Drone pop = earwax meltdown

2007-07-02T02:37:00Z

I have been listening to Midnight Movies for quite sometime now but only last Saturday on my way back home in the Komuter while listening to Midnight Movies' Coral Den I realized that they sound very similar to Stereolab - in the way how they put the melodic vocal part of Gena Olivier over the droning background. Even her voice sounds somewhat similar to that of Laetitia Sadier's.

Stereolab

So I thought it would be interesting if I do a little 'compare & contrast' (again) in between Midnight Movies and Stereolab. I'm not sure if I am good to be considered a Stereolab fan but I sure do like their music. Having not listened to all of their previous releases, the only Stereolab moment that I can relate with Midnight Movies is from their third album Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, released in 1993.

Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements

I listened to the album for a few times last night and after much hesitation I decided that I should just post any song from this album that I like and say: Voila! I thought I remember one song from this album that sounds very similar to Midnight Movie's Coral Den but after re-listening back to the album, I couldn't work it out at all (although now I think track no.2 Our Trinitone Blasts is the track that I've been looking for).

Coral Den

Track no.6 from Midnight Movies' second album Lion the Girl released in 2007. Of all the bands/artists that makes up a list of my favorite bands, Stereolab I reckon has got to be the most eclectic of all. Allmusicguide reckons Stereolab as "the most influential alternative bands of the 90's". Formed in London in 1991 by (band leader) Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab is one of the most wide-ranging experimental band the world has ever witnessed. Combining the aesthetic of Krautrock from bands like Faust and Neu! and the sensibilities of pop music like bossa nova, lounge pop, and movie soundtrack, they have created a trademark distinctive music style by overlaying a melodic vocal part over a droning rhythm part.

I'm Going Out of My Way

I have posted here track 4 from the album Transient Random-Noise... At least I thought it would give you a rough idea on how Midnight Movies and Stereolab sounds alike. Another aspect of Stereolab's experimental-ness is their recording method - they "relied heavily on forgotten methods of recording, whether it was analog synthesizers and electronics or a fondness for hi-fi test records..." (quoted from allmusicguide). For example, the song that I have posted above, although the bitrate says it's 128 the sound quality is a bit lower than that. I ripped the song direct from my CD and what you hear from the mp3 above is exactly what I hear from my CD.
I miss my old listening-to-Stereolab days. I think I'll give Stereolab a spin tonight and drown in the droning noise and peruse over Sadier's political lyrics. Though they may be Marxist of some sort, I don't care, Stereolab is definitely one of my favorite (and most unlikely choice) band.

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The Obsession Session Issue #1

2007-06-28T02:44:38Z

Yeah. I thought why don't I categorize my entries into categories. It's easier that way; I'll have one category for new music by new artists or bands, another category for music by artists or bands that neither have I heard of before, and then this - music by artists or bands that I have been listening for quite some time but only now I get/want to share it in this blog. And the artist who have the honor of being the first feature in my Obsession Session is David Gray

David Gray

Last two weeks I found myself listening back to old David Gray songs, especially the one from A New Day at Midnight. Released in 2002, it came three years after the success of Gray's fourth album White Ladder which was released on his own record label (after being dropped by two record label previously for sluggish album sale reportedly). Although A New Day at Midnight does not receive the same high rating from critics as with White Ladder, I am happy enough to say that it is currently my staple Winamp diet.

A new day at midnight

Here is track #10 from the album, Be Mine.

Be Mine

Mogwai, the band from Scotland, was the standard that has been (over)used by many music journalist who seem to possess very shallow knowledge on the post rock/space rock label. The criteria are very simple: if it is instrumental, has no or very little vocal part, involves the use of many different types of guitar effects (even the inventive way of playing the guitar also count), and that the end product does not sound either rock or pop, there is a very huge chance for any band that falls into any/all of those criteria to be labeled Mogwai-ish. Take Damn Dirty Apes for example, the local band from Penang, and Telephony Delivery, which to me, is actually Progressive Math Metal. Or something like it.

Mogwai-grp1-0603

Radiohead also falls into the post rock territory (Kid A and Kid B a.k.a Amnesiac perhaps) but luckily they too didn't get the Mogwai labeling treatment. Flying Saucer Attack is post rock and they do at times remind me of Mogwai. Stereolab is also considered post rock but they are a difficult subject. The same with The Flaming Lips, and Captain Befheart. (Oh but Captain Beefheart is way too out there to be post rock I say) Pink Floyd plays a very crucial role in the development of early post rock. Why didn't they use Pink Floyd instead? "Ooh, this Bark Psychosis band sounds Pink Floyd-ish!" Sonic Youth also is a very influential name in post rock. But oh yeah, they can't make any connection between Sonic Youth and Talk Talk. Or Can. But Can is more like avant-garde rather than post rock. The same goes with Frank Zappa. Mercury Rev is post rock right? Spiritualized is post rock. Spacemen3 is post rock. 65daysofstatic is post rock. Harvey Milk can be post rock but they are dangerously singular, awkward, and out of place. Sigur Ros is post rock. So does Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies, Tortoise, Pram, Seefeel, My Bloody Valentine, From Monument to Masses, The Appleseed Cast, Van Der Graaf Generator, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Mono, and Cul de Sac. Heck, even Kreidler can be post rock.

Damn, what am I on about here?

Black Spider

Here's Mogwai's Black Spider, taken from the Zidane movie soundtrack. Enjoy post rock.

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Conjuctio anima est cognatio

Drone pop = earwax meltdown

The Obsession Session Issue #1