The Year Is....

2005!

Now pick several records released in that year and write a few lines of good or poor faith on such records. Read the original post here.

• Aquabats - Charge!!
  
  

What delicious fun! The comical appearance of the band can be a bit daunting, but if one is inclined to live a fucking little, and disregard their hipster-ism in exchange for some fun, then they can appreciate the Aquabats. Did anyone ever watch that Nickelodeon film, Snow Day, in which all the school children celebrate the rare occurrence of a snow day? That's Charge!! for you. Charge the sledding hills!

• Beck - Guero/Guerolito
  
  
  

I admittedly heard the remix, Guerolito before the original, and admittedly thought a lot of it was shit, and didn't take too much appreciation for many of the songs. Others though, grew on me, and I liked them for Beck Hansen's more experimental side, if you will..

And now upon hearing Guero, I keep telling myself how rad this stuff is, for dancing and whatnot, and would even be fun to scratch with a turntable (I'm thinking of getting into turntablism). Guero is a bit more commercial, or for better terms, the same Beck Hansen that we all know and love, so subsequently the music is catchy. Catchy music hasn't ever hurt us though..

• Death From Above 1979 - Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides
  

Why do people hate this record so much? Of course, there's Rob, but that fucker doesn't really count now. The prominence of who has remixed the songs says a lot right off the bat: Justice, MSTRKRFT, Josh Homme, Final Fantasy, etc. Josh Homme is still probably my favourite contributor, just for his dedication of glockenspiel to the entire song, in which he remixed Black History Month. Even those who are not as seemingly prominent, the mixes are damn good. And how could I forget the MSTRKRFT remix of Sexy Results? Oh it is glorious. So is the music video:

• Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain

No one can ever say they like a noise album on the first listen. I couldn't say it on the first ten listens, really. But, it's deceptively good driving music, say when you want to drown out all other potential hazards with absurdly distorted bass guitar and confusing drum beats. The record will grow on you, as it did to me. In the song Birdy, nothing much happens, beyond a repetition of a catchy riff, and incoherent vocals. It turns out to be a fun song, and an easy song to learn, for that matter. The highlight of the record goes to Dead Cowboy, with much appreciation. Seven minutes, fifty-eight seconds of heart pounding bass punches. And suddenly, not even half-way into the song, an odd shroud of ambience, the ambience being bass guitar, just dangling in the sky above, with drums building up underneath. It's immensely powerful. Lightning Bolt thrives on the use of repetition in song, and it really is effective in this record, which is why I speak so highly of it.

And that's all for now. Sorry, I only got to L. :\