Reviews with the Enormous Title

June 2011

Music Club

Notes and Scratches- Uh-Oh

Uh-Oh is difficult to categorize. Its needle to the red bang your instrument as hard as possible, its folk, its Americana, its rock, its arbitrary percussion in odd places, its spaghetti western trumpets, its Wilco-Okkervil River highs and lows with most of the songs sad and depressing. Some of Uh-Oh is quite interesting and some dull. The vocalist's growled whisper grabs your attention but after awhile loses it and it is probably the weakest piece of this recording. There is pure emotion in the performances but I'm not sure if it enough. There is a killer album in there, somewhere but not in this issue.. 3.0

Black Angels- Phosgene Nightmare

Low key drugged up psychedelia that sounds like its name. Not as strong as Phosgene Dream but still mesmerizing. the Rain Dance Song stays with me all day... 3.0

Okkervil River- I am Very Far

I do like the fact that they veered a little with their sound opting for Spector like production and songs that could have been sung by Lucinda Williams or John Hiatt. Wil, I think is stuck in a melody rut, especially on the ballads. You can almost predict where he is going to go with a song and his use of horns is the same every time he uses them. Some  run too long  like "The Rise" which IS interesting but drags on forever. The creativity lies in the upbeat, full sound songs. I am still waiting for greatness from them but I feel they are slowly burning out with every release since Black Sheep Boy being a little less intriguing than it precursor. 3.0 barely

10 CC- Deceptive Dreams

White man blues/funk/soul that tries to be The White Album Beatles but misses. These guys can play and they know how create an arrangement but the final product is dated and recalls WTIC AM radio when Bob Steele felt like getting down. The lyrics are silly and production is too well done. Too bad because these guys probably had a better, edgier album in them... 1.5

Bad Brains- Rock for Light

Its one song repeatedly thrashed over and over with a couple of lame pseudo Jamaican dubs... 0

Hoodoo Gurus

Straight 80s guitar driven alt-pop-rock. Nothing fancy but all pretty good. Their earliest material is their weakest but the rest is pure power pop goodness.

Topic

	THEN
1	Ragged Glory	Neil Young
2	Cracker	Cracker
3	100% Fun	Matthew Sweet
4	Time Out of Mind	Bob Dylan
5	It's Shame About Ray	Lemonheads
6	Goo	Sonic Youth
7	Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell	Social distortion
8	Walk On	John Hiatt
9	Red Letter Day	Buffalo Tom
10	In Utero	Nirvana
	NOW
1	Ragged Glory	Neil Young
2	Cracker	Cracker
3	100% Fun	Matthew Sweet
4	The Days of Our Nights	Luna
5	69 Love Songs	Magnetic Fields
6	Time Out of Mind	Bob Dylan
7	Possum Dixon	Possum Dixon
8	Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell	Social distortion
9	It's Shame About Ray	Lemonheads
10	Goo	Sonic Youth

Yes, it's come to just numbers ... That's right.

The Mong / Music Group Commentary / June 2011

10cc – “Deceptive Bends” = 3

Bad Brains – “Rock for Light” = 2

The Black Angels – “Phosgene Nightmare” = 4

Notes and Scratches = 2

Okervil River – “I Am Very Far” = 4

G’Hits
Hoodoo Gurus
Nice. 3.5 if we rated these officially.

TOPIC
With a decade of reflection and perhaps now accounting for your changes/evolutions in taste, what is your current top-ten of the ‘90s? How different is this than what it would have been then? So basically make your then list and now list.

THEN
1. Pavement – “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” (1993)
2. Matthew Sweet – “Girlfriend” (1991)
3. Nirvana – “In Utero” (1993)
4. Guided by Voices – “Bee Thousand” (1994)*
5. Beastie Boys – “Check Your Head” (1992)*
6. Sonic Youth – “Dirty” (1992)*
7. The Swirlies – “Blonder Tongue Audio Baton” (1993)
8. Jawbox – “Self-titled” (1996)
9. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – “Orange” (1994)
10. Wheat – “Self-titled” (1998)

NOW
1. Guided by Voices – “Bee Thousand” (1994)*
2. Nirvana – “Nevermind” (1991)
3. Beastie Boys – “Check Your Head” (1992)*
4. Matthew Sweet – “Altered Beast” (1993)
5. Sonic Youth – “Dirty” (1992)*
6. G. Love & Special Sauce – “Self-titled” (1994)
7. Helmet – “Meantime” (1992)
8. Pixies – “Trompe Le Monde” (1991)
9. Spoon – “A Series of Sneaks” (1998)
10. Queens Of The Stone Age – “Self-titled” (1998)

* On Both Lists (=3)

Lame month reviews

Hoodoo Gurus Greatest Hits
Lou Reed only better

Okervil River – I am Very Far 3.5
I don’t know why I like these guys because they sound just like Notes and Scratches. You guys talk about these guys a lot. I now understand the interest a little better. Very cool album art.

Bad Brains – Rock for Light 2.5
I have to admit that I bought and this cd sight unheard. I was reading an article on a flight about Dave Grohl and he listed this as one of his top 10 of his most influential albums. Considering that these guys have been around since 1980 and were still recording as of 2007 they must be doing something right. The dude singing is a lot like a Rasta Mike Patton, too much energy for his own good. They are nothing if not original. Listening to them at 6:00 AM was a bit of a challenge. I could have done without the occasional awkward girl screams, but otherwise these guys grew on me. They probably could have gotten by with 6 – 8 songs as opposed to 20.

Notes and Scratches – 2.5
Gritty and raw. Good ballads and melodies, a little Connor Oberst, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits. Few bands can make the transition that is required over musical trends, U2, AC/DC, I think these guys have the potential, or at least I hope they have it to continue because they are good. The singer probably wouldn’t have made it very far on American Idol, but fortunately not everyone uses Idol as a talent gauge. I mean dude, if you struggle that bad to get a note out you might want to reconsider your profession and see a doctor.

10cc – Deceptive Bends – 3.5
There’s something about that “70’s sound” that I really love. Even the stupid lyrics and the corny disco sounding guitar is acceptable for some reason. Godley and Crème were just hit making machines back in the day. Really easy cd to listen to. Pick of the month.

The Black Angels – Phosgene Nightmare 2 – 3
Only one listen but this might be the second cd that Mike submitted that I actually like. I think he’s finally coming around.

With a decade of reflection and perhaps now accounting for your changes/evolutions in taste, what is your current top-ten of the ‘90s? How different is this than what it would have been then? So basically make your then list and now list.

Alice in Chains – higher on the list then in the 90’s
Sound Garden – Higher
Pearl Jam – Lower

Francis Dunnery – Someone gave me a copy of Fearless back in the mid 90’s and I was completely underwhelmed by the experience. So I carefully avoided any people who claimed he was some sort of pop wunderkind. Probably a wise choice, because every time I happened by some of his music in was similarly underwhelmed. But, to be fair, this isn’t an entirely unpleasant listen. As a matter of fact it’s probably just a little too pleasant. He seems to have a gift for writing pretty good pop tunes, but where’s the beef? Fist song is great, but the rest of this deserves a more raved up treatment. When it softens up too much it sounds like freakin’ Simon and Garfunkle, but not in the good way. 2.5

Ray Davies – Two ways to look at this of course. Way one – What’s the fuckin’purpose of this exercise? Why re-record, with little or no change in the arrangements, these already mostly perfect songs just to allow fuckin Bruce Springsteen (or worse, Billy fuckin’ Corgan) to sing a few lines. Again, WHY!? Then there’s Way Two to look at this. Hey, the songs are not just good, they are great, Ray still sounds pretty good and what’s the harm in letting his friends like Bruce Springsteen (and even Billy Corgan) belt out a few lines. Hey, I’d probably want to puke if Iggy did something like this (oh, that’s right, he wouldn’t), but I don’t find this overly offensive and well written songs are well written songs. If it offends you sensibilities, get over it. Way two slightly out pointing way one, so it’s a 3.0

Lia Ices - This was the first CD I put on when I left the bar last month, figuring that I’d get something….well….other that what I got. Took it out after a few minutes and waited for the moment to arrive when I felt like listening to something like this and it never came. Can’t give it a grade based on that, but that time may come and then we’ll give it a whirl then. Not optimistic, though.

Mumford & Sons - As I recall, their appearance at the Grammy’s was the most interesting thing that night, but that’s not saying much, so I don’t know whether my expectations were too high or not. Didn’t really blow me away at first listen, but it did get better. The sparser songs were the clear winners, but it’s only a 3

Sex Pistols - While I know we’re supposed to avoid submitting acknowledged classics, you just never know what people will think in an “acknowledged classic.” I thought Let it Bleed was a lay up and some people didn’t even give it a 4. And let’s not even mention Daydream Nation. So here we have one of the most polarizing records ever released. I bought the God Save the Queen single at Gerbers Music in Dewitt, NY in the summer of 1977. I had spent the latter part of my sophomore year in college being schooled in the ways of some new type of music by a guy from Toledo, Ohio with the decidedly musical name of Mike Bloomfield. I had heard the Ramones, Blondie and Television, but was not prepared for what was about to happen. I got home that summer afternoon and put this on the stereo in our basement and turned up the volume and……..well, I couldn’t fuckin’ believe it. It exploded out of the speakers with the kind of rage and power that forever changed the way I listen to music. It sounds corny to say it changed my life, but it did. I must have listened to it half a dozen times in a row, each time louder and more powerful than the last. I remember feeling almost helpless with an excitement I couldn’t share with anyone else. My best friend was still anchored in our old southern rock way of life and I knew he simply would not understand. So it was just me, listening to it over and over. I bought the full length record as soon as the import became available and it proved that God Save the Queen was no fluke. One power packed anthem after another blasted out of the speakers. I’ve probably listened to this record more than any other I own and it never gets old, although I do have two complaints about this version. The transfer from vinyl to digital took some of the power away. You REALLY have to turn this up to get the full effect. And, quite frankly, the single version of God Save is hotter and more powerful than the album version. And then there’s the inexplicable inclusion of the song Submission on the, the American release. It just doesn’t belong. 5!

P-Funk - Rules their genre because they understand that guitars don’t need a wah wah pedal on EVERY song. Funky indeed!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

How I choose. Have to have done one of the following things. Sold a lot of concert tickets. Sold a lot of records. Or been a major influence on a genre or movement. Oh, and it would help to actually be a rock band.

Warren Zevon - Great artist, but not quite

Lou Reed - The question is whether he gets individual credit for the Velvet stuff. If he does, he’s in, but if not he’s simply Warren Zevon with a bad attitude.

Gram Parsons - The argument is one of historical relevance and how influential he might have been. Without him, there are a lot of bands that might not have found there way into what they do. It could be argued that without his influence, the entire country rock scene of the late 70s doesn’t take shape the same way or maybe at all. Same with the alt-country movement of the 90s. That’s why he’s in.

War - No

Nirvana - Have to be in. Changed a generation.

Zevon - Great artist, but not quite

Judas Priest - One of the best and most influential bands of a powerful genre. In.

Rush - Surprised they are not in already, and although I have no use for them, they should be in. They sell tickets and records and have done so for a long time.

GVB - My heart says yes, my head says no. Pollard is a brilliant, but minor artist, who did not really influence any great movement. And he didn’t sell many records or concert tickets. So as brilliant and critically acclaimed as he is, he fails all three tests.

Lia Ices Naked!

The Mong / Music Group Commentary / May 2011

Ray Davies – “See My Friends” = 0.5 Stars
So very, very, very, very, very unnecessary. The former genius has sunk to new lows here.

Francis Dunnery – “Tall Blonde Helicopter” = 3 Stars
A strong singer/songwriter outing that has the feel and flow of a “best of,” making it more impressive.

Lia Ices – “Grown Unknown” = 3 Stars
What a voice! And here ability also equals talent. Plus she's hot. Good stuff.

Mumford & Sons – “Sign No More” = 3.5 Stars
As strong as it is, I’ll probably never listen to it again. Easily the best new release in awhile but something is keeping me from getting passionate about it.

Sex Pistols – “Never Mind the Bollocks” = 5 Stars
For its enduring cultural relevance and the fact that it’s probably better listening now that it was then, this is such “5” that it’s silly.

G’Hits – Funkadelic
Funky! Duh.

Topic votes, etc.:

Warren Zevon - No - Great but not enough "important" material to qualify.

Lou Reed - No - I hate him but he is undeniably relevant...with Velvet Underground...not as a solo artist. Same goes for Paul McCartney (with the Beatles but not as a solo artist).

Judas Priest - Yes - One of the all time defining Metal bands.

War - No - See Warren Zevon.

Graham Parsons - No - Just doesn't seem worthy to me.

Nirvana - Yes - Love them or hate them, with a single album, they redefined the music industry for a decade and beyond.

Rush - Yes - To quote (South Park's) Matt Stone: "Even if you hated Rush in the 80s and 70s, now you gotta give it up for them...or else you're just being an old dickhead." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVFgqfJg7FE)

- Guided by Voices - Yes - You can deny Robert Pollard's relevance so I'll present some heavyweight quotes for you "critics" to consider by the real critics whose relevance you've all defended so hard: "Music seems to come pouring out of some people: Mozart, the young Rossini, Paul McCartney, Price and now Robert Pollard." - Jon Pareles/New York Times / "As with Big Star...a tour de force by a good old-fashioned American basement genius." - Michael Azerrad/Rolling Stone / "Songs so undeniably strong that most bands would pump them up into epic show-stoppers are tossed off as if they were stoned doodles." - John Mulvey/NME / "Songwriters who are lucky enough to come up with 10 great melodies in their lifetime must hate Pollard who...does effortlessly what the rest of his brethren pursue to the point of frustration." Michael Corcoran/Rolling Stone / "Beatles via-Alpha Centuri confections. Pure pop!" - Dave Sprague/Interview ... ... That should do it, I guess.