I can't say that I've a good idea why in some instances I hear a personality to take in my feelings and in others I don't.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 25 August 2006 16:15 (seventeen years ago) link
Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
They come up with a sound that's casually modern and retro with enough heft in its rhythms to sound good at clubs, yet it's designed to be heard outdoors on the sunniest day of the summer. This is exceedingly light music, as sweet and bubbly as a wine spritzer, yet it isn't so frothy that it floats away.
Erlewine is a frog on a bump on a log, and I often think he's wrong, but he's a good critic, because he's willing to be surprised by albums and because he tries to be as articulate as possible about why he likes or dislikes something. In any event, I don't hear Paris the way Erlewine does. It's "light" in the sense of being unassuming and not coming across as trying to communicate anything weighty. But the actual sound is rather thick, layers of overdubbed vocals finding their way to choruses that often enough contain guitar chord upon guitar chord, the dense beauty of the vocals buried headfirst in the guitar thicket. The consistency I spoke of isn't just quality but timbre, different producers using the same strategies (maybe following Hilton's instruction). I don't know another album that has quite this sound. Paris's voice is itself unifying, something of a fuzzy uninflected hum from back in the throat. Compare the Gottwald-written "Nothing In This World" to the Veronicas' Gottwald-written "Everything I'm Not." On "Everything" the singers are up there in the bright high pitch, working you over with ingratiating come-hither/fuck-off vocals. Whereas in "Nothing"'s pretty harmony section, Paris stays down in her comfy burr, relaxing. Not as arresting as the Veronicas, but not as irritating, either.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 25 August 2006 18:05 (seventeen years ago) link
i'm not surprised, really, since you don't actually say much about the album you simply slag people off for not liking pop then call the readers losers (not just here but in the review itself). the worst thing they do is rise to the bait.
― jed_ (jed), Friday, 25 August 2006 20:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― Scourage (Haberdager), Friday, 25 August 2006 20:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― jimnaseum - formalist rigour! (jimnaseum), Friday, 25 August 2006 20:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― FACEBRACE (FACEBRACE), Friday, 25 August 2006 21:22 (seventeen years ago) link
http://apawboy.blogspot.com/2006/08/stars-are-blind-i-actually-think-this.html
― jed_ (jed), Saturday, 26 August 2006 16:03 (seventeen years ago) link
Banarama's "Love In The First Degree" just came on TV and I was inexplicably reminded of "Stars Are Blind".
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 26 August 2006 22:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 26 August 2006 22:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― chaki (chaki), Sunday, 27 August 2006 00:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 27 August 2006 00:23 (seventeen years ago) link
― rtccc (mwah), Sunday, 27 August 2006 01:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marmot (marmotwolof), Sunday, 27 August 2006 01:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― Baaderonixx: the lost ILX years (baaderonixx), Monday, 28 August 2006 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link
The single should have been called "Stars Are Bland."
― billstevejim (billstevejim), Monday, 28 August 2006 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― billstevejim (billstevejim), Monday, 28 August 2006 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link
anybody who like jacques lu cont should check it out.
oh yeah, i like the album too, though i like the rock/disco side of the album a whole lot better than the "club banger" side.
― the art ensemble of chicago house (vahid), Monday, 28 August 2006 20:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― anonymous celebrity (anonymous celebrity), Monday, 28 August 2006 21:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 28 August 2006 21:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― pscott (elwisty), Monday, 28 August 2006 22:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 28 August 2006 22:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Monday, 28 August 2006 23:13 (seventeen years ago) link
oh Banksy you wag
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 4 September 2006 10:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 10:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― a rapper singing about hos and bitches and money (Enrique), Monday, 4 September 2006 10:20 (seventeen years ago) link
Obviously you mean this version, xpost? Or where they just having a 'laugh at the CD' party?
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 4 September 2006 10:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:02 (seventeen years ago) link
if Banksy could use less obvious targets next that would be nice - i approve of the CULTURE-JAMMING itself.
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:03 (seventeen years ago) link
just writing CUNT on the front isn't very situationist and won't get the art students chortling, i predict.
― a rapper singing about hos and bitches and money (Enrique), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:04 (seventeen years ago) link
Whereas with PARIS you just have to laugh.
Perhaps Waterstones could get Gordon Ramsay avec baseball bat to coem in and work his peculiar magic with Banksy's books.
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― jed_ (jed), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:23 (seventeen years ago) link
New caption: It's me or the baby!
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 11:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― rtccc (mwah), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― rtccc (mwah), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― a rapper singing about hos and bitches and money (Enrique), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 4 September 2006 13:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 4 September 2006 13:08 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/charltonlido/203061848/
with some ironic stuff about drive bys in hoxton:(:(:(
― -- (688), Monday, 4 September 2006 13:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 4 September 2006 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― a rapper singing about hos and bitches and money (Enrique), Monday, 4 September 2006 14:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Monday, 4 September 2006 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 4 September 2006 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link
i'm with banksy on this one.
― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Monday, 4 September 2006 15:52 (seventeen years ago) link