Saturday, May 7, 2011

Sloop John B

wtf is a john b sloop?

God Only Knows

I Know There's an Answer

Here Today

Songs of The Day

Due to the limited amount of brain cells finals week has left me with, the songs of the day are gonna be short and sweet.

Sloop John B:  Definitely have heard this before.  Like the instrumental, vocals are a tad corny (minus a couple sweet harmonies).  Dig the a cappella spot in the middle/end - think it would've been cooler to end there than fade out.

God Only Knows:  If you've never heard this song, then you're a 'tard.  It's awesome.  Harmonies - yes. 


I Know There's an Answer:  Dig the groove, but at times it overshadows the vocals.  Kind of passed by without me even noticing... 

Here Today:  I dig this groove, it's got a little darker/more interesting vibe to it.  This tune reminds me of Chester French - they obviously have some Beach Boys in their background.  The "ah"s are a tad annoying, but that just might be the melted brain talking.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)

I'm Waiting For the Day

Let's Go Away For Awhile

Songs of The Day

Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder):  I like the slow feel to this tune - very relaxing.  The build to it is very sweet as well, you can really feel the emotion.  Great strings part, very full, very rich.  I like the simplicity to their tracks thus far, their short and to the point.  Good track.


I'm Waiting For the Day:  From the start, you know this is a much happier feel than the previous tune.  I dig the up feel to it, but they also know when to bring it down, which is good.  Good build-up into the second verse.  I dig how full the sound is on all of the tracks - there's so much going on, but in a completely organized way.  Cool.

Let's Go Away For Awhile:  Ooo, an instrumental tune!  I can get down with that.  This is my favorite song of the day.  The flow is just too too good.  These guys are very good with their crescendos/decrescendos, and I like it!  Definitely listen.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Wouldn't It Be Nice

everyone obviously knows this one...

You Still Believe In Me

That's Not Me

Songs of The Day

Wouldn't It Be Nice:  Due to the mass popularity of this song, I'm not going to say much about it.  I will say that I never really noticed how cool the bridge section of this song is - dig the chord progression.  That is all.


You Still Believe In Me:  This tunes got the typical "Beach Boys" sound that I would expect, but guess what - I dig it.  They've got such a sweet tone to them, not to mention their harmonies are pretty on point.  That little chime on 2 is kind of hilarious.  And a bike bell?  Even better.  Awesome ending harmonies, dig the choral sound.  Pretty sweet tune.

That's Not Me:  I like that there is a such a smooth melody over this fast-pace groove.  Very cool chord movement and structure.  Awesome harmonies (damn, they are nailin em).  Chilled out part is necessary and it works really well with the tune.  I'm liking that these tunes are short and sweet - nice lil tastes.  Nothing super special in my opinion, but it's got a sweet quality that I like.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Album Factoids

Pet Sounds
Released: May 16, 1966
Genre: Pop
Label: Capital
Producer: Brian Wilson

Week 31: The Beach Boys

Week 31, well, well, well.  Needed a suggestion for the week, and my girl Noël said "Pet Sounds," which had actually already been suggested to me by Ahmir, so boom - here we are.  Of course I know The Beach Boys - I even saw two of the (& John Stamos...) at an outdoor concert up here in Boston last summer - but I'm really only familiar with their hits.  They were never a band that came up in my household, so I never really got into any of their stuff.  This album is long as fuck, and probably wasn't the best choice during finals week, but... oh well! 

This Weeks Album...

now that the sun's starting to come out...

Final Grade: A

Second A of this mission!  I guess the British just know what's good?  This album kind of blows my mind a little bit.  It's been on heavy, heavy repeat all week.  "The Wihelm Scream" is probably my favorite track on the album - it's a little too mesmorizing for it's own good.  And followed by "I Never Learnt to Share" - too much amazing to handle.  I climbed a tree to this the other day, and it rocked my fucking socks.  There are too many parts in this album that just make me go "ugh!" and that is my favorite reaction to everything.  James' soulfulness is so heartfelt, and it really shows in his voice and in his playing.  His grooves actually take you places, which isn't something you can say about very many artists/albums.  This is exactly the kind of electronic I like, it's so tasteful.  I will most likely end up burning this onto a CD, putting it in my car, and bumping it all summer.  I'm obsessed.

I Mind

How he made this track sound so cool with 2 words, I do not know.

Measurements

beautiful.

Tep and the Logic

great ending track

Songs of The Day

I Mind:  First of all, this piano groove is straight "Everything In It's Right Place" by Radiohead - definitely dig that considering it's one of my favorite tunes of theirs.  The only lyric in this song is "I mind" chopped and screwed a bunch of different ways.  I really dig it, the different places James ventures into are really cool.  He goes from dark, to ethereal, to almost an African type feel, then slowed down to a mellow hip ho groove - very cool.  Really dig this track.


Measurements:  This is very much a gospel tune, and this boy has got some soul.  It's interesting to hear gospel with this electronic feel backing it, I wouldn't think that I would like it, but James does it very tastefully.  The harmonies on this are really beautiful, but that's no surprise seeing as James has proved himself to be a master at those.  Especially towards the ends, when it's a cappella, and the harmonies are just rich and full.  Beautiful, beautiful track.

Tep and the Logic:  The final track to this awesome album is simply a groove.  There's a little sample of James' voice, but that's the only vocal on the track.  By only having the groove the focus on, it gives the listener a final idea of James' production aesthetic, which is has proven to be amazing.  Very cool ending track to a really amazing album.