I really like your review !! |
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Guldbamsen
Special Collaborator Retired Admin Joined: January 22 2009 Location: Magic Theatre Status: Offline Points: 23098 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 14:14 |
Hear hear
I love reading Ian's reviews and have missed them like crazy (as well as his furry ways on the forum) I know I've highlighted this one before, but his write up of The Residents' Commercial Album is just ridiculously funny. First time I read it, I nearly wet myself: The Residents appear to have attempted a Reductio ad absurdum ploy here to break down the constituent parts of pop music so that they are revealed as products in the builder's yard. They protest too much. (and don't ever let them do your loft extension) Perhaps the most disingenuous aspects of this endeavor are threefold; 1 - It is precisely the repetitive elements of pop music that define pop music. 2 - Every masterpiece ever created in western diatonic music can be reduced to just 12 notes and no amount of dice juggling monkeys are ever going to come up with Barber's Adagio For Strings of Bananas. 3 - See Oscar Wilde. The Residents would not exist as a viable entity were it not for the platform afforded to them by popular music, as how else could we reference their work against what it purports to deconstruct? (Hey check this out guys, it's a piss-take of that funeral procession music they use on Neptune!?) Despite these niggles, what is presented on Commercial Album if taken on its own merits, is yet another intriguing installment of some of the most bizarre and 'uneasy listening' you are ever likely to encounter. The percussion has almost a 'toddler banging on Mum's Tupperware' effect and there is a playful and childlike element to the Residents that sits uncomfortably beside its sinister and darker elder sibling. It's practically impossible to tell you what these tracks sound like as it would be like asking Sherlock Holmes to provide a description of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So as glib as the following may appear, they are sincere testament to what the contents do suggest, at least to me. My Work Is So Behind - Yosemite Sam tackles rap but is interrupted by an incoming call on his cellphone Birds in the Trees - The Beach Boys undergo a full body search by Customs in Hawai Picnic Boy - Rare and previously unreleased Fun Boy Three and Mud collaboration When We Were Young - Elgar's rejected score for 'The Spy Who Loved Me' Love Leaks Out - Morrissey auditions as the replacement for Bob Marley in the Wailers The Act of Being Polite - The on board demo that shipped with Casio's flagship Dictaphone Loss of Innocence - Deputy Dawg sings the 'Jaws' theme Simple Song - Like hearing Kraftwerk at the other end of a telephone Ups and Downs - A lullaby sung by Vlad the Impaler Possesions - Status Quo cover version by the house band in the Betty Ford Clinic Moisture - Apocalypso Now Amber - A sea shanty written by a shipwreck I'm not even sure if the Residents would much care if they were considered 'progressive' or not, but I would place their tradition as belonging to that of psychedelia and 60's trash culture. For those with an adventurous spirit and a receptive set of ears, this record contains a bounty of unknown pleasures and more. unsettling/beautiful/cute/kitsch/insidious (Delete as applicable) |
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“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams |
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator Retired Admin Joined: April 01 2009 Location: Atlanta Status: Offline Points: 26133 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 14:25 |
I've read that one before, it's a doozy.
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
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Guldbamsen
Special Collaborator Retired Admin Joined: January 22 2009 Location: Magic Theatre Status: Offline Points: 23098 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 14:30 |
Deputy Dawg sings the 'Jaws' theme
It's so funny cause it's true.
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“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams |
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 64665 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 20:50 |
Lemming was in fine form on that one; interesting he references Doyle, as I hear his voice in Iain's writing. Those of us who read SACD in our early years seem to be inescapably influenced by his style.
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 21:03 |
I enjoyed the hell out of that. Thanks Iain! |
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ExittheLemming
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 19 2007 Location: Penal Colony Status: Offline Points: 11415 |
Posted: February 03 2014 at 21:50 |
Many thanks for all your kind words and encouragement, it's certainly appreciated.
Interesting to read David's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle comment as I've only read Hound of the Baskervilles (and wasn't that crazy about it to be honest - must have kindled my love for the stilted tweeness of Noel Coward and PG Wodehouse etc) I think my muse is closer to the bumbling Doctor Watson than that of the chiseled glass vowels of Sherlock Holmes. |
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Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 12 2011 Location: Melb, Australia Status: Offline Points: 7951 |
Posted: February 09 2014 at 21:16 |
Hooray! So excited to see another rview for Sundenfall, and it's by John!
http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1129012 Cheers for name-dropping me too, my friend! Really glad you enjoyed that album, I'm going to give it a spin later tonight |
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Man With Hat
Collaborator Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team Joined: March 12 2005 Location: Neurotica Status: Offline Points: 166178 |
Posted: February 09 2014 at 22:21 |
Thanks sir! In a way I wish I did too. (I had a problem a few years ago that made navigating the site a bit of a chore, and then after that was fixed I lost the computer that I used for such things. I certainly wasn't going to review on a laptop. I also still need to transfer all my music back on to the computer, as I like to listen to the album as I review it...which will take me awhile. ) But I'm slowly working back towards it. Have a small list of things I'd like to review so hopefully I'll get around to it soonish. And not just to return the compliment, but your reviews are excellent reads and informative. Probably helps that we have a fairly similar taste in music. |
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Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 00:26 |
Yeah! Right on! I miss The.Crimson.King. Dennis really did nail that Road To Red Box set. A daunting task indeed. 26 discs. Lol |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 00:59 |
I think I'm gonna cry a bit. This is the most positive laden forum I've ever seen on PA!
It is page after page of people complementing one another. This is how it should be. Well, I'm joining the fun now. |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 01:02 |
Actually I think it's 90% optimistic. It's going pretty well. |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 01:17 |
I'm late to this thread, so me 6th. You Rock, Byrd! |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 01:37 |
Well, if this doesn't inspire me to write more i don't know what can. Thank you so much, Michael. Means a lot. |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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ExittheLemming
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 19 2007 Location: Penal Colony Status: Offline Points: 11415 |
Posted: February 11 2014 at 04:37 |
If anyone is wondering what a good review looks like, point them here:
http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=221604 In fact, you can pick practically any review by Chicapah (Rollie Anderson) and will be entertained and warmed by a funny, insightful, sincere and humble master of the written word. |
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progbethyname
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 30 2012 Location: HiFi Headmania Status: Offline Points: 7798 |
Posted: February 12 2014 at 18:47 |
A great and convincing read by SecondLifeSyndrome for Rick Miller's Heart Of Darkness.
The first paragraph details a very angst and tense atmosphere that surrounds Miller's use of sound in co relation with the overall mood of the album. Put a smile on my face cause it made me think of Current 93's Dogs Blood Rising album, which is an album still to this day that I cannot listen to with headphones on...well super HD cans no less. Anyway, I'm convinced I wanna buy the album. Thank you, Jason! Catch ya later on The Prog Mind. ;) |
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Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣
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Second Life Syndrome
Prog Reviewer Joined: August 20 2012 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 361 |
Posted: February 12 2014 at 19:52 |
Thanks, Nicholas! And thanks for mentioning my page
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theprogmind.com
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tszirmay
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 17 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 6673 |
Posted: February 13 2014 at 13:23 |
Second Life Syndrome's review of Frequency Drift's new album is as spot on as the listening experience itself. He got it! A brooding yet satisfying recording that cries out for more recognition. Bravo!
Edited by tszirmay - February 13 2014 at 13:24 |
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I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth.
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Second Life Syndrome
Prog Reviewer Joined: August 20 2012 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 361 |
Posted: February 13 2014 at 14:30 |
Thanks! I find myself enjoying more and more with each listen, too.
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theprogmind.com
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proggman
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 14 2013 Location: Sweden Status: Offline Points: 1458 |
Posted: February 14 2014 at 10:03 |
Yes really excellent review there Second Life Syndrome (Jason Spencer). Yes we've met on The Prog Mind a lot of times and that's always nice.
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When he rides, my fears subside.
For darkness turns once more to light. Through the skies, his white horse flies. To find a land beyond the night. |
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Cactus Choir
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 26 2008 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 1035 |
Posted: February 18 2014 at 02:29 |
I stumbled on DaveRoxit's review of Love Beach by ELP the other day and
the following caustic description of Greg Lake's lyrical approach made me laugh, as well as being painfully (for an ELP fan) true:
"Lake's melodramatic ballad "For You" gets good mentions from time to time, but I fail to see why. This song is merely the culmination of the album's dominant lyrical theme, which again and again force the listener to understand that, yes, Greg Lake will love you hard, he will love you long, he will love you right, and also wrong; he will make love to ya, make love to ya, make love to ya, he will love you like nobody's ever loved you, he'll love you so hard you'll shake the stars and... oh my god Greg STOP IT. I wanted a rape whistle, listening to this album. You will smell like Greg Lake's chafed scrotum by the end of Side 1 alone. You have been amply warned." |
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"And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"
"He's up the pub" |
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