As told to me by Wikipedia, the definition of Indie Rock is “alternative rock that primarily exists in the underground music scene.” I needed to visit the experts as this definition undoubtedly varies from person to person every 2 minutes or so and I did not want to blunder. And a compilation, as we all know, consists of a variety of songs chosen from different artists to collectively cover a genre of music.
So we have “Indie Rock” and “compilation” straight. However, somewhere along the line in This is Indie Rock, we lost the idea that a compilation is supposed to further intrigue the listener to investigate the stylings of those bands or that genre of music. In that sense, this album fails miserably.
This album does nothing to give me an idea or inkling of the Indie Rock arena and what I should be cheering for within it. There are a number of songs that make me want to turn the album off and never listen to it again, just like when I heard Vanilla Ice perform “Go Ninja Go Ninja Go” from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. That, by the way, made him lose ALL credibility he built with such hits as “Having a Roni.”
There are 3 categories into which I will place the 12 tracks from this album: 1) songs that I enjoyed, 2) songs that I neither liked or disliked, and 3) songs that made me cringe as though someone was raking their nails against a chalkboard (which in my mind is overrated in terms of annoying sounds–there are many that rank ahead of that).
Songs that fall into the first category are few and far between on this album. They are “Indie Pop Song” by The Blind King, “Frontiers” by Second Hand Stories and “Rooms” by Leaving Lounge (who, by the way, don’t seem to exist–on the internet, at least). Listing these 3 songs also reminds me of the strange band names on this album I wasn’t sure if I was listening to Indie Rock or to an audio CD of short stories by random authors (this is typically not a good sign). These three tracks all featured the aspects that make music enjoyable for me: solid vocals, harmonies and actually singing opposed to screaming. I am also more inclined to follow music with guitar and piano rifts that nicely mesh with the vocals to support the infusion of the sounds melodically. These bands interest me enough to take a gander at their MySpace pages to get a better idea of how they sound and to discover what they are capable of.
Songs that fall into category 2 (those that triggered nary a reaction from me) were “I Must Save the President” The Pit That Became a Tower, “Marionettes” Clair de Lune, “Puzzle: Part One” Winter in Alaska, “Silver and Gold” Joanna Erdos, and “Bells and Hammers” The Kidcrash. On any given album, it’s okay if specific songs don’t jump out or impact you in any way as those albums tend to create that feeling of cohesiveness and the tracks all being part of a larger meaning. With a compilation CD, however, every song should at least have an effect one way or the other. The songs chosen for an album should be tracks that would be most conducive to garnering a reaction of some sort from the listener. A “blah” song detracts from the purpose of a compilation, much like writing this review is detracting from my overall “real world” work production (which is welcome).
Finally, we have songs that fall into category 3 - the songs that are actually painful to listen to. These include: “So Simple” Lakota, Siva, “Saturday” Throat, and “Weekend Warriors” by Dino Velvet. They all have the same qualities in common, a complete disregard for actual singing. Maybe I’m odd or different but music generally doesn’t appeal to me when it is accompanied by indiscernible screaming. Granted, I understand there is an entire genre of music that is dedicated to this style of screaming however, this isn’t a Heavy Metal compilation, even though I did feel that a third of this “Indie Rock” album was dedicated to the metalheads of the world. In a sense, I feel as though I was duped, even deceived, if you will. I’ve learned my lesson. Indie Rock compilation albums will now stay on the shelf when I journey into the realm of music perusing.
Label: Deep Elm Records
Release date: January 26, 2004
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11 Comments »
True indeed, I try to stay away from compilations unless of course they are Movie Soundtracks. Be prepared for my next review, the soundtrack for “The Neverending Story”
not that i’m judging (that’s obviously a lie), but — DINO VELVET??? they named themselves after the PORN MOGUL from 8 FUCKING MM. of COURSE they suck.
eew, this comp sounds really gross.
If by gross you mean it makes you dry heave from time to time then yes, its pretty gross.
to be fair, i mean, deep elm is known for ths shit. i don’t really understand how they can keep a straight face in buisness meetings with the big hulking hardon for screamo/post hardcore that they’ve got.
You know what astonishes me? I checked it out, apparently there are two more of these compilations. This is alot like the movie Leprechaun to me…not only was the first one a bad idea, but they get negative points for the next 7 they did.
Actually, I have a soft spot in my heart for (which one was it?) Leprechaun 6. “I’m 3′6,” but I make up for it IN OTHER WAYS!”
bonus points to christine for quoting leprechaun 6. so hot.
Could that have been in the Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood? I kid you not, that was the title of one of the many Warwick Davis inspired horror films. Do kids even know what Leprechauns are anymore?
Buying a compilation is for people without friends to make them mixes. It’s like paying for a ‘date’.
If this analogy is sound, then the Dope, Guns, and Fucking in the Streets series is the proverbial hooker with a heart (and vagina) of gold.
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Comment by Commissar Startastic — April 25, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Buying a compilation is for people without friends to make them mixes. It’s like paying for a ‘date’. Especially a compilation with as broad a ’scope’ as this one. That being said I haven’t made anyone a mix for years. Oops. Gotta go. Time for my ‘massage’.