Josh Ritter The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Fuzzy Bits:

Released August 21, 2007

Last Album: Hello Starling

Sounds Like: Josh Ritter perfecting his craft.

Overall Rating: 95

 

 

 

 

 

If you aren’t familiar with Josh Ritter already, prepare yourself because in a couple of years this guy’s going to be all over the airwaves. While previous albums of his have stayed almost wholly acoustic with more direct folk influences, The Historical Conquests… ventures out just far enough so that it shows a natural growth and progression but doesn’t alienate fans. The outstanding opener, which is arguably the best song on the album “To the Dogs or Whoever” is an example of the progression. The song has all the rough-around-the-edges charm of an old Bob Dylan track and showcases some of the wittiest lyrics that Ritter has written to date (something that continues as the album goes on). Other great songs on the album include “Right Moves,” “The Temptation of Adam,” “Wait for Love,” and “Empty Hearts.” “The Temptation of Adam” in particular is a very poignant piece as it centers around a lovestruck character that constantly displaces love for war. While the absurdity of the topic may, at first glance, seem to point at being nothing more than satire in the same vein as Dr. Strangelove, such bittersweet lyrics haven’t been written since Elliott Smith. “Wait for Love” and it’s stripped down second-take “Wait for Love (You Know You Will)” are beautifully done, as Ritter’s swooning vocals and elegant arrangements perfectly place the listener in the state of reflection of loves had and lost. It’s a rare gift for a singer/songwriter to have such a personal affect on any given listener, but Ritter has it in spades. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter may sound like another superficial and pretentious release in its title alone, but believe this album has the meat to support such a weighty title.

 

Powered by Qumana

New Review: Kanye West Graduation

Fuzzy Bits:

Released September 11, 2007

Last Album: Late Registration (Ranked #5 on my Top 40 Albums of 2005)

Sounds Like: A difficult, yet occasionally rewarding listen.

Overall Rating: 86

 

 

 

 

 

Skits aside (or maybe even with the skits), I really loved the first two Kanye albums. There was a sense of freshness to everything he brought to the plate, and with the underdog story going in Kanye’s favor, he was the hometown guy to root for. College Dropout was a lot of fun, a little immature, but still to this day brings a smile to my face with West’s quirky musings and slick productions. Late Registration, on the other hand, was, some misfires aside, an incredibly solid album with an added dimension brought on by Jon Brion’s outstanding contributions. Now, with a long list of tantrums under his belt, Kanye has hit a bit of a diva status, and the worst part is that it’s starting to affect his music. While there seemed to be quite a bit of progression from College Dropout to Late Registration, Graduation feels, at best, like a huge side-step, and at worst, two steps back. The opening “Good Morning” is a near-miss, in that the productions are so stripped down that it feels redundant by the time the song hits the half-way mark. Meanwhile, “I Wonder” is a snoozefest, and “Drunk and Hot Girls” is just as awful as its title, with its meandering lyrics and sleepy production. “Barry Bonds” is another floundering track that wastes some decent production. It starts off decently, falters, and then Lil’ Wayne comes in to single-handedly ruin what little decency was left in the song in mere seconds (which has to be some kind of record). On the plus side, the album is chockful of very good songs that make up for some of the other mess, chiefly among them the hit single “Stronger.” “Good Life,” “Flashing Lights,” and “Homecoming” are all almost certainly going to be hits, and deservedly so. “Homecoming” in particular, is incredibly addicting, as Coldplay’s Chris Martin delivers dead-on vocals that actually enhance the song (which is more than I can say for most other hip-hop songs with guest vocals).

“Good Life,” “Flashing Lights,” and “The Glory” all give interesting perspectives on Kanye being in the spotlight, and having them all in the same album almost make him seem like a walking contradiction (which, in some ways, he is), but on the other hand they’re understandable. He obviously loves the spotlight, but in the music there’s a surprising amount of vulnerability, as if he’s attempting to show his own insecurities via his music (since he thus far has truly been unable to write them into his own lyrics). Another example of this is in the song “Big Brother,” which is essentially his rags to riches story– there is a sense of him letting you know (once again) all that he’s accomplished, but on the other hand it’s his way of letting us into his mindset of why he has such a chip on his shoulder. Meanwhile, there are songs like the aforementioned “Drunk and Hot Girls” and “Bittersweet Poetry,” which are huge misfires. Both songs deal with women more directly than any of West’s previous songs, but really don’t work. “Bittersweet Poetry” in particular is disappointing, and a genuine waste of John Mayer. There’s no way a song so sweet should be riddled with such wildly inconsistant and unimaginative lyrics like “and you talkin bout her family her aunts and s***/and she sayin m********** yo mama’s a b***/you know domestic drama and s***.” The song is hardly bittersweet as it is sweet and sour, with an emphasis on the sour.

All in all, Graduation is an intriguing, yet frustrating effort. It’s always a struggle of the self with Kanye, but there’s nothing to offset the internal struggles here– no Jon Brion, no string section, no guest rappers on every track, just ‘Ye versus ‘Ye. This may be the first case where I’ve witnessed a Junior slump, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. There isn’t nearly as much cohesion on this album as there were the last couple times around, which is a little disconcerting, but that’s not to say that there isn’t a lot to like about this album, because there is. The problem is just that everything is so stripped down that Graduation feels occasionally lifeless– and with Kanye, that should never happen.

Powered by Qumana

Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Fuzzy Bits:

Released July 10, 2007

Last Album: Gimme Fiction (Ranked #2 on my Top 40 Albums of 2005)

Sounds Like: A Freaking Masterpiece

Overall Rating: 98

 

 

 

 

 

I can really sum up this album (and damn well every other Spoon album) in three words: God Bless Spoon. Seriously, I have to think that sometime in the future people will actually begin to appreciate the genius behind this band. That may appear to be an overstatement, but given that they haven’t released anything less than good music in their entire career, that’s a pretty good start. If they were able to translate their immaculate attention to detail to their live performances perhaps they wouldn’t be so overlooked, but it’s a shame nonetheless given the amount of critical acclaim they’ve received over the years. All that being said, let’s get to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, an album that has an uncanny level of maturity– especially given its amateurish title. The album begins with two equally haunting tracks, “Don’t Make Me a Target,” and “The Ghost of You Lingers,” both of which are particularly unorthodox. The former constantly alternates its pace via the percussive riffs of the guitars and piano, while the vocals on “The Ghost of You Lingers” are truly the centerpiece of the song, as they materialize seemingly out of thin air and float over the piano. From there, Spoon does a bit of motown-influenced rock in “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” which evolves out of the mid-tempo rock that they’ve fine-tuned over the years. The one-two knockout punch on this album lies within “The Underdog” and “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” which are so good that I would personally list them among the best songs that Spoon has written. These songs also truly showcase not only what is great about this particular Spoon album, but also what makes them so consistently impressive. When stripped to its core, “The Underdog” is built around a relatively simple chord structure, but the incredible dynamic that is brought via the horns and percussion is what elevates the song to being that much better. Furthermore, the nuances in the production and instrumental performances are absolutely dazzling as you’re sure to hear something new with each listen (particularly on headphones). With “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” the song also starts off being a relatively simple riff before slowly evolving over the course of the track to the point where spanish guitar and well-timed piano solos are interjected bringing an incredibly vibrant performance. Another gem on this album is the closer “Black Like Me,” as Britt Daniel’s voice expresses a real sense of yearning that plays off the other instruments wonderfully and will guarantee to get your toes tapping. Like Gimme Fiction two years ago, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is an absolute can’t miss album to have, and I can all but guarantee that it will be in my top 5 albums at the end of the year.

Powered by Qumana