Editors « AZLTRON

September 2, 2008

I Turn My Camera On

Filed under: Action Action,Air,Belle and Sebastian,Canon Xsi,Canon Xti,Depeche Mode,DSLR,Editors,Entry level,Nikon D60,Sebastian,Shiny Toy Guns,Spoon,the faint — AZLTRON @ 5:07 am

So I’ve been saving up all summer to buy a new DLSR camera to use for my enjoyment and also the advance my graphics capabilities. After reviewing a lot of different cameras, weighing the pros and cons of an older model versus getting a newer model, system lens quality, special features etc., I’ve settled on two cameras that could be good buys.

First there’s the new Nikon D60:
This is what the market wants you to believe is the more utilitarian camera amongst a sea of entry level DSLRS. As it costs about 50 dollars less. All the reviews on it are glowing, saying it can stand up to the punishment that many photographers will put it through. It’s got a stop motion capability built right into the camera which is neat.

Then there’s the Canon Rebel XSi.

I used my friend’s Rebel XTi last semester for some of my photo projets and I loved it. This year I was seriously thinking of just picking up an XTi and using that, but then I thought, “Why get an older model when I can get the super cool new model?” So I checked out the XSi and review places like Cnet seem to think it’s an improvement over the previous model and that the Canon outshines the Nikon in image quality. Which is really why you get a bigger camera like this in the first place. For serious. Plus I like to buy American.

So I’m submitting this to you my readers to give me your opinions on the matter, if you know even less than I do, well, just look at the two cameras and tell me which one you think looks cooler. In the meantime I will upload a few camera and photography related songs for you to enjoy.

Spoon – I Turn My Camera on (John McEnentire Remix)

Editors – Camera (SebastiAn Remix)

Shiny Toy Guns – Photograph

Air – Photograph

Action Action – Photograph

Good Shoes – Photos on My Wall

Depeche Mode – Photographic [Some Bizzare Version]

The Faint – Some Incriminating Photographs

Belle and Sebastian – Photo Jenny

Comments (3)

November 1, 2007

I Need A Short Sharp Shock!!!

Filed under: Editors,Human League,klaxons,We Are Performance — AZLTRON @ 8:21 pm

I remember when Performance was receiving a fanatical amount of hype from NME 2 years ago along with Editors and another band that has since faded into obscurity. All cited as being the next big thing in England. Editors had “Bullets” and Performance had “Love Life”. Honestly I was more impressed with Performance. Throbbing synth, manic almost Robert Smith vocals, and a black and white video featuring children as the audience won me over almost instantly. I think the Editors just stood in a club somewhere preaching about vaccines(heh).Soon after, Editors released their debut album and emerged as a contemporaries of Interpol and later morphed into a New Order/Coldplay Hybrid to gain attention as a Snow Patrol knock-off, but what of Performance?

(We Are) Performance, as they are now known, experienced some difficult relations with record labels and funding, but they finally released their eponymous debut this year. I actually found out about it by scrolling through a friends music and saw it in his library. I then immediately demanded that he send me a copy. Upon listening to the album in full I wasn’t disappointed.

The Manchester four-piece serves up delicious slices of electro-pop-rock that will feed the hungriest of indie consumers. Their Human League meets the Klaxons sound soars; utilizing fist pumping anthem choruses. The relentless fervor of each song is seemingly frozen in mid-air with the crystalline backing vocals of the Marsden sisters. They compare relationship difficulties to living in a post nuclear disaster world, and I couldn’t think of a more over the top or appropriate hook to draw you into their perfectly orchestrated world.

Mp3 – Short Sharp Shock – (We Are Performance)

Mp3 – (In Your Own Words) Chernobyl – (We Are Performance)

You Know, aside from the nuclear disaster, Chernobyl would’ve been a lovely girls’ name.

Comments (3)

August 12, 2007

Go, Go Motion!

Filed under: Bloc Party,Editors,The Cinematics,The Cure,the faint,The Faint Bauhaus Nine Inch Nails NIN,The Smiths,U2,White Rose Movement — AZLTRON @ 11:10 pm

I am a sucker for electro/post-punk music when it’s done well. Others may get tired of the trend and the new bands churning out every couple months, but as long as they remain as quality as White Rose Movement, Editors, and the Cinematics I say bring ‘em on. One such band that I have been anxious to write about and have been listening to all day is Go! Motion. They may sound like they’re from Manchester England but the jittery post-punk quartet are from Omaha Nebraska. So if a band is quality post-punk and is from the same home town as one of my favorite bands (The Faint) it seems like fate has decreed “Thou shalt like this band”, and you know what? I do.

As for the actual sound of the band, you can hear clear influences from Bloc Party, The Smiths, The Cure, U2, and even a little Bauhaus. All chopped, minced and brought to a boil in songs that are urgent and contemporary as well as carrying an echo of the past. The beats are frantic, the guitars chime and churn and explode into contagious choruses. “Different in Time” utilizes enigmatic synths to build up a mountain of sound before shifting gears and jumping off, without a parachute. “Somewhere Nowhere” is a song reminiscent of U2′s epic ballads mixed with the current dance-punk revival that creates a song that I would dance to at a wedding. Although I doubt anyone exists who would be hip enough to play this at their wedding. Perhaps the biggest standout would be the Cure-esque “Charm is Harmless” where Albert does his best to channel a snotty Robert Smith vocal to compliment the melodic plucks and swirling keyboards. Go! Motion doesn’t revolutionize the post-punk genre, but they do have a solid album that hits the sweet spot for a devoted post-punker like myself.

MP3 – Somwhere Nowhere – GO! Motion

MP3 – Different in Time – GO! Motion

Buy Kill the Love

Kill the Love Live:

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July 28, 2007

Ready, Set, Go! Motion

Filed under: Bloc Party,Editors,Interpol,The Cure,The Smiths,U2,White Rose Movement — AZLTRON @ 9:58 am

The Omaha Nebraskan quartet Go! Motion, hearkens back to the early propulsive wailing of the Cure combined with the stop and go mayhem of Bloc Party’s dance rock aesthetic. Fans of White Rose Movement, Editors, and Interpol will find something to like here. Their take on the whole atmospheric urgent dance music is more linear and they’re not afraid to bust out homages to both The Smiths and The Cure in the same song, “Charm is Harmless”, which sounds surprisingly fresh for all of it’s Marr guitar and Cure plucks. The sustained notes of “Somewhere Nowhere” show that they didn’t need to find inspiration from U2 on their second album, like Bloc Party, they were ready out of the gates to emulate the edge while still retaining their own sound. The influences are easily deciphered on each track of Go! Motions’ debut “Kill the Love” but don’t let that distract you from the raw energy and the passion of the music.