Note: I am going to break this down by band. It looks like that’s how we’ve done this in the past, and it will probably keep from there being too much repetition. I am just going down the list in order starting with first CD and then grabbing the other songs from each artist in that order.
Tubronegro – Do You Dig Destruction
The only offering from this group in the collection, there’s not much else that needs to be said other than this is a straight forward hard rock anthem with all the motifs of wild, violent fun. It’s kicks off the album well, and it never disappoints when one needs a good pick-me-up song to supply some energy. I believe this band made it into the 1,001 albums list at some point, if my memory serves right.
My Chemical Romance – Teenagers; Cancer
I can’t decide if My Chemical Romance is a great band with a catalog of great songs, or if they are just a good band with a couple great songs. I’ve sort gone both ways with the songs I’ve heard from these. These two in particular show a nice range. Teenagers is rock with a strong riff and a catchy hook. Cancer with the melodic piano and whiny voice is tender with that threat of a sharp edge. I like both tunes. Part of me wants to say this band is Green Day a generation later. Not sure though.
The Zutons – It’s the Little Things We Do; You’ve Got a Friend in Me
The Zutons are smooth. I love the lead singer’s voice. It has a rawness that doesn’t sound forced. It’s the Little Things We Do is a toe-tapper, and I can certainly relate to the lyrics (unfortunately). You’ve Got a Friend… has the nice mixture of male and female voice, and builds nicely into middle with a groovy guitar solo.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Day Tripper
Obviously, I know the Beatles version of this song. I believe I talked about this one earlier. There’s no reason to dislike this one, and it makes you wonder if he had live longer if Hendrix would have done covers of other songs. I think that would have been a very strong avenue for him. Sort of the guitar version of what Johnny Cash did late in his career.
Lady Gaga – Monster; Speechless
I just noticed that I only put Speechless on my MP3 player for some reason. I don’t recall having any reason for that. I do like the hook a bit more in Speechless than Monster. I suppose this shows how much of a music rock I live under, but I am not sure I had ever heard a Gaga song before this. I suppose I had and didn’t realize it. I always wonder when an artist dresses up and creates a whole persona if they are covering for a lack of actual talent. I don’t think that’s the case with Gaga, but I don’t know if she does all of her own writing. It’ll be interesting if she ever abandons some of the extra stuff if her overall output and success is the same.
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3 comments:
I think Lady Gaga has to be a little extreme to keep people's attention. It is kind of the sad state of pop culture that people with pure talent need to do extra crap to stay famous. A least that is the way I see it. The Black Parade is probably the best album made in the last 10 years. I would say My Chemical Romance is better than Green Day. You have to see if I put Deer Tick on this collection. I swear I did but it wasn't in my iTunes lay list anymore.
You put one Deer Tick song on it - "Easy". I've listened to several other songs of theirs on spotify. I don't know names of tunes off top of my head.
I don't think Gaga is doing anything that hasn't been done before. Nothing that much more different than Madonna, or Elton John, or maybe even some of the David Bowie and Peter Gabriel stuff. They all called their on stage personas art, but they can't deny they also dressed up to draw attention to themselves and increase their fame.
I think we are sort of saying the same thing here just whether we believe it is purposeful or driven my the craze of pop culture. Although those two things can be circular in origin and drive.
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