Spiritualized - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light Review

I’ll come out and say if you don’t like Spiritualized, then you probably won’t like this album.  For fans, however, you can expect much of the same: Jesus, drugs/women (Jane and Mary), redemption, illness, and love.

Jason Pierce (also known as J. Spaceman) has always toed the line between straight-from-the-heart candor and angsty lamentations.  On previous records, Pierce has leaned more towards the former—however, on Sweet Heart, Sweet Light he walks dangerously close to the latter.  This is not to say his lyrics don’t come earnestly (he allegedly wrote this album while undergoing an eight-month-long, experimental chemotherapy treatment for a degenerative liver disease), but they begin to get a tad cloying.

“Hey Jane” starts the album off with VU-inspired vocals and a bluesy, driving backbeat that juts forward the main thematic element of the album—the redemptive freedom to move forward from grief, sickness, and sadness.  Mentions of cars ring throughout the album (also in the inner liner notes) and stand congruent with the theme.  The sole purpose of cars is to move the driver forward with a kind of Springsteen-esque freedom.

“Little Girl” finds the narrator and girl on their own with a desire to “ride into the sun.”  “Get What You Deserve” reiterates this American freedom with “Used to slow but now I’m lightning / Got a car all blue and red and white / Gonna roll it where I like it.”   Sweet Heart, Sweet Light is all about the struggle to ignore regret and move forward.  “I Am What I Am,” with Dr. John’s trademark touches, closes with “Hear what I say / See what I am / You understand?”  You must be confident in yourself/your decisions to advance.

This album is definitely not his most consistent nor affecting.  Some lyrics get a little too close to self-mockery (Jesus, won’t you be my radio/Broadcast direction where I got to go_­¹).   The emotional highs and lows don’t reach the amplitudes found on previous albums—the uplifting songs are too muted and the depressing ones are too blunted.  However, if you are a fan of Spritualized, this will be right up your alley.

***/*****

¹ Broadcast antennas are isotropic.

-Alex Shemonski

Also, here’s my review for Noctourniquet, i dunno what to do with it

The Mars Volta

Noctourniquet

In their latest album, The Mars Volta take forward their more conventional songwriting from Octahedron, but splatter a little bit of the energy from their earlier albums here and there. The songs are dynamic as usual, with livid songs such as The Whip Hand, and somber, beautiful songs like Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound. Once again, the musicianship is impeccable. It seems like Rodriguez-Lopez has decided to take a step or two back as a guitarist and allow the synths to take on a more significant role, adding a layer of freshness to their sound. Vocalist Bixler-Zavala has changed up his style on this record, opting for less of his high-pitched wails in favor of experimentation with his lower range. Noctourniquet also welcomes new drummer Deantoni Parker, whose style sharply contrasts that of Thomas Pridgen, who was featured on the previous two TMV albums. Whereas Pridgen was a force of nature, throwing in 32nd note fills amidst complex patterns, Parker plays as a machine, weaving in and out of the mechanical electronic beats that are spread through the album. Alderete continues to supply a strong foundation with his bass playing, complementing the guitars and synths beautifully. As a consequence, TMV have been able to take a step forward, delivering fresh and original music once again with Noctourniquet.

Good Tracks: 1, 2, 5, 13
FCC: All tracks clean

-Diddy

Again, thanks to Laura Schnitker at Hornbake Library for digging and digitizing these up. If your name happens to be Ike Richman, get in touch and tell us what it was like. 

Aging former GM Scott Maxwell offers information:

Zappa also had some speaking engagements on campus much later, in the early ’90s before he died (that makes it tough to do station IDs, I hear).  This was around when he had an axe to grind. At least one of our drops from him dates from then.

- V.T.X

WMUC DJ and Hornbake Library Sound Archivist Laura Schnitker discovered the id:

Ah! There are actually two Zappa IDs—in the other one he says, “Hello, this is Frank Zappa. You’re listening to Ike Richman on WMUC-FM, College Park.” (I digitized that, too, and can send it to anyone who wants it.)

Does anyone know Ike? It appears that Zappa performed two concerts at Cole, one on November 2, 1975 and the other on October 14, 1978. It would be great to pin down one of these dates. I’ll ask on the Alumni FB page, too.
LS

WMUC does it trashy. →

This collection of photos were taken at the first WMUC party of the new year in one of the rape houses off of Route 1.  Credit goes to Cobb Shemon, staff photographer for WMUC.

It’s upsetting that Radio Stations never die wholeheartedly. They just slouch towards irrelevancy and self parody as a general unseriousness is adopted to mask decay.

Too big to fail’s inverse should be Too small to even adequately define failure. Occupy WMUC.

Youth Lagoon - Year of Hibernation

I know I’ve been super behind with my reviews (THIS WEEKEND I PROMISE) but I wrote this one for youth lagoon’s year of hibernation for my junior english class, thought it might be blog worthy? 

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Logic raps “Live on the Air.”. With DJ Boss Player. Shot at WMUC studios, College Park, MD.

ATTENTION: PSA HIP- HOP IS ALIVE AND KICKING

By: Bryonna Head for “The Blender with Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake”

On November 17th, at the Barking Dog in College Park, Maryland, Hip-Hop was very much alive and kicking thanks to the tremendous amount of DMV talent that was present in the building. Hosted by the lovely Miss Amberly Ellis and B-more’s own Thomas Dawson, each act was very reminiscent of sweet years of 90’s hip hop. The show was put on by The Hip-Hop Corner and its host DJ Boss Player. We had the honor of being blessed with the techniques of 93.9 WKYS’s own DJ money as we were graced by the rhymes of the exceptional Logic, Phil Ade, Kool Klux Klan, Castro and Obii Say.

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Elliott Smith Live @ WMUC, Pt. II

Hello, this is David Taylor, record librarian for WMUC.  I have spent the last couple days digitizing the MiniDisc containing Elliott Smith’s ‘96/’97(?) live performance at WMUC.  It’s done and the tracks are now available for download.  However, it is my regret to inform you that the MiniDisc is not the original source, nor does not contain the full performance.  The new recording clocks in at around 18 minutes, 6 minutes less than the previous CD version.  Furthermore, the multiple takes of “Say Yes” and “Division Day,” including “Misery Let Me Down,” are entirely missing.

There is some good news.  The MiniDisc contains two tracks that are unavailable on the CD, “The Morning After” and “The Biggest Lie.”  And the other tracks are now presented in higher audio quality.

We will not have a definitive version of Smith’s WMUC performance until we can find the original ADAT that it was recorded on.  It has become one of my highest priorities and I will keep you posted on any developments.  This will have to tide you over in the meantime.

FLAC

mp3

Enjoy.

-David Taylor

Also, I have found the ADAT for Braid’s live performance and will be releasing a digital version of that sometime in the near future.