Record #567: MGMT – Congratulations (2010)

A hit song is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can thrust you into widespread acclaim. But on the other, it can pigeonhole you, your audience forever using your old stuff as a metric. Your work progresses, but your fans are stuck in the past. For a great example, remind yourself that “Creep” is still Radiohead’s biggest hit.

For another example, look to MGMT, who had three such songs. “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” especially were already several years old by the time they appeared on Oracular Spectacular. And overall, that synthpop sound wasn’t very representative of that record. If you just look at the neo-psychedelic freak folk on the deep cuts, Congratulations is a faithful follow up.

Continue reading

Record #286: Coheed and Cambria – In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003)

Record #286: Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003) In the beginning of the 21st century, I was in a post hardcore band with some high school friends. The three of us had some pretty different tastes–I had a strong bias...

 

In the beginning of the 21st century, I was in a post hardcore band with some high school friends. The three of us had some pretty different tastes–I had a strong bias toward melodic emo like Further Seems Forever and the Juliana Theory, Travis’ tastes were for almost purely punk bands like Flogging Molly and Against Me, and Seth had a soft spot for nu-metal a mile wide. But there was one album that none of us could get enough of: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 by Coheed and Cambria. This disc joined Thrice’s Artist in the Ambulance and Thursday’s War All the Time to form the triumvirate of albums we all played on repeat.

Continue reading

Record #271: Chicago – Chicago VI (1973)

Like I mentioned in my last Chicago record, I’m a newbie to Chicago’s immense discography. It is my basic understanding that Chicago started out as an ambitious prog/fusion rock group and moved more towards the middle of the road as time went on, making millions on record sales at the expense of critical credibility. However, the more time I spend with the group, the more I realize that that dichotomy is not so neatly divided.

Continue reading

Record #189: Genesis – Invisible Touch (1986)

The very first thing you notice about Invisible Touch is just how poppy it is. Which isn’t too surprising–the two records before it had some great pop numbers with prog flares thrown in to keep things interesting, like Abacab’s great No Reply At All or the Home by the Sea suite from Genesis, reflective of what groups like The Police and Talk Talk were doing around the same time on Ghost in the Machine and The Colour of Spring (which are both masterpieces).

Continue reading

Record #186 – Genesis – Abacab (1981)

My understanding of Genesis’ place in rock history is a little fuzzy, but if classic rock radio is any indicator, Genesis mostly served as a breeding grounds for two of the most dynamic and exciting solo artists of the 80s. And given that this is the group’s eleventh full length (released after Phil Collins’ debut solo record at that), it tells very little about the ideas that either Collins or Peter Gabriel were wanting to explore that couldn’t do so within the confines of Genesis. And given that everything I’ve read on Wikipedia states that it showcased the band continuing toward radio-friendly rock, it tells even less about their prog rock tendencies.

Continue reading