Prince is a genius. Prince is a freak.
As a music person you have to love Prince. He’s on my Musical Mt. Rushmore of best all-time live performers along with U2, Bruce, and Green Day. Anyone who can do the splits in heels on top of a grand piano and still shred guitar is all right by me. If you’ve been lucky enough to see Prince live, you know a Prince show is the most choreographed live experience today-short of Circ de Soleil. The music is put together like one giant medley where the “best parts” of every Prince co-mingle into one long build. He keeps you up the entire time. He’s a true maestro.
I picked up the new Prince record out of curiosity more than anything. The man has turned out some crazy music over the years, and I must say he was old reliable when I was a drunk college kid mixing CDs under the stairwell at our tailgate parties. It’s tough to beat Prince “7” or “I wanna to be your lover”—maybe the Jackson 5 can get more on the dance floor, but Prince holds his own.
Prince is also my favorite male musician who wears scarves. But that’s the thing about Prince, being prolific can be a curse in some ways. There’s a lot of Prince’s recent work that just sounds like an eccentric guy playing a Casio keyboard while reading horoscopes aloud. Prince has made a lot of not memorable astrology rock as of late. But at his best, Prince can still captivate. And as an ax man he still crushes. Deep down you know in every Prince song he’s capable of opening that purple trench coat and showing you the 6-String Tommy Gun. Dude can play guitar, flat out.
Big surprise, Planet Earth is an interesting one. The marketing of the album has been fascinating, as Prince has found every available outlet to bundle the record sales. Buy a ticket to his concert, get the album. But his cologne, get the album. Verizon commercials, Etc. Marketing innovation all in the name of getting the music in peoples’ hands. His unorthodox approach has ruffled the feathers of many brick and mortar retailers, forcing one British record store to refuse to stock Planet Earth.
Prince gets his Al Gore on for the title track, a cosmic gospel about our responsibility to the planet. Timely, but not memorable.
Then comes song 2 “Guitar.” Wow. Let me tell you it sounds real, real good when Prince brings in the famous guitar lick. A straight ahead wave the white flag rock lick hasn’t sounded this fresh and unexpected since Timberlake got his Coldplay on for “LoveStoned/I think she knows (Interlude).” Like JT, Prince has the flashing lights going on this one. “Guitar” would be an unreal concert opener with its majestic riff reminiscent of “I Will Follow.” It’s important to note that on a love song penned for his guitar, Prince is true to his word and precious with the riff. Guitar is the hero on this track, and after hearing “Guitar” you truly believe the instrument is the Artist’s first love. A must buy. Very cool. What Velvet Revolver missed on “American Man,” Prince nails on “Guitar” by giving the riff center stage, not to mention the multiple solos.
After “Guitar” Prince goes purple blouse on us with a weird slow one “Somewhere Here on Earth.” He gets a little more party on the more upbeat “The One U Wanna C,” but it doesn’t reach the heights of similar Prince fare like “Jam of the Year.”
I even love the weird writing, the Prince alphabet. “The One U Wanna C” –you have to love that. I for one want my rock starts certifiably insane, and Prince is doing his best to be the new media Little Richard. Awesome. And “Guitar” shows he can still do whatever the hell he damn pleases.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
California Girl Making the Rainy Day Music
Colbie Caillat grew up in a musical family on the shores of Malibu and spent considerable time in Hawaii, so I suppose it’s no surprise the sound that seems most natural for her is more upbeat.
On the slower Starbucks side of the equation, Caillat has put together some moody stuff on tracks like “Realize” and “Battle.” She’s quite capable of the haunting Sara McLachlan/Dido vocal effect, at times her voice seems so produced it reminds a little bit of Imogen Heap. Specifically “Battle” takes a nice turn stripping down to just the piano accompaniment with a touch of acoustic before the “uh oh oh uh oh oh” finish. “Magic” is another sexy little your-body-is-a-wonderland number with Caillat pulling back the sheets crooning “you’ve got magic inside your fingertips, it’s leaking out all over my skin.” That’s HBO stuff right there, sweet nothings that don’t sound like it.
I should have mentioned this last week, but iTunes had the single “Bubbly” for free. And that’s a telling thing as CoCo is currently the #1 album on the site. The compliment to Caillat is that most people who pick up the free single as bait and go on to buy the album shouldn’t be disappointed. Make no mistake this isn’t The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by any means, but it’s a nice little diddy for the soccer mom’s SUV, the audio equivalent of summer’s strawberry wine.
I suppose it’s only natural to want to hear the 21-year old California girl Caillat singing like she has the top down on the convertible. And that’s what you get on “Bubbly,” “Oxygen,” “Feelings Show”, and the grass skirt tiki torch job “Tied Down” where Caillat even pulls out the ukulele and steel drums.
With age, wisdom, and experience Caillat may make the more serious stuff the highlights. Evidence of this is on the grand finisher “Capri.” “Capri” is the song where the girl becomes a woman bringing the goods on a stark twinkling track about a pregnant woman with “an angel growing peacefully.” But as for now, I’ll leave room for cream and sugar in my Coco.
All in Coco is an excellent debut, especially since Caillat writes most of the material with another singer/songwriter Jason Reeves. In a world of Paris and Lindsay, Colbie Caillat is worth investing in.
On the slower Starbucks side of the equation, Caillat has put together some moody stuff on tracks like “Realize” and “Battle.” She’s quite capable of the haunting Sara McLachlan/Dido vocal effect, at times her voice seems so produced it reminds a little bit of Imogen Heap. Specifically “Battle” takes a nice turn stripping down to just the piano accompaniment with a touch of acoustic before the “uh oh oh uh oh oh” finish. “Magic” is another sexy little your-body-is-a-wonderland number with Caillat pulling back the sheets crooning “you’ve got magic inside your fingertips, it’s leaking out all over my skin.” That’s HBO stuff right there, sweet nothings that don’t sound like it.
I should have mentioned this last week, but iTunes had the single “Bubbly” for free. And that’s a telling thing as CoCo is currently the #1 album on the site. The compliment to Caillat is that most people who pick up the free single as bait and go on to buy the album shouldn’t be disappointed. Make no mistake this isn’t The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by any means, but it’s a nice little diddy for the soccer mom’s SUV, the audio equivalent of summer’s strawberry wine.
I suppose it’s only natural to want to hear the 21-year old California girl Caillat singing like she has the top down on the convertible. And that’s what you get on “Bubbly,” “Oxygen,” “Feelings Show”, and the grass skirt tiki torch job “Tied Down” where Caillat even pulls out the ukulele and steel drums.
With age, wisdom, and experience Caillat may make the more serious stuff the highlights. Evidence of this is on the grand finisher “Capri.” “Capri” is the song where the girl becomes a woman bringing the goods on a stark twinkling track about a pregnant woman with “an angel growing peacefully.” But as for now, I’ll leave room for cream and sugar in my Coco.
All in Coco is an excellent debut, especially since Caillat writes most of the material with another singer/songwriter Jason Reeves. In a world of Paris and Lindsay, Colbie Caillat is worth investing in.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Colbie Caillat: Starbucks or Sundress today?
I picked up Colbie Caillat’s debut CD Coco because my wife had become enamored with her infectious single “Bubbly.” In her words it was “the perfect balance of sexy and poppy.” And there’s some truth to that. The challenge for Colbie will be defining her sound. She needs to determine if she wants to make heavy, breathy “Starbucks music” or breezy, happy “Sundress music.” Or maybe like her debut CD Coco, she offers us a cocktail of both.
I’m not going to be too hard on Ms. Caillat. To read her liner notes you get the overwhelming sense it’s hard not to like Colbie. Sure she looks like Friends era Jen Anniston, sure she can really sing. But it also feels like if you spent an hour with her you’d say, “she’s actually really great.” Coco is a promising debut for sure.
Her live shows and second album will tell the world if Caillat achieves mainstream appeal like Sarah McLaughlin, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, etc. of if she plays to a niche like Missy Higgins (although Australia is a big niche), Alice Peacock, Tift Merritt, etc.
So what precisely is the difference to “Starbucks music” and “Sundress music” you ask? It’s simple. Starbucks music is heavier, and places emphasis on authenticity. Think Amos Lee, think Norah Jones—there’s a little more librarian, little more rainy day to it. About half of the songs on CoCo have this melancholy strand coming through them. Caillat pitch is so low that at times she sounds closer in vocal to say a John Mayer or Jason Mraz than she does her female contemporaries. This range could potentially open new doors for her as she determines how to best utilize that Joss Stone, flapper scratch.
That said, Colbie sounds more at home when she has the sand between her toes. “Bubbly” as a song is foreplay from a woman’s perspective. It’s slow, sensual, and starts in the toes. The other sunny song on the record, and one that might even be better is the lead track “Oxygen.”
Colbie is so convincing singing “Baby, if I was your lady” that you trust her when she says “I would make you happy, I’m never going to leave.” Not bad for 21-years young.
“Feelings Show” is another upbeat number with a great little “Love is pretty crazy baby take it real slow” twisty slide vocal. Caillat uses her deep voice here well, holding court over a groovy little number. Put a choir behind her, and I have the sense Colbie could really bang on the pulpit vocally. It’s got some Lauryn Hill wiggle to it. Nice.
I’m not going to be too hard on Ms. Caillat. To read her liner notes you get the overwhelming sense it’s hard not to like Colbie. Sure she looks like Friends era Jen Anniston, sure she can really sing. But it also feels like if you spent an hour with her you’d say, “she’s actually really great.” Coco is a promising debut for sure.
Her live shows and second album will tell the world if Caillat achieves mainstream appeal like Sarah McLaughlin, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, etc. of if she plays to a niche like Missy Higgins (although Australia is a big niche), Alice Peacock, Tift Merritt, etc.
So what precisely is the difference to “Starbucks music” and “Sundress music” you ask? It’s simple. Starbucks music is heavier, and places emphasis on authenticity. Think Amos Lee, think Norah Jones—there’s a little more librarian, little more rainy day to it. About half of the songs on CoCo have this melancholy strand coming through them. Caillat pitch is so low that at times she sounds closer in vocal to say a John Mayer or Jason Mraz than she does her female contemporaries. This range could potentially open new doors for her as she determines how to best utilize that Joss Stone, flapper scratch.
That said, Colbie sounds more at home when she has the sand between her toes. “Bubbly” as a song is foreplay from a woman’s perspective. It’s slow, sensual, and starts in the toes. The other sunny song on the record, and one that might even be better is the lead track “Oxygen.”
Colbie is so convincing singing “Baby, if I was your lady” that you trust her when she says “I would make you happy, I’m never going to leave.” Not bad for 21-years young.
“Feelings Show” is another upbeat number with a great little “Love is pretty crazy baby take it real slow” twisty slide vocal. Caillat uses her deep voice here well, holding court over a groovy little number. Put a choir behind her, and I have the sense Colbie could really bang on the pulpit vocally. It’s got some Lauryn Hill wiggle to it. Nice.
Friday, July 20, 2007
I Quit Digital Music
I just read somewhere that iTunes has now sold like a Billion songs. I was in love early with the iPod and how it’s made music accessible, blah blah blah.
But I’m no longer buying digital music. Why would you? It’s completely absurd to be honest with you. What the hell happened to us? iTunes is great software but digital music does not work for music lovers. It just doesn’t. And mainly for one reason: there’s nothing there. Nothing to hold, smell, pass on, collect. Digital music is vapor, period.
I get why it took hold. The low price point, the ability to just buy the 3 good songs on the album or better yet rip them for free. The compilation CD replacing the high speed dub tape that used to be a work of art requiring an entire weekend to put together even with the high speed dub and Mega Bass on the boom box.
But for a music lover digital music will come to be a regret. The same way you wish you didn’t ditch your jewel cases in favor of the Case Logic because it was easier transport for college. Digital music should have failed the same way eBooks did. The reason it didn’t, there are less true music lovers than book readers. If anything iTunes has created a nation of music poseurs. How do you spot one? First clue. Ask them what they like to listen to. If they say “everything.” Game over. Fake. If you really love music you might like everything and consider your tastes to be the most overused word in the English language - eclectic. But if you love music you would most certainly explain what “everything” means. You couldn’t resist. My musical Mt. Rushmore for instance: new U2, old Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams, Green Day, etc.
To me digital music is the equivalent of single chapter Word document downloads somehow replacing books. It’s killing the album.
I get that music is all bits and bytes. Even Beethoven’s 5th can be turned into zeros and ones. Got it. But the same can be said of money these days—you can shoot it places, you can pay bills online, etc. But the way iTunes treats music would be the same as a bank saying hey, it’s all zeroes and ones so when you go to our ATMs from now on they’ll just shoot out white pieces of paper. Why don’t you take a Sharpie and write the denomination of your bill and pay with that. Complete bullshit.
iTunes should look into a way to truly deliver some sort of liner notes that you can hold in your hand. They’ll need to explore ways to introduce the tactile side of the music experience to win me back.
Another sign you secretly believe iTunes sucks. . .AC/DC isn’t there. Led Zeppelin isn’t there. What does that tell you?
But I’m no longer buying digital music. Why would you? It’s completely absurd to be honest with you. What the hell happened to us? iTunes is great software but digital music does not work for music lovers. It just doesn’t. And mainly for one reason: there’s nothing there. Nothing to hold, smell, pass on, collect. Digital music is vapor, period.
I get why it took hold. The low price point, the ability to just buy the 3 good songs on the album or better yet rip them for free. The compilation CD replacing the high speed dub tape that used to be a work of art requiring an entire weekend to put together even with the high speed dub and Mega Bass on the boom box.
But for a music lover digital music will come to be a regret. The same way you wish you didn’t ditch your jewel cases in favor of the Case Logic because it was easier transport for college. Digital music should have failed the same way eBooks did. The reason it didn’t, there are less true music lovers than book readers. If anything iTunes has created a nation of music poseurs. How do you spot one? First clue. Ask them what they like to listen to. If they say “everything.” Game over. Fake. If you really love music you might like everything and consider your tastes to be the most overused word in the English language - eclectic. But if you love music you would most certainly explain what “everything” means. You couldn’t resist. My musical Mt. Rushmore for instance: new U2, old Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams, Green Day, etc.
To me digital music is the equivalent of single chapter Word document downloads somehow replacing books. It’s killing the album.
I get that music is all bits and bytes. Even Beethoven’s 5th can be turned into zeros and ones. Got it. But the same can be said of money these days—you can shoot it places, you can pay bills online, etc. But the way iTunes treats music would be the same as a bank saying hey, it’s all zeroes and ones so when you go to our ATMs from now on they’ll just shoot out white pieces of paper. Why don’t you take a Sharpie and write the denomination of your bill and pay with that. Complete bullshit.
iTunes should look into a way to truly deliver some sort of liner notes that you can hold in your hand. They’ll need to explore ways to introduce the tactile side of the music experience to win me back.
Another sign you secretly believe iTunes sucks. . .AC/DC isn’t there. Led Zeppelin isn’t there. What does that tell you?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Interpol & ideas - Our Love to Admire Review
Wow. Not sure how I completely missed Interpol. Had a few people email me already that they’re big fans of the band.
At first blush, what’s not to like? Lead singer Paul Banks sounds like Brendan Flowers of the Killers (or perhaps the other way around). A lead guitarist in Daniel Kessler that can do the big, outdoor, wind chime guitar like the Edge. Very atmospheric are Interpol, and the music has ideas.
If Velvet Revolver are like the ex-high school jock showing up at a reunion bald and fat, Interpol seem to be more like band geeks. Clearly a super creative band with loads of ideas. Only a few weeks into the blog, I can say I now understand how certain bands become critical darlings. And I also understand how disconnected, and therefore unreliable, music critics are to the common man. The longer you “listen for a living” the more my sense is you would gravitate to the super creative, idea based, even odd end of the music spectrum. Listening to bland music makes you thirsty for just the sort of thing Interpol dish out in spades.
And it starts right from the first track on “Pioneer to the Falls” on the Our Love to Admire record. “Pioneer to the Falls” has a Donnie Darko vibe to it. Super creative, cool, and a little bit creepy. Like James mixed with Chris Isaac or something. It sounds like the cemetery, probably because of haunting and plodding lyrics like “I will pray that the soul can take three stowaways.”
Interpol work in lots of different sounds including what sounds so much like a car horn undercurrent that I was actually driving this week and swerved over to the side of the road because I thought the car behind me was going to hit me. Not knowing a lot about these guys and their background, that’s a general theme to the record. Interpol sound scary. The music and the mood on Our Love to Admire are haunting. If you want to decide if you’ll like these guys buy “Pioneer to the Falls” and listen to the 2:30 to 3:30 section of the nearly six minute song. I find pure majesty in there with all the changes and the effect. Interpol’s music is so full bodied I want to put it in a decanter. It’s an active listening experience for sure. To listen to the Interpol record gives you almost the same trippy feeling a great film can give you leaving the theater where you sort of feel outside your body –confused about what’s real and what’s not.
First and foremost, Our Love to Admire is an album. And what I mean by that is there aren’t any songs you want to skip over, it’s all good. The one liner on Interpol for me would be “sounds like music you’d expect cool people to have playing in the background of their house while entertaining.” The disc seems to be mostly composed of environmental music. The tempo is too slow on most of the tracks for anything to really feel like a single. If someone called me to ask what song to buy I wouldn’t even know how to answer that. I’d say buy the record because it’s good. And in the digital music world it’s pretty wonderful to find an album again.
Sure there are plenty of memorable parts to Our Love to Admire. If I had to pick singles I’d probably go “Rest My Chemistry,” and “No I in Threesome.” But I think “Pioneer to the Falls” is the defining track for a new Interpol listener. If you like that one, buy the album. If you don’t like that one, you probably won’t like the record. I guess it’s not a bad approach to have your first track act as bouncer in a way.
I’ve said before what I look for in music is ideas. Ideas are the ingredients necessary to make the music video in your head. The words, the riffs, and the way it feels. To that end Interpol have delivered a Crayola 64-pack (with the built in sharpener) on Our Love to Admire. The music is Broadway big. I’m a fan. But I encourage you to sit with it.
“No I in Threesome” has a nice spiral of a lyric, “maybe it’s time we gave something else a try” starting with a moody U2 spotlight vibe and building into something dare I say poppy - “you feel the sweet breath of time” later on. “No I in Threesome” is really many songs in one layered to a build. Death Cab for Cutie fans will feel at home here.
“Mammoth” is a great upward spiral of a song, with a great rubber band guitar to it. But despite the killer title it’s not a ready-made single. It’s just great to have playing in the background with the layered guitar and plodding drum beat.
“Rest my Chemistry” is the stuff of singles with a great guitar lead. The music stalks it’s prey, and moves about with a clip a bit higher RPM than the rest of the record.
There are many cocktail napkin worthy lyrics on the record including “I made you, and now I take you back,” “How are things on the West Coast,” “spare me the suspense” and “three kinds of yes” are just a few sing-along lines. Interpol do HEADLINE rock. Copy writers can find something to tap their foot to here.
I guess you could say most of the stuff on Our Love to Admire sounds the same. But I’m starting to wonder if that’s a criticism or a compliment in an age where albums are an endangered species. In the case of Interpol’s new one, it’s a good thing because it might sounds the same but it sounds real, real nice.
Love to Admire is music, but it’s also a mood. Even Sam Fogarino’s drums usually sound more like heartbeats here. Morphine marching band rock is how I would describe Interpol. So I went from having no ideas (Velvet Revolver) to possibly too many with Interpol. And that was music to my starving ears.
At first blush, what’s not to like? Lead singer Paul Banks sounds like Brendan Flowers of the Killers (or perhaps the other way around). A lead guitarist in Daniel Kessler that can do the big, outdoor, wind chime guitar like the Edge. Very atmospheric are Interpol, and the music has ideas.
If Velvet Revolver are like the ex-high school jock showing up at a reunion bald and fat, Interpol seem to be more like band geeks. Clearly a super creative band with loads of ideas. Only a few weeks into the blog, I can say I now understand how certain bands become critical darlings. And I also understand how disconnected, and therefore unreliable, music critics are to the common man. The longer you “listen for a living” the more my sense is you would gravitate to the super creative, idea based, even odd end of the music spectrum. Listening to bland music makes you thirsty for just the sort of thing Interpol dish out in spades.
And it starts right from the first track on “Pioneer to the Falls” on the Our Love to Admire record. “Pioneer to the Falls” has a Donnie Darko vibe to it. Super creative, cool, and a little bit creepy. Like James mixed with Chris Isaac or something. It sounds like the cemetery, probably because of haunting and plodding lyrics like “I will pray that the soul can take three stowaways.”
Interpol work in lots of different sounds including what sounds so much like a car horn undercurrent that I was actually driving this week and swerved over to the side of the road because I thought the car behind me was going to hit me. Not knowing a lot about these guys and their background, that’s a general theme to the record. Interpol sound scary. The music and the mood on Our Love to Admire are haunting. If you want to decide if you’ll like these guys buy “Pioneer to the Falls” and listen to the 2:30 to 3:30 section of the nearly six minute song. I find pure majesty in there with all the changes and the effect. Interpol’s music is so full bodied I want to put it in a decanter. It’s an active listening experience for sure. To listen to the Interpol record gives you almost the same trippy feeling a great film can give you leaving the theater where you sort of feel outside your body –confused about what’s real and what’s not.
First and foremost, Our Love to Admire is an album. And what I mean by that is there aren’t any songs you want to skip over, it’s all good. The one liner on Interpol for me would be “sounds like music you’d expect cool people to have playing in the background of their house while entertaining.” The disc seems to be mostly composed of environmental music. The tempo is too slow on most of the tracks for anything to really feel like a single. If someone called me to ask what song to buy I wouldn’t even know how to answer that. I’d say buy the record because it’s good. And in the digital music world it’s pretty wonderful to find an album again.
Sure there are plenty of memorable parts to Our Love to Admire. If I had to pick singles I’d probably go “Rest My Chemistry,” and “No I in Threesome.” But I think “Pioneer to the Falls” is the defining track for a new Interpol listener. If you like that one, buy the album. If you don’t like that one, you probably won’t like the record. I guess it’s not a bad approach to have your first track act as bouncer in a way.
I’ve said before what I look for in music is ideas. Ideas are the ingredients necessary to make the music video in your head. The words, the riffs, and the way it feels. To that end Interpol have delivered a Crayola 64-pack (with the built in sharpener) on Our Love to Admire. The music is Broadway big. I’m a fan. But I encourage you to sit with it.
“No I in Threesome” has a nice spiral of a lyric, “maybe it’s time we gave something else a try” starting with a moody U2 spotlight vibe and building into something dare I say poppy - “you feel the sweet breath of time” later on. “No I in Threesome” is really many songs in one layered to a build. Death Cab for Cutie fans will feel at home here.
“Mammoth” is a great upward spiral of a song, with a great rubber band guitar to it. But despite the killer title it’s not a ready-made single. It’s just great to have playing in the background with the layered guitar and plodding drum beat.
“Rest my Chemistry” is the stuff of singles with a great guitar lead. The music stalks it’s prey, and moves about with a clip a bit higher RPM than the rest of the record.
There are many cocktail napkin worthy lyrics on the record including “I made you, and now I take you back,” “How are things on the West Coast,” “spare me the suspense” and “three kinds of yes” are just a few sing-along lines. Interpol do HEADLINE rock. Copy writers can find something to tap their foot to here.
I guess you could say most of the stuff on Our Love to Admire sounds the same. But I’m starting to wonder if that’s a criticism or a compliment in an age where albums are an endangered species. In the case of Interpol’s new one, it’s a good thing because it might sounds the same but it sounds real, real nice.
Love to Admire is music, but it’s also a mood. Even Sam Fogarino’s drums usually sound more like heartbeats here. Morphine marching band rock is how I would describe Interpol. So I went from having no ideas (Velvet Revolver) to possibly too many with Interpol. And that was music to my starving ears.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Now that's Rock & Roll (Interpol packaging)
I love Rock & Roll. And I love Rock & Roll stories. If anyone has any please share them here. When I say rock & roll stories I mean stuff like in the recent Rolling Stone they talked about how Jim Morrison was making out with a girl in a broom closet before a show. Turns out some cops broke it up and pulled him out, so later when he was on stage he started ripping the police and they eventually cancelled the show. How Vinny Chase is that? I also love that the Killers mixed their latest album “Sam’s Town” deliberately at higher volume levels so it automatically sounds louder on regular stereos. Check it out, it’s cool.
Interpol has their own rock & roll indulgence on Our Love to Admire. The deluxe edition I snaked out of Target for $9.99 is Johnny Cash black all over. But it also includes a 24-page booklet inside. What’s in the 24-page booklet you ask? Oh, half are black pages and the other half contain photos of hyenas, antelope, bison, elephants, and rams. Song lyrics? Nope, no room for those. Which is classic because best I can gather these guys have fantastic lyrics. I love that shit. Can you imagine the band sitting with the label and going, “No we really need the bison shot here. We can put the lyrics online somewhere.” Awesome. I’m sure there is a jackalope in the booklet somewhere too. For those about to act like proper rock stars, Music Martes salutes you!
Interpol has their own rock & roll indulgence on Our Love to Admire. The deluxe edition I snaked out of Target for $9.99 is Johnny Cash black all over. But it also includes a 24-page booklet inside. What’s in the 24-page booklet you ask? Oh, half are black pages and the other half contain photos of hyenas, antelope, bison, elephants, and rams. Song lyrics? Nope, no room for those. Which is classic because best I can gather these guys have fantastic lyrics. I love that shit. Can you imagine the band sitting with the label and going, “No we really need the bison shot here. We can put the lyrics online somewhere.” Awesome. I’m sure there is a jackalope in the booklet somewhere too. For those about to act like proper rock stars, Music Martes salutes you!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
ROCK: The Lame Sequel
Did my last listen to Libertad on the way into work today. It’s not very good. The first 4 songs are like the desert, I dreaded listening to them all week. After song 5 “Last Fight” it gets a little better, and I’ve come to the conclusion that “American Man” is the best track on the record.
But this weekend I was driving around listening to a mix a guy I used to work with made me. The mix is known only as “The Motley Mix” which is written in Sharpie on the front. It’s basically a compilation of the best hair metal ever. It’s heavy on the AC/DC, Ozzy, KISS, Motley Crue, etc. Every time I listen to it, The Motley Mix melts my mind. Even the ballads like “Mama, I’m Coming Home” from Ozzy are unreal. You cannot turn it up loud enough.
WHY DOES NO ONE MAKE MUSIC LIKE THIS ANYMORE!!!
Seriously, when I was a teenager I was getting fat off Poison, ACDC, Van Halen, G n’ R, and the like. Kids were doodling guitar gods on their notebooks. The music kicked ass, period. Nothing today touches this stuff, and that’s sad.
Sure Kings of Leon, the Killers, the Chili Peppers, Wolfmother, Green Day and a few can still go eleven on the dial, but for the most part it’s been a sad state of affairs in rock and Velvet Revolver are a perfect example of why. Technically, as a band they can do what they need to do. Slash can still go dentist drill on his solos shredding with the best of them. But what he’s missing is a riff, a lick. And that makes a huge difference. Solos don’t make ears bleed, riffs do. “American Man” is as close as Velvet Revolver ever get on Libertad to taking me down to the Paradise City and making the music video in my head.
Weiland is another story. He does the sloppy vocal OK, but he needs to do a better job of staying out of the way of the real hero –the guitar. Too often Velvet Revolver mix their stuff to emphasize the vocal, and it takes the oomph out of the rock.
Velvet Revolver is a sequel band. And like most sequels, they aren’t very good. Besides Godfather II and maybe Audioslave, the second time around usually isn’t nearly as fun. So please skip the reunion tours, save me the super groups, and let me remember Michael in a Bulls jersey.
Angst fueled my week 3 music selection. Smashing Pumpkins have a record out this week for the first time in 7 years, but I couldn’t touch it for fear it would sound like a retread. I could have swapped genres and gone hip hop with T.I. Vs. T.I.P., but I finally opted for Interpol’s Our Love to Admire. I don’t know a thing about Interpol, except I think I coerced the Target sales clerk to sell me the deluxe $20.99 version for $9.99 because I rattled him at the register. Let’s hope it’s good. I want some music that makes me want to decorate my locker.
I’m leaning towards Colbie Caillet’s debut CD CoCo next Tuesday 7/17. I need a female voice in my truck. Sara Bareilles also sounds interesting at #1 on the iTunes today. I’m thinking some soothing female pop (Missy Higgins, Alice Peacock) will sound pretty good by then.
Lastly, please post any suggestions for reviews or ideas for the blog. I’ve been getting a lot of emails (much of it about Wilco), but would love to see some people also start to post.
But this weekend I was driving around listening to a mix a guy I used to work with made me. The mix is known only as “The Motley Mix” which is written in Sharpie on the front. It’s basically a compilation of the best hair metal ever. It’s heavy on the AC/DC, Ozzy, KISS, Motley Crue, etc. Every time I listen to it, The Motley Mix melts my mind. Even the ballads like “Mama, I’m Coming Home” from Ozzy are unreal. You cannot turn it up loud enough.
WHY DOES NO ONE MAKE MUSIC LIKE THIS ANYMORE!!!
Seriously, when I was a teenager I was getting fat off Poison, ACDC, Van Halen, G n’ R, and the like. Kids were doodling guitar gods on their notebooks. The music kicked ass, period. Nothing today touches this stuff, and that’s sad.
Sure Kings of Leon, the Killers, the Chili Peppers, Wolfmother, Green Day and a few can still go eleven on the dial, but for the most part it’s been a sad state of affairs in rock and Velvet Revolver are a perfect example of why. Technically, as a band they can do what they need to do. Slash can still go dentist drill on his solos shredding with the best of them. But what he’s missing is a riff, a lick. And that makes a huge difference. Solos don’t make ears bleed, riffs do. “American Man” is as close as Velvet Revolver ever get on Libertad to taking me down to the Paradise City and making the music video in my head.
Weiland is another story. He does the sloppy vocal OK, but he needs to do a better job of staying out of the way of the real hero –the guitar. Too often Velvet Revolver mix their stuff to emphasize the vocal, and it takes the oomph out of the rock.
Velvet Revolver is a sequel band. And like most sequels, they aren’t very good. Besides Godfather II and maybe Audioslave, the second time around usually isn’t nearly as fun. So please skip the reunion tours, save me the super groups, and let me remember Michael in a Bulls jersey.
Angst fueled my week 3 music selection. Smashing Pumpkins have a record out this week for the first time in 7 years, but I couldn’t touch it for fear it would sound like a retread. I could have swapped genres and gone hip hop with T.I. Vs. T.I.P., but I finally opted for Interpol’s Our Love to Admire. I don’t know a thing about Interpol, except I think I coerced the Target sales clerk to sell me the deluxe $20.99 version for $9.99 because I rattled him at the register. Let’s hope it’s good. I want some music that makes me want to decorate my locker.
I’m leaning towards Colbie Caillet’s debut CD CoCo next Tuesday 7/17. I need a female voice in my truck. Sara Bareilles also sounds interesting at #1 on the iTunes today. I’m thinking some soothing female pop (Missy Higgins, Alice Peacock) will sound pretty good by then.
Lastly, please post any suggestions for reviews or ideas for the blog. I’ve been getting a lot of emails (much of it about Wilco), but would love to see some people also start to post.
Friday, July 6, 2007
I missed one
Maybe it's the fact that I had the top off the Jeep Wrangler, but I was able to take a liking to another song off Velvet Revolver’s Libertad. Maybe I pronounced them dead to early.
The issue I had with Libertad is there's nothing memorable about it. The production values are high, it sounds ready for radio and super produced. The marketing plan is in high gear. Slash can shred. But there's nothing I want to go back to, play for a friend, or burn to a playlist. There's nothing for me to put in my pocket and take with me.
With a couple exceptions now I guess. I mentioned “Last Fight” in a previous post, but the one that I heard again yesterday was “American Man.” I know a song is rising for me when I hear it the second or third time and my mind already has the shape of the track. As I hear it the second or third time I’m able to recall what the song is going to do next. Call it music muscle memory, but it’s usually a good thing because those bread crumbs usually mean the song is going the right direction. And you remembered it.
That’s what happened for me with “American Man.” I also totally missed the killer guitar riff at the start of the song during my first listen. Slash just blasts a water ski wake intro that is rock solid. Then something peculiar happens. The mix of the song turns down the guitar in favor of Weiland’s vocal and the riff never reaches the heights of the intro. This is a total bummer because the song could have been a burner. As it stands now it’s still a nice track. “American Man” has the circular guitar riff you hear in a lot of the Foo Fighters stuff especially “Everlong.” “American Man” would sound fantastic in a helmets-off-hockey-warm-up for say the World Junior Tournament. Team USA would cast a heavy shadow with this blasting behind them. Consider “American Man” for your next trip to the treadmill. If only we could have kept the guitar knob at ELEVEN.
The issue I had with Libertad is there's nothing memorable about it. The production values are high, it sounds ready for radio and super produced. The marketing plan is in high gear. Slash can shred. But there's nothing I want to go back to, play for a friend, or burn to a playlist. There's nothing for me to put in my pocket and take with me.
With a couple exceptions now I guess. I mentioned “Last Fight” in a previous post, but the one that I heard again yesterday was “American Man.” I know a song is rising for me when I hear it the second or third time and my mind already has the shape of the track. As I hear it the second or third time I’m able to recall what the song is going to do next. Call it music muscle memory, but it’s usually a good thing because those bread crumbs usually mean the song is going the right direction. And you remembered it.
That’s what happened for me with “American Man.” I also totally missed the killer guitar riff at the start of the song during my first listen. Slash just blasts a water ski wake intro that is rock solid. Then something peculiar happens. The mix of the song turns down the guitar in favor of Weiland’s vocal and the riff never reaches the heights of the intro. This is a total bummer because the song could have been a burner. As it stands now it’s still a nice track. “American Man” has the circular guitar riff you hear in a lot of the Foo Fighters stuff especially “Everlong.” “American Man” would sound fantastic in a helmets-off-hockey-warm-up for say the World Junior Tournament. Team USA would cast a heavy shadow with this blasting behind them. Consider “American Man” for your next trip to the treadmill. If only we could have kept the guitar knob at ELEVEN.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Week 2: Velvet Revolver - Libertad
I’m only two weeks into this deal and I’ve already made a mistake. Rather than opt for a slightly older release like say Linkin Park’s supposedly U2 inspired Minutes to Midnight, Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (from which I heard a standout track “Missed the Boat” recently), or even Bon Jovi’s new country tinged Lost Highway –I stick to my guns. That’s right, during a very slow July 4th holiday week I stayed the course selecting an album truly released this past Tuesday. That record was none other than Velvet Revolver’s Libertad.
In theory Libertad had some things going for it. First, the Tex-Mex title meaning “freedom” was clearly a brown nosing effort targeted this barely bi-lingual blog. Also I had read a very rock & roll blurb in a recent Rolling Stone where Slash talked about how sweating in leather pants left your legs stained black after shows. Rolling Stone referred to Velvet Revolver’s new album as “killer.” I was curious.
Tuesday I headed to Target and picked up my selection for Music Martes week two. Luckily it was priced right as a $9.99 sale item.
Less than one minute into the disc I was reminded of something awful: as Skeet Ulrich is to Johnny Depp, Scott Weiland is to Eddie Vedder. And that’s one of the biggest problems with Velvet Revolver, they are by definition a “too little too late” band. Pieced together with road kill from G n’ R and STP, Velvet Revolver sounds like leftovers. Even the album art style for Libertad is borrowed from Green Day’s masterpiece American Idiot.
Even more problematic, the filler on Libertad is a hell of a lot harder to tolerate than say Ryan Adams’ rejects. It’s just noise. Velvet Revolver’s last record showed glimpses of promise, but after Libertad I’m afraid the boys are destined for the casinos or the reality shows. In many ways Libertad is an over priced CD single. The only song that really popped off the bat was song five “The Last Fight.” “The Last Fight” seems much more produced than the others,--so much so I was surprised to learn this wasn’t the track Brendan O’ Brien helped on (it was “Can’t Get it out of My Head”). “Last Fight” is the only song on the record, that feels ready to go out on the town. It’s also an interesting message to the track. Weiland references jail, relationships, and his own personal demons in “The Last Fight,” While pleasing to the ear, “Last Fight” sounds like resignation. It’s an exhale track. A give up song that when surrounded by a lot of “trying too hard” feels good. One has to wonder if it’s also sending a bigger message for the band, if maybe Weiland knows the tank is empty. From the sounds of Libertad, waving the white flag is something Velvet Revolver might want to consider.
I was excited to see what Slash could do with the ax. And the boy still has some rattlesnake in his guitar, trouble is he doesn’t have the stadium sized “SERPENTINE!.” This is largely because the music and the licks are void of ideas. Sure Slash can jam on a solo, but he rarely sets your imagination on fire with anything he’s doing. The result is right now Velvet Revolver make the songs between the good songs on your local black t-shirt, mullet rock station.
In theory Libertad had some things going for it. First, the Tex-Mex title meaning “freedom” was clearly a brown nosing effort targeted this barely bi-lingual blog. Also I had read a very rock & roll blurb in a recent Rolling Stone where Slash talked about how sweating in leather pants left your legs stained black after shows. Rolling Stone referred to Velvet Revolver’s new album as “killer.” I was curious.
Tuesday I headed to Target and picked up my selection for Music Martes week two. Luckily it was priced right as a $9.99 sale item.
Less than one minute into the disc I was reminded of something awful: as Skeet Ulrich is to Johnny Depp, Scott Weiland is to Eddie Vedder. And that’s one of the biggest problems with Velvet Revolver, they are by definition a “too little too late” band. Pieced together with road kill from G n’ R and STP, Velvet Revolver sounds like leftovers. Even the album art style for Libertad is borrowed from Green Day’s masterpiece American Idiot.
Even more problematic, the filler on Libertad is a hell of a lot harder to tolerate than say Ryan Adams’ rejects. It’s just noise. Velvet Revolver’s last record showed glimpses of promise, but after Libertad I’m afraid the boys are destined for the casinos or the reality shows. In many ways Libertad is an over priced CD single. The only song that really popped off the bat was song five “The Last Fight.” “The Last Fight” seems much more produced than the others,--so much so I was surprised to learn this wasn’t the track Brendan O’ Brien helped on (it was “Can’t Get it out of My Head”). “Last Fight” is the only song on the record, that feels ready to go out on the town. It’s also an interesting message to the track. Weiland references jail, relationships, and his own personal demons in “The Last Fight,” While pleasing to the ear, “Last Fight” sounds like resignation. It’s an exhale track. A give up song that when surrounded by a lot of “trying too hard” feels good. One has to wonder if it’s also sending a bigger message for the band, if maybe Weiland knows the tank is empty. From the sounds of Libertad, waving the white flag is something Velvet Revolver might want to consider.
I was excited to see what Slash could do with the ax. And the boy still has some rattlesnake in his guitar, trouble is he doesn’t have the stadium sized “SERPENTINE!.” This is largely because the music and the licks are void of ideas. Sure Slash can jam on a solo, but he rarely sets your imagination on fire with anything he’s doing. The result is right now Velvet Revolver make the songs between the good songs on your local black t-shirt, mullet rock station.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Last thoughts on Easy Tiger
The song that seems to age well is “The Sun Also Sets.” There’s just something haunting about that dark ballad.
Trouble is it comes right before the desert of this disc, songs 6-10. And to be clear that’s “desert” like a wasteland with nothing to drink not like (pun intended) New York style cheesecake. There’s just not enough memorable stuff on Easy Tiger.
“Two,” “Halloweenhead,” the two ballads at the finish, the sneaky “The Sun Also Sets” and the craftsmanship of “Oh my God, Whatever, Etc” are superb but left me wanting more. On Easy Tiger Adams spends too much time doing Willie Nelson impressions and strolling down Neil Young, Don Henley inspired falsetto cul-de-sacs. Although I will say “Pearls on a String” makes me curious if Adams could do for blue grass what he did for blue stars a few years back. The bango seems to be a natural fit for Adams’ sound.
Easy Tiger is a good –not great effort from the prolific Adams. Easy Tiger is like making a four-foot putt. Sort of what you expected, but it still feels good when it drops in the cup.
My biggest issue with Easy Tiger is song length with Adams favoring the sort of brevity you would expect from a punk record. You won’t find yourself calling buddies to telling them they have to buy Easy Tiger. Is it better than most new releases? Sure it is. Is Adams capable of more? Absolutely. And I for one think he’ll get there whether it’s another masterwork or by continuing to add to his already impressive body of work.
Trouble is it comes right before the desert of this disc, songs 6-10. And to be clear that’s “desert” like a wasteland with nothing to drink not like (pun intended) New York style cheesecake. There’s just not enough memorable stuff on Easy Tiger.
“Two,” “Halloweenhead,” the two ballads at the finish, the sneaky “The Sun Also Sets” and the craftsmanship of “Oh my God, Whatever, Etc” are superb but left me wanting more. On Easy Tiger Adams spends too much time doing Willie Nelson impressions and strolling down Neil Young, Don Henley inspired falsetto cul-de-sacs. Although I will say “Pearls on a String” makes me curious if Adams could do for blue grass what he did for blue stars a few years back. The bango seems to be a natural fit for Adams’ sound.
Easy Tiger is a good –not great effort from the prolific Adams. Easy Tiger is like making a four-foot putt. Sort of what you expected, but it still feels good when it drops in the cup.
My biggest issue with Easy Tiger is song length with Adams favoring the sort of brevity you would expect from a punk record. You won’t find yourself calling buddies to telling them they have to buy Easy Tiger. Is it better than most new releases? Sure it is. Is Adams capable of more? Absolutely. And I for one think he’ll get there whether it’s another masterwork or by continuing to add to his already impressive body of work.
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