Staying In Monsta's Good Graces

Amon Tobin:  2.5

Electronic music tires me. I get bored with it really quickly and most of it just drones on and on for way too long. Do these techno-sonic onslaughts need to be this long? Maybe if I was in a German nightclub watching frau megaboobs grind along to her favorite Chemical Brothers beat I may feel differently. Having said that, this cd does have some redeeming qualities to it. I like the jazz loops and the unpredictable drum and bass beats.  Slowly and Get Your Snack On are probably my favorites. I don't know how often I'll be playing this but I'll definitely be listening to it again. You never know- visions of frau club-meister may keep it a little more interesting.

Ian Hunter:  4.0

I definitely was playing this more than Amon Tobin this month.  My ears just seem to like fun three-chord boogies so much more than electronic gibberish- Ian and The Rant Band did not disappoint.  Like the aging Stones, this 73 year old guy can still rock it out of the park. The songwriting is solid. The Rant Band is solid- esp. Andy York's guitar work. What's not to like?

Spirit:  4.5

1970. When FM radio was the coolest thing ever. Listening to the DJ's at WOUR in shitty little Utica, NY playing whatever the F*** they wanted. I would stay up for hours listening to that station and it opened my ears to so much great music. An indelible memory is a song from Circus Maximus called The Wind and a tune from Spirit called Nature's Way.  Songs that moved me. Talked to me. Opened up a new world for me. Or was that the pot? Anyway. This is a great concept album if ever there was one. Strong songwriting. Excellent musicianship and great production makes for one of the best rock albums ever. Just my opinion. Oh- it's a classic!

World Party: awesome

Karl Wallinger is a frekin' genius. I've got to put him up there with Jeff Lynne. Never as popular here as in the UK- never the less this is quintessential Brit pop with a decidedly Beatles/Mersey beat backbone to it. Sadly- Karl suffered an aneurysm in 2000 which left him unable to speak.

Discussion

As we discussed hall of fame nominations last week often it was said without this band we would never have (fill in alt country band here). Is this really true? Is there any band/musician that this actually applies? Or would someone else been able to provide the spark needed?

A. I think  there will always be a spark. Everyone has their influences and those influences could be rooted in any genre. Didn't Rock N Roll come from Blues/Country/ Jazz/Rhythm N Blues. Bill Haley and the Comets didn't just wake up one day in 1950 and say hey, Sam Phillips, let's create a new genre of music.  I think you can always find earlier influences in any music. But, D'Arcy,  the fact remains that there would be no Wilco without  Uncle Tupelo.

A friend of mine recently said that I am getting older I don't want to learnanything new. Does this apply to music? As we get older are we truly looking for new music or just filling the fact that favorites from the past are fading away? Are we are looking for new favorites to fill in the void in the void or truly looking for new music?

A. I love new music and am always eager to hear new stuff. I don't feel I'm looking to fill any voids- although I do find myself at times listening to some stuff I haven't listened to in a while and going- why did I like this so much? But I also think that there are a ton of new artists out there that play music which harkens back to earlier time frames. Tame Impalas, The Mother Hips, Foxygen and on and on.  And, although you can certainly pick out their influence(see question 1), there is a fresh spin to it that makes it feel "new". Ah, there's that spark again.

Looking forward to another year of reading half the group's reviews

Amon Tobin – Not a big electronica fan, but I thought this started out pretty good, and then lost steam by about the 4^th track.  After that it was just background noise, except on “Precursor” which just plain irritated.  Not my cup of tea, but I’ve heard worse in the genre.  2.5 stars

Ian Hunter – When “Shrunken Heads” was released 6 years ago, I never imagined it was the beginning of a full-scale Ian Hunter rebirth, and in fact I attributed its artistic success to Jeff Tweedy’s production and co-writes.  Clearly, that is not the case.  This disc, like the last two, melds an Exile-era Stones vibe with Hunter’s pithy lyrics which run the gamut from wistful (“Life”) to pissed-off (title track).  This is one of music’s greatest resurrections of the last 20 years, and I hope there is plenty more to come.  4 stars

Spirit – Yikes.  Just couldn’t connect at all to this slice of hippy-trippy pie.  A lot of it reminded me of Blood Sweat and Tears, who I abhor.  There were a couple of ok songs, but a lot of it sounded like a soundtrack for one of those completely outdated movies from the late 60’s. Sorry to sound like “the man”, but I just wasn’t diggin’ it.   2 stars

World Party – My favorite kind of best-of.  One where I’m vaguely familiar with the band and come to find out there was a lot more to them than I knew. While “Ship of Fools” is the crown jewel, there is plenty more here to enjoy. The “Goodbye Jumbo” material was the best IMHO, but the whole thing went to the Zune for posterity.  “Is It Like Today” is the best Kinks song Ray Davies never wrote, and I took perverse joy in D’Arcy willingly putting a Bob Dylan cover on.  Best group g-hits in eons. 

Discussion Questions

As we discussed hall of fame nominations last week often it was said without this band we would never have (fill in alt country band here). Is thisreally true? Is there any band/musician that this actually applies? Orwould someone else been able to provide the spark needed?

Dismissing the gratuitous alt-country swipe, the answer is absolutely yes and can be proven in two words:  Chuck Berry.  Rock and Roll doesn’t exist without Chuck’s double-stop opening riff to “Johnny B Goode”.  Without that riff, there’s no Beatles, no Stones and ergo, no rock and roll.  Would someone else have discovered that riff someday?  Maybe, but Chuck did and his work is the foundation to the genre.

A friend of mine recently said that I am getting older I don't want to learn

anything new. Does this apply to music? As we get older are we truly
looking for new music or just filling the fact that favorites from the past
are fading away? Are we are looking for new favorites to fill in the void in
the void or truly looking for new music?

Not sure exactly what D’Arcy means by “new music”. If he is talking about styles or types of music, I’m definitely not seeking it out. I know what I like and what I don’t like at this point. There’s no reason to download Peruvian death folk samplers to see if its any good. If I run across something new, great, but I’m not seeking it out.

The second part of his question is spot on. Some of my “old reliables” are anything but these days, so I look for artists that play a similar style of music in order to scratch that itch. Perfect example for me is Gaslight Anthem who make the kind of classic Springsteen records Bruce no longer seems capable of.

o.b. Helix Regular

Hands down (too funny), my favorite tampon is the o.b. Helix Regular. Oh yeah; it's a best seller- just like ABBA!!

Top 10 Albums of 2012

1. Mark Knopfler- Privateering

2. Heartless Bastards- Arrow

3. Dwight Yoakam- 3 Pears

4. Dr. Dog- Be The Void tied with 2012 EP Wild Race

5. Sitcom Neighbor- Charm

6. Gary Clark Jr- Blak And Blu

7. Jack White- Blunderbuss

8. Alabama Shakes- Boys And Girls

9. The Whigs- Enjoy The Company

10.  Divine Fits- A Thing Called Divine Fits

Hon Mention and just barely out of the top 10: Hospitality- Hospitality; John Mayer- Born and Raised; Punch Brothers- Who's Feeling Young Now?; Donald Fagen- Sunken Condo's;  Father John Misty- Fear Fun.

DYN HOF Nominees

1. Black Crowes

2. Cars

3. Cheap Trick

DYN HOF Expel Nominee: Ricky Nelson. HOF? AYFKM?

 

Sometimes- 8 minutes is not enough!

Al Green- Call Me:  4.5

Last month The Allman Brothers and this month Al Green.   Another legendary recording. Really; it's perfect in every way- production, horns, strings, and  the always silky smooth and effortless vocals.   Who else could give a Hank Williams song such a soulfully smooth treatment?

Pretenders- Pretenders II:  4.5

Talk about the women of Rock. Who wasn't in love with Chrissie Hynde in 1981? I sure was.  She wrote great songs and then delivered them with a sexy swagger mortal males cannot resist. Which brings me to Grace Potter- oh....... nevermind.  Ok, so this is a great cd that, when it was released, got panned a little bit for being a glossy version of the first record and more of the same but not as edgy or inventive. I never understood that- for me it stands up to the first just fine. Equal, if not better.  Catchy tunes with CH's smokey, sexy vocals - what's not to like?

Sitcom Neighbor- Charm:  4.0

I don't care how many bands out there try to sound like The Beatles. It's not a bad thing to sound like! Power pop rockers from LA- I first heard them on the Power Popaholic web site and immediately liked them.  I hear a lot of good influences in a lot of these tunes- XTC, Badfinger, Kinks, Teenage Fanclub, and oh yeah The Beatles. Lots of catchy melodic tunes with nice vocals and great power pop sense. What's not to like?

Discussion:

Fav 8 min. songs: 1-The World is a Ghetto: War; 2-The Mule: Deep Purple;  3-Staying Alive: The Whigs; 4-One Sunday Morning: Wilco; 5-Remember The Future Part1:  Nektar

Last 5 deleted songs-- can't remember. I don't delete much.

3 Guilty pleasures- 1-I like Rick Astley- actually own 2 of his cd's. maybe I'll submit one sometime. 2-Barry Manilow's Copacabana and -3-Any song from the Carpenters- esp love Superstar

Album I love that the world hates- Dean Friedman: Dean Friedman

Sound effects can be vital:: 1- Been Caught Stealing: Jane's Addiction 2- Autobahn: Kraftwerk (and it's well over 8 min long- double qualifier!) 3- Money: Pink Floyd  4- For Those About To Rock: AC/DC  5- Rock The Casbah: The Clash