Greg's January Picks

Waterboys – A Pagan Place
One of the more unique voices since The Psychedelic Furs. I like happy music. This is happy music, it was great in the 80’s, but that’s where it should stay. None of the songs on A Pagan Place had enough substance to keep my attention. I liked the one hit they had back in the late 80’s, but the difficulty that I found with this disc was distinguishing one song from the next. “A Pagan Place” was the exception. I was hoping for a little more from this CD. I really tried hard to like this CD. It just didn’t happen though, the formula that worked 20 years ago doesn’t apply any more.
2

Joy Bangers? I thought that this was one of the extra credit CD's just for fun. I loved it, but I didn't review it. If I remember to write something I'd have given it a 3.5

The Fugs – The best of the Fugs
I don’t get it. My IQ dropped 10 points from having to listen to it. I can’t afford to lose any points.
0

Cursive – The Ugly Organ
I’ve come to the conclusion that with all of the new so called “emo” bands that having a true singing voice is not a requirement. That’s okay, I’ve gotten used to the “emovoice”. Since I can’t sing to save my life I feel better listening to these bands. I like the fact that bands like Cursive feel comfortable using orchestration. Some of the songs were little more than noise. That might be my age talking, but from a guy who loves Tool and various of Mike Patton’s bands it might not be my age. I did like how this band isn’t afraid to explore. All in all I can see some talent and some intelligence in their music.
4

The Mars Volta- Frances the Mute

I first heard this band in the CD store and asked who they were. I heard a lot of influences including King Crimson and even a little Yes. I know that Byron must have liked this band. Track # 7 blew me away when I first heard it. I will admit that the songs are a lot too long and that some of the random noises could have been done away with. It took me more than a couple of listens to have this CD fall into place. I was especially impressed with the talent of the drummer and the use of horns. Surprisingly, I was told that this is the CD where the band laid off of the drugs. A lot of the bands I prefer require some getting used to. This band is definitely one of those.
4

Thoughts on selling out. My feeling is that most songs are used in advertising for something completely unrelated to what it was written about. If the artist that wrote the song decides to allow someone to use it for another purpose, then they should have that right. If the Beatles chose to sell the rights to their catalog to Michael Jackson, I think that makes them idiots. Selling one or two select songs, I might understand, but all of them? If you can’t live on the 600 Million that you are worth, then you are doing something wrong. Selling out for any reason other than total belief in the cause that your song will support is just that, selling out. David Bowie sold stock in himself. As talented as he might be I don’t think that that stock is doing too well right now. I don’t think that as an artist I would be able to part with a paining. When you create art it should come from your soul. Casually parting with it for a few dollars better be for something that equally fills that empty space. I think that the Beatles are amazing and I’m sure that Paul McCartney regrets his decision every day. Vanilla Ice on the other hand. Best band in the last ten years:Tool – Sheer Talent, creativity, originality, no regard for criticism.