small super name.
very straight forward here. this site is for reviewing things. most likely, mostly music. as its our favorite thing. but, we love technology, video games, and tv. so who knows! simple, and free. hoping to be able to do update's every other monday. we're looking for people who want to write stuff.. we love talking to people. say hi!

what? and how?
so, there is a rating system. here it is. we're not going to try anything new. 0-10. its all opinion. so its hard to rate. but i see it like this. there should be no 10's.. something that gets a 10, should single handily change the world for the better. like, a cure for aids, or cancer. 7-9 is reeeally good. 9 is actually amazing. hopefully people writing here will seriously think about the rating they give. though, ratings really don't mean anything. i'm sure it will mutate as we keep working.

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issue super name #2

small name says:

here we are, at #2. no one wished to join in the fun this issue. so there only 3 reviews. also, we're changing the 2 week format. instead of being every "2 weeks" [14 days]. it's now just every other monday. this just seems easier to remeber. if you disagree with anything here, let us know. if i can do this. so can you.

Eel
"Little Prince "
(vroom records)
Rate: 7.5

Eel's latest effort. just has bad timing. it was released and the butt end of december 2004. to late to really be considered for 2004, but not 2005.. Eel to me, is a completely unique character in japan. she has been releasing albums for some time. under her own label "file under unique". she's the only act on her label. making them, technically vanity release's. but, she has been able to sell records. and make a name for herself. also, well, she has been linked to the post shibuya scene and/or the pico scene. she has kept her self fairly separate. but now, the powers to be, have decided its Eel time. she singed with vroom records [plus tech squeeze box's home label]. and loaded up with a small army of odd producers. many of them from nobukazu takemura's label childisc. also, she shed her skin of shy cute girl, and got all sexed up for her promo photos. well, relatively sexed up. i personally, had a crush on old school Eel. but new Eel is just a good. i also am prone to wondering. if, though i'm sure its only in my head, could the album title be in reference to the prince from katamari damarcy? I'm pretty sure its not. but, it just feels right. just roll all these piece's up. into a almost uncontrollable lump.
oh my, haven't even got to the album. well, this is some subjective shit. its either, and hyper crazy pop epic. or just a mess of rhythm and noise. this is by far, my most favorite Eel record. it is just overflowing with original ideas, and creativity. taking the tokyo fake idea, and turning it upside down. more experimental then most "experimental pop" records. but, its still a pop record. verse's, chorus, bridges. its all there. the album start off, thinking it maybe be soft. but you are almost instantly slammed into Eel overcharged world. yukari rotten has got nothing on this. through out the album, it occasionally lulls into nice atmospheric pop pieces. but then just to be jagged by pretty aggressive sequencing and DSP tom foolery. if you like plus tech squeeze box, yukari fresh, and rotten, and nobukazu takemura, good chance you'd like this. its has the manic feel of plus tech, but less controlled, with the fun loving joy of music of yukari, and the de-constructive attitude of takemura. thats a winning combination for me.

-trevor

Styrofoam
"Nothings Lost "
(morr music)
Rate: 8

oh, how many times have i torn this album to shreds in my head? to many it may seem. i might start believing myself. well this is not technically Styrofoam's second album. for all intents and purpose's, it might as well be. he jumped out of the line of i make generic idm music being made. and made a pop record. him and a computer. i loved! that album. so much, when i heard about "nothing lost". i had fears. so much so, i stayed of buying it for sometime. obviously, and i can't really blame him, he lost the guts to step out and do a second record. so, he filled it with guest artists! oh, yeah, how great. who pay's attention to anitcon? "Misguided" guided should have a been a great opening track, next to the embarrassing rap interlude. luckily its the first song. and i can skip it with out noticing. luckily, he recovers for a bit. and a new song appears. "ticket out of town", is pretty much solid Styrofoam. except, and this is the case for the whole record. electric guitars have replaced acoustic. some people will say thats good. cause the acoustic guitar thin electronic music thing is played out. and, i would be inclined to agree. but who said this is electronic music? hmmm. "Couches In Alleys" is obviously the single. other then because its a good song. cause the guy from deathcab for cutie. and oh! postal service supply the vocals. yes, i could look up his name. but who cares. you know who I'm talking about. so this is a good song, good melody, mood all that stuff. but why!! why!!! is he so auto tuned? if i had to make a list of people who don't need to be auto tuned. it would be him. why? it almost ruin's the song. is this Cher? anyways. so as the album moves along, we roll through the rest of the over auto tuned guest vocalists. did i mentioned it's over tuned? hopefully its a joke. if you liked the last styrofoam album. you'll like this one. first things that jump out at me. electronics were used on this album. and are the main say. this is no "electronic" or "idm" record. this is a pop record. most of the songs are really just catchy chorus's. the production is brash in its used of "old school" electronic sounds. bold 909 kicks. acid synth lines. beep and blips. not much glitchy happenings on this one. modern synth pop. straight up. one thing nag's at me. for all my issue's and complaints. i find myself listening to this album a bunch. for one, it comes into a whole new life when enjoyed on the subway. walking around with it doesn't really work. sunlight also works against it. and at the end of the day, this album is just better then what most other people are doing. styrofoam deserves the press, and applause he is getting. most of my complaints are fueled by my own expectations i had laid out for the album.

-trevor

Yukari Rotten
"Not Dead "
escalator
rate: 7




oh yukari fresh [rotten], it saddens me to know that you are married. sigh.. but, i will not hold it against you. to go from fresh to rotten. oh, it can't be. well, it isn't. there is nothing "rotten" about this. for some technically details on this fresh / rotten thing, you should read this. what could "rotten" mean here? is it a play on words. the cute is over! its now rotten? or, is it in some ways a reference to johnny rotten? how would he feel about that? well pissed I'm sure. cute is dead! i feel like i've said this before? well, pay attention. so its been told, by high above, at escalator records. though in this case. talk about a miss fire. could the name change be any cutier? there is just no rottenness here. it has more of the feel of a cute girl, being cute, but demanding that she is not, that she is punk rock. its just more cute! unfortunately this "rotten", can't much hold a candle to the "fresh". well, i guess it depends on how you look at it. in many ways "not dead" really harks back to old yukari fresh. its akwardly amateur synth programing, reminds me of her old playfully sampling technique's. the computer voice and rhythm ace's stuck around though. i want to mention one song so bad. "C.L.I.J.S.T.E.R.S." but oh! no. damn, the album version totally lacks the excitement, and energy of the single. so it doesn't so much apply to the album. upon thinking about it. this album is still very sample-y. but not of normally sampled stuff. but of generic synth sounds. much like Styrofoam's new album. it harkens back to traditional electronic sounds. big up 909 kicks, 808 snares, acid synth squeaks. really, this is more a pop artists take on electronic music, where Styrofoam's album is an electronics artists take on pop. much of "not dead" finds either yukari's voice missing, or just sort of talking. if i had to pull songs out, really, the only one that can stand on its own is "say when". its just catchy, and fun, wonderful really. makes me want to get up. the real art of "not dead" though doesn't lye in the songs. but in the whole thing. you must, and i repeat must! listen to it as one whole song. it only comes in, at about 30 minutes in length. so its quite doable i think. when you listen to the whole thing, as one. then, it all comes together. all the pointless parts, here and there. find ground to stand upon, and its all quite fun. witch brings up back to square 1. if i understand my press right. this wasn't really suppose to be fun and cute. but, cool? well, if fun and cute is cool. then this is some seriously cool shit. I'm a yukari fan, so i'll enjoy it, well waiting for another yukari fresh album. and thats the down side. don't play it near any yukari fresh, you'll be disappointed. in a world of so much music, this album is extra forgettable. but it is a solid, but short distraction.

-trevor

archive

jan 1 '05
- the remote viewer
-the futureheads
-stars
-cubismo grafico