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Staff
Reviews 148
Soundoffs 97
News Articles 6
Band Edits + Tags 76
Album Edits 98
Album Ratings 729
Objectivity 73%
Last Active 01-10-23 3:58 pm
Joined 05-13-09
Review Comments 27,413
| Thoughts Music/robertsona
thoughts and music from robertsona | | 1 |  | Nas
Illmatic
been watching the wire a lot lately (currently on season 4) and it's really
something else but i didn't really "get it" until season 2 (still my favorite
season, so far)--the most different from the rest of all the seasons. this one
takes place down on the docks of baltimore with much of the cast being the
stevedores who work there. it's those characters and that setting (as
opposed to the police force or the streets) that really got me thinking hard
about the "institutions and how you're committed to them" theme that
everyone spits out when discussing the wire. the sobotka family, as
characters (especially frank and nick), i think are my favorite characters from
the show--not necessarily because i like them but because they best
embody the whole sort of moral issues that many of the characters on the
wire face. really intriguing stuff. plus it sort of has me in a backwards
interest in a usually "boring" subject: the american working class and its
decline. everyone likes feeling "authentic"; nas is my fix. | | 2 |  | Radiohead
Kid A
english teachers were/are always my favorite sorts of people; the kind of
people who discuss all kinds of media/art (not just books: movies, music,
fine arts etc.) in a manner so eloquent that i previously thought it was only
possible in, say, reviews of music movies etc. when someone could reflect
on and evaluate not only the thing they were reviewing but also the way
they reviewed it for long enough so that, when their deadline or whatever
was upon them, they could have the review say exactly what they want in
exactly the way they wanted. these guys however seemed to make cultural
connections and pick the best words to describe things out of thin air and it
made for great conversation. in particular, i had this one teacher in 7th and
8th grade, mr. izzo, who had a sort of wall of interests in his classroom, on
which was a lot of cultural things and how they connected with each other.
he was a big fan of the doors in particular and had a bunch of their lyrics
posted up, connecting them with poems by walt whitman or something. it
was then that i sort of realized that musical analyzation could go past "I
LIKE THESE SONGS HERES WHY" and could expand into other fields, such as
movies or art or even relating an album to the culture into which it was
released, or a whole musical movement, or something. i must also applaud
thebhoy aka keelan for embodying this sort of deeper level of analyzation,
particularly in reviews like his of radiohead's kid a or, more recently, sufjan
steven's the age of adz. | | 3 |  | Hanson
Middle of Nowhere
you know how just about EVERYONE in the world can enjoy having a great,
lengthy conversation about 90s cartoons and memories thereof? well, i sort
of just realized i chastise theacademy for doing the same with just about
anything. the dude has a classic case of hardcore 90s nostalgia for albums,
movies, you name it. yet, in any medium that isn't nickelodeon/cartoon
network, it just comes off to me as some sort of premeditated gimmick (as
much of the things theacademy does do)--perhaps i should rethink this little
bit of hypocrisy. what are your guys favorite 90s cartoons? | | 4 |  | Grizzly Bear
Yellow House
the season of fall is here--and with it comes, for the very first time, the
realization that is indeed my favorite season. in a very, very, loose way, in
ties into the points i made in #1--i like putting on a hoodie or a coat, going
out for a walk, and feeling "normal". this isnt very much related to fall, but
ive started to dislike idiosyncrasies in all forms and those who flaunt them
and i just want to seem like the "working class" (okay, this is getting really
out there) that i witnessed in the wire season 2 (this is probably part of the
reason that this season appealed to me so much.) fall, to me, is the perfect
season where i can just do that. for the same reasons, i'd sort of like to live
in a small house in jersey and put on a coat and just go for a walk. this isn't
"I JUST WISH I WAS NORMAL" as much as i want to disassociate myself from
the people who pride themselves on being "weird" that have started to
annoy me so much. album is fall-esque and is fantastic. | | 5 |  | Lady Gaga
The Fame Monster
liking or disliking lady gaga is sort of hard because it forces you to
constantly rethink your priorities and exactly WHY you are liking or disliking
artists like her, or her specifically. i personally like her music but have sort of
become bored with her constant "weird" fashion; for many people it's the
opposite. but, really, think about it. do you dislike her? if so, is it because
she's popular, or because her fans are annoying, or because you think
people should stop talking about her? would you really dislike her/be
bothered by her presence as much if she wasnt The Big Thing? Do you like
her? if so, is it because youre tired of hearing "hate" on her by the people
who just brush her off as mainstream trash? is it because youre a
nonconformist in the sense of what "most people like you" think--thus,
those who usually agree with you on other musical things dislike her, so
you try to like her? is it because hating her is too easy? or maybe because
alejandro is a total jam. but probably not. (although it is). | | 6 |  | Devics
My Beautiful Sinking Ship
i've always posited devics as one of those "sentimental/personal" albums,
but is that just because nobody else knows it? i suggested the album to
chambered, who liked it but immediately preferred his next listen,
trespassers william. do i like "my" album more because it is just that? do i
prefer it because i'm almost "angry" at different stars because it directs
attention away from my beautiful sinking ship? let's admit it: it's fun having
an "obscure favorite"--sometimes too fun; causing us to distort our views
on both the album itself and other albums. perhaps an album that should
be a "good" one becomes an "amazing" one simply because we want
others to listen to it; the same logic that pushes me to review what is
probably a 4 or 4.5 a 5, just so people will be more likely to check it out. | | 7 |  | My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade
and what about this? do i only posit this as a near-classic because it's "fun"
to do so to an album that nobody would expect me to like? or perhaps
because it's fun to use "logic" on the idiots who reflexively say, "MCR? Lol
sux emo". | | 8 |  | Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
in a similar fashion, i don't think i've seen a truly great movie this year. i've
started to think that this is my reaction to all the over-the-top hype on
"inception" and "toy story 3", that i was so annoyed by it that my brain
subconsciously went into the movies wanting not to like them and
searching for flaws to rip holes into the arguments of those who loved the
movies. both were good movies, but only that. | | 9 |  | Pixies
Doolittle
perhaps in line with my new affinity for the "normal man", i've craved
"album rock" with a sort of regularity to it; with a lack of gimmicks. pixies'
doolittle is the type of album for this--though it can be argued that the anomaly of "silver" doesn't fit this description, almost all of it is stripped
down rock with great hooks and mostly standard instrumentation that
ensures i'm enjoying it for "purely the music". | | 10 |  | wat
wat
wat | |
robertsona
10.05.10 | got shorter as i got more tired | Bitchfork
10.05.10 | wat | TheSpirit
10.05.10 | wat | Bitchfork
10.05.10 | wat? | acorncheese
10.05.10 | The Wire is awesome. My Beautiful Sinking Ship is awesome. List is awesome. | luci
10.05.10 | wat is this i don't even | Romulus
10.05.10 | i actually enjoyed reading these but can't even come close to formulating a response to any
except my favorite cartoon was Scooby Doo definitely, 90s be damned | Waior
10.05.10 | YEAH | Ire
10.05.10 | wat | musicConsumer
10.05.10 | totally | BigTuna
10.05.10 | i love putting my coat on and going for a walk. also i think you should watch The Social Network | luci
10.05.10 | thread is now about the social network | Romulus
10.05.10 | Tuna is it really that good i'm curious now | luci
10.05.10 | Most well-made movie of the year. Can't decide if it's better than Inception, since Inception was a tad more enjoyable. | robertsona
10.05.10 | i watched the social network solid 8/10 | luci
10.05.10 | lemme guess you went into it the same way you did TS3 and Inception | robertsona
10.05.10 | i was actually really pumped for it. it's probably by the slightest of margins my MotY. although it
sounds like youre accusing me of something that i admitted anyway | SeaAnemone
10.05.10 | oh man look at all this | klap
10.05.10 | autumn too is my favorite season, although it's a bit different in florida and cali | Athom
10.05.10 | @klap: today was pretty universally autumny | klap
10.05.10 | in related news i absolutely hate what california calls rain | Douglas
10.05.10 | twat | Jebull
10.05.10 | You should make this a monthly/weekly installment. | ffs
10.05.10 | cool list | couldwinarabbit
10.05.10 | Nice list. Try relating an album to society on sputnik. If you explain how OKC is a beautifully terrifying satire of modern society people just say. "STFU RABBIT YOUR A FUCKING IDIOT TOOL>>>>>>> RADIOHEAD."
'77 live should be on this list soon. | luci
10.05.10 | Autumn is my song of the year | luci
10.05.10 | relevance |
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