1. “Year of the Ox” – 9.5 2. “Enjoy Your Rabbit” – 8.7 3. “Year of the Monkey” – 9.2 4. “Year of the Tiger” – 9.5 5. “Year of the Dragon” – 9.6 6. “Year of the Snake” – 9.3 7. “Year of the Horse” – 9.2 8. “Year of the Sheep” – 8.6 9. “Year of the Rat” – 9.0 10. “Year of the Rooster” – 9.4 11. “Year of the Dog” – 9.5 12. “Year of the Boar” – 9.4 13. “Year of the Lord” – 9.6
Comments: I was never much of a classical guy. I’m still not much of a classical guy. I can’t analyze classical music for shit, but I’ll say this: there are a lot of musical spasms. Fast/slow/fast/sloow/sloooow/slooow/FAST/FAST/FAST. And these spasms really make the music stand out. The music seems to be partially influenced by traditional schools of thought, but overall this album seems most likely to fall under the “experimental” category. When it comes down to it, this is a brilliant work of art. It’s not everyday that I take time out of my mainly rock diet to listen to this kind of music. I probably should.
So yesterday was the first time in 18.5+ years that I swallowed a pill. I actually never attempted to swallow a pill until a couple of weeks because I was afraid of choking. I tried out a big multi-vitamin a couple of weeks ago and I simply couldn’t get the damn thing down my throat. That’s because my method was logically retarded. You can’t just put the thing any where on your tongue and expect to swallow it. You will probably get a reflex, like I did, that will prohibit it from ever going down. The best and easiest way (I am 2 for 2) is to just place it on the way way way way back of your tongue, almost down your throat. Take one average sip of water and it will go down. If you can’t swallow it like that, you are an idiot.
Band: The Strange Boys Label: In The Red Records Release: March 3, 2009
1. “Woe is You and Me” – 9.4 2. “They’re Building the Death Camps” – 9.4 3. “Should Have Shot Paul” – 9.6
4. “MLKs” – 9.5 5. “This Girl Taught Me a Dance” – 9.7 6. “For Lack of a Better Face” – 9.6 7. “Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up” – 9.5 8. “No Way for a Slave to Behave” – 9.8 9. “Poem Party” – 9.7 10. “To Turn a Tune or Two” – 9.7
11. “Most Things” – 9.6 12. “A Man You’ve Never Known” – 9.8 13. “Then” – 9.6 14. “Who Needs Who More” – 9.6 15. “Probation Blues” – 9.8 16. “Death and All the Rest” – 9.6
Comments: Former label mates with the likes of Black Lips and Jay Reatard, The Strange Boys possess all attributes of vintage garage rock. Sounds similar to a cross between The Almighty Defenders LP and Black Lips!. The cow-punk of “Should Have Shot Paul” is as refreshing as can be for such an old-time melody. The thing too about these songs are they short and sweet…at times I feel like I want to hear perhaps another verse or the chorus again. “This Girl Taught Me a Dance” sounds like R&B inspired Bob Dylan, particularly in vocal delivery and lyrical structure. It’s probably a shame that not many will come to realize how good an album this is. If you aren’t the old time rock and roll type, you might cast this off as just another attempt at reliving the past. Well you know what? Sometimes we need to bring back the old times! I don’t remember the old times too well (they are ~ forty years my senior) so it’s kind of an amazing thing to hear a modern band do this kind of stuff. I asked someone in my house: “What decade does this sound like it’s from?” “The Sixties” was the response. I’m not shocked. This is easily the best sounding album coming from this style of music in 2009.
Boston Herald
BOSTON — Hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean has announced that he is going back to school to earn a degree from Berklee College of Music.
The former frontman for The Fugees before going solo said Friday the school has a flexible program tailored for him that includes on-campus classes and online courses at berkleemusic.com.
Jean is scheduled to attend his first class on Monday. His curriculum this fall includes courses in ear training, theory, improvisation, and guitar.
The Haitian-born artist said he left college after only one semester to pursue his career and going back to school has always been a goal.
The 36-year-old is scheduled to release a remix CD coming out on Nov. 10 called “DJ Drama Presents Wyclef Jean AKA Toussaint St. Jean.”
Comments: A very eclectic band drawing influence from what seems like a myriad of styles, from hard rock to experimental to pop. In that, I feel a very strong sense of overload. There isn’t much consistency on this album, at least in the first eight songs. One minute can be light, up-beat outsider music while the next can be heavy screamo. This kind of uncertainty and unexpectedness turns me away from what potentially could be very good music. Some website allocated the title “Best Album of 2009” to Clues and I’m wondering how that could possibly be. There are some really quality tracks on here (the last three!), but there are some really really average ones too. If the first eight tracks were more like the last three, Clues would really be on to something.
So yesterday was the first time in 18.5+ years that I swallowed a pill. I actually never attempted to swallow a pill until a couple of weeks because I was afraid of choking. I tried out a big multi-vitamin a couple of weeks ago and I simply couldn’t get the damn thing down my throat. That’s because my method was logically retarded. You can’t just put the thing any where on your tongue and expect to swallow it. You will probably get a reflex, like I did, that will prohibit it from ever going down. The best and easiest way (I am 2 for 2) is to just place it on the way way way way back of your tongue, almost down your throat. Take one average sip of water and it will go down. If you can’t swallow it like that, you are an idiot.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 