Having been a fan of Alain Johannes since his Eleven days, I took notice of this new release this week. Alain is a pop-rock songwriter who often managed to attack the genre with some originality and panache. Breaking into some minor chords and some Eastern influences here and there with non-standard transcendental meditative lyrics. This was seen throughout Eleven's career as well as his work with Chris Cornell.
Unfortunately, it seems like Alain has either streamlined for this effort, or maybe given the reigns almost completely to fellow bandleader Brody Dalle from the Distillers. Brody is an Australian chick and the Distillers, a punk band. The end result here is simple eighth-notepop-punk upbeat ditties.
Vocally, Brody is a riot grrrl. Distinction is not relevant. Lyrically, we discuss love, loss, relationships, sex with a vague hostility. But it's not brash enough or defined enough to congeal into anything that matters. I suppose it's meant to be accessibly vague for a wide audience of teenage girl Warped tour attendees to handle.
Musically, the band reminds me of Eagles Of Death Metal, except less clever or funny; and, of course the chick vocals. This is plainest in the opening track, the video of which is included below. The comparison isn't far fetched. Johannes works as a sideman in Queens Of The Stone Age, and Queens frontman Josh Homme is one of said Eagles. It sounds as if Alain just handed over some rejected demos from those bands and let Brody have at it.
Having caught this group opening for the NIN/JA tour, and while already being a big fan of the group leaders' previous outputs, I was eagerly anticipating the release of this album. Tom Morello is the most familiar face, throwing riffs and scratchy soloing into the hugely successful Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave. HNIC Boots Riley, though, is only known the select awesome few of us who paid attention to his excellent underground rap group, The Coup. I had actually become introduced to Boots when he played with Tom at the Vogue in Broad Ripple as part of a protest tour with Steve Earle et al.
Obviously, Tom's previous work in the rap-rock genre prepared him well for this. An easy comparison, but listener's will first notice that the fire and intensity of Rage's music has been traded for a looser, funkier, party jam. This fits well with Boots' lyrical delivery, which are similar but different than Zach de la Rocha's.
First of all, you will never find Boots screaming anything. The lyrics may be just as incendiary: "Somewhere in the world it's midnight, and the guerrillas just shot two pigs." But if Rage's songs were meant to start riots, SSSC's music will be playing in the axe-sharpening castle-storming conspiracy meetings. Boots makes his point clearly and concisely, but also with a flair and swagger of someone who probably learned his gift of gab from his corner pimp. i.e "Till we make the revolution, I just hope your life sucks"
In the end, I knocked 'em down a star because, like SSSC, I'm communist and wanted to redistribute the wealth to other albums. (Congratulations Def Leppard!) Just kidding. But really, the album doesn't quite have enough dexterity to differentiate some of the songs apart. The first song, for example, "Fight! Smash! Win!" is actually a pretty lame example of Tom Morello's talents. But there's enough here to keep you totally rocked. And when you stop and listen to the lyrics, you might put down your beer and start assembling your Molotov cocktail. (4 out of 5 stars)
By now, you've heard of this supergroup and their surprising success. Number 4 debut on Billboard's album chart. And since you probably know me, you know of my life's work of defending all of Sammy's life's works. I'm pleased to say that no defense is needed here- this is simply a great band.
Sammy had famously said some months ago something about rivaling Led Zeppelin. Well, the band quickly abandoned such blasphemous talk- but I understand the concept. If you can picture the time in the late sixties, early seventies; Led Zeppelin, Cream and others were championing a new, heavier, electric form of American blues which was enhanced by new studio techniques and psychedelia from the availability of drugs. The performers in these bands would generally do little more than riff out a basic chord structure and jam on it to their hearts content.
Led Zeppelin eventually took the ballgame to a bigger picture. Maybe it was Plant's sex appeal or maybe just the times. But Zep got some girls to the show and bigger venues were required. Soon, bands were exploiting whatever commerciality they could to grab similar cash, and arena rock was born. Arrangements became tighter, lyrics became safer and choruses got more pronounced.
At it's core, Chickenfootare doing a very good job of holding on to that pre-arena power rock explosion. Like Zep, AC/DC and even Montrose; Chickenfoot revolves around riffs. It's all very loose and once the ball is rolling, there is no hook - it often doesn't even get back to the main riff. The rhythm section just kicks in and exploits the groove. Throw on some lyrics and a song exists. When an ending can't be contrived, you just get to the next verse, hold the one and then yell, "YEAH". More than a song, you've had a moment... a little relationship.
Satrianifeels like he's been working his whole life to get to this point. I am quite familiar with his work, but his catalog is way too extensive for me to truly know. Mostly an instrumentalist and a "composer", I've rarely heard him this playful. Maybe I'm just so taken aback because I've been listening more to singer-songwriters these days. The Okkervil Rivers and the Bright Eyes. Where the song is written and performers are bought in to complete the song. This simply feels more organic than that.
So what about the reason that brought me here? How's Sammy faring? I've always said that I love Sammy most when he takes himself seriously. All that beach party stuff of the 2000's sort of fell flat for me. But here, Sammy keeps it as loose as the music. The lyrics are not structured in ways that he's done before- certainly not in 20 years. It's even how I describe David Lee Roth's lyrics. Where there is no "Johnnie working on the docks" who has tough times but still loves his lady. It's more about painting a broad stroked portrait, where you know what we're talking about, but the specifics aren't dwelled upon. It's about love, it's about never giving up, it's about overcoming, it's about positivity. And when the jamming kicks in, Sammy absolutely stands back and let it just be about the groove. He adds his, "uh" and "oh yeah" but he's not fighting with the band. This isn't a Sammy Hagar solo album at all.
On youtube, you can find "12 Days of the Foot" where the band tackle each song individually in interviews. And it's very entertaining. It's 10 minutes a piece, so have some patience. I'll throw my favorite song so far here at the end. And again, it's not going to bowl you over with literal importance, but you should see how the band starts with one groove, moves into a funky space, jumps a train to some Indian vibe, and the rides it out with a power jam. (4 1/2 of 5 stars)
Mark Everett moves his band forward, partially as a continuation of one of his song's of old, "Dog Faced Boy". So there are several songs with a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion feel, with cranked up distorted riffs and distorted muddy vocals, like you were hearing them from a porch on some one-watt amplifier. (It also recalls the sound of Tom Waits' "Goin' Out West", but I think you get the picture.)
But that's only half the picture. The other half includes perfectly crafted pop songs. All fairly lilting and understated. Since this album is tantamount to a concept record about romantic want and desire. While the aggressive tunes paint the picture of a seducer or someone who may be loudly lamenting, the quieter portions deal with just the sadder topics. A guy who is feeling the distress of not having the ownership of his desire. See below for the most perfect example of this side of the coin.
Why E has decided to take on this Wolfman moniker for this collection is beyond me. There's nothing horrific about these songs' tones. Nor is a werewolf any particular part of a folklore metaphor for desire. Maybe it's all just about his beard. (3.5 out of 5 stars)
While his last album showed Manson getting out the boo-hoos of a failed relationship, this one sees him return somewhat to form of just generally hating shit, although he's still bitter. "Devour" kicks it off and could actually be a hold-over from Eat Me, Drink Me, but then Manson jumps right back into his old "controversial" self, with "Pretty As A Swastika". It's barely even a song, and only exists so that Manson can put the phrase on his fucking album. Manson has apparently not learned that "shocking" stopped being shocking after the millennium started. Not we just you to show your vagina on the Internet.
"Four Rusted Horses" is a step away from the norm, as Twiggy plays the main riff on an acoustic, but the song has little value otherwise.
Now, I can deride the first couple of singles for having an obnoxious lyrics and for being obvious "Beautiful People"-type of crowd pleasing screamers. But in the end, they're just fun songs. "We're From America" is like an angry bouncy version of Kim Wilde's "Kids In America". Lyrically, it paints the anti-America picture using the most egregious images that Manson can dream up. "We don't like to kill our unborn. We need them to grow up and fight our wars." Similarly, "Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon" has that trashy big-beat like Jay-Z produced it. Like "Crazy In Love" except Beyoncé would be singing:
First you try to fuck it, then you try to eat it If it hasn't learned your name You better kill it before they see it
"Blank And White" has a great minimalist blues riff and a great bridge which altogether gets wasted with the rest of the song full of Manson's clichés. He even talks about "shooting up the school". "Running to the Edge of the World" also treads some new ground as a full on power ballad love song. Although Manson-ized, with the lyric, "We don't want death, we want destruction", this would be perfect for my teenage neice.
The capper is the last song, and after 72 minutes, it was a difficult ride, but as you will hear below, "15" shows a thought-provoked Manson coming to terms with renewing his sense-of-self after losing a love. He says, "Yesterday everything I thought I believed in died, but today is my birthday." You really get a different Manson here. One that's not painted and evil, but someone who can commit to a relationship and can be just as traumatized as the rest of us when that commitment is disrupted.
Overall, these surprising moments are outweighed by the clichés. There's promise here, but with 15 songs, it's littered with the simple. (2.5 of5 stars)
The first point to make is that while this album is supposed to be a scaled-back effort in comparison to a couple of high concept albums in the past, I did not listen to those albums- so I won't be making any comparisons. The 2nd item of note is that this album is 70 minutes long! Note to recording artists: Just because science gives us that much room, it doesn't mean we're supposed to take it. i.e., save the double album, none of Led Zeppelin's studio output cracks the 45 minute mark. I know that this is going to be key to my enjoyment level before I even get started...
It kicks off well though, with an understated dirge trip-hop thing called "Give", a style which is echoed on "Police Me" and a couple of others. Unfortunately, I was not able to take in all of the "visuallettes" that are supposedly included in the album release. Only a handful are posted to youtube, which shows that Tori is apparently channeling Björk.
There seems to be a common theme here though about mankind's relationship with God and how the repairs by womankind are needed. "You must pick a side / Who's God is God? They all want jurisdiction" and "Boy, I can save you from that evil faith."
"Not Dying Today" may be the most organic Dave Matthews-like track on the album, which sounds weird but it still fits. Also organic, and not un-fitting on a Fiona Apple record, would be "That Guy", which is among the best of this collection. Here, Tori lets some strings guide you along her decision-making fork-in-the-road about - you guessed it - THAT guy. The one who can love like no other when he wants to, but still brings his wars home.
Unfortunately, the inclusion of a song called, "Mary Jane" is not a Rick James cover, which would have been PHat, but a song about her teenage son getting stoned(?) I don't know. She's hot in this video, though.
And here's something that almost never happens... After listening to 16 so-so tracks and writing the album off, something amazing happens in that last song. "Lady In Blue" is indeed the straight-up bluesiest thing that Tori has ever recorded. It's like a Prince b-side, with an ending reminiscent of The Beatles, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Included below is a performance sans jam band. Lyrically, Tori kind of turns the tables on her anti-manness of it all, telling the story of someone who "wronged the right man." I take comfort in the otherwise accusa-Tori (see that? I punned her name...) taking responsibility for some destructive activity. Even if she's not apologizing for it. She's not. It's more of a matter of fact about face. "Boys play well into midnight/Can I join you?" Looks like yes, Tori, you still can. (3/5 stars)
While not technically a sequel to "American Idiot", it is definitely the next step in the progression of Green Day. It's big arena rock that follows Idiot's political leanings. It starts with a pessimistic introduction to a bleak society and never really lightens up. Whereas Idiot was overtly political, this album appears to hover in pressures of modern society. In the same way that we may have done in the grunge era. And that's one of my complaints of the record. It's such a vague portrait of unhappiness, without any insight as to why. This is a concept record after all. What are you bitching about?
One thing that Green Day did get right, as usual, is the over the top pop melody sensibility. This thing is hook-abound. Take the punk riffage out of "Before The Labotomy", and you're damn near a late '80s MötleyCrüe tune. (That's a compliment.) "Last Night On Earth" is a complete re-write of Crüe's "Without You", and is clearly the worst song on this record. The best just may be the 2nd Act's "Peacemaker"; a jacked-up Spanish riot. Like DeVotchKa took some angry cocaine. But Act II's "Restless Heart Syndrome" (can't believe no one else has used that song title yet) ends its point with what I think is a contradiction. "You're a victim of the system/You're your own worst enemy". It doesn't resonate with me, but I'll push on to Act III, which kicks off with a great song, "Horseshoes and Handgrenades". Although, Green Day should really in all good faith, share a writing credit with The Hives. However, the end of the story ends like Act II, with some contradiction. "But it’s gone forever/But never too late" That doesn't really make any sense. Having said that, it actually is a good way to end the album. There's no redemption, there's no grand answer that ties these two kids together. I actually have no idea why Green Day felt the need to have two characters when the themes are the same, and there's no real love story. In the end, they simply "want to see the light" - but here, they never get to see it. I assume we've got a sequel set-up here. I just hope that the follow-up, if it's going to follow storyline style, has a more cohesive thought process. (3/5 stars)
Having been a fan of Alain Johannes since his Eleven days, I took notice of this new release this week. Alain is a pop-rock songwriter who often managed to attack the genre with some originality and panache. Breaking into some minor chords and some Eastern influences here and there with non-standard transcendental meditative lyrics. This was seen throughout Eleven's career as well as his work with Chris Cornell.
