Reviews by socksonfire

When I create things I do whatever I want. I never hold back or placate an instinct. Is this a good thing? I also disparage and rarely share what I produce.

It’s a question of trust by the artist to an extent, plus a willingness by the listener to accept what may rub them backwards as a part of the experience.

I am willing.

Long story the coincidence, but it is documented elsewhere, and documented well. So that just leaves one thing left to talk about. One damn hilarious album that still hits. The mushroom trip story alone is worth the price of admission.

When Bono belted out “How long? How long must we sing this song?” I could already see my project partner formulating his hateful little joke. This album has some great tracks, but I don’t want to overrate it. It’s fine.

After sampling a Yeah Yeah Yeahs tune once or twice a year over the past few years, finally an excuse to listen a bit more. Gotta say: I had a wonderful time.

This funky jazz hip hop pocket where Common lives is a very cool little cul-de-sac. Incredible opening track and other highlights didn't stop me from getting impatient at the hour-mark.

My vinyl version has the Christmas songs, which I don’t like. The Spotify version has no Christmas songs, which I like.

This album absolutely rips, let’s get that clear. Proximity to Christmas songs and the proliferation of covers are affecting my computation…

I could try to be funny or insightful, but the best I could come up with was “whuuuu???”

In the last 24 hours I listened to four albums as follows:
1) Kala (on headphones): in bed, checking the latest assignment with excitement. I already knew this was a banga and I was primed to crank it up. It was relentless and punishing, and by the end I threw off the headphones in aural exhaustion.
2) Tonight’s the Night (on speaker): faded into a background drone quickly. It lacked nuance and did not engage me. I was frustrated and felt I was missing something important.
3) Tonight’s the Night (on headphones): suddenly the album made sense. The intimacy led to illumination, and I was captivated. It felt like a Crazy Horse album, and reading up I see many of those lads were involved. I was sorry when it ended. Sad record.
4) Kala (on speaker): when the energy and passion were released from the boundaries of my headphone-entrapped skull, and set free to bounce around the room, the album made sense. Now we were all dancing around the house. The less aggressive tracks were a sweeter salve. The familiar jams and samples I already loved going into it were bouyant and comforting.

So I am reviewing Tonight’s the Night and Kala together. As they were always meant to be.

How can we make VU&Nico seem quaint? This album gets better and Better and BETTER as it builds from beginning to end. It also gets better and Better and BETTER the more you listen to it. I’m obsessed.

Hola crap, did I ever love that album. Bang on the Drum just did not accurately set my expectations. I listened to it with close attention in my headphones on and had quite the little journey. Not sure it would weather a casual spin in mixed company, but perfect for deeper dive. One part even gave me real goosebumps.

Slight, enjoyable, little boppy bop.

If I still did homework I might be grateful for this album. Instead, I don’t do homework.

Megadeth two days after Metallica. A project destroying deal-breaker for some, I would imagine.
I, however, have a genuine soft spot for wonderfully composed, expertly executed, brain-meltingly speedy thrash metal. The softest of soft spots. I softened continuously the whole time.

Une combinaison parfaite de déchets et de cœur. Et la banane est le symbole ultime de la virilité Donne-moi plus! Plus! PLUS!!!

Metallica’s first four remain their best, and this remains fourth of the four.

In the last 24 hours I listened to four albums as follows:
1) Kala (on headphones): in bed, checking the latest assignment with excitement. I already knew this was a banga and I was primed to crank it up. It was relentless and punishing, and by the end I threw off the headphones in aural exhaustion.
2) Tonight’s the Night (on speaker): faded into a background drone quickly. It lacked nuance and did not engage me. I was frustrated and felt I was missing something important.
3) Tonight’s the Night (on headphones): suddenly the album made sense. The intimacy led to illumination, and I was captivated. It felt like a Crazy Horse album, and reading up I see many of those lads were involved. I was sorry when it ended. Sad record.
4) Kala (on speaker): when the energy and passion were released from the boundaries of my headphone-entrapped skull, and set free to bounce around the room, the album made sense. Now we were all dancing around the house. The less aggressive tracks were a sweeter salve. The familiar jams and samples I already loved going into it were bouyant and comforting.

So I am reviewing Tonight’s the Night and Kala together. As they were always meant to be.

Weird little oddball of a record for a what? 66-yr-old. It was vaguely juvenile, but I was also inspired. Not enough standout tracks to rank with the best though.

When people talk about out making guitars talk, they are talking about this. But the whole band is incredible.

I’ve experienced some wonderful success overcoming some significant challenges, and getting through this album was one of them. Not that it was bad, or even necessarily too long given what it was. It is just somethjng that resisted any kind of close attention being paid to it. In the end I probably enjoyed it way more in retrospect than I did while it was happening. I was thinking 2 throughout, and now I’m giving it 3.

I really wanted to go listen to Bad Habits when I was listening to this. Which I did. The Undertones compared unfavourably. That may not be fair, but if life were fair I’d be unemployed and homeless.