01.11.09
The Raveonettes, “Whip It On” EP (record review)
REVIEW: The Raveonettes, Whip It On (2002)
When I decided last year to start writing record reviews, I kind of admitted to myself that I could never imagine writing a bad review. If I didn’t like a record, I would simply ignore it.
My reasoning was that I have read so many horrible reviews of records that totally changed my life. For every bad review, there’s always plenty of people who absolutely love a record. Why not shine light on something I dig, rather than putting down something? Not only that, but I have actually bought records based on bad reviews — just to see if the criticisms were valid, and also I sometimes find missteps to be more interesting to listen to than the boringness of sonic perfection.
Along comes the Whip It On EP by The Raveonettes. Believe it or not, I impulse bought this EP back in 2002 when it first came out, based on some buzz I had read about the band. I remember listening to it and thinking, “Hmmm… I just don’t get what’s so great about this band. They’re OK at best.” It was one of those CDs that you find yourself unintentionally turning off. And then later going, “Oh yeah, I was supposed to be listening to that. Let’s try again.” This cycle continued, each time with me getting bored/annoyed quickly, until somehow the EP just disappeared — I think I took it in a stack to the used CD shop.
Since then, I had happily forgotten that The Raveonettes ever existed. Then, recently, I saw their name popping up again in the music press (more buzz). Somehow, the memory of the Whip It On EP was dislodged from behind some cobwebs in my mind, and I tried to remember why I hadn’t liked the EP. “Maybe it was really good after all,” I thought, “Besides, my musical tastes have greatly expanded since 2002. Maybe I should give that one another shot.”
08.04.08
PJ Harvey, White Chalk (record review)
REVIEW: PJ Harvey, White Chalk (2007)
My whole life I have wanted to write record reviews, but I never did because I didn’t think I had the time (or ability) to do it “the correct way”.
A few days ago, it suddenly dawned on me — don’t know why it took so long — that I could write record reviews the same way I do other writing: in my own idiosyncratic style. I would just offer my impressions of a record, without researching the entire history of the artist or whatever. Why not? What I like most about a particular record usually isn’t possible to communicate by just listing technical facts or track-by-track details anyway — and often has nothing at all to do with the history of an artist or band.
Some of my favorite records have been the ones that came as a surprise… the ones a friend recommended, or I discovered by accident, or I heard playing somewhere random, rather than ones I purposely sought out. And those are usually the records that it’s hardest to write a traditional style review about.
So White Chalk by PJ Harvey is a good candidate for my first review. For starters, White Chalk has been out almost a year, yet I didn’t discover it until a few weeks ago. I heard a few sample tracks and was thrilled by the piano-based atmospheric sound of what I heard. Read the rest of this entry »
