I've probably hyped about Daft Punk's new album more than anybody, but it's now been two weeks since release and I haven't blogged about it until now. What's up with that?
Well, I've been too busy enjoying the album, dammit. It's so good. But that I've listened to it almost nonstop for a while now, I think I can finally post my not-really-a-review/kind-of-a-reaction. I'll go one song at a time.
Give Life Back to Music
The rock intro that repeats throughout blows me away. The first time I listened to it, I expected the song to follow that style for the entire duration. Nope, it quickly cuts into funky Nile Rodgers guitar and punchy bass. Vocoded lyrics mesh with the fresh, organic sounds. It really makes me want to believe that Thomas and Guy-Man are actually androids, getting back in touch with their human origins.
The Game of Love
This has got to be some kind of sequel to "Something About Us." It's got the same sort of sexy background guitar going on and a similar tempo. Even putting aside the lyrics, you'll notice a strong connection between the songs. (Speaking of lyrics, I'm actually not a fan of them in this song. You can kind of tell the singer is French. "Then it was you, the one that would be breaking my heart when you decided to walk away." I dunno, something about that line sounds awkwardly written to me. Might be the overuse of the passive voice, or the use of "would be breaking." Still, it's Daft Punk. Not normally known for their strong lyricism.) I find the song moderately enjoyable right until the steel drums come in. Then it's like, "Holy dang where'd this sweet-ass Jamaica come from?" So tasty.
Giorgio by Moroder
I was prepared to hear Giorgio talk before the song started, thanks to my committed commute aboard the hype train, but I could see how it would throw people off. It's a little weird hearing a 70+ year old man talk about his life where you're used to hearing singing or just instruments. A lot of people say they skip past the speaking part, but I just can't do that. The background music is too funky. But yeah, after the talking stops, the song goes nuts. I love the way the chord progression never really resolves. It builds up like it's going to hop into a major key, then goes right back to minor every time. Everything they add just keeps making it cooler and cooler. First, piano. Then a casanova E-piano/guitar duel that makes me think of an old Monopoly video game. Out of nowhere, an orchestra. All wrapped up with a bass solo and face-melting guitar. It's phenomenal. One of my favorite tracks on the album.
Within
Speaking of favorite tracks on the album, sweet Jesus, "Within." The George Winston style piano intro hooked me from the start, but the whole song is fantastic. I think this is the first time I've actually really enjoyed the lyrics of a vocoded Daft Punk songs. And it wouldn't be the same if anyone other than the robots had sung. There's such a tight connection to Electroma in this song. I don't want to talk too much about it, in case you haven't seen it. Electroma is a fantastic film. Go watch it and then you'll understand why I love "Within" so much.
Instant Crush
This one was an acquired taste. The synthy guitar is really cool, but the lyrics are hard to understand. Not too much of a problem, seeing as I have the CD and vinyl, both of which come with a booklet containing lyric printouts. Well, not a problem until I realize that it's pretty thick poetry. There's a lot to decipher. Too much to write about here.
Lose Yourself to Dance
I found it strange that the one song specifically about dancing wasn't at 120bpm, the standard dancing speed in electronic music. But maybe that's the point - not being standard. This song still has a heavy enough rhythm to dance to. It's just a slower dance. Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams take the cake in this song. You don't hear falsetto sounding cool in modern music enough. I love how the, "Come on, come on, come on!" pans from left to right. Sounds like the robots are up on the dance floor, dancing around having fun, but you're sitting there on the couch. They want you to get up and dance with them, and the song really makes you want to do just that.
Touch
People are going to lynch me for this. "Touch" is probably my least favorite song. I mean, I still really like it, but after a few listens, the first two minutes get really old. I'd love it if the song would just start at 1:50. I'm all for the poetic reference to The Phantom of the Paradise, making it a true retribution story for Paul Williams. It's great, really. But it's not fun to listen to every time. I've gotta say, though, that the honky-tonk section makes me super happy. It doesn't sound like Daft Punk at all, but it certainly gets my head bobbing. Overall, I'd say this is a neat song that bizarrely snuck its way onto a Daft Punk album.
Get Lucky
Okay, I can't say much about this any more. We've all heard most of it for ages now. It's sort of the theme song of RAM. (In terms of recognizability, at least. The songs that really convey the meaning of the album most are probably "Give Life Back to Music" and "Doin' It Right.") The extra two minutes raise the song to a whole new level, though. The phrase at 3:18? My God that little arpeggio synth riff is neat.
Beyond
I hate to say it, but this goes along with "Touch" as one of my least favorite songs of RAM. It's not because it's bad by any means; I still really like it. It's just that, like in "Touch," the beginning segment with the orchestra is cool but purely novelty. It's a little annoying hearing it every time when it would be perfectly acceptable to drop the listener straight into the main part of the song otherwise. That, and the lyrics are a little funky again. They would have sounded better with another singer. As it stands, the vocoder sounds a little too harsh. "Close your eyes and riiiissseeee-uh!" Takes me out of the otherwise extremely gentle atmosphere of the rest of the song. I do absolutely love the last two minutes, though. The synth sounds like Tron: Legacy music and I've never heard steel guitar in electronic music before.
Motherboard
Whoo, this is experimental. English horn and flute? What's that doing in my electronic music? The answer is, "Being goddamn brilliant, that's what." I love how the focus sort of shifts between each instrument, sometimes focusing on the winds, sometimes on the guitar, and even sometimes on the scoopy-sounding bassline. The percussion is phenomenal throughout. Very subdued. Again, the synth running throughout the song sounds like it's straight out of Tron: Legacy. In fact, it even sounds like it could be sampled straight from "Son of Flynn." The water sounds really drive home the organic feel of the track, contrasting the title beautifully.
Fragments of Time
Summer driving song right here. That's all I've got to say. Mmm.
Doin' It Right
(Wait, is that wood block? It just keeps on going. Is it going to stop? It's getting a little annoying. No? Actually, I'm starting to like it. Get it, wood block.) Dang, Panda Bear. I was a little wary of Daft Punk's collaboration with this member of Animal Collective, but he sold me with this song. This is really fun to sing along with in the car with the windows down, awkwardly stopping every time someone else rolls by with their windows down because it's hard to sing quietly.
Contact
I'm just going to give a timestamp first-time reaction to this one.
0:01 - Aw man, last song. I don't want it to be over. :(
0:19 - Interesting. Alien life?
0:56 - Ooh, it's really starting.
1:27 - Oof! There's some yummy bass drum.
1:43 - OH DANG. The drums. Oh my god the drums. It's so good.
1:58 - Did the drums just get better without changing at all?
2:15 - They're about to hit me with something big. This is getting tense. Come back, drums! :(
2:45 - Whee, they're back!
3:00 - AHHHHH!
3:15 - AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
4:52 - [no conscious thoughts, but brain function resumes]
5:20 - Am I dead? Did I die? I'm totally dead.
5:35 - Yep. Gotta be dead.
6:20 - ... Whoa.
Good work, Frenchies. Nearly a perfect album.
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