undefined | Better HN

0 pointsswivelmaster10mo ago0 comments

The reason that I dislike Human After All is that, quite simply, it's not fun.

It's dour. It's depressing. And it's repetitive in a way that feels tiresome; You can't dance to most of it or even really tap your foot to it.

What happened was that Daft Punk challenged themselves to make an album in six weeks and ended up with a showcase for a few neat guitar pedals and two fun songs (Robot Rock and Technologic), one of which consists almost entirely of a barely-changed sample (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFwGQAEYqHs).

Electronic music certainly evolved in ways that made it less warm, but that didn't make it less fun. Case in point, Skrillex's early music is weird and playful despite relying on 'cold' synth sounds. Human After All is just cold.

0 comments

coldtea10mo ago

>And it's repetitive in a way that feels tiresome; You can't dance to most of it or even really tap your foot to it.

Being robotic and repeatitive never stopped people dancing like crazy to techno all night. In fact, that's its very allure.

sneak10mo ago

Not to be that guy, but techno is only repetitive if you are a) listening to boring/uninspired techno (the same kind of complaint being leveled here against HAA), or b) not paying attention.

marcedwards10mo ago

Agreed! Also, context matters. How and where you’re listening matters.

coldtea10mo ago

or (c) done right

swivelmasterOP10mo ago

"in a way that feels tiresome" is the operative phrase here. I like the throwaway tracks on Homework that are twice as long and half as interesting more than I like most of Human After All. They're fun.

l33tbro10mo ago

Fine not to like it for those reasons. But maybe try listen to it next time from a more psych, garage, or post-rock perspective. They were influenced very early on by groups like Spacemen 3, and I see HAA as them doing something big and dirgey in this kind of school. I even recall the liner notes saying only "all guitars by Daft Punk".

swivelmasterOP10mo ago

The sound design is certainly interesting from the perspective of psych, garage, post-rock, etc., but the sound design doesn't make up for the songwriting. You need both. Or at least, I do.

l33tbro10mo ago

I think it's a just a more experimental record. The lack of songwriting is kind of the thesis of the entire album, right? (technology, repetition, etc) It's aims are not to be Digital Love or their more conventional song-based stuff. If anything, it's almost a return to their origins like some of the more techno-orientated tracks on Homework.

That's what I meant with what it has in common with garage and psych. Not the textures or sounds, but the relentlessly experimental approach to convention. Not saying it is perfectly executes, but I think this what it is meant to be.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsswivelmaster10mo ago0 comments

The reason that I dislike Human After All is that, quite simply, it's not fun.

It's dour. It's depressing. And it's repetitive in a way that feels tiresome; You can't dance to most of it or even really tap your foot to it.

0 comments

coldtea10mo ago

>And it's repetitive in a way that feels tiresome; You can't dance to most of it or even really tap your foot to it.

Being robotic and repeatitive never stopped people dancing like crazy to techno all night. In fact, that's its very allure.

sneak10mo ago

Not to be that guy, but techno is only repetitive if you are a) listening to boring/uninspired techno (the same kind of complaint being leveled here against HAA), or b) not paying attention.

marcedwards10mo ago

Agreed! Also, context matters. How and where you’re listening matters.

coldtea10mo ago

or (c) done right

swivelmasterOP10mo ago

l33tbro10mo ago

swivelmasterOP10mo ago

The sound design is certainly interesting from the perspective of psych, garage, post-rock, etc., but the sound design doesn't make up for the songwriting. You need both. Or at least, I do.

l33tbro10mo ago

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse