Yo! I’m gonna be deadly honest: never was a Linkin Park fan, even further, I kind of consider them the (more or less) Rock version of New Kids On The Block, or any other prefabricated boy band. Now, Rick Florino of Artistdirect called it the band’s “best record and a landmark for rock as a whole”, which, we have to admit, set our expectations probably excessively high. And once again, it’s not the case. Don’t have to be a musicologist to figure it out, Linkin Park are not Faith No More, NIN, Ministry, Nirvana or name any other genre founder and envelope pusher, edge cutter band, but a smartly managed and marketed and generally pretty over-produced band. Don’t misunderstand me, the famous Rick Rubin and vocalist Mike Shinoda on their third collaboration of co-producing a Linkin Park album were done – again – an excellent job, but the sharp production and the bombastic sound can not cover the mediocrity and shapelessness beneath the surface. And once again, Linkin Park collected a million different sounds and musical approaches and blended them into their own spiced “thing”, but that still do not actually make it their own. Linkin Park might be the perfect prototype of a fully functional machine without its own soul which each time borrowing one. Imagine Mona Lisa (La Gioconda or La Joconde) without her mouth – and mysterious smile. Read more Linkin Park – Living Things (2012)
rap rock
Pop Will Eat Itself – New Noise Designed by a Sadist (2011)
I wrote about PWEI just a few weeks back, reminding of their album “Dos Dedos Mis Amigos” and announcing the good news: on 3rd October 2011, after a 17 years gap, PWEI will release their sixth studio album entitled “New Noise Designed By A Sadist”. And time’s up, here we go again. 11 tracks, the guys sounds fresh and still kicking like two decades ago and they bring us a little bit of chaos & mayhem, some old-school (cool 🙂 ) noises and anti-plastic anthems. It feels like yesterday, but it’s so now and eventually looking into the future.
In few words: they are back to business! Dig out your dancing shoes, grab your air guitar and bang your head: you’re so wasted! Read more Pop Will Eat Itself – New Noise Designed by a Sadist (2011)
Pop Will Eat Itself – Dos Dedos Mis Amigos (1994)
Released on 19th September 1994, the fifth album by The Poppies, also known as PWEI, “Dos Dedos Mis Amigos” bring to the surface a more industrial face of the band. Also, PWEI’s political stance became more explicit with the release of the single “Ich Bin Ein Auslander”, a collaboration with Asian group Fun-Da-Mental, song which was based on the uprise of racial tension throughout Britain during 1994 and reached the UK Top 30.
The album peaked at #11 in the UK Albums Chart and the single “Everything’s Cool” became the band’s ninth Top 30 UK hit.
PWEI found some new popularity after signing with Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records in the US, and touring with Nine Inch Nails, as well as having their songs used on the PlayStation game Loaded. In the same year they featured on The Prodigy’s album “Music for the Jilted Generation”, on the song “Their Law”. Read more Pop Will Eat Itself – Dos Dedos Mis Amigos (1994)
