Keath’s 2011 Experiment Week 5
Sometime around late January I realized I was completely and utterly bored with my music archive. To shake things up I’m trying an experiment: for the remainder of 2011 I will only listen to music released in 2011. This is an account of the year.
This Week’s Purchases
Administrative note: In addition to the below, I had actually intended to download the new Edwyn Collins and the new Acid House Kings, but life’s unceasing business interfered. I’ll tuck those two into the Wishlist and save them for an otherwise dead week.
Angles
The Strokes
Buy It
With Angles, The Strokes have moved on from ripping off The Cars exclusively to ripping off The Cars plus other bands (there’s a more than healthy dose of Thin Lizzy in “Gratisfaction” for example). The cause of this is the subject of much speculation online, especially given Julian Casablanca’s decision to remove himself from the album’s recording, communicating and contributing vocals by email.
Whatever the reason, the widened scope of thievery actually has done the band good – Angles is the first Strokes album that has interested me since Is This It? I’m particularly fond of “Taken For A Fool.”
Sucker Punch Soundtrack
Various Artists
Buy It with this and this and this and this
Every once in a while I need to perk myself up with a good collection of what might be termed action movie songs, preferably with a darker feel. Generally my go to in these circumstances is the first Tomb Raider soundtrack but after an effective use of “When The Levee Breaks” in its trailer, I decided to give the Sucker Punch soundtrack a try. The immediate problem was the soundtrack for sale didn’t incorporate all the songs (actually none of the songs) in said trailer. A bit of detective work enabled me to compile a pseudo soundtrack, which is why the Buy It section above is such a mess.
Anyway, how you enjoy the majority of this soundtrack depends on how you react to cover versions, especially cover versions done by actors rather than musicians. Most of the attempts here are passable with an excellent go at “Sweet Dreams” by Emily Browning. Is it high art? Of course not. Is it a great way to beat the 3 PM lull? Yup.
This Week’s Best MP3s
MP3: Dengue Fever – Cement Shoes
With seemingly everyone getting into the surf vibe lately it’s getting a bit exhausting hearing the same tropes over and over again. Dengue Fever manages to put their slightly askew take on the genre, mashing it into a B-52’s meets Talking Heads extravaganza with full on vocal interplay and catchy hooks a plenty.
MP3: Francois Peglau – One Minute To Midnight Dream (So Sad)
Love the reggae meets funk style guitar in this track.
MP3: Amores Vigilantes – You Can’t Live Forever In Paradise On Earth (Without Me)
At this point Jesus & Mary Chain clones are pretty much routine occupational occurrences for even part time music listeners. However, I have to admit it’s refreshing to find a band taking their cues not from Psychocandy or Darklands, but Stoned and Dethroned. This is a good low key way to end the week.
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