The
Listening Lounge
By Ryan Ritchie and Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner
MBeck
- “Sea Change”
This
guy could fart into a mike and people would
buy it and like it and there is a simple
reason why — Beck is one of the few musicians
who gets it. He can do a complete 180 degree
turn from one album to the next and still
make it all sound coherent. This record
is no different. Beck traded in his samplers
on “Sea Change” for acoustic guitars, pianos
and melodic vocals. No song shines above
another and the label will have a tough
decision in picking which one of these is
the single because every song is good. Instead
of writing hits, “Sea Change” sounds like
Beck trying to write an album, something
more contemporary artists should look into.
This record is one more reason why Beck
deserves all the attention he gets. Two
Loons for Tea - Looking for Landmarks
This
sounds like coffee shop music. That’s not
a compliment, but it’s not an insult either.
Two Loons for Tea play mellow, poppy jazz
with female vocals that is best described
as background music. The instrumentation
is good, but it’s nothing that’s going to
make someone jump out of their seat at first
listen. File this under the “good music
to study to” category.
V/A
- Rise Above
Iggy
Pop doing Black Flag? There is a God and
apparently he or she had that dream too.
This is a benefit compilation for the West
Memphis Three put together by former Black
Flag singer Henry Rollins. Tribute records
are guaranteed to suck, so it’s a surprise
this isn’t half bad. All the music was played
by the Rollins Band and each song features
a different guest singer. The band does
a good job at recreating the songs, considering
Black Flag wrote some of the most complicated
music not only in punk history, but rock
in general. The only bad thing about this
is the tracks Rollins sings on. He was the
fourth Black Flag singer and didn’t sing
on the band’s earlier material.
So
why he chose to sing songs he already sang
on record as opposed to earlier songs he
wasn’t on is a mystery. He even got original
singer Keith Morris to sing “Nervous Breakdown,”
a song Morris also already sang. Fans probably
would have gotten a kick out of hearing
what these songs would have sounded like
with the singers flip-flopped. All of the
songs are good, but if there’s a standout
track, it’s Ice-T doing “Police Story.”
Disturbed
— Believe
It’s
hard to believe this band has a record deal.
So hard, in fact, some might say it’s disturbing.
Did Congress pass a law saying all nu-metal
bands have to sound alike? Disturbed’s music
sounds like a watered-down, fourth-rate
Pantera while the vocals sound like a guy
trying to get his band on contemporary radio.
Judas Priest was the only band who could
sound hard and melodic and get away with
it
Doug
Martsch — Now You Know
It’s not that this is bad, but it feels
rushed and uncomfortable at times. Martsch
is best known as the front man for every
indie rocker’s favorite band, Built to Spill.
The first song, “Offer,” is dissonant and
busy. The rest of the record is a bit easier
to listen to but still seems like it could
be better. This album succeeds in what it
is supposed to be — a bluegrass record perfect
for listening to while sitting on a rocking
chair on a front porch.
SR-71
- Tomorrow
Tomorrow
this record will be in the used bin at Fingerprint’s
on Second Street if anyone wants to take
a chance with this. Here’s what a conversation
between the members of SR-71 probably sounds
like: Person A: “Dude, did you get that
new Linkin Park?” Person B: “Yeah bro, it
rules.” Person A: “We should sound like
that.” Person B: “Yeah, but we don’t have
a rapper guy.” Person A: “That’s ok, no
one likes that guy anyway.” Person B: “We
could be Linkin Park for those who don’t
like the rapper guy.”
Jurassic
Five — “Power In Numbers”
First
off, the new Jurassic Five album only has
nine songs, and for a rap record, where
songs are usually short and full of metaphors,
nine cuts is unacceptable. Especially when
the J5 are still considered pretty much
underground hip-hop, and albums by underground
artists usually contain about 18 tracks.
Compared to their first album, this one
doesn’t quite match its more polished production
and more developed lyrical content.
Robert
Randolph and the Family Band — “Live at
the Wetlands”
In September 2001 The Wetlands, a famous
New York club, where bands like Rage Against
the Machine, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthews
first played, closed its doors after catering
to live music lovers for over a decade.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band rocked
the club one last time a month before its
closing and released the set as a live album.
The six tracks on the album are fulfilling
in many ways. For one there is nothing like
hearing live music from live instruments,
played by talented musicians, and finally
with the hooting, hollering and clapping
of the audience, and the improvisational
jam impromptus by the band, the album captures
the experience of being at a live concert.
With a pedal steel guitar, Randolph skillfully
plays with abandonment, along with the backing
of drums, bass guitar, and Hammond organ.
It’s one of those albums where you press
play and ride out the wave.
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