ok, so i like to think im into at least something from every style of music, and in the pop category I have to admit that lately ive had a re-obsession with madonna.
Now i'll tell you straight out, i know you've seen these music videos a thousand fucking times growing up (if you're 25 or older), but watch them again after my commentary.
Papa Don't Preach - It came out in 1986, and because of mostly this fact alone, from the time i first have memories in life, I was hearing this song regularly in my life on the radio, i was turning 4. By the time i was 7, I probably could have sung along with all the words in the song for you, and I remember not knowing what any of the lyrics meant, but thinking it was so damn catchy.
I got turned off by madonna by the time she was like, doing the soundtrack song for an austin powers movie... it was just too... POP. like commercial pop, so i pretty much eliminated any madonna from my ears until the rebirth of new wave in 2004 or so.
So here at age 27 i redownloaded her entire discography since I hadn't rocked that shit since i was a kid, and one of the first ones i listened to was papa don't preach. It seemed like it was the first time I had heard it since the 80s, and now as an adult I just realized for the first time that I understood what all the lyrics were about.
I instantly was remembering conservative reagan era politics in our country and how bringing up abortion and teen pregnancy openly in public was pretty taboo. and, she looks so HOT in the video! the whole thing is just so fucking PUNK! "fuck you, im going to make a song about real shit that happens to kids, real heavy choices they have to make, and im going to make it irresistable for you to listen to"
Papa Don't Preach Video
Lucky Star - again, alongside michael jackson, this was one of those songs that I grew up with. one of the songs that has just existed for eternity as it is. Once I youtubed this shit again after not seeing the video for literally 17 years, I instantly understood everything so much more. My mind is thoughroughly blown for how fucking cool she knew how to be in the 80s. Her outfit? its fucking incredible! her singing and little touches? so cool!
Lucky Star video
like a prayer - same thing, I youtubed it and realized I hadnt watched it in literally 17 years. Having needing to up the bar in controversiality at the dawn of the decade of the 90s, she started using and misusing tons of religious imagery in the public eye. I remember watching this video at like age 7 and not even knowing anything about christianity or jesus and trying to understand what it all meant. I was pleased with all her religious button-pushing like a) being dressed sexy in a church b) insinuating jesus is black c) having sexual tension with jesus.... and then around 3:15 it kicks in to that shot of her in front of a field of burning crosses. YES!!!! holy shit, she knew exactly what she was doing and I never even realized it when i was a kid. Conservative christians were just SQUIRMING when they saw that video, man.
Good job madonna, thats all.
Like A Prayer Video
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Omega Massif
When I was on tour with the Blackwaves in '08, they told me I had to check out Germany's Omega Massif. I just had heard a little bit and thought it was cool, but I must have been swamped in other stuff I was listening to, because they didnt get to my queue until now. What a great band! really visual, organically moving songs. Their imagery of natural things like glaciers and monumental mountains really matches their sound to me... building massive walls of sound to sheer drops, always following the slow slow inevitable movement of time. you can go to their website and download three tracks for free. I think their website is great and perfectly captures DOOM mentality.
Portland Cello Project
When i moved to portland last summer, i heard from several sources that the Portland Cello Project cd was hella good, and based on the fact that i love a) portland and b) cellos, i bought it. the album starts right off with one of the most killer upbeat tracks "beat" that just was instantly nostalgic to me of happy summer-times activities and memories, and i used that song for this little moped rally video i put together last year.
The music throughout the album is... i would describe it as refreshing. There are a ton of creative kids out there who have lots of passion but maybe lack on the ability when it comes to music (just like me), so you hear lots of projects come out that sound really promising, or have good ideas or good moments, but at the end of the day you can lump them in with other things you've heard and they aren't outstanding. PCP is DIFFERENT. its already hard enough to find people who are into really good music and play a good cello, what to speak of up to 12 of them!!! its also really hard to find a great singer, male or female, and we all know how the vocals can seriously make or break a band. well they collaborated with justin power and Thao who both sing flowingly smooth and gentle throughout the album.
So what i'm trying to say is the musicianship is incredibly sound on every performers part, beginning to end. The album definitely has low points, i always skip "geography" for instance with its possibly awkward part changes and Thao electing to do cranberries-zombie-style yodels for once on the album, no thanks.
what i like about the album is all the different songs grew on me. There would be two or three that would really stand out, then i'd switch to other ones that i'd play all the time... I feel like it will stand the test of time.
The last song I got around to getting stuck in my head constantly for a month was appropriately the last song on the album, "travel", leading me to believe it wasn't an accident that they placed it there. This is one of those songs that is so beautiful, so sweet, such moving lyrics, how can anyone NOT like it?
The best video of them i found online was of that very song, and this performance is fantastic. you can see some of that musicianship im talking about in watching Justin's ease of fingerpicking the ukulele and being perfectly on key singing live. i'll never get tired of this video.
The music throughout the album is... i would describe it as refreshing. There are a ton of creative kids out there who have lots of passion but maybe lack on the ability when it comes to music (just like me), so you hear lots of projects come out that sound really promising, or have good ideas or good moments, but at the end of the day you can lump them in with other things you've heard and they aren't outstanding. PCP is DIFFERENT. its already hard enough to find people who are into really good music and play a good cello, what to speak of up to 12 of them!!! its also really hard to find a great singer, male or female, and we all know how the vocals can seriously make or break a band. well they collaborated with justin power and Thao who both sing flowingly smooth and gentle throughout the album.
So what i'm trying to say is the musicianship is incredibly sound on every performers part, beginning to end. The album definitely has low points, i always skip "geography" for instance with its possibly awkward part changes and Thao electing to do cranberries-zombie-style yodels for once on the album, no thanks.
what i like about the album is all the different songs grew on me. There would be two or three that would really stand out, then i'd switch to other ones that i'd play all the time... I feel like it will stand the test of time.
The last song I got around to getting stuck in my head constantly for a month was appropriately the last song on the album, "travel", leading me to believe it wasn't an accident that they placed it there. This is one of those songs that is so beautiful, so sweet, such moving lyrics, how can anyone NOT like it?
The best video of them i found online was of that very song, and this performance is fantastic. you can see some of that musicianship im talking about in watching Justin's ease of fingerpicking the ukulele and being perfectly on key singing live. i'll never get tired of this video.
Thorr's Hammer
ive only just been super into the DOOM-y side of things for about the last two years, so i hadn't heard of Thorr's Hammer until last year. I was skeptical of the ability of anything to come out in the mid nineties to be able to avoid shades of punk/grunge, or outdated metal at the gates/early metallica sounds, but holy fuck... i got their album, after more than ten years, and its HEAVY. some of these seattle kids were in high school still when they wrote and recorded some of this shit!!!
As far as i can tell, this album must have been revolutionary! (i wasn't there at the time so i can't speak with authority on the matter.) But it seems right in line with a lot of DOOM to follow for the next ten years, and i still haven't seen such a performance from a female vocalist since.
and about the singer, Runhild- in this video, talk about a picture of perfection... jesus!
read more about them here
As far as i can tell, this album must have been revolutionary! (i wasn't there at the time so i can't speak with authority on the matter.) But it seems right in line with a lot of DOOM to follow for the next ten years, and i still haven't seen such a performance from a female vocalist since.
and about the singer, Runhild- in this video, talk about a picture of perfection... jesus!
read more about them here
slipknot, so sick brah!
so this christmas i got turned onto this slipknot shreds video. apparently it was already popular, but i just found it and basically couldnt stop laughing for a week straight. hahahah fuck you slipknot, fuck all the people in that crowd! hahah this video is the most awesome thing ever
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