "Rites of Passages." Feels meditative. Lyrically it's kind of like an inward look at a career I can't even imagine. Living in this kind of eternal summer because they got famous just as the temperature hit the 90's. Probably should've left the Bowie line out. The lyrics are talking to someone going through...fucking cha-cha-cha-changes. Emoji's can't fully express my disappointment.
Track six. "Back to Zero." Not a single meaningful thing.
Track seven. "Something in You." So close to saying...something. Note to self, don't use "something" as a lyric, it's devoid of descriptive power. "His hat looked like...something." "Her dress was pretty like...something". Lazy. Very lazy.
Track eight. "Get me out of here." FINALLY, something coherent. Something truthful. Something fucking fantastic. Seriously. I had to wait five more tracks from All the Souls to get to something this good. Fine, I'll wait for it. That's why I'm here. I WANT you to be this good. I WANT you to be this heavy, lyrically, emotionally. Giving a fuck! So goddamn important. Didn't need all that fucking production hype-tastic bullshit you've been trying to wear this whole time huh?? Could've just stripped it back to guitar and drums and vocals and made something fucking incredible. Did you learn your lesson??
And then, track nine, where they didn't learn a goddamn thing. "Blade". Not as good as Get me out of here. Pretty good though. Builds the tension nicely. Pretty good guitar playing. No real payoff to all that tension building.
Track ten. "All These Things." I don't know. Kinda fucking...uh...like Third Eye Blind aping The Decemberists, The Lumineers...Poorly.
The remaining two tracks are so forgettable I didn't even bother scratching out thoughts on them.
In sum? Don't buy this album. Pirate this album's two best tracks "All the Souls" and "Get me Out of Here", and disregard everything Third Eye Blind does until Stephan Jenkins really has something to say again...whenever that may be.
Final Score: 2 out of 5