2017 MUSIC

[SSwans2011]

Did he actually say it or what?

Yeah, but it was pretty awkward. Ended up being something along the lines of: "It seems a pretty contentious issue... uh, I don't really know much about it, but uhhh, happy Australia Day, I guess..." and a shrug. He got a polite clap for it. I think he approached it pretty well, considering it would have been a very divided audience.

 

[Silent Alarm]

That's a pretty good thing to say considering he was there for all of two days before that, maybe even one. It is still a national day and lots of people still really enjoy it so you sort of have to say something about it.

 

[La Dispute]

I think it's good when critics talk broadly about music and contextualise as much as possible but pulling some kind of extraneous info like that is pointless navel-gazing. Japandroids are a band kind of devoid of context - I mean, they're 35 year old guys making garage rock for college sophomores.

I thought the new Japandroids was pretty boring though. I was skeptical at first with Celebration Rock and didn't like the idea of them actively writing songs, as opposed to the approach they took on Post-Nothing - producing lyrics as they went along. That was a big part of their charm. They haven't got the capacity to invent though. They try a bit of everything on this LP and nothing really works well it's hard to wrap your head around 7 minute tracks and really dull acoustic numbers from them.

Reckon they're better off retiring and doing some adult things for a while. Live out their Sovereignty fantasies. They've put out a couple of stellar LP's and accomplished more than most garage bands. Especially given how few rocked up to their early gigs; playing concerts to ten people, 2-years after they started.

 

[JG22]

Such a slapper

 

[Silent Alarm]

Such a slapper

Yeah oh my lawd she is the biggest pop skank. Even the previous ones held to ransom had something else obscuring it or with some sort of love in it; this chick is just into gettin' railed.

Will say though, she holds something over me. 'Sexy' is the wrong word, but she has something about her I find pretty hot. Maybe it's the 'I want a bad boy, I want to go off the rails' sort of thing. Love the hair and the doe eyes and even the tragic way she dresses.

 

[JG22]

Yeah oh my lawd she is the biggest pop skank. Even the previous ones held to ransom had something else obscuring it or with some sort of love in it; this chick is just into gettin' railed.

Will say though, she holds something over me. 'Sexy' is the wrong word, but she has something about her I find pretty hot. Maybe it's the 'I want a bad boy, I want to go off the rails' sort of thing. Love the hair and the doe eyes and even the tragic way she dresses.

No doubt she's an absolute sort.

But another song just solely about getting poled is almost cringe, not as bad as those little mix untalented spuds

 

[Silent Alarm]

Just heard Little Mix... man Britain makes the worst boy/girl groups imaginable. Trash.

 

[JG22]

Just heard Little Mix... man Britain makes the worst boy/girl groups imaginable. Trash.

Lyrics are always deep in meaning and are written in special ways.
These campaigners are so dumb they just go with the most blatant s**t possible.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I've been to Liverpool on a night out and that is exactly what every single chick there looks like and dresses like.

I could root scrubbers like that with an accent and three Boddingtons and nine Kronenburgs. I do not see how they are supposed to represent some sort of sexy known, yet to be touched by the common gyprocker or park footballer. Gross.

 

[Silent Alarm]

They're like a band a little wombat with fake tan and a collar straight out from a /tagged/mistress pr0n video from Niddrie would listen to before going out to Deluxe or Rats.

 

[Juke]

I despise this new Arcade Fire song. Absolutely painful to listen to.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I despise this new Arcade Fire song. Absolutely painful to listen to.

Been painful since the first single to The Suburbs. Which was, The Suburbs.

 

[La Dispute]

Everything they've done since Funeral has been pretty hit and miss. Even Neon Bible, which was pretty celebrated when it came out, is pretty ordinary bar a few good tracks near the end. I actually prefer The Suburbs, which has more high points than NB, mixed in with plenty of filler. Lots of those tracks sounded awesome live.

I never got into Reflektor. I liked the singles though and probably didn't give it a good enough listen.

I just can't see Arcade Fire bringing out another classic LP ever. Funeral achieved pretty much all they had in them anyway and even if being very slow towards the end, has some massive tracks on it. The best they'll do is keep churning out good-average LP's with a few laboured singles.

Who else of note is bringing out LP's this year?

 

[Richard Cranium]

Gorillaz, Wolf Parade and LCD make up my "decent chance it'll suck but I love(d) them so am looking forward to it" power-trio.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Gorillaz suck. The last album and quasi-album were shameful, but Demon Days is a modern classic. It was the first album I say I bought and the first one I loved. The new LCD will be a lifeless turd.

I don't remember getting into Wolf Parade... do they sound like Fang Island? That one Fang Island album was awesome, with the kids in the boxes on the cover. I used to walk home from the beach in between high school and uni and rinse that thing in the heat on my iPod.

 

[NotAMagpieBogan]

Loving the new Young Fathers track..

 

[Silent Alarm]

I like the Leith reference (go Hibbies) but far out I just don't know about this sequel. It looks good but tell me a better closer than the final scene of that film?

 

[Kickin Goals]

 

[Silent Alarm]

When did these yearly music threads become 's**t music of this year' threads?

 

[bok_party]

Loving the new Young Fathers track..

This is my favourite thing at the moment. Top tune.

 

[katana]

yeah it kinda sounds like an angel olsen album cut. and this band has never really found a proper schtick for themselves, but still think this album will at least sound nice when the leaves start to brown...

 

[La Dispute]

I like the new Sampha LP. It's going to get a heap of unjust comparisons to James Blake, but lyrically its on another level. Some really nice turns of phrase and a lot of the imagery reminds me of some of the earlier Frank Ocean lines. Really criss-crossing themes.

I reckon it'll feature pretty prominently in a lot of end of year Best Ofs.

 

[BluesMan]

Do yourself a favour, listen to this album. Process. Love it

 

[JimDocker]

' 'hey, let's get a 70-year old black woman!'. that wouldn't even be bad necessarily and there is actually a pretty nice LCD sounding bass-line underneath it, but that guest vocalist sounds like she was recording on a different planet with a band that has always seemed so much about chemistry.

this donald trump presidency threatens to hijack music as we know it.

I think political songs have to be shrouded in anti-political words; you don't want to address it immediately. You're better off doing it obtusely or making it a back burning, lower level meaning than the immediate one. And in 2017 complaining about Donald Trump is about the most dull, boring trope possible. It's such an easy and obvious cause to latch onto, to the extent that people who say vaguely offensive and racist s**t on the reg. are still saying Trump is bad.

Bor-*******-ring. This isn't Springsteen, it's not Redgum, and it isn't even ******* Hail to the Thief.

The song itself is pretty bad but Arcade Fire disappeared up their own idea of grandiosity the minute Bowie got into them and James Murphy hung out with them. They've, since Neon Bible, had no idea what their schtick is and no handle on how to approach all the things they used to do so well... they decided to make albums with each song highlighting one positive they had, instead of maybe writing a record where every song brings their positives to the fore but also bring in something new... they can't do Bowie-wank very well and they're not good enough songwriters or interesting enough instrumentally and aesthetically to keep on producing these seven minute songs that go nowhere. Their melodies are middling when they don't have something strong behind it... Reflektor was so bad because of it.

Mavis Staples is one of the greatest vocalists of all time, she sang at MLK rallies and has been involved with political activism her whole life. Arcade Fire have also been active in the political arena their whole existence. Raising money for AIDS research, donating to several Haitian charities, supported student's rights, active supporters of Obama, performing free concerts as fund raisers for the Obama team... So essentially, we have 2 very politically active artists who are also friends that get together and record a song with a message and you act surprised.

I happen to like the song. It has that repetitive, funky feel that suits both Arcade Fire and Mavis Staples.

Arcade Fire are creative and inventive and are the sort of band that will try new stuff completely. It won't always be to everybody's taste and sometimes, they may release something that does not quite work, but that is what great artists often do. I cannot think of any artist that I love that has not done something that I really don't like. That is pretty much the contract between people that get out there and produce art and people like us that listen to it. As always, I am really looking forward to their new album.

 

[vanders]

Do yourself a favour, listen to this album. Process. Love it

I really love this song and it had my hopes up about the new album but I'm just not feeling it.