Stream of Consciousness & Music Reviews

    Sad to say that I didn't really like Homework very much. This album leans very heavily into being "dance" music, with pretty much every track focused on having a strong driving beat and repetitive melodies and hooks and not much beyond that. These elements are good for that purpose but leave me wanting more from the music. I know that the intention is to get the listener moving and focusing less on the music itself and more so on the rhythm and movement, but it could use more depth beyond that surface layer to give it more staying power; perhaps I've been spoiled by them, but their later albums are able to pull off the same feel while also giving the songs more personality and variety, with more stuff going on throughout that make it more interesting to actually listen to rather than just as background noise to encourage you to do something else. For the most part the music here is largely 'whatever' to me, mostly that emphasis on the beat that makes most ...

    I think that Daft Punk has mastered their craft. I genuinely don't know what to say, this was just an incredibly great album, at least on par with Discovery. The duo have near-perfected their groove and rhythm here, with every track being infectiously funky. The sound alone is phenomenal, thanks to the unique integration of the synthesizers they're known for. Oddly enough, this album feels more acoustic when compared to Discovery, despite it using the aforementioned synths and sci-fi vibe just as much, if not more due to the heavy emphasis on themes of space and the future. The more relaxed overall tone makes the songs even better just for casual listening or having on in the background while still retaining the detail and complexness that makes it amazing to really analyze as you listen and pay attention. And the addition of having other artists on to record and produce some of the songs helps for the tracks to feel distinct from each ot...

    Is this dance music? I don't listen to dance music; I generally like shorter songs that get to their point fairly quickly, whereas (I think) dance music is typically drawn out to let people enjoy the beat/melody/whatever. Somehow, Daft Punk manages to accomplish both of these things at the same time in Discovery. The music revels in it's robotic sounds and heavy beats, while also managing to play around with the various elements of the music in fun ways. For example, in Short Circuit the song starts off fast and energetic and as it goes on gradually begins to slow down and near the end it starts breaking down, making it sound like the track is 'short circuiting'. Clever. Speaking of playing around with itself, the album does a lot of sampling throughout, incorporating them greatly in the songs (and sometimes making the samples the entire song, such as in Superheroes or High Life) which works very well with the heavily edited and robotic sound of everything. And that...