Word: musicals
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TDEP have been around for almost 14 years—a minor miracle given the relentless energy their music demands. They play mathcore, a punk-metal hybrid that demands two things of its musicians: world-class time-keeping ability, and the belief that repeating a riff is risking stagnation. Not surprisingly, TDEP are virtuosi whose ability to maneuver odd time signatures at harrowing speeds is nonpareil. However, bands that work within a genre as schizophrenic as mathcore must be more than top-notch musicians. They must also be tasteful—too many blasts of guitar noise, time signature changes...
Another important implication of Puciato’s presence is that TDEP have to write melodic, restrained music to accommodate him—it’s impolite to abuse your instrument’s noise-making ability while your vocalist is trying to sing. And as the album’s second single “Chinese Whispers” shows, they’ve become quite adept at integrating melody into mathcore. Throughout the track, TDEP use mellow breaks to release the tension built up during their aggressive sections. For instance, about half-way through the song, Puciato...
...latest product of Gaga’s shift in the craziness spectrum is the video for “Telephone,” which succeeds in surpassing even the imagery- and blood-strewn performance from the MTV Video Music Awards as the pinnacle of her avant-garde weirdness. There are sunglasses covered in cigarettes, poisoned honey, Quentin Tarantino references galore, and a scene where Gaga wears nothing but caution tape. This last feature seems a little unnecessary since, when someone is only wearing tape, most people will already have realized that she should probably be handled with caution...
...B.O.T.S. Radio” is the album’s ultimate, and most disappointing, exploration of the battle of the sexes. The song is set up like a radio show with rapped responses from Ludacris, Shawnna, and I-20 in response to caller complaints about their significant others. The music is sinister and aggressive and the song’s flow is very choppy. It could be intended as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on relationships, but the aggressiveness with which the rappers deliver their lines reveals a seriousness which makes the song all the more problematic. I-20?...
...Still Believe I Belong to Someone”) does, by dancing around with ever more frenetic, outlandish stretches of virtuosity, the vocal equivalent of Dr. Seuss-like whimsy. She’s a delight just to watch, and even someone who never listens to classical vocal music couldn’t help but be amazed by the fact that a single human being can produce these sounds...