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I've been meaning to post this one for a while, but just kept on forgetting. I'm not sure why there's a flying table, but hey, it's a good song!
"Milk Lizard" by Dillinger Escape Plan, from the album, Ire Works.
Showing posts with label Dillinger Escape Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dillinger Escape Plan. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Moods - Depressed
There's a difference between being sad and being depressed, and that mostly has to do with the state of mind of the individual. You see, when you're sad, you typically want to be happy. However, when you're depressed it often means that you're more than willing to stay in that state of depression. Of course, I'm speaking specifically of the "teenage angst" form of depression and not the more serious medical condition.
So for all those teens out there who are willfully depressed for the attention they receive, here is a playlist to feed that depression. Just what Dr. Cale ordered! There are some songs to make you numb, some that make you angry, but all of them should do the trick!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Go News Go! - The Weekly News Recap
General
- My Morning Jacket reveals next album title...and it's spooky!
- R.E.M. shows us the track list to Accelerate, which is almost as exciting as actually hearing it.
- Barsuk pumps up Chris Walla's Field Manual.
- Portishead blah blah blah.
- Lil' Wayne does drugs....whaaaa?
- More Zooey and M. Ward (She & Him) Details.
- NOOOOOOO! Wait....who?
Tour Dates
- Dillinger Escape Plan (US + Europe)
- Animal Collective (Planet Earth)
- Feist (Planet Earth)
- Stars (Planet Earth)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Last Day to Vote for the 4th Annual Cale Awards!!
It's the home stretch. Today is the final day to vote for your favorite and least favorite music of 2007 in the 4th Annual Cale Awards. For this final day, I've decided to bring all the polls here to the main page. Voting will only takes a 1-2 minutes, and seriously, is there anything better for you to be doing right now? I didn't think so. Below are the categories in which you may vote. I've ordered the categories by vote count, so those that have less votes overall will come first. You know, just to get a larger sample of things. That means the larger categories like Album of the Year or Band of the Year, are towards the bottom. Please vote if you have not yet done so.Winners will be announced Monday, December 24th.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Top 31 of 2007 - #20
Cale's Pick
Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire WorksReleased: November 5, 2007
About a month ago, I was driving with my sister while listening to a little Dillinger. After a few minutes of listening to the thrashing guitars and screaming vocals she turned and said, "I didn't know you were into this kind of music," to which I responded, "I'm not." No, as it turns out, I'm not much of a fan of any sort of metal music, or any "genre" that ends with "-core" (i.e. hardcore, grindcore....it's all the same thing dammit!). But for some strange reason that I have yet to figure out, I really enjoy Dillinger Escape Plan. Perhaps it's because most metal is repetitive and unoriginal while Dillinger is fresh and uber talented. Just when you think you have one of their songs nailed, they change directions completely and go off on a freeform jazz tangent or to a surprisingly accessible chorus. Their music is an absolute blast to listen to because you literally have no idea what to expect when you go into it for the first time. As for Ire Works, it is definitely their most diverse and solid album to date and I listen to it frequently. If I hadn't solidified my list a few weeks ago, it might have moved up a few spots because I've grown to like it more than I anticipated. But then again, 20 ain't so bad.
For making music that is both interesting and entertaining, Dillinger Escape Plan's Ire Works makes it to #20.
The Top 31 Songs of 2007 - #20
"Werewolf" by Cocorosie, from the album, The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn.
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Jill's Pick
Pharoahe Monch: DesireReleased: June 26, 2007
True story: I was standing in the middle of a Best Buy eavesdropping on this man and his wife, who was surprised that he knew anything at all about Rap music. He was clutching this cd in his hands and looked like he was never going to let it go and he kept telling her that he was so excited about it. "It's been 9 years. 9 years." He mumbled it a few times and held his new found treasure to his chest while his wife decided between a few different classical music selections. "9 years. 9." All this time he was clutching and she was looking (and I was standing there trying to figure out what all the fuss was about) he gave her this brief history of Monch's first album and how he'd never heard anything like it. "I'm not into Rap. You know that. But this is worth it." She finally asked him if he was really going to get this "Rap album no one has ever heard of. I think you're making it up." He clutched it to his chest and turned away from her, this look in his eyes like he was guarding his about-to-be purchase from a really angry flying animal that was going to swoop out with claws and snatch it from him. With a roll of the eyes she turned and walked away in the general direction of the check out area and he followed.
I really hope that man was happy with his purchase because I know I was. Sure, it was a gamble spending money on an album from someone I'd never heard of before and based on the overheard recommendation of someone I'd never met before. I was prompted to purchase thinking that if someone who says they aren't into Rap was so excited about it then there's got to be something to it.
The man has got flow like it's nobody's business. Pharoahe Monch, not the guy at Best Buy. Listening to this album never makes me fail to say "How does he get those words out like that without tripping over them?" because if I tried to Rap, it would be a mess. (No. Really.) It's a little ambitious there with the track "Trilogy" which is this sort of Hip-Hop Opera in several acts about cheating on your spouse. (Only, it's not cheesy funny and easy to mock like R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series.) It's got down the R&B thing, starts with a Slave song, and "Welcome to the Terrordome" made me pause to make sure I wasn't actually listening to Public Enemy. And there aren't 900 million people on this album, so you can really get a sense of the skills Pharoahe Monch has, which is nice, because lets face it, not many people can do that.
My favorite: "Desire"
Tracks to give a listen to:
--"Desire"
--"Hold On"
--"Trilogy"
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Dillinger Escape Plan: "Ire Works"
If you were to take a look at my past reviews and judge what music I generally like based on them, you'd be incredibly surprised that I really enjoy Dillinger Escape Plan. Whether it's their undeniable ability to craft the most intricate music on the planet, or the fact that they tap into the most primal urge to throw restraint to the wind and rock out; Dillinger has had me since I first listened to their stuff several years ago. Miss Machine, was my introduction to the band. The album's more accessible moments ("Unretrofied" or "Phone Home") are originally what drew me in. Before I knew it, I was a full blown fan, picking up Calculating Infinity and scouring their numerous EPs for other great material. I am pleased to say Ire Works continues the bands tradition of making great music.
For those worried that the departure of drummer Chris Pennie would spell the end for the band's complex percussion, shame on you. You should know better. Despite this unfortunate event, the addition of Gil Sharone to the band changed absolutely nothing about the Dillinger's sound. Never is this more apparent than on "Fix Your Face" the album's strong, in-your-face opener. Greg's vocals are intimidating as ever, growling out "You were young and now you pay the price for her, price for her," with unparalleled force. "Lurch" seems to follow the same theme, lyrically, as the first song. Greg's ranting about a "little starlet" is haunting, and the guitars are all over the place as usual. It's amazing!
"Black Bubblegum" is the first "singing" song on the album, in the vein of "Unretrofied." It took a few listens before I started to like it. Greg enters a high falsetto several times throughout the course of the song, and hearing him sing "I had gotten frozen by the way you walked, by the love you gave, by the look on the face," is jarring simply because it seems completely uncharacteristic. The chorus completely washes away any doubt though, and should hopefully have the same effect on other skeptical listeners. The song is followed by "Sick on Sunday," a 2 minute song whose first 1:20 is mostly just filler. It doesn't really satisfy on any level.
"When Acting as a Particle" is just over a minute long, and while it could be labeled as filler as well, I've found it much more interesting and worthwhile. This instrumental song creeps up with chimes and violins before implementing the drums, all the while changing what is going on behind them. It's short, but interesting. "Nong Eye Gong" picks things back up again, if only for a brief moment. Despite it's brevity, I've found it to be one of my favorite tracks on the album. It's bookended by yet another instrumental, "When Acting as a Wave," which is also incredibly impressive. This time the band ditches the creepy vibe in favor of what feels like a jam session with a little production flare, including some electronic stutters. It all sounds great.
The album continues to impress from here. "82588" finds Greg reflecting on a fallen angel, crying "You were never a saint but now you're a sin, spoiled rotten from within. Who clipped your wings? Cut them yourself?" "Milk Lizard" brilliantly makes use of subtle brass instrumentation during the verses. The chorus leaves a lot to be desired, however, and at times I thought I was listening to Finger Eleven because the music was so easy and Greg's vocals sounded surprisingly similar to Scott Anderson's. Fortunately, "Party Smasher" does a fairly decent job of reminding me who I'm listening to again, sounding more like old-school Dillinger than any other song on the album.
"Dead as History" marks the first time that the band crosses the 5-minute mark, but the first 2 minutes serve only as a cool, but largely unnecessary introduction. Another accessible song, this one is breathtaking from start to finish. The production of the song is incredible, with little blips and beeps scattered throughout and an enchanting synth line following the second chorus. The song ends with Greg harmonizing with himself in a choir-like manner over a soft, complementing piano. It's the most different song Dillinger has ever made, and I love every minute of it. "Horse Hunter" is another fabulous song. Though more traditional, hearing Greg scream "Commerce is your god, cannibalistic flies, monarch of your womb, messiah of your thighs" at the top of his vocal register is just as amazing as anything in the song it follows.
Long-time fans may be turned off by the album's closer, "Mouth of Ghosts." You wouldn't think of Dillinger being able to pull of a Latin-jazz infused rock song, but that's exactly what they do here. The first 4 1/2 minutes lead you to believe that this song is the traditional comedown track, but it soon evolves into another brilliant example of how Dillinger can take one song and turn it into something completely different. He may begin the song singing, "Our trust runs out tonight," but by the end he's screaming "You were a mouth without a heart" with everything he has. It is a fantastic song and the end to a very strange journey of an album.
By the time your CD resets and you're hearing "Fix Your Face" again, you'll be utterly amazed that you're listening to the same band. I was! Long-time fans of Dillinger Escape Plan, and fans of grind and hardcore music in general may be turned off by the lighter moments of Ire Works, but hopefully the moments where the band turns everything up to 11 and rocks out will make up for that. Personally, I love almost every second of this album and I'm thrilled to add it to my collection of Dillinger records. I highly recommend it to fans and non-fans alike. Prepare to be blown away!
Key Tracks:
1. "Fix Your Face"
2. "Nong Eye Gong"
3. "Party Smasher"
4. "Dead as History"
5. "Horse Hunter"
7 out of 10 Stars
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