consume

Grading The Voice: An Introduction

May 7, 2011 by krisis

I gave up television because of American Idol.

It’s true. It was 2004 and I was obsessed by it and angry with it. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I didn’t want to have that kind of relationship with television.

Despite giving up broadcast television entirely, I still followed Idol by way of video swatches through Season 8. There I felt like I saw the two halves of my musical taste duke it out on screen – the artistry and interpretation of Kris Allen versus the genre-bending showmanship of Adam Lambert.

That was it for me and Idol. I thought I’d finally be free of televised singing competitions.

Then, in the past week, I started to hear about The Voice. (Remember, I don’t have the benefit of TV commercials to inform me of these happenings. I read about it on the internets.)

Four relevant, millions-selling artist mentors meant be constructive rather than destructive in their search. A search not for comically bad auditions, or style over substance. but for a remarkable, memorable voice.

The Voice. Which, aside from original Idol Clarkson, Cowell and Co. have never truly managed.

The glowing reviews wore down my “no television” stance far enough that I sampled a smattering of auditions last night. I was completely blown away. Of the four I sampled, even the worst one was someone I’d consider buying an an entire album from.

It begs the question – can a voice be relevant without an image? What if one of the contestants has a face for radio, an issue presaged by that Buggles classic? What happens after the blind audition is over and a mentor gets stuck with someone fugly?

Begrudgingly, I was hooked enough to want to find out. I spent last night last night watching the first two episodes of this madcap show that’s a twisted concoction of X-Factor, Hollywood Squares, and The Dating Game.

The audition rounds fascinated me because the judges experienced the contestants the same way I listed to Idol for half a decade: blindly. I heard the songs on the internet without the hoopla of their sob stories, stage lights, and snarky judge comments. Someone might have had a pretty face and visual panache, but were they behind the beat? Did the big diva go flat on all of her major melisma moments? I noticed this stuff while watchers ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the stage show.

On the other side, I am these contestants. I’m a singer. I’m an artist who has spent many years trying to turn heads in my direction. I’ve tried subtlety and screaming. The results depend on the room.

The auditions of The Voice were a solid B. Despite a lot of repeated soundbites and constant awkward interruptions by a bumbling, arithmetic-spouting Carson Daly, the three hours of show flew by. Never too long with one contestant, just enough time in the undeniably magical presence of the mentors.

So which voice was The Voice? How do each of the judges’ teams stack up?

I’ll follow up with a post on each judge’s team to get you ready for the subsequent (scary-sounding) battle rounds.

X-Men Titles (2010 – 2019) – The Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order

The definitive, chronological, and up-to-date guide on collecting X-Men flagship title comic books from 2010 to 2019, including Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Extraordinary X-Men, X-Men Gold, and X-Men Red via omnibuses, hardcovers, and trade paperback graphic novels. A part of Crushing Comics – Guide to Marvel Comics. Last updated March 2025 with titles scheduled for release through October 2025.

This guide follows the main, “flagship” titles in the X-Men line from after “Second Coming” in the Heroic Age in 2010 through Marvel Fresh Start in 2019, just prior to Jonathan Hickman’s takeover of the entire line.

X-Men titles had been distinctly separate from the rest of the Marvel Universe for years even before they headed into two years of tightly coordinated stories and crossovers from 2008 to 2010.

It had been since Onslaught in 1996 that the X-Men interacted significantly with other Marvel heroes – or even wider Marvel Universe storylines! – in their own books. They also didn’t get out much. Aside from House of M’s ramifications in Decimation, you’d be hard-pressed to find a non-mutant Marvel hero in any X-Title other than Wolverine!

While that made for thrilling in-continuity stories for big X-Fans, it didn’t help bring new readers into the fold – or to share the wealth of X-Readers with other Marvel titles.

Marvel’s solution began with X-Men (2010). As with Astonishing X-Men before it, this title occurred relatively free of the convoluted continuity of other X-Titles, even though it made reference to outside events. And, unlike the self-contained Astonishing, X-Men, this title frequently featured guests-stars from throughout the Marvel Universe.

In 2011, Marvel ended their longest-running and highest-numbered title when they cancelled Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 with #544 to make way for a split in the X-Men between Cyclops and Wolverine explored in Schism. The subsequent Uncanny X-Men (2011) was still written by author Kieron Gillen with a similar tone and cast – just less Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. It was by many accounts (including mine) one of the best runs of X-Men ever written.

This, too, was in the service of steering the X-Men toward more interaction with the wider Marvel Universe – this time in the form of the major event, Avengers vs. X-Men.

In the wake of Avengers vs. X-Men, Marvel relaunched their entire line with nearly every creator shuffled onto a new book. In the shake-up, Brian Bendis hopped from the Avengers franchise to the X-Men franchise, taking over Uncanny X-Men (2013) (as well as a team of time-displaced teen X-Men in All-New X-Men).

Meanwhile, the adjectiveless X-Men volume relaunched a few months later with a primary cast entirely composed of X-Woman! It didn’t feel like a gimmick at all thanks to the X-Men’s legendary roster of women – including Storm, Psylocke, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Omega Sentinel, and more. Unfortunately, the title was quickly sent askew by the “Battle of the Atom” crossover and launch writer Brian Wood never quite recovered. Two later arcs by Marc Guggenheim (of TV’s Arrow) and G. Willow Wilson (creator of Ms. Marvel) were well-steeped in X-history, but not terribly exciting.

Bendis promised a lengthy run on X-Men, but another creator shuffle after Secret Wars in 2015 saw him depart the franchise for Iron Man in the All-New, All-Different Marvel.

In his place, Cullen Bunn took over Uncanny X-Men (2016). After a long streak of wrapping up soon-to-be-cancelled series for other writers, Bunn improbably struck gold on a menacing take on Magneto (2014) in his first ongoing series. He brought that villainous tone to his ongoing.

Alongside that, a more-heroic new title – Extraordinary X-Men – launched under the pen of Jeff Lemire and tied in closely to the wider Marvel Universe plot of the Inhumans and their Terrigen Bomb being poisonous to mutants.

After the resolution of the Inhumans thread in Inhumans vs. X-Men, Marvel relaunched the entire X-Men line in “ResurrXion.” This marked the first time since 2013 that there was no ongoing “Uncanny” title serving as one of the flagship books of the line. However, X-Men Gold was effectively “Uncanny,” with a Claremont-esque classic team of Kitty, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Rachel Grey, among others. Meanwhile, Cullen Bunn continued his Magneto thread into the All-New X-Men cast with X-Men Blue. Nearly a year later, Phoenix Resurrection returned Jean Grey to the cast of X-Men, and she launched a third flagship with X-Men Red. And, finally, the period wrapped up with five X-Men Black one-shots focusing on major X-Men villains.

Then, in November 2018, Uncanny X-Men returned with a bang – as a 10-part weekly story arc called “X-Men Disassembled.” That story branched out into “Age of X-Man” – an alternate reality event – while writer Matthew Rosenberg continued the storylines of his past year of X-Men mini-series into a disturbing final run on the title that killed off many beloved characters… only for them to return in Jonathan Hickman’s relaunched Age of Krakoa!

2010 Recommended Albums Roundup

February 16, 2011 by krisis

There’ll be no more hemming and hawing – here are my recommended albums of 2010. I just have to get it out 50 days sooner next year :)

Thanks to my friend Melissa W. for inspiring/encouraging this endeavor, and for all of my office-mates for enduring my many rounds of listening ;)

Top 10 Recommended Albums of 2010

1. Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart. A gleeful, big-voiced, piano-pop record not unlike what I expected from Kelly Clarkson fresh off of Idol. (full review)

2. The Black Keys – Brothers. Turns basic two-man blues stomp into a sonic wet cement that will fill up your ears and harden to stone, never to exit. (full review)

3. Robyn – Body Talk. Prickly-tongued dance pop that picks up directly where Cyndi Lauper left off with She’s So Unusual, both in voice and coquettish feminism.

4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs. Evokes the washed out echo of America’s abandoned suburbs – dingy lawns, faded vinyl siding, and a hopeless tranquility.

5. The Bird & The Bee – Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. Transcends “carefully crafted tribute” to become a valuable reimagining of these classic songs. (full review)

6. Sia – We Are Born. Send a Britney Spears CD back in time along with an emotionally-unhinged, unintelligible cyborg lady from the future, both to the attention of the disco band at your local club; enjoy the results.

7. Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea. A riveting, jazz-tinged journey to the bottom of the ocean, where an intent to drown transforms into a raison d’etre. (full review)

8. The Roots – How I Got Over. A pinnacle of hand-crafted hip hop, merging sure-handed classic soul with introspective and uplifting rhymes.

9. Vampire Weekend – Contra. Dizzingly smart, giddily smart-mouthed Paul Simon pop pretends it’s facile and heartless, but it’s anything but. (full review)

10a. Menomena – Mines. Found sound rockers take over for the waylaid Kings of Leon as the best back-to-basics rockers in America, sans basics.

10b. Blitzen Trapper – Destroyer of the Void. A fantasy land where Neil Young continued adding his “Y” to the acronyms of ever more classic rock acts after ditching Crosby and company.

10c. Hindi Zahra – Handmade. I spit “world music” like a curse because it never means this but it really ought to – international influences brought to bear on finely crafted pop songs.

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Keep reading for 32 More Recommended Albums of 2010 (in alphabetical order by artist). [Read more…] about 2010 Recommended Albums Roundup

Recommended: Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart

February 15, 2011 by krisis

Krisis’s 2010 Album of the Year:
Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart

The maturation from Sara Bareilles’ major label debut to Kaleidoscope Heart is nothing short of astounding.

Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart. Release 9/2/2010.

Her prior LP, Little Voice, was a pleasant album with a few killer singles and one too many samey songs with titular metaphors. It was memorable more for its parts than its whole. “Love Song” sounded understandably tacked-on, because it was – the label sent Bareilles back to the drawing board to pen a big single.

Kaleidoscope Heart dumps trite tunes and interminable balladeering in favor of an entire disc of “Love Song” caliber songwriting. The album runs at least five singles deep, a la Kelly Clarkson’s explosive Breakaway, and as a whole it lays waste to every other pop album dropped in 2010.

Take note, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, T-Swift, and other aspiring pop songstresses … Ms. Bareilles has got your number.

Songs stride from piano-girl pop (“Uncharted” and “Say You’re Sorry”) to wailing American Idol-worthy ballads (“Hold My Heart” and “Machine Gun”) with stops in between for rolling bluesy licks (“Gonna Get Over You”), folky 70s AM radio ballads (“Basket Case”), and an Imogen Heap style vocoder title track.

Practicing her "L" for an appearance on Glee? Let's hope so, even if her aim is a little off.

Almost of those songs stand up to the killer lead single “King of Anything,” which should be ruled an illegal stimulant due to its obscenely catchy handclap-drive chorus. Its opening call and response piano/vocal duet surely owes to Bareilles’ show choir club experience – it seems designed especially for a Glee club cover.

Throughout the album, mature lyrics avoid any hint of girlish triteness and still contain the snappish bite of angst that fueled the best tunes on her debut. More impressively, the sonic palette of the disc manages to differentiate each tune without becoming gimmicky. That allows for great tracking, dropping slower songs at all the right points on the album.

Sara Bareilles has created an incredibly confident LP rife with solid turns of songwriting and sometimes stunning vocal chops. Kaleidoscope Heart is a follow-up record that requires no caveats to enjoy – it’s simply great.

Kaleidoscope Heart is just $7.98 on Amazon, and worth every penny. It’s my most highly-endorsed LP of 2010. Check back tomorrow for my full list of 2010’s recommended releases.

Recommended: Vampire Weekend – Contra

February 2, 2011 by krisis

Krisis’s Recommended Releases of 2010:
Vampire Weekend – Contra

Contra is masterpiece of camouflage, with Vampire Weekend burying their true identity beneath layers of musical influences and hiding cutting, carefully composed poetry beneath Afro-Jùjú rhythms. Even the band’s name is a disguise, evoking goth rock or careless popped-collar excess, but not the delicately-crafted, smart pop lying beneath the surface of their carefree songs.

Vampire Weekend - Contra. Released 1/12/2010.

Who’s to say this isn’t the work of wasted Ivy-Leaguers on an extended lost weekend? Silly “Horchata” and sunny “Holiday” seem to fit that mold. The latter is a nearly-Ska retread on Weezer’s “Islands in the Sun,” but listen closely to the story implied by the lyrics – a sketch of a naive co-ed who would cheerfully wear a neon Che Guevara shirt while vacationing on a central American beach.

And the gleeful, hyper-literate “Horchata?”After the ten-cent-word rhymes of its opening verses it dispenses this observation: “Here comes a feeling you thought you’d forgotten,:chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on. Oh, you had it, but oh no you lost it. You understood, so shouldn’t have fought it.”

That is Contra, in a microcosm. Yes, Vampire Weekend is at a party with their peers, wearing their pink, popped-collar polo shirts… but they’re the most introspective guys in the room, and they feel sorry for every privileged person in the place.

That might also include themselves, as on “Taxi Cab,” whose delicate regret and self-pity wring more pathos from the word “grocery” than Death Cab For Cutie can muster on an entire album.

Vampire Weekend is like Weezer or Death Cab for Cutie, if both eschewed their rhythm guitars, convenient couplets, and conventional song structures. So, really nothing like either of them. Rather than lose themselves in the hopeless emo rock their constant pity for self and others would suggest, Vampire Weekend plays up the utter camp of their musical influences to brighten the corners of a dour world.

Each song offers crowd-pleasing poly-rhythms and thesaurus-wielding rhymes with an intricacy that suggests a college thesis rather than a sound collage, all-but-obscuring lyrics depicting the blithe beauty of thoughtlessness, frailty, and failure. “Cousins” is the surest party-starter on the disk, with its bass line hopskotching over tinkles of rimshot percussion. Between seeming inanities the lyrics casually accuse, “If an interest in culture, you should be lining the walls. When your birthright is interest, you could just accrue it all.“

That wit, with its irony-dripping, Ivy League pedigree, pervades the album – both in lyrics and arrangements. Sometimes the utter Paul Simon-ness of it becomes too obvious, but even at its peak on “White Sky” the band is stretching beyond his Graceland, adding non-stop trickles of guitar picking that are impossibly precise and their opposite – an imprecise, swooping falsetto vocal hook.

Only once is the poly-rhythmic pretense abandoned for straight-forward pop, with the direct and dirty guitars and percussion on irresistible “Giving Up the Gun.” It sound checks Depeche Mode while describing a washed-up hipster, once surely gaudy but now rusty and gauche. “You said you wouldn’t flinch,” it muses, “But in the years that passed since I saw you last you haven’t moved an inch.”

Even as the band adopts an almost-trite electro-pop reggae take on UB40 on “Diplomat’s Son” they dispense the most heartbreaking narrative of the album, how a mutual desire of two friends lead to icy dissolution. The cleverly genderless narrator obsesses and waits, finally melting into bed with his or her obsession, only to watch early the next morning as “in the dark when the wind comes racing off the river there’s a car, all black, with diplomatic plates.”

Closer “I Think Ur a Contra” is equally plaintive, but with music to fit the mood – a reflection on growing apart where both sides of a romance represent their own revolution, a civil war that will never resolve back into a single bed. “Never pick sides, never choose between two,” was always their strident mantra, but finally our narrator is ready to admit, “but I just wanted you.”

You’d never expect that to be the end of an album that started with the silly “Horchata,” but that’s the point. Contra is an album of endless entendres – dance-party and pity-party, emotional confession and emotionless evaluation. Is any of it the real feelings of the band, or just another disguise? You’ll never know, which is the point of Vampire Weekend’s careful camouflage. All that’s obvious is that Contra is an outstanding record.