Tuesday, September 29, 2009

BIBJ Playlist of the 2000s entry #51: 1901 by Phoenix

Full Details of the BIBJ Millennial Playlist Hullabaloo are available here. Today's entry is #51: 1901 by Phoenix (2009)

Take a look at this screengrab I pulled tonight. The google self-complete function has the title of the latest Phoenix album as outranking that of the actual composer that said album is named after. Sorry Mozart, let us know when the Requiem Mass in D Minor gets used to sell Cadillacs and maybe you'll come out on top on the buzz index then.

I tend to have a tough time getting through any type of dancey, synth pop album. It seems to more of an issue with these types of bands than any other genres. Even when I find a song or two or three to be particularly outstanding, by the end of an album it all tends to blend together and I just get bored. I'm reminded of this during any prolonged exposure to bands like Phoenix, LCD Soundsystem, MGMT, or Passion Pit. I usually really like the songs themselves, but when they're all played together in album form, I zone out. (Also, most of these bands write lyrics that are either toss away lines, or ridiculously terrible, so that adds to the cumulative weariness.)

That said, this Phoenix album in particular does quite a bit to combat my weariness. The first two tracks off the album have flooded the late night talk show circuit and they've nearly reached blogosphere saturation, but the songs still hold up. From a visual perspective, the light show of the "1901" video is an unenthusiastic by-the-numbers clip, but then again, it's tough to compete with the Brat Pack mashup of "Lisztomania."

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