air - pocket symphony
melancholy is one of the greatest feelings that music can give me. it's not depression, it's that feeling of rainy sadness that comes while listening to certain songs. air have made a record that fits in there nice and snug. air's music has always been heavily electronic, but never techno or dance. much more atmospheric. it's music i like to write to. pocket symphony is their most mature sounding album yet. where as some of their former albums my be a bit unfocused and varied, pocket symphony stays straight on track. i would not call it a "safe record," but they maintain a consistent vibe, which is very important to me. the instrumental space maker opens the album. it establishes the tone nicely with it's real drums and synthesizers. once upon a time (the first single from record), napalm love, and mer du japonis are more upbeat while keeping the vibe. the highpoint of the record comes with lost message, a slow instrumental tune that is one of the most played tracks on my itunes playlist.
kanye west - graduation
i am not much of a hip-hop fan at all, but collaborating with coldplay's chris martin, john mayer & daft punk, and sampling steely dan's "kid charlemagne," make west's graduation much more than typical hip-hop. champion & stronger give a one-two punch after the opening good morning. lyrically graduation deals with the past few years of west's life. he is very vulnerable admitting that he does stupid things, and doesn't understand everything. it is far from the typical superman attitude in most of his peers songs. the finest song on graduation, and one of my favorite songs of the year is flashing lights. with heavy synthesizer, it has an almost 70's grove to it. it's one of the biggest surprises of the year, and if you have the same attitude towards the hip-hop, i ask you to give it a whirl.
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