Geddy Auerbach

The Mong / Music Group Commentary / August 2011

Dave Alvin – “Eleven Eleven” = 2 Stars
Sensational musicianship and polished arrangements are largely spoiled by Alvin’s on-the-nose lyrics and sort-of-singing talk-vocals.

The Kills – “Blood Pressures” = 2.5 Stars
Some standout tracks but mostly filler and precious few variations from its overall repetitiveness.

Presto Ballet – “Invisible Places” = 2 Stars
A channeling of ELP, Yes, and Iron Maiden. Three great tastes that do not go great together.

Okay, whose idea of a sick joke was
it to have two Roger Waters
albums in the month?
That’s fucked-up!

Roger Waters – “Amused to Death” = 1 Star
To call this a childish, pretentious, overblown piece-of-shit would be an insult to childish, pretentious, overblown pieces of shit. I’ve read protest signs with more subtlety and eloquence.

Roger Waters – “Pros and Cons of Hitchhikin’” = 1.5 Stars
I was lucky enough to get a copy of this with the uncensored album cover when I was in high school but, after listening to it a few times, even that hot ass couldn’t keep me from trading it in for something good. Even at the brink of something resembling my own midlife crisis, Roger’s attempt to encapsulate his own (at the time) seems even more distant to me at forty-two than it did at sixteen. And for that, I thank my lucky stars. It means I’m not a whinny, self-consumed pussy.

G’hits – Joe Pernice
I was talking with Ed Valauskas of The Gravel Pit a few years back about Joe Pernice’s (then new) album, “Live a Little,” and Ed observed, “Joe Pernice has never written a bad song.” I agree. The collection I put together I think are the best of his best in his various solo and band incarnations. I hope it was enjoyed by all but something tells me it won’t be.

Topic Answers

Not knowing what the future holds, if I could be any current Rock star, becoming them instead of me, I guess I’d pick Dan Auerbach (Black Keys). He’s still young but not a boy, seems like a cool and smart guy from the few interviews I’ve read, and I predict his music will endure.

If I could have been in the right place at the right time, had the chops, and joined any band at any time, remaining myself, and affecting no change to the band’s catalogue or general history, I pick the obvious (for me): Geddy Lee of Rush becomes The Mong of Rush.