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Švedski sastav Little Dragon se vratio posle samo godinu dana sa novim albumom Machine Dreams. Čuvena džez pevačica YUKIMI NAGANO i njeni srednjoškolski prijatelji Erik Bodin (bubnjevi), Fredrick Källgren (bas) i Håkan Wirenstrand (klavijature) su napustili svoj elektro soul fazon i sada su samo elektro. Zamenili su pesme za slušanje u sobi tipične za njihov debi u korist pesama koje mogu ići u klubovima (vraćanje u osamdesete u ,,Looking Glass’’ ili ,,My Step’’). Očigledno da Little Dragon teže promenama u svom muzičkom izrazu, što je dobro i možda će se ljubiteljima elektronike ovaj album svideti više nego prvi.

Yukimi i ekipa naročito vole je da elektrificiraju tradicionalnu azijsku muziku u cilju stvaranja moderne i vesele pop ili r&b pesme što su već radili na prvom abumu sa uvodnom ,,Twice’’, a sad to čine sa ,,Runabout’’ i predivnom ,,Fortune’’ koja je dobila pohvale od DJ Shadow-a. Pesma ,,Feather’’ zvuči kao nešto što će ići uz najavu programa ili vremensku prognozu na tv-u u ne tako dalekoj robotizovanoj budućnosti (ako tad bude tv-a uopšte). ,,Thunder Love’’ je suprotno svom nazivu sasvim mirna i lagana i jedina nosi taj stari Little Dragon šmek. Ukradeni, pozajmljeni ili nijedno od toga uvodni taktovi pesme ,,Swimming’’ neodoljivo podsećaju na Timbaland produkciju (tačnije hit ,,Maneater’’ Nelly Furtado) i čine da ova pesma bude jedna od boljih na albumu. Posebnu pažnju zaslužuje i pesma ,,Blinkin Pigs’’ koja jedina sadrži i neke žive instrumente kao i stvar ,,Come Home’’.

Yukimi objašnjava naziv albuma rečima da je naslov Machine Dreams bio očigledan obzirom da ljudi svaki dan sve više podsećaju na mašine, a kako tehnologija napreduje i mašine su sve sličnije ljudima i neophodne su nam u svakodnevnom životu, pa je konačna humanizacija mašina pripisujući im nešto takvo tipično za čoveka kao što je san sasvim logično predskazanje.

Little Dragon su takav bend, možda vam se na prvo slušanje neće svideti, čak će vam biti i odbojni, ali već posle nekog vremena nećete moći da izbacite zarazne bitove iz glave i kukovi će sami krenuti da se pomeraju. Kakvo god mišljenje da imate o njima, na trenutnoj muzičkoj sceni niko im nije ni sličan, uspeli su da stvore sopstveni prepoznatljiv zvuk, delom zahvaljujući inovativnim kompozicijama delom zahvaljujući karakterističnom glasu Yukimi Nagano. Činjenica je da svaka zvezdica koju ovaj album dobije je najviše zahvaljujući njenom glasu koji spašava ono nekoliko dobrih pesama od monotonije i jednoličnosti.

Iako je album pobrao uglavnom dobre kritike i dobio visoke ocene, po meni je lošiji od prvenca. Monoton je, manje inovativan nego prošli i samo se uklapa u već postojeće elektro kalupe. Dok je prvi album uporno odbijao da ode sa moje plejliste i čak našao svoje mesto medju omiljenim albumima, Machine Dreams uporno odbija da se tu zadrži pa makar i sa jednom pesmom. Verovatno da su napravili dužu pauzu ne bi bilo ovoliko promašaja, ali neka im to bude za nauk.

A ako nam Švedjani ne obezbede kvalitetni a opet neopterećujući elektro pop, ko će?

© 2009 Autabout Ltd. All rights reserved.

i have slept over this kind of good music... fuck. now tell me some good artists if you read this journal.

DJ Shadow UNKLE

1.How did you get into 29? (Air)
I guess it was when Sexy Boy & Kelly Watch the Stars got a lot of airplay on MTV in the late 90's.

2. What's the first song you ever heard by 22? (The Radio Dept.)
Not entirely sure, but I vaguely remember seeing them live on a festival in Sweden in 2004, which is probably when I heard their music for the first time. (Mind you, it was at a boozy music festival after all, so it's all a bit of a blur really...)

3. What's your favorite lyric by 33? (José González)
Maybe these ones from Broken Arrow:
"Summerlove left this town
It was too cold to bathe and the leaves turned brown
The sun went down
And with it the love we found
That's the way things are sometimes
Most of the time"

4. How did you get into 49? (Björk)
Well, seeing that I'm Scandinavian she was a pretty big deal there with her debut album (called Debut). The first track I heard was Human Behaviour, but I didn't start listening to her stuff properly until the late 90's.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? (MF DOOM)
Two (Operation Doomsday & MM Food).

6. What is your favorite song by 50? (M83)
Graveyard Girl.

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? (RJD2)
Not that I can think of, or maybe One Day.

8. What is your favorite song by 15? (El-P)
Tasmanian Pain Coaster is pure genius.

9. What is your favorite song by 5? (Sage Francis)
Sea Lion.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (Alias)
Not really, I wouldn't exactly say Alias is famous for his feelgood-tracks. Maybe Dr.C by Alias & Tarsier.

11. What is the worst song by 40? (Coldplay)
Violet Hill no doubt. Can't stand it. I never understood how it could be released as a first album single.

12. What is your favorite song by 10? (Sia)
Breathe Me, followed by Death By Chocolate.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (Sole)
I remember being on a road trip with my brother and he'd brought 'Selling Live Water' which had recently been released. I had never heard of Sole, but I loved what I heard.

14. What is your favorite song by 38? (CunninLynguists)
It's a tie between Seasons (Remix) and Don't Leave (When Winter Comes). The beat for the remix of seasons is amazing and fits the lyrcs perfectly.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? (Murs)
The Night Before is nice. Bad Man! is a good party tune.

16. Is there a song by 25 that makes you sad? (Feist)
Yep. Let It Die, The Park & How My Heart Behaves. To name a few.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (Jean Grae)
Love Song.

18. What's your favorite lyric by 11? (Bat for Lashes)
From Good Love:
"In the night time we are found
Misty sorrow swoop unbound
Whisper you mean it, say you'll stay
Hold my heart till brighter days"

19. Who is a favorite member of 1? (Aesop Rock)
Ian Matthias Bavitz (aka Aesop Rock). Tricky one that.

20. Is there a song by 14 that makes you happy? (WHY?)
Gemini (Birthday Song) and A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under both put a smile on my face.

21. What is a good memory involving 27? (Burial)
I listened a lot to Burial when I initially moved to London, so maybe that.

22. What is your favorite song by 16? (Regina Spektor)
Samson was the first song I heard by her, and I absolutely loved it. Still find it amazing. But she's done so many incredible tracks, other favourites are Ode To Divorce and Somedays.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? (Radiohead)
Creep, back in the day. Not really feeling their recent stuff.

24. What is your favourite album by 18? (The Clash)
London Calling - one of the greatest albums ever made imo.

25. What is your favorite song by 21? (Madvillain)
Accordion.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (Masta Ace)
Beautiful.

27. What is your favorite album by 3? (Death Cab for Cutie)
Plans. Even quality throughout, not one bad song on the entire album.

28. What is you favorite song by 2? (Sigur Rós)
Probably Með suð í eyrum or Saeglopur. A lot of good songs to choose from though.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? (Boards of Canada)
Music Is Math was featured in a Swedish movie, and that's what made me start listening to them.

30. What is you favorite song by 8? (The Album Leaf)
We Need Help.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Bon Iver)
None, but I'd love to. Hopefully within the next year.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? (Lykke Li)
Everybody But Me (Christoffer Remix). The lyrics are depressing as anything, but it's still that instant party anthem.

33. How did you get into 12? (Madlib)
Through Jaylib's Champion Sound.

34. What is the worst song by 45? (Buck 65)
Kennedy Killed the Hat (which a lot of people seem to love)

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? (Groove Armada)
My friend, yet again on MTV back in High School. I still remember the video.

36. What was the first song you ever heard by 48? (Koushik)
Lying in the Sun.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? (One Be Lo)
None.

38. What is you favorite song by 36? (The Shins)
New Slang & Sea Legs.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (Cat Power)
The Greatest

40. What is you favorite album by 7? (J Dilla)
Donuts! A classic.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? (P.O.S.)
Goodbye. Great beat.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? (Zero 7)
Simple Things.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? (Azure Ray)
Rise. (In fact the song with the most plays in my entire library.)

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? (Dosh)
I listened a lot to Wolves and Wishes when I went to Tokyo last year, and listening to that album still reminds me of the good times I spent there.

45. What is your favorite song by 35? (DJ Shadow)
Stem/Long Stem, hands down. Amazing track.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? (The Streets)
I guess the easy answer here would be to mention any song off Everything Is Borrowed. But I'm not really a big fan of Mike Skinner going all happy-go-lucky, so I'd have to say Fit But You Know It and Don't Mug Yourself.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? (Atmosphere)
Lucy Ford, followed by God Loves Ugly.

48. Who is your favorite member of 37? (Bloc Party)
Don't have one.

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? (Band of Horses)
The Funeral. Still reckon it's one of their best songs.

50. What is your favorite song by 20? (The Roots)
You Got Me. High school memories right there.

My top 10 albums of each decade since the 1960s.

1960s

1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
2. Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates of Dawn
3. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
4. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
5. 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
6. The Stooges - The Stooges
7. James Brown - Live at the Apollo
8. Love - Forever Changes
9. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
10. The United States of America - The United States of America

1970s

1. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
2. David Bowie - Low
3. Gang of Four - Entertainment!
4. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
5. The Clash - London Calling
6. Television - Marquee Moon
7. Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
8. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
9. Pink Floyd - Animals
10. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express

1980s

1. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
2. Joy Division - Closer
3. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
4. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
5. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
6. Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
7. Paul Simon - Graceland
8. Operation Ivy - Energy
9. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
10. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

1990s

1. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand
2. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
3. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
4. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
5. Green Day - Dookie
6. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
7. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
8. Radiohead - OK Computer
9. At the Drive-In - Acrobatic Tenement
10. Reatards - Teenage Hate

2000s

1. M.I.A. - Kala
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
3. Radiohead - Kid A
4. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
5. Portishead - Third
6. OutKast - Stankonia
7. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
8. Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral
10. The Ergs! - Dorkrockcorkrod

It occurs to me that I've yet to fill out a "questions about ___" questionnaire. Times are changing.

1. What is your favorite song by 29? (DJ Shadow)
Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt
It was also the first I heard, and I loved it the first time I heard it.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? (Dead Can Dance)
How Fortunate the Man With None, I think.

3. What is your favorite album by 33? (Judas Priest)
Unleashed in the East
It has several of my favorites from the band, Exciter, Diamonds And Rust, and Victim of Changes, plus the energy and production were a lot better than the original studio tracks.

4. What is your favorite album by 49? (High on Fire)
Blessed Black Wings. for merely Devilution and The Face of Oblivion.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? Waylon Jennings)
Only this one: Nashville Rebel, but it's a four disc box set.

6. What is your favorite song by 50? (Portugal. The Man)
Bellies Are Full

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? (Buena Vista Social Club)
Not really. They are pretty feel good music.

8. What is your favorite song by 15? (Deep Purple)
When A Blind Man Cries

9. What is your favorite song by 5? (Leonard Cohen)
Avalanche

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (Buzzov*en)
fucked up, drugged out, hateful, misanthropic sludge... all of their songs make me happy?

11. What is your favorite album by 40? (Burial)
Burial

12. What is your favorite song by 10? (Evil Army)
Evil Army
Once the irritating intro march is out of the way, that track blazes through, one of the best thrash songs ever written.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (Amorphis)
Listening to them.

14. What is your favorite song by 38? (The Builders and the Butchers)
either Bottom of the Lake or Spanish Death Song
Hard to choose between them. Bottom Of The Lake is usually what I would choose to listen to first, but Spanish Death Song is so frantic and I love the lyrical theme.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you sad? (Begushkin)
not really. Some of his songs are pretty gloomy. Stroll With Mine sounds pretty down to me.

16. How many times have you seen 25 live? (Eyehategod)
I haven't.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso)
750.000 Anni Fa... L'amore?

18. What is your favorite album by 11? (Saver Tiger)
None in particular. their only material was live recordings, and the three albums I have had in the past had pretty much the same material. The production was terrible on all of them, and the only reason they're so high in my library is because I was really into them for a while.

19. How did you get into 1? (X JAPAN)
Once upon a time, I started using blogspots to discover new music. I downloaded ART OF LIFE from a blogspot many years ago, after like a ten paragraph description which basically had me at "epic metal from Japan." It got lost in inexplicable circumstances, and a year or two later I ran across it again along with I'll Kill You from another blog, which fortunately re-introduced me to the band.

20. Have you ever seen 14 live? (Dismember)
Unfortunately not.

21. What is a good memory involving 27? (Neil Young)
I got laid off work in 2006 for the first time and drove home at 3 am listening to Down by the River

22. What is your favorite song by 16? (Burzum)
Key To The Gate
I could've went with some I highly enjoy from the self-titled album, but the last half of Key is one of the most perfect songs in the black metal genre.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? (Old Crow Medicine Show)
Wagon Wheel
Isn't that the first song everyone has heard from them? I mean the Bob Dylan connection...

24. What is your favorite album by 18? (Nitzer Ebb)
Body of Work

25. What is your favorite song by 21? (Rage Against the Machine)
Too difficult to choose. Anything from Evil Empire or half the tracks on The Battle of Los Angeles

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (Lightnin' Hopkins)
Big Black Cadillac Blues

27. What's your favorite lyric by 3? (Electric Wizard)
Damn, that's tough. Perhaps the second verse of Return Trip. The whole Cannibal Ferox thing, and the fact that it's so well stated,
"I hope this fuckin' world fuckin' burns away
And I'd kill you all if I had my way
But I'll live forever, questions curse me why
Oh Lord above, why won't you let me die"

28. What is you favorite song by 2? (Led Zeppelin)
Impossible.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? (Django Reinhardt)
Nuages

30. What is you favorite song by 8? (Taken By Cars)
Uh Oh
The mood, the bass, the drum beat, fucking fantastic.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Asin)
haha, I haven't.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? (Stereolab)
not really.

33. What is you favorite album by 12? (Church of Misery)
Early Works Compilation (disc 1) because it contains several of my favorites from the band.

34. What is the worst song by 45? (Elliott Smith)
I couldn't pick. As much as I enjoy many of his songs, he does tend to have just as many that annoy or frustrate me to hear.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? (Last Harbour)
Saint Luminous Bride

36. What is your favorite album by 48? (Motörhead)
the two disc, 39 songs Essential. As much as people tend to hate on compilations like that, I'll be honest and straight up say it's my favorite because it really did put most of their strongest songs altogether.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? (Death in June)
None.

38. What is your favorite song by 36? (Between the Buried and Me)
either More of Myself to Kill or Use of a Weapon
It's a labor picking from them as well. The first album has magic that none of their other albums do. Then again, I was at the cd release show, and that material has sentimental value to me.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (UFO)
Doctor Doctor

40. What is your favorite album by 7? (Muse)
Black Holes and Revelations although Origin Of Symmetry is right behind it.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? (Spiritual Front)
Not in comparison to any others.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? (Johnny Cash)
The box sets that usually have a quarter of everything he ever did.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? (Portishead)
Glory Box
Epitome of chill.

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? (The Crown)
Angering christians by posting their lyrics on message boards.

45. What is your favorite song by 35? (Grant Green)
Possibly No. 1 Green Street

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you sad? (Eluveitie)
Not really.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? (His Hero Is Gone
Definitely Monuments to Thieves
Like Weeds is one of the most intense songs in hardcore.

48. Who is a favorite member of 37? (Sielwolf)
...the fuck kind of question. I wouldn't know any of them.

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? (Morphine)
Buena

50. How many albums do you own by 20? (Exhumed)
four. Gore Metal, Slaughtercult, Anatomy Is Destiny, and the Platters of Splatter two disc compilation.

MRJones47's top albums (overall)
1. Calexico - The Black Light (286) 2. Ennio Morricone - The Ennio Morricone Anthology: A Fistful of Film Music (disc 1) (250) 3. Ghostface - Ironman (233) 4. She & Him - Volume One (225) 5. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (206) 6. Prince Far I - Voice of Thunder (204) 7. Ry Cooder - Into the Purple Valley (200) 8. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In (191) 9. GZA/Genius - Pro Tools (177) 10. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead (171) 11. J.J. Cale - Naturally (170) 12. Tom Waits - Bone Machine (167) 13. DJ Shadow - The Private Press (164) 14. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (159) 15. Willie Nelson - Essential Willie Nelson (154) 16. Tortoise - TNT (154) 17. Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years (153) 18. Edan - Beauty and the Beat (152) 19. Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner (148) 20. Ennio Morricone - C'era una volta il west (141) 21. Tortoise - Standards (140) 22. Calexico - Spoke (138) 23. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (136) 24. Calexico - Hot Rail (136) 25. Neko Case - Blacklisted (131) 26. Tom Waits - Blue Valentine (131) 27. Tortoise And Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Brave and the Bold (128) 28. Tom Waits - The Black Rider (126) 29. Tom Waits - Blood Money (125) 30. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (124)