Friday, April 15, 2011

Instinct Blues

live = awesome
album

Passive Manipulation

oh Meg...

Take, Take, Take

Songs of The Day

Instinct Blues:  When I first started listening to this, I was like "uhhh, diggin the hard blues feel!" and then I noticed the name of the track and I felt like an idiot.  The groove on this is pretty tight.  I dig how it starts really low and builds up within the verse - it's all about the dynamics on this one.  It's got the perfect amount of rock too, it's in now way overbearing.  Awesome hits.  Shit's got me rockin.  Solid.

Passive Manipulation:  Oh hey Meg White, you sing....kinda?  This track is really just an interlude, but an interesting one at that seeing as the vocals are all Meg.  You can see why Jack does all the singing.  But I think her out-of-tune-ness actually adds a sweet appeal to the track.  It also wouldn't make much sense lyrically for Jack to sing this, but then again John Mayer had "Daughters," so...

Take, Take, Take:  First thing I like about this - that the vocals come in from the very beginning.  That kind of anticipation is really cool to me (when used appropriately).  This track has some interesting play with meter that I dig.  I like the steadier backbeat that comes out in the drums and comped guitar chords towards the end - it adds a nice fullness to the song as a whole.  Dig the simplicity of the sound, whilst remaining interesting.  Cool abrupt ending.  Good track.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Denial Twist

man, their videos are goofy.

White Moon

acoustic - sweet.
album version

Songs of The Day

The Denial Twist:  Neither of today's songs really impressed me, but that's probably because I wasn't very surprised by them.  This track has the same saloon-type feel that a couple of the previous have had.  Granted, I'm only half way through the album, but while I do like the sound, it's getting a little repetitive.  However, I am a fan of the hits.  I do like this song overall, it's just not doing anything to seriously capture my attention.

White Moon:  This is the slowest on the album so far, which is a nice change, but the song is kind of bland in my opinion.  I appreciate the simplicity, I just wish there was more going on.  I do like the movement that goes on though, all the hits in the buildup and what not.  The piano part is very pretty as well, I like it.  Good, but I'm not going crazy over it.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My Doorbell

dig the track. dig the video.

Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)

simple groove.



live version

Songs of The Day

My Doorbell:  This is a cute tune - me gusta.  The feel has kind of a "jolly" feel to it, which is mainly thanks to all the major chords on the piano.  I dig the acoustic sound going on here.  The bass is electric,  but it has a gritty sound to it that works with the openness of the piano.  Simple groove throughout, it just makes you sway.  I like that it sounds like Meg is wailin at the end, but she's turned down so it has a nice subdued feeling that doesn't overpower the song.  Nice track.

Forever for Her (Is Over for Me):  This tune is pretty interesting.  Not the sound that I would expect from them, but I like it.  Another song with marimba - awesome.  I like all of the unison going on, it makes for a simple groove that's not being clustered by craziness.  I think it goes on a tad too long, but just a tad.  Diggin the marimba solo at the end - go Jack!  It's not my favorite song, but I still enjoy it and find it cool, I can get down with it.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Blue Orchid

music video.  creepy, yet so, so awesome.

The Nurse


adorable with a touch of badass.

Songs of The Day

Blue Orchid:  Oooh, I like this!  I dig the heaviness of this groove.  The guitar part is funky, and I love the Meg comin in with the bass drum on the downbeat - great emphasis.  Jack's voice is really interesting, but I must say, I kind of zone out of it because I'm focusing on the groove so much (that's fairly common though).  I think the arrangement of this is really good.  They know when to just have bass drum, when to have the full kit, when the guitar to come in or not.  I'm all about the abrupt ending.  Good shit.

The Nurse:  I find this track really cool - the juxtaposition is pretty awesome.  The song starts out with marimba, which gives a very "cute," happy tone to the song, but then there comes in the occasional heavy guitar chord that sounds so angry.  I find that very, very cool.  There's a lot of randomness that goes towards the middle and continuing to the end, but it all works really well.  Really cool.

Album Factoids

Get Behind Me Satan

Released: June 7, 2005

Genre: Alternative Rock/Blues-Rock

Label: V2

Producer: Jack White

Jack White - vocals, guitar, keys; Meg White - drums

Week 28: The White Stripes

I am slowly approaching the 30's - holy mofo!  Well, this week I thought I'd take another suggestion from Ahmir and go with The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan.  I've never listened to one of their albums, but I do have a couple of their songs and really like them.  I'm pretty intrigued.  I needed a new addition to my rock collection.

This Weeks Album...

I could get down with some rock this week.

Final Grade: B+

This was a really wonderful album.  I thought I was in a melancholy mood last week, which is why I chose this album, but then I really wasn't.  That made this not as fun to listen to at times, but I couldn't ignore how great the band and Roberta were.  Everything was really on point, and there were one or two songs that I couldn't really get into.  Roberta's tone is really beautiful, there's an air to it that I really like.  I'll definitely be getting into more of her collection, but I'm glad I took this little peek.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Tryin Times

Neither Youtube or Grooveshark has this track.  Fail.  I'll continue my search.

Ballad of the Sad Young Men

Same story as the song above.  Sad face :(

Songs of The Day

Tryin Times:  The groove to this actually reminds me a lot of the groove on "Compared to What" - they have a similar simple tone to them that I like.  I dig that it's only drums, bass, and keys on it - it makes for a very clean feel to the tune.  Roberta sings everything with such ease, that it makes you forget that a lot of the stuff that she sings is actually fairly difficult, which is something I find lacking in the industry today - ease. 

Ballad of the Sad Young Man:  I like the opening on this track because it reminds me of a hymn.  Oh choir, how I miss you so.  Great choice to have the first verse be solo Roberta and piano.  This is probably the perfect way to end this album, because the somber tone of it really sums everything up.  I kinda wanna cry listening to this... man, and I was in a good mood and everything.  You know a track is good when it effects the emotions.  Solid.