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.