Dragon Ball Z Uncensored

[MADali]

I made the ftp, but for this round, not to delay it, I downloaded them myself & uploaded them on the site.

http://ftumusic.tk/

Where's tl?

We can do it in the same order as last time, Mike.

[Ryoko's Biatch]

Mohsen Namjoo - Toranj

I was expecting to not like this because, haha, Iranian bullshit, but it's actually pretty good! I dig the combination of rock, blues and traditional Iranian music. It works a lot better than I would have expected. Obviously I can't understand Farsi, but dude has a nice sound. Dar Miane Jan is fucking dope. Overall, I'd say this was a great pick by MADali.

3.5/5

My next recommendation is Lana Del Rey - Born to Die.

[Mike Dunn]

R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant

Every time I listen to R.E.M. I feel like Michael Stipe is disgusted with me. In "Cuyahoga", when he sings, "This is where they walked, swam, hunted, danced and sang / Take a picture here / Take a souvenir," I feel like he's personally calling me out for taking that family vacation to the Southwest when I was in high school.

Maybe it was because of Michael Stipe's overwhelming dourness that it took so long for Lifes Rich Pageant to click for me. On the first few listens the music just washed over me as a drab, samey, midtempo slog. Over time, though, flourishes of "Begin the Begin" started popping up in my head at random moments. I'd find myself humming the refrain to "Superman". Once I was able to move past the scowling shadow of Michael Stipe, which hangs heavy over every song, I realized Lifes Rich Pageant is actually a really fun, dynamic album.

Somehow I was blind to the one-two punch of opening tracks "Begin the Begin" and "These Days", two of the punchiest, hardest hitting tracks of the portions of R.E.M.'s discography that I've explored. I don't know how I ever thought this album was midtempo and samey when it can transition from the frantic twangy punk of "Hyena" to the literal flamenco of "Underneath the Bunker" to the Velvety balladry of "The Flowers of Guatemala", which is such a beautiful song.

It's not a perfect album. There are the aforementioned Michael Stipe issues. There's nothing on the album that elevates it to the level of R.E.M.'s best work (Automatic For the People, Document), no song that approaches the urgency and timelessness of "The One I Love" or "Drive". The last third of the album does sound kind of underwhelming and muddled compared to the dynamism of the earlier tracks (with the exception of "Just a Touch", that song is dope). And even though the refrain gets stuck in my head, let's be honest: "Superman" is a dumb song.

That being said, Lifes Rich Pageant is a solid, enjoyable listen. I can see why it is so highly regarded by hardcore R.E.M. fans.

3.5/5

[MADali]

Shit, so fast. I haven't even really started listening to it yet...!

[Mike Dunn]

*shrugs*

[My Head Hurts 90]

R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant

Man, I tried to come into this with an open mind and be nice and I listened to this three times but Jesus Christ fuck R.E.M and their weinery brand of dad rock.

The entire ethos of this band is comprised around picking the lowest hanging fruit from liberal politics and alt-rock and funneling it through Michael Stipes' stupid, shitty voice. The calls for change or activism on the album are especially hilarious if you imagine someone actually being inspired by listening to Stipes belt out CUYAHOOOOGA in faux-Native American inflections.

I like the parts where the band's inherent lameness is used for just chilling the fuck out, "Fall on Me" and the verses of "Flowers of Guatemala", but those are few and far between.

When I told my friends that someone recommended me an REM album to review, they simply looked puzzled and said whoever would do such a thing must have a questionable sense of humor. If this is a master troll, then well done, Matt. I need to go listen to some FUCKING Pixies.

Recommend: nonononononononononnono

Track Tier List

Fall on Me
Flowers of Guatemala
who the fuck cares

[Mike Dunn]

Rekt

[Mike Dunn]

BRUH

[My Head Hurts 90]

I really tried to listen objectively, but my hatred for REM is too strong.

[Mike Dunn]

That BRUH was actually addressed to the rest of the music club, who once again missed the hard deadline for this review cycle. It's fine that you hate R.E.M., I was being extremely generous with my 3.5.

[Ryoko's Biatch]

My review.

I wanted to give this a second listen, but nah. It's not offensively bad or anything, but nah.

1.5/5

[ALDP]

Pick an album, stupid ass TL!!!

I assumed the past weekend was the soft deadline for Lifes Rich Pageant, since only Mike D had a review before then. I continue to assume this.

[Mike Dunn]

TL picked Born to Die by Lana Del Rey.

[Mike Dunn]

Unfortunately.

[ALDP]

Oh right.

[ALDP]

Lifes Rich Pageant
R.E.M.
1986

Length: 38:20

I didn't pick this album as a troll, but I did expect it to be out of people's comfort zones (as it is for me).

I thought this would have interesting results, but all the black people who aren't MADali decided to shit the bed and write bullshit reviews. It's possible, in deepest Uganda, that MADali plots a bullshit review as we speak. So be it.

So yeah, COMFORT ZONES. I find Michael Stipe's obscure progressive earnestness comparably tedious to Geddy Lee's introspective libertarian utter-shit-suckedness. Not to say I hate Stipe as much as Lee, or R.E.M. as much as I hate Rush, but the frontmen are both broadly categorized as "charmless."
My favorite albums by R.E.M. are all from the 90s when they decided to start writing perfect alt-rock pop songs like "Man on the Moon" and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Or even "Everybody Hurts," which is actually GOOD because of how serious Michael Stipe is. He is SERIOUSLY EMPATHETIC.

Lifes Rich Pageant is from 1986, near the end of R.E.M.'s indie days, and a lot of people say it's their best. I think these people have a good point. It's a polished mixture of their early sound and their subsequent sound. It is probably their quintessential album, if nothing else.
The rock songs rock. The quiet songs whir good-naturedly while I skip them in the car. The lyrics are gibberish but they're enunciated much more clearly than on previous albums. The guitars rock. Peter Buck's hideous face craps up the album cover like a caveman head guarding the CD inside. Basically the only instrument on the album that sucks is the drums, and who actually had a good drum sound in 1986? Sonic Youth? Go fuck yourself.

Begin the Begin/These Days/Fall On Me is a 1-2-3 punch that actually punches you, and your head jerks backwards over and over again like you're doing it on purpose. The Cuyahoga River is this river in Ohio that caught on fire. Randy Newman has a funny song about it but R.E.M. doesn't.


THREE out of THREE STARS.

[Mike Dunn]

madali pls

[Ryoko's Biatch]

I'm okay with MADali taking care of his baby, or at least pretending that he is.

[kakarot52]

That Persian song is good. But I am surprised he doesn't reccomend any Classical Indian music. Check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH0z0CxP23g


Oh, 8/10

The Perisan song was GOOD, but it wasn't GREAT. 6.5

This was actual music. Sorry for the red herring about the "Islamic Golden Age". I just think that a boiling of Eurasian, classical and African scholarship was collectively important; and an unsung factor in the development of western culture. Check out my blog!
http://historum.com/members/piccolo.html

Also, the numbers were Indo-Arabic (not just Arabic.......)
_________________
To continue is power -Shitbeast

[My Head Hurts 90]

For those still doing this, the music player on the website really muffled my pick's sound, so try not to use that.