http://www.google.com/trends/viz?q=%22ariel+pink%22&graph=weekly_img&sa=N
― INSUFFICIENT FUN (bernard snowy), Friday, 9 April 2010 13:42 (fourteen years ago) link
my theory is that since dude released like a zillion albums from '04-'07 before going quiet for a couple years, he's getting a lot of "oh hey, ariel pink, I remember sorta-liking what I heard of that guy -- wonder what he's up to now?" general-interest clicks
― INSUFFICIENT FUN (bernard snowy), Friday, 9 April 2010 13:46 (fourteen years ago) link
Loving this. I think I like it even more since I'm already familiar with about half the songs.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 9 April 2010 13:51 (fourteen years ago) link
(said clicks, of course, tending to alight upon his super-catchy, accessible, and just generally great new single, then proceed to show their approval through a series of retweets and complex interpersonal dance steps, and next thing you know dude's getting a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning blogs)
xp
― INSUFFICIENT FUN (bernard snowy), Friday, 9 April 2010 13:51 (fourteen years ago) link
xoxoxo
― Kevin John Bozelka, Friday, 9 April 2010 14:20 (fourteen years ago) link
― INSUFFICIENT FUN (bernard snowy), Friday, April 9, 2010 9:46 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
he hasn't released anything on a label with any kind of presence since 2006, right? quite possibly the internet has changed a lot since then.
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 14:30 (fourteen years ago) link
Thus the 'forefather' status.
― Adam Bruneau, Friday, 9 April 2010 14:37 (fourteen years ago) link
He's been putting out some great singles on his own, which all turn up on Day Before. And there was the reissue of Loverboy on 2lp.And there was a digital collection called Grandes Exitos that had an early version of Revolution's a Lie called Evolution's a Lie.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 9 April 2010 14:37 (fourteen years ago) link
xxp yeah I guess most people got into this guy during these last 4 years and this is simply his first release since most people took notice of him.
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Friday, 9 April 2010 14:37 (fourteen years ago) link
I know it's probably a bad idea invoking Animal Collective on here but i think the situation with this album is not dissimilar to what happened with Merriweather Post Pavillion, it's being touted as his "pop" album, more accessible production etc. It's not hard to see why people are more interested in this than his previous stuff (which i love).
― Number None, Friday, 9 April 2010 14:51 (fourteen years ago) link
It's the HRO factor?
Damn this album is awesome! Gonna be some good jams for summer 2010 dance parties!
― Adam Bruneau, Friday, 9 April 2010 15:59 (fourteen years ago) link
Fright Train is addictive.
― Zeno, Friday, 9 April 2010 16:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Fright Night i mean
― Zeno, Friday, 9 April 2010 16:14 (fourteen years ago) link
finally figured out what he's saying in Round & Round after about the 100th listen: AND WE'LL DAZZLE THEM ALL
not "and we'll dance at the mall"
(although I'm still hazy on the line before that ... "calling back to the boat?" "coming back to the Bowl," like the Hollywood Bowl?)
― dmr, Friday, 9 April 2010 16:42 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, sounds like boat to me.i was reading a book to the melody of the chorus yesterday.
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:00 (fourteen years ago) link
The big difference with Animal Collective is that all of AC's albums were critically acclaimed during the buildup toward a more slickly produced "pop" hit. By contrast, Pitchfork gave Grandes Exitos a 7.0, House Arrest a 6.2, Scared Famous a 6.1, and Worn Copy a 5.9, and many other outlets didn't even bother to review Ariel's albums. The new record is not better than House Arrest yet it's going to get slobbered over by everybody. I haven't read any good reasons why it's as good as HA, let alone significantly more accomplished, or repudiations of previous negative writeups, but it's early. We'll see what the reviews say.
― skip, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:04 (fourteen years ago) link
HA is rad.
― bamcquern, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:05 (fourteen years ago) link
Gotta agree. I hate to sound like an elitist old guard fan or anything, but I'm not hearing what makes this better than his other albums. The Doldrums, Worn Copy and House Arrest all sound much more interesting to me. I like the singles and a couple tracks like "Fright Night" and "Beverly Kills," but I'm painfully disappointed overall. It just doesn't seem like that big of a step toward anything to me.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:06 (fourteen years ago) link
i would agree that outside of round and round, most of these songs are not above and beyond what he has done in the past.
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:09 (fourteen years ago) link
And I would argue that they're still on par with what he's done in the past, which means they're fantastic.
― Fetchboy, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:10 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, i agree
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:14 (fourteen years ago) link
the songwriting is more or less the same,yes - but thats good.whay change something that worked so well in the past?the differene lies in the production and the label.
― Zeno, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:15 (fourteen years ago) link
The main issue here is production, its crisp, engaging and evocative, and more obviously, it functions; and quite well might I add. Many of the "elitist old guard" thought his work would be diminished by better production but this album proves the cynics wrong. As far as it being better or worse than HA is debatable but not really the point. It's a logical continuation of his earlier work and if one takes Ariel's word at face value in his interviews (he has repeatedly said his lo-fi approach was not one bourne of aesthetics but one of exigency) he would have made this record a long time ago.
― oscar, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:17 (fourteen years ago) link
I agree that "Round and Round" is kind of transcendent, which was not my original opinion, and perhaps the rest of the album will reveal its genius to me over time in a similar fashion. But that's not the kind of thing you can figure out on a snap judgment and it makes the frenzied ululating all the more ridiculous.
― skip, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Round and Round is wicked - love that chorus. Very curious to investigate this guy. I doubt I'm the only one in this camp.
― Davek (davek_00), Friday, 9 April 2010 17:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Listen to The Doldrums. I believe it's one of the very best albums of the 2000s.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:22 (fourteen years ago) link
this is such an LA album. he should cover this...fast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjO4vA_MxoU
― Spinspin Sugah, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:22 (fourteen years ago) link
And don't let the lo fi business keep you from enjoying the music. I think if you listen to any of his albums more than once, it'll be a distant thought.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:23 (fourteen years ago) link
that's the other thing: all his albums sound like LA albums to me. he is a very LA artist.
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:24 (fourteen years ago) link
the lofi-ness is what got me to pay attention in the first place.
― Spinspin Sugah, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:26 (fourteen years ago) link
specifically, "Credit".
"he is a very LA artist"
why?
― Zeno, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:27 (fourteen years ago) link
xpost teflon - yes shamelessly downloading now. I also listened to some of House Arrest on Spotify and it didn't disappoint. My favourite artist of the 00s (Max Tundra) had Worn Copy as his favourite of the 00s. Oh my here we go.
― Davek (davek_00), Friday, 9 April 2010 17:28 (fourteen years ago) link
it's mainly the mix of bright sounds with foggy (or smoggy) production. he gives off a very hollywood blvd scuzzy vibe, just reminds me of driving past run-down buildings in a cheap convertible.
― mizzell, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:35 (fourteen years ago) link
^Yes, compare the mellow, soft-focus glide of Round and Round to 'Warm Ways' by Fleetwood Mac, maybe the ultimate cali-pop band.
― Davek (davek_00), Friday, 9 April 2010 17:39 (fourteen years ago) link
I want a girl that's beautiful like a sunset...on a strip
― Trip Maker, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:48 (fourteen years ago) link
y'know it makes me ... tickcause I see you (see u) in a special way
― dmr, Friday, 9 April 2010 17:54 (fourteen years ago) link
That song rules. It's like the Village Green Kinks wrote a synthpop soundtrack to an 80s infomercial.
― Adam Bruneau, Friday, 9 April 2010 18:06 (fourteen years ago) link
does the chorus of Round and Round creep anyone else out (in a good way)? I can't put my finger on it, but something about it strikes me as eerie. kind of surprised to see people saying that song is good vibes... to me it sounds like it is intentionally trying to channel those sort of crazy burnt-out 60s/70s phony good vibes, like Manson or Wilson trying to do happy pastoral. maybe I'm just reading too much into the whole persona that has been built up around him, or too much into the awesomely spooky production on this album.
― richie aprile (rockapads), Friday, 9 April 2010 18:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Go back through his albums, richie. That's an effect he puts to good use frequently. He does this weird high pitched funny voice a whole lot.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 18:44 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81LO9A4WR9A
round & round chorus sounds totally prom to me
― J0rdan S., Friday, 9 April 2010 18:45 (fourteen years ago) link
xpost i can definitely see where you're coming from, it strikes me as sort of creepy and sad. its heightened by the fact that the lyrics (from what I can make out) don't seem to refer to much of anything outside of the song itself, yet the songwriting still works on the listener, making you feel the good vibes despite the negativity humming in the background of the song.
this is the first song i've heard by ariel pink that i've really gotten into, but from what i've heard (and seen) of him, i'm not surprised to be getting this vibe. i think its more effective for me in this song, though, because the production is cleaner and the good-pop feelings more pronounced.
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Friday, 9 April 2010 18:53 (fourteen years ago) link
How can you listen to Among Dreams and not here he already had it a few years back?
Or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=433lmLPr6Yw
Dude's just a talent.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 18:55 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9yvRU8WMZY
I love that there's renewed interest.
― teflon monkey, Friday, 9 April 2010 18:59 (fourteen years ago) link
Critics just seem naturally conservative and backward thinking to me. Back in the early 2000s when people were trumpeting Ariel Pink as an innovative artist, Pitchfork and others were totally trashing and ridiculing his work. Now all of a sudden ... it's great! ... now that lots of people are starting to appreciate him, and "the times" are safely within his style and perspective.
What do you do about that outside of feeling good you were there first?
― Spectrum, Friday, 9 April 2010 19:16 (fourteen years ago) link
write about what you like in a way that makes other people wanna hear it?
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Friday, 9 April 2010 19:20 (fourteen years ago) link
I've got this on now, I've been listening obsessively to his back catalogue over the last month so the timing of this is great. It may be more polished but it's as stylistically scattershot and hook-filled as his other albums so, yeah, I'm happy. The whole 'Godfather of Chillwave' thing is news to me, I have to say.
― Gavin in Leeds, Friday, 9 April 2010 19:28 (fourteen years ago) link
Ariel addresses the point about P-Fork giving him initial bad reviews due simply to the fact that they didn't unveil him to the world. All the other smaller online pubs followed suit( as they usually do) with "this guy's schtick, its trying-too hard to be weird, we don't like it",. Basically alot of critics didn't know what to make of him. He was given a very positive review via Rolling Stone and P-Fork snarkily felt that if a big middle brow pub liked this Ariel Pink dude, well we obviously don't because we are the indie-elite and know better that this guy really just sucks. To what extent all this is true, is anyone's guess, but thats how Ariel puts it in a nutshell.
― oscar, Friday, 9 April 2010 19:34 (fourteen years ago) link
ariel pink otm
― samosa gibreel, Friday, 9 April 2010 19:36 (fourteen years ago) link