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sonicl · 08.15.2006, 04:51 PM

Perhaps part one of the review of your tape will make up for it a little bit, Пятхъдесят Шест.

It's over twenty years since I last had to write any kind of review of anything, and that was an English Literature exam. Sitting down, listening to this tape and then giving my thoughts was almost a challenge on a par with that. Particularly since my most common thought was "I haven't a fucking clue what this is". After listen number four I've managed to get some thoughts together, though, and this is them:

Track 1
Elvis Costello's "Welcome to the Working Week". I'm fairly ambivalent about Elvis Costello. I don't dislike him, but I'm unlikely to buy anything by him. That said, I saw him do a short set a few years ago, just him, a keyboard and a drum machine, and it was brilliant. This was a good start for the mixtapr though.

Track 2
The first occurence of the phrase "I haven't a fucking clue what this is", which, from here on, will be abbreviated to "IHAFCWTI". An afrobeat type track - a genre about which I know absolutely zilch. The main things that stood out for me were the vocals, which were remarkably Bjork-like at times, and rythmn track, which surprised me by sounding very much like a drum machine. I quite enjoyed the track, but it's unlikely to lead me to buy more of the same.

Track 3
IHAFCWTI. It's jazz, a sax / piano / guitar / bass quartet, I think - Possibly the sort of thing I would expect to hear while eating a pizza. I would assume that it's the saxophonist's project, but I only know two sax players - Zorn and Coltrane - and it's neither of them. Is it?

track 4
Once again, IHAFCWTI. I would categorise it as post-punk or no-wave, I think. I can't even tell the sex of the singer - I think it's female. but it could be a strange voiced man. I didn't dislike it, but I'm unlikely to be humming it in the car on the wat to work tomorrow.

track 5
Hurrah! Something I know! Lena's Song from Angels of Light Sing "Other People". I knew what this was even before Michael Gira's voice came in, just from the guitar sound. The warmth of Gira's voice is amazing, especially when you compare it pre-Children of God Swans. Given the choice, I would almost always choose to listen to Angels of Light ahead of Swans. I would like to mention that I helped fund the recording of Sing "Other People" by buying copies of Micheal Gira's home recorded CDs off his website. If you can, I recommend that you buy a copy of I am singing to you from my room from www.younggodrecords.com. Thank you for including this track - I loved it.

track 6
Something by Pussy Galore, I think. A very recognisable guitar sound, and even more recognisable drums. I don't have an Pussy Galore in my collection any more, but I do still have a soft spot for them.

track 7
The main thing that stands out this time is what sounds like a cheap guitar played through a cheap amp. It's quite minimalist noisy rock, based on short repeated patterns. I don't know what this is, but I'm going to make a stab in the dark. Is it Dead C?

track 8
IHAFCWTI. It's fairly stripped down reggae with a nice clean sound. Mid to late 80s? I like this kind of reggae bass, so this went down quite well.

track 9
IHAFCWTI, but I reckon this is what Nirvana would have sounded like if they hadn't been Melvins fans. So so.

track 10
IHAFCWTI. It reminded me of Gang of Four, but it's not them. Interesting male / female dual vocals. It could be something from the same time as Gang of Four, but I suspect it is actually a lot more recent because of the noisy turn it takes at the end. I wouldn't mind hearing more.

track 11
IHAFCWTI. Ouch! It hurts! I couldn't even tell if it was distorted voice or distorted guitar until halfway through. It seems to be someone else's recording which has been manipulated. To be honest, this did my head in so badly I couldn't concentrate after it.

track 12
IHAFCWTI. This was quite mellow, but my head was so fucked by track 11 that I couldn't relax.

track 13
Solo guitar, I don't know who. I'll try again when my head is clear of track 11.

track 14
More reggae, quite recent I reckon. Not my kind of thing.

It'll be a couple of days before I can carry on to side two.

I'm going to have a long soak in the bath now, see if I can get this buzzing out of my head.

08.15.2006, 04:51 PM	#468
sonicl invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,527	Perhaps part one of the review of your tape will make up for it a little bit, Пятхъдесят Шест. It's over twenty years since I last had to write any kind of review of anything, and that was an English Literature exam. Sitting down, listening to this tape and then giving my thoughts was almost a challenge on a par with that. Particularly since my most common thought was "I haven't a fucking clue what this is". After listen number four I've managed to get some thoughts together, though, and this is them: Track 1 Elvis Costello's "Welcome to the Working Week". I'm fairly ambivalent about Elvis Costello. I don't dislike him, but I'm unlikely to buy anything by him. That said, I saw him do a short set a few years ago, just him, a keyboard and a drum machine, and it was brilliant. This was a good start for the mixtapr though. Track 2 The first occurence of the phrase "I haven't a fucking clue what this is", which, from here on, will be abbreviated to "IHAFCWTI". An afrobeat type track - a genre about which I know absolutely zilch. The main things that stood out for me were the vocals, which were remarkably Bjork-like at times, and rythmn track, which surprised me by sounding very much like a drum machine. I quite enjoyed the track, but it's unlikely to lead me to buy more of the same. Track 3 IHAFCWTI. It's jazz, a sax / piano / guitar / bass quartet, I think - Possibly the sort of thing I would expect to hear while eating a pizza. I would assume that it's the saxophonist's project, but I only know two sax players - Zorn and Coltrane - and it's neither of them. Is it? track 4 Once again, IHAFCWTI. I would categorise it as post-punk or no-wave, I think. I can't even tell the sex of the singer - I think it's female. but it could be a strange voiced man. I didn't dislike it, but I'm unlikely to be humming it in the car on the wat to work tomorrow. track 5 Hurrah! Something I know! Lena's Song from Angels of Light Sing "Other People". I knew what this was even before Michael Gira's voice came in, just from the guitar sound. The warmth of Gira's voice is amazing, especially when you compare it pre-Children of God Swans. Given the choice, I would almost always choose to listen to Angels of Light ahead of Swans. I would like to mention that I helped fund the recording of Sing "Other People" by buying copies of Micheal Gira's home recorded CDs off his website. If you can, I recommend that you buy a copy of I am singing to you from my room from www.younggodrecords.com. Thank you for including this track - I loved it. track 6 Something by Pussy Galore, I think. A very recognisable guitar sound, and even more recognisable drums. I don't have an Pussy Galore in my collection any more, but I do still have a soft spot for them. track 7 The main thing that stands out this time is what sounds like a cheap guitar played through a cheap amp. It's quite minimalist noisy rock, based on short repeated patterns. I don't know what this is, but I'm going to make a stab in the dark. Is it Dead C? track 8 IHAFCWTI. It's fairly stripped down reggae with a nice clean sound. Mid to late 80s? I like this kind of reggae bass, so this went down quite well. track 9 IHAFCWTI, but I reckon this is what Nirvana would have sounded like if they hadn't been Melvins fans. So so. track 10 IHAFCWTI. It reminded me of Gang of Four, but it's not them. Interesting male / female dual vocals. It could be something from the same time as Gang of Four, but I suspect it is actually a lot more recent because of the noisy turn it takes at the end. I wouldn't mind hearing more. track 11 IHAFCWTI. Ouch! It hurts! I couldn't even tell if it was distorted voice or distorted guitar until halfway through. It seems to be someone else's recording which has been manipulated. To be honest, this did my head in so badly I couldn't concentrate after it. track 12 IHAFCWTI. This was quite mellow, but my head was so fucked by track 11 that I couldn't relax. track 13 Solo guitar, I don't know who. I'll try again when my head is clear of track 11. track 14 More reggae, quite recent I reckon. Not my kind of thing. It'll be a couple of days before I can carry on to side two. I'm going to have a long soak in the bath now, see if I can get this buzzing out of my head.
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