Contra Salesman Blood Measure Boogie

The Mong - Music Group Commentary - April 2010
- or -
One-Sentence Opinions from Some Guy in Meriden
(Who Has Been Profoundly Busy Lately)

Field Music – “Measure” – 3 Stars
Really good stuff but way too much of it, which seriously diminished the overall impact and strength of the standouts.

Raging Slab – “Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert” – 2 Stars
I respect the effort more than the outcome.

Ike Reilly – “Salesman and Racists” – 1 Star
There’s such a fine line between ‘self-aware meets clever’ and being nowhere near as self-aware and clever as you think you are; here, Mr. Reilly provides the added bonus of being on the wrong side of that line both lyrically AND musically.

Vampire Weekend – “Contra” – 1.5 Stars
Hey, Vampire Weekend, I’ve got a new title for your new CD: “Totally Derivative Music by Pussies for Other Pussies.”

Yeasayer – “Odd Blood” – 2.5 Stars
In my defense, I provided this because it was the only release I had from 2010 (provided to me by Secretly Canadian since I’m on their courtesy list) that I figured no one else (other than maybe D’Arcy) would have but, truth be told, I really liked it.

G’Hits – Pete Townshend
Other than “White City,” I’ve never had much luck going beyond his hits and this reinforced that.

TOPIC
I gather that the topic was, “What band had made/is making the most great music for the most consistent period of time?” Clearly it was The Beatles. Other candidates: The Clash, The Rolling Stones, Wilco, Pavement, The Police, Spoon, Guided by Voices, Neil Young, Radiohead, Black Sabbath, Elton John, The Beastie Boys, The Pixies, The Who, The Kinks, and The Beach Boys (too, I guess).