NLSC Music Club 12/13?

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone would be interested in reviewing albums again. Do many people here use Spotify? Because a lot of albums can be found on that easily enough.

i could, I might not respond often, but sure?

I listen to a lot of music, on spotify too, so i'd be in. How exactly does it work?

How exactly does it work?

The lame ones...
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=74628
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=72259

The successful one...
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=67508

Bonus because of the best review of an album like ever...
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=75143

I just got Spotify and the one time this worked, it was a lot of fun. Let's do it.

I'm here

Seemed a lot better when Jae was running it. Tables and explanations like a pro.

Great to see some interest... I wasn't too sure after a few days when the thread only had 1 response

Anyway, with my username and all, this seems pretty obvious. I thought it'd be a good start though, since the whole album is only 26 minutes long, with the longest song being 2:44 (what does it think it is? Freebird?)

Apologies to the people who don't like punk...



Artist: Bad Religion
Album: Suffer

Favourite Songs: 1000 more fools, Forbidden Beat, Do What You Want, You Are, How Much is Enough... I basically love them all
Least Favourite: Perhaps it's homerism, but I find it really hard to pinpoint a weak song. But if I had to choose, Best For You is rather repetitive.


It's hard to believe that I've been listening to Bad Religion for 10 years and this particular album has managed to slip under my radar for such a long time. I knew about songs like You Are (The Government), "Suffer", and "Best For You", thanks to the All Ages compilation, but I never heard Suffer in it's entirety.

This album kicked off the best ten years of Bad Religion's now 32 year career (save No Substance, that was their worst album ever). Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz are my favourite songwriting combination and Suffer reinforces that. While the riffs are fairly simple, their lyrics have a complex, cerebral nature, as illustrated in the first lines of the album:

Hey sit down and listen and they'll tell you when you're wrong.
Eradicate but vindicate as "progress" creeps along.
Puritan work ethic maintains it's subconscious edge
As Old Glory maintains your consciousness.

Suffer is an album you don't have to commit a great amount of time to. This could be seen as a weakness, but I see it as a strength, as the songs have an impact with maintains throughout the entirety of the album.

5/5

No rules or deadlines, otherwise it fails.

We should atleast make a rule that you can't put anything up that's not on Spotify.

Basically you need a wide-selection that rotates to keep interest.

Plus an active forum.

If you really want to do this, then Barn-Z, Jao, Lamrock, etc. should all also propose albums.

Then you use that participation to setup the rotation, and it staggered with multiple options is the best way for people to not go "ugh rap, no thanks, not logging in for another six weeks just to whine about the next one" or whatever it is the kids do.

I can do Hip Hop, already have a few albums on my iPod that are on Spotify

[Nick]

Alright well i suppose somebody has to review badreligion. I'll open things up...



Artist: Bad Religion
Album: Suffer

Favourite Songs: Best For You, Suffer.
Least Favourite: None stood out.

First off i must say that i can appreciate that Bad Religion was a huge part of people's culture at a certain time, and this review is just my opinion. Secondly, considering that bad religion is a big nostalgic band for a lot of people my age and upward, i'm a little surprised that i've never heard it before. But once i turned it on i regretted nothing. As in, i didn't regret never hearing it before.

As someone who doesn't really listen to lyrics in music, and just more so on musicality and expression (i can't help it, it's a subconscious thing), this album had nothing for me to really enjoy. I found it bland and repetitive. A lot of the songs sounded the same to me.

For a punk band, i thought it lacked that hard edge that i used to like about punk music when i was young. It was pretty soft. It doesn't sound like the drums are hit very hard, nor does the drummer do anything that requires any particular amount of skill. And in fact, when track 3 How Much Is Enough came on, it really struck me as more of a folk song, disguised as a punk song. At this point i started to perceive the album as more like a series of sea shanteys for pirates on speed, than a punk album.

With that said, some of the songs had some pretty nice melody/bass line combos. But i could probably have heard just one song and feel like i'd heard the album. There is literally no variety. There's no contrast. In fact i don't think i have heard a more extreme display of repetition. It's the kind of repetition that makes me question whether i'm crazy or not. I know how much of a cult following Bad Religion had/has, did they not notice this? So much so that i had trouble being able to recognise when new tracks started and finished. But then i realised that this is probably how pirate punk was supposed to be. Well, fair enough then, if that's the case. I'm just glad the album was only 26 minutes long.

With all this slander though, it's not a bad album. There is certainly a kind of energetic charm to their music. It's upbeat and fun, yet rebellious and almost brainless (musically). I'm sure their live shows would be good too. And i get that a lot of the appeal with these guys is in their lyrics, message, intangible values, and that they were among the first of their kind at the time, which always gets big brownie points with me. Maybe it's because i listened to this kind of music so much when i was 12-14 years old, to the point where i heard everything that this style of music had to offer and moved on, but the album just didn't do anything for me. It didn't make me feel anything, except maybe mild boredom. But with that said, i didn't hate it.

In closing:
If somebody put it on at a party, i wouldn't complain.
2/5

Last edited by Nick on Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That was fun. So what happens now? Do i suggest an album for others to review? If so, do i review it myself aswell?

So what happens now?

You will be brought to a snow covered forest where you have to fight a pack of wolves for survival.

Yes and yes.

You can suggest something for us to listen to and review. If anyone else is interested in doing a review on Suffer, they're welcome to, but I'd say we should move things along and hope participation will pick up.

After Monday I'll be free from uni until next year, so I have some free time coming up.

EDIT: Review it yourself as well. How in depth you want to go into is up to you. I'd say a paragraph would be the minimum length.

I'll tag along.

Going to make a review of Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange". Sounds too common to review that but I just felt like doing it. I'll start making it when I'm not busy

I'll tag along.

Going to make a review of Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange". Sounds too common to review that but I just felt like doing it. I'll start making it when I'm not busy

You realize thats not how this works right?

Ill look for this on my ipod tomorrow, i shoudl have it.

Hey everyone, it's Channel Orange! I'M FUCKING BORED.

"When you're happy, you enjoy the music. But when you're sad, you understand the lyrics."

Spot on nigga.

Channel Orange is the official (although I think Nostalgia, Ultra. was) debut album of Frank Ocean. I listened to the Lonny Breaux Collection (about 15-25 songs), an album that would loosely remind you of Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs", and I couldn't help but think, "Could Frank actually make another album that has more quality than these songs?" (Star tracks from that mixtape were Bedtime Story, Hardest Thing, No Love). Frankie also informally released some great tracks (Thinkin' Bout You, White).

The answer to that was the epic Channel Orange.

Start - this opener will deceive you into thinking that you're in Nostalgia, Ultra. Love the PSX intro. (3.8/5)
Thinkin Bout You - the song that skyrocketed Frank's fame. Just when you thought that he was just going to re-release the song, he added strings and some backing vocals at the bridge. I don't even care if it's just a cover, he wrote it. (4.7/5)
Fertilizer - James Fauntleroy, anyone? A great sample, with added autotune effects. Made me re-love that song. (4.6/5) - because skit
Sierra Leone - NOW, Channel Orange has started. This song beats any song in the Lonny Breaux Collection, and the vocals are just going from trippy to majestic. The bass is groovy too. Though not my favorite song on the album, (4.1/5)
Sweet Life - "The best song wasn't the single". Damn right. This Neptunes-produced track is a sweet blend of elevator muzak and silent-storm vocals from Frank. I don't know why i have less love for this song (3.7/5)
Not Just Money - this skit might seem off and unappealing, but it sets the tone for the first half of the album (love in the midst of greed). This track is a downer, for sure - (3.4/5)
Super Rich Kids - this is the type of song that makes die-hard OF fans scream "FREE EARL!" even though he already is back. It probably makes even 2DopeBoyz cry This song is the perfect song to continue Not Just Money and you have got to love Frank and Earl's lyricism. His interpolation of "Real Love" is a perfect way to end the song and the piano sounds like "Bennie and the Jets". (4.8/5)
Pilot Jones - another Frank Ocean masterpiece on trying to work out impossible, troubled relationships. The vocal arrangements sound original and the instruments go as far as RZA to even Roxy Music. The lyrics are tight too. (4.6/5)
Crack Rock- OH HEY THERE! Crack Rock is the aftermath of Pilot Jones. A simple, epic, song that may be the standard of a Channel Orange track. The beats sound like its from Jay-z's American Gangster (4.1/5)
Pyramids - the album's "centerpiece". This 10-minute song would make you realize why Frank Ocean is just way ahead of today's cliche pop fuck-ups like Usher, Jason DeRulo, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Taio Cruz, etc, etc, meh. This song is a catchy pop-song with blasting drums and keyboards. It also has that seemingly-annoying "Oh-Oh-OOOHs" that most pop songs have. The only difference is, this song has such depth in lyrics and makes you use your mind in imagining what's going on. It makes you even excited at times. No bias, dude. This track ends with a trippy instrumental similar to Kanye West's Runaway (4.8/5)
Lost - this song is fresh. as fresh as a cold shower (Lost) coming off steamy sex (Pyramids). really deeply fresh with fruity loops. The chorus will make you dance the way Pitbull and J-Lo do except this song doesn't force you to. the hook is fierce too. (4.6/5)
White - i was slightly interested with this song when i saw this featured John Mayer. it kinda disappointed when there was no John Mayer vocals, not even Franks'. but putting that thought aside, White is a loose instrumental cover of "White", and its laid-back, and groovy. Nice choice of featuring John for the guitar. (3.7/5) - the original White was WAAAAAAAAAY better
Monks - THE most underrated track of Channel Orange. in my opinion has the best lyrical content, and, this song's structure could even be compared to an oppsite version of Radiohead's All I Need. I mean, who could ever think of picturing out peaceful monks in a violent mosh and make it seem so... Magnificent? The love story is cinematic too. Like a scene from CSI (4.9/5)
Bad Religion - this is where the emotion in this album reaches its peak. the opening part would remind you of a scene from Taxi Driver, and the falsetto is crazy awesome. Even better than Thinking bout You. The album was definitely worth the wait. (4.7/5)
Pink Matter - THE BEST track of Channel Orange. if "Super Rich Kids" best feature was its lyricism, this song's forte is its soul. You get a nostalgic Frank Ocean, and an alpha-male like Andre 3000 (just as intellectually awesome as his verse on Deuces (Remix)), you get excellence. The passion of Bad Religion carried on here, and the outro (before Andre 3000's last verse) is a glorious drunkard's anthem. Andre 3000 just makes a powerful entourage to the song, and the way he ends it is remarkable. (5/5) G.O.A.T
Forrest Gump - almost there. this song is just so atmospheric, so vibrant. Frank Ocean takes you to the world of Forrest Gump with its cinematic theme. a song so innocent, decent, anthemic. (4.9/5)
End - the End. (the formal end, at least) although it didn't have that 10+minute end to an album like some great ones, this track is quite fitting, adding sex sounds, sampling "Voodoo", car sounds. and that trademark cassette sound Frank regularly has to end some songs. Bittersweet End. (3.7/5)

Bonus Song: Golden Girl - what OFWGKTA album is complete without Tyler? None. this song is fruitier than Lost which brings out wonder because Tyler was using his "Wolf Haley" vocal. It makes you even get pumped up for his upcoming album, "Wolf" How did the song work out so cheery despite those demonic vocals? No one knows. That's just how incredible Channel Orange is. Great way to close the album. (4.4/5)

OVERALL ---> 4.36/5 x 2 (because fuck you) = 8.72/10

Sounds about right. What do you think?



Next up is Fun's Some Nights maybe next next week?

I'll tag along.

Going to make a review of Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange". Sounds too common to review that but I just felt like doing it. I'll start making it when I'm not busy

You realize thats not how this works right?

Ill look for this on my ipod tomorrow, i shoudl have it.

CRAP. i made the review long enough that i didnt read your post. I don't even know the rules rules of this (retard.). Ehhhh, i'll just leave my review there.

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=75143&p=1316851&hilit=album+review+thread#p1316851

There's the thread you want Jett for random reviews of albums

why thank you