14. Expectations for 2018

Justin and Noah list what they are most looking forward to in the new year of music.
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11. Alternative Music

From Jack White to Maynard James Keenan, Noah and Justin
discuss their favorite artists of the Alternative genre. 





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Suicide Squad The Album- New(er) Album of The Week

New(er) Album of The Week is posted every Friday

    Today we are looking at the soundtrack album for the DC film Suicide Squad. Much like one of my other favorite film soundtracks, The Great Gatsby, there is a bit of confusion over which version is the official version. I will be looking at the 10 track version that seems to be all original songs or covers done specifically for Suicide Squad. The 14 track version features the Classic Rock tracks Slippin Into Darkness and Fortunate Son as well as Eminem’s Without Me and a really good cover of You Don’t Own Me by Grace and G-Eazy.

    The album opens up with probably the most in your face track here, Purple Lamborghini by Rick Ross and Skrillex. Ross does a pretty good job of detailing various aspects of the Suicide Squad, referencing various characters and locations from the DC Universe. His rhymes are solid enough and match with Skrillex’s amazing beat. The only real weaknesses are that Ross slips into some of his generic boasts a few times and seems uncertain on if he’s taking the role of Joker or if he’s rapping about the squad in general. Skrillex’s beat makes this song amazing however, from the horn and synth lines on the verses to the huge drop that makes up the hook, this is just further proof of Sonny Moore’s brilliance.

    The next track is a collaboration between rap heavyweights Lil’ Wayne and Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign and X Ambassadors. Sucker For Pain surprisingly doesn’t feel overcrowded at any point, largely because each verse adds a piece of the rapper’s personality without straying too far from the main theme. This song relates to the film more so in tone than in content, with each artist adopting some form of pain obsessed crazed criminal. While there is a decent bit of bragging it’s all set to a somber tone, with some of the rappers alluding to having a chance to do some good, paralleling the villains turned heroes of the Suicide Squad. All the rappers are fantastic and Dan Reynolds does the hook perfectly while the rest of Imagine Dragons handle the backing music brilliantly.

    We then have the biggest hit to come off of this album, twenty one pilots’ Heathens. As I’ve well established by now I am a huge TOP fan, but I actually heard this song pretty early into my discovery of them. This was the second thing I heard from twenty one pilots after the Blurryface album and I love it’s more traditional rock feel. While the verses still feature Tyler rapping, the track feels mostly like a down tempo Alt Rock track. The octave effects put on Tyler’s voice help sustain a really eerie feeling as. Along with production tricks, they also throw you off a bit by playing with syncopation on the chorus, hitting lines either early or late. It’s a very simple song with some really sophisticated elements to it and it just get’s stuck in your head for days.

    Nothing else on this album matches the power and excellence of the first three tracks; nonetheless it’s still pretty solid throughout. Kehlani’s Gangsta is a damn fine gangster’s girlfriend track that I think is supposed to be Harley Quinn’s theme song of sorts. The beat is pretty solid but Kehlani’s vocals are what makes the track work so well. Two-thirds of the next track, Standing In The Rain works pretty well; Dan Auerbach's delivery on the hook works beautifully at conveying a sense of desperation and sadness at being betrayed. The other thing that works is Mark Ronson’s beat and production, which even makes Action Bronson’s crappy rap verses sound decent. But that is what ultimately sinks this song, Action Bronson’s raps do not match the tone of anything else in the song at all, honestly Kevin Gates verses on the next track would have worked better for this song.

    Speaking of Kevin Gates, this is the first time I’ve ever bothered to listen to him and I see why so many of my friends like this guy. First off his lower voice and power behind his lines gives off this raw masculine vibe that’s missing in modern hip hop. Gate’s flow and lyrics are masterful on this track, perfectly blending his actual life into the song in a way that makes it fit with the Suicide Squad. This is the only track that gets close to the epic level of the first three tracks.

    Skylar Grey’s Wreak Havoc seems to be portraying Enchantress, if I’m going to continue trying to link songs to characters. The lyrics convey this really arrogant attitude that would really only fit Enchantress since she’s basically a goddess. There are also lines about people hating that they need her and the overall idea that all she’s here for is to wreak havoc. After this we have Grimes’ song Medieval Warfare that is just kind of there. I honestly forgot this song existed and pretty much have forgotten it again already. While I Started A Joke is technically the closing track, it’s pretty boring and not really worth talking about, to me the closer to this album is Panic! At The Disco’s cover of the Queen classic Bohemian Rhapsody.

    For some background, Panic! Have been covering this track live for some time now, with the members of the touring band going as far to replicate Brian May’s guitar sounds and other aspects as closely as possible. On top of the attention to details, Brendon Urie is one of three or four singers who could actually hope to do a Freddie Mercury song justice. Even though his voice isn’t quite Mercury, Urie hits every single note of the song and gives the best performance I’ve seen anyone who wasn’t a Muppet give covering this song. While I’m certainly not going to say it holds a candle to the original, this is the best cover I think we'll ever get.

    Overall this album is a little bit of a mixed bag at times, but just like the Suicide Squad movie I think the positives outweigh the negatives for me. I would definitely recommend six, maybe even seven of the songs on this album, and obviously I’d recommend the four extra ones on other versions of the soundtrack. I have to give it credit though, because basically every track on this album has a similar enough tone and style to make this feel like an album and not a collection of random songs used in a movie.

Album on Google Play

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Album on Amazon

Twenty One Pilots Blurryface: An Album a Day

A̹͚̲̭̜̦̬̭̭͇͓͔̜̬̎̈́̌ͫ̐̔̑̈́͂ͪ̽̈́̋ͬ̅̆͑̚n̮̗̮̭̬̦͉̬̲͈̲̟̬̪̙̑̒ͪ̌ͅͅ ̫̤͙͔̳̲̇̔ͤ̈̌͒̀A̳̭̹̦͎͓͖̘̖̩̪̹̰̬̥͚̤͚̒̈́͂͊͗̈ͥ͋l̫̰͖̦̗̪͉͓͍̲̱͕̔ͥ͆ͫ̔͂ͤͅb̜̘̮̽̌̀̓ͬ̍̓̔͐ͨ̈̃ͭ̓ͨͯ̀u͇͓̳͔͔̱̖̻͍͇̮̘̳̥̼̻͉ͭ̆̈́̽̈́̐ͨͮ͂͌̐̂̊ͯ͒̌̈̂̓m̲͈̺͚͔͍̼͚̀̉ͥͤ̇̐͂͋̒͊͌ ̞͚̞̯͇̅̾̓̑̓̏͗ă̩̳̘͔̯̼͍͋ͭͧ̾̓̌ ͉̟͚̼̯͍͈̣͉̫̫ͪ͋ͤ̃͆̈͒̈́ͧ͆͋̌̈ͥͧͪ̎̀͂Ḍ͈̭̯̪̬̬͖͕͕̬̮̜̝̠̝͔͑̈̈́̄̒̓̉ͯ̽ͧa͕̫̟͕͇ͮ̉͆̃ͦ̑ͅy̝̘̻̦͙̺̫̋͐ͭ͂̈́ͨ̄ ̮͚͈̬̲̣̺̥̟̰̱͎͍͖̩̹͈͖͆̄̈ͅi̩͔̭͇͚̰͕̟̣͉̮͖̦͙͔ͩ̋ͥ́̃̓ͭ͆̉͂̿͗ͣ̃̿̓ͣs̖̬̟̬̪͔̞̱̪̬̙͍̘̦͍͌͆̎̒̎̉͌͌̿ͨ̎ͫ͒ͬ̈́̍ ͍͎̥̪̠̳̳̺͎̣̠̘̌̓ͦ͑̍ͪ̄ͣ̈ͪͨ̄͒ͭ̒͐͆́p̰̹̖̘̘̺̤̺̯̎ͬͩͭ̊̏͌͑o̗̣͍͚̼̣͚̥̙̼̩̦̔͒ͩͪ̀ͨͩͦ͒̓ͅͅs̞̦̯̞̥͙͓̮̳̈̍̃ͪ̔̔ͨ̍̾͆̄ͭ̌͌ͯt̹̬̭͙͉͍̙̜̗̬̮͍̒ͭ͆̉̑ͯͭ̓̂̊̽͆̓̇̇͋ͅḙ̦̯̳̳͚̅͆̃ͤ̽̈́̍͐ͮͬ̚ͅd͇͓̹͚̮̰͎̫̯͖ͬͪ̆̍̽ͫ̄̇ ̙̠̭̙̞̝͍̀ͨͩ̃ͭ͑ͫ͛̒̅̈́ͮ5̱̪͓̖̼̦͈̜̍̒̑͊̈ͫ͐̆̽̊ͫ͑͂ͩ̓̚̚ ͓̤̫̇̓̈ͅḏ͓̮̙̯̜ͥͭ̇̈́̓̑̓̋̎̾ͥ͆̉̈̊̔̈̊ͨă͉̹̯̳̺͙̘͖̟̩̥͍̜͇ͪ̿ͯ̃ͯ̑ͅy͎̟̬͇̗̯̥̗̫̮͎̣̟͍͈ͬ͗̽͆̑̀ͅs̜͇̳̬̼̲̥̱̖̞̺̅̒ͮ̑̄̂̍͂͑̄̇ͪ͊̎ ̫̪̰̰̟͙͇̤͎ͭ͒͆̓̿̍̌ͅa̖͕̟͇ͣͮ̾͋̔ͫ͛̄ͩ̈͂̌̇̌̈̆̔͊ ͖͙͕̰͙̞͎͈͕̞̳͓̘̱̞̦͇̰ͬ̆̾ͤ̃̃w͔͙͖̯͎̥͉͍̣ͮ̉̃̉̈̇͗ͅe̮̦̰̱̳̠͉͇͍̗̰͇ͭ͐̌͌̎ͫ͗̍͊̂ͤ̒̚ͅe̼̹̹͈͔͓̤̘̮̟̩̜̲̝ͫ̉͂̂̚k̹̫̤͕̤͉̳̖̭̣̮̖̝͎̻ͯ̌͒̈̅̈̈́ͅͅ,̪͔͙̫͊̽͒̃̇̆̈̿͐̄ͥ̄̂͂ͤ̚ ̝̩̼̯̦̉̀̈ͭͧ̑̈̌Ṃ̰͕͖̘͚̙̰̩̟͕̟̜̥͖̗̭̖̽ͨͮ̔͑ͬ̃̓̒̇̐ͧ͛̏͑̚ͅö̞̳̜͉͉̱̻́ͧ̉̌͊̎ͩ̂ͪ̾̂ͯͦ̒͆̐ͦn͔͙̙̯̩̘̪̠̳͙̭̙̬͈̜̰̗̅ͥͨ̅̓͑̄ͪͥ̚̚d̼̰̝̖̞̲̳̳͛͌̓ͭ͌ͬ͒ͭ̎̽ͯa̦̺͙͎͇͈̞̣͖͇̽̀ͬͅͅy͔̗̠͇͙͙͇̲͇̬̖̰͔͔͚̦̲͓̗͐͌̍̾̔͐̽͋ͧ̎ͦ̉ͬ̓͂ͯ͑ͨ̚-̝͚̗̻̲̱͓̜͎̺̜̯͙͛ͣ̈͒̃ͨͩͪ̆̏ͥ̐̅͆F͚̲̹̞̣͖͙͙̮̹͎̖͇̪̭̦̟̏ͣ̋ͧ̅̋̍ͩ̑̿ȑ̝̘̫̥̬̗̥̝͚̼ͮ́̒̂̏̆͌̋̓ͥͭ̾̅i͍̖̳͚̤̙ͬ̑̏͋ͥ̿͑̇͐͐̆ͤ̂d͍͓̼̗́́͛̉ͬ̏ͯ̈̈́͌̎̈́̓͆̿͋̂̚̚a͖̙̼̘̲͎͗̓̓̐̽ͬͪ̏ͣ͒͋̒̔͌͗̿͐ý̦̺̩̯͇̖̪͓̃ͯ̂͂͆ͅ

    Today we are continuing my quest to look at every twenty one pilots album by digging into their most recent studio album and smash hit Blurryface. This is the album that got me and many others into twenty one pilots for the first time. This album also is one of the craziest things to come out in a while as it is a bit of a concept album. The concept for this album does not follow a strict story but rather having tracks that all relate to similar themes and having the character of Blurryface.

    First off I’ve used the version of Blurryface that many fans have agreed is the proper way to listen to it. This version is identical to the studio version except that you include the original cut of Goner that was released years before Blurryface at the beginning. The reasoning for this is that this version of Goner has the tone of someone who is giving up, being very dark and having the sound of a noose tightening throughout. Then at the end of this track we have the synth stabs that most fans believe to be the sound of Blurryface (the character) screaming, this is the exact sound heard at the beginning of track one HeavyDirtySoul.

    From here the album plays out as a battle between Tyler and his demons, which are personified in the character of Blurryface. Blurryface has been described as an avatar for Tyler’s negative thoughts and emotions, being essentially all of the negative aspects of Tyler. The first time Blurryface was featured in a song was the single Fairly Local. This track has Tyler fighting with himself on the verses, arguing rather he is evil or if he can fight his nature. The pre-chorus has Blurryface taunting Tyler that this song will never be popular or played on the radio and that even if it went up for a vote his clique is too small for him to be heard.

    The introduction to Blurryface comes in the music video however, where the first time this taunt is spoken Tyler steps behind a wall and all that can be seen is his shadow. The second time however, Tyler is standing is a red lit room looking nervous before his head snaps forward to reveal red eyes as the deep pitch shifted voice of Blurryface taunts him. This is another case of Tyler mixing metaphors of mental demons with imagery of actual supernatural demons. This deep pitched shifted voice is used on other tracks as well, such as the hit Stressed Out.

    One of the weak points of this album is that the tracks after Fairly Local don’t really relate the character of Blurryface as well until Goner. While they are fantastic songs that deal with the issues of anxiety and doubt that Blurryface represents, they aren’t as direct with the character as earlier songs. Tear In My Heart is a really nice aside from the rest of the album as this is actually a love song written for Tyler Joseph’s wife Jenna. It’s the closest thing that twenty one pilots have done to a happy song and it’s a surprisingly good fit for them.

    The next track Lane Boy is one of my favorites and deals with the idea of record labels or critics telling them to stay in their lane. The entire song is pretty much them telling critics they will continue to experiment and do whatever style or genre that they wish and they should be happy they don’t go as far as they want to. Tyler even suggest the idea of having numerous time changes and tempo changes, which I’d honestly be all for if they wanted to go straight into prog territory.

    The song wraps up with a Drum’n’Bass buildup that fades into the next song The Judge. The Judge is the biggest Ukulele song on this album, featuring more lyrics of the spiritual crisis variety. The Bridge in this song displays Tyler’s uncertainty about his faith as well as relating back to the theme of a battle with Blurryface. While a lot of people see The Judge as being a metaphor for God it is also true that the listener can be The Judge of his bout with Blurryface. He is unsure if he is winning or losing because he is fighting himself.

    The next track Doubt, as well as Polarize and Hometown continue the spiritual lyrics mixed with battling Blurryface. Another standout is Message Man which is features some pretty rare boasting from Tyler about his skill as a lyricist and a rapper. The big finale of this album is the new rendition of Goner.

    While the original version finishes with Tyler seemingly defeated this version continues on with lyrics about how he’ll slip away into the music. This time around the fight continues with Tyler stating that Blurryface isn’t him and that he needs help to take him out. This lyrics seems to be Tyler asking praying for help much like HeavyDirtySoul. The song picks up into a powerful and frantic pace as Tyler screams out don’t let me be before ending with everything dropping out aside Tyler on the last line. This has been interpreted by many fans and been confirmed by Tyler as being the moment that Blurryface is defeated with many theorizing that the reason “you” is the line where everything fades away is because Tyler has received the divine intervention he was asking for.

    If you can’t tell by the long and in depth review this album has gotten from me, I absolutely love this album. While other albums have had dark elements and good songs this album works from beginning to end with a dark electronic vibe throughout that is balanced well by the acoustic elements and softer songs. This is an album that gives up something new on each listen and filled with so much imagery and storytelling that you may never discover everything Tyler and Josh have included on this record.

A̭̘͚̻̰̱̟͕̜̣̬̐ͬ̃̍̆ͭl̺̤͍͓̉̃̑̓͌̌͑̋̍̐̚b͎͉͚̖͙͍̣̲̜̤̭̲ͬ̈́̏ͮṳ͓̲͚̤̯̼̹̭̭ͩ̍ͯ̎̓̒̏̂͊̅ͫ̽̿ͮ̊͑ͭ̚m̦̺̭͇̱͈̖̩̲̜̟̘͖̟̖͖͛̇̈̾̄͑̏̑ͦͯ̃ͨ̉ ọ͙̫̞͉͕͕͖̺̖̠̰̳̜̥̩̓ͫ̽ͭ́̅̒̓̔ͦ̓̈n̩̜̩̱̺̯͙̟̠͑ͯ̅ͣͭ ̪͙̳͔ͮ̒̾ͯG̺͚̫̮̮̼͕̗̾͂ͭ̂̌̄ͦ͌͋͑ͥ͐o̞͇̱͙̰̰̘̱͓͖͓̦̝̞ͯ͌ͯ̅̓̃͛̈́̿̅̂ͨ͗̏ͬ͗ͮͪ̄õ̱̲̥͔̠̺͍̥͉̻̹͉̙ͯ̃̽̆̒͆̉̓͗̂ͪg͓̬̫̹̩̱̻͐̀̈́̂̆͂͛̿̾̍̽̂̓l̗͓̯̱̞̱̭͈̠̘̹̭̝̠͓͈͕̝̅ͪ̉̚ͅe̞͉̤̠̤͇͓̥̖̼̗͙̣̰ͧ͐͗̓̔ͫ́͊ͧ̈̊̓ͥ͂̋̓̓̚ͅͅͅͅ ̺̞͕̦͇̤̼͚͓̺̝̭ͬͩͧ̊͋ͧ́̐ͮ͌P͉̼̱̖̥̤̟̩̠̳̜̘͋̌̌̾ͤ̎l̤͚͙͖̩͚̲̊̉ͣ͌̆ͫ͂̊͑͋̽ͧa͖̻̻̫̝͗ͫ͛ͪͪ͑̈̍̍̀̽̚̚ŷ͉̜͕̼͉̳̣̤̞͓͔̻̃͗͂ͭ̓̚

A̜͙̞͉͚̜̱̤̠̰͙̮̠͚̫̮̲̦l̠͎̯͇̥̭ͅb̬̫͙̝͙͓̗͚̬̩̖ͅu̺̦̘̲̱̮̗̤̞̲͉ͅm̝̻͙͕̘ o̺͇̬̭͚̟̺͔ͅṉ̜̰̯̦̱͙̞̼̭ I͕͙̜̥̦͍͕̮ͅͅt͓̯̩̭̮͇̙̞̩u͎̼͔̗ͅn̗͖̫̗̰̻̖̖̮̹̖̯̯̱̘͇̭e̟̞͙̟̟ș͖̞̱̱̲͎

À̴̢͜l̴̡͏̡͟b̧̧̧͏ų̀͟͠͏m̨̕ ơ̛͜͜͝n̛͜ A̶̕͟m̡a̶̷͠ź̡͢͝͞o̴̧͢͡n̨̧̕͢

Twenty One Pilots Vessel: An Album a Day

An Album a Day is posted 5 days a week, Monday - Friday

   

    Continuing in my quest to review every album Twenty One Pilots have released, today I will be looking at their first album released after signing with Fueled By Ramen. While actually their third album overall, Vessel was the first album made on a major label and as such is where a lot of current Twenty One Pilots’ fans first discovered the band. As I have not listened to their second independent album Regional at Best I cannot say if this is a dramatic change from that album, but it certainly is a departure from their self titled debut.

    This album mixes moods a whole lot more than their debut, with a lot more aggression and even some happy sounding songs that contrast with the dark or sad lyrics. As I said when I reviewed their first album I believe that the missing ingredient was the chemistry that Tyler Joseph has with Josh Dun. It seems that Dun facilitates Tyler trying more experimental ideas and blending of genres as well as being a far superior drummer than Chris Salih.
    The blending of genres and experimenting with moods can be seen most clearly in the opening track Ode To Sleep. It’s been stated by Tyler that the reason this was the album opener is because it throws just about every element of their sound at the listener immediately. The track starts with an aggressive almost classical sounding synth line before the first verse turns into an electronic rap song. The chorus is then a happy pop song as Tyler sings about his temporary respite from his nightly demons. While the second verse turns back into a rap song it features some of the fastest rapping that Tyler has ever done. The dynamic from soft to heavy and mixing of genres perfectly encapsulates the album.

    There really isn’t a bad track on this album, and unlike their debut none of the tracks delve too deep into melodrama, making them all listenable regardless of mood. The closing track Truce is fairly somber, but it works perfectly to close out the album. The tracks that standout the most for me are Ode To Sleep, Screen and Trees. All three of these tracks feature the heavy use of metaphor and religious imagery that Tyler Joseph is known for in his lyrics.

    While Ode To Sleep mixes the metaphors of mental illness and emotional demons with literal spiritual warfare, Screen and Trees has Joseph seemingly speaking directly to God. In the case of Screen the lyrics seem to be Joseph questioning why he thinks he can hide his mental illness and brokenness from his creator, using the idea that he literally has a screen on his chest. The bridge features the repeated phrase “we’re broken people” which is a sing along line during live shows. This songs refers both to mental illnesses and the idea of sin, keeping Joseph’s typical mixing of Christian ideology and descriptions of his own struggles with depression and anxiety.

    Trees almost feels like a sequel song to Implicit Demand For Proof from their debut album. Whereas in that song Joseph is essentially calling out God and demanding He prove his existence, even if He does so by destroying him,  this time Joseph takes a less antagonistic approach. This one doesn’t come off as doubtful as much as unsure of how to know Him and painfully aware of his faults. Like a lot of their songs the lyrics both refer to the spiritual elements as well as portraying the mind of someone with terrible social anxiety. Which I suppose this makes sense, if you have social anxiety about talking to normal people then trying to talk to a supposedly all powerful being that you believe created everything should be pretty daunting.

    Overall this album is a huge step up in quality from their debut album, and while the lyrics are terribly different the delivery is. The rap verses mixed with melodic singing and occasional screaming adds a diversity and dynamic element to Tyler’s delivery that lets him convey his message much easier. Likewise the music is a huge increase in quality, being way more diverse and interesting to listen to. Many fans consider this to be the band's best album, especially since their next album would become a huge commercial hit and lead to the “it’s popular so it sucks” mindset of some of their older fans. While I don’t know if I’d say this is better than Blurryface, it is absolutely one of their best and has some of my favorite tracks from this band.


Album on Google Play
Album on ITunes
Album on Amazon