Reverend Eddie "High Fire" Leon

The Mong
Music Group Commentary
November 2010

John Eddie – “Happily Never After” = 1 Star
A bit too ‘on the nose,’ trying-to-be easy-listening crossover pop. Not sure if it’s because its production is too clean or because it’s all so trite, but “Happily Never After” leaves an aftertaste of Christian Rock meets Hollywood Soundtrack. Yuk!

Arcade Fire – “Suburbs” (New) = 3 Stars
Doesn’t quite live up to the hype of what, to this point, has been a vastly overrated “art school” band but “Suburbs” suggests that Arcade Fire is actually on their way to crafting something great. Looking forward to the next one.

The Creepshow – “They All Fall Down” (New) = 3.5 Stars
As individual tracks this is plucky, high-octane fun but, sadly, as a collection of songs it gets a bit repetitive. Still, each song races by at an agreeable pace so it’s hard to fault this nearly-one-trick-pony for delivering the goods, as advertised. Great vocals and creepy-cool lyrics propel the deceptively slick production to make this one rock harder than most similar efforts. But one question: is it a requirement that every (so called) Psychobilly band have a reverend as a member?

The High Strung – “These Are Good Times” = 4.5 Stars
Wow and wow. Guess I now know who to accurately compare Sleeping in the Aviary to. Another phenomenal band I missed along the way that I never would have heard if not for our fine club. Thank you, boys.

Leon Redbone – “Double Time” = 2 Stars
It’s hard not to find Leon Redbone’s intentionally anachronistic work charming and endearing; nor is there a single fault in the craft or execution. I guess it just comes down to me not really giving enough of a shit to want to listen to it of my own free will.

The Hives – G’Hits
Me, I love ‘em. But underrated or overrated? You tell me.

Topic:
Your favorite ABCs (pseudo-desert island list of entire catalogues). Only one band/artist per letter, your choice of alphabetization.

50 Feet Tall
Archers of Loaf
The Beatles
The Clash
Dinosaur Jr.
Elton John
The Fixx
Guided by Voices
The Hives
Isis
Joybang
The Kinks
John Lennon
Matthew Sweet
Nirvana
Okkervil River
Pavement
Queens of the Stone Age
Rush
Spoon
Trans Am
The Unband
Violent Femmes
Wilco
The Police (Since I had not one legitimate pick in “X,” I’m picking one I had to give up elsewhere.)
Neil Young
The Zombies

Per Jay’s request for lists of runner-ups, etc., the hard choices for me were “B” (Beastie Boys, Big Star, The Black Keys, Built to Spill, Black Sabbath), “G” (Green Day…for me…obviously) and “P”(Robert Pollard, The Poster Children, The Pernice Brothers, the Pixies and my cheat claiming the Police for “X”) and “S” (major contenders being Sonic Youth, Superdrag, Superchunk, and The Snake The Cross The Crown). Most of the rest were no-brainers while some (like “U” and “X”) just had little or none to chose from. And, no, U2 is not the obvious choice. Yes, they’re a great band but that stuff is so beat into the ground for me (even the deep cuts…remember, I went to college in the late-80s/early 90s) that I honestly could care less if I never heard any of it again.