Arcade Fire Sets The World Ablaze

Artist: Arcade Fire
Album: Neon Bible

Comments: Was it worth the wait?

In 2004, a band from Canada released an album about personal loss. It was an album bursting with intensely personal confessions that were oh so well crafted around tender songs. It was almost uncomfortable; listening to the record was like eavesdropping on the kind of personal conversations that are saved for late nights and hushed voices. But, this was more than a glimpse into a journal; this was a tragic beauty of a pop record, with moments of tender tension and cathartic exuberance. That album was Funeral by the Arcade Fire.

Three, almost four years passed. No new music. No leaked mp3s. Only whispers of progress on a new record. The band that set the indie world on fire and seduced critics across the board with its tortured début had fallen off the grid. Until now. The Arcade Fire’s second album, Neon Bible, is out.

Was it worth the wait?

For all of its success and all of its accolades, Funeral was not a flawless work. Like a lot of albums praised in the indie world, it had its throw away tracks, its moments of bloated grandeur, and its self important feeling persistent throughout. It was a very impressive record, but it was not always a good record. Neon Bible addresses these problems, and stands apart from its older brother right away; it is both an impressive record, and a very, very good record.

It is not perfect. Opening statement “Black Mirror” is too repetitive to reach the grand heights set by the chorus; it’s a song in need of a chord change. The collaborative effort on “Black Waves / Bad Vibrations” is charming, but neither of the half-songs is developed enough. It’s good that the two structures were combined into two songs though; the pieces wouldn’t be able to remotely hold up on their own.

The songwriting has changed. Funeral was an album about struggling with death, and finding not only peace, but personal salvation for the surviving. It was a sad album, but it had hope. Neon Bible moves away from such introspection, and turns its highly focused lens on the world at large. War, murder, destruction, violence, fear, and paranoia. These are the things this record is about. These are the songs of men and women who are afraid and scattered; these are the songs of the common man in a violent and war stricken world. If anything, this album stands as a testament to the abilities of the Arcade Fire. It proves that they can perfectly capture and articulate not only personal tragedy, but world-wide sentiment. This skill cannot be overstated or overlooked; it is the core of what makes the Arcade Fire so good.

But still, the question remains. Neon Bible isn’t as unified of a work thematically as Funeral (and, not for nothing, but I think “Neon Bible” is an absolutely awful name for an album).

Was it worth the wait?

Listen to the slow build of “Keep The Car Running”. With a tight, steady rhythm and harmonious strings, it is a top notch pop song, and is the rare breed of song with no climax; the song slowly swells, only to burst without fanfare and still work. The same can be said for the equally excellent “(Antichrist Architect Blues)”. Listen to the calm subdue of “Neon Bible”. It’s quiet and simple song structure is a defiant shout in the face of larger than life hymns of the rest of the album; it speaks the loudest by barely speaking. Listen to the almost psychedelic beach boy groove on “Ocean of Noise”. Not so much a song title as it is a description of the song; it is a work of Atlantic relaxation punctuated by slow, relaxing piano work that crests so tenderly that when it does crash, it comes as a shock. Listen to the crown jewel of the record, the mammoth “Intervention”. Strings, woodwinds, keys, drums, bass, guitars, and vocals are all introduced and layered on top of a massive pipe organ that provides the bedrock for this war-time anthem. On a record full of big pop ballads, this is the one that dwarfs all others, the kind of song that would even feel restricted in a stadium. It is so large of a song, that it makes me feel small to listen to it. All that can be done is to take in as much as possible, then listen again once it’s over. It will leave you breathless.

While not as unified thematically, Neon Bible is a better collection of songs. Neon Bible is a better album.

It was worth the wait.

Halleluiah, Amen. It was worth the wait.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Key Tracks: Keep The Car Running, Neon Bible, Intervention, Ocean of Noise, No Cars Go, (Antichrist Television Blues)

Worth The Money: I buy a lot of records online through emusic or itunes. Go to the record store and buy this one, packaging and all. It is worth it.

Meh

In a shocking turn of events, there is no update for Thursday either!

Here's the deal. I haven't had a good time to sit and write up any reviews. I considered doing a quick hit of the albums I wanted to do, but they're both worth taking a good look at. So, I guess I'll just get to them when I have more time next week. I'll probably go on some kind of review rampage. Maybe. Maybe? Okay, probably not. Whatever, reviews next week.

Here's how it MIGHT go down

Sunday: Do Make Say Think/Arcade Fire
Monday: Do Make Say Think/Arcade Fire
Tuesday: Modest Mouse
Thursday: Iggy Pop/Moe.
Saturday: Iggy Pop/ Moe./ Reliant K/ Mr Dogg Classic

Snags!

Technical difficulties. Updates will resume on Thursday.

-Mr. Dogg

Smoke or Fire VS The Sophomore Slump

Artist: Smoke or Fire

Album: This Sinking Ship

Comments: I’ve always had a problem with the term “sophomore slump”. How pretentious are we to say that a group is slumping, to write a group off altogether, just because their second album might not have been as good as their first? For average bands, there really is no way to win. If they make the exact same album twice, then they get slammed for being repetitive, uncreative, and are basically reduced to one-trick-pony status in the eyes of critics. However, if a band tries to change their sound up too much on their second record, they get slammed for tweaking with the formula that made them good in the first place (I made this point in my review of Clay Your Hands Say Yeah, but I feel it bears repeating). It’s such a catch-22 that I don’t even like to use the term if I can help it.

I even have a problem with the word “slump”. I’m no word-smith, but my understanding of the term is that it is saved for people who are in a consistent funk after pre-achieved excellence. Well, who the fuck are we to say that a group is slumping after only two records? Give me one great record, then 4 bad ones, and then I’ll say someone is slumping. I think the big problem with sophomore albums is this; you have your whole life to write your first album, and only 18 months to write your second one. If you give an average man a lifetime, he will write something magnificent. If you give an average man 18 months, you’ll get something, well, average. In my eyes, that is exactly what happened to Smoke or Fire.

Smoke or Fire is a good punk band. They aren’t great, and they aren’t awful. They’re good. And in 2005, this good band made a very good record called Above The City. At the time, it was one of the only good titles on the once powerful, now aged Fat Wreck label. Above the City was a refreshing release of early 90s influenced So-Cal punk. It established Smoke or Fire as a band that possessed pop sense with an underlying layer of something more harsh; they had an edge to their quick pop anthems. SoF returns with their second effort, This Sinking Ship, and while it does have a lot in common with its predecessor, it is not as strong of an effort.

Smoke or Fire doesn’t stray too far from their formula on this album, which is fast, so-cal punk. However, where they used to have a gritty, hard, and almost ugly edge, there is now a smooth pop sheen that doesn’t match the sound Sof established on their first release. The songs are a little bit too polished and sound almost neutered under a clean and practiced production. These are not things you want to say about a punk record; punk should be raw and natural, not practiced and clean. The vocals are more finely produced, giving the singer less edge to his voice; his screams are a little bit softer, his harmonies more mainstream. It doesn’t sound as tough it once did. The clean production on the album also forces the songs rest more on the lyrics, which often cannot hold the weight of entire songs. Punk is, at its core, youthful and immature. These things, in the wrong hands, can sound empty and ignorant, as they do at times on this record. However, when those two things are used properly and with the right control from a band, it can sound real good, as it does at on this record.

The first half of the album is more pop gloss than punk grit. Songs like “What Separate us All” and “Irish Handcuffs” bring more bark than bite; it has the same buzz saw guitar and sincere scream/sing vocals, but with that pop tweak that really takes the teeth out of the music. A lot of these songs sound like they could use some editing; they would sound great as minute and a half songs, but they just go on without having anything to say, especially “I’ll Be Gone”. The only real standouts from this first half of the album are the first single ,“The Patty Hearst Syndrome”, which is as good a pop punk song as any released this year, and “This Sinking Ship”, which retains some of the grit and grime of Smoke or Fire’s previous work, while still maintain a newer, cleaner pop focus.

Starting with “Shine”, the album starts to get a little tougher, a little less polished, a little more sloppy, and, in my opinion, a little better. “Shine” starts off with a harsh minute and a half instrumental blast before launching into the actual song. It’s got some weight and some real feeling when they scream “Given the chance, we would shine!”, and it’s almost worth the time it took to get there, but not quite. "Shine" is another example of a song that could use some editing. “Art Imitating Life” is able to blend the pop sensibility with their harder edge in a very appealing way. This song reminds me of old Rise Against and what made them so good. The roughness continues with “Cars” and “Breadwinner”, and these songs make good on some of the promises made on their first record.

This album limps out of the gate and stumbles along before finally falling into place on the last four songs on the record. All in all, like I said in the second paragraph, this is a good record. Smoke or Fire is proof that an average band can make truly above average music, but they are also proof that this is by no means a guarantee. That being said, this is a good record for them, and for all its faults, I hear good things in their sound. It won’t be the success that Above the City was, but This Sinking Ship is by no means a slump.

Rating: 6.5 out 10

Key Tracks: The Patty Hearst Syndrome, This Sinking Ship, Art Imitating Life

Worth The Money: Yes for fans, maybe for average Joes.

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Here's the schedule for the next week of reviews

Tuesday - Do Make Say Think

Thursday - Arcade Fire

Saturday - The Stooges or Moe.

Yoko Ono Gets a Face Lift

Artist: Yoko Ono
Album: Yes, I’m a Witch

Comments: Here are the facts.

1) There once was this band back in the 60s named The Beatles. They were from England.

2) They came to America and took shit over. To use the parlance of our times, they were kind of a big deal.

3) This guy in The Beatles, John, met this girl named Yoko and they fell in love. She was an artist.

4) A little bit later, The Beatles broke up, and John and Yoko made an album called “Plastic Ono Band”. People hated Yoko, and later, John died.

I don’t really have an opinion on weather or not Yoko Ono had anything to do with The Beatles breaking up. In my mind, most of it is probably just outrage at such a widely loved act splitting up and the need for a reason. However, there’s always the chance that Yoko cast some sort of spell on John that hypnotized him. Yoko always kind of struck me a fruit loop, and I wouldn’t put hypnotism past her. Regardless, 37 years after John Lennon turned Yoko from some nut-bar, post-modernist into a recording artist, we are given “Yes, I’m a Witch”.

Feelings on Yoko Ono aside, I really have to give her some points. For this record, she did something that is undeniably cool. See, this isn’t a new record of songs from Yoko; it’s more of a career spanning compilation that is meant to bring her into the 21st century, and maybe even get her some young, new, scarf wearing, coffee house hoping fans. But this isn’t the usual mass collection of pre-recorded songs. Allow me to explain; 17 different acts signed on to do a reworking of some Ono songs. This album brings together a mix of indie darlings (The Flaming Lips, Cat Power), dance DJs (Peaches, Le Tigre), a bunch of cats I’ve never even heard of (who the fuck is Shitake Monkey??), and Sleepy Jackson. Ono opened her entire catalogue of songs to these people, and told them to take whatever they wanted. As a result, most songs just feature her original vocals, while the music itself is completely reworked. This is a pretty excellent way to make a compilation in my opinion, and I give Ono credit for giving these acts access to all her work, warts and all.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know a damn thing about anything Yoko Ono has ever recorded. I think I have “Plastic Ono Band” somewhere on my computer, but I’ve never listened to it. So I can’t provide any sort of commentary on how these new remixes stack up next to Yoko’s actual work. The only context I have to work with is what I’ve heard, and what I hear is a pretty good remix album that may not gain a whole lot of new fans, but has a few nice songs on it.

First, the goodness. “No One Can See Me Like You Do”, which is reworked by The Apples in Stereo, lays Ono’s vocals on top of a tender love song layered with strings, bells, and minimal drums. The song works really well, and creates a real emotional response. This song would sound good in a movie soundtrack somewhere, when two lovers are pining over each other; likewise with Cat Power’s “Revelations”. DJ Spooky reworks “Rising” into a trippy electronica track, using synth and background howls to create some pretty good tension, only to relieve it with scratching as the song breaks down. “Yes, I’m a Witch” , which appears to be Ono’s career manifesto, is reworked with surprising skill by the Blood Brothers. Considering how abrasive and absurd the Blood Brother’s albums usually are, this is a surprisingly accessible remix that sticks to traditional rock and serves as a reminded that maybe rap rock COULD work, if done in the right hands.

The rest of the album is pretty good, if not nessisarily standout. There are a few miss-steps. “Cambridge 1969/2007” is just a straight up Flaming Lips song; it has their usual “wall of joyful noise” style of play, and, unlike the other tracks on the album, I cannot really tell where Ono is being used on this song. It’s not bad; it just doesn’t fit with the album. Peaches’ rendition of “Kiss Kiss Kiss” is pretty awful; it not only features some really shaky minimal production, but it also features the erectile-dysfunction-triggering sound of Yoko Ono having an orgasm, which is about number 4 on the “top ten things I’ve never wanted to hear” list. And Sleepy Jackson’s disco soul rendition of “I’m Moving On” just falls on its face.

Maybe to you, Yoko Ono is the evil, twisted bitch who ruined one of rock music’s most important groups. Or maybe, she’s just a misunderstood artist who will forever have to deal with the public opinion that she ruined her dead husband’s life. Regardless, “Yes, I’m a Witch” won’t change your opinion of her either way, but it may start a conversation about her with a whole new generation. If nothing else, it’s a pretty good electronic record.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Key Tracks: Rising, No one can see me Like You Do, Yes, I’m a Witch.

Worth The Money: Only for some, not a must have

A Band from New Jersey That Doesn't Suck!!!

Artist: Lifetime
Album: Lifetime

Comments: When Lifetime broke up in 1997, they stepped away at the top of their game. Lifetime gained cult status in the early 90s with their positive and uplifting lyrics, which was in stark contrast with other hardcore acts of the 90s. Throughout the decade, Lifetime moved away from the hardcore scene, focusing more on pop punk, but keeping their music energized, upbeat, and tight as hell. 10 years later, New Jersey’s best dancers are back to remind you that, yes, it is going to be alright. And they are going to do it by punching you in the face.

A lot of albums can be described as a blast, but this is one that actually backs it up. The entire self titled album clocks in at just under 25 minutes, but more gets done in that time than some bands can do in an entire double album. The album opens up with “Northbound Breakdown” which sets the pace of the record, which is fast. Despite the 10 year break, Lifetime sounds tight as they ever did; they never miss a beat, even at their breakneck pace. This record is pure pop punk, full of songs about breaking hearts, being heart broken, girls who love boys, and boys who love girls. However, unlike the current emo acts, which seem to only paint bloody pictures of girls violently ripping out the innocent hearts of guys with bad hair cuts, Lifetime prefer to imagine a world where the boy gets the girl, and everyone goes home happy.

With an album this fast and tight, it’s sometimes hard to pick standout tracks. However, there are some songs on here that seem to stand a cut above the rest. Besides the aforementioned “Northbound Breakdown”, “Just a Quiet Evening”, “Haircuts and T-Shirts” and “Yeems Song for Nothing” sound good not just in the context of the album, but as stand alone tracks.

The album isn’t without its flaws; any record that goes as fast as this one runs the risk of becoming repetitive and just sounding like one big long song. This happens a little bit toward the end of the record. And as it plays, I can see how some might want one slow track, just for a break. Lifetime could benefit from at least one break in stride. However, to their credit, Lifetime sticks to the only speed they know, and that speed is “ROCK!”. The only noticeably weak track on the record is the mercifully short “Song for Mel”. By the time the record is over, you’ll just want to listen to it one more time.

The real triumph of this record his how the band is able to walk away and come back a “lifetime” later (ba bud bum) and pick up right where they left off. There is no rust, no kinks, and no growing pains. They’ve matured, but they are able to let that maturity work for them and help them sound as fresh as ever. Lifetime by Lifetime is as good a pop punk record as any, but it’s not really universal. Fans of pop punk would do well to pick this up, but the general speed at which the album is played can be off-putting for casual fans.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Key Tracks: Northbound Breakdown, Yeems Song for Nothing, Just a Quiet Evening

Worth The Money: Yes


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NOTE: There's gonna be a new scheduel for reviews here at Left of The Dial. It's gonna go like this. Every Thursday, Sunday, and Tuesday, there will be new updates. So....check them out, if you want to, I-I guess.

Lineup for this week is as follows:

Thursday: Yoko Ono
Sunday: Smoke or Fire
Tuesday: Do Make Say Think

Explosions in the Sky Suddenly Miss Everyone

Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Album: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Comments: How exactly do I go about reviewing a post rock album, especially one like an Explosion in the Sky album? Going song by song is out the window, because each song is part of a larger theme, like movements in a symphony. And I can’t comment on the song writing, because there are no words. No, all I can really say about this new album is that it’s good music to compress to, it’s good music to write to, and it follows the same formula that all Explosions in the sky records follow.

For the uninitiated, let my try to explain the genre of post rock. On the surface, the simplest explanation is that it is rock songs without words. However, that is not really accurate as it paints a picture of 3 and a half minute rock songs with no words, like a Foo Fighters song with the words removed, and who would want to listen to that? So post rock is more than just wordless choruses. Good old Wikipedia claims that post rock is characterized by the “use of rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes”. I suppose that is true. However, I think that it is more accurate to say that post rock that works to convey emotion without the use of words; to make someone feel something without having to tell them what to feel. And for music that is based on catharsis, no band creates that landscape better than Explosion in the Sky.

More than anything else, Explosions in the Sky arrange their albums in an almost orchestral manner. As I said in the first paragraph, each song could be taken on it’s own, but the album is more effective not as a collection of songs, but as a series of movements in a much larger work. The album is almost a narrative; each song independently creates some tension, often with repetitious guitar work and minimal rhythm, before exploding into a climactic and cathartic chorus and coming back down, just in time to start the next chapter of the same story. The only way to really get the full experiences is to listen to the album in one sitting, and let the story wash over you. Then, the crescendos and climaxes, the risings and fallings really get a chance to set in.

I don’t want to try to categorize what one should be feeling when listening to this album, but I get a sense of tragic beauty. Explosions in the Sky have always made records that focus on harmony melodies to create very beautiful musical landscapes, but this record has a much darker edge to it. It is hard to explain in print without lyrics to back it up, but the use of more drums and electronic fuzz give the album a very dark beauty. This is normal for Explosions in the Sky; their focus has always been to craft songs that songs that can sound like melancholy works of art; they use their instruments to tell you that it’s dark right now, but don’t worry, because the sun is coming up tomorrow.

The only problem with this album, this band, and this genre in general is that it is based on a formula or creating and relieving tension. And while it may sound nice, it’s still a formula, and even the best formulas get old after a while. If this album is not creating the emotion that it intents, there is no way that it will hold the listeners attention; if you are not drawn in by the catharsis of the album, it just sounds long and repetitious. Another problem I have with this record is that it sounds almost exactly like one of their previous albums, “The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place”. It’s not a huge problem because both albums are beautiful sounding works, but it just seems to show that Explosions in the Sky might be running out of ideas.

More conventional bands will tell you what their message is. They will explain it in very plain terms, and they will tell you how you should feel about it. Explosions in the Sky don’t do this; they give you only the idea of emotion, then leave you to figure out the message yourself. And as a musical guide through a journey of our own emotions, “All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone” is a success. It’s not something you can really just throw on and listen to, but when the time is right, this will be an album that you will fall in love with.

Rating: I don’t have one

Key Tracks: It’s pointless to try to isolate a single track.

Worth The Money: Yeah, this is an album that I would recommend.

Mr. Dogg Can't Understand A Weekend in the City

Artist: Bloc Party
Album: Weekend in the City

Comments: This album has been, without a doubt, the hardest to write a review for in the one year history of Left of the Dial.

And really, there is no reason why it should be so hard. Bloc Party’s “Weekend in the City” is a good record.

When “Silent Alarm” came out in 2005, it was a breakout success, and not only in independent circles. The album received praise from critics all across the board, and even got some significant press from MTV; the band was featured on their “10 Spot Drop” (and fuck if I know that that is), and many of their songs are used as background music on their various “Whore my Children” type shows. “Silent Alarm” was a declaration of Bloc Party’s unique sound, which blends Cure influence with Wire-style brit punk. On “Weekend in the City” Bloc Party returns with more of their angular polish and rhythmic ferocity that made “Silent Alarm” such a good listen.

For me, Bloc Party tracks have always been broken up into two subgroups; the rockers and the swooners. Bloc Party has never been afraid to rock out, and that is no different on this album. Tracks like “The Prayer” and “Song for Clay (Disappear Here)” are full of fiercely jangled guitars and the driving, steady drum work that has always been the backbone of the band. While these songs are good, they sounds almost a little too polished, a little too planned. They lack the sense of feeling that comes through on tracks like “She’s Hearing Voices” and “Luno”.

While the rockers are good, it’s the softer numbers where Bloc Party have really shined in the past. The crooners are also here on the album, but not without flaws. The best example I can give of this is the paradox of “Waiting for the7.18”. The song starts out sounding almost exactly like “This Modern Love” or “Blue Light” with the delayed guitars and high keyboard notes. The song features a very mature production; I can almost see the band in the studio, hunched over a sound board, playing parts over and over again, tweaking every frequency and layering every note. It shows love, but it’s the kind of love an overprotective parent might give to a pre-mature child. The song is so planned, so polished, so loved, that I has no room to grow, and threatens to be suffocated under the weight of its own design. But then the chorus kicks in, and the band launches into the kind of cathartic hooks and harmonies that make Bloc Party so good. The song is full of longing, hope, love, loss, and pure character. Then it snaps back into the sterile production. It’s a confusing song, but a good one none the less.

My favorite track on this album is the first single “I Still Remember”. It has more of the mature production and painstaking analysis, but still sounds lively.

I guess the reason that I’ve been having so much trouble reviewing this album is that there isn’t anything wrong with it, and yet it is not as good as “Silent Alarm”. I don’t know if that is because the post-punk European wave has crested, or if the production is too stifling, or if the tightness of the band is just too oppressive to allow the songs to take a life of their own. But at the end of the day, this is a good record with good songs. Maybe that should be enough, and I should leave my personal feelings at the door. At the same time, how good can this album be if I never play it again?

Bottom line: This is a good record, but I don't feel good about it.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Key Tracks: Waiting for the 7.18, I Still Remember, The Prayer

Worth the Money: I honestly don’t know.

Alkaline Trio Keep Their Remains Fresh

Artist: The Alkaline Trio
Album: Remains

Comments: Seeing as tomorrow is St. Valentine’s Day, I’m going to offer a tip out there to all the ladies: Don’t date the Alkaline Trio. Oh sure, their songs about heartbreak and wounded souls might make you swoon and pine for their ruined livers and bald heads, but you’re just going to end up dead with your body hacked to pieces and buried under floor boards. But by all means, listen to their newest collection of B-sides (yes, this is their second helping).

The album opens with the one two punch of “Hell Yes” and “My Standard Break From Life”; two excellent, if not more common B sides. The former features the usual from Skiba (which is blasphemy, betrayal, and badass yelling) and the latter is classic Andriano (full of self depreciating woe and baldness). These songs serve as more than a good introduction to the album, they are a microcosm for the Alkaline Trio as a group. Their music has always been fueled by heartbreak, an interest with the occult, and alcoholism. What keeps them from being the next hardcore/punk Victory records band is their song writing and their pop chops, both of which are reflected on these first two songs.

It gets better from there as the album starts to dive into more of the mid period Trio work. Despite a mis-step in the form of a cover of Berlin’s “Metro”, the first 7 or 8 songs are air tight pop punk. Standouts of this first half include the Hot Water Music cover, the excellently done “Rooftops”. The real triumph of that cover is that The Trio owned it, and what could have been a sloppy chord swap into a song that is really their own. The other big fish from this first batch of excellence is the balls out rhythm of “Naked on Green Beers”. This song is a furious punch of rolling drums and pounding bass while Skiba and Andriano scream “I hope this is goodbye” at the top of their lungs. In the hands of others, this would come off as nothing more than the whining of an angst-y teen. In the hands of the Trio, it sounds like death threat.

This album is littered with good tracks. “Warbrain”, which first appeared on the “Rock Against Bush” comp still sounds crisp three years later. “Fine Without You”, while it tends to emote a little more than others, features a great hook on the chorus and some tasty drum rolls. As the record rolls on, some later period “Crimson” B-sides pop up, which make me both wonder why they were left off of crimson, and give me comfort that the Alkaline Trio hasn’t lost a step after a near 10 year of cranking out consistently excellent pop-punk.

It’s not without its problems. Because it’s a B-side comp and not an actual record, it lacks a thematic feel to hold it all together. Also, it runs a little lone, and some of the songs toward the back of the record cannot hold up against the first two thirds of the record. Where the majority of the songs sound like they could be album material, some stuff in the back, like “Don’t Say You Won’t” and especially “Buried” play like real b-sides. They aren’t bad, but they cannot hold up to the older stuff. The live tracks are all from the most recent tour with Against Me!. They sound OK, but don’t add much. The only track that really interests me from that crop is the acoustic rendering of “Standard Break From Life”

The bottom line is this; The Alkaline Trio have released a better B-side album than most modern pop punk bands can hope to release. Much like Less Than Jake’s “B is for B Sides”, bands would kill to write songs as good as these. The real impressive thing is that this is the band’s scraps, and that alone should give you an idea of how consistent these guys have been. This album of second hand songs is a breath of fresh air among a world of lesser band’s best stuff.

But under no circumstances, ladies and gay dudes, should you ever date the Alkaline Trio. You’ve been warned.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Hell Yes” “Naked on Green Beers” “Rooftops” “Warbrain” “Fine Without You”

Worth The Money: Yes Sir

Incubus Phones in a Dud

Artist: Incubus
Album: Light Grenades

Comments: Okay, everyone. Raise your hands if you remember the band Incubus.

That’s right, ladies. You should all have your hands up. If you were between the ages of 14 and 45 in the late 90s you should remember Incubus. You gals were all over their softer, romantic ballads, like ‘Stellar” and “I Miss You”. You ladies got off on lead singer Brandon Boyd’s skinny frame and droopy earlobes. Chances are, you’ve still got a copy of “Morning View” floating around somewhere in your apartment. But you weren’t the only ones who like the band. Who else remembers Incubus? Anyone?

Ahh, don’t be shy, you metal heads and rockers out there. Incubus’ first few records were full of funk-influenced shredding and hard rocking mixed with a healthy dash of electronic and some above average DJ work. These guys were a cut above the rest of the rap-metal bands that have long since dissipated in the wake of new millennium. I’m sure some of you still put on “Fungus Amongus” and listen to “You Will be a Hot Dancer”. It’s rough, but it showed promise.

So we’ve got the romantics and the alt-rockers who admit to at one time being into this band. Well, believe it or not, you both have more in common that you think. I’m willing to bet that the reason both of you groups liked Incubus in the first place is because of something intangible. Regardless of what they were playing, be it nu-metal or California surf pop, Incubus always sounded into it. They never sounded like the were phoning it in; they loved what they were playing, and they were pouring all they had into.

Well then, you guys should stay away from this new CD, “Light Grenades”, because any inspired moments here are few and far between; separated in seas of shallow, un-ambitious, and indifferent rock. The only song on this entire LP worth listening to is the first single “Anna Molly”, and only because it is the only song on the record that sounds like the band even gives a crap about what they’re playing. There are some ok moments, but they come in flashes and drips latter on the record. This record is nothing more than filler from a band that is too stubborn to realize that they’re already in the land of irrelevance, and threatening to fall into the obscure. This one is a flop in every sense.

Rating: 3 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Anna Molly”

Worth The Money: Heavens no, download Anna Molly and forget this mess.

Clap Your Hands Say Slump?

Artist: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Album: Some Loud Thunder

Comments: It’s kind of hard for me to really put my finger on what made the first CYHSY record so good. I mean, sure, it was a fun pop record and all, but a lot of fun pop records suck. It sounded original, but originality doesn’t guarantee success, accessibility, or even quality. I’m confident that if I were to record an album of children banging on pots while I blow on a jug and read Plato’s Republic, it would be both original and awful. No, what really made Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s self titled debut so good was how spur-of-the-moment, “come out of nowhere” it was. This was an album that was recorded, produced, mixed, edited, pressed, and sold entirely independently, with the band paying for everything. It sounded like it was recorded on some ancient 8-track in the drummer’s basement, and it was still able to sell over 100,000 copies, and not sound like garbage. It was unpredictable, and an absolute blast.

But the secret is out now, and CYHSY have either got to shit or get off the pot. So they release their sophomore effort, “Some Loud Thunder”. This is by no means a sophomore slump, but it finds the band doing the best that they can in a tough situation. I feel bad for bands like this. Their situation is one in which they will never be able to please everyone; if they make an album that is sonically and emotionally the same as the first, people will call them a one trick pony and ignore the record. If they try to move in a different direction, people will say that they’ve sold out or lost their magic, and will ignore the record. In this way, CYHSY have almost shot themselves in the foot by making a debut record that was so embraced by the people. Their only success would be to break up and be another “what could have been” band.

There are two big problems with this record, that in my mind keep it from being as good as their first effort. The first problem is sonic problem, and that is with the new production. Part of CYHSY’s appeal to me was how lo-fi the first record was. It sounded like music that was recorded with limited equipment, and the band was still able to make the songs work. The jumped out of the speakers and danced in front of you, bearing their warts and scars with a confidence and abandon that made them more attractive. On this record, however, the production is stepped up. It’s full of different layers and more textures. I guess that this isn’t really that big of a deal for most people, it still sounds good, but I think some of the charm of what CYHSY stood for to me is lost.

The second, and really the much bigger problem with this record, is that the fun is gone. Listening to their first record, everything from everything to the vaudevillian opening track to the repetition of the phrase “child stars!” on the last track was full of life and real joy for what was being done. The lead singer’s voice would warble and wail and move in spontaneous ways that some found irritating, but also had their own charm. The band would kick in together at certain times, and you could almost feel the love for what they were playing. Sadly, this love for their craft seems to be missing from this record. The best example of this is the titular track, “Some Loud Thunder”. Musically, there is nothing wrong with this song; it’s a guitar driven track that features the lead singer’s David Byrne like croon. But this time around, the jams sound forced, and the vocal fluxuations sound planned. Instead of accidental or half hearted, things sound workman-like. The spontaneity that I loved so much on their first album is all but lost on this record.

Even with these two problems, the album still delivers some really good tracks. The disco groove of the quirky “Satan Said Dance” is a personal favorite, because it is not only the most fun song on the record, but it is also the only one to benefit from the extra production. “Yankee Go Home” is another winner, with lead singer Alec Ounsworth’s polarizing croon warbling all over the place in an authentic way. The album closer “Five Easy Pieces” is an ethereal track that takes the listener on a journey that is both parts soothing and troubling. “Emily Jean Stock” is one of those rare songs that is able to build but not crest without sounding incomplete. It also features some of the awful band backup singing that is either a guilty pleasure or a deal breaker depending on your preference.

I really hope that these guys keep making records, and I hope that some day they can move out from the shadow of their first release. After recording what I consider a Lo-Fi classic in their first record, there was really only one way that this review could go. And while it doesn’t live up to the standard set by their first record, “Some Loud Thunder” ultimately has a charm all its own. Maybe someday I will be able to stop comparing a band to their best work, but until that day comes, I’ll keep listening to these guys and hoping.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Key Tracks: “Satan Said Dance” “Yankee Go Home” “Five Easy Pieces”
Worth The Money: Yeah

Nas Says Death to False Hip Hop!

Artist: Nas
Album: Hip Hop is Dead

Comments: Nas has always been a polarizing figure in the hip hop world. To some, he is nothing more than another rapper with pretty good skill who has been living off of one phenomenal debut (the classic “Illmatic”) for his entire career. To others, Nas is a thinking man’s gangster who is able to blend street life drug rap with higher thought; he is able to appeal to fans of crime rap and fans of “smart” rap. His is a career that has always been draped in dramatics and controversy; ever since his debut, he has had beef with everyone from (most famously) Jay-Z to (inexplicably) Young Jeezy. On his newest release, Nas is back again, and bringing more controversy with him. This time, he’s letting us all know that Hip Hop is dead, gone, and not coming back any time soon.

This album title alone has got people up in arms. Some agree with Nas; they say that true hip hop, a genre built from oppression and hardship that reflects such things, is a lost art that is no longer being respected. Others argue that this is bullshit. Look at all the rap music on the radio or on TV or in the record stores, they argue. How can Nas say that Hip Hop is dead when now, after 30 years of being ignored by pop culture, it is at its most prominent? I’m only here to review an album, not defend either side. But I will say that those of you turned off from this album by its name should get a clue and at least listen to the man’s argument. Because while it’s not always clear, and it’s not a classic, it’s still a fine hip hop record.

It doesn’t really start out fine though. The first five tracks have Nas in battle form. He calls out everyone and everything on the first five tracks, from people trying to take his money, to people trying to kill him, to people making bad music, to people who, um, can’t quote Kool Keith at will. These songs really start the album off with a stumble and a thud, as each of these tracks offer a few moments of tight lyrics buried under third rate west coast beats and verbal diarrhea. The best beat among these first five has got to be the Iron Butterfly sample found in the first single and titular track “Hip Hop is Dead”. This song is by far the best of the first five, but it deserves some better lyrics and a more accomplished third verse, especially because of how good the sampling and beat are.

Even if these first five are not the best, they are forgivable missteps for two reasons. The first is that each song has some redeeming value to it, so none of them are complete throw-away. The second reason is that for the six songs on the album, Nas moves away from his battle mode, focusing less on others and more on self-examination. “Black Republican” features a guest verse from Jay-Z, officially squashing any and all beef. A strong, if brief performance from both MCs. Jay sounds more alive on this track next to a former enemy than he did on his entire album from 06, giving me the idea that maybe Jay just plays to the level of his competition. “Who Killed It?” has Nas in full on 40’s PI mode, telling a crime story revolving around a good looking woman that men will kill for. It’s one of the best tracks on the CD, and is the most creative on Nas has done since “One Mic”. “Not Going Back”, “Still Dreaming”, “Hold Down the Block” and the unfortunately titled “Blunt Ash” make up the core of this CD. All are tracks in which Nas looks at himself and his own past mistakes to make commentary on the current state of the rap game. Two songs in particular have some really head turning production in this section of the album; “Still Dreaming” is proof that Kanye West still hasn’t fallen off, and “Blunt Ash” has a soupy kind of haze-production you would expect from someone like Madlib.

Despite a rather long track listing that could have used some more editing, and a few early stumbles, Nas continues to startle that line of crack music and thought music, keeping a toe on both sides. He is one of the giants of rap, regardless of how much commercial or critical acclaim he gets. At the same time, he’s not as good as he thinks he is, and he may spend his career trying to top a genius debut. As it stands, “Hip Hop is Dead” is a good addition to a good career from one of hip hops biggest enigmas.

So is Hip Hop dead? That’s for you to listen, and for you to decide.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Who Killed It?” “Blunt Ash” “Not Going Back”

Worth The Money: It’s a stretch, but I’d say yes.

50th Post Extravaganza!!!

This is my 50th post. Woot!

Anyway, here's what this week looks like

Tuesday: Naz - Hip Hop is Dead

Thursday: Incubus - Light grenades

Saturday: Mr Dogg Classic - Jawbreaker or Old97's, I haven't decided yet.

that's about it. As always, if you feel like writing a review just email me which album you'd like to do and we'll work something out. See you all tomorrow.

-Mr Dogg.

PS: Mt Dogg is now on the myspace, so you damned kids can point out my spelling errors and assault me electronic. Technology, Ho!

The Good, The Bad, & Chinese Food

Artist: The Good, The Bad, & The Queen.
Album: The Good, The Bad, & The Queen.

Comments: There are a lot of things that I could say about this album that would give you a sense of what it sounds like. I could tell you that it is distinctly British in its nature, calling to mind all sorts of modern UK pop artists, from The Gorillaz to the Arctic Monkeys to Babyshambles to Muse. I could comment on the ethereal and polished nature of the production, which gives the record a grand, if somewhat unfriendly feel, and makes the songs seem formulaic and similar. However, I think that the best way for me to explain to you, the reader, how The Good, The Bad, & The Queen, self titled album sounds is to use a metaphor.

Imagine that, after a 40 minute wait on an empty stomach, the Chinese food you ordered finally arrives. You pay the delivery man and thank him, not even caring that your salutation was probably not understood due to his tenuous grasp of the English language. You rip open the packaging and bask in the golden brown goodness of your General Tso’s chicken. You dip your cheap plastic fork into one of the large, saucy nuggets, swirl it around in your white rice, and lustfully plunge the chicken into your mouth. And man oh man, that first bite (opening track “History Song”) is out of this world. It’s obviously chicken, a dish you’ve had before, but this is chicken in a whole new way; it tastes fresh and different and exotic. You could eat this for the rest of your life.

It doesn’t last, sadly. It never does. As you continue to gorge yourself on your hot, tasty meal, the euphoria starts to fade. The sauce is suddenly a little less appealing, the brown goodness of the fried meat cools, and all of a sudden, all you have is a cold plate of leftover chicken bits. So you put the food down, and you watch TV. You don’t throw the food out, however. Something about it makes you keep it. A few minutes later, it’s positively calling your name. So you go back and have a few more bites. Sadly, Chinese food and heroine share the same problem; it’s never as good the second time as it was the first time.

After the second good, but not great, helping of food, you take your Styrofoam tray to the kitchen and hold it over the trashcan. You are stuffed and groggy; a nap is going to happen in your immediate future. As you dangle the last few pieces of the once glorious chicken over the bottomless, all consuming trash can, you take one last piece of chicken out of the tin and pop it into your mouth. And it’s almost, ALMOST good enough to make you want to save the chicken for tomorrow later. 5 minutes later, you’re asleep in your bed and leftovers in the trash.

This is exactly what listening to “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” is like . At first, it sounds like it’s going to take it’s brit pop influences and expand upon them in a really interesting way, but then it just leaves you bored and unfulfilled. After listening to the record, like after eating a big Chinese food dinner, you’ll be full for a little while but two hours later you’ll be hungry all over again.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Behind The Sun”, “A Soldier’s Tale” “History Song”

Worth The Money: Nope

Chemically Imbalanced

Artist: My Chemical Romance
Album: The Black Parade

Comments: My father, a man whose musical tastes are rarely called into question, is the man to blame for me listening to My Chemical Romance. At the suggestion of Rolling Stone magazine, my father bought MCR’s breakout record “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” to see what all the fuss was about. After listening to the record once he passed it on to me, with a preamble of “This record stinks”. I listened to it anyway, and I came to the same conclusion. But still, I hold that if he had never bought the stupid thing in the first place, I never would have listened to it.

I was ready to give this record a good review, and despite my sordid history with MCR, I was prepared to give “Welcome to the Black Parade” high marks. However, as I listened to the album over and over again, I find that while some songs truly do stand out, much of the record is lifeless. I think the reason that I wanted to give this album such praise is because of the big difference in My Chemical Romance’s sound on this record. They tossed aside the screamo style that made them hot topic hits for a more classic rock influenced sound. The reason they can do this and not completely fail, I think, is that modern emo and mid eighties stadium rock share a lot of the same principals, in theory and theatrics if not in sound. Both landscapes are full of over the top, unnecessary dramatics, and the “bigger is better” mentality. And a lot of the artists dress like women.

The songs that I like best on this album are the ones that sound the most like other people’s songs. For example, “Dead” features the big guitar riffing and choral vocal arrangement of Thin Lizzy. In fact, MCR is practically committing plagiarism, and I couldn’t care less. That’s how I know the song works; it’s able to show me exactly who they are stealing from, and the song still holds up as an independent wrong. The other place this works is on the title track “Welcome to the Black Parade”. I swear to God that this is, note for note, a Queen song. It’s got everything from the “emerging from the background” guitar solo, to the over the top womanly screams. And yet, it’s the large, grandness of the song that makes it good. It is, for lack of a better word, rocking. These two are better songs than anything I would have thought MCR capable of.

Ah, if only MCR could have kept this up for an entire album, it would be in contention with The Hold Steady for the title of “Last Great Rock Band”. Saldy, the rest of the album is mostly blandness. The classic rock ripping is still there, but it sounds forced. It’s very odd to me how a band can sound so natural and effortless on one song, and then sound so flat and uninspired the next; this is sadly the case on this record. It’s a shame, really. I was ready to throw all of my indie cred (whatever that’s worth) out the window and love up a record by a band that most people over the age of 13 find deplorable. A handful of (really) good songs cannot save an album that I was really prepared to like. At the end of the day, this album is a reminder that without real emotion in music, it’s as hollow as a stadium.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Dead” “The Sharpest Life” “Welcome to the Black Parade”

Worth The Money: :(

2/3rds of Pop Punk Powerhouse Bring More of the Same

Artist: +44

Album: When Your Heart Stops Beating

Comments:Of the two bands formed in the wake of the breakup of Blink 182, +44 has stayed closest to their pop punk roots on their debut “When Your Heart Stops Beating”. The first three songs on the album reflect this fact; “Lycanthrope”, “Baby Come On”, and “When Your Heart Stops Beating” serve as a three song blast of high octane pop punk designed to draw the listeners in. Of the three, “Baby Come On” is the real standout, as it features the best song writing and a really good hook.

After the three song assault that sounds largely like Alkaline Trio B sides, “Little Death” kicks in, brining with it the albums first instance of programming and electronica. +44 was originally going to be an electronica focused group before they decided to go the darker pop punk route, so it’s no surprise that this album has programmed drums and synth loops all over it. Sometimes this works very well like on “Little Death” and, the call and response heart wrencher of “Make You Smile”. However, it doesn’t always hold up especially when the band leans more on elctronica, rather than their instruments. It’s on those songs, where simplistic samples cannot lean on Hoppus’s lyrics for structure, that +44 really falters.

(A quick note on the electronica in this album: Here’s a question that I can’t seem to figure out: if you played in a pop punk band and your drummer was Travis Barker, arguably one of the most accomplished and talented drummers of any generation, why would you use programmed drums? The man is like a drum machine himself; some of the rhythms he is able to maintain almost defy time signatures all together. He is better with one arm than 95% of rock drummers, more than a fair share of Jazz drummers, and yet programmed drums are all over this record. I just don’t get it. This is like ordering a 18oz steak at Outback Steakhouse and filling up on bread and blooming onion before the food gets here; sure the appetizers are good, but the steak is in a league of its own. Ok, back to the review.)

The songwriting throughout the album is somewhat of an issue. Listening to the record, you can tell that Mark Hoppus is trying to progress his song writing past the sophomoric jokes and adolescent heartbreak of Blink 182’s catalogue. One sign of this maturity is the use of swear words; with Blink 182, words like fuck and shit were used as school yard punch lines to get an easy laugh. With +44, swear words are used as exclamations and expressions of emotion. Little things like that show an attempt at growth. Some songs, like “Baby Come On” work because of Hoppus’ more mature lyrical touch, but he also falters, especially on the first single “When Your Heart Stops Beating” and “No, It Isn’t”. It’s a shame that the song writing is so poor on “No It Isn’t”, because it’s one of the my favorite songs on the album musically.

This record works, except when it doesn’t. The electronica sounds good, except when there’s no pop punk to support it. The pop punk is good, but only when the electronica is there to balance it out. The songwriting is good, except for when it isn’t. Confused? Don’t be; +44’s debut is a record that shows a lot of promise and room for growth despite all of its short comings. This album picks up where Blink 182’s self titled album left off, with more serious subject matter and a more adult sound all together. +44 still sounds like Blink 182 at times, but they also show signs of becoming a band with an identity all their own. I’m looking forward to that, because they could be something. They just aren’t something yet.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Key Tracks: "Baby Come On", "Little Death", "Make You Smile"

Worth the Money: It depends. Blink 182 fans will like it, but others may not.

Mr. Dogg’s Top Five – Second Helpings and Leftovers

Year end lists and best of collections are all well and good, but why must they be so final? Sure, TV on the Radio and Bob Dylan had some great records, but what about all those other records that may have gotten caught up in the wash, or unjustly forgotten in December? So, in the spirit of reflection and the starting of a new year, I present to you the Sixth Men of the year. These are the B+ albums of 2006.

5) Camera Obscure – Lets Get Out of This Country
Comments: A little wimpy (think Belle and Sebastian) at times, but an overall solid collection of pure pop sweetness. Lead singer Tracyanne Campbell is pushed to the front of the mix, and her strong vocals carry hang over sweet, simmering melodies. Good music to smooch to, this is one album that girlfriend and boyfriend alike can enjoy.

4) Tapes n Tapes – The Loon
Comments: The bastard child of Modest Mouse, Pixies, and Pavement features charming wit delivered with a smile, and one of the best songs of the year in “Insistor”. A little less restraint on the developed songs, and a little more development on the jams, and “The Loon” would have given Man Man a run for album of the year.

3) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
Comments: This one never got a fair shake from critics, as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were always seen as more of a product of a scene than an actual band. Don’t believe the hype; a little more focus and studio polish has this NYC trio sounding a lot better for the wear. “Show Your Bones” is fine record about not so fine relationships and on songs like “Dudley”, Karen O is able to rekindle the lyrical and vocal vulnerability that made “Maps” one of the best songs of 03.

2) The Futureheads – News and Tributes
Comments: Those well dressed Europeans return with more of their “Wire meets Beach Boy” brit pop, and bring some maturity along for the ride. While they may have pulled their tongues a little bit out of their cheeks, and have a few less quick laughs on their debut, The Futureheads are able to deliver another great pop record. “News and Tributes” proves that The Futureheads are much more than Franz Ferdinand Johnny-come-lately’s. Not to mention that this album has, dare I say, the best first track of the year; a rocking call and response blast indecisively titled Yes/No.

1) Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
Comments: A concept album of sorts, (dealing with the two conflicting sides of the creation process, those being the creative side and the apprehensive side) “Drum’s Not Dead” is a grower of an album. After one listen, people may be turned off. After the second listen, the vast lonesome feeling of the record will have you intrigued. By the third listen, the tender moments peppered among the atmospheric landscape will creep into your head and by the fourth listen; it’ll be one of your favorite records of 2006. I triumph in every sense.

LEFT OF THE DIAL’S BEST OF 2006

Well, the trees are light up, the stockings are being stuffed, Bing Crosby is melting out of the stereo, and global warming has ruined any chance of snow, so it must be Christmas time. With the holiday season upon us, the chances of this site getting updated are between “snowball in hell” and “Mr. Dogg getting a new car for Christmas” so I’m posting the year end reviews now.

HIP HOP
Mr. Dogg’s Pick: Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
Runner Up: The Roots – Game Theory

Comments: I’ve always loved the Roots, and since moving to Philadelphia my love has swelled into near infatuation. “Game Theory” is the groups finest studio album since the titanic “Things Fall Apart” and in any other year, Black Thought’s battle ready flow matched with ?uestlove’s maturing production would be enough to grant then best Hip Hop honors. However, this year, Ghostface Killah’s “Fishscale” showed up and ruined my potential love fest. Not that I am complaining; “Fishscale” boasts some of the best production and the tightest lyrics of the year. Ghostface has always been a story teller, and on “Fishscale” he spits his street one acts with a ferocity and delicacy not seen by many rappers. Not only does he unite the entire Wu-Tang clan for a track, but he offer parents everywhere parenting advice: beat your kids and they won’t act up. Ghostface loves the kids.

PUNK
Mr. Dogg’s Pick: The Lawrence Arms – Oh! Calcutta!
Runner Up: Be Your Own Pet – Be Your Own Pet

Comments: This was not a banner year for punk. Old bands like NOFX and Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin spewed mediocrity and folk. Epitaph, Victory, Drive Thru, and Fat Wreck, labels that used to poses quality bands, are now shells of their former selves, housing 3rd and 4th tier acts and uninspired lineups. The has long been in need of some new blood, and this year it came in the form of snotty teens Be Your Own Pet. The four piece, just-out-of-high-school, pop punk group put out a self titled album full of energy, nasal screams, buzzing guitar, and a youthful exuberance that hasn’t been sincere in punk for a long time. But despite their excellent début, the punk album of the year comes from soon-to-be-veteran act, The Lawrence Arms. The Larry Arms have been putting out consistently good pop punk since the late 90s, and their latest is no exception. “Oh! Calcutta!” takes the pop punk sound the band perfected on “Apathy and Exhaustion” and gives it a harder edge. The writing, which is always above average and poignant without being preachy, is in top form on this record. From “The Devil’s Taking Names” to “Are you There Margaret, It’s me God”, this record boasts the best first five tracks of the year. The Lawrence Arms continue to bear the torch of “Best Pop Punk Band” since the Alkaline Trio released “Goddamn It”.



POP
Mr. Dogg’s Pick: Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
Runner Up: NA

Comments: Who the hell would have ever thought that Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse could collaborate to make a commercially successful record? I think the duo must have made some underhanded deal with Satan, because “St. Elsewhere” is one of the few pop records released this year that with musically impressive and widely successful while maintaining high quality music. Cee-Lo’s soulful tones matched with Danger Mouse’s keyboard funk made for perfect soundtrack to any party this year. This is what Motown would sound like if it hadn’t died in the 70s. I only hope that the two bow out gracefully without trying to re-create this album. I feel like this was a one time bolt of lighting that served to shake up the pop landscape and show people that no matter your race, creed, religion or sex, it is okay to be funky. Gnarls Barkley proved to the world that you don’t have to lower your sound to make an album for everyone.

ROCK
Mr. Dogg’s Pick: The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
Runner Up: Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People say I am, That’s What I’m Not.

Comments: Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER trust UK hype about any band. If I were to believe every trumped up claim from England claiming that a band will save rock and roll, take the world by storm, or be the next Beatles, I would be so crushed by disappointment that I would never listen to music again. I would also be disappointed that the Arctic Monkeys didn’t take the US by storm the same way they did the UK. But screw all that hype; the Arctic Monkeys debut, full of youthful debauchery, alcoholism, surf guitar, driving rhythm, and snotty attitude, is as fine a record as any this year. But the real success in the rock world was the emergence of the Hold Steady. Taking their bar room stomp and Springsteen influence and merging it with harmonies and honest-to-God sincere guitar solos, “Boys and Girls in America” is the Hold Steady’s first truly accessible album. Full of wonderful writing and wonderful instrumentation, Craig Finn and Co take their throne atop the rock world. This is my second favorite album of the year.

INDIE
Mr. Dogg’s Pick: Love is All – Nine Time That Same Song
Runner Up: TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

Comments: I’ve never had credibility as a critic, but if any indie folk thought that I did, this part of the review will shatter it. TV on the Radio’s “Return to Cookie Mountain” is widely accepted in many music circles as the best independently released album of the year. It’s a very impressive album, and songs like “Wolf Like Me” and “Method” make it hard to argue, but sometimes it is more impressive than it is good, and I still prefer their first full length “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes”. No, in my eyes, the best indie record of the year has to be from those Swedish upstarts Love Is All. I saw them open for The Go! Team, and they were absolutely awful. However, their album, full of songs about relationships and personal time management, won my heart with its pop roots and excellent horn use. Songs like “Turn the Radio Off” and “Make out, Fall out, Make Up” sound truly heartfelt, and will be sure to tug at the emotion strings. This is a new tweaking of pop, and I likes it.

MR. DOGG’S PICK OF 06
Man Man – Six Demon Bag

Comments: It kind of sounds like Tom Waits. Except that it doesn’t. If sort of reminds me of Frank Zappa. Except it isn’t. Man Man makes waltzes from purgatory, vaudeville soundtracks for the insane, carnival music for the absurd joke of life. It sounds like nothing, and it sounds like everything. But it’s so much more than a new sound. It is a heartbreakingly personal album about love, loss, and the end of second chances. It presents the idea that everyone has one true love, but that he or she may have died years ago. It claims that everything worth anything is nothing, and nothing is all we really have. Their best line: “I know that I’ll never be the man she thinks she really needs, but that don’t stop me from trying to be”. In the hands of lesser men, its nothing more than sap emo poetry. In the hands of Man, it is an aching statement of unrequited love and beautiful entrapment. “Six Demon Bag” tells the saddest story in history but in a brand new way, with brutal honesty and violent intensity. These are songs to scream at the moon. It is the most original thing I’ve heard in a long time.


FLOPS – They weren’t all gems, folks.

1) Jim Jones – We Fly High
Comments: This is the second worst song of 2006. I don’t know the name of the first, or who is brave enough to take credit for it. If not for that mystery artist, this would be the worst. Jim Jones, even with Dipset, has always been a C- rapper at best, and he is not at his best on this song. Everything in this song, from the opening notes to the “ballin!” that has all the grade schoolers going nuts, makes my head hurts. Yeesh.

2) Rhett Miller/ Old 97’s
Comments: Take one excellent best of compilation, subtract one awful solo album from the lead singer, and subtract one chili’s commercial jingle, and you’ll see how things have been for the Old 97’s this year. Here’s hoping that 07 brings better things from this country/pop act.

3) Less Than Jake – In With the out Crowd
Comments: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? HOW THE… you know what? No. I’m not doing it. I don’t have the energy or the blood pressure to even discuss this. It might be the worst album of 06. This is the "Rocky 5" of Less Than Jake albums. It never happened. DO YOU HEAR ME?! IT! NEVER! HAPPENED!

A Brief Synopsis of “10,000 Days”

Artist : Tool
Album: 10,000 Days

Comments: Before I say another word, let me say this: the album is good. The band effectively restates their command over their instruments, and every inane time signature imaginable, while sticking to their trademark tightness. It is correct to say that all cylinders are firing in the area of the execution of the playing of the music, which is both difficult and demanding, while the band powers through most tracks methodically.

Right off the bat, the opening track, “Vicarious,” reasserts Tool’s prowess, power, and presence while simply rocking the listeners face. The second track, “Jambi,” is similar in its volume level and execution of Tool’s eerily mathematic style, and maintains the album’s pace. However, a gear switch is felt in the third track, “Wings for Marie (Part One).” Here the band taps into their other specialty: Atmospherics. Here the lead singer, Maynard Keenan, comes into focus with his ambient, quazi-prophetic lyrical tone. Vague ominous and biblical references lend themselves even further in track four, “10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2),” to create the darkening imagery typical to past Tool releases. Track five is no reprieve as “The Pot” reasserts the ability of the rhythm section of Tool.

However, as the introduction concludes with track five, track six (or rather track seven because track six is a filler track) represents a crossroads for the album. The pace and integrity of the album thus far, which can be good or bad, is very intense and chock-full of everything that makes Tool what they are. Immediately after the filler, however, the album drops into what could be called ambient rock. Track seven and eight are paired, similarly to “Parabol” and “Parabola” from Lateralus, in the sense that they are thematically linked with the track seven leading into track eight. However, despite the fact that track eight, “Rosetta Stoned,” is one of the album’s strongest, the climax of the pairing is drawn out more than its cousin from Lateralus. Likewise, tracks nine and ten, another pairing, lack a sense of urgency or climax. Granted, they are presented as well organized ambient rock songs, but this is the conclusion of an album we are talking about. Track ten, “Right in Two,” does kick into gear in its final minutes, but not to the point where the conclusion of the project is evident. Finally, the final track of the album, “Viginiti Tres,” sounds like an electrical reproduction of a desk fan.

With all said and done, the album is good. However, it is not great. With an anticlimactic arrangement of tracks, the album almost concludes too early. Even so, at the actual conclusion of the album there is something amiss about the entire presentation of the album. Whereas previous albums, like Aenima, and Opiate, featured raw, edgy tracks like “Hooker with a Penis” and “Prison Sex,” 10,000 Days lacks that raw flavor that had been typical to previous Tool releases. The production of 10,000 Days is nearly flawless, however, production has never been one of Tool’s featured standpoints. In other words, the newly conceived focus on production seems to hem in the expansionist rawness that Tool has pioneered thus far.

To conclude, the album opens auspiciously and reasserts Tool’s place in the progressive metal scene. However, the album eventually falls into the grey area of inconclusiveness and an uncharacteristic sense of overproduction. However, this does not occur to the point of discrediting Tool. In fact, the album is still above the average cut, but this is Tool we are talking about.

-James Keough

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Vicarious,” “10,000 days,” “The Pot,” and “Rosetta Stoned”

Worth the Money: Yes. Above average, longtime fans will likely be appeased and new fans will be intrigued.

The Floppy Return

Artist: Jay-Z
Album: Kingdom Come

Comments: Is anyone surprised by this?

Really?

Honestly?

Come on. The minute Jay-Z announced his “retirement” from hip hop on the excellent “Black Album”, I knew that there was no way we wouldn’t get at least 2 more albums out of him in the future. Lo and behold, I was right. Jay-Z has come out of his three year hiatus with “Kingdom Come”. All over the album, Jay makes the claim that he’s back to save hip hop and to rejuvenate the game. Sadly, the only thing that’s going to get rejuvenated from this album is Jay’s wallet.

Anyone who’s not impressed by Jay’s ability probably doesn’t understand rap too well. The fact that he is able to rap off the top of his head without writing is a really impressive thing. Most rappers freestyle every few months, but Jay’s albums are all freestyles in a way. It really is a pretty cool thing. But there’s a downside to this skill, and that is that there is no editing or reworking of his rhymes. That’s why Jay-Z can have 2 great verses and one god awful one on the same song. On “Kingdom Come”, it sounds like retirement has made Jay lazy, because there are a lot more bad verses than there are good on the album.

Another problem with this record comes from the producers Jay is working with. Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and Swizz Beats all produce some truly weak tracks. I’m not even sure that Jay could save these songs even if he was at the top of his game. Certainly not when he’s rhyming about 30 being the new 20, getting with broads, and how back he is.

One of the better songs on the record, produced by Just Blaze, is the soul fueled banger “Oh My God”. The song rips, and it is one of the few times on the album that Jay actually brings some good rhymes. Both the lyrics and beat set the bar high, and the two work very well together. It’s a triumphant track, to be sure, and the only one on the album that supports Jay’s swagger. The other good track is the closer “Beach chair”, which is produced by Chris Martin of Coldplay. Nothing against Martin, but when the lead singer of FUCKING COLDPLAY is making better beats than Dr. Dre and Kanye West, maybe you should have held off on the album for a little bit.

Jay-Z sounds bored, and I know why. Jay isn’t hungry any more, but why would he be? When Jay stepped away in 03, he was on top of the world as the self proclaimed best rapper, and there were a lot of people who agreed with him. He accomplished more than most rappers dare dream; he had the world listening. Anyone can have the world, its keeping the world that’s the problem, and when Jay stepped away, he lost us. Sorry Jay, but its going to take more than some B-side beats and half assed lines to win us back.

Jay compares himself to Jordan on the lukewarm single “Show me What you Got”. If he means coming back after his prime and risking embarrassing his legacy, than he might be right.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Oh My God” “Beach Chair” “Kingdom Come”

Worth the Money: No