AWmusic

While, I tried to hold in my glee while the blogosphere went nuts in leaked tracks to Skeletal Lamping, I actually just waited until record release day to pick up the album. Yeah, it’s not a good blogging practice to review records after the hype has deflated but alas it is what it is.

The album, unfortunately is a disappointing one and may be the worst in the Of Montreal discography.

The album begins with Nonpareil of Favor, which starts with a typical Of Montreal style, progressing pace and catchy. Then all of sudden at 1:18 after a fun little bassline, it stalls. The music comes to a stand still and is a very different song. At times pausing a whole ton then going into grandiose mode for the last 3 minutes. Okay we’re not getting off on the good foot.

Another thing I’d like to mention before I go into a detailed review, some of the content of this album is a little embarrassing. It includes dirty talk which I believe are intended exactly as they are and metaphors that really don’t work well as metaphors. On this album, Barnes has lost his eloquence that makes him so admirable. A few examples “I’m so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel cruel city, I haven’t gotten what it takes to please a woman”, on St. Exquisite’s Confessions or “We can do it softcore if you want, but you should know I go both ways” on For Our Elegant Caste. Actually the last line is pretty catchy while “sucking the dick” isn’t much of a line that rolls off the tongue… “I you to be my pleasure puss, I want to know what it’s like to be inside of you”. Maybe I am listening to some kind of porn. In addition, I think Barnes is taking Georgie Fruit persona a little too far. Is it all that necessary? I don’t think another persona is much of reason to say you’re cross dressing (just say you do it rather then making your defenders come up with reasons, I’d rather be like I like Kevin Barnes cause he rocks and he also wears dresses…bitch!)

I think the underlying problems include having too long of an album. I did Of Montreal is amazingly good at a pop song, so to see multiple tracks around 5 minutes in length might be refreshing, there seems to be a lot of filler in those tracks and if compressed could really bring it out more. I also think the album is held back, I may eat flack for that line but musically it doesn’t seem more consistent enough to really highlight some stuff. The album experiments but ultimately falls flat on its face. An example is “Death is Not A Parallel Move”, I thought I was going to get some type of electronica track but it falters when it gives that up 1 minute into the track.

I think I’m done reviewing this album, I can’t get myself to like one “full” track.

Rating: 2.0 out of 5

Nonpareil of Favor by Of Montreal

Death Is Not A Parallel Move by Of Montreal

It got rave reviews but otherwise a lot of people weren’t too excited to see it. I went to see it as my friend leaves town for university (boo school is starting already). Anyway the movie itself isn’t what you expect it, at least the concept is given away with the trailers adding an increased level of hilarity.

The movie does have stupid humor but it pulls it off well though it is very offensive. I heard quite a lot about CNN saying something about the racial matter of this movie which there is none. However it is quite offensive towards the mental challenged or “retards – such as Ben Stiller’s character Tugg Speedman in the fake film “Simple Jack”. Now I must say I laughed but it crossed the line… if there is one downside to the film, it’s that.

Tom Cruise’s role in the film is downright hilarious. I hadn’t known he was in the film as he didn’t do any of the promotion and my friend didn’t even notice him in the film. He pulls off the fat, balding movie executive. You don’t really know it’s him unless you notice his eyes even then I still had my doubts until the final credits were rolling.

Pineapple Express was admittedly not as good as this film by a big margin as this movie actually had you laughing out loud, whether or not you tried to hold it in during those offensive moments. That’s the real importance of it, it makes you laugh hysterically without being too ridiculous. The concept of the movie saves it from being just your average comedy.

Rating: 4.25/5

As for the soundtrack, it was a very mainstream soundtrack and I guess it wasn’t too bad, the use of Flo Rida’s Low was hilarious but I’m too lazy to download that track. Click for the soundtrack here.

The playlist is after the jump (I’m evil)
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Skeletal Lamping is set for a later release this year and I’m pretty pumped. Kevin Barnes is simply my hero and I love Of Montreal to death. He’s a little bit too eccentric for me at times though. They changed my life though.

The song is more simplistic then anything I believe I heard on Hissing Fauna…Are You Are The Destroyer? and it takes a more popppy fun style that I love on their older albums. I’m not sure how much I love the song yet but Kevin Barnes tends to be as crazy as he’s always been and that’s good to see. Besides more Of Montreal in my life or yours couldn’t hurt.

This song doesn’t blow me away but it’s still decent overall. Some weird sections, Barnes sounds like a monkey at one point, use of the word ninja (was thinking he might’ve busted out in a go ninja go ninja go, Vanilla Ice style hehe).

Id Engager by Of Montreal

P.S. I’m not looking for traffic gains by posting on an MP3 (expect these types of posts to stay rare), anything Of Montreal is MANDATORY for me.

As far as expectations go, I think the only expectation was that it had to be funny and anything extra was a bonus. I guess I guage how funny a movie is with the type of laughter I usually give off. In the case of movies if it’s able to get me laughing like a girl…it has done its job. I will say that some jokes were way too silly that it got unnecessary though the racial jokes and debunking of stereotypes was definitely a highlight. The storyline was a bit cheesy and the jokes make the movie worthwhile. One character also had me annoyed and being overthetop stupid (forget his name but he’s the guy in the trailer making the North Korea + Al Quaeda joke). However the movie knew how to be cute/romantic yet funny at the same time so it wasn’t all drug-filled silliness.

Overall, you got what you paid for which was lots of laughs and stupid storyline or not, it had its moments. 4 out of 5.

As for the soundtrack, it wasn’t too bad with the song that stuck out the most was Mickey Avalon’s My Dick as it played after the “bottomless” party. I think the soundtrack was alright, the hip-hop tied well into the movie the only thing I hated was the use of Boyz II Men It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye. I just didn’t think it tied into the movie and the movie doesn’t need serious “sad” moments.

Anyway here’s my playlist for the movie:
(for you Googlers, the actual soundtrack list can be found here)

1. My Dick by Mickey Avalon
2. Amsterdam by Peter, Bjorn and John
3. I Gotta Run by Everybody Else
4. It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career by Belle & Sebastian
5. Stupid and Shallow by The Futureheads
6. A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley
7. Kissing In The Grass by Of Montreal
8. Because I Got High by Afroman
9. Banking On A Myth by Andrew Bird
10. Southern Comfort by Arrah and The Ferns
11. Vanished by Crystal Castles
12. Stoned Again by The Evangelicals
13. People You Meet by Bishop Allen

I could explain the meaning of each song if you don’t get why I put them in, just leave a comment and I’ll gladly respond.

I’m pretty excited and I hope MMA finally gets approved in the province of Ontario so we can get a event here in Toronto. Either way, I hope UFC comes back soon. I’ll be making picks in addition to having a tribute mp3 to the main card fighters.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra

1. Midnight Surprise by Lightspeed Champion
-Can Matt Serra pull off the 2nd upset?
2. Frenchy’s By Holy Fuck
-Calling GSP Frenchy insulted him big time
3. Home Field Advantage by Drive-by Truckers
4. If I Faltered Slightly Twice by Of Montreal
-Georges is too good, everyone or almost everyone has St. Pierre taking this one easily. When the pressure is on GSP performs.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre in 5 round round war. I love Matt Serra as well to be honest and he has world class skill and will frustrate St. Pierre at times. It may be boring….

Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy
5. Sing! Captain by The Handsome Furs
- For Charles “Captain Miserable” McCarthy
6.Everything is Average Nowadays by the Kaiser Chiefs
-For Michael Bisping getting mad that McCarthy called him average, such a huge insult.

Winner: Bisping by 2nd round TKO. Rooting for McCarthy though.

Rich Franklin vs Travis Lutter
7. Don’t Weigh Me Down by Broadcast 2000
- Lutter better make weight, he didn’t against Anderson Silva when he had a title shot on the line.
8. Can’t Lose by We Are Scientists
Franklin’s career can probably take only one more loss.

Winner: Travis Lutter by Armbar in Round 3. Picking an upset here.

A pretty weak card but I’m going to see this one anyway because it’s in Canada. The Montreal crowd should make this an event to watch (I envy their atmosphere).

They titles are pretty self-explanatory with what I’ve been experiencing.

1. It’s Not Over Yet by The Klaxons
2. I Felt Like Smashing My Face Through A Clear Glass Window by Of Montreal
3. Skip To The End by The Futureheads
4. Date Rape by Sublime - I felt raped after my biochem exam FYI.
5. Wish I Was Dead by The Shout Out Louds
6. The Devil Never Sleeps by Iron & Wine
7. Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying by Belle & Sebastian
8. I Wasn’t Prepared by Eisley
9. I Need Some Sleep by The Eels

I also need a laugh (the annoying devil is related I guess)

I actually hated doing this list…not that it was subpar but I think I would’ve felt better doing a review today. Just no writing quality in putting out this list though it’s great for traffic bait.

25. She’s a Rejector by Of Montreal (link)
24. Patty Lee by Les Savy Fav (link)
23. Open Doors by Josh Ritter (link)
22. White Dove by John Vanderslice (link)
21. Handsome Furs Hate This City by The Handsome Furs
20. Weekend Without Makeup by The Long Blondes (link)
19. Meat Market by Everybody Else (link)
18. 1234 by Feist
17. Wolf and Crane by Siberian (link)
16. Walcott by Vampire Weekend
15. Fluorescent Adolescent by The Arctic Monkeys
14. Apartment Story by The National (link)
13. Red Rabbits by The Shins
12. Impossible by The Shout Out Louds
11. Right Moves by Josh Ritter (link)
10. Up On Your Leopard, Upon The End of Your Feral Days by Sunset Rubdown (link)
9. (Antichrist) Television Blues by The Arcade Fire (link)
8. Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider by Of Montreal (link)
7. Unless It Kicks by Okkervil River (link)
6. Back in Your Head by Tegan & Sara
5. The Mending of the Gown by Sunset Rubdown
4. Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend
3. Once and Never Again by The Long Blondes (link)
2. Mistaken For Strangers by The National
1. Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe by Okkervil River (link)

I am not going with the generic Christmas songs but I think going with happier type songs. I do have a favorite Christmas song (by The Raveonettes). Anyway I found this list hard to do…who knows maybe it’s the selection I have on this blog or just that most songs are depressing or angry and have nothing to do with being cheerfully happy? Enough ranting.

1. Feist – It’s Cool To Love Your Family
2. Jens Lekman – Your Arms Around Me
3. The Beatles – Come Together
4. The Elected – Would You Come With Me?
5. Of Montreal – On the Drive Home
6. Josh Ritter – Real Long Distance
7. Arcade Fire – No Cars Go
8. The New Pornographers – Sing Me Spanish Techno
9. Lily Allen – Everything’s Just Wonderful
10. The Postal Service – Sleeping In

I am going to go on a blogging break due to exams so look out for the top 30 songs of the year when I come back. This blog has made some huge strides in the last two months and while it seems hard to keep on rolling with taking a huge break.. we’ll see what happens.

# 10 Tegan & Sara – The Con
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
I still love this album after posting a very generous review of The Con. Granted it’s probably not that cool to have this in my top 10 but I just can’t do that. From top to bottom this is the perfect pop record in my opinion. It arguably had me singing (not a sigh to see) along whenever I had the album playing on my computer. Sure stylistically this is NOT for everyone but it’s still very enjoyable with good lyrics and overall catchiness despite rather depressing lyrics. Overall this album produced some great tracks and while they may not bring anything new to the table, music isn’t always about that.
Back In Your Head by Tegan and Sara
The Con by Tegan and Sara
Burn Your Life Down by Tegan and Sara

#9 John Vanderslice – Emerald City
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
Other then Pitchfork hating on this record. This album was praised by most as being a great record and upon listening to it I agreed. It is just soothing all the way throughout and I call it the perfect album to fall asleep to (not due to boredom). The lyrics are rather complex and do I understand what it all means? No but do I have to? I’m not that good at interpretations anyway. Artistically just how it’s put together the contrast of singing “White Dove” about a seemingly depressing story of a kidnapped and raped 8-year really had me amazed and thus the high ranking.
White Dove by John Vanderslice
Kookaburra by John Vanderslice
Numbered Litograph by John Vanderslice

#8 Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
Les Savy Fav simply just rocks and they are the type of band I’d love to see live. While this album may not be something original/unique I could care less. From song to song it feels like they switch up stylistically and nothing is quite the same back to back. This band had the best intros to each song and really backed it up with strong bridges and really didn’t disappointed despite a strong intro to each song. I really want to see them live the more I listen to this album.
Scotchguard the Credit Card

#7 The Long Blondes – Someone To Drive You Home
Original Rating: 5 out of 5.
This album DID come out in the UK in 2006 but it only caught my attention when it was released over here. Wanting to see them live but couldn’t due to not having turned 19 (I was pretty bummed out). This album is another of the pop-rock variety but hey I love this album from top to bottom and maybe they should be a guilty pleasure but it has that catchiness that reels you in and doesn’t let go. This album does have longevity with me unlike a lot of poppy albums. It is almost 6 months since I’ve reviewed it and I am still quite high on this album if that says a lot. This album has spawned my two favorite songs of this year “Weekend Without Makeup” and “Once and Never Again”. I may decide to use the line of “You’re only 19 for godsakes, You don’t need a boyfriend” on a few girls on my age .
Weekend Without Makeup by The Long Blondes
Once And Never Again by The Long Blondes

#6 The White Stripes – Icky Thump
Original Rating: 4 out of 5
4 out of 5 is the lowest original rating I gave on both lists. It just says that I severely undervalued this album. This album SHOULD’ve been a 5 out of 5. Not that it was the White Stripes best effort but they took some major risks and went all over the place when in terms of style and still managed to have the songs addictive though the songs were definitely were complex compared to their “minimalist” style. Revisiting this album now makes me regret my original review but hey I can say I was wrong. Anyway I believe this album has the strongest 2nd half of album, most bands place their best stuff at the start but I start really loving this album surprisingly after the song “Conquest”. Icky Thump is proof that The White Stripes are one of the best bands of this decade.
I’m Slowly Turning Into You by The White Stripes

#5 Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Of Montreal IS my favorite band if I forced to only pick one. HFAYTD is arguably not one of my favorites by them. It is still good though. I had a tough time adjusting it and it was a lot more complex in my opinion (at the time I really shied away from it). Being an Of Montreal fan I gave it as much time as I could and I was able to take it for what it is. While it may not rank high with me compared to their previous work, in comparison to other albums released this year, it’s still top 5 material so it says a lot about my love for Of Montreal doesn’t it? I still enjoy the simpler stuff by Of Montreal but this album is great from top to bottom and catchy despite being quite depressing.
Gronlandic Edit by Of Montreal
She’s a Rejector by Of Montreal

#4 Siberian – With Me
Original Rating: 5 out of 5.
I did my review last month after reading an e-mail from frontman Finn Parnell. This album was just off the charts amazing. I’ll promote them like crazy because they were one of the first bands to e-mail me about checking out their work and nothing else has really compared – seriously. What makes this album great? Well from top to bottom this album is amazing, great lyrically and musically solid. Currently a relative unknown but look out for them. I STRONGLY recommend you check out my past review and the tracks below and you should be changed into a fan of them. After listening to this album I keep pushing it higher and higher.
Airship by Siberian
O Orien by Siberian

#3 Okkervil River – The Stage Names
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
Okkervil River’s The Stage Name simply just rocks and can get you out of your seat dancing but the lyrical depth they display is just amazing. Almost every song on this album could make it on my top 30 songs on the year list but the only thing stopping this from being #1 or #2 is the lack of more songs… only 9 songs to set our hearts on. It is quality over quantity in the end but when you can get quality in quantity you definitely take it. I really like the mix of softer acoustic songs (A Girl in Port) and harder songs (Unless It Kicks). I already uploaded Unless It Kicks so I’ll upload Our Life Is A Movie or Maybe.
Our Life Is A Movie or Maybe by Okkervil River

#2 The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
Neon Bible isn’t as good as Funeral. I tend to go back and listen to Funeral over Neon Bible any day. However, I really believe this effort is as good as it gets when it comes to a follow-up. Instead of songs about love, death and growing up you have something more serious on Neon Bible. It’s the grown up version of Funeral where we ponder god, politics, the effect of television and overall it gives off a more serious vibe. A much different album then Funeral but I enjoyed it immensely.
(Antichrist Television Blues) by The Arcade fire

#1 Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
Original Rating: 4.75 out of 5
After listening to this album over a period of time, with the artistry, how could I not put this #1? I asked myself this and I couldn’t give an answer. I didn’t rate it perfect because I felt this album wasn’t for everyone and was difficult to like. I think that put it over the top for me. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but after sitting through it a few times… it has left me speechless. I probably will never understand the randomness that is this album but it fulfills what I would call a piece of art. Both ambiguous yet adding carnivalesque elements that my brain thinks is crack. This album takes a LONG time to really start liking but if you give it a chance you probably will see why some have rated this album so highly. I don’t think this has the best songs but as a collective whole this album just blows everything else away. This album has gotten reviews from across the spectrum but I really believe this is one of the most amazing things I’ve heard in my life!
Setting vs. Rising by Sunset Rubdown

Anyway to honor a Canadian tradition, here’s are some songs dedicated to tonight’s game from my play list. Enjoy!

1. Champagne From A Paper Cup by Death Cab For Cutie.
2. A Sunday Smile by Beirut
3. Green Gloves by the National
4. Rough Hands by Alexisonfire
5. Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider by Of Montreal(3 songs for the Riders, their colors are green fyi)
6. Bomb Inside the Bomb by We Are Scientists
7. True Blue by the Bright Eyes
8. Gold Mine Gutted by the Bright eyes (for the Blue & Gold – Blue Bombers)
9. Bundle Up by Arrah & The Ferns (though it’s indoors this year, the Grey Cup is always played in the cold!)