Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern

Wow, more music from Marnie Stern. I clearly remember her debut; when I heard it the first few times, I really, really loved it. Couldn't stop listening, in fact. A while back I figured I would listen to it again (I actually wrote a 'review' at the time) but I never really got back into it.

And now there is this album. My initial feelings are again the same; this sounds like an album I'm going to thoroughly enjoy. I just hope it wont turn out like her debut in the end. I doubt it, however: Marnie took an entirely different direction. This album has much less shock value, is much less loud and has much more song. Thumbs up for Marnie!

SINT

Guess what, I just read that the Dutch commission for commercials (Reclame Code Commissie) is going to research (in Dutch) complaints about the following ad for a horror movie:


Some background for those of you readers that don't know anything about Sinterklaas: it's a yearly event for children, roughly analogous to Santa (there are some minor differences; for example, there is lots of tasty traditional food such as pepernoten, various forms of chocolate and other candy, as well as other speculaas products). He appears on a white horse, with a large staff.

All this sillyness about a damn horror movie reminds me of that good ol' Futurama episode: A Tale of Two Santas. I'm not much of a movie guy, but perhaps this movie will be interesting :-). Meanwhile, go watch the trailer (again, in Dutch) here (or on the page of the news article). It's really hilarious.

New Additions

After the Paramæcium post earlier today, I figured I might as well post other albums I also picked up:

Melodic Death Metal with a LOT of keyboards and generally touches from gothic metal. Pretty fun. And no, it is not the same band as the Swedish death metal band that the cosmic hearse wrote about a month or two ago.


I bought this mainly because I enjoyed this Belgian noise (rock) duo's 2008 album, All Lined Up Against the Wall so much.


Last but certainly not least is this album, Mahjongg's debut album. This is some very solid dance-punk (at lack of a better genre name).


With these four purchases, I received the Röyksopp single Eple for free, as well as a promo for some anti-aids compilation.

In another store, I picked up:


I liked Paul's Boutique and given the legacy of this album.. well, 'nuff said.


Room Eleven was a fairly new Dutch jazz group with a very gentle sound. The band recently disbanded, and that's quite a shame.

I guess I will be writing something about the above albums in the near future.

New purchase: Paramæcium - Within the Ancient Forest

I remember when I was a sort-of-outsider kid, totally into the harder forms of electronic dance music. I just started the second part of high school (at the school I went to, the last three years were on another location), I got some friends that listened to metal. Soon, I came in contact with a lot of bands from various styles -- Vomitory, Arch Enemy, Nightwish, Slipknot, Darkthrone are those I remember clearly. Just after that, I went exploring on the web (broadband was a new thing back then). Soon, I found this style called 'doom metal', of which somehow I hadn't heard anything. And there it was - Paramaecium, with the album Exhumed of the Earth (though admittedly, there was also My Dying Bride). Seeing as this was the age of limewire, I had but a few tracks of this album. But amazing as it was.

Now, roughly six or seven years later, I stroll through a local music store and I see this cover. I couldn't read the logo on the front - I believed I found some black metal by a band called 'Within the Ancient Forest'. Only when I got home I realized- Paramaecium! And what a feast of doom, nostalgia and joy it is. Who ever said Christians can't make good music?

Thoughts: Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

I finally took it upon myself to write my thoughts on this album down. I posted the result on RYM originally, but I guess I might as well put it here too. This is a cut-paste copy (except I've mentioned the band names for referenced albums):

Ah yes, Daydream Nation. Sonic Youth's 'landmark' album. After hearing (Sonic Youth) Confusion Is Sex / Kill Yr. Idols a few times, I picked this up. Sure, it was okay, but it never quite clicked for me. This one has been in the CD rack for a (too?) long time. Likewise, C=S/KYI has been buried deep in the depths of my digital music collection. Every once in a while, I dig around and decide I really should hear X again. So here was today's choice. Anyway, the experience is the same as previously: sure, I don't mind listening to it, and it has some areas that grab my attention, but they quickly let go again. Also, seriously, a double album? 70 minutes is just too long for most albums, including this one.

Listen to this for its historic value. Listen to this to hear some solid alternative rock. Yes, it is also noise rock, but in the 80s, noise rock had much more to say in the form of (Swans) Filth, James Chance and the Contortions or (High Rise) II. Daydream Nation isn't bad, it is just inseparable from the very, very high expectations.