There are times, doing this, that I feel like a real fraud. Who am I to be writing this stuff up? I’m not a musician, I’m not a writer, I have no training in any of this, I don’t fundamentally know what I’m talking about. On many levels. I feel like I’m just an ape, ooking at the pretty noises.
This feeling eventually passes, usually, but it’s hitting me pretty hard today.
[Read More]Is This Desire? is the album that really completed PJ Harvey’s transition from kickass rock artist to just plain ol’ kickass artist. Yeah, broadly, this is still a rock record, but she started doing so much more. The arrangements incorporate so much more beyond just stardard rock instrumentation, the songs range much wider, and the whole thing is so much more sophisticated. That’s not to say that the first couple records aren’t brilliant, they are, but this is just a different beast.
[Read More]Now we’re talkin’. After a couple songs from his followup, we have a cut from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, which is on the short list for the finest Wu-related albums released. Really, what you’ve got here is basically just a great Wu-Tang track, as you’ve got several of the Wu MCs on here. Most of this album has Ghostface Killah on it, which is one of the things that makes it so strong. Really, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
[Read More]