Alas...

Well, I have some slight bad news for you. Emily has gone off to Israel for the next week or so, which means there won't be any updates until she gets back. But, once she returns to the good ol' US of A, we have a lot in store for you. We have some all-time classics by some of the greatest artists music has ever seen. We have some more recent stuff by great musicians in their own right. We're even getting ready for a very special 100 reviews post. Trust me, it's a great time to be you. So stay tuned and we'll have some fantastic new stuff up for you in a jiffy.

In the meantime, I am beginning to craft an article and would love for a little help. The premise is that you are given a time machine. You chose to use it to go see some sweet-ass concerts, because that's what everyone would use that power for, naturally. It will drop you off anywhere that you want on January 1st of the selected year, and you will leave on December 31st. You can't leave the selected area until then. Where/when would you go?

Some things to keep in mind:
-Unless the artist is unimaginably transcendent, you probably don't want to make your choice based off of one artist. Try to catch whole movements. For instance, you want to go to Seattle not for Nirvana, but for grunge.
-You want to identify the heart of the movement and be right there in the epicenter.
-The years are tricky. You want to catch the best bands when they've got a sizable catalog, but you don't want to be there when the shows are too packed. It's tricky to balance, I know.
-Big album releases count too.
-You don't actually have to check tour schedules. Let's just assume that the big bands will be there once or twice. Agreed? Agreed.

Just for reference: My top 5
Mississippi, 1935-Delta Blues
Seattle, 1992-Grunge
London, 1967-merger of many genres into psychedelic, blues-rock (Hendrix, Cream, etc)
NYC, 1988-golden age of hip-hop
London, 1978-end of punk, rise of 2-Tone ska, Elvis Costello and pub rock

I look forward to reading your answers!

#94: Common - Be (2005)

Originally, we had planned to review Tigermilk by Belle & Sebastian today. As you can see from the title, there has been a change of plans. Recently, Michelle Obama hosted a poetry reading that featured a controversial guest. We speak, of course, of the rapper Common. Honestly, we believed that Common was about as controversial as a box full of puppies playing with a series of tiny little chew toys. As Fox News was quick to point out, we were dead wrong. Common, according to some reporters and pundits, is an advocate of cop killing. Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show disagreed with this sentiment, as he made clear on his show Thursday. You can view his spoken word takedown here and here.

Bill O’Reilly of Fox New's The O’Reilly Factor took exception to Stewart’s attacks. He challenged Stewart to come on the program and debate this Common issue with him.

Stewart accepted the challenge and came on the program Monday night. You can watch their entire debate here and here:

Now, we here at 1001 Album Reviews have tried not to involve ourselves in too many non-music debates. We have opinions and everything, but this is a music blog and we’ll be damned if we don’t stick by that premise. Luckily, this provides us the rare opportunity to tie our musical endeavors into something else. Here, we have listened to Be, the Grammy-nominated album by Chicago emcee Common and evaluated it not only on how good it is, but also on its lyrical content. If you want to know if Common’s lyrics really do advocate violence like O’Reilly says, or if they are really as positive as Stewart says, then look no further. You don't need to say it; you’re welcome.  

Zack: If you’ve been attentive readers, and I know you have, then you can probably venture a guess as to how I feel about Common based on my previous reviews of Lupe and Kanye. I love his music. I love his smooth delivery. I love the beats that Kanye whipped up for this album. But, most of all, I love his lyrics. He weaves uplifting narratives using clever wordplay in a way that is absolutely unparalleled. In case you weren’t paying close enough attention, let me repeat that sentence while applying extra emphasis on important points. He weaves UPLIFTING narratives using clever wordplay in a way that is absolutely unparalleled. Common uses his rapping as a means of construction, a stark contrast to the slew of destructive lyrics that fill the radio nowadays. Common may not be my favorite rapper out there, but he’s the one most comparable to a poet. Essentially, he’s the most pure emcee in the game today. That’s what makes the criticism levied against the Obamas for inviting him, most notably by Fox News, so ridiculous. It’s obvious within several minutes that the critics have never listened to Common’s music, or else they would know better. With Bill O’Reilly specifically, I can see where it’s coming from. Years ago, O’Reilly led a charge against Pepsi’s use of Ludacris as a spokesmen that resulted in him (Luda) being fired. O'Reilley clearly does not agree with hip-hop culture. Now, before that gets misinterpreted, I’m not saying he’s a racist or anything. I’m just saying that he has a stereotype of what rap is about, and that stereotype does not include socially conscious lyrics. Common is a poet in every sense of the word and should be treated like any artist, not like some criminal sympathizer or villain.

Favorite Tracks: The Food; They Say; Testify  

Emily: What do you want to be? That’s the question Common poses on this album, aptly titled Be. Common clearly wants to be – and is – a rapper with as much substance as he has style. Kanye’s modern and melodic production allows Common’s lyrical prowess to shine through. The words really are the stars of this album. His lyrics go beyond the typical hip-hop realms of money and bitches to real issues. This album is socially conscious, and it really made me think – something I can’t say has happened with my previous rap experiences. Even though Fox News may disagree, Common is truly a modern poet. Just listen to It’s Your World, where he just speaks his lyrics over a simple beat. If that’s not poetry, then I don’t know what is.

Favorite Tracks: It’s Your World (Parts 1 and 2); Faithful; Real People

#93: Fats Domino - This Is Fats (1956)

Zack: Come, precious readers, and climb into a time machine with me. We’re going all the way back to the mystical year of 1956. Housewives are vacuuming in pearls while a roast cooks in the oven for an average Tuesday dinner. America has just recently mobilized for a war effort in Vietnam. And the suburbs are beginning to near bursting point. Down in good ol’ NOLA, Fats Domino was busy fashioning himself into a musical icon by producing hit single after hit single.  He was crafting music into what it is today by mixing every sort of genre into a cauldron, stirring it up, and adding some cayenne, the trinity, and Zatarains. The finished result was one part rock & roll, one part jazz, one part R&B, and one part gumbo. This album is a great concoction that has something for everybody. Fats provides some great vocals to accompany strong instrument work. But my favorite song, The Fat Man’s Hop, dropped those vocals entirely and just featured a bunch of musicians going to town. Seriously, if you want to hear some great piano, I recommend checking that song out.

Favorite Tracks: The Fat Man’s Hop; Blueberry Hill; You Done Me Wrong 

Emily: We have arrived at one of the oldest albums on the list. All the way from 1956, we have blues legend Fats Domino. Fats was one of the first, and one of the best, to combine jazz, blues, and R&B into this little thing we call rock and roll. He sang and played the piano with soul, style, and heart, and that really shines through on this album. From up-tempo, jazzy love songs to bluesy tales of woe, Fats infuses each note and lyric with emotion and personality. That emotional element is what separates the talented musicians from the legends, and Fats Domino is certainly a legend in his own right.

Favorite Tracks: La La; Honey Chile; Troubles of My Own

#92: Air - Moon Safari (1998)

Zack: To start, I absolutely loved this album. It was incredible. Part of that is probably an objective analysis of the overall composition of the songs, but the other part is probably that I’m a big fan of Final Fantasy games and it sounded a lot like a soundtrack to one of them. My brother and I ultimately decided it would probably fit more naturally with a Kingdom Hearts game instead, but it still sounds like a Square Enix production. Moon Safari inspires such a reaction because the songs seem to be written for an adventure. Each track has a story to tell. The clearest example of this is my personal favorite song, Talisman. It made me think of a movie or a cutscene in a video game in which the protagonist is charging towards the climactic battle and reflecting on all the trials and tribulations that they have had to conquer to get to that point. But all of that is encapsulated in a song instead. It’s pretty sweet. I also had fun trying to identify in each song what instrument the synthesizers were trying to emulate. In La Femme d’Argent, the synths take the place of a saxophone. In Le Voyage de Penelope, they’re either a trombone or a trumpet, although I have yet to conclusively identify which. I’m leaning towards the former, but I can’t say for sure. Combine those playful synths with some light, mostly acoustic, strings, a touch of harmonica, and the occasional vox work, and each song develops a unique taste that piece together to tell of an epic adventure, possibly across a lunar Serengeti.

Favorite Tracks: Talisman; La Femme d’Argent; Sexy Boy

Emily: One thing I can say for certain about this album is that it was not what I expected. With French electronica, I was thinking crazy drug-fueled club techno. Add in the title Moon Safari, and that’s one crazy drug trip. Surprisingly, and luckily, no artificial influence was necessary to enjoy this album. Air is a couple of chilled-out, synthesizer-loving French dudes, and Moon Safari was a peaceful, enjoyable listen. It’s ambient, but never completely slips into the background due to the band’s dynamic sound that utilizes different tempos, instruments, and vocal styles (with a guest vocalist here and there). My trip through the Moon Safari wasn’t the most exciting musical adventure I’ve taken thus far, but it certainly was a relaxing vacation from the mainstream.

Favorite Tracks: Kelly Watch the Stars; La Femme D’argent; Remember

#91: Blur - Blur (1997)

Regular readers have probably noticed that we haven’t updated in…well…just about forever. It’s not that we gave up, or hate all of you, or that we forgot how to use our fancy light boxes. Basically, we’re college students, and part of being in college is having a crazy and hectic schedule that only gets worse when finals roll around. But now, the spring semester is over and summer is here! We plan on updating a lot more consistently now, starting with a review to commemorate the end to our sophomore year. But how, exactly, should we celebrate this past year that went by in such a blur? Oh wait! Here’s an album by Blur, called Blur. Let’s do that.

Emily: Like many of the artists on this list, Blur really made their mark in the UK. They’re certainly known by American listeners and receive a decent amount of radio airplay, but they never really made it too big in the U.S. Why? I’m not so sure. Blur has a rock sensibility with a knack for alt-radio-friendly hooks. It’s a winning combination that really comes together in their biggest hit, Song 2. With big guitar riffs and grunge-y singing (apparently a parody of the genre – thank you, Wikipedia!), Song 2 is Blur at their best.

Favorite Tracks: Song 2; M.O.R.; Beetlebum

Zack: The biggest thing I took from this album was something I had already known: Song 2 is probably the coolest song ever. I could listen to it all day. In fact, that might be what I do once I finish writing this review. The other songs, while certainly not quite as cool, are still pretty awesome in their own right. There’s a wide variety from song to song, but they are all anchored by Damon Albarn’s voice. There’s just something so unique about it, whether it’s in front of Blur’s instruments or Gorillaz beats. Regardless, there are three more Albarn’s albums on the list (two more Blur and one from The Good, the Bad, & the Queen) and I am definitely excited for them because Albarn just seems to make quality music.

Favorite Tracks: Song 2; Beetlebum; Look Inside America