Day 11 - Cool and collected

The Cure - Pornography
I once shared a room at university with a fan of the Cure, and I never understood it. I originally thought that Robert Smith's voice would wind me up, as I never liked it, but in actual fact its stirring up some happy memories, and is easier on the ears than I remember. Sounds like he wants to kill himself of course, but that's the nature of the Cure at this time in their career. There's a lot of angst and raw emotion trying to break out from beneath the surface of the music, which gives it a fairly "urgent" feel, like they need to get all these feelings out before imploding. It's melancholy and minor, but the urgency behind the tracks keeps the album rolling along nicely. I actually quite enjoyed this, despite my preconceived ideas about the band and the music.
Standout Tracks: Siamese Twins, The Figurehead




Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill
Don't like the police do they ... I've always had a soft spot for Cypress Hill. I'm not a huge fan of hippety hop-hop or rap music, but Cypress Hill seem to be able to do it with a rock and roll style attitude. It's hard to describe. The music is as you expect from the chaps, funky, very cool basslines, the unique rapping voice of B-Real (nice name..), and the whimsical samples that dance around over the solid bass foundation. I wonder if these guys are actual gangsters busting caps in homies asses, or whether its all fairy tale. Either way, it's cool to listen to, and sounds fresh despite the age of the album. Excellent record! Don't listen to it while the kids are around though ... strictly headphones only. Music to whack homies to!
Standout Tracks: Hand on the Pump, The Phuncky Feel One, Real Estate, PsychoBetaBuckDown (written like a programmer!), The Funky Cypress Hill Shit





Destiny's Child - Survivor
Pop music. Here we go again. I'm familiar with a few songs, particularly the first three, as I think they were popular in the charts with young people in the recent past. This is boring. Thankfully it's halfway through. It's a very electronic album, not much sign of real instruments around the place. Now don't get me wrong, these girls can sing, and sing very well, but for me its all too polished and over produced. There is no edge to music like this, it's almost too ... I want to say "perfect", but you might get the impression that I like this stuff. I don't, but that's it - it's too perfectly produced with its quick stop/start rhythm syncopations. I'm yawning with all the "I will survive" stuff, but I will admit a grudging admiration for the track "Gospel Medley"
Standout Tracks: Survivor, Happy Face, Emotion, Gospel Medley





Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Been looking forward to this one as I do rather like jazz (No, Albert Ayler! Begone back into your alien world!), and this album in no way disappoints. The first track finds Davis in mischievous mood (So What) as the bass provides the backbone to punctuated trumpet and sax parts. After this it gets bluesy and sultry, including some excellent piano work in "Freddie Freeloader". I love this sort of jazz, the kind that I can understand, and quite frankly is just ... cool. I've got new medication from the doc today, and it's sending my head all swirly, so this laid back jazz fits the mood perfectly!
Standout Tracks: I enjoyed them all a lot (and there were only five) but particularly Blue in Green and So What