“On The Dark Side, Oh-Yea-eee-yah!”

The Mong
Music Group CommentaryAugust 2008

NEIL DIAMOND – “HOT AUGUST NIGHT” = 2.5 STARS
Always more of a drunken bar scene or late-night party sing-a-long kitsch-pleasure than anything else, I can’t help but file Mr. Diamond under any category other than silly-time, fun music. Although I can appreciate “Hot August Night” on other levels when using a discerning ear, this stuff being more-or-less bulletproof doesn’t change that too much of it, all at once, almost defeats its own purpose.

THE DUKE SPIRIT – “NEPTUNE” = 2.5 STARS
I’m not jumping up and down about “Neptune” but it’s not bad either. I’d definitely recommend it to someone with taste like Ken or D’Arcey’s.

THE HOLD STEADY – “STAY POSITIVE” = 2 STARS
Since I like so many artists who, arguably, don’t really have great singing voices, I find it odd that can’t get by this guy’s voice. Or maybe it’s the singer and his band’s overall Eddie and the Cruisers vibe that I can’t get past. There’s a lot here to praise, the lyrics in particular; yet, even with their equally praiseworthy bar band energy, the Hold Steady somehow feels old and tired.

WHISKEYTOWN – “STRANGERS ALMANAC” = 3 STARS
A bit more country than ‘alt’ for my taste, “Strangers Almanac” is still a solid record that’s surprisingly better than most alt-country being recorded today.

G’HITS – SLOBBERBONE
Another band I’ve only heard of, I’m glad to say that now I’ve heard them. A bit of bar band and alt-country overload this month (including Neil Diamond – see commentary) has probably left me a bit resistant to this, the last of what I delved into since the last gathering, so my overall less-than-thrilled take on it might change with repeated listenings, in a different context.

TOPIC
Monsta Topic: “List your five favorite lyricists and give a brief explanation as to why they're on your list. Note that the question is YOUR FAVORITE, not necessarily the "best". No point in everybody putting Dylan, Springsteen and Neil Young on the list. D'Arcy rule in effect, no honorable mentions.”

STEPHEN MALKMUS (primarily) of Pavement and SM (& The Jicks)
The king of slacker ironic sincerity, Malkmus’ word play and keen sense of humor lets him have his cake and eat it too. So even though he would probably reject his own relevance, he is indeed a voice of his generation (my generation) whose lyrics embody the duality of our reactionary sarcasm, cynicism, and apathy, while simultaneously interweaving our diehard earnestness, optimism, and caring.

ROBERT POLLARD (primarily) of Guided by Voices and Robert Pollard
Although Pollard’s lyrics favor nonsensical imagery over literal meaning, the worlds he creates with words are nothing short of poetic genius.

MATTHEW SWEET
Sweet’s sensitive stream-of-consciousness, white boy laments on life, relationships, identity, expectations, and all things existential impart beauty through his pain and (sometimes) even humor in its self-awareness, which is easy (for this white boy) to identify with through the filter of universal truths and shared experiences.

THE BEASTIE BOYS (collectively)
No one rocks the mic better than Mike D., King Ad-Rock, and MCA! The instant joy ill-communicated by their consistently inventive and hilarious mad rhyming skills more than makes up for their occasional sidesteps into heavy-handed sociopolitical raps.

JOHN LENNON of the Beatles and John Lennon (and Plastic Ono Band, etc.)
Lennon is possibly the single lyricist who I can attribute every ounce of praise and multi-layered-ness that I’ve heaped upon the aforementioned artists; so, for the sake of avoiding redundancies, I’ll leave it at that.