April Junk Mail

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Not really the best release they’ve had, so it was not the homerun I was thinking it would be, but he’s interesting and literate, so that counts for something. Just not as tunefull as his earlier work. Still, by today’s standards, way above average. 3.5

Fratelli’s - Half Arctic Monkeys, half Art Brut, with just about every other current brit pop band of that ilk thrown in for good measure. What separates this from some of the others is the enthusiasm level and the cleverness. I was turned off by its derivative nature at first, but this grew on me to the point that nearly every song was a hit in my mind. 4.0

Archers of Loaf – (Note - I reviewed Vee Vee, the CD released prior to All the Nation's Airports. I know Mike said All the Nation's Airports, but my mind heard Vee Vee) I remember one critic calling this record the sound of a hangover taking place. I liked this a lot when it came out, but hadn’t listened in years. He’s right to a degree, it does at times sound like a hangover, but it’s that hangover that you keep trying to stave off with the odd bong hit or beer once you wake up. You remember what that was like. Nothing cures a hangover like a bong hit or a beer, but it is a temporary, though exhilarating, remedy. Eventually the "noise" in your head returns. Same here with Archers of Loaf, no matter how melodic and exhilarating parts of this record can seem, the noise is just around the corner. Luckily, I like noise and this is even more melodic than I remember. A great, inventive record. 4.5

Material Issue – Another band, like last month’s, that was unjustly overlooked, probably even more so than Mott the Hoople. Great pop music sounds familiar the minute you hear it for the first time and so it is with these guys. I know I have not heard much of this, yet songs sounded so familiar, that I kept thinking they were covering a song I already knew. That’s the sign of expertly crafted pop. Not a dud in the collection. Lightweight to be sure at times, but great. And I finally know what’s behind the name of the International Pop Overthrow Festival. I buy a 2-3 disc compilation from the festival via Not Lame every year.

Who killed the rock star? The rock star might not be dead. It may be a function of our age and cynicism. If they have disappeared, it is the the media, specifically video and the internet who have killed them. Our stars are no longer elusive and mysterious, when they emerged only for a tour and a new record. Now they are everywhere and we know everything about them. And most of them simply are not cool. Mick set the rock star standard and it may have been all down hill since then. Also, the term rock star connotes a certain dangerousness and lawlessness that 20 years ago meant getting busted for drugs or beiing involved in some daliance with a starlet or some other rock star's wife. The equivalent right now is having sex with Pam Anderson on the internet. Not mysterious at all and definitely not that cool. Swagger is another rock star trait that just does not exist as much as before. Mick and Keith have swagger. I mean who has swagger these days?