Genres genres genres. Some people listen to that, some people listen to this, but not that. And they think that everything else sounds the same. People who like to sound unique about their music listening habbits will pull out some random genres that leave you wondering if they’re making it up on the spot. IDM or “intelligent dance music” is just one of those genres. Probably one of the more artsy subgenres in the whole scheme of electronic music, it just sounds cool. Unpredictable switches, weird time signitatures, and generally abstract concepts are just some features of it. Big names include Aphex Twin, The Flashbulb, Boards of Canada, Autechre, Venetian Snares, and Squarepusher. If you’ve never heard of some of these artists and are curious, you should definately check them out!

Wisp – Nrthndr (2005)

1. Negions Fail         6:00
2. Witches Winds    1:58
3. Closing Brydges    6:48
4. Congratulations    4:16
5. Loophole        4:45
6. 1Stop        2:06
7. Untethered        6:01
8. See in Rainbows    4:46
9. Dead Streets        6:00
10. Steam City        5:13
11. All His Might    6:50
12. North        3:38
I’ve been coming back to this album a few times over the past couple months. It’s a really nice mix of ambient and not too chaotic drumming that you get out of IDM, more in the vein of Boards of Canada. I’m not going to lie, the album art lead me to get this album and boy am I glad. The overall album sound is darker and sometimes upbeat with a videogame-esque sound (think 16-bit, not 8-bit). It seems the album is urban influenced and makes for good night music. There’s really no point in going through a track by track rundown when this is an album experience, not an iTunes buy a random song deal. Apparently this guy has been releasing free music before he put out this album, and it’s all available here. Just another great artist in a genre that most people will never listen to, but surely, it doesn’t have be this way for you!

(Things pick up around the 1 minute mark for the low attention span folks)

What do I even say about this band? I remember sitting on a music forum more than a year ago, and someone was freaking out about this band because of an “inspector gadget” breakdown (See 3:25 bottom video). So I grabbed the ep and holy shit, it was all downhill from there. I pushed my chips in on this band blowing up and look where they’re at. They got signed to century media and here we have this new album from the band that have a shirt that says “metal just got gay” in rainbow coloring.

1. You Aint No Family
2. White Water In The Morning
3. Danger In The Manger
4. I’m Cold And There Are Wolves After Me
5. Tastes Like Kevin Bacon
6. The Cat’s Pajamas
7. Pazuzu For The Win
8. Black-Eyed Bush
9. Eli Cash Vs The Godless
10. See You In Shell

So, if you couldn’t tell by the song titles (the song with the Vs. gives it away), this is a “hardcore” scene kid cd, but more on metal side. But they really do mix a lot of shit on here. FIRST OFF, there’s a chick screaming. She’d destroy me in a growl off, which is incredibly HOT. She can sing too. The songs go back and forth from slow and fast, but it feels good. Sure, it may not make sense, but why should it? The breakdowns aren’t the generic chug chug, the keyboards and sound effects make it fun too. It’s a blast! Who even knows about the lyrics, I have no clue. She stated on the myspace long ago that they’re really personal to her and doesn’t plan to release them but whatever. I never got bored listening to this album unlike their EP which is a little stretched out.

For 1000 scene credits, you have to listen to this album. If you want to smile, listen to this album. If you wish to find the meaning of life, listen to this album. It’s shy of 34 minutes and will make your head bob (the hardcore way, duh). This is an album to dance to alone in your room, in the car, on a boat, in a plane, on a train, etc.

Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA – August 6th – see you there kids.

WHAT A BABE

I, r0bVious, will soon begin posting specifically.

It’s somewhat important that I preface any future writings with a little bit of explanation on how I view music:

I have a sort of love affair for music consumption.  At times, it reaches this level of what could only be understood as a religious experience.  There’s something that music can convey that words, pictures, and actions alone cannot.  It almost seems like music can meld together so perfectly heart and mind, that no other medium can really be called an equal in execution.

What I search for in music isn’t necessarily technical prowess, though it’s impressive and raw musical talent can make or break a song/album/artist.  Nor is it a search for a sense of “getting the crowd moving”, though this too can certainly make things interesting.  Super emotionally-charged tunes don’t necessary make a track “good”.

It’s the gestalt.  It’s synergy.  These things (and many, many others) are constantly swirling together and pulling apart while music is played.  Music can and oftentimes will seemingly match your mood (or change your mood to match it).  Music always seems appropriate for whatever life circumstances you’re dealing with.  Music is our ability to say and hear what we have to say to eachother, but are unable to say with mere words.

…So that’s what attracts me to music, and that’s what I look for in artists.  As I write about things, I’ll most likely often use the word “Passion”.  I think that anyone can play an instrument with their hands, but not everyone knows how to play it with their hearts.