Really? Source Tags is better than In an Aeroplane? Nope. People wouldn't gush about that album nearly as much as they do had Pfork given it something less than a 10. I don't think it's even in the same playing field as Kid A or In an Aeroplane. It's a good album, don't get me wrong...but I'm not going to go back to it and 20 years and feel that it's timeless. I already don't feel like it's timeless. The other two, however....
Posts: 132 | Location: DC | Registered: 05 April 2006
I think 'Souce Tags..' is a very timeless album, which the following attests to:
"An album almost elemental in its urgency and raw beauty. While unashamedly wearing indie worship on their sleeves, Conrad Keely and co. are greater (on their debut at least) than the sum of their influences. Like many classic albums, Source Tags And Codes is a flowing and seamless work, which demands/rewards repeated plays for reasons beside its exceptional songwriting; a world is built around these blistering rock songs, using sound textures/motifs that beckon us into a sonic territory. One that's not unlike the barren desert of the band's native Texas; easy to lose yourself in... but after a few listens, leaving may not be an real option."
Originally posted by The Ninth Wave: As much as I now love this album, 10.0 scores should be reserved for something that is truly a groundbreaking masterpiece. 'In the Aeroplane...' was very special and subversive for its time, but just doesn't compare to the likes of 'KID A' or 'Source Tags and Codes'.
Subversive? I can think of millions of adjectives to describe In the Aeroplane... transcendent, beautiful, earth-shaking, undeniable. But not subversive. And it's time? I don't hear mid-to-late 90's indie pop in that album. I hear something timeless. And come on, Source Tags and Codes?! I mean sure it's a great album, but does it compare to any of the albums that it's style derives from?! Evol, Sister, Bad Moon Rising?! Come on, get real. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has little precedent in modern music. Period.
People wouldn't gush about that album nearly as much as they do had Pfork given it something less than a 10
I'm actually becomming pretty annoyed of seeing people bring up the Source Tags score from Pitchfork. Pitchfork's score has nothing to do with why people like Source Tags now. Maybe it did when it came out, but if anything it's developed a reputation for not deserving its score.
Posts: 1376 | Location: Valparaiso, IN | Registered: 01 July 2006
Damn this re-release. My friend found out about NMH and he plays "Oh Comely" in the car. I love this album to death but it is definitely not a "party" record or a "driving" record. I would classify it as "sit alone in your room and choke back tears because of your own paternal worries" album. Some albums should be a shared experience. This is not one of them.
Damn this re-release. My friend found out about NMH and he plays "Oh Comely" in the car. I love this album to death but it is definitely not a "party" record or a "driving" record. I would classify it as "sit alone in your room and choke back tears because of your own paternal worries" album. Some albums should be a shared experience. This is not one of them.
Ha ha, yeah. It's definitely not the kind of record you play around a group of friends, especially "Oh Comely". I disagree about it not being a driving album, though. I like listening Aeroplane in the car, singing along and such. Just not with other people in the car.
Posts: 1376 | Location: Valparaiso, IN | Registered: 01 July 2006
Ha ha, yeah. It's definitely not the kind of record you play around a group of friends,
It's pretty funny you mention that because in the 33 1/3 book on 'In the aeroplane...', a fan who is interviewed says that if someone had the record on at a friends house, they would have to stop whatever they were doing and listen the whole way through. Weird huh ?
Ha ha, yeah. It's definitely not the kind of record you play around a group of friends,
It's pretty funny you mention that because in the 33 1/3 book on 'In the aeroplane...', a fan who is interviewed says that if someone had the record on at a friends house, they would have to stop whatever they were doing and listen the whole way through. Weird huh ?
Yeah, I understand that kind of fixation perfectly. However, I don't think this record works well in a group setting ("Yeah Bob, I love when he mentions semen under the garden wall, that's very affecting isn't it?") because it is so overtly personal and emotional. For the same reasons I never play Spiderland around my friends. Not because I think they would hate it, but rather because I don't want to ruin my individual relationship with the record. Typing that now I sound insane, I know. Maybe I am, but I'll be damned if I let my buddy ruin Good Morning Captain by asking what the hell the guy is mumbling on about.
This album reminds of Wilco in a strange way, like jeff tweedy has drunk a 6 pack of red bull. I'm becoming a big fan alt country indie rock and indie rock with sporadic guitar fuzz and other strange noises. I'm liking spoon's gimme fiction more and more for that reason also.
The head of state has called for me, but I don't have time for him
Posts: 261 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 07 September 2006
I've been neglecting this album. What a joy it is to just pull it out and listen to it on a whim.
I would give it a 10.0, but I wouldn't think of it as perfection, just an utterly unique and fantastic piece of work that's deserving of the highest praise.
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
Posts: 2256 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
I would give it a 10.0, but I wouldn't think of it as perfection, just an utterly unique and fantastic piece of work that's deserving of the highest praise.
That's basically where I'm at with Aeroplane. It's one of those records that has no precedant. You can't go anyplace to get the same musical experience. I don't think the music is of a high enough quality to quite warrant a 10.0, but it's originality bumps it up for me.
Truly an irreplaceable record, and one that could have pretty well slipped through the cracks if not for an extremely devoted fan base. Recall that it was not exceptionally well reviewed when it was released, and I believe came in at #84 on Pitchfork's initial top of the 90s list. Only after years of praise from a small group did it finally get the attention it deserved.
Posts: 1376 | Location: Valparaiso, IN | Registered: 01 July 2006
I love it so much, that it is one of the very few albums I don't even really want to talk about. I feel about it, the way I think some people on the forums feel about Ok Computer, or Kid A.
I also think that it makes an urgent case for the continued existence of the album as a unit of work. Much as I love the individual tracks, there is nothing quite like when the tracks blend into each other, like movements in a symphony.
Have we really come to a place in music production, distribution, and enjoyment where an "album" is just a collection of 10 99 cent singles?
--------------- I wonder if you're mythologizing me, like I do you
Posts: 1429 | Location: State of Disarray | Registered: 10 January 2007
Originally posted by kendocubano: I love it so much, that it is one of the very few albums I don't even really want to talk about. I feel about it, the way I think some people on the forums feel about Ok Computer, or Kid A.
I also think that it makes an urgent case for the continued existence of the album as a unit of work. Much as I love the individual tracks, there is nothing quite like when the tracks blend into each other, like movements in a symphony.
Have we really come to a place in music production, distribution, and enjoyment where an "album" is just a collection of 10 99 cent singles?
You touch on a rather tragic point in current music technology kendocubano. For the majority of music listeners the days of purchasing a CD or vinyl, taking it home and listening all the way through are gone. With iTunes or Windows Media Player providing any song in our collection all at once, the tendency is to fixate on, well, singles. Of course the technology doesn't have to be used that way, and I try to listen to full albums always because the album is a complete work, like a series of paintings at an exhibit.
Originally posted by kendocubano: I love it so much, that it is one of the very few albums I don't even really want to talk about. I feel about it, the way I think some people on the forums feel about Ok Computer, or Kid A.
I also think that it makes an urgent case for the continued existence of the album as a unit of work. Much as I love the individual tracks, there is nothing quite like when the tracks blend into each other, like movements in a symphony.
Have we really come to a place in music production, distribution, and enjoyment where an "album" is just a collection of 10 99 cent singles?
I'm not a big fan of just listening to tracks... I almost always listen to an entire album. If I don't like the album, I don't listen to it, even if it has a really good track. The album has to be able to stand as a whole or my view is tainted.
It took me years to fully understand how good this is. This has actually been true for me with many of the modern masterpieces, though I'm still struggling with Loveless. The discussion of the lamentable single vs. album battle relates directly to this. I couldn't call Areoplane a masterpiece without really sitting down and understanding the sequence. My first impression, from listening to a few of the tracks here and there, was "Hm. Quirky lyrics, harsh singing voice...back to Death Cab."
Originally posted by kendocubano: I love it so much, that it is one of the very few albums I don't even really want to talk about. I feel about it, the way I think some people on the forums feel about Ok Computer, or Kid A.
I also think that it makes an urgent case for the continued existence of the album as a unit of work. Much as I love the individual tracks, there is nothing quite like when the tracks blend into each other, like movements in a symphony.
Have we really come to a place in music production, distribution, and enjoyment where an "album" is just a collection of 10 99 cent singles?
You touch on a rather tragic point in current music technology kendocubano. For the majority of music listeners the days of purchasing a CD or vinyl, taking it home and listening all the way through are gone. With iTunes or Windows Media Player providing any song in our collection all at once, the tendency is to fixate on, well, singles. Of course the technology doesn't have to be used that way, and I try to listen to full albums always because the album is a complete work, like a series of paintings at an exhibit.
I agree that the downfall of the "album" is one of the tragedies of modern music. Anyone who can make a really strong album that's not just a string of songs gets my respect - even Green Day.
On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with hit singles. I'd never, ever buy Nelly Furtado's new album, but I'll be damned if "Say It Right" isn't a superb pop song. If nothing else, this shift in music taste will help us avoid bands that have mediocre albums centered around one or two singles. The bands that I enjoy, at least, tend to make albums that are worth listening to all the way through.
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
Posts: 2256 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
I wonder if the album vs single phenomenon is, to a certain extent, generational. I have the impression that singles ruled the charts for much of the 60s. I think the first album album was Sgt Pepper. With the rise of AOR and FM radio in the 70s, the album became the unit of choice for distribution and listening.
I wonder if, in retrospect, the album will have proven to be only a blip in the history of popular music...
--------------- I wonder if you're mythologizing me, like I do you
Posts: 1429 | Location: State of Disarray | Registered: 10 January 2007
Originally posted by kendocubano: I love it so much, that it is one of the very few albums I don't even really want to talk about. I feel about it, the way I think some people on the forums feel about Ok Computer, or Kid A.
I also think that it makes an urgent case for the continued existence of the album as a unit of work. Much as I love the individual tracks, there is nothing quite like when the tracks blend into each other, like movements in a symphony.
Have we really come to a place in music production, distribution, and enjoyment where an "album" is just a collection of 10 99 cent singles?
You touch on a rather tragic point in current music technology kendocubano. For the majority of music listeners the days of purchasing a CD or vinyl, taking it home and listening all the way through are gone. With iTunes or Windows Media Player providing any song in our collection all at once, the tendency is to fixate on, well, singles. Of course the technology doesn't have to be used that way, and I try to listen to full albums always because the album is a complete work, like a series of paintings at an exhibit.
I agree that the downfall of the "album" is one of the tragedies of modern music. Anyone who can make a really strong album that's not just a string of songs gets my respect - even Green Day.
On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with hit singles. I'd never, ever buy Nelly Furtado's new album, but I'll be damned if "Say It Right" isn't a superb pop song. If nothing else, this shift in music taste will help us avoid bands that have mediocre albums centered around one or two singles. The bands that I enjoy, at least, tend to make albums that are worth listening to all the way through.
I guess it's possible that the importance of albums has fallen off for most of the populace, but for me that importance has only been gaining as of late.
I really like records, but when I'm studying it can be kind of a distraction to have to get up and change the record or side every 30 odd minutes. But with my massive external hard drive I can queue up an album with a couple clicks - and the album will be completely uninterrupted.
I think the more commercial end of things has and perhaps always will be dominated by the single. When you're trying to convince someone to take notice (as in advertising) - it seems to be always implied that the listener/potential consumer doesn't have a very long attention span.
