Feel Good June

Radiohead

Some will say this is the beginning, I always thought it was an end. It is with this cd that one can see how they went from a creative guitar rock band to one of the most creative studio bands. Problem I liked the songs they wrote better when they wrote around guitars. And on the Bends there is some truly creative guitar moments wrapped around some truly classic songs. Fake Plastic Trees is a song that deserves to be compared to all rock classics. But the Bends, High and Dry and Iron Lung are just a few of the many songs that stay with you long after the listening is over. Yes Radiohead have created some interesting music in their careers, I just miss them as they once were. 4.5

Built to Spill

Love the music, can do with out the voice. Some great songs on this disc, but as I play them over the voice seems more a distraction than the driving force I think the band intends it to be. It’s a shame because the songs are quite good. Strong guitar parts with some catchy riffs. Followed by a strong bass and drums throughout the cd. I think this will become one of those cd’s where I will take the songs individually and in small doses. enjoyable. 3.0

Foxboro Hot Tubs

Why do bands feel this need to hide behind false names when they feel the need to flex their creative fingers? So what if this isn’t the great answer to American Idiot, truthfully what will be? Instead Green Day has created a great pop album that strongly owes a lot to Garage and British bands of the late sixties. Just think how much airplay Mother Mary, Broadway and actually every song on this cd would have received if it was released under the Green Day moniker. And it’s a shame because the songs deserve it. On this cd you find some of their best playing by all three members accompanied by fine moments of organ in the background. This cd will probably in time get its just reward in the Green Day catalog but until then I will file it next to my Soft White Underbelly, Bent Back Tulips and Dukes of the Statosphear cd’s. 4.0

Heavy

Why do musicians feel this need to distort their vocals through technology? What is this need to make it distorted scratchy and old style radio. Just sing the songs. You have a decent voice use it. Heavy do this far too much. Why I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that the songs are not that strong and that the only way to distinguish them is to change the sound of the voice track. So what we are left with is a forgettable cd with nothing that truly stands out as a great track. 1.5

Elton John

Why is it certain artists need certain people around them in order to maintain their own standards. Elton John is like that for me. As long as Nigel Olsen was in the band he seemed to really put out quality work. While discussing which songs belong on an Elton John’s greatest hits cd will be left to my brother, as he is far more a fan than I, I was pleased that Mike chose only songs from the Nigel Olsen era. I probably would have chosen differently, (Levon, Take Me to The Pilot, Empty Garden, Someone Saved My Life) but it was a nice mix.

Everyone one is critic. Whether we buy, burn or just decide to listen are all forms of criticism. What makes music so hard to review is that it is the one form of media that actually impacts us on all aspects senses. Many a memory is formed around what music was playing at the time. Sentimental yes but sentimentality goes long and deep. It is why at times it is painful to hear something you treasure torn apart in the name of witty banter.

It is far easier to be negative than positive. Too often we are ready to pounce on our preconceived notions on what a piece of music should sound like, not what it actually does sound like. If you go onto the blog words like retro, genre are thrown about as catch alls. Is this really reviewing the music, or just another way to create pigeonholes for a piece of music to fit what you want it to sound like?

And in reading the blogs, there are at times some truly nasty reviews. True some music may not stand up well or last in time, but does the music or the person who submits the cd deserve to be attacked. Why so much anger? It’s probably because music is so personal and when something interrupts what should be ideal, well then it needs to go away.

So how do we correct this? I find the best reviews that I find are the one written by people who are willing to review the music with a clean slate. Judge it as a piece of music that stands on its own. Use reference points to help those who do not understand who is being judged. Not as an excuse to make a quick jab in what the music ought to be.

Get rid of humor? Please don’t. There are plenty of opportunities that all types of writing can be used to describe what you have listened to. After all comedy is a lot harder to write than anything else, and if one can incorporate it into a balanced review more the better for us readers.

So if we are to write better reviews than it will be up to us to be better reviewers. Go in with an open mind, and then judge it fairly. We rate records for a reason, and not every cd deserves a five. However an honest opinion on why it’s a one to the reviewer is truly a good review.