New DJ Shadow Album - Our Pathetic Age

[Deft]

LTD EDITION PRE-ORDER BUNDLES

https://shop.djshadow.com/

[JHouse]

Word, thanks for lookin' out.

[Wax On]

Whod buy new DJ Shadow without checking it first?!?!

[Deft]

TRUE FANS WITH TOO MUCH MONEY

[Wax On]

Hahaha

[arkei]

I once bought the Private Practice bundle (with that sexy 7" record box). Good price but I liked it...

 

But I'm not sure about him since he dropped the outsider musicwise.

[djdiggla]

Is it gold?

[Shimmer]

Bit of a gay angsty title.

[djdiggla]

It is pretty bitter old man sounding

[Steve]

This is how he describes it: -

 

More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole. The subtle signals that humans send each other, the way people behave, their frustrations and ebbs and flows. In my part of the world, people are scared. There's rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they're angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There's songs that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there's attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don't offer solutions. Despite the title, it’s a hopeful, vibrant album… there is always light in darkness. I want it to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era… Our Pathetic Age.

[Jam Burglar]

I went ahead and pre-ordered for the bonus wax. I'm a sucker for ol' Josh for some reason. I don't think he'll ever attain (for me) what he did in his early work but I still enjoy and listen to his later albums. I do kind of feel like he's gotten too "left brained" about things. Maybe I'm making a false assumption here, but I get the sense he's more into impressive programming or clever sample techniques than composing at times. I feel like we get flashes of greatness on his later albums, but not full-out gold like on Entroducing or his early EPs. The end of this "Rosie" track is what I'm about.

[djdiggla]

This is how he describes it: -

 

More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole. The subtle signals that humans send each other, the way people behave, their frustrations and ebbs and flows. In my part of the world, people are scared. There's rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they're angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There's songs that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there's attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don't offer solutions. Despite the title, it’s a hopeful, vibrant album… there is always light in darkness. I want it to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era… Our Pathetic Age.

 

 

Well he's not wrong. I think he's focusing on the bleak but there's a lot of truth to his perception.

[JHouse]

He reflects my thinking; many people are seriously distracted, confused and basically can't focus. And we all know why. It's why I don't have FB or other social mediums on my phone, plus I seldom text. I would rather be creative and productive. That being said, there are loads of people still killin' it among all the noise though — some of them on this very forum.

[Shimmer]

He’d get more street cred if he called it ‘Fuck The World’ or something.

 

[danswift]

Didn't know this was even released,but that just shows how far behind I am lately with most new music coming out.

 

Listened to the entire album and was massively disappointed..think there was literally one track that I thought was half decent on there.

 

The record sounds so stiff,forced and uninspired.

 

He really has fallen off big time in my opinion.

 

I wasn't really expecting much though to be totally honest but this is just garbage.

[Deft]

I've been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac recently. If Shadow no longer floats your boat Dan, you should try them.

[danswift]

I've been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac recently. If Shadow no longer floats your boat Dan, you should try them.

I can't fault early Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green) those first few albums when he was the leader of the band are really good.

 

I like some of the 'Rumours' LP, there's a few cool songs on there but most of their really commercial stuff leaves me a bit cold tbh.

 

Edit:

 

I remember hearing a story once that one of the Fleetwood Mac roadies used to have to blow cocaine through a straw up into Stevie Nicks' ass before she went out on stage at their concerts in the 70s cause she'd damaged her nose so badly from abusing the drug.

 

Not sure how true that actually is, though it makes for an interesting Rock and Roll story hahaha..

[Steve]

I heard the same story, except it was about The Krankies.

[danswift]

I heard the same story, except it was about The Krankies.

FLOL.

 

You cant beat a good Rock and Roll myth.

 

Some people have long assumed that Grace Jones’ hit ‘Pull Up To The Bumper’ featuring the line “grease it/spray it/let me lubricate it” is in fact about anal sex. However, the Disco diva recently dispelled this myth, explaining, “I kind of like the doggy position myself, but that doesn’t mean it’s going up me arse.”..

 

[Jam Burglar]

Didn't know this was even released,but that just shows how far behind I am lately with most new music coming out.

 

Listened to the entire album and was massively disappointed..think there was literally one track that I thought was half decent on there.

 

The record sounds so stiff,forced and uninspired.

 

He really has fallen off big time in my opinion.

 

I wasn't really expecting much though to be totally honest but this is just garbage.

 

I'm just going to say this because it needs to be said. "Here We Are One Time" is better than every album DJ Shadow has put out since Private Press.

[djdiggla]

Didn't know this was even released,but that just shows how far behind I am lately with most new music coming out.

 

Listened to the entire album and was massively disappointed..think there was literally one track that I thought was half decent on there.

 

The record sounds so stiff,forced and uninspired.

 

He really has fallen off big time in my opinion.

 

I wasn't really expecting much though to be totally honest but this is just garbage.

 

I haven't heard it yet. Is the Instrumental Suite shit too? Or just the Vocal Suite? Personally I don't like albums by beatmakers with a bunch of guest MC spots. Looks like he tried to please everyone and split it into two halves.

[djdiggla]

Quote

Friends, with your permission…

About two years ago, near the end of 2019, I released a double album called “Our Pathetic Age.” It was the culmination of several years of intense productivity and surging confidence. I felt that it was my strongest collection of songs in decades, maybe ever. It represented my progressive instrumental side AND my love for producing genuine rap tracks, and I loved both voices equally. There was excitement at my label, and with the recent success of “Nobody Speak,” genuine enthusiasm at radio. It seemed that the stars were aligned, and the time was right to deliver on all the promise of the prior album and EP. We kicked things off with “Rocket Fuel,” and a performance on late night TV here in the US. I began to develop a new live show, and dates were booked for the following Spring and Summer. Everything was teed up and ready to go, with a plan to work the album through 2020 and beyond. I was ready for a new plateau, new levels of achievement. This was going to be the album that proved I belonged in any conversation about top music producers. This was going to be the album that squashed, once and for all, any outside narrative that my best work was behind me. It was going to represent the pinnacle, the height of heights of what I could and would accomplish. It was going to be THE ONE.

But…none of it happened.

We all know why, of course. Less than two weeks into my tour, COVID went from being a sidebar to a worldwide emergency. Countless people lost their livelihood, and far too many lost their lives. I spent most of last year trying to cope with the grief I felt for friends and peers worse off than I. At all times, I was aware that no one had been spared, and that my financial and emotional losses paled in comparison to so many. I did what I could to be empathetic and compassionate to those who needed me. But because it was happening to everyone, I began to feel that there was no one I could talk to about my OWN sense of loss. I tried in the beginning, but quickly realized that most people understandably took it as a cue to divulge their own damage. So, gradually, I stopped trying. After all, what does something as insignificant as a record album mean against a backdrop of such collective despair? I almost felt embarrassed to acknowledge my own sadness.

And yet, in writing this letter to you, my fan, that is precisely what I now must do: recognize my loss, so that I can begin to move on. An album I had tremendous hopes for died a premature death, and while it may seem trivial to everyone else on the planet, it was devastating for me. I made something I loved, and was ready to share it with the world, but those plans were dashed, and my creation was stillborn.

It hurts. It’s the biggest disappointment of my career, and that’s saying a lot. It has affected me on every possible level. I may not wear my ambitions on my sleeve, but like any artist, I do crave recognition, perhaps not from the mainstream, but certainly from my peers and fans. I wanted to impress you. I wanted you to be proud of what I built, and to have the opportunity to show it off. And if I’m ever going to get over this, to create again, I need to tell you what happened and how painful it was. Perhaps the album wouldn’t have resonated beyond normal industry parameters, and I concede that…but the fact that it was never given a chance is a harsh reality that cuts deep.

So, if you’ll allow, I’d like to say this to myself, with you as a witness:

It’s over.

It’s gone, and it’s not coming back.

It was a small and humble contribution to the lineage of artists who inspired me, and it had merit…but it’s departed, and now it’s time to turn the page and welcome a new day.
I know the grieving will endure, but the desire to contribute and create must prevail.

I am grateful for the lesson, and for the opportunity to create anew.

As I said, I know I’m no special case. We’ve all experienced loss. I hope you understand why I felt the need to publicly acknowledge mine, and I hope it encourages others who find themselves stuck in creative limbo to do the same.

With love always,

-DJ Shadow

Who wants to tell him it was shit anyways?

Half kidding, but I wasn't really feeling it personally. Hopefully this creatively pushes him and he puts out something badass next. 

[Matt]

I briefly saw him doing a live set inside a 360 degree holographic sphere in 2011, it told me all I needed to know about him.

 

I saw him live for the private press release, and even back then he couldn't help but moan about it being leaked months before. 

[danswift]

9 hours ago, Matt said:

I briefly saw him doing a live set inside a 360 degree holographic sphere in 2011, it told me all I needed to know about him.

 

He disappeared up his own ass a long time ago unfortunately and over estimated his importance musically ...possibly inside the same holographic sphere, hopefully.

Coupled with some pretty ridiculous comments regarding 'the rules of sampling' (according to him of course)) or  how he thinks people should actually make their music and never sample from reissues only original vinyl etc  put me off the dude from then onwards. 

It just came across as arrogant and elitist bullshit ,lots of moaning and hand wringing from a dude with an enormous unobtainable record collection basically and the type of mentality that goes with that stuff..although kind of hilarious as its also around then where Shadow really fell off big time and started producing utter garbage like The Outsider LP  and everything else that followed later . ..

 

His TV show fucking sucked too...