Review: Nine Inch Nails "Year Zero"

I've mentioned my unwavering love of all things crazy and Bjork on this thread before, but I think Trent Reznor just one-upped her most successful musical experiment: Medulla.

No, the new Nine Inch Nails album "Year Zero" is not almost entirely ac capella (I wish, cause that would just be a dream), but it does try to push the boundaries of the music industry by taking apart the traditional thought process behind music and creating something that is both true to the earliest stages of music and completely out of this world/futuristic (take that Justin Timberlake).

The album is a sonic explosion of dissonance and loud electronic sequenced rock, and the overall feel and campaign of the record is incredible. Let me just pull up a quick screen grab of the flyer stuck to the back of the album to continue their year zero theme:


When Trent is in his full on sexy rocker mode, he made me contemplate whether or not I could ever love a man in that way (the track in question is Track 4, The Good Soldier, which is (not) surprisingly about sex). However, when the political discourse takes center stage (tracks 6-7 (Me, I'm Not and Capital G)), the album suffers. Me, I'm Not had an interesting enough production/arrangement behind it to be bearable, but Track 7 made me wish for the dulcet tones of Britney Spears "Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman Either", and I hate that song.

The best part of the album to me is the incredible campaign surrounding it, which is fully followed up with the environmentally friendly tri-fold paper based CD packaging, though the album does still contain a fully plastic (and harder to remove the disc from than usual) CD holder that kind of cancels out the environmental good will.

TrentSketch Safety Tip: Remove the CD booklet from the outside edge of the case, not the inside, otherwise you will rip and destroy your cardboard case.

Get this album. It's that good. Hopefully, the Grammys will reward NIN's efforts with an album of the year nomination (hey, they like the White Stripes, why not NIN). It's already guaranteed another victory in Alternative album (over Bjork...sigh, my girl just can't catch a break there).

Buy it. Now.

Review: Robbie Williams Album Rudebox

It was a sad day when I found out that Robbie Williams was going into rehab, partly because people didn't quite take to his latest release. Robbie has been a huge influence on my development as a musician, and his album Rudebox shows just why that is.

Rudebox is not the easiest album to get into - not by a long shot. Everything seems to be based in electronic loops of unnatural sounding representations of real instruments. Robbie also seems to favor his almost-rap style evidenced in one of my favorite disturbing videos, Rock DJ. TrentSketch Safety Tip: This video is supposed to be funny. It's not smut, it's not vulgar, and it's certainly not an exploitation horror film. It is gory, so it's not for the faint of heart. Also, not safe for work.

But Robbie knows how to pull together super catchy songs that get stuck in your head for days. My favorite track on the album is easily the catchy, kind-of angry Viva Life on Mars. It's so kitschy and catchy and just plain enjoyable. It's also the most traditional sounding song on the entire album.

If there is a weak spot in the record, it is the longer, back-to-back decade songs (1980's and 1990's). They seem too similar and sort of mismatched to what comes before and after them.

Overall, it's a strong album, but not one that I would pay the suggested 18.95 price tag for. Save yourself the cash and download it on iTunes.

Get well soon Robbie.

Review: Imogen Heap Album "Speak For Yourself"

I'll say it right now: I love Imogen Heap. I think she is an incredibly talented musician who, even after being nominated at the Grammy Awards, is extremely under appreciated by music fans. Her songs are solid and her use of electronic music technology is breathtaking. This talented artist is a true one-woman band who doesn't have to rely on tricks and gimmicks to stand out. Her crazy personality and talent work just fine.

So when Imogen Heap started her own record label to release her solo album "Speak for Yourself", I figured she might get some good reviews in the US, but might not even receive US distribution. But when RCA Victor picked up the rights to distribute in the US, I knew something big was going to happen.

Fast forward to Imogen Heap, dressed like a background performer in the Calista Flockhart version of A Midsummer Night's Dream on Grammy night losing Best New Artist to the far more well known and commercial Carrie Underwood. More surprisingly, Imogen Heap was the only Best New Artist nominee NOT to perform at the Grammys. Though, interesting sidenote, a friend of mine who works for Atlantic Records told me how the head of the label had to call and bitch every day to NARAS to get James Blunt a performance slot for the show, so at least Imogen wasn't supposed to be alone. But what can a self-run artist do to get that kind of respect in the industry?

Release an incredible album. "Speak for Yourself" is an underrated masterpiece, filled with great song after great song. All of her music incorporates catchy repeated keyboard patterns with nice touches of other instrumentation and creative use of vocals and wordplay. The crowning achievement, of course, is the show-stopping track "Hide and Seek". Imogen takes the traditionally used for effect only Vocoder and, with the help of her trusty keyboard, creates a musical landscape of layered vocals that could make a grown man cry.

This CD is routinely available, even after the Grammys, in the discount bin at stores. It's more than worth it to invest your time and money in will undoubtedly be one of the most listened to albums in your collection.