Thursday, October 31, 2002
My review of the spectacularly mediocre The Blues White Album is now up. What a colossal disappointment it is...I mean, it sounded like a fabulous idea, but the performances are bland and sound mailed-in. It's just dreadful. Except for the good version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"...
So that's it for reviews that I've already submitted. I'm starting from a clean slate now...next up: that massive album by The Streets.
Quick Halloween music recommendation: Nick Cave's 1996 album Murder Ballads. Phenomenal...and extremely spooky. The decision to do a duet with Kylie Minogue was a masterstroke...
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
What's the new Sigur Ros album like? Well, it's more of the same, but still very, very good. There's less of a contemplative, brooding feel that made Agaetis Byrjun so beautiful, and more of a raw, guitar-and-piano based sound, with the bowed guitar and falsetto "Hopelandic" gibberish we've grown familiar with. The sound of the record ebbs and flows gracefully, and climaxes beautifully at the end. It's very nicely and artfully packaged, but there are no liner notes, and no song titles (heck, even no album title, except the silly parentheses), but it seems to add to the overall feel of the cd. It all just blends into one, but if I were to single out highlights, I'd say Track 1, Track 3, and especially the spectacular Tracks 7 and 8 that conclude the album (especially 8...wow). Perhaps the reason () doesn't pack the same wallop as its predecessor is because the element of surprise isn't there anymore...but instead of growing monotonous, Sigur Ros still manages to sound fresh while sticking to the same formula. It's a keeper, alright.
Huh. I completely forgot that my Echobrain review hadn't appeared yet. Well, it has now. When did I write the thing? Two months ago? One month? Anyway, it's a good debut album. I hear they have recorded new material, but who knows when that's coming out, what with Newsted's (or should I say, Jasonic?) new gig with Voivod?
So, as of a couple days ago, I was dead certain what my Album of the Year would be, but today, it's a dead heat, thanks to one major album that I finally heard in its entirety. Now I have absolutely no idea how my entire list is going to turn out. Going to be very tough.
I never looked at Metacritic before yesterday...it's pretty cool, and fun to look up the albums that have my reviews included, although applying a numerical rating to my PopMatters reviews can be dicey.
Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby is a fun book to read. Not overly expertly written, and not at all worth the price of a hardcover, let alone trade paperback, but still enjoyable. Very dark comedy, much like Irvine Welsh's The Acid House. The book, not the dreadful movie. Perhaps I should try his other books...
Friday, October 25, 2002
My review of the fine new Iron Maiden dvd is up today. Like I said a couple months ago, it's a terrific concert dvd, with astounding picture quality, but, as I stress in my review, if you don't have a surround sound system, you'll be missing out on the dvd's best part. The clarity is amazing, and trying to hear it through 2-channel ctereo, or even worse, a mono tv, doesn't come anywhere else. I found that tv's with 'simulated surround' capability improve things a bit. But it really depends on how nitpicky you are. I don't have surround sound, yet I'm perfectly happy with the dvd...
It's been a really slow two weeks, so there won't be too many new reviews of mine popping up anytime soon...
Here's a great review of Spike Jonze's movie Adaptation...I've been waiting over two years for this one (back when I first read The Orchid Thief, a great book in its own right, and by the looks of it, it should be as great as Being John Malkovich, which is one of the greatest films ever made, period. The trailer looks promising, as well.
Two big albums come out in the next couple weeks: First, the new Sigur Ros album comes out in four days, and from what I've heard so far (tracks 1 and 4), it sounds promising. Jim DeRogatis wrote a good review of it...
Also, Badly Drawn Boy's second album of 2002 arrives on November 5. I've only heard the lovely 'You Were Right', but another good Chicago music writer, Greg Kot, says that it's pretty good. Uneven, but good. If it is indeed uneven, I'll find that a bit diasappointing. I'm not one of the people who Kot describes as calling Damon Gough a genius (Bewilderbeast was a slopy, yet charming, mess), but the four best songs on About a Boy made huge strides, and with Gough using the same producer on his new cd, I expect more of the same.
Never mind the bollocks here's the Sex Pistols turns 25 on Monday. It still sounds freakin' awful, very, very, very poorly produced, but the passion on the record remains incendiary to this day...
...And as for the new Audioslave (Rage Against the Machine with Chris Cornell) single, called 'Cochise': ugh. Boring, boring, boring, like Cornell's solo album. Next.
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Rubyhorse's debut album Rise has two great songs, a handful of good songs, and a bunch of dumb songs, but it also shows us that they're a band who possess a great deal of potential. Fine-tune the sound and write some more, er, fine tunes, and Rubyhorse could be big. In the meantime, download 'Sparkle' and 'Punchdrunk', and take a look at my album review. I don't know what got into me, but I felt compelled to mention watermelons...
Friday, October 18, 2002
At last! More reviews to mention. There's my review of the posthumous Gregory Corso album, which is a great tribute to the guy. Funny and poignant...Hal Willner has done it again. There is no one better at producing spoken word records.
Also, my review of Sahara Hotnights' Jennie Bomb, which I submitted ages ago. I stand by what I said, this is one fun, loud, confident album.
The Promise Ring is no more, after Wood/Water was a bit of a bomb. That's too bad...I think I was one of very few people who actually liked the album.
Monday, October 14, 2002
Nothing like a lazy Canadian Thanksgiving Monday. Best month of the year...I love this crisp weather.
First off, thanks to Devious Steve for leaving me the old 1959 copy of The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men. Fantastic. You didn't have to do that, dummy.
Couple of good cd purchases this weekend (as if I needed more)...picked up Blackalicious's Blazing Arrow, which is terrific. It really takes rap into new territory, a sort-of freestyling, psychedelic, melodic opus that is rewarding all the way through. Still, it's 'Sky Is Falling' that's the most brilliant moment, which somehow morphs hip-hop with the wacky Danny Elfman music from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (gotta watch that one again, by the way). And you want to know my favourite aspect of this album? Its lyrical creativity and positive attitude. The lyrics for something like 'Make You Feel That Way' prove that you don't have to be a misogynist pottymouth to create a good rap album. Blazing Arrow has now leapfrogged over N.E.R.D.'s In Search Of... for the title of best rap album of the year. Not that I'm an expert or anything. How about that? I buy two rap albums in one year...that is definitely a first.
I also stumbled across a used copy of Sanctuary's UK release of The Best of Black Sabbath. Unbelievable...what kind of idiot gets rid of a stellar double-disc set like that? All the more for me. As a longtime metalhead, I've always had a love of Sabbath, but I've never completely loved an entire Sabbath album, so this compilation is almost perfect for me. My only gripe is the absence of 'Sabra Cadabra' and 'Behind the Wall of Sleep', but I really shouldn't complain, since both cd's are absolutely jam-packed with songs, using every available second (to the point that 'Zero the Hero' fades out a couple minutes early, not a real problem for me). This album is the cd for people like me who don't want every Sabbath album.
So my last cd purchases have been Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blackalicious, and Black Sabbath. Weird. And completely coincidental. I'm pretty sure I won't be buying albums by Clint Black, Black Box, Frank Black, the Black Crowes, Black Flag, Blackfoot, Blackstreet, and Black Uhuru...
Thursday, October 10, 2002
Irvine Welsh's new book called Porno is out, and it looks like a good one. Judging from this review, Welsh is on quite the roll, seeing how great Glue was and all.
Wednesday, October 9, 2002
Whoa. Tons of catching up to do...
First, two reviews of mine appeared over the past couple days: my review of the new Gourds cd (which is a whole lotta fun to listen to...I really enjoyed it), and my take on Ron Sexsmith's Cobblestone Runway (which is pretty much as good as anything I've heard this year). Also, my Steve Earle review from last week was made a feature article a few days ago, which caught me a bit by surprise...
Also, I received a bunch of Dylan shows in the mail when I got home today: two copies of the Edmonton show (outstanding quality!), Saskatoon (which I was desperately coveting), and Fargo. Nice.
And speaking of Bob, you have to hear his version of 'Brown Sugar'. Way to play the rock and roll, Bobby!
So. On to the Tool/Meshuggah show....it was as amazing as I had expected it to be. Good crowd, looked like it was around 10,000. As expected, when Meshuggah came out, they were met with some bewildered looks. In direct contrast to Tool's spacy melodies and emotive lyrics, here was a group of five longhaired (except singer Jens Kidman) Swedish metalheads, headbanging like there was no tomorrow, a forty-five minute exercise in ultraprecise, brutal, old-school metal (the only downer was the echo in the cavernous Skyreach Centre. I loved it ('Nebulous' was downright beastly), but many didn't, including a certain hack writer for the Edmonton Journal who would be better off covering more Neil Diamond shows. Anyway, here's Meshuggah's set:
Sane
Sickening
Nebulous
Rational Gaze
New Millenium Cyanide Christ
Soul Burn
Closed Eye Visuals
Future Breed Machine
Tool was spot-on. Maynard James Keenan on a lone riser in the back, barely visible, contorting like a creepy shadow (a writer used my Gollum comparison on Monday before I had a chance to get it down!). Some very freaky video images, like surgery and weird, contorted skull images, terrific use of different backdrops, some very strange floating orbs, much like the ones in the 'Parabola' video...it was original, to say the least. Out of all the songs, the ones from Lateralus sounded best, especially the great 'Disposition/Reflection/Triad' trilogy, which lasted close to half an hour. Not many songs were played, but the show still lasted two hours, and I loved it. Here's Tool's set:
Sober
The Grudge
H.
Stinkfist
Schism
Parabol
Parabola
Aenima
Disposition
Reflection
Triad (with Meshuggah's Tomas Haake on additional roto-toms)
Lateralus
Saturday, October 5, 2002
From all accounts, last night's Dylan show in Seattle was unbelievable. Three covers. Half the show done on keyboards, the first time in many years. And a cover of 'Brown Sugar'. Yes, that 'Brown Sugar'...
Friday, October 4, 2002
Dispatch from Edmonton:
New Dylan Pool starts up today!
...And two days until Tool & Meshuggah. Oh boy.
New review today, as well...my write-up of Steve Earle's Jerusalem is up today. How is it? Well, it's a trifle imperfect, but that's part of the whole charm of a Steve Earle album. Laid-back and ragged. The subpar bits (I count two of them) are still very good, but the rest of the album is stellar. Despite being slightly flawed, it still qualifies as one of the better albums to come out this year.
I haven't really gone over my contenders for best albums of 2002 in a while, because I know there'll be a real problem of what and what not to include. I won't give away anything, but so far I've heard only one or two albums that I would call dead-on perfect. The real trouble will be sifting through the fifteen or so cd's that are just a notch below...I still have to hear the new Beck (can it really be that good?), and there's Badly Drawn Boy and Sigur Ros on deck in the next four weeks. Egads, it's going to be difficult...
Thursday, October 2, 2002
Had a good stroke of luck on Wednesday, stumbling across a message on the usenet by someone who was trying to get rid of an extra ticket to Sunday night's Tool/Meshuggah concert in Edmonton. He happens to live in Saskatoon, so I was able to buy it off him for cheaper than the regular price. I think that deserves a woo-hoo...Pretty darn good seat, too, six rows up from the floor.
I've been pumped about this show since I learned I'd be in Edmonton at the same time. Seeing Tool is one thing, but the addition of Meshuggah as the opening band clinched it for me. I have to see these guys in action...they're playing their new stuff for the first time, I gather (as opposed to their summer Ozzfest gig), and they're also debuting their custom eight-string guitars, something I have to hear. Am still awaiting a Meshuggah setlist on th current leg of the tour, which started on Monday night...
And it turns out I was wrong in my review of their album. Turns out it's their drummer who does the vocals on my favourite track, "Spasm"...I find this out after I praised singer Jens Kidman for showing dome decent range on the song! I'm a complete and utter fraud, folks. You know, mix-ups like this could be prevented if certain bands would provide proper liner notes...
I've been trying to get a couple new reviews done by today, but it's been so hectic, I could only do the Ron Sexsmith cd. So Rubyhorse will have to wait.
Picked up a used copy of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's album from last year, on Tuesday. Been a bit too busy to give it more than one listen, but it's as I expected: not really original, but very well done throughout.
The new trailer for The Two Towers has reared its head...and it looks fantazgreat. A question: did they steal the overture from Requiem For A Dream just for the trailer, or has Howard Shore adapted it for the movie? Whatever the reason, the new version of the score sounds amazing.
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Viking Kitties and Led Zeppelin. This absolutely killed me.
Friday, September 27, 2002
Alrighty then, the computer's fixed. Whew.
Review time. Popping up yesterday was my take on Highway 9's What In Samhill?. Painfully unoriginal, but the album has about four killer songs. The rest, though...bleah.
I hate George W. Bush. Always have. Anyone who feels the same will really like this.
Thursday, September 26, 2002
Been a craaaazy past few days...
On Monday night, we had a power blip, which somehow skirted past the ole surge protector, and konked out the computer. So, I ran it as fast as I could to the repair place (who was open at night, thank goodness), fifteen minutes before closing.
On Tuesday, I received, much to my shock, the new Steve Earle cd, one I was not expecting to review, even though I threw my name in. So there I was, with an ultra-high priority review to do, with no computer. I figured out that I'd write the thing longhand, then type it out at the local library. Later that day, I found out that the computer's power supply had been completely fried...
Then yesterday arrives...first, I learned that the computer was fixed. Huzzah. Then I get not only the new Gourds cd in the mail, as well as another solo cd by their singer. Huzzah again. So I go get the computer, finally installing everything here at 4:00. But wait...I spend an hour trying to figure what's wrong, and am completely flabbergasted, frazzled, and fuming. After a futile attempt at reinstalling the sound card with the help of the computer gut on the phone, I gave up and agreed to bring the thing in to be tweaked on Thursday. Grrr...
Meanwhile, with all this going on (don't get me started on my realaudio & winamp problems), I'm spending the day hemming and hawing over whether I should co see Ron Sexsmith later that night at 8:00. At 7:45, I decide, finally, yes, I'll go, so I dash off to the theatre. I walk up at 8:02, and the kind lady at the ticket booth gies me a free ticket that someone didn't need! Talk about being in the right place at the right time. So I wound up being thoroughly blown away by Sexsmith's performance (including about seven new songs, a cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Songbird', and a real cool break in 'Secret Heart' -I think- where he & the band played the solo section from the Beatles' 'Something', before segueing smoothly into the song again). I picked up his new album after the show, and headed home, exhausted.
So here I sit, 3:10 a.m.. Hoping the silly computer gets fixed properly tomorrow. And those cd's? Steve Earle: almost flawless. Gourds: crazed alt-country. Kev Russell's Junker: clinically psychotic alt-country. Ron Sexsmith: purty. Very, very purty.
Time for bed.
Monday, September 23, 2002
The most anticipated song of the year has finally been leaked. That's right, Nirvana's infamous 'You Know You're Right' is now available for download. And yes, it is a darn fine song, ranking right up there with Nirvana's best; it's also horribly tragic, because this song is a fleeting glimpse at how Nirvana could have been even better than they were. Fantastic song.
Friday, September 20, 2002
Take a look at my review of Meshuggah's incredible new album, which has appeared today. It's one of the finest metal releases to come out in the past five years...
Thursday, September 19, 2002
Slow week...
Well, my day has officially been made...the one Dylan Pool prize that I was most anxiously awaiting, the dvd of The Last Waltz, arrived in the mail today. Like I said a few months ago, the movie is indeed flawed, but I've liked it for the past ten years or so. Yeah, it's sloppy, self-indulgent, weird (Neil Young's rotoscoped nostril, Dylan's hat-which Roger Ebert describes as "the haberdashery equivalent of an uplifted middle finger"-, Van Morrison's jumpsuit, the whole Neil flippin' Diamond thing) and dominated by a preening Robbie Robertson, but something about the whole road-weary vibe of the entire event appeals to me. Just one of those things...some people hate it, and some love it I like it, and am very glad to finally have it.
My review of Vanessa Carlton's awful cd has popped up today. Twenty-one year-old, flitty, ex-ballerina piano girls should not be allowed to cover 'Paint It Black'. The result is not pretty.
Friday, September 13, 2002
The Metal God returns...take a peek at my review of Halford's Crucible album. "CrEW-ci-baaalll!!!"
Got a fun batch of cd's in the mail yesterday...First off, the first Dylan Pool prize to arrive, an awesome recording of Dylan's recent Halifax show. Then there's the new album by Sweden's answer to the Runaways, Sahara Hotnights, which is a real cracker...a half hour of very solid punky rock, led by one heckuva great singer. A nice surprise, and ripping great fun. Then there's the very disappointing The Blues White Album, a stale, blues reworking of the Beatles' White Album...there are perhaps three good tracks (out of ten), but that's it. I had no idea that G.E. Smith was involved in the project. No wonder it has such a soulless feel...
Also got the new Rubyhorse album, which I've been sorta waiting for for two years. In August, 2000, I downloaded their song "Punchdrunk", a wonderful McCartneylike tune that featured guest lead guitar by George Harrison (!), but that was all I heard of the band for ages. Finally, the album is out...it's good, not spectacular, but quite enjoyable, from what I've heard so far.
Lastly (and it's a biggie), is Die On Me, a collection of readings by the late Gregory Corso. It was produced by the great spoken word producer Hal Wilner, and is simply spectacular, featuring readings from 1959, 1975, and reading recorded mere days before he died. There are also some very perceptive, wry conversations with the cancer-stricken Corso, as well as a gut-bustingly hilarious 1994 radio interview with Corso and Ginsberg. This cd is a real treasure, and is essential for all Beat enthusiasts.
The more I hear the new EchoBrain album, the more I like it. There's so much talent in this trio, that they have Potential Greatness written all over them...
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Here it is...my favourite album of all time. Hope I did it justice.
Another review of mine has appeared today...this time, it's my take on Queens of the Stone Age's Songs For the Deaf. Mighty fine album, that.
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
My review of Aphrodite's new album has appeared today. I sure wasn't impressed with it at first, but after a while it started to sound not bad at all. Not very original, but it follows the formula well.
Well, I've read the script for Bob Dylan's Masked And Anonymous movie, and it sure is a weird one. I really don't know what to amke of it. It's funny at times, with some incredibly stupid jokes ("Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear"...groan), and it takes place in a (sort-of) present day setting, but imagines America as some kind of dictatorship. With Mickey Rourke as the President. Who happens to be Bob's character's father. Oh-kay...What the movie script does include is a bunch of performances by Bob and his band, which they filmed in July, and the performances will probably be the only reason to see the movie. It's pretty good, I didn't mind the story one bit, but it'll probably be a critical bomb, but at least it's easier to follow than Renaldo & Clara...
Some review to mention: Pitchfork's review of Coldplay's album is utterly clueless, but they redeem themselves with today's Queens of the Stone Age piece (though I wonder if I'm the only person who doesn't like "Mosquito Song"). The review that's really worth reading, though, is Freaky Trigger's bit about Marianne Faithfull's Kissin' Time. It's very well-written.
Monday, September 9, 2002
Want to see one of the funniest movie trailers you'll ever see? Click here.
I was able to rent the brand-new dvd of Barbet Schroeder's great Barfly the other day. Bukowski fans have been craving this dvd for a long time, and, I'm happy to say, this dvd delivers. Scroeder's commentary is very laid-back, but informative, as he speaks extensively about Buk and the long, drawn-out process of making the film (he even mentions the infamous time when he threatened to cut off his finger if he didn't get the studio's go-ahead), and in the end, I had an even deeper appreciation of the movie than before, so I say it's a job well done. If you haven't read Buk's own fictional account of the making of Barfly called Hollywood, do yourself a favour and read it. It's one of his best novels.
The dvd also has an eleven-minute making-of documentary (with more Buk), as well as four of the 52 clips that comprise The Charles Bukowski Tapes, one of the greatest films I've ever seen in my life. It's only a small snippet of what is a four-hour movie, with Buk talking about subjects related to Barfly itself (namely his days in Philly and the famous "Jane"), but it's good to have those four clips on there. But when, oh, when will the full film be put on dvd? Four hours sounds agonizing, but you soon find out you can listen to Bukowski talk for anouther four hours. It's just amazing...
Friday, September 6, 2002
My Coldplay review is up today...it seems close to being over the top, but I honestly can't think of a single thing wrong with the album. It's that good.
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Dylan Pool prizes were announced today, and I was lucky to grab five awards. Extremely exciting...there's some good stuff coming.
My review of the debut album by Brand New Sin is finally up. I enjoyed this cd immensely...
Monday, September 2, 2002
My first Dylan Pool ever, and I placed an unthinkable second! I'm now awaiting official confirmation of the prizes I've won...as the poolies say, WOOT!
I've archived the past two months' worth of my silly ramblings tonight...link's on the right.
After a bit of hemming and hawing, I headed straight back out after getting the new Coldplay cd, and got the brand-new reissue of the Ramones' End of the Century album. It's not my first choice (more like my fourth), and heck, I don't even have the reissue of Rocket To Russia yet, but to get End of the Century for twelve bucks, I couldn't pass it up. Along with Road To Ruin and the much underrated Pleasant Dreams, I consider End of the Century secon-tier Ramones albums, a rung below their forst three records. The album, produced by Phil Spector in 1980, is a bit of an overlooked classic. Punk purists hate it to death, but I think it's exceptionally strong. "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?", "I'm Affected", "The Return of Jackie and Judy", and "Rock 'N' Roll High School" are all terrific songs that actually benefit from Spector's Wall of Sound treatment. No, you can't hear much of Johnny's guitar, but it hardly matters. Like the liner notes say, it's all about combining all elements into one massive-sounding album, and it really succeeds. Then there are the two classics, "Danny Says" and Dee Dee's finest moment, "Chinese Rock", two of the greatest songs in the massive Ramones catalog. "Let's Go", "All the Way", and "High Risk Insurance" are all great Ramones rockers, and are actually given a rough-edged treatment. Then there's the major bone of contention, the syrupy version of "Baby, I Love You"...many people hate it, but it's really not that bad. The Ramones, I have always felt, were more of a classic rock & roll band more than a punk band, and most of their early songs were heavily influenced by Spector's girl groups, so this prchestral treatment fits, albeit in a twisted way. No punk band were this ambitious, and while the album is not perfect, in the end I'm glad they tried it.
Gotta mention the extra tracks...the excellent "I Want You Around" from the Rock 'N' Roll High School soundtrack is included, as well as five demos. The one demo that works best is "Danny Says"; its live treatment nicely contradicts from Spector's overr-the-top treatment.
