Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies are a band. They are an angular band. It’s becoming a joke. Sweaty little fucks, dripping all over the computers they got their student loans for, bleeping and faux-angst screaming their way to stardom… a beautifully deserved stardom. Who do they think they are? You don’t even need to see it. It flies out through the stereo. This is a reason to take these guys seriously.
Do not be bitter. It is an unattractive trait. This is good. Accept it.
With loops and samples, stammering and stampeding through lush harmonies that wash over you with shards of excellence and thunderous cacophonies thrashing your sorry souls with cake tins and murmurs through what are certainly not youth movie soundtracks. I can’t finish that sentence, so I start afresh. Conjure up your favourite post-rock extravaganza band and take away a couple of unnecessary guitars and add minimalist, intentionally disjointed musical allegories and add some crazy electronic bullshit that clearly will electrocute the sweaty fucks and then imagine as much clothing as an artist that digs their own shit… Again, I can’t finish that sentence. This is all in the music. Probably.
There is a certain pretentious beauty about a level abstraction as high as this. But what is pretence when you believe in your pretence? And you’re not pretending. Is that still pretence? Or is it the truth? What you are.
The post- concept is perceived to be the future of rock, and so this is what the majority of bands will look like in times to come. It is a frightening prospect. There are no songs here. To understand that this is all old news is stupid. You think you aren’t stupid.
Additional info: the CD is available from Rough Trade (Covent Garden and Portobello), oxfordmusic.net, and normanrecords.com.
Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
The problem with some reviews on this site is that they forget their function.. we read reviews because we want to know what the record is like, we dont really give a rats arse which words you use, we dont actually care about your obscure pointless metaphors and similes. Imagine Film 2004 with Jonathan Woss reviewing 'Return of the King' and using a phrase like "thrashing your sorry souls with cake tins.."
and before one of you makes that same old excuse where you whine about how you could just repeat the press release.. and wah! wah! wah! Please understand, i do respect the opinions on this site and I've bought albums solely on the basis of DiS reviews. I dont want to read a bullshit press release, I want to know *your* opinion, I want to know how it affected *you*.. because that's what good music journalism is about. BUT!!! I also want to know what its actually like, and I want to be able to understand it! ...but maybe its me, I'm not all that smart really and maybe I'm missing something in the review. Maybe it's too clever for me to get it..
I'm not smart, but I do love music!
Along with a rating, how about the inclusion of a "For fans of..." This could help.
I tell you what cracks me up about this site though, its the forum posts where you all rant about what's wrong with the music industry.. it's like the middle-aged blokes in the pub talking about whats wrong with the country/football.
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
And I think you misunderstand completely everything, ever. Well, to do with this review at least. It's not trying to give a complete breakdown of every facet of the song. It's giving an impression of the song and a rating. So, to summarize, it gives not only the author's opinion, using some high-standard English (hell, probably the highest of any music 'zine on the 'Net), but it also tells you what the song's like. Maybe you need another read of the review to understand that. I understood first time.
And if you want the 'For Fans Of...' section, click on the link to the band and at the bottom there's a list of about 5 bands that other people who like this band also seem to like, based on a rating system. I think that just about covers your point.
And I'll tell you what cracks me up about this site. It's the very depressively anal people who criticise about 40% of all reviews on this site, saying they are too abstract; not abstract enough; too broken down into music criticism; not critical enough. Any of those. You come and tell us what's wrong with reviews. You sound like those uber-pretentious critics on Newsnight Review who take this lofty tone to review any art form. And they're never impressed. But what really cracks me up is the knowledge that few of these 'art' critics, and 'review' critics here, could do any better. Thankyou.
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
thanks for the tip regarding the "for fans of.." bit.. that does actually help slightly. It would be nice for something a bit more defined tho. For example, someone might like this band but also really like "Half man half biscuit" without there actually being any similarities between the two.
my post seems to have come across a bit wrong, I love this site.. i really do! It just annoys me when I cant get an idea of what the music is like from the review. You say you can which is fair enough.. guess its just me then! I'm obviously not clever/arty enough to understand. Which is a shame.
As for the stupid personal insults in your reply, that's just a pointless and petty way to respond to someone giving honest critcism.
"depressingly anal"?
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
1) not every band sounds like every other band, and it's easy to lop say, rage against the machine and sigur ros in as comparisons, but neither would give a true indication as bands have a lot more to them, like, say, their ethos and neither of those bands sound remotely similar. Plus, a lot of the time, the easiest bands to compare a band to, aren't always bands people have heard of (see also all the discussion beneath peter's probot review)
2) You're asking to hear whether Raz loved the record or not, but what if your taste and raz's taste are completely and utterly different. You'll find out Raz likes the record, but then, he likes Lost Prophets and Deftones, neither of whom are relevant to YMSS.
The writing intentionally varies from author to author on the site. We really encourage people to write like themselves, rather than having some homogenised style, but as you say, it doesn't always connect with everyone..
As an aside, this record doesn't have distribution, so you'll be hard pressed to get hold of it anyways. Try the bands website or at one of their shows, they're really a great band and we've written quite a bit about them (and put them on at some of our shows), so if you want some different opinions, check out the bands profile.
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
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Rough Trade Covent Garden
www.normanrecords.com
www.oxfordmusic.net
Polar Bear Records in Oxford
Probe Records in Liverpool
or by sending a cheque for £6.50 (payable to Simon Cope) to:
20 Rosemary Close
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP12 4AG
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Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get G
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
OK, now this really cracks me up. Sure you can argue as to what style of review is most helpful: a simple qualitative judgement, allied with some contextual information and perhaps comparisons with other music; a detailed musicological analysis; or a more impressionistic response to the music. This will obviously reflect the writer's personal stylistic preferences if he or she is allowed to write unconstrained by editorial considerations. However, to claim that this particular review uses "high-standard English" is just altogether blind. Although i don't doubt his best intentions, the review comes across as lame proselytising on "The post- concept", and is often fairly nonsensical. Just look at this lot for a prime example of stereotypical sixth-form pseudo-philosophy:
"There is a certain pretentious beauty about a level abstraction as high as this. But what is pretence when you believe in your pretence? And you’re not pretending. Is that still pretence? Or is it the truth? What you are."
Um, like, WHATEVER!
As an aside, perhaps i am slightly biased against this review, as i also consider the band to be largely unexceptional (though they have potential, no doubt) and often dull. However, i believe the problems with this review extend to some others (by no means all) on the site. For sure, this is down to the editors' decision to allow as much freedom of expression as possible for the writers, and i wouldn't presume to second-guess Sean et al. in choosing this route.
Uh, thats all, sorry!
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
i see what you're getting at, but generic 'it sounds like blah blah, you'll like it if you like blah' is just as boring to write as it is to read. i suppose there's an art to striking a balance there but direct comparisons to other bands can only limit them. And, the bands themselves seem to hate it just as much because, really, any band truly worth investigating are more occupied with trying to create their own sound than copy others - and I think YMSS are one of those bands so err... yeah go and see them live.
Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
mike*
Re: Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get G
though seeing as it doesn't have distribution, it technically doesn't have a proper release date.
er, so there.
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Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies - Let's Get Going... You're Fracturing Me With This Misery
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