Sweet music to your ears. LP’s, EP’s and everything in between this is the place you will find out about the latest music and maybe even some oldies but goodies.
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My Bloody Valentine: Loveless (reissue)
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Pseudo Kids: Stay Glad EP
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B.O.B: Strange Clouds
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Beach House: Bloom
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mewithoutYou: Ten Stories
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Silversun Pickups: Neck of the Woods
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Off!: Off!
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Father John Misty: Fear Fun
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Death Grips: The Money Store
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Jack White: Blunderbuss
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Reptar: Body Faucet
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Spiritualized: Sweet Heart Sweet Light
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Miike Snow: Happy to You
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Battles: Dross Glop
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Rusko: Songs
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High on Fire: De Vermis Mysteriis
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Bear In Heaven: I Love You, It's Cool
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Tanlines: Mixed Emotions
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Ear Dropps Come Lately
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Odd Future: The OF Tape Vol. 2
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Drudkh: Eternal Turn of the Wheel
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The Shins: Port of Morrow
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The Men: Open Your Heart
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The Decemberists: We All Raise Our Voices to the Air
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Andrew Bird: Break It Yourself
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Damien Jurado: Maraqopa
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Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral
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Earth: Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
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Fionn Regan: 100 Acres of Sycamore
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Loma Prieta: I.V.
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Schoolboy Q: Habits & Contradictions
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Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas
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Howler:America Give Up
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Nada Surf:The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy
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Lana Del Rey:Born to Die
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Cloud Nothings:Attack on Memory
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First Aid Kit:The Lion's Roar
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Chairlift: Something
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Anthony Green:Beautiful Things
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The Big Pink:Future This
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Gates of Mourning:Nightfall Blooms and Golden Horns
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Nicole Miglis:EP
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Kathleen Edwards:Voyageur
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James Blake:Love What Happened Here
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Alcest: Les Voyages de l'Ame
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The Weeknd: Echoes of Silence
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Best Albums of 2011
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Best Songs 2011
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M83:Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
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Feist: Metals
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Wilco:The Whole Love
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Tom Waits:Bad As Me
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Wolves in the Throne Room:Celestial Lineage
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A.A. Bondy: Believers
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Slow Club:Paradise
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Mates of State:Mountaintops
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Gotye: Making Mirrors
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St. Vincent:Strange Mercy
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Mister Heavenly:Out of Love
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The War On Drugs:Slave Ambient
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Blood Orange:Coastal Grooves
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Active Child:You Are All I See
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Yip-Yip:Bone Up
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Maximino:Not So Cold, Cave
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Thee Oh Sees:Castlemania
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Timber Timbre:Creep On Creepin' On
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Watch The Throne
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Little Dragon:Ritual Union
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Liturgy:Aesthethica
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The Cool Kids:When Fish Ride Bicycles
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Gang Gang Dance:Eye Contact
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Bon Iver: Bon Iver
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John Maus:We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
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TOKiMONSTA:Creature Dreams EP
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The Wooden Birds:Two Matchsticks
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Jamie XX:Far Nearer/Beat For
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The Antlers:Burst Apart
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Death Cab for Cutie:Codes and Keys
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Dangermouse & Daniele Luppi:Rome
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David Bazan: Strange Negotiations [Barsuk]
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Thurston Moore:Demolished Thoughts
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Foster The People:Torches
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Explosions in the Sky:Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
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My Morning Jacket:Circuital
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Man Man:Life Fantastic
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Okkervil River:I Am Very Far
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Pygmy Lush:Old Friends
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Elzhi:Elmatic
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Beastie Boys:Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
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Fleet Foxes:Helplessness Blues
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Young Widows:In And Out Of Youth And Lightness
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Gil Scott-Heron/Jamie XX:We're New Here
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J-Rocc:Some Cold Rock Stuf
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Little Scream:The Golden Record
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Cut Copy:Zonoscope
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Panda Bear:Tomboy
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Pains of Being Pure At Heart:Belong
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Acid House Kings:Music Sounds Better With You
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Bibio:Mind Bokeh
Lana Del Rey:Born to Die
Tags: Born to Die, Interscope, Lana Del Rey, LDR, SNL, Video Games
Interscope Records; 2012
Dropped by Anna Kimura
The release of Lana Del Rey’s 2011 single ‘Video Games’ made her career seem like it was off to a highly promising start. Keyword: seem.
Though Del Rey likes to refer to herself as a “gangsta Nancy Sinatra,” her style seems more like old Hollywood glam gone tragically sour and overdone. Her drawling, nearly monotone voice oozes a forced sappiness and angst characteristic of music that belongs at a cheap, poorly lit bar that tried for swanky but only managed sleazy. Poorly executed and poorly produced, it seems that Del Rey felt forced to produce Born to Die after the success of her first release, and only managed to nullify any credibility she built through ‘Video Games.’
Even the lyrics of Born to Die reek of some sort of stale attempt at glamorous sexuality that further mars this album. In ‘Off to the Races,’ Del Rey sings, “Because I’m crazy, baby/I need you to come here and save me/I’m your little Scarlett, starlet/Singing in the garden/Kiss me on my open mouth.” Sung in a breathy, cloyingly seductive manner, her lyrics are nauseating rather than alluring. ‘Diet Mountain Dew’ sounds like it was written by a lovesick, lustful teenager – “Baby put on heart shaped sunglasses/Cause we gonna take a ride… Says he’s gonna teach me just what fast is/Say it’s gonna be alright.”
Even more puzzling is how the album fluctuates between languid, romantic string instrumentals and trashy off-tempo synth beats, which sound completely out of place amidst her false atmosphere of brooding sexuality and moodiness. The orchestral, drippy vibe loses its charm early on and from then on out just sounds stale and melodramatic, which severely takes away from a voice that exudes a great deal of potential.
The best advice for listeners is this: listen to ‘Video Games’ and enjoy its dark and sultry undertones and imagine Del Rey as she should have been, but stay away from Born to Die, which falls drastically short of achieving the same effect. Essentially, Born to Die lives up to its name, in that it was destined to live a short and disastrous life.
Tue Jan 31
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