The Year In Bitch - 2018

Let's get down to it.

Top Five Albums

1. They Might Be Giants - I Like Fun

After 36 years as a band, John Flansburgh and John Linnell owe their fans NOTHING. Yet, despite this unspoken agreement between them and their followers, they’ve delivered their best album in years. The Else was great, Nanobots was fantastic, but I Like Fun tops them both.

Standouts: Let’s Get This Over With, The Bright Side, Last Wave

2. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch

Reznor and Ross exhibit a new sense of crisis, despair, and continued evolution. Bad Witch finds new depths and redefines what Nine Inch Nails can mean.

Standouts: Ahead of Ourselves, Over and Out

3. Gorillaz - The Now Now

The exact opposite of last year’s guest-choked Humanz, this is the closest thing to pure Gorillaz since their debut almost two decades ago. It also happens to be a perfect summer album and one of their best live shows to date.

Standouts: Humility, Tranz, Idaho, Souk Eye

4. Mother Feather - Constellation Baby

Mother Feather has boldly taken the next step towards their inevitable world domination. Bear witness to the unbridled fury and fervor of Ann Courtney, Lizzie Carena, and their army of Mother Feathers behind them. Also: if you’ve never seen Mother Feather live, then you are missing out on what it means to truly live.

Standouts: Snakebite, Shake Your Magic 8 Ball, Constellation Baby, Supernatural

5. St. Vincent - MassEducation

This acoustic rearrangement of last year’s superb Masseduction shows just how solid Annie Clark’s songs are. Stripped of everything but a piano and her voice, some tracks are even more effective here than in their original state.

Standouts: Slow Disco, Savior, Fear The Future, Hang On Me

Live

The live shows that stand out from this year include Eels at Brooklyn Steel, Mother Feather at Knitting Factory, Thom Yorke at Kings Theatre, Garbage at Kings Theatre, Beck at Madison Square Garden, and four nights of Nine Inch Nails at Radio City Music Hall and Kings Theatre. 

I dug the vibe of Eels, the power of Mother Feather, the nostalgia of Garbage (they performed all of Version 2.0 as well as a bunch of b-sides from that era), and the presentation of Thom Yorke (I cannot imagine what doing drugs would be like at that show). However, it came down to Beck versus Nine Inch Nails.

In the end (after not that much deliberation, let's be honest) it goes to Nine Inch Nails.

While I was utterly blown away by the musicianship and production that went into Beck's debut at MSG, along with my finally comprehending what Colors was all about, not to mention the fucking proximity (we were second or third row), this was just a really great Beck show. He played his hits and ended, as he has almost every time I've seen him live, with "Where It's At". But Nine Inch Nails...? Over the course of four nights, I saw dozens of unique songs, some of which hadn't been played in ten years, some of which hadn't been played in twenty five years, some of which hadn't been played ever, specifically "The Perfect Drug", which is not only my favorite Nine Inch Nails song, but a song I never expected to be played live. Not only that, but it was executed flawlessly. While the production wasn't anywhere near what NIN is capable of, I found myself not giving a shit because I was too busy reeling from hearing music live that, up to that point, had only existed on wax. 

This was the Nine Inch Nails tour that shall override every complaint I ever have about Nine Inch Nails tours from here on out.

Meh

I think this is pretty self explanatory, but hey, sometimes stupid people come here. 

This is just something that left virtually no impression on me, so much so that it stood out. And that "honor" goes to the return of Cake. They released a new song called "Sinking Ship" which is nothing new, lyrically or musically (although I like some of the keys). After this release, they announced they're planning on "releasing more singles leading up to a new album in 2019". My first thought when I saw this business plan: Just get it over with, guys.

I'll definitely listen to new Cake, but I feel like I'm done giving a shit about them.

Biggest Surprise

While the variety of NIN's Cold and Black and Infinite tour was pretty spectacular, I've got to give this to Gorillaz's The Now Now. Normally, fans get a Gorillaz album and then Damon Albarn goes off for five years and does Blur or some other solo/supergroup thing that might or might not result in anything excellent, but just a year after Humanz, Albarn goes ahead and redeems himself with this album. Not only is it not Humanz, it's a return to the days of the Gorillaz playing on a Gorillaz album.

Biggest Disappointment

Except for the tiny handful of great tracks on it, overall I was let down by Thom Yorke's first foray into film scoring. I think this would have been a difficult score for anyone, and the fact that it was his first? Ballsy. Sadly, it didn't do it for me. It felt too unfocused and loose. I'll need to give the film another watch and see if things shake out differently, but in my mind this was going to be huge and it did not break my world.

2018 Favorite Songs

Listen for yourselves, you lazy asshole.

Hopes for 2019

There is no hope for 2019.

End of the End of the Month Music Bitchfest

I think I'm done writing these monthly music things.

Keep an eye on my social media* if you're really interested in my occasional reviews, and original music as Purple Rectangle (new EP coming soon), and I might still post something here if I feel like it, but otherwise,...yeah, I think I'm done here.

* Primarily Instagram as my Facebook is set to private and Twitter is a sad, angry toilet without a drainage point

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - August 2018

Inspired by both Thom Yorke shows at Kings Theatre selling out in less than a minute, I decided to check out the Eraser remixes, which, though I’d obtained them years ago, I’d never actually given a spin.

Turns out I wasn’t missing that much*.

And, since I wrote the word “remix” and since everyone likes...nay...LOVES lists, I’m going to list some of my favorite remixes by one of my favorite artists and then some of my favorite covers by another!!!
IN NO PARFUCKULARTICKING ORDER!!!

As I peruse this list, I realize that Guero seems to contain my favorite remix fodder. Interestingly enough, it's not really my favorite Beck album, but it seems like it was pretty fertile remix soil.

Beck
E-Pro (Ghost Range) - The toothless, backwoods feel and that breakdown at the end. Sooo filthy...

Que Onda Guero (Nortec Collective remix) - I love the absurdity that these horns bring. Tuba? Yes, please.

New Pollution (Mickey P. remix) - I didn't even know this fucking thing existed until a few months ago, but since then, it's become a fixture. The Dust Brothers and Beck have such a glimmering track record, and this remix perfectly encapsulates the 90's remix feel without feeling too dated. It brings new life and depth to the original, one of Beck's most overplayed tracks.

Sexx Laws (Night Flight to Ojai) - Midnite Vultures is officially** my favorite Beck album. It's filthy and tasteless and mo' funky than your grandfather's feet, as an old, dirty bastard once said. There's a b-side called "Dirty Dirty" that is just impregnating...but this...this cheesy, lyricless, smooth jazz cover of "Sexx Laws" is just indescribably glamorous yet gross in some way; like a really expensive silk shirt stained with sweat and droplets of semen from a well-intentioned yet hurried handjob before a Vegas encore.

Heaven's Hammer (Missing Remix by Air) - Just as with the Dust Brothers, Air pairs so perfectly with Beck. This has never been made more clear than with this remix. I like this miles more than the original and firmly believe that THIS is the "correct" version of "Missing", not what we got on the album. Every element those French dudes add is absolutely perfect, revealing the true heart of this gorgeous and heartrending track.

Gucci Bag In Flames (Hell Yes) [Green, Music and Gold] - While the whole thing is great, making "Hell Yes" less funky, robot rap and more sweaty, funky funk-funk, it's that keyboard breakdown at the end that pushes this into favorite territory.

Strange Invitation - An acoustic, string-driven cover of "Jack-Ass". In the list of Beck contributors and collaborators that bring something special out in his music, David Campbell is among one of the most skilled. The strings here (and on Sea Change and Morning Phase and everything else the man has ever touched) were all arranged and conducted by him and he just gets Beck and what his strings can do for his son's work. Both grounding and elevating at the same time, this is yet another example of a perfect partner for Beck.

Also, I should mention that there was a new remix of "Colors" released this month. The Picard Brothers remix, to be more precise. It did a really great job of draining all color from the song. These brothers must own a mortuary...

Eels
Since their first tour back in the mid to late 90's, there's never been an Eels show without at least two covers. Mark Oliver Everett is just great at finding something worth exploring in other artists' work and using that work to forward his own nefarious musical goals and expand the scope and meaning behind his own concerts. He's also covered four Prince songs in his career and I hope he continues to do so.

When You Were Mine by Prince - Now that he's gone, everyone's covering Prince. But, something about E covering Prince feels more sincere. That theme is going to come up a lot here...

When Doves Cry by Prince - The depth that E finds on his version (played on a KCRW live appearance in September 1994) is just amazing. It's solemn and beautiful. You should track this down if you're a Prince and Eels fan.

Rock Show by Peaches - Peaches. Man, that bitch is crazy. I think I like the original more than the cover because of her raucous, screaming energy, but E's ragged yells add something as well. A big, gigantic cock show indeed.

The Quack by Smoosh - The original is weird and Eels covering it is even weirder.

Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliott - Yes yes, a white guy covering a rap song, ha ha ha. It's funny because he's white. No, cockballs, it's funny because E is giving 110%, because of that "Who's that? BUTCH!" moment, and because it's a fantastic reinterpretation.

King of the Road by Roger Miller - An impromptu duet between E and Steve Jones on his Jonesy's Jukebox show. Their languor is devastating. Their Slack palpable.

Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley - It's just a simple, beautiful piano rendition, but somehow manages to capture all the ups and downs of being in love with someone. This guy...

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning by Rodgers and Hammerstein - While it's a bit tongue in cheek, it's just so goddamn happy. And that horn section seals the deal.

When You Wish Upon A Star by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington - Heart. Breaking.

Pretty Ballerina by The Left Banke - You know...I don't know why I like this so much...I dig the original and pretty much every cover I've ever heard of it, so I suppose that means it's just a great song.

Cake
That new Cake song ("Sinking Ship") that McCrea says "doesn’t sound like them" sure sounds a lot like them, live at least. Lyrically it's about how we're having fun even though things are falling apart around us. Yeah, totally a new chapter for Cake. And, while this is a legit new Cake song, this dogcock says it's only for a 12" single they're putting out, although a new album isn't not in the cards or something stupid.
Ugh.
WHY DO I HATE ME SO MUCH?!

St. Vincent
St. Vincent remixed something by Maroon 5 (which is somehow still a thing) and Cardi B (after hearing one remix with her I think I'm set). It's better than the original, which didn't need to happen. Take what you will from that.

They Might Be Giants
You don't know fear until you've turned up early on a Wednesday morning, expecting to find a fresh, new, piping hot TMBG track in your inbox only to find dust and penis enlargement*** spam. Yeah, the email notification has been a few hours late, but the official Dial-A-Song website is always up to date, right?
Wrong, motherfucker.
So. Wrong.
For twenty-nine weeks in a row we've gotten a new song (or a song from I Like Fun) every Wednesday at 12:00 am until the first Wednesday in August. Out of fucking NOWHERE, TMBG has taken a hiatus for August.
Guys, you can’t deprive a junkie of his junk like that.
The rest of these tracks best be GOLD, gents.

Finally, I'll be reviewing the new LP from Drew McDowall (The Third Helix) and the new EP from Aphex Twin (Collapse) soon. Here's something funny...a few years back, DREW MCDOWALL released an LP called Collapse! WHAT?!
WHAT??!?!?!
FUCKING WHAT???!?!??!?!?!?!?!




* "Skip Divided (Modeselektor remix)" added some more choppiness, "Harrowdown Hill (The Bug remix)" added a darker, harder edge and some cool textures, and "Atoms for Peace (Four Tet remix)" focused on increasing the warmth and brightness.

** CALL THE POLICE!!!

*** I'm just kidding; Gmail is actually pretty fantastic when it comes to filtering out spam.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - June 2018

Nine Inch Nails
Review of Bad Witch here.

They Might Be Giants
One of this month's Dial-A-Song's was the alternate version of "Last Wave". This thing is...just bizarre. More so if you know the album version and hear the alternate version paired with this video.

Eels
Review of their Brooklyn Steel show hERe.

St. Vincent
To celebrate Pride, St. Vincent release "Fast Slow Disco" and later THE GAYEST AND MOST WONDERFUL VIDEO EVER. Seriously, if the song isn't enough to bring you to tears, the video will do it, no problem.

Purple Rectangle
I low key released my second EP, For Today. I think everything I ever release will be low key, whether or not I want it that way. You can check it out on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and literally every other digital platform EVER. My shit's on Tidal, yo!!!!!

Reviewed the new Gorillaz as well: HEReRE.

Seeing Beck live at Madison goddamn Square Garden on 7/19. Also bought pit tickets to a third NIN show in October at Kings Theater because it appears they are doing a more stripped down, variety focused setlist. Might even see them a fourth time if the first few are pure, blended gold.

Next month, I'll be reviewing the final SONOIO album, Fine, which is most likely pronounced "FEE-neh". 

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - May 2018

Nine Inch Nails
So. Strange.
First and foremost, the morning of the title/artwork/tracklist reveal, I thought I was misreading things all over the place, but no, the new Nine Inch Nails LP* is called Bad Witch and the opening track is indeed called "Shit Mirror", which, as I've stated on various Social Media platforms, I am VERY curious about. I'm expecting an instrumental because I cannot fathom what the lyrical content of a song entitled "Shit Mirror'" might be.
But let's talk about something we've actually heard..."God Break Down The Door" the first single.
On Wednesday the 16th, the official NIN YouTube posted the audio for this and then, promptly removed it. But, as this is the internet, it was captured and circulated. A day later however, it was released officially. After extensive listens, I think I'm ready to call it a Bowie tribute, specifically in the vein of "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)" and "'Tis A Pity She's A Whore". It features saxophone and Reznor straight up crooning, but there's also some Prodigy programming as well... By far, the most unique Nine Inch Nails song I've ever heard. It has me excited, intrigued, and trepidatious for the album, which might be exactly what Reznor wants. Like it or not, GBDTD is something completely unexpected from Reznor and company.
Then there's "Play The Goddamned Part" and "Ahead of Ourselves" both of which were debuted at listening stations at the Physical World Pre-Sale event for NIN's upcoming *sigh* Cold And Black And Infinite tour. The former is an instrumental featuring some crazy aggressive bass and MORE SAXOPHONE!!!! At one point there's a solid wall of sax and it's just amazing, and the latter is fucking brutal, a relentless assault. A lot of the lyrics are distorted but clearly angry. The chorus is jagged and reminds me of "Break" in that it's loud AND THEN IT'S VERY FUCKING LOUD FOR A FEW BARS, then back to loud, THEN FUCKING BACK TO REALLY LOUD.
Bottom line, I loved everything I heard, more so than GBDTD.
Now, back to the *sigh* Cold And Black And Infinite tour. For something with a name like that, one might expect more than 20 plus dates. Also, NIN's two NYC dates are at Radio City Music Hall. Personally, I have been to Radio City maybe half a dozen times; when I was a child to see the Christmas Spectacular, then, much later in life, to see "An Evening With Harry, Carrie, and Garp", which featured J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and John Irving reading some of their work and answering questions, and, most recently, to see "Weird Al" Yankovic. Oh. Also this. How could I possibly forget this...
All that to say I have no idea what to expect from these shows.** But I will thoroughly enjoy yelling "fist fuck" at the top of my voice at this world famous New York City institution, perhaps during the obligatory performance of "Wish" or perhaps into the face of a terrified concessions staff member.
On Saturday the 19th, I stood in line for five hours to get tickets to the two Radio City shows. Which sucked. But, Trent made it worth the wait with date specific posters and shirts, as well as those two new tracks. And! It appears I did NOT get a chest cold from standing in the cold wet for a quarter of a day! Double win!

A moment of reflection of the title of the new album...Bad Witch. 
That title.
So, I've never liked "pretty hate machine" or "with teeth" as Nine Inch Nails album titles. People can say PHM because it's a staple in the industrial scene and that cancels out the weirdness, but I have never worn a piece of clothing with the words "pretty hate machine" on it. Why? Because, out of context, someone might think I am identifying myself as a hate machine who is pretty. And...I just don't need to have that conversation with my mother.
As far as "with teeth"? Well, it kind of sounds like someone announcing in broken English that they have teeth. Maybe in their pocket or something. Like "with child" means you're full of baby, "with teeth" means you're full of teeth. I feel like walking around with clothes that say "with teeth" might lead to being pursued by dentists...
I'm going to need some time to get used to...bad witch. Or maybe I never will.

They Might Be Giants
Since I abused my limitless power and massive, throbbing fanbase**** last month to introduce my first release, I missed out on telling you about what was on offer from DAS. Some good shit, that's what. "Tractor" and "I Haven't Been Right Yet" are towering examples of everything that continues to be right and good about They Might Be Giants.
Then there's the video for "By The Time You Get This" WHICH ACTUALLY HAS THE JOHNS IN IT!!!!
Regrettably, I do have to take points off for "Dee Dee & Dexter" getting hauled out of the vaults. This sub-par little ditty has been clanking around since the early 00's. On the up side, maybe we'll get a high quality version of "Courage, the Cowardly Dog". Love that goddamn song...
Finally...and I mean that...I've been a fan of TMBG for over twenty years. And the thing I wrote highlighting my time as a TMBG fan is here. For you to not read.


Also, hey, there's a fucking new Gorillaz album coming at the end of June. They've released two tracks thus far, and one is light and breezy and summer and hot people in bikinis eating Sno-Cones while the other is a little more nighttime roller disco. That one ("Lake Zurich") is an instrumental. Based on these tiny tastes and the fact that there are only THREE guest artists on offer, I think The Now Now will be the album I wanted Humanz to be.
Also, Murdoc has been replaced by Ace...from The Powerpuff Girls...which is absolutely fucking bizarre. 
THIS IS MY SOAP OPERA.

Purple Rectangle
You guys, my EP hasn't gone triple anything yet. I need...*Googles requirements for "triple-platinum album status"*...three million units sold.
So, you know, tell a friend.

I've got more stuff coming soon. 
For you to not listen to.

Next time I talk at you, there'll be new Nine Inch Nails, new Gorillaz, and a review of EELS at Brooklyn Steel. Poot!!!!

* Oh fuck me there was so much wasted...cloud space?...server space?...nanobytes?...on this subject, but it was finally settled when Reznor Himself visited the Echoing The Sound fan forums to shine some light on things...LINK!!!!

** Other than "The Hand That Feeds" into "Head Like A Hole" into "Hurt"...although...maybe this time they'll switch it up...***

*** Seriously though,,,I really think they will.

**** I believe I have less than 20 views per entry that are not from bots.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - April 2018 | Introducing Purple Rectangle

Over the past decade, I've been stockpiling musical devices. While I'm not overly proficient with any of them, I can get sound to come out. Little by little, I've crafted...stuff. Not really songs, not all of them...sort of between full on songs and sonic textures.

I'm finally ready to release some of the things I've made.

My debut EP, created solely with the Electro-Faustus Drone Thing and a duo of pedals (the Montreal Assembly Count to 5 and MWFX's Judder) is called LULL and is available everywhere digital now.

LULL isn't the first thing I've recorded and not everything I've done sounds like it, but it is the first piece of original music I wanted to release as Purple Rectangle, the title I've chosen for this endeavor.

It's one track with five distinct sections. It's drone and texture and atmosphere.

And there's more coming.

front cover

back cover

STREAM
Spotify
Apple Music

PURCHASE
iTunes

PRESENCE
Tumblr
Facebook

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - March 2018

Nine Inch Nails
Bottom line: Reznor said the third EP was "too predictable" and now it's coming in early June before NIN's 2018 shows get going. You know you just maxxxing out the Hype, right T Rez? Best not be writing checks yo' ass can't cash, sun.

Beck
EDGAR WRIGHT DIRECTED THE VIDEO FOR "COLORS"!!!! And it is seriously...man...it's the perfect visual counterpart to that track. Also: Alison Brie! For no reason!
Plus, a twilit, discoriffic remix of "Up All Night" was released and it's solid as the late 80's. Here.
Speaking of remixes...man, I thought I'd heard all the Beck remixes. I love me a good Beck remix. I own far too many 12" records containing Beck remixes. So imagine my surprise when I discovered THREE fucking Beck remixes from Odelay that I have NEVER FUCKING HEARD.
IT WAS BIG.
MY SURPRISE.
IT WAS FUCKING MASSIVE.
So I now have those three remixes...and that's all I've got to tell you about that.
...
Oh okay, fine.
In case you want to hear them too, they are:
The FULL "Where It's At" U.N.K.L.E. remix
Mike Simpson's "Groovy Sunday" remix of "Devil's Haircut" (sounds a bit like the Wizeguyz remix of "Sexx Laws")
The Mickey P. remix of "The New Pollution"
Also, homeboy is playing Madison Fucking Square Garden in July and I'm a put my face there. Really, really hope he ups his production game...

St. Vincent
Another pretty solid remix... "Los Ageless" by DJDS tries to defang this scathing little ditty and fails at that, but the stipped down interpetation presents a really nice perspective. HERE.

They Might Be Giants
"Chip the CHiP" is the first Escape Team song that I really dig. I love Linnell's vocal styling and the energy, plus the lyrics are pretty fantastic once you can hear them. Also, "Tick Tick Tick Tick" could be a sequel/rebuttal to "Prepare".
Noticed something...aside from the I Like Fun tracks and "Rowboat Mayor", everything on DAS has been a Linnell.
Hm.
Also, March 26th, 1998 marked my first TMBG concert and the beginning of a very deep fandom nee obsession nee fandom. I wrote a little thing. Might post it.

Eels
Got my hands on The Deconstruction! While it's not the Eels album I wanted to harken the return of E to the land of the living, it's what he wanted/needed to do, and there are some really fantastic cuts on there.
Review is on Soundblab here.
Hopefully, homeboy is touring with a choir this time around.


I also reviewed the first collaboration between Drew McDowall of Coil and Hiro Kone, The Ghost of Georges Bataille. HEEERRE.

Also also allaso reviewing the new Black Moth Super Rainbow record, Panic Blooms. Man, I thought I dug Tobacco...
If listening to Tobacco is like getting punched in the face, listening to BMSR is like making out with a daydream made of sexy tar... I'll post the review when it's up.

Finally, Marilyn Manson released the fourth video from his tremendous Heaven Upside Down, "Tattooed In Reverse", one of the best tracks this motherfucker has released in over a decade. The video is...*sigh*...Marilyn...don't ever change.

WHAT A ROBUST AND JUICY MONTH! PLUMS! PLUUUUUUMS!!!!

P.S. I saw the David Bowie Is exhibit on the 23rd and I might have something to say about that soon...but not now.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - February 2018

Nine Inch Nails
Two really odd developments...neither having to do with new NIN music.
The first is this blog that was recently discovered...in a nutshell, either Trent Reznor is plagiarizing from the blog of an unmedicated schizophrenic for material for these new EPs or there's a really weird ARG that was started in 2011 for the EPs just recently released.
Read way too much about it here.
Also, some source tapes of projections from Nine Inch Nails' Fragility v1.0 tour have surfaced on eBay.
And the circumstances are shady as all hell.
Read way too much about that here.

Eels
I'm having trouble not hearing David Brent singing the new Eels track...I do not like that. It's a bit fluffy and sort of blandly optimistic...verging on a bit naive...I think seeing where this fits in the whole will give it more weight.
Context is always important with Eels, but an artist's work standing on its own is also important.

They Might Be Giants
The only thing of note this month is the video for "Push Back The Hands". Which is awesome.

There's also something which is just astounding and I shouldn't talk about it, so I won't. Suffice it to say...my friend and I have one of the rarest...if not the rarest...piece of TMBG historic memorabilia in existence.
Sorry.
Moving on.

Since my life is nothing but an accumulation of disappointment and upcoming release dates for various types of media, I decided to distract myself from this devastating fact and my horrid existence by listening to a bunch of Autechre last month. Something about all that dissonance and chaos acts as a balm for the screaming void that is my mind...

Move of Ten was where I jumped in and I bounced around from there. Before Chiastic Slide came out in 1997, those boys were actually making some pretty mellow stuff. Since then though, ah...all the sqwarky blizz... I need to keep going and maybe I'll share a playlist of my findings with "you". One thing is for sure though, "pce freeze 2.8i" is the perfect intro music for a techno-organic villain. One with swagga.

Then there's that new Prince song that Janelle Monae released....damn I miss Prince.
As far as Monae, I think I like who she is and what she represents more than the music she's made. My friend gave me ArchAndroid and I didn't love it, although I recognized that it was something special. I like The Audition better. Haven't really given Electric Lady a spin yet. But I will.
To me, she's more pioneering than Kanye West without all the rambling idiocy and ego. I could see her and Beck collaborating and not interrupting each other's award acceptances, you know?

This month I shall be reviewing the new Eels and the collaboration between Drew McDowall and Hiro Kone, The Ghost of Georges Bataille.

March 2018 also marks 20 years as an active They Might Be Giants fan*. Something I owe solely to Will Pomerantz and my own impeccable taste in music and penchant for imprinting. I wrote a little thing. And will publish it here. So...hahahahaha...so you all...hahahahahaha...can read it...hahahahahaha.
Oh, silly.

I also sent my first rough EP of original "music" off to a dude at a tiny label to check out. I'll let you know when nothing happens.

* Since hearing them on Tiny Toons in the early 90's but not understanding what I was hearing, I've been a passive fan.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - January 2018

EELS
EELS! New Eels! The first new Eels in four years! On the 16th, they let a floaty teaser go.* Musically, it sounds airy and delicate but that means absolutely fuckall when it comes to E. The title track dropped the next day and it has some fantastic programming and samples, which makes me hope that's the direction of the album but "Fresh Blood" was its own thing and I got bummed when Hombre Lobo wasn't 13 versions of that track so...trying to mitigate...but I did buy the $85 CD/pink vinyl/t-shirt/Bobby Jr. socks bundle...of course.
Man, I'm just happy homeboy is still around. Maybe 2018 won't be a waste of time after all.

They Might Be Giants
While Dial-A-Song is back in action, the first quarter or so is going to be I Like Fun which...I don't know...feels like a waste. Not just because I've had the album since the middle of November, but because, for everyone, it came out January 19th, so fans will be getting doubles** for a while.
Although I will say the video for "I Like Fun" is just fucking perfect and the one to beat over the course of this year's 50ish other offerings, although...dude...Nick Offerman Vs. TMBG.
Also, since I haven't lodged a complaint in four seconds, I was mucho bummed to hear nothing off of I Like Fun at either of TMBG's December shows except for "I Left My Body". But, knowing them, they'll be back this way and I will just SOAK in it. Looking forward to hearing, literally, everything from ILF. The shows were still a blast as they did play a nice batch of tracks from Mink Car and it was fabulous to hear some of these again for the first time in almost twenty years. "Wicked Little Critta" is always a treat, as is "Bangs", "Cyclops Rock", and a personal favorite, "(She Thinks She's) Edith Head", plus we got THREE TRACKS from John Henry! AND THEY ARE NOW REGULARLY PERFORMING A FOURTH!!! Could 2018 be the year they do a John Henry show? NO!
I always love "Dead" but hearing them open with it after not seeing them for an extended period of time is always special. And the perfected "Trouble Awful Devil Evil" is so goddamn beautiful live and having "The Guitar" start before the clock ticked over, then playing "Auld Lang Syne" on the 31st (1st) then going back to finish "Guitar" was excellent.

Relatedly unrelated; had a hankering to listen to Linnell's solo album, State Songs. Man that is a weird, tight, dusty, square little package. I remember seeing his one live performance in New York back which I was in college where he hired a band organ (complete with its operator, Bob) to play at the Bowery Ballroom. Singular experience...
Then I moved on to his House of Mayors EP. "DeWitt Clinton" baby. That's all. Plus some of the tightest, most proficient accordion playing from the man is there on his processionals. From there, I revisited Flansburgh's solo thing, Mono Puff. I recall fans were nervous around the years of 1997 to 1999, thinking these solo efforts and the release of their first live album, video collection, and Then: The Earlier Years was an indicator that the band was breaking up. I might write a little something for March about my first twenty years as a They Might Be Giants fan...
Will might read that...aaaaaand...that's it.

P.S. Here's my absolutely glowing review of I Like Fun.

Beck
Video for "Fix Me". The presence of this many dogs along with the double meaning of the title make me wonder if this clip was sponsored by the ASPCA...of whatever the Japanese equivalent of the ASPCA is.****
Also, Beck released a rather flat cover of Lou Reed's "I'm Waiting For The Man" which tells me, for certain, that Beck has never waited for someone to sell him drugs.

Nine Inch Nails
A very pregnant pause... Fans are holding to Reznor's tossed off comment about how the EPs will come out "about 6-8 months apart". If it's six, we get EP 3 this month*****, if eight, March.
Or, if Reznor gets caught up in something else or changes his mind or whatever...who knows...
The definitive vinyl editions of With Teeth and Year Zero are, allegedly, coming in a few weeks; whether that means other stuff is in the pipeline as well...only Reznor knows the inner workings of Reznor's mind.

Now, peace be with you; go in Reznor's Name.


* And, no, "floaty teaser" is not a genteel term for fart.

** You know, like when you were collecting Marvel cards in the 90's and ALL YOU NEEDED was the High Evolutionary, but all you kept getting was fucking Storm?***

*** ...maybe THAT'S why I hate Halle Berry so much...

**** Did not know at the time of that statement that it actually WAS.
P.S. What a shitty video.

***** We didn't.

The Year In Bitch - 2017

I seriously only really took in about half a dozen records this year. Specifically, the new Nine Inch Nails EPs, the new Beck, Manson, St. Vincent, Gorillaz, and, most recently, the new They Might Be Giants*. Three of my five favorite artists had absolutely stellar releases this year (and one of my five favorite artists had a poppy, sweet-and-plasticky-like-a-strawberry-Twizzler release this year) and, in the dearth that is to come, I shall try and recall this shining plethora and hold the memory close as a spark with which to warm my soul...although I will fail and start complaining pretty soon, I am certain.

Along with that tight and isolated four plus hours of music that I obsessed over this year, I did take in a few other things...the pair of Reznor/Ross scores of Patriots Day and The Vietnam War, the excellent new New Pornographers, the new Tori Amos, the new and spectacularly non-Euclidean Drew McDowall, and Transparent by Coil and Zos Kia, a record which I feel ended up perfectly summarizing this year and all its occurrences. You should totally give it a listen, with headphones, while looking over a recap of the world events of 2017. I'm not kidding.

One life changing moment that occurred was when my wife and I (and a small handful of others) had tea with Tori Amos. I mean...it's something I could never fully put into words. She was graceful, attentive, gracious and the Summer Queen of the Sidhe. At one point, when she was chatting with my wife and I and hearing all about our non-fae lives, she took my hand in hers and I almost died. It was a legitimate brush with divinity and I shouldn't have even brought it up because it's like a blind man trying to describe how red her hair is.

Something far more mundane yet also worth nothing from this year...packaging. Starting in February with the physical component for Nine Inch Nails' Not The Actual Events and continuing with its vinyl release, then the physical component for Add Violence, the CD packaging for the new Manson, the deluxe versions of the new Beck and St. Vincent, and culminating with the "Super Deluxe" edition of Gorillaz' Humanz. I talked about a lot of it here, but I must harp on it.
While I don't think any packaging I've ever encountered competes with some of the stuff Coil and its associates have come up with over the years, specifically the insane presentation for Peter Christopherson's Time Machines II, I think it's fantastic, in this world of people blithely renting licenses for songs off of iTunes instead of purchasing hard copies of albums, to see artists putting effort not only into their music, but into the method in which their music is presented. While streaming is convenient as hell, there's something lacking...namely beautiful, full color, 12" by 12" artwork...or soot-covered cardstock, a quick reference guide to a machine that creates dystopian, pre-apocalyptic scenarios, or branded kaleidoscopes and prisms. The music should obviously stand on its own, but the artwork and packaging and all the weird trappings serve to add further depth to the release, expanding the world the artist is trying to create for the listener. That's "listener", not "consumer". All this is to say...I don't know...people still give a shit and will continue to as long as the artists do the same.
But not with cassettes.
Those are fully obsolete.
Beck. 

ONTOTHEMOTHERFUCKINGSUPERLATIVES!!!

Best Song of the Year
This is a tie for me between St. Vincent's "Slow Disco" and Nine Inch Nails' "The Lovers". Here's the former with a string octet and the latter live in rehearsal which won't sound any different unless you're a fan so...yeah.

Worst Song of the Year
"Despacito".
If this song were a person I would hire an assassin to kill it.

BEST! LIVE! NOODS!
I wanted Gorillaz to be epic, but between the ocean of goddamn people (Christ I fucking hate people) and the fact that they were supporting an album I'm 17% into, that didn't happen. Seeing Nine Inch Nails two nights in a row was pretty epic (Panorama and Webster Hall), and certainly better than the last time I fucking did that but it comes down to Mother Feather at the Knitting Factory and St. Vincent at Kings Theater. One was perfectly sculpted and executed like a theatrical performance, and the other was sloppy, wet chaos. On one hand, you have Annie Clark, standing on a stage alone and delivering the same set of songs over three months, never varying, just a series of musical monologues and soliloquies, then you have Mother Feather's unending, goddess-gleaned energy repeatedly driving red hot pop cock rock into the audience's collective face like a dong made of sincerity, lady parts, and power...plus they have a new bassist!

Biggest Surprise
Oh my goodness there was no contest. I was absolutely thrilled by Marilyn Manson's Heaven Upside Down. Despite not being a perfect return to the truly unsettling Manson I fell in fearful love with over 20 years ago, this is the closest thing we've gotten since the ebon opus that was Antichrist Superstar and the best Manson album he's created since 2003. Even if the man backslides, there will always be this album to let us know that Marilyn Manson was back...even if only for a short time.

Biggest Disappointment
This might have been a tie between Beck's exquisitely crafted and glimmeringly hollow pop swamp Colors and Gorillaz' Humanz but, after those three singles Beck released, I should have expected something like this, whereas Humanz was such a letdown. I know it's good, but I don't like it. As of right now, about nine months after its release, I only enjoy two and a half songs ("Charger" and "Hallelujah Money") and one chorus ("Saturnz Barz")**.

Best Album of the Year
Yeah, I know Nine Inch Nails put out a new EP in 2017, but HA, I'm picking one of the other six releases I listened to this year! It's got to be Masseduction. It's like Annie Clark was possessed by Beck and Prince and then did her thing. Tracks like "Hang On Me", "Los Ageless", "Savior", "Slow Disco", the title track...come on asshole, fuck you it's the best. Asshole.
fuck you.

Best Album of Next Year
Um...is it cheating if I give this to the new They Might Be Giants? I mean...Beck certainly isn't putting anything new out next year. Neither is St. Vincent***. The members of Cake are dead and E is working on learning to love himself. So unless something astonishing happens and Reznor actually puts out a new LP in 2018, yeah, the Best Album of 2018 is I Like Fun by They Might Be Giants.
You've got 365 days to change my mind world, step t'me.


Most Anticipated Release of 2018
Well, the third Nine Inch Nails EP obviously, the one that ties everything ever together and brings meaning to my life: artistically, spiritually, and sexually. Duh.
Or is it the new Mother Feather, Constellation Baby? Starring tracks like "I.C.U.", "Shake Your Magic 8-Ball", "Totally Awesome", and the absolutely stellar title track...**** Thing is, no matter how good it is, the new NIN is only an EP, five or six tracks, probably clocking in at less than a half hour...so...oooooch...this is going to be a tie...for now.

Hopes for 2018
A fucking new Nine Inch Nails album! Of course! What do you fucking think?! But I have a feeling that these EPs are going to serve as the only new real NIN for a while. Damn it. So...I suppose...nothing. I have no hopes for 2018. That way, I can't be disappointed! I BEAT THE FUCKING SYSTEM!

* Which isn't actually out until 1/19/18.

** Four and a half if you throw in "Out of Body" and "The Apprentice" from the 2-CD version.

*** Except for a small handful of tracks left off Masseduction, like "Sexclusive", a track featuring Jehnny Beth from Savages on guest vocals.

**** Get it? Stellar? Constellation Baby? STILL GOT IT!

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - November 2017

Had spinal surgery on the 18th of this month, but right before that, on the 17th, I received my review copy of the new TMBG. And, although I am embargoed...it's fantastic. Look for the full review in early January.

Aside from the new TMBG, I've really just been listening to those NIN EPs, the new St. Vincent, and the new Beck.

Opinions have emerged further on all four releases: Not The Actual Events is really good (received my CD of that recently and it's a perfect interpretation of the vinyl package and art, just smaller), but Add Violence is one of their best, tightest releases ever, Masseduction might be surpassing St. Vincent as my favorite album of hers*, and Colors is still lacking a lot for me. While I understand where Beck's in making such an album, I just don't love the album.

In December, I'm seeing St. Vincent as she wraps up the US leg of her Fear The Future tour, Mother Feather at Knitting Factory, and TMBG's triumphant return to the stage on both the 30th and 31st at the Music Hall of Williamsburg...where, hopefully, they'll play "Last Wave", as I need to stand amongst a crowd of people and sing that chorus out loud.
Oh man I can't wait 'til folks get to hear I Like Fun...

Also...there might be something from Nine Inch Nails on December 5th. Not the new EP, but, if not a song, then at least a tease, update, or image introducing yet another art style over which fans can get hard. Reznor and Ross are going to be on Song Exploder, but the song being exploded (?) is "The Lovers", so...who knows...I could just be wrong.

* Which is thrilling as I can't think of many bands whose subsequent albums get better and escape that godawful stereotype of their-first-was-their-best.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - October 2017

I know the world is ending not because I'm listening to the new Marilyn Manson more than the new Beck, but because I'm enjoying the new Marilyn Manson more than the new Beck.

Beck
I wrote my review and it's a goddamn whirlwind. Now, a few weeks after having played nothing but this, the new St. Vincent, the new Manson, and a few Stephen King audiobooks* on repeat...I think I get it.
Beck says he wanted to make something joyous, something that felt good. Joy and feeling good are not always complex.
So. There.
When I want complex joy from Beck, I'll listen to "Milk & Honey", or "Debra", or "Dirty Dirty". When I was simply joy from Beck, simple like bright swathes of primary colors, I guess I'll listen to Colors. These are shitty, shitty times in which we live, Beck is only trying to help.

St. Vincent
After her most recent, self-titled release, I was curious as to how she'd top herself. Masseduction is, at least, as good as St. Vincent. Plus, "Slow Disco" is so beautiful that it hurts to listen to it. At one point, I looked up how old Annie Clark was, thinking she was, like, 25 or something, and it somehow made me feel better that she was making all this amazing shit and was only a year younger than me. I'm seeing her in December in Brooklyn and I'd suggest you do as well.

They Might Be Giants
Album title, release date, and first single have been revealed! I Like Fun (excellent title) drops January 19th (unless you're in the IFC or reviewing it...like me) and "I Left My Body" is a pretty solid introduction. Check it out here.

Nine Inch Nails
TR and AR released their cover (although I'd call it more of a reinterpretation because the original is less than three minutes long and theirs is seven and change) of John Carpenter's theme to Halloween. IT'S HERE FOR YOU TO LISTEN TO! TO! Shit gets cray around the six and a half minute mark.

Marilyn Manson also released the most Marilyn Manson-ass Marilyn Manson video ever. It's for his track "SAY10" and it features a chick masturbating and the devil and Johnny Depp and that rubber wall thing and slow motion blood explosions and just fucking everything but Twiggy.

Between those three albums, a quick revisitation of Reznor and Ross' Vietnam score, and some vintage Tori, that is, literally, all I've been listening to this month. But...a note on packaging***...

Over the past few weeks, I've received physical copies of the deluxe vinyl version of the new St. Vincent, CD and vinyl editions of the new Marilyn Manson, thht awesome-rad-cocaine-on-your-cock-and-asshole colored vinyl version of the new Beck I'd mentioned a while back, and, finally, the latest CD from Nine Inch Nails**, and I was blown away by some of what I saw. These days, a special package for a deluxe or limited edition vinyl isn't that crazy; you're paying more and should receive more for your money, but, as Trent Reznor loves to remind people at every turn NO ONE BUYS CDS BECAUSE FUCK CDS EITHER BUY MY RECORDS ON VINYL OR STREAM THEM BUT NOTHING ELSE. NOTHING ELSE. NO. FUCK YOU ANDY. ONE OR THE FUCKING OTHER. However, while he might hate them, the packaging for Add Violence is tight. Nothing flashy, just a perfect and concise package for the EP. On one side of each page you've got the track title and on the other you've got the lyrics, white text on a black background. The middle of the booklet has a small taste of the elaborate and insane physical component, then back to basics for the rest of it. The disc itself is red with black text. On the back of the booklet and the disc itself, the NIN logo and "halo thirty one", printed clearly. In other words, Reznor didn't phone it it, even though he doesn't believe people buy them anymore.
So, thanks.

Then, shit got interesting...Manson's last one, The Pale Emperor, came in a simply digi-pack with no liner notes and an exterior that was akin to sandpaper, meant to damage any surfaces it touched. I always thought that was cool and a pretty neat trick for Manson to pull. When Heaven Upside Down arrived, I opened things up**** and found one, single insert: one on side, the album cover, on the other, the geometry Manson has embraced this time around, nothing more. I was pissed. On one hand, I want to fully experience the release; since my first cassettes, I would sit down with a magnifying glass and pore over the liner notes, absorbing them, devouring them, trying to get a better understanding of the other elements that made up what an album was. On the other hand, I wanted to hear what the fuck Manson was saying. I'd say...40% of the album is garbled by Manson's throat-shredding yowls and I was wondering (as I always do these days) if it happened organically or because the lines were silly and he was trying to hide something. And I don't trust any of those lyrics sites because, without the official lyrics, everything is fan fiction. All that to say...I was pissed. Then, I took a closer look at the jewel case. It was the type of case usually reserved for a 2-disc release, that is to say there was a "page" on which the CD was set instead of the back cover. That's when I saw it...the back cover was the booklet. Now, I mentioned this to my wife and she said that wasn't anything special. Personally, I'm 36 and have been buying CDs for 23 years and I'd never seen anyone utilize this back space in such a fashion. Yes, Tool and a few others have "hidden" artwork back there, but never a whole booklet. And, on top of that fun little revelation, there was the book itself; the lyrics were laid out as bible verse and the paper stock was that insubstantial stuff on which bibles are printed.
Wow.
Manson.
Well done.
For a guy who'd just been releasing jewel cases with folded inserts for a decade, this was something special.

YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE WAS SPECIAL???? ST. VINCENT'S DELUXE LP OF MASSEDUCTION! Honestly? I was legitimately confused when I first opened it. But I was also on painkillers, so...I choose to blame that.
The whole thing comes in a vinyl envelope. Inside that envelope is the cover art on a huge, double-sided poster which serves as housing for all the stuff. The stuff that I just mentioned a few words ago consists of the record itself, yellow (I'd have preferred the pink, but never mind), and in its own slipcover, a sticker sheet which is maybe a little odd, and a really great, zine-y booklet containing pictures and the lyrics. It reminds me of something from Fight Club, now that I think about it...
The package
The record

Next, the crazy fuck-my-ass-with-your-awesome-rad-coke-covered-dick deluxe edition of Beck's Colors. Whether you like the album or not, you cannot deny that Capitol is aching to make this release a thing*****. Aside from the numbered enamel pin (I'm a patch man and this pin isn't changing that), the kaleidoscope (seriously), and the fucking hexagonal, glass prism (thing weighs like eight pounds), the records (two of them, red as the devil's taint) are in this semi-customizable slipcover with four colored transparencies all coming together to form the dude, just watch the video. Also, the booklet is laid out fantastically. This is actually worth all the hubbub.
The packaging
The useless physical objects
The records

And, lastly, because of the awesome CD packaging for the new Manson, I grabbed the vinyl edition...which was nothing more than red vinyl, and a single lyrics sheet. Nothing cool. Something about putting all that effort into the CD but not the vinyl feels weird...

And on that odd and disquieting note...


* My professional opinion as a voice actor and a three-time audiobook narrator: George Guidall is awful (Dark Tower series), Steven Weber is awesome (It).

** ...who seems to have parted ways with Manson, perhaps because of the passing of Daisy Berkowitz.

*** Strap in, motherfuckers!1!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

**** ASTONISHED to find there was no parental advisory sticker on the album...the album which features a track clearly titled "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE"...did Tipper Gore die?

***** #CustomHashtag

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - September 2017

Blogger ate my post. It rolled back five days of on and off writing.
Fuck Blogger.

Here's what you're getting.

Nine Inch Nails
So, you know the score for Ken Burns' Vietnam doc...it's not really great.

Notes/Standouts:

Less Likely
Justified Response - NIN does early 00's Marilyn Manson
Before Dawn - organic evolution - crickets looping cool stuff
A World Away into The Rights Things
Passing the Point - trance inducing
Strangers in Lockstep - sounds like How To Destroy Angels instrumental
Before/After Faith - ha! Bet you thought this was going to be all soft and shit and have a melody! PSYCH!!!
Haunted - Was really hoping for more than just texture on the closer.

Aside from a few moments ("Less Likely", "A World Away", "The Right Things"), a lot of this feels a touch featureless. There's a distinct lack of melody on everything but a few tracks. There's dynamism and levels and everything is beautifully crafted, but it's a beautifully crafted blandness, if that makes sense. "Justified Response", "What Comes Back", "Before And After Faith"...these all sound great, but they're missing something. Maybe Burns and whoever else was in charge thought too much melody would distract from the subject matter or maybe R & R made that choice to get out of the way of said subject matter, either way, yeah.that would distract from subject matter? One could say it's more texture, or one could say R/R need to branch out a bit.

They Might Be Giants
Dial-A-Song 2018 has been announced, but unlike the original DAS in 2015 which featured one new song every week for the whole year, this time around, the Johns are only releasing twenty-six. Ouch. The inherent and unspoken upside to releasing fifty-two tracks is that if three or eight or twenty-three of them suck, there are still twenty-nine fucking songs that don't, not that anything from 2015 sucked. There were a small handful that weren't my cup of tea*, but whatever. Gift horse, mouth, etc. Looking forward to half an avalanche of new They Night be Giants music starting in a few months.


A review of The Meadows
Er. Not really, since I only saw two bands. So, let's say a review of Gorillaz with TV On The Radio as an opener.

This was the second time I've seen TVOTR and, as I felt after seeing them the first time (at the Apollo on their Seeds tour), I wish I knew their lyrics better. My live experiences are marred by more than just people and potential shitty sound; if I don't know the lyric to EVERYTHING being played, I feel like I'm just standing in a crowd of people mumbling. Their set consisted of almost half of Seeds, a fact with which I was completely fine. "Lazerray" and "Happy Idiot" are some of my favorites. "Province" was heartbreakingly beautiful, but the highlight of the evening was right before they launched into "Trouble", when Tunde said someone had told him once that "everything will be okay in the end, and, if things aren't okay, then it's not the end." Now, if I saw this written in some floaty handwriting with a tree at sunset in the background on social media, I might sneer on a good day and sneer and unfollow that person on a bad day. It's one of those brainless, wistful truisms like "today is the first day of the rest of your life", "good things are good" or "well, when it's not raining, it's the time when there's no rain" that plague the internet. But, having this dude, at that point in their highly emotional set and at this point in human history say this before that particular song...I got choked up. And, during the song itself, yeah, I got more than a little weepy.
So.
I guess the point I'm making is: location, location, location.

Moving on.

I'd been a fan of Gorillaz since they first came out (even if I didn't understand exactly what was going on, didn't smoke weed, and hate reggae), and the mythos of the band along with...literally everything else had me fall deep for this weird side project of Damon Albarn's, but I'd never seen them live. To cut right to it, it was a Gorillaz show. For their songs that had music videos, they played those in the background...each one about a second out of sync with the audio, which was very distracting. Aside from that, there were two huge drawbacks, first, the people. I retain that the biggest problem at concerts, the biggest problem with mass transit, the biggest problem with this world as we know it is the people that trundle and slump across its face. Well, I've never flip flopped on that...
The poeple were just...CONSTANTLY MOVING. THIS IS TONIGHT'S HEADLINER! THESE ARE THE ARTISTS YOU CAME TO SEE! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO, HEAD DOWN, EYES SLIDING OVER YOUR PHONES.
You kids...with your Saturday night, post-Gorillaz plans...
Second problem, "Sex Murder Party". Even though, in my original review of Humanz I said that, while I didn't love the album, I understood it was a great album...well...I don't know now. "Sex Murder Party" is a singular song. A singular song that should never be played live. Especially with an added two minute break down, further fucking up the flow of the entire set. It was like placing a black hole in the middle of a wedding reception right between cake and coffee.
However, I got to see Gorillaz live. And, while Albarn and Hewlett have yet to master the human vs animated live balance and I don't know if they ever will and the show desperately needed more Murdoc and Noodle, I saw Gorillaz live. Don't know if I would see them again unless I loved the album they were supporting and they were not headlining a fucking festival, but "El Manana" is still an incredible song.

Marilyn Manson - Heaven Upside Down
Oh man, I am so happy about this album. Review is here.**
For context, here are my reviews of his albums/singles before this.
Born Villain
"Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge"
"Deep Six"
The Pale Emperor

Along with everything else last month, Tori released her newest, Native Invader. I'll be completely honest; this got a bit lost in the shuffle. I have listened to it and there is a lot of artistry here, but nothing grabbed me on my first handful of playthroughs. This doesn't mean something won't, it just means I need more time with it.

But, speaking of talented female artists...call me infatuated. Maybe I am. But, here's the thing, I should be. Everyone should be. Her voice is smoked honey and she's not doing the normal, boring thing all the singers with smoked honey voices are doing with their smoked honey voices. I met her in a star-lit room in Brooklyn. Here's my review of her debut single as Kat Cunning. Skip the review if you must, but listen to the song.

And, finally, still reeling from the shock and confusion of the end of its third season (and, perhaps, its end period?), the two musical accompaniments to Twin Peaks: The Return are out and I reviewed them both. Got a little unhinged with these... Here are my reviews of both the soundtrack and the score. I was thinking about reviewing the album of collected ambient noises and soundscraps that filled in the gaps between the talking, soundtrack, and score, but come on, I don't want to come off as obsessed...

Next month new Beck and new St. Vincent! What have I done to deserve such happy?!?!?! Also, last month, I purchased a little collector's box of all of Ian Dury's albums, Might dig into that when I need a break from reality.
Or maybe Blogger with become sentient, invent time travel and go back to erase Ian Dury from the timeline.
Either way.
Blogger can eat a missive bit-dick.

*...em...bee...gee...sorry.

** Unformatted because the site I occasionally review for is, more often than not, janked like a motherfucker.

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - August 2017

Nine Inch Nails
The Add Violence physical components are here and lordy lord lord...
While there might not be an ARG this time around on the scale of what happened ten years ago, there's definitely something deep going on here...
Check out the videos for "Less Than" and "This Isn't The Place", and then these pictures of the AV physical component and, just...shit, man...extrapolate.
It is, once again, a very exciting time to be a Nine Inch Nails fan.

But. I must mention Sandbag. How to frame this...okay, you know, I'll just try and be succinct.
Back in December, NIN announced a new EP and a bunch of vinyl reissues. All that shit was supposed to be handled by a merch store called Firebrand. After they just absolutely fucked everything up, in June Reznor made an announcement they things were being taken care of and an apology. Cut to- Sandbag. They were now handling things, including NEW merch as well as the shit people ordered back in December. They were gracious and said things like: "if you want a refund, just click here and we'll get that taken care of" and they offered a 20% off your next order thing and all that, but we are Nine Inch Nails fans. We don't want apologies or refunds, we want the music Trent Reznor makes in the format which Trent Reznor chooses to make it. So a lot of people just decided to wait...
I'll skip the gory details but after the time it takes to gestate a human being, I finally received my order, placed in December of last year. And it was damaged.
Long story less long- Reznor is about to switch to yet another online retailer and actually reached out to fans on the unofficially official NIN forums to get their good online merch experiences in order to inform his next move.
Ugh.
What a diarrhea expo.

Anyway, the 90 minute, 2-disc score for Ken Burns' The Vietnam War is dropping in about two weeks and I'll be reviewing it. Word is there are several tracks from the Dragon Tattoo score that have been reworked for this, so we'll see exactly how much "new" music there actually is.

Beck
It's official! The ecstatic summer jam record of 2015 is finally coming! October 13th, 2017! WOOOO! SUMMER IN OCTOBER!!!!!
The biggest issue with Colors isn't going to be its 40+ minute run time, or the fact that its first single came out over two years ago, or even the fact that, by the time it's finally released, we're really only getting 60% of a new Beck album*...it's all these things laid out next to the fact that this fucking thing was supposed to be out OVER TWO YEARS AGO. While I completely understand that time does not exist for Beck as it does for every other person on this planet, he exists (at least sometimes) in our world and must, occasionally, follow its rules. While the wait was not as bad as with Cake's Showroom of Compassion, because Colors only took three and a half years and because Morning Phase was absolutely amazing, this kind of fuckery has got to stop. This could have been completely avoided if they'd not continually announced release windows and just let us wait in meaty, sullen silence.
In anticipation of the new album, a crazy shitton of pre-order stuff has been posted on the Beck site**, along with a pretty fantastic lyric video for "Dear Life". While the video is fantastic, the song is merely good, only becoming awesome in the last twenty seconds wherein Beck gets all choral wit hisself. Here's hoping for more of that.
When it comes out****, I'll review it.
And then get grumpy.

St. Vincent
The video for "New York" is out and it's just absolutely beautiful. Man. Just watch it.
No album news yet, but I still feel like it's coming soon...even though I said that, like, two months ago.

Next month, that new Reznor/Ross review as well as reviews of those two Twin Peaks records: music from the Bang Bang Bar and the new score.

* "Dreams" - released 6/15/15
   "WOW" - released 6/2/16
   "Up All Night" - "released" 9/2016
   "Dear Life" - released 8/24/17

** Including a bundle which comes with two copies of the album on vinyl (regular, boring, bullshit, plebeian, black vinyl, and awesome-rad-cocaine-on-your-cock-and-asshole colored vinyl!!!), the CD, a shirt, a pin, a prism (eyes rolling), and a fucking kaleidoscope (eyes gone). Look, dude, no one wants these things***, just release more albums more often.

*** YES I PRE-ORDERED THE FUCKING KALEIDOSCOPE BUNDLE FUCK YOU

**** If it comes out...

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - July 2017

Nine Inch Nails
Hoo doggy...

First and foremost, the new EP, Add Violence, is just stunning, with or without knowing its place in the Year Zero universe. There's a rock solid single in "Less Than", and then a bunch of weird, experimental, beautiful, horrible shit afterwards*. No idea how they're going to top this for the third and final entry into the trilogy. It's going to be a long, dark six month wait...
Full review here.

Also, I saw NIN two nights in a row: first at the final day of Panorama and then, the next night, at their secret show at Webster Hall. Yes, I am very, very cool and should be envied.

Panorama

When you can silence tens of thousands of sweaty, drunken people with your music at age 52, you know you’re still relevant. When you do it four times in 90 minutes, you know you’re Trent fucking Reznor. Nine Inch Nails' set, which closed out the three day music and technology festival, began with intensifying, ominous noise while the “NIN" logo slowly formed on two massive screens flanking the stage, then, just as the panic-inducing cacophony was about to overwhelm the crowd, it cut out and a voice spoke: “yes, everyone seems to be asleep”. Suddenly, Reznor was storming his way to the microphone, dressed in aviators and a leather jacket, set to burn the world down.

The band, with new addition, Atticus Ross on bass and synths, perfectly captured the fury and chaos of "Burning Bright”, lyrical clarity be damned; you didn’t need to understand the words, you just needed to know that whatever Reznor was screaming through that megaphone was absolutely fucking venomous. "Less Than”, the lead single from their most recent EP Add Violence, came off very strong, but not as towering and powerful as the album version. “Reptile" was as loud and destructive as always, transporting the entire audience of thousands back to 1994 for about seven minutes. It was also great to see "Gave Up" back on the roster, the live performances of that have always been some of the most bladed moments of the NIN live experience. And anyone not weeping openly when Bowie's vocals joined Reznor's on “I Can’t Give Everything Away" was either not human or...no, just that, not human. Sadly, Reznor still relies on his “The Show Is Almost Over” trio of “The Hand That Feeds” into “Head Like A Hole” into “Hurt”, three songs that mean nothing to me anymore and can’t possibly mean anything to him at this point.

This was the third of a small handful of dates Nine Inch Nails are playing this year before embarking on a world tour in early 2018 and, if this was any indication, whatever they come up with in the new year is going to be more than worth the wait.

Webster Hall

In town for the Panorama music festival, Nine Inch Nails decided to drop by Webster Hall with Tobacco, fill it with fog, and slowly asphyxiate everyone inside with heat and punishingly loud music. While the size of the venue made it the definition of intimate (about a 1200-person capacity), it was more than that; Reznor forewent the subtle costuming from the festival shows and, right before introducing the band, stated “you know who they are”. And that was true. The show was announced on the Nine Inch Nails Facebook page eight and a half hours before doors, with tickets only available to fans who had a password or to those “loyal nin.com store patrons” via an email from the band. 

The show featured the live debut of “She’s Gone Away”** and a few welcome surprises in the form of the tour debut of “Sanctified”, “1,000,000” and “Somewhat Damaged”, that last as the opener. Then there was the odd inclusion of about thirty seconds of How To Destroy Angels’ “The loop closes”. Since all of HTDA was there and on stage except for Mariqueen Maandig, the crowd was expecting a rare treat, but before everyone could really grasp what was happening, they stopped playing it and moved onto the next track. “Gave Up”, “Reptile” and “Burning Bright" were devastating  in the confined space and the addition of “Survivalism” had people screaming along and pumping their fists like protestors. The moment when all the lights went out during “Burn" was truly terrifying; I thought Robin Finck was going to leap off the stage and stab me to death with a shard of shattered guitar, which, admittedly, would have been a pretty awesome way to die. Proximity, energy, and setlist aside, my absolute favorite moment of this evening was that, for the first time since I started seeing Nine Inch Nails almost twenty years ago…they did not. Fucking. Play “The Hand That Feeds”. The simple lack of that overused, cookie-cutter, threadbare-kitchen-rug of a song made this show stand out more than anything in recent memory.

I am truly grateful. 

And spoiled.

Small gallery of Webster Hall here.

Beck
Some website has a title and release date for Beck's new one, specifically October 13th and Colors. I could buy that. Although I won't believe until I hear it and am disappointed at its length and the ratio of wait to reward.

New Tori Amos song, "Cloud Rider"...while the lyrics are just rife with story and a hidden depth, the music is...a bit...powdery....is the word that keeps popping into my head. I don't know if that's an outright bad thing, it's just...I don't know...powdery. See and hear for yourself here.

Also, a new Garbage song, "No Horses". In a nutshell, it does what all of Depeche Mode's Spirit was trying to do, but better and in about five and a half minutes. It's dark and intense and fucked up but I really wish Manson didn't say "no horses" so many times. It gets irritating. But I suppose when it's for a cause (all proceeds go to the Kickstarter to have the Angry Marmalade Pancake Man assassinated...or the International Committee for the Red Cross...one of those)...that doesn't matter? Because, like, if you complain about a song that's made for a cause...it's a bit like you're not supporting the cause for which the song has been created?

Anyway.

They made a video too. 
It's prophetic and disturbing as fuck.

Oh, and while I had my (fucking goddamn fucking 4th row center) ticket to see Garbage play at the Beacon last week, I booked a fucking on camera commercial. Which shot in fucking Baltimore. And required me to shave my fucking arms and legs. And I missed the show. Furious because the set was something I'd been dreaming of for years. 
Fuck you, career.

Finally, Gorillaz just put out a fun, disco-riffic video for "Strobelite", a song which, as far as I can tell, does not feature the Gorillaz at all. Whatever the case, seeing Murdoc leer at the camera and 2D and Noodle dance together is all I need. Ever. 
Watch here with your eyes.

* Except for the end of "The Background World".

** From that episode of Twin Peaks.