Back in Burnt Sienna

Hooray real update! It is made of both win and lambs. Lambs are adorable.

This story begins with me hanging out with Mauro. We're in his room and this song comes on, and it's some guy with a guitar and a girl with a violin and they're singing at the same time. I look to Mauro, "What the hell is this! This is weird.. why is this on your computer?!"

And a couple of days later I asked him to borrow the album. Great story, eh?

Anyways, Ghost Mice is a two piece Folk Punk band from Indiana and they mad an album, an album about them backpacking through Europe.

Two piece is taken very literally, it's just them. The entire record only has the two members playing their respective instruments, so it's not like they have other people come in and help, or that they have those fancy 'amplifiers'. It sort of sounds like they're in the apartment next door and the walls are really thin.

It's really hard to review this album in pieces and try and say which songs were good and which ones were bad because they all really run together, and not in the bad way. It's just one long story about the two travelers through Europe and their adventures, sleeping in the bushes and the canals in Amsterdam. Feeding sheep, not having any money. And even though their lyrics on this record seem to be completely autobiographical, the pair always seems to make sure their lines rhyme.

7/10 Their story is a very compelling and interesting one, but it's really hard to listen to while you're doing something else. You have to make time to listen to it. Also if you're interested in it you can pick up the CD from http://www.noidearecords.com/ for $4.75! What a deal!

Freebird,
Jason

It's Coming..

QQ and More Soon

Freebird,
Jason

I Got Nothing. Jack-squat. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

By: Michael Davey


I tried. I swear to god I tried to write this stupid review, but I've been at it for 3 hours, and I got nothing. I have writers block. 5 drafts later, and I have decided to just scrap it and try again later.

I'm really sorry, but I just can't write. I dunno why, but after this long, I'm ready to just call it done. I really should write reviews as soon as I've heard an album...the longer I wait afterword, the harder it is to write the damn thing.

ANYWAY, I will do a review of Nerdcore Rising, eventually, but I'll be doing it as just a regular review...it's been 2 weeks now, so I officially end Nerdcore Week(ish thing) now.

Sorry, I really did try, but the creative juices aren't flowing at all....uguu~

Peace, and please don't stone and/or rape me for this.

Keeping Ska... Alive?

Ok, here’s the review I wanted to write. It’s got three stories! Fun, fun, fun (till her daddy took the T-bird away).

I do that whole ‘browse interpunk.com’ thing. Actually, I really love interpunk, buy stuff from them. They are delicious. Anyways, on their front page was The Venkmans’ Keeping Ska Dead, and apparently a lot of people bought it, it was like $7 (what a deal!) so I got it the last time I ordered CDS.

So when my package got delivered, I opened up all the CDs and uploaded them to my computer, put them on my iPod and went to art class and listened to them. Though when I got to the Venkmans, it was when class had ended so I listened to it over my amp while I played some WoW. I thought it was ok, poor mixing. I was like, ‘Hey these guys aren’t very well known and are ok, I should write about them.

Then on Thursday I decided I’d give the Venkmans another shot, so I listened to their album and it was good. Like really good.

But in all honesty, who produced this? Ben Weasel? It sounds sort of like Keasbey Nights though the gritty aspect doesn’t make it sound cool.

They are a ska band, but they draw a little more heavily from punk and dare I say—emo. They’re kind of emo. I like an emo band. I’m sorry everybody. There music sounds good aside from the one or two screamo moments, the guitar isn’t bad and the horns are in no way sloppy.

Oh and now I have two songs with the clip of Dubya saying “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we” thanks to the song 30 miles south (the other being The Queers’ Monkey in a Suit).

Though, the song that stood out the most was a track unlisted on the CD jacket: ‘None of my Friends are Metalheads’. I think I actually laughed out loud. I really have a thing for snotty pop-punk songs. Ska songs. Whatever.

The Venkmans however do have a bit of a juvenile streak, mainly demonstrated by the song Dick-N-The-Butt, which, I’m pretty sure consists of nothing but the words ‘You’ve got a dick in your butt and a cock in your ass’. Also in a 12341234-esce thank you track they thank the word douche.

7/10 It’s good and most of their songs are catchy but it would’ve helped if they had left out the screams and the whole album didn’t sound like it was ‘The Venkmans! Live in Your Neighbor’s Garage!”

Freebird,

Jason

I guess you could be singing about romance but I can’t tell because all the words go WRAWRAWRAW

Advanced Procrastination

Look guys, the reason I’ve been putting this review off is because in all honesty I really don’t like MC Plus+ (and the Empty Set). I mean, it’s not like I hate him, he’s ok, but it’s just not for me. He’s not like The Locust, he’s just not fun to hate on. I heard the first four songs on his record and I was just like ‘eh’ and I kept putting it off. I had plenty of time to do it, I just didn’t until now. [Don’t] sue me.

The review a-goes a little a-like a-this:

So nerdcore is finally evolving into stuff that sounds different. Rather than a more ‘old school’ sound MC Plus+ on his new album goes for something that sounds a lot like Snoop Dogg. He even thanks him on his ‘shout out’ track.

In all honesty, his beats are better than his rhyming, he tries to go for a very laid back style, but it just ends up sounding like he’s got a mouthful of words and no way to adequately release them. His beats are very obviously synth driven, but compared to a lot of other free, online nerdcore artists are clean and sound decent.

His new album, Chip Hop, is sort of a concept album. MC Plus+ creates an AI program that he can rhyme with, obviously because no one’s programming or lyrical prowess can compare to his. He teaches this program how to rhyme and eventually ends up in a face off with it, where Plus+ deftly defeats him by creating an infinite loop. I don’t remember what exactly the loop was, but it was boring.

Also, sometimes he does that thing, you know that thing where rappers will end two lines with the same word and call it rhyming? That bugs me.

Most of his songs are mediocre at best. I know the thing about nerdcore is you’re supposed to act like you’re the best, but he takes it a bit to far. Frontalot likes to take jabs at himself in his lyrics and Hawking is blatant satire, but when Plus+ talks about how he’s the best he sounds like he believes it.

3.5/10 Check it out if you like programming I guess. Maybe I’d appreciate it more if I had continued with computer science at all.

Freebird,

Jason

More like.. Nerdcore fortnight...

Sorry, been busy with things and have to do a whole bunch of work tonight, expect a review on Wednesday.

Freebird,
Jason

Wewt for MC Pee Pants...I mean mc chris!!

By: Michael Davey

As Jason mentioned in the last post, it is indeed Nerdcore week here at MAJHYM (I just realized that’s a really cool abbreviation…). Today’s review is of mc chris’ latest album, Dungeon Master of Ceremonies. Many people know him best for either his killer single “Fett’s Vette”, or from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as the voice of the ill-fated rapper MC Pee Pants who was reincarnated as Sir Loin at a later time. He has released several albums though, and is one of the preeminent Nerdcore artists. And yes, there are no capital letters in his name. Deal with it.

‘But Michael,’ you ask, ‘why aren’t you reviewing the MC Frontalot album? Didn’t you get it first?’ Yes, loyal readers. I do have Nerdcore Rising, and it will be reviewed later this week. Just think of this as lead-up to it. Or look at it as me torturing Jason. Whatever.

Anyway, back to mc chris. The album starts off with “F.T.W.”, which is a great song. It also includes one of my favorite lines from any song, something that had crossed my mind many times, and I’m glad that I’m not the only person to think it: “MC stands for Master Chief”. As you might guess by the title, the chorus is the repeated phrase “mc chris for the win”, and with this song, he deserves it.

The next song is “Blastic”. It’s an okay song, not great, but not horrible. It is forgiven for it’s flaws, though, for it is followed by my favorite song off the album, “Kingdom Farts”, which, despite the name, is NOT a bashing of Kingdom Hearts, but instead an ode to gaming. It’s an incredible song, with a great beat and guitar rift, and everyone should listen to it. EVERYONE. I’m looking at you, reader. Hint, hint.

There are some other good songs, such as “Check the Ring, Yo”, a song about Chris hitting on an older woman, and “Wiid”, which has nothing to do with the Nintendo Wii, and everything to do with...well, you’ll figure it out. Sound out the title, you can get it.

As in all his albums, mc chris puts in some skits to “break up the monotony of the music”, and they’re actually funny, unlike the skits from some of his earlier albums.

Most of the other songs, including “PW/OM (Party Without Me)”, are good, solid songs. The only song I really didn’t like was “OMC”, and I’m not sure why I didn’t like it…just personal tastes I suppose. But you come here to read my personal tastes (or because I said if you were really my friend you’d read it), so deal.

Overall, the entire album is enjoyable, and worth buying.

8.5 / 10