Opinz

Talking Heads – Remain in Light

Many innovative bands sprang into being in the wake of punk, but none developed their unique vision as completely as Talking Heads did on Remain in Light: the album is a tangle of Afrobeat polyrhythms and locked grooves with David Byrne delivering strange and provocative lyrics about modern alienation in only the way that his voice can; add Brian Eno’s production to the equation and you’ve got what was perhaps the greatest record of the 80′s, a landmark whose influence can be heard more clearly today than ever before.

More »

Tags: brian eno, chris frantz, david byrne, jerry harrison, remain in light, talking heads, tina weymouth

U2 – No Line On The Horizon

Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge an album by its lead single – “Get On Your Boots” is not at all representative of No Line On The Horizon – unlike the single, which is a cheap, thoughtless pile of pap which sounded like it was written and recorded in 5 minutes, No Line On The Horizon is lush (without sounding overproduced), thoughtful (without sounding snobby), and just plain well done all around, from the songwriting to the final production; Brian Eno rarely disappoints and neither does No Line…it’s vintage U2 without sounding like vapid U2.
More »

Tags: bono, brian eno, daniel lanois, steve lillywhite, the edge, u2

The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die

Invaders Must Die (mostly) does away with the (slightly) more traditional rock song structures utilized on The Prodigy’s last album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned and hearkens back to the schizophrenic, frantic thumping and screeching of Fat Of The Land – but without managing the more interesting use of samples; as a result, the album comes off like one super-long remix and, while not at all unlistenable, does nothing to reinforce the status of The Prodigy as a leader in electronic rock established in their previous albums.
More »

Tags: amanda ghost, dave grohl, james rushent, keith flint, liam howlett, maxim reality, take me to the hospital, the prodigy

Various Artists – Dark Was the Night

An AIDs charity compilation offered by 4AD and Red Hot, Dark Was the Night gathers the most recognizable names in the world of indie music for two discs worth of new recordings, the first folk-centric and the second more electric; as one would expect the results are mixed, with some big highlights – excellent contributions from Grizzly Bear (“Deep Blue Sea”), Arcade Fire (“Lenin”), My Morning Jacket (“El Caporel”), a team up between David Byrne and Dirty Projectors (“Knotty Pine”), and one of Bon Iver’s best songs yet (“Brackett, WI”) – and some disappointments – Spoon seem to phone it in on “Well-Alright” and Sufjan Stevens’ 10-minute epic “You Are the Blood” is not nearly as impressive as it thinks it is – but who cares because it’s for a good cause so you should buy it anyway.

More »

Tags: aaron dessner, andrew bird, antony hegarty, arcade fire, beirut, ben gibbard, blonde redhead, bon iver, bryce dessner, cat power, compilations, conor oberst, dark was the night, dave sitek, david byrne, devastations, dirty delta blues, dirty projectors, feist, gillian welch, grizzly bear, iron & wine, jose gonzalez, kevin drew, kronos quartet, my brightest diamond, my morning jacket, riceboy sleeps, sharon jones & the dap-kings, spoon, stuart murdoch, sufjan stevens, the books, the decemberists, the national, the new pornographers, yeasayer, yo la tengo

N.A.S.A. – The Spirit of Apollo

The sprawling, star-studded music collaboration known as N.A.S.A. is likely to fall somewhat short of the inevitable Gorillaz comparisons and your expectations when you see the list of guest stars (featuring the likes of David Byrne, Chuck D, Method Man, Karen O, Tom Waits, Kanye West, Santogold, M.I.A., George Clinton, and Ghostface Killah, to name a few), but it functions very well as a big, feel-good hip-hop album that runs a gamut of sounds and topics as diverse as its cast of creators. More »

Tags: amanda blank, barbie hatch, chali 2na, chuck d, david byrne, del the funkee homosapian, dj am, dj babao, dj qbert, dj swamp, e-40, fatlip, george clinton, ghostface killah, gift of gab, john frusciante, kanye west, karen o, kool kieth, kool kojak, krs-one, lovefoxxx, lykke li, m.i.a., method man, n.a.s.a., nick zinner, ol' dirty bastard, ras congo, rza, santogold, scarface, seu jorge, sizzla, slim kid tre, spank rock, the cool kids, the spirit of apollo, tom waits, z-trip

Franz Ferdinand – Tonight

It was reported that Franz Ferdinand’s third album Tonight would showcase influences by dub, Jamaican, and reggae…good luck finding it; Tonight features the same 80s throwback dance-infused, punchy synth rock as their eponymous debut or You Could Have It So Much Better, although unlike with their contemporaries The Killers it avoids becoming stale thanks to their avoidance of emo whininess and an infectious level of danceability…the biggest departure is the 7+ minute experimental “Lucid Dreams” which is not more than an offering for future remixing but still manages to not be annoying.
More »

Tags: epic, franz ferdinand