Kelley Polar - Love Songs of The Hanging Gardens (Environ CD05)

If you really just mean people who wait for e.g. Soul Jazz to retrospectively legitimise a genre like house music, then fine, yeah, I think a little bit of cynicism is allowed. But only because house has already been retrospectively legitimised (and, indeed collated and canonized) so many times that waiting for Soul Jazz to come on board seems like the imposition of absurdly high "standards" (we may as well wait for Marshall Jefferson to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame).

But if you mean something broader - like following buzz or looking for good comps that people agree are trustworthy - then I think it's a bit of an unrealistic criticism.

We all use tactics of discrimination, both to prevent ourselves from going broke and to allow ourselves to focus on the stuff we like. The question is not whether we discriminate or not, but whether our specific tactics are sound or not.

you know you're buying too much music when you have to start using music itself as currency! (the electric institute comp was worth every penny, BTW. i've been listening to it nonstop since i bought it. it is one of the best non-mixed comps i have heard this year. the track selection and flow are perfect together; melodic stealth and song forms that get weirder and trackier as the comp progresses. it has ace unreleased 69 and mayday remixes to boot.)

if we're not constantly questioning and reevaluating how we hear and classify music then something is missing IMO. or maybe it's when genre ossifies, eventually shatters and gets mixed up to restart all over again.

Haha, but does Jess Harvell like her?

Word! It's like Chanticleer!

In terms of the comments above w/r/t press coverage of dance, etc., this one is top shelf, front and center on the new release wall at Amoeba, with a little "BUY THIS NOW!" card in various color magick markers under it. I also heard it at Urban Outfitters the other day....

Well it is a disco album of sorts, so what do you want?

Not nearly as gay as Brian Wilson's Smile, though...

"Forget what it sounds like- What does this all MEAN?"

Heresy!!!

OTM

I was going to add to my above post that this album is kind of like Natalie Portman in that pretty-though-not-sexy way, but I figured I had it covered referencing 10000 Hz, which is by far Air's least sexy record.

This is also a problem I have with Metro Area and said fans- I don't really understand what's so fantastic about their music. Sure, none of it is really BAD, but it's kind of par for the course with every new release.

I'd argue that Lifelike & Kris Menace's "Discopolis" has more heart, soul, longing, joy, originality and thump than any Metro Area track released to date. It's undeniably disco, but you've never heard any disco track like it.

Metro Area tracks are the same thing every time, and in most instances are simply re-hashed sounds and structures milked from well-known songs produced 20-30 years ago.

And my whole point with "Discopolis" vs. any Metro Area : quality vs. quantity

in the event that wasn't clear....

It's kinda half-way to something really great, yet I find it hard to verbalise or imagine what the other missing 50% would actually consist of when it sounds so dazzlingly complete & 'full'. It feels like a mirage. I was thinking earlier it reminded me of Anthony & The Johnsons that way, gone 'dance'. Anyhow I shouldn't post any more about something I'm not even intending to purchase!

I mean, if I'm right in suggesting there is a distrust there.

i also think the kelley polar album is full of sex so i'll have to disagree there too. maybe it is so ingrained that it's easy to overlook. the mirage of the shiny exterior is distracting i suppose.

Uh oh.

This is a totaly valid question, btw, though I just caught a whiff of Ricardo Villalobos's sweat in the air....

And hence the utter lack of sexiness. No I'm with you if you're suggesting that it's too polished, too predictable, too ovbious. And with this not being a typical Metro Area release, I find that a little disappointing. I still like the album, quite a bit, but again- pretty, but not sexy....

i also think the kelley polar album is full of sex so i'll have to disagree there too. maybe it is so ingrained that it's easy to overlook. the mirage of the shiny exterior is distracting i suppose.

-- tricky (tricky@), November 29th, 2005.

This is interesting, but that sheen still hasn't worn away for me with multiple listens. Can you elaborate on what it is you find sexy about the record? Anything that comes close to suggesting as such seems vapid to me (noting that sexiness is not necessarily a qualifier for disco records).....

i think it's the beats and the low-end (OTOH, "the rooms in my house have many parties" is a good example of this). also, a lot of the lyrics are all about being full of desire, sometimes desire so strong that it's dysfunctional and stalker-ish which admittedly is not exactly sexy...i think i noted it upthread, but i hear two-sides to this album. the first half kind of sets up the second half and it's the second half that is more sexy/groovy. also, nerdy exteriors are kind of hot.

Ok this I have noticed just a bit, but nerdy exteriors tend to ring a little false for me, hence my suggestion of it being too obvious. Nerdy interiors, on the other hand, are what it's all about- I want more quirkiness in the depths of this, more surprises.

Surprises = most sexiest!

there's a fair bit of proselytizing going on here, it's true!

Surprises = most sexiest!

agree...and the sounds like metro area commentary is definitely spot on.

also, ronan, i get where you're coming from. i think this music is very insider-y stuff. it's may sound poppy, but it is not populist.

what if your not really looking for this in dance music?

or that youre specifically looking for pastiches of these elements, facsimiles?

the bits of this album i have heard, i wished things like the melodies and stuff were more obvious,like their chord progression. i wanted it to be more cheesy and lush. it breaks into a lush swell and then cuts it out. i finsd that with metro area stuff as well. in other music that tension can be exhilirating but weith this i find a little disappointing. but i havent heard it properly yet. and i lost patience with bleep about half way thru anyway.

OTM!

I think the nay-sayers are severely underestimating the impact of the first four Metro Area releases, and the criticism that "it's always the same" is really unfair considering how much ground they've covered over the course of six records. Sure, there's a sonic "signature" there, but that has much more to do with a production aesthetic than any sort of compositional rut.

What songs exactly? While the references and feel are distinctly retro, or at least, refer to timelessly good stuff, I think that statement is a bit harsh.