Synopsis of that long ago meeting.....

I think I can speak for everyone who was in attendance in saying it was probably our most blase meeting to date. No fireworks, no arguments, no prog as Byron has left us....again....

A couple of 1's a lot of 4's and our lowest rater was Depeche at 2.67 which isn't that low. Like I said blase.

I personally had a bitchin' month basically loving all the discs with my creamy goodness. Hopefully there will be some hate for next months selections.

Next meeting is December 18th

New
Jay- ???
Monsta- The Weakerthans- Reunion Tour
Old- Greg- The Pygmy Love Circus basement tapes.

Host- Moi
Ghits- Richard Thompson
Topic will be mailed with the ghits

No Classics!

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

Way too busy again this month so my commentary is way short. Again-again, rejoice!

DEPECHE MODE – VIOLATOR = 2 STARS
Better than I remember it but still not a favorite.

DIRTY SWEET – ...OF MONARCHS AND BEGGARS = 4 STARS
Kick-ass cool!

SLEEPING IN THE AVIARY – OH, THIS OLD THING? = 5 STARS
Perfect post-punk pop. Yes, perfect.

FRANK ZAPPA – CHUNGA’S REVENGE = 2.5 STARS
When they’re not hot-dogging it, noodling around, or being overly clever, there’s actually some decent songs here.

Ken's Happies Reviews Ever.

Music Club
November 2007

Dirty Sweet- Of Monarchs and Beggars

Yes. Yes. Yes. Instead of boring you with song by song comparisons, let’s just say that this band gets the 70’s’; every aspect except the disco that is. Pick the band and you’ll hear them somewhere on this disc. A Kiss power chord or Badfinger harmonies, some James Gang funk and there is even a little Cher sounding vibrato (listen to “Come Again”). I had to pry it out of the car. Unpretentious and straight forward. A Killer. (4.5)

Depeche Mode- Violator

I may condemned to the electronica fag house tonight but I will vehemently stand beside Jenn in support of Violator. True, I prefer normally a raging guitar riff but Depeche comes the closest you can to raging guitar riffs without a guitar. Sure it’s mopey bordering on whiny and preachy but I can forgive it. It has too much alt-groove and attitude. Take out “Waiting for the Night” and this is close to downright masterpiece. Don’t hate me because I embrace my inner late 80’s inner self. (4)

Frank Zappa- Chunga’s Revenge

One of my favorite Zappa’s discs, behind Hot Rats, Chunga displays all of Frank’s facets. His goofiness, straight ahead rock/blues, doo-wop, inane lyrics and unconventional instrument solos. It’s all here in a tight, well flowing package. The only thing missing is the synclaviar. More accessible to non-Frankites but if you are not a fan you may only like bits and pieces. C’mon who can’t identify with a Gypsy vacuum cleaner playing castinets in the midnight autumn air….. (4.5)

Sleeping in the Aviary-

Excellent thrashy noisy garage rock. Of course I have an affinity for these types of bands, especially when they have wavering, off tune lead vocals. The songs blast out of the gate and stick to the point, build and end leaving you wanting more. Nice find and another one I had to yank from my car. (4)

November

Zappa – I respect Zappa a lot more than I enjoy him, and think he is at his best when he works his satirical lyrics within the structure of the 3-4 minute pop song, like “Joe’s Garage”. He is a wicked guitar player, and his band has an amazing ability to stop on a dime and change keys, tempos etc. That said, I much prefer the stuff like “Road Ladies” and “Would You Go All the Way” to the 9-10 minute jams / freak outs. 3 stars

Depeche Mode – Proves every point I’ve ever made about techno music. There’s a reason “Personal Jesus” is the track this band will be remembered for: the killer guitar riff that blows all of their synthy hoodoo out of the water. Can hear a major Bowie influence on this, especially “Sweetest Perfection” which feels like a “Heroes” outtake. While certainly “good in its genre”, most of it leaves me cold, which may be the point. 2.5 stars

Sleeping in the Aviary – There’s some good stuff here, my favorite being “Love Song”. Lyrics are clever when decipherable, which is not often enough. The stripped down approach works, and 25 minutes of this is the right length. Would be better if the Lennon influence so evident on the untitled track and “Love Song” was more pronounced. 3 stars

Dirty Sweet – This one starts out really strong and slowly descends into generic classic rock. The first two tracks had me reaching for comparisons to the Stones and Faces, and by the last third of the disc we were in Black Crowes territory. Big guitars mixed way up front, good vocals (particularly the harmonies), decent lyrics. I’d be willing to listen to them again. 2.5 stars

i have posted

Mg 11-13-2007

Dirty Sweet

Picture if you will. A concert. Smoke machines are not necessary, because we as the audience will provide our own. (Both legal and not so legal) Cell phones, not here, I just jammed my lighter up so it will shoot a 10-foot flame. Wait in line for a six-dollar beer. Hell no. I brought my own in a deer skin flask tucked in my back so I can partake in the Frisbee and beach ball toss during the intermission. Dirty Sweet acknowledges and embraces those times. I found this cd because it was the best song played over an hour of new music on the rock station of on demand music. Baby Come Home was the track and I figured it was my month for new music so why not. Loud guitar, at times with a duel lead. Catchy riffs with sing along choruses never a bad thing. Yes not all tracks are perfect and it does slow down in the middle. They at times come a little too close to aping Black Crows too. But Delilah is the best song I’ve heard about a girls jeans, and Sixteen, Man’s Ruin, and Isabel sure help the cd end a strong rawking note. Some will call this a cliché, but some of my best concerts created that cliché. So excuse me as I put my Fog hat on, and find a toilet paper roll or coke can so I can create a bowl. Would normally be a 3.5

Frank Zappa

So what is a great guitar part? The ones that shows off your chops so you can prove that you are the fastest and write around increasing complex time signatures. Or the simple riff that three days later you are still humming along to. Is it Steve Vai’ s Flexible or is it The Edges I Will Follow. Ken has supplied us a cd with interesting musical arrangements and undeniably breathtaking skill. But there really aren’t too many songs here are there. Most of the cd is just an excuse for the members of the band to show off over interesting time signatures. Maybe Frank Zappa should be considered the grandfather of Math rock. What I found truly lacking was a sense of song structure, because most of the time it was just a long drawn out guitar, drum, keyboard, bass solo played at the same time. And it can be done just ask Jeff Beck. I’ll take the Edge. 1.5 .5 for each song that had lyrics.

Depeche Mode

Personally I could have lived without hearing Personal Jesus ever again. But I did three more times and hope to never again. The problem with this cd is that it never does anything great. Enjoy the Silence, Policy of Truth are nice tunes but is there really a great track on this disc. And its not because it’s a synth record. Personally I think the worst thing that happened to Depeche Mode was the band losing the importance of pop with each record. Moodiness and a dark atmosphere is not a replacement for a good song, and on Violator this seems the case. 2

Whatever it’s called

Okay I get it. Lets see if we can write an cd’s worth of songs and let them all be about a minute long. I am pretty sure there was a band called the Minutemen who tried to do this. But that is the problem I have with these guys their songs are to short. They are like incomplete sentences. Just when it seems that they have an idea it ends. And that is a pity because most of the songs here are pretty good. If they got rid of the novelty idea and finished the thoughts to well rounded songs we might have had a great cd. Instead we have a lot of potential. 2.5

AM I Fast Or What?

Zappa – Chunga’s Revenge - 4
There’s some serious diversity on this CD. It takes a special person to appreciate Zappa (Ken). Not only is he good, but he ensured his success by surrounding himself with an amazingly talented group of musicians. Unfortunately, unless you are a musician, I don’t think you’ll like one single song on the CD. The one exception was that maybe in 1970 if you were high as a kite. I however, liked the disk, and because I think that Zappa was a genius I have to give the CD a 4

Sleeping in the Aviary - 1
When did the Fratellis change their name to SITA? And why did they play the same song over and over and over? Don’t band usually have several songs on a CD? This might be the most annoying CD I now own. I often wondered what sound could possibly be more obnoxious than a Harley riding by with open pipes, now I know. 1 (I’m being generous because it might be my mood at review time)

Dirty Sweet – of Monarchs and Beggars - 3.5
Okay, this is a little better. I hear a bit of Wolf Mother and old Black Crows in Dirty Sweet (not a completely bad thing), I actually thought that I even heard Axl Rose singing back up in Isabel, this would normally cause me to immediately throw the CD in the garbage. Dirty Sweet is a little more straight forward rock than usual for this group. The more I listened the more I liked it. I also think if it was Amy Winehouse riding the horse on the cover of the CD it would have earned a 4. 3.5

Depeche Mode – Violator - 4
“Your Own Personal Jesus” has to be one of the coolest songs ever and “Enjoy the Silence” is a close second. I bought the CD when it came out and lost it in my divorce (Don’t ever marry a psycho). Thanks for whoever’s selection this was. This haunting collection sounds a bit 80’s still, but can certainly hold its own against a lot of what’s out there today. 4

just a thought

From Rolling Stone - Chris Rock on the music business: "Music kind of sucks. Nobody's into being a musician. Everybody's getting their mogul on. You've been so infiltrated by this corporate mentality that all the time you'd spend getting great songs together, you're busy doing nine other things that have nothing to do with art. You know how shitty Stevie Wonder's songs would have been if he had to run a fuckin' clothing company and a cologne line?"