January 1, 2007
View Comments | Post CommentThe Most Disappointing Albums Of 2006
- The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
I love each of the Flaming Lips' last four albums (excepting Zaireeka, which no one even has the equipment to listen to). I was expecting a lot, and this album completely failed to deliver. It was absurd where I was hoping it would have emotional depth, and it offered faux-emotion at those points they should have been silly. It doesn't rock like their older stuff, but neither is it a deep symphony like their newer stuff. It just sucks. Seeing some of the songs live helped a little bit, but only because they didn't play them the way they are on the album. - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
I loved Californication and By The Way. Those are two of my favorites of the decade. And Stadium Arcadium isn't bad. It's just alright. It's nothing special, and I wanted it to be something special. - Paul Simon - Surprise
Some of Paul Simon's albums are among my favorites of all time. The Rhythm Of The Saints, Graceland, the self-titled album, and There Goes Rhymin' Simon are amazing, not to mention all the great stuff Simon & Garfunkel did. Paul Simon is innovative while still being catchy, melodic, and with witty and relevant lyrics. Then I heard that this album was being produced by Brian Eno, and I thought it was a little odd but that it might make for something interesting. Well, it didn't. It's boring. It lacks a single single. - The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America
Everyone seems to love this album. There is so much hype over it, and it's on every hip critic's year-end list. So a couple months ago I gave it a listen. I found, to my surprise, that not only did I not love it, I didn't even think it was decent. I've listened to it a bunch of times since then, trying to see how my opinion could differ from seemingly everyone else's on it by so much. It is grating and utterly typical of the worst hangers-on to 90's alternative rock. It doesn't have an original sound, and its lyrics are like a dumb frat guy paraphrasing a Larry Clark movie. The only reason hipsters think this is even okay is that they are so disconnected from rock music that they don't realize how typical it is. If this were the first album of straightforward rock that you'd heard in three years, you'd probably think it stirred certain old affinities as well. It isn't because it's good, it's just because you've forgotten about all the other, better stuff. - The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
This album is excellent. It's even grown on me since my initial review. The thing that makes it so disappointing is that they still haven't released the album. Everyone has had it for months. As much as I want to see The Shins be successful, I think their sales will suffer immensely because of the delay their record company has mandated. Perhaps this will serve as another example to other media companies that artificial delays are no longer acceptable.
Posted at January 1, 2007 7:10 PM | Comments (5)
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i completely agree about 'the hold steady.' when you played it in the car a few weeks ago, i thought to myself, "what is this shit?" it's pretty terrible. they use about the most unoriginal chord structures imaginable, and the lead singer sounds like ass...and not in the good way. i readily admit that my consumption of new music this year has been severely below my normal level, so i'm not as well-versed on what was good in the world of new music this year...but i just can't believe this album was it.
Posted by: jeanette at January 1, 2007 10:58 PM
1. I reviewed The Hold Steady for the radio station and found myself simply describing the songs because I couldn't really muster up any real praise - and I was subsequently surprised when it was charting at the station...cause I thought it was boring.
2. The Alamo Drafthouse played Zaireeka in a park with 4 sound systems, and each of their creative directors had put together a visual display for one part of the album, and so they played those one 4 screens simultaneously. Of course, this was the day after I moved, so I couldn't see it...
3. How have you seen Perfume? I really want to see it, but it's only playing in New York and Hollywood (and foreign countries). I was going to see it in Berlin, but knew it would be released in the US soon...not thinking that it would only be released in those 2 cities...
Posted by: Cara at January 2, 2007 8:56 AM
Jeanette: Well, tell that to Pitchfork.
Cara: I heard about that Zaireeka thing, and thought it was awesome, but obviously I couldn't go. I actually own Zaireeka and have never listened to it. I downloaded a downmix of all four, but wasn't happy with the quality, so I didn't listen. So I bought it on Amazon. But then I realized that it would take several hours for me to make my own mix of it, so it's been sitting on my desk for over a year.
And yes, I have seen Perfume. I saw it last night, and I thought it was awesome. It had that same wonderfully evocative Victorian mix of grittiness and beauty that The Prestige had (a film that I absolutely loved). You should be able to see Perfume very soon, as it opens in wider release on January 5.
Posted by: Barzelay at January 2, 2007 11:29 AM
To each their own I guess. The Holy Steady album has barely left my CD player since October. I love it. Everyone I've played it for has loved it too. Which is odd, because I've never really considered myself or them a hipster, merely people who knows what they like. Oh well, as I've heard it said, if we had the same opinion on everything, one of us would be expendable :-P
I definitely agree with your disappointment about the Shins album, particularly since I haven't heard it yet. I've heard every song on the Phantom Limb single, but nothing else from the album. Eagerly anticipating it though.
Ditto on RHCP too.
Posted by: Mike M. at January 2, 2007 12:13 PM
Wincing The Night Away is really great. It's good on first listen, but as my friend Jonathan described it, "It's a grower." So hopefully you'll find it to be worth the wait.
Mike, I think you, in particular, would probably love Midlake. See my next post for details.
Posted by: Barzelay at January 3, 2007 1:55 PM
