I've already discussed my disdain for this new Bon Iver record, and instead of it growing on me, it's doing the exact opposite. I don't think I like a single track on it now. It is the epitome and essence of the word hipster. And, from skimming over the interview on Justin Vernon by Pitchfork, I feel like placing a bet on:

Quote :

"new Bon Iver will get in the 9 range. it's pretty fucking good."

...only being true if Grayson rates it.

I'm through talking about it, but the assumably blind Justin Vernon Nut Riding Club is pretty obnoxious.

6/13/2011 6:59:19 PM

I don't agree with that at all. I really do think it's a great album. beautiful production, every sound/idea seems carefully considered, flows really well, his voice sounds great, inventive songwriting ... haven't really paid attention to the lyrics but admittedly I rarely care about lyrics unless they're so bad that they detract from a song.

I don't think Grayson would volunteer to review a Bon Iver or Megafaun album for Pitchfork (or any other "local" band really)

6/13/2011 7:11:11 PM

The careful construction thing ...yeah, I guess. But his singing/the incoherent lyrics...just not my thing. Anyway, done talking about it. Oh, and answer my PM one way or another, please.

6/13/2011 7:32:59 PM

loving the new Future Islands song... they're getting better and better with every new thing they do

http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/15903-before-the-bridge/

6/14/2011 12:15:34 AM

^the only "local" band I scheduled for Hopscotch.

6/14/2011 12:17:40 AM

yeah, that song makes the decision to see them a lot easier

6/14/2011 12:31:27 AM

They apparently re-issued Sebadoh's bakesale, coming out tomorrow. That album rules. I feel like I already own it, though...

6/14/2011 1:23:57 AM

Liking the new rosebuds, very atmospheric and melancholy.

6/14/2011 11:22:40 AM

The lyrics on the new Bon Iver are either awful or incredible depending on how you view nonsense and what kind of imagination you can have with words. He makes up a surprising amount of words (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ARBORETIC?jss=1) and phrases.

That said, the music's phenomenal and it's not as if he isn't trying with his lyrics. I think he's just a pretty odd, free-form songwriter. I don't know what Pitchfork will give it, but if I myself had to rate it, I would give it a 9 or so. He had a vision and he stuck with it and wrote some good songs. What more can you ask for out of a highly anticipated album?

6/14/2011 12:23:58 PM

that future islands is good. singer sounds like the vampire musical from forgetting sarah marshall though.

6/14/2011 7:08:03 PM

DIE!
DIE!
DIE!
I CAN'T.

6/14/2011 7:16:14 PM

^^lol. had never thought about that, but he kinda does.

6/14/2011 7:50:52 PM

Hell: The Sequel is fantastic

Go out of your way to procure it by any means possible

6/16/2011 3:15:15 PM

Battles "Gloss Drop" is a great, great album.

6/18/2011 1:17:24 PM

new wild flag single kicks fucking ass

<3 <3 <3

6/19/2011 1:30:32 AM

Got the new Rosebuds the other day. I like it, but it'll probably get more listening time when the cold weather rolls around.

6/19/2011 3:42:26 AM

^^i concur.

6/19/2011 8:40:13 AM

caltrop is another local band you need to see at hopscotch.

6/19/2011 12:21:41 PM

the new Rave On Buddy Holly, Buddy Holly tribute record, is insanely good.

i had mentioned it earlier in this thread, but that was only a partial leak. all 19 songs are out now.

My Morning Jacket, Cee Lo, The Black Keys, Jenny O, Detroit Cobras, Julian Casablancas, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Modest Mouse, Paul McCartney, She & Him and others cover songs.

[Edited on June 19, 2011 at 2:41 PM. Reason : .]

6/19/2011 2:34:54 PM

Why would anyone ask lou reed to sing now?

6/19/2011 2:38:52 PM

i'm really digging the new black lips

6/19/2011 4:55:38 PM

i've been meaning to get on that

the black lips are my cat's favorite band

6/19/2011 5:29:39 PM

catching them in CLT next month before what will surely be a sick closing set on thursday night at hopscotch.

6/19/2011 7:48:01 PM

Quote :

"nine point five"

6/20/2011 1:17:23 AM

I know The Dear Hunter gets some hate on here, especially from vinylbandit, but the doubters (or previous haters) really ought to give The Color Spectrum release a try. It's pretty great stuff, and they take it places they've not gone previously.

It's essentially a 9 EP release, 4 songs on each. Each EP represents a different color of the spectrum musically and lyrically (black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, white).



Here's a handful of songs that are worth checking out from it (but really, listening to the whole damn thing is highly recommended ) :


BLACK
"Filth and Squalor" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C6Zg4g-PGo

RED
"A Curse of Cynicism" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geV6OkIURoE
(I actually like the song "He Couldn't Do it Alone" better, but can't find a link for it)

ORANGE
(can't find a good link)

YELLOW
"Misplaced Devotion" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cpM5pfqHA4

GREEN
"The Inheritance" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S16NbCeTz0

BLUE
"Tripping in Triplets" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nsie3Ywzsg&feature=related

INDIGO
"What Time Taught Us" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQSgkfpSfVg
(not my favorite off Indigo, but only one I could find a video for. still good.)

VIOLET
"Mr. Malum" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u17hD7mGbF0

WHITE
"No God" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4tZlHqBe5Q

6/20/2011 4:09:09 AM

Hey all you guys who like shitty music like the mars volta, check out Twin Killers. Played a show with them tonight, and that type of music drives me insane but they were incredible. I think someone said they were like Denali but i never heard that shit. Technically their album came out last year but i'd never heard of it and i bought it. I doubt they are very big. I believe one of the dudes said they were in the process of recording a fuller length. Rock on

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

6/20/2011 5:23:50 AM

Congrats, Thomas Wiseau, on predicting that.

Unbelievable. Though, I dunno, not really. They rated James Blake pretty high, and I hate that nonsense, also. Whatever...

6/20/2011 9:54:52 AM

^ yeh, 9.5 for bon iver, bon iver is a bit inflated-- I think something around 8.2 is more realistic. It's good, but definitely not 9.5 good

6/20/2011 10:02:45 AM

I know it's lame to look past the scores on Pitchfork and actually read the review, but the review is actually really well-written. A little heavy-handed, maybe, but well-written nonetheless. It basically drives home the point that tommy wiseau, myself, and most of the other supporters of this album have been making since this album leaked--that, especially in this era, it's both incredibly difficult and incredibly rare for an artist to so stubbornly stick to such a unique vision for an entire album.

And I wholeheartedly agree with their assessment of "Beth/Rest" being the proverbial line in the sand for anyone who isn't with what he's doing with an album like this.

Also, I think it deserves every tenth of that score

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 10:54 AM. Reason : s]

6/20/2011 10:53:15 AM

please, stop with The Dear Hunter

shit is awful

6/20/2011 12:18:41 PM

9.5 for Bon Iver??!!?!

bwahahahahahahahaahahahahahaahahahahaha

godalmighty.

6/20/2011 12:21:33 PM

I honestly don't understand why you guys are so surprised. If you don't like the album, I obviously get that, but you had to suspect Pitchfork was gonna bust a nut for it. It's an inventive, unique, highly anticipated release, Pitchfork ALWAYS fawns over shit like that.

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 12:35 PM. Reason : "it"]

6/20/2011 12:34:28 PM

I definitely like the album, from start to finish. But if For Emma, Forever Ago got 8.1, Bon Iver, Bon Iver doesn't deserve a 9.5. To me, this illustrates that a substantial portion of the pitchfork score comes from buzz. This doesn't seem right. I know that it's impossible to take subjective, time-sensitive factors like 'buzz' out of the scoring process, but pitchfork doesn't even seem to try.

Let it be understood that I don't personally give 2 shits about a pitchfork review-- it's just entertainment for me. However, we all know how much of an effect pitchfork has on the industry, so I think it's perfectly warranted to assess/ argue a review.

6/20/2011 12:47:52 PM

I don't know, I like Pitchfork. I know it's become hip to hate on Pitchfork now, but I generally agree with their opinions and oftentimes (but not always), the writing is some of the best out there if you can follow along.

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 12:53 PM. Reason : p]

6/20/2011 12:52:52 PM

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 12:59 PM. Reason : I'm gonna throw a bullshit flag on Pitchfork writing being "some of the best out there"]

6/20/2011 12:57:29 PM

yeeeeeah man you get a little chance to listen to that Tapes n Tapes?

6/20/2011 1:04:09 PM

^^love that sketch. explain your bullshit flag. which publications do you think do a good job?

6/20/2011 1:32:02 PM

Quote :

"the writing is some of the best out there if you can follow along."

Sometimes, sure. Just as often, though, it's lazy bullshit. See, for example, the review of Future Islands' In Evening Air, which is essentially a bio with some song titles thrown in. I understand a review like that in something like Mojo, where space is limited and details can hinder getting one's point across, but there's no excuse for being anonymously spare on the interwebs.

6/20/2011 1:36:06 PM

To be honest, I haven't read an actual album review in years, except in situations like this where people are arguing over decimals. I don't care what one guy in Chicago thinks about an album, I don't care what silly little number or star or Best New Whatever he assigns to it. Pitchfork certainly isn't the worst, they're just the most visible masturbatory circle-jerk pseudo New Journalism fuckfaces out there.

6/20/2011 1:39:57 PM

^^That's fair; I'll agree with that. It is definitely inconsistent, and that Future Islands review that you mentioned is definitely one that sticks out in my mind as a good example of a lazy review.

To me, though, when the writing is good on Pitchfork, it's really good.

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 1:40 PM. Reason : a]

6/20/2011 1:40:39 PM

And of course there's shit like this

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11617-partie-traumatic/

6/20/2011 1:44:38 PM

^which is just meant to be funny more than anything

i don't really have a problem with that or the JET review with the monkey drinking its own piss

that said, it does make them seem less professional when they post those kinds of reviews.

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 1:50 PM. Reason : s]

6/20/2011 1:48:38 PM

Pitchfork is pretty worthless without DiCrescenzo and Ott.

6/20/2011 1:53:47 PM

my all-time favorite pitchfork review: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8104-lateralus/

this one is interesting, too: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7342-nyc-ghosts-flowers/

i've always thought dicrescenzo was the best writer they ever had

6/20/2011 1:55:01 PM

My favorite: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/184-i-get-wet/

Followed by: http://www.pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7707-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-150-101/

6/20/2011 2:01:35 PM

^What about this:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2134-discovery/

http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7710-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-20-1/2/

6/20/2011 2:07:36 PM

^
hahah didn't know about that one

6/20/2011 2:11:33 PM

Quote :

"I definitely like the album, from start to finish. But if For Emma, Forever Ago got 8.1, Bon Iver, Bon Iver doesn't deserve a 9.5. To me, this illustrates that a substantial portion of the pitchfork score comes from buzz. This doesn't seem right. I know that it's impossible to take subjective, time-sensitive factors like 'buzz' out of the scoring process, but pitchfork doesn't even seem to try. Let it be understood that I don't personally give 2 shits about a pitchfork review-- it's just entertainment for me. However, we all know how much of an effect pitchfork has on the industry, so I think it's perfectly warranted to assess/ argue a review. "

This. Minus the 'liking the album' bit, of course.

Buzz. Yes. As noted by that piece of shit Fleet Foxes just released.

6/20/2011 5:57:23 PM

Also, waiting on an email any minute now from dillydaliant talking about a listening party, midnight sale, bonus EP's, poster, stickers, Calgary 12", etc etc etc

lol.

6/20/2011 6:00:47 PM

^^ yeh, that new fleet foxes is a stinking turd, especially given how good the first one is.

on a side not, the b-side of the calgary single ('i can't make you love me/ nick of time' cover) is gor-ge-ous. 1000 times better than that cringe-inducing fallon performance

6/20/2011 7:05:38 PM