Lungs Locked, Lips Locked, Join the Renaissance

[vovat]

The new Dresden Dolls album came out on Tuesday. I stopped by Tower on my way to work, fully expecting that it would cost a hell of a lot of money there, and that I'd pass it up and get it somewhere else later in the week. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was on sale for $10. When I took it up to the counter to buy it, the clerk said that he saw them open for Nine Inch Nails, but didn't care for them, although he liked the song "Coin-Operated Boy." Apparently a lot of people were booing them at that show, and the cashier said that he didn't, even though he was eager to see NIN. Personally, I don't care for NIN, so it would have been the opposite for me. Except that I wouldn't go to a show where I only like the opener, unless it was really cheap. Oh, and another clerk said she liked my No! T-shirt, and that it reminded her of the Cheerios T-shirt. I guess it IS kind of the same color, although I think the No! shirt is a little more on the orange side. A friend of mine in college had the Cheerios shirt, actually.

Anyway, the album itself is pretty awesome. It sounds similar to the self-titled one, but that's not a bad thing. And I think the production might be better. I mean, I'm no audiophile, and I don't really have an ear for such things, but it sounds more crisp or something. So that's cool. My favorite song as of now is "My Alcoholic Friends," but I also quite enjoy "Sex Changes" (the first track, which makes for an engaging and frantic way to start things off), "Modern Moonlight" (which features a lot of quotable lines, including "Coke and Pepsi finally found a compromise" and "God, I love communicating!"), and "Dirty Business." "Shores Of California" has a really catchy chorus, and "First Orgasm" deserves props for using the word "inbox." My least favorite track is probably "Delilah," which isn't bad by any means, but just hasn't really clicked with me.

It's interesting that I found most of the new albums I got at the beginning of last year to be somewhat disappointing, while I've loved all the new ones I've heard so far this year (which would be a total of four now). Some of the ones from last year that I inititally found disappointing did grow on me, certainly (like the Decemberists' Picaresque, which I initially thought was just decent, but is now my favorite album of theirs), but overall it seems like this is shaping up to be a better year for new albums. I'll just have to see whether this trend continues.

Comments

[loz]

Oh, it sounds like you recommend the album. Good. It's been a while since I listened to any Dresden Dolls since I got into them a while back.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's definitely a worthwhile listen, if you like the band.

[onib.livejournal.com]

Great! I'm really excited to get mail CD in the mail. I mean, I already was, but it's great to hear good feedback from it.

If you look on the Dresden Dolls website, there's a "Hate-Mail" section. Most of the letters there are from people who saw them open for NIN and hated them. I just don't think there's a very good fit between Dresden Dolls and NIN. If I remember correctly, wasn't Weird Al's first big performace as an opener for some punk or heavy metal group? I remember he was booed pretty severely.

If you haven't been to Automatic Joy, you might want to check it out. The title obviously comes from Coin-Operated Boy, and it's the main site for Dresden Dolls bootleg mp3s. One cool thing about the Dresden Dolls is that they are all for swapping bootleg recordings, have issued several statement to that effect, and even advertise Automatic Joy in their e-mails.

It doesn't look like it's been officially announed elsewhere yet, but the last e-mail from them said that they were going to play in Philly on Saturday, July 1st at the Pier.

After we heard a couple of their songs, we picked up the CD and then went to see them at the TLA last year. They put on an amazing show, and this crowd was very excited to see them. They were also really cool with the fans. In fact, Amanda was wandering around the crowd before the show started just chatting with people.

We have their live DVD too, but for some unknown reason, we haven't sat down to watch it yet. However, it's on the top of our list.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I just don't think there's a very good fit between Dresden Dolls and NIN.

I agree. It kind of seems like a split bill that someone who wasn't actually familiar with either band would have come up with. "Uh, yeah, they're both goth bands, right?" :P I'm sure it wasn't exactly like that, but still. Mind you, I've seen Afroman open for TMBG, and very few other band mismatches could hold a candle to that one.

If I remember correctly, wasn't Weird Al's first big performace as an opener for some punk or heavy metal group?

I think the band he opened for was Missing Persons. I don't know what kind of music they did, but I know the audience hated Al. I think he said something about not wanting to play as an opener after that, aside from when he toured with the Monkees in 1986.

It doesn't look like it's been officially announed elsewhere yet, but the last e-mail from them said that they were going to play in Philly on Saturday, July 1st at the Pier.

That's cool. I'd like to see them live. I HAVE watched the live DVD, and it was a lot of fun. Let me know if you hear anything else about that Philly show.

[revme.livejournal.com]

I've been digging the new Dolls, too. The artwork for it is real neat, too. And "Shores of California" is pretty awesome. But yeah -- definitely a much better produced record, and with the added arrangements (with Brian playing bass), even though the additions are subtle, it really fleshes out the sound.

[goose-gumshoe.livejournal.com]

definately a dresden doll fan, but have be so focused lately i didnt even know they had a new album out! and 10 bucks too? I'm off to Vinyll Fever!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, it was $10 at that particular Tower for that particular week. I think the normal price there was around $15, and I have no idea how much it costs elsewhere.

Incidentally, how did you find my journal? Not that I mind your having found it (like Blanche DuBois, I have always depended on the comments of strangers {g}); I'm just curious.