Notes from the Tall Yellow TOWER (Records)

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Somehow on my way back to Mitaka from brunch in Harajuku/Omotesando I found myself listening to music at Tsutaya and Tower Records in Shibuya. I quickly passed a few hours listening to the latest from:

Kanye West, Common, Unkle Jam, Kelly Sweet, High School Musical 2, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, James Blunt, the Foo Fighters, Jill Scott, and New Found Glory, among others.

Kanye West/Graduation: I’m drawn to his song ‘Stronger’ because a) I love the Britney Spears anthem of the same name and b) he samples a song by Daft Punk that I enjoy - ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.’ I read what the Rolling Stone had to say about the album - they essentially said that you start out liking this album and then it grows on you. Honestly I wasn’t so impressed with the few tracks that I caught auralglimpes of but I do trust Kanye and his musical talent. I wasn’t moved to buy it.

Unkle Jam/Unkle Jam: This musical group has been featured on MTV Japan’s international hit list, but they haven’t made it into the U.S. iTunes music store. Which is too bad, cause this group is FABULOUS! They’re an example of what I consider a new trend in crossover dance music - various genres that produce quality tracks which you can also dance to. The best current day example I can think of is Under the Influence of Giants. I think the key element is the addition of funk to other genres; rock in the case of UIG, I’m not sure what the base genre of Unkle Jam is, Tower Records listed it as (I can’t quite remember) either soul/black or hip-hop/black. A good example from the past might be Sly and the Family Stone. But I’ll get on with it…

I jotted down notes on the first 5 tracks. The 1st track exemplifies why the music is so awesome: they combine falsetto singing with a good solid baseline and the upper range sounds often found on dance tracks. It works. The 2nd track provides a very interesting sound - but not so much so that it’s too distracting to dance to. In fact, it’s perfect to dance to because there is a beat for every dance ability! The beat is sub-divided and then the tracks laid on top of each other to create a kind of 3-part harmony. So instead of hearing 3 different tones you hear the same tone expressed in 3 different note lengths. It’s hard to describe, but absolutely brilliant to listen to! The 3rd track really sucked. A ballad, it sounds like it was sung by an earnest high schooler trying to express his elementary love for some cute girl at school who probably likes him back. The vocals are just bad, and the lyrics ridiculously cliched: “you are like a flower, girl, blooming in the garden.” To give the group credit some people can get away with songs like this (R. Kelly/Dream Girl from the Chocolate Factory), but they can’t. Ultimately it’s the type of song only a mother or doting girlfriend could appreciate.

Track 4 was good. Track 5 provided another ballad this time sung by a tortured soul, singing to express himself when he thinks no one can hear him. This soul can sing. Aaand I felt compelled to note the 11th track. Do you remember City High? It’s like most of their songs, but worse. Do you know that Black Eyed Peas song ‘Anxiety’ from Elephunk? That’s the level of quality I’m talking about here. The song starts off with a list of hurtful actions (presumably towards an ex-girlfriend) that the singer introduces with “I never meant to…” Sounds harmless enough but then the hook: “It’s something that I learned from daddy…” A little part of me vomited inside when I heard that. I mean, really… The tone of the song really didn’t fit the rest of the album, and if they were trying to make a social commentary on the lack of role models for young males they just came out sounding incredibly stupid. Great album though - I want to buy it.

High School Musical 2: I barely got to listen past the first song - which was AWESOME! What time is it? It’s summer time… Time for our vacation! Those days are long gone for me now, but I still love to hear about it. Surprised that I love this bubblegum pop? My favorite movie of all time is the Disney movie Newsies, and I have a soft spot in my heart for the Mighty Ducks (all 3) and the v-formation. I couldn’t finish listening because some 12 year old girl was standing -no- hovering behind me obviously trying to hurry me along. She was accompanied by a little sister and her father, who helped her out by reaching in front of me to grab the cd. I took the hint and left. Later I was listening to a more adult album and I saw that little girl creep up behind me. I shot her a look that said ‘hey little girl! Don’t even think about making me move.’ Or at least I just looked at her and she walked away.

Foo Fighters/Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace: Have you seen the music video for ‘The Pretender?’ It’s incredible, so powerful. But then again, the Foo Fighters are a powerful band. I only gave this a quick listen as I trust the Foo Fighters and was already won over by the first track (the Pretender). The Rolling Stone featured a quote from Dave Grohl talking about how the band moved beyond the basic rock sound to include other musical influences, which is usually a good move for mature bands. I bought it.

Jill Scott/Words and Sounds Vol. 3: I barely had a listen but I trust Jill Scott. Come to think of it, I trusted Joss Stone and was sorely disappointed by her sophomore album (Introducing…). But I really really trust Jill Scott. I’m not in a hurry to buy it but ultimately I would like to.

New Found Glory/Brian Setzer Orchestra: I forgot the album names for both groups, but they did essentially the same thing: provided new versions of previously recorded songs. NFG’s version of songs like ‘Kiss Me’ (Sixpence None the Richer), ‘It Ain’t Me’ (Johnny Cash), and ‘Stay’ (Lisa Loeb) were like empty calories: fun at the time but offering no real fulfillment. BSO on the other hand, gave the big band/swing music treatment to old classical favorites, and it works! I could easily recognize songs like ‘Fur Elise,’ ‘William Tell Overture,’ ‘Hall of the Mountain King,’ and ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ - they weren’t sampled or masked - they were played! I want to buy it ASAP, and I would right now if I were able to activate my new debit card.

Other albums I still really want (and that I may have previously reviewed): Timbaland/Shock Value; Chris Cornell/Carry On… and before I leave Japan - SMAP/Arigato.