Within

There's no YouTube video of it, so I used the grooveshark.

Instant Crush (ft Julian Casablancas)

Lose Yourself to Dance (ft Pharrel Williams)

Touch (ft Paul Williams)

Songs of the Day

Reviewing tracks 4 - 7 esta noche: "Within," "Instant Crush (ft Julian Casablancas)," "Lose Yourself to Dance (ft Pharrel Williams)," and "Touch (ft Paul Williams)."  The piano intro to "Within" is pretty dope, and the modulation into the motif is nice.  I'm a little indifferent to the talk box - I could have gone with it, or an actual voice would probably be cool too.  This groove could be so much better if the drum feel was different, I really am not a fan of them.  They made the song sound kind of corny when a different drum feel could have made it funky.  Coulda been betta.  Luckily "Instant Crush" has a pretty cool groove.  It's got this 80s rock/electronic-pop feel going on that I dig.  The pick up in the chorus is really funky and has a great upbeat feel that really makes you want to dance.  I also really like that the funkiness of the chorus is unexpected since the verses are a more low-key feel - it's a cool juxtaposition.  Julian Casablancas voice effect works for the song, so I dig it.  Solid song.  "Lose Yourself to Dance" follows right on with it.  I wouldn't have expected anything less since Pharrell is on it.  This is a pretty funky groove goin on.  The bass is holding it down, and I like that the guitar part is keeping it up.  The track has a really cool build to it throughout the tune, adding addition vocal parts that continually build the song up.  Love the guitar/claps break, and then bringing the groove gradually back in.  The last two are definitely my favorite tracks on the album thus far.  "Touch" is kind of a weird song, and I don't know how I feel about it.  The intro is pretty cool, sounds like we're on an alien planet, but like what people thought an alien planet would sound like in 1950.  The dude speaking gets pretty creepy, but the whole thing is pretty entertaining.  Was not expecting it to go to the opening feel.  This song is a compilation of five different styles of one motif, the first being low with the piano and Paul.  I'm not a huge fan of Paul Williams voice, I can't pinpoint it, but it's almost got too much of a (bad) Broadway feel to it.  Just doesn't fit with the album.  I like what it starts to go into, but I don't like the saloon piano sound in the second feel.  I think it makes it sound corny, and the groove didn't need it.  The much slower version in part 3 is pretty cool, and I dig the talk box harmonies, but I wish the choir wasn't added in the background.  The choir didn't provide anything beneficial to the sound.  Part D is pretty cool too, the strings sound really good.  The choir sounds much better on this feel, and I think it's really cool that it starts very much in the background and slowly comes forward in the groove.  The space shit that takes it out is cool, but I wish it just ended there instead of going to Paul.  I understand how the cohesiveness of bringing it back ties the song together, but I think going back to that really slow beginning brings the groove down when it was in such a high place.

Give Life Back to Music

The Game of Love

Giorgio by Moroder

Songs of the Day

Got the first three songs up for review tonight: "Give Life Back to Music," "The Game of Love," and "Giorgio by Moroder."  The intro to "Give Life Back to Music" kind of put me off, but I really like the groove it settles into, so all is forgiven.  The title had me hopeful (as it's a statement I fully agree with), and they stuck to it pretty well.  What more life can you give than some funk??  The guitar part is definitely solid, holds the groove down.  The talk box isn't my favorite on this, I feel like the groove deserves some solid vocals, but it's not the worst thing.  I'm also not a huge fan of the rockish feel build up that goes on every so often, but I'm not completely put off by it.  Fairly solid opening number.  "The Game of Love" is a pretty cool way to follow up.  It's slow, and funky, yet seductive - definitely a good combination.  It for sure feels like something out of the 80s, but not in a cliché way, so props on that accomplishment.  I don't mind the talk box on this one, because I feel like the simplicity of the track leaves more room for an electronic element like the talk box.  The only thing I don't like about this track is the length.  Being the same groove, same lyrics, it just gets a little too repetitive.  I would have chopped off about a minute (maybe more), which would still make it over 4 minutes.  Otherwise, I dig it.  "Giorgio by Moroder" is my least favorite song of the day.  It starts off with an intro by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder (get it?), talking about his start in music.  He worked a lot with Donna Summer, so I was pretty surprised that the groove didn't go more in the disco direction (which is labeled as one of the genres for this album), and frankly, a little disappointed.  It starts out with a disco feel, but then it gets too electronic (the most of the songs today).  And I get that Daft Punk is an electronic group, and I get down with dope electronic music, this just isn't my favorite electronic groove.  This song is way too long, and even with all of the elements that come into play (especially towards the end with the drums, guitars and whatnot), I find it pretty boring.  It very much sounds like background music to an adventure video game - not something I particularly want to listen to outside of a game.  The keys solo in the middle is dope though, as is the groove that accompanies it - that's the groove they should've stuck with.  It's just a lot, and for as much as it is, I definitely lost my attention on more than one occasion.

Album Factoids

Random Access Memories

Released: May 21, 2013
Genre: Disco/electronic
Label: Daft Life/Columbia
Producers: Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo (Daft Punk)

Week 86: Daft Punk

Alright, back after a break!  This week, I decided to review Daft Punk's latest album, Random Access Memories.  I know Daft Punk's work, but only singles, and I've heard good things about this album, so I figured I'd check it out.  I also hear that it's mainly live instruments, so that's pretty dope coming from this electronic duo.  I really dig the first single off of the album, "Get Lucky" ft Pharrell, so I hope the rest of the album has a similar vibe!  Yay new music!

This Week's Album...