Maybe this will be a thing I'll do again, but I thought I'd check out some albums that I've been otherwise disinclined to listen to and give review of them. This time around, I'll be reviewing Radiohead's OK Computer, Funeral by Arcade Fire, and Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement, since those three albums are generally held to be the best by those bands that are too indie mainstream for me (heh). I'll go song by song to start since these are first time listens, so I haven't had time to really understand the albums in their entirety.
RADIOHEAD -- OK COMPUTER -- 7/10
First song "Airbag" is actually kind of interesting. The apparent lack of a chorus, or at least the subtlety of that chorus is a really hit or miss idea, but here the song moves enough to keep from falling apart. If I listened to it more, maybe I'd understand the words or find memorable parts.
"Paranoid Android" seems to be the most popular song from this album, and I thought it was "Karma Police" at first for some reason because I'm bad at listening to words. It sounds a bit like if Blur listened to June of 44, and, probably intentionally, fails to have much emotional impact. Even the chord change 4 minutes in pales in comparison to the likes of Suede, JJ72, or Sunny Day Real Estate if you're looking for feelings from your music, and also doesn't quite compare to Slint or Rodan for really experimental music, but if you want the latter with some rhythm, I could see why you'd like Radiohead, or at least "Paranoid Android". The peppy guitar solo at the end enforces my assumption that the song is meant to be unemotional, perhaps a commentary on the emptiness of human emotion? I'm not sure. As an angsty fellow, to be honest I don't by into it, but the idea itself could have value for some listeners.
"Subterranean Homesick Alien" has a bit more atmospheric sound to it, fusing U2 to like Spiritualized. The part where Tom Yorke repeats the word "uptight" over and over again is pretty memorable, and the background effects give it a complex sound that fits right at home with the first two songs.
"Exit Music (For a Film)" is considerably less kinetic, and seems to be a transitional point in the album given the relatively complex structures of the previous two songs. It slowly builds up, adding additional sounds until Yorke raises his voice about 3:30 in, but for me it doesn't quite have the intended impact, if what they were going for was something like "Dagger" by Slowdive as sung by Tom Yorke. Different strokes, I suppose.
"Let Down" is my favorite song on this album so far. Unlike previous songs, it has good movement and momentum as well as some body, enabling the gradual build up to have a solid foundation, where in other songs the beginnings are a bit daintier. While the lyric "crushed down, like a bug in the ground" is not my cup of tea, I'm an admitted fan of a song with the words "slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball," so I'm clearly a bit biased here. The pause in the middle of this song in no way impedes its impact, which is quite the improvement over previous songs in this album. I might even go out of my way to listen to this song, though I feel like I want it to take off near the end and actually get loud, but beggars can't be choosers. Nonetheless, a lift-off like at the end of Suede's "Still Life," which maintains a persistent rhythm like "Let Down" but grows to a more powerful peak, would be an improvement, but in such a case I think "Let Down" would feel like more of a finishing song, so allowing the song to continue into "Karma Police" without it feeling like the latter is mundane in comparison is the right move.
"Karma Police" is, so far as I know, the most popular song on this album, though whether this is in the same sense that "Wonderwall" is the most popular song on What's the Story, Morning Glory? or in which "Cast No Shadow" might be (is there a consensus on this question? All the people I know hate Oasis :[ ). "Karma Police" has all the strengths of its predecessor, but it feels like this song has nothing to grow into besides adding more sound affects to the background, so I'd say "Let Down" is still the stronger song. Half-way through this album, here are my not in any way final thoughts on OK Computer, resisting the temptation to define Radiohead by it. Radiohead's sound is to be fragile and paranoid, but I think it really digs them into a hole at times. There's a potential for some of their songs to really explode into something bigger and more effective, but instead they stay contained in their shell with just more sound affects added. Does this maintain the desired aesthetic, i.e. would it be un-OK Computer to get louder? Maybe. Do I listen to too much Suede, Oasis, and Idlewild to appreciate subtlety? Probably, my shoegaze and post-rock listening notwithstanding. That's my critique of Radiohead though. I can't quite say they're the best band ever.
"Fitter Happier" is the "Bank Holiday" of this album.
"Electioneering" has the energy this album really needed, and it might actually be the true start of the second half, with "Fitter Happier" being the album divider. If so, it really explains Radiohead's purpose for this album, not to make a collection of good songs, because the songs are unremarkable on their own, but a cohesive album. Finally the paranoia is actually being expressed with some sense of urgency, which I think was what had to happen eventually.
"Climbing up the Walls" seems to be a return to timidity and lethargy, however, which is not what I was hoping for to be honest, but I think maybe fits better with the real identity of this album. That said, I'm not quite sure where the development of this album is coming from. While listening to "Electioneering" I was expecting a quiet-bold transition over time, a bit like a backwards 100 Broken Windows, or like Swervedriver's debut, Raise. "Climbing up the Walls" gets louder half-way through, but doesn't get any clearer
"No Surprises" seems from the beginning like it is the song meant to be the hit from this album. I quite like it actually, much "Let Down". It, unlike the other songs, seems frank and penetrable. It actually sticks out quite a bit from the rest of the album, somewhat like "Love Steals Us From Loneliness" on Idlewild's Warnings/Promises which I will review later, and seems like it probably made the best single. I can't see the rest of OK Computer following that model, because it really comes out of nowhere, but it wouldn't necessarily be unwelcome. Considering Diary, but Sunny Day Real Estate as a comparison, it's often good to have sensitive parts, like "47" or "48," to break up continuity of one emotion - angst there, paranoia here.
"Lucky" is clearly a return to the rest of the album's sound, however, and sounds a bit like a slower "Karma Police", with a very Dark Side of the Moon aspect to it. In fact, it's hitting me that OK Computer is much more a classic rock inspired album than an indie inspired one, which perhaps is why it's become so popular. It takes old methods and applies them in new ways, as it's undeniable that the paranoid aesthetic is a unique one. Aside from Parklife closer "This is a Low," it's a very trademark sound.
Finally, "The Tourist" slows the album down, helping it to cruise into its finale. How does it some up this album? It's a very cohesive album, maintaining a consistent sound all the way through, but to be honest it's an album with no surprises. I felt no urge to skip any of the songs, so the quality was very good throughout, but it was just not particularly interesting. Granted, perhaps it's a challenging album - the first time I played Dog Man Star and Alien Lanes they befuddled me, but now they're two of my all-time favorite albums. There were some very memorable moments on those albums though, and on this there are very few. The impression that I get is that it's sort of a background music album, or that maybe it's amazing when you listen to it high or something. My opinion, though, is that there are albums that would be good for that, like Souvlaki, Loveless, or Spiderland that are less boring. 8/10 for good but unremarkable, highlights include "Airbag", "Let Down", "No Surprises".
ARCADE FIRE -- FUNERAL -- 8/10
First things first, the titles are rather ambitious, which is definitely not a bad thing. It just says, "This is a work of art", rather than a fun album like anything by Guided by Voices, Oasis, or Superchunk. We'll see how it goes.
"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnel)" already seems a lot more enjoyable than OK Computer's first run-through. It has pace as well as an apparent soul. While I'm not a huge fan of indie-vibrato, I'll take songs like these warts and all. It even gets louder over time without just adding more sound effects! I'm just going to say I don't really like Radiohead that much. This is a breath of fresh air in comparison. NOW THERE'S A CHORUS WITH REAL EMOTION!? I always found the hoopla around Arcade Fire a bit annoying, but based on this there's some basis for it. It reminds me a bit of Jeremy Enigk's The Return of the Frog Queen, with its quaint instrumentals and bittersweet verses.
"Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" sounds very Talking Heads to start, but also adds a bit of the minor key sensitivity of "Neighborhood #1". The album in general has what I might call a somewhat burlesque sound, like old impressionist paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec or Renoir that are set inside bars and clubs, with their shadowy and jagged faces obscuring some real soul beneath them. The song builds up eventually into a semi-passion that takes away from this effect a bit, but the point stands.
"Un Annee Sans Lumiere" seems a bit brighter and more conventional, until it builds up to the fast paced bit at the end, which is exactly what OK Computer was missing when I listened to it. Funeral has so far lulled me into complacency before upsetting it again, which makes it a more interesting listen.
"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is much the same. The intro begins with a thick and dramatic series of chords, but it develops into a more rounded sound that is neither upbeat nor dirgeful. This movement that it accumulates throughout is also enjoyable. While I have a moment, I should note the presentation of the songs - it's like a washed out lo-fi that instead of being a whimsical effect as in early GBV, fuses the singing into the guitar distortion, giving it a bigger impact. This effect has also been used eventually in some of The Strokes' songs, as well as memorably in "Best of Friends" by Palma Violets.
"Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" isn't quite as interesting to start, with relatively mundane lyrics and a folky but drab presentation. While it changes about halfway into the song, there's no real chorus to speak of. Then again, this is the last song of Side A of the LP, so it's presumably meant to conclude the first half so that the second is more effective.
"Crown of Love" is also slow to start, and builds into a ballad somewhat reminiscent of some of the more sensitive Built to Spill songs, like "Reasons" or "Velvet Waltz," but with a bit less movement. Rises and falls in dynamics add some interesting nuances, but both lyrically and musically it doesn't quite compare to the first and second "Neighborhoods".
"Haiti" I actually have on iTunes for some reason. It's a more lush song, with a more impassioned apex than "Crown of Love", which perhaps implies that the next song will be the apex in terms of energy and emotion. I'm not here to make predictions I suppose. I will say that "Haiti" is a pretty good song and definitely more interesting than the two songs that came before it.
"Rebellion (Lies)" is a more fast paced song, and by the time the female background singers come it, there's some real energy emerges, but it seems to dissipate almost immediately when I want it to keep building. My simplistic hook addicted brain can't handle this clever music. That said, it does eventually develop into something with some momentum behind it, with the chorus of "Every time you close your eyes," so there is some salvation for me.
"In the Backseat" is the album finale, beginning with a sparkly falsetto from the woman singer in the band, accompanying it with a dainty violin refrain and a tip-toing piano riff. A single guitar strum about 3 minutes in beckons a pretty noticeable crescendo that finally builds some real energy and a true climax, though I keep wanting it to get darker, louder, and deeper than it does, it still has its desired affect.
The only thing about this album, as well as with OK Computer, is that I can hardly understand any of the words, so they have basically no effect on me, which is somewhat sad. They also apparently have a somewhat empty and quiet sound compared to a lot of the music I listen to, also limiting their emotional appeal. Nonetheless, the composition at the start of Funeral is magnificent, and the crescendos in each song are pretty powerful as well. The album seems to lose some of its momentum over time, a bit like in Diary or His 'n' Hers, though a bit more consistent, with no individual track quite equalling the likes of "Song About an Angel" or "Do You Remember the First Time?" but with the less memorable songs still being pretty good. Even so, it's still a unique and moving musical work and the start really is remarkably strong. The quaint sound of the album is a bit timid at times, but often still imbued with heavy drama, especially in highlights like "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" and "In the Backseat". While I think it's still hard to beat The Twilight Sad's Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters if you're looking for emotional, folky indie music, Funeral's melodiousness may give it an edge for some listeners.
PAVEMENT -- SLANTED AND ENCHANTED -- 8/10
I'm listening to this album on recommendation of a friend whose musical tastes generally line up with my own, so I guess my expectations are a bit different.
"Summer Babe (Winter Version)" is a solid opener - your typical lo-fi intro. It seems to fuse Velvet Underground attitude with Archers of Loaf loudness and Built to Spill naïveté. It's a catchy tune that has a lot of that lo-fi, attic tape charm to it. I might not do this track by track because I realize that if I did that for other lo-fi albums, like Icky Mettle or most GBV albums, I'd be like "this song is kind of derivitive," for 3 or 4 tracks, which is actually part of the charm. "Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17" is even better, with it's bittersweet guitar bit in between the verses. Each song morphs over time into something else, with "No Life Singed Her" beginning with an edgy noise-rock sound akin to the likes of "Me and You" or "Sick File" from Icky Mettle, but mellows into a more typical lo-fi song by the time the chorus comes in. Similarly, "In the Mouth of a Desert" starts out slow and slowly gains energy. The album, much like Icky Mettle, alternates sensitivity and edge in a way that accentuates each. Overall, Slanted and Enchanted is a fun album with a bit of a heart to it as well. There are some nice soft moments like "Zurich is Stained", "Here", and "In the Mouth of a Desert". Lyrically, the content is random and nonsensical much like that of early GBV, but has a much more Americana feel to it. All in all, it's a fun listen, without any particularly terrible songs as you might find on Guided by Voices' Alien Lanes or Bee Thousand, but without the incredible and obvious moments of genius on those albums. That said, all through the album there's much to enjoy. Highlights include "In the Mouth of a Desert," "No Life Singed Her," "Zurich is Stained".
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
3 Britpop Classics
Hey all! I've expanded my music collection fairly significantly in the past 3 months, so there will be plenty to review. Today, I'll start with three of the most famous Britpop albums ever released, that sort of epitomize the genre warts and all. Coming up in hopefully the near future I'll have some music by bands I've never reviewed before as well as more music from some of my old favorites.
BLUR -- PARKLIFE -- 9/10
For some reason I decided to introduce myself to Blur with The Great Escape, an album with a couple terrific tracks but largely filled with music that could be described as generic Blur. While "The Universal" and "Yuko and Hiro," among others, deserve to be classics, the rest of the album didn't quite live up to their brilliance. Now knowing what Blur had preceded The Great Escape with, it looks a whole lot worse (though objectively I would not say it's terrible). One of my complaints with The Great Escape is that most of the songs sort of sound like the same, retro-sounding, punk inspired commentaries on middle class life. What is so astounding about Parklife is just how varied the songs on the album are. It's got a bunch of the same brash indie pop that you'll find on Blur's other releases, like "Girls & Boys", "Tracy Jacks", and the title track, but they're just better here. "Girls & Boys" is the perfect opener, energetic and spunky, it defines what will come to be a theme throughout the album, paranoia, in a nuanced way, superficially hidden by a bouncy and aggressive beat. "Tracy Jacks" follows up with a typical Blur sound, but with hints of sensitivity, as well as a line that for some reason strikes me as incredibly clever when Damon matter-of-factly sings "Tracy Jacks works in civil service: it's steady employment". "Tracy Jacks" covers the same "middle class malaise" subject that The Great Escape would, but does so with a bit more nuance I think. Even the slowed down bridge feels a bit more sensitive. The similarly upbeat "Parklife" is an anthem for middle-class drudgery, a song that seems to poke fun at the mundanity of life while also bringing together all of those who suffer helplessly through it, the chorus "All the people - so many people - and they all go hand in hand: hand in hand through their parklife". Parklife becomes a real concept here, with the spoken lines by the guy from Quadrophenia illustrating that utter pointlessness of the things that we all do just to get by in our own parklives, that we dress up with this and that decoration, while deep down it fails to satisfy us. This inner suffering is reflected beautifully in some of the other songs on this album. It seems to me no coincidence that "End of a Century" reflects a deep satisfaction, typical of fin de siecle malaise. The line "we all say we don't want to be alone. We wear the same clothes just to feel the same" brings us from the mundanity of everyday life to the existential crisis that we all face in failing to give our lives some satisfactory significance. This helplessness is repeated in the chorus of "Badhead" and in the paranoid confusion of "London Loves", "Trouble in the Message Centre", and "Clover over Dover", descend into a darkness I did not expect from this album and makes it a very complex collection of songs. Meanwhile, in "To the End" is a very interesting musical arrangement that is clearly "The Universal" in embryo (The Last Year at Marienbad inspired music video is rather amusing as well). While the chorus is weaker in "To the End" than in the latter, the verses are just as compelling, if not more so. "Magic America" and "Jubilee", while standard Blur fare, are enjoyable listens as well and evoke the bored suburban spirit of Parlife as a whole. "This is a Low" is a proto-Radiohead finale that encompasses all of the latent paranoia present in the album. All in all, the album has a great variety of musical aesthetics brought together that make it a very captivating and entertaining listen, good for a peppy feel-good listen or a more brooding sit and think for background music. There are a few tracks that are not worth listening to, but in the end it is clear why Parklife is one of the magnum opi of the Britpop movement. Highlights include "End of a Century", "Parklife", "Trouble in the Message Centre".
PULP -- DIFFERENT CLASS -- 8.5/10
Different Class is widely considered to be Pulp's best work, and it is no surprise that this is the case. It includes what is by far Pulp's most famous song, "Common People", an anthem for millions of working class Britons who had spent the '80's being trod upon by conservative governments that, as they did in the United States, saw the poor as lazy dirtbags. That the album was entitled Different Class is of course a reference to the economic elitism of the '80's that could never be challenged without plaints of "class warfare", a metaphorical class and clique war that is the subject of album opener "Mis-shapes". The album also features "Disco 2000", one of the catchiest and most nostalgic songs of all time. The dance club style of the album, as ironic as it is verisimilar (I don't doubt that "Common People" found its way into quite a few nightclubs), makes Different Class extremely catchy and listenable overall as well. For all of the happy-go-lucky image that Pulp has given off over the years, perhaps attributable to Jarvis Cocker's calm and cool demeanor, despite half of His 'n' Hers and This is Hardcore being fairly dark, Different Class is not the sunshine and roses I expected. I had basically expected Pulp's most popular album to be like Blur's - an exhibition of their poppier side with a bit of irony thrown in for good measure. While the singles that I had heard backed up this expectation - "Common People", "Disco 2000", and even "Mis-shapes" have some bounce to them - there are some pretty gritty moments on Different Class. "I Spy", "F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.", and "Underwear" counting among them. As a result, in Different Class is manifested the same happy veneer followed by a dark core that His 'n' Hers and This is Hardcore exhibit. As a Pulp fan, the more the merrier, and with punchy yet desperately earnest choruses like those on the singles, as well as, most notably for me, "Underwear", "Bar Italia", and "Sorted for E's & Wizz", what's not to like? This is a solid album. The critic in me wants to say definitively, however, that I think that its successor, This is Hardcore, is just a bit better. Different Class has the most memorable singles, and I have read a number of opinions ranking "Help the Aged" and "I'm a Man" among Pulp's worst work, but, as someone who likes both songs for their energy and spunk, I think both albums are equally stocked with quality tunes. This is Hardcore, however, has a bit more variation in sound over the course of the album, so while some of the songs on Different Class tend to blend together until you listen to it enough to really know the album, the songs on This is Hardcore each stand out on their own. All in all, Different Class is still the sort of album that is essential for anyone, even, like, my mom, who generally hates my music. Highlights include "Disco 2000," "Sorted for E's & Wizz," "Underwear".
OASIS -- BE HERE NOW -- 8/10
Yeah, I'm rating this album. Sometimes it's tough being an Oasis fan. You sort of have to feel like a sell-out because everyone knows "Wonderwall" (never mind that "Live Forever" is objectively their best song) and anyone who listens to any non-Top 40 music, and that includes Coldplay and Radiohead fans, will be sure to tell you that they think Oasis sucks. Additionally, there's the fact that they're a bit hit or miss outside of their first two albums and B-side compilation. Even so, I just can't resist the brilliance that results when they do get it all right, and on Be Here Now, it does happen - just not on every single song as in (What's the Story?) Morning Glory. Also, when they get it wrong, it's not in the adorable "A for effort" way that they did with songs like "Shakermaker" and "Up in the Sky". On Be Here Now, they either do just as well as they did on Morning Glory, as in songs like "The Girl with the Dirty Shirt" and "Stand by Me", or just completely fail, both musically and lyrically, as in "Fade In-Out" and the title track, doing so in a way that sounds like every 2000's rock song that you hated on the radio, with cheesy guitar effects and silly lyrics that are only there to rhyme, like "So get on the helter-skelter" or every line from "Be Here Now". Additionally, a good 75% of the song titles on this album are uninspired. At other times, though, it's like they haven't lost a step. "Stand by Me" is like a latter day "Live Forever", and "All Around the World" and "Don't Go Away" have all the same innocent naïveté that a) most people would be loath to attribute to Oasis and b) is found on the likes of "Digsy's Dinner" and "Slide Away". Granted, it's not a matter of every song being either perfect or terrible. "I Hope, I Think, I Know" has a lot of great ideas in it, but seems a bit sloppily pinned together, though not enough to stop it from being an enjoyable and uplifting listen, and "D'You Know What I Mean?" is a bit too long - a problem they suffered from a tiny bit on Definitely Maybe in unnecessarily 6 minute "Columbia" and 5 minute "Shakermaker" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star". Looking at it objectively, this isn't an album I should enjoy as much as I do, but the unstoppable charisma of the Gallagher's when they're trying is too much to pass up. While the successor to (What's the Story?) Morning Glory maybe ideally wouldn't have been Be Here Now - their first two albums thrived on contrasts of melancholy and bliss, where the extremes of emotion aren't as large here - it's still a strong album that holds up with repeated listens, and like any Oasis album is always a great one to come back to when you remember that they actually did, often, live up to the hype. Highlights include "My Big Mouth", "Stand by Me", "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)".
BLUR -- PARKLIFE -- 9/10
For some reason I decided to introduce myself to Blur with The Great Escape, an album with a couple terrific tracks but largely filled with music that could be described as generic Blur. While "The Universal" and "Yuko and Hiro," among others, deserve to be classics, the rest of the album didn't quite live up to their brilliance. Now knowing what Blur had preceded The Great Escape with, it looks a whole lot worse (though objectively I would not say it's terrible). One of my complaints with The Great Escape is that most of the songs sort of sound like the same, retro-sounding, punk inspired commentaries on middle class life. What is so astounding about Parklife is just how varied the songs on the album are. It's got a bunch of the same brash indie pop that you'll find on Blur's other releases, like "Girls & Boys", "Tracy Jacks", and the title track, but they're just better here. "Girls & Boys" is the perfect opener, energetic and spunky, it defines what will come to be a theme throughout the album, paranoia, in a nuanced way, superficially hidden by a bouncy and aggressive beat. "Tracy Jacks" follows up with a typical Blur sound, but with hints of sensitivity, as well as a line that for some reason strikes me as incredibly clever when Damon matter-of-factly sings "Tracy Jacks works in civil service: it's steady employment". "Tracy Jacks" covers the same "middle class malaise" subject that The Great Escape would, but does so with a bit more nuance I think. Even the slowed down bridge feels a bit more sensitive. The similarly upbeat "Parklife" is an anthem for middle-class drudgery, a song that seems to poke fun at the mundanity of life while also bringing together all of those who suffer helplessly through it, the chorus "All the people - so many people - and they all go hand in hand: hand in hand through their parklife". Parklife becomes a real concept here, with the spoken lines by the guy from Quadrophenia illustrating that utter pointlessness of the things that we all do just to get by in our own parklives, that we dress up with this and that decoration, while deep down it fails to satisfy us. This inner suffering is reflected beautifully in some of the other songs on this album. It seems to me no coincidence that "End of a Century" reflects a deep satisfaction, typical of fin de siecle malaise. The line "we all say we don't want to be alone. We wear the same clothes just to feel the same" brings us from the mundanity of everyday life to the existential crisis that we all face in failing to give our lives some satisfactory significance. This helplessness is repeated in the chorus of "Badhead" and in the paranoid confusion of "London Loves", "Trouble in the Message Centre", and "Clover over Dover", descend into a darkness I did not expect from this album and makes it a very complex collection of songs. Meanwhile, in "To the End" is a very interesting musical arrangement that is clearly "The Universal" in embryo (The Last Year at Marienbad inspired music video is rather amusing as well). While the chorus is weaker in "To the End" than in the latter, the verses are just as compelling, if not more so. "Magic America" and "Jubilee", while standard Blur fare, are enjoyable listens as well and evoke the bored suburban spirit of Parlife as a whole. "This is a Low" is a proto-Radiohead finale that encompasses all of the latent paranoia present in the album. All in all, the album has a great variety of musical aesthetics brought together that make it a very captivating and entertaining listen, good for a peppy feel-good listen or a more brooding sit and think for background music. There are a few tracks that are not worth listening to, but in the end it is clear why Parklife is one of the magnum opi of the Britpop movement. Highlights include "End of a Century", "Parklife", "Trouble in the Message Centre".
PULP -- DIFFERENT CLASS -- 8.5/10
Different Class is widely considered to be Pulp's best work, and it is no surprise that this is the case. It includes what is by far Pulp's most famous song, "Common People", an anthem for millions of working class Britons who had spent the '80's being trod upon by conservative governments that, as they did in the United States, saw the poor as lazy dirtbags. That the album was entitled Different Class is of course a reference to the economic elitism of the '80's that could never be challenged without plaints of "class warfare", a metaphorical class and clique war that is the subject of album opener "Mis-shapes". The album also features "Disco 2000", one of the catchiest and most nostalgic songs of all time. The dance club style of the album, as ironic as it is verisimilar (I don't doubt that "Common People" found its way into quite a few nightclubs), makes Different Class extremely catchy and listenable overall as well. For all of the happy-go-lucky image that Pulp has given off over the years, perhaps attributable to Jarvis Cocker's calm and cool demeanor, despite half of His 'n' Hers and This is Hardcore being fairly dark, Different Class is not the sunshine and roses I expected. I had basically expected Pulp's most popular album to be like Blur's - an exhibition of their poppier side with a bit of irony thrown in for good measure. While the singles that I had heard backed up this expectation - "Common People", "Disco 2000", and even "Mis-shapes" have some bounce to them - there are some pretty gritty moments on Different Class. "I Spy", "F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.", and "Underwear" counting among them. As a result, in Different Class is manifested the same happy veneer followed by a dark core that His 'n' Hers and This is Hardcore exhibit. As a Pulp fan, the more the merrier, and with punchy yet desperately earnest choruses like those on the singles, as well as, most notably for me, "Underwear", "Bar Italia", and "Sorted for E's & Wizz", what's not to like? This is a solid album. The critic in me wants to say definitively, however, that I think that its successor, This is Hardcore, is just a bit better. Different Class has the most memorable singles, and I have read a number of opinions ranking "Help the Aged" and "I'm a Man" among Pulp's worst work, but, as someone who likes both songs for their energy and spunk, I think both albums are equally stocked with quality tunes. This is Hardcore, however, has a bit more variation in sound over the course of the album, so while some of the songs on Different Class tend to blend together until you listen to it enough to really know the album, the songs on This is Hardcore each stand out on their own. All in all, Different Class is still the sort of album that is essential for anyone, even, like, my mom, who generally hates my music. Highlights include "Disco 2000," "Sorted for E's & Wizz," "Underwear".
OASIS -- BE HERE NOW -- 8/10
Yeah, I'm rating this album. Sometimes it's tough being an Oasis fan. You sort of have to feel like a sell-out because everyone knows "Wonderwall" (never mind that "Live Forever" is objectively their best song) and anyone who listens to any non-Top 40 music, and that includes Coldplay and Radiohead fans, will be sure to tell you that they think Oasis sucks. Additionally, there's the fact that they're a bit hit or miss outside of their first two albums and B-side compilation. Even so, I just can't resist the brilliance that results when they do get it all right, and on Be Here Now, it does happen - just not on every single song as in (What's the Story?) Morning Glory. Also, when they get it wrong, it's not in the adorable "A for effort" way that they did with songs like "Shakermaker" and "Up in the Sky". On Be Here Now, they either do just as well as they did on Morning Glory, as in songs like "The Girl with the Dirty Shirt" and "Stand by Me", or just completely fail, both musically and lyrically, as in "Fade In-Out" and the title track, doing so in a way that sounds like every 2000's rock song that you hated on the radio, with cheesy guitar effects and silly lyrics that are only there to rhyme, like "So get on the helter-skelter" or every line from "Be Here Now". Additionally, a good 75% of the song titles on this album are uninspired. At other times, though, it's like they haven't lost a step. "Stand by Me" is like a latter day "Live Forever", and "All Around the World" and "Don't Go Away" have all the same innocent naïveté that a) most people would be loath to attribute to Oasis and b) is found on the likes of "Digsy's Dinner" and "Slide Away". Granted, it's not a matter of every song being either perfect or terrible. "I Hope, I Think, I Know" has a lot of great ideas in it, but seems a bit sloppily pinned together, though not enough to stop it from being an enjoyable and uplifting listen, and "D'You Know What I Mean?" is a bit too long - a problem they suffered from a tiny bit on Definitely Maybe in unnecessarily 6 minute "Columbia" and 5 minute "Shakermaker" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star". Looking at it objectively, this isn't an album I should enjoy as much as I do, but the unstoppable charisma of the Gallagher's when they're trying is too much to pass up. While the successor to (What's the Story?) Morning Glory maybe ideally wouldn't have been Be Here Now - their first two albums thrived on contrasts of melancholy and bliss, where the extremes of emotion aren't as large here - it's still a strong album that holds up with repeated listens, and like any Oasis album is always a great one to come back to when you remember that they actually did, often, live up to the hype. Highlights include "My Big Mouth", "Stand by Me", "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)".
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