ClumsyMonkey.net

To answer a couple of questions.

1. Yes, Alkaline Trio did cover a Cure song, and it is very catchy. I listen to it once in a while and I like it more than the actual Cure version of the song.

2. No, I unfortunately will not be seeing Guided By Voices play their last show in Chicago. It sold out within an hour of tickets going on sale, seeing that it was on New Year's Eve, it was a legend's last show, and Bob Pollard likes to hand out free beer to people. I will see him at his last show in Detroit, which will be a good 3 hours of fun.

And in a couple minutes, I will choose an album worth recommending.

Sorry if you mentioned this, but I couldn't find it. When will you find out if you got the job?

Well, I figure it's about time to tell you about the album that changed my life, and hopefully will do the same for yours. Or maybe you'll like it. Who knows?

I'm going to tell you kiddies about Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea that came out on the wonderful record label, Merge Records.

Back in 1998, Neutral Milk Hotel released "Areoplane..." onto a world that wasn't ready for it. At this time, everything fell into place for Jeff Magnum and crew, where Magnum honed his story-like songwriting, they relied less on the guitar, more on the horns and accordian, and added the use of the fuzz bass to make an amazing sound not heard since the 1960s. The peculiar blend of instruments on this cd and their usage earned this album the tagline "Pet Sound of indie rock." And for those that don't know who made Pet Sounds, it was the Beach Boys.

All sounds aside, the thing that makes this album remarkable is the level Jeff Magnum took the singer-songwriter craft to. Generally, songs just tell stories or are there to make your head bob. Magnum brought some of the most amazing imagery into this album, written partly about Anne Frank and partly about the death of his friend's brother. The way he describes death, life, love, and sex in this album is nothing short of eloquent.

"The King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" opens up the album with just Jeff's emoting voice and his acoustic guitar, soon accompanied by a bagpipe and a saw. "The King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3" have Jeff repeating "I love you Jesus Christ" then kicks into the most rocking song on the album, with crashing drums, fuzz bass, and insane lyrics like "I will float until I learn how to swim, inside my mother, the garbage bin" that seem like nonsense, but in song, fit perfectly with what he is trying to convey.

The album slows down with a more personal, touching song called "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea." This is Jeff's most touching song, going over, life, love, and death, accompanied by the accordian, saw, and acoustic guitar. The album hits the emotions harder with the song "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 1" and picks the pace of the album up a bit. It flows into "The Fool," an absolutely amazing intstumental with marching drums, horns, bass, and every other instrument imaginable.

The album kicks into its only single, "Holland, 1945" which is also another rocking song with heavy fuzz bass, deep drums, and Magnum sharing his beautiful lyrics about his love (Anne Frank) dying. The way he words his emotions is beyond words. The album slows down into the haunting "Communist Daughter" loaded with atmospheric sounds to accomapny Jeff's deep voice and sexually driven lyrics, as in the line, "Sweet communist, the communist daughter, standing on the seaweed water, semen stains the mountaintops, semen stains the mountaintops."

The album kicks into the epic "Oh Comely," a song joining Magnum, his guitar, and his special way of singing about death. This is the song's most touching, yet hard to access, song, mostly because of it's 8 minutes of work. The album flows into my personal favorite, "Ghost," where Jeff sings about the death of his friend's suicide, where he's surrounded with a guitar, drums, and a tuba (yes, I said a tuba), and a section of horns. The album kicks into the last insturmental song, named "Untitled" which is loaded with sounds that I can't describe.

The closing song on the album, "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2" is the saddest, most touching, and critically accepted as the best song on the album. Jeff closes the album with atmospheric sounds, his guitar, and voice to send off his friend from the persepctive of his friend's father. I'm listening to the song right now, and if you take the time to listen to it, tears will well up in your eyes and it will send chills down your spine. If you've ever experienced the death of someone close to you, this song will hit you in a certain way that makes you appreciate the album in a way you never have appreciated music before.

This was Magnum's final work before he left the country never to record music again. He left the world with quote possibly the best album ever recorded (Yes, I know I just said the best album ever). There has never been an album quite like this before. Not many people are ambitious to mix atmospheric sounds and horns to the singer/songwriter genre. Magnum's imagination practically reinvented the way one writes songs about anything above the tripe a pop singer can muster.

Recommended songs: Well, I reviewed every song on this album, so just pick out the titles and download them. The album is best listened to as a whole piece, but is you need to pick out certain songs, download "The King Of Carrot Flowers pt. 1" "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" "Holland, 1945" "Oh Comely" "Ghost" and "Two-Headed Boy pt. 2"

If anyone has problems finding these songs, hit me up on AIM. My screen name is "bleedtopleaseyou" and this is the only album I am willing to send to people in its entirety.

Sorry this was so long. I attempted to write about an album beyond words, and this is what happened. The album changed my life, maybe it will do the same to yours.

Wow this sounds interesting. I'm sorry if I am the stupidest person in the world, but I am so tired. How does he know Anne Frank if the album was released in 1998? Or is it not meant to be actual?

I cant even get one of their songs to download

IM him, like he said

Alright, here's the thing about Jeff Magnum. Let's just say he lives in a dreamworld. He made the whole thing up in his mind, like being in love with Anne Frank, and being there when she was killed in Holland, 1945. He's just overly creative.

i just listened to about five songs.

very good i must say

Where did you download the songs from? I'm using Limewire right now and I can't seem to download anything.

really? i found 20+ songs on limewire within a few minutes

for real. I just can't seem to download anything.

clumsychild_ wrote:So I just listened to I Am A Scientist and Gold Star For Robot Boy (the first songs to finish) and I like them a lot. Very catchy.

*waits impatiently for others to finish*

isn't "I Am A Scientist" a Dandy Warhols song?


....sorry if i'm being an ass, and it was already mentioned...but i couldn't find it.

I believe the Dandy Warhols covered Guided By Voices.

Like I said, IM me if you want Neutral Milk Hotel.

ah cool

^^ According to AMG, they're two different songs.

I love In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

I'm currently downloading more.

Well, this is the greatest album of all time.

OK, I'll say it's the greatest indie-rock album of all time. That I know is true. I can't say it's better than Pet Sounds, Srgt. Pepper's, or OK Computer, but it is better than anything else as lo-fi as this.

Sorry for the lack of an update in so long, I am in the middle of a 13-day shift at work, where I will total over 90 hours. I am ready to quit, but that's another story, you peeps want some music reviews.

Today, a Stephen Malkmus related work will make its second appearance on my thread. I am going to tell you folks about Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted

Back in 1992, Stephen Malkmus and crew recorded an album that seriously sent shockwaves through the music world. Their debut album, released on then unknown Matador Records, established them as one of the most clever and catchy bands to hit the scene in years.

Pavement made rock music in a time when they could have conformed and made grunge rock and hit it huge. They, however, stuck to their country-influenced sound, didn't make a video for this album, and missed their chance to be the next Beatles. This album is the best album of the early 90s (well, besides Loveless) and were critically heralded, and honestly are a better band than Nirvana. Their songs are catchier, have less angst, and are lyrical masterpieces compared to everything else in that era.

The album kicks off with a guitar solo that leads into the mellow song "Summer Babe (Winter Version)." The lyrics of this song are so infectious they get stuck in your head and find yourself singing along to the outro "Everytime I sit around I find I'm shot." The guitar and frantic drum beat grab your attention in "Trigger Cut-Wounded Kite At :17."

If anyone is a fan of At The Drive-In's "Invalid Litter Dept." will find out that they blatantly ripped off Pavement's "Conduit For Sale!" in its structure and lyrical flow. The frantic verses that flow into a catchy chorus came from Pavement, and was popularized by the late 90s emo band. The song directly following the anger of "Conduit For Sale" is Pavement's best song, "Zurich Is Stained." The country twang and slide guitar accompany Malkmus' voice and apathetic lyrics perfectly, making it sound like he belongs with some creepy guys singing about how they live in a trailer park.

Malmus also proves he can kick out the jams on his guitar wailing song "Chelsey's Little Wrists." The song "Two States" gets stuck in your head with the catchy chorus of "40 million daggers" and you find yourself singing it all day long, as I find myself doing at work when I imagine killing my boss and pissing in his slashed and bleeding neck.

Recommended Songs - Summer Babe (Winter Version), Trigger Cut-Wounded Kite At :17, Conduit For Sale!, Zurich Is Stained, Two States

You all should give these guys a whirl. If they had a larger label managing their career, they would have been bigger than Nirvana. Their first two albums (Slanted & Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain) were the two best pieces of music released in the early 90s to receive absolutely no credit. S&E could have been the defining piece of the generation with the proper promotion and major label funding, like Nirvana received. Pavement remained loyal to Matador, and now they're regarded as the quintessential indie band from the 1990s instead of the best band of the 1990s, which is sad.

Anyways, check them out. It will be worth your download time.

Alan, would you consider yourself more punk or indie? TO be honest i really haven't tried much of the stuff you suggest yet, but that's only because i'm not really a fan of most punk.

Of all the bands that I've recommended in this thread, about 0 have been punk in any shape or form.

Olivia Tremor Control is like psychadelic music with lots of horns and noises. The Dismemberment Plan is like post-punk or noise-pop. The Magnetic Fields is lo-fi or synth-pop. Built To Spill is indie/lo-fi, and Modest Mouse pretty much idolized these guys when they started off. Mirah is indie/lo-fi, and she is beautiful. The Silver Jews is indie/lo-fi and have the most amazingly crafted lyrics ever written. The Walkmen has a post-punk or indie feel to it. Guided By Voices is lo-fi. Neutral Milk Hotel is psychadelic/baroque pop/folk/lo-fi, so they're really everything. And Pavement is lo-fi indie rock.

So if you noticed, I'm only recommending indie bands, and nothing punk. I was thinking about reviewing The Buzzcocks, which would be punk, but I never bothered to because I am trying to tell people about bands they haven't heard of.

Thanks for bumping my thread though, I was going to let it die without your post.