honkycat-reviews

[honkycat-reviews]

underrated artist of the week

Brian David Gilbert

genre: who knows. indie comedy? weird stuff.

years active: 2017- present

you should listen to his music if you enjoy songs that play with you, thought about being a film major at college, or if you are super into weird, well-produced short songs with great videos on youtube

you might recognize this dude because he did a really successful series with Polygon on youtube, where he was super charismatic and funny! he also has a million followers on youtube himself, but i feel like his music alone deserves some hype!

favorite songs: "talking small"; "i wish that i could wear hats"; "it's nesting season"

his youtube videos are so so fun and well-produced. here's a classic bdg video, but i'd recommend a deep dive. once you understand, his whole body of work is epic.

happy listening!!

[honkycat-reviews]

underrated artist of the week

Batdorf and Rodney

genre: folk rock, country (?), acoustic

years active: 1970-1975

origin: Los Angeles, California, USA

band members: john batdorf, mark rodney

you should listen to their music if you appreciate complex and melodic guitar jamming, the feeling of driving with windows down in the summer, and fried chicken from an old country store

if there are two batdorf and rodney fans in the world, it's me and my dad. he had these vinyls in his collection (god knows where he found these) but the instrumentation of this group are really unlike other artists. they received criticism because their songs are too long and "jammed too much", but i can't disagree more. i don't care that the songs are longer than most hits. their discography is SO pleasant and melodic and wonderful.

favorite songs: "where were you and i"; "life is you"; "oh my surprise"

if you're looking for them on streaming sites, i'd recommend searching them as "batdorf and rodney" or as "batdorf" because rodney has a bunch of other stuff under it that they didn't write.

happy listening!!

[honkycat-reviews]

Def Leppard- Pyromania

listened on CD from 1983

summary: picture this. a young punk rock lady has reached the end of her collegiate rope and all she seems to be enjoying is fun prog rock. as if from the cosmos, def leppard descended into her listening habits like a merciful angel. i love def leppard!! they are so so fun and talented?! call me basic but i absolutely adore this album. got hysteria and am on the cd hunt for high n' dry!

background: this album is a slight departure from the more heavy-metal attitude the band had with their earlier releases (high n' dry). this is when they introduced the absolute icon Phil Collen on the guitar!!! i think his noise is integral to the commercial pop-leaning success of this album, simply because his licks are so good that you sing the guitar part (which i've only experienced with eddie van halen, randy rhodes, and george harrison).

read below for tracklist & review!

tracklist

rock! rock! (till you drop): this is the most fun way to open this album. epic thirty second opening with a killer guitar lick and iconic vocals?! i'm a lesbian, so the rock and roll male obsession with "rocking" hot chicks isn't entirely lost on me, so i honestly have just chosen to find it funny. like sure. women are fabulous. mutual understanding. in my opinion a little bit of an underrated banger.

photograph: i feel so basic loving this track so much but there's a reason this song did so well commercially. i think it's because this song emphasizes the vocals the most out of any song on the album; other tracks on the album are aiming to showcase all the instruments on a more equal spectral field. this one is much more sing-along-with-joe which works because the lyrics are easy, memorable, and fun. i need joe's syncopated singing "I! NEED! ONLY! YOUR!" injected straight into my veins.

stagefright: this is my favorite song on the album!? this is so underrated?! if i love a song, i am able to get a pretty clear imaginative movie going whenever i listen to it; and this one is CRYSTAL CLEAR. HELL YEAH!!!!! do i have any clue what he's saying? barely. but i'm rocking right there with him.

too late for love: i can appreciate a good ballad and this one is that. a good. ballad. nothing crazy but i'm not going to hate on a ballad. musical diversity! the lyrics on the verses are unique and interesting.

die hard the hunter: this is the final boss music i didn't ask for, and don't really listen to often, but once i get into the groove of this longer piece i can really enjoy it.

foolin': i saw somewhere on here somebody hating on foolin' and it made me oddly protective over the song for a bit. i think i just really like how it's mixed and the background vocals work really well with the lead vocals. is the chorus the most life-changing thing on the planet? no, but those prechoruses are bangers.

rock of the ages: for a while listening to this album, i kinda wrote this song off since it's one of their more popular ones (my innate need to be quirky and different) but the more and more i listened to it and learned the lyrics, i am officially a convert. this is fun as hell!

comin' under fire: we're back on the power ballad train and i think this is the fastest tempo ballad so i'm more of a fan. when i put this cd in my player i want to be doing a quick little dance and making this most of my curly mullet. i wanna dance. so i usually go "this one is really good" and then skip it... (sorry...) guitar is epic!!

action! not words: yeah sure. they're saying "shock me". suuuuure. i've grown an appreciation for this one.

billy's got a gun: now THIS is the power ballad i've been WAITING FOR!!! never skipping this one. the bgv on "can you feel it in the air?" are reason to listen by themself. they clearly had fun constructing this song and all the different parts working together. major banger.

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been recently trying to DECREASE my hours in Spotify by listening to more CDs and lemme tell you my ears are happy

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[honkycat-reviews]

save your relationship to music

one of my biggest soul-defining passions! physical music! this is a part of music that has been taken from us with streaming platforms, and I am very driven to take it back. my collection means something to me, and that has worth. I love to go to record/CD stores, I love second-hand media, and I love to listen to music and feel what it is meant to be. record store day is april 12th! give it a try!

album reviews at @honkycat-reviews

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rockstars from the 80s have me by the neck, I need to be chained to a tree like a werewolf during a full moon

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literally every music genre has at least one album that will absolutely change your life if you give it a shot

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it bothers me that you often don't really hear about people having a "favorite album" the way they might have a favorite movie or favorite video game

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Ozzy Osbourne- Tribute Live in 1981

listened on CD from 2002

summary: oh my god. this fucking rocks. i've always really enjoyed black sabbath's paranoid album, so I went looking for a live version and oh.... my god. discovered this actual victory lap of a live album.

background: this tour happened just after ozzy left black sabbath in '79, and it features easily one of the best guitarists of all time: randy rhoads. i am floored that i hadn't heard rhoads perform before this album. this album could have been just the classic rock hits, but his performance makes this an ode to how fantastic rhoads' guitar skills are. tragically rhoads died in a plane crash while on tour with ozzy in '82, so this album was released in his honor in '87.

read below for tracklist & review! special inclusion of when each epic guitar solo starts

tracklist

i don't know: epic guitar solo starting at 4:02- opening a concert with "o fortuna" (which apparently ozzy did a lot) is so funny like hell yeah opera and metal crossover

crazy train: epic guitar solo starting at 2:50- hell to the yeah classic ozzy song with rhoads going actually crazy on the guitar

believer: epic guitar solo from the start and 3:13- this feels like final boss music like i've got my master sword i've got a bow and arrow let's take down america

mr. crowley: epic guitar solo from 3:55- actual epic organ opening makes me feel like i'm inside a retro medieval fantasy arcade game

flying high again: epic guitar solo from 2:18- think its really funny that ozzy is yelling at the concert to keep smoking them joints like ok self aware icon

revelation (mother earth): epic guitar/piano crossover starting at 3:25-the tamest song on the album but when listening to the album in full it's very needed as a slow-down

steal away (the night): epic drum solo starting at 3:20- yeah you needed the slowdown of revelation cause this immediately begins to go crazy on the get-go

suicide solution: once it hits 4:45 it's just rhoads going actually crazy and the song is alright but DAMN rhoads can guitar

iron man: kinda bummed they didn't include the classic iron man voice in the background but the guitar throughout made up for it

children of the grave: epic guitar solo starting at 3:07- this became one of my favorite songs on the album i mean it's consistently epic and makes me feel connected to metalheads of ages past

paranoid: epic guitar solo starting at 1:21- we're gonna do PARANOIDDDDDD rahh rah rah rahnanana rahnanana rahhh rah rah rahnanana rahnanana

goodbye to romance: epic guitar solo starting at 2:50- had a sad girl moment where i laid on my floor and listened to this song a week ago and i've had an odd soft spot for this song since

no bone movies: epic guitar solo starting at 3:00- wait that's what he's saying? no bone movies? could not have told u a word he's saying the whole number

dee (randy rhoads studio outtake): i really like that they included this it's just a nice little guitar moment and its really calming

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visualization of David Bowie's Serious Moonlight Live in '83 (disc one)

this album owns me. this album haunts me. my favorite live album of all time. and i FINALLY got it on CD today! life is so so good

favorite drawings: What In the World Can I Do, Let's Dance, Heroes

favorite songs: Let's Dance, Sorrow, Heroes

most definitely going to do disc two of the live album as well i'm just rly excited at the fact i even own the set at all

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visualization for Laufey's Bewitched album (Goddess Edition)

if you've never sat down and drawn every song in an album you're missing out! it's so fun! used no reference purely just whipped these out of my head

favorite drawings: Misty, California and Me, or It Could Happen to You

favorite songs: Dreamer, Bewitched, It Could Happen to You

anyways i love Laufey consider me an official lauver i've known her since street to street yeah mhm

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underrated music medium for my age group is the radio!! because of how FM radio works, there's a ton more low-end to the audio but that REALLY works for certain songs!!

like livin on a prayer (bon jovi), barracuda (heart) and boys of summer (don henley) all just came on my local rock radio and I CRANKED the volume

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Stephen Trask- Hedwig and the Angry Inch

listened on CD from 2001

summary: stop what you're doing and go watch this movie. this movie is raw, it's drag, it's rock, it's fun, it's devastating, it's ugly, it's pretty, it's camp cunt and couture! one of my roman empire films. this soundtrack has the same cult-favorite energy as rocky horror picture show, but the songs rewired my brain at 15. hot take but i don't think this film is about being transgender- i think it's about autonomy. :)

background: hedwig and the angry inch is about a fictional genderqueer person who escaped east berlin (pre-berlin wall falling) that then starts a rock band!? so so good. fun fact! this movie was written, directed and starred john cameron mitchell, who i knew because he was the visual inspiration for viktor vikiforov from yuri on ice.

tracklist:

tear me down: "don't you know me kansas city? i'm the new berlin wall, baby! try and tear me down!" compares a human being to the wall making a person split in two between east and west, man and woman... while still being a banger? i love life.

origin of love: "we wrapped our arms 'round each other trying to shove ourselves back together" i remember translating this passage in latin class! trask wrote it as if it were a dr. seuss picture book.

angry inch: "six inches forward and five inches back!" i'm dancing around my room i'm flipping my hair i'm singing every lyric. gives hedwig's story through the guise of rock

wicked little town (tommy gnosis version): "and there's no mystical design, no cosmic lover pre-assigned" this is my roman empire song that made me feel deeply at peace when being a gay teenager in the christian american south.

wig in a box: "suddenly i'm! miss punk rock! star of stage and screen!" how i feel every single day putting on my new wave inspired makeup on my way to class.

the long grift: "your cool, seductive serenade was a tool of your trade" not actually included in the movie but included in the stage version. still really ouch.

hedwig's lament: "he took the good stuff and ran" the track that made me realize this isn't a film about being transgender this is a film about autonomy

exquisite corpse: "i'm all sewn up! a montage!" something about a female singer doing a rock scream instantly makes a song cooler and more punk rock

midnight radio: "and you're shining! like the brightest star! a transmission on the midnight radio!" slow ballad about fuckin holding on for dear life

nailed: "by the gold light of your halo i wanna nail ya" without spoiling plot there's a super emo little problematic white boy and this is his song. male manipulator music written by an actual male manipulator!

sugar daddy: "oh, the thrill of control like the Blitzkreig on the roll" why am i really living for this country beat?! toe tappin and everything

we are freaks: "and my other has a friend who has three tits! t-t-t-true story" this is so fun and punk rock. not to be that bitch but rip eddie munson you would have loved this song

in your arms tonight: "try not to be strong" emo little problematic white boy ate with this one tho

wicked little town (hedwig's version): "the fates are vicious and they're cruel, you learn too late you've used two wishes like a fool" i'm in a lot of emotional pain and it's the best kind because you understand big feelings but it's the worst kind cause this song has haunted me since age fifteen

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David Bowie- Let's Dance

listened to 1999 remaster on CD

"it makes very warm, understandable musical statements. i hope it's the most emotionally uplifting music i've written in a long time!" -bowie on let's dance

summary: this album is stupid fun. while it's much more front-loaded with songs i'd listen to outside of the album, bowie adds a lot of interest and joy! bowie is an optimist! he is emotional! he's a fun guy!

background: during 1983, bowie visited hong kong, singapore, and bangkok with a film crew because how cool is that! see new things! when traveling, he realized he had only taken very classic r&b artists, noting he hadn't even brought his own music. so, something had to change, and he wanted to find out why those r&b tracks had resonated so strongly with him. fun fact! stevie ray vaughan is the lead guitarist for this when he didn't even have a record deal!

tracklist:

modern love: "I know when to go out. know when to stay in. get things done!" so fun!! borrowed r&b's call-and-response which makes it funky and classically danceable

china girl: "oh baby, just you shut your mouth" i think this is probably one of his more symbolically misinterpreted songs? like this song is a critique on conformity? regardless i think the bass and guitar are iconic sooo

let's dance: "put on your red shoes and dance the blues" not even going to pretend like this isn't my favorite song off the album. don't even care if it's the hit single. i fucking love this song so much. no notes.

without you: "there's no smoke without fire" not my fav from the album since it's much lower energy, but i'm not skipping it. guitar is rly yummy

richochet: "richochet! it's not the end of the world!" love the fact that bowie later said in 87 that he thought the beat was messy and the syncopation was messy. not saying he's wrong!

criminal world: "the girls are like baby-faced boys" a cover of a 1977 song that was banned by bbc for being too bisexual. and diva updates the sound and makes it cool. rock on!

cat people (putting out fires): "i've been putting out fire with gasoline" i completely identify with the fact bowie made this song for the 82 film Cat People and then was like nah can you make it a little crunchier and add a kick ass fuckin guitar solo

shake it: "so when you gonna phone me?" love that little wiggle guitar sound but otherwise this is fluffy

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physical media > streaming

here's my only chance for my audio engineering college degree to come in handy- a VERY simple and fun explanation why music sounds different based on the medium.

First and foremost, sound travels in waves. The way that we digitize sound waves is by taking teeny snapshots of the wave in motion. Think of it how a camera records video by taking lots of pictures and stringing them together. Audio does the same thing. We digitize a sound wave by taking tiny snapshots of where the wave is.

This is a very basic wave (a sine wave!). In this example, I put dots where a tiny snippet (called a sample) would happen.

The amount of samples is really important when it comes to recreating the wave. When the wave is being recreated, it doesn't have that original blue line. It ONLY has the samples we made. Imagine drawing a line between the dots.

Notice how the first example now looks really different than it was originally. The solution to it changing that much is to increase the amount of dots. The more dots (samples), the more accurate the wave will be when recreated.

The main problem with having lots and lots of samples (like 44,100 samples in ONE SECOND) is that these files start to get really big. In compact audio talk, we're working with 2 different signals (the left and the right if you want stereo), taking 44,100 samples every second, and each of those samples takes an even smaller measurement called a bit, which happens 16 times each sample. That's over a million of those bits per second. If one song is three minutes....big file.

When trying to stream over the internet, major services know that if you cut down on the amount of times we take a sample, most people won't hear a difference. That's why CDs and vinyl are so cool!

CDs are able to carry and transmit the most detailed sound waves. Point blank period. If you want the best sound quality, CDs! If we're being specific, CDs can recreate the wave I talked about above- at 1,411,200 bits per second.

Vinyl technically can utilize the same amount of bits, but since it's an analog medium, it can't be perfect and it has the iconic vinyl scratch noise. Still quite good!

Spotify has an average of 320,000 bits per second. When it's at its best, high quality!

Happy to answer questions :3

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welcome to honky cat reviews <3

list of vinyl I own

Batdorf and Rodney- Batdorf and Rodney

Beatles- Live at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 ★

Beatles- Rubber Soul

Billy Idol- Rebel Yell

Chappell Roan- Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Count Basie- Pop Goes the Basie

Culture Club- Colour by Numbers

Cutting Crew- Broadcast

Dave Bruback- Adventures in Time ★

David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

David Bowie- Young Americans

David Bowie, Trevor Jones- Labyrinth

Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John- Madman Across the Water

Ensemble HD- Live at the Happy Dog ★

Hector Berlioz- Romeo et Juliette

John Lennon- Double Fantasy

John Lennon- Milk and Honey

John Lennon- Walls and Bridges

Laufey- Bewitched (Goddess Edition)

Laufey- A Night at the Symphony ★

Original Cast- The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Paul McCartney- Ram

T. Rex- The Slider

Van Halen- Van Halen

Vince Guaraldi Trio- A Charlie Brown Christmas

Wings- Venus and Mars

Wings- Wings Over America ★

list of CDs I own

Beatles- Magical Mystery Tour

Beatles- Revolver

Billy Joel- The Stranger

Bon Jovi- Greatest Hits

David Bowie- Let's Dance

David Bowie- Serious Moonlight Live 83 ★

Electric Light Orchestra- Best of ELO

Elton John- Duets

Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John- Here and There ★

Jim Croce- The Lost Recordings

John Mock- Celtic Highlands

k. d. lang- recollection

Mario Galaxy Orchestra- Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack

Neville Marriner- Amadeus Soundtrack Recording

Original Cast 1972- Cabaret

Original Cast 1993- Cabaret

Ozzy Osbourne- Tribute Live in 81 ★

Paul McCartney- Kisses on the Bottom

Ronan Hardiman- Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance

Sidney Bechet- Best of Sidney Bechet

Steely Dan- Aja

Stephen Trask- Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Tears for Fears- The Seeds of Love

Wings- Wings Over America ★

Yes- Best of yes

Genres: rock, jazz, folk/country, soundtrack, pop, instrumental, ★ means live, and italicized and bolded means i've reviewed it on this blog!

xoxo jam