BladeJB343

They're still too weird, too "out there" for most people to stomach. In reality, I see them as a pop band. They filter pop through the distorted (and highly self-aware) lens of Bradford Cox's psyche. It's rawer, more ramshackle. I personally love it, and I love Monomania. I'm glad that Andrzej caught on to the humor and narrative of this record, as opposed to Joseph @ The Quietus who's basically eaten up by hype aversion and never really liked Deerhunter that much to begin with.

I'll be listening to the latest 2 Paramore albums tonight!

#gettinmyrockon #notasadsackindiefan #mainstreamisthenewunderground #linkinpark4ever

So it's not just DiS. I'ma give it a listen soon.

You guys need to retroactively tune the Britney Spears - Femme Fatale review down from 9/10 so I can take your website seriously.

He seems to have Lana Del Rey syndrome, if you catch my drift.

I thought it was considered the general consensus that SA is the best GTA yet. I've heard a lot of support for Vice City as well; these two games are often ranked in the top 2 or 3.

A more controversial opinion would be RE4 PS2 > RE4 GCN. I agree that, in terms of content, PS2 wins. The core game that garnered (and continues to garner) so much praise is almost certainly better on GameCube though. Of course, the Wii/X360/PS3 versions probably trump both!

P.S. excellent choices in this article!

No review score. Just your opinion, a genuine apathy verging on active dislike, of an incredibly deep but highly divisive piece of work. Some people would have fallen into the trap of utter praise or utter disgust, with a score to reflect those feelings, but you decided against it.

Journalists are slowly realizing that you can't put a hard number to art. It's only when you follow somebody's reviews and figure out that you share their tastes that you can actually derive some value from their well-articulated opinion.

I like the record quite a bit and I am excited to continue exploring the soundscapes, references, and so forth. It stands to reason that if you were to give this (IMO) masterpiece a 3/10 or something as the official DiS score, my interest and stock in this site would drop a bit.

You wrote in an even-handed fashion while preserving your own journalistic integrity. Bravo!

Awful artist. Good review though.

to fall into trance and/or sleep to this record.

Unsure where it lies in the pantheon as of yet, but it's certainly worth the positive reviews it has received.

Pretty much every article/review about Cat Power says "Chan Marshall" within 2 seconds. It's almost as bad as "Lana Del Rey... AKA LIZZY GRANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It's like, shit. Yeah. We know her real name is Chan Marshall. We've known for over 15 years.

Dumb comment, but it is starting to bug me. Hah.

And "I See A Darkness" is only half the album that is, so...

Be happy with the 8!

You do realize this record is from The Flaming Lips, right?

They're not expecting the average Lips fan to be able to find the skip button while listening to it, if you catch my drift.

Too many people have dismissed this album out of hand as pretentious, "art for art's sake" nonsense. Big surprise: they're doing it for the [fantastic] new Fiona Apple album too. Is is a gender thing?

Probably just taste. In any event, I like this album and I don't mind the unconventional (if even "terrible") singing.

I cringed about 31 times during my first listen of the title track... but this isn't for "us."

I've come to appreciate McCartney's cheesiness. He's having fun, guys. He is always enjoying himself.

He's very singular in his style too.

The album is obv a 10/10 and the analog remaster isn't even mentioned... bleh.

There's most definitely a Green Day vibe to some of the tracks on Attack on Memory.

Outtakes are outtakes for a reason.

Lesson learned.

His most recent records are merely treading water, though.

Small Craft on a Milk Sea was pretty strong, as was Everything That Happens... but these spoken word records... bleh. Not for me.

Compared to the dreck that populates most of American Top 40, Florence is a revelation.

I also agree with Andy and BornIn69 though. Bat For Lashes, Zola Jesus, hell... St.Vincent! I'd love to see Annie make it big on the radio, because she's the type of artist that could expand listener's tastes, and thus up the average musical IQ.

I can dream, can't I?

I listened to the first album, I listened to this one. I definitely got the impression from both that we were listening to somebody trying to make bank. And surprise, she did!

There are some wonderful moments on both records, but TBH I prefer both Emmy The Great records. Yup, I went there. :>

IMHO, Le Noise was his best release in a while. He's not Waits-level consistent, but he's also put out a fair deal more full-lengths in the past 10-15 years. It's arguable that he had higher peaks than Waits (all between 1970 and 1976) but it's hard to argue against Young's best days ending well before he hit 40.

One of the only even remotely mainstream artists to continue making gold past 50. (or even 40)

I love Eno, I like Coldplay (though their peak was 10 years ago and they've been slowly sliding since) but I can't lie and say that this album was distinctly underwhelming on first listen. Commentary in this thread has been fairly OT$: there are some strong tracks on here, and the openers (Mylo+Heaven) are probably the best.

It's not that there's anything to "get" about Mylo Xyloto, and it's not a bad record... just a mediocre one. Opinions are like assholes, yeah? To be honest, after the lead single, I was expecting far more of a shitshow.

That is what I take from your writing style.

God, I hate this argument. Unless you're listening on mid-range to high-end gear, it's difficult to tell a 320/V0 encoded in LAME from a FLAC. Even when the difference is noticeable, it's only a tiny dip in clarity and crispness.

5 years ago, the MP3 hate made a little more sense. Now, it's fine for most applications. That said, I keep FLAC reference copies of the albums I hold dearest.

Aaaaaaand this is why, this is why, this is why, this is why,

I'm not big on poptimists.

I'm going to go with Friendship Bracelet as my no.1.

He called it "stunning."

It's not bad, but it felt a little too... bland? It sounds like some bastardization of dubstep that would get insanely popular, while the real stuff remains on the fringes of "mainstream."

The Coldplay effect.

It sounds like present radio fodder; 75% of it is instantly forgettable, lifted above those shitshows only by its lyrical integrity and relative diversity.

That is to say, making attempts at becoming less "pretentious" by reviewing mainstream pop albums, like Rihanna's Loud, and giving them comparable scores to significantly better records.

Though I hope that The Present Tense is released sans jazzy beats and bassline.

Not that I needed you to qualify my opinion. Opinions are like assholes, and everybody's has a stink.

Speaking of stink... (no, I won't do that)

This band is not... "bad." The hype is very misplaced, though. It sounds like a retard that's been smoking too many cigarettes, screaming over American Football songs. (or [insert twee band here])

e.g. the exact kind of "outside the box" music that appeals to teens and undergrads.

e.g. this band's primary demographics. Hey, better this than Kings Of Leon.

So y'all don't be surprised if you see your 21-year-old comrades calling this band the next coming of Christ. It's a fad, it'll pass. Or perhaps, at 27, I'm just getting old.

I was ready to boycott this site if you gave it under an 8. Bravo.

For the record: I like this review. Kinda sums up how I feel, though a 4 is a bit harsh. 5 or 6 would be more fair.

"this is a terrible review."

I don't know. I bought into the [positive] hype and gave this album a few spins. It's pretty good, but destined for a lot of MOR reviews. Not nearly as potent as No Cities Left.

They definitely have a long, bright future ahead of them.

Spot-on. One of the best music reviews I've ever read.

It's a solid record, and I look forward to peeling more layers off.

I like James Blake. I haven't turned on Limit yet, but I've heard the EPs and this s/t LP... admittedly none of them enough to form a full-fledged opinion. First and second impressions though?

Good, not great. Talking critically? If P4K gives this more than a 7 (maybe 7.3 at most) I'll be very surprised, even after the heaps of praise they've already given him. As other folks have said, he has a ton of talent. This s/t record is just not all that fun to listen to, despite some beautiful sections.