Here's Me Post

Kate Nash

I had heard of Kate Nash as the next big thing coming out of the UK. I listened to some of her songs and I thought that they were okay. Now listening to the whole cd, my opinion has not changed. There are some stop and listen moments on this cd. It’s when she decides to stop being the cheeky English singer and just a singer. But there are some songs in between that just are to repetitive in their format. What Kate Nash has is a nice pop cd that tends to sneak up on you with certain songs. It will be interesting if she has left herself room to grow. 2.5

Joe Ely

The worst thing in live music is a drum solo. The second a prolonged guitar solo. Joe Ely must feel the same because on one tune he fades himself out. When not trying to show off his chops what we have left is a bar band troubadour with a few occasionally witty lyrics. There is nothing amazing in either his singing, playing, or songs. Although in person the extended versions of these songs may holds one interest, here its just space until we get back to the chorus. (If you are going to take over six minutes to build a climax on a song end the cd. Don’t come back for an average throwaway tune.) Not horrible and probably quite likable in a pub. 2

Pucifer

I remember Tool being a powerful band that drew my attention immediately. And even if I didn’t like what they put out in later discs, they still managed to be different. With this cd II get many different versions of the sopranos opening, or at least it seems that way. Yes Greg the rhythm tracks are excellent, but the rest just isn’t 1

Jedidiah Parish

What happened to all those electric organ stores that used to be in every mall? There sounds echoing throughout as the guy in the bad jacket, worst hair pittered away. Well Jedidiah remembers. Hell it’s the featured instrument in one whole song. And interesting cd that has a poor man’s okerville river feel to it. That being said the vocals are not as strong nor is the instrumentations. The singer does tend to whine a bit excessively especially through the choruses. The band is tight and the lyrics offer some as seen through the eyes moments. At times great, at time infuriating. 2.5

Thin Lizzy

Phil Lynott was one of the coolest front men in music history. An acclaimed poet, who was able to tell a story, and then flush it out within a 3 to 5 minute song. He may not have invented the dual lead guitar sound but with Scott Gorham playing with the likes of Eric Bell, Snowy White, John Sykes and Brian Robertson, he came close to perfecting it. He also had a solid bottom to all his songs provided by his brilliant at times bass playing and solid drumming of Brian Downey. In putting together this greatest hits I tried to pull a little from the whole catalogue. Ignored were some of the slower songs, (Renegade, Sarah, Parisian Walkways) and a few of his Irish Classics (Black Rose, Emerald). What I hoped to show was the whole of their career, from the pub rockers of the Rocker, and Thunder Lightning, to the over the top metal of Angel of Death. And along the way sprinkle in a few of his pop classics like Boys Are Back in Town, Jailbreak, and Hollywood. I always thought that if you could create a sound that was instantly memorable, that announced who you were immediately, then you have done something truly great. Thin Lizzy did it with Jailbreak, and throughout a great career.

The Question

I remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. I was driving in San Francisco, and the local alternative station was playing new and upcoming songs. The first was Monster and Angels by Voices of the Beehive, and then came Nirvana.

But that in a nutshell was the problem. At first Nirvana was part of the Alternative seen, and then they were responsible for destroying it. Radio stations jumped on the bandwagon playing this “new” thing called grunge and ignoring anything that sounded different. Gone was any possibility of a talented pop band getting any airtime because they did not have the right sound, and there were no formats that let an alternative band play.

Was this truly a new sound? To me it just sounded like a good heavy rock band. But instead of leather, spandex and pyro, we got flannel shirts, long shorts and rip jeans. Funny alternative had a uniform. Isn’t that the same thing as when punk had shirts on sale at Macy’s?

As for the music, does anyone really have Nirvana in his or her personal play list anymore? If you look at growth through their music they are way behind after three cd’s when compared to their peers. I’ll take Soungarden’s Badmotorfinger, Alice in Chains’ Dirt, and even Stone Temple Pilots’ Tiny Music over In Utero any day. Besides the band everyone wanted to be and still wants to be is Pearl Jam. You don’t find to many Nirvana wannabe’s in music history, but the list for Pearl Jam is enormous.

Did Nirvana change music? Yes. Or at least the corpreate idea of the band. But not for the better. They helped make it easier to pigeonhole a band and create this corporate driven music field, which has taken the Internet to finally start chipping away at. And remember there truly one great live moment came on a made for TV event for MTV unplugged.

Nirvana’s place in history will always be strong because of how they ended. They were never given the opportunity to be bad. Plus with Dave Grohl putting out consistently strong product it only adds to the could have been discussions. But Nirvana was Kurt Cobain’s band. As time increases it seems that they are destined to follow the footsteps of another band that had far too many similarities career wise. The Doors.

Song:

Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes.