en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices quaint_presence's Last.fm Journal http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal The Last.fm journal for quaint_presence. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. 20 Best Albums Ever (Revised & Final Personal List 2008) http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/12/28/2d0n0d_20_best_albums_ever_%2528revised_%2526_final_personal_list_2008%2529 Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:05:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/12/28/2d0n0d_20_best_albums_ever_%2528revised_%2526_final_personal_list_2008%2529 20. J Dilla – Donuts
19. Jim Guthrie- Now, More Than Ever
18.Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
17.The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
16.Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
15.Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted
14.Sigur Ros– Takk…
13.David Bowie –Low
12.Sufjan Stevens – Come on Feel the Illinoise
11. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time
10.Wilco– Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
9.Talking Heads –Remain in Light
8.My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
7.Paul Simon – Graceland
6.Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
5.The Zombies – Odessey & Oracle
4.Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand
3.The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
2. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1.My Bloody Valentine – Loveless]]> Tortoise 2008 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/09/07/25i7of_tortoise_2008 Sun, 7 Sep 2008 02:03:31 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/09/07/25i7of_tortoise_2008 Fri 5 Sep – Tortoise, Sandro Perri

Sandro Perri wasn't very good, but Tortoise, the band I went to see, got me dancing and sweating in a way I've never before in a concert.]]> Top 25 Albums Ever (2008 Personal* List) http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/09/02/258tse_top_25_albums_ever_%282008_personal%2A_list%29 Tue, 2 Sep 2008 16:27:57 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/09/02/258tse_top_25_albums_ever_%282008_personal%2A_list%29 25. Battles - Mirrored
24. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
23. Sigur Rós - Takk... (220)
22. J Dilla - Donuts
21. Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise!
20. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
19. Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun
18. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
17.Tortoise - TNT
16. The Knife - Silent Shout
15.Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
14. FemBots - The City
13. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
12. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
11. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
10. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
9. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
8. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
7. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
6. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
4. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
3. Jim Guthrie - Now, More Than Ever
2. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

top albums generator »
]]> On "Marry Me" by St. Vincent http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/19/215rbt_on_%22marry_me%22_by_st._vincent Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:43:10 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/19/215rbt_on_%22marry_me%22_by_st._vincent I discovered independent and underground music too late. Though I've always known what it's tasted like, it took years for it to fully blossom, and that year was 2007 when I purchased my first two indie records, one of them being St. Vincent's fantastic "Marry Me." The review is long overdue, but it's taken countless revisits for me to be undoubtedly convinced that the album in subject is as great as I claim it is. It's one of the first albums that led me to believe - as surely as the Pope believes in God - that independent music has a charm, complexity and quality that surpasses what goes for quality mainstream today. So, what is it about Annie Clark's music that thrills me so?

Oh, that's right - Annie Clark. The latter is the lady who spearheads St. Vincent, and to answer the question without further ado: It's her eccentric compositions that thrill me so. Marry Me never stands still. It begins with the morose, agitated yet cooly collected Now Now, a track that is sure to stand out with the double vocals: One is Annie, focused on her statements, and the other is what must be the voice inside her head, clearly disgruntled. Many things are done right here, the first being Annie's vocals - soulful, often somber, and always on-key - perfectly coupled with her lyric's content and pacing, carried by the aforementioned eccentricity in the music. Though, said eccentricity only lasts for the first half of the disk - the second half beginning with Landmines - until it subsides to chamber-pop: mellow, soulful, and given the content of the closer What Me Worry, forgiving of the subject that made her cross in the first place. Not all is right with Annie as the album closes, as the music, no matter how low-key, feels a mite unsettling and mocking, a thought cemented by the triangle ding! heard at its very end, as if Annie winked at its listeners, promising that her story isn't over yet.

How fortunate we will all be if her story is indeed just beginning. "Marry Me" barely pushes the 40 minute mark, making this an easy album to digest in a first listen, but one which gets better as it becomes more familiar, and as time goes by. The album takes the listener through some jumps, loops and twists, so be sure to give it a listen if you want to be part of that. It's not mind blowing, but it is insatiable. If all is right with the universe, expect Annie to get better as the years go by.]]> On "Avalanche" by Matthew Good http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/14/20uott_on_%22avalanche%22_by_matthew_good Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:48:33 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/14/20uott_on_%22avalanche%22_by_matthew_good Chances are that if you are a Matthew Good fan, then you have already branded one of his records as your favourites, depending on which Matthew Good era you grew up with (with the Band or post Band). Chances continue to be this: If you were to ask a Matthew Good fan which record is their favourite, they will name it, and if it is not Avalanche then they will admit that despite the fact, it is still Matthew Good's strongest effort.

Here's why: His collaborations. Good employs the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for Avalanche, and how fortunate are his listeners for it. Good's vocals have always transcended his immediate musical surroundings, but never has his voice soared as high as it does here, aided in no small part by the Orchestra's strings and the sound escapes they create. The songs here are haunting, along with the vocals crisp, clear, and if you are listening to the album correctly - say, in your room, on your lonesome with your headphones on - smothering. By this I mean that the album will make your surroundings less significant than they were the second before the disk began spinning, and its somber demeanour will entrance you, probably against your will.

Or they may just liberate you.

His music has always been powerful, though many have tended to ignore it due to his irritating persona. His past efforts are never as powerful in comparison to what Avalanche accomplishes, and as such it may throw some Good haters off guard, forcing them to be quiet and listen to what the man must be alluding to in each track.

It's the record I have owned the longest, and you really owe yourself to listen to it.]]> On "TNT" by Tortoise http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/13/20u4au_on_%22tnt%22_by_tortoise Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:07:55 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/13/20u4au_on_%22tnt%22_by_tortoise 1998 was a great year for independent music. Audiences were treated to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over The Sea and Boards of Canada's Music has the Right to Children, both alongside the album in-subject: TNT by Tortoise. The music here is as eclectic and interesting as the album cover and its back sleeve suggest.

Here, the sound is epic, going through twists and turns but never ending up in a different place than it had begun, nor do any of the tracks sound very significantly unlike each-other, except for Almost Always is Nearly Enough, which is much more electronica and a lot less minimalist [kraut]rock. The album is also submerged in Progressive rock, evident in the way that each track flows from one to another, and in-between there are two tracks with the multiple-day interval motif (Ten day and Four day intervals, respectively in order). This is all instrumental, however, so there is no actual narrative, though each song is arranged in good order.

The fault in having all of the songs blend so perfectly into the other, whilst each track does very little to differentiate from its peers, is that there isn't much that stands out. On the flip side, the album feels like a complete whole, like no track in this collection could have belonged in any other Tortoise effort, not as easily as they do here.

Due to its progressive nature, the album is best digested over time, after multiple listen-throughs, and even better in brief, yet attentive, bursts.

A first listen-through will leave a great impression in the listener, beginning with the incredible first track, also titled TNT. Its quirks, sounds and rhythm will loop in the brains of its listeners, and thus will make said listener feel like they have to come back and get a better taste of the TNT.

Definitely a record worth looking out for if you are a fan of music that grows on you.]]> Recently Rediscovered "Night Falls Over Kortedala" by Jens Lekman http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/12/20rx8j_recently_rediscovered_%22night_falls_over_kortedala%22_by_jens_lekman Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:15:36 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/12/20rx8j_recently_rediscovered_%22night_falls_over_kortedala%22_by_jens_lekman I've always enjoyed this record, but the excitement of the first listen-through tired me out for a long time, evident for the fact that I haven't listened to any of the songs in a few months.

Then, something compelled me to listen to the album once again, and its like listening to it for the first time, though with a slight sense of familiarity for all the tracks.

I've always thought that some of the songs are so light and bouncy that they remind me of the jingles played in Christmas songs, but these are clearly summer songs. The most apparent example comes in the form of "Your Arms Around Me," which briefly reminds of a Christmas tune, but the lyrics describe hot places and sensual states of being.

I've never been happier to have bought this record than now.]]> On "Endalaust" by Sigur Ros http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/10/20n10c_on_%22endalaust%22_by_sigur_ros_ Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:11:46 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/quaint_presence/journal/2008/06/10/20n10c_on_%22endalaust%22_by_sigur_ros_ Also known, and appropriately as "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust" (in all its bastardized Icelandic), Sigur Ros' latest full-length, all-original endeavor is going to thin out and create more fans, more successfully in both aspects than Takk... its predecessor, and ( ) before it.

Assuming that the core of Sigur Ros' audience was summoned by Agaetis Byrjun, their sophomore, break-through, somnambulist, Amiina-stringed album (and other wonderful nouns).

If people loved Byrjun for its immersing feel, then they hated ( ) for trying to emulate such feel by slowing the pace and removing the core instruments, making the album drag. Takk... was pivotal in that it wasn't wholly immersing, it really wasn't trying to be, but it was accessible, and people who were not fans before were seduced that time around, which made some older fans jealous, and very angry. The strings were simplified, as were the sound escapes. They weren't the band that older fans had come to know.


And then they come out with Endalaust. It immediately sounds like nothing Sigur Ros has done before. Here, they are at their most accessible, if you stick to the first few tracks. The tracks after Festival are much slower, reminiscing on ( ), but they aren't all bad, they are just unnecessary edit: not unnecessary, just a lot slower than what the first few tracks promised - and the rest of the album could have done more if Sigur Ros had stuck to the demeanour of tracks like Gobbledigook and the other three that follow.

Its as if Sigur Ros started running and slowed their pace to a jog, then completely fell asleep on the sidewalk by the end.

It's not a terrible record, just not one as organic and complete as Agaetis Byrjun, or even Takk...]]>