May 4, 2007, The Ottobar, Baltimore, Maryland Last night, Ray and I caught the Necromantix show at the Ottobar. Since the Necromantix have a decided retro feel, I kind of expected that there would be some degree of nostalgia to the evening, but it wasn’t all what I expected. As it turned out, with varying success, each band was a… Read more »
On Rush’s new album, Snakes & Arrows, they have a song called “Faithless.” It’s a bit of light fare typical of their output over the last 20 years, not particularly good and not particularly bad. It contains the following lines: I don’t have faith in faithI don’t believe in beliefYou can call me faithlessI still cling to hopeAnd I believe… Read more »
I found Mike Kelly on a Myspace bulletin from none other than Mike Watt. I thought with that kinda recommendation he desrved at least a listen. Let me first offer Mike’s own disclaimer, because it’s a good one and something you should know going in. He writes of his songs, “ALL WERE RECORDED IN FIRST TAKE,IN ORDER TO CAPTURE THE… Read more »
Myspace has a lot of faults, including horrible design, semi-porn peddling and just general stupidity from people I don’t really give a crap about. However, it has proven to be a pretty good way to find some new music and keep up to date on tours, releases, etc. So, I’m going to add a feature to my blog where I… Read more »
Black metal is not at all my thing, but I somehow stumbled upon Leviathan on Myspace. When I saw they had a song called “My War,” I figured I’d at least check to see if it was the Black Flag classic. Sure enough, it was. Now, Black Flag is probably in my top ten of all time and “My War”… Read more »
Label: No Idea Records (vinyl) and Thick Records (CD) Released: March 26, 2007 After seeing the Bomb light up the stage (despite Pezzatti’s drunkenness) last February, I was pretty shocked by how dull their 2000 debut, Torch Songs, was. But a lot of time passed between the debut and the show, so I gave Indecision a chance. I’m glad I… Read more »
Metal Mark’s post about the Rocklahoma nostalgia fest got me thinking about how so many of these bands continue on in name only with only one original member or proceed without a crucial member. One or both of two things can be true here: The latest version of the band is a disingenuous attempt to cash in on past success… Read more »
Label: self-released; available through CDBaby Released: 2004 I bought this at the same time that I picked up the Charms’ So Pretty from CD Baby. There was a “buy three CDs and get them for $5 each” sale and I had two already, so pretty much got this one for free. The Things are a Baltimore garage rock band, so… Read more »
Label: 2 Tone/Chrysalis Released: November 1979 There have been three waves of ska. The first originated in Jamaica in the early to mid 60s as a predecessor to reggae. It was danceable, fun and full of energy, but generally poorly recorded, making it more difficult to take in large doses despite some great artists such as Prince Buster and Desmond… Read more »
Label: DRT Entertainment Released: March 20, 2007 Admittedly, I haven’t spent much time with any Clutch release since Elephant Riders. It’s partly due to the disappointment of their live shows after the expectations raised by two albums that ranked #1 and #3 on my best albums of the 90s (Clutch and Elephant Riders respectively) and it’s partly due to the… Read more »