MOG - nine stories's Posts

the red album?

nine stories — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:53:35 GMT

I can't say that all the albums after Pinkerton is completely useless- all of them seem to exist just to strengthen the blue album (not that it needs any). Don't get me wrong, there are a few gem nuggets tucked in here and there. and I do continue to support weezer and its creativity (from Buddy Holly's video to their newest Pork & Beans). I can say that I will continue to listen to their future albums very hopefully, but with tired faith.

Narrow Stairs

nine stories — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:15:05 GMT

I must admit that I listened to the album beforehand through a leak, but by the time I actually got the cd in my hands, I was calm enough to actually sit and digest the words. the lyrics are much more literal than the past albums of dcfc, so if you're like me and live for deconstructing similes, Something About Airplanes is a better album to turn to (Fake Frowns? come,on).

"Bixby Canyon Bridge" is the perfect song to start off with, because it's such a personal introduction to the whole album. Ben Gibbard spent time at Big Sur just as Jack Kerouac did to conjure up some sort of intuitive insight that never came. which relates to the most common disappointment that all of us face- failed expectations and elaborate idealisms set by ourselves.

the single,"I Will Possess Your Heart" makes me want to sway for the whole 8 and a quarter minutes. "it's like a book elegantly bound but in a language you can't read, just yet" this is the most beautiful and stalkeriest line I've ever heard. The irony of a dark song w/ an upbeat melody comes up again in songs like "No Sunlight" and "Your New Twin Sized Bed". Both are so fucking sad while the melody was made for easy cruising on roller skates with a melting ice cream cone in hand circa 1994. just that juxtaposition amplifies the dejection.

"Cath" seems like an afterthought of "Company Calls Epilogue,"(weep) from DCFC's third album, We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, but spoken from more of a narrator than someone so emotionally attached. Then comes "Talking Bird" which is a bit, can I say it?... dull, but is makes up for it with sweet little lines of what seems to be unconditional love.

"You Can Do Better Than Me" is so embarrassingly honest, in a good way. only 2 minutes long, the song is left short because its as though the words are too raw and would leave the narrator too vulnerable if repeated. It is then followed by "Grapevine Fires,which is becoming a fast favorite of mine. the inevitabilities of life is a reoccurring theme, and sometimes there's nothing we can do but just sit and wait.

oh ho ho, "Long Division." I find myself just waiting for the throaty oh ho hos. I love the perfect, but strange, similes to relationships that come up from DCFC, such as a this mathematical equation. things are slowed down with "Pity and Fear," a very different sounding Death Cab. things start kicking up with the line, "I recall the push more than the fall" where the the act of falling is translated into the carazy end.

and would a Death Cab album be a righteous one without that one sad song about an inevitable drifting relationship? of course not. add "The Ice is Getting Thinner" to your "songs to fall asleep to (in a good way)" playlist.

Overall, Narrow Stairs really highlights the growth of the band, both musically and lyrically. It's such a leap from Plans, but it's still a grower. I think it takes more than a few listens for it to sink it. Take In Rainbows off of repeat for a while and feast on this.

I attached a live version of "Bixby Canyon Bridge" from the McDonald Theatre at Eugene, Oregon provided by Sometimes I Tape Stuff

you are in a movie

nine stories — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:20:39 GMT

and this is the part where revelation hits and you finally realise every single attribute about everything and everyone around you is so, so beautiful and you're almost sad nothing will ever be as perfect as this moment

if you want sexy

nine stories — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:39:48 GMT

then t h i s is it

"nerdy" used to be a compliment

nine stories — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:48:57 GMT

"Hey Party-People,

Weezer is just polishing up a batch of songs for a recording session that is going to start at the beginning of July. This will be the final recording session for our 6th album which we aim to put out in the first half of 2008. We hope you are all having good times.

Love, R-dawg" - Rivers Cuomo, weezer.com news

imagine those words come out of this face:

I can't decide if this is good or bad news. the 6th album? after the three consecutive k.o.s of the green album, Maladroit, and Make Believe, I'm still waiting for the 3rd album.

here's to the good times:

When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire

nine stories — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:40:24 GMT

Stars' third album, Set Yourself on Fire is the kind where you listen 2 or 3 times and let it slowly evaporate to the back of your head. Fast forward 3 years later when a set of covers and remixes is born- Do You Trust Your Friends? Some of the artists who participated are Metric, Minotaur Shock, The Stills, Jason Collett, Montag, The Most Serene Republic, and Apostle of Hustle. The track that stands out the most is a remix of Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Final Fantasy. The original can't be taken quite seriously because of it's happy-go-lucky beat despite its poigant lyrics. The remix is such a contrast- so deliciously heart-shattering.

first

nine stories — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:07:33 GMT

spoon's fifth album ga ga ga ga ga is continuing to grow on me, but I don't know if any it can beat Girls Can Tell Frankly, I always find myself automatically saying "their old stuff was better." not just with spoon, but with a lot of growing artists/bands. maybe it's just the nostalgia that comes with those older songs that punches that statement out of me. or maybe it's the truth. I remember seeing Spoon at Coachella of 2005, and they were playing at one of the smaller stages competing with Coldplay. COLDPLAY they were competing with. I don't know if it was sympathy or my gravitation to Spoon, but I don't regret it.

Here's a lick: