Pala's Album Reviews

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  • Pala
    Marcus Morris Apologist
    • May 2014
    • 33

    Pala's Album Reviews

    Note: I haven't been on here for a very long time, but after reading through a good amount of Palooza's and dell's movie reviews, I can already tell that my favorite part of this website will likely be forcing my opinion of various multimedia creations on you guys.
    Many of these will be retroactive in nature and will consider the impact made on musicians of future generations. I will not purely limit myself to new releases, so you will see album reviews of artists such as the Beatles, the Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, etc. I have a decent amount of spare time on my hands between studying, reading, incessantly masturbating, etc. However, I won't ever rush an album review so don't expect a certain timeline as far as when another one will come out. I occasionally have things to do, so there may be the rare extended gap between reviews.


    Grading system:
    A+ - a classic in the form of an everlasting album such as Revolver, Led Zeppelin IV, Pet Sounds, etc. An album which receives the grade of an A+ has left an indelible mark on not just the music industry but general perceptions in humanity in the years following its' release. The impact of these albums are not simply limited to musical influences. Holds a general sway of appeal to the vast majority of consumers.
    A - came extremely close to grading out as an A+, however, perhaps a track or two kept me from giving it the cherished mark of A+. These albums generally come from notable, proven artists who are often in the midway point of their careers, however, the occasional record will pop up from a newbie. Statement albums which deserve unabashed recognition.
    A- - An album that must not be missed, regardless of whether it can be proven to be a timeless classic or not. May not directly impact the music industry in a cerebral, tangible way, however, it likely impacted numerous albums which followed the release. Made some noise in one way or another.
    B+ - Very, very good record in which you can almost tangibly feel the artists' pain as you listen through the album (something which is the undeniable mark of a great record). There are more than a couple tracks on the record which could have been perfected to a further degree, though, and that is generally what keeps these albums on the level of B+.
    B - Generally reserved for artists who are preparing to take their next big step, i.e. precursors to the next great (A- or above) album. For example, Contra grades out as a B (I likely will not be reviewing that album, so might as well throw that one in there).
    B- - Has more than a few tracks which stand out a few grades above the rest, however, the album is inconsistent at best and probably deserved further attention from the artist/s. You can go ahead and place many "pop classics" on this grade.
    C+ - Often has appeal to a centralized audience - I might enjoy this album, however, I do not in any way expect many to enjoy it. Generally does not make even a shred of an attempt to make a social statement with the record.
    C - Disappointing. Magna Carta, Holy Grail is a perfect example (I will not put myself through listening to Samsung's new album again). Probably pushed by the corporate bigwigs and heavily edited in post-production.
    C- - Unless you have some sort of loyalty to the artist at hand, I would highly recommend that you don't waste any possibly valuable time listening to this album. Maybe one to two tracks which stand out.


    I probably won't review anything which is below a C- - although, if I do, you can be rest assured that you will know exactly what's wrong with it. I don't really feel like typing out what it takes for me to grade an album below C-, as it will just come off as angry and unnecessary.

    Again, I don't have a distinct timetable for when I will release new reviews - they'll just come and go. Hopefully they'll kickstart a discussion on the album and the artist at hand. Noticed that there were multiple movie review threads but nothing for music, so I'll go ahead and try my hand at it - besides, I need further writing practice, so this hopefully will come in handy for everyone. If you don't agree with my review, it is a forum and half of the point of this is to get discussion going (as mentioned before) so I'm open to disagreements and intelligent discourse. Just don't be that guy who rather unashamedly backs an artist due to previous releases.


    LIST OF REVIEWS:

    A+ -
    A -
    A- - Modern Vampires of the City
    B+ -
    B -
    B- -
    C+ -
    C -
    C- -
    Last edited by Pala; 05-21-2014, 04:54 PM.
  • Villain
    [REDACTED]
    • May 2011
    • 7768

    #2


    Love it.
    [REDACTED]

    Comment

    • Aso
      The Serious House
      • Nov 2008
      • 11137

      #3
      I would love to hear your opinion on Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell by Jedi Mind Tricks. One of my favorite albums. Vinnie Paz goes off.

      Comment

      • Palooza
        Au Revoir, Shoshanna
        • Feb 2009
        • 14265

        #4
        Yes, join us.

        Comment

        • Pala
          Marcus Morris Apologist
          • May 2014
          • 33

          #5
          Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City - 2013



          There's no use in pretending that the rock and roll landscape will not change in the coming years. Like any cultural product, music is largely reactionary - a reflection of what has been accruing deep within the depths of the collective consciousness. With that being said, as of the present moment, Modern Vampires of the City is a revelatory album - a prophetic glance at post-hip/hop rock and roll in an increasingly androgynous society.

          Vampire Weekend aren't years ahead of their time - however, they are about six months ahead of the music industry in the present day. Ezra Koenig and his cohorts live in a world where the lines are progressively becoming more blurred between genres and gender roles, where the line in the sand that humanity has drawn between good and evil has been pulverized into an unrecognizable oblivion. This album is a statement about societal and personal capitulations, something that's made clear from the moment one picks up the record - plastered on the front cover is a rather infamous picture of the smoggiest day ever recorded in New York City, a sad day where the ignorance of an entire species killed 169 people.

          Witty, cerebral, and esoteric at the same time - Modern Vampires of the City acts as Koenig's distant cry for help in a misguided post-9/11 world, one where anxiety and angst permeate the air nearly as fervently as the innumerable toxins which have been unabashedly pumped into it. Modern Vampires paints an elegant portrait of a post-national world where individuals are driven by the fleeting beauty of love lost and tragedy gained. Melodic, rhythmic, cherubic and catchy in the best way possible - the newest album from indie-pop's most beloved band serves as a distinct reminder that Vampire Weekend are as heavily influenced by other New York City artists such as the Talking Heads and A Tribe Called Quest as they are by their oft-discussed worldly counterparts.

          Contra was a step in the right direction for a band which was frequently chided as a one-hit wonder post-A-Punk, but Modern Vampires displayed that Vampire Weekend is just as capable of making the next-level jump that bands such as Modest Mouse, Gorillaz, and Deerhunter have made before them. Vampire Weekend created the album that they undoubtedly set out to make, one which eerily captures the sad song of humanity which may have just been lost forever in the annals of the pollution of the Hudson River. However, the biggest question for Vampire Weekend, and the world at large, looms quietly overhead: where do we go from here?

          Three suggested cuts for new listeners (in order of appearance):

          Unbelievers
          Hannah Hunt
          Ya Hey


          If you like this album, you might also like:
          Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
          The Dirty Projectors - Swing Low Magellan
          The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs


          Overall grade: A- (bordering on B+)
          Attached Files
          Last edited by Pala; 05-21-2014, 07:15 PM.

          Comment

          • Youk
            Posts too much
            • Feb 2009
            • 7998

            #6
            Love the recommended songs and albums section at the end of the review

            Comment

            • Palooza
              Au Revoir, Shoshanna
              • Feb 2009
              • 14265

              #7
              Great stuff. Keep it up.

              Comment

              • Pala
                Marcus Morris Apologist
                • May 2014
                • 33

                #8
                Originally posted by Aso
                I would love to hear your opinion on Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell by Jedi Mind Tricks. One of my favorite albums. Vinnie Paz goes off.
                I'm not nearly as well-versed in rap/hip-hop as I am in rock, although I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. Would just prefer to immerse myself a little more and gain a slightly more intimate knowledge of rap history before reviewing it. I'm debating between reviewing Mac Demarco's Salad Days next or possibly a more dated album - it might be best to do an alternating current kind of thing with every review for a newer album followed by a review for an older album.

                Comment

                • Warner2BruceTD
                  2011 Poster Of The Year
                  • Mar 2009
                  • 26142

                  #9
                  When you attach your image, uncheck the box that says "Retrieve remote file and reference locally" to eliminate the double posting of the pic.

                  Also, great thread. In my downtime I enjoy giving albums I've never heard a full listen and if this thread becomes a thing it will be a good resource for recs. Especially since you seem to lean away from hip hop, which despite honest efforts I will never embrace.

                  Are you taking requests? You're a good writer and i'm curious to hear your takes on a few albums.

                  Comment

                  • Pala
                    Marcus Morris Apologist
                    • May 2014
                    • 33

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Warner2BruceTD
                    When you attach your image, uncheck the box that says "Retrieve remote file and reference locally" to eliminate the double posting of the pic.

                    Also, great thread. In my downtime I enjoy giving albums I've never heard a full listen and if this thread becomes a thing it will be a good resource for recs. Especially since you seem to lean away from hip hop, which despite honest efforts I will never embrace.

                    Are you taking requests? You're a good writer and i'm curious to hear your takes on a few albums.
                    OK, thanks for letting me know, I was yearning to know exactly how to get rid of that. Yeah, I'm definitely planning on continuing this for at least a while - I've been on vacation the past few weeks so it's been hard to post anything, plus I lost the notebook in which I write down little snippets of information on albums I've been listening to so I have little to nothing to go on as of right now. I will absolutely take requests in the future, that sounds like a fairly good way to open me up to new genres of music and artists that I've never really touched before.

                    I should be posting a review within the next few days and it will transfer over to other sites (...) when I get the opportunity to copy over all of the two posts that I have so far (probably later today). I will continue to perpetuate the thread on VSN though, lest more things go inexplicably wrong and another exodus occurs.

                    Comment

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