Tuesday, September 11, 2007

BIG BIG Week

So, today is September 11th, a very important day.......The Black Lips, Animal Collective, Kanye West, and The GO! Team all come out. Oh boy oh boy. Are you just in mourning? No no, yes yes, sad sad day, but what a better way to get happy again than buy 4 albums from some of the most creative and exciting artists out there. I have not heard the new Kanye yet, but I'm sure he comes through even though it is the least exciting of the releases. No, the two big ones are the Black Lips and Animal Collective.

I've had both of the albums for a while now, and they are both amazing. I fell in love with The Black Lips newest immediatly and thought it was the shit. I mean it really is. You can't help but feel cool when listening to them. See, living in Atlanta, we have been prolific obviously with Hip Hop from Outkast to Danger Mouse to T.I. Yet, I guess in the indie rock world we haven't had a band that brought us together as a whole. The Black Lips do that. They are almost bringing back to a state of mind that I haven't had since the days when Pete and Carl were in their red coats. The Black Lips are a great rock band, but they are more than that. They are a lifestyle. They bring people from all different crowds into one. There are the one thing we can all agree on just like how we could all agree Outkast were and might come back to being amazing. Good Bad Not Evil is an album to be very proud of from the sampled "Vedi Vidi Vici" to the indian tale in "Navajo" to the deadly swagger of "Lock and Key" (all three being my highlights). Sure they can make you laugh and are crazy, but they are mine and all the other kids of Atlanta. Sure their getting steam in the indie world, but before anything else, they are Atlanta's and nobody else's, and we are damn proud to call them our own.

Now, let's travel to another city that I am obsessed with, Baltimore: Bmore Club, The Wire, Animal Collective, Spank Rock. The boys in Animal Collective just don't stop. To me, they are in the great tier of American music that is kicking everyone else's ass. Them, The Black Lips, The White Stripes, and LCD Soundsystem are the most important American groups and all bring something different to the table. Animal Collective's Stawberry Jam is a much more excited and upbeat work. It seems like on multiple occasions I have found myself boucing around to "Peacebone." Panda Bear said in an interview that the name of the album came from when he was on an airplane and the sun was rising and he had some strawberry jam in his hand, and he wanted the music to sound like that moment. I have exactly the idea what he is getting at, but I am not sure the album converys that image, I would honestly find Person Pitch to fit that moment better, but please don't think that means the album is anything less than stellar. The album didn't register with me as quickly as Person Pitch did when I first heard it. It isn't reverbed or super delayed out like previous works. I really dug that sound. This is in a way "spacier." The best parts on the album have that efffect of chopping tremelos which is awesome. The part where the album peaks and this is most prevelant is "For Reverand Green" and "Fireworks." The vocals on this album are more distinct than any other Animal Collective album I've heard before. This is just another great leap for the group, and prove themselve to be bona fide geniuses.

Those two albums are must must owns. So please do yourself a great favor and buy them. The new Go! Team is pretty damn wicked as well. I urge you to get that as well. Actually it's really damn good. So please just go do it all.

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