Archive for the ‘Lindstrom’ Category
AWmusic’s Overrated Acts of 2008
I use the word “overrated” in a different light. I personally see if it as a positive thing for a band or artist to be labeled with the word overrated. In my opinion it’s better to be “overrated” then “underrated”, sure it’s nice to say someone say your talents are better hen people are recognize but whoopde-fucking-do, as much as I’d like to say my opinion means something in by no ways do I expect to affect the masses. Some artists are overrated due to increasing popularity and credible (or more credible) critics liking an artist’s work.
Here is my overrated of 2008 list. I tried to be objective and included artists I like as artists you like can be overrated too.
#5 Vampire Weekend
Why are they so successful?
Early on when they passed around their Blue CD-R (I’ve got a copy), the production values were not of a band that was self-releasing their stuff –as it was a great album from an unknown band. They became blogger darlings for almost a full year while releasing EPs and mercifully releasing their self titled disc with just two new tracks. Pitchfork gave them an 8.8, played on SNL and had their popularity EXPLODE.
What makes them overrated?
They are really just a pop rock band. Granted a pretty good one, they just aren’t going to wow everyone with their brand of pop.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
75%. I think they proved with “Ottoman”, the Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead cover that they can achieve greatness beyond what they showed on their self titled release. I’m really high on Vampire Weekend and they personally haven’t really given any reason to doubt it. However, they do need to bigger and better things to have those naysayers silenced.
Ottoman by Vampire Weekend
#4 Fleet Foxes
Why are they so successful?
The Fleet Foxes had the best year in terms of critics praising their band. They had Pitchfork’s #1 album of the year and that website is huge…
What makes them overrated?
The album is good don’t get me wrong, but best band and album of 2008? It’s arguable but I think there’s just a bit too much hype. They’re all great singers but they didn’t amaze me or change my life like “Midnight Organ Fight” or “Random Spirit Lover”. There are definitely better choices for album of the year.
What are their chance of proving their worth?
I’d say 70%. They have big shoes to fill on whatever they release. There are countless examples of the “one album wonder” and the pedestal that the Foxes have been placed on make it unlikely their next album will come close.
Meadowlark by Fleet Foxes
#3 Lindstrom
Why is he so successful?
Critics love his album Wherever You Go I go Too. I don’t (I tried an experimental review HAH, betcha it wasn’t that good 
). It is different and experimental which has critics getting their pants wet. Containing just 3 tracks on an hour long record, one song clocks in at close to a half hour..
What makes him so overrated?
Think about, 3 songs, one song is 30 minutes long the other two are 15 minutes long. I’m all for long songs that are really good and make you feel like it’s just 4 minutes but this 30 minute track made me feel like it’s really 2 and a half hours. I was urged to press the skip button but I realized that it did me no good. The music itself isn’t great, lots of looped sections, duplicates and ultimately it doesn’t end anywhere. I understand it’s different but it still doesn’t make it any good.
What are his chances proving his worth?
Incomplete. He may satisfy critics again but it’ll take some actual innovative music (e.g. not just slapping on a 30 minute track and multiple repeats that has more pretentiousness then most albums (who honestly believes they can pull off a 30 minute track?)
-No mp3 (files are too big)
#2 MGMT
Why are they so successful?
They have had an ability to stay relevant even after lukewarm reviews from critics. Some great marketing, some pretty good remixes and some great singles propelled them to internet Superstardom.
What makes them overrated?
While the psychedelic label is thrown on them quite a bit, they are merely dressed up pop with some simple but effective keyboard arrangements. They are hardly a band to change the landscape of music. While some songs are enjoyable, they really had an half of an album. The first album contained those popular singles, the second half kind of sucked though did show some promise. They haven’t released that much material to stay relevant, they just had other artists remix their work.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
50%. I think it can go either way. The masses ditch the popular as fast as they get into them and MGMT could very well go the way of the Killers and suck from here on out.
Time To Pretend by MGMT
#1 Girl Talk
Why is he so successful?
Good reviews and Feed The Animals took a lot of songs that was brilliantly mixed. It’s also using popular music, creating the perfect party mix for both casual fans and hardcore fans of music (I really like the album).
Why makes him overrated?
Over glorified DJ. Other then mixing, which a DJ can do, he’s really just taking 30 second samples and songs and putting it together (no other DJ likely has actually put this on record since it’s potentially illegal). In the big scale of things, he’s not really doing much. He also likes really shitty music. He mixes the music well but I’d rather drop dead then listen to some of the music he uses.
What are his chances of proving his worth?
10%. Girl Talk can’t do the same exact thing that he’s done in his past two albums. He’s ultimately reached the peak of popularity and will have to create rather then mix. It’s likely that he will have a lot of trouble whatever he does which is why the odds are so stacked against him.
Hands In The Air by Girl Talk
Lindstrom – Wherever You Go I Go Too Review
I really wanted to check out Lindstrom’s critically acclaimed release Where You Go I Go Too. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about and more importantly I wanted to check out what the artists out of Norway were doing. I couldn’t find this album at first but I jumped at the opportunity to check it out.
Since I don’t have much time and I generally review tracks with multiple listens… I simply can’t for this album. It’s a different style, enjoy it:
Where You Go I Go Too:
- 29 fucking minutes!
- feels like I’m listening to an extension of Michael Jackson’s thriller at one point
-random breathing starting at around at the 17 minute mark. Sounded like I was listening to porn. Gay porn perhaps with a man breathing quite heavily. Or a guy masturbating.
-After the breathing stops, I hear what sounds like kids playing at a park in the background. Kind of creepy considering it follows the heavy seemingly sexual breathing.
-Breathing returns
- At 21 minutes it feels like it goes full circle and ready to go a frantic any second now
- To be honest though, I forget what the 1st minute sounded like… fuck I don’t want to go back
- good electronica, though I do dread 29 minutes, the use of handclaps and various other sounds make listening to this album a “different” experience
- still a waste of my time, lots of repeated sextions
Critics are assholes, they rate albums high that are quite difficult to listen to. Even if 29 minutes are somewhat palatable, I am experiencing a high difficulty here and I have my doubts that the average critic could call this easy. 29 minutes is easy to marvel at and say “impressive” but my question is why 29 minutes? Each section is probably different on their own, a lot of people do have short attention spans but there’s nothing lyrically nor does it suggest that it’s worth the 29 minutes. Just because it’s “art” doesn’t make it not right for me to criticize an album that could be a lot easier to enjoy had the track been split. The track itself feels compartmentalized anyway with static and repeated 5 minute sections bridging the gap.
The song itself is also anticlimactic. 29 minutes waiting for the special moment and it really just feels like a waste of time at the end of the day.
Grand Ideas
-only 10 minutes and is thus the shortest track on the album
-begins with a frenetic pace that I though Where You Go I Go Too would have reached in 29 minutes
-pace wanes to a repeated section for 2 minutes, then finally changes to something disco-like then stays the same again for 2 minutes, then Lindstrom changes things up again, repeat for 2 minutes
The Long Way Home
-15 fucking minutes
-I hate you Lindstrom
-I have to take 15 more minutes of this? I guess there’s tons of meaning behind The Long Way Home
-there’s an interesting portion with a catchy tune above the annoying bass line
-after 2 minute he takes it away and changes it a bit but still using the annoying bass line
-then he goes back to the same catchy tune, it’s a little bit different but derived from the same style, what do you know… it lasts for 2 minutes and the annoying bass line is still present
- it is now a more progressed catchy tune but still with the annoying bass line
- 5 minutes left… fuck it.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Critics are way over their head or just assholes snickering at the people they fooled into checking out this album. There is just way too many repeated segments that ultimately fills up this 55 minute album. How the fuck is this art? It’s just something the critics are over glamorizing for no reason it seems. There are no lyrics and while there are enjoyable segments of each song, 29 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes are no way to test the patience of the listener. There are decent moments to each track but at if you read my “bulleted points”, my patience runs dry.
My apologies for the poor writing, I decided to keep this post in its rawest form. Instantaneous reactions and showing at least the mindset of what I do when I review an album.
