Ken is in da' House......

Bloc Party- A Weekend in the City
I was excited that this was a pick for the month as I liked their debut quite a bit. But gone were the driving beats and hooks that made the first one fun. In their place was more brooding and delicate atmospheric instrumentation and falsettos. They sound as if they are taking themselves and their surroundings too seriously. “The Prayer” shows some the first albums appeal as does “Hunting for Witches” but not to the same extent. Some call it maturing, I call it losing their direction. I found it boring. Luckily it is their sophomore effort so I hope for a better Junior release. (1.5).

The Good, The Bad and the Queen
This is normally not my arena- a loping, laid back quasi-reggae. No major guitar solos. No rock out rave ups. And little in the form of pop. But I was oddly drawn to some of it. Obvious was Simonon’s island dub bass and Damien’s Gorillaz-like lyrical melodies. It worked for most of the disc though it started to get old by the last few tracks. It just seemed like they ran out of ideas. No tracks really stuck out to me but for roughly the first half I have to say I found myself secretly grooving for the first half. (2.0)

Mott the Hoople
This band is so over looked. Okay they did spawn Bad Company (which I left off the original version of “Ready For Love”) but it’s hard not to hear how good this band was. I put their big hits on the mix, but I delved deeper into their catalogue to show how they grew over time from a straight ahead rock jam outfit to a band that could do powerful, un-sappy ballads. Ian Hunter is a song writers’ song writer and should be heard more than he is and Mick Ronson is an undervalued guitarist. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did putting it together.


Five Covers that Best the Originals
I determined these (and there are more) as songs when mentioned I go for this version first.

Hurt- Johnny Cash > Nine Inch Nails (though their’s ain’t too bad)
All Along the Watchtower- Jimi Hendrix > Bob Dylan (he started playing it Jimi’s way after he heard it)
Just My Imagination (Runnin’ Away With Me)- Stones> Temptations
Luka- Lemonheads> Suzanne Vega
Heard it Through the Grapevine- Gladys Night> Marvin Gaye


Five Acts that should never, or never have, changed their style
The reason for this question: We all have acts that we wish would never change. We know acts that we are disappointed when they don’t do something new. I was curious who you all felt were in your first category. Either they never changed and you are rejoicing or they did change and you are not rejoicing.

Ramones- They never did. Good.
CCR- See above
Rage Against the Machine- ended, until this year’s reincarnation, without altering their core sound.
Southern Culture on the Skids- Still as greasy as day 1
Stones (circa 1967-1976)- Once they hit their stride with that American-Blooozy sound via London, they should have never switched to a more conventional MOR format.

Five Acts that desperately need a makeover

Prince- While he is still a god, he needs to get back to his sexed up self.
Stevie Wonder- Honestly, what happened?
Goo Goo Dolls- Used to rock, but not even close now.
Eric Clapton- Instead of becoming a “old blues master” he’s become blues Muzak. Total shame.
Phil Collins- Once promising while being a darn good drummer, he’s now basically writing the same ballad over and over and over and over………