I hate writing these posts.
In the past hour, nodatta.blogspot.com shut down for good. In the past few years, there hasn't been another blog that could rival the services provided by nodatta. I doubt anyone upped as many albums in the past few years as the guys who ran the site. Just about anything you couldn't find anywhere else could be found at nodatta. It is quite a shame. What's worse, I heard that the reason they shut down might be because they upped the new Mars Volta album that had leaked. Not sure if that is true, but if it is, Mars Volta is a bad reason to have to shut down.
No more OiNK.
No more Albumbase.
No more nodatta.
The big guys are falling hard.
Showing posts with label leak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leak. Show all posts
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
I've been listening to the Mountain Goats' new record, Heretic Pride, all night now. There have been background listens, there have been critical listens, active listens, and there have been relistens. I've listened to the record a few times over, and still want to hear it again. This one is something else. I've listened while watching the Patriots run the table, while reading about a way to determine points per possession from basketball box scores, and while doing nothing at all besides listening.
I don't feel like I can write a review of Heretic Pride at this point. It would be lots of comments like, "This is so damn cool!" And it is. But that isn't terribly insightful. So now for the attempt at insight. These were the things that I was curious about before hearing the album, and what caught my ear while listening.
1. The production and arrangement - It seems like ever since John Darnielle first went into the studio and released Tallahassee, the production has gotten increasingly interesting and natural sounding. Heretic Pride definitely sounds more like a full band is in the studio than any Mountain Goats album to come before it. Piano and organ work are featured more prominently on songs here than anything since "No Children." Scott Solter and John Vanderslice really got the sound right on these songs. The string parts are great, and "San Bernardino" features some stringed instrument ostinato from the start that intrigues me greatly. Arrangements are inventive and strong throughout.
2. Bright Mountain Choir - I've always enjoyed the parts of the Mountain Goats' back catalog that featured Darnielle's voice paired with a female singer. Be it Rachel Ware, the BMC, or Kimya Dawson. The parts where female vocals show up are treats.
3. Jon Wurster - I used to think "This Year" was the Mountain Goats' rocker. Not any more. Wurster elevates a number of these tracks to great heights. I hope to see JW on drums along with Peter Hughes and John Darnielle the next time a tour comes through the area.
4. Monsters - Some research would probably reveal more ties, but the monster theme that had been previously suspected is somewhat present. Heretic Pride is not an album about monsters, but perhaps an album about how it feels to be a monster, or be perceived as one. I like that better. Perhaps there will be a video for one of these songs, and monsters will be involved. I'd like that too.
5. Michael Myers Resplendent - One year ago this week, Darnielle posted a demo of this track. It was good. When HP's tracklist was announced, some fans were surprised that MMR was closing things out. Or curious might be the better term. I was very curious as to the changes, if any, Michael Myers Resplendent had undergone from the "Grendel's Mother" esque demo. Well, MMR went in a totally different direction than I had expected. It's big, and it deserves to have the final say on Heretic Pride.
Really, there is only one song on HP that I'm not already sold on, and that is only because it is a little too reggae for my tastes. Lyrically, it is solid. Now I will just wait in anticipation for the liner notes when the record is released on February 19. This record should be one of the best for next year, it would have been for 2007. I just hope that when the end of 2008 rolls around, people won't have forgotten how outstanding Heretic Pride is like they did with The Reminder.
I don't feel like I can write a review of Heretic Pride at this point. It would be lots of comments like, "This is so damn cool!" And it is. But that isn't terribly insightful. So now for the attempt at insight. These were the things that I was curious about before hearing the album, and what caught my ear while listening.
1. The production and arrangement - It seems like ever since John Darnielle first went into the studio and released Tallahassee, the production has gotten increasingly interesting and natural sounding. Heretic Pride definitely sounds more like a full band is in the studio than any Mountain Goats album to come before it. Piano and organ work are featured more prominently on songs here than anything since "No Children." Scott Solter and John Vanderslice really got the sound right on these songs. The string parts are great, and "San Bernardino" features some stringed instrument ostinato from the start that intrigues me greatly. Arrangements are inventive and strong throughout.
2. Bright Mountain Choir - I've always enjoyed the parts of the Mountain Goats' back catalog that featured Darnielle's voice paired with a female singer. Be it Rachel Ware, the BMC, or Kimya Dawson. The parts where female vocals show up are treats.
3. Jon Wurster - I used to think "This Year" was the Mountain Goats' rocker. Not any more. Wurster elevates a number of these tracks to great heights. I hope to see JW on drums along with Peter Hughes and John Darnielle the next time a tour comes through the area.
4. Monsters - Some research would probably reveal more ties, but the monster theme that had been previously suspected is somewhat present. Heretic Pride is not an album about monsters, but perhaps an album about how it feels to be a monster, or be perceived as one. I like that better. Perhaps there will be a video for one of these songs, and monsters will be involved. I'd like that too.
5. Michael Myers Resplendent - One year ago this week, Darnielle posted a demo of this track. It was good. When HP's tracklist was announced, some fans were surprised that MMR was closing things out. Or curious might be the better term. I was very curious as to the changes, if any, Michael Myers Resplendent had undergone from the "Grendel's Mother" esque demo. Well, MMR went in a totally different direction than I had expected. It's big, and it deserves to have the final say on Heretic Pride.
Really, there is only one song on HP that I'm not already sold on, and that is only because it is a little too reggae for my tastes. Lyrically, it is solid. Now I will just wait in anticipation for the liner notes when the record is released on February 19. This record should be one of the best for next year, it would have been for 2007. I just hope that when the end of 2008 rolls around, people won't have forgotten how outstanding Heretic Pride is like they did with The Reminder.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Day Trip to Chapel Hill
I spent all day yesterday in Chapel Hill, a town that is as much a home to me now as the one I grew up in. I had plans to see some of my favorite people, and ended up running into a long lost friend the moment I arrived.
This space is not about my personal life though. The latter half of my evening was devoted to the Carolina vs. Nevada basketball game. The Dean Dome was almost full, with even more in attendance than when school was in session for the last game I went to against Iona.
Bobby Frasor's season-ending injury was hard to watch. When he went down, I had no doubt he had blown out his knee. It was bad, watching one part of his leg go one way and the other half go in an opposite direction, laterally speaking. However, I was rather confused and actually hopeful when Frasor got up and walked to the locker room on his own power, albeit gingerly. I've always thought of getting a torn ACL as something that would keep you from walking without support on the bum leg. I feel so bad for the guy, especially since he had an injured foot for a majority of last season. I believe it is definitely possible that Quentin Thomas can come into Frasor's role and not miss a beat, but it will require him to play a cleaner game than he has been. Bobby's assist to turnover ratio is much better than Quentin's, and it seems like Bobby shoots better from behind the arc. While Frasor has played more minutes, Thomas is a senior - there should be no inexperience in his game. Moreover, if Carolina goes all the way this year, I'd like to see Q have an important part in his becoming the only Tar Heel to ever win two national championships. That is really unimportant for the time being though. I hope Bobby Frasor makes a full recovery, and that Quentin Thomas plays up to his ability. Carolina is really lucky when it comes down to it - not only do we have a guy who is the best point guard in the land (look at those stats from last night), but we also have a backup guy. NC State is going to play their second year in a row without a real point guard. That is bad luck.
Other than the Frasor injury, last night's game against Nevada was entertaining. Four UNC players put up double figures, but Ty Lawson really stood out. Lawson managed to put up 16 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in 29 minutes. I wanted to be witness to the first UNC triple-double of the Roy Williams era, and if Lawson had pulled out an identical second half to his first he would have gotten it. No dice though, and Rashad McCants still holds the last one, occurring when Matt Doherty was still at the helm. I've never seen anyone go end to end like Lawson - the layup is an automatic when he gets the ball in transition, regardless of numbers. Short man even dunked a ball last night. Good for him. Lawson is almost always a part of my favorite happening when Carolina plays: moving the ball from one end of the court to the other for a layup without any player taking a dribble. That is efficient basketball.
On another note, Tyler Hansbrough put up 26 points in 26 minutes. Sometimes, it seems like Hansbrough ho-hums his way to 25 points. Part of it is the free throws. Through last night's game, Hansbrough is only 92 made free throws behind the program's all time leader. If Tyler keeps shooting ten a game, that won't last long. Fans like me are sort of taking Tyler for granted, I think. When he can put up 26 in 26 minutes and it not feel spectacular, especially when Nevada had two guys taller than him in the game, it is scary. I think once the conference schedule rolls around, we'll see some of those career defining performances. He probably won't score 40 points again like he did against Georgia Tech his freshman year, simply because with Lawson and Ellington playing so well he doesn't need to. Tyler is definitely capable of taking over a game like he did last year against Michigan State at the LJVM in Winston-Salem for the second round of the tournament though. I was courtside for that, and it was without a doubt the greatest basketball performance I've ever been in attendance for.
I should have a post about Cat Power's Jukebox up as soon as I give it a few listens.
Edit: The copy of the new Cat Power I had waiting on me was a promo copy that fades all the songs out around the 2-minute mark, right when they are about to break into the best parts. Matador has me beat. False alarm.
This space is not about my personal life though. The latter half of my evening was devoted to the Carolina vs. Nevada basketball game. The Dean Dome was almost full, with even more in attendance than when school was in session for the last game I went to against Iona.
Bobby Frasor's season-ending injury was hard to watch. When he went down, I had no doubt he had blown out his knee. It was bad, watching one part of his leg go one way and the other half go in an opposite direction, laterally speaking. However, I was rather confused and actually hopeful when Frasor got up and walked to the locker room on his own power, albeit gingerly. I've always thought of getting a torn ACL as something that would keep you from walking without support on the bum leg. I feel so bad for the guy, especially since he had an injured foot for a majority of last season. I believe it is definitely possible that Quentin Thomas can come into Frasor's role and not miss a beat, but it will require him to play a cleaner game than he has been. Bobby's assist to turnover ratio is much better than Quentin's, and it seems like Bobby shoots better from behind the arc. While Frasor has played more minutes, Thomas is a senior - there should be no inexperience in his game. Moreover, if Carolina goes all the way this year, I'd like to see Q have an important part in his becoming the only Tar Heel to ever win two national championships. That is really unimportant for the time being though. I hope Bobby Frasor makes a full recovery, and that Quentin Thomas plays up to his ability. Carolina is really lucky when it comes down to it - not only do we have a guy who is the best point guard in the land (look at those stats from last night), but we also have a backup guy. NC State is going to play their second year in a row without a real point guard. That is bad luck.
Other than the Frasor injury, last night's game against Nevada was entertaining. Four UNC players put up double figures, but Ty Lawson really stood out. Lawson managed to put up 16 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in 29 minutes. I wanted to be witness to the first UNC triple-double of the Roy Williams era, and if Lawson had pulled out an identical second half to his first he would have gotten it. No dice though, and Rashad McCants still holds the last one, occurring when Matt Doherty was still at the helm. I've never seen anyone go end to end like Lawson - the layup is an automatic when he gets the ball in transition, regardless of numbers. Short man even dunked a ball last night. Good for him. Lawson is almost always a part of my favorite happening when Carolina plays: moving the ball from one end of the court to the other for a layup without any player taking a dribble. That is efficient basketball.
On another note, Tyler Hansbrough put up 26 points in 26 minutes. Sometimes, it seems like Hansbrough ho-hums his way to 25 points. Part of it is the free throws. Through last night's game, Hansbrough is only 92 made free throws behind the program's all time leader. If Tyler keeps shooting ten a game, that won't last long. Fans like me are sort of taking Tyler for granted, I think. When he can put up 26 in 26 minutes and it not feel spectacular, especially when Nevada had two guys taller than him in the game, it is scary. I think once the conference schedule rolls around, we'll see some of those career defining performances. He probably won't score 40 points again like he did against Georgia Tech his freshman year, simply because with Lawson and Ellington playing so well he doesn't need to. Tyler is definitely capable of taking over a game like he did last year against Michigan State at the LJVM in Winston-Salem for the second round of the tournament though. I was courtside for that, and it was without a doubt the greatest basketball performance I've ever been in attendance for.
I should have a post about Cat Power's Jukebox up as soon as I give it a few listens.
Edit: The copy of the new Cat Power I had waiting on me was a promo copy that fades all the songs out around the 2-minute mark, right when they are about to break into the best parts. Matador has me beat. False alarm.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
In the Craters of the Moon
The first few tracks from The Mountain Goats' new album, Heretic Pride, are making their way to the internet. The album is due February 18th, and JD has explicitly stated not to link or share the tracks, so I'm not going to be that guy. Will I download it when I get the chance? Yes. Will I buy it the day it comes out? Yes. No sharing though. Don't ask.
Anyway, the track I've listened to the most, "In the Craters of the Moon," is pretty spectacular. Epic sound, and beautiful too. So, consider this a hype entry. I'm not going to search out the HP's tracks one by one. I have a feeling HP might have a thematic strain running throughout, so I want my first exposure to be an intact one for the most part.
Anyway, the track I've listened to the most, "In the Craters of the Moon," is pretty spectacular. Epic sound, and beautiful too. So, consider this a hype entry. I'm not going to search out the HP's tracks one by one. I have a feeling HP might have a thematic strain running throughout, so I want my first exposure to be an intact one for the most part.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Days of the Leak
Spin.com has a great article up concerning music leaks. It really is the first article I've seen that makes mention of zip file sites like You Send It, Megaupload, and Rapidshare, which I think are much more involved in leaks than anyone in the media realizes. Just go check out Radiohead fansite Ateaseweb if you don't believe me. Sure, more people probably use P2P sites, but I have a feeling that if you don't use OiNK, you're on something like Albumbase, which I really like. Once again, great writeup.
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