Boring June Post

Radiohead – Thought I had it but didn’t. Didn’t listen. Got the latest one and thought it was un-listenable. Sometimes I think these guy’s reputation oversteps their actual musical accomplishments. I know Bends is one of their best, so I’ll find it and listen.


Heavy – Since I never pay attention to what’s new and what’s old, this was interesting to listen to and wonder for a time. Until it mysteriously became an Art Brut record for two songs towards the end. But that’s not a bad thing, just a weird thing. Not particularly my cup of tea, but much of it has a certain vibe to it that is irresistible. It sometimes comes off as sort of a weird cross between Jon Spencer and just about any 60’s soul artist. I could do without the processed vocals (I hate that on any artist – even my heroes Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices) and the retro scratchy vinyl sound is unnecessary. So overall interesting, so it gets a 3.


Built to Spill – I love the sound of this record. Noisy guitar stuff usually works for me but, and this may sound contradictory or simply stupid, too often this just isn’t as good as it sounds. Certain noisy parts, riffs and certainly the solos sound great, but they are not framed by great or in some cases even good songs. Decent, but not great. Still, Built to Spill is a great, usually interesting, guitar band band. I’m generally not on the Doug Martsch bandwagon to the extent that many are, including Mike here, but I’ll listen to this more. 3.5


Foxboro Hot Tubs – This whole thing is great, from the overall concept to the packaging to the sound of the songs to…well, at first, I really didn’t think the songs were that strong and had originally thought this was way overrated. Further listens – more than my usual two – revealed it to be a sneaky good record. Often, songs that are so derivative sound familiar on first listen and therefore not new or interesting. This one just took a couple extra listens to hit home with me. 3.5

Question

The question is - are we trying to be real critics or are we just offering up opinions based on our somewhat limited exposure and inherent prejudices. Here's briefly where I'm coming from. I get to listen to music I want to about 10 hours a week if I’m lucky and I’m not going to spend a lot of that time listening to something I don’t find instantly appealing because I want to enjoy as much of that 10 hours as possible. Plus I buy 10 things a month. Hard to fit it all in. If I got paid for this and spent 50 hours a week listening and writing, my tastes would broaden, and I would be more accepting of things I hadn’t heard before. And if I listen to something enough, it’s really easy for me to find something good about it. That’s why I generally don’t listen to anything more than two or three times. My opinions are based on my immediate reaction to that particular CD. That being said, the record will show that I’m am the most lenient reviewer of all of us, so despite my advanced age and clear prejudices toward 70s punk and all things Neil, I think I try to give everything at least a small chance. But in the long run, I’m not a critic, I’m just critical and I’m writing what I feel based on my tastes. And occasionally, I try to be entertaining. And I don't feel bad when others don't like my selections. I just consider it a character (not to mention taste) flaw on your part, not mine, for christsake. (note to the group - those that didn't like Somerdale were in lock step with Neil Noseforbeer on that one - 'nuff said!)