restartingfrog

Pop that sounds like it's "from the future" is quite the rage these days. Hyperpop, characterized by distorted, abrasive synths, metallic percussion, and general obnoxiousness, is deemed the pop of the future. I guess we'll evolve as a species to tolerate more ugly sounds. Now, I don't hate all hyperpop. I very rarely dislike an entire genre of music. I'm just a little irritated by the tendency to slap everything abrasive or unconventional with the label of pop from 2050, or from ... read more

"The dead know what they're doing when they leave this world behind".

Purple Mountains was my introduction to David Berman's music, and I believe it still remains his best project. I love Silver Jews, but here is where he truly flourished, and it saddens me deeply that his life was cut short before this could be built upon.

This album followed a hiatus from music that spanned a decade, and Berman's return saw him back to his old self-deprecating self. This album is brutally ... read more

Ok Computer doesn't feel like the dystopian nightmare it's often billed as. What do I mean by that? Well, the lyrics brilliantly explore themes related to the rising influence of technology in our lives, but it wasn't until Kid A that this fear and paranoia would fully cause the music itself to sound just as dystopian as the lyrics. What we get on Ok Computer is a set of achingly beautiful pop songs, raging , often awe inspiring rock songs, and some stuff that just can't be pinned down.

Every ... read more

A problem I tend to have with a lot of prog is that it sounds like it's trying much too hard. The endless switch ups, key changes, technical guitar soloing, etc, gets on my nerves. It feels like an effort to live up the "progressive" label as much as possible while forgoing actually writing good music. Not so with Close to the Edge.

The first track here is a true masterpiece. As opposed to the tiresome prog tropes I outlined earlier, this track is so fluid and natural. Each section ... read more