Yup, Feeling Particularly Cursey, Crass, and Hostile This Month Yet Many 5s

The Mong
Music Group Commentary
Oct. 2009

Black Crowes – “Before The Frost...Until The Freeze” – 5 Stars
This album rocks so hard, it’s one of the albums I would play for aliens if they wanted to know what Rock is.

Cocktail Slippers – “Saint Valentine's Day Massacre” – 1.5 Stars
Another mediocre girl group. Wow-wee, they sing AND play all their own instruments. Big fucking deal. Sorry, but when it comes to Rock & Roll, girls rarely contribute something notable as anything other than singers or groupies. Call me sexist if you’d like but I’m not. This is a fact and I challenge anyone to make a case that the few exceptions don’t prove my rule. And while we’re at it, fuck The Donnas, too! Not “fuck them” as in “they suck” (although they do) but as in, “I’d like to fuck them.” Well, not the fat one. ...Okay, that was sexist...

Sugar – “Copper Blue” – 5 Stars
Bob Mould’s breakthrough album ... Only ten years late but better late than never. And its actually great. Easily one of the best releases of the '90s. At least he got to cash-in along with everyone else who was making money ripping off (I mean influenced by) Hüsker Dü at the time.

The Who – “The Who...By Numbers” – 5 Stars
5 Stars...Duh! One of their best, for sure.

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – “Break Up” – 3 Stars
Come on … Don’t be haters, guys: this is a damn good pop album. Not just “for Scarlett”...for anyone.

Dada – G’Hits
Glad I head them because I’d never head anything else from the band best known for “Dizz Knee Land,” and I might have ended my days thinking they totally sucked when they’re really just strange...perhaps even innovative: Probably the first band I’ve ever heard that’s stronger in the bridges and solos than they are in the verses and choruses. From track 12 on it’s almost like a different band, though, doing something post-Beatles by way of Oasis, and the result is something I like much better. Still, I remain puzzled by the band Dada so I guess I’ll quote (I think it was) Marcel Duchamp from some weird Dadaist film I saw in college: “Dada is good. Dada is bad.”

D’Arcy’s TOPIC Questions:
1) You have the chance to see one living band that you haven't yet seen. Who is the band, (remember living, but reunions count), how far are you willing to travel, and how much will you pay?
The Hives. If I had the cash and time to travel, I’d pay pretty much anything and go anywhere. On my current budget, I’d travel within six hours driving distance and get a hotel or pay for a cheap flight anywhere in the US or Canada. If I could keep it around $500, I’d definitely drop it. As high as $1,200 is still very likely.

2) Who is the one artist(s) that you always wanted to see but for whatever reason something always gets in the way? Do you still want to see them?
Wilco. I have missed them four times. I actually had tickets twice but work stuff came up that prevented me from going. The other two times I was traveling for family events. I’ve seen them open for Neil Young and they only played for about forty minutes so I don't think this really counts. Yes, I still want to see them headline, especially with the current lineup.

3) What about concerts that you have recently been to have changed? Is it for the better or for worse? What is it that you miss the most about concerts?
People like to sit at concerts in arenas and even ask you to sit down if you’re standing in front of them. Really, and should I clap softly, too, lame-ass! In mid-size venues, people have become increasingly pushy and borderline hostile but perhaps it’s just because I’ve been seeing a lot of shows in these types of clubs in NYC of late. Look, I’m here to see a show, not smash your face-in, pal (said like a cabbie). In small venues, people talk way too much and way too loud. Hey, did you pay to come here to listen to live music or talk with your friends about your stupid fucking lives, asshole! All of these things are decidedly worse (not better). What do I miss about concerts? That I used to be able to go to them and not be made to feel like I’m the odd man out at some mass child/parent playdate.

4) Which is the better piece of music, the one that is in your must play list, or the one you know is a great cd, has great reviews, but rarely gets played by you? Why? And does this effect how you review cd's?
Probably the great CD I don’t play as much because I listen to music in fits of taste and moods, not necessarily quality or high standards set by myself or others. This doesn’t really effect my reviews since, although taste factors in (how can it not?), I endeavor to listen to each CD out of context and/or in its own context.