The New Moby Album

Earlier this week, I was at the station, going through through the mail when I noticed that we had just received the new Moby album: Destroyed. Whenever you get a well known artist's new album or a band you really like, you get this sensation like it is Christmas morning all over again. Now I am a newbie when it comes to Moby but nevertheless I was really excited to find this new album in the mail. (His 2009 release Wait for Me is the album that got me into Moby. It is utterly brilliant. Check it out now!)

This album thus far has not disappointed me. Written while Moby was on the road for his last world tour, it is very heavy on the electronic instrumental tracks. But what surprised me was the vocal tracks are kept to a minimum. There are only about 4 or 5 vocal tracks on an 15 track album. I thought this feature would cause me to get bored with the album, but that never happened. This album took me on a music journey that was quite refreshing to listen too.

If I had to pick one problem with the album, it is that it's appeal will be very limited. (What can I say, once a radio guy, always a radio guy.) There are no "single" tracks on this album. And since it is so heavy on the electronic sound, it will not have a mass appeal to people. I find it that if you don't like electronic music, you do not like it at all.

But if you are looking for album to take a risk on, try Destroyed. I recommend listening to it on headphones for your first listen. When I did that I had a totally different listening experience than when I listened to it on my and cd player.

Here is a link to one of his new tracks called: "The Day"

Superman: A U.S. Citizen No More?

Recently the Internet has been buzzing about Action Comics #900, in which Superman, the first American superhero may renounce his American citizenship. Read more here In the storyline Superman does this in a response to other countries always thinking of him as an agent of the American government, causing them to be suspicious of his actions. Many commentators have voiced their displeasure over this move by the current writers of Superman, and feel that an essential feature of the character is being taken away.

Personally I feel that as long as a good story is being told, it’s ok to mess with a fictional character’s mythology. Superman has been in constant publication since 1939, and in order to keep the character interesting and fresh, the writers need to shake things up from time to time. There has been some tremendous success in the past in taking such risks, such as The Death of Superman storyline. And there have been some tremendous failures, like when Superman becomes an energy being. Both times garnering mainstream media coverage.

I have been a fan of comics for many years, and in that time I have learned one thing. What is done one week, can easily be undone the next week. If Superman does renounce his citizen, I believe that it will not be for long before we hear of Superman announcing his pride in being an American citizen again. Until then, let’s not over analysis things and sit back and enjoy the story that the writers are creating for its readership.