Recent readings - Then We Came to the End

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris (2007) The office is often an inspiration for literature and movies. This novel is about a Chicago advertising company that is downsizing and the lives of each employees and work anecdotes. What makes this story interesting is how the author catches our attention with funny as well as sad stories about each characters. The totem incident is just one example of an absurdly funny sub plot that is to be found in this book. Interestingly enough, even the sad parts (ovarian cancer) can also be funny at times and simply humane as well. Anybody who has worked, or is working in an office can relate to many incidents and anecdotes in this book. The way it's written is also inclusive (use of "we") and we're drawn more easily in the story. I will stay tuned for more work from this author.

Recent Viewings - Silmido

Silmido by Woo-suk Kang (2003) Korea Back in 1968, North Korea sent a group of commando to try to assassinate S. Korea's president at the time. They failed but were not that far from the blue house when they got caught! They were known as Unit 124 back in the North. Shortly after, S. Korean government decided to create a similar unit which they called unit 684 to try to go to Pyeongyang and assassinate Kim Il-Sung. Interestingly, unit 684 was comprised only of convicts. They stayed on the island of Silmido for years before the government decided to get rid of them by killing them! Hearing of this, they try to make their way to Seoul to probably take their revenge. They got intercepted and they were killed or sentenced to death. This movie recreates the events surrouding unit 684, their training and their demise. The movie does what it should do pretty well. Training sequences are brutal, music is there to make us feel empathy for the unit, men who are at first annoyed by each other finally bound (they don't really have a choice anyways because they're stuck on this island). It's a politically charged movie although not so much in your face as it could be. Interesting to see how the S. Korean government handled this situation and never gave the green light for the assassination attempt. This movie left me wondering what if they actually went with the mission and succeed. This part of the world would be very different right now..

Listenings - Pantha du Prince, Local Natives, Memory Tapes, Love is All

	Black Noise by Pantha du Prince (2010) I've never actually listened to a full techno album before this so I'm not even sure after listening to it what to say about it. Sounds like lounge music to me and possibly dance floor material. I'm probably going to say this quite often: this is an album that can only do it's thing as background noise, at least for me. I doesn't feel appropriate for me to review this album either. No score... more info video (Stick To My Side)
	Gorilla Manor by Local Natives (2010) Fun sounding album with little hook. At least give us one or two memorable tracks so that we could have a reason to listen to the rest. I don't want to feel like it's a chore to appreciate an album (and this happens quite often indeed). I did not have a lot of patience for this album and I wanted it to end quickly. It still feels like they're having fun on this record... although it's the kind of party that I'm not sure I want to go to unless I want to get bored. 5/10 more info video (Airplane)
	Seek Magic by Memory Tapes (2009) A one-man solo album by Davye Hawk. It's a mix of different genre: dance, eletronica and a little bit of funk and rock. It's like if Hawk wanted to put in one album all the different genre that interested him. It all flows well though, it's not a compilation of random genres. The only problem is that it never actually lifts up! It's perfect music for a relaxing sunny afternoon though and for some reason I think it would play well in a cafe! There's also an extra track on another cd titled Treeship which is 22 minutes long (somebody made a 7:30 vid). While listening to this I was thinking that somebody should make a short animated movie with this track as background music. The whole song creates a narrative with only music. Something like La Planete Sauvage would be interesting. 7/10 more info video (Stop Talking - live but not a great vid)
	Ten Thousand and Ten Injuries by Love is All (2010) Great indie pop rock (yeah I know indie and pop don't really go together!) from this happy bunch of Swedes. The album sounds great (something to do with production I guess), the saxophone is an interesting addition to what we could call a punk-revival band, the length of the album is just around 34 min. which is like the perfect timing for an album in my humble opinion. If you did not know this band start with this and listen to their previous album as well (A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night). Thoroughly enjoyed this album. 8/10 more info video

Listenings - Dirty Projectors, Editors, Stereophonics, Julian Casablancas, The Horrors

	Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors (2009) The art of making unnecessarily complex music for listeners! My first listen was pretty irritating  I'll admit and for some reason, I can't stand David Longstreth's voice. Something interesting goes on in this album no doubt: beats and melodies change in the middle of almost every song: it's chaotic and unconventional that's for sure. The indie scene needs bands like this. There are many nice guitar pieces here. At some point, the 4th track (Stillness in the Move), you have this tune that out of nowhere sounds like some pop r&b song: I was wondering if my iPod shuffled the song by itself! Give it a try, maybe it'll be the best thing you've listened to in a while. It did not do it for me though. 6/10 more info video (Stillness is the Move - yo!)
	In This Light And On This Evening by Editors (2009) I was pretty disappointed by this album in the first moments of listening: where's the familiar sounding Editors? They took a different route here, going electronica with retro 80s synthesized sounds. Well it's a welcomed new direction; can't expect every band to just continue making albums like the previous ones all the time. Tom Smith's voice is just as incredible as always and ties things together. It's a good effort. Cheers! 7.5/10 more info video (Papillon - Later w/ Jools Holland)
	Keep Calm and Carry On by Stereophonics (2009) Nothing out of the ordinary from them here. They simply mix up faster tempo songs with slower ones and it works well. They did not try to re-invent themselves on this album. Do they really need to though? I'll listen to this casually nothing more nothing less! The album titles goes well with the album - stay calm people this is not an album to get too excited about! 6.5/10 more info video (Innocent)
	Phrazes for the Young by Julian Casablancas (2009) Dissimilar to anything he's done in The Strokes. Obviously there's his unmistakable voice which I think you either love or hate but there's also a lot of electronica as well. Yet another album with a retro 80s feel to it by time. He tried to mix a lot of sounds here and it worked pretty well for most songs. I just feel though that the second half is less interesting than the beginning (isn't this the case of most albums anyways?!), 11th Dimension being so much better than most other tracks. He's taken an interesting detour with this album. 7/10 more info video (11th Dimension - great vid)
	Primary Colours by The Horrors (2009) I was taken aback when I heard this album because it's very different than their previous one and I did not know what to do of it. This album is so much more experimental, yet there are familiar sounds from them in most songs, but which so much less aggression and trashiness. An interesting listen and I think that this kind of sound is what they were looking for in the first place. For some reason, I keep picturing images of monster flicks when I hear this album... and I guess that's the idea since they're called The Horrors! 7.5/10 more info video (Sea Within a Sea - long video that reminds me of a scene in Godard's Pierrot le Fou)

Listenings - Morning Benders, B.R.M.C., MGMT, Citay

Big Echo by Morning Benders, The (2010) Atmospheric, dreamy rock tunes. For some reason, and its probably because of the cover art, it feels like surfer music at times and there's also a sixties feel to this album as well. The first song is quite beautiful - watch the video and you'll know what I mean. There's definitely something going on here I'm just not sure what it is. I have a feeling of longing for something when I finished listening to the album. Random note: Chris Chu's voice is similar to Ash's singer. 7.5/10 more info video (Excuses)

Beat the Devil's Tattoo by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (2010) This album sounds heavy, and I mean heavy in the sense that it crushes you with its heavy moody sound that can be hard to carry (listen) at times. I really wished that I loved this album more than I did but I'm somewhat disappointed. It's too long in total length and many songs are also too lengthy. There's this feeling that I've heard this stuff before with little variation now. 6.5/10 more info video (Beat the Devil's Tattoo)

Congratulations by MGMT (2010) Their first album Oracular Spectacular had some very catchy tunes. Now if you're expecting something catchy from this album forget it. It's like they decided to make an album that another kind of crowd would like. Good for them for following their ideas through and doing what they like. I commend them for going in another direction with this new album. I'm left disappointed anyways. It's a somewhat pretentious album. The last song is titled Congratulation - congratulations for listening to the whole thing without skipping any songs! 5.5/10 more info

Dream Get Together by Citay (2010) The guitar work on this album is a mix of electric guitar solos and acoustic mixed in together perfectly. There are some instrumental songs which are right at home in this work. It's like listening to one big tune separated in 8 tracks (but it's not progressive rock...) I had no idea who this band was before this album and I'm pleasantly surprised. I you need to hear some good old hard rock (!) guitar tunes, this album will be just what you need do doubt. But who needs this kind of fix!? I for one did not know that I needed it for a couple of listens at least. 7.5/10 more info

Listenings - Spoon, Gorillaz

Transference by Spoon (2010) What was good about them in their previous work, namely Ga Ga Ga and Gimme fiction, is still here and more. No bs (indie) rock and roll from this this Texas band. Even when they try writing new kind of songs (for them) like The Mystery Zone or Nobody Gets Me But You, it works great in the whole ensemble. Listen to I Saw the Light - such a great rock song. After seven albums these guys are sounding better than ever and they definitely have their own unique sound. 9/10 more info video (Written in Reverse)

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz (2010) I've never really liked Gorillaz except a couple of tracks from their two previous albums (Feel Good Inc. will forever be a great track!), too many songs don't stand out. Stylo has a good, "dancy" beat and features Mr. Bobby Womack himself (Across 110th Street). For the rest of the album though, not a lot of tracks stand out. Quite frankly it was tedious to listen to it all and Sweepstakes has got to be the most annoying song ever written! The cover's nice... 5.5/10 more info video (Stylo with Bruce Willis!)

Listenings - Frightened Rabbit, Passion Pit, Gil Scott-Heron, Slow Club, Broken Bells, Gonjasufi

I'm going to do this new thing where I'll comment quickly on an album which I've listened to once. Usually I don't like anything on the first listen... should be an interesting experiment.

	Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit (2010) Decent pop rock, I usually prefer something heavier with drums that ask for you to dance but nonetheless it's good music to play as you meander through a crowded subway in Seoul (!) Beats listening to Coldplay... 7/10 more info video
	Manners by Passion Pit (2009) Wow! I had this in my iPod for a while without actually listening to it. I've missed out on one of the best albums of 2009! Catchy beats and man are the 80s back or what! Listen to the track Little Secrets and tell me if this should be playing in clubs or not! 8.5/10 more info video
	I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron (2010) This guy has been around the music business for 40 years now! Never heard of him before. I probably would know him if I listened to R&B and rap. Never too late though! At something like 28 minutes and mostly spoken words with low key funky beats (and some acoustic guitar), I wasn't expecting anything, listened to it all and found it was very interesting. Short and lyrically charged. 7.5/10 more info video
	Yeah So by Slow Club (2010) Ok yet another duo consisting of Charles Watson on guitar and Rebecca Taylor on drums. Pretty relaxed music (warm?). Perfect for rainy days or a very relaxed evening. They are a great singing duo. Make me think of The Swell Season. I felt bored listening to this once though... 6.5/10 more info video
	Broken Bells by Broken Bells (2010) Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Love James Mercer's voice. Feels like each track is different. Nothing heavy or slow here, just the right amount of funky beat and melody! Funny how I can't really describe this album but I liked it. 8/10 more info video
	A Sufi and a Killer by Gonjasufi (2010) Wackiest thing I've listened to in a while. This album is all over the place but in a good way. Overall it sounds like really trippy hip hop with rock, punk, electronica, 60s revival of some kind, eastern music, spacy...wow! Gonjasufi's voice is almost dreamlike and rarely goes up a notch or two. He and his collaborators must have been on some heavy drugs while making this! Impossible to categorize but really fun to listen to. This will definitely bring you to a trippy place, high or not! 8.5/10 more info video (just the song Holidays with no actual video)