April report

Fratellis – Aah, the signs of spring. The grass turning green, the Cubs snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and a new over-hyped UK band hitting high on the charts. This year’s Arctic Monkeys are the Fratellis. I like the energy, but me thinks think they are a one-trick pony. Some of it tries just a little too hard to be clever (“Vince”). My kids are playing it constantly, and it is beginning to grate on me. 2.5 stars

Ted Leo – Good disc, I’ve wanted to check these guys out for a while. Songwriting and playing is solid throughout the disc, although trimming about 25 minutes off would have enhanced it significantly. As much as I appreciate the sentiment behind the protest stuff; “Coleen” and “A Bottle of Buckie” work a lot better for me than “Bomb Repeat Bomb”. 3 stars

Archers of Loaf – I liked the 2 piano driven songs best, “Chumming the Queen” and “Bombs Away” were excellent. The rest reminded me a little of Sonic Youth in that while I liked the guitar work, the vocals grated on me. Overall, didn’t do much for me.
2.5 stars

Material Issue – The thing I like best about our little group is that every once in a while, I get a disc of a band I’ve never heard of or forgotten about, and it blows me out of the water. This was one of those. Not a bad song in the 60+ minutes. “Goin’ Thru Your Purse” and “Kim the Waitress” are damn clinics in how to write perfect pop songs, the highlights of the disc for me. Exceptional collection, a keeper to be sure.


Discussion Questions

Who killed the rock star? I think it was a gang beat-down, and the following people were in on it:

Clear Channel Communications – Bought radio stations like I buy donuts. Made sure each one sounded just like the other one.

The US Government – FCC relaxing ownership laws which allowed Clear Channel to do what they did.

MTV – Made the music about the image, and then disregarded music completely

The Eagles – First band to usher in the $100 concert, gold-circle ticket crap

The recording industry – greed ushered in $17.98 list price discs. Decided the bottom line was more important than developing artists

Apple – Ipod encourages people to buy songs, making the album practically obsolete.

Bush – Not sure how, but he’s responsible for so many other deaths, what's one more?

Us – For putting up with all of the shit above

Why can you always hear the tambourine?

Is this a trick question? The purpose of the tambourine is to give the lead singer something to do when he is not singing, as typically he/she has no other discernable talent. As the lead vocalist is usually a prima-donna egomaniac, his/her microphone is mixed higher than everyone else’s. Hence, his/her dramatic tambourine banging becomes audible. Duh….