Why is “pop” music today so depressing? I just saw a Rihanna music video and it’s so damn stale that I can’t take it seriously. It’s a joke. Nobody gives a shit about music or music videos that much to actually take interest in watching this piece of crap. Do they? Same with Lady Gaga. I’m sure her music videos are over the top filled with craziness. Are these videos for real?
Bands: Various!
Release: 5/2010
Label: Florida’s Dying
1. “C-H-I-C-A-G-O-I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S-U-S-A” – Johnny & The Limelites – A-
2. “Hocus Pocus” – Nobunny – A
3. “Shim Shang” – The Yolks – A
4. “Hoosier Twist” – Sweet Sixteens – B+
5. “The Hucklebuck” – Sexcapades – A-
6. “Do The Make Up” – Hunx and His Punx – A-
7. “Wiggle It Around” – Brian’s Dirty Business – A
8. “Cuddle Up” – The Rantouls – A-
9. “Toss That Pie” – Personal and the Pizzas – B-
10. “Nice Girls Don’t Explode” – Garbo’s Daughter – A-
11. “Totally!” – Puddin Pops – B+
12. “Come On Do The Dolphin” – Coconut Coolouts” – B
13. “Shake That Bear” – Slippery Slopes – A-
Comments: We have, for starters, a catchy old timers number. Let me explain to you my favorite part. It’s when they say OOOOOOOOOOOOOO and SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS and AAAAAAAAAAAA. After that it’s a rock and roll freak out…how all rock and roll freak outs should be, specifically. Also, at the (sort of) end when the dude says “down on the floor. How low can you go? Yeah. Shhh. That’s right. Shhh.” That’s great family fun. Everyone’s favorite riff ripper, Nobunny, insists on you doing the “Hocus Pocus” abracadabra, which may or may not involve you getting low. You better be down for anything. Make sure your mask’s on. “Shim Shang” with me…right now! This dance is more of a slow dance, although it is flexible as fuck. Prerequisite: you have to be smooth. This isn’t the shim sham. Don’t be confused! You will fail. If you are a punk from the Caribbean, then please proceed with the Hoosier Twist. It’s not hard. “The Hucklebuck” is hot shit. It’s both a sex position and a groove. Does anything get better? “Turn off the lights and do the make up!” As you might imagine, Hunx wants to get right to the bottom of it. Haha! That was too easy…but so isn’t the make up! The description in “Wiggle It Around” is telling: “Put your right foot back, your left foot back. Come on little girl and shake it just like that. You put your right hand up, your left hand down. Come on little girl you could wiggle it around.” Sort of like the The Rantouls explain, there is no music necessary to do the Cuddle Up. AKA you are free to do that shit anywhere. P.S. do I hear auto-tune? “Toss That Pie” just keep tossing. Just don’t toss the salad. Yet. “Nice Girls” is, as someone commented, “poptastic.” Pop listeners of today would be like WTF YO? but if we go back a half century or so then this fits right in with that description. With a howl like Nobunny, I thought PP was Nobunny. Gee whiz. There’s horns and shit on “Totally!” Totally acceptable. “The Dolphin” ain’t my thing. It just ain’t. I mean, I might still come over and do it just because, but yeah that’s about all. Maybe I don’t feel confident enough in my dancing ability to venture into that territory. It’s risque. This is probably my longest review and I should probably stop now. The bottom line is that I like it. I do. It didn’t increase my serotonin levels or get me all fuzzy inside, but I did leave with a feeling of happiness. You know?
Grade: B+ (89)
Artists: The Big Big Bucks, Uninhabitable Mansions, Thalia Zedek, and Ketman (we did not see)
Location: Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA
Date: Friday, May 7, 2010
Comments:
The Big Big Bucks: They were a decent band and a good start to the show. The guitars were nice and loud, but not too loud. I could sense they had some pop sensabilities, but the songs did not come all the way through as major hooks. One of their jams, “New Socks,” stood out to me as a little catchy and definitely rocking (and not just because they announced its name, Glen!). Alas, there were some technical difficulties, which truncated the group’s set a teeny bit, but they dealt with the mishap with delightful humor and audience interaction. Overall, I liked them and they served as a good act to warm up for the Mansions. I think I am the only one who has ever referred to them that way lol. Maybe not?
Uninhabitable Mansions: Ahh yes the band we came to see! They created some exciting vibes without being over the top in their showmanship; the songs spoke for themselves. I really dug the adorable Annie Hart and her skillful keyboard playing, something I had overlooked previously while listening to their recordings. The group played a relatively quick set consisting of the classic, “Speed is Deceiving,” which was easily one of the best musical performances I have ever seen. I was like in a trance for a few minutes, it was really that outstanding. The vocals particularly stood out to me as they not only sounded extraordinary, but they also did total justice to the recording, which in itself is fabulous and one of the best from 2009. They closed their brief, but invigorating set with “We Already Know,” another classic from their last LP. Okay, I’ve sucked their dick for enough now, better move on before I start deep throating….
Thalia Zedek: Uhh yeah this is simply music I do not have time for lol. They suffered from the Tulsa effect of playing what seems more like a jam session than a performance of songs. The first number was ok and I was a bit interested, but after that, actually by th end of it, my focus was far from fixed! When that shit is broken, I’m mentally finished with an artist. Perhaps, it’s just me and some other musicians would find real meaning and entertainment in their work, but for me there’s nothing fascinating about it. I typically dig exciting, fun, catchy pop music (what I see as pop, i.e. Jay Reatard). So, if you can’t wow me with explicitly “stuck in my mind, sing along” tunes than you should wow me with something else really unique or mind blowing i.e the performances of Deerhunter and Sonic Youth, amongst others, whom have many catchy songs, but clearly they explore further terrirtory outside the pop landscape and do not rely on the hooks and what have you. If you’re band, as in the case of TZ cannot satisfy these two musical needs of mine than you have lost my attention. Now, that does not necessarily mean the band is bad (TZ are probably decent musicians), it just means I have absolutely no desire to listen to them. Alright, alright, I’ve ranted for wayyy too long lol. So, yeah TZ bored the fuck out of me.
Grade: B
Chris
New Split 7″
The world’s spiciest duo, King Khan and Bloodshot Bill offer a currified romper of Gomper (clocking in at 5:09 – the exact time of the Stones version!) on this New Dehli platter! All they ask in return is that you please remove your shoes. Turn it over and dig Scotland’s least likely hit makers as they blaze through everyone’s favorite Nanker Phelge floor packer!
Purchase here for a mere five singles: http://www.nortonrecords.com/index2.html
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Check out this video for “Big Belly Giant”:
Jacuzzi Boys – “Smells Dead”
MESS ME UP!
IS A RIP-OFF
OF
http://www.ncmusichistory.com/mp3/RiffDoctors_TurnMeOn.mp3
BUT I LIKE IT!
Band: Ty Segall
Release: 3/2010
Label: Goner Records
1. “Caesar” – A
2. “Bulletproof Nothing” – A
Comments: Placed in the same musical lump as Californian contemporaries Thee Oh Sees and Nobunny is this guy, Ty Segall. The dude’s good. Equipped with a choppy acoustic guitar and a warm weather bass line, the title track has goodness written all over it. The B-Side is a tad heavier, but just as nice.
Grade: A (94)
Band: Nirvana
Release: 1993
Label: DGC
1. “Serve the Servants” – A–
2. “Scentless Apprentice” – C+
3. “Heart Shaped Box” – B
4. “Rape Me” – B+
5. “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” – B+
6. “Dumb” – B
7. “Very Ape” – B
8. “Milk It” – C+
9. “Pennyroyal Tea” – B-
10. “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” – B-
11. “Tourette’s” – B
12. “All Apologies” – B
Comments: Not exactly the biggest fan of Kurt Cobain’s singing voice or what is grunge music, I was unsure what to expect from this critically hailed record. “Serve the Servants” is the perfect speed/heaviness that I’m personally looking for. The screaming on “Scentless” bugs me much. I dig the chorus on “Heart Shaped Box,” but other than that it’s just all right. “Rape me/Rape me my friend” is fun. It’s not something I’ll constantly listen to, but it’s fun. Jay’s cover of “Frances” is better. I don’t care. I’m not going to say the second half of this is bad, but it’s far away from pop. Big ups to “Tourette’s” for being a decent punk tune. It’s so bad it’s good.
Grade: B- (83)
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 