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December 19, 2005

Holiday Album Guide

Five (5) Albums For Holiday Buying, Giving (and for Real, Keeping It)

I shall officially pat myself on the back for being let's-call-it 98 percent finished with my Christmas shopping a full week before the 25th. I really can't remember the last time I was this far ahead of the game. And it's not even like I had a good excuse the past few years -- I was in school and certainly wasn't lacking for free/ shopping time. (However did I spend my time?)

But for those of you who aren't quite finished, I thought I'd hook you up with some gift ideas. Since I spend a lot of time in the car these days, I've been churning through music a little more aggressively than I have in the past. So you're getting five (5) albums I think would make a excellent gift this holiday season. All are albums that have come out in the past couple months, and are definitely still in their little press/ PR cycles. I even included little pictures of the albums and links to buy them at C@L's own Amazon.com -- and I think they'll give me like $0.12 if you buy something.

Atmosphere, You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having (Rhymesayers): Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted -- one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip? Atmosphere is essentially what would have happened to Eminem if Eminem missed his one shot. (Officially, the MC from Atmosphere is named Slug, but there's only one MC. I guess it's important to have lots of handles.) Slug is a white dude from the Midwest (Minneapolis) who talks a lot about partying too much, being estranged from his son, and not being good with women. Right. Got it. But he has a sense of humor ("Cars drive by with the boomie systems/ I must be getting old 'cause the bass sounds ridiculous") and the whole thing ends up being almost reluctantly good. If you're buying a la carte, check out tracks 1 ("The Arrival"), 6 ("Hockey Hair"), and 8 ("Pour Me Another").

Death Cab For Cutie, Plans (Atlantic): despite my whinging about their live show not being loud enough, C@L-area Death Cab makes a helluva rock record. Plans is their major-label debut, and you can already hear the nerds complaining that they're selling out, etc etc. Whatever. Plans is just as good as the previous Death Cab records; certainly the writing is top-notch (and not just because we enjoy references to nuns): "Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule/ I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black." It's really quite pretty (and fulfills my wimpy indie-rock quota for the fall). If you're buying a la carte, check out tracks 1 ("Marching Bands of Manhattan"), 5 ("I Will Follow You Into The Dark") and 7 ("Someday You Will Be Loved").

Danger Doom, The Mouse and The Mask (Epitaph): so it's indie-hip-hopper MF Doom rapping to beats from DJ Danger Mouse (of Gorillaz and Grey Album fame) with snippets of dialogue from the characters from Cartoon Network's adult swim, released on legendary SoCal punk label Epitaph. Oh my! How (wait for it) eclectic! This album could have gotten by on novelty value alone (feel free to re-read that first sentence if you're missing it); luckily, it's completely awesome and doesn't need any help. The production officially moves Danger Mouse out of one-hit-wonder land (he was getting there with the Gorillaz record, but this closes the deal), MF Doom's style fits the beats all snugly like, and even the cameos from the cartoon people work (that is, they're amusing without being distracting, and tend to only show up between songs). I'd recommend specific tracks, but I like the entire album. All of it. It's comprehensively sweet. A friend loaned it to me and I couldn't get it out of my car for two solid weeks. But if I had to pick, I'd say track 6 with Talib Kweli ("Old School") is my favorite.

Matt Pond PA, Several Arrows Later (Altitude): so I'll admit that I haven't done all my homework on these guys. This was a gift from a friend, and said friend bought it based on a good vibe at the listening station at the sweet local record store. Sometimes those work out, sometimes they disappoint. This has completely worked out. Matt Pond PA (apparently named after the lead dude, Matt Pond, and referencing that he lives in Pennsylvania; Philly, actually) is all about really melodic indie pop. Though I've been listening mostly to hip-hop recently, I do maintain a soft spot for indie rock bands that can write exceptionally melodic hooky pop songs. What a pleasant surprise! Matt Pond can do that. This would make a very friendly gift; you feel like you know this record from the first time you hear it. It's very inviting. If you're buying a la carte, I guess I would recommend track 4 ("Several Arrows Later") and 5 ("It Is Safe"), but don't quote me on that. I don't have this entire one memorized yet.

Cage, Hell's Winter (Definitive Jux): so I don't entirely expect this to make sense, but this Cage album is essentially indie label Definitive Jux's version of Get Rich Or Die Tryin', 50 Cent's first album. It's got all of the hotshot Def Jux producers on it (El-P, RJD2, DJ Shadow), the guest appearances from the big Def Jux MCs (Aesop Rock, El-P), and all sorts of buzz. Def Jux are really pushing this. And, luckily for them, it's pretty sweet. I didn't realize until I'd had the album for about a week that this Cage dude was on The High And Mighty album that we used to listen to when we played NFL Blitz circa 2000. Anyhoo, you get a lot of the Cage backstory: dad got kicked out of the Army for selling drugs and then beat up Cage and Cage's mom; also, Cage went to prison. Yeah. So you can say it's not all puppy dogs and sunshine. Cage is perfectly competent as an MC and is a pretty sly writer, and he doesn't only talk about his background (though it comes up a fair amount). Also, it's worth noting that although there are a bunch of strong tracks on the record, there's one song that's head-and-shoulders better than anything else: "Shoot Frank," produced by RJD2. (They even have a video for it.) I'd say that I was biased to like the RJD2 track the most, but I think that's just because I'm biased towards good songs. RJD2 just keeps getting it right, again and again and again. He should score a film. Also worth a listen on the a la carte plan are tracks 1 ("Good Morning") and 8 ("Perfect World").

(Of course, I really wanted to recommend Cannibal Ox The Cold Vein, but that's from four years ago and really wouldn't make an appropriate gift. So I decided against it. But it's pretty awesome too.)

Posted by thatkid at December 19, 2005 9:05 AM under Stuff To Buy

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