frantz

...damn... this review is awesome, instantly among my recommendations. And now I'm off to look for the album, which I had already read a review of but didn't find convincing.

Really a terrible musical baptism. I don't like the album because, while acknowledging the greatness of U2 in always progressing in their musical journey, an album with the "musical intentions" like "Pop" would surely have been done better by groups like the aforementioned Prodigy. I don't fully agree with those who say (and it's been written by a lot of print media) that the latest U2 is a return to the classic to sell and not disappoint the fans. In my opinion, U2 have followed a musical path (post-punk, new wave, American rock, rock-blues, "German" sounds, electronics, and once again rock played) that mirrors the musical journey their fans went through when they were 16 during the times of "War" or "Unforgettable Fire"; that is, the musical trends that succeeded each other during the 80s and 90s. Therefore, from a certain perspective, they have always ridden the wave, producing excellent musical results, never anticipating but certainly establishing a solid point of reference for every trend. After all, the most famous and influential artists have never been innovators but have always brought excellence to others' innovations in every field of art. In my opinion.

I was at the concert, and not right under the stage but far enough to be emotionally detached and perhaps a bit distracted. But I assure you, if that’s what playing well means—vintage instruments or not, analog or digital—then we’re far from what I (I emphasize I) consider to be good playing. Don’t tell me that a guitar out of rhythm or a voice that's lost tone (as I heard) represents the beauty of a concert by a band that wants to be seen as the epitome of sonic perfection! If, on the other hand, we’re talking about beautiful musical ideas, interesting harmonic studies, conceptual innovations in the use of vintage instruments and analog electronics, then we’re discussing something entirely different. The concepts expressed well on the CD were certainly not as well elaborated live, and I'm not talking about a mere live reproduction of the CD. In my opinion, AIR deserve credit for having successfully combined harmonies and melodies using electronics; the discussion with Chemical is quite different, but unlike them, AIR didn't put on an honest concert—they tried to transpose something live that couldn’t achieve the same beautiful outcome. In short, I didn’t really like it... but didn’t I already say that?! ;-)

Great Iggy and great Psyco! Damn, in Tokyo to see the Stooges, what a wicked envy! A few months ago, I tried to write a review of "Raw Power" and the Boohoos' album (Paul Chain and co.), the Pesaro band that was the Italian counterpart of the Stooges. In Turin in July? I'm already mapping out the summer concerts to attend, and this definitely deserves the organization of a de-meeting.

Like you, I knew little about Warren Zevon's earlier work, but like you, I bought this album after reading an enthusiastic review, and I must say it’s truly a great album—sincere, authentic, and never sentimental.

I haven't listened to this album in years, but if I recall correctly, it didn't exactly thrill me. Experimental? Well, that seems like an exaggeration. I found Think Tank to be just an album for a band that wants to come back and impress with some novelties, while in fact, there isn't even a shadow of particularly new ideas, even if it doesn't sound like a classic Blur album.

The beauty of a concert is hearing the mistakes?! Go tell that to those recording live albums in Cologne! Aside from that, the review is very nice and it could only have been done by you. I've shared my thoughts on electronic music with you during the car ride there, and after experiencing this concert, my views definitely haven't improved regarding how it's played live. You know very well that I appreciated the Chemical Brothers concert immensely, even though I didn't like this one, because in my opinion, musical instruments should be played live by those who know how to use them well, not by DJs who improvise as performers (see my review on Moby). In the studio, things are very different, even from a conceptual point of view. I appreciate the albums (oops, CDs) by AIR just as much as I despised their live performance.
What I find truly fascinating about composing electronic music as a "non-musician" is that it's structured from a melodic idea that one has in their head, unlike a rock/pop "musician" who composes by progressively playing chords on a guitar. We could define the former as a "horizontal" composition and the latter as "vertical."

You want the truth? After three days of nonstop listening to this day, I’m already fed up. In fact, today I felt the need to buy myself the latest from Rava, the Zero7, and a blues compilation. This album remains nice, especially in the first part, and is suited for those who like Lenny Kravitz. The sound is powerful yet clean, so if you're a fan of indie or hip-hop in the style of Public Enemy, stay away. Finally, damn it with the “h,” what a moment of deep shame, but the little man with the red pen who does my reviews doesn’t correct them and leaves me to make grammatical mistakes?! The rating, however, remains a 5 (not absolute, but as black music).

And I’m the first to give you a nice four!! Who knows what score the fifth commentator will give you?!

I was told that you went to see them live and that they sucked, and I have no doubts about your claim. First, because I trust your judgment, and second, after the concert (time and money wasted) of AIR, I've decided to limit my attendance at concerts of bands that have made an album I like, but then who knows how they sound live?