The Female Perspective

CD Reviews:

OK Go – Oh No:
I saw this band open up for Phantom Planet several years ago and after a killer set and amazing cover of Toto’s “Hold the Line” I became an OK Go fan. Their debut album wasn’t even out yet but I made sure to be at the record store the day that it came out. That CD didn’t leave my stereo for months. It was infectious.

When I first began listening to “Oh No” I was little disappointed. I didn’t feel that it had the same spark that their first album had. But, luckily I gave it more attention and with each listen this album grew more and more on me.

One thing that OK Go does so well is dance-rock. They create great rock/pop tunes that also make you want to boogie, without sounding too much like all of the trendy dance bands out there today (i.e. The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, etc.).

I think this album is a step up from their debut when it comes to overall sound and cohesion, however it also may be a little too clinical in its precision…maybe a bit too overproduced with a lot of the songs keeping the same formula.
Score: 3

Ray Davies – Other People’s Lives:
I always admired Ray Davies for his tremendous songwriting with the Kinks. He knew how to tell a story and that is something that is seriously lacking in a lot of modern music. This album is rich with his storytelling and after almost 40 years of songwriting it never gets stale. “Other People’s Lives” is fresh and vibrant with great music and great lyrics. I was relieved to listen to it and hear that he had not lost his touch like so many other aging rock musicians have (cough…Rolling Stones…cough). The opening track “Things Are Going to Change (the Morning After)” and “The Tourist” were fantastic and the song “Is There Life after Breakfast?” was amazing. There were a few that didn’t keep my interest as well as others, but even the weak ones had something endearing to them.
Score: 3.5

Muddy Waters – Electric Mud:
As I’ve said in the past, I’m not a blues fan and cannot pretend to know much about it. I probably couldn’t distinguish a good blues record from a bad blues record. I can say that I enjoyed this more than the B.B. King, although the mix of blues and psychedelic rock was a bit awkward for me. I know it was produced in 1968, but the production sounds horrible. The guitars sound too hollow sounding and at times too screechy and the drums were overdone too. It is an interesting concept to mix the two sounds and I admire Muddy Waters for having fun with this one, but it’s just not something I would ever listen to again.
Score: 1.5

Guided By Voices – Greatest Hits:
I just don’t get why so many people worship this band. I respect them for their variety and there were a few catchy songs on this greatest hits CD, but I just don’t appreciate them like most of you do. At times I would start enjoying a song and then it ended abruptly at like 30 seconds. It’s a tease and I hate being teased. Many have tried to convert me to the psycho-obsessiveness that usually is a Guided by Voices fan, but few have prevailed. This being the ten-trillionth I have tried to listen to them, I have slightly warmed up to them a little more than past efforts, but I still cannot consider myself a fan.

Marillion – Misplaced Childhood:
I liked this album more than the previous Fish/Marillion that we listened to. Perhaps Byron has just softened me more to the prog sound, but this was very aurally pleasing. The songs are truly compositions. They have that classical feel to it that makes you want to relax and read a book. Have you made me a prog convert, Byron? Not quite, but I can appreciate beautiful music when I hear it.
Score: 3

Topic

Top 5 Music Videos:
Can I just say how painfully hard it was to just pick 5. I could easily do a top ten or 15, or 20. Here is my list, and with the exception of 1 and 2 the others could change if you ask me in a month or two.

1. Johnny Cash – Hurt (Directed by Mark Romanek): This video actually made me cry when I first saw it. It truly showed the pain behind the eyes of someone who knew that they were going to die soon. Beautifully done.
2. Fat Boy Slim – Weapon of Choice (Directed by Spike Jonze): Christopher Walken dancing in hotel…enough said.
3. White Stripes – Fell in Love with a Girl (Directed by Michel Gondry): Lego Jack and Meg White…brilliant!
4. Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (Directed by Chris Cunningham): This video is kind of disturbing and I cannot really begin to explain it, but it sticks in your head.
5. Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer (Directed by Stephen Johnson): This is the one video from my childhood that REALLY stood out as one of my favorites. It was quite groundbreaking at the time and to it entertained me immensely as a child and still does to this day.

I originally misunderstood the topic and came up with a video concept for an already existing song…which was lame so I came up with one that could work for any video…and this one rocks!!

Concept:
I’m not sure if any of you are familiar with the Japanese movie “Battle Royale” but it is based on that movie. Quick summarization of the movie…the Japanese government passes the “Battle Royale” Act when the youth of Japan begin to get too disobedient. One entire class is chosen by lottery to take part in Battle Royale. They are taken to an island; each is given a weapon and they must kill each other off until one person is left. To add to the intensity, collars are put on the students to monitor their breathing (to keep count of who has been killed) and will also detonate – blowing up their necks – when the three days are up if there isn’t one sole survivor. So, basically they have to do it or they all die anyway.

Now, to my video concept…a band wakes up on an island with the metal collars on their necks and each is equipped with a bag containing the rules (shown so the viewers know what is going since there is no dialogue) and a weapon. They must kill each other off until one remains. Each has been dropped on a different area of the island and is unaware of the whereabouts of the others. The video follows them tracking each other down. One by one they take each other down until there is only the singer and bass player left…then out of nowhere at the end of the video they both get taken out at the same time by Britney Spears (a look alike dressed in school girl outfit from the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” video) making her the winner.