For starters, this isn’t a Tweet. I’m still not on Twitter. It’s a blog post, my first of this year. It’s partially being prompted by the fact that I gave Twitter/Facebook/Foursquare up for Lent. It’s also partially being prompted by the fact that I’m watching a Freaks and Geeks episode, mostly sober, on a Friday night. This is giving me something to do, that isn’t work, whilst still not breaking my Catholic obligation of abstinence.
I’ve always been a fan of music in one fashion or another. My mother finds humor in occasionally reminding me that I used to oddly gyrate to Michael Jackson vinyls as a child. My Christmas and birthday wish lists often included requests for cassettes and eventually CD’s. Albums by every group from Genesis to Boys II Men, Simon and Garfunkel to Live, I was just obsessed with collecting discs, tracks and sounds. This of course has carried on into my current days. I’m skipping the high school and college years because frankly I don’t remember a lot from them. I recall being referred to as the “White Usher” at a mixer circa ’96 and spun records for three years in undergrad. That about covers it. This all has a tie in so please bear with me. I’m a bit rusty on the blogging front.
Music in modern times has become terribly calculated, washed out and under appreciated due to the frequency at which we as fans are able to access it, digest it and replace it with the next pre-release leak. I’m listening to The Strokes new album as I type this. Angles will enjoy its formal US release on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011. This album surfaced on Google Blogs early last week. Eleven years ago I had to wait 2 hours in a dorm room at Iowa to download Jagged Edge’s “Let’s Get Married” over a University Ethernet connection, and I did so with pleasure. To me Napster still represents one of the single most ground breaking and influential Internet services ever conceived. Peer-to-Peer file sharing, go frucking figure.
I’m off topic, so let me take a few steps back. This rant was sparked by the desire to blab about The Strokes. If you know me then you know I get giddy for The Strokes like an airheaded bimbo gets giddy for Ke$ha. They are the only band I want to own a t-shirt of. Which is saying a lot because I think band t-shirts are about as corny as it gets. I saw a guy at the airport yesterday proudly sporting a Mumford & Sons t-shirt. A fine band but get real, they have one album out and have been popular for less than 18 months, you can’t like them that much. Sorry, digressing. Angles is the fourth studio release by The Strokes and after ten listens or so I can confidently say it is quickly shaping up to be my favorite of their catalogue. Is This It? will likely still remain near the top purely based on the fact that I feel it has achieved a “classic” status. First release, developed a blueprint for most of the rock bands/albums that became popular in the 2000’s, NME’s album of the decade, etc. Staying true to form for a band is key, but evolving is what helps one solidify a legacy.
So, what was meant to have been a simple album review morphed into an excuse to inadvertently post something on Twitter, revisit my childhood, provide a commentary on the history of Internet piracy and knock Mumford & Sons’ t-shirts. I fail at every effort to be succinct. If you happen to read this in hopes of finding my thoughts on Angles, then this part’s for you. “Under Cover of Darkness”, “Two Kinds of Happiness”, “Taken for a Fool”, “Machu Picchu”, “Games”, “Gratisfication” and “Life Is Simple in the Moonlight” are all fantastic songs. The first three mentioned are highlights of the album. The Strokes channel The Cars, The Stones and possibly even a Michael Jackson hook in the tracks of this album. I love it, it delivered what I wanted after almost five years of waiting. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to finish this post now so I can jump sites and buy a t-shirt. Angles – 4.25/5.
