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“The Mong” – Music Group Commentary: August, 2007

Way too busy this month so my commentary is short. Rejoice!

BUFFALO TOM – THREE EASY PIECES = 2 STARS
Perfectly enjoyable and listenable but not all that thrilling, pretty much like everything else from Buffalo Tom.

JOHN DOE – A YEAR IN THE WILDERNESS = 3 STARS
John Doe: punker, country-rock singer/songwriter, actor, etc. ...pretty good at all of ‘em but great at none. Sorry, as much as I’m rooting for John, his post-X stuff never quite does it for me, although this is by far the best I’ve heard yet.

FAITH NO MORE – ANGEL DUST = 1.5 STARS
It’s tough to get past how dated this sounds. My problem with it now is the same as it was when it came out: It didn’t seem to be trying to expand upon the somewhat groundbreaking sound of “The Real Thing.” In fact, it almost sounds like a parody of it, which might have been the point, but even if it was, the joke’s not funny.

WIRE TRAIN – NO SOUL, NO STRAIN = 2.5 STARS
From what I read, it was bashed in its day but, I’d like to suggest that it was, perhaps, unfairly bashed. By today’s standards, or mine anyway, there’s more here to praise than bash.

BRENDAN BENSON – G’HITS
Really, really good power pop. The low-fi stuff was the real standout material.

TOPIC
What are the most overrated albums of all time? List five and explain. These should be albums that are considered classics on some level.

1) The Velvet Underground, “The Velvet Underground and Nico”
Yeah, I know it’s important and influential and won’t even try to dispute any of that; it’s just not that good a listen, period. Seriously, when’s the last time you were like, Oh, I gotta hear that album? Answer (unless you’re a liar): never.

2) Radiohead: “Kid A”
Subverting expectations by delivering an “intelligent techno” album as a follow-up to “OK Computer” doesn’t make it great just because Radiohead did it. It’s not seminal or challenging and I do, in fact, get it. So don’t tell me that I have to listen to “at least fifty times to fully appreciate it” because anything I have to listen to that many times to appreciate isn’t a good record, it’s a homework assignment in self-induced brainwashing.

3) Nick Drake: Everything
Aren’t all three of his albums in the ROLLING STONE’s Top 500 of All Time!?! I don’t think I’m the one that need’s to explain myself here, ROLLING STONE does. “Pink Moon” is a good song, fine, but let’s not get carried away just because the guy offed himself.

4) Pink Floyd: “The Wall”
Okay, I even like Pink Floyd, but, take your pick: the singing choir of British kids, the orchestration, the fact that it’s a double album, or that it’s really pretentious, pedantic, quixotic, and a few other fifty dollar words that boil down to it being way too self-absorbed and self-important. Give me “Animals” or “Wish You Were Here,” any day over “The Wall.”

5) The Who: “Tommy”
Now, I love The Who, but I’m willing to admit, “Tommy” is just plain silly. Not just the premise of the story but the lyrics and music itself all just sounds so … so … well, silly. Yes, I know it’s a pioneering “Rock Opera” and all that, but, really, there are only like, what, two or three good songs on it, tops.