November Reviews

You remember November, don't you. Well here goes.

Zappa - The problem with Zappa is that you really need to know the context of the recording - when did he record it? what was popular then?, etc. The other issue is trying to decide whether he is paying tribute to an artist or genre when he copies it/them or is he mocking it/them. And when is he simply trying to play good music? There seems to be a bit of all of that here and some of it is really enjoyable, but the rest is simply really good satire or complete shit. I report, you decide. 3

Depeche Mode - Ok, I'll admit it. I really hate the IDEA of Depeche Mode more than I truly dislike the music. Oh, there's plenty to dislike here, but some of it might even be considered hummable pop. But the probelm with them is that they, after a period of unprecedented vitality in music, were the standard bearers for the return to faceless, humorless, sterile music. They were anti punk, so in their own way they were the Journey or Kansas of their era. Punk was a reaction to corporate shit as represented by those bands and Depeche Mode was a return to sterility in music. And for that they get a 1.5

Sleeping in the Aviary - Great record. One of the year's best. Either you get it or you don't 4.5

Dirty Sweet - From the cover to the name of the album to the music, this screams 1972. And that's exactly what I thought it was. I just couldn't figure out how I could have missed this band back in those days until I checked it out on All Music. Imagine my surprise. I'm not sure if the fact that they are a contemporary band makes this record all that more amazing or not, but it truly sounds retro. This is more than a tribute to a sound or era though, it's a well written understatedly played minor classic. 4