KD's Album of the Week

[KDarkness]

Because I have nothing better to do, starting either tomorrow night or Monday morning I'm going to be posting an album per week with a short review and trivia and that sort of shit. I have a few lined up but if there's anything you guys want to request for me to listen to then message me about it or something.

[Albino Anti-Hero]

I'm looking forward to this.

[xolta]

This could be very col. Looking forward to it.

[KDarkness]

Let's get this started off right. The album of the week of 7/14 is the one, the only...



FILTH - SWANS, 1983

Filth is the first full-length studio album (but not first release, a distinction which goes to the band's self-titled, four-track EP from '82) by the originally New York-located "post punk" band Swans. Swans was founded by Michael Gira, who on the album provides bass guitar and vocals, as well as miscellaneous tape effects. On this album, Gira is joined by Johnathan Kane and Roli Mosimann, both on drums and percussion, Norman Westberg on guitar, and Harry Crosby also on bass guitar. Of these members, Westberg is the only one aside from Gira who remains with Swans until their split in '95, and is also a part of the band in their current reunion.

The original release of Filth contained only nine tracks with a run time of roughly 37 minutes. A 1990 CD release saw the addition of the four songs from Swans' first self-titled EP. In 2000, Gira re-released Filth through his self-made label Young God Records on a two-disc CD compilation titled "Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job". The Filth disc contained the original nine songs as well as a 25 minute live set of songs (which are somewhat appropriately presented in bootleg quality) performed between 1982 and 1983 at The Kitchen, a venue in New York. The second disc of the set contains the compilation Body to Body, Job to Job, which has a variety of songs including live tracks and early versions of tracks that would later appear on studio albums such as Cop and Greed. While the original vinyl and 1990 vinyl re-release of Filth are fairly rare to find and often expensive, there is a rather popular bootleg edition that can be purchased for a lower, more standard price.

The content itself is best described as being "brutal", although perhaps not as punishing as their next release, Cop, or the live album Public Castration Is A Good Idea (also highly recommended by me). The songs on Filth run the gamut from being fully-fledged tracks about sardonic life lessons delivered by Gira's acidic, barking voice (remember kids, the most important things in life are 1. SEX, 2. POWER, 3. MONEY, 4. HATE) to being pure slabs of sound composed of slamming double-percussion and bass that simply end like someone cut the tape loop. While some might say that Filth has no real structure, the tracks are actually fairly precise, albeit incredibly noisy. No note is played out of place. Every sound has a purpose. It's meant to be punishing, and it excels in that goal. The inclusion of two drum sets creates a perverted rhythm that isn't exactly meant to be comfortable. This music is meant to be played LOUD, and early Swans shows (and even current ones) were known for being so sonically assaulting that they made people physically ill. Not to mention the fact that Gira himself was notorious for assaulting people near the stage in the audience and spitting on them (something he sometimes still does apparently).

Filth isn't exactly for everyone. If you like it, you'll love it and if you don't like it, you'll hate it. However, I think it's one of the few albums I've ever heard that are essentially perfect. None of the tracks are bad, and the style is flawlessly consistent throughout. Even when the band throws new sounds into the mix, they mesh perfectly in their own twisted way. The album also effectively sets the stage for the band's future releases, introducing both what was at the time a fairly new style and also the band's continuing themes of dominance and submission, of power and weakness. This album isn't meant to sound nice and clean, something made pretty apparent by the title. However, almost no album since has been so good at being noisy.

Filth, original track listing:
1. Stay Here
2. Big Strong Boss
3. Blackout
4. Power For Power
5. Freak
6. Right Wrong
7. Thank You
8. Weakling
9. Gang

Filth, complete album including live set from The Kitchen:

[KDarkness]

I had a lot of trouble considering which album I wanted to show you guys this week, but after much deliberation, the album of the week for 7/21 is:



Doomjazz Future Corpses! - Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, 2009

I honestly don't know too much about this band (which would probably more appropriately be called a "collective"), but I'll be damned if this isn't one of my favorite albums I've ever heard. Of what I know, Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation is a side-project of members involved in The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, a band that creates dark jazz-fusion "soundtracks" for films which may or may not exist. MFDJC consists on this album of five members: Jason Kohen on bass guitar, Hilary Jeffery playing trombone/oscillator, Nina Hitz on cello, Bruce Coats on saxophone, and Eelco Bosman on guitar. As far as I known, they're all European. This was recorded live in 2007 at a show in Amsterdam. The entire album is not only played live, but is entirely improvisational. The members simply feed off each other to create a darkened, droning mass of sound that swirls and escalates until it reaches a breaking point.

Imagine a heavy, dark storm cloud slowly moving across the sky and totally blotting out the sun. That is what this album sounds like.
Imagine you are totally lost in a barren wasteland of pure white sand. The sun is always above you. There are no clouds. The heat is blistering. There is nothing on the horizon. Every so often you come across a bizarre structure that has been long abandoned. You are always wandering, with no idea when or if you will ever escape this desert. That is what listening to this album is like.
Imagine you have gone exploring in some ancient hospital or asylum. It is night, and you are alone. The building is creepy enough, rotting away under the weight of urban decay and being reclaimed by vegetation, but eventually you stumble across a basement. You descend, and find yourself trapped in a dark, grimy, claustrophobic concrete labyrinth of endless cramped tunnels, hallways and rooms, some filled with old instruments and objects that you cannot possibly imagine a use for. It is damp down there, the only light is from your shitty flashlight, and you feel like you are being followed. Your dread is constantly growing. You don't think there is a way out. That is also what listening to this album is like.

Doomjazz Future Corpses! consists of nine tracks, all of them untitled. They range in length from about 4 minutes to about 12 minutes. All of them have a pretty consistent sound, and that sound is "dark", or maybe "brooding". While the album has undeniable roots in jazz, it's main genre could be considered drone. Although there is little actual repetition, there is a constant underlying current of bass and feedback. The tracks also seem to stretch, but they don't become tedious or boring. The band members are constantly adding new sounds to the mix, from what sounds like high-frequency radio noise and static to terrifying strings that are something direct from a horror film's soundtrack. What makes these sounds interesting is the fact they mesh so well when they're being played without any prior group planning or direction. It's even more astounding when it becomes apparent the album has a distinct sense of escalation. While it starts simple enough, the controlled chaos of the sound reaches a notable peak somewhere around track seven, and from there, anything's game. This album is also great at maintaining a certain tension throughout. For something played entirely on-the-spot, the sense of pacing is incredible.

In terms of the "drone" genre, this album would be a pretty good introduction. It lacks the sound of a band like Sunn O))) or Earth, but it has all the basic elements. However, I think this album is best experienced as what it's purported to be: a soundtrack for some imaginary film. This is an album that pulses and broods, scrabbles and stretches. I think the best way to experience this for the first time is to listen to it alone, in total darkness, turned up loud with headphones on, but whatever floats your boat.

No real need for a track listing because it's just tracks 1-9, all untitled.

Listen/purchase here ----> shop.tkde.net/album/doomjazz-future-corpses <----

NEXT WEEK'S ALBUM: A special request from Xolta!

[xolta]

Its super cool how indepth you get with these and looking forward to next week. Will hve to listen to the swan songs you linked before this most recent post.

[Albino Anti-Hero]

This sound like some good shit, I need to catch a listen sometime.

[KDarkness]

Album of the week for 7/28 is a special request by Xolta...



Running With Scissors - "Weird Al" Yankovic

I can honestly say that I've never met anyone personally who doesn't like Weird Al to some degree. He's honestly pretty talented and as far as musical comedy goes (especially parodies), he's pretty much the undisputed king. Now, I used to listen to Weird Al a lot when I was younger, but I had never actually heard this whole album until now. The Saga Begins used to be my jam, but that was before I really got into listening to albums as a whole. Anyway, Weird Al plays what you would expect him to on this album (accordion, keyboard, vocals, etc.) and is backed by a large variety of personnel that consitutes a list I'm too lazy to copy down here. I'm not sure how well this album was received but does it really matter? It's pretty funny and of the albums I've heard of his, it's probably my favorite.

The album has 12 songs, and except for "The Weird Al Show Theme", they are all either lyrical parodies or stylistic parodies. From Puff Daddy to Nine Inch Nails-esque industrial rock, nothing is safe from being riffed on by Weird Al. Of course, no Weird Al album would be complete without polka, and like the album Bad Hair Day before it, Running With Scissors contains a fast-paced, condensed polka-fied medley of songs that were popular at the time of the album's release (such as "Intergalactic" by The Beastie Boys and "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger). Some of the parody targets are still recognized today ("American Pie"), but some were doomed to become trivia on a 90's-themed board game (who the hell still listens to Hanson?). The album is fourteen years old, but anyone who was around in the 90's or early 2000's will be able to get the majority of the references on this album.

The humor is pretty obviously derived mostly from the lyrics, but some of the style parodies are just funny in themselves. Even the album's longest song, "Albuquerque" (which is an 11-minute song about Weird Al's adventures in Albuquerque, of course), manages to be pretty entertaining. The only song that really feels out of place is "The Weird Al Show Theme", but whatever. Honestly, anyone who is familiar with Weird Al should pretty much know what to expect on this album. The lyrics aren't always laugh-out-loud funny, but some of them are pretty priceless (I'm looking at you, "Jerry Springer"). It's a fun, entertaining album that's worth listening to at least once. Weird Al obviously isn't taking anything seriously, and neither should you.

I don't really have much else to say. Running With Scissors is a good comedy album from the master of good comedy albums. It's a fun, light listen (unlike the other two albums I've done so far) with an entertaining take on popular culture of the time. So yeah. Give Running With Scissors a try. The album, I mean. Please don't actually run with scissors.

Running With Scissors track listing (you get to figure out what they're a parody of):
1. The Saga Begins
2. My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder
3. Pretty Fly For A Rabbi
4. The Weird Al Show Theme
5. Jerry Springer
6. Germs
7. Polka Power!
8. Your Horoscope for Today
9. It's All About the Pentiums
10. Truck Driving Song
11. Grapefruit Diet
12. Albuquerque

I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO LISTEN TO THIS ONLINE; I HAD TO BUY IT ON CD FOR $5 AT HALF-PRICE BOOKS

NEXT WEEK'S ALBUM: A special request by Spivsy!

[xolta]

Thanks for doing the album I suggested and weird Al's the best. My favorite song in this album is porably your hororscope for today, used to play that song all the time.

[wortcov]

running with scissors is probably the album with most of my favorite songs from al.

and the other two albums featured here have been a bit to "raw" for my taste (its hard to describe why its not my cup of tea, but raw probably is the best for it.) but not the worst things I have heard.

[KDarkness]

Yeah the first two albums I did aren't for everyone, but I really enjoy them

[KDarkness]

Shit fuck fuck shit fuck

I was busy today and forgot to finish the update

It'll be up tomorrow morning I promise

I bring great dishonor on family

[Albino Anti-Hero]

take your time dog, don't rush it. you rush it you might lose your colon.

[KDarkness]

Aug 5, 2013 7:09:52 GMT Albino Anti-Hero said:

you rush it you might lose your colon.

You're right; I can't afford for that to happen a third time

[KDarkness]

The (slightly delayed) album of the week for 8/4 is a request from Spivsy:



Rompilation - Andrew Jackson Jihad, 2012
Delayed because I was playing Fallout: New Vegas all day and then had a date doing important college preparation things.

Rompilation isn't really an album proper; it's a compilation of assorted singles, b-sides, and out-of-print stuff by the band. That being said, it's surprisingly good for a compilation album. Andrew Jackson Jihad consists of two dudes, Sean Bonette (he's the guy who sings) and Ben Gallaty. They play a lot of instruments. Their songs are usually fall under the designation of "folk punk" and have lyrics about things like drugs, how shitty people can be, social anxiety, existentialism, and other such fun things. I had never heard this particular release, but I'm a big fan of their albums People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World, Can't Maintain, and Knife Man (I may talk about one or two of these at a later date). This compilation has a lot of songs that are good introductions to the band's style and would serve as a great jumping-in point for anyone who wants to get into listening to them.

One of the primary sounds on this album and many of their other releases is a simple acoustic guitar (it's probably eletro-acoustic in some places, I honestly can't tell). It's the driving force behind a lot of the songs and provides a somewhat cheery contrast with the lyrics that are often dark and/or depressing (the first line in the whole album is "I hate my brain/because the things I think sometimes are so judgemental and lame"). It's a sound that has a fairly clear influence from prominent "indie" bands such as The Mountain Goats and Neutral Milk Hotel, two bands which they've covered in the past few years (those covers can be found > here < and > here <). The band isn't trying to copy these influences, but they can be heard pretty clearly in places. I think AJJ has a fairly distinct style of folk music that separates them from most other bands. It's fast-paced and frantic in places, but appropriately slowed in others. There's never a dull moment on this album, and it's a very engaging listen.

There's also a few covers on this album, which range from songs by more obscure bands like Foot Ox to music giants like Neil Young and David Bowie, of all things. The cover of Ziggy Stardust is surprisingly good, with Bowie's space-rock track morphed into a homey, lo-fi emotional refrain. Some more notable tracks include Love Will Fuck Us Apart (no relation to Love Will Tear Us Apart), Joe Arpaio Is A Punk, the cover of Foot Ox's Lucky Strike, and Deep Dark Basement. Honestly, all of the songs are worth listening to except maybe the Space Jam Dub of Deep Dark Basement, which strips down the song and adds a lot of bizarre, spacey reverb which sort of ruins the track in my opinion. There's quite a bit of variety in this album, so it's not hard to find a least a few likable tracks.

Overall, Romipilation is a pretty solid listen. It's got a lot of content, but doesn't drag or go on for too long. The material is culled from a variety of sources, so the style doesn't get stale after a few songs. It manages to find a happy medium between the band's complete freak-out sound (a lot of the songs on People Who Can Eat People) and their end-all, soul-crushingly-depressing sound (some of Can't Maintain, Big Bird from Knife Man). It retains their often dark sense of humor and hangs together well as a back-to-front album. It's definitely worth hearing, and it's a great introduction to this band and the rest of their great work.

Rompilation, track listing from AJJ website:
songs:
singles
1. hate song for brains
2. if jeff swiney had a hammer
3. dipping things in stuff
4. hate stick hard party
5. lady liberty
6. this is not a war
7. arpaio is a punk

partners in 818 split
8. deep dark basement
9. hate & kill (guac)
10. s.o.s (off with their heads)

glasgow session with kepi ghoulie
11. fortune teller (kepi ghoulie)
12. black dog
13. love will fuck us apart
14. lookin’ for love (neil young)

operation stackola
­­­15. 'nother beer
16. still smokin'
17. lucky strike (foot ox)
18. deep dark basement (spacejam dub)
19. sense & sensibility.
20. ziggy stardust (david bowie)
21. bold with fire (french quarter)
22. skipping stone

Listen to full album here:

Buy CD here: ajjstore.bigcartel.com/product/rompilation-cd

NEXT WEEK: Something I picked because no one else has requested anything