Some Numbers and a Few Words

The Mong / Music Group Commentary / September 2011

Working Mean Time business full time, the movie awards foundation part time, and HB Group full time on top of having something resembling a life is really getting in the way of music group...and my life expectancy. Sans D’Arcy, how do you guys all have kids and get anything done in a week?

The A’s – Self-titled = 3 Stars

Hayes Carll – “KMAG YOYO” = 3.5 Stars

Keith Top of the Pops – “Fuck You I’m Keith Top of the Pops” = 2.5 Stars

Ladyhawk – “Shots” = 3.5 Stars

Sleeping in the Aviary – “You and Me, Ghost” = 4.5 Stars

G’Hits – Drummer
Cool!

TOPIC
Favorite: Beatles – “White Album”
I listen to it more than any other album from start to finish. Even “Revolution 9.”

Least Favorite of my Favorites: Zombies – “Odessey and Oracle”
Its common distinction as the “Pet Sounds” from a UK band is valid so, like that Beach Boys classic, as much as I appreciate it, it’s a rare day when I enjoy it beyond said appreciation.

Swap? That’s easy. Zombies’ “Time of the Season” for Beatles’ “Revolution 9.”

If It's at the Spigot, You Gotta Dig It!

Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO

A very cool mix of country and rock based stompers and ballads…I like his lyrics and musically, it’s hard to go wrong with interesting guitar lines in the stompers, and either banjo, acoustic guitar, or pedal steel driven slower tunes…hell, there’s even a rippin’ pedal steel solo in “The Lovin’ Cup”… Vocally…he’s OK…and I’m sure these songs will work for me like a pair of jeans…they’ll get more and more comfortable with each listen, though I must admit, while listening to the title track, I wanted to sing, “look out kid, it’s somethin’ you did” and “Grateful for Christmas” is right out of the John Prine song style book. The piano and harmonies in “Hide Me” were a surprise and a nice ending touch. 3.5

Keith Top of the Pops… – Fuck You, I’m Keith Top of the Pops

OK…full disclosure here…I was in a somewhat hostile frame of mind when I listened to this the first time, so I really enjoyed the attitude in this, especially from “Girl”, “I Hate Your Band” and the subtle as an elephant’s prick “Fuck You”. Lyrics like, “Your opinion doesn’t matter ‘cause you’re not me” were spot on during that first listen, and I was hoping the “Pretentious Title TBC” would be “Don’t Worry, Be Angry”, but when I listened to it a few more times, in a mellower mood, while I enjoyed the spirit of the humor, the best song on it was “Try Your Best”, so this gets a 2.5 if you’re happy while listening, and 3.5 if you’re pissed at somebody or something while listening, so it averages out to a 3.

The A’s – Self Titiled (1979)

This is a regional band from the “just after the Knack made it safe for bands not to play disco any more” era. I haven’t played this album in 30 years before submitting it, and I was surprised at how well it held up musically. Rick DeFonzio is a very good guitar player, Richard Bush can sing, and the tounge-in-cheek “Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly” break in “After Last Night” still cracks me up. You also can’t go wrong with a song titled “Teenage Jerkoff”. This definitely captures a late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s Northeast Philly attitude and sensibility that hits home, and while there was a lot more “important” music out there, it’s still a fun listen for me. 3

Sleeping in the Aviary – You and Me, Ghost

Right out of the box, this was my favorite of the month…It hits all the right notes for me with its mix of “good old rock and roll” musical vibe, its power, its pop-leaning song structures, harmonies…awesome vocals, short and sweet songs that were varied, and interesting. It’s the whole package. It was the only thing I listened to this month that got better and better each time I listened to it, and it was the one CD I kept wanting to go back to and hear again. 4.5

Ladyhawk – For me, this was one of those “forgettables”…I listened about two weeks ago, thought, “OK, not bad” and then when I played it again this week, I didn’t remember a single track on it. It’s just non-descript…sounds like a million things I’ve heard over the past hand full of years with little elements of each of those bands – Kaiser Chiefs, The National, Arctic Monkeys, The Hold Steady…and a bunch of others - adding up to not a whole lot. Maybe it’s just that I don’t appreciate the genre, but it just doesn’t connect with me. 2

Drummers (GH) – Easily the most diverse GH we’ve had since I joined the group. As a musician, I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of tunes, though I have to admit that when I first saw the titles, I cringed at the Dave Matthews and Tool tracks, but in context, they were cool, though there needs to be a surgeon’s warning on this that says, “not to be listened to if suffering from headaches…side effects include playing drum solos on your steering wheel and looking like a complete moron in traffic.” Nice job, Greg!

Topic - We all have our favorite artists. Of the entire library of your true favorite artist not including greatest hits or live albums, what is your favorite album and what is your least favorite album? Why do these earn the distinction of best and worst?
My Favorite Album from my favorite artist is Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones. There are no weak songs, the musicianship is top-notch with the best Stones lineup (including Mick Taylor on guitar), and the music continues to stand the test of time 40+ years later.
My least favorite Stones album is Emotional Rescue…there’s only one or two songs on it that are worth the time to listen, it’s not particularly well recorded, Ronnie Wood is NO Mick Taylor and all in all, it just sucks.

Just for ha ha’s, you can pick one song from the worst cd and swap it with one you don’t like from the favorite. What songs were they?
“All About You” from Emotional Rescue to swap with “You Gotta Move” from Sticky Fingers, although I think it would make Sticky Fingers less better.

Kiss My Ass Guys....

The A’s –  Never heard of these guys, but this has got to be early to mid-80’s.  Sounds like a cross between the Boomtown Rats and the Hooters minus the hootie thing.  Incredibly dated, and doesn’t hold up well against similarly big-haired, skinny tied bands of that era. 2 stars

Ladyhawk – Like Built to Spill, its all about the guitar jams at the end of the songs.  The problem is that getting there isn’t always easy. Listened to this thing at least a half dozen times, and cant remember a single tune except the one where they steal from “Got to Get You Into My Life”, so the songwriting is weak.  Unusual for me in that the longer a track went, the more I enjoyed it. An easy disc to play loud and become immersed in the Crazy Horse styled jams, but making it to that point was a chore at times. 3 stars

Keith Top of the Pops – On the plus side, there’s some good straight on pop/rock going on here, particularly on “Girl” and “Go Away”.  There’s also an appealing sense of humor on those and a few others.  The minus side is that two or three duds are too many for a 10 song, 30-minute disc.  Didn’t like the vocals buried so far down in the mix, particularly on “I Hate Your Band”.  If you’re going to call out every band in England, man up and make the names audible.  Fairly entertaining and equally forgettable. 3.5 stars

Hayes Carll – While his debut was hit and miss, nearly every track on this disc scores a bulls-eye.  The band is incredibly flexible, handling rave-ups and straight country tear-jerkers (tell me “Chances Are” wasn’t made for Willie to cover) with equal aplomb.   Carll’s character sketches are richly vivid, notably the “Major Tom”-like soldier of the title track and the two beer-goggled antagonists of “Another Like You”.   One of my favorite discs of 2011. 4.5 stars

Sleeping With the Aviary – An innaresting disc.  Unusual to hear so many doo-wop type flourishes in what’s essentially low-fi garage music.  Somehow SWTA make the “sha-la-la”s and finger pops work with the abrasive guitar sound.  Love the lyrics on “Karen, You’re an Angel”.  Fades a little at the end, but overall an admirable job of sounding current while being obvious about incorporating the past. 3.5 stars

Drummers – I need to know the intent to review this one accurately.  If this is a collection of Greg’s favorite drummers, cool beans and rock on with your bad self.  If this is a collection of great songs featuring excellent drumming, I didn’t like some of the songs, and actively hate a few of them (Chicago, ELP).  If this is supposed be a representation of the greatest drummers in music, I believe any “greatest drummer” list that omits Keith Moon, Charlie Watts and Clyde Stubblefield is negligent.

Discussion Question

Picking out a “favorite” artist is impossible, but to play along I’ll go with Bruce. Favorite album is “Born to Run” and least favorite is “Human Touch”. I would not want to replace any song on BTR, particularly with one from “Human Touch”. If forced at gunpoint, I suppose “She’s the One” is the least important cut on BTR, and the title track is the best of the dregs on “Human Touch”.

Greg's September / October

The A’s – The A’s - 3

It seems to me that for the times and the similar style and sounding bands of that period these guys were just as good as anyone else out at the time. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw that these guys didn’t make it and the others did. To me they sounded a lot like Elvis Costello and Thin Lizzy, the Clash and twenty other bands. They were certainly talented and creative enough to make it. Also, great use of Beatles riffs.

Hayes Carll – KMOA YOYO - 2

You guys know how I feel about country, and it doesn’t get much more country than this. With that said, Another like you is a really cool play on Baby it’s Cold Outside. What a refreshing song, as country as it was, I like it. The lyrics are all that helped me through the rest of this cd, but there are a lot better lyricists out there that I actually like listening to. I was able to tolerate it more than I thought I would but it won’t likely ever be played again.

Keith Top of the Pops - Fuck you I’m Keith Top of the Pops – 2.5

Not sure what’s up with this guy’s name. I had to look him up to find out what his deal was. Initially because of the “Celebrity” reference I expected to see Ray Davies in the credits but I didn’t recognize any of the “Celebrities” they all seemed to be singing Nick Lowe songs though. I did like several of the songs which surprised me. I loved “Two of the Beatles are Dead”

Ladyhawk – Shots - .5

The music and the vocals didn’t seem to fit. The music and the voice felt disconnected. The singer kind of has a Bob Mould feel which is normally a plus, but, why would these guys clearly get high or drunk then record an album and who in their right mind would sign them knowing that they have substance abuse issues? I could tolerate these guys for one or two songs then I had to ask why am I wasting my time, and for me to say that knowing what I listen to that’s not a good thing. I’m sure you all will give it a 5, but I’m thinking more in the .5 range.

Sleeping in the Aviary – You and me, Ghost – 2.5

I had to give these guys a real shot because I bashed the crap out of them last time Mike submitted them. I’m still not sure why someone would choose to listen to these guys. If they happen to come on I might listen to one or two of the songs, but I’m not sure I’d say, hey let’s throw on SITA. It wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t all good either.

Drummers

This isn’t the best collection of songs by these drummers, but some of my personal favorites and a pretty good representation of these guy’s abilities, some more than others. I chose not to put a bunch of drum solos on in this collection because more than a drummer’s ability to be fast etc, is their ability to be creative and fit in with his fellow mucisians. A lot to artists have talent but don’t make it because of the group they play with. Being a drummer, it might be easier for me to appreciate the difficulty of their efforts. Danny Carey from Tool and Neil Peart are my personal favorites, I inadvertently left Dave Grohl off this list, that wasn’t intentional. You also get a sense of how drumming has changed over the decades. I also tried to include as many genres as possible to represent different styles of drumming. Hope you enjoyed it. Also, non-drum related but for the record, I heard by Lou Reed and Metallic, WTF, it is pretty much exactly what I expected, it sucked.

Question of the month- I actually thought that this was a stupid question (Point finger at Mike and Ken to shut up) but I had fun doing this.

We all have our favorite artists. Of the entire library of your true favorite artist not including greatest hits or live albums, what is your favorite album and what is your least favorite album?

Favorite - Rush – Moving Pictures

First exposure to Rush and best overall collection of Rush songs, a greatest hits album all by itself. Last “classic” Rush album.

Least Favorite – Rush – Vapor Trails

With the exception of One Little Victory (the first single which gave me great hope for the rest of the cd) nothing else on the disk flows. The songs are all boring and felt forced together with the lyrics. I know that Neil Peart is the “worst” lyricist but even I agree that these seemed an afterthought to the music. The music was even bland and after many listens it still didn’t settle in as anything close to, not even a classic, but just a song that will endear.

Just for ha ha’s, you can pick one song from the worst cd and swap it with one you don’t like from the favorite. What songs were they?

One little Victory would replace Camera Eye and that is only because I love the other songs more