Aesop Rock has just released his zombietastic new video for "Coffee," with the necessary cameo from John Darnielle.
The new video can be seen at MTV-U's website
Many updates to come!!!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Bob Dylan Dylan
This was originally meant for publication in the last issue of the Earlham Word, but it got cut for space constraints (curses!!!)
Bob Dylan Dylan (Five stars out of five)
For an artist of his stature, Bob Dylan is a surprisingly underanthologized man. His new three CD set, simply entitled “Dylan”, is only his third career-spanning retrospective. He has always been an album man, carefully crafting collections of songs that play well as a whole. He has also never been one to do the bidding of the music industry. But now, out marches “Dylan”, doing a very fine job of recapping his 45-year awe-inspiring career.
There’s only so much one can say about the content of this album: it’s a whole bunch of Bob Dylan songs in one place, so it’s going to be absolutely superb. Covering 51 tracks from over 35 different albums, “Dylan” gives a spectacular look at his full career.
Disc three in particular gives an excellent look at the 25 years that have passed since Dylan’s first career retrospective, “Biograph”. The 1980’s and early 90’s were something of a dead period for Dylan (at least compared with his output of the 60’s and 70’s), but there were certainly excellent songs, and this set does a phenomenal job of separating out the diamonds from that era.
The first two discs contain some of the best music ever made—“Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Positively 4th Street,” and “Tangled Up In Blue.” That said, the holes in the set are more obvious on these discs. “Like a Rolling Stone” is the only song on the set from Dylan’s 1965 masterpiece, “Highway 61 Revisited”, which many consider to be his best album. Come on, a little love for “Tombstone Blues,” please? No songs are included from “The Basement Tapes,” Dylan’s spectacular sessions with The Band. “Million Dollar Bash,” anyone? And where on earth is “Visions of Johanna”, which many consider to be his best SONG?!?
But only so much complaining can be done—there is not a single bad song in the lot. “Dylan” is a much more effective collection than 2001’s double disc “The Essential Bob Dylan”, and is as close to definitive as anything released thus far. A fourth disc would really have improved this set, but would have made it feel more like a boxed set than a greatest hits collection.
If you are a Bob Dylan fan already, and have his essential albums, you really don’t need this set. It would be nice if they sold Disc Three alone to get “Everything is Broken” and “Under the Blood Red Sky”, but you will have most everything on discs one and two. Unlike “Biograph”, which was almost half made up of previously unreleased material, everything on “Dylan” is already available.
If you are new to Dylan’s canon, however, these discs are absolutely essential. They give an excellent look at his career, at a very reasonable price (currently just over $25 on Amazon.com). There is also a single disc distillation that I would recommend leaving alone—over twenty years of Dylan’s career are left unrepresented, and some odd track choices are made. As an introduction to Bob Dylan’s music, “Dylan” is nearly perfect. Go out and get this collection—you won’t look back.
Bob Dylan Dylan (Five stars out of five)
For an artist of his stature, Bob Dylan is a surprisingly underanthologized man. His new three CD set, simply entitled “Dylan”, is only his third career-spanning retrospective. He has always been an album man, carefully crafting collections of songs that play well as a whole. He has also never been one to do the bidding of the music industry. But now, out marches “Dylan”, doing a very fine job of recapping his 45-year awe-inspiring career.
There’s only so much one can say about the content of this album: it’s a whole bunch of Bob Dylan songs in one place, so it’s going to be absolutely superb. Covering 51 tracks from over 35 different albums, “Dylan” gives a spectacular look at his full career.
Disc three in particular gives an excellent look at the 25 years that have passed since Dylan’s first career retrospective, “Biograph”. The 1980’s and early 90’s were something of a dead period for Dylan (at least compared with his output of the 60’s and 70’s), but there were certainly excellent songs, and this set does a phenomenal job of separating out the diamonds from that era.
The first two discs contain some of the best music ever made—“Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Positively 4th Street,” and “Tangled Up In Blue.” That said, the holes in the set are more obvious on these discs. “Like a Rolling Stone” is the only song on the set from Dylan’s 1965 masterpiece, “Highway 61 Revisited”, which many consider to be his best album. Come on, a little love for “Tombstone Blues,” please? No songs are included from “The Basement Tapes,” Dylan’s spectacular sessions with The Band. “Million Dollar Bash,” anyone? And where on earth is “Visions of Johanna”, which many consider to be his best SONG?!?
But only so much complaining can be done—there is not a single bad song in the lot. “Dylan” is a much more effective collection than 2001’s double disc “The Essential Bob Dylan”, and is as close to definitive as anything released thus far. A fourth disc would really have improved this set, but would have made it feel more like a boxed set than a greatest hits collection.
If you are a Bob Dylan fan already, and have his essential albums, you really don’t need this set. It would be nice if they sold Disc Three alone to get “Everything is Broken” and “Under the Blood Red Sky”, but you will have most everything on discs one and two. Unlike “Biograph”, which was almost half made up of previously unreleased material, everything on “Dylan” is already available.
If you are new to Dylan’s canon, however, these discs are absolutely essential. They give an excellent look at his career, at a very reasonable price (currently just over $25 on Amazon.com). There is also a single disc distillation that I would recommend leaving alone—over twenty years of Dylan’s career are left unrepresented, and some odd track choices are made. As an introduction to Bob Dylan’s music, “Dylan” is nearly perfect. Go out and get this collection—you won’t look back.
Monday, October 1, 2007
NEW RADIOHEAD ALBUM!!!!!!!!
The news is only fifteen hours old, but I'm sure everyone's heard it by now.
Radiohead.
In Rainbows.
October 10 for digitial download.
Name your own price.
As posted on a message board last night:
"Dear Radiohead,
Holy Shit
Love,
Everyone"
Radiohead "Bodysnatchers"
Radiohead.
In Rainbows.
October 10 for digitial download.
Name your own price.
As posted on a message board last night:
"Dear Radiohead,
Holy Shit
Love,
Everyone"
Radiohead "Bodysnatchers"
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