Blink-182: Neighborhoods (2011)

“Neighborhoods” is Blink-182’s first album in nine years and it is well known as soon as the album begins you feel like you're listening to a new era of Blink-182 music, long gone are the silly song titles and album titles.

What you're given is a rejuvenated band with a new message and style, it does seem Blink-182 has grown up after all. Now Tom Delonge has incorporated his sounds from Angels &Airwaves into this album since it is his other band he had formed during Blink’s hiatus but at the same time, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker formed +44 around the same Delonge formed Angels & Airwaves.

Angels & Airwaves are still together and have a new album out for November, +44 are on hiatus for the time being but would love to make another album whenever possible.

As for the album, “Neighborhoods” it was well worth that wait, from the opening track Ghost on the Dance Floor, Delonge’s influence on the album is well noted with the space rock airy sound the song conveys while the song brings back classic blink lyrics of lost love and missed opportunities

Barker’s drumming is sensational throughout the album setting the perfect tone and beat and rhythm to every song on the album not to mention he absolutely just goes all out on the drums through the album.

Sprinkled in are songs all Blink fans will love from Natives to Snake Charmer to Wishing Well, it’s the perfect meshing of the new Blink-182 and the old Blink-182. The overall theme of the album is somewhat dark compared to former albums with songs dealing with personal demons, temptation, regret and lost hope but the lyrics are so powerful and work so well, in the end it’s one of the albums strong suits.

My favorite track on the album is Kaleidoscope which has a beautiful chorus that Delonge sings "It's the first time that I'm worried of a bad dream of a journey on the highway through the valley, It's a long road through the night, It's a long road to get it right". I just love that chorus because it sums up the bands hiatus perfectly and I think the song is about Blink’s past which was a long road to get right and I think they finally got on the right path.

“Neighborhoods” is a new mature darker Blink-182 but old or new fans alike, I recommend this album. If you like classic Blink-182 you’ll find something you’ll like, If you like the newer experimental Blink-182 and their side projects, then this album should be one you check out. Either way, you can’t go wrong because this album was well worth the wait.

Primus- Green Naugahyde (2011)

Primus are back with their first full-length album after nearly twelve years and approximately 4,700 Les Claypool side projects. Green Naugahyde marks a return to form for the band in more way than one. Original drummer Jay Lane is back and is finally on his first Primus recording featuring original songs (no, Riddles Are Abound Tonight doesn’t count). According to Claypool, Lane was the one who wrote many of the drum parts in Primus’ early albums, and this should be of no surprise to anybody who has listened to this album. Lane’s playing is reminiscent of Tim Alexander, the man who pounded the skins on the band’s first four albums. But the similarities to their early work don’t end there. Les and Ler are back to doing what made them famous, but of course you can’t really revisit the past.

The first reports of Green Naugahyde described it as being similar to the band’s debut album Frizzle Fry. This was welcome news to me as that is my favorite Primus album but I was skeptical they would make an album that conventional (relatively conventional, of course). Frizzle Fry is Primus’ most metal-sounding album and features the least flashy bass playing from Claypool. For large chunks of songs he and the guitar are playing the same patterns, which becomes a rarity on later albums. On Green Naugahyde? Not so much. On this one Claypool is his flashy self and uses some of the same tones on his very out-there solo album Of Fungi and Foe. That’s not to say he is above riffs, however. Many of the patterns are repeated and some of the best riffs are done with his patented Flamenco strumming, which were especially highlighted in their early albums.

No, Claypool doesn’t follow the guitar like on their debut (Or was it the guitar that followed him? Eh, that’s not important). But why should he? That was over twenty years ago. Claypool gave a very poignant quote in Rolling Stone last June:

“A song like ‘Jilly's on Smack’ just wouldn't have been written in the early Nineties, because we hadn't lost a friend to heroin addiction. A song like ‘Lee Van Cleef’ which is reflective of my youth just wouldn't have been written back then.”

Yes, they are still Primus. But in the last twenty years they have learned lessons, musical and otherwise, that have helped shape their sound.

Don’t let that last paragraph discourage you. This is most certainly a Primus album. Who else but Primus can get away with a song called “Eyes of the Squirrel?” Claypool’s not-too-specific-but-still funny social commentary is back with songs like “Moron TV” and “Eternal Consumption Engine,” and we even get a new installment the Fisherman’s Chronicles. And just like a Primus album, it loses steam near the end. I could have done without “Extinction Burst” and I probably would have been okay with missing “HOINFODAMAN” and “Green Ranger.” But still, eight good songs out of eleven is not a bad ratio. Green Naugahyde is a little bit of the same and a little bit different, which is to say that is a lot different than anything else you’ll hear this year.

Happy birthday to our beloved contributor Will

He turns the big old 21 today, have fun bro.

This one goes out to you

Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne (2011)

Favorite tracks:

. That's My Bitch - Great sample, great beat, excellent hook by Elly Jackson. Justin Vernon's cameo is disturbingly cool.

"How can somethin’ so gangsta be so pretty in pictures? With jeans and a blazer and some Louboutin slippers"

. Otis - Exactly what I expect from Kanye & Jay. The two of them riding a soul sample trying to one-up each other, while complimenting each other in the process. Jay's opening verse and Kanye's second verse in particular are quite captivating.
"Luxury rap, the Hermes of verses,sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive; I get it custom, you a customer, you ain’t ‘customed to going through Customs, you ain’t been nowhere, huh?"

. Murder to Excellence - Not sure what to say about this one, it's just a really solid track with a nice beat change in the middle. More of Kanye & Jay complimenting each other's style.

"Black excellence, opulence, decadence; Tuxes next to the president, I'm present"

. Why I Love You - The grandiose production really works on this one. Mr Hudson's hook is arguably the most memorable of the year. Kanye plays second fiddle quite nicely.

"Fuck you squares, The circle got smaller; The castle got bigger, The walls got taller"

. Illest Motherfucker Alive - Not really one of my favorites, but there are some killer one-liners on this one.

"Fuck your awards like Eddie Murphy’s couch; The Roc is in the building we should have stayed in the house"

"Know when to leave when the heat is coming, I learned that; This is where DiNero would be if he ain’t turn back"

. Primetime - No I.D continues his amazing year with another terrific beat.

"Well, Adam gave up a rib so mine better be prime; Niggas gon kill me, I swear they better be lying; I never live in fear, I’m too out of my mind"

The Joy - Originally a G.O.O.D. Friday track, it works nicely as a bonus track. Pete Rock really brings out the soul with the Curtis Mayfield sample in this one. And Jay's flow is great, one of the best he'd had in a while.

"Give all glory to Gloria; They said you raised that boy too fast, but you was raising a warrior"

Though lacking consistency and initially a bit underwhelming, Watch the Throne has some great high points and lasting replay value. As with any Kanye project, the production is the highlight of the album. Though both Jay and Kanye had some great moments and chemistry, they failed to meet the standards that their past collaborations have set. Most of the guest features fit into their retrospective tracks well, with Elly Jackson and Mr Hudson being the standouts. It probably won't get my pick for album of the year, but I certainly won't have forgotten about it by December.

wiki

A Resignation and a Relatively Short Goodbye

Well, this is it.

A little over a year ago, we started this blog with little expectations except to share music with our friends on IGN. We essentially made it as a little project that grew out of a thread that gauged interest as to how many would like to see a music blog from other IGN users. As someone who's always had an interest in writing and is studying journalism in college, I signed up immediately to write.

When the site was created late on June 30th, 2010, it started quietly but began to grow over the next month, garnering around 3,750 views of the site. As someone who's never owned or been the administrator of a site before, I thought this was pretty neat even if it wasn't a high number.

I had no idea that, despite a large dive in activity, we'd garner 34,000 views in June this year and accumulate 118,000 views over the past year.

For that, I'd like to thank every single one of you who's checked out this site because you've helped us make improvements. You've helped me improve my writing. You've helped us all, certainly.

To those readers, I want to apologize. I want to apologize for the lack of activity from me and the other writers. I know I could have done a better job. Because I don't have nearly any time for LPC anymore, I've decided to resign from the site and leave The Red Agent as your lone administrator.

I'm doing this because of changes in my personal life (nothing bad, though; it's for the better), because I'm leaving IGN at the same time, and because of many other variables. I don't really want to leave the site, but it's time that I give up my position to a more deserving writer who wants to contribute and make LPC an active site again.

I don't have any regrets of my time on the site because all of you made it fun. Thanks for helping me become a better writer and (hopefully) reading the posts I've made on here.

34,000 views? 118,000 over a full year? I never would've imagined it. Thanks so much. I'll see you guys at a later point, hopefully sometime in December.

-cedar

I have a Twitter and I post about music from time to time
Last.fm
RYM

Seiichi Yamamoto & Fushigi Robot - Mind Game OST (2004)

It wasn't too long ago I saw this movie. It was something I had kept aside for a rainy day I suppose, as I looked in my collection only to find this title that was totally obscured to me. Immediately I fell in love; it was a touching, bold, and brilliantly charming work about, in as plain of words as I can find, the experience of life. The animation was carefully experimental, shifting between normal anime styles into rotoscoping of the actors faces onto their characters faces and bright segments of action and art, the characters themselves were defined and likable in their idiosyncrasies, and, what brings us here, the music cast a brilliant mood and even within itself was quite likable. Because of this I went out searching, only to find out that, not only did I already have the soundtrack (not listened to yet), but it's likely why I found the film. And that's all because of one of the names in the title.

Co-founder and seminal member of Boredoms, Seiichi Yamamoto has left footprints of himself all around Japan's numerous music scenes, which is evident by taking a look at his dizzying discography. Even with his wide range of acts, there are several attributes that seem to follow him: lucid, surrealistic music, a significant focus on percussion, abnormal instrumentation. Seeing as that doesn't change here, any fan of the Boredoms or Rovo or Omoide Hatoba or any other Japanese band it seems my find a treat in this (I can even recall saying at one point that the music sounded very much like something Seiichi would do).

It starts with a spastic drum track brilliantly titled "Startin'" which abruptly cuts out into a charming synth piece before finally hitting the poppy, arabesque main theme. Among these is the theme... rapidly changing moods and themes. Among charming pop numbers like the title track or Atarashii Hito (not performed by Seiichi Yamamoto) are janky anti-pop pieces like No Chaser or Big Unit and ambient pieces and drum pieces and jazz pieces and even a nice sort of mash-up classical arrangement by frequent anime composer Yoko Kanno. It's a dizzy collection within itself, but carefully eclectic. There's a steady charm within it, and even without the movie there seems to be a story sliding throughout the moods.

But I definitely recommend the movie.

Try it

Buy it... please tell me if you find a place

Buy the movie

A Roundup of Things I've Listened to Lately

Next to last post for me on LPC. I guess I'll see how this goes.



Washed Out - Within and Without (2011)

Ernest Greene, arguably the first real member of the chillwave genre, outdoes himself with this record. Hard to beat fantastic cuts like Soft and A Dedication.

Try it
Buy it



Lil B - I'm Gay (I'm Happy) (2011)

This album exists. Thank you Based God.



The Beach Boys - Sunflower (1970)

It's a shame that I hadn't listened to this very much before the last week. Typical outstanding stuff.

I think this works
Just buy it



WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (2011)

You might not like the vocals, but they completely fit the music and this could end up being one of the best albums of the year.

Try it
Buy it



Eric Copeland - Waco Taco Combo (2011)

How surprising that the leader of one of the most overlooked bands of the 2000s creates another solid album that's going to be overlooked. Great sampling work at hand on this album and the 17-minute long Spangled ends up being worth it in the end.

Try it
Buy it

Thanks for reading. One more day for me.