on the stereo

howdy pop pickers

well, two (2) new albums up for a look at here. no, not just one, nor as many as three or any number what is higher. yes, normally i would do this sort of thing on an individual basis, as in a post for each. alas, i have something of a temperature, look you see, and doubt much that i could concentrate for a prolonged period. also, it kind of makes sense to pair these up, very much equally to how it kind of does not make any sense at all to do so. 

there would be little (or no) value in me trying to do proper "reviews" anyway. for a start i am not sure i am any good at such, but mostly in this era of disposable i would take as a given that anyone who wished to hear these albums has already done so. going on the basis that nobody i know is particularly interested in anything that i think about anything, maybe a decade or so from now a stranger shall stumble on this, read it and go "oh". or something. 

between the end of August and mid September i came to own the tapes (discs) of Wild God off of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, along with The Death Of Slim Shady off of Eminem. for those who know me, whether they care to confess to that or not, the latter would indeed be a surprise, as i have never been overtly keen on him. well, things change, and not just because of my current three quarter life crisis, although the way i feel momentarily it might be ambitious to say that i am as early in the journey as 75% done. let's not worry about that. 

despite there being no formal (or decent, central) source of music news no more it was so that i was vaguely aware of Eminem releasing a new album. i think my thoughts were mostly along the lines of oh, right, another return from retirement, then. again, i really don't follow him much, but have some notion in mind that he retired, returned and then retired again. this cycle he has done at least once. 

how i became aware of the details of the release is down to a colleague and, if i may, good friend. they were considerably more interested in whatever Eminem did than i was. it was so, though, that he was curious as to just how fast i would work out which song he (Eminem, not colleague/friend) had sampled or otherwise utilised for the lead "single", Houdini. yes, it took barely a few seconds to observe (or rather hear) that it was Abracadabra off of Steve Miller Band. listening on, though, i was delighted to hear that it was both a really good song and really really f*****g funny. 

i am a custodian of a copy of the tape (disc) of The Death Of Slim Shady thanks to my colleague and friend. he was so taken that i was so impressed with that one tune he insisted on getting it for me. and yes he bought a copy for himself, despite being of the era where streaming is "the norm". 

mostly, or for the most part, i've not paid all that much attention to whatever Eminem has done over the years as little really resonated with me. oh, fear not, i have every confidence that he's coped ever so well with me not being too bothered. certainly i can appreciate the talent and understand what he's saying, it's just not been "me". this one is somewhat different, though. often i have written of how i don't care much for this century and don't understand it. apparently Mr Eminem considers quite a lot of what's going on with this century entirely f*****g stupid, and so off he goes to "dis" it, or antagonise it as much as he can. well worth supporting, especially as the "death" would mostly seem to be as much to do with retiring a persona as it is, encouraging if not daring, to get the world to "cancel" him. 

as far as i am concerned this album is free flowing genius. not for everyone, of course. i am guessing i have missed out on something (or simply forgotten controversies) but Christopher Reeve and people what are shorter than average (referred to on the album as "midgets") appear not to fare well. still, he appears to have an inexplicable fondness for Tobey Maguire, which is nice. 

up above you can see the initial chart position for the return of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds with the album Wild God. that's quite impressive, considering that the long planned release date for the record turned out to be the week what Oasis (or related divorce lawyers) announced a reunion. so yes, three of the four placed above were taken by, via streaming and an anniversary re-re-release, Oasis tapes. circumstantially and for someone who is peculiarly niche in appeal, that's impressive. 

of all the records known to be coming out in 2024 it would be extremely fair to say that this was the one i was most excited about. if it is so that people over 50 remain allowed to get excited. looking forward to then, or anticipated greatly. whilst my much vaunted "album of the year" is not a given for it, the record has certainly not disappointed and has definitely delivered. 

hard to believe, what with the vagaries of time, that it's now three (3) years since i got to see Nick Cave live and in concert. there is a great temptation to go and see his (at time of writing) imminent tour in support of this album, but mostly (and yes possibly irrationally) i fear the disappointment of the experience not being the same. sometimes it is better to clutch to what was than risk reaching for what might be. 

do i have anything to say of the actual tape (disc) of Wild God? well, here's where i am intimidated, but not in a bad way. just what words can i use as a description of the genius words flowing from Nick Cave? it's all one would expect from an album he deemed essential to gift to the world, yet all at once a fresh revelation. darkly witty and macabre, as sacred as it is profane, immersive as in one experiences it rather than just "listens" and, ultimately, beautiful. 

my suspicion would be that all who(m) wish to hear from Nick Cave bought this new recording the week, if not the day, it was released. should you be reading this many years from now, in some sort of perverse society where the genius of Nick Cave is not spoken of daily, then do seek this out. 

so far 2024 has been really, really good for new vibes, man. that's excellent, and that's also without me troubling myself with whatever it is a Beyonce, a Swifty, an Ed Sheridan (or whatever) or a Coldplay actually do. from memory i don't think i have heard as many good "new" albums in one year since that strange era of 2016. more is yet to come, with The Cure having a "long awaited" record soon. not sure how excited i am about that, but still. oh, of course i like them, but also i don't think i have really been too taken with any record of theirs since the masterpiece that remains Disintegration. 

highly unlikely any of this has been of much practical use, but all the same, hopefully one or two of you found something of interest. thanks, as ever, for reading. or just looking at the pictures. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!