'08's Music to Love More Than Music: Love, Pt. 6

Love (<)
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
I am a HUGE fan of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, so anything that is even remotely related to that collective is going to be given a stern listen, and is probably going to be favored more so that it sometimes ought to be. This is usually not the case with A Silver Mt. Zion (meaning they're usually pretty good all on their own). This album goes with the flow and really shows where I think SMZ has been heading for a while. It's Post-Rock at it's finest ... maybe. I say maybe because if it truly were at it's finest, I would probably want to listen to it at any point in the day, and sometimes when I listen to this I get a little bored or think to myself that it's really over the top. So yeah, I dunno, It's no GS!YB, but really is anything? no, and I should probably stop comparing things to them...
A Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

Foxy Shazam - Introducing...
Pure madness, but I felt like it could have been focused better. It's a weird album for sure and it starts off with a kick to the ribs. Strange rhythms and awkward lyrics, a clear domination over the last album (which showed promise ... at best ... and hey, it looks like that prediction was right), but it never really cuts the cake for me. Super powerful though, and power that cannot be denied.
Foxy Shazam - Introducing Foxy

The M's - Real Close Ones
There are a few songs on this album that I absolutely delight in because they remind me of my Elementary school Art Teacher (the second one, not Mrs. Day). The other songs are all right, but the couple that make me go all nostalgic-eyed make the album for me.
The M's - Ultraviolent Men

Camille - Music Hole
Dancy and strange, but still fairly popish. She utilizes a lot of vocalization and a cappella techniques to make her beats, similar to Medúlla by Björk, but certainly a lot more dancy and fun than Medúlla. I'm, again, a little biased, because Camille is French, and I'm, for some unknown reason, enamored with the French. That aside, the album is very interesting and certainly very touching. I didn't see Rahzel's name on the list of people who helped out with the album, but I can't help but think that somewhere along the way he had an influence.
Camille - Home is Where It Hurts

B(l)ogged Down, Pt. 2

Eric Matthews - The Imagination State
Verdict: Indifferent (~)
The songs remind me of the slow, mocking songs that Dog Fashion Disco did for their album Adultery, which isn't a good sign. Maybe I've just not got the right mind frame to really enjoy his music.
Eric Matthews - That Kiss of Life

Foxy Shazam - Introducing...
Verdict: Love More (<3)
What a fun album :). It's just unabashedly out of control Power Pop (ish) Piano Dance Punk. Really crazy and epic at times too. This album sometimes sound like like what would happen if the Electric Six went Hardcore, sometimes if it was Bruce Springsteen who'd gone Hardcore. Heck, sometimes it's 1950's pop influenced. Hecka fun.
Foxy Shazam - Introducing Foxy
Foxy Shazam - The Rocketeer
Foxy Shazam - It's Hair Smelled Like Bonfire

Green River - Dry As A Bone/Rehab Doll
Verdict: Indifferent (~)
Kind of Classic Rock influenced frat party grunge. Really didn't strike my interest all that much. despite it's cultural importance.
Green River - Hunted Down

The Do - A Mouthful
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
Wow. This shit is all over the place. It's like Feist, Nellie McKay, a female fronted Kings of Leon, the Pierces, CocoRosie, Lily Allen, and a few others I can't recall. Super impressive.
The Do - At Last
The Do - Stay (Just A Little Bit More)
The Do - Tammie
The Do - Unissasi Laulelet

The Epochs - The Epochs
Verdict: Love (<)
This one took a while to grow on me too, but it really did grow on me. It reminds me of TV on the Radio, and I like that. But they're enough of their own band that they're actually pretty charming.
The Epochs - Opposite Sides
The Epochs - Right On
The Epochs - Mouths to Feed

Bob Mould - District Line
Verdict: Indifferent (~)
When I listened to this album, I got the feeling like if I'd been a long time fan of Bob Mould, I would be in love with this album. But I'm not, and, really, an album shouldn't rely on that to be a good album. It was all right I guess.
Bob Mould - Stupid Now

Chris Joss - Teraphonic Overdubs
Verdict: Like ()
It's groovy and jam-tastic and really reminiscent of the Blue States actually. I'm kind of a fan.
Chris Joss - Count The Daisies
Chris Joss - Get With It
Chris Joss - A Room With a VU Meter

Clark - Turning Dragon
Verdict: Like ()
The first thing I thought was "huh, kind of sounds like Justice." As the album progressed I could tell Clark had his own "voice," and that it was actually more enjoyable that Justice's at times. Granted, I only really really like 1 Justice song, so that's not saying much, but I did like this album. IT was pretty dancy and grimy and mashupy.
Clark - Volcan Veins
Clark - New Year Storm
Clark - Truncation Horn

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - The Hard Sell
Verdict: Love (<)
The album, which is broken up into 2 tracks, is basically a music time line, so that's pretty rad. It goes from 50'sish pop to 90's hip hop ... I'm pretty sure. Some of the stuff is hard to pin down. Super well mixed and genius for any party.
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Clip 1
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Clip 2

Get Set Go - Sunshine, Joy And Happiness: A Tragic Tale of Death, Despair...
Verdict: Indifferent (~)
Campy and fun at the start, but the gimmicky power pop sound kind of got old kind of fast. Granted, the sometimes brutal lyrics matched up with poppy music is kind of fun, but all in all it reminds me too much of Sublime, and I don't much like Sublime.
Get Set Go - Hell On Earth

Willie Nelson - Moment Of Forever
Verdict: Didn't Like (ø)
You know, I think we don't really need another Willie Nelson album, but I guess that's just one man's opinion. That's what it is though, slow, kind of sad sounding country, sung by Willie Nelson. And can I just say it's awkward to hear Willie Nelson talk about getting over a relationship...

Heaven Shall Burn - Iconoclast (Part 1: The Final Resistance)
Verdict: Love More (<3)+
I was skeptical at first because I've started to be come wary of bands who are trying to be a little too "evil" because it usually end up just looking dumb. But I was thoroughly impressed with this album. This album really got me thinking about what makes a good or great or amazing Death Metal album, and I've come to the conclusion that I have no idea, and probably never will. In some regards it's just as brutal as a whole bunch of other albums, and if you turn them up loud enough, all albums are essentially just as loud, and all Death Metal albums have plenty of blast beats and guttural screams and chugging guitars ... so what sets this album apart? The only thing that I can think of is that it's well composed. It's actually quite beautiful. I honestly could have randomly picked any songs off of this album and I would have given you a good taste of the awesomeness this album represents.
Heaven Shall Burn - Endzeit
Heaven Shall Burn - Murderers of All Murderers
Heaven Shall Burn - Quest for Resistance
Heaven Shall Burn - Against All Lies

The Heavy Circles - The Heavy Circles
Verdict: Indifferent (~)
It didn't hold my interest, but that doesn't mean it's not good. I just moved on quickly.
The Heavy Circles - Confused