CD Project Review: Post Academia Part 2

Artist or Band: Death Cab for Cutie

Album: Plans

Why (or how) did I get this: I have a vague memory of seeing the video late one night after I finished work for “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Ironically, I don’t recall thinking much of it at the time. Fast forward a few (maybe many) months and I stumbled upon the video again. This time, it’s like I kind of like this sound. Eventually, I was swayed to buying the album. I guess first impressions aren’t always right.

Songs included: Marching Bands of Manhattan, I Will Follow You Into the Dark, Your Heart is an Empty Room, What Sarah Said

Why is that: Snake may have mentioned this, but the songs from this group are all very similar in sound and have strong lyrics. I love the way that “Marching Bands of Manhattan” opens the album and catches my attention. “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” is the single from the album and the one that convinced me to buy it. The last two could have been shuffled in and out with two or three others songs from the album and I would not have had an problem with that.

Others that just missed the cut: Like I said there is a group of six or seven songs after “Marching…” and “I Will Follow…” that are all pretty even. If I had to do it over again, I may have only included those two and tried to work in a couple songs from other groups. Of the remaining songs, it wouldn’t hurt to check out “Soul Meets Body,” “Summer Skin,” and “Crooked Teeth.”

The bad: I don’t know if I would call these songs bad, but they are sort of the weak sisters of this album (at least in my opinion). I’d put both “Someday You Will Be Loved,” and “Brothers on a Hotel Bed,” as the two tunes I like the least.

The verdict: I really like listening to this album. It’s mixed well, it has strong lyrics and it tends to mellow me out. I need that sometimes.


Artist or Band: The Wallflowers

Album: Rebel, Sweatheart

Why (or how) did I get this: The Wallflowers are really the only active band that I’ve made a concerted effort to buy their music when it comes out. I bought this without ever hearing a song or seeing a music video. I just connect with this band. I am not going to say they do anything more remarkable than your average band or that they are better than most bands going. I just like their music and that’s that.

Songs included: God Says Nothing Back, From the Bottom of My Heart, Nearly Beloved, Days of Wonder

Why is that: First, I put “God Says Nothing Back,” because it’s reached a pretty high level on my favorite song list. Will it slide back gradually in time, perhaps, but I think it will always hang on. I know Snake was hoping I’d leave “God Says Nothing Back,” and “Nearly Beloved” off simply because he had went out and already listened to them because of thing I wrote. I had considered that, but struggled to leave them off after making a big deal about them. “From the Bottom of My Heart” was actually the song that struck me the most when I first started listening to this. Musically, I just love the sound. Lyrically, I think if you listen to it closely, you’ll hear a fairly dark story shrouded in what seems like a love song. “Days of Wonder” is the throwback of the album. I wanted something a little more upbeat to show that it wasn’t all slower, ballad –type stuff.

Others that just missed the cut: This four stand out among the rest. I think songs like “We’re Already There,” “I Am A Building,” and “The Beautiful Side of Somewhere” are on that next tier of tunes, but not quite as good. There’s third tier of fine songs, but not one’s that jump out at me for any reason.

The bad: I really don’t like the tune “Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Maionette)” for some reason. I think if it were on another album, it may not bother me. But this is sort of heavy, brooding album, which makes this silly tune kind of stand out too much.

The verdict: If you don’t have it, get it. I’d say that for all four Wallflowers’ albums that I have. This is a band that makes a living on the hidden gem rather than the big single.




Artist or Band: The Velvet Underground

Album: The Best of the Velvet Underground

Why (or how) did I get this: I always loved the sound of Lou Reed’s voice and finally decided I needed to see what this band was all about. So I used one of my free choices from BMG to get this one.

Songs included: Pale Blue Eyes, Sweet Jane, What Goes On

Why is that: I knew that Snake already had some of the Velvet Underground so I wanted to steer away from the things that he had and toward stuff that he didn’t know. While Snake recoiled at the pacing and sound of “Pale Blue Eyes,” I was drawn to it. I hear in it the pangs of reality closing in on a group living in a way that couldn’t last. The other to picks are similar in that encapsulate the sound of the band. Not heavy, but quick and driven by the steady voice and eclectic background of sound.

Others that just missed the cut: Most of what didn’t make it was due to Snake already knowing it. “Beginning to See the Light,” would have been the next to go on the album from those not on the banana album. Otherwise, if you’re looking for good Velvet Underground tunes check out “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Heoin” and “White Light/White Heat.:

The bad: I am not a big fan of “Femme Fatale,” and there are few tunes that seem to get lost or unnoticed when going through.

The verdict: Right before we started doing these CDs, I started really listening to this album. It had slipped through the cracks when I bought and collected some dust. I am glad that I took another look.

Red's CD Project Story 2: Part 2 – Stoneheart

Note: I've had this about 2/3 of the way wrote for the last week and haven't had time to finish it up till today. It strays a little from where I started, but I think it's turning out to be a nicely twisted tale. Enjoy and there's more to come. 

Disc 1
Track 2: Asleep on the Trail of Tears – The Louie’s

“He was made by God to make the playing field level”

A girl old enough for her bosoms to only start to blossom wailed at the name and ran off to the group of tents kept well away from the flames. She likely sought consolation of her mother’s tit. While many of Oan’s contemporaries would not believe it of the man they referred to as 'Stoneheart,' a part of him very much wanted to run and hide as well.

Fear was a foreign entity in Oan’s veins. When he was boy, four season cycles into life, he had made the same error in judgment that Nestor had by entering the icy waters of the Belnor. Since then, his blood flowed slow and cold and his skin sealed wounds before they could grow and infect and his heart was solid, heavy like a stone. It was truth he kept secret, but it was evident in his boldness and bravery. He did not fear.

His decision to enter the Belnor had been guided by a child’s ignorance and want for a toy boat that had escaped his grasp and started a voyage in the current while he was playing along the banks of the great river. Oan gave chase, his small legs pumping well away from his home village, from his mother and toward the end of his young life.

His boy legs burned trying to keep pace with the toy as it sped along. Tears and snot streaked his face as he trailed behind. Far away he heard a voice calling, but he could not afford a backward glance.

The knee-length grass was wet and clung to his bare skin. The weight of emotion was bearing down on his shoulders and his will to continue lagged. As he slowed, the boat skimmed off a log half submerged in the river with the other half buried deep into the bank. The boat spun in the current but away from the middle of the river. Instead, it made route to a still pool blocked from the current by a harbor of sort made by the bank jutting out. It stopped in the middle, but well away from his reach.

The old ones said that spirits dwelled in the murky waters and, on that day, the boy found those old tales to be true. As he extended his arm out trying in vain to grab the toy, he heard their voices calling to him, begging him to join them. At first he clapped his ears shut with both hands to block out the noise, but that did not stop the screeching, yet seductive voices.

He extended his am out once more in an half-hearted attempt. His attention was more on the ripples of the pool and how each sparkled as each lazy wave pushed out from the center. The voices sang out in unison, the words unintelligible to his ears, but his heart understood them perfectly. The spoke the old language, he would find out much later, but that day he knew only one word. It reverberated in his bones, his blood, his heart – “Come.”

And he did.

Head first into the pool with a little splash and a thousands prickles of pains stabbing into skin, he came to the voices. He re-emerged once to find the sky had turned red then dropped below the water level once more. The spirits attacked his ears in a million voices in a hundred languages. The only other noise he remembered was the thump of his heart, but then that went silent and all went dark.

Then there was only darkness and falling.

He remembered nothing more till he awoke in the arms of the witch.

Oan shuddered by the fire remembering her icy grip and her shining green eyes. From many worlds, she claimed to be from. Once she told him that in another world, she was called the Witch of the Weeping Woods and that her son was a Dragon slayer. In Oan’s world, she was Madra the Lurking Witch.

Oan had lost himself in the flames, when he looked up to see Nestor with his one-eyed stare. A memory tickled from that day as a boy in the waters of the Belnor. It came just before his heart beat for the last time. All the voices stopped all at once and rang out in one terrible screech of a name.

That name had been on Nestor’s lips when Oan pulled him from the water. Now again, by the fire, the stranger uttered the name again.

“Salama.” The cursed name of old, the name that haunted Oan’s dreams since that day he fell in the waters of the Belnor. Not even the witch could stop his nightmares. Now they had come to life.

Oan seized a spear lying next him and charged Nestor.

Snake's Reaction: Get A Haircut & Get A Real Job pt 3

Part 2: http://sbrlists.blogspot.com/2009/11/snakes-reaction-get-haircut-get-real.html

Kool Keith: I'm Seein' Robots from 'Black Elvis/Lost In Space'

I got this album from BMG. It was on a list of the 50 Greatest Albums you've never heard. I was already a fan of 'Dr. Octogenecoligst', so I thought it was worth the try. I'm Seein' Robots is probably the easiest song to understand the meaning outside of the context of the album. Basically half of the album is through Black Elvis's perspective, including the women who want all this stuff and look at the same as every other woman, being basically robots. The other half of the album goes into sci fi themes and the idea of being lost in space. Clifton, Livin' Astro, Keith Turbo, and Intro are entertaining songs. The Intro consists of the lyrics, "This is the intro." In some way that strikes me as genius, and a sample of Keith's sense of humor.

Verdict: Never for the faint of heart. His hooks are catchy and erratic at the same time. His raps will blow you mind if you can keep up.

System of a Down: Lonely Day from 'Hypnotize' and Sad Statue, Old School Hollywood from 'Mezmerize'

I was well aware of Red's opinions on SOAD going into this, so I tried to find some stuff that represented a little bit different side of their music from this split double album. I thought Old School Hollywood was just quirky enough for his approval. Lonely Day tears at my heart every time I listen to it, you feel it in Doran's voice. Sad Statue is probably the best political message out of the group, something you can always count on from them. Still, I think there would be more to please Red's ear out of this album.

Verdict: You like Lonely Day, then be sure to here Soldier's Side. The softer heartbreak of Day with the good support of our soldiers. I think I should have picked Lost in Hollywood, quirky yet with more passion in its message. Question! has a bit of that screeching to it, but the song structure is very good. There is something here from everyone, and I will never stop trying to shove it down Red's throat. :)

The Zutons: Confusion, Dirty Dance Hall from 'Who Killed...'

I believe this was another recommendation from BMG and probably the best one I ever got. I love this album inside and out. They mix current and old sound. They are fresh but familiar. From the opening riff of Zuton Fever, the album just sort of feels alive. I love it when bands mix in horns. I haven't gone out listening to any of their follow up albums. That is something I need to do.

Verdict: It is hard to pin down any song that is a must listen to above another. Zuton Fever, Pressure Point, You Will You Won't, Havana Gang Brawl, Railroad, Nightmare Part II, and Moons and Horror Shows are all classics in my mind.

Tenacious D: Tribute from 'Tenacious D'

Yes it is old and predictable Jack Black, but it still makes me laugh. I thought about some of the other tracks and maybe I should have went for something not a popular, but Red said he didn't have the D.

Verdict: Kielbasa is a nice sexual song, F*%$ Her Gently just makes me laugh, The Road sounds like a Molly Hatchet song and City Hall is a nice little story song to finish out the album. Don't take it too seriously, just enjoy the humor and the tributes to rock n roll.

Snake's Encore: Hot Shots II - If Only I Could Remember My Name

In Snake's Collection:

Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park

This album really sticks out as a turn of the century time piece. Like they finally got the rock/rap formula right and made some good songs. The problem is they didn't change that formula and have since faded it seems. I like this album, alot of anger and pain in the lyrics.

Hunky Dory - David Bowie

This is easily the most important, influential album in this group. This represents the transitional period for Bowie from the early Rock N Roll roots to the glam rock that he would basically invent. The music is more laid back, but the lyrics are deeply expressive and directly lay out Bowie's new career direction. The first track, 'Changes' puts it all out in the table from the start. "Strange fascinations, fascinating me. Changes are taking the pace I'm going through." The gem of this album will forever be 'Life On Mars?' The lyrics are cut up, imaginative and give everyone a different impression of what is going on. The tune grabs you and makes it want to sing along, but you are forced to listen hard to the words and decipher what it means to you. When I first heard this song a couple years ago, it was a transcendent experience. It is the single best example of Bowie's genius. 'Oh, You Pretty Things' is a catchy interesting tune in which Bowie sings of the ending of the Homo Sapien race in favor of the Home Superior, saying "Earth is a bitch". There is something in the way he says bitch that seems to always catch my ear. 'Quicksand' also deals with the influence of Nietzsche's idea of the Overman. The majority of the album is based on tributes or stylings from the various musical/artistic influences in Bowie's life. 'Kooks' is a song for his newborn son that is in the style of the early 70's Neil Young record he was listening to. 'Queen Bitch' is a tribute to Velvet Undergound and their style. 'Andy Warhol' and 'Song for Bob Dylan' are self explanatory tributes although I read that Andy Warhol didn't like his song because he thought Bowie was poking fun at his physical stature. Bowie somehow takes all these influences in his life and weaves them back into this tapestry that is all his own. True Genius.

Good Stuff

Hysteria - Def Leppard

It is hard to deny this song line-up that reads more like their greatest hits. Tragedy seems to bring out the best in rock groups (a la "Back In Black"). Although I still hear more people talk about "Pyromania" than this album. I really don't know why.

BIGGEST SNUB THUS FAR

Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin

This is probably my second favorite Zep album and represented a major turning point for the band as it was the first with completely original material, displayed a new direction using more studio techniques and most obviously, the first not named after the band. 'The Crunge' is the best hidden gem among Zep albums. The funky bass line and musical style of this song is like nothing else in their catalogue. 'Over The Hills And Far Away', 'Dancing Days', 'The Song Remains The Same', 'D'yer Maker', and 'The Ocean' are still staples of classic rock radio. 'No Quarter' is epic. 'Rain Song' is beautifully done. This album and LZ IV represent the height of their musical prowess. No one should ever over look or under credit this album!

Other Notables

Human Clay - Creed

This album was everywhere! Literally, even one had a copy of this album. 'What If', 'Higher' and 'Arms Wide Open' were so good it pissed me off, because I had already taken the stance in high school that I didn't like Creed. It seems like the kind of album that would be in this book.

Hypnotize - System of a Down

This was the second half of the split double album, the first half being "Mezmerize". This album seemed to go even deeper with their lyrics and message as it was heavily built by Doran Malakian. The songs seem to flow better and are less frantic, most of the time. And I know Red liked 'Lonely Day' which I think sets up nicely for 'Soldier's Side' to finish the album and tie it back together with "Mezmerize" which featured 'Soldier's Side' as a short intro track. The album is still heavy and powerful when it needs to be, like the first song out the gate 'Attack'.

I Get Wet - Andrew W. K.

This frantic debut was a large part of my musical life for probably two years. It is a good time and all the songs just get into your blood and make you wanna sing, dance and go crazy. The album cover is awesome, too. It really sets a good stage for the rough ride ahead. And then just as fast as Andrew hit the big time, he faded back into obscurity. But man it was a wild ride.

Icky Thump - The White Stripes

This was a return to their roots after "Get Behind Me Satan". 'Rag And Bone', 'Little Cream Soda', 'Catch Hell Blues' and 'Effect and Cause' represent those blues roots (Baby Brother is actually a bonus track). There is a great cover of 'Conquest' on this album that is kind of a treat. 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You're Told)' is another one of those quintessential White Stripes songs. 'I'm Slowly Turning Into You' is a slow, whiny heart breaking song that seems to be a Stripes staple as well. 'St. Andrew (This Battle Is In That Air)' is an interesting Scottish influenced tune. A very good album all around.

1001 albums (386-400): Hot Shots II - If I Could Only Remember My Name

Note: I stuck to one line for most of these crappy albums. Not a good group with only two legitimate albums. Proceed with extreme caution.

The Good

Hybrid Theory (2000) by Linkin Park

This album was everywhere with hit singles “Crawling,” “One Step Closer” and “Crawling” climbing up the charts. A sure-fire diamond in this rough of crap albums.

Hysteria (1987) by Def Leppard

Probably the best album here with 7 U.S. hits including “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” This the first album with drummer Rick Allen playing with just one arm after a car accident.

The Rest

Hot Shots II (2001) by The Beta Band

There’s a scene in the John Cusack movie “High Fidelity” where he tries to sell five copies of the three LPs from The Beta Band. I find that to be the kind of trivia people like to learn.

Hounds of Love (1985) by Kate Bush

A British rocker who hit it big with this album split into two thematic parts.

The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (2000) by Badly Drawn Boy

I’d give this the best album title of this group and the music has a funky, fun sound.

Hunky Dory (1971) by David Bowie

Other than “Changes” I don’t think I know anything else on this album and I think we’ve about reached the limit of Bowie albums for this list.

Hunting High and Low (1985) by A-ha

We’ve all heard “Take On Me,” and I’d say that’s probably all we need to know about this album.

Hypnotised (1980) by The Undertones

This a power-punk from Northern Ireland – possibly hidden gem of this group.

Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury (1992) by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

They call this dail-an-issue rap music, OK then.

I Against I (1986) by Bad Brains

This Washington D.C. punk band released a cassette only album, which seems the most notable thing here.

The Idiot (1977) by Iggy Pop

Here is Iggy’s contribution from his time spent in Berlin with David Bowie.

Idlewind (1988) by Everything But the Girl

A dance album hit from a UK band with a clever name.

I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990) by Sinead O’Connor

“Bald Banshee” that made a name with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

If I Could Only Remember My Name (1971) By David Crosby

A somber bunch of tunes recorded after the death of Crosby’s girlfriend in a car accident.

Journey Thru 6,500 Songs

Everybody Wants Some. That some seems to be different for every person. Some people, and I would currently put myself in this category, have no idea what it is that they want, they just want something. I struggled to make a birthday gift list. Things change over the years, my wishes usually on a whim. I definitely would not want a Cayonero or some other huge SUV. We have a mini van now, that is fine for me. Although I was asked what I would want if money was no object and I replied that I wanted a new fully rigged out F-150. Not gonna happen. If I had one, I wouldn't have a need for Maps anymore. It would have GPS guidance even though I go no where to need it, but for some reason I want that. I could drive off into the country and get lost looking for a home grown Jalapeno and then use the GPS to find my way back. It would have those fancy running lights, looking like a Neon Tiger running through the night sky ablaze of fire. It would frighten the creatures of the night, like that mountain lion I swore I saw a couple weeks ago run off into a corn field. My wife said it was a coyote. Logic would say she is correct, but I know what I saw. Perhaps it was a wolf, running back to its House of Wolves. I guess the correct term would be a den. Daniel and the lion's den was the bible story. Although I remember absolutely nothing about the story. Jonah and the whale, now that one. I at least remember he lived in the whale, somehow. I guess he had Nothin' To Lose really. You're already stuck in there, might as well make the best of the situation. Isn't that the true measure of the human spirit or some one's resolve. What do you make out of the bad situations? The Word I believe I am looking for is character. No that isn't it, and I have lost The Word I'm thinking of. That there is me in a Nutshell these days. I lose my trains of thought, I feel like I have wasted my brain. I used to take it for granted in school and cruised based on natural talent like some big shot sports player. Now I just ask it, Don't Let Me Down. Really I was the one that let it down. So maybe now it is trying to get back at me. Can I consciously be aware of a subconscious plot my brain has against me? Like we are two separate entities in the way that Homer Simpson always has conversations with his brain. Like we are Alone, Together, apart but one. I think I am realizing this makes absolutely no sense. And somehow that gives me peace.

Red's CD Project Story 2: Part 1 - Nestor

Note: So I wasn't going to post this today, but it seems like Snake has some time on his hands, so I thought I'd give him something to read. I started this yesterday an took about an hour to write a paragraph. I knew from the lyric where I wanted to go, but was struggling to get there. Like the last time, I don't know where I am going with this. Unlike the last time, this one section is very long. Could be interesting to see if I can keep this kind of length up (that sounded dirty).

Disc 1

Track 1: Three Fingers - Buckethead

“I spotted him like night sky plotted and star struck”

Old Moon with its fractured face was just escaping the underworld as Nestor, barefoot and with a bison-skin blanket draped over his shoulders, hobbled to the fire, crossed his legs and sat opposite of Oan. The paunch of his stomach peaked out from underneath with long, spiraling gray hairs spotting it. Old Moon lingered low in the sky praying that New Moon escaped their daily voyage through the sky of the dead. Moments later, New Moon, blue and curved, appeared.

Like Old Moon, Nestor’s face was scarred down the middle. An inch-wide crevice spotted with bright red sores started at the top of his forehead and cut downward between his eyes and then curved at his nose enough to only claim his left nostril. His right eye was sharp, scanning the crowd around the fire before settling on Oan. His left was no more than an empty socket that never closed and Oan thought, had the look of yearning to see again.

“I’s owed yar one for pullin’ me from the drink, young one over thar,” Nestor said, eyeing Oan with both his troubling eyes. “A mite frosty, it t’was, it t’was.”

Nestor clawed at his face where clumps of scraggly, no doubt flea-infested, hair grew. The day before Oan had found Nestor floating belly-up in the river. Instinct drove Oan to forfeit his hunt and rescue the stranger. The instant he dragged Nestor’s bloated, nearly blue body from the waters with the name of ancient omens slipping from his lips, Oan regretted not letting the man drown.

“A fool enters the Belnor. It’s waters run across a bed of ice in the heavens and never warm till they sizzle in the fires of the underworld,” Oan replied.

“So they do, so they do.” Nestor grinned accepting an earthen bowl full of stew. He brought the bowl to his jaws with his right hand that was missing its first two fingers. He held it there taking long, slow slurps that echoed accompanied by nasally wheezes from his one open nostril. He brought the bowl away from his face. Brown broth hung from the hairs of chin and his mostly toothless mouth beamed open as he chewed on a chunk of deer meat.

“Tis very good,” Nestor added hoisting the bowl up. “Bland to my tasters, but good nonetheless.”

Oan was growing tired of the man’s accent and the pitch of his voice. No one had crossed the Belnor since the days of the great flood had doubled its width. The waters were too choppy to risk the canoes, too cold to swim across. Yet, this man with his brown skin and his accented voice clearly was not one of the Aldroubi that hunted the eastern shores of the great river. He was from the west.

“Perhaps, not only a fool jumps into the Belnor,” Oan said. “Perhaps, a man running from shame would do the same.”

Oan eyed all of Nestor’s flaws and easily imagined him as a villain, a thief or defiler of young girls. Nestor’s good eye closed and he rubbed his temple with his thumb and two remaining fingers of his right hand.

“A bright boy you are,” Nestor started in again. “I could tell it even in my delirium after you scooped me from the waves, I could.”

Oan noticed some of the accent was gone, along with some of the jovial enthusiasm. The change worried Oan more than if Nestor were some sort of fleeing miscreant. A thief, Oan and his men could handle swiftly. No, Oan now believed some of Nestor’s appearance and behavior was an act, a subtle play to misdirect. If this man was so clever, maybe there were other more sinister reasons he jumped or maybe he was thrown into the Belnor. Nestor’s gaze never left Oan while these thoughts ran through his head.

“I can see the wheels a turning, my boy,” Nestor said with a short mocking laugh barely stifled from turning into a roaring chuckle. “I can see them well with this one good orb I have left. My sight has always been sweller than others.”

Nestor pointed to his right eye and smiled. For the first time, Oan was truly repulsed by the man. There was some sort of sick game being played here. Oan despised games.

“Are you a wizard?” Oan blurted out. The thought occurred to him as his lips asked the question.

“Nay, nay,” A sneer raised Nestor’s cheekbones and lines from a lifetime of woe raced out in wrinkles. All the friendly patter in his voice was gone. He cleared his voice as if to recite a long tale.

“You’re wrong about dat. But t’was right about one ding. I was running. I wish to gods above or below, I’d started running earlier. From the first, when I saw him striding out in the sands of the Sorna (a few of the old ones gasped at the name of mythical desert). I was manning my tower as I had all my days, when I spotted him from far off. He stood out all in black on the golden sands like Old and New Moon and all thar star droppings do on the night sky. I should have ran right den, I should. That mistake cost me my fingers and my eye, it did. And more den that, I warrant, I do.”

“Who did you see?” Oan asked over the lump in his throat. It was midsummer, the air still warm and the fire burned well, but Oan shivered.

Nestor leaned toward the fire, maybe warming the same shiver, but more than likely not wanting to say the name too loud. Shadows crept in the night, even east of the Belnor. They crept and waited. Nestor was no fool of a man.

“Salama, of course. Who else?”

CD Project Review: Post Academia Part 1

Note: I think I might approach this a little different than Snake. Why? Like I've said, I am no music reviewer so I'll write what I find cool, interesting and what motivates me.

Artist or Band: The Band

Album: Greatest Hits

Why (or how) did I get this: I remember in my youth watching the Sunday morning program hosted Charles Kuralt that did a feature on The Band. At the time, the group looked strange and the music was beyond me. But broken images from that stuck with me. Years later, I had a free CD to pick with the now defunct BMG music service. I picked The Band with that in mind and knowing that I liked a couple of their more well-known tunes.

Songs Included: When I Paint My Masterpiece; Stage Fright

Why is that: I think whenever I mix a CD (or back in the day with tapes; I miss those days). I use two main criteria. The first – songs I like – is a no-brainer. The second – it fits or serves a purpose in progression of the album I am trying to make - is trickier. When we started this, I knew I wanted to start with "When I Paint My Masterpeice." Musically, it's a powerhouse. Lyrically, it rich with images and references. From Snake's response, it did the trick of perking his ears immediately and making him receptive to the rest of the album. "Stage Fright" is another great scene setter with an underlying theme of hope and overcoming of fear.

Others that just missed the cut: I didn't chose "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Up On Cripple Creek," because I was 10o% sure Snake already knew these songs. They're still great and, if by chance you don't know them, take time to look them up. This album had 18 tracks, most of which are solid to really good to great. Check out the cover of "I Shall Be Released." It's powerful. Also very good are "Tears of Rage," "Ophelia" and "Acadian Driftwood."

The bad: "Ain't Got No Home" is the only real miss on this album.

The verdict: One of my favorite albums from this list. It's a sound from a different time that still sounds relevant and fresh today.

Artist or Band: Tom Petty

Album: Highway Companion

Why (or how) did I get this: This album fell literally into my lap. My sister somehow ended up with two copies and gave me this for free. I never turn away free music. Otherwise, I highly doubt I would have bought this.

Songs included: Flirting With Time; Square One

Why is that: "Square One" jumped out at me right away when I first listened to it. My instincts always are to include songs like that when I am asked about albums and such. I did consider dropping it though because I thought it wasn't fitting my vision for the CD. "Flirting With Time," on the other hand, grew on me as it popped up on my MP3 player. I'll grant that none of these tunes are much different than what we've heard from Tom Petty before.

Other's that just missed the cut: "Damaged By Love," started out as my runner-up for favorite tune from this album, but slowly started to slip down the list. They lyrics get repetitive, but you expect that from pop songs. "Down South," has grown on me and has some of that southern or backwoods charm of Petty.

The bad: The middle of this album hits a terrible funk. The tracks "Turn This Car Around," "Big Weekend," and "Night Driver," all take the underlying theme of a car trip a bit too far and are annoying in other ways.

The verdict: Those that like Tom Petty will probably enjoy this album. It won't stand out as his best, but it won't totally offend either.

Artist or Band: James Blunt

Album: Back to Bedlam

Why (or how) did I get this: I don't recall wanting this album, which leads me to believe this must have been a featured album at BMG that I didn't get declined in time and I decided to give it a try. It's mellow and that served a purpose when I was being attacked on a semi-regular basis.

Song included: Wisemen

Why is that: Most of these tunes get pretty slow and I knew Snake would never make it through those if they weren't also excellent tunes. Nothing on this album is excellent, so I went with this song because it had a decent hook and some interesting lyrics.

Other's that just missed the cut: "You're Beautiful" got heavy radio rotation and I am sure Snake has heard it. I didn't won't to include a single that well-heard. "Goodbye My Lover," is kind of guilty pleasure in that I know it's kind of cheesy, but sometimes I feel kind of cheesy.

The bad: I don't know if anything on here is really bad. Everything sort of falls in the middle. Everything towards the end gets kind of silly, plus he's a ballad singer that's obsessed with letting people know that he does drugs.

The verdict: Again, I don't think I ever actively sought this album. I give it a C.

Snake's Reaction: Get A Haircut & Get A Real Job Pt 2

Part 1: http://sbrlists.blogspot.com/2009/10/snakes-reaction-get-haircut-get-real.html



Franz Ferdinand: No You Girls & Twilight Omens from 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'

This is the third album by these Scottish rockers. It is a loosely conceptual album around a night of partying and the morning after effects. No You Girls is infectious and since I put together this album I hear it in commercials and just about everywhere else now. Katherine Kiss Me is the last song on the album and is basically the acoustic reprise of No You Girls. The band explained the concept as No You Girls is about the first time two lovers kiss and how awkward it is and how they don't really understand each other. Then Katherine Kiss Me (last song on the concept album remember) is how that moment is later remembered. I just plain like Twilight Omens and I am not entirely sure how it fits into the concept yet. Lucid Dreams and Ulysses are other great songs from this pretty top notch album. It is a bit more electronic and dancey than their first album, but that seems to fit the mood and concept of a night on the town. They definitely always do well to set their moods.

Verdict: Not a good as their self-titled debut, but more polished than their sophomore release. They set the mood and it really comes to life as you listen to the entire album. There are lots of remixes out now if you are into the dance stuff. Listen to No You Girls then Katherine Kiss Me. If you enjoyed the two songs I picked, then just get the album because you will enjoy it.



Queens of the Stoneage: Burn The Witch & Tangled Up In Plaid from 'Lullabies To Paralyze and 3's & 7's from 'Era Vulgaris'



I pulled from my two recent Queens albums. I agree Burn The Witch is in their signature sound. Tangled Up In Plaid continues to play on the dark tone of 'Lullabies'. The vocals go into fuzz mode which livens up the song a little bit. The title, 'Lullabies To Paralyze', is to tie this album to its predecessor 'Songs for the Deaf' since it is a line in the last song from that album. While it isn't quite as inspired, it is a solid album with more of their distinct sound. Little Sister is my favorite song but I don't think I put it on here because it was their big hit single and figured most had already heard it. I Never Came, Someone's In The Wolf, & You've Got a Killer Scene There are good songs. I love the riff to 3's & 7's the second I heard it. 'Era Vulgaris' is a departure from their mellow brooding sound to something much grittier, driving, industrial sounding. I think that is what turned me off at first, but the album continues to grow on me. This is probably the same reason the album garned such mixed reviews. Sick, Sick, Sick, Make It Wit Chu, Into The Hollow & River In The Road are pretty good tracks.

Verdict: 'Lullabies' is basically 'Songs for the Deaf 2'. 'Era Vulgaris' is a different sound to more industrialized, metallic music while the former are the more organic, Desert Rock sound. I guess take your pick or like them both.



Serj Tankian: Lie, Lie, Lie & Saving Us from 'Elect The Dead'

I knew Red's feelings about Serj going into this album creation. I knew 'Elect The Dead' was marginally good at best and not really a departure from anything Serj did with SOAD. Yet for some reason I put it on here. Mostly because I really like Lie, Lie, Lie. I think it is a little demented. I remember the first time I heard it on shuffle and was like did he just say what I think he said? The whole album sounds pretty much the same with the same mix of politically charged lyrics and just crazy crap. Sorry to offend people's ears, but the album is a decent listen if you dig SOAD (which I know Red doesn't). So probably in my subconscious I was trying to torture him a little bit.

Verdict: Not gonna set the world on fire, and basically giving his fans more of what they like. The whole album mostly sounds like these 2 songs over and over again. I am pretty sure I put this on here just to force Red to listen to it at least once.

The Raconteurs: Intimate Secretary & Hands from 'Broken Boy Soldiers'

Side project/Supergroup for Jack White & Brendan Benson gets better every time I listen to them. Intimate Secretary is a neat song in the styling and the normal White wit with lyrics dealing with Free Masonry. Intimate Secretary being the 6th degree of the Scottish Rite. Hands has more of Benson's influence and is well put together. Steady As She Goes is the hit single and probably the closest sounding song to the White Stripes. Level is a great blues tune in the classic Jack White tradition. Together was a song Benson was prepping for his own solo project and is a nice slower love song, at least as nice and slow as Jack White could get. Broken Boy Soldiers, Store Bought Bones & Yellow Sun help round out this amazing album. I have since bought their follow up, 'Consolers of the Lonely'. So if I do another album, you can look forward to that.

Verdict: Best of this group by far. Most consider it a great side project, which in fact it hasn't lasted as White as moved on to make the Dead Weather. A little bit of White Stripes with a richier sound that will come from having 4 members of a band. Every song is a winner in my opinion.

The Dark Tower III: Shadows and such

Note: I am not really doing this justice here, but having read this book again I feel like this may be the real linchpin of the series. I don't if what I wrote makes adequate sense, but hopefully you'll get something out of it.

THE WASTE LAND

We’ve talked about settings.

We’ve talked about dreams.

We’ve talked about the world that has moved on.

In the Book 3, Mr. King provides something different from either. “Your shadow at morning striding behind you/Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you.”

Now we’ve entered “The Waste Land.” A place of dual meaning, dual memories, dual existences and not by chance a book split into two parts.

A week ago or so, I wrote a free writing loosely based off the song “Hold On.” This series is loosely based off the Robert Browning poem “The Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.”

But this book isn’t about the Browning’s poem; it’s inspired by the T.S. Eliot poem entitled “The Waste Land.”

I don’t pretend to understand much of Eliot’s poem. I studied another one of his poem’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” in college and never got a firm grasp of it. The relevant thing to note about Eliot’s style is that it’s very stream of conscience. He also turns a lot of great lines.

The opening line of Prufrock is iconic – “Let us go then, you and I, /When the evening is spread out against the sky/ Like a patient etherized upon a table;

In the selection below the final line is prevalent in King’s book and is also one that sends chills through one’s spine – “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”

What all this adds up to is paradox. Roland the Gunslinger and the boy, Jake, must deal with a very literal paradox throughout the first part of this book. Resolving that paradox opens the door for part 2 and the continuation of the search for the Tower.

The paradox of the series is that King is presenting a Tower with many levels, not unlike the theory of multiple dimensions, yet deciding if any of this adventure is real. It appears that creative minds like Eliot, Browning and others have had glimpses of other levels of the Tower without realizing it, but have used those glimpses as inspiration that now provide keys to the character and reader.

King appears later in the series as a character writing the story of the Gunslinger in our world. His completion of the series is paramount to the success of the characters.

Which leads to the main paradox of the series – Are the characters only a figment of King’s imagination or is the world of the Gunslinger a real story being told through King?

Below is the stanza from Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land” that is most prevalent in the book.

From the The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

Second stanza of section entitled “The Burial of the Dead”

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

Red trolls the web

Note: I plan on posting the next installment of my Dark Tower exploration sometime today, but I found this while trolling the web and found it interesting.

For those keeping score at home, in August of 2008 I stated that "Atlas Shrugged" was one of my ten favorite written works. During the time since, I've thought about this book a lot as the economy crumbled and government panicked.

I don't prescribe to all of Rand's political, social and philosophical views, but if I were teaching some sort of course entitled "Classic literature and it's relevance in the world today," I'd put this in the syllabus first.

Below is an article from Newsweek reviewing a book about Rand that discusses "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead." I've never read the "The Fountainhead," simply because it seemed more like another edition of the same text book, but maybe I'll try it out sometime.

I'm not drawing any big conclusions here, just providing a little something to think about here.

www.newsweek.com/id/219001