OK, so I have been listening to music released this past decade as well. I've been listening to the Cute Lepers, as stated below, plus two others:
I finally decided to give the Artic Monkeys a try. Umm, well, still auditioning them, I guess. I've got Humbug, as I reckoned it would be the one I'd be most likely to enjoy. On paper, you'd think I'd like it- lots of retro beat references, articulate lyrics, some punky aggression and swagger. Maybe they'll grow on me, but as of now, it reminds me of The Vines and the Subways and a host of other bands that my wife really likes I suspect more for the way the band members look than how the music sounds. So, as of now, anyway, I cannot say that I'm a fan.
The other is Big Business' new Quadruple Single. Things change. Big Business used to clearly just be a Melvins side project, and mostly a joke at that. There's still humour, but things have changed. Now, they sound like a confident band in their own right, and yes, I like it. They're very seventies-influenced, but, not unlike the Melvins, no matter how metal influenced, there something that reads "Punk" in this. I mean how could there not be? They've got an Anthem consisting largely of a one note riff, and the lyrics? "Guns are better than anything else". Here, see what I mean.
So, I'll keep trying, because sooner or later, there will be something new to catch me.
Hey Matt, every you need to know about the Arctic Monkeys is on the first record. Alex Turner is a great lyricist - very astute writing with great characters and stories (When the sun goes down probably being the best example). It's all very English but pretty rocking - when I first heard them I got a bit of a Jam vibe but I don't hear that so much now. The second album is pretty much a re-hash of the first. Humbug doesn't really work for me (even being a Homme fan) and I'm yet to pick up the forth. However, I totally rate the first album - give it a try.
ReplyDeleteY'know, I'll try again- I really do want to like them.
ReplyDeleteBeing English, Australian, or even American isn't a pivotal thing for me- I think what might be doing me in on Artic Monkeys is the sense of ennui- it's like the Strokes where it's a rehash, they know it's a rehash, but the fun is supposedly in being over it being a rehash. But, like The Strokes, I wasn't all that much into the source material, so there's not much in the rehash. But, that might be overly harsh. (With the Strokes, definitely not overly harsh- Crap versions of Tom Petty songs sung by rich kids dressed in designer togs? That would be my literal definition of worthless)