F*ck this sh*t, I'm getting out the bullets...
Odelay by Beck
*Didn't like this album when I first heard it in '96. I was real depressed at the time. Re-visited it about 6 months later and loved it. Came to think of Beck as rock's Great White Hope at one point (This hasn't exactly panned out, but whatever...)
*Has a "Beastie-Boys-meet-Captain-Beefheart-at-a-roller-skating-party" kind of vibe to it.
*Has some great little phrases like "flashdance asspants" and "smokestack blacktop novacane boy"
*Fun, funky, still fresh; great beats, great use of sampling (I love the use of Van Morrison's Them -covering Bob Dylan- on "Jackass")
*Has an exotic dog performing an impressive feat on the album cover
*Personally regard this as Beck's crowning achievement thus far in his career and one of the true high points of 90's pop rock
*Couldn't believe how much I enjoyed listening to this when I pulled it out last week. It's still in the glove box CD rotation.
*Why the hell didn't I put this on my list?
Uncle Eric's Overall Album Rating: 4.5 (My highest grade yet...)
The Album with the Butts on It by Sigur Ros
*Didn't really like these guys when I first heard them circa 2002; I think the album I got was ( ). (That is probably their most easily pronounced album title.) Thought they were too glacially paced, without enough solid beats I could grab on to, and also overly dramatic at times
*However, this album sounded different than I expected, at least for the first few tracks. "Poppier" might be pushing it; "more consistently energetic" might be closer. But things definitely slowed down to a crawl again by mid-album...
*Has a "Bjork-in-a-mellow-mood-meets-Coldplay-on-the-set-of-a-romantic-indie-drama" kind of vibe to it. This could be your thing; it is not mine.
*Has a lot of indecipherable Icelandic lyrics, often sung in falsetto, like "[Insert indecipherable Icelandic lyric here]"
*The sound is pretty (but precious), grand, almost over-the-top dramatic/ theatrical at times
*Has naked man-ass on the album cover
*Felt a huge sense of relief when I finally made it through the whole thing (Never a good sign...)
*A quick note about the language: I do enjoy listening to many non-English lyrics, even if I don't know how to translate them. My wife has gotten me interested in a lot of current Spanish-language pop (Check out Bomba Estereo, Calle 13, Julieta Venegas), I have enjoyed both traditional and contemporary Indian music (even before "Slumdog Millionaire" came out), and I regard Serge Gainsbourg as some kind of Gallic-pervert-genius. However, Icelandic, at least as I heard it on this album, almost sounds too much like English...And thus, I often found my brain trying to de-code what these fellas are prattling on about, but all I could come up with is gibberish. This experience reminded me of Italian artist Adriano Celetano's wonderful 1973 song/ video "Prisencolinensinainciusol", in which he has composed non-linguistic gibberish following the phonological rules of English to sound like actual "English"...Now that's a catchy song.
Odelay by Beck
*Didn't like this album when I first heard it in '96. I was real depressed at the time. Re-visited it about 6 months later and loved it. Came to think of Beck as rock's Great White Hope at one point (This hasn't exactly panned out, but whatever...)
*Has a "Beastie-Boys-meet-Captain-Beefheart-at-a-roller-skating-party" kind of vibe to it.
*Has some great little phrases like "flashdance asspants" and "smokestack blacktop novacane boy"
*Fun, funky, still fresh; great beats, great use of sampling (I love the use of Van Morrison's Them -covering Bob Dylan- on "Jackass")
*Has an exotic dog performing an impressive feat on the album cover
*Personally regard this as Beck's crowning achievement thus far in his career and one of the true high points of 90's pop rock
*Couldn't believe how much I enjoyed listening to this when I pulled it out last week. It's still in the glove box CD rotation.
*Why the hell didn't I put this on my list?
Uncle Eric's Overall Album Rating: 4.5 (My highest grade yet...)
The Album with the Butts on It by Sigur Ros
*Didn't really like these guys when I first heard them circa 2002; I think the album I got was ( ). (That is probably their most easily pronounced album title.) Thought they were too glacially paced, without enough solid beats I could grab on to, and also overly dramatic at times
*However, this album sounded different than I expected, at least for the first few tracks. "Poppier" might be pushing it; "more consistently energetic" might be closer. But things definitely slowed down to a crawl again by mid-album...
*Has a "Bjork-in-a-mellow-mood-meets-Coldplay-on-the-set-of-a-romantic-indie-drama" kind of vibe to it. This could be your thing; it is not mine.
*Has a lot of indecipherable Icelandic lyrics, often sung in falsetto, like "[Insert indecipherable Icelandic lyric here]"
*The sound is pretty (but precious), grand, almost over-the-top dramatic/ theatrical at times
*Has naked man-ass on the album cover
*Felt a huge sense of relief when I finally made it through the whole thing (Never a good sign...)
*A quick note about the language: I do enjoy listening to many non-English lyrics, even if I don't know how to translate them. My wife has gotten me interested in a lot of current Spanish-language pop (Check out Bomba Estereo, Calle 13, Julieta Venegas), I have enjoyed both traditional and contemporary Indian music (even before "Slumdog Millionaire" came out), and I regard Serge Gainsbourg as some kind of Gallic-pervert-genius. However, Icelandic, at least as I heard it on this album, almost sounds too much like English...And thus, I often found my brain trying to de-code what these fellas are prattling on about, but all I could come up with is gibberish. This experience reminded me of Italian artist Adriano Celetano's wonderful 1973 song/ video "Prisencolinensinainciusol", in which he has composed non-linguistic gibberish following the phonological rules of English to sound like actual "English"...Now that's a catchy song.
Uncle Eric's Overall Album Rating: 2.9
Odelay wins!
I don't take any pleasure at all at correcting you, Eric, but I feel it necessary to point out that Sigur Ros does not sing in Icelandic. They sing in Vonlenska or, as we English-speakers translate it, Hopelandic. From Wikipedia: "Vonlenska is a non-literal language, without fixed syntax, and differs from constructed languages that can be used for communication. It focuses entirely on the sounds of language; lacking grammar, meaning, and even distinct words. Instead, it consists of emotive syllables and phonemes; in effect, Vonlenska uses the melodic and rhythmic elements of singing without the conceptual content of language. In this way, it is similar to the use of scat singing in vocal jazz."
ReplyDeleteSo maybe you should reconsider your rating. This bit of information is bound to send it through the roof, fond as you are of all things linguistic.
Oh, my dear Lord. Thank you for the correction, Bruce.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that makes me like it even less. Where I say they are "pretty (but precious)", please add "And very pretentious". Perhaps, however, this explains why their language doesn't sound "foreign" enough. I much prefer Cab Calloway to this. Oogadaboogadaboogadeeboo.
I take no pleasure in correcting you, Bruce; however, after closer inspection of the Wikipedia article which you cite, I find it necessary to point out that Sigur Ros DO, in fact, often sing in Icelandic, only lapsing into "Hopelandic" on occasion and for certain songs. (With the exception of the album ( ), which is apparently sung entirely in Hopelandic.)
ReplyDelete"The Album with the Butts on It" does have one song sung completely in Hopelandic ("Festival"...probably my least favorite track...I didn't think it would ever end) and 4 others with some Hopelandic "phrases" in them.
I also did fail to mention that the album does contain one track in English (apparently their first), so none of my ranting applies to that.
I really hate to, but I must correct you because you have poopy pants and doody on your head. Poopy pantsed doody head.
ReplyDeleteYou got me on that one, B. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pair of underpants to change...
ReplyDeleteBTW that video was wonderful ROTFLMAO. POS.
ReplyDeleteNot to interrupt the real special thing you have got going here, Eric and Bruce, but I just wanted to say that, Eric, while I can't agree with your decision here, I consider the title of your post a pretty great consolation prize.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane:) I really wish I could like Sigur Ros more, but I'm just trying to keep it real. And no worries: Bruce and I can pick up our real special thing right where we left off. (Aside: "Right, B? You big hairy Missourian, you. I've got my clean undies on now. Are you ready to rumble?!")
ReplyDeleteClean undies!? My knees are shaking now.
ReplyDelete