New CDs

It's a very regular occurrence for me to go to Amoeba Records here in L.A. to buy new CDs. Yesterday I picked up four, and I've listened to two of them so far.

Why come no one has told me about this guy yet? Mark Ronson is (from what I've read) a DJ-turned-producer. "Here Comes the Fuzz" (2003) is not your typical DJ album. It's loaded with guest appearances from Nate Dogg to Aya to Rivers Cuomo to Anthony Hamilton to Nikka Costa. I went looking for this album in the "hip-hop" section, because... it's a hip-hop album. When it didn't exist there, I double-checked the magic-computer-look-up-machine at Amoeba, and sure enough... it's listed as a hip-hop album. But guess where I found it... Rock/Pop. After listening to it, it makes sense. There are rappers all over it, but it's got the flavor of a rock/pop record, so I guess we'll call it a crossover. Anyway, I'm not blown away by every track, but the album serves as proof that DJs are musicians too. The penultimate track for me is of course "Ooh Wee," and my pick for deep cut would have to be "She's Got Me," with a well-chosen sample of the Average White Band's "When Will You Be Mine" as the foundation of the track (?uestlove is behind the drum kit for that one). Another of the CDs I bought was Ronson's newest disc, "Version," which I haven't started listening to yet. Imma let "the fuzz" marinate for a bit first.

The other purchase I've listened to so far is Keane's recent release, "Perfect Symmetry." I've been a fan of Keane since hearing them on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" around 6 years ago, which was about the time that "Hopes and Fears" was gaining major steam in the U.S. I also own and dig their second release, "Under the Iron Sea." I'm not so sure about this new one -- I'm not making any firm judgements here, and I plan on listening to it more before I decide anything about it. I heard the single "Spiralling" before the record came out, and dug it, but after listening to the whole record one phrase comes to mind: 80's. Now that's not necessarily bad, I just found it overwhelming how much the synthesizer predominates the production of "Perfect Symmetry." And not just the synthesizer in general, but the application of certain kinds of synth sounds reminds me a lot of 80's music. Perhaps it was a conscious effort on Keane's part to do so. In fact, if it was, I'd say that's pretty hip, because they did it in a cool way and it works. It's sort-of an evolution of the 80's sounds which makes it a lot cooler than just a retro record. With that said, I was pretty distracted by the sounds, so I wasn't paying all that much attention to songwriting and melody (some of Keane's strong points), so I'll have to listen more for that in the next few spins.

Seeing as how the last time I bought CDs I was mostly disappointed with what I bought, I'm happy that this go-round was better. There will always be good music being made, and there will always be not-as-good music being made. It's fun looking for the good stuff.