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.