Saturday, January 31, 2004
January 31: Iron Maiden - mixtape
OK, dirty little secret time: I like Iron Maiden. A lot. Not enough to have ever bought one of their albums, but enough that I've held on to this mixtape a buddy of mine from junior high made me for 12 years now. That's a lot of love for a mixtape not made by an ex-girlfriend who broke your heart by sleeping with the entire JV basketball team.
Iron Maiden are cool because they took the whole Dio swords 'n sorcery thing (stand up and SHOUT!!!) and added thoughtful lyrics about European history and literature, like World War I and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. True story - the same guy who made me this mixtape had a paper due on "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He didn't actually read the poem, but he did listen to the Maiden song BASED on the poem several times. And he got an A.
Now that's a good band.
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Iron Maiden are cool because they took the whole Dio swords 'n sorcery thing (stand up and SHOUT!!!) and added thoughtful lyrics about European history and literature, like World War I and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. True story - the same guy who made me this mixtape had a paper due on "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He didn't actually read the poem, but he did listen to the Maiden song BASED on the poem several times. And he got an A.
Now that's a good band.
January 30: Dada - dada
I got this for $1 at Waterloo in Austin thinking it was the album with "Dizz Knee Land" on it. You guys remember that one, right? "I just flipped off President George / I'm going to Disneyland." (see, it's still pertinent today) Turns out that was on the band's first album, when they were still being called "the '90s Police" (according to allmusicguide) and this is their fourth album, when they'd wasted all their potential.
It was boring. Over-produced, and boring. Probably not even worth the dollar.
anybody wanna give me fifty cents for it?
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It was boring. Over-produced, and boring. Probably not even worth the dollar.
anybody wanna give me fifty cents for it?
January 29: Fanzine - Roundabout
Little known fact: a band called 12 Pearls opened up for a band called Fanzine in Tulsa in the summer of 1998. I think it was 12p's first-ever show outside of Stillwater. And there are three people out of the two bands total who played that show in '98 and are still in the bands. There's a lot of turnover in rock, people.
Anyway, this is Fanzine's second (maybe third) album that came out at the end of 2003. Half of it was recorded at Yellow Dog Studios in Tulsa (where 12p did Listen), while the other half was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London (where the Beatles did everything). Needless to say, Fanzine have more money than 12p. People who listen to the Buzz in OKC or the Edge in Tulsa have heard the song "head in the sky." The rest of the album's cool, too; a lot of stuff that would sound good in movies.
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Anyway, this is Fanzine's second (maybe third) album that came out at the end of 2003. Half of it was recorded at Yellow Dog Studios in Tulsa (where 12p did Listen), while the other half was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London (where the Beatles did everything). Needless to say, Fanzine have more money than 12p. People who listen to the Buzz in OKC or the Edge in Tulsa have heard the song "head in the sky." The rest of the album's cool, too; a lot of stuff that would sound good in movies.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
January 28: Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs (disc 2)
OK, disc 2 gives you "Last Kiss," aka PJ's last hit, some more Vs. and Ten outtakes, three Xmas fan club singles, a song from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack, a song about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (wait, really?), an instrumental from Ten and a song about the Bee Girl from the Blind Melon "No rain" video that Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament made up on the spot during a rockline interview in '93. Oh, and a hidden track that is apparently about Layne Staley of Alice in Chains' death. But really, only two or three decent songs.
The liner notes give you a lot of information on when the songs were written, and what happened to them, and here's the interesting part: there are no outtakes from Vitalogy, and only two from Vs., but there are SIX songs that didn't make it on Binaural, which is their worst album. Seriously, six? And four from No Code, which isn't a great album either. Yield? That's a good album, probably their last really good album, right? Only one song from that era, and it's the highlight of Disc 1.
The Vs. and Ten outtakes and B-sides, strangely enough, sound a lot like Creed, Three Doors Down and other bands that are still making money ripping off classic Pearl Jam. Wonder if Scott Stapp got an advance copy of some of this?
Grunge is definitely dead, and Lost Dogs is a little like digging up the coffin to stare at the decomposition process. I shoulda bought Stone Temple Pilots' greatest hits instead.
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The liner notes give you a lot of information on when the songs were written, and what happened to them, and here's the interesting part: there are no outtakes from Vitalogy, and only two from Vs., but there are SIX songs that didn't make it on Binaural, which is their worst album. Seriously, six? And four from No Code, which isn't a great album either. Yield? That's a good album, probably their last really good album, right? Only one song from that era, and it's the highlight of Disc 1.
The Vs. and Ten outtakes and B-sides, strangely enough, sound a lot like Creed, Three Doors Down and other bands that are still making money ripping off classic Pearl Jam. Wonder if Scott Stapp got an advance copy of some of this?
Grunge is definitely dead, and Lost Dogs is a little like digging up the coffin to stare at the decomposition process. I shoulda bought Stone Temple Pilots' greatest hits instead.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
January 27: Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs (disc 1)
Ever since Pearl Jam took a left turn in 1996 with No Code and started to suck (although there were signs with Vitalogy), there have been rumors in college dorms, on the Internet, and in music mags that they were doing it intentionally, that any songs they wrote that sounded like the good stuff from Vs. or Ten were shelved, that they no longer wanted to be the biggest rock stars in the world. Honestly, the rumor explains a lot to a college freshman that doesn't want to hear his favorite band dip into ballads or pseudo-Eastern mysticism (like a guy who lived next door to me freshman year), which is probably why it stuck around for a couple of years. Think about it: if they're your favorite band, they can't suck! They have to be trying to suck!
Three progressively worse albums after No Code and I'd forgotten about the rumor, just like I'd forgotten about Pearl Jam. Then they released this two-disc B-sides and rarities compilation right before Christmas, and a bunch of the reviews mentioned the rumors, and said that Lost Dogs was the great lost Pearl Jam album.
Well, after disc 1, I'm not convinced that's true. You get "Yellow Ledbetter," of course, a song from the Ten era that radio programmers started playing in the mid-'90s because kids wanted to hear Pearl Jam but not new Pearl Jam, two weird covers of songs by the Silly Surfers and the Sonics that were put out on benefit albums, three halfway decent power-pop songs (two outtakes from Riot Act and one from Yield), a song cut from Ten and a song cut from Vs. that are both grunge-tastic, and eight songs that pretty well suck, one of which is called "Black, Red, Yellow" and is about Dennis Rodman. Seriously.
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Three progressively worse albums after No Code and I'd forgotten about the rumor, just like I'd forgotten about Pearl Jam. Then they released this two-disc B-sides and rarities compilation right before Christmas, and a bunch of the reviews mentioned the rumors, and said that Lost Dogs was the great lost Pearl Jam album.
Well, after disc 1, I'm not convinced that's true. You get "Yellow Ledbetter," of course, a song from the Ten era that radio programmers started playing in the mid-'90s because kids wanted to hear Pearl Jam but not new Pearl Jam, two weird covers of songs by the Silly Surfers and the Sonics that were put out on benefit albums, three halfway decent power-pop songs (two outtakes from Riot Act and one from Yield), a song cut from Ten and a song cut from Vs. that are both grunge-tastic, and eight songs that pretty well suck, one of which is called "Black, Red, Yellow" and is about Dennis Rodman. Seriously.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
January 26: Toad the Wet Sprocket - P.S.: a Toad Retrospective
Here's your question to ponder for the week: Was Toad the Wet Sprocket anybody's favorite band? I say this because, as I listened to this greatest-hits CD for the first time in awhile, I realized I'd forgotten how many good songs they had. And I own all the albums from '92 on.
Toad started out as sort of a folk band, then in the early '90s ripped off R.E.M.'s Out of Time pretty hardcore with songs like "Walk on the Ocean" (that's how I got into them), then in the mid-'90s began combining folk, country and grunge to good effect with tunes like "Fall Down" and "Something's Always Wrong." (remember those?) But to this day, my primary memories of Toad the Wet Sprocket are that an ex-girlfriend got me their B-sides collection on cassette tape for Christmas '95, and I carpooled down to the House of Blues in New Orleans in the spring of '98 to see them only to find out that tickets had sold out 30 minutes before, and I had to take the streetcar back. Oh yeah, and their drummer was a midget. I always liked Toad, but if I was compiling a list of my favorite bands, they'd probably be towards the lower end of the Top 20 (hell, if I was compiling a list of stupidest band names, they'd only be second, right behind Hootie and right ahead of Better than Ezra).
So was Toad the Wet Sprocket your favorite band? Tell us about it on our new message board. I got so many responses telling me the true story of Collective Soul's whereabouts (fired their guitarist, are recording a new album) that we figured we'd set this up. Feel free to argue about our picks or suggest new picks. Or tell us that we suck. That's cool, too.
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Toad started out as sort of a folk band, then in the early '90s ripped off R.E.M.'s Out of Time pretty hardcore with songs like "Walk on the Ocean" (that's how I got into them), then in the mid-'90s began combining folk, country and grunge to good effect with tunes like "Fall Down" and "Something's Always Wrong." (remember those?) But to this day, my primary memories of Toad the Wet Sprocket are that an ex-girlfriend got me their B-sides collection on cassette tape for Christmas '95, and I carpooled down to the House of Blues in New Orleans in the spring of '98 to see them only to find out that tickets had sold out 30 minutes before, and I had to take the streetcar back. Oh yeah, and their drummer was a midget. I always liked Toad, but if I was compiling a list of my favorite bands, they'd probably be towards the lower end of the Top 20 (hell, if I was compiling a list of stupidest band names, they'd only be second, right behind Hootie and right ahead of Better than Ezra).
So was Toad the Wet Sprocket your favorite band? Tell us about it on our new message board. I got so many responses telling me the true story of Collective Soul's whereabouts (fired their guitarist, are recording a new album) that we figured we'd set this up. Feel free to argue about our picks or suggest new picks. Or tell us that we suck. That's cool, too.
January 25: Tonic - Sugar
One of the best examples of a record company cocking up someone's career. Raise your hand if you remember the song "You Wanted More." Great song, right? Good riff, all over the radio, placement in the first American Pie movie. Well, it was all over the radio and in the movie in the summer of 1999. So when do you think this album came out? November 1999. So anybody that liked the song bought the American Pie soundtrack, and not the album.
I have seen Tonic play exactly one song, and it was "You Wanted More." My brother was giving me a tour of the Vandy campus in Nashville when we were in town for the Nashville New Music Conference, and we ran into Tonic soundchecking for their show on the quad that night.
Oh yeah, the rest of the album is hit-or-miss, but there's some good tracks.
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I have seen Tonic play exactly one song, and it was "You Wanted More." My brother was giving me a tour of the Vandy campus in Nashville when we were in town for the Nashville New Music Conference, and we ran into Tonic soundchecking for their show on the quad that night.
Oh yeah, the rest of the album is hit-or-miss, but there's some good tracks.
January 24: The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
I listened to this one in the car with Kit, who has what you might call CD ADD. He likes to flip around willy-nilly between tracks, so I'm not positive I heard this all the way through. I did definitely hear all 12 of the intros, I heard the single, "Hate to Say I told you So," and I heard "Main Offender" three times, as we debated the merits of the chorus. So I guess that counts. Another band with a serious Rolling Stones fetish. Actually, Brandon and I met Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, the lead singer of this band, at a Sahara Rocks show in OKC back in March. He's very soft-spoken in real life.
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January 23: Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley Shoals
After the success of Oasis in the UK, British labels signed up a bunch of bands that sounded like classic Brit-rock: the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, etc. OCS were one of those bands. I got this for $2 at Rainbow Records, and it was worth about that, although about half the songs sound like what would happen if Billy Joel got together with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. Like the McGriddle, good but bizarre.
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Thursday, January 22, 2004
January 22: The Distillers - Coral Fang
I really like the first single, "Drain the Blood." The rest of it kinda sounded like old Hole outtakes.
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January 21: Buffalo Tom - big red letter day
Until I bought this CD last week, I always thought Buffalo Tom was from Buffalo (imagine that!). Turns out they're from Boston, and were part of the same scene as Belly, the Breeders, the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr. and the Lemonheads. This CD is good, but not as good as the other Boston bands. Maybe about as good as Juliana Hatfield.
They played a bunch of these songs on the old SPI in Stillwater in the mid-'90s, and it got me nostalgic. Who else misses acoustic guitars mixed with distorted electric guitars? Somebody needs to bring that sound back.
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They played a bunch of these songs on the old SPI in Stillwater in the mid-'90s, and it got me nostalgic. Who else misses acoustic guitars mixed with distorted electric guitars? Somebody needs to bring that sound back.
January 20: Fixture - ((audio))
I still can't figure out why Fixture weren't international rock superstars. They were easily one of the best bands I've ever seen live, period. I first ran into them in the summer of '96 at Red Rock Music Festival in Guthrie (where a pre-12 Pearls band featuring Kit and Jordan also played). This album came out on One Ton Records in 2000, and it was awesome. Still is. But they broke up about six months after this came out, and One Ton went under pretty soon after that. I believe Luke and Tyson from Fixture are in a new band called Redbud Revival, which is supposed to have a CD coming out pretty soon.
Seriously, if you like stuff like Perfect Circle or Chevelle (not that I do), and you ever run into a Fixture CD somewhere, buy it. It's good.
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Seriously, if you like stuff like Perfect Circle or Chevelle (not that I do), and you ever run into a Fixture CD somewhere, buy it. It's good.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
January 19: Caroline's Spine - Attention Please
Wow, I seem to have started a theme week: CDs with Texas or Oklahoma ties. We met several of the Spine guys (Jimmy and Mark) when 12 Pearls was recording The Listen EP in Tulsa. Our producer, Ed Knoll, produced one of their CDs and was their soundguy for a long time.
Kit bought this at the Rainbow sale and we listened to it on the way out of OKC Monday. And I'm not just saying this because the Spine guys are really nice guys and loaned us some percussion equipment to record: why in the world wasn't this a hit? For the summer of '99, when it came out, it is a really good rock record. "Attention Please" should have been a monster hit. Maybe it wasn't nu-metal enough or something. Caroline's Spine did get really popular in certain pockets of the country; when we met Rearview Mirror from Iowa, they thought it was the coolest thing in the world that we had talked to the members of Caroline's Spine. Plus, they opened for Kiss. And that makes you a good band.
p.s. I think I screwed up the link in the last post. Here it is again: Rick and Brad
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Kit bought this at the Rainbow sale and we listened to it on the way out of OKC Monday. And I'm not just saying this because the Spine guys are really nice guys and loaned us some percussion equipment to record: why in the world wasn't this a hit? For the summer of '99, when it came out, it is a really good rock record. "Attention Please" should have been a monster hit. Maybe it wasn't nu-metal enough or something. Caroline's Spine did get really popular in certain pockets of the country; when we met Rearview Mirror from Iowa, they thought it was the coolest thing in the world that we had talked to the members of Caroline's Spine. Plus, they opened for Kiss. And that makes you a good band.
p.s. I think I screwed up the link in the last post. Here it is again: Rick and Brad
January 18: Rick and Brad - Yearbook '97
Oh, yeah! Found this at Rainbow Records in OKC at their moving sale (what's with record stores on 23rd St. closing?). It's got like 20 Rick and Brad Theaters on it. Kit and I listened to it while hanging flyers Saturday, then listened to it again when we picked up Brandon to go to the movies. If you don't know who Rick and Brad are, you are missing out. Or you don't live in Oklahoma City. Actually, it's probably the second one.
visit to learn more.
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visit to learn more.
January 17: Phil Pritchett and the Full Band - Tougher than the Rest
Another refugee from the Wherehouse Music going out of business sale. Man, you guys should have been there; Matt and I had these huge piles of CDs on the counter trying to figure out what to buy for $5, and what to leave there. I think that's where we came up with the idea for this project.
Anyway, this is an album by Phil Pritchett, who is the Dallas Bud True Music Live guy (12 Pearls, of course, being the OKC True Music Live band). Phil is a GREAT songwriter (with a capital GREAT) and this CD straddles the line between country and rock better than anybody since Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. According to his website, he plays four or five times a week around Texas and Oklahoma, so you guys oughta check him out. Plus, Cody Canada from Cross Canadian duets on a song called "Willin'."
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Anyway, this is an album by Phil Pritchett, who is the Dallas Bud True Music Live guy (12 Pearls, of course, being the OKC True Music Live band). Phil is a GREAT songwriter (with a capital GREAT) and this CD straddles the line between country and rock better than anybody since Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. According to his website, he plays four or five times a week around Texas and Oklahoma, so you guys oughta check him out. Plus, Cody Canada from Cross Canadian duets on a song called "Willin'."
January 16: Deep Blue Something - self-titled
I first heard "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when a girl from Dallas played it at summer camp in July '95. That song made Deep Blue Something at the same time it destroyed them. Their follow-up was only released in Europe, and then they put out this self-titled third disc on an indie in 2001. I picked it up for $2 when the Wherehouse Music on 23rd St. in Oklahoma City went out of business last month, and ... it sounds like a band trying not to write another "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Which is OK. I'd settle for one top-five hit.
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Thursday, January 15, 2004
January 15: Collective Soul - 7even Year Itch: Greatest Hits 1994-2001
What in the world ever happened to Collective Soul?
They weren't ever my favorite band, but I liked several of their songs, and a couple of their later albums were really good. Last I heard from them, they had a huge hit in fall 2000 with "Why Part 2" (anybody else remember them opening for Damon Wayans at Orange Peel that year?), then put out this greatest-hits album the next year, and that's been it. If you go to their website, it was last updated in summer 2002 with an announcement that the band was almost done with their new album. Well, it's spring 2004, what gives?
Maybe it's this: listening to this album again after a couple years (and with the Strokes, White Stripes, and Vines in the meantime), I was struck with just how clinical and sterile all these songs were. I mean, they were polished to infinity, and every note is in exactly the right place. And you can tell towards the end that there was a definite formula going: listen to "Precious Declaration," "Heavy," and "Why Part 2" in a row... it's like looking at 1998, 1999 and 2000 Mercury Sables or something. Collective Soul was definitely a studio band (the few times I saw them live proved that as well). Maybe Ed Roland realized his well-manicured band wouldn't look too good in an age of loose, shaggy garage rock and gave up the ghost. Maybe they're in hiding like Bon Jovi was in 1993, and they'll be back in four or five years when we start to remember them fondly.
Come back soon, Collective Soul, and bring Sponge with you. Or maybe not. Your choice.
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They weren't ever my favorite band, but I liked several of their songs, and a couple of their later albums were really good. Last I heard from them, they had a huge hit in fall 2000 with "Why Part 2" (anybody else remember them opening for Damon Wayans at Orange Peel that year?), then put out this greatest-hits album the next year, and that's been it. If you go to their website, it was last updated in summer 2002 with an announcement that the band was almost done with their new album. Well, it's spring 2004, what gives?
Maybe it's this: listening to this album again after a couple years (and with the Strokes, White Stripes, and Vines in the meantime), I was struck with just how clinical and sterile all these songs were. I mean, they were polished to infinity, and every note is in exactly the right place. And you can tell towards the end that there was a definite formula going: listen to "Precious Declaration," "Heavy," and "Why Part 2" in a row... it's like looking at 1998, 1999 and 2000 Mercury Sables or something. Collective Soul was definitely a studio band (the few times I saw them live proved that as well). Maybe Ed Roland realized his well-manicured band wouldn't look too good in an age of loose, shaggy garage rock and gave up the ghost. Maybe they're in hiding like Bon Jovi was in 1993, and they'll be back in four or five years when we start to remember them fondly.
Come back soon, Collective Soul, and bring Sponge with you. Or maybe not. Your choice.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
On a sidenote...
wow... Matt owns a CD put out by Time-Life music.
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January 14: Shed Seven - Let it Ride / Cry for Help
Two more British singles today, these from Shed Seven, who recently announced they were breaking up. Shed Seven were kind of the Seven Mary Three of Britpop: they came along after Oasis and Blur, they sort of sounded like those bands, not that many people were huge fans of them, but they had some decent songs. However, none of them were on these singles, which date from '98 and 2001. The 1998 one, actually a four-song sampler from the Let It Ride album, sounds like Blur crossed with Oasis. The 2001 one is more ambitious, but overdoes it with too much orchestration (it sounds like half a symphony is playing the same four notes).
So, not the best thing I ever listened to, but, hey, it cost $2.
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So, not the best thing I ever listened to, but, hey, it cost $2.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Cooper Temple Clause - Let's Kill Music / Who Needs Enemies?
I was at Waterloo Records in Austin recently, and I bought about 15 European import singles that were in the $1 bin. These are two of them, by a British band called Cooper Temple Clause. I don't think they've ever done anything in the U.S.
I like 'em. The singles, that is. Very punk mixed with funk mixed with techno, but not in that wussy Hot Hot Heat way. The two B-sides are pretty boring, the two "dance remixes" are even more boring, and the video you can watch on the "Who Needs Enemies?" disc looks like it was made for about $750.
According to the NME, these singles are off the band's first album, and their second is already out. It'll be released in the U.S. in February. Make a note.
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I like 'em. The singles, that is. Very punk mixed with funk mixed with techno, but not in that wussy Hot Hot Heat way. The two B-sides are pretty boring, the two "dance remixes" are even more boring, and the video you can watch on the "Who Needs Enemies?" disc looks like it was made for about $750.
According to the NME, these singles are off the band's first album, and their second is already out. It'll be released in the U.S. in February. Make a note.
January 12: Jet - Get Born
OK, true story (no fooling): When I was living in England (late '98), I had bought this POS acoustic guitar from the same shop Noel Gallagher of Oasis used, and I was writing loads of songs because I didn't own a TV and there was nothing better to do. I remember one week I bashed out about 20 "garage-rock" songs that sounded like the Kinks... you know, four chords, very staccato. And I thought, "Nah... that'll never come back in style," and I scrapped 'em all.
And you know what? If I got a band together today, went into a studio and recorded all those songs that were written FIVE YEARS AGO, people would say I had ripped off the Hives and the Strokes, who I didn't hear until 2001 at the earliest.
So when I listen to Jet's CD (it's really good, by the way), and then I see the Strokes sniping at Jet for ripping them off, I think about those songs I wrote in England. It sucks to come up with the same idea as someone thousands of miles away, and then get accused of copying them. So I respect Jet. Besides, their CD makes the Strokes look like a bunch of prep-school milquetoasts (which, come to think of it, they are).
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And you know what? If I got a band together today, went into a studio and recorded all those songs that were written FIVE YEARS AGO, people would say I had ripped off the Hives and the Strokes, who I didn't hear until 2001 at the earliest.
So when I listen to Jet's CD (it's really good, by the way), and then I see the Strokes sniping at Jet for ripping them off, I think about those songs I wrote in England. It sucks to come up with the same idea as someone thousands of miles away, and then get accused of copying them. So I respect Jet. Besides, their CD makes the Strokes look like a bunch of prep-school milquetoasts (which, come to think of it, they are).
January 11: Coldplay - Live 2003
Matt and I both went to see Coldplay when they came to OKC last year. I was on the Coldplay e-mail list, went on the Internet for the pre-sale, hit reload about 12,000 times and got 15th row seats. Matt called oktickets the day they went on sale and got second row. How is that fair?
Oh yeah, this CD's good. And it comes with a DVD, too. But the new song, "Moses," about Gwyneth Paltrow, is a little weak.
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Oh yeah, this CD's good. And it comes with a DVD, too. But the new song, "Moses," about Gwyneth Paltrow, is a little weak.
Monday, January 12, 2004
January 10: The Shins - Chutes too Narrow
I skipped half of Bob Schneider's set at Austin City Limits in September to go over and see this band, because my college-radio DJ brother said they were awesome. I remember being really disappointed. This CD, however, is pretty cool, and the jacket is one of the neatest things since sliced bread; it's a diecut that sort of fits together like a pop-up book that doesn't pop up.
OK, that didn't make any sense. But it's still a good CD.
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OK, that didn't make any sense. But it's still a good CD.
January 9: Grandaddy - Sumday
Listened while I drove back from Amarillo; another good CD for background tunes as you cross the desolate Texas prairie.
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January 8: Maroon 5 - Songs about Jane
The first time I listened to this was with Matt at about 8 in the morning somewhere in western Arkansas while 12p drove back from Nashville and Kit and Brandon slept in the back. The second time was while I drove out to Amarillo, Texas to visit my grandparents. So I guess the best I can say about this CD is it makes great background music for long, boring drives.
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January 7: Someday - Rock 'n Roll Extravaganza
Someday is a young rock band out of Edmond / Norman that I think has a lot of potential. Their stuff is in the same ballpark as Weezer, new Jimmy Eat World and old Get Up Kids without being derivative. I saw 'em open up for Superdrag at the Green Door last summer and they blew my socks off (thankfully, I managed to get my socks back on before Superdrag, alas, blew them off again).
So I thought I'd give the kids in Someday some props. You can download this entire CD, plus some other demo-type tracks at their website, http://www.somedayrock.com
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So I thought I'd give the kids in Someday some props. You can download this entire CD, plus some other demo-type tracks at their website, http://www.somedayrock.com
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
January 6: Junior Senior - d-d-don't don't stop the beat
I always wondered what it would sound like if the Hives and Fatboy Slim got together to score an old-school 8-bit Nintendo game. Now I know.
And knowing is half the battle.
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And knowing is half the battle.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
January 5: The Thrills - So Much for the City
Sorry Matt, I borrowed this from my brother, who got it for Xmas, and I thought this was going to be a downer. Instead, it sounds like if the Beach Boys were from Ireland and Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips was their lead singer. Sunshine, happy days, and two songs about San Diego. A lot more mediocre than I expected, actually, bordering on boring.
Speaking of boring, I know it's off topic, but is anyone else pissed off that Comedy Central lost the rights to Saturday Night Live and has to show MadTV five hours a day now? That show has to be one of the worst hours on television! I watched today at noon, and didn't laugh ONCE.
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Speaking of boring, I know it's off topic, but is anyone else pissed off that Comedy Central lost the rights to Saturday Night Live and has to show MadTV five hours a day now? That show has to be one of the worst hours on television! I watched today at noon, and didn't laugh ONCE.
Monday, January 05, 2004
January 4: R.E.M. - Bad Day / E-Bow the Letter
Two CD singles today. The first I ordered from a place in Massachusetts, the second I found for $1 at Hastings. The "Bad Day" single came out a couple of months ago in Europe and comes with two covers ("Favorite Writer" by Magnapop and "Out in the Country" by Three Dog Night) and a weird, ambient instrumental as b-sides. The second is an old U.S. single from 1996 and comes with a surf instrumental. Completely inessential, but good listening for a hardcore REM fan.
In homage to Matt, I'll try to pick something depressing to listen to tomorrow.
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In homage to Matt, I'll try to pick something depressing to listen to tomorrow.
January 3: Muse - Absolution
It's an absolute crime (like the pun?) that this isn't available in the U.S. yet. I got my copy at Waterloo Records in Austin as an Australian import. I love hearing bands set the bar extremely high musically and then succeed. Who says being pretentious isn't cool? As near as I can figure, this is sort of a concept album about the end of the world (song titles include "Apocalypse Please," "Our time is running out," and "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist"), but there's a whole lot more to it than that, and metal, orchestral pop, and alt-rock collide with each other frantically.
Once I got over the fact that Matthew Bellamy sounds a whole lot like Thom Yorke, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. A little Internet research, and I discovered that this is actually the fourth album from this British trio, and only the first was released in the U.S. I don't get record execs sometimes; I'm sure more people would buy this than are lined up for the new Papa Roach album.
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Once I got over the fact that Matthew Bellamy sounds a whole lot like Thom Yorke, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. A little Internet research, and I discovered that this is actually the fourth album from this British trio, and only the first was released in the U.S. I don't get record execs sometimes; I'm sure more people would buy this than are lined up for the new Papa Roach album.
Saturday, January 03, 2004
January 2: R.E.M. - Dead Letter Office
Those that know me know I couldn't help but get an R.E.M. CD in here pretty quick. I'm a huge fan (saw three shows on the recent greatest hits tour), and I just ordered this one online a couple of weeks ago. It's the 1993 European reissue of their 1987 B-sides compilation, and the bonus tracks feature all five songs from their debut EP Chronic Town and two ultra-rare songs, an acoustic version of "Gardening at Night" and a 1983 recording of "All the Right Friends" (re-recorded in 2001 for Cameron Crowe's movie Vanilla Sky).
Listened to this one while driving to (and from) the Cotton Bowl, which Oklahoma State lost. I like hearing bands play other bands' songs, and this CD has THREE Velvet Underground covers, plus versions of "King of the Road" and Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic." Everything on the CD was recorded way before REM got famous, and you can tell that the band's still pretty raw (on some tracks, pretty raw and pretty drunk).
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Listened to this one while driving to (and from) the Cotton Bowl, which Oklahoma State lost. I like hearing bands play other bands' songs, and this CD has THREE Velvet Underground covers, plus versions of "King of the Road" and Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic." Everything on the CD was recorded way before REM got famous, and you can tell that the band's still pretty raw (on some tracks, pretty raw and pretty drunk).
Thursday, January 01, 2004
January 1: Belly - King
Alas, my listening choices aren't going to have the same rhyme or reason as Matt's are. I thought about organizing everything thematically like John Cusack's character in High Fidelity, but I was just too lazy for that sort of project (my CD collection is in a large CD case, and a paper sack next to it, and a bookshelf sort of near that, and a plastic storage case across the room, and a couple of stacks under my bed, and a loose heap in the passenger seat of my car, etc. etc.)
So my first listen was an album I popped in while I was driving around helping my sister move today. Belly was (and still is) my favorite female-fronted band. This is their second album, from 1995, and they broke up after sales didn't meet their expectations for it. The old SPI in Stillwater used to play "Super-Connected," "Now They'll Sleep" and "Judas My Heart" in heavy rotation the entire summer and fall of '95, and this is still a great album. I'd love to talk 12 Pearls into covering "Super-Connected," but I bet they wouldn't do it.
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So my first listen was an album I popped in while I was driving around helping my sister move today. Belly was (and still is) my favorite female-fronted band. This is their second album, from 1995, and they broke up after sales didn't meet their expectations for it. The old SPI in Stillwater used to play "Super-Connected," "Now They'll Sleep" and "Judas My Heart" in heavy rotation the entire summer and fall of '95, and this is still a great album. I'd love to talk 12 Pearls into covering "Super-Connected," but I bet they wouldn't do it.
