https://relevantmagazine.com/current/buzzworthy/a-church-built-a-massive-baby-jesus-statue-that-looks-exactly-like-phil-collins/


And why not?

To those in the know:
19 August, new album to be released: Ancient Astronauts. Already excited!

So I saw a picture of a stack of cassettes form the 90's and it had as text:
'released within 44 days from each other' It was flaoting around the social media, so I guess more people will have seen that.
I was quite taken aback to be honest, at the time I did not realize it but this must be one of the most succesful streaks of all time. Obviously the music is most important here, but I think it shows us how the industry has changed. It intrigued me to the extent I just had to look this up. So here goes (give or take few 100.000 copies, which is nothing in the greater scheme), worldwide sales for 7 albums in 1991:

Metallica - Black Album           31 million
Nirvana - Nevermind               30 million
Guns 'n' Roses - UYI 1            18 million
Guns 'n' Roses - UYI 2            18 million
Pearl Jam - Ten                   15 million
RHCP - BSSM                       13 million
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger       2 million

That is a 127 million copies since release, of which most were sold in the first year or so, which is massive.

So what about the music?

Well honestly, Nirvana's Nevermind was a thing of it's time, never did a lot for me to be honest (but I do like In Utero a whole more than nevermind) but I appreciate it for what it is: a game changer. And also, honestly? I was glad to see all that puffed up hair metal crap gone. Most of it was terrible, let's be honest, and the good ones, well they survived.

Metallica then, I was a huge fan at the time and really needed to swallow this...it was ehm..different. Radio friendly Metallica But I think the time has been kind and it still sounds awesome, because production wise, this was a game changer as well. Saw them several times that tour, and the shows seemed to get bigger every time. Good memories!

GNR then, the 2 album scam. Because a double album would have cost about 75% of what the price was for 2 albums. They managed to basically screw everyone over with that one....having said that, there is more than 1 decent album spread over 2 discs, so that justifies it a little bit. But nothing justities Don't Cry 2 times. They lost some swagger with Steven Adler gone, but they were a tight unit with Matt Sorum. Saw them on that tour more than once as will, again good memories but in reality, nowadays I never listen to these 2 discs. If I feel the need to hear GNR, I pick up Appetite...

RHCP - learned to appreciate them. This album is good, but it is overly long. What else can I say? Frusciante is a brilliant guitar player, Kiedis a horrible singer. Fantastic live band though, saw them on a festival around that time and they below everyone away.

Pearl Jam - Ten. Well can be said about the album that can never be topped? That it is beneath that thick layer of echo, delay & reverb, simply a classic rock album. And a very good one at that. I have the remix as well, and it brings it a little more to the surface, but I think the orignal mix still is a great listen. I listen to it, every now & then, but not a great deal.

No I think the album I listen to most out of these 7 is Soundgarden. I LOVE that album, it has nothing to do with grunge, zero, nada. This is metal, pure & simple, with a brilliant vocalist, superb songwriting on this (all downhill from here!) and all that knotty & twisty odd time signatures stuff on here: bring it on. They went out of their way to make an album as inaccesible as possible and still sold well over 2 million copies and managed to gain the attention of the general public in spite of the 125 million copies sold of the afore mention bands. I applaud them for that, and more importantly, for the music itself. Because out of the 7 albums, this one resonates with me most.

How sad, 72 years old Alan White has passed. I knew him best for his work with Yes.

Release: May 13, 2022
Physical release (LP, CD): June 17, 2022

The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention

When Thom Yorke's voice kicks in after a minute into The Same you know what you are in for: this has a familiarity to it that cannot be denied.
A Light for Attracting Attention, the album by the latest outfit featuring the Radiohead vocalist, is completed by his guitar companion Johnny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. It is sold as a side project, but is it? This is the stuff all side projects should be made of: contemporary pop, meandering vocals, a palette of different styles but all tied to gather with a uniqueness that so often is found in Yorke's projects. This one is actually, very, very good. The intrinsic quality lies in the ability to weave an album that sounds like it belongs yet changes at every song. Sure, I must listen to this more but guaranteed this will be a winner in my book.

Is this a Radiohead album in all but name? No, I do not think so. Does it come close to what we all would like as successor for A Moon Shaped Pool? Yes please. And more. 

My first real Radiohead exposure was OK Computer in '97. Sure, I heard Creep like everyone else did but no one could have been prepared for OKC prior to its release based on their previous work.  This was a band that really went for it, with bucketloads of imagination and enough Yorke pathos to convince even the grumpiest of alt-rock fans. All the signs of a landmark album where there: superb originality, excellent songwriting and a sense of hype surrounding it that felt justified.
The Smile feels, in a way, like a successor, like a Kid A to OKC. Maybe not quiet musically, but surely the trio has crafted an album that seems to take a turn at every corner, jumps from left to right without losing direction and the musicianship again, oh my.. Tom Skinner (for those unfamiliar with Sons of Kemet) is a force of rhythmic nature. If you are a bit (more) adventurous, look the Sons up, be prepared for some weird and out of the box stuff for Rush fans though.

If you do not like Radiohead, will you like this? No, not likely. Yorke's voice is such a prominent part of this. But if you want to take a dive into something 'else' and hear what the hype is about: go off the deep end and find out why this will be at every end of year list in 2022.