glenn beck blogger: January 2011

Aelters – Archilds’ com.undo 7.1

Dat Politics lost child creates his own music on this release. It is similar to Dat Politics, if Dat Politics became more hyper active. You probably can’t keep up with the amount of energy he releases, but it is worth trying.

Right from the get-go “k no p” you’re treated to his method: fast beats, broken up attempts at melody. These usually fail. That’s ok. His cut-ups of children's (his own) infuse a little humanity into the otherwise purely digital environment. Only “jestood” comes close to have a full-fledged melody. The weird noise approximates Goodiepal in a more conventional pop sense.

Funk is all over the place. Emeric Aelter possess a good sense of rhythm, though he tries his best to destroy it at times. Listening to the music, you begin to understand why he left Dat Politics. Occasionally his music feels a bit too broken, especially considering Dat Politics’ later move towards accessibility.

Still, despite the sometimes difficult nature of the album, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It remains a cheerful guest in your mind.

100 Records That Set the World on Fire….While No One was listening

Lists are helpful. The Wire put out this list before the turn of the millennium, so there was bound to be some stuff too recent to get an accurate appraisal on. Some of the stuff they recommended on here ends up being pretty good, with maybe a bias or lean towards jazzier stuff. Thankfully they avoided the fate of Nurse with Wound list; their selection includes a fairly diverse group of artists and genres.

Browsing quickly through the list, there are some great picks. Charles Ives would be one of them, even a century later he’s yet to receive the attention he deserves for his groundbreaking work, in the early 20^th century no less! Part of my adoration for Ives has to do with how he balanced a professional career with his more artistic inclinations. Maybe that’s a bit of an inspiration of how I could do the same thing.

Unfortunately, like many of these “Look at our Great Taste” lists, there are a few expected mentions and some dullards. Faust gets mentioned on virtually any music snob’s taste, as does Captain Beefheart and a few others. Though these lists ostensibly are a reaction against the monotony of having the Beatles and the Beach Boys plastered everywhere, they fall into similar habits. Jazz gets a huge amount of attention. Some of the selections of the artists seems accurate, but their precise recordings a bit questionable. For the Residents, they pick an EP of theirs rather than one of their full-length weird-outs, like “Fingerprince” or “Not Available” which are more easily available. A few other artists suffer from this, the “we listened to their whole discography and picked the most obscure release” syndrome. Sometimes this is a good idea, since it attracts attention to something which normally gets overlooked, but in some of these cases that’s just not the case.

The dullards are quite dull. Esquivel isn’t a great innovator by any means; even his most experimental stuff probably gets played in your local elevator. Choosing a William S. Burroughs audio tape from the 60s seems a bit silly too, especially considering how he did more interesting stuff later in life with bands. Oh, he’s dryly reading. How exciting. I’m a fan of his work too, but I can’t see myself being wowed by his voice alone. This might be more of a personal preference of mine.

A great deal of these I haven’t heard. What I will be doing for these will be tagging whichever ones relate to the list with the phrase: “100 Records that set the world on Fire” for easier navigation. I hope by going through these I’ll stumble upon some excellent material and edit out the dross for you, the listener. Despite some of my reservations about this list, I feel this is probably one of the more diverse ones I’ve seen. Their emphasis on a wide range geographically and time wise gives it a broader, better perspective, and they at least try to avoid the obscure of the sake of being obscure, though they fall into that pit a few times.

Finally, I do enjoy these lists and if you have any others I should pay attention to, let me know. Wire has the added bonus of including other sites’ reviews of the albums. Of particular note was Q Magazine calling “Metal Machine Music” one of the 50 worst albums of all time, thus confirming their status as old fogies who don’t “get it”.

Kyle Bobby Dunn – A Young Person’s Guide To 8.4

A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is what I’m thinking the title references. Since there are so many different instruments being used for the recording, this interpretation might make the most sense. Picking out any instrument (besides the piano, which is pretty distinguishable) can be somewhat difficult, as the sounds are blurred together to create comforting, floating drones.

There are drones, two hours’ worth of the stuff. Personally, I enjoy it when the artist takes a longer format approach, particularly for the’ lose-yourself-in-it’ stuff like what this offers. Over the course of the two hours, you’re treated to the warmest of drones. How these drones move forward is pretty amazing, he has a certain method to how each piece unfolds so graciously. In fact, picking out a specific movement or dramatic change is impossible, think of watching the clouds float by on a bright sunny day.

“Butel” starts off the two-disc set in positively massive fashion: a 17-minute piece where things build up so discretely (even once compared to the other pieces). Immediately you can feel its warmth, and its fragile state. It never gets loud or overwhelming, but slowly gains your attention. “There Is No End To Your Beauty” has a delightful ebb and flow of sound as if it were almost sentient. After this you get “Promenade” which brings up images of Stephan Mathieu’s drone work, it is simply so bright and airy.

Disc Two offers its own highlights. “Last Minute Jest” and “Set of Four (Its Meaning Is Deeper Than Its Title Implies)” are gorgeous piano pieces. “The Nightjar” ends things off with a quiet sample repeating ‘looking at yourself’.

Maybe there’s something about geography which influences the music one makes. Stars of the Lid had the vast Texas expanse; Kyle grew up in Alberta, pretty similar to Texas’s levels of open space and emptiness. It is always reassuring to have releases this massive, with so much good music to absorb. Personally, I tend to enjoy long-length works when they’re done properly, and Kyle knows exactly the sort of mood he wants.

Once the music ended, I felt happy. Somehow this music just brightens my day, gives me a more optimistic feel. Think of it as music to comfort you in long winter nights, to have these drones combine with the creaking of your building, of the subtle choir of radiators going off. I absolutely adored this.

2011 SAG Awards: Best Dressed Divas

Kim Kardashian looks stunning in her plum encrusted draped chiffon Marchesa dress. She knows the Grecian Goddess silhouette works well for her time after time.

The color is simply magical and she is letting me have it with the insane open back detail!

She is flawless from head to toe from her gorgeous Lorraine Schwartz diamond earrings to her Christian Louboutin heels.

Step over Eva Mendes because Sofia Vergara is taking over!

The actress looks sensational in her royal blue draped Roberto Cavalli dress.

Even though the draping is a little fussy on the back of the dress, she still looks amazing!

Amber Riley is bringing on the heat in this gorgeous black ruffled Anne Barge strapless dress!

I looooove everything about this piece especially the pouffy one-shoulder detail.

She is pure perfection with her sleek bangs and pop of color pink lips.

Angie Harmon is putting Princess Anika to shame in this speculator pale pink feathered Monique Lhuillier dress.

She looks like she is going to live happily ever after on the red carpet.

Lea Michele is simply sparkling in her nude shimmering Oscar de la Renta dress.

It's simple but yet still sexy.

I know Eva Longoria looks like she is wearing a toga but I really like this nude Georges Hobeika draped dress.

She is probably trying to show Tony Parker what he is missing!

I also adore her bouffant hair and flawless make-up.

2011 SAG Awards: Delicious Color

I am sooo delighted that the celebrities got my memo on wearing delicious color!

Jennifer Lawrence looks amazing in her bright fuchsia off-the-shoulders Oscar de la Renta dress paired with black strappy heels.

This is the first time I got excited about Julianna Margulies' dress. She finally wore some color and something interesting.

She looks radiant in her red draped YSL strapless dress.

Mila Kunis is giving me bohemian chic in her red printed Alexander McQueen chiffon dress.

The world must be coming to an end because even Tina Fey is wearing color!

She looks beautiful in her red Oscar de la Renta strapless lace gown.

Even though Mariska Hargitay's purple Isaac Mizrahi gown is a little too promy, she still looks lovely.

Nancy O'Dell looks wonderful in her turquoise tiered one-shoulder dress.

I adore her rhinestone earrings and cocktail ring.

Sarah Hyland looks fabulous in her terra cotta knotted Max Mara strapless dress.

Hailee Steinfeld is a ray of sunshine in this multi-colored Prada dress.

Jane Lynch is tall enough to pull of this lavender Randi Rahm taffeta dress.

She looks softer with her wispy hair and neutral make-up.

2011 SAG Awards: Fabulous Nudes

Hilary Swank looks fabulous in her blush embellished one-shouldered Versace dress.

She completed her look soft curls and neutral make-up.

It seems like Natalie Porman's baby bump is getter bigger every award show.

She looks angelic in her white embellished Azzaro strapless dress.

I just looove her beautiful up-do and make-up.