The Shins: Wincing the Night Away

There's something about The Shins' new album “Wincing the Night Away” that is unsettling. After listening to it a few times I have to wonder what it was that I ever liked about them. A few more listens really makes me wonder where this formerly Indie rooted band gone motion picture soundtrack sensation stands to land in the minds of young people twenty years from now.

The shins wont continue to rock the way Nirvana does. People won't repeatedly buy their long since worn out albums like they do for the Beatles. The kids that do listen to The Shins twenty years from now will be the sexually confused ones who are actively involved in drama club and reliving an era of music they didn't even sport Flinstone diapers through. These are the children who are still obsessed with their parent's record collections at an age when they should be listening to next big soundtrack sensations and smoking pot as part of their ritual rebellion against society, the man, and injustice. The reason for all this de- mythification is simple: Some idiot thought it would be a good idea to push the band into “Wincing the Night Away” way too soon.

All this implies that I think the Shin's have become nothing more than a tool. Admittedly, sometimes all I can hear are the worst aspects of The Cure mixed in with the best aspects of the ever annoying and deserving of death Travis (I hope you read this and burn in hell you self loathing pathetic excuse for a human). Something about The Shins has gone from innovative alt-country-indie to mediocre twanging blah. Maybe it's because they're finally making a little cash. Maybe it's the contrived just-after-Christmas-instead-street-cred-protection release date (after Christmas is the new before Christmas - nobody likes the crap they get anymore and gift cards are a simple sure thing). I suspect, however, that the problem is that they're spending too much time listening to some producer's suggestions for perfection and not enough time listening to each other screw everything up in a locked and soundproof room.

I'm reminded, suddenly, of the album “Mutations” by Beck. “Mutations” is far and away my favorite Beck album. The songs are rich with feeling and Beck doesn't do any of that annoying raping he so loves to inflict on people. The only reason that album was released was because Beck was sick of being booed at when he played those songs (at least, so it has been said). Evidently the fans only want to hear what's already on an album. I think the fact that he sat on those songs for so long allowed him to have really great ideas when he finally went into the studio with them.

As far as I can tell the problems with “Wincing the Night Away”are two fold: production is used to cover up bad or underdeveloped compositions, and there's an unsettling undertone of fear. It's as though The Shins are as afraid to stick to their old sound as they are of trying new things. I think that there wasn't enough time between albums for them to find the redefinition they obviously want but didn't actually achieve (The Beatles never made that mistake). They got greedy and now they're going to pay for it. I can hear their purebred Indie fan base screaming “abandon ship!” at the top their lungs while their def, trendy, and late coming counterparts are quickly becoming aware that the boat is sinking and it's only a mater a time before they're outed as posers they really are. Whoever gets to the life boat first gets to live.

All that said there are some things about this album that are perfectly executed. It mostly revolves around rhythmic textures and subtle post recording harmonic fills. However, an album leaning on production level contributions is not going to sit well with the fan base that launched The Shins into popular acceptance. The indie-fucks giveth and and taketh away.

Here is what leads me to believe that the album is over produced: most of the compositions suck but there are nonmotivic post recording contributions that provide depth to songs that are otherwise without convincing feel. Message to record companies: a good producer understands a band's sound and when the band is ready to release another album or even lay down tracks; a good manager makes sure his band is locked into a soundproof room as often as possible; A good band likes the music they're writing and playing. I don't hear these things on “Wincing the Night Away,” and if I can't hear it I can't feel it. The Shins are perceived to be a band that has a feel. It's that simple.

The Shins only manage to find themselves on two songs; “Turn on Me,” and “A Comet.” Both of these seem to have the least production influence and they both sound like The Shins instead of The Cure and Travis wrapped in a giant flaming turd. The only thing I have against these songs is that by the time you've dug through all the crap on the album and found them you've already lost your faith in the band and it's hard to tell if the songs are good or just so much better than everything else that you'll buy it. I'm fairly certain that “A Comet” is almost golden. They kept it simple. It's hard to believe I had to go through the whole album waiting for something simple and sweet from The Shins, but I did.

View my complete and organized writings by going to christonium.com.

Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

Regina Spektor is yet another girlie girl promoted by the music industry for the sole purpose of appealing to sentimental yuppies and college girls in search of the next great female artist to gush about to their friends. The industry pumps out a slew of solo female artists con character just like her every year. Part of me wants to compare Spektor to Ani Difranco; the self proclaimed indie (obligatory indie reference) girlie girl who symbolizes school girls from the year 2000, college dropouts that never grew up, and lesbians everywhere. On the album "Begin to Hope" the quality OF character in Regina's voice is comparable to Difranco, but the comparison stops there. Spektor is Difranco for a more mature audience: the latte guzzling Prius driving 20 somethings just entering the real world and starving for a taste of the glory days from their distant past.

What stands out about Regina is primarily the character her voice exudes. It saves songs like "Fidelity" and "Better," which are among her strongest on this particular album. Bands like Cake and artists like Prince depend on extremely consistent or controlled resonance. Spektor is the opposite of that. Listening to Spektor I frequently find myself on the edge of my seat waiting for next interesting inflection. Her personality is palpably visceral.

Spektor's compositions lack creativity. At times I can hear the piano noodling for lack of ideas and the beat machine she uses on tracks like "Hotel Song," and "Fidelity," are embarassing to listen to. The missing creativity is made up for, most of the time, by her extremely convincing vocal deliveries braced by sometimes respectable production qualities.

The real jem of this album is "Apres Moi" which builds exactly the way an almost overproduced song should. The paino starts banging, the orchestra kicks in, a double bass subtly follows Spektor's left had, and then everything backs away only to explode again with even more conviction. Regina's voice doesn't exude the same qualities in this song. It's more pure and powerful.

Spektor's voice is heartfelt, the lyrics can at times be vapid, and the producer either doesn't know what he's doing or just doesn't give a damn, but ultimately the album is worth while. The whole production is carried by an extremely talented voice and one well produced song which is accompanied by a few slightly better than okay (but not worth writing about) compositions. Spektor is no Fiona Apple, but she may be in purgatory for musical goodness.

View my complete and organized writings by going to christonium.com.

Google Vs. Myspace

Google is beating Myspace not by creating new technology but instead by using its business connections and legal department to pick the RIGHT fights (even though they appear to turn tail when put under a little pressure) with copyright holders. Their recent moves seem smart considering the near impossibility of writing software which effectively eliminates copyright infringement.

While Myspace is waisting time and money trying to appease the rabid media industries Google is trying to figure out ways to exploit them by essentially charging (through profit sharing deals) for copyright protection software which media giants forced them to create in the first place. Pandering to these bastards software demands will make no money for Google which makes maybe 1 percent of it revenue from licensing its vastly more popular and useful search technology.

Googles recent response to the media industry resulted in loosing an irrelevant deal with Viacom. Google's revenue floods in from a lot of little guys clicking on ads paid for by an infinite supply of nobodies. The deals with media companies are necessary in principle and practice for Myspace which was recently purchased by media monolith FOX. Myspace is destined to eventually fall from social networking greatness and when it does the volatility and lack of profitability in internet companies will hopefully become common knowledge. Until then Google appears to be making the correct plays by not pandering to the demands of an industry which needs to constantly sue consumers and businesses to protect profits.


view my complete and organized writings by going to christonium.com/music.

"startup.com" fails

I recently watched a horribly disappointing documentary "startup.com". The subjects of this project are Harvard grads in their late twenties or early thirties who decide to quit their jobs and start an Internet company name " govWorks.com". The focus is excellent but the direction and scope of the film fall apart as the story moves focus from the formation of a company to the story of a relationship between two old pals. At its best this film documents life inside a typical venture capital startup and at its worst it fails to tell an almost Shakespearean tragedy wreaking of emotional irrelevance.

The most interesting footage from the film are the scenes in which complicated situations are alluded to and the strengths and weaknesses of the characters are contextually displayed. There are certain things which make this film interesting despite the best efforts of the director to create vapid and emotionally manipulative sudo-art:

- All the characters in this film are conflicted and through this conflict they express exactly who they are and what they think by their actions.
- The film provides a cursory introduction to a world that is rarely thought about or recognized for what it is; venture capitol hungry greed machines.

This film is worth while to watch in that it clearly illustrates the mistakes the characters make (if you know what to look for) but there's nothing of substance; no quality to take from the movie; no new ideas; nothing of real value.



view my complete and organized writings at christonium music.