The Friday Thing: Dying is Fine by Ra Ra Riot

I have had 'Can You Tell' by Ra Ra Riot jammed into my brain for the last week, and it won't leave. Though this isn't 'Can You Tell', it's another just as infectious song. As you can see, if a band is performing anywhere but there normal element (ex: a stage/studio) I think it's the coolest thing. This is Ra Ra Riot performing at a skate park, and I hope you enjoy! Also, do notice the awesome electric cello!
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Dying is Fine

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION-Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion-
Animal Collective
Label-Domino
Status-Out as of 2009
Rating-4.5 Feathers

Animal Collective are comprised of four avantgarde musicians from Maryland. They have become known for there psychedelic, genre bending sounds. Upon the leave of member Deakin, the three others compiled a bunch of songs from the days of their previous album ‘Strawberry Jam’, and reworked them into what has become the most hyped album so far in 2009, “Merriweather Post Pavilion.” Will it live up to expectations? First, you must close your eyes and listen. In ‘In The Flowers’, you can see an obscure ‘Comfortably Numb’, by Pink Floyd, influence, and equipped with the sound of creatures and water, it’s astonishingly good. The mid break is very epic which makes the song a good pick as the album’s opening. ‘My Girls’ is my favorite song from the album. I never agree with Pitchfork Media’s music reviews, but this time I do. This is definitely the song where after hearing it, you want to replay it ten times more. The layering of the vocals and the incessant repetition of the verses is beyond infectious and it’s very hard to forget about. ‘Also Frightened’ has a very similar feel and sound to the previous two, but it’s sound is more like a chant. I can easily imagine sitting in the middle of a jungle or rainforest listening to it, and it fitting the mood perfectly. ‘Summertime Clothes’ is by far the closest thing to radio friendly on the album. It’s extremely poppy and happy, and it channels that energy to you, reminding you of summer days. ‘Daily Routine’ is psychedelic indie with afro-pop beats. The vocals make the song, and the vocal fill in the middle is spacy and surreal, while staying awkwardly appealing. ‘Bluish’ reminds me a little too much of Genesis and is too fogged over and dreamy for my liking. It just doesn’t have that same zest the others have. ‘Guys Eyes’ is significantly more experimental than the last song. Though you cannot understand what he’s saying at all, the massive amount of vocal layering creates a very nice effect that I have never heard until now. ‘Taste’ poses a strange question of ‘am I really all the things that are inside of me?’ which is repeated amidst a chorus of light bubbly synthesizers. It’s somewhat dreamy, but in a much better way than ‘Bluish’ was. ‘Lion in a Coma’ uses a myriad of percussion and filters to create an almost dizzying experience. In my mind, this song creates the strangest visual of the collection, which leaves you kind of confused on what just happened. ‘No More Runnin’ calms you down from the trip the last song sent you on with melodies that could easily be found on ‘Wincing the Night Away’ by The Shins. The light keyboard and harmonization makes this the softest song, but surely one the more enjoyable ones. ‘Brother Sport’ is a fitting finale with such a mass amount of atmospheric excitement that it fills you with more joy than ‘Summertime Clothes’ could ever hope to. It even further encases you with visions of the beach or simply happier times. Though my only beef is that for about two straight minutes it sounds like the CD’s skipping, it still leaves you yearning for more and I must say, it’s difficult to believe that this has come to an end. ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ was basically The Shins on drugs, or atleast with Syd Barrett as their composer. Jumping through such a vast array of genres, through everything from electro-pop to indie to psychedelic, Animal Collective couldn’t have created a better album. It’s not just a simple listen, this album affects you. Listening to it’s genius in little bits and pieces will not leave you amazed as when listening to it in its entirety. To paraphrase ‘My Girls,’ “There isn’t much that I feel I need,” but I must say, you need this album.
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"I think we found ways of using our instruments in ways that we really like and we've gotten sort of skilled at that style, but we're not the kind of people that could be studio musicians and have somebody be like, "You've gotta play a solo on this part." I don't think any of us could really do that sort of thing."-Noah Lennox (Panda Bear)

Video for My Girls

Recommendations: My Girls, Also Frightened, Summertime Clothes, Brother Sport
Animal Collective's Official Website
Note: Yes, I know this came out a while ago, but I'm just jumping on the Animal Collective bandwagon. Atleast it came out this year. I'll have Midnight Boom by The Kills out really soon, and then First Impressions of Earth by The Strokes (it's about time), so stay tuned!

The Friday Thing: Hang Me Up To Dry by The Cold War Kids

I saw this performance ages ago on Later with Jools Holland, and I stored it in the back of my mind. I was surprised about a year or so later when it started picking up radio play and became popular, so I'm very happy to have heard it when I did. This song in general is amazing (also aided by how into it the band seem), and the bassline at the beginning gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it. Enjoy!
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Hang Me Up To Dry

The Friday Thing: Last Request by Paolo Nutini

While watching, none other than, Later With Jools Holland and halfway through Paolo Nutini came on. I never heard of him before this, but they mentioned he was 18, and I have to say, for someone as young as he, this was a very sweet and mature song. I hope you enjoy this performance!


Last Request

ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY-Muse

Origin of Symmetry-
Muse
Label-Mushroom
Status-Out as of 2001
Rating-5 Feathers

After releasing Showbiz, and getting to know what it’s like to record as a band, Muse have comeback with a space inspired and very heavy sound. Origin of Symmetry is showcases there developed sound in ways you would have never dreamed. Within the first minute, ‘New Born’ severely belittles Showbiz. The dreamlike piano and vocals capture your ears immediately, and then the shear power exerted about a minute in is beyond words. The caliber of their musicianship is absolutely brilliant. However, I do find hearing the phrase ‘stretch it like a birth squeeze’ in a song a little disturbing. ‘Bliss’ is the only song that sounds heavily 90’s on the album, but in my mind that doesn’t take away from it. The keyboard arrangement fits in perfectly and the vocals reached a level they failed to reach on their debut. ‘Space Dementia’ is a little quirky, but thanks to the bass and the drums, it has a huge amount of power, regardless of the fact that there is no guitar. ‘Hyper Music’ is the perfect song to follow up ‘Space Dementia’. All of them unmistakably get heavily into their parts, which is very clearly transmitted to the listener. It’s non-stop power the whole way through. ‘Plug in Baby’ is pure joy and magic. The opening guitar lick is the epitome of perfection. The way everything goes just leaves you speechless. From beginning to end, it’s just absolutely brilliant. Words can’t ever hope to describe it. ‘Citizen Erased’ is another absolutely astounding song. The opening sucks you right in, and then the vocals bind in perfectly. When they redo the beginning bit, except they make it all dreamlike, it’s a genius effect. After hearing two songs that leave you completely dumbstruck, ‘Microcuts’ comes in. It’s a tad calmer than the last two, and because he uses severe filtered falsetto, you have no idea at all what he’s saying. To sum it up, it sounds like a modern space-rock opera. ‘Screenager’, though my least favorite song on the album, is still a good song. It has a dark mystical sci-fi feel, which I must say is growing on me. ‘Darkshines’ is very similar to ‘Space Dementia’ in that the drums and bass make up for the lot of the power. The messy piano right before the chorus kicks in is a very nice effect. It definitely fits in with the quality of the album and surely won’t bring you down. ‘Feeling Good’ is the perfect example of a band giving a song their own flair without destroying the integrity of the original song. It’s the softest song on the album, which isn’t saying much because it’s still pretty heavy. Matt Bellamy’s voice through a megaphone is a very nice effect. ‘Megalomania’ is a very nice ending, filled with grandiosity and just a touch of quiet to calm you down from the experience. The combination of bass and organ give it just enough creepy space-sounding feel so you don’t lose your interest. Not many albums come my way that I listen to and don’t want them to end when they cease; this was one of them. Origin of Symmetry is the perfect showcase of not losing power when the guitar is not the lead instrument and I applaud them for that. I thoroughly promise that everything about this album is so easy to love and will leave you feeling good.

"I've never been into doing guitar solos. There's something very uncool about them."-Matt Bellamy

Video for Bliss

Recommendations: New Born, Bliss, Space Dementia, Citizen Erased, Plug in Baby
Muse's Official Website
Notes: I hope you enjoy this album, it's overtly fantastic and it gives me chills. I'm very sorry for not posting nearly as much as I should, I have craploads of other things I need to do. I will have Merriweather Post Pavillion by Animal Collective and Midnight Boom by The Kills out within the next week or so. In recent time I've been keeping my promises!

The Friday Thing: Parklife by Blur

Now, I have to say, I don't like the song Parklife, it's a bit annoying. The first time I heard it, I honestly couldn't stop laughing. I stumbled across this performance whilst thinking of a Friday Thing, and I quickly realized that the guy talking was Phil Daniels! He's the guy who played Jimmy in the movie version of Quadrophenia, and that made the performance just a little better.


Parklife