The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

threespires said:
Not sure where the government comes into it but fair play to Skinner if he's managed to get himself a place at the shadowy globalist table. I think it's fair to say we are probably in agree to disagree territory and as you say each to their own.

I will however say that should you decide to back yourself and prove your greater talent then you will definitely get a pre-order from me. If you go one better and record it from within the confines of your car I will give you even more kudos because Skinner cheated and resorted to creating a studio in his bedroom to make his early albums :-)
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Seriously, I was at school when rap first appeared or there abouts, and plenty of lads at school could rap a bit....to me this isn't rap, it's just talking over a monotonous background beat. I'm sure he did record it in his bedroom, without the 'studio' bit.
Anyway, I'm sure i like loads of music that you'd bin in seconds, one persons masterpiece is anothers train wreck....you may find that with my nomination in Jan ;)
....I do love this thread, best on the forum, as it gets me to listen to stuff I'd never heard of, and some I'd never think of trying! One gem a year, and I'd be happy.
 
southamptonblue said:
Seriously, I was at school when rap first appeared or there abouts, and plenty of lads at school could rap a bit....to me this isn't rap, it's just talking over a monotonous background beat. I'm sure he did record it in his bedroom, without the 'studio' bit.
Anyway, I'm sure i like loads of music that you'd bin in seconds, one persons masterpiece is anothers train wreck....you may find that with my nomination in Jan ;)
....I do love this thread, best on the forum, as it gets me to listen to stuff I'd never heard of, and some I'd never think of trying! One gem a year, and I'd be happy.
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Though Grandmaster Flash was around when I was at school (obviously figuratively not literally before some smartarse makes a funny) the idea of having a crack yourself at rapping hadn't quite yet hit Wythenshawe. Something I'm quite grateful for tbh. I agree this is not rapping in the conventional sense but then there's not much about it that's conventional.

As for your Jan pick there's actually very little music I hate out of hand. If however it's Black Metal then I will be waiting in the tall grass :-)
 
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Finally got a couple listens in today after a long Thanksgiving weekend with family in town mixed in with generous amounts of EPL and CFB on a rivalry weekend in the States. The CFB rivalries did better than the EPL draw, but what I'll take from this weekend was spending time with family that isn't something to take for granted once they've become adults.

I've read all of the spoilers after listening and can agree on Points 1 and 2 by @threespires. I found myself thinking this was a comedy album as I had genuine smiling and laughter in listening to some of the songs for the very first time.

From the first track "It Was Supposed To Be So Easy" - Today I've achieved absolutely nought.... I should've just stayed in bed, like I know how. It definitely paints the picture of a character way in over his head.

"Could Well Be In" was another... I saw this thing on ITV the other week... hilarious jumping ahead going on to the song title. Wish I had someone I could always rely, some to get lost chattin to all night. Pretty honest and vulnerable there.

In "Not Addicted", I won't forget the Now I don't know the first thing about football, but my Instincts tell me this is my windfall.... I'm mad glad I didn't back that match. Really appreciated that song in the story it was conveying on gambling and addictions.

These were the very first times I had ever heard any of these, and wasn't sure if I was hearing the backdrop to a Guy Ritchie film or an episode of Top Boy, but I found the words, pacing and music to be quite real. Is it something I enjoyed for the most part? No, but I did find it authentic.

The second to last song of "Dry Your Eyes" might be my favorite of all. I actually thought Mike did fine singing in Dry your eyes mate... and was actually hoping the chorus would be sung and not spoken, and that part really worked for me.

The final song on "Empty Cans" paid off on both the humor and tie-ins to the album title of AGDCFF and the super tennants drank during the day. The singing too at the end of the album was a good way of closing it.
But something that was not meant to be is done, And this is the start of what was.
Indeed, and well sung.

I'm by no means an expert on The (UK) Streets that Mike raps/sings about. I'll be reading more of the reviews and better insights than I can offer, but I will say I got this, it's not my favorite genre, but I can see and appreciate the artistic value. And y'all know where I'm from. ;-)

It's a 5/10 for me, and I've enjoyed reading the various perspectives on this one.
 
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A GRAND DON’T COME FOR FREE



This is a brave and interesting choice @threespires , whilst I’m not that fond of the genre other thanthe odd bit of Gangsta rap and the odd track by Professor Green and Plan B , which some of this reminds me of.However I do like a concept album especially real life banal storytelling, although totally different musically and content it reminds me of a band I really love ‘Richmond Fontaine’ who’s later albums were basically Willy Vautlins story telling set to music , some in the first person and some not.I get Mike Skinner’s character of ‘young Mike ‘ wether that incudes the music being purposefully amateurish or not I’m not sure ,because in fairness I haven’t listened to any of his other work.

Do I like it , it’s okish,I think Professor Green does better songs musically, and I’m fine with the Profanity there’s far more in Gansta Rap and it’s the language of the streets then and today, plus Pep and Mrs D swear far more than MS does on this .
My main takeaway is that this is an album that I’m glad I’ve listened to the requisite number of times but now I’ve heard the story there’s nothing on here that would make me want or need to hear it again ,other than maybe the odd track like ‘Dry Yours Eyes’ which incidentally I’ve never heard beforeand certainly wouldn’t sing to Mrs D unless I wanted her to swear at me for a change!


5/10
 
One bathroom spotless.

I used a well known bath/ shower cleaning spray after emptying the detritus that my significant other half seems to leave lying around on a regular basis. There's a bin. Which is empty apart from one used toothpaste tube, squeezed from the middle. Who squeezes from the middle? I suppose being home all day, everyday, adds to the irritation. The other empty collection of tubes/ potions were doted about.

I've learnt to bring a bin bag with me. It's far easier. Then the spray. I use a different cloth for the shower than I do the bath. Neither of these have been used recently. There's an en-suite you see. It does make you wonder why so many bottles are lying about. Discarded. Most of them half used.

Still, the showerhead is fixed, rainfall, very nice, but the other nozzle stretches far enough to spray the bath. Which I've not learnt to use properly and get myself wet. There's always a small giggle when this happens. Little things.

Sparkling.

I then move onto the mirror/ cabinet. I'm doing this as it's the toilet that I leave to last. No idea why. The cabinet has a small LED light under and a brighter one above. There's really no need for the main bulb with it's outdated cord. It's that bright. I get a warm satisfaction from un-smearing the mirror. It's a big mirror. I finish with a flourish.

I move onto the sink. It's one of those with the cupboard/ toilet built in. Tutting to myself at the plug area. Why do manufacturers make these units so the tap goes straight onto the plug. Still, a regular cleaning programme keeps it all spruce.

And now the toilet. Amazingly, considering it's really only used by me as the seat appears to be too low for the lady of the house, it's got a layer of what looks like dust on the lid. Might have been from when we washed the dog last week. He likes a bath. We have that in common. It's ducked within an inch of it's life.

Next up is the towel rail. It's rather therapeutic to run the cloth between it's tubular construction. The towels get replaced by fresh ones. There's always two on offer. Once again I have no idea why. It's something I've always done.

A tiled floor. I know people who have carpet in their bathroom. That seems foolish to me. Water and carpet don't mix in my mind. I sweep it. Then the mop. In that order. I stand on the landing admiring my work. Gleaming surfaces abound. I could eat my dinner off them. I won't though. As that would be madness.



Hmmmm....it would appear that osmosis has kicked in. I'm supposed to be reviewing The Streets A Grand Don't Come For Free and instead I've prattled on about cleaning a bathroom. I also appear to have written nine songs for an album about the most mundane things possible. All I need to do is add a misfitting backing track to each one, work out the chorus and hey presto...a number one hit. This is fucking easy. Less than a mornings work.

1/10
 
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BimboBob said:
One bathroom spotless. I used a well known bath/ shower cleaning spray after emptying the detritus that my significant other half seems to leave lying around on a regular basis. There's a bin. Which is empty apart from one used toothpaste tube, squeezed from the middle. Who squeezes from the middle? I suppose being home all day, everyday, adds to the irritation. The other empty collection of tubes/ potions were doted about.

I've learnt to bring a bin bag with me. It's far easier. Then the spray. I use a different cloth for the shower than I do the bath. Neither of these have been used recently. There's an en-suite you see. It does make you wonder why so many bottles are lying about. Discarded. Most of them half used.

Still, the showerhead is fixed, rainfall, very nice, but the other nozzle stretches far enough to spray the bath. Which I've not learnt to use properly and get myself wet. There's always a small giggle when this happens. Little things.

Sparkling.

I then move onto the mirror/ cabinet. I'm doing this as it's the toilet that I leave to last. No idea why. The cabinet has a small LED light under and a brighter one above. There's really no need for the main bulb with it's outdated cord. It's that bright. I get a warm satisfaction from un-smearing the mirror. It's a big mirror. I finish with a flourish.

I move onto the sink. It's one of those with the cupboard/ toilet built in. Tutting to myself at the plug area. Why do manufacturers make these units so the tap goes straight onto the plug. Still, a regular cleaning programme keeps it all spruce.

And now the toilet. Amazingly, considering it's really only used by me as the seat appears to be too low for the lady of the house, it's got a layer of what looks like dust on the lid. Might have been from when we washed the dog last week. He likes a bath. We have that in common. It's ducked within an inch of it's life.

Next up is the towel rail. It's rather therapeutic to run the cloth between it's tubular construction. The towels get replaced by fresh ones. There's always two on offer. Once again I have no idea why. It's something I've always done.

A tiled floor. I know people who have carpet in their bathroom. That seems foolish to me. Water and carpet don't mix in my mind. I sweep it. Then the mop. In that order. I stand on the landing admiring my work. Gleaming surfaces abound. I could eat my dinner off them. I won't though. As that would be madness.



Hmmmm....it would appear that osmosis has kicked in. I'm supposed to be reviewing The Streets A Grand Don't Come For Free and instead I've prattled on about cleaning a bathroom. I also appear to have written nine songs for an album about the most mundane things possible. All I need to do is add a jaunty backing track to each one, work out the chorus and hey presto...a number one hit. This is fucking easy. Less than a mornings work.

1/10
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Bob, it's a clever review but your would be album fails the relatability test for me because Mr Spires likes to do the bathroom (she has one of those sonic brush things that she likes to use, or at least I think that's what it is). If it's all the same to you I'll hold on till southamptonblue produces his in-car recorded steeringwheel and bass opus to spend my hard earned on.
 
I said I was going to get to threespires on his replies, so I set to work in between real work to do that. However, when I sat back and re-read what I'd written, it was a load of old waffle about why I didn't like the album, and I've already done that. So here's my edited version.

The first thing worth mentioning is that I didn’t consider that “Young Mike” was any different to the artist. I still think that this can be a thin excuse to offer up banal fayre, but maybe Mike Skinner is a lyrical genius and he decided to put away his quill for this album?

I look at any artform as just another way of communicating. Communication is about the transmitter doing their best to send out their message and the receiver doing their best to receive and understand the content of that message. At work, If I’m talking on the phone to a German or French colleague, I don’t go full-pelt Mancunian and expect them to follow. As a courtesy – given that they have been gracious enough to learn English, and more importantly, to get the job done - I modify my speech and slow down a little.

In this case, the artist has done nothing to help me understand his character’s predicament. He’s wrapped it up in street language and therefore has lost me as a potential audience member immediately. It's not aimed at people like me, so that's fair enough.

I think what it boils down to is as much the receiver’s “fault” (i.e. me) as the artist's. If music doesn’t have words that I can engage with or music that I can appreciate, then it’s a non-starter, and that’s certainly the case here. I wouldn’t like the album if it was full of raging, fiddle and accordion-driven runaway trains of songs with the artists screaming obscenities – but at least the music would put it in the 5-7 / 10 territory. Even if it was 80s avant-garde synth it might scrape to a 3 or 4 but this album gives me nothing I want out of music.

I think what I am trying to say is that a lot of this is about my refusal to get past that first listen, but I'm glad to see that others have been able to see a bit of light in there.
 
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