Hang the Dj, Hang the Dj, Hang the Dj...

Alkaline Trio – Competent but rather unimaginative pop punk.  With the solid wall of guitar riffs and catchy choruses, their script is well polished.  I just wish they’d deviate from it once in a while to keep one song from sounding exactly like the one that preceded it.  The strings (synths?) on  “Sadie” are a good example where a little change in the formula goes a long way.  2.5 stars

5 Chinese Brothers –Left me wondering, “How did I miss this one?” Fantastic album that starts great and never wanes. The tunes are so strong, whether they are country tinged or straight pop that they seem effortless. Lyrically they run the gamut from poignant to comic, but always sharp and on-point. Wound up chasing down their other works. 4.5 stars

Smiths – Hadn’t heard this in many years.  Great guitar work by Johnny Marr, simple pop songs and clean production that still sound good.  Holding it all together is the great Morrissey, whose vocals and lyrics are comically over the top. Never quite knew if he was trying to be serious or in on the gag, but I always assumed the latter.  A little more filler on this than I remember, but when they’re on their game, they’re as good as it got in the 80’s.  4 stars

Motorhead – While I generally hate metal, I respect Motorhead.  Like the Ramones, their charm lies in a refusal to deviate from the blueprint of playing simple music boiled down to its barest elements.  As expected, there’s nothing new here.  Lemmy’s vocals are a little worse for wear, but the band sounds as locked in as ever.  Not something I’ll ever play start to finish again, but when the occasional tracks shuffles in, I’ll crank it up. 3 stars

North Mississippi All Stars – Had a sinking feeling after the first two cuts, but the Mavis Staples song gets the rest of the disc on the right path.  Nothing remarkable about it, but there is a solid toe-tapping consistency that reminds me of Little Feat.  “Hear the Hills” was the highlight, would have liked them to stretch a couple of other songs out like they did on that one. 3.5 stars

3 Chord – Good stuff all the way around.  To me, these songs are representative of the essence of what rock music should be about.  Especially loved the Harrison track, which I had not previously heard. Shockingly, Dylan sounded downright interested. If we’re picking nits, the Ramones should have been in there somewhere.  Enjoyed it tremendously

Discussion Question

Don’t have a set routine. I listen at work, in the car, walking, driving, etc. All but the real crappy ones get a final listen before putting my insightful, well-reasoned opinions in writing. Once I have my rating set, I use the following matrix to make adjustments :

If the disc allows me to use the phrase “in its genre” in my review add ½ star
If the person who submitted it slammed my last offering – subtract 1 star
If my kids bitched about the disc when I put it on in the car – add 1 star
If my wife bitched about the disc when I put it on in the car – add 2 stars
If there are any songs longer than 5 minutes, subtract 1 star
If I submitted it, add ½ star to boost rankings
If Ken submitted it – subtract ½ star to offset the extra ½ star he undoubtedly gave it to pad his rankings
If Mongillo submitted it – Go no lower than 2 stars to avoid being branded a retard