Customer Reviews

For Lack of a Better Name

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy electronica music, and have for at least the last 10 years. It's a manufactured type of music constructed largely with the use of computers and some old-fashioned music lovers feel that nothing but acoustical music using actual instruments is the only true music. Well, so what? I'd say that almost any interesting and amusing sounds put together in a structured manner and played for the enjoyment of an audience might be considered music, and electronica is just exactly that. Some of the composers are artists and musicians second to none and I strongly suspect that electronica will become an ever-increasing fraction of the total musical output.

So, if I enjoy electronica music, where might I go to find interesting sources of information about such music? Well, I'm 74 and rarely go to hip concerts dominated by young people and, likewise, I'm not a part of the club scene. Let's face it, people of my age just don't listen to electronic music and if I discuss it with them I draw nothing but blank stares. My wife (29) likes electronica and we share quite an overlap in listening to dance music, but her tastes tend to lean more toward electro pop and bubblegum, whereas I'm more interested in the hardcore electronica dance music. My best source of purchasing information has been the Amazon computer. It analyzes my past purchases and wanderings and offers interesting suggestions for what I might like. I've found some excellent recordings in this way. A second source is listening to my XM car radio and I'm partial to the BPM dance channel. I was listening a couple weeks ago and picked up some wonderful stuff by Deadmau5 (pronounced Deadmouse). I ordered the "For Lack of a Better Name" the Next day.

The Deadmaus5 CD is an excellent recording and I've enjoyed it very much. It's real beat-heavy stuff with a wonderful and highly varied rhythmic background. The sound is crisp and clear and nicely mixed. Voices and vocals are a minor part of the total recording except on a few of the early tracks. In some places, voices are used somewhat like strange musical instruments. Plus, there's all sorts of other strange sounds. In some places the mood is gloomy and funeral like, but even that is fun. It's excellent dance music, that's for sure, and fun to listen to also. I'd say the listening experience in some places is closer to listening to some types of classical music than popular music. Some people call it Progressive House or Electro House, but I disdain using these micro-genre classifications. It's quite excellent quality electronic music, that's what it is, and it shows a lot of talent and musicianship on the part of those who put it together. Bravo! I guess it's been given and nominated for a bunch of awards, and that's easy to understand. One listen is all it takes. I'd say that it vaguely reminds me of some of the early music of Matthew Dear, one of my other favorite electronica composers. Sorry, I really don't have any other comparisons. "For Lack of a Better Name" is just an excellent album and stands alone in my book and I'll be looking into a few other Deadmau5 offerings.

The sound quality of this CD is quite high, but to fully appreciate it you'll need to have good playback equipment. I have a 100-watt per channel stereo with 7 speakers including two 12" woofers and an 80-watt powered subwoofer. I like to play the CD at fairly high, but still comfortable, volume. In that way, I feel the dramatic bass and the higher notes come across as light, delicate and playful. My system is minimal. If you ever get the chance, play this CD on a high-end system. It's just awesome!

Gary Peterson.

After listening to 4x4=12, I decided to re-evaluate my opinion of Deadmau5's earlier work. It follows thusly:

The opening FML is interesting and serves as a sort of prologue with some dramatic, non-4/4 drums taking us into some familiar territory around the mid point, at which point we're solidly in Deadmau5's world. "Moar Ghosts 'N' Stuff" is a pretty forgettable dance number - great beat, but little melodic interest here. However, it leads into "Ghost 'N' Stuff," which is a nice vocal tune. Sure, the lyrics aren't anything special, but it's definitely a solid track.

Keeping the energy high, "Hi Friend!" is another vocal track. It is more melodically simple, but the intensity gets amped up with a perpetually ascending synth noise - the sort that doesn't exactly fit within the tonal structure of the music, but works nonetheless.

"Bot" follows taking the energy down a bit with a somewhat creepy character. This perfectly exemplifies my problem with deadmau5: there is one cool idea (the little synth obstinate) and the production is extremely tight, but the track is almost seven minutes, making the idea-to-time ratio way out of proportion. When you factor in the requisite 60-90 seconds of beat build-up and beat build-down, you're left with what seems like a LOT of filler.

The problem continues with "Word Problems." It sounds a bit like something Richie Hawtin might do, but with less interest. When Hawtin does a ten-minute track of stark minimalism, he always has an edge. There is always something changing gradually, even if the changes are slight. He also tends to craft the aural dimension of his music so as to be different from anyone's idea of standard-issue techno. With Deadmau5, it sticks way too close to the progressive house formula to hold my interest.

"Soma" suffers from a similar lack of musical ideas, except for the instrumental break around 3:50. It's such a welcome relief that I wish Deadmau5 had continued it further, or integrated it into the rest of the track. Things pick back up with "Lack of a Better Name," which has some very nice synth sounds, more melody, and a nice (if brief) chord progression. "The 16th Hour" is also a really nice track with a good dramatic arc - lots of build-ups and breaks. This is exactly the kind of thing that Deadmau5 should be doing more of - variety.

Everything ends with "Strobe," which is not nearly as crazed as one might think. I always expect a Deadmau5 tweak-fest, and I'm always surprised when I get to the end and it's dark and ethereal. It's an interesting direction that we see again on "Right This Second" on 4x4=12. It works with "FML" to bookend the CD with a solid postlude.

For the reasons listed above, I'm still not overly impressed with Deadmau5 at this stage. A lot of these problems (e.g. variety, melody, form, overly long intros) are fixed on 4x4=12, which is great - he's growing with each release. If any of these songs were presented outside the context of the album, I would feel a lot different. They would all be very good prog house tracks, great for any mix. I commend Deadmau5 on releasing full-length albums when so many producers are happy to put out 12" singles. I really wish more were doing exactly this, because I am still committed to the idea of the album. However, if one is going to ask listeners to consider their work on an album scale, there needs to be sufficient variety to hold our interest. Deadmau5 is make great strides toward this idea, but on "For Lack of a Better Name," he's not quite there. For that reason, I would start with 4x4=12 and work backwards.

Following the advice from numerous suggestions from class, I deiced to find more about Deadmau5. Deadmau5 is a modern technosonic musician specializing in the art of electrical sound synthesis and audio engineering. Deadmau5 is run by Joel Zimmerman and is based in Toronto Canada. Deadmau5 has won many awards in recent years and has produced eight albums since 2006. Looking at some of the more recent work that has been done, the album "For lack of a better name" was released in 2009 and contains 10 songs.
One of the most iconic distinctions of Deadmau5 is the driving beats and complex rhythms that make up most of their songs. The use of repeated rhythmic patterns was made possible by the advances in sequencers and synthesizers like the Buchla and Moog. The driving rhythm that makes many of the pieces by Deadmau5 so enjoyable is made possible by early those early inventions as well as the work of many people. The rhythm that Deadmau5 uses are made up of one single tempo and stays constant for many of the piece, however the complexity of the rhythms comes from changing time signatures. This can be heard in the first song "FML." The pieces start off with a drum set playing a repeating pattern and a thud of a bass drum is added in. The pattern slightly changes and a continuous falling tone, also known as a Sheppard tone, is heard for a small duration of time. After it ends the bass line starts and this makes up the rhythm of the piece. It appears to be in triple meter but every so often a measure of duple meter is added. This can also be heard again in the song "Hi friend." In this one the constant rhythm is interrupted by a few measures of a different meter. It still remains in duple meter but it changes from common time to one that is cut time. This change is help by the fact that the melody also changes from an increasing beeping sound to a suspended tone accompanied by the cut time feel with offbeat claps.
The melody in many of their songs is not considered to be as an important factor as compared to the rhythm and the underlying bass. This effect makes the piece more suited for dance and clubs were the bass and rhythm are important. In addition the length of many of these pieces combined the rhythm and the bass would make it easy to dance to for a long time. This is not to say all the songs on this album are just straight beats for ten minutes. Often Deadmau5 will add a few measures where the melody is the only thing that is happening. This in the case in the song "Soma." Halfway through the piece there is a slow and contrasting piano and synthesizer melody this is then followed by the same rhythm that appeared before the melody break.
Overall the album has many pieces which has catchy rhythms and beats. They will seem interesting because of the use of different types of sounds and samples used. Even if there is no distinct melody used in all the pieces there are pitched beats which make up a melodic rhythmic pattern which is enjoyable. If you are looking for a good song to dance to or something to listen to at a party then any of the songs on this album would be a good choice.

I've been exercising to techno, electro, trance type music for a few years but usually just got nibs off my sons mp3 downloads. Lately I really needed some new exercise music and while I was searching I came across Deadmau5. I am so glad I discovered his music because I can't stop listening to it. I would love to see him live but I guess this will have to do. Love the Ghosts stuff, FML, Strobe and the others. I just love his music.

Random Album Title was great - but FLoaBN seems to take up where he left off. Deadmau5 has been a rising star in the Progressive House genre of Electro music and this album will only propel him further to the top.

This ablum features 2 great mixes of one of my favorite Deadmau5 songs Ghosts-N-Stuff.

If you are a fan of Electro/House/or Progressive House you must pick up this title.

Deadmau5, pronounced like "dead mouse," is the pseudonym for Joel Zimmerman, an electronic house producer. The name deadmau5 comes from the name of his web developing business, which he named after a dead mouse he found in his computer one day. The reasoning for the numeric spelling at the end is so that it could function as a username for online interfaces. Zimmerman, a 29 year old Canadian from Toronto, has worked his way up the ladder in the music industry. His album "Random Album Title," debuted electronically in September 2008, and copies were released soon after in November. Deadmau5 is best known for some of its collaborative works with Kaskade, Rob Swire and Steve Duda. "For Lack of a Better Name" was out on September 22, 2009. This album contained some huge hits such as "Moar Ghosts N' Stuff" which was aired during the Winter Olympic Games and on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew."

As a child, Zimmerman was obsessed with computers and technology, now as an older music producer, he still exemplifies his love of technology through his work. Along with Steve Duda, Zimmerman creates music software which he uses in his own shows. Between 2006 and 2007, he worked for the company behind the Fruity Loops virtual studio programme, also known as "FL Studio." This program is very similar to the programs we use in our class everyday such as Garage Band. In 2008, another group called Dirty Circuit got in legal trouble for using a sample that came with the program FL Studio called "LP_Faxing Berlin C_128 bpm" due to the fact that Deadmau5 had copyright of this material.

Zimmerman approaches music in a whole new way. As a result, he loathes the title "DJ." He considers it an outdated way of referring to the art he produces. He assembles tracks as he goes, using the latest computer technology some of which he has created himself. When performing "it's a technological orgy up there and I try to keep it more my music than anyone else's," he says. Also, the costume Zimmerman takes on during performances is that of an oversized mouse head, with large eyes that blink to the enthralling beat of the music. This, too, is introducing a new theatrical, entertainment concept to the dance music industry that it was lacking before.

Being on the brink of the technological revolution, Zimmerman tried to convince recording studios to embrace the changing times and to incorporate PC's into the production of music. Many turned down his ideas, while a small recording studio in Toronto finally gave in. The revolutionary types of technology that are integrated into the work of Deadmau5 have led to some of the hits off of the album "For Lack of a Better Name."

One of the songs on the album is "Soma." Soma refers both to a muscle relaxant as well as a leafless East Indian vine which has a sour milky juice formerly used to make an intoxicating drink. The song begins with one of Deadmau5's typical repeating drum loops, quick paced. Midway through the song, the beats begin to blur, reverberate and slow down as though the drug is kicking in, seeping into the veins. It continues like this and all of a sudden the beat kicks back up again. Then once again, near the end, the beat explodes into a cloud of static, resulting back into the dreamlike sound sequence. The song lingers, picking up the pace with a pouncing drum beat, and finally fades off.

The song "Strobe" has a very ambient feel. The background sounds are very similar to the ambient cloud spaces we made a few weeks ago in class. This song starts off slow and cloud like and then around 3:30-3:50 picks up the speed, increasing from 80-90 bpm's to as much as 125 bpm's without interrupting the flow of the song whatsoever. These transitions are done so very elegantly that we are almost immune to the drastic changes that are happening right before us as we listen to this song.

"For Lack of a Better Name," is one heck of an album, with many more songs to explore. I chose to listen to and analyze "Soma" and "Strobe." The "16th Hour," "Ghosts N' Stuff" and "Moar Ghosts N' Stuff" are just several other songs on the album that are sure to intrigue you. Give them a listen and you'll see what I mean. The auditory and melodic artistry that goes into these songs are outstanding and something everyone should definitely experience!

Très bon album, Du Deadmau5 à son peak! Great album!!! Les quatres prmières tounes sont parfaites! Buy it now!!! It's Deadmau5 as we wanted to be. Merci

If you like deadmau5 then this is a no brainer. One of my personal favorites from the artist. By now the artist has reached a level that if you're looking at this album, you're probably going to buy it anyways.

To be completely honest, I was hoping for a little more from this album. I started out just hearing hits from Deadmau5 like Faxing Berlin & Arguru, and I was hooked on them. So I recently decided to pick up his most recent album 4x4=12. I wasn't too impressed with that album but people were saying that that album doesn't compare to his first two...So I picked this album up. While it IS better than his latest, it's still not what I was hoping for.

It's a much more laid back album that his latest and there are a couple songs I really like, "Strobe" and "FML" namely. Other than that the beats seem a bit bland. They're not bad, just not great. I'll go back and give Random Album Title a listen and see what I think of that.

Overall, definitely a good album, but not the best. Recommended none the less!

Enjoy!

Well since I started to listen to electronica dance house and blah blah I just want to say that this album is just incredible even years after I bought it, starting from Strobe, that I love that song simply love it, then Ghosts N Stuff thats hilarious it always puts me in the mood. So i would totally recommend this album to any house lover that wants to experience something beyond any other things when listening to music. hurray deadmau5.