Reviews by kuvien

If someone said "Fast Car" is the greatest single of the 1980s, I'd not disagree.

Good for driving, I guess.

Slave of Poop World.

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” reminds me of two things. The first is in its entirety, for as it is a song broken into two parts and separated, it reminds me of Rush’s “Cygnus” suite. It’s multi-sectional, sprawling, beautiful, mysterious, gripping. The other song it reminds me of is Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say?” It’s all in the build up, teasing you at where he is going to finally, at last, come in and cry, “Hey, Mama, don’t you treat me wrong...” Same goes with “Diamond”. Such a build up, teasing you, tricking you into singing a stanza before Waters croons, “Remember when you were young.” I love the simplicity of “Wish You Were Here,” one of the first songs I, like so many others, learned to play on guitar. Basic yet beautiful.

King Volcano this guy

First of all, the name of the band: quite a juxtaposition from the sound, though perhaps not the lyrics, of their music. One thing I love about this album is how their lead singles are the first and last songs, arguably their most famous track being last, which means you have to sit through the whole album to get to it. I'm going to assume this was intentional, the band saying in 1968 that they weren't just making an album with a couple of singles and a bunch of filler tracks. There is no filler here. Every song is brilliant and fits in the overall whole of the album, a document dominated by the dual perennial themes of vivacious love and inevitable death. Leaves fall, and the summer crown of your roses wither. Also, opening your album with a seemingly innocent love song about “baby you’re coming home” type feelings but actually having it be a letter sent to a jailbird who’s about to get release from prison is a wonderful twist on the romantic song trope. Scratch the surface and you will reveal a darker message here: we’ll kiss and make up… wait. Why is the person in jail?

Meditations on love can sometimes--though by no means is it common!--lead to ecstasy, and in that ecstasy the still, small voice of that supreme Love becomes a whirlwind of fire. Do not awaken love until it so desires.

"Skin on skin, let the love begin... women!" Wow, this album is worse than I remembered. Aged like milk.

Bland and boring and sounds like everything else bland and boring, or at least it spawned its own brand of bland and boring (which they do very well, mind you). In either case, no thanks.

Look, I know you're cool and everything, Mr. Jack Black, but recommending this album in a feature film was a moment of real cringe.

I never feel up to the task writing down my thoughts about giant albums like this. What can I say that’s not already been said? In cases like this, I just stay away from all reviews and scribble down my disjointed thoughts as I listen. This album is a music painting. I can hear the colors. The sounds are stroke patterns and wet paint, layer by layer, from the undefined center to the consummate edges.

This is no different from all the other shoegaze out there: a massive, undifferentiated waste of time.

Yet another album that solidifies in my mind that 1971 would be the one year to pick if I had to choose only one year of music. Halleluwah! And throw a little Japanese in there for good measure. For all its intimations of spinning in circles until you're dizzy, I find myself rather inclined to recline and just mong out with this album. Listening to "Aumgn" is like being digested through the guts of the universe and shat out the butthole of space.

Though this album isn't as good overall as the ones preceding and succeeding it, the first track is one of the most low-down gut punches you'll ever hear opening an album. I wish I'd not read some random review calling attention to the fact that the mouth harp is used on every track, because now I can't unhear it. I guess it was always just something in the atmosphere of the music for me, but now it's center stage. Like all Cohen's records, this one is delicate, intimate, and oh-so confessional. A kind of gentle yet earnest wrestling.

A helluva debut album that set the course of college radio everywhere. Strange considering I hear songs about speaking in tongues, martyrdom, and a meditation on the challenges in carrying one’s Cross. Sure, let’s talk about the Passion, but let’s live it, too, in our own little ways! After all, we’re not required to carry the weight of the world, just what’s been given to us to bear.

This is all right, but it ain't gettin' in the way of my Elton John!

I'm confused. Is he fat or slim?

Today I learned that "Chipmunk Soul" is a genre.

*shrugs*

It's tempting to label Pet Shop Boys as a singles band, and if you want to listen to them that way, it's fine, of course. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Rent", and "It's a Sin" are among the best songs of the decade, but you'd be missing something of what the band offers if you stick just to the hits. They have an excellent knack for building a nocturnal, urban atmosphere across an album. Just gotta add: Dusty Springfield steals my heart every time.