Is there anybody out there?

The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams - 5

Bob Mould”ish”, and even a little Airbourne Toxic Event.  The catchiness was infectious.  I couldn’t get enough of this cd.  Excellent with headphones, the mixing was awesome, but it’s even better cranked in the car, no driving the speed limit when this is on.  I’m not sure why I didn’t get it when they were on one of our old lists.  Only the 10^th time in group history that I’ve issued a 5. I know that someone might hate this, Mong, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this was a top 10.  You nailed this one Jay

The Moody Blues – Long Distance Voyager - 4

In my opinion, the catchiest and best flowing Moody Blues album.  Not a bad song on this disk.  I know that the keyboard sounds cheesy by today’s standards, but it is what it is and I can’t say I’d change it. By far one of the best vocal harmonies.  I think that only Journey with Greg Rollie did a better job of harmonizing.

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes - 2

This is what Billy Idol would sound like if he wasn’t a punk with a bad attitude or if he had Nick Lowe as his producer.  Go back and listen to it again and tell me I’m wrong.  This was an easy cd to listen to, but not my thing.  Too vanilla for my taste, I can see why they’d have a place in the books in the 80’s but I also see how they’d struggle to stand the test of time.     

U2 – Songs of Innocence – 2.5

 I like U2 a lot and love how they try to never do the same thing twice.  I felt that on this cd they kept some sounds from their past albums, but kept this one fresh too.  I heard a little more Cold Play and Jack White in this album than I would have expected from a band that should be setting the standard.  I wish that Bono would stay away from his falsetto voice.  If it wasn’t for “California’s” silly beginning and the fake rain sounds I felt it was one of the stranger potential hits.      

Kinks – GH

Once I knew a girl who’s favorite band was the Kinks.  She’s the only person in the world, and she died.  I love the Kinks and think that Ray Davies was probably the Dave Grohl of his day.   I got a kick out of the stereo effects they used.  Good headphone music.  It’s impressive how they either influences the Who, Beach Boys and Stones or vice versa.  And only one from Come Dancing??