DIddy Wah Diddy

Music Group 11/30

The High Strung – These Are Good Times

I’m a garage rock guy, and they won me over as soon as the vocals kicked in and sounded to me like Ray Davies in a younger day. I was a little surprised that I hadn’t heard of them or at least seen them on some power pop blogspots along the way. Good songs, good playing and a good feel, though not great…just good. But pretty good. 3 ½ stars.

Arcade Fire – Suburbs

I’m not a big fan of this style of music, and this CD was barely tolerable for me, but I did listen all the way through trying for the life of me to find something I would enjoy. It just wasn’t there…kinda like a movie where you hate all the characters and just want them to die. A movie like “The Grifters”. But I digress…since it did not connect with me emotionally, it had no chance with me. 1 ½ stars.

The Creepshow – They All Fall Down

Thanks, D’Arcy! I’m a sucker for hot chick vocals and I don’t even care that this is the little sister of the original singer (Hellcat), this was a fun listen. I don’t have enough “psychobilly” in my collection, so this is a welcome addition. The songs and feel do get somewhat repetitive along the way, but overall, I enjoyed it a lot and will listen to it again. 3 ½ stars.

Leon Redbone – Double Time

Definitely an acquired taste, though historically, I’ve always found him at least as interesting to listen to as Tom Waits. I remember hearing “Shine on Harvest Moon” on Dr. Demento, so for me, he’s more of a novelty and less of a “serious artist”. I gave this artist points for production and image and uniqueness and managing to be confused with Redbone (Witch Queen of New Orleans) in the early-mid ’70’s. 2 stars.

John Eddie – Happily Never After

Obviously not his best solo work – that would be “Who the Hell is John Eddie”. This is just a warm up for that…kind of MOR, not really rock, blah blah blah…a wasted pick on my part. Tradable for a mid-level prospect and a PTBNL. 2 ½ stars.

The Hives – Greatest Hits

Glad I listened beyond the first four tracks…their style changed dramatically after they learned how to play their instruments. I like their later stuff and had little use for the “pure punk” screaming tracks.

Topic – “A is for Apple…

# - 5 Chinese Brothers
A – Allman Brothers
B –Beatles
C – Costello, Elvis
D – Dylan, Bob
E – Elton John
F – Fountains of Wayne
G – George Harrison
H – Hank Williams
I – Iggy Pop
J – Johnny Cash
K- Kinks
L – Led Zeppelin
M – Matthew Sweet
N – New York Dolls
O – Offspring
P – Pete Townshend
Q – Queen
R – Rolling Stones
S – Simon & Garfunkel
T – Tony Bennett
U – Uncle Tupelo
V – Van Morrison
W – Wilco
X – X
Y – Young, Neil
Z – Zappa, Frank

Lots of toughies…no Bowie (aced out by Beatles and Dylan), no Sinatra, etc…