Everthing Old Is Still Old...And Now It Smells Funny.

Blue October – Approaching Normal

I didn’t know what to expect from this, and while it’s way too emo for my tastes and despite the fact that my 17 year old daughter is all gushy over the song “Jump Rope”, I was pretty impressed by how varied, melodic and cohesive this CD is. It’s rare that I’m willing to listen to all the tracks on a ‘single artist’ CD consecutively, but this got repeated listens and, for the most part, it grew on me more and more. It’s funny…you’re not supposed to be able to get away with talking in the middle of a song, but this kid from Texas gets away with it in the very first track. After that point, I liked the pop melodic tracks most (My Never, Should be Loved, Blue Skies and the aforementioned Jump Rope). The last two tracks, as recorded, are probably the most bi-polar pair of tracks ever…Blue Does is tender and sweet…The End is brutal and disturbing. 3.5.

Chris Isaak –Mr. Lucky

As imaginative and creative and forward thinking as Blue October was, Mr. Lucky was none of that. It seemed like Chris Isaak chose to channel his inner Roy Orbison and the result was a collection of pleasant country-tinged tunes sung and performed well, none of terribly memorable, save for “You Don’t Cry Like I Do” which just killed me. I hate to rely on food analogies, but this was a hamburger…not as lightweight as a Mickey D’s , but not “great” hamburger like Plan B, either. It was…Friendly’s. 2.5.

Boomtown Rats – Tonic For The Troops

The interesting part about these “olds” is that I was around when they were “new” so I can compare and contrast my reaction to hearing them “then and now”. Then, I thought this was a very witty pop/punk and an album like “Born To Run” that would give me great pleasure forever. Now…not so much, though the first track sounds like it could have been a Springsteen outtake with weaker vocals. The next two tracks also sounded derivative – Me and Howard Hughes sounds like Elvis Costello's "Welcome to the Working Week" and Eva Braun has a vocal “la la la” hook that is right out of the Grass Roots’ "Midnight Confessions.” There were brilliant moments that stand the test of time, though. Don’t Believe What You Read and She’s So Modern are examples of that. All in all…3. Could have been a 3.5 if it was not so derivative.

Robbie Robertson – Robbie Robertson

I loved Music From Big Pink and Stage Fright. I wore out my vinyl copies. Anyway, when this album came out, I remember really wanting to love it. I also remember my extreme disappointment with how it sounded, how it had no memorable guitars or songs I really liked. But it did teach me how when someone whose performances I loved stepped out of the comfort of a band full of great musicians and is left to his own devices, he could, in fact, suck. And now…22 years later…this album still sucks. Maybe I just don’t get the whole native American thing. 1.5 stars.

Little Feat – Excellent songs here, like Dixie Chicken and Oh Atlanta as well as better than excellent songs, like Willin’ and Roll Um Easy. I never thought that the studio helped them. They were an incredible live band in the ‘70’s and early ‘80s even after Lowell George left us. For those who want to hear them in their glory, I have their 9/21/81 show from the Sting in New Britian in its entirety for you…enjoy.

Topic - What are your five favorite rock magazines of all time? Discuss briefly each one's influence on you.

Rolling Stone – with the caveat that we’re talking about the late 60’s – early ‘70’s. They jumped the shark shortly after the Lennon assassination, but they were a taste-maker through the ‘70’s and they were, after all, the pioneer of rock journalism. “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” really did mean something then.

Crawdaddy!- Paul Williams’ magazine was second only to National Lampoon in my “must get it on the first day of the month it’s out”. It always had great articles and, back in the day when it was a newspaper, it was an underground classic.

Creem – Was my favorite “metal magazine” in the late ‘70’s. Robert Christgau’s Consumer Guide was a must read. Lester Bangs wrote some cools stuff, too.

Musician – It was best at interviews. Timothy White was a terrific interviewer and writer, too.

Spin – In the mid ‘80’s, I started to look toward this magazine as a bell weather for stuff that was good enough to give a listen.

Five Favorite rock writers/critics?

Bob Christgau – We agreed far more than we disagreed on records.
Paul Williams – If you haven’t read “Outlaw Blues”, it’s worth going back to the ‘60’s.
Timothy White – Even if it’s just for “The Nearest Far Away Place”.
Charles Sawyer – For his work on “The Arrival of B.B. King
Ben Fong Torres- More as an editor than a writer, but he put together some great books like “Rolling Stone’s Rock and Roll Reader” and “What’s that Sound?”

Fuck Paste! Read Magnet!

The Mong
Music Group Commentary
April 2009

Blue October – “Approaching Normal” – 2 Stars
Faux Emo-Grunge with a dash of “Canadian New Wave.” With so much to dislike here (including shallow lyrics, over-emotive singing, ultra-lame violin, and fucking singing kids, no less) it’d be easy to miss the occasionally excellent melodies, complex song-structures, and first-rate production/engineering, all of which makes this twice as disappointing, really, since there seems to be some real talent here amidst all the suck.

The Boomtown Rats – “Tonic for the Troops” – 2.5 Stars
I guess I really never have heard this one before. Overall, it sounds dated and too much like too many other things, even in the context of when it was recorded. Not bad...not great.

Chris Isaak – “Mr. Lucky” = 3 Stars
Like Robbie Robertson remains forever rooted in the haze of post-high school, early college, for me Chris Isaak is tangled up in the early-90s slice of pop culture when we all thought David Lynch was a genius. And like then, Isaak’s channeling of Roy Orbinson is surprisingly appealing but the surprise now is there are moments in “Mr. Lucky” that are, if not inspired, then heartfelt. So, like Lynch, Isaak may be repeating himself over and over again but at least Isaak is sincere.

Robbie Roberson – “Robbie Robertson” = 2 Stars
Some things grow better with age; this is not one of them. One star for nostalgia and one for, “Somewhere Down the Crazy River,” that, as intentionally “weird” as it is, still really works somehow.

Little Feat – G’Hits
Southern fried funky awesome! I don’t have much Little Feat and, what I have, I have on vinyl, and so, after this, I need more. Especially great was hearing their version of “Sailin’ Shoes,” since their backing on Robert Palmer’s version is one of my all time favorites. All good. Jay, fire your CD burner up.

Jay’s Topic
One of the reasons I like rock and roll is because, in my formative years, I read interesting, exciting rock magazines with reviews written by interesting, knowledgeable and passionate rock fans/journalists. I imagine you did as well. What are your five favorite rock magazines of all time? Discuss briefly each one’s influence on you. Five Favorite rock writers/critics? Got it?

I can’t really participate here because the only music magazine I have ever read consistently is Magnet, from the (early-ish) '90s ’til now. I recently tried CMJ for a spell, which I enjoyed mostly because, unlike Magnet’s likable yet obstinate refusal to use a points or stars rating system for reviews, CMJ has a ratings system and even the handy “sounds like” subheading. But CMJ was way too expensive and I barely ever read it so I let that subscription lapse after only one year. I tried Paste at the recommendation of Monsta and also because I was able to chose my own price when I subscribed online so I figured, for a buck, what the hell. That was one of the most emotionally expensive dollars I’ve ever laid out. I soon grew to hate Paste for its middle-of-the-road, self-important pretentiousness. Yet, with every issue of Paste that arrived, I was compelled to read it because, apparently, I love to get my blood boiling on everything from narrow-minded, irrelevant essays on ‘violence in entertainment,’ to the absurdity of Zooey Deshanel being the best musical artist of the year. And I’m really not throwing down the gauntlet here, Monsta, because my feelings about Paste do not extend to you. I’m honestly shocked that you’re a fan of such a pedestrian publication ... and my shock is intended as a compliment. But I digress. Since I’ve only got one magazine to cite, that’s all I can comment on. So, I love Magnet because their many writers are consistently even-handed and knowledgeable, Phil Sheridan’s “Back Page” is almost always hilarious, their original photography is downright amazing, and because their main goal is to expose their readers to new music, not prove how fucking clever and trend-setting they are, or how much smarter they are than me. And I don’t really have a favorite rock critic or writer except, I guess, Phil Sheridan at Magnet. Does Hunter S. Thompson count? Look, I don’t even have a favorite film critic nor do I subscribe to any film magazines other than Fangoria. I guess you could sum it all up by “saying” that I don’t really like reading about music, art, movies, TV, books, etc. I prefer talking about that stuff...an exchange of ideas. That’s why I’m sincerely thankful I’ve got our spirited ‘music group.’ Peace!

April's thoughtful reviews from a white trash perspective

Boomtown Rats – I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. There are some really good cuts on here like “Rat Trap” which sounds like early Springsteen. However, a couple of songs sound horribly dated, notably “Living on an Island” which suffers from cheesy synths and background vocals. A good disc, but it hasn’t aged nearly as well as the stuff their peers (Jam, Joe Jackson, Clash, etc) were doing at the time. 3 stars

Robbie Robertson – Good effort that doesn’t sound quite as earth shattering as it did 20+ years ago. Very chameleon like in that the songs bend to the style of the guest on each track. “Fallen Angel” sounds like a Peter Gabriel song, “Sweet Fire of Love” sounds like a U2 song, etc. Robbie almost sounds like a bit player on his own record. Regardless, it’s solid throughout and holds up pretty well. Nice to hear this one again and it raises the question “Whatever happened to Robbie Robertson?” 3.5 stars

Blue October – Clever trick, put an absolute crap track first, so the rest of it sounds comparatively good. This was a mixed bag quality and genre wise. What I liked was the more pop oriented material like “Blue Skies”. The spoken word bits bugged me, and the kids’ chorus on “Picking Up Pieces” was cringe-inducing. Singer sounded unnervingly like Phil Collins in spots, which didn’t help. 2 stars

Chris Isaak – I always associate Isaak with “Wicked Game”, a song that I absolutely hate, so this disc went into the player with 2 strikes against it to begin with. Surprisingly, it turned out to be my favorite disc of the month. Isaak’s voice is Roy Orbison-like, and there aren’t many singers you can say that about. He changes styles fluidly, but gets too cute at times. The better songs are the simpler ones. When you have a good band and voice like that, skip the novelties like the brass section and stick with the basics. “Cheater’s Town” is a lock for my year end disc. 3.5 stars

Little Feat – One of those bands I always meant to catch up on, but never did, so this compilation was very welcome. Its a great combination of funk, Dixie and blues. The middle 1/3 of the disc was particularly outstanding. My sole gripe would be that there were a couple of post-Lowell George songs that were worthy of inclusion (“Down on the Farm”, “Rad Gumbo”). A nice collection that I am happy to have.

Discussion Question

1) Rolling Stone – Going to qualify this by specifying the years 1977-1990. Made an indelible impression. Exposed me to Hunter Thompson, politics and numerous bands I had never heard of.
2) No Depression – Loved this magazine and its coverage of alt-country music. Sadly defunct as of last year.
3) Musician – Don’t know if anyone else remembers this one, but in the 80’s and 90’s it was essential. Covered artists that weren’t big enough for RS. If memory serves, Lester Bangs and Cameron Crowe were early contributors.
4) Creem – Lester Bangs and similarly irreverent critics. Jumped on punk/new wave before RS.
5) Paste – The only music magazine I currently read. Quality of the monthly CD and the writing has begun to slip.


Critics:

1) Lester Bangs
2) Dave Marsh (R&R Confidential)
3) David Fricke (RS)
4) Chuck Klosterman (Spin/GQ)
5) Jon Pareles (NY Times)

Huh?

Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson 4.5

This has been a staple for me since it came out 1n 1987. Adding just the right amount of outside help when necessary, from The Bodeans, Peter Gabriel, Maria McKee, Ivan Neville, & U2. Produced by Daniel Lanois, which I think had just the right sound for me back then. I remember the cold war theme being a hot topic among musicians and he really made me worry that much more, after listening to “Showdown at Big Sky” I had even more nightmares about being toast.

Chris Isaac – Lucky – 4.5

Chris Isaac just oozes heartache. Mr. Lonely Man and Breaking Apart take my votes for coolest songs on the disk. Actually, I loved the entire disk, each listen got better and better. A little Elvis and a little Roy Orbison rolled into one on many tracks, but more than bearable. How is it that Chris Isaac has been around forever and the only song I’ve ever heard was “Wicked Game”? I think my wife would even listen to this on a lazy Saturday afternoon on the porch drinking a martini, at least until the martini kicks in and then I don’t know that we’ll be listening to music at all. This also might be the closest thing to country that I can be accused of liking.

Little Feat – GH

It’s hard not to like Little Feat. Their sound is so unique. I could keep them on in the background without getting annoyed, which is pretty good for me.

Blue October – The End – 1.5

I have to say that I was pretty excited about this band after I heard their single. After hearing the rest of the cd I’m not quite as excited. The lead singers voice never changed octave once, okay once on “My Never”. I probably could have done without “Blue Skies” too. I’ll give them some credit for sounding a little tiny bit original, but beside that, I wasn’t overly impressed.

Boomtown Rats – Songs for the Troops – 2.5

For some strange reason I don’t know, I’ve always like Bob Geldof. Maybe it was his rendition of “Pink” in The Wall. Whatever the reason, I like this cd too, it has some Bowie mixed with Queen and even a little Phil Lynnot sound, but I guess that it was 1979. The BTRs never seemed to have the same fame as other less talented bands of the same time, at least in the states. All in all it is a straight forward rock cd and it has piqued my interest in their other works.

One of the reasons I like rock and roll is because, in my formative years, I read interesting, exciting rock magazines with reviews written by interesting, knowledgeable and passionate rock fans/journalists. I imagine you did as well.

What are your five favorite rock magazines of all time? Discuss briefly each one’s influence on you.

I read whatever had a band I liked featured.

Drummer – I just liked reading about technique and style and the other drummers influences.

Rolling Stone (Not for their ridiculously liberal views, but for their top 100)

Five Favorite rock writers/critics?

Huh?

Best Band of 2009 so far

http://www.flabber.nl/linkdump/video/nieuwe-slechtste-videoclip-ooit-1548

Sorry it took me so long to post...

The Mong - Music Group Commentary - March 2009

A.C. Newman – “Get Guilty” = 1 Star
All sounds the same: Power Pop derivative crap meets Medieval bard music. I may formally start boycotting Canadian acts soon.

Good Rats – “Tasty” = 3.5 Stars
Working class hero rock at its finest...almost.

Spoon – “A Series of Sneaks” = 5 Stars
An underrated gem. Not as mature as their later work, which is exactly why it’s outstanding.

U2 – “No Line On The Horizon” = 1.5 Stars
Now I remember why I stopped listening to U2.

Bottle Rocket – G’Hits
To quote the second track, this stuff sounds like “welfare music.” White trash welfare music. Not saying I’m above anybody but I’m not white trash and I’m not on welfare. Let’s just say this stuff doesn’t speak to me but, to be fair, it’s not trying to speak to me. So good for both of us, then.

1) The 5 greatest solo or side project albums from an artist better known for his/her work with another band (or as a solo artist) are:

John Lennon (of the Beatles) – “Plastic Ono Band”

Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement) – “Real Emotional Trash”

Chris Squire (of Yes) – “Fish Out of Water”

The Gentlemen (members of the Gravel Pit and the Figgs) – “Ladies and Gentlemen...”

Eagles of Death Metal (Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss) – “Peace Love Death Metal”

2) At the first annual Down Your Nose croquet tournament, you are struck in the head by an errant shot (Ken’s) and lapse into a coma. When you awake, your musical tastes have changed EXACTLY 180 degrees. You have no memory of your pre-accident musical tastes. Ignoring the practical issue of replacing your music collection, do you see this as a negative event? Why or why not?

Yes, this is a very negative event since I would be stuck with wife’s taste in music.

No Mike, then we'll skip the movies and onto the babes

U2
U2 has become one of those bands that you probably won’t turn off one of the songs that you like, but you probably aren’t about to rush and put one of there cd’s in just to listen to it either. You can also tell what type of cd it’s going to be by the drum sound. Sharp, out in front and driving, then you get some really good pop songs. Muted, atmospheric, and in the background, well then probably Brian Eno is involved. Unfortunately with this cd it’s the latter. And the disc suffers for it. Too much atmosphere and not enough anthems. It’s a shame because on Letterman they were awesome, but somewhere in the recording process the heart was lost, just like the drums. 2

Good Rats
When I was a wee lad in that great frontier of the Island of Long in the year 1977, I discovered that there was this thing called FM radio. The three local bands that you needed to see playing the clubs that all the stations championed at the time were Soft White Underbelly, Twisted Sister, and the Good Rats. Now I was too young to get into the clubs, but it was fun watching two of the bands make it huge, and one always seeming just not quite. And even today I do not know why these guys did not make it. I haven’t heard Back to My Music in probably 30 years and the minute that opening riff came on I was a happy teenager again lost in new found music. The double lead very seventies guitar, the awesome harmonizing vocals, supporting a very distinctive fun loving voice, and short sweet very creative guitar leads; this is what I love in music. Not a bad song on the disc, and all guaranteed to make you hum along at some point long after the disc has stopped spinning. 4.5

AC Newman
Big sound. Very produced sound. And the lead song just reaches out and gets you. A great voice comes booming out as the sound drops, and then they play back and forth. You can hear strings plucking along with the riff, acoustic guitars, and the piano. Just a great song. Followed by a few more great kitchen sink productions. But the problem with big music it can come a bit overbearing. This cd suffers form this. While the songs on it are quite good separately, or in small bunches, listening to the cd as a whole the listener gets lost in a bit of overwhelming repetitiveness. Still there are some really good songs on here and I just made sure I listen to a bit, then come back where I left off. 3.0

Spoon
Not sure why I don’t like spoon more than I do. It’s not anything I can single out and this cd offers no solution. I love the guitar playing, and the songs are put together great with obviously talented musicians. Maybe it’s the lack of a truly memorable chorus in the songs I don’t know. Don’t hate anything on here, just didn’t really want to go back to it either. 2.0

Bottle Rockets
Have heard a great deal about these guys through the years but never got around to listening to them. Was expecting a bit more rawness to it. Seemed a bit mellow for the bar band sound they seem to be looking to be. Got a taste of it late in the disc, but most seemed laid back. They have a knack for writing clever lyrics, but as a whole the hype was not supported by the music.


5 great solo projects.

Michael Schenker Group
Silver Ginger 5
Zakk Wylde Book of Shadows
Pete Townsend Empty Glass

As I find music is something I like to escape to, what particular type of music I listen to should not matter.

You Dirty Rats...A March Back in Time

AC Newman – I was not familiar with Carl Newman since I never listened to the New Pornographers, but I was surprised at how melodic this CD was. For me, the standout tracks were the first and the last. Everything in the middle was pleasant but forgettable, though since we met, I've continued to listen and, not surprisingly, the more familiar I got with the CD ,the better I thought it was, so UP to a 3 …make of that what you will.


U2 – What Mongello said. Even at $3.99 I feel ripped off. I was a fan of the period from Boy through The Unforgettable Fire. I loved Joshua Tree. There was nothing about this CD remotely as appealing as any of that or even “Atomic Bomb.” I've never heard a more boring pile of U2 songs and for whatever reason, the mix makes Bono's voice sound less appealing than usual. 1 ½.

Spoon – This CD sounded like a band forced by a big label to put something out that they really didn’t want to, so I looked up their discography and, at least in terms of timing, I may be right. It was their first disc for Elektra and as it turned out, its last disc of Elektra. Ten years later it is no where as vital or interesting as pre-1998 Spoon. All that said, it was an honest effort at Alternative rock with solid guitars and some interesting melody so…a 3.

Good Rats – I’m impartial here because this came out when I wanted to be a guitarist and I played the grooves off this record because the guitars were so good and varied. Tasty got minimal airplay, but the majority of this didn’t see the light of day unless you were fortunate enough to see them on Long Island in their heyday of the late ‘70’s early 80’s.
I like Peppi Marchello’s voice – a bit like Burton Cummings of the Guess Who – but it can be an acquired taste. The songs are clever, and Songwriter is a really good undiscovered ballad. It’s a solid 4.

GH – Bottle Rockets – I missed them the first time around but like them a lot. That CD gets repeated plays in my car and it’s still in there. Welfare Music, Smokin 100’s Alone and Blind stand out, but the rest of the songs are fun, solid, clean sounding country/rock. I have yet to go back and read about these guys, but I will. Thanks for turning me on to this one.

Topic – Net net, it’s a minus if my current group of friends outside this music group stay true to their musical leanings because a wholesale shift to the antithesis of what I currently like would make me hang around gay dance clubs…not that there’s anything wrong with that. On the other hand, it would be damn funny asking Jay to burn the new Lil Wayne for me. Seriously though, I think being more open minded about what I’m willing to listen to and not to be predisposed toward liking or hating something because it’s by a certain artist would do me some good, so I appreciate the spirit of the topic.

Five Awesome Side-projects – Eric Clapton with Derek and the Dominoes, Duane Allman with Derek and the Dominoes, Matthew Sweet with the Thorns, Keith Richards and the Expensive Winos and Scott Weiland and Slash with Velvet Revolver.