G’n'F’n'R: Chinese Democracy Review

Posted on December 3, 2008 by Adam S

I was a huge Guns N’ Roses fan, back in the day. In 7th grade, in 1988, I got introduced to G’n'R, and I just loved it. I swallowed up every song on Appetite for Destruction and Lies. Hunted down Live Like a Suicide. Found all their demos like “Crash Diet.” I stuck by them through Use Your Illusion I and II – got them both sight unseen on opening day. Saw them live in ’92. I even bought The Spaghetti Incident?! in 1993. As the next album delay began, my interest began to wane. I went from superfan to fan to casual fan to indifferent to hating Axl’s winded comeback performance to casually interested to seeking out Chinese Democracy. And now I have it. I’ll spare you the reading: I’m a fan again.

I could’ve told you well ahead of time how much this album was going to suck. After all, it’s been 14 years in the making. Axl has gone through several line up changes and at least 3 lead guitarists since Slash. All of them have some appearance on the album, I’m told. 14 years of nonstop revision has got to lead to the inability to be objective. And it’s gotta be overproduced as all hell as Axl does nonstop tweaking.

So when I got my hands on the album and gave it a listen, I was surprised to find that it was actually… pretty damned good. Read on for the full treatment.
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Check This Out: The Foo Fighters’ The Colour and The Shape

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Adam S

1997′s The Colour and the Shape by The Foo Fighters is often overlooked, or more often only remembered for “My Hero,” “Everlong,” and “Monkey Wrench.” But it’s got some fantastic songs on it. The intro, “Doll,” is a great little warm up. Every song from “Hey Johnny Park!” through “New Way Home” is an interesting an solitary adventure. My personal favorite, “February Stars,” is keenly emotional, as is the slow “Walking After You.” At the same time, “My Poor Brain” and “Wind Up” make for poppish, faster tunes that really can inspire excitement. On top of that, all of the singles from the album have endured the test of time well, and all remain enjoyable rock songs that do not feel like overly faded denim.

Quite the contrary: The Colour and The Shape remains The Foo Fighters’ masterpiece, despite many subsequent hits. The Colour and The Shape proved that Dave Grohl could exist in a post-Nirvana band with its own identity.

The Colour and The Shape

Check This Out: Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s Fly Me Courageous

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Adam S

Every so often, I’m going to post an album recommendation. I have lots of “favorite” albums, but I’m going to share a few that I find especially good. Today brings an album that really captures the flavor of rock in the early 1990s.

In the early 90s, Guns N’ Roses had successfully killed off hair metal in favor of accessible heavy metal. That changed when the Use Your Illusion albums came out – as “rock” more than metal – and rock softened up a little. Bands like Mr. Big and Firehouse were suddenly relevant. A little known Southern band who had been around since the mid-80s dropped into the scene with a fantastic album called “Fly Me Courageous.”

Fly Me Courageous features several great songs besides the title track which became a successful single, most notably “Let’s Go Dancing.” Other songs such as “For You,” “Look What You’ve Done to Your Brother,” and “Around the Block Again” are really great songs that are a throwback to that period in rock music. While it certainly won’t feel like current music, it will certainly prove to be a successful demonstration of just good, catchy song writing.

Fly Me Courageous

PHISH IS BACK!

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Adam S

Phish is back.

The first time I saw Phish was in Hampton. The last time I saw Phish was in Hampton. The best Phish show I saw was in Hampton (11/22/97, best Piper ever!).

It would be awesome to see them in Hampton in 2009.

The Most Boinga Post Ever

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Adam S

Boinga!

Unfortunately, having a baby around means that I often find myself watching shows such as “The Backyardigans”. As someone who has, since I was very young, considered myself pretty in touch with music and appreciative of true musicians, I am strangely compelled by much of the music found in these shows. For every ten terrible songs, there’s one or two good ones that are so catchy you’d never believe it. But if you dig deep enough, you’ll find some interesting lyrics hidden within. Lately, I’ve had several Backyardigans songs in my head, but one of them, the Alicia Keys’ backed “Almost Everything Is Boinga Here” has got me a little worried. Let’s examine:

Austin: Boinga’s a word we don’t understand.
Mommy Martian: Well, words are different in Martian Land.
Pablo: Well, we don’t know your language yet.
Austin: Maybe you could teach us?
Mommy Martian: Sure, you bet.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Mommy Martian: Almost everything is boinga here,
Just in case you hadn’t heard.
Almost everything is boinga here,
It’s the Martians’ favorite word.

Uniqua: Do you call these hands?
Mommy Martian: Nope, we call them boinga!
Austin: Do you use pots and pans?
Mommy Martian: Yup, we call them boinga!
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Pablo: We wear hats on our heads.
Mommy Martian: Really? We wear boinga!
Uniqua: Do you guys sleep in beds?
Mommy Martian: Nope, we sleep in boinga!
Pablo: Hey!
Austin: That’s good.

Mommy Martian: Do your birds say boinga?
Uniqua: No, our birds say tweet!
Mommy Martian: Do your flowers smell boinga?
Pablo: No, they just smell sweet!
Mommy Martian: Do you walk on your boinga?
Austin: No, we walk on our feet!
Mommy Martian: Do you sit on your boinga?
Uniqua: No, we sit on our seat!

Baby Boinga: Boinga! Boinga!

Pablo: You certainly use that word a lot.
Mommy Martian: Well, it means a lot of things, so why not?
Austin: Is there anything boinga doesn’t mean?
Mommy Martian: Well maybe there is but not that I’ve seen.
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Almost everything is boinga here.
Mommy Martian: We boinga all boinga long.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Almost everything is boinga here.
Mommy Martian: So we boinga this boinga song.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:This boinga song!
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Boinga this boinga
Baby Boinga: Boinga! Boinga! Boinga!

Alright. So let’s take a closer look at few lines, shall we? Let’s start with this one: “We boinga all boinga long.” Aside from the fact that – I promise you – way too many dirty-minded people are going to interpret this as ”we f#@% all night long,” partly because “boinga” sounds a lot like “boing,” which is colloquially used as a cleaner version of “screw,” it proves that the word “boinga” is both a noun and a verb. Once we concede that Martians use “boinga” as a univeral verb and a universal noun, it contradicts earlier sentences.

Shouldn’t “Do your birds say boinga?” be “Do your boinga say boinga?” Actually, given the verb, shouldn’t it be “Do your boinga boinga boinga?” Shouldn’t that whole verse be mostly “boingas?” In fact, why is the word “do” allowed? “Boinga your boinga boinga boinga” just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Stupid Martians.

Let’s assume that we can get over Mommy Martian’s arbitrary use of the word boinga as a replacement for some words but not others. Why would Martians refer to Mars as “Martian Land?” Have you ever refered to our planet as “Earthling Land?” Of course, because it’s just weird.

Also, the Martian Mommy seems awfully fluent in English, and yet, she doesn’t know what birds say or how flowers smell. She can sing an impromptu song, but appears entirely unaware of the words “sweet,” “feet,” “seat,” or “tweet.”

Also, do you find it a smidge naive that Austin and Pablo seem to believe that they are capable of learning the native language in “Martian Land” in the course of one 2 minute song? …and do?

This is the line that kills me: “So we boinga this boinga song.” Please! You can’t convince me that many young moms and dads don’t hear “So we sing this fuckin’ song.“

Who said childrens’ songs were boring?

Leroi Moore Passes Away

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Adam S

All too often, pop culture deaths have a more profound effect than they should. However, I was surprised when in January, I was more affected by the death of Heath Ledger than I expected to be. I guess I felt as though Ledger was part of my “generation.” Fast forward to today, and I’m really quite upset to see that Leroi Moore, saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, has passed away. It appears that there were complications from an ATV accident in June. He was 46.

Leroi Moore, 1961-2008

This is a great loss for music in general, and while it might not be on par with the passing of Jerry Garcia or Kurt Cobain, I really think the Dave Matthews Band has an enormous following, and like The Grateful Dead, operate as a unit that will certainly be worse off without Moore’s unique style. Not only was Moore the saxophonist for DMB, he also played a large role, we’re told, in helping Dave arrange his many songs.

In July of 1997, I was fortunate enough to get to see Phish in Virginia Beach for their US tour opener. We were so excited, not only because it was the tour opener, not only because they would end up opening the tour with 4 new-to-the-US songs, but also because it had rained torrentially and right before the show, and while we were all drenched, a fantastic rainbow enveloped us and everybody had to simply relax and enjoy the seemingly cosmic event.

Imagine our surprise when, not long into the second set, Mr Leroi Moore joined Phish on stage for solid renditions of Theme From the Bottom and Funky Bitch.

Leroi Moor will be missed, but I suspect his legacy will live on for some time via the Dave Matthews Band.

The Tuba Polka

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Adam S

Having a young baby means you are lucky enough to get to watch have to endure kid programs. Some are better than others, but nearly all of them are painfully repetitive. Shows like Dora the Explorer are, at first glance, mind-bendingly boring. But after a while, you start to appreciate the little nuances and differences, such as when a bad guys gets away with something they usually don’t (like that bastard Swiper Fox). I’ve grown to appreciate The Wonder Pets and even Pinky Dinky Doo. But my new favorite kids show is The Backyardigans.

Your backyard friends

This is the basic premise: in each episode, some subsection of five talking, dancing, young animals meet in their backyard(s) for a pretend adventure. They “imagine” the adventure, and along the way, they sing songs – not just kids songs, the show is a musical. Each episode also features a new genre of music, some as simple as “Rock N Roll,” but others are as specific as “zydeco.” Along the way, they dance, and the dances are actual animations of real kids dancing fed through some process to make a computer representation.

The thing is, the songs are pretty catchy. And what’s worse, some of them are really catchy. I’ve googled it, and scores of people are searching for the lyrics to some of these songs. The theme song is one of the most annoying and most popular out there, but my kid loves it. And then there’s this little number called either “The Tuba Polka” or “The Worman Polka.” Although the closed captions read “Dance little worman polka,” I’m convinced that the below lyrics are correct.

I love to play the tuba and do the polka dance
Makes me feel so happy in my cowboy polka pants
Do the tuba polka! Do the tuba polka!

We’re heading west to play a polka party for our friends
All the way to Cheyenne where the dancing never ends

Dance to the worman polka! Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip! Dance to the worman polka!

When Sherman’s brother gets there, we’ll yell “Surprise!” real loud
And all those western Wormans will dance the polka proud

Dance to the worman polka! Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip! Dance to the worman polka!

If you get a chance and you either have a young chil who will appreciate this or you’re just a music fan looking for a genre that most of your behind-the-curve friends won’t yet have discovered, check out The Backyardigans.

My recommendation for best song: “He’s Green” from “The Swamp Creature” episode, “Boinga,” from the “Mission to Mars” episode, and “The Tuba Polka” from the “Polka Palace” episode.

American Idol Season 7: And the Winner Is…

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Adam S

I went into last night expecting to be disappointed, not because I felt Archie had more fans than David Cook, but also because season 7 of American Idol has been so crappy that it would have been poetic to have it end in tragedy too.

But alas, it did not. In fact, they really made me look foolish by giving us several gifts.

Let’s review: first, David Cook’s fun “Sharp Dressed Man” with ZZ Top. The performance itself wasn’t so great, but it was fun, which was nice. Also, good to see that ZZ Top is still alive and that Sharp Dressed Man is still a good song, and that American Idol didn’t remove all of the instrumental bits.

Then came a real gem, the second “gave me chills” moment of the season, when Brooke White delivered a gorgeous rendition of “Teach Your Children” with Graham Nash. Nash was humble and restrained, White was on-key, confident, and natural. The entire ballad was not only beautiful, but also well captured. The mix favored the harmony over the melody by just a little, just enough to highlight Brooke – after all, it was her performance – but not overdo it. All in all, it was a home run, and it was so easy to enjoy a connection with Brooke’s entirely sincere happiness at having just performed with Graham Nash.

In case anyone forgot, the best part of the night – by far, in my book – was the fantastic Ben Stiller/Jack Black/Robert Downey Jr. skit as backup singers to Gladys Knight. Jack Black can be a comic genius at times, and his overplayed backup singer was classic, especially when he went off-stage to tend to Downey and return with his pants down – inexplicably. Also, his facial expressions were key to delivery. Well done producers, well done.

Now, as you might know if you’ve read my blog, I am not a David Archuleta fan. I find him to be a singer without a niche, lacking finesse; he has the instrument, but doesn’t know how to control it. He can’t sing a melody without peppering it with runs and vocal tricks. His music is lite FM adult contemporary blandness. His interviews tank consistently as he can’t form a sentence beyond the general “It feels so cool” boringness. And his eyes scare me more than a little. There’s just no substance there to like. My opinion only. This is what bothered me so much: the judges, especially worthless Randy Jackson, with the only exception being Simon once in a while, were unable to offer a single bit of criticism on his last 5 performances. The gave him a free pass most of the season, even when he flubbed lyrics.

So imagine my surprise when during the finale, he came out and capably sang OneRepublic’s beautiful “Too Late to Apologize.” I take that back, it wasn’t just capably, it was flat out great. It was actually better and more controlled than the lead singer from OneRepublic himself! It was really a good note to end on, no pun intended.

And then came the last few moments, when the more deserving David Cook was crowned Idol and began crying. The touching “This is your fault!” he yelled at his brother.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this was still the worst season of Idol, but David Cook may be my favorite Idol yet – the only one whose record I might actually consider listening to. So I have to say, it ends on a high note, and despite my threats, I’ll probably be watching next January.

Know Your Grunge! – The Answers

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Adam S

For those who played along on the “Know Your Grunge” contest, here are your answers:

“Sell the kids for food” is the first line in the Nirvana song “In Bloom.” An easy one to start.

“They’re farming babies while the slaves are working” is from an extremely popular song, but few know the middle lines. It’s from the pre-chorus of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike.”

“Holding rare flowers in a tomb” is from Alice In Chains’ fantastic 1993 acid ballad “Down in a Hole“

“I’m looking California and feeling Minnesota” is from Soundgarden’s “Outshined.” I think this was actually a pretty popular song back in 1992, and if I recall, it was one of the lines of lyrics easiest to understand in the song.

“And this is my kind of love, it’s the kind that moves on” is from Mother Love Bone’s “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns” and would turn out to be Andrew Wood’s most well-known song ever. There’s a good reason – it rules.

“Drag me far enough to know – I’m blind every mile that you burn” I bet I stumped people with this line from Screaming Trees’ “Nearly Lost You” which made it big after being featured in the movie “Singles.”

“I’m gonna learn ya my philosophy, you wanna know about atrocity” Surely, people remember this line from Stone Temple Pilots’ biggest single off of their Core album, “Sex Type Thing.” It was the song that they made it big with.

“Rests his head on a pillow made of concrete” is the second line on this list sung by Eddie Vedder, this time in Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow“

“They really want you but I do too” was from Courtney Love’s first really big hit, “Doll Parts“

Thanks for playing.