The diary of an Amnesiac

The missing point

2011-10-09T21:18:00.001+02:00

This blog has been put on hold since April.
Life just got me somewhere else.
I'm writing about music on this website (unfortunately only in Greek): http://www.mic.gr/

The blog will stay ON and I may return soon.

The Amnesiac

April 2011

2011-05-05T17:56:00.009+02:00

Difficult month. I mean too many great albums competing. We started with the romantic noise pop of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Then Josh T.Pearson came along with his emotional masterpieces. Then Cass Mc Combs came along with a new album, just to finish us. Emotionally I'm a wreck. Musically I'm ecstatic. Let's not forget the Motel Mozaique festival in Rotterdam. One of the most fascinating art-festivals around. This year we had the chance to admire the impossible humour of Mr Josh T.Pearson mentioned before, who, in order to make up for the painful experience which is listening to his songs, offered us a fantastic trip through the land of a thousand (musician) jokes. Some of them brilliant... Then it was Lykke Li who stole the show, with her extravaganza and Jose Gonzalez who performed with an orchestra, his quite brilliant songs with an amazingly modern orchestration. No moments of easy emotion, just brilliance over and over again. And for the end, No Age, punk spirits alive and kicking against the pricks. Best show of the year? Well, till now.

Ok. Let'see what we got.

1. The Pains of Being Pure at heart

New energy, phone calls from famous producers, better rehearsed, amazing show in Amsterdam a month ago, new great songs, amazing sound. 2 songs that are in year list.
They even did Letterman! But something happens at the second half of the album: Darkness swallows up all the innocence.

2. Josh T.Pearson

This biblical figure came back to civilization just to offer his wonderfully painful stories. Not an easy listening, the songs are recorded in an inconvenient way.
The album offers 3 masterpieces. When the stories though are not accompanied by a brilliant melody, they can become quite boring. The song above is one of these songs that stay with you forever.

3. Cass McCombs

By the end of the month came the new album of Cass McCombs "Wit's End"

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Why this album of the month? Well, it's the one that works better as an album. And most importantly: all songs work. Every melodic line is precious, every sound is the only necessary sound you need in able to enjoy each and every moment. Economic, minimal but melodies here are rich and are presented in an effortless, natural way. Definitely melancholic, at times even dangerously pessimistic.

You can have a listen HERE

March 2011

2011-04-10T21:42:00.006+02:00

Failed attempt by the Strokes to make a good album but successful attempt to make me go find the vinyl of their first album. Strokes playing on my hi-fi for a week in 2011? Yes, it's possible. Did it make me dance? yes it did. just like the old days...

REM made me shut up and listen too. New album. They are on this level now where you can just sit and enjoy some great melodies. But that's it. No more. They are not doing any promotion for this album. Hmmm... Easy to get rid of.

2 hours in a record store listening to what I thought was the best 80s post-punk Italian band of all time. Shocked to hear that it was a band called Davila 666 and they are Puerto-Ricans. The album that I was listening had just arrived...
What a trip

2 albums compete for the best of the month:

Yuck - Yuck

Think of 90s american indie-rock, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Pavement.
After a few listens you realise though that these guys have it. The gift.
Oh oh oh, they also have the most catchy tune of 2011.
"Trying to make it through the wall...:

Another crippy winner for this month is:
Kurt Vile
Smoke Ring For My Halo

Look at this pale, strange people performing a trippy version of Neil Young/Dinosaur Jr/Bruce Springsteen sound under severe cold. HERE

Song of the month (and maybe even video of the year):

February 2011

2011-03-18T19:24:00.005+01:00

Yeah, yeah, February 2011 will be remembered as the month that new albums from Radiohead and PJ Harvey saw the light of day. But come on, it's easy to like these. The most interesting battle though has broken out in my iTunes. Who's gonna win the most plays?
PJ Harvey's album though is more rewarding. Keep that in mind.

Now, this month has been mostly an electronic month.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I present you:

Album of the Month

Space is Only Noise
Nicolas Jaar

You can have a listen here

Also this month,James Blake, the wonder-wizz-electronic-kid has put out a great album. A bit too positive for my taste, but I'm still discovering its beauties.

Gotta mention 2 ambient records that I've been listening a lot too:
The Magic Place by Julianna Barwick
Ravedeath, 1972 by Tim Hecker
Amazing atmospheres, unique sounds and experimentation that has an emotional impact.

The Song of the Month though is:
Sweet 17
Dirty Beaches

Enjoy!

The creepy ghost of Elvis is making music out there. Watch out!

January 2011

2011-03-18T16:54:00.008+01:00

New Year, finally I found the will to start this blog in a bit different way.

So, January 2011 started like this:

Weird shoegaze sounds, unorthodox recording procedures, Weekend is an ironic band: their first album is called "Sports", just try to google it. Failure. It takes a long time to see through the dark tunnel of their sound, but the reward is given in pulses of light and distortions of color. Dark matter can indeed be a source of inspiration these days.

So, ALBUM of the MONTH January 2011:

Sports
Weekend

Another album I loved is from a Greek artist who made his most important record. True to his own unique pop sound, this is a collection of great songs worked to the very last detail. The sound is just magnificent.
Well, here he is, Pavlos Pavlidis, at his most beautiful:

The album:

Παύλος Παυλίδης & The B-Movies
Αυτό το Πλοίο που όλο φτάνει...

My favorite tracks of 2010

2010-12-22T11:18:00.003+01:00

To finish the countdown with the best of the year, here it is:

My favorite tracks of 2010

1. Scissor - Liars
2. Limit to your love - James Blake
3. Solitude is Bliss - Tame Impala
4. Born Free - M.I.A.
5. Ancestors - Gonjasufi
6. What he wrote - Laura Marling
7. Holiday - Vampire Weekend
8. '81 - Joanna Newsom
9. Odessa - Caribou
10. King of the Beach - Wavves

#1

2010-12-20T09:26:00.004+01:00

No.1
Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter

Just like Animal Collective last year, Deerhunter are way ahead from any other band on this planet. It's not always a matter of personal taste. When a band reaches these heights in composition, sound, structure and melody, there are no arguments more valid. A psychedelic pop masterpiece from the beginning till the end. Simple but unusual melodies. Strange recording technics. Unexpected turns and twists. Deerhunter play with what's familiar to our ears. Then, they twisted in a certain way, creating incomparable beauty. History in the making, Deerhunter will never be Radiohead. For them now, it's only music that matters.

#2

2010-12-19T10:28:00.003+01:00

No.2
Forget
Twin Shadow

It's not that we are romantics. It's not that it reminds us of a gloriously melancholic past. It's not because it's a sound we fell in love once and for all. It's because of the songs. Each and every one of the songs are here for a reason. And when that reason appears again and again, we have no defence. We fall in love once and for all. Again...

#3

2010-12-18T10:01:00.002+01:00

No.3
Nothing Hurts
Male Bonding

Best Noise of the year. By far...!

#4

2010-12-17T11:18:00.003+01:00

No.4
Inner Speaker
Tame Impala

Endless summer, the ultimate psychedelia...

#5

2010-12-16T13:00:00.002+01:00

No.5
Black City
Matthew Dear

This is Gotham. Come a little Closer. I'll show you what I'm made of: Dark Matter.

You Put A Spell On Me Live

#6

2010-12-15T10:48:00.002+01:00

No.6
Le Noise
Neil Young

The ultimate Neil Young album. End of story.

Watch Neil play the whole album!

#7

2010-12-14T13:07:00.005+01:00

No.7
High Violet
The National

The hooks are huge, still hanging there with my blood fresh and warm.

What can ask more?

#8

2010-12-13T09:45:00.002+01:00

No.8
Have One On Me
Joanna Newsom

The world needed a new Joni Mitchell. Well, here she is. Even more adventurous, Joanna goes through the wild jungle of harmonies and structures like an excellent horse rider. She has everything under control.
'81

#9

2010-12-12T10:01:00.002+01:00

No.9
Astro Coast
Surfer Blood

It's great to be young and alive. Breathing the air coming from the ocean. It's liberating.

Swim

#10

2010-12-11T09:15:00.003+01:00

No.10
IRM
Charlotte Gainsbourg (Beck)

Beck found his Muse. Finally, an album with balls and a female side that is not afraid to be fragile.

Where's he?

#11

2010-12-10T11:13:00.004+01:00

No.11
Black Noise
Pantha du Prince

Fuck, this could have been #1. Damn you guitars! Not Techno, Just Art.

Videothing

#12

2010-12-09T12:04:00.003+01:00

No.12
There Is Love In You
Four Tet

The evolution of electronic music.
Sensational.

Four Tet by Institute for Eyes

#13

2010-12-08T13:49:00.003+01:00

No.13
Love Remains
How to Dress Well

Your sound spreads like a virus. Affecting my brain in such a way that I can't tell if I'm colorblind or color-over-exposed.(Fan comment: "It's like My Bloody Valentine or Sigur Ros had some secret, bastard love child with some R&B artist")

Are you ready for this?

#14

2010-12-07T14:33:00.003+01:00

No.14
Slow Attack
Brett Anderson

Brett, you don't need Suede. The past cannot come back. You can do so much better on your own. Specially now that you found out a way to work with Silence and Space.

Brett welcomes you to his house

#15

2010-12-06T10:26:00.003+01:00

No.15
I Speak Because I Can
Laura Marling

Why Laura? She's got what no one else had this year. This fragile feeling of expressing the deepest truth, a truth that's not hers, it's something we share. The rest are just left in an emotional ego trip which leads nowhere.

Covered in snow (literally)

#16

2010-12-05T12:09:00.002+01:00

No.16
Swim
Caribou

How to be considered a genius after 9 songs in a blast of creativity...

Caribou Live

#17

2010-12-05T11:59:00.003+01:00

No.17
Teen Dream
Beach House

A boy and a girl diving into my dreams. I remain in a blissful coma, untouched by the average boredom of everyday people.

What about a Walk in the Park?

#18

2010-12-03T10:43:00.002+01:00

No.18
King of the Beach
Wavves

Meditation failed. Nirvana reached. Mission accomplished.

Wavves Kings of the Vinyl Store

#19

2010-12-02T10:32:00.003+01:00

No.19
Gorilla Manor
Local Natives

I am who I am because you sang to me. Your melodies are a transmitter of positive energy.

Watch Local Natives Live

#20

2010-12-01T09:15:00.000+01:00

No.20
Cosmogramma
Flying Lotus

Got me changing dimensions, unable to keep my foot precisely on a strict beat.
These are not machines, they breath, they are incomplete, they flow...

Rock The Vote!

2010-11-26T12:06:00.004+01:00

Greek bloggers love lists. Specially end-of-the-year lists. They are probably kids of the 90s.

I still have dozens of notebooks where I was writing top-20s and top-10s and top-50s from the UK charts, US charts, Europe's charts. I was a part of the MTV generation of course. Back then, when MTV was ok of course.

An old forgotten memory all these charts, but the end-of-the-year lists are still here.

So, from the beginning of December, more than 70 bloggers will start posting their top-20 albums of the year. With a countdown of course. By Christmas we will have the total results. Exciting. Adventurous. Lists keep on changing till the last moment...

Was it a good year or a bad year? This is a question I never understood. It's always a good year for music and if you don't think so, you just didn't find the right music for your ears, amigo!

The organizer of this amazing idea is here:
ALL GONE

Till then,

The diary of an Amnesiac: October Rain

2010-10-26T10:18:00.000+02:00

The diary of an Amnesiac: October Rain

October Rain

2010-10-26T09:37:00.012+02:00

Rain makes us stay inside, together with our favorite music. Tasting new sounds and enjoy past lovers...

The National VS The Walkmen VS Interpol

The miserable three. All with new albums. Who's the winner this time?
It's tricky because I always need more time with The Walkmen.
So, till then the winner is: The National
"High Violet" is an ambitious album with no weak songs. More accessible and more melodic.

The Walkmen continue to look back. "Lisbon" is an old fashioned album. But here the band goes even deeper to their own unique sound. It's great to watch the band grow into something so special.

Interpol made a good album, but not good enough. Actually it's even worse than the previous one. How's the new bass player?
I wanna be polite but to answer the question: he's struggling to play the bass lines of the previous one, and that's not good, is it?

Pioneers of Today

To be honest, No Age with this album (and not their first) made me start thinking of making a band like this. They added a guy who helps with loops, sounds, electronics and they expended their sound. It's much more adventurous and interesting. And the most important: Punk is still in the heart of things...

Another favorite band. Deerhunter somehow became one of the most important bands on the planet. Keeping their experimental edge, they created another melodic masterpiece. It'll take some time to appreciate the album as a whole, but the melodies are already stuck in my head.

More great albums will follow soon, including 2 unexpected surprises.
Stay tuned!

The Shoegaze Mixtape

2010-08-31T12:42:00.006+02:00

The beginning of a new creative year is always September.
This year my plans include my own band, and yes, people will call it a shoegaze band, although everyone who ever had a band like the ones you'll hear in my mixtape below, rejected the term "shoegaze", I've always thought that it describes much more than people think. It's not only about gazing at your shoes. It has to do with a hidden romanticism, it has to do with people who don't want to show off, they don't wanna carry a "big" message. It is indeed about the humble art of expressing yourself in a code, a code that only trained ears can understand. Is this against what rock'n'roll means? I think NOT. Rock'n'roll was always about people who can understand it. The rest are always too busy surviving anyway.

This mixtape is my first one. It's made simple and it's around 50 minutes. It includes inspiring sounds that I collected through the years and it follows the "shoegaze code". Have a listen and let me know what you think. Download is possible and recommended. Enjoy and please play it LOUD!

The Shoegaze Mixtape by The Amnesiac

1. Song To The Siren - This Mortal Coil
2. The Figurehead - The Cure
3. Wax and Wane - Cocteau Twins
4. In A Hole - Jesus and Mary Chain
5. Sad Transmission - The Raveonettes
6. Cool Your Boots - Ride
7. Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine
8. Don't Think Loser - A Place to Bury Strangers
9. I Became a Prostitute - Twilight Sad
10. Come Saturday - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
11. Morning Light - Girls
12. Alison - Slowdive
13. Into Dust - Mazzy Star

August/Wash your sins away boy!

2010-08-09T22:11:00.017+02:00

During this legendary summer I was re-born.
The music that moved my Wavvves,
Dedicated to the Gang of the Great Escape
Is:

Year's Not Long - Male Bonding

Amazing album by Male Bonding. Amazing post punk/post pop, every song has a melody that'll take you on a trip.

King of the beach - Wavves

This motherfucker got Jay Reatard's (R.I.P.) band and made a great surf-punk in lo-fi album.

Blue Blood Blues - Dead Weather

If this was out a few years ago, Jack White would be famous as the drummer of the Dead Weather and not as a guitarist of the White Stripes. Unbelievable track and new album.

Born Free - M.I.A.

Banned from everywhere, the most important song of the year, the most unbelievable video of the year.
M.I.A. started as a pirate, she's now the queen of what's disturbing but true.
Give it time, it'll grow in you.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

June/... Just Give Me The Heat!

2010-06-19T00:26:00.002+02:00

Tough year. Lots to think about. Big Decisions to make. Break.

But just before that:
- Kate Nash made another sweet album like everyone expected. What nobody expected was this album to be so fucking amazing. She dares to experiment with weird noises, extends the limit of the pop song. Of course the hits are here:

But still, one of my the most exciting albums of the year.

For Addicts
I would recommend the latest drug.
Tame Impala
For heights that even Stone(d) Roses never reached (due to bad production).
Here's why:

And I'll leave you with this Unbelievable come-back of The Chemical Brothers
Loose yourself in its electronic bliss.
Just like the old times.

Enjoy the summer.
Take a break.
Get yourself together.
Come back stronger.

Apocalypse...

2010-05-28T12:32:00.004+02:00

Live review
A Place To Bury Strangers
013, Tilburg, Holland

A true sensation on vinyl, A Place To Bury Strangers live is a completely different story.
Will they be able to produce their sonic atmospheres and brain-melting sounds live?

The answer was given just a few seconds after Oliver Ackermann plugged in his guitar.
Obviously, the real question with this band is how to put on a record this amazing sound they produce live.
Was the organized production of their 2nd album "Exploding Head" better than the raw sound of their debut album or not?

Anyway, nothing really matters when you see this band live. For almost 40 minutes they go through a selection of songs who prove them to be one of the most exciting guitar bands around. The sound is just absolutely magic.
The setting is carefully designed to fit the dark melodies and noisy outbursts.

What happens though on the last 20 minutes of the show, it's just history in the making.
I remembered the first time i saw Mogwai live. When their wall of sound hit me, I started crying.
It was an emotional response to a sound i never heard before.
A few years later I had the same experience with the Japanese Mono.
But what APTBS have in common with these 2 bands?
Nothing really, except that they also have invented a sound so overwhelmingly loud, which becomes a true body experience.
I could honestly claim that i was ecstatic for these last 20 minutes.
The noise was just unbelievable. And this is the best way to prove that volume is not just a knob you set on 11.
It's the frequencies you produce and the intensity that these frequencies have.
Sometimes i could swear i saw a huge magnetic field around the stage.
Sometimes i thought i could touch the sound.

The guys, by the way, know also how to do a good show, completely taken over by the sound they create.

Right now, i don't wanna go to another gig. It feels like I've seen them all.

Labasheeda UK Tour 2010

2010-05-10T12:40:00.010+02:00

Labasheeda UK tour (April 27th – May 3rd 2010)

Tuesday, 27 April
UK Tour II begins!
Luxurious car, more space, bigger smile.
Dyan drives the whole day. Amazing weather. Coffee in the sun.
Boat delay/band delayed arrival in Brighton.
Phil’s there, first time as our promoter for tonight.
Cool place, downstairs pub, and upstairs stage.
Not many people but cool bands. All very friendly.
We play good although we are all very tired.
Long night, driving back to Phil’s house, one last drink, sleep.
Good, long, deep sleep.

Wednesday, 28 April
Wake up, full English breakfast (good stuff!), Phil is an excellent host and a good friend. We’re off to Bristol. Nice weather again, coffee in the sun again. We arrive early so we visit out tonight’s host.
Shawn+Sarah are the coolest people on earth, living in a small apartment in a very old and fancy Victorian house. Impressive. We have a long chat, leave our stuff for the night and we’re off for the gig.
Fact 1: While renovating the ceiling of the pub, the owner fell down and broke his leg, a few hours before we arrive.
Fact 2: There is no one there for sound checking, the stage is empty and only a poor new waitress is trying to clean up the mess. Dust everywhere.
But, hey, it’s ok. We can still have a beer and wait on the backside of the building where there is a nice (dirty) back yard.
Amazing bands again, some post-Nirvana mixed with shoegaze, and a boy/girl duo smashing up some raw tunes on bass/drums.
I think we did our best show there. We had an amazing sound and we all really connected with the music. Not many people there but everyone enjoyed it. It was filmed also, curious to see the results. We met lots of cool people tonight.
Back home for sleep. Airbeds, rough sleep.

Thursday, 29 April
Wake up, relaxed breakfast, walk to the most amazing old bridge of Bristol. In the rain, Shawn feels guilty of taking us out and making us wet, but it’s all right, the view is absolutely astonishing. We thank our hosts, and we’re off for Ipswich.
Coffee on the way, arrival. Ipswich is a small town. We play tonight in an attic over an old Irish pub. 5 bands tonight (wow!). We also find out that promoters in the UK do not offer food, so we stop asking and find the nearest fish+chips. We need lots of beers and waiting. It’s all right, there is football on TV, football and Guinness, how British! No good bands, no people, this is not a good place to play. But we do our best in front of 10 enthusiastic people that seemed to like it a lot. It’s something amazing, to play even for such a small crowd who appreciates the music.
Tonight, we’re sleeping in the bar, in 2 separate rooms upstairs from the bar. Our Irish hosts are absolutely wonderful. They lock up the pub and offer us shitloads of drinks, Irish Mist + Sloe Liqueur (homemade). Got us really nicely drunk and then served us their awesome ghost stories. Apparently the pub has been the home of many ghosts. A bit more Irish Mist though and we all have a sweet night’s sleep.

Friday, 30 April
Wake up and got the nastiest, hugest English breakfast in a local pub with Dyan. Together with a whole pint of orange juice. With a full belly, we’re off for Preston.
Traffic is horrible the whole way. We even pay 5 pounds to enter a special highway that it was advertised as a no-traffic-jam highway. Bullshit. It was hard to drive all these hours to get there, plus that the traffic jams entering the city was even worse. Anyway, the venue looks really cool, nice people around and a huge stage. Easy parking next doors. Quick sound check, all sounds good.
A small break, we grab something to eat, dirty and fast. We all swear it’s the last time. Back to the pub, we have our beers and listen to the first 2 bands. Technical heavy post-rock with shitloads of effect pedals first followed by our hosts for the night, a really interesting local melodic rock band. Good sound, expensive amps and nice haircuts. Lots of people in the venue, it’s encouraging. We did one of our best shows there, with young kids jumping up and down in front of us.
Afterwards, many people talk to us and congratulate us, while Saskia is selling a lot of vinyl’s and cd’s. We even had to sign a record. This is a good crowd for the band. We already love Preston.
For the night, we drive to Paul’s (guitarist of NotNowKato) wonderful big house. Last few beers and off to bed.

Saturday, 1 May
We all slept well I think. Had a shower. Clean house by the way! Morning chat and breakfast, beautiful day. We’re off for that weird festival in Feltfoot Woods, somewhere in the Lake District up in the north of the UK. It’s indeed pretty close to Preston, so no hurry. Unfortunately it starts raining. We meet another band with a mini-bus and we all go together for a coffee, since there is nothing to do in the woods. It was still empty. Wonderful area, old forests and lakes all over. Nice people too. Chatting a lot with them. Back to the festival, it’s all about waiting under a tent for the rain to stop. Everything’s running late but more and more people arrive. Music begins a bit later than scheduled but one band cancelled. First band, 2 Belgian guys playing slowcore. Liked it. Food’s ready though and the bar opens. Perfect.
We’re up next. It’s freezing cold and everyone hands are stuck. Some technical problems, it’s our first time outside I think. Pretty weird sound. We’re trying our best. I think that after a few songs, we get warm and we perform a good end of the playlist. People seem to like it. We meet a crazy group of people from Leeds who’ll make our evening a bit more fun! The band after us is called Mugstar and they were amazing, definitely my favorite band on this tour. Crazy, heavy, psychedelic post-rock. I almost started trippin’. It was awesome.
In general, we met lots of cool people up there.
We got a good pay for the gig.
We heard Barry’s (the organizer of the festival) space poetry.
We made new friends. Got drunk. Watched them doing crazy stuff.
Met really strange people.
Got really fuckin’ cold even in the tent, with loads of clothes and sleeping bags.
Didn’t really sleep (except Dyan of course).
Left really early just to find a warm, cozy place to have breakfast and coffee.

Sunday, 2 May
We arrive early in Cambridge. A good opportunity to visit the city (after a few rounds with the car to find parking space). The most beautiful city we saw on this tour I think. The university of Cambridge includes half of the centre of the city along huge parks and beautiful shopping areas. Weather was cold but partly sunny. We found a nice pub and waited there till the pub we’re playing is open. Had the best fish and chips there by the way…
The place we’re playing tonight is pretty big for a pub, it’s dark and dirty. Not many people around, mainly kids trying to play. It’s ok. That’s how we all started. We did a good set, although we were all very tired from the whole tour. No bass amp also. Never do it again. We sold our last vinyl’s and cd’s, talked to people.
We could have stayed there for the night, but we booked a hotel close to Dover where we need to take the boat back tomorrow. We arrive there late at night. Off to sleep immediately.

Monday, 3 May
The day of our return. All very tired, didn’t have enough sleep.
Boat was shaking a lot, but I remained still like a rock!
Way back was very tiring, especially the traffic jams in Holland.

Enough with driving. Time to get some real rest.
Good to be home.
It was a great tour.
We learnt a lot, we enjoyed a lot, we met great people, we made new friends.

Cheers!

Weird April:Illness/Pain/Stress/Blood/Sun

2010-04-21T14:40:00.005+02:00

April started like this:

ILLNESS

PAIN

STRESS

BLOOD

And Oh My Lord (finally)
SUN

March Liars

2010-03-26T20:21:00.004+01:00

How can a lie become obsessive?
Like that:

The best single of the year (?), the decade (?), the new millennium (?), i don't know what the fuck is happening...
By far the best music video this side of my brain though.

Great album from Gorillaz! Damon Albarn got really serious this time. Plus, an after-midnight screening of "No Distance Left To Run" (the documentary about Blur) on BBC brought tears and smiles, memories and all the discography of Blur back into my current iTunes library. Indeed, a brilliant documentary, followed by the emotional come-back show in Glastonbury...

One of my favorite bands is back with a new album. Titus Andronicus is not only a great, intellectual punk-rock band, but also great friends and amazing people. The new album is more adventurous and more chaotic. It'll take a while to decode the whole story, but the music is powerful as ever, hits you straight in the head (the wrong side always!).

How can you save the universe with a few series of strings

2010-03-06T10:01:00.006+01:00

It's hard not to worship Joanna Newsom. Specially now that:
- Joni Mitchell is creatively finished.
- Kate Bush is stuck in 80s synthesizer sounds.
- Tori Amos still trying to "fit" her genius piano playing with a "rock" band, unsuccessfully.
- Bjork is lost in extravagant sounds that don't fit with each other.

To be clear. I haven't heard Joanna's first album (and I'm not intending to), I hated the 2nd ("Ys") but I recognized her genius in making art-pop music like no one else. Now, with "This One Is On Me" she created a masterpiece. I'll place this album next to "Blue" from Joni Mitchell. For me, this is universal music, a classic masterpiece that will stay with me till i go deaf.
She's finally singing with an earthly emotion. Orchestration is so much down to earth, so elegant and beautiful, so simple and intelligent. And the songs are just pure delight, an amazing adventure in the magical world of playful harmonies.

For the rest:
- "Gorilla Minor" by Local Natives is a good album, i enjoyed the melodies and crazy percussion.
- "One Life Stand" by Hot Chip is a beautiful electropop album in the tradition of Pet Shop Boys.

"Black Noise" by Pantha du Prince
Another significant album with a wonderful cover (I'm going for the LP edition for sure), Pantha du Prince's new album is a techno masterpiece. Exactly how i want my techno to sound like: dark, atmospheric and adventurous

February 2010: making the noise possible

2010-02-19T16:39:00.003+01:00

Yes, it's indeed strange to be talking about music of others when you're so busy making yours. New guitar, new amp (VOX AC15:the real shit for those who know) and shit-loads of effect pedals sleep with me and wake up with me, every night and day. Neighbours upset, but still haven't say a word. It's painful when i try to listen to music these last few weeks. Painful, cause my ears are already fucked-up from guitar noises, so i end up listening to Drones like this one, just to put my self to sleep:

It's painful, cause this is not what i wanna listen. THIS is what i want to listen:
If this doesn't turn you on...

Yes, as a "good" music blogger i did listen to all new albums, i got:
- Massive Attack (bad album)
- Tindersticks (no need to try without good whiskey, it doens't work)
- Midlake(!) (yeah, lame)
- Thee SilverMt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (someone teach this guy how to sing please...)

I only have to declare that i was left completely and absolutely... bored.

Did you just see Iggy on play-back?
Gottcha there indie kids!

I'll be back when i'll have something to say.

January 2010 (Organize+get noisy)

2010-02-02T14:30:00.015+01:00

Well, it took me one month to organize.
Split the iTunes in two pieces and now I'm ready to go.

But first my new guitar:

Life took me on a big trip to prepare me for this moment, and now i think i'm worth of it. The guitar of my dreams. Jazzmaster. A loud one!

January had a lof of secrets to reveal. First it was Brett Anderson's new album (see previous post), then:

Contra by Vampire Weekend

A little bit more weird but it shows a band who's trying to evolve. Happy album, i could dance to it anytime.

Teen Dream by Beach House

Beautiful album, hippy happy/sad pop. Some may say it's Animal Collective going folk. I say: it's just a nice album.

Astrocoast by Surfer Blood

Great band name, great cover. Amazing production (Americans still make the best productions for indie bands), the guitar sounds just great, grungy. Vocals remind me of Fleet Foxes (yes, they are that good!). One of my favourite albums already.
Unfortunately all the live clips from this band are lame. Which means that without the producer they are a bunch of kids trying to sound good. Big issue. I hope i can talk more about it in the future.

Transference by Spoon

Intellectual "poppers" gone dark. Still haven't found the key to this album. I'll try harder and i'll be back on this.

There Is Love In You by Four Tete

I'm listening to more and more electronic music the past few weeks. Four Tet is relaxed and confident about his work.
Beautiful sounds, manipulation of vocals (Burial's influence), simple beats. This is an album to open your mind. Positive.

IRM by Charlotte Gainsbourg

Album of the month. From the first seconds you enter a new world of dark psychedelia. Beck is the magician here, creating a new universe for his muse. Incredible orchestration of orchestral and drum sounds. Charlotte is just the sacred voice that leads you into the darkness safely. From her death experience to her coming back to life, the trip is breathtaking.

Brett? Are you home darling? It's 2010!

2010-01-15T17:59:00.006+01:00

OK. New year. New goals in life. New music?
Well, just one album.
But it's a lovely album, from a voice that we all fell in love sometime in our lives.
Brett? Come on in!

hey! This is not Brett!

This is Brett. Alone. With a piano.
His new album was the first album i heard in 2010.
It brought up memories. It made me fall in love with his voice once again.
After a long long time.
Brett, welcome back home.
We missed you.
Your album is not another boring Suede sounding album. It sounds real. You have been listening to some Talk Talk lately perhaps? Maybe the "Spirit of Eden" album? Because the spaces you leave between your breaths and the ongoing melodies reveal something fragile, something deep. You finally let your music breath.

Just before the end...

2009-12-31T12:22:00.004+01:00

So, we are almost there. Our first 10's
Just wanted to write my last words for this year.

The greek blogger's countdown for the best albums of the year and the decade was a great success and a lot of fun for all of us.
No.1 album for the 00's was voted Arcade Fire's "Funeral" and no.1 for the year was Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion". My main thoughts are:

- I do not understand why people deny Radiohead as a band. What i mean is that there are people who stop appreciating a band from the moment that a band becomes famous. I understand this behavior since i was a fan of Radiohead from their 1st album, and i wanted them to be "my band". But i grew up and realized that it's ridiculous to ask from a band to deny their huge influence and their fame for my personal egoistic reasons. Nevertheless, Radiohead deserve all this attention which was only because of their creative works. Second, i do not understand why someone will "hate" a band just because most of the people love it. Radiohead made the best album of the 90s, but their works this decade are beyond that. 4 incredible albums including "Kid A" and "In Rainbows" are the biggest achievement from a band for the 00's.

- I love "Funeral" as an album and i love "Arcade Fire" as performers and musicians. Their concert in Paradiso a few years ago (It was their 2nd gig in 1 month! They came back by public demand while the hype was spreading from mouth to mouth) was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. A real feeling of communion. But as an album and their outcome for this decade just isn't enough to be on the top spot.

-The same with The Strokes (no.2 for the decade). One incredible album is not enough. Sorry. Your lack of motivation (too much money to sit on) and lack of inspiration (too much fuzz about fashion) was a total disappointment.

- I do not understand the discussion around the album of Animal Collective. I do not want to follow and imitate popular blogs and websites/magazines, but i cannot deny that this was the best album of the year by far. Anyone has the right to vote his personal favorite, so i guess, the discussion ends here. For the quality of the album, what can i say?
I got 4 words:
ORIGINALITY
MELODY
BALANCE
SOUND

The essence of POP music.

I saw a lot of bloggers posting their own lists for the best singles, movies and others and i really enjoyed it. But for me, this 2 big lists are enough for this year.

My conclusion for 2009 is that we are experiencing the best moment for music, when big record companies are collapsing and new bands/artists can publish their work much more effortlessly, plus, a lot of young people are introducing new small labels who help new bands to shine. Pitchfork was the most important website for indie music for this decade, since it remained strict and kept the high quality of their critics and introduced their webTV with lots of amazing ideas.
I'm happy i heard so much beautiful music this year.

May 2010 be even better.

Live performance of Mexicola by Queens of The Stone Age

#1

2009-12-20T10:27:00.004+01:00

Before revealing the no.1's i would to make some things clear, cause i will forget:

- I didn't place multiple albums from any band. Which means that the dynamic of every album that any band made this decade goes to their most important album.
- I realized that a top-20 for the decade was a very difficult thing to do and i'm still not very sure about the result
(I'm pretty sure for the first 5 albums though)
- Listening back to the beloved albums of this decade, i was feeling really happy to be able to enjoy all these amazing music that came out. It was truly a magical decade for music.
- Thanx to everyone who participated. It was really cool to wake up every morning and read about your favorite albums. It's such a diverse collection.
- I apologize for my english (the countdown was organized by Greek bloggers).
I'm not living in Greece anymore and the friends of this blog are mostly english speaking.
- I really enjoyed the ride. Thanx to gone4sure for the idea.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen (we're floating in space), i'm happy to announce the winners:

00's

No.1
Radiohead
Kid A

Radiohead got away from the "OK Computer" trap by creating a masterpiece. Sometimes the will to escape leads you to new found lands. There is no other band that i enjoyed more this decade, along with "Amnesiac" and their newest "In Rainbows", Radiohead was, is and hopefully will remain my favorite band ever.

2009

No.1
Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion

"Person Pitch" by Panda Bear (member of Animal Collective) last year was just a warning. This is a real wonder, AC escaping from the "avant-garde" with a masterpiece of true genius pop melodies and crazy soundscapes. There was no competitor for the top this year. And the first time that i agree with the "specialists" and "professionals". I still cannot believe that i am living this... is it a dream?

#2

2009-12-19T09:30:00.003+01:00

00's

No.2
Interpol
Turn On The Bright Lights

I remember that it took me more than 6 months to find my way into this emotional roller-coaster. A chaotic labyrinth of black blood and bright night lights. Unbelievable album, every moment is as exciting as the next. "Antics" was also a fantastic album, with richer melodies and clearer sound. But i promised to avoid 2 albums in this list from the same band. Interpol defined the emotional music of this decade.

2009

no.2
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

It was easy to love them. Shoegaze guitars/fantastic melodic lines/great production/good lyrics/black&white artwork. The surprise was that i kept on listening to this album the whole time, and it still sounds fresh and gives an amazing energy to my life.

#3

2009-12-18T09:51:00.003+01:00

00's

No.3
Sigur Ros
( )

"Agætis byrjun" was the first shock, but this was the aftermath. The "untitled" album brought me to ecstasy innumerable times. Someone has to study what really happens in our brain while listening to it. Why is it all so beautiful?

2009

No.3
Dinosaur Jr
Farm

The best album in Dinosaur Jr's "career" so far. It's a bit of a taboo to say, but it's so obvious that i cannot avoid it.

#4

2009-12-17T17:23:00.004+01:00

00's

No.4
The White Stripes
Elephant

I strongly believe that Elephant is a step higher than White Blood Cells and the Magnus Opus of the band, even though a lot of people will disagree with me. I really believe that the real soul of The White Stripes is behind the elephant sized riffs and the huge sound of this unbelievable record.

2009

No.4
The Boy
Please Make Me Dance

The most important greek album of the last 5 years (at least). Important as a whole to our cultural evolution as a nation lost in its own insecurities. Unique because "The Boy" invents a sound of his own, using greek & english words and borrowing sounds from our past, he goes through all the dramatic events of his life -our life- with the vision and the guts of a real punk anti-expressionist. And yes, if this album was made in the UK or in the US, it would be on everyone's end of the year lists. Plus, Pitchfork would be following him everywhere... but who really cares?

#5

2009-12-16T10:53:00.003+01:00

00's

No.5
The Strokes
Is This It?

Yeah! This is it! And the new rocknroll party may begin...
Like everyone else, i read the reviews and bought it immediately. I remember being very disappointed by the production, my ears being used of all this Radiohead/Muse loud, hi-tech and clean productions. But this lasted till song number 7. Then my body took over and the rest is history.

2009

No.5
Κόρε. Ύδρο
Όλη η Αλήθεια για τα Παιδιά του ’78
("The Whole Truth About The Kids of '78")

I'm born in 1980. I missed this for just 2 years just like i missed Smashing Pumpking's "1979" for one year.
But truth speaks for all of us. A masterpiece of pop melodies, imaginative orchestration and awfully true lyrics. Impressive in the beginning, it makes you want to dive into this emotional chaos. The guitars can wait a bit longer.

#6

2009-12-15T10:22:00.004+01:00

00's

No.6
Tool
Lateralus

Fibonacci sequence matching with syllabi, rhythms that come together for an instand and then fall apart, lyrics about the spiral as the origin of life, weird encounters with higher thoughts and civilizations, where communication is realized in a much higher level, this is the album that a mentally stronger group of people gave to the world to help us move a step forward.
In other words: It's evolution, baby!

2009

No.6
Girls
Album

I was resisting to the charm of this album for several weeks, till one shiny day (a rare thing up here), i got it! I just got it.
Includes the song of the year (Hellhole Ratrace) and so much sunshine to wash out your desperation and loneliness in an instant.

#7

2009-12-14T11:20:00.003+01:00

00's

No.7
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fever To Tell

That was when this new rock'n'roll thing became dangerous again. Hot as hell, Karen O was screaming and swearing violently over fragile relationships and crazy nights out, over noisy guitars and liquid rhythms.

2009

No.7
Bibio
Ambivalence Avenue

This album came out of the blue and in a few weeks became one of my favorites for this year. It's melodic, groovy, mysterious. From sonic electronic experiences to sweet love songs and funky rhythms, this is the surprise of the year.

#8

2009-12-13T09:52:00.004+01:00

00's

No.8
Damien Rice
O

Desperation. But you are strong enough to face it. You fight back. You know it's useless, you know you'll lose, but that's what courage means, isn't it? Do we have a spiritual connection with the Irish people? I wonder...

2009

No.8
Antony & The Johnsons
The Crying Light

They said a lot about you. They expected you to fall on your 2nd step. But you came up even stronger. Proving that inspiration doesn't die just because you're famous. Ladies & gentlemen, this is a perfect example of a 2nd album which is better than the debut. A masterpiece of uncompromising melodies and divine orchestration.

#9

2009-12-12T09:53:00.005+01:00

00's

No.9
System of a Down
Toxicity

We were young. We were angry. We wanted a different world. We wanted to fight for a good cause. We were romantics.

2009

No.9
Mastodon
Crack The Skye

The best metal band in the world on another astonishing album. I am afraid that pop bands have to try much harder. This album includes the most challengingly beautiful melodies of the year. And when they leave the beast go free, it's just unbelievable.

#10

2009-12-11T09:11:00.003+01:00

00's

No.10
Bright Eyes
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

From a falling airplane to a collapsing relationship, from riots to isolating rooms, crossing the american dessert for just a glance of romanticism, this album made me live inside it's own heart and bones.

2009

No.10
Exploding Head
A Place To Bury Strangers

I was totally obsessed with these guys. My expectations were so high, that i really thought they will make the best album of the decade. Far from that, they made a good album, which i was able to appreciate just when i stopped expecting too much. "In Your Heart" it's one of the singles of the year. Cold noise/Warm Heart.

#11

2009-12-10T09:10:00.004+01:00

00's

No.11
Bjork
Vespertine

Recorded while her little girl was sleeping, it's the lullaby for a world in harmony.

2009

No.11
Flaming Lips
Embryonic

The first Flaming Lips album that got me. It's weird but i do not like their previous work. Embryonic came with a different sound to change that. This is evolution. I just cannot stop listening.

#12

2009-12-09T09:41:00.003+01:00

00's

No.12
Godspeed You Black Emeror
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

"The greatest music ever made". Now it still sounds scary. All frontiers have fallen. Civilization has collapsed and this is the survivor's music, made of rough material, the remains.

2009

No.12
Wild Beasts
Two Dancers

The most charming album of this year. And sticky. A fantastic blend of music influences.

#13

2009-12-08T17:56:00.003+01:00

00's

No.13
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Abbatoir Blues / Lyre of Orpheus
Blixa gone= Guitars more noisy! How is that possible?
The best album of Nick Cave for this decade. And he still continues strong for the next one.
Worth to mention: His Grinderman project includes one of the best singles of the decade "No Pussy Blues".

2009

No.13
Αλκίνοος Ιωαννίδης
Νεροποντή

Another greek album by a well-known artist. Alkinoos is at his best here. Every piece of his masterful songwriting is here, plus some new found lands. Cannot forget the shock of listening the first 2 tracks of this album. I get chills even writing about it...
It's amazing when an artist creates a fundamental work by understanding the overall feelings of a whole nation.

#14

2009-12-07T12:37:00.002+01:00

00's

No.14
The National
Boxer

Still haunting me.

2009

No.14
Bat For Lashes
Two Suns

Music for dreams.

#15

2009-12-06T17:03:00.003+01:00

00's

No.15
Franz Ferdinard
Franz Ferdinard

This album still puts a smile upon my face. Helped me a lot in my first steps of being alone in a strange northern country.

2009

No.15
Λόγος Απειλή
Άλλα Λόγια Να Μισιόμαστε

Finally, a bunch of kids bring the word "real" back to the streets. Unbelievable rhymes, great production, provocative, dangerous, authentic.

#16

2009-12-05T10:51:00.002+01:00

00's

No.16
The Rapture
Echoes

It was called disco-punk. It was the perfect twist between beats & noises. It was dark and had the good 80s sound. It had huge bass lines, freaky vocals, noisy, high frequency full guitars, weird harmonies. It influenced so many bands already. No one after this album could separate where machines stop and where men begin.

2009

No.16
The Twilight Sad
Forget The Night Ahead

It begins like a sonic youth album, but then melodies appear. Desperate, romantic and hard to focus on. Dangerous album, it could alienate a life, it could destroy ears and relationships. I discovered it a bit late, that's why it's not so high on my list. Great production, the most noisy album of the year. Although the band is a bit disappointing live, the album has all the ingredients to become an all time favorite.

#17

2009-12-04T10:23:00.005+01:00

00's

No.17
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Source, Tags & Codes

By far the best name for a band this decade, Trail of Dead brought poetry into noise, they brought intellectual into punk. Their first live shows were chaotic, smashing guitars just to make the right noise on the right moment... This album combines beautiful melodies and orchestration with an amazing wall of sound from the noisy guitars. I heard it again a few weeks ago, and it still sounds bombastic.

2009

No.17
Film
Persona

The first of the 4 albums by greek artists on this list (and the one with the sexiest cover), this album is an instant classic. Closer than ever to a baroque rock 80s sound, just like Blonde Redhead's "Misery Is A butterfly" invented it. The production is absolutely astonishing. The songs are great. I loved it from the first moment i heard it. Some moments of melodic genius are still stuck in my head.

#18

2009-12-03T10:01:00.007+01:00

00's

No.18
Deftones
White Pony

This is not nu-metal. This is a heavy album that bleeds and bleeding was a cool thing to do back in the days, What about going back to school and burn it down? Deftones here re-invent themselves, creating a very emotional world, using their influences in order to produce something unheard before. Chino's melodic lines are unique, playing with out of tune notes in such a charming way, a perfect fit for his weird, cinematic words over the heavy guitars... this album still breathes over my neck.

2009

No.18
Fever Ray
Fever Ray

Dark album. Sounds and voices from another world. It's like a superior race has taken over and shows us how music is being done. Just like The Knife's "Silent Shout", it's an experience you have to dive in and surrender. It will drive you to new worlds of sonic experience.

#19

2009-12-02T08:55:00.002+01:00

00's

No.19
The Knife
Silent Shout

The only reason why it's #19 is because somehow i discovered it much later. When it came out i was looking good on the dancefloor. Anyway, an album that works slowly in your head and becomes quickly addictive. It's like every sound and every note are melting in a pot of hallucinating honey. Another fine example of music that makes drugs unnecessary.

2009

No.19
Cass Mc Combs
Catacombs

A mysterious diamond, an unusual album of a "singer/songwriter", loved it from the first moments of "Dreams Come True Girl" - one of the best songs of the year. Can people still make original folk music using the same instruments and tricks? Yes. At least Cass Mc Combs can.

#20

2009-12-01T09:59:00.001+01:00

00's

No.20
LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver

Somehow this album feels like a closure. All major influences from the previous 3 decades (at least) are here, but more advanced, more groovy, more arty with a sound that's blending past and future times in such a unique way. After this album it feels like we are free to create our own future. It's the end.

2009

No.20
The Horrors
Primary Colours

Was that the re-creation of My Bloody Valentine guitars? Did i hear a glimpse of genious there? Is that the guy from Portishead producing? And what is Chris Cunningham doing there? Only for the guitar sound here, it could be no1 easily, but not so many songs to be pride of.

It's the final countdown/ Ti-ri-ni-ni...

2009-11-29T21:39:00.000+01:00

83 greek bloggers unite in the biggest countdown ever!
We reveal our personal best albums of 2009 and the 00s.
Starting Tuesday 1st of December we will be revealing one album per day.
All Gone will be gathering the results everyday so on the 20th of December we will know the final results for the best album of 2009 and the decade.
Exciting! Can't wait to begin!

November Rain

2009-11-15T19:53:00.001+01:00

Well, i have to admit that i am not so busy these days, but still somehow, didn't get to write a descent blog entry. Unfortunately.
Well, here I am. I will try to summarize all the things i have been listening the last month.

First of all, i found a way to create a new music library on my iTunes. This means that from now on, i only have new albums in my library, around 10 albums that i am listening all the time, without being dizzy looking on this endless list of my previous music library. Order in chaos + Clear mind = Enjoying the music much more...

Here we go:
The song of the year

It's one of these life affirming songs. Romantic and real, with a melody that could make me immortal.
What happens on 3'45'' will be written in the history of good pop music.

This is from "Girls", a San Francisco band. Their first album which i have been avoiding for more than 2 months now, it's one of the best albums of the year. We will see about that more precisely in a month from now.

Cass Mc Combs.
Mysterious, weird, hypnotic Bob Dylan.

You Saved My Life

His album "Catacombs" also one of the best albums of the year.
Check out this video too:
Dreams Come True Girl

For the first time in my life, i am enjoying an album from Flaming Lips.
"Embryonic" is just dirty enough, strange enough for me. No more robots fighting and weird space humour.
This is Flaming Lips down to Earth. Playing in a garage next doors!

First video is unbelievable. Really unbelievable.
I guarantee you have never seen something like this before.

Check the video here:
Watching The Planets

I will close with something of pure pleasure:

Black and Deep Black...

2009-10-19T00:20:00.000+02:00

2 years ago I saw "A Headbanger's Journey", probably the most interesting documentary about Heavy Metal. There was a full chapter on Norwegian Metal scene and it really looked mysteriously provocative and dangerous. It includes a legendary scene with Gaahl (the singer of "Gorgoroth") answering questions of the journalist.
Tonight i found out that there is a internet TV channel called VBS TV. These guys made a 5 part documentary about Norwegian Black Metal and specially about "Gorgoroth"

By far one of the most powerful videos i have seen.

You should see the rest of the video's on youtube. Specially the last part was unbelievable to watch. One big scary silence for the end...

New School Year/ Back from the summer shock!

2009-10-08T16:09:00.001+02:00

Been away for a long time. Busy with survivalism...

In the meanwhile, the new record of The Place To Bury Strangers is out!

The cover is similar to the 1st album, the title is promising. First single was very impressive (In Your Heart). Simple, romantic, noisy. Exactly how i like things happen. Of course, i was a bit psychotic about this band (see previous post) so i cannot be objective. The album has generally a better sound, since it was professionally produced (the 1st was just a demo). I wouldn't say it's better than the 1st album. It has some amazing moments of sonic guitar sound, some great melodies but it is not the album that i was hoping for. I was pretty sure that these guys can make the best record of the decade...! Maybe i was just psychotic.

For the rest, i am enjoying "Two and a half men". Probably one of the collest sitcoms i have seen, and one with the most amazing vocabulary. I need to open a dictionary sometimes and then burst in spastic laughs.

What else?

- I remembered an album i loved when it came out and it's back in my playlist.
Source Tags & Codes by ...And They Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (coolest band name ever!)

Amazing album, amazing sound, amazing songs. Brings back memories of pure noise. I was only 22...
Just a link:
Another Morning Stoner live

And for the finalle something that i discovered yesterday night.
When was the last time that i heard such a bombastic greek hip hop? Years ago...
Amateur video but amazing lyrics, attitude, music. These kids will bring it back together again.
Oh, and check out my city, the video was shot in the legendary Navarinou Square of Thessaloniki... haha!

Fixation

2009-09-14T20:47:00.000+02:00

After 29 years on this planet, i found exactly what i want to do in my life:

The End

Lazy August/ Best Albums for 2009 ('till now...)

2009-08-11T14:06:00.000+02:00

Sitting on my lazy fat ass, under a hot sun and a huge moon...i need to summarize 2009 up until now. Let's see.
These are the albums i heard most this year.

1. Marriweather Post Pavillion - Animal Collective
2. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
3. The Crying Light - Antony and The Johnsons
4. Farm - Dinosaur Jr
5. Primary Colours - The Horrors
6. Όλη η αλήθεια για τα παιδιά του '78- Κόρε. 'Υδρο.
7. Please Make Me Dance -The Boy
8. Crack The Skye - Mastodon
9. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
10. Νεροποντή - Αλκίνοος Ιωαννίδης
11. The Eternal - Sonic Youth
12. Two Suns - Bat for lashes
13. Beacons of Ancestorship - Tortoise
14. Actor- St.Vincent
15. Wavves - Wavves
16. Ambivalence avenue - Bibio

Not sure about the first 4 places...it could be different. Not sure...

The Dutch And The American/ The Serious And The Funny

2009-07-27T13:35:00.000+02:00

Strange thing. Living 5 years in Holland and just yesterday i got to know the best thing this country has to offer in Music. His name is Spinvis which means something like a spider-fish, not sure yet. His lyrics are in Dutch, but extremely beautiful and emotional. Something between Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, with a bit more modern sounds and ideas. A friend mentioned his name yesterday and i said, hey, let's download some stuff from this guy, let's find a website with his lyrics, get the dutch-english dictionary and see what he's got!

It's truly amazing to discover something so powerful... and the way he pronounces Dutch is magical.

Here you can download his best album.

Here you can see his latest video.

Here you can hear the song that made me cry...

Here you can see the lyrics of that song...

And that song brought into the arms of Tom Waits, once again.
It's about Alice anyway...

Here is Alice.

Here is a recent live from Tom Waits to enjoy.

Here is something older, the most popular Tom Waits video on youtube.

and there goes the serious side of this week

Now have something funny:

Have you ever heard of "FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS"?

Here you can find some truly genius funny music.

By far the most funny thing i have seen in Youtube for a long long long long time...
It's Business Time.

You should check out all their videos. But the one above is for sure the best one.

NIN/Deerhof

2009-07-20T00:21:00.000+02:00

2 Amazing gigs for this week. Writing with a bleeding middle finger. (Cut it with the cheese-scraper!!!)

NINE INCH NAILS
Amsterdam, 8/7/2009
Crossed like a real martyr, Trent Reznor gave us his last show with the Nine Inch Nails machine. He passed through Europe to satisfy his fans, but i have the feeling that he keeps the best for last, his last intimate gigs will be in the US of course, Europe never fully understood this authentic American phenomenon. It was a full gig around 2,5 hours long, they played a wide variety of songs from all the albums (unfortunately only one from my favourite one: "Year Zero"). Great audience, great band, no special effects and huge tv-screens, only light show and heavy guitars. Good sound, amazing on stage, a little too professional...
I'm proud i managed to be jumping with the real wild kids for more than 2 hours...right there in the front!
Good to see his expressions from close, his greatness and his weakness to produce real sentimental moments...but it's NIN after all, it's no fucking Placebo!
NIN Live/ I'll miss this amazing energy!

DEERHOOF
Tivoli De Helling 19/07/2009
Tonight was the night...couldn't wait to see Deerhoof again. For sure the best gig for this year so far. Unbelievable band, unbelievable musicians, unbelievable songs, unbelievable stage presence. Every member of the band is a real ninja with his instrument...plus the crazy Satomi. Pure art. Boring crowd as usual in this small city, but i was high, dancing and ignoring the crowd, concentrated on the band, didn't take my eyes from the stage not even for a second!

Thoughts: I wanna move to the US. Make a band. Seriously.

Deerhoof's last album (Offend Maggie) was a rock dynamite, and they really showed that on stage. Living aside weird sounds and electronic interferences, they concentrated on making a really solid rock sound, based on their cold and noisy guitars.
Plus, the best drummer i have heard in my life. And genuinely a funny guy. Oh, and do not offer him alcohol, he doesn't like it at all!

Deerhoof Live In A Basement/ Bahm,bah,bah,bahm! Best Introduction Ever/Plus Interview (Surreal)

The Greek and the Ugly/ Best Album Covers

2009-07-10T11:37:00.000+02:00

This week i was stuck with 2 amazing albums from 2 very different bands, a legendary American band and a "will-be" legendary band from Greece.

DINOSAUR JR

Yes. Again. I heard the new album over and over and over again and i am certain, 100% sure that this is their best album!
The songs are better, the lyrics are better, the sound is better, the vocals are better, the solos are better...
After "Beyond" i thought that Dinosaur Jr cannot do better, this is their sound, they found it again, what else can i ask?
But with "Farm"... what can i say? I never heard a Dinosaur Jr album so many times.
And i am not the kind of guy that will compare the new album with their old tunes.
NOW IS SO MUCH BETTER!

See here the new video:
Over It

KORE.YDRO.
In Greek: ΚΟΡΕ.ΥΔΡΟ.

I'll try not to get sentimental, but this is heavy emotional shit. I remember the moment i saw their previous album "Cheap Pop For The Elite", in a big record shop in the centre of Athens. I got chills only by looking at the cover.
I could seriously touch the blood spots on the cover... one of the best covers of all time.
(idea: what about what's my top-5 best covers of all time?- see below also for the cover of this album)
The music was extraordinary. A mix of 80s pop with noisy elements, The Smiths, The Cure, 80s greek pop, amazing DIY recording, lyrics that become easily "yours", hard lyrics that come out with great difficulty to tell someone's very personal story, 90s alternative attitude, piano's, violins, broken strings, guitars that bleed Nirvana. Throughout the record you have the feeling that you are listening something defining, something so important for the years to come. pffff... i stop here.

Well, these guys have a new album. "All The Truth For The Kids of '78". Less guitars, more piano's and orchestral arrangements. Amazing lyrics again.
More 80s pop, less guitar outbursts. The same heavy emotional experience, amazing sound and overall recording.
I read a lot of reviews about this album, some good, some a bit cautious...
Someone told me: when you rebel, you do not do it with "lounge" piano's and "sweet" sounds.
I am not sure. From the musical point of view, this album is a step forward. More "classical" approach, fantastic melodic lines and arrangements, orchestration, ideas. This is an album which haunts my days and nights...
Heavy heavy shit just as Greeks can only do it.

Couldn't find any official stuff from the new album.
Here is their website: KORE.YDRO.
I hope soon in english, with new videos from the new album.

But i have found these old stuff from the guys...
check it out!

TOP-5 BEST ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME
Everybody is writting about the worst album covers, i will right my personal favourites.

5. London Calling - The Clash

4. Loveless - My Bloody Valentine

3. Cheap Pop For The Elite - Kore. Ydro.

2. Closer - Joy Division

1. Gone - Beasts Of Bourbon

Plus two covers i recently remembered:

1. Gentlemen - Afghan Whigs

and

2. Without You I'm Nothing - Placebo

MJ Dead...

2009-06-27T13:38:00.000+02:00

My thoughts the last few days after MJ death:
I see a man on a free fall. For more than 10 years, i see him falling. Endlessly falling.
I wonder. No man to help him? No man to love him? No friends? No one there?
Or was he impossible to love? Was he a weird man? A man not worthy of love and friendship?
Was he living completely isolated? I do not have the answers...

I have a feeling that everyone was just waiting for him to die, so they can show their love to him.
All these people who are sad about it, all these who knew him and didn't do anything about it.

I'm not sad that MJ is dead.
I'm sad that no man was able to help him, while it was obvious that he couldn't do it alone...
For me he was dead long time ago.

I will remember him as a proud black man, as a "Smooth Criminal", moonwalking into the "Thriller" of his life.

My all time favourite song:

Who Is It?

Who was he? We will never really know...

Back to love

2009-06-22T22:50:00.000+02:00

This week was a reminder of the things i love such as:
- Dinosaur Jr

I just finished listening the new album "Farm"... and it blew my mind... it's even better than "Beyond"!?!
Not sure. Time will show. For now, get a taste:
"Farm"- Dinosaur Jr

- Bjork

With just one live video, i remembered how much i love her. I do believe she is a true genius.
The way she's re-inventing herself live is amazing. I didn't like "Volta", her last album. I didn't understand why she was screaming "Declare Independence", while everyone is trying really hard to see all our differences, and forget what we have in common. But, at the end, it's music that matters, and in this case, it was the most exciting thing to watch this week.
No one on earth can create this kind of experience, only Bjork.

Watch the techno-delirium of "Declare Independence" live here!

- Guess Who's Back: BLUR

Oh yes. Oh yes.
And they are coming back the right way. With lots of small gigs like this one:
Blur Comeback: Beetlebum Live
They all look pretty young. What the fuck? It really looks like a live clip from the 90s!

We shall wait for their new album, i hope beginning of 2010.

- Deftones

A lot of things have been said for Deftones. The truth is that there is no other Nu-Metal band that could reach so deep.
Their dark 80s influences, great albums one after the other, their amazing covers of The Cure and Sade, Chino's mysterious talent to sing weird melodies, sometimes out of tune in such a charming way, in combination with his enigmatic lyrics showed that these guys have something more to give.
The incident with their guitarist Chi is known, he was badly injured in a car accident. He is in a coma since then.
But Deftones are back playing Europe this summer. And i am happy that they could continue after this tragic event.

Back in the days, Back in School

Sonic Week

2009-06-14T16:38:00.001+02:00

What a week! A Sonic week!
It could be one of the worse ones, it turns actually to be good. Lost passports, old friends, lost hopes, new friends, beautiful music, enthusiasm, disappointment, lots of smiley faces, such intense experiences.

We took over Paradiso = We took over Amsterdam = One of my wildest dreams became true...

Such a Sonic Week can only be celebrated with Sonic Youth.
New album out, new noise in our heads. Just like the old days.
So, we begin

NEWS:
New Fender Sonic Jazzmaster and Sonic Jazzblaster guitars, signature models of Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo!

LIVE:
Absolute Analog Pleasure...
Sonic Youth live in a basement, recorded on tape!

FAVOURITE TV CLIP:
Sonic Youth first time live on the Letterman show, playing "100%".
Amazing video...
House band of the show is trying to play with Sonic Youth/100%/Kim Gordon's cool/Thurston Moore is Kurt Cobain's healthy side/ baseball bats/drum sticks/floor noise/Letterman shocked asking if they are ok...(?)/awesome!
100%

MY FAVOURITE SONIC YOUTH SONGS TODAY:
5. Star Power (Evol)
4. Karen Koltrane (A Thousand Leaves)
3. Becuz (Washing Machine)
2. 100% (Dirty)
1. Tunic/Song For Caren (Goo)
(it's a cloudy/relaxed Sunday after all!)

FAVOURITE SONIC YOUTH ALBUMS:
5. EVOL
4. GOO
3. DAYDREAM NATION
2. A THOUSAND LEAVES
1. DIRTY
(i was a teenager after all!)

ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM "THE ETERNAL":

Impossible to review a Sonic Youth album. The new album is pure fun, just like the previous one (Rather Ripped). More melodic with clear sound, Sonic Youth seem like they are comfortable with their sound and they are celebrating it!

The new single is really energetic and punky.
Sacred Trickster

My first Top-5

2009-06-02T21:02:00.000+02:00

It used to be a show on MTV for the Top-5 of every day called Dial MTV. Viewers could call and vote for their favourite song of the day. The presentor was Rebecca de Ruvo. I remember her very well. How could i forget a face like that?

Back in 1992 i was 12 years old and i remember that strange song that topped the chart suddenly, out of nowhere, throwing New Kids On The Block out of number 1. I was annoyed. Who are these weird guys doing such a cruel thing?
I was able to understand only a few years later, they were Manic Street Preachers.
Motorcycle Emptiness
Their new album "Journal for Plague Lovers" is amazing. Although in the beginning it sounds like "just another Manics album", this is their best album since "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours". Recorded by Steve Albini, it sounds rough and genuine. The lyrics are bleeding, the melodies are so well worked out...

So, with no further ado, my Top-5 for this week:

5. Lisztomania - Phoenix
4. Who Can Say - The Horrors
3. Prepare Your Coffin - Tortoise
2. Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus
1. Jackie Collins Existential Question Time -Manic Street Preachers

Oh, i have seen Titus Andronicus live yesterday night. What a show!

A pure punk show. I felt like a kid again, enjoying a band that means what it says.
One of my favourite albums of 2008, and now the best show i have seen in 2009.
Watch them here live
I forgot to tell the guys how much i love what they do. Although with Patrick we talked about many things:
-Norwegian black metal (thanx to my norwegian friend Asa there)
-Big dogs vs small dogs (thanx to the big dog who appeared on the window of the house next to the venue-maybe annoyed by all this fuzz),
-Crass and Cultural Relativism (That was new to me!)
Crass
Cultural Relativism
Somebody mentioned the word "shoegaze" and i thought that it was a good idea to describe the wall of sound that Titus Andronicus produce as a "Shoegaze Punk Rock". Guys? Ok?
Hmmm...maybe that was the main reason i enjoyed the gig!

This week also:
- New Single and video from Tortoise

- Brilliant new album from the french band "Phoenix" called "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"
Lisztomania
Funny names, brilliant pop. Reminds me of the brilliant Spoon album "Ga Ga Ga Ga" back from 2007.
Watch!

Glorious moments of rich, old rockstars...

2009-05-27T20:25:00.000+02:00

Did you hear the last Depeche Mode album? What do you think?
I think that the best song is NOT in the album.
It's here:
Come Back

Iggy Pop
He is gonna burry us all... He's got a new album... He sounds like Tom Waits... He is even singing in french...
Choose your version of his new video
King Of The Dogs

Manics
"Tonight we beg, tonight we beg the question
If a married man, if a married man fucks a Catholic
And his wife dies without knowing
Does that make him unfaithful, people?"

The Manics open Pandora's box, and they write music for the lyrics of their long-gone guitarist Richey Edwards.
Provocative, poetic, funny at times.
Album of the month in every magazine around.

Click to see the 1st video:
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time

Go down, feel the past becoming you...

2009-05-22T22:10:00.000+02:00

1992
We found The Cure For Pain. Morphine. Time to clean up the dust from some old cd's, don't you think? You do not know what i mean? Cds? No? Ok.
Download everything here and let it play all night.

1997
They were great:
Gene Typically British.

2004
They could have been great(Veni thanx re, great album)
The Organ

1939-2009
Greeks travel in time...
Long Ago
Now

The New WU?

2009-05-15T01:13:00.000+02:00

Is this the New WU? It reminds me of the good old times though...

Week 1

2009-05-12T19:16:00.000+02:00

We can not stop listening Bat for Lashes. Impossible.
Watch here live in Letterman

We recommend Bat for Lashes mixed with a greek album from 2007. How do we write greek here?
Έξω. Φοίβος Δεληβοριάς.
Intelligent lyrics, unique melodies, fantastic sound.
Υou do not understand greek?
Advise your closest greek friend. He might be positively surprised and ashamed not to know this album.
Φοίβος Δεληβοριάς

Αυτό στα Ελληνικά. Μόνο. Ο νέος δίσκος του Αλκίνοου Ιωαννίδη "Νεροποντή". Ανατριχιαστικά αληθινός.
Ο καλύτερός του. Δεν έχω λέξεις.
Opening track (Ο Δρόμος Σου Είσαι Εσύ)

The New Shoegazers Set London On Fire. The Horrors. Transformed.
Chris Cunningham=visuals. Geoff Barrow (Portishead)=sound
Who Can Say Video

A brand new beginning!

2009-05-12T19:10:00.001+02:00

While sleeping in my bed, i dreamt of being awake and when i woke up i realized i was sleeping...
A line from the book i'm reading at the moment.
What does this has to do with our new beginning?
Probably nothing.
We are Amnesiacs. Which means we do not remember.
We made this blog to keep track of our thoughts.
To keep track of our favourite music. And share.
Share it with us...make your comments. Tell us what you think.

September so far...

2008-09-19T12:32:00.000+02:00

So, yes, we are back with great records once again...

1."Microcastle" by Deerhunter.
Amazing album, beautiful melodies, wonderfull ideas, great song-writing, experiments a bit, guitars can be noisy but on the background, one of the best albums of the year!

2."The Bake Sale E.P" by The Cool Kids
Minimal hip-hop, old fashioned sounds, beat-boxing, cool as fuck, great samples with pitch-shifting (more like pitch dropping!), dangerously funky, dark...chocolate...!

3. "Life...The Best Game In Town" by Harvey Milk
Angry, artistic, heavy, amazing recording...surprisingly beautiful pianos interrupting the metal...
Is this heavy metal? no, don't know, but probably all these indie-mags will call it "post-metal"...it is undoubtably the heavy record of the year until now!

4."Carried to Dust" by Calexico
One more great record for this desert guys, beautiful melodies, special arrangements,
one of their best.

5. "You and Me" by The Walkmen
hmmm...a bit weird in the beginning, it slowly gets into you, this desparate romanticism at its greatest. Although the voice and the guitar sound are absolutely haunting,the organ steals the show here. A bit of Bob Dylan on the vocals, a bit Interpol on their 1st album...they manage to make their most wonderful work to date.

6. "Intimacy" by Bloc Party
We will probably review this more in detail, but these are the first impressions:
Less guitars, attacking drum machines, lots of horns, silver-cold sound, a complete departure from their post-punk 1st album, pretty exciting...it is a big surpise, and it sounds like they do not want to settle down, they are reaching for the unreachable, it sounds so big and heavy...we now expect from them the ultimate "masterpiece of the 00's"!

That's it for now...enjoy!

So, who do we keep from all this rock’n’roll revival-revolution of the indie-pendent (non-existing term) rock bands?

2008-08-25T17:29:00.000+02:00

Hmm, definitely, we do not keep The Strokes! We do keep though the second toughest, The White Stripes (you can start counting how many “The” I am going to use…). I still remember 2001, when both “Is This It?” and “White Blood Cells” hit the market causing all kinds of hysteria…but I do also remember that a small indie magazine that was coming out at that time, had awarded the White Stripes with the no1 album of the year, feeling that their home-made, raw garage sound was more suitable for the real indie music lover. Well, The Strokes were no2, I thought just because they produced the album with old machines and recording equipment that suited mostly the Punk era of the late 70s. Since then, they managed to become the most boring band around, releasing a song that repeats the lyric “I got nothing to say” more than enough times, so the listener goes like, “man, if you got nothing to say then just stop talking!” The Stripes though, they always seem to be more significant for the music scene, making it really big, but still maintaining this do-it-yourself mentality in their live shows, where no one could predict when is the next riff going to hit the crowd, how hard and how many drops of Jupiter will fall from Meggy’s hair while she is banging her simple drum-kit. Their albums also follow an interesting path, experimenting with more complex forms of song making. Of course, now we are all a little tired of them (mostly cause this “7 Nation Army” hype-it’s ridiculous that a song like this was over-used, and probably unique in music history). I do not have their last album, didn’t buy the story again. Maybe the next time. BUT the good thing is that we keep this band, at least for now.
Who came after…? Hmmm, lots of bands, I will keep The Hives, who with their unique, old-fashioned way of expressing themselves and with sympathetic albums, they managed to stay on a high level. Plus their fantastic suits and attitude on live shows, practicing massive public hypnoses techniques together with their 60s influenced punk.
Of course, the whole thing started from the US but it quickly became Britain’s new dogma, specially because NME caught the whole action from the first few steps, and their pushed-back during the previous years (from the death of Nirvana) rock’n’roll attitudes, came back on top, and took with them the whole youth of the British Empire.

And then, The Bloc Party came in the show, and changed the rules, in a British way. More punky, more funky, more modern and a drummer who sounds like a drum’n’bass machine, brought the whole thing into the clubs. Add a little bit of the singer’s drama (probably Radiohead had done already the damage) and the 2 well-organized and well-orchestrated guitars of the band, hmm; you got the most valuable lesson ever in recent British music history. Their 2nd album already made a giant leap forward, one of the most amazing and thrilling albums of the zero years.
I know what you are thinking now…and what about The Arctic Monkeys? Carrying the all-time record for biggest first-week sales in the UK, it’s difficult not to mention these guys. “I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor” was and still is one of the most romantic punk songs ever. And yes, it is a punk song, the way the Buzzcocks made “Ever Fallen in Love”. That is why all the indie kids are and should be a part of the clubland, because they look good on the dancefloor. So, yes, we keep the Arctics not because of this only, but because they showed us that they can evolve…it’s a bit early to make conclusions but we will soon see.
Franz Ferdinard? Still waiting for the 3rd album. But I did like the first 2 albums. I trust them though, they were smart enough to make a rough 2nd album and why not, a completely different 3rd…we’ll see about that.

Oh! I forgot! The reason I am so happy with this new rock’n’roll thing TODAY is The Kills and The Raveonettes. Their last albums were just too good to be true. Stuck both in stylistic choices, they seemed to be going nowhere…don’t know how, didn’t really followed their everyday life, their stories and their development, but they both made an album that stays with me, into my wild fantasies and my romantic summer afternoons. I will take them with me for this trip.
Well, what? The Killers? The Kaiser Chiefs? The Kooks(!)? The Fucking Assholes of the Next Door? The Whatever I Play Sounds Good and It Will Sell?
Nope. ‘Till next time…

P.S. I probably forgot lots of bands starting with “The”…I apologize.

Politics?

2008-08-16T14:17:00.000+02:00

Well, right now, i am really amazed reading about Thomas Jefferson and his ideas about democracy. Was it really such an exciting time back then? Hmmm...

I read here that the American Revolution was the first democratic revolution and the only succesful one. Well, we all wonder what happent and something went so terribly wrong on the way...

Anyway, i will be checking out Deerhunter's new album next week plus the one from the Cool Kids and Harvey Milk. I've been listening to a lot of heavy music lately. Great stuff coming out. You'll hear from us soon about that. And also we are preparing a small article about the new rock "revolution" that has been happening since The Strokes. We'll see what we can keep from all this fuzz!

soon,

The Amnesiac Team

This is the beginning!

2008-07-27T22:08:00.000+02:00

I am happy to announce the beginning of this blog.

The Amnesiac Team has always been a creative, non-commercial group of people who share their love for music and art in general. This blog will be some kind of diary including reviews for new albums, news, comments, articles, mainly about music and art.

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus

2008-07-27T22:01:00.000+02:00

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaus (9.4)

Words have been unusually unnecessary for the music of Sigur Ros. During the last few years, they transformed from a local secret into a globally loved band. Not like Bjork, they never really moved to London, they never used a single existing word, but their music traveled through our souls and our bodies from Island to the rest of the world and became the magic that is missing from our lives.
With their previous album (Takk), they tried to change what it was the core of their music, they tried to sound more earthly than divine, they tried to communicate in our more human language. In this album, they continue in this direction and move even further.
They start surprisingly, with a fast song, loud drums, acoustic guitars, a wild celebration around a huge fire. And they keep this up-tempo for the 2nd song. The sound is clear, there are strings, horns, a choir, and pianos, all with their own voice, organized in a wonderful instrumentation. There is even a truly pop song here, 3 minutes long and a beautiful chorus; this is the heart of a very positive album.
And then?
The album from that point takes another turn towards slower and more acoustic sound. Music flaws and runs like crystal clear water. The band sounds so sure about their sound, they really do it! They re-invent themselves, still making this magical music we all loved in the past. This time there are no guitars played with a violin bow, no long crescendos and big bursts of sound. It’s not like post-rock is dead but this album definitely sounds like one of these rare mystical trips into the true nature of music. All the qualities of the band’s music are still apparent here in a very high level: the long melodic phrases and the search for the inner melodic beauty. They make this album another great achievement for the band. And still very earthly.
I doubted and I still doubt about “Takk”. It was not so convincing although a beautiful album, it didn’t reach a destination. It was the experience of that album though that led the band here. And once again, we are invited into their world, a world of honest intentions. And pure, beautiful music.

BECK-MODERN GUILT (7.4)

2008-07-27T21:57:00.002+02:00

BECK-MODERN GUILT (7.4)
--------------------
Beck chose to appear for his live shows this year with a simple rock band on stage. Is it going to be so simple to understand his new album? Probably yes. This time the producer is Danger Mouse, causing a lot of fuzz about the new record. Well, no need for fuzz really, just classic Beck.
The first thing you notice is the short duration of the album, only 33.6 minutes, hmmm, can it be that simple? Well, yes, ladies and gentlemen, the album is easy to comprehend, Beck chose this time to go the shortest way, and he did well. The songs have nothing to hide, nothing to fear and they manage to express themselves shortly and precisely. I cannot find a song that is weak in this album. They all have beautiful melodies, impressive sounds, wonderful ideas and they stick in your head. Pianos and strings are used in an economic way, they appear and disappear into the body of the songs. Rhythms are sexy, modern or old fashioned when they should be. Guitars are there when you need them, but above all, it is Beck who shines through this collection of songs.
The turning point in “Modern Guilt” with the “…dadadada’s” and the strings, the fantastic “Youthless” based on a simple bass motif, makes the body move and there is not even a single bass-drum here…”Walls”, what a nice melody, strings, winds, drum loops coming in and out. “Gamma Ray” with all these ‘60s references, the psychedelia of “Chemtrails” a la David Bowie, the endless drum solo in “Replica” beneath the whole song, reminds a bit of the rhythmical adventures of Thom Yorke’s solo album. These are great moments in a pretty good album.
Never been a huge Beck fun, but this is an album I enjoyed a lot and played a lot.

The first day - 01

2007-06-27T18:27:00.000+02:00

They say that the first day is always one of these days that scream at you, they call you from this deep deep well, to open up and share your possibilities, increase your chances, communicate in something else than numbers, from here to eternity, i heard these voices calling at me...and here I am, my own baby, making my own steps into an unknown territory!