The Best of the Decade, Part 3

Life is full of simple pleasures that we often take for granted. Little things that brighten our day, lest we give them a second thought or not. Finding a few slices of pizza in the back of the fridge...turning the T.V. on the find your favorite show just starting...a box of half-eaten donut holes on the table...

Donut holes. Small, simple, but so dang tasty. James Dewitt Yancey b.k.a. J Dilla, must've had this in mind when 31 of his lucid, surreal, pulsating hip-hop instrumentals were culled for his final album (of his waking hours.) "Donuts" is an album for the impatient, yet insistent. The lively, yet timid. The many, the few. This LP brings much to the table, and it does not disappoint. It has something for everyone. And that's really why this album comes in at #8 on my list...it's a jack-of-all-trades, and each track differs enough that each will have a different style and feel, and none of them ever overstay their welcome...

"Donuts" requires a very particular ear, and an explanation right off the bat: there are no lyrics to be found here. It's all about the rhythm, the music, the soul, the vocals, the vibe. Additionally, most of these instrumentals clock in at about a minute and a half, so don't expect a groove to be held for very long.

This is, however, a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing though. Dilla is able to keep your attention easily with the switch from track to track and mood to mood, but once you hear a great groove, don't expect it to hang around for very long. This, however, is not a big problem, as most of the instrumentals are absolutely addictive; miniscule tidbits of sound that rip your eardrums out and catapult you straight into the groove of the moment. This is a huge strength of Dilla's: his rhythmic sense is astonishing. As a producer, he does not fool around, and all his rhythms sound unique and detailed. No shitty mainstream production to be found here; live drums, raw sounds, wonderful samples, and eloquently-picked snippets of melody that grab you right away and never let go.

There isn't much I can really say about my favorite tracks because they are so short, but as an album, it doesn't take long to listen to each track, and you can go from there and pick your favorites. Best listened to in the car, relaxing at home, an after party, the possibilities are endless.

Here are a few of my favorite tracks...
The Diff'rence
Mash
Time: The Donuts of the Heart
Airworks
Lightworks
Two Can Win
Dilla Says Go
Walkinonit
Workinonit


In the end, "Donuts" does not play out like your average LP. Spacey, spastic, heavy, and even silky-smooth at some points, "Donuts" sounds like someone trying to play their favorite records through a broken, cut-up speaker, unable to decide what they want to definitively listen to. It's an exercise in patience, rhythm, and pure zoning-out. But I maintain that the beauty of the album lies in the grooves, and Dilla's ability to hold attention and never let go, finding a new way to do basically the same thing over and over again. And it sounds absolutely amazing.

Sorry I haven't been on lately. It's been a hectic month. Thanks for hangin' around if you did. -NL

The Best of the Decade, Part 2

Radiohead has been one of my perennially favorite bands. Time and time again they return with amazing material, and I think this was the year I really understood their brilliance. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Kid A.

After O.K. Computer, which is without a doubt the seminal Radiohead album, the British quintet started from scratch, searching for a theme and a sound out of the most electronic and simplistic of noise and sound. Consequently, Kid A sounds very electronic, complete with synths, metallic drums, and vocal effects out the wazoo. But, strangely, it all works, especially the atmospheric pads and synths and vocal effects, which give Thom Yorke's already buckling voice an extra, glassy delicacy that lends itself to an album with striking lyrical topics, sounds, and a handful of blisteringly cathartic moments amid the hollow, electronic sounds the album offers.

I'm no music theory expert or guitar expert, but I will try to best convey Kid A using imagery and sonic cues, in addition to what I know Radiohead to be as a band...deep, thoughtful, abstract, and they can tell a story when they want to.

Opener "Everything In Its Right Place" is, for me, the definite highlight. A group of lush, warm electronic chords fall into place as Yorke's voice slowly fazes and ripples into place, shaken and shifting constantly before his subtle, moving voice breaths "Everything....in its right place." The track conveys a sense of initial confusion and structural dilapidation, while Yorke's voice gives the track focus and foundation, while the electronic pads shift, groan, and wince in between the different voices, all trying to struggle for a part of the spotlight, everything soon getting clogged and messy, before all but Yorke's voice remains along with the chords, beautiful, fragile, and finally in its right place. A beautiful opening to a beautiful album.

The album continues along with solemn, dark, electronic path, in both lyrics and sound. "Kid A" takes a nostalgic, child-like bell melody and wraps it up around warped vocal effects and a plodding, vibrating pad. The drums thump along beside the schizophrenic, seemingly melting, electronic voices. Warm, glistening chords even come in late, giving the bells a truly lush feeling the track maybe had the whole time...

"The National Anthem" kicks off with an ominously catchy bass riff before rocking into a Radiohead-esque feel, synths continuing to creep, fall, glide, and rise around the bass and drums, ghostly specters of horns blare before sinking back down as Yorke's voice finally comes in, metallic, hollow, and cold, contrasting well with the warm French horns that stumble and shudder around everything else in cavalcade of sound and chaos. Yorke's vocals attempt to figure out what is going on around him..."Everyone / Everyone around here / Everyone is so near / What's going on? / What's going on?"

A whining synth characterizes "How To Disappear Completely," behind which a comforting, strident acoustic guitar chugs along, an eerily atonal synth line playing on repeat in the background. More pads come in, crooning and blaring like mournful sirens up against the desolate sonic landscape before them. Yorke's lyrics and voice are equally separated and desolate, "That there / That's not me / I go / Where I please / I walk through walls / I float down the Liffey / I'm not here / This isn't happening / I'm not here / I'm not here." Strings eventually join the calamity, equally morose and aching. The entire song, for that matter, sounds a weight trying to yank your heart down through your stomach.

"Treefingers," "Idioteque," and "Optimistic" are other highlights, with the first being another somber soundscape punctuated rumbling quakes of sound and sweeping, elongated stretches of barren, cold pads and synth lines, the second being a buzzing, blaring siren of an electronic track, electronic drums and all, rolling and shaking with a robotic fervor as Yorke's voice and the harmonies mesh beautifully and eclectically, and the last track being a rollicking, bouncy, jumbling rocker highlighted by wonderful lyrics from Yorke and a classic Radiohead feel that rocks the heck out while making you think. Classic Radiohead.

In the end, the beauty of Kid A is how much it explores sound and music on such an abstract level while still remaining true to what makes Radiohead Radiohead. Things buzz, hiss, drone, sink, glide, float, and splinter with a mechanical feel that makes everything feel so cold, yet oddly warm and full of emotion. The soundscapes Radiohead build, explore, and eventually conquer set alternative rock and music into a whole new area that has not been mapped out. Working basically from scratch, Radiohead managed to create a beautiful tragic album as they tried to blindly stumble through new sonic territory, working with not music, not sound, first. A journey well worth the trip.

-NL

P.S. You can find this album at any record store basically. Or on Amazon. A must-own for rock fans, nay, music fans. Enjoy.

The Best of the Decade, Part 1

On the first of the month, I figured I should write an article every single day, since I've never really done that ever. And what better topic than my favorite albums of this past decade? The first seven will be in no real particular order, but the last three will be. These are all personal favorites, so if you have a problem with the list, make your own. Also, I will comment on how I came about the album and why it holds so much weight with me, never mind why the album itself is so good. Anyways, let's begin...

10) JUSTICE - CROSS

As you could probably tell by the picture, the first lucky recipient will be Justice's debut album on Ed Banger Records, the aptly-titled "Cross."

Released in 2007, this album was unlike anything anyone in the States had heard before. Well, mostly. Justice's style of electro is abrasive, throbbing, and nearly teeth-gratting at times, like a bad papercut that just won't go away. However, behind all the white noise is a spectacular album that strays not only from conventional sound, but paints a new picture of dance music that has grown on the general populous ever since.

Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay demonstrate their eclectic electro style right off the cuff on the first track, "Genesis." One of the first tracks I reviewed ever, this cut still stands the test of time, a creaking, growling monolith of a cut that ripples, shakes, and gasps over nearly four minutes of sputtering, clobbering kicks and menacingly sick basslines. The epic synth chords in the beginning signal that this isn't just any dance album...

I really want to highlight the percussion that Justice employ on a variety of occasions. Raw, loose, and jarring, best shown on the intro to "Let There Be Light," the drums of Justice are visceral in their sound, hardly ever sounding anything but live and completely organic. There are no tight drum loops here. The rawness lends itself even better to Justice's style though, fleshing out what would have been a rather hollow sound with glassy, metallic hi-hats and cavernous kicks that really bring tracks to life and to the forefront of the listeners' minds. Similar drum sounds can be heard on "Waters of Nazareth," "DVNO," and "Phantom, Pt.2."

Another thing I love about Justice is the effective use of effects and instrumentation. On "D.A.N.C.E.," a crackling, heady vocal sample meshes (somehow) perfectly with Justice's inflated, bouncing bass and thumping bass riff. Funky, down-to-earth, and absolutely boppin', the drums are downplayed here for a more poppy sound, but it works wonders, with epic synth string stabs punctuating the young vocals throughout the track. A definite highlight.

These effects and instrumentation again show up on "DVNO," a stunning, pretentious ballad to the consistent club-goer, that shimmers, gloats, floats, ripples, sputters, and above all, bounces along on a hyper-ecstatic, ringing, guttural rhythm and beat. The vocal croons through a gossamer veil of chorus and lush vocal inflections that sound desperate and equally haughty. Halfway in, everything cuts out as a beautiful piano line lifts the vocal bridge into creamy clouds of lush instrumentation and synths before dropping it off amidst a killer funk bass line, stuttering synths and drums, and suddenly everything pulls out. Absolutely stunning.

The final highlight, perhaps my favorite, is the second to last track, "Waters of Nazareth." The intro synth line is the epitome of Justice: ear-rupturing, ear-splitting, and completely unpleasant. It's the sonic equivalent to getting a fresh scab torn clean off your skin. But all of a sudden, under the bubbling audio muck, the signature Justice kick bangs and shakes the muck into motion, following the beat of the vicious kick as the synth line stumbles over itself trying to find rhythm and footing amidst the chaos. Hi-hats enter the fray, and soon the entire cut sounds about ready to split at the very seams. A guttural sigh enters on the next eight bars, before everything is thrown into a bubbling pot of sonic heat and goop, melting around itself, the kick ringing loud and clear the whole time. The rhythms bounce off the wall for a few minutes as every single instrument seems to be doing its own thing. The main rhythm is absolutely killer too: tss tss tss tss tsstsstsstsstsstsk. It hisses and snakes through your mind and your body like a rhythmic, audio serpent. Soon the organ blares through, finally cleaned of muck, before loosing its grip and slipping back into the muck. Its audio chaos at its best, maximalism with a flair for rhythm and eclecticism. Absolute favorite. If you're really intrigued, check out Erol Alkan's Durr Durr Durrrr Re-Edit of Waters of Nazareth. A must listen, and by far my favorite version.

Justice is best described as a mix of funk, bass, electro, and metal. Danceable, stuff you can rock out too, and sounds that just make you think, "What the fuck is this shit??!!?" But that's the beauty. Never before have I heard dance music so fresh, new, and intriguing, even by todays standards. Even if they've been copied umpteen times by this time, and their remixes played to death, this album is still a classic, a great of example of dance music finally getting the "Justice" it deserves. Pun!

Check back tomorrow for the next entry. "Cross" is available on Amazon, Beatport, or at your local Walmart probably. If not, just searhc for the .rar file online. But seriously, buy the damn album. You'll be glad you did.

-NL