Posts Tagged: The Thinking Man

Album Reviews / Feature / Music / Reviews / Videos / YouTube Tidbits — 15 Comments
17
Mar 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Album Of The Year 2009 Showdown, II

The Thinking Mans Take On: Album Of The Year 2009 Showdown, II album reviews reviews 2I want to say off the bat that I think Ed Droste, lead singer of Grizzly Bear, is a classy gent. When Grizzly Bear’s third studio release, Veckatimest, leaked at the beginning of this month (nearly 3 months before the album’s May 26th release date) he had this to say…er…Tweet: “So yeah, it leaked. I’m happy people are loving it. Makes me smile! Just remember it’s not a top notch sonic example. So keep that in mind.” What a stud. He followed that up with a very human confession, “I’m trying to be zen about the album leaking because I’m “ok” with it, but I’m bummed. And apparently it’s [a] low quality rip. :( So now everyone will be judging it off of a crappy rip. Sigh…. Was hoping to make it to at least april! I’m cool with it just….so early!”

Indeed, my reservations in reviewing the album lie in just those realms – it’s a low quality rip and it’s super early. It’s a bit like Picasso painting a masterpiece for your birthday, except that someone ran into his studio, took a picture of the canvas with their cellphone, and emailed it to you 3 months ahead of time. It’s cool, it gets you excited for the real deal, but it also feels like it cheapens the experience a bit.

But, after some thought (and – full disclosure – some listens) I decided to go ahead and review the album. Continue reading →

Feature — 9 Comments
3
Mar 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Genre Definitions

Want an exercise in futility? Try to describe TV on the Radio’s sound to someone who has never heard them. What kind of music do they play? Soulful Earthy Poet Rock? Hipster Hop mixed with Funk, Jazz, and A Cappella? The dreaded catch-all, Indie Rock? It’s tough to pin down their musical stylings – so why even bother?

Recently I’ve been doing some thinking about genres – what they mean, what purpose they serve, what we’re supposed to do with them. Essentially, I’ve been wondering about how we define genres, and what the results of those definitions could be. Or in an even more meta sense, why we define genres. As a society we have become obsessed with pigeonholing things – tagging them appropriately and specifically so that they can be indexed by search engines to find an audience. But to what end? Is it worthwhile?

Anywho, these jumbled thoughts have been bouncing in my head for a couple months now, and Jeff Lind’s recent examination of Indie Rock, published a few days ago on this very blog, inspired me to try to put it into writing.  Continue reading →

Feature / Music — 67 Comments
26
Feb 09

RIP Indie Rock

RIP Indie Rock feature

Okay, sure, you like independent music. Fine. But what exactly does that mean? When you hear talk of independent music, what bands come to mind? Seriously, think about it. I’ve debated the term “indie” with friends, over-analyzed it with strangers, and completely dismantled it in heated arguments with just about anybody. Everyone I talk to has a different perception of what exactly indie music truly is. I remember having this conversation with a friend in the late 90’s and thinking that we’d nailed it down. Unfortunately, 10-ish years later, here I find myself reading Facebook walls and wondering what people really mean when they say they like “independent music.” Typically, the conversation rolls around to a few different locations but, generally, arguments about “what is indie” can be reduced to two basic tenets: 1) The label the band is on. 2) The style of music, or sound, that the band makes. I argue that neither of these make sense anymore, and that the term “indie,” as commonly used now, should be retired. Should be considered dead. Why? Well, this is why… Continue reading →

Feature / Music — 7 Comments
24
Feb 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: The ABC’s

I’m having some major writer’s block this week here at The Thinking Man Headquarters (TTMHQ), and although I have a list of things to write about, I don’t think I have the energy to devote to one of those topics. So instead, I’m going to take inspiration from a commercial I just saw that said something about making things as easy as A-B-C, and make a little listy-list.

And by that, I mean I’m going to write what has turned out to be a very time-intensive article that made me think a lot. Phew. So much for writer’s block. To keep a long story long, here is my totally complete, not missing anything or leaving anything out, A to Z list of my favorite things about music. Yes, X will be Xylophones.

Continue reading →

Covers / Feature / MP3 / Music — 8 Comments
17
Feb 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Compilations

The Thinking Mans Take On: Compilations covers

A couple weeks ago, I unveiled the fact that Americans have purchased 4.5 million Snuggies (proper name: Slankets). And although I mocked the backwards bathrobes, inside I get it – they’re warm, cheap, fuzzy, and bizarrely alluring. This week, I was hit with an even more shocking fact. Every single U.S. edition of the horrible “Now That’s What I Call Music!” compilation franchise has sold over a million copies. And in the United States there have been 29 discs released. In the UK, there have been 72.

Hopefully I don’t need to tell you this, but Now That’s What I Call Music is everything that is wrong with music. It is not warm. It is not cheap. It is not fuzzy, and it is certainly not bizarrely alluring.

But do not despair, friend, because all is not lost.  Continue reading →

Album Reviews / Feature / MP3 / Music / Reviews — 8 Comments
10
Feb 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Album Of The Year 2009 Showdown, I

The Thinking Mans Take On: Album Of The Year 2009 Showdown, I album reviews reviews 2

Well it’s 2009 already – check that – it’s well into 2009 already. Wow time flies. Seems like just yesterday we were drooling over the upcoming Animal Collective release and pondering who would win a GRAMMY. How far we’ve come.

Scarcely have Panda Bear, Avey Tare, and Geologist settled into their throne overlooking the rest of 2009’s releases than has buzz begun to build for their overthrow. Can’t a group get a break? They released a phenomenal album on January 20th, and here we are, February 10th, talking about possible superiors.

Luis pointed out to me that there has been a fair amount of hype around the latest release from Ohio natives Heartless Bastards. And by “fair amount of hype,” I mean that there have been huge calls. Massive calls. Album of the year calls. Calls that, obviously, must be addressed.

Is “The Mountain” the album of the year? Does it best “Merriweather Post Pavilion”? There’s only one way to find out – the first, but probably not last, ALBUM OF THE YEAR SHOWDOWN. Continue reading →

Feature / Videos / YouTube Tidbits — 2 Comments
3
Feb 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Super Bowl Ads

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in marvelous times. Starting in October, the American people banded together, they let their voices be heard, and they spoke loud and clear – “we know what we want, and it is like nothing we’ve had before”. No, I’m not talking about Barack O’drama. I’m talking about Snuggies, the blankets with sleeves that make you look like a monk. Or as I like to call them, Slankets. Has a much dirtier ring to it, doesn’t it?

If you’re not already sitting down, you should. Also, if you’re not already sitting down, you’re a weirdo. Who reads blogs standing up? Regardless of your position in the sitting/standing hierarchy, I am about to blow your mind. The American people have spent over $40,000,000 on Slankets this year. 40 million dollars. And if you think that figure – which represents over 4.5 million Slankets sold – isn’t related to advertising, well my friend you are wrong. If I hadn’t seen the Slanket eloquently advertised as a way to “enjoy a snack while staying snuggly warm” (YouTube, 2009, :26) there’s no way I would have bought 10 of them before realizing that – PEOPLE – Slankets are just sweatshirts!

Anyhow, I digress. Continue reading →

Feature / MP3 / Music — 8 Comments
27
Jan 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: The Oscars

The scene: An actor stands at a podium, clutching a shiny figurine, beaming with joy. He has just seen the toils of his life’s labor of love come to fruition in the form of the highest honor. Years of slaving away on hot sets, sleeping in cramped trailers, and signing strangers bosom’s has finally paid off. He has won the MTV Movie Award for Best Onscreen Kiss.

Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait for that pinnacle of award shows until the summer months, forced to settle for some guy named Oscar’s picks for big film awards. C’est la vie (French for “that’s the vie”).

I can never remember if the Oscars are the award show where that lady with the skeletal face and her daughter ooh and ahh over celebrities, asking them “Who are you wearing” and other questions that don’t make grammatical sense in English. But I’m pretty sure they are. In the past, I haven’t paid too much attention to them – sure I was psyched when Denzel won for Training Day in ‘0r, pumped for the Coen brothers’ Fargo win, and excited when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won everything except Best Animated Short in ’04, but I wasn’t excited about the Oscars.

But this year, for one of the first times in a long time, I’m excited about the Oscars. I attribute my excitement to three things:

1. Great music is nominated. Sure, the academy left off Bruce Springsteen (Jersey Pride!), recent Golden Globe winner for “The Wrestler”, but they showed remarkable hipness with nods to M.I.A., A.R. Rahman, and Peter Gabriel.

2. Stellar films are in the running, and for the first time in a long time, I’ve actually seen most of them.

3. I’m excitable.

Now, I’m not going to claim that I am the most exited person on the planet about these Oscars. That honor goes to this guy. Nor am I the most knowledgeable (again, this guy). But I do write a column on a pretty great music blog where the readers know a thing or two about good flicks. So without further ado, my predictions for the 2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Awards of Merit for films released in the calendar year of 2008, better known as Los Oscars. It’s hefty as it is, so I cut out a couple of the tech categories where I make predictions via my dartboard.  I hope you don’t mind. Continue reading →

Listen / MP3 / Music — 9 Comments
20
Jan 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Alter Egos

It’s time to talk about a growing trend in pop music that is often confusing, sometimes disturbing, and often remarkably effective. No, I’m not talking about Autotune (although that time will come) – I’m talking about musical artists adopting multiple personalities.

To be clear, I’m not talking Puff Daddy/Puffy/P.Diddy/Diddy multiple personalities. Not Prince, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, or The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, either. I’m talking Eminem/Slim Shady multiple personalities. T.I./T.I.P. multiple personalities. Cookie Monster/Veggie Monster multiple personalities. More and more, in contemporary music, artists already performing under nom-de-records are choosing new names for new music. Why? And why does something that seems so wrong feel so right? Continue reading →

Covers / Feature / MP3 / Music — 21 Comments
6
Jan 09

The Thinking Man’s Take On: Covers

I’ve long been a fan of cover songs, and I’m proud of it. I guess it stems from my embarrassing roots as a pseudo-hardcore Dave Matthews Band fan.  It began, most likely sometime in during those awkward, braces + flannel + voice-crack Middle School years, when “Dave” personally introduced me to Lyle Lovett (If I Had A Boat), Willie Nelson (Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away), and the great Johnny Cash (Ring Of Fire). As shameful as admitting to once being a Dave Matthews fan can be, if it led to me loving covers I’m willing to do it.  Hi my name is Chris, and I love covers.

There’s something about a good cover song that is just perfect – and difficult to capture. Some people hate covers with a passion, while others hunt them down like it’s their job. Some uphold them as worthy endeavors, others bemoan them as commercial pandering. Covers, like remixes, provide upstart musicians with a chance to prove their mettle in the context of a familiar tune. On the flip side, they allow established artists to take a step back, mess around in the studio one day, and release a song that is held under a smaller magnifying glass than usual. They exist on the fringe of the sphere of music criticism, and often seem more frivolously hobby-ish than painstakingly business-like.

Which is, of course, probably why we like them. Covers capture the essence of making music – the first time you hummed a tune that you heard on the radio, the strumming of some Nirvana chords on your first acoustic guitar, the complete freedom to do whatever you want with a song. But as with all good things, there is a method to the madness. Not all covers are created equal, and some suck pretty majorly. In my mind, here are the dos and don’ts of making a great cover:

Continue reading →

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