History Will Absorb Me

It take my hat off to you, Mr Vile, good sir, as you’ve managed to keep my attention for 70 full straight minutes. That, my friend, is rare.

Man, this Monkey Riches remix is so good. I need a new Gang Gang Dance album soooon.

I went to the record store (Piccadilly Records in this case) in the morning and the queue was ridiculous, It went around the whole building. I did queue for about 30 minutes, but I moved literally no further than ten feet forward so I didn’t bother. I walked past a couple of hours later and noticed that the people that were infront of me we still nowhere near the entrance. I estimate that it would have taken them around four hours, life’s too fucking short people.

So yeah, I don’t think queueing for a cassette for 4-5 hours is worth it, but not only that, the store was selling this cassette for £6! And this is a single we’re talking about, you can buy a new album for that price. I understand that vinyl records are expensive to make, hence their expensive price tag (Hello £70 Zaireeka), but this is a shoddy tape. I don’t have a tape player, I doubt many people who bought it do, meaning most of the people got it for the download code alone and to look nice as a collectible and heirloom. If I bought it I’d never to play the tape, and I don’t believe in pointless collectibles because I’m not an idiot. (if somebody can tell me the point of collecting stuff that you never plan on using ever, I will retract that statement.)

Going back to the queue for a second, though there was an incredible volume of people, I’m not sure how much of the blame weighs on the store’s shoulders though. This is the first time I’ve seen RSD in Manchester, but in Leeds (Jumbo Records), They handled the volume of people with such ease, I had my items within 30 - 40 minutes of the store opening.

For those of you who enjoy RSD, don’t get me wrong, there’s loads of awesome stuff going on and the live bands and meeting and talking to people from all over who love music just as much as you, but you can’t disagree that the prices are so expensive and it is a very clever scam - Just look at some of the prices.

As for the absolute douchebags who get there at ridiculous o clock so they can buy everything just to re-sell on Ebay for ten times the price, yes I hate them, and I bet you do too. At the same time I’m confused at why somebody can be so angry at them but be happy shell out hundreds of pounds on a few records, most of that money will obviously go back to the labels too. Idiots buying them on Ebay are just encouraging the douchebags.

Maybe this whole rant is showing that I might not love records like I used to, but I absolutely fucking love vinyl - My decks with side B of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots on one and MGMT’s Siberian Breaks 12” one the other proves that. I think it’s just the my eyes are open and no more do I get fooled by pretty things and scams invented by corporations.

Don’t get me wrong this isn’t out of disgruntlement for queueing, nor is it because I wasn’t interested in many of the releases this year, it’s the whole thing. Just to be clear, I’m not getting at anybody who takes part in RSD, everyone’s purchases look great, but there are so many problems with the whole concept.

Also, Infront of me were these two parents who had brought along their kid, he must have been about 9. What kind of stupid selfish fucking cunt parent makes their kid stand in a four hour queue from 8 am just so they can selfishly buy a bunch of shit that the kid doesn’t have a clue about. Evil people. Do you remember when you were a kid and dragged to places you didn’t want to go in the morning? I bet you hated it and I bet it didn’t last as long as that poor kid’s day has lasted. If you are parents who can’t get a babysitter for RSD, than you don’t fucking go. Sorry for the potty mouth, stupid parents annoy me.

Finally, I have listened to MGMT’s new single Alien Days (and ironically, most likely before anybody who was queueing for it did), and it is indeed as amazing as I had expected.

And the only thing I really want is the MGMT cassette. It seems like quite a lousy and disappointing year, at least based on my tastes anyway. Sure, there’s the Zaireeka boxset but that £70! Jesus Christ, I’m all about supporting independent record stores, but vinyl’s so fucking expensive. Even the cassette is £6!

So yeah I’m not sure if there’s any point getting up ridiculously early to get just the one cassette. But on the other hand, A NEW MGMT SONG! A new album is just around the corner. Excited.

Has anybody else noticed that more and more albums seem to be going down the super duper long route. Over the past couple years there has been so many albums that are well over an hour, has anybody else noticed this? is this a new thing or am I just noticing it now? It seems like it’s becoming a lot more common. Very recent example of this is Kurt Vile’s new album that cam out just yesterday and it’s way longer than an hour and though it’s a solid album, I’m not quite sure if it really justifies being that long. Have albums always been this long??

So I’m a massive fan of Silent Shout, like everyone, and yes, I was one of those people that really just wanted Silent Shout part II, but that isn’t the case. Though it also definitely isn’t Tomorrow In A Year part II, which is what a lot of people think. When I first downloaded the album i decided to listen to it late at night whilst doing absolutely nothing except laying down and absorbing the music, because that is the exact way I listened to Silent Shout for the first time about six years ago.

The first two singles, A Tooth For An Eye and Full of Fire, also the opening two tracks are brilliant. Full Of Fire is the best song of the year, surely. It just shows how well the Knife use music as a language and their ability to do so is unlike any other band. It’s just so fluid. I think that the rawness and industrial esque vibes set STH on such a great path, but there are moments where this experimenting gets on my nerves, like the woodwind instruments on Without You My Life Would Be Boring. I think that might just be because I totally fucking despise woodwind instruments, and the song is still great as Karin’s voice has never sounded better and freer than it does here.

I think with The Knife’s music, especially when it comes to Shaking The Habitual, you have to be able to deal with pretension. I can handle pretension, but I was not ready for the ridiculous amount of themes with which STH suffocates you. It’s really hard to put into words but the pretension can be annoying and absolutely off putting at times, although you can’t help being impressed with some of the stuff The Knife pull off, it kind of works like a Lars Von Trier movie.

Regarding the two drone songs that are both under a minute, Crake and Oryx, which are named after a book that influenced the band, I genuinely think these tracks are hear purely for the names. Both of these songs come as a prelude to two songs that each last 19 minutes and 10 minutes of the same sounds so I really don’t see the need for them. I just don’t see the point. So, the two extremely lengthy drone tracks that appear to be the epicentre of their album sides, I don’t care for them. BUT, I’m just not big on drone, and I’m more than unfamiliar with the genre so I’m not going to pretend to know what I’m talking about. All I know is that a 19 minute track of almost silence then sudden loudness takes me out of the album. The second one, Fracking Fluid Injection, is much better and almost kind of enjoyable, it’s definitely interesting, at least compared to the first one.

In contrast, there’s a lot of stuff that isn’t unlike the knife, there’s an amazing techno track called Networking that reminds me of We Share Our Mother’s Health. There is a track called Stay out Here that features all sorts of pitch shifting madness that makes me remember fondly the best moments of Silent Shout. It also feature two people I’ve never heard of but there voices are quite nice. The final track, Ready To Lose, bookends the album quite well with a funky tribal beat similar to the first track, if you can remember that far back, we’re talking 90 minutes ago now! The album ends on one of its highest notes in terms of enjoyment, Ready To Lose just has a classic Knife beat and it is so thrilling.

Overall I really like the album, I don’t think it is as atmospheric as I’d like a Knife album to be, though it’s not through lack of trying. I feel like the subject matters of their lyrics and their messages interfere with the music too much. But in the end this is a 100 minute long album and there is a regular album’s length worth of genuinely unique and incredible music! This is must listen experience.

Best songs - Full Of Fire, Networking, Ready To Lose

I’m excited to get acquainted with it tonight. From what I’ve read I have a few worries, but nevertheless this is the new fracking Knife album!