Music Pride. Here's Proof. I Promise.

One correction from last post: Ken points out (with video evidence, no less!) that XTC actually has made a handful of live appearances since 1982, as part of an acoustic radio tour in 1989 and also making sporadic TV appearances, such as this one on Late Night with David Letterman. (In the first clip, that's Andy Partridge who looks like a cross between Bob Mould and Freddie Mercury; in the second, that's him with the top hat).

Conclusion: I still like my story better, with the downside being that it's not true. Details, details... thanks, Ken.

Here's a whole bunch of crap I've been listening to. (And yes, I am working on your mix CD's.) In alphabetical order:

• James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western (2006). The lead singer from The Manic Street Preachers gives us one great song (“That’s No Way to Tell a Lie”) and a bunch of innocuous ones. Pick up the song on iTunes; the album is only for the MSP completist.
  Verdict: Sell-back Pile 1.

• Love of Diagrams – Mosaic (2007). Their EP was first profiled here. This is a very solid album by a band that has a great sound at a young age and a ton of potential. My worry is that this first album is a little too polished, if you know what I mean. “Form and Function” is a great example: it’s a great leadoff track, it’s nicely produced – it’s a great song. But it’s a little too slick for its own good. That isn’t to say that should deter you from picking it up – I’m just being cranky and taking it out on Love of Diagrams. This album is absolutely great: poppy, guitar-driven, mid-to-uptempo indie rock. Somehow I hear a cross of INXS, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Dresden Dolls, Pylon, and Rainer Maria, if that makes any sense. (Not much does make sense in this review, come to think of it.) Bottom line: I really like this album and will definitely check out their next one. This one is one of my new favorites.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.
  
  
• New Young Pony Club – Fantastic Playground (2007). I saw the video for “The Bomb” on MTV2’s Subterranean and was hooked. And you probably know one of the songs – “Ice Cream” was all over TV as a commercial. They’re young, it’s danceable, it rocks! I could play “The Bomb” all day every day. Really good guitar-synth-girl singer pop, although not really a complete album. You can tell they have a great album in them… as long as they avoid input from the A&R people.
  Verdict: Recommended, especially if you like bands like CSS. (I won’t name names… Andrew.) Portable CD Case.
  
  
• Silversun Pickups – Carnavas (2006). This is actually getting more airplay now, I believe, than when it was released two years ago. I really like these guys –- this is an excellent indie rock album, IMHO. But what really sold me on the band was watching a live clip of “Lazy Eye” on MTV2, which is much more fierce than the studio version. If they can channel a little of that energy into a studio album… now THAT would be something. Think Kill Hannah meets Built to Spill. Excellent album.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.
  
  
• Sum 41 – Half Hour of Power (2000). When I mentioned Sean was a fan of these guys in this post this post, he corrected me -- he tells me he was actually into Green Day. And The Spice Girls. Seriously. No, seriously, I can’t make this stuff up, and I wouldn’t say that about anybody if it weren’t true (not even Sean). This is a decent album, but like All Killer No Filler, it’s a bit saccharine-ey. Sweet taste but not filling. So Sean – sorry for the incorrect attribution. (P.S. Scott was under the same impression I was about you liking Sum 41. So I blame you.)
  Verdict: Not recommended. Neither are The Spice Girls. “Peaches” Pile/Pile of Death.
  
  
• Squirrel Bait – Squirrel Bait (1985). This was one of two albums these Louisville, KY teens released before Peter Searcy went out to do his own things and the rest of the band formed Slint. Musically, it’s punk-ish and pop-like. “When I Fall” is the best of a decent group of songs. I’ll keep it as a historical document.
  Verdict: CD Rack.

• Linda Thompson – Versatile Heart (2007). Linda Thompson returned in 2002 with Fashionably Late, her first record in 17 years, which was remarkable as she had finally recovered from hysterical dysphonia, which is essentially a psychological condition that resulted in her inability to sing, and thus had completely halted her career. She followed that album (which was fine but not really remarkable) with this one in 2007. Most famous as the second half of the “Richard and Linda Thompson” duo, her voice is still amazing, but this album does not do it for me.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Pile of Death.

• Richard Thompson – Sweet Warrior (2007). The other half of the duo. Richard Thompson has tended to have had one monumental album each decade (Shoot Out the Lights in the 80’s and Mock Tudor in the 90’s), and decent to excellent albums in between. This falls into the former category. “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” was an absolute scorcher live, and when you understand that “Dad” is slang for “Bagdad,” you realize that this song has a lot going on. "I'll Never Give It Up" and "Johnny's Far Away" are classic RT songs. “Needle and Thread” is also a keeper. On the other hand, there a bunch of tracks I’m on the fence about. It’s not a bad album -- I just have plenty of other excellent albums by Sir Richard I’d rather go back and listen to.
  Verdict: Enjoyable for RT fans. Otherwise, buy yourself Mock Tudor or the gold disc of Shoot Out the Lights (which really is worth the extra $$$). CD Rack.
  

• Year of the Rabbit – Year of the Rabbit (2003). When I hinted here at my musical man-crush on Ken Andrews, who know it would take 10 months to actually follow up on it? (Hmmm… you don’t seem surprised.) Year of the Rabbit (like On, which was reviewed in the above link) is another band for Ken Andrews after the breakup of my all-time faves, Failure. This album is not terribly complicated, but I really enjoy it. “Rabbit Hole” is a great leadoff track and Ken follows up with great song after great song: "Last Defense," "Absent Stars," "Vaporize, and "Hunted" are highlights for me too. (Yes, I just referred to almost half the album as “highlights.”) A little heavier and grungier than Failure, it’s eminently enjoyable. There is a unified “sound” to this album that is great. Not a bad song in the bunch; I wish they had done another album together.
  Verdict: Recommended. Car CD Changer.
  

- Snilch

Quick Hits - The Undecided List, Part 2

The genesis of this, once again, was 25+ hours in a car, which was followed up on with an additional 12 hours on a subsequent trip. Again, these ones are out of the mix for getting into the car, as they didn’t grab me the first time there. Make sense?

In alphabetical order:

• Gabby Glaser - Gimmie Splash (2007). As detailed here, I've always been a big fan of Gabby Glaser of Luscious Jackson fame, but was quite puzzled that neither she nor songwriting partner Jill Cunniff had released anything since the band broke up. Then they both release solo debuts the same year. Very odd. This album has the groove of Luscious Jackson, but it's oddly detached and thus falls short. This one hangs on for grim death at the very end of my CD Rack, but only because of her history with LJ. Maybe it will eventually grow on me.
  Verdict: Blah. CD Rack.
  
  
• Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike (2005). Allmusic.com describes this group as "combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brecht-ian cabaret," which is better than how I would have summed them up. Pat turned me on to this band after seeing them play a screaming live show. This album is a trip... just all over the place. These people are truly nuts. I think I need to see them live to make a better determination as to what they are all about... the album itself is just tough to completely fathom. Who am I kidding, they are completely and wonderfully warped. How's that for a review?
  Verdict: Undecided but intrigued. Use this to scare unwanted Republicans away from your house. Portable CD Case as I have to give it more listens (clearly).
  

• Grizzly Bear - Friends EP (2007). I got into these guys when I heard a partial clip of their fantastically sparse cover of Yes's "Owner of a Lonely Heart," which still has not been officially released to my dismay (and while I'm at it: Cat Power, please release your cover of "Hanging on the Telephone" as well). This is very sparse, delicate at times, but well-crafted and interesting. This is nice music... very mellow but never boring.
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.

• Grizzly Bear - Yellow House (2006). I make it a point not to review albums by the same band in the same post, but I goofed here. When writing the above review for Friends, I thought I was listening to Yellow House, which I discovered as I attempted to put the Friends CD in a case that was already full. This turns out to be a solid but unspectacular full-length of originals. Oddly I prefer Friends, which consists of 2 new songs, 5 alternate versions of songs they've previously released, and 3 covers of their songs by other bands (including CSS). I know this review is supposed to be about Yellow House right now, but Friends has much more to talk about. Go figure.
  Verdict: I'd listen to Friends first, but this is not bad. CD Rack.
  

• Jesu - Conqueror (2006). There's not much I can say about this one -- it is so good it's scary. The 2-CD version (with "Sundown" and "Sunrise") really makes this a complete album, although when I bought this version I could only find it as an import. It's worth the extra expense. Think My Bloody Valentine at 2/3 speed. Really cool stuff, it just doesn't play in the car. Absolutely one of my favorite albums from the last 2 years. It's droney, plodding, and deliberate in a great way. I love this one.
  Verdict: Just beautiful. Portable CD Case.

• Mia - Kala (2007). The musicality of this one can't be denied -- but as it's not quite as silly as Mu or as dense as later De La Soul, I've had problems painting this one into its proper corner. Today I've decided to be optimistic. It's a little hip-hop, a little (very little) dance, and a little old-school rap. I have to say hearing the lyrics to "Where is My Mind" by The Pixies re-done as a monotone, synthesized chorus in "20 Dollar" took some getting used to, but I'm coming around to it. "XR2" is a great play on "Shake Your Rump," complete with cash register and gun firing sound effects -- I've decided to be amused rather than disturbed by this, and to treat this as an ironic and not damning social commentary at the moment. Overall, I need to listen to this more, but for the moment I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.
  Verdict: Recommended if you like the genre. Portable CD Case (for research purposes).

• Motörhead - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (1981, re-mastered version released in 2001). I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you're unlikely to find any music source that is willing to go from Jesu to Mia to Motörhead in the same breath and pretend it still can be taken seriously. Fortunately, I have no such aspirations. I'd never listened to Motörhead in my life until about 6 months ago, which apparently is some type of crazy hole in my musical life. This live album would be great for Motörhead freaks... not for me, though. Probably not for you either, eh?
  Verdict: Sell-back 1.

• The Screaming Blue Messiahs - BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1988). My friend Liz gave me some tapes with a bunch of odds and ends from early '80's Boston radio on it -- and what really stuck was The Screaming Blue Messiahs. Apparently known for their "hit" "I Wanna Be a Flinstone" (news to me), this group mysteriously just stopped in the late '80's before they ever got big, with no real explanation. Finding their albums is like trying to find breadcrumbs in a forest of pigeons. But I tracked this down and I must say that I'm happy I did. They are a country/blues band sped up, and thus very pleasing. Frontman Bill Carter gets on my nerves slightly with his over the top, almost evangelical, delivery, but his guitar playing is topnotch. As everything comes in 3's, think of him visually as the younger brother of Bob Mould and Frank Black -- and "once described as 'the ugliest man in rock!'" That quote (and the exclamation point) are from the album liner notes. 'Nuff said.
  Verdict: Recommended if you can find it. Portable CD Case.

• Peter Searcy - Trust Falls (2005). This is the Squirrel Bait frontman's 3rd solo effort, following 2000's somewhat lackluster Could You Please and Thank You and 2004's breakthrough Couch Songs. This one doesn't measure up to the acoustic Couch Songs, which is odd for me as this is more rock and I tend to stray towards the heavier stuff. Peter constantly straddles the line between pure pop/rock excellence and pure pop/rock sappiness, and here he mostly verges towards the latter. Which is too bad -- he needs a bit more sneer. I wonder if his follow-up (2007's Spark) is better... but you'll just have to wait on that for another day.
  Verdict: Not recommended. CD Rack in case I have a change of heart later.
  

• Social Distortion - Prison Bound (1988). I got into these guys late in the game, but 1990's Social Distortion and 1992's Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell are about as good as you'll ever hear in back-to-back albums. This album got high marks too, but it's not in that class. A little more raw, a little less defined, but you can hear where they were going. Something like "Lawless" is rough, but they are laying the foundation melodically towards a couple of great albums.
  Verdict: Recommended for Social D fans, but only after buying those other 2 albums. CD Rack.
  

• Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler (2001). My friend Sean was into these guys and thus I gave them a shot. Well, 7 years later, but better late than never, right? I think he was actually referring to their debut, Half Hour of Power, but I could be wrong. This was enjoyable but a little dated to listen to, surprisingly. I just could not get into it. We'll give Half Hour a shot, though.
  Verdict: Sell-back pile 1.
  

- Snilch