Artist: Linkin Park
Album: Minutes to Midnight
Comments: If you are between the ages of 18-25 and you claim that you never liked rap-rock music, then you are a fucking liar. I know this because I used to love, LOVE rap-rock, and now I am the most pretentious guy on the block. With the exception of LOTD writer Joe Gilson, who was a child of grunge through and through, I don’t know another person who can honestly make the claim that rap-rock never meant anything to them.
In my opinion, the entire musical sub-genre gets a bad rap. People forget just how well received and important “Walk This Way”, by Aerosmith and Run DMC, and “Bring The Noize” by Anthrax and Public Enemy were, not only to the revitalization of rock music, but to help legitimize rap as an important genre and an art form. People forget that, from 1992 until 1999, the only band making consistently good and relevant protest music was Rage Against The Machine. Rap-rock is not just some useless, angry, frat nonsense like people seem to think it is.
At the same time, this is also the genre that produced Crazy Town, so I’m not giving it a free pass.
My whole point here is that rap-rock might be more relevant than people think, even in the 2000s. In 2003, about three years after the rap-rock bubble burst, Linkin Park released Meteora, a record that replaced the blind rage of 90’s acts like Limp Bizkit and Soulfly with the heartbreak and isolationist angst of emotional bands. Meteora went on to peak at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Number one on the Billboard 200! In 2003! A rap-rock record! If anyone stood a chance of keeping the dwindling rap-rock genre alive, it was Linkin Park.
Sadly, that pipe dream is over. Minutes to Midnight does the worst thing possible and ditches what made Linkin Park bearable, the rap (and to a lesser extent, the rock) aspect of their music.
Here’s my take on Linkin Park: They are a mildly talented band that was able to tap into something in America’s youth that would allow them to sell records. They were able to strike a chord with the people who still buy records (12-15 year olds) with songs about being frustrated, angry, and heartbroken. And while their stuff was never fantastic, it was just good enough to be listenable (unless you were angry, frustrated, or heartbroken and never got in to punk. Then this shit was right in your wheelhouse). No matter how angsty they got, there was always a balance. No matter how cheezy Chester Bennington’s lyrics were, there was always Mike Shinoda and Mr. Han to balance it with rap. And when Shinoda’s grade-school flow got soft, Bennington would come in with a well placed scream to shift the focus. They worked well together, and if it wasn’t always great, it was always listenable. And it always sold.
Not the case on Minutes to Midnight. There are only two songs on this record that feature Shinoda vocally at all, and one of them, the anti war track “Hands Held High”, is more Fort Minor than Linkin Park. Without Shinoda, its all Bennington on this one, and that is never a good scenario. Bennington is still screaming about the same insecurities and isolation that he’s been toting since Hybrid Theory, only now they sound a little less sincere. Where his angst sounded born from experience on earlier releases, here it just sounds like he doesn’t know what else to say. Worse still is the production of the record, which cuts the guitars and the low end almost entirely out, so even the songs that are meant to be heavy sound hollow and tinny.
Basically, what we have here is a record from a rap-rock band that neither raps nor rocks with any kind of conviction. Sure, maybe Linkin Park are tying to expand their sound, but if that was the case, why not try to expand their songwriting too? Is Shinoda too busy with Fort Minor to focus on his (former?) full time band? I had hopes that Minutes to Midnight would stay the course, not give in to the times, and be Hybrid Theory pt 3. Sadly, nothing lasts forever, not angst, not heartbreak, not even rap-rock. Maybe this record will sell, but it wont sell as much. And if this is the last we hear of Linkin Park (as I suspect it might be), I just wish they had made a more fitting eulogy for rap-rock.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Key Tracks: Bleed it Out, Hands Held High
Worth The Money: No
Friday, June 29
Wednesday, June 27
Talkin' About: Icky Thump
We're trying something new here. This is a conversation between myself (noted below as Mr.D in red) and Dr. Max H (noted below as Max H in blue) regarding the new White Stripes record Icky Thump. The conversation is real, and only midly edited for space, good taste, and to make us look less like idiots. Enjoy.
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Artist: White Stripes
Album: Icky Thump
Max H: My brotha.
Mr. D: Maxwell. You ready for this?
Max H: Lets do this like a prison break.
Mr. D: How's that? Loud, messy, and with lots of shiving?
Max H: Mmmmm, shiving.
Max H: I’d like to start things off by saying that Jack and Meg should just get it over and
come out with a sex tape.
Mr. D: That'd be a pretty taboo sex tape, no? What with the whole sister / lover thing?
Max H: Incestuous rock n' roll.
*****
Mr. D: Are you surprised to see Jack back with the White Stripes? It seemed to me that he'd outgrown that shtick a little bit and I fully expected he'd be a Raconteur for the rest of his life, for better or worse.
Max H: I think he's very much in love with the White Stripes, and think that might be kind of an ego thing. The Raconteurs were a band, but The White Stripes is Jack White, and I think he enjoys that spotlight.
Mr. D: You’re right about that. Meg White brings nothing, NOTHING to the table. But then again, she doesn’t really have to. She’s just there for Jack to have something play off of, I think
Max H: You're right, and they do have great chemistry. It shines through on Icky Thump as well as it has on any of their pervious stuff. Lots of monster guitar riffs over loud, jamming drumbeats.
Mr. D: Speaking of the old stuff, do you know anything about their post White Blood Cells stuff? I listened to Elephant a few times, but I never caught on to Get Behind Me Satan.
Max H: Get Behind Me Satan was, without a doubt, a setback in the White Stripes catalogue. Interesting, but lacking in substance and, for the most part, boring.
*****
Max H: On Icky Thump we see a lot of new territory. Jack White’s first political statements are all over the title track. He comes off smart and funny rather than whiny….
Mr. D: ….Which is a tough thing to do with his voice. I haven't really looked too far into the lyrics in “Icky Thump”, but I think it is an interesting choice for first single. Bold at best and foolish at worst, but interesting none the less. It is polarizing to me, and the keyboard riffing might be much for some people. At the same time, it’s the most alive I've heard J White sound since “7 Nation Army”. And when the man is into it, he is FUCKING in to it.
Max H: Haha. That’s funny that you say that, because he's recently quit smoking to improve his vocals. Jack isn’t known for his voice. But, yeah, I agree. There are definitely better choices on the album for the first single.
Mr. D: So what do you make of "Conquest" and that other Celtic sounding song, “Prickly Thorne, But Sweetly Worn”?
Max H: I was feeling it, man! On Get Behind Me Satan, Jack was exploring with marimbas and shit like that, and it came across as filler and uninteresting. On the other hand, the mariachi horns and bagpipes on Icky Thump really bring something to the table. Those two Celtic songs right in a row in the middle of the album are real psychedelic. They break the album up nicely.
Mr. D: I’ll tell you, at first I was not all about it. My first impression was that he was out of ideas, so he was fucking around with some other stuff that sounded okay, but came off to me as somewhat desperate. But now it’s grown on me, and it’s one of my favorites on the album. That second song is ass, however.
Max H: Haha. To each his own.
*****
Max H: What's your favorite track?
Mr. D: It’s another one that I thought was stupid at first; that blues-y one, “Rag and Bone”
Max H: Haha, I thought that song was cute.
Mr. D: Cute? You did not just say cute.
Max H: It was adorable, is that better?
Mr. D: I guess it’s better, but not by much.
Max H: We've got a little negative Nancy over here. Either way, I love when Meg gets into the singing. If you play the record real loud, you can hear Meg harmonizing on a bunch of the songs.
Mr. D: Listen, you being a girl aside, you’re right about Meg. It is nice when she gets into it. I like how her voice plays off Jack. Ying and Yang sort of thing.
Max H: I’m kind of sensing you don’t think much of the album on whole?
Mr. D: No, I do like it! I think it’s their best since White Blood Cells by far, and I like that they keep moving their music moving forward, even thought it’s just the two of them.
Max H: I think it’s as good as any record they've made and, one of the best albums of the year so far. Toss up between Icky Thump, Neon Bible, and All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone.
Mr. D: Now I’m not quite with you on that. This strikes me as the kind of album that needs to get some momentum to really be appreciated, and for me, as of right now it’s not one of the best. I can see it growing on me in the future though.
Max H: They should have released "You Don't Know What Love Is" as a single. It’s a great pop song with some awesome guitar. And speaking of awesome guitar, “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” blew my mind apart.
Mr. D: I’m still not sure Jack is as great a guitarist as people say he is, but he does do some pretty neat stuff on this record.
Max H: You need to check out their live DVD, Under Blackpool Lights....It’s pretty convincing. It’ll remove any doubt from your mind. He’s the real deal.
*****
Mr. D: So what would you give this record out of 10?
Max H: 8.5; I think the most significant thing about this album is the way it proves the inferiority of the Raconteurs.
Mr. D: Meh, I never took them seriously, they were just some fun thing to do.
Max H: Yeah, never made me stiff
Mr. D: Hah! I’m going to go with 7.5; for pushing things forward, but losing a little tenderness along the way.
Max H: What do you mean?
Mr. D: One thing I always liked about the Stripes is that no matter how reckless the songs got, no matter how raunchy, there were always the tender tracks to ground the record. Those were always my favorite ones, and that is kind of missing here.
Max H: Oh so you're looking for a "You've Got Her in Your Pocket" or "I Think We're Going to be Friends"
Mr. D: Exactly.
Max H: Well I think a lot of hardcore Stripes fans are going to like the way this album kicks you in the balls. This is some heavy, groovy, bluesy shit. And like you said, its real impressive the way they've pushed forward... they could have chosen to keep things retro and do some house covers for the rest of their career, but they've decided to redefine rock n' roll in production and songwriting. Exceeded expectations.
*****
Mr. D: Any last words?
Max H: My thought to leave you with is this: when I finish listening to this album, all I can do is hope that Jack invests a majority of his focus in this project. It would be for the better
Mr. D: And my final though is this: whether or not you like the direction that they're going in, this proves that the White Stripes are more than just a shtick; they aren’t going away. When they put their minds to it, they can make some damn fine music.
Max H: If this was their last album, what would their place be in rock n' roll history?
Mr. D: That’s an argument for another day.
Dr. Max Rating: 8.5
Mr. Dogg Rating: 7.5
Total Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: Icky Thump, Rag and Bone, Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn, Conquest, You Don't Know What Love Is.
Worth The Money: Yes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: White Stripes
Album: Icky Thump
Max H: My brotha.
Mr. D: Maxwell. You ready for this?
Max H: Lets do this like a prison break.
Mr. D: How's that? Loud, messy, and with lots of shiving?
Max H: Mmmmm, shiving.
Max H: I’d like to start things off by saying that Jack and Meg should just get it over and
come out with a sex tape.
Mr. D: That'd be a pretty taboo sex tape, no? What with the whole sister / lover thing?
Max H: Incestuous rock n' roll.
*****
Mr. D: Are you surprised to see Jack back with the White Stripes? It seemed to me that he'd outgrown that shtick a little bit and I fully expected he'd be a Raconteur for the rest of his life, for better or worse.
Max H: I think he's very much in love with the White Stripes, and think that might be kind of an ego thing. The Raconteurs were a band, but The White Stripes is Jack White, and I think he enjoys that spotlight.
Mr. D: You’re right about that. Meg White brings nothing, NOTHING to the table. But then again, she doesn’t really have to. She’s just there for Jack to have something play off of, I think
Max H: You're right, and they do have great chemistry. It shines through on Icky Thump as well as it has on any of their pervious stuff. Lots of monster guitar riffs over loud, jamming drumbeats.
Mr. D: Speaking of the old stuff, do you know anything about their post White Blood Cells stuff? I listened to Elephant a few times, but I never caught on to Get Behind Me Satan.
Max H: Get Behind Me Satan was, without a doubt, a setback in the White Stripes catalogue. Interesting, but lacking in substance and, for the most part, boring.
*****
Max H: On Icky Thump we see a lot of new territory. Jack White’s first political statements are all over the title track. He comes off smart and funny rather than whiny….
Mr. D: ….Which is a tough thing to do with his voice. I haven't really looked too far into the lyrics in “Icky Thump”, but I think it is an interesting choice for first single. Bold at best and foolish at worst, but interesting none the less. It is polarizing to me, and the keyboard riffing might be much for some people. At the same time, it’s the most alive I've heard J White sound since “7 Nation Army”. And when the man is into it, he is FUCKING in to it.
Max H: Haha. That’s funny that you say that, because he's recently quit smoking to improve his vocals. Jack isn’t known for his voice. But, yeah, I agree. There are definitely better choices on the album for the first single.
Mr. D: So what do you make of "Conquest" and that other Celtic sounding song, “Prickly Thorne, But Sweetly Worn”?
Max H: I was feeling it, man! On Get Behind Me Satan, Jack was exploring with marimbas and shit like that, and it came across as filler and uninteresting. On the other hand, the mariachi horns and bagpipes on Icky Thump really bring something to the table. Those two Celtic songs right in a row in the middle of the album are real psychedelic. They break the album up nicely.
Mr. D: I’ll tell you, at first I was not all about it. My first impression was that he was out of ideas, so he was fucking around with some other stuff that sounded okay, but came off to me as somewhat desperate. But now it’s grown on me, and it’s one of my favorites on the album. That second song is ass, however.
Max H: Haha. To each his own.
*****
Max H: What's your favorite track?
Mr. D: It’s another one that I thought was stupid at first; that blues-y one, “Rag and Bone”
Max H: Haha, I thought that song was cute.
Mr. D: Cute? You did not just say cute.
Max H: It was adorable, is that better?
Mr. D: I guess it’s better, but not by much.
Max H: We've got a little negative Nancy over here. Either way, I love when Meg gets into the singing. If you play the record real loud, you can hear Meg harmonizing on a bunch of the songs.
Mr. D: Listen, you being a girl aside, you’re right about Meg. It is nice when she gets into it. I like how her voice plays off Jack. Ying and Yang sort of thing.
Max H: I’m kind of sensing you don’t think much of the album on whole?
Mr. D: No, I do like it! I think it’s their best since White Blood Cells by far, and I like that they keep moving their music moving forward, even thought it’s just the two of them.
Max H: I think it’s as good as any record they've made and, one of the best albums of the year so far. Toss up between Icky Thump, Neon Bible, and All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone.
Mr. D: Now I’m not quite with you on that. This strikes me as the kind of album that needs to get some momentum to really be appreciated, and for me, as of right now it’s not one of the best. I can see it growing on me in the future though.
Max H: They should have released "You Don't Know What Love Is" as a single. It’s a great pop song with some awesome guitar. And speaking of awesome guitar, “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” blew my mind apart.
Mr. D: I’m still not sure Jack is as great a guitarist as people say he is, but he does do some pretty neat stuff on this record.
Max H: You need to check out their live DVD, Under Blackpool Lights....It’s pretty convincing. It’ll remove any doubt from your mind. He’s the real deal.
*****
Mr. D: So what would you give this record out of 10?
Max H: 8.5; I think the most significant thing about this album is the way it proves the inferiority of the Raconteurs.
Mr. D: Meh, I never took them seriously, they were just some fun thing to do.
Max H: Yeah, never made me stiff
Mr. D: Hah! I’m going to go with 7.5; for pushing things forward, but losing a little tenderness along the way.
Max H: What do you mean?
Mr. D: One thing I always liked about the Stripes is that no matter how reckless the songs got, no matter how raunchy, there were always the tender tracks to ground the record. Those were always my favorite ones, and that is kind of missing here.
Max H: Oh so you're looking for a "You've Got Her in Your Pocket" or "I Think We're Going to be Friends"
Mr. D: Exactly.
Max H: Well I think a lot of hardcore Stripes fans are going to like the way this album kicks you in the balls. This is some heavy, groovy, bluesy shit. And like you said, its real impressive the way they've pushed forward... they could have chosen to keep things retro and do some house covers for the rest of their career, but they've decided to redefine rock n' roll in production and songwriting. Exceeded expectations.
*****
Mr. D: Any last words?
Max H: My thought to leave you with is this: when I finish listening to this album, all I can do is hope that Jack invests a majority of his focus in this project. It would be for the better
Mr. D: And my final though is this: whether or not you like the direction that they're going in, this proves that the White Stripes are more than just a shtick; they aren’t going away. When they put their minds to it, they can make some damn fine music.
Max H: If this was their last album, what would their place be in rock n' roll history?
Mr. D: That’s an argument for another day.
Dr. Max Rating: 8.5
Mr. Dogg Rating: 7.5
Total Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: Icky Thump, Rag and Bone, Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn, Conquest, You Don't Know What Love Is.
Worth The Money: Yes
Tuesday, June 26
Kings of Leon Hold Their Throne
Artist: Kings of Leon
Album: Because of the Times
Comments: This review was supposed to go up on Friday. I had written up an original, sent it to my proofreader, and added some final points to it. All I had to do was press the “send” bottom on my screen.
But I couldn’t do it.
There is something go in here. The Kings of Leon are up to something, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Something in the music; some great intangible, immeasurable thing that I could not grasp told me to wait for a while, and to listen again.
So I did. And what I found is that Because of the Times is a sprawling, massive, heavy album that was worth the extra time invested in it.
The Kings of Leon are a hard band to review. When I was writing up my first draft, I had a friend of mine listen to Because of the Times with me, hoping a pair of fresh ears would yield new ideas and, perhaps, an explanation as to what this band sounded like. Because, honestly, I was befuddled as to how I should classify the Kings of Leon. Other critics have penned them as staunchly American as apple pie, but listening to them I could hear fragments of new wave, British surf pop, and Interpol-like guitar work.
What my friend said was this: “There isn’t anything wrong with it. But at the same time there really isn’t anything great about it either. It just sounds like a bunch of guys who are really good at their music and who play really, really well together. It’s mediocrity to the point of excellence.”
She’s right, of course. Because of the Times won’t bowl you over with complex musicianship or overwrought construction. No, they go a quieter route of being impressive; their memorable attribute is their confidence and their cohesiveness. The Kings of Leon play fantastically off of one another. There are no mistakes; there is nothing that doesn’t fit. Alone, they are just four guys. But together, it fucking works. Because of the Times is the sound of a band in total control of their music.
There are times on this record when you can hear something special happening. The album opener “Knocked Up”, is a 7 minute relaxed rocker that sounds like it was recorded on a space station. Minimal drums slowly purr as a repeating bass line anchors the song, and an ethereal, distant guitar melody plays off of everything like sunlight dancing on the hood of a car. Even when the song kicks in at the 4:30 mark, the band still sounds relaxed and in control.
Longtime fans of the Kings might take issue with Because of the Times because it is somewhat of a departure from their other records. Where fan favorites like Aha Shake Heartbreak have instantly catchy songs and a sort of down home, basement-recorded, stuffy production, this album sounds like it was produced in outer space by comparison. Everything is turned up crisp and clean, and the music echoes off the walls of the brain when played in headphones. But those who would complain about the grandness are missing the point; those who would lament the lack of singles are not listening hard enough. This record takes Aha Shake Heartbreak, makes it grow up, matures it, and makes it better.
But at the end of the day, it is the great intangibles in the music that make it so good. I cannot explain what is going on in this music, but there is something here on Because of the Times that demands to be heard, and will not be denied. The Kings of Leon have made one of the best rock records of the year, and I have no idea how. But that doesn’t matter. Mediocre to the point of excellence? How about just excellent?
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Knocked Up, Ragoo, Fans, The Runner
Worth The Money: Yes
Album: Because of the Times
Comments: This review was supposed to go up on Friday. I had written up an original, sent it to my proofreader, and added some final points to it. All I had to do was press the “send” bottom on my screen.
But I couldn’t do it.
There is something go in here. The Kings of Leon are up to something, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Something in the music; some great intangible, immeasurable thing that I could not grasp told me to wait for a while, and to listen again.
So I did. And what I found is that Because of the Times is a sprawling, massive, heavy album that was worth the extra time invested in it.
The Kings of Leon are a hard band to review. When I was writing up my first draft, I had a friend of mine listen to Because of the Times with me, hoping a pair of fresh ears would yield new ideas and, perhaps, an explanation as to what this band sounded like. Because, honestly, I was befuddled as to how I should classify the Kings of Leon. Other critics have penned them as staunchly American as apple pie, but listening to them I could hear fragments of new wave, British surf pop, and Interpol-like guitar work.
What my friend said was this: “There isn’t anything wrong with it. But at the same time there really isn’t anything great about it either. It just sounds like a bunch of guys who are really good at their music and who play really, really well together. It’s mediocrity to the point of excellence.”
She’s right, of course. Because of the Times won’t bowl you over with complex musicianship or overwrought construction. No, they go a quieter route of being impressive; their memorable attribute is their confidence and their cohesiveness. The Kings of Leon play fantastically off of one another. There are no mistakes; there is nothing that doesn’t fit. Alone, they are just four guys. But together, it fucking works. Because of the Times is the sound of a band in total control of their music.
There are times on this record when you can hear something special happening. The album opener “Knocked Up”, is a 7 minute relaxed rocker that sounds like it was recorded on a space station. Minimal drums slowly purr as a repeating bass line anchors the song, and an ethereal, distant guitar melody plays off of everything like sunlight dancing on the hood of a car. Even when the song kicks in at the 4:30 mark, the band still sounds relaxed and in control.
Longtime fans of the Kings might take issue with Because of the Times because it is somewhat of a departure from their other records. Where fan favorites like Aha Shake Heartbreak have instantly catchy songs and a sort of down home, basement-recorded, stuffy production, this album sounds like it was produced in outer space by comparison. Everything is turned up crisp and clean, and the music echoes off the walls of the brain when played in headphones. But those who would complain about the grandness are missing the point; those who would lament the lack of singles are not listening hard enough. This record takes Aha Shake Heartbreak, makes it grow up, matures it, and makes it better.
But at the end of the day, it is the great intangibles in the music that make it so good. I cannot explain what is going on in this music, but there is something here on Because of the Times that demands to be heard, and will not be denied. The Kings of Leon have made one of the best rock records of the year, and I have no idea how. But that doesn’t matter. Mediocre to the point of excellence? How about just excellent?
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Knocked Up, Ragoo, Fans, The Runner
Worth The Money: Yes
Wednesday, June 20
The Fargile Army Uses Sunshine Warfare
Artist: The Polyphonic Spree
Album: The Fragile Army
Comments: Here is a short list of facts about The Polyphonic Spree that I feel should be stated before we move forward.
1) The Polyphonic Spree is a 24-piece band that includes a choir and a woodwind section regularly in their touring and recording.
2) The PS used to all wear white robes on stage. They looked like a cult.
3) For this record, the PS changed their look from white robes to black military-ish uniforms.
I mention this, not because it is important, but because it seems to be all people can talk about when discussing this new record, The Fragile Army. People are getting caught up in the spectacle, the gimmick of the Polyphonic Spree, and focusing less on the actual record.
(And yes, I realize that my point, which is that people are focusing too much on the appearance and not the substance, is ruined seeing as my opening paragraph is all about how people are focusing on the appearance and not the substance. I could do this all day. Let’s move on.)
Clothes aside, The Fragile Army is the Spree’s most focused and streamlined work to date. They have taken their larger-than-life orchestra rock, reined it in, and fit it all on to one CD.
All the problems with the earlier Spree records are addressed and fixed here on this record, except for one. A big complaint about the Spree was that their sound was almost TOO big, TOO joyful. Band leader Tim DeLaughter’s sunny pop songs were all muddled by the sheer numbers in the Spree. Everyone would play all at once, making it hard to focus on individual harmonies or drum fills or horn flourishes. Because no one was allowed to stand out, nothing stood out. That problem is solved on The Fragile Army. Band members wait for their moment, then, come in strong with a horn blast or a string flourish or piano note that strengthens the songs more with their restraint than their excess ever could.
And as far as the criticism that their music is just too damn happy, The Spree have darkened their scope a little bit; taking their pill-popping, reckless, cult-like, sun-worshiping happiness and applying it in a more political way. The general feel of the record screams “Hey! Ok, sure, things aren’t going too great. But don’t worry! Everything will be fantastic tomorrow! Oh, hey, look how pretty that rainbow is! Kittens! Weeeeeee!” If this kind of sugar pop is to your liking, then look no further than the Spree.
Still, for all the improvements in sound, The Fragile Army still sounds lacking. For a band built around joy and exuberance, this record is missing that breakout, big swelling pop song that can really sell the point. That’s why people could enjoy The Beginning Stages… and get over the muddled orchestra pop/rock; there was the big joyous payoff of “Follow the Day”. The closest the band can get to that on this record is the first single and album opener; “Running Away.” This is a swelling rock track with all the right lyrics, guitar solos, and beautiful instrumentation to almost sell the joy of the Spree. Almost.
There is a lot to take in on The Fragile Army. Between the sheer numbers, the upbeat pop construction of the songs, and the multiple instruments on this record, I am 100% sure that these guys are a phenomenal live act. With their over-the-top happiness and wall of sound quality, I’m sure that a tour with Andrew W. K and The Flaming Lips would solve all of the world’s hunger problems. But despite their best efforts, the Spree can’t translate that on to their record. The Fragile Army was shooting for jubilant rapture. It will have to settle for pleasing satisfaction.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Running Away, The Fragile Army, Mental Cabaret
Worth The Money: Sadly, I don’t think it is for the casual fan.
Album: The Fragile Army
Comments: Here is a short list of facts about The Polyphonic Spree that I feel should be stated before we move forward.
1) The Polyphonic Spree is a 24-piece band that includes a choir and a woodwind section regularly in their touring and recording.
2) The PS used to all wear white robes on stage. They looked like a cult.
3) For this record, the PS changed their look from white robes to black military-ish uniforms.
I mention this, not because it is important, but because it seems to be all people can talk about when discussing this new record, The Fragile Army. People are getting caught up in the spectacle, the gimmick of the Polyphonic Spree, and focusing less on the actual record.
(And yes, I realize that my point, which is that people are focusing too much on the appearance and not the substance, is ruined seeing as my opening paragraph is all about how people are focusing on the appearance and not the substance. I could do this all day. Let’s move on.)
Clothes aside, The Fragile Army is the Spree’s most focused and streamlined work to date. They have taken their larger-than-life orchestra rock, reined it in, and fit it all on to one CD.
All the problems with the earlier Spree records are addressed and fixed here on this record, except for one. A big complaint about the Spree was that their sound was almost TOO big, TOO joyful. Band leader Tim DeLaughter’s sunny pop songs were all muddled by the sheer numbers in the Spree. Everyone would play all at once, making it hard to focus on individual harmonies or drum fills or horn flourishes. Because no one was allowed to stand out, nothing stood out. That problem is solved on The Fragile Army. Band members wait for their moment, then, come in strong with a horn blast or a string flourish or piano note that strengthens the songs more with their restraint than their excess ever could.
And as far as the criticism that their music is just too damn happy, The Spree have darkened their scope a little bit; taking their pill-popping, reckless, cult-like, sun-worshiping happiness and applying it in a more political way. The general feel of the record screams “Hey! Ok, sure, things aren’t going too great. But don’t worry! Everything will be fantastic tomorrow! Oh, hey, look how pretty that rainbow is! Kittens! Weeeeeee!” If this kind of sugar pop is to your liking, then look no further than the Spree.
Still, for all the improvements in sound, The Fragile Army still sounds lacking. For a band built around joy and exuberance, this record is missing that breakout, big swelling pop song that can really sell the point. That’s why people could enjoy The Beginning Stages… and get over the muddled orchestra pop/rock; there was the big joyous payoff of “Follow the Day”. The closest the band can get to that on this record is the first single and album opener; “Running Away.” This is a swelling rock track with all the right lyrics, guitar solos, and beautiful instrumentation to almost sell the joy of the Spree. Almost.
There is a lot to take in on The Fragile Army. Between the sheer numbers, the upbeat pop construction of the songs, and the multiple instruments on this record, I am 100% sure that these guys are a phenomenal live act. With their over-the-top happiness and wall of sound quality, I’m sure that a tour with Andrew W. K and The Flaming Lips would solve all of the world’s hunger problems. But despite their best efforts, the Spree can’t translate that on to their record. The Fragile Army was shooting for jubilant rapture. It will have to settle for pleasing satisfaction.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Running Away, The Fragile Army, Mental Cabaret
Worth The Money: Sadly, I don’t think it is for the casual fan.
Sunday, June 17
So Misunderstood: A Defense of Sky Blue Sky and an Attack on the Self-Consuming Indie Culture
I am likely to hear it from all of you on this one, so I’ll apologize…for coming to bat for Sky Blue Sky by Wilco. More specifically, I want to assert the point that perception is key and ignorance may be bliss on this one.
Fact: Wilco’s sound has evolved in some way for almost every, if not every, album thus far.
Fact: Sky Blue Sky is not A Ghost is Born or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Cue indie-pop-rockster panic button.
The quest to repeat an album’s effect on its audience is the Grail quest of the music world. From
I’m no different, by the way. The first words out of my mouth in an indie rock dick-measuring contest are “Oh it’s not (insert album)” or “It’s better than (insert album).” It just feels good to say it. I know it. You know it. Unfortunately, in this musical culture, nitpicking an album is the next best thing to actually liking it.
However, we are talking about Wilco here, a band whose catalog is an exercise in evolution. Not to mention their front man is Jeff Tweedy.
Tweedy has been here before, he has seen this and already moved on. From Uncle Tupelo to Wilco, he has been reviewed badly, he had been reviewed wonderfully. Is it insulting to some people to think that maybe, after nipping at more and more of the charts in their past two albums, Wilco might be playing for a broader crowd? Possibly. This is especially the case after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot made cultured rockers around the scene moisten with its dexterous leap from alternative country to Indie rock gold. And especially after the tremendous follow up that is A Ghost is Born.
That’s right, I almost forgot: A Ghost is Born didn’t suck. Again, and most importantly, the album known as A Ghost is Born did not suck. Think about that. You impress the snottiest and most cannibalistic reviewing culture in American music and then you release an album that doesn’t suck (and definitely might be great)? Throw up the horns, Tweedy. You can use your other hand to polish the Grammy this album won for best Alternative Music Album.
Sky Blue Sky? Well, I’m wagering that it also doesn’t suck. Also, I think it’s at least good enough, probably just flat out fucking good. Still, it has issues, as do all albums. Its main problem is that the strengths of both Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born are present in the album. Sounds like a good thing, right? Not necessarily. When aspects of both albums have previously done something new for the band, the employment of such devices again here will be subdued. Not only that, the DNA of both albums is polarized, never in the same place at the same time. Sometimes they are even in the same song, but the boundary is oftentimes clearly visible. In other words, the atmospheric, transient, shoe-gazing qualities of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot are contained in parts of the album yet held separate from the shock-rocking, sharp-twilled, and delightfully off beat Nels Cline solos that ring clearly of Tweedy’s strides on A Ghost is Born. This failure to move as a whole is really the album’s greatest detriment if what you were looking for was another reinvention or transformation.
By the way, the key words in the previous sentence were “if what you were looking for.”
But does the album literally sound bad? I don’t think so. But, it may not sound new to a lot people. Again, keep in mind that Wilco might be playing for a wider audience now. Look what happened to Modest Mouse when they were nominated for a Grammy.
So in the case of Sky Blue Sky, gauging the steps made by the band is more difficult than with previous albums. In all honesty, I think the move to consolidate the band’s sound is what terrifies longtime listeners and critics, not necessarily the softening of the sound.
The Yankees might possibly not win the pennant: fire Torre.
And it’s not as if the band has ever had a fear of changing their sound, and incidentally their lineup, or that their evolution has ever been predictable. Just go pop A.M. in and tell me you could tell they were going to end up sounding like this. Arguably that’s what makes Wilco great. In other words, as the late, great Bruce Lee said, “True form is to have no form.”
Still, in Foxtrot, we heard ghosts being born in songs like “I am trying to break your heart” and “I’m the man who loves you.” And Sky Blue Sky can be traced from songs like “At least that’s what you said”, “Hell is chrome” and “Company in my back.” No definite road maps or giveaways, but you can see certain seeds being planted and nurtured for various reasons, ranging from the addition of a band member to the addiction of another.
Also, I’ve noticed that when a band pursues the same sound, one of two things happens. Either they end up sucking or the focus of their albums begins to land on singles, not entire albums. On the flip side, when a band continually pushes their sound into new areas, the risk of alienating fans is ever present. Sucks, doesn’t it?
As for the passiveness in Tweedy’s writing that seems to be pestering the general listening public: go figure. Winning a Grammy and going into rehab all in one stint…sounds like a recipe for some seriously upbeat and poppy indie innovation…right? Not so much. It does sound like a recipe, however, for a quieter retrospective on an already accomplished catalog.
Sky Blue Sky, with its scenic piano scores and daring leaps into solo riffs, draws on a number of the strength’s that have stayed with the band despite everything else. As for the effect an album has on you the listener? No matter what, the first album you heard that made you listen to the band on a consistent basis, made you respect the band and learn the names of people in it, will never come around again for you. I’m sorry, I really am, but everything aesthetic will depreciate.
So, if you followed Tweedy from Uncle Tupelo and dug A.M., you may have been so pissed for so long that you aren’t even reading this. If you caught the Wilco scent because you read about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Pitchfork and needed it desperately to go with those thick rim glasses and zip-up hoodies you just couldn’t seem to match (and are still pissed about the fact that you can’t actually play guitar)…you’re doubly disappointed because, despite the improbability, A Ghost is Born was almost what you were looking for and that gave you hope that maybe, just maybe, the next album would do it.
Me? I came on at A Ghost is Born. I knew that “I’m the man who loves you” was sassy and that “Heavy Metal Drummer” was catchy as all hell, but I wasn’t really sold until Tweedy went into a room by himself and smacked his guitar around a little. And even though I went back and listened to everything I could find, I also know that I missed the boat, and I’m cool with that. Still, I lack a foundation in the band’s roots in country as well as their aura before their edgy makeover. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them second hand, but the reckless style in A Ghost is Born is what finally grabbed my attention.
So I guess it’s all about perspective. We’re not in Wilco and we don’t have a say in the intention and execution of the band as a project, which can be upsetting to some of us. However, perspective wise, we are all sitting proudly right where we were when we saw the Wilco train go by for the first time. That pristine memory of unadulterated and accidental perfection is what persists in our perception of what Wilco is and should be, as is the case with anything else we’ve ever loved.
And we’ll probably stay there. Really, though, that’s not such a bad thing. After all: “What would we be without wishful thinking?”
by James Keough
Thursday, June 14
Homme Can't Usher In Era Vulgaris Alone - By Max Orenstein
Artist: Queens of the Stone Age
Album: Era Vulgaris
In January of 2004, Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri was fired from the band after frontman Josh Homme had become convinced that Oliveri was physically abusing his wife. By this time, Homme and Olveri’s psychic musical connection was legendary having spawned both the stoner rock genre with the band Kyuss and later a masterpiece- Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf. In one deliberate line-up decision, Homme found himself the sole leader of one of rock’s most important bands, a band that had always relied on a partnership for its brilliant results. With fans and critics anxiously anticipating a follow-up to Songs for the Deaf, Homme and his ever-changing line-up charged back with the criminally underrated Lullabies to Paralyze. The album received mixed reactions from fans and critics, with most of complaints revolving around Nick Oliveri’s absence.
Many forget, however, a very important piece of the beloved Songs for the Deaf puzzle: Dave Grohl on drums. Dave Grohl brought Queens of the Stone Age to a level that no one could have imagined possible on Songs for the Deaf. Grohl’s involvement in the band was never believed to be permanent. After the recording of Songs for the Deaf and a brief tour, Grohl returned to his main project, Foo Fighters. Joey Castillo quickly replaced him on the drums in Queens of the Stone Age. Only since Grohl’s departure has Queens lacked the muscle to match Songs for the Deaf.
Which brings us to Queens of the Stone Age’s latest release, Era Vulgaris. To say that Era Vulgaris lacks the immediacy of any previous Queens album is an understatement. It might seem that, for the most part, whatever psychic connection Josh Homme lost with Nick Oliveri’s departure, he has regained with multi-instrumentalist Troy van Leeuwen. But Joey Castillo’s weaknesses are right out in the open in the bridge and outro on the otherwise awesome opener “Turnin on the Screw.” Castillo lacks the ferocity and power of Grohl, leaving much of the album trudging along in the mud. Era Vulgaris’ best tracks are bluesy numbers “Make it Wit Chu” and the moody “Suture Up Your Future,” where Castillo is simply expected to keep time. These are the only songs on the record where Queens of the Stone Age’s swagger seems natural rather than forced.
Even though Castillo brings nothing to the table, most of the blame for Era Vulgaris’ failure falls on the shoulders of Josh Homme. QOTSA’s frontman makes several poor decisions in songwriting, production, and style. Songs like “Into the Hollow” and “3’s and 7’s” have groovy verses but weird, aimless choruses. It’s hard to be certain what he was going for on “Battery Acid,” but it sounds like shit. A reoccurring problem on Era Vulgaris is Homme’s tendency to pack too much into one song by attempting to be creative with awkward rhythms, exaggerated dynamics, and bridges that drift off into some dissonant oblivion. This leaves little to sing along to and, even worse for a Queens of the Stone Age album, nothing to dance to.
Contributions from Julian Casablancas and Mark Lanegan are inaudible and irrelevant. The hardware bought in stores is inexplicably void of four bonus tracks. One such track features Trent Reznor, not that it matters. He’s probably drowned out by misplaced, distorted sludge and obtrusive slide guitar.
On the unmelodic Zeppelin romp wannabe “I’m Designer,” Homme sings, “How many times must I sell myself until my pieces are gone?” It won’t matter if Homme fails to pick up those pieces and regroup after his band’s first disappointing album.
by Max Orenstein
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max Orenstein as a freelance writer who cares almost as much about Philadelphia sports as he does music. Not to mention, he's an avid Buffalo Bills fan. You'll be seeing more of Max in days to come, so you'd best get used to him. We're off until Monday. - Mr. Dogg
Album: Era Vulgaris
In January of 2004, Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri was fired from the band after frontman Josh Homme had become convinced that Oliveri was physically abusing his wife. By this time, Homme and Olveri’s psychic musical connection was legendary having spawned both the stoner rock genre with the band Kyuss and later a masterpiece- Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf. In one deliberate line-up decision, Homme found himself the sole leader of one of rock’s most important bands, a band that had always relied on a partnership for its brilliant results. With fans and critics anxiously anticipating a follow-up to Songs for the Deaf, Homme and his ever-changing line-up charged back with the criminally underrated Lullabies to Paralyze. The album received mixed reactions from fans and critics, with most of complaints revolving around Nick Oliveri’s absence.
Many forget, however, a very important piece of the beloved Songs for the Deaf puzzle: Dave Grohl on drums. Dave Grohl brought Queens of the Stone Age to a level that no one could have imagined possible on Songs for the Deaf. Grohl’s involvement in the band was never believed to be permanent. After the recording of Songs for the Deaf and a brief tour, Grohl returned to his main project, Foo Fighters. Joey Castillo quickly replaced him on the drums in Queens of the Stone Age. Only since Grohl’s departure has Queens lacked the muscle to match Songs for the Deaf.
Which brings us to Queens of the Stone Age’s latest release, Era Vulgaris. To say that Era Vulgaris lacks the immediacy of any previous Queens album is an understatement. It might seem that, for the most part, whatever psychic connection Josh Homme lost with Nick Oliveri’s departure, he has regained with multi-instrumentalist Troy van Leeuwen. But Joey Castillo’s weaknesses are right out in the open in the bridge and outro on the otherwise awesome opener “Turnin on the Screw.” Castillo lacks the ferocity and power of Grohl, leaving much of the album trudging along in the mud. Era Vulgaris’ best tracks are bluesy numbers “Make it Wit Chu” and the moody “Suture Up Your Future,” where Castillo is simply expected to keep time. These are the only songs on the record where Queens of the Stone Age’s swagger seems natural rather than forced.
Even though Castillo brings nothing to the table, most of the blame for Era Vulgaris’ failure falls on the shoulders of Josh Homme. QOTSA’s frontman makes several poor decisions in songwriting, production, and style. Songs like “Into the Hollow” and “3’s and 7’s” have groovy verses but weird, aimless choruses. It’s hard to be certain what he was going for on “Battery Acid,” but it sounds like shit. A reoccurring problem on Era Vulgaris is Homme’s tendency to pack too much into one song by attempting to be creative with awkward rhythms, exaggerated dynamics, and bridges that drift off into some dissonant oblivion. This leaves little to sing along to and, even worse for a Queens of the Stone Age album, nothing to dance to.
Contributions from Julian Casablancas and Mark Lanegan are inaudible and irrelevant. The hardware bought in stores is inexplicably void of four bonus tracks. One such track features Trent Reznor, not that it matters. He’s probably drowned out by misplaced, distorted sludge and obtrusive slide guitar.
On the unmelodic Zeppelin romp wannabe “I’m Designer,” Homme sings, “How many times must I sell myself until my pieces are gone?” It won’t matter if Homme fails to pick up those pieces and regroup after his band’s first disappointing album.
by Max Orenstein
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max Orenstein as a freelance writer who cares almost as much about Philadelphia sports as he does music. Not to mention, he's an avid Buffalo Bills fan. You'll be seeing more of Max in days to come, so you'd best get used to him. We're off until Monday. - Mr. Dogg
Wednesday, June 13
Feelings + Springsteen = The Gaslight Anthem
Artist: The Gaslight Anthem
Album: Sink or Swim
Comments: Something must be in the water in New Jersey. Like the DC area before it, New Jersey has become a breeding ground for the second wave of poppy, emotional hardcore acts. From being the home state of bands like the Early November and Senses Fail, to hosting the yearly emo-fest that is the Bamboozle Festival, NJ seems to be the new home of double guitars, shouting, and heartbreak. Oh, and it’s the home of The Gaslight Anthem.
While it does share some similarities in theme and instrumentation with the bands mentioned above, Sink or Swim is a much more mature and rewarding look at love, life, and relationships that can usually be found under the “emo” umbrella.
Two things set this release apart from the pack, and keep it from being just another emo release. The first, and most obvious, is where the Gaslight Anthem gets their influences. Sure, it’s got that post hardcore / emo sound that bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and the Get Up Kids perfected, but more than anything else TGA takes their notes from NJ’s most famous musical export, Bruce Springsteen. Singer / guitarist Brian Fallon’s lyrics are Springsteenian in his delivery and ability to mix working class escapism with lovesick romantics. He maintains a gruff delivery that is jarring at times, but still miles away from the usual nasal whine that plagues the genre. Simply put, TGA are able to take ancient romantic sentiments and tell them from the perspective of a grown man who has seen the world and forgiven it of its shortcomings, not as an adolescent dealing with his first encounters with romance.
The second, and perhaps less obvious thing, that sets Sink or Swim apart from the crowd is how the band plays the music. Pop chords and catchy riffs are all over this record, and like I said in the opening paragraph, it does have that double guitar harmony that permeates the modern emo genre. More than that, however, it’s the classic rock feel that plays out on the record. These are not 18 year olds with faux-hawks and devil spikes. These are people with diverse tastes, and who know more than one or two tricks on the guitar. By taking classic rock sensibility and merging it with modern youthful delivery, it sounds both fresh and instantly welcoming.
While not a perfect album, Sink or Swim is able to take NJ’s two biggest musical themes; youthful emotion and working class stadium rock, and turn them both on their ear for a release that is both exciting and catchy. It’s a good trick, but I am looking forward to seeing if they can continue to develop their sound. But for now, the throaty delivery, furious instrumentation, and mature poetry of the Gaslight Anthem not only floats, but swims.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: We Came to Dance, Wooderson, I’da Called you Woody Joe, The Navesink Banks
Worth The Money: Yeah, I recommend it.
Album: Sink or Swim
Comments: Something must be in the water in New Jersey. Like the DC area before it, New Jersey has become a breeding ground for the second wave of poppy, emotional hardcore acts. From being the home state of bands like the Early November and Senses Fail, to hosting the yearly emo-fest that is the Bamboozle Festival, NJ seems to be the new home of double guitars, shouting, and heartbreak. Oh, and it’s the home of The Gaslight Anthem.
While it does share some similarities in theme and instrumentation with the bands mentioned above, Sink or Swim is a much more mature and rewarding look at love, life, and relationships that can usually be found under the “emo” umbrella.
Two things set this release apart from the pack, and keep it from being just another emo release. The first, and most obvious, is where the Gaslight Anthem gets their influences. Sure, it’s got that post hardcore / emo sound that bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and the Get Up Kids perfected, but more than anything else TGA takes their notes from NJ’s most famous musical export, Bruce Springsteen. Singer / guitarist Brian Fallon’s lyrics are Springsteenian in his delivery and ability to mix working class escapism with lovesick romantics. He maintains a gruff delivery that is jarring at times, but still miles away from the usual nasal whine that plagues the genre. Simply put, TGA are able to take ancient romantic sentiments and tell them from the perspective of a grown man who has seen the world and forgiven it of its shortcomings, not as an adolescent dealing with his first encounters with romance.
The second, and perhaps less obvious thing, that sets Sink or Swim apart from the crowd is how the band plays the music. Pop chords and catchy riffs are all over this record, and like I said in the opening paragraph, it does have that double guitar harmony that permeates the modern emo genre. More than that, however, it’s the classic rock feel that plays out on the record. These are not 18 year olds with faux-hawks and devil spikes. These are people with diverse tastes, and who know more than one or two tricks on the guitar. By taking classic rock sensibility and merging it with modern youthful delivery, it sounds both fresh and instantly welcoming.
While not a perfect album, Sink or Swim is able to take NJ’s two biggest musical themes; youthful emotion and working class stadium rock, and turn them both on their ear for a release that is both exciting and catchy. It’s a good trick, but I am looking forward to seeing if they can continue to develop their sound. But for now, the throaty delivery, furious instrumentation, and mature poetry of the Gaslight Anthem not only floats, but swims.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: We Came to Dance, Wooderson, I’da Called you Woody Joe, The Navesink Banks
Worth The Money: Yeah, I recommend it.
Monday, June 11
Maroon 5, Nose Candy, and T.I
Artist: Maroon 5
Album: It Won’t be Soon Before Long
Comments: This album isn’t very good.
Rather than go through the reasons why this album stinks, I think I’m going to use this space instead to describe a new sub-genre of music that I have been talking about with friends for the last few months. I’m going to do this because A) I think that It Won’t be Soon Before Long falls into this sub-genre, and B) I can just describe this genre off the top of my head, whereas if I were going to do a proper review of this album, I would have to listen to it again. And, quite honestly, that is something I am not really interested in doing.
I have never done cocaine. I have seen cocaine, I have seen people use cocaine, and I have been given multiple opportunities to use cocaine. Still, it remains a drug that I have no hands-on experience with. In books and film, characters in the throws of a cocaine high are often hyper-active, energetic, and completely deranged. While this is obviously exaggerated for theatrics, it is not too far from the truth; people high on cocaine are friendly, if not sadly intense. A character shift occurs while people are on cocaine. They turn into sped up, cartoon distortions of themselves.
This is not the only change that occurs. Music taste also shifts along with character. People who would usually have no interest in what DJ Tiesto is doing are suddenly screaming for his songs so that they can dance. People who despise club mixes like Danger Mouse and Girl Talk eat that sort of high paced nonstop mixing up. Tastes shift to take the form of something fast, big, glossy, and cheap. People on coke want music to match their good mood; people on coke want Coke Music.
Now, it is true that almost any dance music will appeal to someone on a coke binge. However, this does not mean that all dance music is Coke Music. For example, I love listening to Night Ripper by Girltalk, and we have already established that I have never done coke. And, as much as I dislike trance music as anything more than a passing interest, not all ravers and housecats are dabbling in nose candy 24-7. So what then is Coke Music?
On the surface, Coke Music seems fun. It is upbeat, sunny, and (much like a coke head) ready to party. It is well suited for dancing, drinking, kissing, and lovemaking. However, as it plays on, the fun upbeat feeling gives way to something a little more sinister. Depression starts to appear under the glossy disco funk. The music begins to sound hollow, sterile, and lifeless. The high-hat snap and funk guitar that only moments ago served as the soundtrack to fun are now the deflated blasts of soulless sadness made up with designer hair and top-of-the-line makeup. What once was fun, happy music, is revealed to be a distorted mask of joy over a sad, hurtful face of meaningless destruction.
This is the core of what Coke Music is; dance music that is not fun, but soul crushing and lifeless.
Oh sure, the new Maroon 5 CD isn’t as bad as all that, and I am in no way trying to suggest that anyone in Maroon 5 has a drug problem or supports that kind of thing. But it doesn’t even have the benefit of being catchy or accessible like the best singles off of Songs About Jane. It Won’t be Soon Before Long is about as close to the personification sterile desperate Coke Music as I have heard in a while. I am sure there are some tracks on here that people will like, but for the most part sensible people will pass on this record.
Then again, people who use coke have never really been considered sensible.
(On an unrelated note, I am about 8 months late getting King by T.I, but it is a fierce fucking album.)
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Worth The Money: Ha.
Album: It Won’t be Soon Before Long
Comments: This album isn’t very good.
Rather than go through the reasons why this album stinks, I think I’m going to use this space instead to describe a new sub-genre of music that I have been talking about with friends for the last few months. I’m going to do this because A) I think that It Won’t be Soon Before Long falls into this sub-genre, and B) I can just describe this genre off the top of my head, whereas if I were going to do a proper review of this album, I would have to listen to it again. And, quite honestly, that is something I am not really interested in doing.
I have never done cocaine. I have seen cocaine, I have seen people use cocaine, and I have been given multiple opportunities to use cocaine. Still, it remains a drug that I have no hands-on experience with. In books and film, characters in the throws of a cocaine high are often hyper-active, energetic, and completely deranged. While this is obviously exaggerated for theatrics, it is not too far from the truth; people high on cocaine are friendly, if not sadly intense. A character shift occurs while people are on cocaine. They turn into sped up, cartoon distortions of themselves.
This is not the only change that occurs. Music taste also shifts along with character. People who would usually have no interest in what DJ Tiesto is doing are suddenly screaming for his songs so that they can dance. People who despise club mixes like Danger Mouse and Girl Talk eat that sort of high paced nonstop mixing up. Tastes shift to take the form of something fast, big, glossy, and cheap. People on coke want music to match their good mood; people on coke want Coke Music.
Now, it is true that almost any dance music will appeal to someone on a coke binge. However, this does not mean that all dance music is Coke Music. For example, I love listening to Night Ripper by Girltalk, and we have already established that I have never done coke. And, as much as I dislike trance music as anything more than a passing interest, not all ravers and housecats are dabbling in nose candy 24-7. So what then is Coke Music?
On the surface, Coke Music seems fun. It is upbeat, sunny, and (much like a coke head) ready to party. It is well suited for dancing, drinking, kissing, and lovemaking. However, as it plays on, the fun upbeat feeling gives way to something a little more sinister. Depression starts to appear under the glossy disco funk. The music begins to sound hollow, sterile, and lifeless. The high-hat snap and funk guitar that only moments ago served as the soundtrack to fun are now the deflated blasts of soulless sadness made up with designer hair and top-of-the-line makeup. What once was fun, happy music, is revealed to be a distorted mask of joy over a sad, hurtful face of meaningless destruction.
This is the core of what Coke Music is; dance music that is not fun, but soul crushing and lifeless.
Oh sure, the new Maroon 5 CD isn’t as bad as all that, and I am in no way trying to suggest that anyone in Maroon 5 has a drug problem or supports that kind of thing. But it doesn’t even have the benefit of being catchy or accessible like the best singles off of Songs About Jane. It Won’t be Soon Before Long is about as close to the personification sterile desperate Coke Music as I have heard in a while. I am sure there are some tracks on here that people will like, but for the most part sensible people will pass on this record.
Then again, people who use coke have never really been considered sensible.
(On an unrelated note, I am about 8 months late getting King by T.I, but it is a fierce fucking album.)
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Worth The Money: Ha.
Wednesday, June 6
Mr. Dogg Says - Summer Play Lists
Apologies to everyone expecting a review of the Gaslight Anthem today. There was a snafu, and the review will hopfully be going up sometime tomorrow, followed by a maroon 5 review on friday. In the mean time, cats and kittens, dig on this fresh jive!
MR. DOGG'S GUIDE TO A BALLIN' ASS SUMMER PLAYLIST
Cars are packing up and heading east as soon as Friday hits, hotdogs are flying off the shelves faster than grocery boys can stock them, and people who have no business going shirtless in public (like myself) are showing the general populous more skin than they’d care to see. Yes, children, summer is once again upon us. And, as any good red blooded American worth his or her patriotic salt well knows, barbeque season is also upon us. This year, however, will be different than other years. This year, you (yes, you) will be known around the block as King of the Charred Meats. Not because of your great uncle Chet’s super secret burger recipe, but because you are going to have the most excellent summertime BBQ play list. And I am going to help you make it.
Step One: Come Out Swinging
The first song on your BBQ play list is arguable the most important song on the entire damn thing. The right song will draw people in from across the street, next door, or anyone who is in earshot. The wrong song will start things off with a thud, and insure that your BBQ will suck some serious ass. It’s best to start off with a classic song that will be instantly recognizable to anyone passing by. This song should also scream “PARRRRRTY!”, but with a little more subtlety.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen - Almost everyone with a pulse can get behind this song, especially if you’re in NJ.
Avoid: Don’t Stop Believing by Journey – My deep hate for Steve Perry aside, this is more a drinking song than anything else, and will send the wrong message. I’m not saying don’t use it later on (people go ape shit for this song), just don’t kick things off with it.
Step Two: Appeal to the Golden Age
This step requires that you know who is coming to your BBQ. If you have an idea of what the people are like, you’ll be able to better design a face melting play list. For example, if its going to be a younger, (arguably) hipper crowd of people, I would recommend some classic 90s songs, in the vein of “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms or “Good” by Better than Ezra, or even something like “Pepper” by the Butthole Surfers. However, if the crowd skews slightly older, something like “Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp might be in order.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Circles by Soul Coughing (90s), Come on Eileen by Dexi’s Midnight Runners (80s), anything off of Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy (70s), Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells – Any one of these songs will do very nicely in the core of your mix tape.
Avoid: The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Duran Duran, The Scorpions, Momma Cass.
Step Three: Train in Vain by the Clash
Just fucking put it on there. Trust me.
Step Four: The Climax
Good play lists, like good movies and literature, work on a scale of rising and falling action. Ideally, the best play lists build and relieve tension, culminating in one massive, grand musical statement. This should be at the point when everyone has had their food, and everyone has had at least two beers. Now, it doesn’t have to just be one song, but it is important that people realize (maybe not consciously) that this is the high point of the mix.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Layla by Derrick and the Dominoes – arguably the best song of all time, it has a place on any play list.
Avoid: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin – I love Led Zep as much as the next, but this song is as played out as any song. Besides, chances are good you could find this song on the radio at any time of the day. A good mix should offer something familiar, but still unique; kind of like a mango.
Step Five: Hey, who is this band?
This one isn’t set in stone, but it is my feeling that every good play list should have at least one song on it that is new to most people. Falling in love with a new song is always a great experience, and there is a certain satisfaction that comes with showing someone a new song. It’s like a good deed, without actually having to help someone. This is a good spot for deep cuts from established bands, or your friend’s sick demo tape.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Nosebleed by Illinois, A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill by Jens Lekman, Let Me Go by Cake, Dig for Fire by Pixies – These are all relatively unknown songs that come pre packaged for summer ass kicking.
Avoid: Radiohead – Radiohead is just not summer music. Get over it, nerds.
Step Six: Get the fuck out of my yard.
It’s not a party if your doing it alone, so you should find a song that will quietly urge the stragglers to move on to the next free meal. You don’t want to go overly abrasive, but you should go for something with a slow tempo and a mildly offbeat rhythm to it. Remember, people will never leave a place when they can dance there.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd – You run the risk of stoners saying how beautiful it all is, man, but this is as good a song as any to end a play list to.
Avoid: The Final Countdown by Europe – Sorry, but this song at the end of a play list will just kick start the party all over again.
Step Seven: Give the people credit
Don’t ever be afraid to take a chance on a deep track or a lesser known band. Chances are good that someone else at the party has heard it before, and even if they haven’t, mot people will be having fun playing Frisbee or whatever. And remember, the perfect play list is a never ending quest, so don’t get upset if you don’t get it on the first time. Finally, always ask the people what they want to hear. This mix isn’t for you, it’s for the world at large.
With these hints, you are sure to be the Cat’s Meow around the fire pit.
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Mr. Dogg’s Summer Play list
1) Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
2) Wayward Son - Kansas
3) Better Man – Pearl Jam
4) Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms
5) July July! – The Decemberists
6) Back and Forth – The Dismemberment Plan
7) Let Me Go – Cake
8) Substitute – The Who
9) The Jack of Hearts – Bob Dylan
10) Girls Like Status – The Hold Steady
11) Take on Me – Aha
12) Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger
13) Sunflowers – Everclear
14) Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang
15) Lola – Kinks
16) Come On Eileen – Dexi’s Midnight Runners
17) Only in Dreams – Weezer
18) Hard To Explain – The Strokes
19) Getting Better – The Beatles
20) Float On – Modest Mouse
21) You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Rolling Stones
MR. DOGG'S GUIDE TO A BALLIN' ASS SUMMER PLAYLIST
Cars are packing up and heading east as soon as Friday hits, hotdogs are flying off the shelves faster than grocery boys can stock them, and people who have no business going shirtless in public (like myself) are showing the general populous more skin than they’d care to see. Yes, children, summer is once again upon us. And, as any good red blooded American worth his or her patriotic salt well knows, barbeque season is also upon us. This year, however, will be different than other years. This year, you (yes, you) will be known around the block as King of the Charred Meats. Not because of your great uncle Chet’s super secret burger recipe, but because you are going to have the most excellent summertime BBQ play list. And I am going to help you make it.
Step One: Come Out Swinging
The first song on your BBQ play list is arguable the most important song on the entire damn thing. The right song will draw people in from across the street, next door, or anyone who is in earshot. The wrong song will start things off with a thud, and insure that your BBQ will suck some serious ass. It’s best to start off with a classic song that will be instantly recognizable to anyone passing by. This song should also scream “PARRRRRTY!”, but with a little more subtlety.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen - Almost everyone with a pulse can get behind this song, especially if you’re in NJ.
Avoid: Don’t Stop Believing by Journey – My deep hate for Steve Perry aside, this is more a drinking song than anything else, and will send the wrong message. I’m not saying don’t use it later on (people go ape shit for this song), just don’t kick things off with it.
Step Two: Appeal to the Golden Age
This step requires that you know who is coming to your BBQ. If you have an idea of what the people are like, you’ll be able to better design a face melting play list. For example, if its going to be a younger, (arguably) hipper crowd of people, I would recommend some classic 90s songs, in the vein of “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms or “Good” by Better than Ezra, or even something like “Pepper” by the Butthole Surfers. However, if the crowd skews slightly older, something like “Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp might be in order.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Circles by Soul Coughing (90s), Come on Eileen by Dexi’s Midnight Runners (80s), anything off of Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy (70s), Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells – Any one of these songs will do very nicely in the core of your mix tape.
Avoid: The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Duran Duran, The Scorpions, Momma Cass.
Step Three: Train in Vain by the Clash
Just fucking put it on there. Trust me.
Step Four: The Climax
Good play lists, like good movies and literature, work on a scale of rising and falling action. Ideally, the best play lists build and relieve tension, culminating in one massive, grand musical statement. This should be at the point when everyone has had their food, and everyone has had at least two beers. Now, it doesn’t have to just be one song, but it is important that people realize (maybe not consciously) that this is the high point of the mix.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Layla by Derrick and the Dominoes – arguably the best song of all time, it has a place on any play list.
Avoid: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin – I love Led Zep as much as the next, but this song is as played out as any song. Besides, chances are good you could find this song on the radio at any time of the day. A good mix should offer something familiar, but still unique; kind of like a mango.
Step Five: Hey, who is this band?
This one isn’t set in stone, but it is my feeling that every good play list should have at least one song on it that is new to most people. Falling in love with a new song is always a great experience, and there is a certain satisfaction that comes with showing someone a new song. It’s like a good deed, without actually having to help someone. This is a good spot for deep cuts from established bands, or your friend’s sick demo tape.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Nosebleed by Illinois, A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill by Jens Lekman, Let Me Go by Cake, Dig for Fire by Pixies – These are all relatively unknown songs that come pre packaged for summer ass kicking.
Avoid: Radiohead – Radiohead is just not summer music. Get over it, nerds.
Step Six: Get the fuck out of my yard.
It’s not a party if your doing it alone, so you should find a song that will quietly urge the stragglers to move on to the next free meal. You don’t want to go overly abrasive, but you should go for something with a slow tempo and a mildly offbeat rhythm to it. Remember, people will never leave a place when they can dance there.
Mr. Dogg Recommends: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd – You run the risk of stoners saying how beautiful it all is, man, but this is as good a song as any to end a play list to.
Avoid: The Final Countdown by Europe – Sorry, but this song at the end of a play list will just kick start the party all over again.
Step Seven: Give the people credit
Don’t ever be afraid to take a chance on a deep track or a lesser known band. Chances are good that someone else at the party has heard it before, and even if they haven’t, mot people will be having fun playing Frisbee or whatever. And remember, the perfect play list is a never ending quest, so don’t get upset if you don’t get it on the first time. Finally, always ask the people what they want to hear. This mix isn’t for you, it’s for the world at large.
With these hints, you are sure to be the Cat’s Meow around the fire pit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Dogg’s Summer Play list
1) Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
2) Wayward Son - Kansas
3) Better Man – Pearl Jam
4) Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms
5) July July! – The Decemberists
6) Back and Forth – The Dismemberment Plan
7) Let Me Go – Cake
8) Substitute – The Who
9) The Jack of Hearts – Bob Dylan
10) Girls Like Status – The Hold Steady
11) Take on Me – Aha
12) Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger
13) Sunflowers – Everclear
14) Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang
15) Lola – Kinks
16) Come On Eileen – Dexi’s Midnight Runners
17) Only in Dreams – Weezer
18) Hard To Explain – The Strokes
19) Getting Better – The Beatles
20) Float On – Modest Mouse
21) You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Rolling Stones
Monday, June 4
Ladyhawk is Like A Hurricane, There Is Calm In Their Eyes
Artist: Ladyhawk
Album: Ladyhawk
Comments: You know, sometimes I feel like a pretentious asshole.
Who am I to spend all my time scaning these albums with a fine tooth comb and passing judgment on their worth using some ever changing and undefinable scale that measures and quantifies that which is, by definition, incalculabel? Is it possible for me to just listen to a record and enjoy it without having to look for the deeper meaning, hidden symbolism, or ulterior motive? Isn't there something I can just listen to and not have to think about?
The answers to these questions are "No one", "Yes", and Ladyhawk's self titled album.
Don't misunderstand me. When I say that Ladyhawk is easy to listen to, I do not mean that it is shallow or brainless. I simply mean that Ladyhawk is an album that makes no promises, offers no archaic message, and requires no effort to listen to. Ladyhawk is a good rock record, and nothing more.
The Vancouver based four piece specialize in big guitar driven bar room rock songs and lyrical metaphors, and both can be found all over the record. Tracks like "The Dugout", "My Old Jackknife", and especially "Came in Brave" are reminiscent of big guitars bands like Dinosaur Jr. or Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The record maintains a classic feel throughout; it plays like a bunch of guys who like to get together in someones garage, drink a few too many, and cover all their favorite rock songs from the 70s. Which is not to say that the production is bad, it just sounds like these guys are relaxed and having a blast.
The subject matter of the songs is the usual rock fare; women, booze, and women who drink booze. At times the band can sound alt-country, at times indie pop, but always good. Ladyhawk is a seasoned bunch of musicians, and the rhythm section always anchors the music, which gives the guitarist room to play, and gives the lead singer room to let his voice go for a walk. Some songs are a bit overblown, like the jammy slow burning roots rock of "Long 'Till the Morning". But for the most part, the album is strong.
Ladyhawk is not reinventing the wheel on their self titled debut. They aren't going to be your new favorite band, and you aren't going to tell all your friends about them. They won't be selling out stadiums, and we won't see them on MTV. Not to say that they couldn't get to that level; Ladyhawk shows great promise, and leaves the band with a lot of room to expand. But for right now, Ladyhawk is a collection of barroom swagger that flirts with intimacy, dances with brilliance, and above all else is just an easy and fun listen.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: The Dugout, My Old Jackknife, Came in Brave, Advice
Worth The Money: Might not stick with you forever, but still worth it.
Album: Ladyhawk
Comments: You know, sometimes I feel like a pretentious asshole.
Who am I to spend all my time scaning these albums with a fine tooth comb and passing judgment on their worth using some ever changing and undefinable scale that measures and quantifies that which is, by definition, incalculabel? Is it possible for me to just listen to a record and enjoy it without having to look for the deeper meaning, hidden symbolism, or ulterior motive? Isn't there something I can just listen to and not have to think about?
The answers to these questions are "No one", "Yes", and Ladyhawk's self titled album.
Don't misunderstand me. When I say that Ladyhawk is easy to listen to, I do not mean that it is shallow or brainless. I simply mean that Ladyhawk is an album that makes no promises, offers no archaic message, and requires no effort to listen to. Ladyhawk is a good rock record, and nothing more.
The Vancouver based four piece specialize in big guitar driven bar room rock songs and lyrical metaphors, and both can be found all over the record. Tracks like "The Dugout", "My Old Jackknife", and especially "Came in Brave" are reminiscent of big guitars bands like Dinosaur Jr. or Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The record maintains a classic feel throughout; it plays like a bunch of guys who like to get together in someones garage, drink a few too many, and cover all their favorite rock songs from the 70s. Which is not to say that the production is bad, it just sounds like these guys are relaxed and having a blast.
The subject matter of the songs is the usual rock fare; women, booze, and women who drink booze. At times the band can sound alt-country, at times indie pop, but always good. Ladyhawk is a seasoned bunch of musicians, and the rhythm section always anchors the music, which gives the guitarist room to play, and gives the lead singer room to let his voice go for a walk. Some songs are a bit overblown, like the jammy slow burning roots rock of "Long 'Till the Morning". But for the most part, the album is strong.
Ladyhawk is not reinventing the wheel on their self titled debut. They aren't going to be your new favorite band, and you aren't going to tell all your friends about them. They won't be selling out stadiums, and we won't see them on MTV. Not to say that they couldn't get to that level; Ladyhawk shows great promise, and leaves the band with a lot of room to expand. But for right now, Ladyhawk is a collection of barroom swagger that flirts with intimacy, dances with brilliance, and above all else is just an easy and fun listen.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: The Dugout, My Old Jackknife, Came in Brave, Advice
Worth The Money: Might not stick with you forever, but still worth it.
Friday, June 1
Sundowner Sprouts An Introspective Branch On The Lawrence Arms Family Tree
Artist: Sundowner
Album: Four One Five Two
Comments: Let’s get one thing out of the way right now. Sundowner is a one man singer / songwriter side project of Chris McCaughan, who is known for his work in punk bands like the Broadways and The Lawrence Arms. As a matter of fact, McCaughan is the lead guitarist and co-song writer for the Lawrence Arms. I only mention this because I am a big fan of the Lawrence Arms, and if my review seems sympathetic or biased, it is because I was unable to detach my feelings.
That being said, Four One Five Two is a good, if not great record and serves to further prove what listeners have always suspected about Chris McCaughan; he was always a singer / songwriter at heart.
Four One Five Two came about while McCaughan was recording Oh! Calcutta! with the Lawrence Arms. McCaughan wrote a bunch of songs that didn’t fit on the album, so when TLA went out on tour, McCaughan would warm up by playing these songs at coffee houses and other places where acoustic guitars and emoting lyrics are welcome. The gigs were so well received that McCaughan recorded them on to a CD, and Four One Five Two is the result.
Anyone familiar with McCaughan’s songwriting in his other bands will know what to expect here. McCaughan is a very urban songwriter; his songs are post-industrial anthems for the average man who struggles with everyday city living. McCaughan loves the city, but he wants to leave it. He feels lonesome and detached, but he loves independence. He’s sick of not having a safe place, but he loves the freedom it gives him. These are the contradictions that make up the core of McCaughan’s song writing. He explores these issues with great success on the tender and restrained “Midsummer Classic”, and the more mobile “The Sea of Lights”.
McCaughan never really comes right out and tells you what he means. Instead, he speaks in poetic metaphors and personal reflections, and allows the listener to fill in the meaning. This makes for a very cathartic experience, at the expense of making it emotionally accessible. In other, less pretentious words, you have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate this record.
As much as Four One Five Two establishes McCaughan as a singer / songwriter, he has some trouble at times breaking out of his punk shadow. Songs like “Traffic Haze” and “Jackson Underground” are good, but ultimately sound more like acoustic Lawrence Arms songs, and not McCaughan. Chris even covers two Lawrence Arms song on the record, “Boatless Booze Cruise” and “100 Resolutions”. Both sound good unplugged, with “100 Resolutions” sounding better of the two, probably because McCaughan wrote it and not “Booze Cruise”. Also, the second half of the album has a little filler in the form of “Cold White North” and “Your Self Portrait”.
If Four One Five Two has any big flaw, it’s that it still feels very tethered to The Lawrence Arms, both thematically and sonically. Still, Sundowner is a side project, not a new band, so the connection is expected and even at times welcomed. Four One Five Two is a catchy acoustic album that can appeal to anyone who is a fan of that genre. While not indispensable, it is certainly enjoyable, and only helps to further the songwriting development of McCaughan. And if nothing else, it is a good hold over until the next Lawrence Arms album comes out.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: “The City of Lights” “Midsummer Classic” “100 Resolutions”
Worth The Money: Yes
Album: Four One Five Two
Comments: Let’s get one thing out of the way right now. Sundowner is a one man singer / songwriter side project of Chris McCaughan, who is known for his work in punk bands like the Broadways and The Lawrence Arms. As a matter of fact, McCaughan is the lead guitarist and co-song writer for the Lawrence Arms. I only mention this because I am a big fan of the Lawrence Arms, and if my review seems sympathetic or biased, it is because I was unable to detach my feelings.
That being said, Four One Five Two is a good, if not great record and serves to further prove what listeners have always suspected about Chris McCaughan; he was always a singer / songwriter at heart.
Four One Five Two came about while McCaughan was recording Oh! Calcutta! with the Lawrence Arms. McCaughan wrote a bunch of songs that didn’t fit on the album, so when TLA went out on tour, McCaughan would warm up by playing these songs at coffee houses and other places where acoustic guitars and emoting lyrics are welcome. The gigs were so well received that McCaughan recorded them on to a CD, and Four One Five Two is the result.
Anyone familiar with McCaughan’s songwriting in his other bands will know what to expect here. McCaughan is a very urban songwriter; his songs are post-industrial anthems for the average man who struggles with everyday city living. McCaughan loves the city, but he wants to leave it. He feels lonesome and detached, but he loves independence. He’s sick of not having a safe place, but he loves the freedom it gives him. These are the contradictions that make up the core of McCaughan’s song writing. He explores these issues with great success on the tender and restrained “Midsummer Classic”, and the more mobile “The Sea of Lights”.
McCaughan never really comes right out and tells you what he means. Instead, he speaks in poetic metaphors and personal reflections, and allows the listener to fill in the meaning. This makes for a very cathartic experience, at the expense of making it emotionally accessible. In other, less pretentious words, you have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate this record.
As much as Four One Five Two establishes McCaughan as a singer / songwriter, he has some trouble at times breaking out of his punk shadow. Songs like “Traffic Haze” and “Jackson Underground” are good, but ultimately sound more like acoustic Lawrence Arms songs, and not McCaughan. Chris even covers two Lawrence Arms song on the record, “Boatless Booze Cruise” and “100 Resolutions”. Both sound good unplugged, with “100 Resolutions” sounding better of the two, probably because McCaughan wrote it and not “Booze Cruise”. Also, the second half of the album has a little filler in the form of “Cold White North” and “Your Self Portrait”.
If Four One Five Two has any big flaw, it’s that it still feels very tethered to The Lawrence Arms, both thematically and sonically. Still, Sundowner is a side project, not a new band, so the connection is expected and even at times welcomed. Four One Five Two is a catchy acoustic album that can appeal to anyone who is a fan of that genre. While not indispensable, it is certainly enjoyable, and only helps to further the songwriting development of McCaughan. And if nothing else, it is a good hold over until the next Lawrence Arms album comes out.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: “The City of Lights” “Midsummer Classic” “100 Resolutions”
Worth The Money: Yes
Wednesday, May 30
Dan Deacon's Electronic Summer Blockbuster
Artist: Dan Deacon
Album: Spiderman of the Rings
Comments: Take one look at the title of the record I am about to review.
Look again, just to be sure.
It’s called Spiderman of the Rings, in case you missed it.
This is not going to be a serious, society altering piece of music. And sure, maybe it’s cynical of me to judge an album based solely on its name, or at least it would be if this record wasn’t such a silly work of giggly fun. Dan Deacon is not going to change the world or your life, but he has made the first truly fun record of this summer.
A little background on Deacon: He’s from Baltimore, where he lives in an art convent with a bunch of painters, authors, and guys with beards. For the last few years, he has been working almost solely on running this convent and making music. Based on some choice youtube videos, it is safe to assume that the man doesn’t take himself or the world around him all that seriously; in one video he is balding, beer bellied, and bespectacled dancing to his own music on an NBC morning show.
None of this matters at all to the music, of course, but it might help to get an idea of what Spiderman of the Rings sounds like. Like the title suggests, the album is both grand and relentlessly silly, and it packs all the entertainment and fun of a blockbuster summer movie.
Deacon makes electronic pop music. This album is all keyboards and synths and vocoders and drum machines and samples. The album opener “Woody Woodpecker” boasts some really good sample use, as the entire song is built around Deacon’s distortion of the famous cartoon character’s laugh. Tracks like “Crystal Cat”, “Okie Dokey”, and “Snake Mistakes” are all dandy fun tracks, each one relatively simple, but with interesting little flairs to them, like the toy ray-gun noises in the beginning of “Snake Mistakes” or the nonsensical repetition of the lyric “I’ve got a rattlesnake gun” on “Okie Dokey”.
Throughout the album, Deacon proves that he is a master of building and relieving tension. Tracks like “Jimmy Roche”, “Pink Batman”, and “Wham City” are epic pop numbers that slowly build on themselves as Deacon adds more and more electronic harmony to the tracks until they threaten to explode completely. Theseis big, swelling tracks dare you not to get up and move your feet. “Wham City” is particularly excellent; it builds and crashes twice in its 12 minute run time, and boasts an anthem that will bury itself in your head and drive you mad with its simple joyful nonsense.
If it doesn’t sound like it makes too much sense, that’s because it doesn’t. But this is a record that must be taken at face value to really be enjoyed. One must be aware that this is supposed to be fun, simple music. Deacon simple sythnesizers and keys and turns them into delightfully goofy pop songs. The whole thing is very appealingif you’re willing to let go of all you know (or don’t know) about music and just dance. The number one summer fun album is here, and it is Spiderman of the Rings.
Raiting: 7.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Crystal Cat, Wham City, Pink Batman, Jimmy Roche
Worth The Money: Yes, but understand that this is a silly record for silly people in a silly mood.
Album: Spiderman of the Rings
Comments: Take one look at the title of the record I am about to review.
Look again, just to be sure.
It’s called Spiderman of the Rings, in case you missed it.
This is not going to be a serious, society altering piece of music. And sure, maybe it’s cynical of me to judge an album based solely on its name, or at least it would be if this record wasn’t such a silly work of giggly fun. Dan Deacon is not going to change the world or your life, but he has made the first truly fun record of this summer.
A little background on Deacon: He’s from Baltimore, where he lives in an art convent with a bunch of painters, authors, and guys with beards. For the last few years, he has been working almost solely on running this convent and making music. Based on some choice youtube videos, it is safe to assume that the man doesn’t take himself or the world around him all that seriously; in one video he is balding, beer bellied, and bespectacled dancing to his own music on an NBC morning show.
None of this matters at all to the music, of course, but it might help to get an idea of what Spiderman of the Rings sounds like. Like the title suggests, the album is both grand and relentlessly silly, and it packs all the entertainment and fun of a blockbuster summer movie.
Deacon makes electronic pop music. This album is all keyboards and synths and vocoders and drum machines and samples. The album opener “Woody Woodpecker” boasts some really good sample use, as the entire song is built around Deacon’s distortion of the famous cartoon character’s laugh. Tracks like “Crystal Cat”, “Okie Dokey”, and “Snake Mistakes” are all dandy fun tracks, each one relatively simple, but with interesting little flairs to them, like the toy ray-gun noises in the beginning of “Snake Mistakes” or the nonsensical repetition of the lyric “I’ve got a rattlesnake gun” on “Okie Dokey”.
Throughout the album, Deacon proves that he is a master of building and relieving tension. Tracks like “Jimmy Roche”, “Pink Batman”, and “Wham City” are epic pop numbers that slowly build on themselves as Deacon adds more and more electronic harmony to the tracks until they threaten to explode completely. Theseis big, swelling tracks dare you not to get up and move your feet. “Wham City” is particularly excellent; it builds and crashes twice in its 12 minute run time, and boasts an anthem that will bury itself in your head and drive you mad with its simple joyful nonsense.
If it doesn’t sound like it makes too much sense, that’s because it doesn’t. But this is a record that must be taken at face value to really be enjoyed. One must be aware that this is supposed to be fun, simple music. Deacon simple sythnesizers and keys and turns them into delightfully goofy pop songs. The whole thing is very appealingif you’re willing to let go of all you know (or don’t know) about music and just dance. The number one summer fun album is here, and it is Spiderman of the Rings.
Raiting: 7.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: Crystal Cat, Wham City, Pink Batman, Jimmy Roche
Worth The Money: Yes, but understand that this is a silly record for silly people in a silly mood.
Thursday, May 24
Strong Debut From Philly's Own
Artist: Clean Guns
Album: Sometimes There Is T.R.O.U.B.L.E
Website: http://www.myspace.com/cleanguns
Comments: Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E by underground hip hop duo Clean Guns ranks as one of the most difficult albums I’ve tried to review in a long time, and until tonight, I couldn’t for the life of me explain why.
From the production, which is mostly done in-house by the group and has an interesting electronica element to it, to the wordplay and lyrical content, which is intricate, descriptive, and referential (like much indie hip hop), there was a lot to like about Sometimes. It had all kinds of things going for it, but that wasn’t the reason I liked it. Or rather, that wasn’t the reason it was hard to review.
Even its style is to my liking. The album is straight up hip hop. There is no snap music or big rhythm dance tracks on this record. There are no R&B singers laying down 3rd rate croons over nickel and dime jazz samples. There are no callout tracks to big name performers in an attempt to further a career. That isn’t what Clean Guns are about. Sometimes is what hip hop aspired to be when it was created. It’s not showy or preachy, and there isn’t necessarily a life changing lesson to it, but it’s expressive and descriptive and maybe, just maybe, it can communicate better the intricate details of city living better than actual conversation ever could.
Still, there are hundreds of records that accomplish this and sound better than Sometimes. While thematically on the same page as classics like Illmatic and Labor Days, Clean Guns lacks the same all-or-nothing punch of these records. Their delivery isn’t as developed as Nas, and their flow isn’t as rewarding as Aesop Rock. But still, there was something about Clean Guns that made me pause and thing that they could develop into something like those two.
It wasn’t their hard edge, which shows through excellently on the album opener “Blast Off”, and it wasn’t their willingness to reflect on tracks like “Beautiful You” and “These Words I Write”. What set Clean Guns apart is a much more visceral and intangible thing; Clean Guns sounds legitimate.
Listening to Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E is like listen to the heartbeat of the city. And even though they hail from Philadelphia, it is a much more universal appeal. Clean Guns could be from anywhere and anywhere and still sound like the authentic mark of urban life. It’s in their lyrics, their delivery, and their production. Everything from dirty streets at 2am in West Philly to a cloudless sunny day downtown lives and breaths in this music. Clean Guns doesn’t describe the street; they are the street, and they embody all of the successes and failures that dwell there.
You may never hear Clean Guns. Right now, they get by on local buzz and college radio. But in a hip hop landscape that is dominated by flash-in-the-pan imitators who attempt to manufacture a demographic sound for profits; Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E is a dirty, dusty, exhausted filled breath of fresh air.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: “Blast Off” “These Words I Write” “Knives on Trains” “Good Clean Fun, Good Clean Guns”
Worth The Money: Yes
Album: Sometimes There Is T.R.O.U.B.L.E
Website: http://www.myspace.com/cleanguns
Comments: Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E by underground hip hop duo Clean Guns ranks as one of the most difficult albums I’ve tried to review in a long time, and until tonight, I couldn’t for the life of me explain why.
From the production, which is mostly done in-house by the group and has an interesting electronica element to it, to the wordplay and lyrical content, which is intricate, descriptive, and referential (like much indie hip hop), there was a lot to like about Sometimes. It had all kinds of things going for it, but that wasn’t the reason I liked it. Or rather, that wasn’t the reason it was hard to review.
Even its style is to my liking. The album is straight up hip hop. There is no snap music or big rhythm dance tracks on this record. There are no R&B singers laying down 3rd rate croons over nickel and dime jazz samples. There are no callout tracks to big name performers in an attempt to further a career. That isn’t what Clean Guns are about. Sometimes is what hip hop aspired to be when it was created. It’s not showy or preachy, and there isn’t necessarily a life changing lesson to it, but it’s expressive and descriptive and maybe, just maybe, it can communicate better the intricate details of city living better than actual conversation ever could.
Still, there are hundreds of records that accomplish this and sound better than Sometimes. While thematically on the same page as classics like Illmatic and Labor Days, Clean Guns lacks the same all-or-nothing punch of these records. Their delivery isn’t as developed as Nas, and their flow isn’t as rewarding as Aesop Rock. But still, there was something about Clean Guns that made me pause and thing that they could develop into something like those two.
It wasn’t their hard edge, which shows through excellently on the album opener “Blast Off”, and it wasn’t their willingness to reflect on tracks like “Beautiful You” and “These Words I Write”. What set Clean Guns apart is a much more visceral and intangible thing; Clean Guns sounds legitimate.
Listening to Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E is like listen to the heartbeat of the city. And even though they hail from Philadelphia, it is a much more universal appeal. Clean Guns could be from anywhere and anywhere and still sound like the authentic mark of urban life. It’s in their lyrics, their delivery, and their production. Everything from dirty streets at 2am in West Philly to a cloudless sunny day downtown lives and breaths in this music. Clean Guns doesn’t describe the street; they are the street, and they embody all of the successes and failures that dwell there.
You may never hear Clean Guns. Right now, they get by on local buzz and college radio. But in a hip hop landscape that is dominated by flash-in-the-pan imitators who attempt to manufacture a demographic sound for profits; Sometimes There is T.R.O.U.B.L.E is a dirty, dusty, exhausted filled breath of fresh air.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: “Blast Off” “These Words I Write” “Knives on Trains” “Good Clean Fun, Good Clean Guns”
Worth The Money: Yes
Tuesday, May 22
Worst Nightmare Isn't Brits' Best Stuff - By Joe Gilson
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Favourite Worst Nightmare
Let me say one thing straight off: I like the Arctic Monkeys. I really do. I was one of those people pushing them on my friends when they came onto the American scene. You see, I was in Ireland when they blew up so I got to witness the British explosion firsthand. It is for these reasons that I feel a little bad about what I am going to do.
Jack Johnson was new for me when I first heard him. I had never heard anything quite like what he was doing in the context of a major album release. For that reason, every song off of his debut album is memorable for me. Then his second album came out and, frankly, it was more of the same. Ask me how any song off the first album goes and I’ll know it instantly. Second album? Not so much. Because essentially they are the same album with only a few differences. For this reason, if you ask someone what their favorite Jack Johnson album is, it is going to be the one they heard first. Unfortunately, the Arctic Monkeys have fallen into this trap for me.
The Monkeys’ 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not was an immediately memorable listen. It was visceral, grating and laid-back, accessible and exclusive at the same time. Listening to that album made you feel “in” on some kind of idea, but an idea that you knew people would be getting behind in the near future. Which makes sense; Favourite Worst Nightmare is pretty much everyone getting in on the idea, after its become slightly worn down and a bit more universal.
I know why Whatever never took off in America. It was simply TOO British. I got it because of the time I spent immersed in the culture. Nightmare, on the other hand, is far more general in it’s language. Songs from Whatever like “Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured” and “A Certain Romance” which specifically detailed British pub culture have been forgone for songs and lyrics which detail handling fame and being looked at as an icon, something these 21-year-old kids from Sheffield cleary have trouble dealing with. The problem is, a lot of people in the position of the Monkeys have dealt with fame. Not many have been so good at detailing the like of a 21 y.o. in Sheffield.
Does this mean that Favourite Worst Nightmare has no redeeming value? Absolutely not. “Teddy Picker” ranks up there among the best on Whatever and the song “Flourescent Adolescent” is a very catchy, very memorable tune. At the same time, there is a lack of consistency. Their debut was reliable from track to track for a few good hooks in each song, from “View From The Afternoon” to “A Certain Romance.” Even the singles were excellent. Which brings us to Favourite Worst Nightmare in a nutshell. I was waiting with baited breath to hear the new single, “Brianstorm.” I played it on my computer, then had to play it again, and again, and again. Not because I liked it so much. Because each time it came on, it finished without me ever really getting sucked into it. I realized that there was nothing grabbing, nothing instinctive that pulled at my guts and made me remember it. That is the real problem.
Is it a bad album? Definitely not. Is it as good as Whatever? Definitely not. Is it fair to compare the two? Maybe. But lead singer Alex Turner says it himself on the first album: “Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment.”
Plus, when you have a band so new and so different, who else can you compare them to?
Worth it to buy: Eh, probably. Try to find it online though.
Stars: 6.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Joe Gilson for the review, and for implementing a new rating system here at LOTD (6.5 stars? Yowza!). Updates continue tomorrow.
Album: Favourite Worst Nightmare
Let me say one thing straight off: I like the Arctic Monkeys. I really do. I was one of those people pushing them on my friends when they came onto the American scene. You see, I was in Ireland when they blew up so I got to witness the British explosion firsthand. It is for these reasons that I feel a little bad about what I am going to do.
Jack Johnson was new for me when I first heard him. I had never heard anything quite like what he was doing in the context of a major album release. For that reason, every song off of his debut album is memorable for me. Then his second album came out and, frankly, it was more of the same. Ask me how any song off the first album goes and I’ll know it instantly. Second album? Not so much. Because essentially they are the same album with only a few differences. For this reason, if you ask someone what their favorite Jack Johnson album is, it is going to be the one they heard first. Unfortunately, the Arctic Monkeys have fallen into this trap for me.
The Monkeys’ 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not was an immediately memorable listen. It was visceral, grating and laid-back, accessible and exclusive at the same time. Listening to that album made you feel “in” on some kind of idea, but an idea that you knew people would be getting behind in the near future. Which makes sense; Favourite Worst Nightmare is pretty much everyone getting in on the idea, after its become slightly worn down and a bit more universal.
I know why Whatever never took off in America. It was simply TOO British. I got it because of the time I spent immersed in the culture. Nightmare, on the other hand, is far more general in it’s language. Songs from Whatever like “Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured” and “A Certain Romance” which specifically detailed British pub culture have been forgone for songs and lyrics which detail handling fame and being looked at as an icon, something these 21-year-old kids from Sheffield cleary have trouble dealing with. The problem is, a lot of people in the position of the Monkeys have dealt with fame. Not many have been so good at detailing the like of a 21 y.o. in Sheffield.
Does this mean that Favourite Worst Nightmare has no redeeming value? Absolutely not. “Teddy Picker” ranks up there among the best on Whatever and the song “Flourescent Adolescent” is a very catchy, very memorable tune. At the same time, there is a lack of consistency. Their debut was reliable from track to track for a few good hooks in each song, from “View From The Afternoon” to “A Certain Romance.” Even the singles were excellent. Which brings us to Favourite Worst Nightmare in a nutshell. I was waiting with baited breath to hear the new single, “Brianstorm.” I played it on my computer, then had to play it again, and again, and again. Not because I liked it so much. Because each time it came on, it finished without me ever really getting sucked into it. I realized that there was nothing grabbing, nothing instinctive that pulled at my guts and made me remember it. That is the real problem.
Is it a bad album? Definitely not. Is it as good as Whatever? Definitely not. Is it fair to compare the two? Maybe. But lead singer Alex Turner says it himself on the first album: “Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment.”
Plus, when you have a band so new and so different, who else can you compare them to?
Worth it to buy: Eh, probably. Try to find it online though.
Stars: 6.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Joe Gilson for the review, and for implementing a new rating system here at LOTD (6.5 stars? Yowza!). Updates continue tomorrow.
Monday, May 21
Wilco's Latest Lacks Teeth, Isn't There
Artist: Wilco
Album: Sky Blue Sky
Comments: Ever since the decompression pop of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco’s critically acclaimed 2001 release, the band has been unwilling or unable to recapture their edgy experimental sprit. Their follow-up, A Ghost is Born was an underrated album of guitar driven, country kissed poetry mixing the country / folk twang with a 80s guitar hero bigness, but it couldn’t match the grand opus that was YHF. Still, the band should be given credit for not willing to settle. After all, it was Wilco’s ability to turn themselves from an alt-country band into a phycadelic pop band that made them such critical darlings and fan favorites in 2001. Fans looking for Sky Blue Sky to rival YHF will have to keep looking. Despite (or perhaps because of) a return to their rootys country ways, this is a flat record, and, despite the consistency of the music, their worst since A.M.
The record plays out like A Ghost is Born recorded for adult contemporary stations. It starts off with the charming but mild “Either Way”. The song starts with a nice little guitar riff and piano melody, but never really takes off. It sets a precedent for the record, because a lot of songs on this record are like that; they never take off. Songs like “Sky Blue Sky”, “Please be Patient With Me” , “Hate It Here”, and “Leave Me(Like You Found Me) are all nice little songs but they are soft, reserved numbers that never explore, never develop, and just play like b sides and filler. It’s hard to believe that this is the best Wilco could do.
The guitar work from voodoo witch doctor Nels Cline is as good as it has ever been, and local genius Tweedy still has got an ear for pop and a pen for songwriting, but the band can never really find a balance between the two. In other words, it seems like the songs with the best guitar work have the worst lyrics, and the ones with the best one lines and turns-of-phrase feature crummy song development. Everyone just sounds asleep on this record.
Thankfully, the band does wake up from time to time. The silly honky-tonk of “Walken” is one of the few times on the record where everyone sounds like they’re paying attention (or awake). The song itself isn’t anything special, but compared to the rest of the album, it sounds fresh and alive. “What Light” is the best soft song on the record, reaching back to Wilco’s early days as an alt country band. It’s a soft pop number but, like “Walken”, its got an edge to it, as if there is more under the surface than just poppy gloss and studio-like musicianship. Elsewhere on the record, “You Are My Face” and “Side with the Seeds” feature some really excellent breakdowns, and some truly superior guitar work from Cline, and both are worth a listen just for that. Cline always seems to be trying to push himself forward, and the rest of the band just seems content to listen. Hard to blame them though.
With the exception of a few songs on the album, Sky Blue Sky sounds empty, like it’s missing something. It’s hard to define what exactly; all the songs feature some sharp musicianship and good singing on the part of Tweedy (his voice sounds fantastic on this record). Despite Tweedy’s emoting, the album sounds like it lacks emotion, almost as if Wilco just phoned something in. Tweedy said in a recent interview that this record was the most civil and easy Wilco record ever made in the bands ever-changing lineup. Sky Blue Sky sounds like a comfortable, easy, safe record. Perhaps that’s the problem. Perhaps Wilco has just become too comfortable together. Sky Blue Sky may sound pretty, but it is the sound of a band losing its edge.
Rating: 5.5 out 10
Key Tracks: “You Are My Face” “Walkin” “What Light”
Worth The Money: Only for die hards.
Album: Sky Blue Sky
Comments: Ever since the decompression pop of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco’s critically acclaimed 2001 release, the band has been unwilling or unable to recapture their edgy experimental sprit. Their follow-up, A Ghost is Born was an underrated album of guitar driven, country kissed poetry mixing the country / folk twang with a 80s guitar hero bigness, but it couldn’t match the grand opus that was YHF. Still, the band should be given credit for not willing to settle. After all, it was Wilco’s ability to turn themselves from an alt-country band into a phycadelic pop band that made them such critical darlings and fan favorites in 2001. Fans looking for Sky Blue Sky to rival YHF will have to keep looking. Despite (or perhaps because of) a return to their rootys country ways, this is a flat record, and, despite the consistency of the music, their worst since A.M.
The record plays out like A Ghost is Born recorded for adult contemporary stations. It starts off with the charming but mild “Either Way”. The song starts with a nice little guitar riff and piano melody, but never really takes off. It sets a precedent for the record, because a lot of songs on this record are like that; they never take off. Songs like “Sky Blue Sky”, “Please be Patient With Me” , “Hate It Here”, and “Leave Me(Like You Found Me) are all nice little songs but they are soft, reserved numbers that never explore, never develop, and just play like b sides and filler. It’s hard to believe that this is the best Wilco could do.
The guitar work from voodoo witch doctor Nels Cline is as good as it has ever been, and local genius Tweedy still has got an ear for pop and a pen for songwriting, but the band can never really find a balance between the two. In other words, it seems like the songs with the best guitar work have the worst lyrics, and the ones with the best one lines and turns-of-phrase feature crummy song development. Everyone just sounds asleep on this record.
Thankfully, the band does wake up from time to time. The silly honky-tonk of “Walken” is one of the few times on the record where everyone sounds like they’re paying attention (or awake). The song itself isn’t anything special, but compared to the rest of the album, it sounds fresh and alive. “What Light” is the best soft song on the record, reaching back to Wilco’s early days as an alt country band. It’s a soft pop number but, like “Walken”, its got an edge to it, as if there is more under the surface than just poppy gloss and studio-like musicianship. Elsewhere on the record, “You Are My Face” and “Side with the Seeds” feature some really excellent breakdowns, and some truly superior guitar work from Cline, and both are worth a listen just for that. Cline always seems to be trying to push himself forward, and the rest of the band just seems content to listen. Hard to blame them though.
With the exception of a few songs on the album, Sky Blue Sky sounds empty, like it’s missing something. It’s hard to define what exactly; all the songs feature some sharp musicianship and good singing on the part of Tweedy (his voice sounds fantastic on this record). Despite Tweedy’s emoting, the album sounds like it lacks emotion, almost as if Wilco just phoned something in. Tweedy said in a recent interview that this record was the most civil and easy Wilco record ever made in the bands ever-changing lineup. Sky Blue Sky sounds like a comfortable, easy, safe record. Perhaps that’s the problem. Perhaps Wilco has just become too comfortable together. Sky Blue Sky may sound pretty, but it is the sound of a band losing its edge.
Rating: 5.5 out 10
Key Tracks: “You Are My Face” “Walkin” “What Light”
Worth The Money: Only for die hards.
Thursday, May 10
Amy Winehouse Might Get Drunk and Sleep With You
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Album: Back to Black
Comments: Amy Winehouse is a paradox.
On the one hand, she is very modern. Winehouse is very much in control of her own music. Her strong voice commands every song with the confidence of someone who knows she can belt it out with the best of them. Her subject matter, getting drunk, getting heartbroken, and looking for comfort in the earthly garden of physical pleasures (and ultimately, finding those pleasures to be hollow), is normally reserved for the men of rock and roll, not the women of pop. It’s very feminist in her brash self-damaging empowerment.
On the flip side, Winehouse can’t get herself out of the 50s. The backdrop for her stories of low self esteem and booze fueled mistakes is the golden era Motown sound. Despite some very modern hip hop influenced drumming, the horns, bass lines, and keyboards are all classic soul. These two things, the modern stories of morning after regrets coupled with the classic sound of the Supremes or Aretha Franklin, is the main appeal of Back to Black; she makes music for the modern fuckup with classic tastes.
I have to confess, I didn’t like Winehouse when I first heard her, and I had no intention of giving this record a good review. The reason for this is the video for her lead single and thematic mission statement “You Know I’m No Good”, which features Winehouse in a bathtub, at a b, and drinking on the floor of a kitchen. I have no problem with this, but I do have a problem with her poor choice in facial accessories; she’s got this big ass lip stud, and for reasons I cannot fathom, it bothers the fuck out of me.
But once I got over my own absurdity and listened to the album, I was pleasantly surprised. Winehouse has got some really good pipes, so much so that she is able to pull off what many pop stars have tried and failed to do; she is able to pay a fitting tribute to the pop stars of the past. A big complaint about modern pop is that the people who make it can’t really sing. This is not the case with Winehouse, her voice is as strong and unique as the ones she pays tribute to. On tracks like “Rehab” she belts out with defiance and confidence, while on “Love is a Losing Game” and the excellent “Back to Black” she is able to show restraint and emotion in her singing. Her vocal control is impressive.
The album is not without its limitations, however. Winehouse is a lovesick puppy, and that is really all she sings about, giving the record a definite theme at best, and a one track mind at worst. And there is a really shitty use of the song Ike and Tina Turner made famous (Ain’t no Mountain High Enough). Also, because Amy is mining classic production, songs tend to run together, and there really isn’t much room for musical growth. In other words, I don’t think Winehouse has got enough to talk about, or enough to back her up, for a second album. But that’s a bridge she’ll have to cross some other time. For right now, for what it is, Back to Black is a better-than-average pop record with a darker-than-average subject matter that is both refreshing and charming in its direct nostalgia.
Forget tomorrow, put on some soul, and make some mistakes.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: You Know I’m No Good, Back to Black,
Worth The Money: Yes, but be aware of what you are getting; an album of modern songs that sound classic by design, not through their own merit.
Album: Back to Black
Comments: Amy Winehouse is a paradox.
On the one hand, she is very modern. Winehouse is very much in control of her own music. Her strong voice commands every song with the confidence of someone who knows she can belt it out with the best of them. Her subject matter, getting drunk, getting heartbroken, and looking for comfort in the earthly garden of physical pleasures (and ultimately, finding those pleasures to be hollow), is normally reserved for the men of rock and roll, not the women of pop. It’s very feminist in her brash self-damaging empowerment.
On the flip side, Winehouse can’t get herself out of the 50s. The backdrop for her stories of low self esteem and booze fueled mistakes is the golden era Motown sound. Despite some very modern hip hop influenced drumming, the horns, bass lines, and keyboards are all classic soul. These two things, the modern stories of morning after regrets coupled with the classic sound of the Supremes or Aretha Franklin, is the main appeal of Back to Black; she makes music for the modern fuckup with classic tastes.
I have to confess, I didn’t like Winehouse when I first heard her, and I had no intention of giving this record a good review. The reason for this is the video for her lead single and thematic mission statement “You Know I’m No Good”, which features Winehouse in a bathtub, at a b, and drinking on the floor of a kitchen. I have no problem with this, but I do have a problem with her poor choice in facial accessories; she’s got this big ass lip stud, and for reasons I cannot fathom, it bothers the fuck out of me.
But once I got over my own absurdity and listened to the album, I was pleasantly surprised. Winehouse has got some really good pipes, so much so that she is able to pull off what many pop stars have tried and failed to do; she is able to pay a fitting tribute to the pop stars of the past. A big complaint about modern pop is that the people who make it can’t really sing. This is not the case with Winehouse, her voice is as strong and unique as the ones she pays tribute to. On tracks like “Rehab” she belts out with defiance and confidence, while on “Love is a Losing Game” and the excellent “Back to Black” she is able to show restraint and emotion in her singing. Her vocal control is impressive.
The album is not without its limitations, however. Winehouse is a lovesick puppy, and that is really all she sings about, giving the record a definite theme at best, and a one track mind at worst. And there is a really shitty use of the song Ike and Tina Turner made famous (Ain’t no Mountain High Enough). Also, because Amy is mining classic production, songs tend to run together, and there really isn’t much room for musical growth. In other words, I don’t think Winehouse has got enough to talk about, or enough to back her up, for a second album. But that’s a bridge she’ll have to cross some other time. For right now, for what it is, Back to Black is a better-than-average pop record with a darker-than-average subject matter that is both refreshing and charming in its direct nostalgia.
Forget tomorrow, put on some soul, and make some mistakes.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: You Know I’m No Good, Back to Black,
Worth The Money: Yes, but be aware of what you are getting; an album of modern songs that sound classic by design, not through their own merit.
Tuesday, May 8
Tom Morello Quietly Rages Against The Machine
Artist: The Nightwatchman
Album: The Nightwatchman
Comments: I find the timing of this album rather dubious. Perhaps it is just coincidence that Tom Morello’s solo project gets released within days of a Rage Against The Machine reunion at the Coachella festival in California, but I suspect that it is not. Now, whether this is a ploy of the record company, a move masterminded by Morello himself, or just one big happy coincidence, I will never be sure. However, I will say that Morello has always struck me as an activist with a mind for marketing, and it doesn’t surprise me in the least that a big time reunion and a solo album involving the same man both take place in the same week.
But this is a record review, not a conspiracy theory essay. And all money making schemes aside, The Nightwatchman is a throwback to a now defunct style of protest music, which is the everyman folk song.
This kind of guitar based story telling was best used by the flower loving, poorly kept hippies of the 60s. Say what you will about the peace loving, drug addicted children of the greatest generation, but it cannot be ignored that they got shit done, and acoustic folk music was the soundtrack to their peaceful, noisy revolution. 40 years later, those kids all have mortgages and mini-van’s, and the protest music of today wedged between flaccid, shallow hip-hop and flaccid, shallow rock music.
Because of this social situation, The Nightwatchman is good in the context of our times, but not in the context of history. In other (less pretentious) words, this album is a fitting tribute to a time when protest music meant something, and people actually believed things could get done.
People familiar with Morello’s guitar work in Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave might be surprised to hear his songs on The Nightwatchman; the entire CD is acoustic, and features none of the over-the-top, synthetic guitar screams that made him a cultural icon. Instead, The Nightwatchman is a stripped down and intimate record where most tracks only feature Morello’s baritone voice and lonesome guitar chords.
The songs on the record seem to fall into one of three categories; there are the faster paced “angry” tracks, the slower, more poetic “sad” tracks, and there are the anthems. “Angry” tracks, like the steady thump of album opener “California’s Dark” or the violent call-to-arms of “One Man Revolution” preach violent rebellion and civilian upheaval. The “Sad” tracks, like “No One Left” are sung like dirges to fallen friends, slain by an oppressive fascist state. The anthems like “The Road I Must Travel” play like campfire sing-alongs to inspire revolution.
If the subject matter sounds repetitive, that’s because it is. The album is one dimensional in it’s smashing of the state and lamenting the oppression of the proletariat. Morello is over the top at every turn; through The Nightwatchman’s eyes, we are living in the end of times, and there is almost no hope for any of us. This is the biggest problem I have with The Nightwatchman; there is an undertone of hopelessness that lies under every song. It’s almost as if Morello doesn’t think we can win, no matter how many of us rise up.
There is a lot to dislike about this record. I’m sure Ann Coulter’s head would explode if she heard this CD. Still, this is great protest music in a style that few artists dare use today. And, even with it’s one track mind, it’s nice to hear someone speak so boldly about what he believes, with no waffling or compromise. Morello has his vision of right and wrong, and if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem. At the end of the day, that is what makes this CD worth a listen; The Nightwatchman actually gives a shit, and its good to hear that someone, somewhere does.
Raiting: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: The Road I Must Travel, Union Song, No One Left
Worth The Money: Yes, for all you godless liberals
Album: The Nightwatchman
Comments: I find the timing of this album rather dubious. Perhaps it is just coincidence that Tom Morello’s solo project gets released within days of a Rage Against The Machine reunion at the Coachella festival in California, but I suspect that it is not. Now, whether this is a ploy of the record company, a move masterminded by Morello himself, or just one big happy coincidence, I will never be sure. However, I will say that Morello has always struck me as an activist with a mind for marketing, and it doesn’t surprise me in the least that a big time reunion and a solo album involving the same man both take place in the same week.
But this is a record review, not a conspiracy theory essay. And all money making schemes aside, The Nightwatchman is a throwback to a now defunct style of protest music, which is the everyman folk song.
This kind of guitar based story telling was best used by the flower loving, poorly kept hippies of the 60s. Say what you will about the peace loving, drug addicted children of the greatest generation, but it cannot be ignored that they got shit done, and acoustic folk music was the soundtrack to their peaceful, noisy revolution. 40 years later, those kids all have mortgages and mini-van’s, and the protest music of today wedged between flaccid, shallow hip-hop and flaccid, shallow rock music.
Because of this social situation, The Nightwatchman is good in the context of our times, but not in the context of history. In other (less pretentious) words, this album is a fitting tribute to a time when protest music meant something, and people actually believed things could get done.
People familiar with Morello’s guitar work in Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave might be surprised to hear his songs on The Nightwatchman; the entire CD is acoustic, and features none of the over-the-top, synthetic guitar screams that made him a cultural icon. Instead, The Nightwatchman is a stripped down and intimate record where most tracks only feature Morello’s baritone voice and lonesome guitar chords.
The songs on the record seem to fall into one of three categories; there are the faster paced “angry” tracks, the slower, more poetic “sad” tracks, and there are the anthems. “Angry” tracks, like the steady thump of album opener “California’s Dark” or the violent call-to-arms of “One Man Revolution” preach violent rebellion and civilian upheaval. The “Sad” tracks, like “No One Left” are sung like dirges to fallen friends, slain by an oppressive fascist state. The anthems like “The Road I Must Travel” play like campfire sing-alongs to inspire revolution.
If the subject matter sounds repetitive, that’s because it is. The album is one dimensional in it’s smashing of the state and lamenting the oppression of the proletariat. Morello is over the top at every turn; through The Nightwatchman’s eyes, we are living in the end of times, and there is almost no hope for any of us. This is the biggest problem I have with The Nightwatchman; there is an undertone of hopelessness that lies under every song. It’s almost as if Morello doesn’t think we can win, no matter how many of us rise up.
There is a lot to dislike about this record. I’m sure Ann Coulter’s head would explode if she heard this CD. Still, this is great protest music in a style that few artists dare use today. And, even with it’s one track mind, it’s nice to hear someone speak so boldly about what he believes, with no waffling or compromise. Morello has his vision of right and wrong, and if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem. At the end of the day, that is what makes this CD worth a listen; The Nightwatchman actually gives a shit, and its good to hear that someone, somewhere does.
Raiting: 6.5 out of 10
Key Tracks: The Road I Must Travel, Union Song, No One Left
Worth The Money: Yes, for all you godless liberals
Friday, May 4
Latterman: Making Sure Punk is Still Alive - By John Adams
Artist: Latterman
Album: We Are Still Alive
Comments: For a band with such silly song names, Latterman might be one of punks best kept secrets. Their most recent release, We Are Still Alive, is defiantly their best album to date.
The CD starts off with bells that explode into a monstrous bang and never looks back. “Water Manes at the Block’s End” starts with a guitar/drum intro that is reminiscent of Whippersnapper and breaks into a catchy pop-punk anthem and the reoccurring theme on the album (“searching for a home where we won’t die alone”). The next 3 songs keep the same energy and desperation that “Water Manes” started and runs right into “Dr. Sudholt and His Double Glasses”, which is almost a reprise of the introduction to “Water Manes”.
In the second half of We Are Still Alive, you can really start to hear the Jawbreaker influence. Things are slowed down a little bit, but just because things slow down doesn’t mean that Latterman lose their edge. The guitar and vocals are still sharp and the music is more challenging, but the songs have a little more poppy and feel to them. Latterman finishes the cd just as big as they started it. “Will This Be on The Test?” brings the closure that you need on this cd with a chorus of people singing “If today the ground gives in/hope we won’t fall alone.” We Are Still Alive is really is an album full of anthems that Latterman never intended to sing alone. Few punk bands still have the same sense of community and friendship that Latterman has, and is trying to rebuild in the punk scene.
Bands like this just don’t exist anymore, and weather you like the band or not it’s refreshing to hear music that makes you feel like you belong. Now this cd isn’t perfect by any means. While in places there are flashes of brilliance most of the lyrics seem a little childish and forced, and the music could probably be tighter. Another draw back people might have from Latterman is that the music sounds like it could be written by the Lawrence Arms and the vocals sound like they’ve been listening to Smoke or Fire’s “Above the City” for a little too long. Latterman is far from reinventing punk rock, but on We Are Still Alive, they’re on the cusp of breathing life back into it.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: Water Manes at Block’s End/ Goodmorning, Here is Jan/ and Will This Be on the Test?
Worth The Money: Most Definitely
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(oh man, another 8 out of 10? We're really dealing out the feel-goods here at Left of The Dial this month. See you monday.)
Album: We Are Still Alive
Comments: For a band with such silly song names, Latterman might be one of punks best kept secrets. Their most recent release, We Are Still Alive, is defiantly their best album to date.
The CD starts off with bells that explode into a monstrous bang and never looks back. “Water Manes at the Block’s End” starts with a guitar/drum intro that is reminiscent of Whippersnapper and breaks into a catchy pop-punk anthem and the reoccurring theme on the album (“searching for a home where we won’t die alone”). The next 3 songs keep the same energy and desperation that “Water Manes” started and runs right into “Dr. Sudholt and His Double Glasses”, which is almost a reprise of the introduction to “Water Manes”.
In the second half of We Are Still Alive, you can really start to hear the Jawbreaker influence. Things are slowed down a little bit, but just because things slow down doesn’t mean that Latterman lose their edge. The guitar and vocals are still sharp and the music is more challenging, but the songs have a little more poppy and feel to them. Latterman finishes the cd just as big as they started it. “Will This Be on The Test?” brings the closure that you need on this cd with a chorus of people singing “If today the ground gives in/hope we won’t fall alone.” We Are Still Alive is really is an album full of anthems that Latterman never intended to sing alone. Few punk bands still have the same sense of community and friendship that Latterman has, and is trying to rebuild in the punk scene.
Bands like this just don’t exist anymore, and weather you like the band or not it’s refreshing to hear music that makes you feel like you belong. Now this cd isn’t perfect by any means. While in places there are flashes of brilliance most of the lyrics seem a little childish and forced, and the music could probably be tighter. Another draw back people might have from Latterman is that the music sounds like it could be written by the Lawrence Arms and the vocals sound like they’ve been listening to Smoke or Fire’s “Above the City” for a little too long. Latterman is far from reinventing punk rock, but on We Are Still Alive, they’re on the cusp of breathing life back into it.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Key Tracks: Water Manes at Block’s End/ Goodmorning, Here is Jan/ and Will This Be on the Test?
Worth The Money: Most Definitely
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(oh man, another 8 out of 10? We're really dealing out the feel-goods here at Left of The Dial this month. See you monday.)
Wednesday, May 2
Quick Hits - Cold War Kids, Silversun Pickups, The Fratellis, Panda Bear
LET'S DO THIS!
Artist: Cold War Kids
Album: Robbers and Thieves
Comments: Earlier in the year, this band got the entire blogosphere’s gears a-turnin’ with rumors of their bananas live performances. Since then, they’ve come to town twice. Based on the opinions of people I trust, the rumors about these guys ruling a stage are true. Plus, I saw them on a late night show, and they were rocking the house (which is very rare for those late night shows; the performances are often stale as hell). And to the band’s credit, this really carries over into the music. They are playing the hell out of their songs, loving every second for it, and what Robbers and Thieves lacks in tightness it makes up for in exuberance.
Still, a good live performance does not an album make, and most of this album is flat, recycled indie pop rock. The single “Hang Me Out to Dry” and album opener “We Used to Vacation” are both good, but the album can’t hold up. Songwriting is hit or miss; there are a lot of good one liners here and there, but no standout songs besides the two mentioned in the last sentence. Same goes for the music itself. It’s a start, and I feel like this band could really be something in time. But for right now, they’re nothing to get excited about. Unless they’re coming to your town.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
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Artist: Silversun Pickups
Album: Caravans
Comments: Another band that, like the Cold War Kids, built up their reputation on live performances and underground buzz. Though they had less internet frenzy upon their release of Caravans, Silversun Pickups are similar to CWK in that their record is good, but not great.
Their sound harkens back to the early days of the Smashing Pumpkins, but with less angst and more melody. The lead singer even sounds like ol’ Billy C. at times. First listen does not yield too many rewards, but repeats highlight things like the professionalism of the band, and the power in the lead singer’s voice (the guy sounds like a woman, but goddamn can he belt that shit out if he wants). Songwriting is alright, and I think it is only going to get better with time. Songs like “Lazy Eye”, “Melatonin”, and “Well Thought Out Twinkies”, with their grunge thump and solid lyrics suggest that maybe, just maybe, this band could be the next big thing.
But not yet.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: The Fratellis
Album: Costello Music
Comments: Are you sick of euro pop yet? I’m sick of euro pop. This mini-invasion from bands like Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and the 10,000 other bands that can be described by comparing them to the first two has more than outstayed its welcome. Still, it’s time to make some room on the bandwagon, because the Fratellis refuse to be denied.
Sure, this record is tight. And sure, it sounds like all the other brit-pop that is flooding the radio right now. But there is something different about these lads. Maybe it’s that they borrow more from The Sex Pistols than they do Wire or Joy Division. Maybe it’s the sing songy chorus to lead single and Ipod commercial jingle “Fathead”, or the 90s sunshine guitar in “The Gutterati?”, but something about these young snots is damn exciting. The Costello Music on this record is fun, fast, brash, and a fun listen. Throw this on and have a drink with some friends. Then let’s crash this bandwagon into the barging bin.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: Panda Bear
Album: Person Pitch
Comments: I had no intention of listening to Person Pitch. I don’t listen to Animal Collective (Panda Bear is the drummer’s side project), and I’m not really all about psychedelic music. Plus, Pitchfork loved it and nothing against Pitchfork, but I don’t want their tastes to be my tastes; they like some awful shit in those Chicago offices. No, Panda Bear and I never should have crossed paths. Imagine my surprise when I not only listened to Person Pitch, but liked it.
Person Pitch is a psychedelic trip of sincerity and confidence, and Panda Bear is able to lead us through his foggy swap of ethereal, ambient nonsense with a tender hand. The entire album is about making music for the sake of making it, with nothing else in mind. There is no motive behind this album, other than love of creation, but the subject and the act of. “Comfy in Nautica” eases the listener in with it’s repetitious chorus “try to remember always / just to have a good time”, and it’s chorus of angels urging us to “Try!” The titanic “Bros” starts out at Beach Boy style trip-pop before melting into an explosion of sampling and relaxed urgency that would make the Arcade Fire jealous. The only misstep on the 7 song album is the stumbling thump of “Good Girl / Carrots”.
Somewhere, Brian Wilson is listening to this record with a smile on his face. Panda Bear is able to take the torch of the cracked genius and carry his memory on into a new millennium on the strength of sincerity and joy. Great sampling. Great songwriting. Great anthems. Great album.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Artist: Cold War Kids
Album: Robbers and Thieves
Comments: Earlier in the year, this band got the entire blogosphere’s gears a-turnin’ with rumors of their bananas live performances. Since then, they’ve come to town twice. Based on the opinions of people I trust, the rumors about these guys ruling a stage are true. Plus, I saw them on a late night show, and they were rocking the house (which is very rare for those late night shows; the performances are often stale as hell). And to the band’s credit, this really carries over into the music. They are playing the hell out of their songs, loving every second for it, and what Robbers and Thieves lacks in tightness it makes up for in exuberance.
Still, a good live performance does not an album make, and most of this album is flat, recycled indie pop rock. The single “Hang Me Out to Dry” and album opener “We Used to Vacation” are both good, but the album can’t hold up. Songwriting is hit or miss; there are a lot of good one liners here and there, but no standout songs besides the two mentioned in the last sentence. Same goes for the music itself. It’s a start, and I feel like this band could really be something in time. But for right now, they’re nothing to get excited about. Unless they’re coming to your town.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: Silversun Pickups
Album: Caravans
Comments: Another band that, like the Cold War Kids, built up their reputation on live performances and underground buzz. Though they had less internet frenzy upon their release of Caravans, Silversun Pickups are similar to CWK in that their record is good, but not great.
Their sound harkens back to the early days of the Smashing Pumpkins, but with less angst and more melody. The lead singer even sounds like ol’ Billy C. at times. First listen does not yield too many rewards, but repeats highlight things like the professionalism of the band, and the power in the lead singer’s voice (the guy sounds like a woman, but goddamn can he belt that shit out if he wants). Songwriting is alright, and I think it is only going to get better with time. Songs like “Lazy Eye”, “Melatonin”, and “Well Thought Out Twinkies”, with their grunge thump and solid lyrics suggest that maybe, just maybe, this band could be the next big thing.
But not yet.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: The Fratellis
Album: Costello Music
Comments: Are you sick of euro pop yet? I’m sick of euro pop. This mini-invasion from bands like Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and the 10,000 other bands that can be described by comparing them to the first two has more than outstayed its welcome. Still, it’s time to make some room on the bandwagon, because the Fratellis refuse to be denied.
Sure, this record is tight. And sure, it sounds like all the other brit-pop that is flooding the radio right now. But there is something different about these lads. Maybe it’s that they borrow more from The Sex Pistols than they do Wire or Joy Division. Maybe it’s the sing songy chorus to lead single and Ipod commercial jingle “Fathead”, or the 90s sunshine guitar in “The Gutterati?”, but something about these young snots is damn exciting. The Costello Music on this record is fun, fast, brash, and a fun listen. Throw this on and have a drink with some friends. Then let’s crash this bandwagon into the barging bin.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: Panda Bear
Album: Person Pitch
Comments: I had no intention of listening to Person Pitch. I don’t listen to Animal Collective (Panda Bear is the drummer’s side project), and I’m not really all about psychedelic music. Plus, Pitchfork loved it and nothing against Pitchfork, but I don’t want their tastes to be my tastes; they like some awful shit in those Chicago offices. No, Panda Bear and I never should have crossed paths. Imagine my surprise when I not only listened to Person Pitch, but liked it.
Person Pitch is a psychedelic trip of sincerity and confidence, and Panda Bear is able to lead us through his foggy swap of ethereal, ambient nonsense with a tender hand. The entire album is about making music for the sake of making it, with nothing else in mind. There is no motive behind this album, other than love of creation, but the subject and the act of. “Comfy in Nautica” eases the listener in with it’s repetitious chorus “try to remember always / just to have a good time”, and it’s chorus of angels urging us to “Try!” The titanic “Bros” starts out at Beach Boy style trip-pop before melting into an explosion of sampling and relaxed urgency that would make the Arcade Fire jealous. The only misstep on the 7 song album is the stumbling thump of “Good Girl / Carrots”.
Somewhere, Brian Wilson is listening to this record with a smile on his face. Panda Bear is able to take the torch of the cracked genius and carry his memory on into a new millennium on the strength of sincerity and joy. Great sampling. Great songwriting. Great anthems. Great album.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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