Fucked Up, Stereolab Japandroids Moving Mountains

MUSIC COMMENTARY by The Mong

NEW

The Refreshments – “Let it Rock: Chuck Berry Tribute” = 0.0
If you like oldies but hate listening to them then you’ll love The Refreshment’s “Let it Rock: Chuck Berry Tribute!” Guaranteed to sound almost exactly like the source without any of that pesky originality or pointless authenticity! Buy yours now, while supplies last!

Holly Williams – “The Highway” = 2.0
Decent yet forgettable Adult Contemporary Americana.

OLD

Marillion – “Clutching at Straws” = 1.0
1) It’s Marillion and Marillion makes Yes look tough. 2) Any album that’s opening track starts with xylophone arpeggios is doomed from the onset. 3) I’m honestly beginning to suspect that Greg selects music for this group that he knows we’ll hate.

The Sugarplastic – “Bang, the Earth is Round” = 3.5
XTC meets '80’s Genesis in all the right ways.

G’HITS

Mother Hips – G’hits
Some phenomenal standouts (“Mission in Vain,” “Third Floor Story”) but a bit less would have been more.

TOPIC

This month’s topic kind of came to me when I was deciding on who was going to get the GHits nod. So, what's in a name? Naming your rock band, I'm sure, is an exercise unto itself. A good band name can be clever; weird; descriptive; unusual; or just plain cool. Part 1. Do you think having a great name adds anything to the success of the band? Or, is it strictly about the music? Part 2. List some of your favorite band names and, if you know it, the origin of the name.

Part 1.
Yes, a great band name can definitely impact a band’s success but not if the music is weak. Case in point, when I’m looking at any one of the sources for new music I see every week, I start my sampling with bands I’ve heard of, then bands on labels I’ve heard of, then bands with great reviews, and then I pick a few bands whose names I like.

Part 2.
Favorite band names and origins (if known):
Alt-J
(“The name...is an allusion to the Greek uppercase letter delta (∆) which can be typed on Apple Mac OS X by the key sequence alt + J.” I knew this but just cut & pasted that perfect encapsulation from Wikipedia.)
Blonde Redhead
(No idea where they got their name.)
Daft Punk
(No idea where they got their name but according to the link below: “The name Daft Punk was inspired by a review in the British music magazine Melody Maker, which called their first band Darlin' ‘a bunch of daft punk.’”)
Eagles of Death Metal
(The origin is self-explanatory.)
Fucked Up
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Japandroids
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Moving Mountains
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Quiet Riot
(Not sure of its origin but, damn, it’s tops for great alliteration!)
Red Five
(Named after the X-wing squadron in the first and only worthwhile “Star Wars.”)
Stereolab
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Television
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Three Dog Night
(Apparently this is a colloquialism expressing that it is so cold that you’d let three dogs sleep in your bed for warmth.)
The Unband
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
The Who
(No idea where they got their name but according to the link below: Their original name was 'The High Numbers'.  After they were announced, the audience reaction was typically, "The who?")

A great source for this: http://rateyourmusic.com/list/ByteMe/the_origins_of_band_names/1/

Mmmmm.... Glazed Donuts.......

 

The Refreshments- Let it Rock-Chuck Berry Tribute

I kept asking myself “is some of this actually good or is some of  it good because the songs are good?”  These are competent covers and work best when they get into a Dave Edmunds boogie groove. On others they drift into Little Feat world and lose me. In a bar after a few I’m sure this would be fun but in essence it’s just ok. (2.5)

Marillion- Clutching at Straws

Marillion is a band I can’t get into but totally respect. The Peter Gabriel era Genesis sound is one factor, which should be a positive, but comes off as been-there-done-that to me. The other factor is it being Prog-Rock. Musicianship is top-notch as is the production but it’s the melodrama that eats at me. I can’t dis them but its not anything going to land on the ol’ MP3 player. (2.0)

Sugarplastic- Bang, The Earth is Round

Interesting is the best I can give this. It seemed in each song there were parts I liked and parts that totally ruined the song for me (i.e the falsetto and the chorus in “Don’t Sleep”). Actually the lead singer basically ruined most of this for me.  They are listed as power-pop….sorry don’t hear that (okay maybe "Montibello”). Second listen was better than first but I had to get this out of my dropbox folder as fast as possible. (1.5)

Holly Williams- The Highway

Good, introspective songs. A few get draggy but for the most part they are thoughtful, smart, grown up songs. Her voice is earnest and wistful with country soul, which makes her stories worth caring about. My mistake was that I accidently listened to on shuffle because the order and pacing may change my “draggy” comment. In any case, best of the month for me. (3.5)

Mother Hips

The more Greatful Dead they got the less I liked. Some fun, groove laden stuff here when they didn’t get too hippie. Definitely will cherry-pick.

Topic

In theory, my belief is that a band name should reflect the music. While it’s kookie to name your death metal band Fluffy Bunnies, I think it’s a deterrent- just me maybe. Most band names I like are multi-word band names. I think they are more creative. I know there are more but here’s what I got.

Band Names

1. Black Sabbath – love the connotation. Named after Boris Karloff movie I believe.
2. Sex Pistols- shock value.
3. The Bad Plus – bad positives?
4. Black Angels- sounds like black angels
5. Tame Impala- Jay’s observance that it is an oxymoron.
6. Southern Culture on the Skids- if you don’t get the joke you won’t get the band
7. Iron Butterfly- see 5
8. Kinks- ok its one word, but it kind of goes against the grain. Kink in chain….
9. Nine Inch Nails- matches the early tone of the band
10. Rage Against the Machine – fits tone, message and sound of the band. You know what you’re getting into.

Also Circle Jerks, OFF!, Yuck, Dinosaur Jr.

Prog Forever!!!!

The Refreshments – Let it Rock 4

This sounded more like Roy Orbison than Chuck Berry.  Very “Refreshing”, not what I was expecting at all.  I loved the flashback to the 50’s for Chuck Berry.  Basically they really limited their market with this cd unless this is how they always sound.    This made my want to go out and buy an old convertible and hit a country road with the stereo cranked.  What a great song Havana Moon is.  I’m sold.

The Sugarplastic Band – Bang the earth is round - 4

At first I thought this band sugarsucked but then they became disturbingly catchy.  I could have done without the freaky voice on “Don’t Sleep”, it reminded me of Charlie the Unicorn, but otherwise, this was an awesome selection.

The Mother Hips – GH

Not probably too surprising to most of you but this was just plain boring.  I’m not sure where the hits were let alone the greatest.  Every song sounded like Tom Petty’s most boring song.  I can appreciate the talent, but just not when it was all put together.  Sorry Sandy, one day we’ll find some common ground.

Marillion – Clutching at Straws - 5

If Fish is writing about himself I have to say that his life is just tragic.  Alcohol, drugs and loneliness.  I like to think that Warm Wet Circles is about what I think it is, but I don’t think it is.  I can imagine the score I’ll get for this cd but I’m sorry, Fish is a brilliant writer and he has a great group of musicians around him.  I feel bad, I think I heard he’s an asshole; his career hasn’t been the same since his parting from the band.  Unfortunately the playlist didn’t come through in the correct order so the flow of the cd was off.  That did have an impact on the flow of the cd.  I’m ready for my bashing.

Holly Williams - The Highway – 3.5

Beautiful voice, relatively hot.  Certainly a talented lyricist, s little twangy and country for my taste, but she has a knack for not being and annoying country singer.  

Part 1. Do you think having a great name adds anything to the success of the band? Or, is it strictly about the music?  Absolutely, I find that bands that seem to jump on the similar name “band” wagon usually leave a bad taste in my mouth.  In the 80’s white Lion, White Zombie, Black Crows, Counting Crows, not it’s the Black Keys.  I wonder if they think that stupid people might confuse similarly named bands and then be too lazy to return what they bought. 

Part 2. List some of your favorite band names and, if you know it, the origin of the name.

Tool is a great name from a military reference when Maynard was in the service. 

Rush, no clue how the name originated.

Pygmy Love Circus – Not sure I want to know

Pearl Jam?

Glad you had the bi-annual meeting

Holly Williams – Unlike papa and grandpa, Holly’s music isnt a whole lot of fun.  Nearly every song on this disc is so damn serious.  Dyin’, drinkin’ and cheatin’ are all fine fodder for country music, but there’s just no relief on this disc, culminating in the laborious 7 minute closer.  Musically, its mostly soft-rock with an occasional steel pedal or twangy guitar to make it sound authentic.  “Drinkin’” is a great one, the rest of this is run-of-the mill. 2.5 stars

Refreshments – I struggled reviewing this.  The album itself is fine, very competent playing of some of Chuck Berry’s best songs.  That said, a little nagging voice keeps asking “what the hell’s the point?” They don’t re-imagine these, the way Thea Gilmore did on the “John Wesley Harding” disc and while listening to each track, I thought of a better version than the one that’s on here. So why bother? Taken at face value, an easy, enjoyable listen.  Maybe that has to be enough. 3 stars

Marillion – The dated production, the grandiose arrangements, the ridiculous lyrics.  I hate this shit. .5 star

Sugarplastic – On the plus size, it reminded me of XTC.  Some really quirky pop songs that are cleverly written and smartly performed like “Montebello” and “Another Myself”.  On the minus side, it reminded me of XTC.  Some real crap where the band bends over backwards to be quirky for quirkiness sake, notably “Sheep” and “Soft Jingo”.  More good than bad, but not by much. 3.5 stars

Mother Hips – Not at all familiar with these guys, but I liked most of this.  The more laid back the song was, the better it worked for me.  Definitely appreciated the Jerry Garcia vibe on a couple of these, especially “The Isle Not of Man”.  Probably 7-8 too songs too long, but overall a good collection.

I don’t think the name adds anything to the success of a band.  There are two exceptions.  First, heavy metal bands, who need to have a name reflective of the style.  Metallica or Iron Maiden would not have been the same if they were named “Cuddly Unicorns”.  Second, any band named after a place usually sucks (Boston, Kansas, Asia, Of Montreal)

An unusual or clever name can potentially get me to try a band, but if the music is no good, forget it.

Favorite Band Names:

Two Cow Garage

Drive By Truckers

Led Zeppelin

The Clash

Southern Culture on the Skids

The Dead Kennedys

John Cougar Concentration Camp

Butthole Surfers

Cindy Brady's Lisp

Sorry Jay just needed a bit more time for inclusuion

The Refreshments

If you are going to play tribute to a band then please do so but there are some rules that must apply.  If you are going to write a song about them that’s great, but shouldn’t it be something that draws the tribute artist to mind and not need to drop the artists name in order strengthen the reference.  Also if covers are your strategy for adulation shouldn’t one song be enough.  If you must do a whole cd well then at least one song should be as good or if not better than the original.   That said The Refreshments fail on both counts, but not by much.  A nice tribute cd is created here, but it just leaves the listener wanting to pick up the originals instead.  2.0

Marillion

There is an argument in Marillion camps that which cd is the best cd that Fish put out with the band, this or Misplaced Childhood.  I always thought Misplaced was better but not by much.  This is truly a Fish cd.  It’s his point of view on how Germany/Europe was terrible and why his band is breaking up at the time. Both things let the band reach a creative peak that I believe they were never able to reach again either musically.  A straight up prog rock that has Gabriel’s Genesis overtones but is profoundly Marillion. This is a cd that has some of Carillion’s best musical work be it either Fish’s vision and lyrics or Steve Rothery’s guitar work.  Who by the way is a guitar god, blinding fast when needed but also one who searches for the perfect note too.  Just listen to the last song to see what I mean.  Again neither have come close to this since.  Incommunicado, Slainte Mhath, and Sugar mice are brilliant songs but there are no weak points throughout this cd 4.5

The Sugarplastic

A quirky pop collection that owes as much to cuteness as to the music they play behind it.  Found myself liking it more with each listen, but also found myself not being able to listen to it all in one sitting.  There is Beatles, there is Jonathan Richman and from following both some interesting song structure and lyrics.  Some nice songs throughout but for every Oh Charlene and Montebello, we must stomach a Say Katie.  But hey 2 out of three is pretty good. 3.0

Mother Hips.

There is something familiar about these guys and I wish I could put my finger on it.  Maybe if I go back and listen to my tapes it will come to me.  That is the problem with these guys.  When they make me forget just how much they like the dead and let their other influences they are a very good Jam band who write catchy pop songs with a bit of an edge to them but not enough to piss off there H.O.R.D.E concert going followers.  Well piss those people off because those are the best songs.  Overall a nice collection of a band I have never heard of.

A good name will get you noticed.  Then it’s up to the music to keep you.  Now what’s a good name?  Is it catchy a pun or happy word play that causes one to think, or is it shocking say like Nashville Pussy that causes one to ask why would anyone name their band that? What could they possibly sound like?   Again either way works but you are eventually going to have to rely on your music or like Nashville Pussy people will realize the music sucks.