DJ Shadow

Endtroducing.....

1996

Many aspects of "Endtroducing....." interest me. The drum samples are generally used very creatively and reflect a mature taste in percussion. In most cases actual drum kit sounds are used, often jazz influenced with splashy cymbals and, occasionally, clever time-signature changes, wether due to the actual sample itself or an alteration DJ Shadow has made.

There are certainly transcendent moments as well. "Changeling / Transmission 1" is a highlight for me, mixing atmospheric synths with a great backbeat. Like many of the songs on the album it vacillates between hip-hop swagger, R&B cool and a certain unpredictable psychedelia often attributed to well-executed house music. "Stem / Long Stem / Transmission 2" is another that showcases a huge array of influences. The percussion is clearly a sample of a metal and/or punk song and yet that ferocity appears completely normal behind a mellow, clinking xylophone melody. There is no question that the combination of influences is certainly impressive and all coalesce well. Additionally, most of these songs sound great and are memorable but the question still nagging me after multiple listens is:

Is this art?

I'm into hip hop and respect a producer or DJ who has taste with samples, let it be known. However, I feel there is an important difference between a creative producer layering/altering/looping existing music before laying original lyrics over it and what DJ Shadow has done on "Endtroducing.....". Some part of me feels that just merging obscure samples together is not worthy of respect, even when used tastefully as it is here. Is it any different than a cool collage you made in art class in the 2nd grade?

It should be mentioned also that I don't recognize 99% of the samples. I feel a know a decent cross-section of music so this surprises me but it must mean DJ Shadow has dipped into a big pool. It is a remarkable feat to meld so many samples and genres but, again, is this an artistic masterpiece as many seem to view it? After several listens I still don't know.

Best tracks: "Changeling / Transmission 1", "Stem / Long Stem / Transmission 2", "Organ Donor"

Monday's Vinyl Purchases

As always, bug ups to Cheapo in Minneapolis, MN. On Monday, June 21st I became the owner of the following items:

Steve Miller Band - Brave New World (1969)

Peter Gabriel - s/t (car) (1977)

George Benson - The Other Side Of Abbey Road (1969)

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)

Van Halen - Fair Warning (1981)

Today's Vinyl Purchases

Big ups to Cheapo in Uptown, Minneapolis. Today I became the owner of the following items:

Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde (1966)

The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

Blondie - Autoamerican (1980)

Sade - Diamond Life (1984)

Sly & The Family Stone - Stand! (1969)

Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run (1973)

Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984)

Steve Miller Band - Children Of The Future (1968)

Big up also to the people who stopped caring about vinyl albums as I am now able to purchase them for very little.

Mic stand = slide.

This man is insane.

Skip to 4:44 for the transcendent solo. I'm in awe of this.

Boards Of Canada

Music Has The Right To Children

1998

Profoundly nuanced, beautiful and memorable as a piece of art.

The prevailing opinion, it seems, is that the album is supposed to be a sort of coming-of-age story through music. Not a concept album exactly but intending to imitate a certain non-visual maturation aesthetic from conception to loss of innocence. I don't see that exactly, the clips of children and adults speaking and laughing (often in indiscernible or nonsensical fashion) don't seem to have much in common with each other or follow even a loose narrative.

Unlike most electronic, artificial drum-driven music I've heard, the percussion used here is creative and often varied. It's far from the typically oversized, rattling blasts of KICK - SNARE - KICK - SNARE I hear unqualified DJs playing so often. The tone of the record is very sedate, even psychedelic at points. The sophisticated mixing of the percussion is a perfect accent to the intertwining keyboards which are constantly swirling and winding spooky melodies amid odd background audio of either spoken word or people moving about just out of sight.

The first half of the album ends about the time "Roygbiv" kicks in with a dirty, bass-heavy groove and hip-hop influenced drums. The back half more or less follows this change of the guard with more aggressive percussion and a killer funk groove on "Aquarius".

"Music Has The Right To Children" may take some time getting into but once you give it a few spins it will become a classic.

Best Tracks: "Telephasic Workshop", "Roygbiv", "Aquarius"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It's Blitz!

2009

The individual performances here are solid and the album is certainly well-produced although I'm not sure what sound the band was going for. What makes "It's Blitz!" a so-so album for me is that, overall, the songs aren't particularly interesting or arranged with much creativity. Lyrically it doesn't offer much more than the sort of club-pop that sections of this album seem to emulate.

The first three tracks are great before the pointless "Skeltons" stretches Karen O far beyond her already limited vocal range and kills the established momentum. "Dull Life", again, isn't arranged much better than your average garage-rock banger but is saved by points of memorable percussion and vocals.

At this middle point of the record it gets dicey. "Shame And Fortune" is a b-side if I've ever heard one while "Runaway" I found to be a surprisingly mature highlight. "Dragon Queen" shows promise with it's opening of funk-influnced back beat but goes nowhere. "Hysteric" offers some sweet melodies from Karen O but not enough to forgive the horrible, Jerry Maguire-esqu lyric "You suddenly complete me". "Little Shadow" is extremely bland and, sadly, ends the album on the completely opposite end of where it began.

I'm puzzled as to why "It's Blitz!" appeared so regularly atop best-of-2009 lists from 'reputable' publications. I wouldn't call it a bad effort by any stretch but I believe Yeah Yeah Yeahs growing hype preceded the actual product with this one.

Best Tracks: "Zero", "Heads Will Roll", "Soft Shock", "Runaway"

Additionally, I've seen many reviewers mention the "80's nostalgia" angle to this record and I have to say that I strongly disagree with that notion. Simply because the band introduces more dance-friendly production to their drum sounds and uses keyboards heavily does not make it a throwback album. Certain aspects of 1980's culture are experiencing a resurgence now in popular music which is likely why groups like Passion Pit, Phoenix and Cut Copy (along with this record) have become noteworthy.