The best thing about 2003’s Elephant was that it was a near perfect celebration of 70s hard rock, paying homage without simply emulating, delivering rock in its purest form. The downside was that it really didn’t stretch out beyond hard rock and garage influences. Get Behind Me Satan is just the opposite. It stretches further, but lacks the punch of… Read more »
Okay, I know that emo’s been sputtering at best for at least the last four years or so, but I don’t think the last nail was in the coffin until now. Plenty of groups have jumped on the bandwagon and rehashed stuff with what is at best a slightly personal touch. It’s been old for awhile. When A New Found… Read more »
Since Battle of the Bands generated by far the most interest of any recent post I’ve made (with a whopping 7 comments), here’s another shot at it. The Who vs The Kinks: The Who. I really like the Kinks, but the Who have whole albums that are better than any Kinks tune. The Kinks would win for best Christmas song… Read more »
Label: PeacefrogReleased: May 11, 2004 There are really two kinds of novelty covers. One is purely a joke. There’s no love for the original or for the style into which it’s been re-arranged. Richard Cheese’s Lounge Against the Machine is like that. It takes 80s/90s alt rock and turns it into lounge music. I doubt Mr. Cheese loves either the… Read more »
I realized that I left ratings off of my reviews. I dunno if that’s a good thing or not, but I’m going to go back and them to the most recent ones if anyone’s curious. If anyone thinks it’s better off without ratings, let me know and I’ll reconsider.
Label: BMGReleased: May 2005 (on Rhapsody) I’ve listened to this track a few times now and it’s good. Just like every Foo Fighters song is good. But it makes me realize why I always find my way abck to the first two albums when I feel like listening to them. All the albums are good, but they’re also all very… Read more »
At Amanda‘s request, I thought I’d try a worst albums post. Same deal as the best albums game, just the opposite pick. I’ll start with some easy ones and see how it goes: Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour. It falls between the excitment of Revolver and the polish of Sgt Peppers. There’s a lot of great stuff on the album,… Read more »
There are plenty of sad, sad songs out there. “Eleanor Rigby” has its title character who “keeps a smile in a jar by the door” and Father McKenzie who writes the “words to a sermon that no one will hear.” “Jane Says” has Jane who doesn’t know what love is, but only knows “if someone wants her.” “Wish You Were… Read more »
There was something about the last two shows that I went to that was kind of unique: neither featured an encore. Typically, I’m there cheering right along with the rest of the crowd for one more song after a band finishes their set, but at these shows, I left more satisfied than usual even without the expected addendum to the… Read more »
Label: EpicReleased: May 31, 2005 Oasis has expanded their boundaries considerably by stealing from far more than just the Beatles these days. Now, that sounds like a dig, but it’s not. I’ve wondered ever since falling in love with 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory why Oasis can get away with being unrepentant thieves while other bands get dinged for… Read more »