Festwca

What a meatloaf, and sorry for the syntax. And oh my, what did Scaruffi have to do with it?

Eh, you can't really expect revolutions. Those have happened and brought rock music to where it is now. I mean: now it's almost exclusively revivalism, even in almost-new fields like hip-hop. When you say there's no quality, it sounds to me like you're really saying: "there's no innovation." Now, the equation "quality" = "innovation" doesn't seem like a very valid approach to me. And I agree with you on terms like "intimate new folk" that are clumsily passed off as innovative new fringes when they're just minimal variations on a theme due to the natural diversity of each group, but even the "My Bloody Valentine" (whom you mention) were being called "shoegazers" 20 years ago, which already seems like an excessive intellectual precision. There are records, like the one I mentioned (which is definitely not just revivalism, far from it) that pound the little Scaruffi in each of us. You know, I went through a phase of listening ONLY to "important," "innovative," "influential" artists or whatever. Slowly I'm realizing some things, and I'm dismissing all that crap. In the end, it’s almost all about tastes. Objectivity exists up to a certain point, even in the case of someone like Scaruffi who compares everything with everything and makes it his battle horse, but I don’t understand, for example, why he gives a 6 to a truly objectively revolutionary and “ahead” record like E2-E4 when he gives an 8 to Appetite for Destruction (which may be enjoyable, but fundamentally says nothing new or personal) or to a total piece of junk like Images & Words. I mean, yes, I get it: those are his tastes. One he likes, the other he doesn't. So how do you deduce the quality of a record? It’s all a matter of trivial disputes.

mmm, I went a bit off-topic...

Ah, you're asking me something a bit difficult. It risks turning into an infinite list that I don't really want to write. It goes in phases; for example, right now I've gotten hooked again on "The Art of Self Defense" by High on Fire. It's been in my stereo for a couple of weeks and I can't seem to pry it out: for me, it's the ultimate metal record. Black Sabbath sent into a wicked psychedelic vortex with an overdose of raw bearded violence, terrifying riffs played "backwards" and utterly wrecked (words of Matt Pike). It's obvious: nothing that will revolutionize the music world but definitely one of the top 5 heavy albums to take to another planet when the Earth explodes into a glowing mass of lava. Maybe we'll catch up on slsk for various recommendations: in today's music scene, there aren't any "epoch-defining masterpieces," but who needs them with such a high quantity (never seen before) of quality releases?

Instead, I think of a ton of spectacular albums from post-2000 (not monumental, let's be clear, but this one by Battles certainly cannot be considered as such). Dunno, I might just have too easy tastes...

Well, yes, very beautiful. More than Lateralus, there's no doubt about it (but I've never liked Tool). My comment was meant to temper the "epoch-making masterpiece" vibe that seems to emerge from the comments on this page. But really, haven’t you listened to anything truly significant in the last 6-7 years? mmm, let me think about it.

Well, I've been listening to it for a while, and my impression is this: you're exaggerating. It's a nice album with ideas, mathematical yet catchy, that can be listened to easily. From here to saying it's the best of the new millennium, or "one of the few albums that says SOMETHING in the last 6-7 years," there's quite a gap. Oh, and I liked it too, don't get me wrong. Four stars are more than enough.

Welcome back even from moi. Now you have to tell me everything else: did you spend a day with Built To Spill?

Ahah! "The producer of Nirvana vs Mike Patton" that's phenomenal, thanks trucido :)))) But did you know that Patton is also a producer of a ton of stuff, including quite a few duds? Besides Albini's fundamental importance as a musician (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac are three cornerstone bands in the transition from the 80s to the 90s), as a producer he's worked with, among others (and sorry if this sounds lacking): Slint, Jesus Lizard, Neurosis, Fugazi. "producer of Nirvana" is kind of funny, right?

Oh, but then buy those records! The Yesterday's Children are at 10 euros.