*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* August 22, 2002 (10 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Howdy folks, time for another one. Minor concert note -- OkGo will be at the Palladium on Sept 14th. They're good. Go see them. I've been buying a bunch of stuff mail order recently, and waiting for it all to show up. There should be a handful more in the near future as well. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Cirrus - Back on a Mission -------------------------- I've been meaning to buy this for a long while, but it only received mediocre reviews online, so it was never high on my list. I managed to find a copy at Al-Bums for $3, so I said "Hells yeah" and snagged it. The musical style is generic big-beat techno circa the time period when it was released, kind of like a Crystal Method or Chemical Brothers kind of sound. There's a little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of house, a little bit of the usual. This album is *almost* really good, but seems to be lacking something. I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. Every time I listen to it closely and try to think about it, everything sounds right. But when I sit back and try to experience the music as a whole, it just doesn't hold my interest. The first song, "Back on a Mission" is pretty damn good, even with the slight lacking considered. The other songs are all better than the average schmoe in his bedroom studio, but not great. I think on some level this album just lacks enthusiasm. Something... I dunno. Definitely worth the $3 I paid for it, but I wouldn't pay full price for it. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* VA - On the Floor At the Boutique: Mixed by Lo Fidelity Allstars ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is the second "On the Floor at the Boutique" compilation, the first of which was mixed by Fatboy Slim. However, while Mr Cook's album was all big-beat, in your face music, this album avoids limiting itself. Eclectic is SO the word here. In the 21 tracks of this CD, we've got hip-hop, big-beat, ambient, drum'n'bass hardcore, disco, late 60's Motown-ish dance, and other styles of music I can't even put names to. This mix is all over the place. And the best part is that the Lo Fidelity Allstars pull it all together perfectly. It makes sense. This is the sort of mix CD I would strive to make for friends. It's all over the place, continuously shaking up what style of music you're listening to, only slows when you need it, but never lets you all the way down until the very end. Musical styles are self-imposed limitations. Try it all. Get this CD. No really. I like this. There's a lot of music here; you certainly won't be expecting some of it; it's all pretty good. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Of course, I'm not listening to either of these CDs right now. Instead, I'm listening to another long-running avorite of mine -- the Fight Club soundtrack. Aggressive. Psychedelic. Upbeat. Ambient. Goofy. Intelligent. IMO, it's much better than either of the CDs I reviewed today. Perhaps you should check it out? *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* August 12, 2002 (2 months +12since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Just for the record -- I am really tired of hearing Avril Lavigne and John Mayer on the radio now. All of the joy has been sucked out of their singles that I commented on in my prior update. I might like them again if I didn't hear them for a year. Hey, it's been a long time, and I've actually bought some CDs since the last time! Woohoo, time to write some reviews. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Talvin Singh - Soundz of the Asian Underground ---------------------------------------------- Yeah ... it is spelled with a "z" ... Anywayz, this 1997 album is a compilation of Indian based dance music. Talvin Singh, the driving force behind this project and also composer of two of the tracks, is a musician and DJ who has spent quite a bit of time both in India as well as England, and who has made a name for himself working with blending styles of music from both locales. Unlike many "world fusion" projects which are little more than someone turning a drum machine loose on traditional world music recordings, the music on this CD does a very good of blending traditional Indian music and DJ/club styles smoothly, never seeming contrived or forced. Unfortunately, none of the songs really stand out either. All of the tracks are very clean and well made, and are pleasant to listen to, but never more. This album is best suited for a chillout kind of atmosphere, when you want something smooth and unique to listen to that won't grab your attention unnecessarily. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* They Might Be Giants - No ------------------------- One of my favorite bands of all time ... releasing more of the same. Well, not entirely, but mostly. This album is John and John's attempt to make an album specifically for children, but I don't really think most kids will get it. But that's okay, since they didn't change their style much from their norm, so most TMBG fans will get it. I'm kinda unexcited about this album though, like I have been for most of the TMBG albums after John Henry. (Factory Showroom did grow on me eventually...) Honestly, I don't think I can say much about this album. If you like TMBG and crave every little thing they do, go get this album. If you don't like TMBG, go by "Then: The Earlier Years" and try to remedy that. (Actually, the song "Where Do They Make Balloons?" on _No_ just came on and I must admit it's cooler than I remember -- maybe this album will grow on me too...) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Beth Orton - Daybreaker ----------------------- Dude, I really dig Beth Orton. This album is boring though. It's like she was trying to prove she could be serious, and ended up making a load of identical sounding songs. Beth, relax, play around a little ... let your producers toss some odd music styles in behind you ... Honestly, I don't think I can recommned this album. I strongly recommend her two first albums though. (_Trailer_Park_ and _Central_Reservation_) Very cool stuff on those -- laid back, soulful singing, with creative musical backing. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* VA - Verve//Remixed ------------------- This compilation is sort of a grand arrival for the Verve label opening their jazz archives for remixers and samplers. The list of remixers includes some big names like Dorfmeister, Theivery Corp, and Tricky, as well as many I don't recognize. All of the music on here is very high quality, and a notch above standard acid jazz fare. A few of the songs are extra upbeat and danceable, but most of them maintain a steady and cool stream of beats that can be danced to or relaxed to just as easily. This is what chillout acid jazz is all about. To top it all off, many of the songs are based around vocal jazz recordings. The remixers have all been faithful and respectful to the singers, and kept the vocals almost completely untouched. Very little FX, sampling, looping, or stupid shit going on here. You get to hear Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday the way they were meant to be heard -- ah sweet. This album is pretty good. I like it. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* And since I still think more people need to hear about this album, I'm reviewing something I bought a while ago: Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast ------------------------------------------- Some of you may have already heard of this album, since it appeared to be on most music critic's "Best Of" lists in 2000, but it never made it mainstream anywhere, so a lot of you probably haven't heard of it. Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) is at heart a simple singer/songwriter, and all of his songs could (theoretically) be reduced down to him with an acoustic guitar. Thankfully, that never happens on this album. Everywhere you look on this album, you notice little details and sounds and arrangements which seem out of place. It may seem quirky and unnecessary at first, but as you listen on, you realize that all of it fits, all of it is important and carefully placed. Even weird fade-ins and fade-outs and distortion on the recording, which initially seem like the work of some over-eager producer, add to the mood of the album. The album is simple acoustic pop music, warped and bent into something much better. If you enjoy finding details in things, you can listen to this album for hours (I recommend headphones) and never get tired of it. In fact, I suspect you'll like the album more and more as you do listen to it. And that, I suppose, is why so many critics loved it. They're paid to listen to music all the time, and most music simply gets tiring as you listen to it over and over. Not this album. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* May 31, 2002 (1 month +12since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Just for Mikey, here's a heads up on a good new musician who also happens to be a punk hottie: Avril Lavigne I keep hearing her first single, "Complicated" on 92.5, and I kinda like it. I finally got to see the video for it on MTV last night and was pleasantly surprised. If you believe what you see in the video, she's a full-out skater chick, which is getting rarer and rarer these days. (She at least can ride a board casually and looks like she's used to it.) And since her official website blows pretty hard, here's a quick link to her photo page: http://www.avril-lavigne.com/photo.php *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* April 19, 2002 (forever since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* A lack of money makes Justin not buy music or go to shows. Doh! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Random interesting stuff found on MTV/Gnutella/Radio/CMJ since last update: - Groove Collective - a NYC-based funk/jazz/dance group, sort of like the modern day evolution of Sly and the Family Stone - haven't bought an album yet, but I liked what I've found of them online - Cee-Lo - former member of Goodie Mob -- I haven't heard the album, but the one song I heard is amazingly 70's tongue-in-cheek, p-funk, disco goodness -- "Closet Freak" - John Mayer - simple singer/songwriter rock musician - first single, "No Such Thing", is a great song - I've had it stuck in my head for days - X-Ecutioners - four scratch DJs in one group, trying to do more mainstream, but still scratch-based music -- definite hip-hop background, but very cool *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* And the one album I've bought recently... Royksopp - Melody AM -------------------- Royksopp is two guys from Norway, who do mostly electronic music, but don't stick to any one style. The only common ground across the whole album is the feeling of the continuous struggle to blend artistic exploration and pop acceptibility. They succeed amazingly well most of the time, producing songs ranging from quasi-folk to all-out dance. On their own, they seem to do better sticking to upbeat, danceable music. However, one of the best songs on the album is a cooperative effort with one of the singers from Kings of Convenience. (KoC is a little pure-acoustic folk duo from Norway.) The lyrical sensibilities of KoC mixed with the instrumental stylings of Royksopp is an amazing combination. Besides the one song on the Royksopp album ("Remind Me"), Royksopp has remixed one of KoC's songs for a KoC album, "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From". If you use Gnutella or any other P2P file sharing system, FIND THAT SONG. It is absolutely beautiful. Overall, I'm very happy with Royksopp's album. There are a few songs which seem kind of slow, but all of the songs experiment and struggle with strange ideas. On the occassions when they get it right, which is more than half the album, it's amazing. This is music you can play for both music critic friends who demand New, and also for your normal friends who like easy-to-listen-to music. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* January 9, 2002 (5 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Doh! One more show I didn't find out about until today: OkGo @ Bill's Bar (Fri, Jan 18) Initial response to my last list of shows was about 4 responses for Gorillaz, 2 "If I had more money"s for Lovage, and nothing for anybody else. :( I'm gonna see Lovage, damnit! Even if I have to go alone... *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* January 4, 2002 (23 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* So much new music to review, as well as comments on seeing Freezepop live, and bragging about stuff that did (and didn't) make it into my New Year's gift CD... But I'm lazy, so all you get now is an upcoming concert list (kinda short this month): Lovage @ Middle East (Wed, Jan 16) Craig David @ Avalon (Thurs, Feb 7) Gorillaz @ Avalon (Mon, Feb 25) Reverend Horton Heat @ Paradise (Thurs, Mar 7) Dropkick Murphy's @ Avalon (Sat-Sun, Mar 16-17) Gorillaz and Lovage are the two I am most likely to go to. I suspect the Craig David and Gorillaz shows are likely to sell out, and may need tickets to be bought beforehand. I also suspect most of you don't know who Lovage is. It is the new project of DJ/producer Dan the Automator, who (among other things) is one of the musicians behind the Gorillaz. (Yes, the Lovage tour ends before the Gorillaz one starts, so he will probably be on both...) Apparently a lot of people made guest appearances on the Lovage album, and a few of them are supposed to be at the Boston show, including Kid Koala (of Ninja Tune Records and Deltron 3030) and Mike Patton (of Faith No More and Mr Bungle). I honestly have no clue what Lovage's music is like, but I am not gonna miss a chance to see Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, and Mike Patton in one night. As usual, if any of you are interested, let me know so we can make plans or I can possibly pick up extra tickets beforehand. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* December 12, 2001 (12 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Hey folks, Freezepop are opening up for Missing Persons on Sunday at the Middle East. Freezepop Forever! (That last show was a non-event...) I'm gonna go this time, really! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Don't forget, Atom and His Package are at WPI Friday! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* And now, for some album reviews: Big Dumb Face - Duke Lion Fights the Terror ------------------------------------------- This is heavy metal Ween. Almost. This album is the product of one man, Wes Borland. He apparently did almost all of the instruments and mixing and vocals and production by himself. Wes was obviously having a great time making this album, casue it shows through in every track. They're all very goofy, happy, manic songs. And most of them are heavy metal. Mighty Penis Laser is (IMHO) the best song on the album. The vocals on that track in particular sound like Grr from Invader Zim. Yee-haa! PIIGGGGYYYY! Er, sorry about that. Anyways, this CD was really cool at first, but I got tired of it quickly. Wes's enthusiasm for the work can only carry this so far, and there isn't all that much going for this album once you get past that. I'll still pull this album out sometimes when I need manic, goofball enthusiasm, but not for day-to-day listening. Sorry, Wes. This is still better than any Limp Bizkit album, but I don't think it's going to stand the test of time. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Daft Punk - Alive 1997 ---------------------- This is a just-released recording of a Daft Punk live set from 1997 (Birmingham?). It consists of a single 45 minute long track, with most of the music being based around ideas that are on the Homework album. Now, many reviews I had read in the past about Daft Punk kept claiming that they were these amazingly innovative and imaginative artists. I never really saw it -- I just thought they were doing fat beat disco music more or less, and it was just really good. Nothing super innovative going on there. My problem was perspective. ("Henry, what are you laughing at?" -- "Perspective!") Having never seen a live Daft Punk set, I assumed they approached it as a band who has singles, and plays one song at a time. I was wrong. They are more akin to rave DJs, who are used to playing a continuous 4 hour set. Their songs weave in and out and through each other continuously, often with parts of more than 3 songs going at once. And part of that weaving is being able to bring their peppy, fat beat disco sound into a rave atmosphere seamlessly. Wow! They are really innovative! Having said all that, I should follow it by saying that this CD is pretty pointless unless you're in the mood for a 45 minute rave set of Daft Punk. An amazingly good and innovative rave set at that, but still a continuous rave set. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* De La Soul - Three Feet High and Rising --------------------------------------- A Tribe Called Quest - Anthology -------------------------------- I'm reviewing these two together since they've kind of lumped together in my head... The De La Soul album is an original album from 1989, and the Tribe Called Quest album is a best-of album from 1999. Both of these groups are amazingly intelligent, laid back, hip-hop music makers. And I sincerely wish that this style of rap had been dominant over gangsta (and the resultant booty-shaking, money-shaking fad we seem to be going through now). Thankfully, there are some new groups carrying on the torch (J5 comes to mind)... I don't know what to say about these albums that hasn't been said before. Some of the music sounds dated, but amazingly, most of it sounds just as fresh and hip today as it did then. These are very impressive songs, and if you have any interest in intelligent rap, please check them out. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Freezepop - Freezepop Forever ----------------------------- Oh yeah, baby. This album is exactly what I had hoped it would be: cute, fun, happy, upbeat, synthy, rockin. Some of these songs are like crack -- the more you listen to them, the more you have to listen to them. They just lodge themselves in your head and refuse to leave! Probably the best possible description of this album is "catchy". One possible problem with this album if you're listening to it straight through is that it starts to get too sugary. Freezepop narrowly avoids this by putting a couple slower ballads in the middle of the album, which are also actually very good songs too, proving that they are capable of more than just catchy synth pop. They can do catchy synth ballads! (If you're listening to this CD on shuffle along with some others, this is a non-issue.) If you're looking for some good sample songs to snag off of the net, look for "Science Genius Girl" (the best) or "Freezepop Forever" or "Harebrained Scheme". *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Gorillaz - Gorillaz ------------------- This is just a cool album (in the traditional beatnik sense of the world "cool"). The songs are kind of all over the place, ranging from rock, to rap, to blues, to scratch/techno, to some really hard to describe stuff in between. The vast majority of it is good, and I keep getting surprised by little stylistic details of the songs that I didn't notice the first couple times through. Overall, the album has a mello feel to it, but you can tell that it was made by a collective of artists. The feel of the songs differ too much in some places, and would require an insanely talented schizo musician to have written it all him/herself. (a la Mr Bungle -- heavy drug use will do that, though) I can see why music critics are drooling over this album -- many different styles, all done intelligently, while still producing a good overall feeling of being one work and not a bunch of completely separate songs. It's hard to say who would or wouldn't like this album. If you don't like the first single "Clint Eastwood", that doesn't mean you won't like the rest of the album. Try and check it out if you like a lot of different styles of music. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Tenacious D - Tenacious D ------------------------- So, a comedy album with delusions of grandeur, eh? Tenacious D actually pull it off pretty damn well. This album is impeccably produced, well instrumented, with some funny comedy bits and impressive songwriting. It's perverse and funny, but I have a problem with it. Most of the comedy bits are intricately entwined with the personalities of Jack and Kyle, and with the "spontaneous" nature of the conversation. The first few times I listened, I didn't get the full impact of the jokes since I didn't really understand the subtleties of the Jack/Kyle relationship. Then, for the next few listenings, the album rocked! And then, the next few listenings after that, the spontaneous timing didn't seem so spontaneous and the jokes just fell flat. If you get this album, please only listen occassionally. Keep the jokes fresh and new each time you listen. Don't get bogged down in how scripted it all is. That is my PSA. And that is my review. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Grr... Three more albums to review, but it's getting late. Perhaps next time, children! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 30, 2001 (7 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* New game out for PS2 called Frequency. The game has a lot of really cool music by modern electro, techno, rock, and scratch DJ musicians. Some are well known, some not-so-well known. One of the unknown artists on the game who really caught my attention is Freezepop, from Boston. They're a sort of blend of new wave, techno, j-pop, and rock. There are three band members. All songs are performed on a Yamaha QY-70 (tiny, handheld) synth and vocoders, nothing more. And they are goofy, amazing fun. Think America's lighthearted answer to Stereolab. Their first album is already out. They are supposed to be playing upstairs at the Middle East Sunday night, and I intend to go. Check out their website over at www.freezepop.net for some photos, info, songs, whatnot. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 23, 2001 (10 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* I saw Poe on the 14th at the Paradise. It wasn't so much like seeing Poe perform as it was like going to hang out with Poe and a few hundred of her good friends for a couple hours. She was genuinely excited to be back on the road and in front of a crowd. I think this was the first night on her new tour. She stopped in between songs to chat with the audience and tell little stories; when people in the audience yelled "I love you" she yelled back "I love you more"; she sang to audience members she brought up on stage and let one audience member tell a story about a ghost he had seen; she crowd surfed through one song; she wandered in and out of the audience throughout the night. She was just amazingly comfortable and relaxed and HERSELF. It wasn't like most performers who are up there putting on a show for us. She was just hanging out and happened to be playing music. She just seems like such an amazingly cool person - the sort of person you would want to be your friend. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Also, on the 19th I went to see Barenaked Ladies in Manchester with my Mother. Can I just say that seeing a concert with my mother is *weird*. It was even weirder to me since I'm used to tiny club shows with an audience of less than 1000, and BNL played at the brand new Verizon Wireless Arena which probably had almost 20000 people. So, I had seen BNL once before in the summer of 95, and kind of knew what to expect. They have a very playful, silly live show, occassionally improvising lyrics, covering other popular songs, or other random odditites like leaving the stage in "slow motion" (w/ appropraite heroic documentary style music playing in the background). When I first saw them, I had no idea what to expect, and their show absolutely blew me away. I still consider that first time I saw BNL as one of the better shows I've ever been to. This show was good, and maybe I was expecting too much, but it didn't feel as fresh. Like they've been doing the same thing for so long that they are getting tired of it, or weren't giving it their best effort. Also, Steven Page (one of the front men) dancing like Austin Powers was hilarious in '95. It felt horribly wrong in '01. All in all, they are still a very good live band, as one would expect from someone who can fill an arena. But I honestly was expecting more. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Time for some album reviews: Aphex Twin - Drukqs ------------------- This is Aphex Twin's recent double CD release of new material. Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) is an artist who I respect for almost always being amazingly innovative with both his technique and his aesthetic sense, but he's not always the easiest to listen to. If you're not familiar w/ his work, it tends toward the deep-end experimental electronic, almost bordering into glitch. He's explored in a lot of different directions, with each of his prior albums generally focusing in one area of exploration. This album feels almost like a retrospective sampler of all of his old explorations, with new songs in each style. Unfortunately, while all of the songs are okay, none of them are his best. It's almost like someone who doesn't know Aphex Twin's work should listen to this album and find which songs they sort of like, and then have someone familiar with Aphex Twin's work use that as a guide to recommend the *good* stuff in that style. Oddly, the only songs on this album which don't easily fall into a category with his old work are songs which almost sound normal and contemporary. Almost like spartan new-age or classical compostitions. On the whole, I'd only recommend buying this album to Aphex Twin fanboys who just wanted to get everything. However, I would recommend it for people not familiar w/ Aphex Twin to listen to so they could get a feel for all of his work, since each of his older albums tend to be drastically different from the rest. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Shirley Bassey - The Remix Album... Diamonds are Foreever --------------------------------------------------------- This is a compilation of remixes of Shirley Bassey songs done by various contemporary producers and electronic artists. The remixes vary in quality a bit, although they tend to be on the okay to good side. The album seems to have been arranged in order with the songs truest to the original near the beginning, and those least like the original towards the end. The high points on the album for me were Propellerhead's remix of "Goldfinger", and Shirley Bassey's cover of the Door's "Light My Fire" remixed by both Kenny Dope and Twelftree. The Propellerheads are as spectacular as always, dropping in fast and hard with one of their signature uber-funky beats, which transitions smoothly back into an almost original "Goldfinger", and then slowly layers back in a slimmed-down version of the opening funk. The song somehow manages to be upbeat and funky, while still maintaining it's slow, sultry feel of the original. Kenny Dope and Twelftree each remixed "Light my Fire" independently, so there are several different versions of the song on the album. Kenny Dope's tends to stick to the original song, just adding in new beats and bass and breaks and a few FX, while Twelftree's completely abandons the arrangement of the original and merely samples it for an entirely new rendition. If you're a fan of Shirley Bassey and like modern dance music and don't have a problem with someone "fucking up the classics", definitely check this album out. It's not a superb album, but it's good upbeat listening all-through. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Tortoise - millions now living will never die --------------------------------------------- Tortoise is a critically acclaimed experimental rock group from the Chicago area. They've been around for most of the 90's, and have gained a cult following over the years. I'm not familiar with most of their work, but kept running into references to them in other things I was reading about, so I decided it was time to grab one of their albums. This album has a very sparse, sculpted feeling to it. The music is done mostly on traditional instruments, but has a very experimental electronic feel to it. The songs are all instrumental and tend to repeatedly add and remove layers of instrumentation, with lots of unique sounds and arrangements I've never really heard anywhere else. This album is technically amazing, but a bit tough to actively listen to since it tends on the slow side. Excellent for scattered background music, or sleeping music, though. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* The Avalanches - Since I Left You --------------------------------- Five DJs from Australia, who apparently buy records by the crate without looking at the contents, and then use ALL OF THEM. This is some seriously layered music. Always. It continuously maintains so many layers and so many samples flashing in and out that you can't hope to identify them all, which I suspect is the point. Because once you relax and let the music just flow over you, it really makes much more sense. The album gives a sense of playfulness, and hyperactivity w/o being too frenetic. The samples they use mostly make sense, even when they're as something as weird as dialog from cartoons or animal sounds. Occassionally, a sample sticks out like a sore thumb, but not too often. The music tends to be mellow, intelligent music, never building into a danceable beat, but never really going too slow. Surprisingly, considering how the music was put together, this album is actually easy to listen to and actively pay attention to. There's apparently a video for one of the songs on the CD, but I haven't checked that out yet. I may post about that after I've looked at it. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Some other albums I recently bought but haven't listened too all the way through yet: Faith No More - Who Cares a Lot? (Greatest Hits) Big Dumb Face - Duke Lion Fights the Terror Tenacious D (eponymous) De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising A Tribe Called Quest - The Anthology (greatest hits) Once I've given them a good listening, reviews will be posted. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* And two interesting songs I've recently picked up through Bearshare: Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper (Apollo 440 remix) Gorillaz - 19/2000 (Soulchild Remix) Both are rather good, although the Gorillaz song kicks much more arse... *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 13, 2001 (1 day since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Cut Chemist is rapidly becoming one of my musical idols. He's a scratch DJ from the LA area who has been involved in a ton of projects. The man has an astounding work ethic and the Midas touch. I like everything he's done (that I've heard) to date. Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli are his two biggest projects, although he has done random side projects both by himself and with other scratch DJs. This man has (seriously) got mad leet skillz on the 1s and 2s, and (even more importantly) an amazing sense of the aesthetics of samples and what will mix with what. He can piece together the most astounding flow of hip-hop, funk, rock, jazz, swing, blues, spoken word, comedy, and educational recordings, and it sounds like it was meant to be that way. In many cases, I've run across the material he's sampled in it's source form later, and felt that the original song was obviously incomplete for not adding in the other layers Cut Chemist put on. The man FIXES songs that were never broken! Seriously, if you value my music opinion, at least try to grab some MP3s of his stuff. If you want the best all-around project he's been in, check out Jurassic 5's album "Quality Control", or for a more scratch intensive and technically impressive selection, go for "Live at Future Primitive Sound Session", which is a recording of a live show he did with Shortkut of Invisibl Skratch Piklz. (2 men, 5 turntables, no safety net -- fucking amazing!) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* I should really HTMLify this music page... I know HTML is easy, but I never bothered to sit down and learn it, and I don't feel like it now. Anyone reading this feel like offering assistance or advice? *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 12, 2001 (2 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Hmmm... I'm feeling a bit show-happy recently. Here's some more shows I'm thinking about going to: DJ Spooky @ Middle East (Sat, Dec 1) Nikka Costa @ Paradise (Fri, Dec 7) DJ Krush @ Axis (Mon, Dec 10) Nortec Collective @ Paradise (Tue, Dec 11) Gotta find better transport to Paradise shows -- hot-footing it out of the club at midnight (before the show ends) so we don't miss the last green line is sad... I've heard a rumor that the T service runs extra late on Fri/Sat nights. Does anyone know if this is true? *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* I haven't bought any CDs in a while. I think it's time to go shopping and pick up another handful. A list of purchases and reviews should be forthcoming. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 10, 2001 (3 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Yeah, in case you were wondering, the End2K CD is a mix CD I put together and gave out to some people at Noah's New Year's party last year. The actual track listing is as follows: 1 Blue Man Group / TV Song 2 Poe / Walk the Walk 3 Presidents of the United States of America / Back Porch 4 Lamb / B-Line 5 Bob Marley vs Funkstar De Luxe / Sun is Shining 6 Mr Scruff / Get a Move On (Radio Edit) 7 Brainbug / Nightmare 8 BT / Dreaming 9 Dee-Lite / Groove is in the Heart 10 Juno Reactor / Pistolero (Fluke "HANG 'EM HIGH!" Remix) 11 Mocean Worker / Hey Baby 12 Jungle Brothers / Get Down (Mark!'s Boogie Vocal) 13 Mr Scruff / Blackpool Roll 14 Propellerheads / Crash! 15 Mocean Worker / Tres Tres Chic 16 Westbam / Sonic Empire 17 The Wiseguys / Start the Commotion A year later, the only track I regret putting on there is track 5. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Oh my Mauzner! I forgot how professional jazz musicians could play such technically difficult arrangements as to make most other "professional" musicians look like amateurs. Just went to see Soulive tonight, and they were really solid. Heck, the opening band, a local Boston jam/fusion-jazz band called Booty Juice, was more together than most other shows I've been to. Oddly enough, the other bands that come to mind as having been just as tight are Barenaked Ladies and Mr Bungle. TMBG's band is almost there, but it's taken them 7 years of working together to get there, so they don't count. And if you think you might like some thick, jam-session, funk, Hammond B3, fusion jazz goodness - check out Soulive. My only complaint with them is that sometimes their playing gets a bit too complex and starts to wander into the realm of bebop, which I've never been able to get into... But that's just me. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 7, 2001 (1 day since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Act now! For a limited time only, you too can have a copy of my End2K CD! If you have a sidehack account, you can grab the full image from "~jski/end2k.cif.gz". It's in Adaptec Easy CD-Creator image format, and requires a 80 minute (700MB) CD-R. It should match the CDDB entry if you do it in disc-at-once burn mode. It's farkin huge! Be prepared to overwhelmed by the downloading! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* November 6, 2001 (6 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* I just went checking the upcoming show lists, and found a few that I'm interested in... In chronological order: Soulive - thursday and friday this week at the paradise in boston (www.nextticketing.com) Poe - wednesday next week at the paradise (www.nextticketing.com) Cake - wednesday next week at the orpheum (ticketmaster) Jack Johnson - saturday next week at the paradise (nextticketing) Sasha & Digweed - saturday nov 24 at Axis & Avalon (nextticketing) (this last one is unfortunately age 21+ and $40(!) a ticket) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* So, after listening to their two CDs, OkGo rocks. It is official (in my world, at least). I can't wait for their full release to come out next year. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* October 31, 2001 (6 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Happy Halloween! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* So, I went to see TMBG last night. It's about my fifteenth time seeing them - I've lost count somewhere... Their band keeps getting a little tighter every time I see them. They did well, but the Johns weren't as into it as I've seen them in the past. Anyways, the real point of this story -- throughout the dozens of shows I've been to, I've grown to expect the opening bands to be mediocre (unless I knew them beforehand). I don't expect much from opening bands, and they usually don't exceed my expectations. The opening band for TMBG last night, Ok Go, rocked the house. If I had to compare their style to someone else, I would probably say somewhere between Weezer and Beck -- intelligent, playful, rock music. Check their website at www.okgo.net, and go download some music... (I bought both CDs if you want to hear them.) When I look back on this show, I'm not going to remember it as the umpteenth time I saw TMBG, but rather the *first* time I saw OkGo. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* October 25, 2001 (2 months & 2 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Tenacious D!!! Woo-hoo!!! Everybody go check 'em out! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* For those of you who seem to be following my music discussion too much -- okay, just MikeCap -- I have finally brought my list of CDs that I own up to date and put it online: http://www.gweep.net/~jski/cd_collection.txt *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* August 23, 2001 (8 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Some singles that have caught my attention recently: System of a Down - "Chop Suey" - Every time I hear this song it amazes me a little more. It keeps getting better. Epic, manic, powerful, beautiful... Gently lifts you up and then throws you into the ground and rips your guts out... Ben Folds - "Rockin the Suburbs" - Catchy, romping, witty, melodic. I wouldn't expect anything less from Ben Folds. (Apparently this is a solo project from just Ben, not the whole Ben Folds Five.) Bad Ronald - "Let's Begin" - I have no respect for frat rap. Bubba Sparxxx - "Ugly" - I respect and fear redneck rap. D-12 - "Purple Pills" - I respect Eminem. Little T and One Track Mike - "Shaniqua" - How can this much funk be in one song and still have the song be mediocre? Apparently, gimmicky rap lyrics are the anti-funk. If only I could find an instrumental version... Big Dumb Face - "Mighty Penis Laser" - If only Wes Borland would do more side projects outside of Limp Bizkit. Imagine Ween doing heavy metal - you've almost got Big Dumb Face. Not always the most innovative (if you've listened to Ween before), but so much fun it doesn't matter. Sarina Paris - "Look at Us" - In case you can't get enough upbeat, gay disco music, check out this song. Nothing new, but amazingly clean, happy, and danceable. Macy Gray - "Sweet Baby" - Quick, get this girl some more drugs; she can still open her eyes! (i.e. GET INTO REHAB, PLEASE!) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* August 15, 2001 (5 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* I know a lot of you may not like Eminem, but you have to admit he is a crafty little bugger. This has been driven home to me by the first single from his new group, D-12. If you hear the song on the radio or MTV, it is listed as "Purple Hills". The chorus goes something like this: I've been so many places And seen so many faces, But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple hills. I've climbed the highest mountain Once or twice, but who's counting, But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple hills. All of the lyrics of the song are just about as unoffensive as that, with almost no vulgarity. There's some hallucinogen innuendo there, but nothing too serious. Radio is willing to play it, MTV is willing to play it, and WalMart might be convinced to sell it. The trick is, that song isn't on the album. When you buy the album, you notice that the song is listed on the back as "Purple Pills". When you start playing it, the music and backbeats are all identical, but the lyrics are changed. They follow the same rythmic patterns, and often rhyme with the lyrics for "Purple Hills". It's like listening to a Weird Al parody. But the new lyrics are not nearly so subtle: I take a couple uppers, I down a couple downers, But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple pills. I've been to mushroom mountain Once or twice but who's counting, But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple pills. And *that* is truly crafty marketing and advertising, IMHO. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* August 10, 2001 (19 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Err, no big news this time around... Just found someone so weird that I felt I had to share it with everyone... Atom and His Package Website is at http://www.atomandhispackage.com His voice sounds like Weird Al, he uses exclusively electric guitar and sequencers, he has a lot of punk and metal influences, and he sings about the weirdest crap (ala TMBG). Yes, it sounds weird, but you can't really understand how weird until you hear his driving synth-metal song about the failure of the metric system (being sung in his borderline whiney voice)... The best part is that he is playing at the Palladium tonight, and will be coming back to Worcester to play at WPI on December 14. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* July 22, 2001 (9 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Basement Jaxx - Rooty Finally, a a second major release from Basement Jaxx. Their prior album, Remedy, is still one of my more favorite dance albums. I had great expectactions for this album, and I suppose that was why I was slightly disappointed by it. If I had come in with no expectations, I think I might have been rather impressed. Most of the songs on this album are good, strong, danceable songs, but they don't grab you and force you to dance like "Red Alert" or "Rendezvous" did. They're good songs, but... However, I did say "most of the songs". There is one song on this album that made it totally worth it, IMHO. "Do Your Thing", track 12, is the most amazing romp of blues, soul, and techno ever, with a hint of gospel and funk to liven it up. Wow. Even after listening to this song repeatedly for the past week, it still makes me grin and bop around the room like a fool. This is the best song Basement Jaxx have done yet, and I owe them my thanks for making a song that makes me so happy. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Air - 10,000 Hz Legend If you're not familiar with Air, they're what you would get by forcing a progressive rock musican to write original Muzak songs for a living. Their music is nearly totally inoffensive, consisting of mild orchestration, very few vocals, and few strong beats. However, there is an extremely strong undercurrent of experimentation and beauty running through their music. Someone once described them as "what music will sound like in the future", and that is a very apt description. In any case, "10,000 Hz Legend" is their fourth album, which just came out. It is mostly in the same style as their earlier albums, but is more aggressive. Which is to say it might offend *someone*, but you'd have to search to find that person. The album is more than I expected from Air, and is probably my favorite of their albums to date. There is a geust appearance by Beck (yes, that Beck) on one of the songs, and they obviously let him have creative input on the song, since it isn't quite Beck's style and isn't quite Air's style. It's a great song. There's also a guest appearance from the group Buffalo Daughter, whom I have never heard of. This is a great album for lazy, sunny days. I was listening to it for almost 4 hours on repeat while laying outside in the sun and reading, and it fit the mood perfectly. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* July 13, 2001 (9 days since last update) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Alrighty... Since the last time I posted I have picked up a bunch of albums. So, in no particular order, are my reviews of them. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Inevitable Alien Nation - Superstar DJ Keoki Haven't been able to concentrate through a whole listening. DJ Keoki seems to be a very capable DJ, with a great sense of humor, but from what I can tell from reading reviews online, his albums seem to be chaotic collections of music, each one entirely different than the others. This one is kind of freaky in a "the greys are coming to get ne" kind of way... Maybe when I've been able to listen to it all the way through I'll post a better review. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* When I Was Born for the 7th Time - Cornershop This is a fun, quasi-experimental rock album from 1997, that kind of lands somewhere between mid-90's alternative and pop-rock, with a pinch of modern electro styles and techniques. The big single from this was "Brimful of Asha", which is still a kicking song after 4 years, and the rest of the album is up to par. Very intelligent, very fun, very cool. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Muppets From Space (Original Soundtrack) Awww yeah! FUNK! If you haven't seen it, Muppets From Space is the P-Funkenest Muppet Movie ever, b-scratch! The soundtrack couldn't help but follow. Seriously, if you like funk but don't know where to start, buy this. All of the tracks are great songs, and the album is definitely worth buying: Dust Brothers, George Clinton, G. Love and Special Sauce, James Brown... *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Heads are Gonna Roll - The Hippos Wow. I must be on a kick for FUN music these past few weeks... 'Cause this one is nothing but fun. You could call the style somewhere between new wave, ska, hard rock, They Might Be Giants, and a tiny pinch of Weird Al, but the most prominent description is FUN. The review of this album over at allmusic.com really nailed it on the head. Each track sounds like it could be the making of a one-hit wonder, except that the album is full of them. I especially like "He Said" and "Wasting My Life". If you're looking for some upbeat music, and can stand a huge dose of happiness, check this album out. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Rock Bitch Mafia - Green Nuns of the Revolution I finally got it! I've been searching for this album off and on for almost two and a half years now. It's been out of print for a while now, and it was never printed domestic (USA) anyways, so the only way to get it is as an out of print import. I finally decided I wasn't going to find a used or specialized music store which carried it, and just searched for it on gemm.com. 'Cause if you can't find an album there, you're fucked... Anyways, the reason I have been searching for this album so long is because it is THE BEST GOA ALBUM EVER MADE. Well, at least the best I've ever heard. And I've heard quite a few. And at least one other person agrees with me (http://www.sdriver.com/spot/NUNS.HTM). I should mentione that I only marginally like goa/trance techno. Most of it I find simply too repetitive and unoriginal. There are legions of identical sounding goa artists. And they all make music which is perfect for 5 hour stretches of dancing at raves, but none of them make good home listening music. Green Nuns of the Revolution can magically do both at once - their songs are simple and repeptitive enough that drugged up trance ravers can get lost in it for hours, but Green Nuns still somehow manage to keep the album fun and alive and each song is unique. You can sit at home and actively listen to the album (while sober) without getting bored. Actually, the sitting part is pretty tough, since this music is truly groovy. "Okay space cadets, prepare to hurtle through the cosmos!" That pretty much sums up this album - it starts and doesn't ever let up. If you decide you need this album, you can find the songs on Gnutella (Bearshare), or I could probably be convinced to make copies of this since it is OoP. Or, be a real man (or woman) and get it off of gemm.com for $25! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Oh yeah, a non-review related comment. I found a site called GNOD (Global Network of Dreams) which is building a few different weird databases of stuff which it presents to you one item at a time, and you tell it whether or not you like each item. Anyone can submit new stuff into their databases, and while you are telling it whether or not you like the items, it is building another database of people who like X have also liked Y sort of info. So the more things you look at, the more likely the next thing it pulls out of the database for you will be something you like. What does this have to do with music? One of their databases is purely music related. (www.gnod.net/music) If you do play with it, make sure you click on the "Why?" button on at least one of the suggections it gives back to you. Whee! Funky java scripting! Very cool... It turned up a few bands I hadn't heard of, who have now been added onto my "need to research" list. Hmmm.... Even more music... *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* And in an amazing act of stupidity, I just blew away all prior entries to the music commentary... (All one of them) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*