Ok, so in previous reviews I would rate a track as 9.5. 8.6, etc. From now on, I want to do my bestest to rate them as solid numbers: 8, 9, etc. If I cannot completely make a decision I’ll settle for a 8/9, 9/10, etc. However, the amount of 10s an album has does not necessarily make that better than an album that has some 10s and some 9s or whatever. It is the strength of those 10s that determines how favorable the album is to me. For example, Rage Against the Machines’ debut album consists of all 10 tracks, but it is ranked #2 on my list of favorite albums. The #1 album is Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon/, which has some 10s, 9s, and 8s. But, the 10s (“Breathe,” “Time, ” “Brain Damage”) are so exceptional. Also, we tend to use the word “classic” around here quite frequently. At least for me the standard for a classic is a decent reputation as a notable LP and a release date prior to 2009. This is the case, since most albums reviewed here are current releases. Godspeed…
Artist: Ween Title: The Mollusk Label: Elektra Year: 1997 Length: 43 minutes Fun Fact: This LP is often considered the band’s magnum opus and supposedly (wikiquote) Dean Ween himself stated, “I will say that the only record that I ever felt really confident about was The Mollusk. That’s my favorite record we’ve ever done.” I am a huge Ween fan and before hearing this record, Chocolate and Cheese (1994) was my favorite Ween album, but I am now convinced that Dean is indeed correct in his confidence.
1) I’m Dancing In the Show Tonight- 9- A cute, funny, little opener. Funny in the weird Ween way, if you know of Ween’s music, then you know what I’m speaking of. This tune reminds me of little girls dancing with their grandpas at some family function. Don’t know why. It just carries a sort of innocence with it, I suppose.
2) The Mollusk- 9- Wonderfully catchy; not catchy in the mindlessly humming to the songs on the radio sense of catchy, but rather creating memorable songs that become etched in your psyche. Lyrically, this song kicks off the album’s theme of ocean like subject matter. I particularly dig the line, “Let’s be forever and forever be free.”
3) Polka Dot Tail- 9/10- Bizarre, trippy images of whales with polka dot tails, shrinking ice creams, and squishing fans in your hand. Yeah, I know crazy, but Ween’s uplifting music satisfies the ears so much that you just take it all in; no questions asked.
4) I’ll Be Your Johnny On the Spot- 8- Unlike, the first three tracks, this number is fast paced and not as humorous.
5) Mutilated Lips- 9- Of course, it’s fucked up, it’s the Ween boys. For a song with such a violent title, this tune is actually quite satisfying to my mutilated ears.
6) The Blarney Stone- 9- Haha, completely hilarious, drunken sing song about fucking some chick! Yeah, not the most savory of songs. This would be apropos in some Irish pub or on a pirate’s ship. Perhaps, the latter, considering the ocean theme.
7) It’s Gonna Be (Alright)- 10- Fantastic pop song! I’ll chop up my limbs to say this is the best tune in the brothers Ween catalog. Sure, lyrically it sounds more like an AM top 20, Madonna love song, “It’s just not our time, but you’ll find a new love and you’ll be fine.” The only flaw here is the brevity: 3:18, which actually isn’t that brief, but still it’s too short, when you have gold on your hands.
8) The Golden Eel- 8- I love how the tempo shifts back and forth from slow to fast and I dig the strange, low vocals. There is some pretty cool jamming going on toward the end. All for this very special eel.
9) Cold Blows the Wind- 8- Back to the more “traditional” vocals. This is a slow number about the powerful desire a man has for a kiss, a kiss of Lilly White lips. Go figure.
10) Pink Eye (On My Leg)- 7- It’s an ok tune, nothing bad, but I don’t have anything special to say about it.
11) Waving My Dick In The Wind- 9- Fast and hilarious. For no apparent reason, the narrator is waving his dick in the wind until he reaches his lover. The old Gee Tar is pretty nasty here. Simple, but nasty.
12) Buckingham Green- 9/10- One of the best tracks on this record. I really dig the sorta low-fi vocals. I don’t honestly know how to describe Ween’s music, which is kind of cool in a way. It’s so spectacular and they switch it up so well, you never know what you’re going to get…. yeah, I just watched Forrest Gump.
13) Ocean Man- 9/10- Good shit! This is perhaps, the album’s most accessible song with it’s danceability, upbeat music/lyrics, and almost Disney/Nickelodeon character like vocals lol.
14) She Wanted To Leave- 9- Solid closer, very passionate lol. If I were “she” I’d feel important. The second half of the song is a subtle reprise of the opener. It’s a perfect way to transition to silence.
Grade/Final Thoughts: A, I highly recommend this crazy, little ditty to anyone that wants to expand their musical horizons and especially to any Ween fans who haven’t heard this.
Band: The Walkmen Label: Record Collection Release: 2004
1. “What’s In It For Me?” – A+ 2. “The Rat” – A++
3. “No Christmas While I’m Talking” – A-
4. “Little House of Savages” – A+
5. “My Old Man” – A 6. “138th Street” – A+ 7. “The North Pole” – A 8. “Hang on, Siobhan” – A+
9. “New Year’s Eve” – A+ 10. “Thinking of a Dream I Had” – A++
11. “Bows + Arrows” – A++
Comments: This is a seminal album for the Walkmen. Highly regarded as their best offering of the triple ’00s (perhaps a false statment, I really really dug 2008’s You and Me), it’s got a delicate mix of fast post-punk ditties (Rat, House of Savages, Thinking of a Dream) that come off as inspirational (perhaps to a band like Editors) and all the slow and sweet ones (which you know, damnit; I don’t need to list them). The first time I listened to portions of this record was a few years back. I thought it sounded incredibly antique, yet pretty easily accessible. It might just be Ham’s singing, coupled with Paul’s classy guitar play. This classy guitar play is exemplified on “138th Street,” which is about such a serious matter as a man starting anew from what seems to have been a troubled past. In general, this isn’t really light-hearted, but you can’t really expect that from this band. Their concert attire is typically business casual to formal…that tells you something about these gents. Perhaps my favorite of the low brow tunes is “Hang On, Siobhan,” presumably about a girl who wants more and more of the songwriter, but he’s a bit sick of her routine and wants her to slow things down. “New Years Eve” — I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this quick ditty, seeing as it’s over pretty damn fast…like a 12/31 one night stand. “Thinking of a Dream I Had” is just a too good to pass up track. It’s infectious and puts me in high spirits. I listened to it constantly in the winter of 2007/2008 while doing homework at 5:00 AM. Homework at that time is depressing, but this was an aural escape. The organ parts are just out of this world, dude. “Bows + Arrows” is an amazing closer. Ham really belts this out perfectly and is so convincing.
1. “Horchata” – B+ 2. “White Sky” – A- 3. “Holiday” – B
4. “California English” – B 5. “Taxi Cab” – A- 6. “Run” – B+ 7. “Cousins” – B+
8. “Giving Up The Gun” – B+ 9. “Diplomat’s Son” – A+
10. “I Think Ur A Contra” – B
Comments: Love it or hate it, Vampire Weekend is what Vampire Weekend is. “Horchata” is kind of annoying at first, but it sort of loses that disparaging label quickly and becomes standard VW. “White Sky” is an upper-echelon tune, embodying the best of what their self-titled offered. Not necessarily a song of the year by any stretch, it’s definitely awesome. “Holiday” sort of fails to deliver. “California English” means Ezra singing in a really fast, internationally welcoming (read, Afro-pop) style and tone. I was listening to “Taxi Cab” and I forgot what I was listening to. It’s a really chill song with a pretty kick-ass beat and flow. Okay, also, just a quick note: slow down a bit Vampire Weekend! Sometimes when parts get really awesome there is a crazy transition to something less intense or too intense. Ah! Whatever! “Cousins” is love-hate. It’s something I would love to hate, but at the end of the day it’s just your average above average VW offering. Big fan of “Diplomat’s Son” right here. It reminds me of a certain song on VW. Bottom line: is this better than album #1? No, not really. Sorry. It’s definitely very notable, but it just doesn’t possess top to bottom greatness. 2010 will have to be a really rough year if this is going to land on my annual top 10 LPs list.
CHICAGO—Brian Grant, 24, reported that a rock concert he attended at the Empty Bottle Saturday was ruined by 35-year-old music fan Daryl Froemer’s enthusiasm.
Froemer has a good time, to the dismay of concertgoers like Grant.
“I was trying to enjoy [New York-based rock group] Oneida, but it was totally impossible because [Froemer] was making a spectacle of himself,” Grant said. “I couldn’t even pay attention to the band. Halfway through the set, I had to leave.”
“I go out to a bar to have a good time, and I can’t because there’s some jackass racing around in circles and waving his beer bottle in the air,” Grant added. “I mean, he was even jumping up and down during the mid-tempo songs. Come on! It’s not the ’90s anymore. This isn’t grunge.”
In addition to dancing, Froemer reportedly pounded the stage “like it was on fire,” sang along when he knew the lyrics, yelled out the names of songs he wanted to hear, and repeatedly attempted to enter into a dialogue with the band.
“Every time the singer asked us a question, he was the first one to yell back,” Grant said. “I don’t mind the occasional ‘Yeah’ or ‘Woo,’ but this guy was shouting after every song, whistling, and asking them how their amps were. If he hadn’t been so annoying, I would have been embarrassed for him.”
“Did he even consider the fact that the singer might have wanted to know how the rest of us were doing?” Grant added.
Froemer’s attempts to engage other bar patrons in conversation did not sit well with Grant.
“He kept turning to me to say, ‘Isn’t this great?'” Grant said. “How many times can you ask someone, ‘Isn’t this great?’ and not get an answer before you realize he doesn’t care to give you his opinion?”
He added: “Oh, yeah. And he kept yelling ‘Rock ‘n’ roll!’ in my face. And once he screamed ‘Stooges!’ I had no idea at all why he did that.”
Grant said he has seen Froemer at shows before.
“I’ve seen him around, and he’s always enthusiastic,” Grant said. “But I’ve never seen him so wound up before.”
Grant reported that he lost his patience when Froemer almost spilled a drink.
“On the way back from, like, his 20th trip to the bar, he came this close to spilling a drink all over the floor,” Grant said. “If it had spilled, some of it could have gotten on me. At that point, I told my date, ‘All right, enough. We’re leaving.'”
This isn’t the first time a concert at the Empty Bottle has been ruined by an excited fan. On Sunday, an OKGO show was wrecked by two women who spent the evening jumping up and down directly in front of the stage, blocking the view for several patrons standing behind them.
“Sometimes it’s like that,” said Empty Bottle manager Bruce Finkleman. “Everyone at a show is standing there, arms folded, having a great time, and then someone decides to get crazy. It can kill an otherwise perfect night. Unfortunately, unless the enthusiastic fan breaks something, my hands are tied.”
Froemer, whose exuberance at most concerts is endured without incident, said he was sorry to hear that people were put off by his enjoyment of the show. Nevertheless, he said he did not plan to change his behavior at future shows.
“It’s too bad someone got mad,” Froemer said. “But when the band started playing ‘Sheets Of Easter,’ I went nuts. It’s 15 minutes, two notes, and it runs over you like a monster truck. I mean, shit—that band is seriously fucking awesome!”
Jay Reatard’s Blood Visions was recently voted the third best Memphis-based album of the decade by readers of Live From Memphis, a music, film, art, and culture blog about all things…Memphis.
1. “Too Late” – A- 2. “Glitter & Gold” – A- 3. “Zig-Zag” – A 4. “People Talk” – A
5. “Push Your Luck” – B+ 6. “Living in the Past” – B+
7. “Tight Fit” – A 8. “Permanent Damage” – A- 9. “The Ballad of Max Frost” – B- 10. “Falling Down” – B+ 11. “Over Again” – B 12. “Ginger Snap” – B 13. “Back To School” – B+ 14. “Trip to the Zoo” – A
Comments: Cheap Time supported everyone’s best friend, Jay Reatard, on a 2008 tour to promote this fine album. Now, at a few gigs I’ve noticed opening bands not really sounding at all like the main act. In the case of Cheap Time, they happen to sound quite similar to Jay. With all songs except for one under three minutes, CT gets the job done quickly and relatively complex-free. These songs are kind of hard to at first judge and say “yeah, I like this” or “nah, this sucks.” “Tight Fit” might be the band’s best attempt at shoot-em up punk and, in my very humble opinion, one of the best on here. Overall, this isn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but for 2008, it was definitely one of my big listens. It’s got its moments.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 