I’m trying not to return to the old days a post every five months – it’s just been a busy week or two and life comes first.

A quick week’s break has recharged me somewhat so I’ll be getting back into the swing soon but in the interim here’s a few of what’s been spinning on my turntable / car / iPod of late….

Weezer – Weezer (White Album)

Remember Weezer? They made a great trio of albums, a good fourth a so-so fifth album and then went on a very strange and disappointing journey that included songs with titles like “Where’s My Sex?” and “I’m Your Daddy”, collaborations with Lil’ Wayne (I still don’t really know who he is nor do I want to, thanks), album art featuring the large guy from Lost (and Becker) and something called Death To False Metal which featured a cover of “Unbreak My Heart” (again; no thanks). Just when the nosedive seemed irreversible there was a perfect, in-studio cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” as if to suggest they’d just been fucking with us all along. Then they decided to go back-to-basics again with the apologetic Everything Will Be Alright In The End. Weezer (White) continues that streak – and their colour sequence – and is the most consistently strong album they’ve done in well over a decade. It’s not quite enough to erase the memory of “The Girl Got Hot” just yet but it gets stronger with each listen.

Public Service Broadcasting – The Race for Space

This is an oddly divisive one but I’m really into this right now. I caught a bit of a session these guys were doing on the radio and was instantly hooked (song below). With a heavy but well-selected use of samples this album sets the  story of the American and Soviet space race from 1957-1972 to music. I’m still fascinated by the scope and engineering complexities involved in the space race, the fact that so many people worked together with such a common goal and though it’s not immediate, the blending of music to sample really kicks in and lends an at-times majestic and stirring soundtrack to a story that gripped so many.

 

Radiohead – Burn The Witch

I’ve not heard A Moon Shaped Pool yet. By all accounts it’s great. I’ve pre-ordered and am anxiously awaiting needle-drop time but still loving this. It’s all about those strings.

Purple Rain – Prince

Because it’s still too hard to grasp that he’s gone.