Sad Moth Interviews: Indigo Trip

The guys from Sad Moth sat down with the dudes from Indigo Trip to pick their minds about influences, origins, band philosophy and big weed.  Check 'em out at https://soundcloud.com/indigo-trip. Do you like the new ~lo~fi~ direction Sad Moth is taking?  More of that in the coming days!

22, A Million

Bon Iver's 22, A Million is an experimentation into glitchy transcendence. The album, with various successes, uses audio impurity to set an ambient for Justin Vernon's (Bon Iver's) raw and honest journey to self actualization. It is an album about seeking truth, hyper accepting imperfection, dealing with existence, and reflecting on the past...

Help! I accidentally mixed up my folders full of pictures of dust/dust bunnies and my folder of Wanye Coyne pics and now I can't tell them apart. Can you lend me a hand by choosing all the pics of Wayne Coyne?

Jesus christ can you give me a hand? I accidentally mixed up my dust/dust bunny image folder with my Wayne Coyne pics » ProProfs

Sad Moth Podcast Episode 2: We Back Boiiiii: Hopefully This Works Special Edition

Last post didn't seem to work on podcasting platforms, I think because the file was in wav, not mp3.  Hopefully this works!

Sad Moth Podcast Ep. 2: The Digimon: The Movie vs. Shrek Supa Dupa Showdown

Sad Moth Manny, Noah, and special guest Nathan are all up in it with a track for track evaluation of two of the most influential albums of all time -- the Digimon: The Movie and Shrek soundtracks.  But which one is better????  We weren't sure either, but we each ranked all of the tracks from first to last, and figured it out!  Who won?  I dunno, you gotta LISTEN to it nerds!

vs.

Here's the link to the poll we used throughout the episode. We highly encourage you to take it as well!

http://www.polljunkie.com/poll/zrwmqc/shrek-vs-digimon-the-movie-the-ultimate-smash-n-bash

On a scale from 1 to Ka-chow, how Lightning McQueen is Jack White?

We all know that Jack White his one rootin' tootin', rockin' and rollin', pedal-to-the-metal m-effer.  And you know who else embodies all of of those qualities?  Our main man Lighting McQueen.  In this investigative report, Sad Moth Manny and Noah will take an in-depth look at the ebbs and flows of Jack White's Lightning McQueen-ness at different times in his career, on a scale from 1 to Ka-chow.

My Favorite Online Cover Artist

You know the state of YouTube covers are bad when there is a channel called "Cover Nation"

Covers on YouTube are super lame most of the time because the hordes of Ed Sheeran and Lorde songs that people play drown out a lot of other artist's content. They're really all the same, it's a bunch of indie posh kiddos with a guitar who sing songs way more seriously than they were originally written to be. They do it in this kind of airy like groove where they close their eyes, and stick their mouth out, slightly swaying to the guitar strum, only to smash the song full of vibrato because I guess that's how to make a song original and yours? Also there's this lame thing that they do where they make a song down tempo like it's some cool and original thing they're doing. This is all until they do the YouTube cover artist signature move of course; head down to looking into the camera with sad puppy eyes. Also I don't know what it is but they all have the same voice in my opinion, they just all sound the same...Here's an existential question for you, if everyone is indie, then is anyone indie? 

Anyway, among these clone-like artists lies a man who has become a personal hero of mine. But wait! He's not just one man, he's a One Man Band...(Reborn). OMBreborn is a YouTube Channel where the creator does very produced music video covers of classic rock artists like Billy Joel, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, etc, and honestly I just don't have words for how much I love his videos, You just have to see it for yourself:

Isn't that just the most rad thing you've seen in such a long time? His videos bring me so much happiness. Not to mention that he's extremely talented as well. On a first viewing the question of whether or not he actually knows how to play all the of the instruments in the track is begged. A lot of music videos do a good job of faking the playing. However, he knows how to play everything just based off of his form and how he holds each instrument in the video--he is a One Man Band you know. It would be interesting to know whether or not he produces all of the music and videos, as well as what his creative process for each video is considering that every part of the songs he covers are entirely redone. It's interesting because the covers themselves are self aware in their roots to the original song but also retain a unique sound as well--it's interesting. I also really enjoy the format of his videos as well. Other YouTube cover artists drag on to the point where you just want to listen to the original song where OMBreborn does a medley of covers for each video. How he orders it is cool too because he usually has one or two b-sides or less popular singles and then grand slams it home with the big single that the artist has. It makes the content short, sweet, and makes it anticipatory because you're waiting to hear him play the big song. 

Here let's compare:

This...

To this: 

I'm not going to go into it because it's not about who's better, it's about the music. But if it were a contest let's just say the cream rises to the top...

The aspect about his videos that needs to be noted is that a lot of time and creative energy are clearly put into them and he has a criminally low amount of views and subscribers. His channel has been around for a couple years now and he consistently adds quality content. This shows that he does this for the enjoyment and for the music that he loves. The well produced recordings, his cool unique singing voice, and edits for the video make his covers digestible, sonically pleasing, and an overall awesome experience to watch. I hope that one day I too can be this driven, passionate, and awesome about something.

To the most rad dude alive,

One Man Band (Reborn) rock, rock on, 

Emanuel

Chance 3: Coloring Book is Out Now!

No article or first impressions yet. Just enjoy the music!

 

Dat Piff Download

I'm very excited about this one, I'll write about it within the coming weeks.

Check out other Chance the Rapper Sad Moth related content here:

Chance the Rapper Profile Piece

Thoughts on Sunday Candy

Surf Review

--Emanuel

Animal Collective Painting With, I Genuinely Like the Album Art

Oh hey guys didn't notice you there,

If you're kind of thrown off I'm at a doctors appointment right now, I have to go under the knife for "a small procedure." That's why I have these drabs on and these tubes connected to me. Unfortunately I totally forgot that I promised Noah that I'd do this review of  *Animal Collective's new album Painting With:*

with him today.

I guess I'll just write a review while I'm waiting for the surgery room to be prepped to calm my nerves.

Painting With is one of the most super chocolaty awesome, fudge filled, super, albums that I've ever listened to, and it's definitely the most creative, fun, and creative album of 2016 so far. I really enjoyed the albums opener Floridada, because it sounds like the Beach Boys on acid, and that's cool; because acid is cool. It somehow manages to mix this witches brew of synth noise, surfer rock, and dissonance really well, and I thought it was a great single. Also my favorite part of the song is when they have the "Wipe-out" sample because they do this cool thing where they stop it right at the syllable after the laugh where it says "wipe out," and start their lyrics from there. I think that's a genuinely cool moment, but admittedly it didn't even stand up to the albums OTHER great wiggles they roomed their creative liberties into.

Wiggle rooms like in track two, Hocus Pocus, with the cute and super zany awesome "dinosaurs on the freeway" sample! I especially liked the fart synthesizers that were used in the track because they literally didn't sound like someone was shitting in my ear.

Or how they use their chopped voices as an unbeaten alive and well horse to drive the syncopated rhythms for most of the songs on the album.

The other thing that I think is cool is that tracks 3-10 meld into this sanity stabilizing listening experience. They're all so unique and separable that they somehow feel like one giant super track. You know because a bunch of different random noises and sounds next to each other don't just make a collage of random noises and sounds, no! And this is especially true when those sounds are mostly comprised of crushed hyper-sour synths, bit-salad, and the repetitive pounding of vocoder vocals. These are tracks like Vertical with it's synth that pokes and prods the listener...with joy! All whilst unlocking grand universal secrets like, "vertical is flight."

Or Burglars, which...wait, I actually I want to take this time to be super real cause I think that this song is shedding some light on Noah Lennox's (Panda Bear) or David Portner's estranged childhood...

When I was young we used to put alarms on our doors and screens like a burglar net

now that I’m older I’m sure that’s absurd that’s the word for the man who collects who’s he stealing from next

When I was young my parents yelled beware of the ivory man that will steal and sell

now that I’m older those words are still pure not the look of a crook in his books what’s he taking from you?

Jesus Christ is this what's explaining all this shit? Did one of them just get so politically scared and disoriented shitless by their parents to the point where it...it HELPED make them into the creative geniuses that we have today that bless us with organized and non-convoluted metaphor--did I mention you totally don't have to be pedantic to fully understand it?

And then I was so amazed by the rest of the tracks up until Golden Gal because they made me really comfortable. I normally don't listen to music for pleasure, and I don't like having an eclectic taste because using the same gimmicks over and over, and calling it "experimentation" is really what music should be about. Music isn't something I center my life around so I like putting myself in situations where I'm listening to things that not only challenge my taste, but also my sanity. When you use synths and vocoders that sound like masterpieces such as OMFG's Hello you just simply can't fucking go wrong, not one little fucking bit.

Golden Gal was alright, compared to the rest.

Recycling, the last track, well it basically sums up what I want to do with this album...play it over and over and over again, recycling it forever.

"Emanuel, the doctors have the room prepped for you, do you think you're ready?"

"Oh, okay. Uh yeah, I think so." 

"Okay we'll wheel you out now then."

Yeah, it was a great album I guess. No complaints from my end. If you're into music that's indie and experimental or out or whatever your journey ends here. Don't listen to Sufjan Stevens, or Shabazz Palaces. Don't listen to Dirty Projectors, clipping, or Flying Lotus. Oh And don't you dare listen to Gold Panda. None of these artists exhibit what this album tries and does tenaciously and therefore can never live up to it.

"Emanuel we're going to give you the anesthesia now, we're just going to put this mask on you here...there we go."

So there you have it, what can I say, Animal collective's new album is a masterpiece...a truly great, great...

"Okay team this is a bit of an archaic surgery we're doing here,"  the dull image of the doctor nervously motioned the other surgeons at the table, "a full frontal lobotomy isn't a typical procedure

nowadays, but we really didn't have many other options, and this was a drastically necessary case." 

Animal Collective Painting With: 2/10

I think it album art is cool!

Least Favorite Tracks: Hocus Pocus, Vertical, Lying in the Grass, Burglars, Natural Selection, Bagels in Kiev, On Delay, Spilling Guts, Summing the Wretch, Recycling

Favorite Tracks: Floridada (I actually like this one, I think it's cool, my compliments in the review of it were sincere, and a bit satirical)

Oh I edited this post because I was an idiot (Bidiot) and mistook Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) for Gold Panda so I fixed that. This album clearly disappointed me. I like Animal Collective I just really was looking forward to the promise that Floridada brought as a single, but then the album wasn't really anything like that, so it just bummed me out, annoyed me, and I had to turn it off just so I could chunk my listening--tracks 3 to 10 is honestly maddening at times. It's just a hodge podge, and not the good type.

The Life of Pablo. A The Life of Pablo review written in the essence and form of The Life of Pablo: the Album (mixtape), and the event.

The Life of Pablo. A The Life of Pablo review written in the essence and form of The Life of Pablo: the Album, and the event.

Here at Sad Moth Music we really take into account hype when we begin writing our album reviews. We like to wait awhile and let things die down a bit so we can review things with a clear head and no outside influence affecting our decisions for scoring. It's totally not because we're lazy, or that some of us don't meet the completely arbitrary deadlines we set for ourselves. It's totally not because we're busy with school, or because we have girlfriends. Let me just reiterate one last time it's totally not because of any of that...

Sorry about the wait. "It was Chance's fault."

The Life of Pablo, Kanye West's highly anticipated and pontifically released mixtape really was just a bit unorganized and unfinished. However that's not to say that it didn't have it's moments and aspects that were faithful and executed well in relation to the mixtape's intended concept: which is the dichotomy between artist and celebrity and the perils of that. 

Picasso? Maybe. Escobar? Maybe.  Backyardigans? Yes.

***

It's not any revelation to say Kanye's a media phenomena. He's a "pompous asshole," a fashionista, a living meme, and he's only a small degree of separation from being a Kardashian. Considering that portrayal, empathizing with Kanye isn't really an accessible connection to make. However he's certainly very misunderstood. How he sees himself and his intentions in contrast to how the media does probably creates a lot of dissonance for him, and Kanye clearly handles that sort of stress, and constant criticism in a very flagrant almost character like way. His reactions are always elicited in this weird public sphere of people who passionately love or hate him in ways that are sometimes quizzically disingenuous. Kanye's "diehard" fans worship him like a god, where as his haters want to beat the shit out of him: both are relationships on the extreme ends of the fandom spectrum, and I can imagine that being really tiresome. Especially since I think that Kanye is at a point in his musical career where he's making art for himself and his own expression rather than for other's entertainment.

The main thing that I got out of The Life of Pablo is that Kanye is clearly lonely and mentally exhausted. Being a artist with a creative image as big as Kanye's is probably really difficult especially when you are considered to be one of the contemporary greats of Hip-hop, he has a lot of internal and external expectations to live up to. Also Kanye doesn't really sell out when it comes to his creative endeavors. With that being said, he definitely is living a lifestyle that is past luxurious--it's to the spending level that's really only comparable to a block buster director or a drug kingpin. It's to the point where he's apparently surmounted 53 Million dollars in debt. I read an interesting Huffington Post list that broke down some of his spending. From 2.2 million dollar music video budgets that hold up the grandeur of his creative image, to 2 Million dollar armored cars to protect his family, the Pablo question is begged: Escobar, Paul (Pablo en Espanol) or Picasso? "Which One?"

And I think at times the album portrays this dichotomy and this identity crisis well...Wait "album?"... To be honest I don't even think this is an album, I think it's a mixtape. Why? Well it isn't charting, it's a Tidal exclusive; it has a ton of mixtape oriented artists on it (Chance, Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign); and finally it doesn't even have a physical release. If you really want to read into it I think there's an incredibly deeply read analytical argument to be made that Kanye knew that people were going to pirate the shit out of it and not pay for it. So he then distributed like a mixtape: through drop, third party downloads, and word of mouth. And I can't help but feel like Kanye definitely wants you to think that pedantically when listening to TLoP and analyzing the events around its release. It would be interesting if he was that self aware and understanding to the level of how much he affects hip-hop as a whole, and how popular he truly is--I just feel like Kanye is on a different plane right now and that's probably why people don't really get him.

Anyway, at times I think the mixtape portrays the "Which One?" dichotomy well. You're not supposed to have an understanding of which Pablo Kanye is talking about because the point is that Kanye operates in a middle ground of all three. TLoP is about pushing boundaries, commercially, artistically, and religiously. These contrasted themes about the curse of fame, creative misunderstanding, and emphatic isolation fit very well with each Pablo respectively.  Kanye lies in the middle of it all. He's someone who makes triple platinum albums, pushes his genre musically, and gets his listeners to listen about god in one sitting. That's the self awareness that this album exudes--call it arrogant, but it's true. However the thing that holds true throughout all of these tracks is that they're all in really weird parts of the mixtape except for maybe Ultralight Beam. There's not really a discernibly concrete flow, this review took me a long time to make because I had to basically look at each track individually. It seems like the track list is all over the place. The songs don't transition well to one another thematically nor stylistically. It was changed so many times from it's "final form" that it seems to be this constantly evolving project. Even it's official Tidal release was
altered multiple times before finally coming out on Spotify and Google Play. To me in a way these constant changes are form challenging in the sense that the mixtape isn't concrete, it's almost like it's alive and ever changing, at least that's what I feel like he's trying to do with it. This of course has varying degrees of success, it just comes off as disorganized. But, individually, on a track by track basis, it has some shining moments. This is especially apparent when you see a list of the features.

The opener Ultralight Beam is simply a beautiful track. When Kanye understands and respects the artists that work with him he incredibly highlights their talent. There's no way around it, Ultralight Beam is belongs to Chance. Similarly the majority of No More Parties in L.A. belongs to Madlib and Kendrick. Notice how at the beginning of the track Kanye sets up this amazing little alleyoop-esque intro for Kendrick to just slam dunk his verse into the track. When you have two rappers of Kendrick and Kanye's caliber, ESPECIALLY when Madlib is producing, there needs to be a give and take. There needs to be teamwork or synergy. When Kanye does it right it's amazing--Ultralight Beam and No More Parties in LA are two of my favorite tracks on the mixtape.
But Kanye is definitely good at what he does, and this is clear regardless of the album's flaws. Most tracks on the mixtape are definitely solid even if I didn't particularly care for them. A minute into Highlights there's this amazing backup singer one off before Kanye's main verse that just makes the song feel so bloomed. Kanye can really make his music feel big, or even orchestral. It's scale is just capturing, it has stature--I seriously only like the song for that one part. I would even go as far as saying it's my favorite part of the entire mixtape.

Also how much do you think that Madison Property Management Inc paid to get Kanye to plug Equinox Apartments?

Every bad bitch up at Equinox! Blatant product placement, wake up Sheeple!

Famous is cool because of it's controversial nature, the Rhianna feature, and the classic Kanye West stylized sample that it leads into.

Feedback is great because of it's messy, industrial, Yeezus like production.

Facts is heavily improved. The new production by Charlie Heat makes it a million times better than it's original release. It's more in your face now, it feels like an actual diss track. But the thing about Facts that's weird in general is that everyone is thinking that it was such a bold move to stand up to Nike like that. But really it was inconsequential. If anything I'm sure that Nike just saw a Kanye West Nike diss track to be the best free advertising that they're going to get all year.

FML is really haunting, and evocative. The Weeknd sounds angelic amidst the ethereal and hazy production.

I Love Kanye is just kinda cute. Awww.

Then there's Real Friends. Which to me is the saddest, most relatable moment of the mixtape. It made me wish that the themes brought up specifically in that track were what the Life of Pablo was focused on. I feel like a lot of times Kanye West doesn't really know what to say or talk about, sometimes I even feel that maybe he doesn't have anything to talk about. But Real Friends is clearly a moment in which I genuinely empathized with him. I wish that he would express himself in ways as productive and meaningful as he does in this track. It's so powerful that it contextualized the mixtape for me: Kanye is clearly in a dark place, and he's clearly struggling with his fame, family, and fortune in complex, non-binary or easily describable ways. There's this melancholy nature to the song, you know that Kanye isn't actually alone, but he still feels lonely. I can really relate to that. I can relate to people making you feel even worse than being alone. I think we can all relate to not feeling understood, or feeling like the people around you aren't genuine enough. You often wonder if you're always going to be this bored. You wonder if there's hope for you out there after all, or if this is it. You wonder who your real friends even are, or if you're even theirs...

Like I was saying earlier No More Parties in LA is awesome, it's like some sort of contemporary hip-hop fan's wet dream. Madlib is amazing and consistent as ever, the production is so good Freddie Gibbs even took to rapping over it in his own spin "Cocaine Parties in LA."  The thing I love about tracks produced by Madlib is that they loom behind the vocal parts like a puppeteer. He sets the entire tone and scene of the track remarkably. And then Kendrick's verse leads the track into what are arguably some of Kanye's best lyrical moments of the mixtape, "And as far as real friends tell all my cousins I love 'em, even the one that stole the laptop you dirty motherfucker." Holy shit that's an awesome moment, and it's especially highlighted by that great sample they play right after it. I just keep on lovin' you... That's a moment you really only get when you have this many great musicians on one track.

RIP KANYE'S LAPTOP STEALING COUSIN

???--2016

THE MOST REKT MAN OF 2016 

(so far)

Even Freestyle 4 is good because...well actually like what the fuck is going on in this one? This is just some straight-up Eyes Wide Shut shit. The crazy violin harmonics? Kim and him starting an orgy at a Vogue party? If anything is form challenging or avant-garde about this mixtape it's this track. Jesus. Christ.

Wolves is kind of on par with Freestyle 4 in the weirdness factor, the Mary Joseph analogy is a little much. The thing about it is that I feel like Wolves feels like it thinks that it's more profound and beautiful than it is. It exudes this self-awareness that's just "yeah I'm super mysterious, yeah I'm really pretty oOoOoO..." it's kind of obnoxious if that makes any sense.

I didn't really like Father Stretch My Hands Pt 1 because I feel like it's not that memorable, and it's a little annoying. I don't really get it. Although Pt 2 does go really hard, and the production is really solid. I also like the robot voice towards the end because it's really out and it's an interesting creative decision in my eyes.

Low Lights is really stupid. I'm sorry but what is going on with that? I like the production because I feel like it could be used to make something pretty cool. But I just don't like the lyrical content of the track. It doesn't fit to the rest of the mixtape in any way I can even think of other than possibly some sort of weird narcissism that Kanye has for himself or some vague message about god. Mary J. Blige is just out of place on this one.

Waves is literally meh. It's just kind of boring to me. It feels really flat musically and metaphorically.

And god dammit I guess the main thing I don't like about the mixtape is just the ending. To me it's just so lazy. And you're sitting there wondering why Post Malone? Is it just some sort of hail Mary attempt to scout for some future talent just so you can get them before they're super, super big? Is it to capture some weird relic of 2016? This weird fried kid that's somehow representative of our times? A weird dank vignette for Kanye to meme out? Why? And then the mixtape is just done. That's it.

And that's the mixtape, and apparently the review, I got out all I wanted to get out. I mean this is how it ends: if Kanye can do it why can't I?

Thanks for listening,

Emanuel

The Life of Pablo-Kanye West 8/10

The Life of Pablo. A The Life of Pablo review written in the essence and form of The Life of Pablo: the Album (mixtape), and the event-Emanuel Aviles 6/10

Favorite tracks: No More Parties in LA, Real Friends, Ultralight Beam, Highlights.

Least Favorite tracks: Fade, Low Lights, Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1


Post Publish Edit List:

Least Favorite Track list (4/15) 2:45 PM

Frieza Meme (4/15) 2:45 PM

Random Wording (4/15)

No More Parties in LA Blurb (4/15) 2:50 PM

Title (Tidal?) Fix (4/15) 3:00 PM

Changed certain instances of "album" to "mixtape" (4/15) 3:10 PM

Fixed Wolves part (4/15) 3:17 PM

Made the post publish edit list have a better look. (4/15) 3:18 PM

General edits: grammatically and wording wise. (4/15) 7:38 PM

Review score. (4/15) 7:39 PM

Fleshed out ideas on what the Life of Pablo is about including the "third" Pablo Apostle Paul. This is an album about following a middle path between all three Pablo's, it's not about the question, it's about the action of asking. (12/12) 11:56 AM


Review score. (6/30/2020) 1:33PM

WE'RE BACK FROM THE DEAD: A Journalistic (Kind of) Review of Wake Up by Pope Francis and the Gang

WE HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED. THE PROG ROCK ALBUM YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR IS HERE. POPE FRANCIS' "WAKE UP!" IS HERE, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE HAS SUCCESSFULLY RESURRECTED THIS HUMBLE MUSIC BLOG.

I was laying down in my room enjoying a nice afternoon nap when suddenly a booming omnipresent voice called out to me, "EMANUEL, IT IS TIME," and it was in that moment that I knew the second coming was nigh. With a burst of heavenly light and with an explosion that surely has taken away my security deposit, Pope Francis's new prog rock album Wake Up! descended from the sky, through the hole in my ceiling, and into my unworthy hands. A new age of enlightenment had begun. 

I timidly placed the ethereal disc into my CD player, it's glow seeping out of the spaces between the player's compartments. As I stared with awe, the album's opener, Annuntio Vobis Gaudium Magnum's, smooth futuristic synth straight out of a Sunday school tape woo'd me into submission. Amidst the searing power of the track's choir part I somehow managed to summon an utterance, "Wow, it's cool that Jeff Magnum is featured on this." Then he spoke. 

The Pope channeling God himself, summoning infinite wisdom and profound perception--wisdom and perception that entirely encapsulates the mysteries of the universe and mankind himself--opened his mouth and said...something in Italian. BUT, the next track started off with an excerpt in Spanish, so my feeble mortal mind was able to keep up. However, even my four years of Spanish in high school couldn't have prepared me for what came next.

 (Please press play for this next segment)

I sat pinned in my chair: track after track, answer after answer, the reflexive questions about I had about me and my place in the universe were answered. Then suddenly there was a deafening pause stiller than the darkest winter night. Then a break in the constant stream of realization, and I knew it had begun: the albums title track. Its beginning, prepared me for the death and rebirth I was about to experience. The ominous synth in the tracks beginning murmured, and I felt a great pain of a thousand sorrows: I was living life, as vast and complex as it is, in a solitary moment. The track slowly started to pick up with a steady and mind blowing kit, then it added a guitar riff that is so fuckin' bangin' dude, and last but not least it has a preset on the keys that I can say with utmost certainty that it was played by the ghost of Kerry Livgren. Here I sat, and as the awe struck me the song slowly crescendoed to the pinnacle of every piece of music ever, it was as if time and the universe stopped in the most divinely poignant place, "Wake up! Wake up!"


"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I screamed as the flesh seared from my face pooling into a crimson red slush on the floor.

It was here, at my death, where Pope Francis delivered a conjuring speech about waking up and realizing something or whatever I don't really remember but I began rising from the dead, my corpse reassembling into animation, I was being rebuilt, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. 

And with my body another was reborn as well,

Pope Francis, Wake Up!: 2/10, 

We're back :)

Happy listening, 

Emanuel (Sad Moth Manny) 

Eaux Claires Alphabet

Eaux Claires is coming up so get ready!

Here is a compiled YouTube playlist that I lazily made that has something from every artist or performance that will be in Eau Claire July 17th-18th for the Eaux Claires music festival.

The acts I'm most excited for are:

Allan Kingdom

Bon Iver

Collin Stetson 

(I'm weary about how this will be in concert)

Melt-Banana

(I am so fucking excited for these guys)

No BS! Brass Band

Spoon

(Sad Moth Reviews Spoon-They Want My Soul)

\Sturgill Simpson

Sufjan Stevens

(yes)

So get pumped, and get ready for Eaux Claires this July (17th-18th). This is a good fest for Wisconsin.

Happy listening, 

Sad Moth Manny

Editor's Revision:

The only band worth watching:

To Pimp A Butterfly Review: Thank god I didn't make some stupid title that had to do with moths instead of butterflies. Just Because they're both in the family Lepidoptera it doesn't mean it's okay.

It was meant to be!

OKAY I’ll admit it I was really, really intimidated by this release. To Pimp a Butterfly right off the bat was acclaimed by listener and critic alike, and the attention wasn’t only on the internet and social media. One of my friends told me that she saw people straight up running home the night of its release because they heard, “the album dropped.” The thing is I can’t deny that I wasn’t excluded from the hype. If it isn’t already apparent by our domain name I was a really big fan of Good Kid M.A.A.D City so I had a lot riding on this album before it’s initial release, a lot of people felt that way too. To my pleasant surprise on my first listen I was thrown into To Pimp a Butterfly with nothing but pure fascination. It’s an album that sounds entirely different as a successor. Section 80, and Good Kid M.A.A.D City have this smooth, tranced flow to it, with a trap inspired track or two mixed in, making them more predictable and concrete. To Pimp a Butterfly, on the other hand opts to be stylistically experimental and in that framing it’s nothing short of mania, but that’s not a bad thing, it’s actually refreshingly ingenious. 

The first thing that’s noticeable about the album is the diverse and collaborative production. It doesn’t sound like anything Kendrick has put out before considering how many different genre’s it borrows from track to track. The album’s irrevocably strong opener “Wesley’s Theory,” which features the production skills of Flying Lotus, Thundercat on bass, and some voice overs by George Clinton and Dr. Dre outline the ranged genre choice and sampling that sets itself as the framework for the album. An example of this diversity is the album’s interlude “For Free,” which starts off with a praising gospel choir and then transitions into a jazz track where Kendrick scat-raps. Another example of this genre experimentation would be the contrast between the album’s singles “i” and “The Blacker the Berry.” "i” has a production that feels like a Motown track because of its electric guitars, upbeat kit, and backup singers, where “The Blacker the Berry” has this ethereal beat and an edgy hook that reminds me of reggae dub vocals--both of these are great songs by the way. All of this seems pretty all over the place and confusing but the album has this impenetrable strength with bringing the tracks together through it’s breaks and transitions--I’ll touch upon this more later. It provides a really enjoyable experience as a listener.

One thing that is really appreciable about the album is how its artistic and tone setting experiments, skits, and samples don’t detract from its musicality. I would actually say it really contributes to their artistic value. Particularly “These Walls” come to mind. The distorted moaning at the beginning of it  is a little agitating but if you give it a chance  it’s a really sexy and smooth track that features Thundercat again. It has actually grown to be one of my favorites of the album. “For Sale?” the album’s other interlude is another really good example of this. When looking at it’s symbolism it’s a really ironic point in the album; it’s production reminds me something that could be featured on an early Flying Lotus track because of it’s dream like and calm IDM qualities but from what I can tell he didn’t produce it. It’s a very unexpected part of the album because the song is about an aged Kendrick reminiscing about a conversation that he had with the devil and there’s a lot of contrasting tonality.

I need to preface the rest of this review by saying that I’m not going to go into anymore of my analysis of the album, I might do a video or a separate blog entry for that, but right now I need more time to digest it. With that being said the album certainly has A LOT to say, and a lot needs to be said about the non-musical aspects of the album such as Kendrick’s spoken word, the contrast between the tracks “u” and “i,” the constant references to the character “Lucy,” and the interview he has with Tupac at the end. But what I can say though is that the album’s writing is very strong. It has clever one-offs--the line in the opener “look both ways before you cross my mind” is one I personally love, a bunch of skits, and aforementioned spoken word that really transitions each track effectively to create a cohesive package. Kendrick and the writers and producers of this album really know how to musically tell a story. This is something that they did with Good Kid M.A.A.D City that really makes it a great album. Admittedly I think it’s done better in To Pimp A Butterfly and Kendrick has really perfected his method of message, which is something I see other rappers struggle with; I feel like Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet is a way too ambitious attempt to be something like this, and you can read that review to see why it didn’t work.

Even though the album tells a strong, thought provoking  story and is literarily significant, it’s musicality is obviously the strongest part of the album. Most tracks that are on it are just down right good songs. “King Kunta,” has a killer groove, with great flow and lyrics: I really like the line “a rapper with a ghost writer? What the fuck happened?” “Institutionalized,” has a verse with Snoop Dogg where he just killed it. “Alright,” is a pretty good trap track. “Complexion” sounds like an old school Tupac song. “ “How Much a Dollar Cost?” reminded me of Good Kid M.A.A.D City. I liked “You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said),” that was solid. I seriously didn’t have a song that I thought was bad or that I didn’t like. I mean, there were some that I wouldn’t go out of my way to individually listen to like “Momma,” or “Hood Politics.” However, I feel that they’re still necessary to the album as a whole, and I enjoyed them during each of my consecutive listens. 

Kendrick Lamar has more than proved his skills as a rapper, and I really feel that he is one of the modern day greats. Not only does he have good flow, but his technical skill and control over his voice is very strong too. Earlier in this review I talked about the genre hopping in the production, and I think the main reason why it works so well is because Kendrick is able to pull it together and apply his style to it. Throughout the album he reuses things that he’s done in the past that make it work, like the post production helium voice at the beginning of “Institutionalized” that sounds really reminiscent of the one used in “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” He also incorporates new voices too, in “For Sale” he changes his voice to sound like an old man’s, or in “u” he makes his voice crack and strains it so he sounds fucked up and staggered. Not only is it really entertaining but Kendrick changing his voice is a gimmick that really emulates his style, and a personal touch that he puts on the album. He knows what he’s doing and he does it well. It works musically and contextually to the story of the album.

Kendrick Lamar did an amazing job with this album. It functions as a hip-hop album, a story, a poetry book, a social commentary, and it’s an instant classic that will be remembered for a long time.

9.5/10

Favorite Tracks: Wesley’s Theory, King Kunta, These Walls, u, How Much a Dollar Cost, Complexion, You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said), i

Least Favorite Tracks: N/A

Thoughts On: What is a 10/10?

A perfect 10, it's either given out too much or too little. So much so that it can seemingly be an abstract concept. Reviewing music is weird, its subjectivity entails that any sort of review that could possibly be made is entirely up to what the listener's entire experience and taste has led them to believe. It's a very intuitive process. Yeah, people can rate objectively, but those objective characteristics boil down to what sounds good to the listener, and there is no golden rule to what sounds good. This makes it very hard to give out a score in general, lest a perfect score. I mean a 10 hasn't ever been given out by Sad Moth, or me personally in a formal review setting, so it's kind of weird for us to be rating on a 1-10 scale without addressing an example of the end of said scale. If we're going to continue to use an out of 10 scale, one of us has to at least talk about what the fabled latter end potentially entails, which is a task that kind of sucks.

Although this is way too simple of a categorization, in my life so far the types of "10s" that I've come across that are pretty straightforward.

There are 10/10 albums from artists that have had huge cultural impacts to music, and history in general. These are albums that transcend their genres and become representative of a culture or a subculture. These are albums that are genre inventing, representing, or shoving (not pushing)...

The Beatles- A Hard Day's Night

Miles Davis- Kind of Blue

The Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bollocks

Then there are albums that everyone, critics and fan bases alike, say are 10s and that you should believe are 10s because it's a collective decision that these albums are perfect...

My Bloody Valentine- Loveless

Radiohead- Kid A

Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Then there are albums that are 10s to me because of the personal significance they have for me, or that I simply enjoy entirely...

Nujabes- Modal Soul

 Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver

These are all albums that I love in some way shape or form, but obviously they're not entirely representative of the categories that I've allotted to them or all the albums that I consider to be 10s. The most important characteristic about all of these "10s" is the placidity of the score. An album that I personally think is a 10 might not always be a 10. Maybe an album is a 10 on a first listen, and gets boring after awhile, maybe it's opposite. Good music can become relevant during certain parts of your life like when you fall in love, when you're heartbroken, when you start anew, or reconnect with old ghosts. I can't tell you what types of beats, or melodies, or lyrics, etc are 10s, they just...are. Nothing is really perfect, but it's the jagged edges of these imperfections that can align like jigsaw puzzles with the listener. That's why music means something, that's why it has so much weight on feeling. A 10 is when something perfectly fits, when something can really evoke real emotion, feeling, synthesis. When you listen to something like that you fall for it, it becomes a part of you and who you are in the world, and that's a beautiful thing.

Go out there and find your 10s, whether it's with music, people, whatever,

Happy listening, 

Emanuel

Here are some other albums off the top of my head that I consider to be 10s, this is by no means a conclusive list, maybe I can make something like that in the future if I'm interested, I'll probably just come back to this and add this when I think of it.

Johnny Cash- At Folsom

Kendrick Lamar-Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

Chet Baker- Chet Baket Sings

Death Grips- Exmilitary

James Blake- James Blake

Nujabes- Metaphorical Music

Daft Punk- Random Access Memories

The Strokes- Is This It

Weezer- Pinkerton

Frank Ocean- Channel Orange

Sad Moth Concert Tour Pt. 3 No Blurry Concert Pictures by Request of Jeff Mangum: Neutral Milk Hotel

"Heil NMH!"

Quintessential indie-rock band Neutral Milk Hotel is on their last formal tour together, and I was privileged enough to see one of their last concerts that they would ever have. If you haven't heard of or listened to NMH, they're an indie rock group out of Louisiana, front manned by the mellow Jeff Mangum, who can only be described as what former Sad Moth writer Nimbi would have looked like in his forties (RIP). Neutral Milk Hotel is a band that some consider being a major contributor to shaping the indie music scene of today. Many famous bands such as Arcade Fire, Beirut, or Animal Collective were inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel, specifically by their album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. They have an interesting sound that ranges from folk/ folk-punk to lo-fi, and they're a necessity to listen to because of how solid and unique they are composition wise. Fun instrumental fact, this noise is actually made by a violin bow being moved across a bent saw blade, that's the type of listening experience you get from Neutral Milk Hotel.

If you've been to a Neutral Milk Hotel concert before one thing you would know is that by request, taking pictures isn't aloud. It's not something that's taken lightly either. The first time I saw them live a girl snapped a picture of Jeff Mangum and he stopped singing and playing just to flip her off and say, "fuck you." So I didn't want to be disrespectful, or publicly humiliated by being singled out in a large crowd, because I tried snagging some eloquent blurry concert pictures. I also don't have the photographic touch like my co-author Noah. Since I don't have photos this kind of puts the transparent author/reader relationship that we've established with our Blurry Concert Picture series in a weird place. I mean at this point in the article I could basically just make up what happened and what their set list was, you know something ridiculous like "Jeff Mangum got on stage, furiously masturbated for an hour, ensuring that the fapping noise was the only sound on the mic, and then played a lo-fi cover of the Ghost Buster's theme." Also you guys could just not believe me, so as a motion of establishing mutual trust here is my concert ticket...

Blanked out my information for obvious reasons

Now that that's out of the way let's get onto the concert, I have got to say it was pretty great. Neutral Milk Hotel played a strong setlist that was energizing, but laid back when it needed to be. The beginning of the concert had Jeff play I Will Bury You in Time solo, which was pretty  but then it transitioned perfectly into Holland 1945 which made the place explode into this lively, energetic mosh--it was a ton of fun to just cut loose, and the music complimented that. Their choice of music was great for a final concert, they played all the highlights off of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, as well as their hits of their other albums like Song Against Sex. Not to mention they played their hearts out too. The entire band is made up of very talented individuals that make songs that already sound good on album sound great live. I think that's where the "no photography" philosophy of Jeff Mangum spawns from. He is entirely passionate about playing his music and because of that it's beautiful. Taking pictures of it would be like taking pictures of fireworks, there's no point because by immortalizing that moment, you are in turn missing it. An evening with Neutral Milk Hotel is just that, and that's something you don't get very often at concerts. 

I had a really enjoyable night with this band and have this melancholy feeling to see one of the greats go. Maybe someday we will meet again, but until then farewell Neutral Milk Hotel.

Happy listening,

Sad Moth Manny

"And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see
Love to be
In the arms of all I'm keeping here with me"

I'm not going to call this a life hack because I have self worth, but this is pretty cool...

You know yourself, you're a cool, easy going person that just so happens to enjoy buying a CD every once and awhile. However, regardless of how lax you are, if you're a sane human being that's not on any emotionally leveling antidepressants then there is one thing that really pisses you off...

These fuckers...

Yeah that's right, the security seals that are impossible to get off crystal CD cases. I hate them so fucking much. You can't peel them off in one pull you have to either pick it off and spend the better part of ten minutes getting every little bit of sticky seal off of the case, slice it off the case with a sharp object which scratches the case and still results in picking off leftover seal, smash the entire thing with a hammer so you can cry in a corner in silence, or just give up and pirate music leaving your CD collection small and sad. I honestly don't know why they have this on here, It's not like it's that good of a security measure. I'm not going to just open it up and take the CD if I was going to steal it, I would definitely take the case too, it's not like it's that much more cumbersome. I honestly feel like it's just the record companies blasting you in the ass one last time before you can relax and enjoy your music, I mean you're already paying fifteen dollars for a physical copy of a mass burnt CD with some album artwork... sigh.

Well luckily since I'm not going to stand for leftover Nazi engineering being used in contemporary America, I came up with a way to stick it to the man and save your new manicure...

So go out there, and enjoy your music in peace, 

Happy listening, 

Emanuel (Sad Moth Manny)

Thoughts On Either Way-Wilco

Thoughts On Either Way by Wilco

Slap that play button...

Although it's not as widely critically acclaimed as a lot of Wilco's other works, Sky Blue Sky is an example of an album that has a lot of significance to me as a listener. It was an album that I had growing up, it was played while my mom cooked dinner, on sunny summer days when my family and I were just being lazy, and it was exclusively used by me on plane rides. There are a lot of tracks on the album that I have a ton of nostalgia and emotional attachment for, such as Impossible Germany, or Sky Blue Sky. However there is one song that I really want to focus on, the opener Either Way. It's always been my favorite, which probably is why I have always been so drawn to the rest of the tracks on the album. It's a very sweet, smooth, and flowing opening that naturally soothes the listener into the rest of the track list. I love the cradling guitar part, the light groove of the bass,  the breezing organ, and the soft kit. I love how the piano compliments Jeff Tweedy's relaxing vocals by having such a steady chord progression. It's a very layered and well orchestrated track --literally during the string addition-- that has an instrumental part that really compliments its lyrics. And I fell in love with it.

Either Way to me is a song that is compositionally patient. It takes it's time, and in doing so it's message is very strong, it's story and attitude very loving and kind. The entire song is incredibly thematic. The lyrics and instrumentals work hard together to convey its message in a way that is subtle, and when you take a step back to analyze it you can really appreciate it.

Lyrically the song, I will admit, is a bit corny. But never have I listened to something that has been so significant to me throughout the time it's been in my life. I can't help but be optimistic every time I hear it. This song has a way of going away, but then coming back when I really need it, and I've never really realized that until now. This is what is so amazing about the music I love, and why I'm so passionate about it. It's evocative of this emotion, it makes me feel human, like I'm alive with the goings on of the world. Music is an art that, like poetry, can grow and harbor so much personal significance to the listener. It can be empowering, crushing, enraging, calming, it's about how you feel about it. It's meaning entirely subjective.

Life is so complicated, and complex. That's why it's beautiful. You're going to be sad, you're going to be alone, but on the opposite ends of things you're going to be happy and you'll be surrounded by things and people that you love and that love you too. Sometimes things are worse, sometimes everything is better and that's okay. That's what makes life worth living, there's no point otherwise. Humans are irrational beings, we wouldn't love if we weren't. Embrace your imperfection. That's why I stay right here, where I am. That's what this song means to me.

To those of you who haven't heard this song, or are listening to it again, I hope you can find as much meaning as I did in it. If it's oppressively gloomy outside, or even if it's sunny, if life is good or bad, just remember that Either Way it'll be okay.

-Emanuel

Love is patient, love is kind.