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Black Tape for a Blue Girl : Ashes in the Brittle Air
Below is a review I did of Black Tape for a Blue Girl's disc "Ashes in the Brittle Air." Nothing has been change with the exception of one typo. Following this will be Sam Rosenthal's response to what I wrote, and mine to that!
Grendel paces wildly, wanting to assault the surface. Music begins to play in the background. He pauses, listening. The second song captures him enthralled; the beast tamed once again.
Perhaps he will kill tomorrow.
TITLE: Ashes in the Brittle Air ARTIST: Black Tape for a Blue Girl LABEL: Projekt Records TOTAL TIME: 42.54
WARNING: This disc (and most of Projekt's releases) can be considered very depressing. Do not buy this disc if you are at all emotionally unstable.
Unlike Lycia's release "A Day in The Stark Corner," Black Tape for a Blue Girl's "Ashes in the Brittle Air" has a whole cast of contributing musicians. This disc does not however lose unity and it seems as if all artists involved share the same moving vision.
The lyric writing talents of Sam Rosenthal could easily be overlooked as the words are often forgotten as one is absorbed by the music itself. Upon repeated listening it becomes apparent that the words too are powerful, and one will often pause to reflect on what is being sung.
"Across a Thousand Blades", and "The Touch and the Darkness" are the two strongest tracks, but all bear multiple playing. One the bad side though, this disc is too short (clocking in at 42.54) and the title track is wimpy. My suggestion is track forward past this until you've heard the rest of the disc, then come back and listen to this one, and accept "Ashes in the Brittle Air" for what it is, a weak, (in comparison to the other tracks on this disc) but otherwise good song. Not since I came across This Mortal Coil have I heard music so good, and I actually had to search to find anything negative to say about this recording.
I continue to be impressed by the quality of Projekt's release. The look of these discs and the reasonable price make all worth adding to one's collection.
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thanks for posting reviews on Internet. i have to take a bit of a critical stance, however: what makes a disc "short" or a song "weak"? PERSONAL OPINION. that's it-- an artist creates something to be what they desire...not what you want. an album is the length it is, because that's what it's meant to be. when you express yourself, time isn't the concern. but saying what you need to say. would you prefer i included an hour of out-takes? probably not. a disc is a unified piece. length is unimportant. ok, thanks for letting me BITCH a bit! Second "ASHES" is not weak! it is tender an emotional. it is many people's favorite song on the album. maybe you should say something like "in my opinion it seems wimpy, though others may find it tender." it isn't good to state your opinions as FACTS!
respectfully
SAM
sam rosenthal
Now my response to his response. First, a disc is too short in two cases. Case one: I pay $20 or better for an import and it comes with 20-30 minutes of music on it. Since this wasn't the case (projekt's releases are reasonable [around $14 per disc with some being quiet long]) it has to be the second case. Case two: I listen to the disc and it is over right about the time when I feel like I am going to be taken to a higher (or lower) plane. I guess I just don't like some good things to end. Sam says "when you express yourself, time isn't the concern." No, but when I buy one it is. Sorry, this maybe a sad fact, but when you are on a budget like mine and addicted to music like I am, you check things out like length, and while 42.54 isn't bad for $14, I may go for something that has more. I agree that the disc must be "a unified piece" but I disagree that "length is unimportant."
And as to the opinion vs. fact; I was posting a review. Very seldom have I seen reviewers say, "In my opinion." I've always just figured it was assumed. I could have pasted IMHOs (In my humble opinion) all over in my review, but I didn't think they were needed. Nor, do I think "Ashes" is "wimpy." I said "weak, (in comparison to the other tracks on this disc) but otherwise good," and this was exactly what I meant! If I had heard "Ashes" on the radio I would have loved it, but as it was, I liked every other song on the disc better. "Ashes" is by no means a bad song.
As anyone who's read my many posts about Projekt Records knows that I have long been an advocate of their music. I apologize to anyone that took what I was saying as the god-given-truth. I always encourage people to ignore reviews and go out and check on the music yourself!
p.s. I figured Sam would have gotten more irritated with me calling the music depressing, but he didn't even mention that! :)
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