An Update!

A few months back, I was hired to write for CSICON.org. While I will mainly focus on score and film reviews and news for that site, I have no intention of leaving Nervous Eardrums and will continue to review non-score albums and music here.

I know I haven't posted much here in a while, but I just wanted my readers and co-contributors at Nervous Eardrums to know I am still here!

~Lyedecker

Howard Shore, Metric, K'naan - Cosmopolis (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [2012]

Howard Shore, Metric, K'naan - Cosmopolis: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Genre - Soundtrack, Film Score, Indie Rock, Hip Hop
Released - June, 2012 (May, 2012 in some European countries)
Length - 41:00 (approx.)
Publisher - Howe Records

Amazon.com: Cosmopolis
Wikipedia: Cosmopolis

Howard Shore has provided the score for nearly every film directed by David Cronenberg. Their 30+ year collaborative partnership has usually brought out the best in Howard Shore's compositional skills, their most recent film together, Cosmopolis, being no exception. I haven't seen Cosmopolis yet (it won't be released in the U.S. until August 2012), but based on the trailer, I'm assuming it largely involves Robert Pattinson as businessman of questionable ethics who spends a great deal of the film in his limo (I never read the novel). I've never been disappointed by a Cronenberg film, so it will be a first if I don't like Cosmopolis.

Metric

Canadian indie rockers Metric must have really made an impression when they worked with Shore on a song for the most recent Twilight film, because he invited them to co-write and perform three of the songs heard on this soundtrack. Due to their collaboration, the album flows seamlessly between the Shore instrumental tracks and Metric's songs. This is something I can't say is true about many soundtracks that try to mix score with songs, but it works flawlessly in this instance. There is an ethereal ambience to the album, with guitars and synthy melodies swirling about to create a very relaxed, almost dreamlike listening experience. I first discovered Metric when I heard "Black Sheep" in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (one of the standout songs on that soundtrack), so I was quite intrigued when I first learned they were working Shore, one of my all-time favorite film composers.

Howard Shore

Fans of Shore's largely orchestral and heavily thematic work on films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy may be turned off, but anyone that can appreciate his more experimental, atmospheric side displayed in films such as this and Videodrome should listen to this album. Metric fans or those that don't normally listen to film scores need not fast forward through the Shore instrumentals; the composer's music acts as a perfect compliment to the band's mesmerizing sound.

K'naan

Aside from Shore and Metric, the album features a song by rapper K'naan, with lyrics penned by Cosmopolis novelist Don DeLillo. I'm uncertain whether Shore had any involvement the song's production, but it fits perfectly in this album, with the rapper chanting the words in a manner that is almost hypnotic.

Tracklist: (all tracks by Howard Shore unless otherwise noted)


1. White Limos
2. Long To Live (Metric)
3. Rat Men
4. Asymmetrical
5. I Don't Want To Wake Up (Metric)
6. A Credible Threat
7. Call Me Home (Metric)
8. Haircut
9. Mecca (K'naan)
10. The Gun
11. Benno

Rating: 9.5 (out of 10)

Key Tracks:

Metric "Long To Live"

Howard Shore "Asymmetrical"

K'naan "Mecca"

The Primitives - The Ostrich / Sneaky Pete [7" Single]

The Primitives - The Ostrich / Sneaky Pete (7" vinyl single)

Genre - Rock and Roll, Experimental, Parody

Released - 1964

Length - 4:44

Publisher - Pickwick City Records

Tracklist

Side A: The Ostrich

Side B: Sneaky Pete

Before Lou Reed formed the legendary Velvet Underground, he worked as a staff songwriter for Pickwick City Records. This was essentially a hit factory, one of many in the early 60's. They were quite common and many famous songwriters started out at these businesses writing hits (and misses) for other singers. If anyone remember the film Grace Of My Heart, they'll know what I'm talking about. Not the best film, but it is loosely based on Carole King's early songwriting career at a songwriting firm. It was at Pickwick that Reed honed his songwriting skills and gained experience in the recording studio. Many Velvets songs were written by Reed at this time, and while songs about Heroin and NYC street life were probably not Pickwick executives' idea of marketable hits, they took notice of another song he wrote, a catchy dance number called "The Ostrich".

At first glance, it sounds like a typical flavor of the week dance tune from 1964, but the song is actually kind of subversive and revolutionary. The lyrics parody other dance tunes of the era (at one point Reed sings, "put your head on the floor and have somebody step on it"). Really worth noting is the guitar. Reed tuned every string to the note D for a droning effect (this technique would resurface on The Velvet Underground & Nico, credited as "ostrich guitar" in that album's liner notes). This impressed one of the studio musicians playing on the record, John Cale. Cale was also experimenting with drone as a member of LaMonte Young's avant garde group The Dream Syndicate (not to be confused with the 80's band). The single quickly faded into obscurity but it is notable as the first recording featuring Cale and Reed performing together, and was therefore the seed of a collaborative partnership that would produce some of the most revolutionary and original music of the late 60's.

8 out of 10

To the best my knowledge, "The Ostrich" and it's b-side "Sneaky Pete" have never been re-released, so I'm sharing it here. It's only 128 kbps mp3, so sorry about the low quality.

get it

Personal Note~

Our founding member of this blog has gone his own way.  I will keep this blog alive for him.  I will not delete it.  It is still here for him.

Lye, I hope you're doing well~

Röyksopp - The Understanding (2005)

Röyksopp - The Understanding

Genre - Electronic

Released – July 4, 2005 (UK), July 12, 2005 (US)

Length - 58:40

Publisher – Wall of Sound (UK), Astrelwerks (US)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6yksopp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Understanding#Track_listing

Now many people may not know who Röyksopp are….  In all basic-ness, you know that Geico commercial? 

To my knowledge, this was the US’s introduction to Röyksopp, although that track is not on this album.  I did hear another track of theirs once on the radio but that was a local station that some kids ran. 

Track list –

Triumphant

Only This Moment

49 Percent

Sombre Detune

Follow My Ruin

Beautiful Day Without You

What Else Is There?

Circuit Breaker

Alpha Male

Someone Like Me

Dead to the World

Tristesse Globale

The Understanding is Röyksopp’s second album and lasts for 12 tracks.  For the first half of the disc there are some smooth tones and mellow beats, and some vocals to keep your attention.  It makes for some nice background music, mellow but enough beat to keep you awake

The gem of this disc is track 7 What Else Is There?.  It’s that track that makes you break from your mellow state and actually listen to it.  With a bigger sound and steady female vocals, this track is worthy of the mp3 player.  It almost has a ‘riding a lonely train at night’ vibe to it. 

After the disc woke you up a bit with that track, it picks up the pace directly after on track 8… and then slows down a bit again, and then gets heavy in track 9... and then goes back to mellow until the end. 

This disc is a smooth ride with a hill or two in the middle.

Some of these tracks used samples from other things, but I’m not familiar with them…

“Track 7 contains a sample from 'Kill Me With Your Love' by Jericho, courtesy of A&M Records, a sample from 'Love Me The Life I Lead' performed by The Drifters, courtesy of Bell Records. Track 11 contains a sample from 'Who We Are' written and composed by Andrew Latimer, performed by Camel, courtesy of Decca Records.”

I’m not going to follow my same score method that I did for the last disc I reviewed.  That thing was a wild mess that couldn’t be counted as a whole.  This, however, can be graded as a whole and I generally grade discs out of my own feeling.

7.9 out of 10

BONUS!  There’s a ‘5’ track bonus disc!  Unlike the first disc, this one starts off with a bit of a punch and keeps the pace going until it takes a slower and darker turn until track 5.  But strangely the sneaky buggers added more tracks to this disc.  Unlabeled tracks.

Length – 45:54

Track list -

Go Away

Clean Sweep

Boys

Head

Looser Now

Unlabeled Track 6

Unlabeled Track 7 (Only This Moment Redux)

Unlabeled Track 8 (49 Percent Redux)

7.3 out of 10