Hello, I'm very new to New Order. I randomly wanted to check them out in the beginning of the month, immediately listened to first three albums. I would say "Power Corruption and Lies" is my absolute favorite these days, but I can't stop listening to Sub-Culture. It has catchy hook, melancholic lyrics and addictive melody. I don't know what it's about, but the song is so good, incredibly amazing.
Hey guys, check out my recent review on "Angles". I wrote it for my local music channel, decided to share it here also. What do you guys say?
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Before starting praising and telling you guys how experimental, amazing album this is, let me talk about its disadvantages and background.
"Angles" was released in 2011, after 5 year hiatus. Those were disastrous years of the band, they all had released other solo/band projects and the sour criticism of the last album played a negative role on their career. The band fired their producer, after being disappointed in the sessions. Then Julian became absent during sessions. And when the album was released, it received backlash from critics and most of fans alike. Majority dismissed it as weirdly executed, random experimental sounds without any purpose or one direction.
After 15 years, now it's seen as the band's boldest project. It's not easy to get the feeling of it, it took me a year too. This is also the root of Julian's next band - "The Voidz". Angels became blueprint for this band, and it's probably the most Voidz-y sounding Strokes album.
If you're aware, first 3 albums of The Strokes were mostly Julian-based. He sang, wrote all the songs, guitar parts and lyrics. But on this album, the whole band threw ideas, they started approaching their output from different angles, hence the name. Now about actual songs, we gotta look at them from different "angles", too)
Julian's agony, his pessimistic, cynic view on family, self, society, corporations and politics fully developed in the album. The songs are just as about "corrupt powerful people" as us people who have let them get away with all their crimes. Basically, it's a direct criticism towards both sides.
Machu Picchu - the intro song. It has probably the coolest bridge section in any Strokes song. I lived with it for weeks and then it made me listen to the whole album. It's about him already being okay with everything and trying to find his place/mountain in the world.
Under Cover of Darkness - Julian addressed this song as soldier going to army ang leaving his lover behind. However it is, it is the closest classic Strokes-sounding on the album. While other songs focus on synths and more heavy guitars, this is more summer vibes, rock pop song.
Games - it's sync, electronic heavy 80's-sounding ballad about the games people play in relationships. The games of lying, hiding, not-so-sincere smiling behind "perfect family" status and them living in a empty world.
Call Me Back - this is a kind of minimalistic track about love and intimacy. The narrators lack of choosing and the guts is portrayed with low/whispering-like vocals, and it works just too well. Billie Eilish made her cover of this song.
Metabolism - this is one of the darkest and heaviest songs of their catalog. It sounds like very Muse-inspired, guitar riffs and aggressiveness gives off Muse's "Resistance" vibes.
Life Is Simple In The Moonlight - the closing track. I think that the title speaks in 2 ways.
The Moon only reflects the light of Sun. Therefore it does not have its light. Technically "moonlight" doesn't exist, it's only a reflection, illusion.
Life is simple in the illusion, in the ignorance. Just by digging a bit, one can see that the song is merely disguised as love song but in reality, it's about the ignorance of people towards crimes, cruelty and corruption.
"Angles" consists of only 10 songs, about 34 minutes runtime. For me, it's lyrics and dark, dystopian mood that makes me go back and listen to it. It has its flaws on some songs, some of Julian's vocals are not mixed good enough but overall amazing album experience.
Julian featured on the song "Little Girl" by Danger Mouse and Sparkehorse's 2010 collab album. He is on lyrics, vocals and guitars. I discovered it today and I'm loving it. I has listened to Danger Mouse's "Grey Album" mashup album few months ago but didn't know he made indie music. + I had never heard of Sparkehorse before.
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What do you guys think about the song and artists?
I've been listening to The Strokes for a year, instantly got into them after listening to Is This It. After that, I tried Room on Fire, but I couldn't just get to like it, only 2-3 songs became my favorites (12:51 and Reptilia). I tried to listen to it several times after that but never it hit me. From the first seconds, I wasn't a fan of Julian's vocals on "What Ever Happened?" and some other songs. I couldn't just put it to the same level as Is This It, Comedown Machine and The New Abnormal. Recently, I started digging the albums once again until Reality Awaits release. And on that, I kinda liked it fully. Replayed it once back, now it's on my daily rotation. I Can't Win, Meet Me In the Bathroom, Automatic Stop, Under Control, Between Love & Hate, all of them are growing on me. Now, I can put it amongst my most favorite albums of the band. I don't know how people react when it came out in 2003, but as a new generation fan, I am starting to love it and it still rocks)
Copium here: I was just thinking about how Rooney never get the credit he deserved and forgotten in the lists of best strikers of the century and somehow I connected him to Stannis Baratheon. After that I decided to imagine legendary footballers as ASOIAF characters. Here's my list:
Footballers as ASOIAF characters:
Cristiano Ronaldo: Aegon The Conqueror
Lionel Messi: Jaeherys The Old King
Petr Czech: Ser Duncan The Tall
Gianluigi Buffon: Ser Aemon The Dragonknight
Zinedine Zidane: Ser Arthur Dayne
Zlatan Ibrahimovich: Prince Daemon Targaryen
Ngolo Kante: Maester Aemon
Kaka: Aegon The Unlikely
Ronaldinho: Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
Ronaldo R9: King Robert I Baratheon
Wayne Rooney: Stannis Baratheon
Neymar: Renly Baratheon
David Beckham: Ser Jaime Lannister
What do you guys say? Until Winds came out, I dunno what to do.
I just finished The Mystery Knight and with that fully finished the reading of all ASOIAF published books for the first time. It may sound a bit off or mayhaps it was already discussed, but I wanna know about Frey heir. Is the little boy of apparent Lord Frey at Whitewalls is the future Lord Waldey Frey? I guess it makes sense because in 212 AC, he would be a little child at the time. Somehow, it feels surreal that the little boy here would be the most hated person in Westeros by the main series events.