Outroversion’s Ipod Shuffle XIV
Blink 182- Wishing Well
I was never that into Blink 182 before their music started to mature with their self-titled album around 2003 and that’s when I started to pay attention. I liked enough of their stuff to go and see them a couple of years back when their most recent album Neighborhoods was released and some of the tracks on it are them at their best. Up all night, After Midnight and this are the highlights and really show what they’re capable of musically and lyrically. They don’t pretend to be anything they not it’s just that they genuinely are capable of creating quite sophisticated and introspective music. Sure Miss You divided people back in the day but those that came along for the ride and stuck around through the hiatus have been gifted some real gems.
Crimea- How to make you laugh
I’ve listened to Crimea more this year than I have since around 2007 and it was like they’d never left, their perfectly crafted indie-pop gets you whatever mood you’re in. I only wrote a blog about them last month but then I’d only recently heard their final album and it is quite the masterpiece, the kind of masterpiece way too few people get to hear. The lyrics are both uplifting and melancholy, profound and lighthearted as is Davey MacManus’ way, “I am not the chosen one, I only do miracles when I’m drunk“.
Reuben- Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin
This is turning into a much cooler shuffle than yesterday’s. I’ve had quite the awakening as far as Reuben have been concerned this year, I was aware of them because of 2000 Trees but hadn’t actually listened to them. This year I decided to and damn, they make some nice heavy metal music. Freddy Kreuger tends to be my go to track but this is probably my second favorite of theirs.
Starting off with what I suppose would be termed “banter” by today’s kids it kicks in with early 90s grunge affecting guitars and vocals. It’s all good, not the most empassioned of their sounds and is a good example of how some of their lyrics are little off-kilter- the middle eight is the band repeating the line “you’re dressed like a victorian at a swimming pool” which while not the most impactful line does evoke a certain image. Coupled with Freddy Kreuger’s “I’ve got hands like a knife-rack and I die in every film” and it would suggest they take their music more seriously than their message, they don’t particularly but that is the side of them I prefer.
New Politics- Dignity
Ah I like a bit of New Politics, I think Harlem’s a great track no matter what anyone says. You remember those pop-punk bands from last decade well this is essentially one of them but they happen to be a little late to the party but hey as long as there is still a party there’s a place for this kind of band no matter how many less people are at them.
I mean, this kinda sounds like a certain song from back then but it also sounds like most songs from back then. Smash Mouth, Goldfinger, Everclear, Gob there is an endless list of bands that could have released these songs 10 years ago and no-one would have said they were before their time.
I think we probably have 3oh!3 to thank for the resurgence of this kind of band, I think they’re calling it frat-rock rather than college rock these days. There’s nothing wrong with it but it doesn’t bear more than a couple of listens before you need to find something a little more substantial.
Michael Jackson- You Rock My World
So I feel like I’m one of a very small selection of people who would say Invincible is their favorite Michael Jackson album, History aside of course.
This track is what first got me interested, another big music video from MJ when people had stopped bothering, it’s got him acting, dancing, making silly noises everything you want. The thing about the music he made around this time, you need to ignore a lot of home truths about the King of Pop to enjoy it on the primitive level that it is intended and that is too much to ask for some people and I don’t particularly blame them.
I mean, by now he’s looking as white as you can get, there was the Martin Bashir documentary, the upcoming court case, the baby dangling press shit show, bankruptcy, there was a lot of mess. Of course it’s a huge shame that even one of his songs coming on someone’s ipod all this goes through people’s minds and even me saying “technically he didn’t do anything wrong” is something I don’t feel particularly comfortable saying. I do however implore anyone who is above all this to check out the album this was on it’s got some really beautiful songs on it as well as some proper modern experimental pop.
Modern Baseball- The Weekend
These guys are one of my favorite finds of the year. It’s kind of early days so their music is a little bit lo-fi at times. They were only in highschool a couple of years ago but their ability to create these kind of short, catchy, social-network awakening paragons of their burgeoning band. These internet savvy youngsters are amassing quite the following in every corner of the web, they’ve released a buttload of tracks via varying mediums and limited editions are going on ebay for stupid amounts. It remains to be seen if their music will develop as time goes on but considering the subject matter of much of their material, it’s bound to.
They owe a lot to dropping out of University to pursue their music, their second full length entering the Billboard chart at #97. It would be tempting still to call their first two efforts a warm up for the first album proper as with the best of their first, their second, tracks earmarked for number three and their surely developing sound you’d make quite a solid debut album but who am I to say.
I’m going to have to stop this strangely college rock inspired shuffle here as I accidentally clicked on a track and messed up the shuffle.