I don't hear anything on this album that would alienate a fan.
Agreed - it sounds like an M.I.A. record to these (cloth?) ears. It's a bit patchy and a few songs have yet to grip me but that's probably what I first thought about Kala. Much preferring the noisier first half so far.
― embrace the flopping? no thanks (onimo), Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:40 (thirteen years ago) link
i think it's a sign of how much i just basically dig her thing that you could make a track like "believer" about three times as long and i'd be perfectly happy with it.
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:43 (thirteen years ago) link
(the "bonus" tracks are worth tracking down imo, even tho "caps lock" is pretty drab.)
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Im waiting for the right mood to listen to this album as a whole with full attention. Something tells me I'll really love it. I love noisey stuff.
― Beach Pomade (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:49 (thirteen years ago) link
um has this been posted?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MROxPK18v5I
― plax (ico), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:52 (thirteen years ago) link
yup
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:53 (thirteen years ago) link
lol @ Dave holding up, of all things, AN LP
― Major Lolzer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:54 (thirteen years ago) link
sorry it has
― plax (ico), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Dave and all of the late night hosts have switched to holding up LPs quite awhile ago actually.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:55 (thirteen years ago) link
They're bigger and easier for the audience to ssee.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:56 (thirteen years ago) link
huh
haven't watched anything late night in awhile obviously
― Major Lolzer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link
it's seriously terrible [it iz what it iz], rivalling "It Takes A Muscle" for worst song on the album
kind of lolling at Diplo being all "I'm the only one doing any quality control on her" when his two tracks are easily among the worst on the album
crazy talk. i like the noisy stuff - born free, steppin up, meds & feds - have even come around to fully loving teqkilla. but that doesn't make the warmer, gentler tracks worse. it iz what it iz and it takes a muscle are lovely songs with sympathetic production.
problems with the album = a serious lack of cohesion and bit of pointless filler like lovalot and internet connection. story to be told and tell me why are just barely interesting enough to justify their inclusion, which means that a third of the album is somewhere between awful (internet connection) and ho-hum (tell me why). counting the 3 "bonus tracks" as part of the official album here. 11 good-to-great songs out of 15 wouldn't be such a bad average except for the fact that the 11 good ones are evenly split between abrasive noise and gentler pop, which makes for a schizophrenic listening experience. fact that the album front loads stuff teqkilla, lovalot and story to be told certainly doesn't help.
it's not hard to build a digestible album out of these tracks (with a bit of trimming), but MAYA works hard to be as off-putting as possible. and i like the album.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:17 (thirteen years ago) link
The only song so far that induces fear and loathing is "It Takes a Muscle," which I knew was a cover without even glancing at the credits.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Hm!:
Listened to MIA now - sure I'm not the first to have said it, but it's her Human After All really. Don't hate it, won't listen to it much.
(One reason I like this take is I like Human After All quite a lot!)
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:27 (thirteen years ago) link
On her first 2 albums, I really like about 2/3 of the tracks and will listen to them whenever they come on and can pretty much do without the other 1/3. I still consider these 2 of my favorite albums of the past decade. From what I've heard of MAYA (only listened to it on her myspace so far, still waiting to get the CD from Amazon), I probably like just about the same portion of tracks, although I don't yet know about their re-playability. So I would consider it at least very promising. So far I really like the abrasive and cluttered feel of many of these tracks.
― Moodles, Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:04 (thirteen years ago) link
The only song so far that induces fear and loathing is "It Takes a Muscle,"
awww :(
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Not as good as Alice Cooper's "Muscle of Love."
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:21 (thirteen years ago) link
well yeah, but what is?
On her first 2 albums, I really like about 2/3 of the tracks and will listen to them whenever they come on and can pretty much do without the other 1/3. I still consider these 2 of my favorite albums of the past decade. From what I've heard of MAYA...I probably like just about the same portion of tracks...
fair point. i was saying something similar about MAYA a little while back (that it's about 2/3 great). it's true that her previous albums hit a comparable ratio, though. primary difference, if there is one, is that kala and arular are extremely consistent-sounding. they work within a fairly narrow palette of sounds and production approaches, providing maya with a dependably characteristic sound. MAYA, in contrast, goes off in a bunch of different directions, and only occasionally provides fans with what they've come to expect. song-to-song, it's alternately rougher and softer than anything she's done before. and it's hard to find the aesthetic thread that connects "teqkilla", "it takes a muscle" and "space". combined with the embattled, paranoid vibe throughout, it hardly makes for a welcoming first listen.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:47 (thirteen years ago) link
...or so i imagine, for those who loathe the album. works just fine for me, and the more i listen, the more i like it. still think its sequenced badly and could stand a bit of trimming.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:53 (thirteen years ago) link
people who think this album is "too noisy" or "too harsh" really need to step away from the radio for a while.
― strongohulkingtonsghost, Thursday, 15 July 2010 20:18 (thirteen years ago) link
"oh dear, the arrangements are a bit loose in places and not every sound has been digitally sanded of its rough edges, horrors."
― strongohulkingtonsghost, Thursday, 15 July 2010 20:21 (thirteen years ago) link
just got around to watching that letterman performance. god damn that's the shit! even with cruddy youtube sound, comes ripping out like a bomb. and so so great to see martin rev, cool as ice, bringing the noise with his fists (nice camerawork). the most electrifying musical performance i've seen on american TV in ages. felt the guy in those old maxell ads watching it, the blast all but knocking me out of my chair. a hell of a lot better than the album version, and the album version rules.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 20:52 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost
lolz!
― Soft Sad Tecmo Bowl (Spinspin Sugah), Thursday, 15 July 2010 20:58 (thirteen years ago) link
reposting for those who maybe missed it last night/the first time around:
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:06 (thirteen years ago) link
I enjoy the presentation but that sound is atrocious and I dunno how much to blame that on the rip vs. how much to blame that on the "song" itself. I mean, I don't even hear the drums at all, just a blur of white noise
― Major Lolzer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:09 (thirteen years ago) link
okay so if you don't hear the drums I would actually blame that on your ears
― HI DERE, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:10 (thirteen years ago) link
I dunno man, from about a minute in on I can't differentiate the snare or the kick from whatever white noise generator Rev is playing
― Major Lolzer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:12 (thirteen years ago) link
So what?!
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:14 (thirteen years ago) link
It's a performance on television captured on YouTube.
kick does get buried, there's maybe a snare in there somewhere (?), and the cymbals cut through easy. i can't complain abt the sound, cuz the energy comes across fine.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I guess my point is it sounds like shit!
but yeah clip on youtube, so no need for alarm
― Major Lolzer (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:17 (thirteen years ago) link
MIA does power electronics
― No one is too good for this album; it is better than all of us. (herb albert), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link
MIAzbow?
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:19 (thirteen years ago) link
a little bit!
― HI DERE, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:19 (thirteen years ago) link
teqkilla's starting to sound like the best track on the album
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:28 (thirteen years ago) link
in light the "where is my mind" biting on kala and the pixies-reminiscent gtr on "meds & feds", i'm idly wondering whether maya's a fan. which speculation tempts me to posit MAYA as a kind of surfer rosa rework of her established sound. like, taking something familiar and basically pop, breaking it to pieces, and pushing all the most jagged elements to the fore. again, adrian sherwood's probably a more meaningful touchstone for that kind of activity in club music, but "rock music" seems like an equally important reference point wr2 this particular album. xtrmntr (again again) being the/an intersection of the two.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 23:04 (thirteen years ago) link
^ ridiculous comparison, i know
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 July 2010 23:12 (thirteen years ago) link
We know.
― I'm never gonna do it without the Lex on (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 July 2010 23:48 (thirteen years ago) link
it's one of the best, for sure. reviews i've read that single it out for scorn just leave me smh.
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Friday, 16 July 2010 02:00 (thirteen years ago) link
i wasn't sure what to make of it at first. it's long, seemingly unstructured and noisy as hell, so it doesn't surprise me that some see it as a dealbreaker. especially if they have no noise tolerance and/or haven't taken the time to really come to grips with the album.
― good news if you wear cargo shorts (contenderizer), Friday, 16 July 2010 04:41 (thirteen years ago) link
I talked to my friend last night who had just bought it and she seemed disappointed...she thought it sounded very American & commercial. I think the implication was that she thought it was MIA's "sellout" album!
― The Uncanny X-Men feat. Jah Wobble & Keith Levene (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:23 (thirteen years ago) link
hahaha
― HI DERE, Friday, 16 July 2010 14:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm failing to see how any record that gets people mentioning Skinny Puppy and Merzbow can be a commercial/sellout record.
― embrace the flopping? no thanks (onimo), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:30 (thirteen years ago) link
why do pop artists still think it's cool or interesting to have a bunch of people dressed like them onstage all the time
― goth (crüt), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:30 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought it was cool.
― embrace the flopping? no thanks (onimo), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:31 (thirteen years ago) link
oh ok
― goth (crüt), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:31 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm ever older than Maya though so what do I know about cool :(
― embrace the flopping? no thanks (onimo), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:33 (thirteen years ago) link
(xp to onimo) i don't think she listens to much Merzbow or SP so I don't think she quite made that connection...
― The Uncanny X-Men feat. Jah Wobble & Keith Levene (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah I mean people on here & elsewhere on the Internet say how noisy it is (in places) then someone disconnected thinks it's a sellout album and it seems weird that they're discussing the same album.
― embrace the flopping? no thanks (onimo), Friday, 16 July 2010 14:39 (thirteen years ago) link
I think some people may be having a hard time coming to grips with the lack of a "world" dance vibe on this new album. Kala in particular had a real globetrotting feel to it. That's not what this new one is about.
― Moodles, Friday, 16 July 2010 14:39 (thirteen years ago) link