Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Being introduced to my future.
Author: Gary Cope
My friend, Jason, and I were talking today about our individual introductions to punk and to the punk scene. We had vastly different intros because he was older and we grew up in very different areas of California. My friend, Sean, had an older brother who was willing to take us along, at 13, to see the mighty Black Flag at some warehouse in a seedy part of L.A. Read the rest of this entry »
read comments (0)The Scientific Method… meets Kiss (III)
Author: Keith
If you’ve read the previous two posts here, you know the deal - we’re using science to figure out which Kiss album is the best Kiss album… eva! Last time we left off midway through the Kiss solo albums, so it’s time to finish up the solo records, get to the reason this post even happened, and of course - listen to ‘Music from the Elder’.
Peter Criss (1978)
While this album wins the award for ‘most un-Kiss solo album’, it doesn’t win the award for ‘worst Kiss solo album’, thanks to Paul. It all sounds kind of…. I don’t know, 60s? in terms of the songwriting, but that’s probably helped along by the cover of ‘Tossin and Turnin’ and the song I thought was a cover ‘That’s the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes’. Speaking of, I REALLY like that song (That’s the kind of sugar…), and I can’t say I’m entirely pleased admitting that, it sounds very ‘Hi my name is Keith… and I have a Kiss-listening problem’). Anyway, the bad moments on this record are pretty damn bad, and there aren’t many good ones, either. No wonder this was the lowest-selling solo album.
Gene Simmons (1978)
This record is slightly more Kiss-like than the two just mentioned, and it does have a few interesting moments (”Living in Sin”, “Radioactive”), it’s only good when compared to Peter and Paul’s albums. I never realized it until this experiment, but these albums don’t really sound like Kiss much - even this album is an album I would have assumed (before listening) sounds a lot like what we think of when we think of Kiss, but it just doesn’t. Plus, Gene’s songs all reek of egomania you know? Like damn - like yourself much? I’ll See you in Your Dreams? Though I think we can all thank Gene for having a song that rhymes ‘living in sin’ with ‘Holiday inn’, a time-tested piece of lyrical brilliance that Chingy would then resucitate 25 years later.
Ace Frehley (1978)
While it may not be saying much, this is an absolute no-brainer as the best solo record, sporting a bunch of really cool songs (”Ozone, “Snowblind” and “New York Groove”) and sounding the most like Kiss after the other three solo records. This record probably even cracks the top 10 in terms of Kiss albums, its weak moments aren’t as weak as many Kiss albums’ weak moments - but it’s not a candidate for the best Kiss record ever. Next!
Dynasty (1979)
Kiss does Disco! Well, that was the big tag line about this album anyway, that Kiss had ‘gone disco’ and all. Sure, the song ‘I was Made For Loving You” was disco-ish and the surprisingly cool ‘Sure Know Something’ has a little bit of that too, but this is still a pretty good Kiss album top-to-bottom. Plus, ‘I was Made for Lovin you’ is cool! Some people disagree I’m sure, but I don’t hear Kiss trying too hard to be disco here, I just hear a band that made a rock record with some disco overtones here and there. This isn’t their best album, but deserves a quick mention in the conversation.
Unmasked (1980)
And now, here we are - the reason behind this excursion involving the scientific method. Yes, I ended up taking a few weeks off from this - sometimes you just get busy - and that’s a good thing, probably. So how does this, the album that I thought would be the best Kiss album ever, hold up?
Well, um…
Not good.
See, it turns out it’s not that good. It does have some songs I like (”Shandi”, “What makes the World Go Round”, and “Tomorrow”), it feels like the songswriting is a little more mature maybe? Or maybe I’m just thinking ahead to Kiss’s ‘cash in on ***’ years that are right around the corner. Anyway. This album isn’t that good, and really when you think about it I have Science and the Scientific Method to thank - without doing this experiment I would have walked around like an idiot, claiming ‘Unmasked’ is their best record yet and probably been committed to a mental institution on the spot. Whew!
Music from the Elder (1981)
This is one of the most hyped ‘bad’ records ever, when you think about it. To show how far-reaching the suck from this record is, I’m listening to the NFL Network on Sirius a few weeks back and they bring some guest on, only to be prefaced by some absolutely horrible song. I mean, horrible! The two hosts - in remote locations - have nothing to say about this horrible piece of ‘bumper’ music other than an awkward pause and a “uhhh, wow. We need to talk to our producer”. At this time, the guest reveals that he and the producer - both in New York - were talking about “Music from the Elder by Kiss, one of the worst albums ever” and the producer played a cut from it (”A world without heroes”) as a joke.
That’s how bad this album sucks. Actually, it’s not so much that it’s bad - it’s that it’s not Kiss. Well okay, a lot of it is pretty bad. I’m really doing all I can to find something redeeming about it, but it’s hard. So, yeah. Let’s move on then.
Creatures of the Night (1982)
Many Kiss fans put this in their top Kiss albums ever, and I’m with them on this. Hell, the massive-sounding drums that begin “I love It Loud” are practically enough, me being a drum
junkie and all. But aside from that, the album is top-to-bottom solid without one bad cut. It’s the one album that straddles their riff-oriented best from the arena rock days with the tight production and bigger sound of their records later on in their career. This one’s in consideration for the top spot for sure.
Well, as long as Step 5 was…. it’s now done. Many albums by Kiss digested, and only the final step of the Scientific Method to go.
Anthony Hamilton
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
anthony hamitlon/ The Point of It All/ So So Def/ Zombra Label Group
The six-time Grammy-nominated R&B-soul balladeer croons a melodic picture of life using straightforward lyrics as his mellifluous paintbrush on his junior effort The Point of It All: “Talking about relationships again… everything from making love to building love; having arguments, just life!”
Too Old to Punk?
Author: Anthony Medici
Folks, I’m going to need some help here. I’ll need your thoughts on this. Lately, I’ve felt the stirrings of a new infatuation, and I don’t know what to do about it. Should I indulge my passion, or impose some self-restraint? Am I too old to develop yet another liaison, or should I rest comfortably with my old flames? Oh, I’m not talking about my personal life, or, at least not that aspect of my personal life. No, this is about yet another musical infatuation: Punk. What I need to know is whether it is seemly for an aging Baby Boomer to launch himself into a passionate affair with punk rock. Read the rest of this entry »
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Mind
Author: Anthony Medici
Sometimes the mind just gets to wandering and wondering:
*** I was channel surfing the other night and came across several shows featuring music (I think it must have been a PBS fund-raiser night, when they play all the stuff you love but which they don’t play any other time of the year). There was a show on Jimi Hendrix; another on Luciano Pavarotti; and yet another on Pete Seeger. I watched each with deep pleasure. As different as they each were from one other, I began to mull why I found them all so compelling and enjoyable. Read the rest of this entry »
Power to the People
Author: Anthony Medici
If you were around in the 60s, you’ll remember the slogan, “Power to the People,” was very much in the air, and on the lips of every self-respecting radical (should I have put that word in quotes?), We didn’t quite know what it meant, but it felt right to say it (or yell it). We did know that we were telling several generation of rule-makers, those who set the rules that could send us off to war, to bugger off (to put it cleanly). Well, that was then; can anyone say it now without being laughed out of the room (or the convention hall?). Is that progress? Don’t know. Well, since this is a music blog, I’ll move on to the point of this post, which is the album jazz saxaphonist Joe Henderson recorded in May of 1969, capturing the spirit of the moment in its title, “Power to the People.” Read the rest of this entry »
Rating Led Zeppelin albums
Author: Dan Gephart
Ever since my kids got Guitar Hero last year, my classic rock expertise has become hip again. They find it amazing that I can name any song on our South Florida rock station 98.7 The Gater, and usually within 10 seconds. OK, that may not impress you. But it floors my kids. And since they think everything else I do is either stupid or old (they are teen-agers), I have to enjoy whatever compliments I can get.
It’s strange hearing one son blast Kansas and Boston. (Boy, could he have picked two more faceless bands?) Meanwhile, my other son digs Billy Joel. They’ve been playing U2 nonstop the last few days. And now when they find out about a band, they ask me which album is the best.
Stairway to Heaven at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Author: Anthony Medici
Through forces beyond my control, I found myself spending a WEEK in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago. Such a predicament could hardly be anticipated. You know the old joke, first prize is a week in Philadelphia; second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia. The Grand Prize must be a week in Cleveland. But honestly, it wasn’t all that bad. The weather was perfect (thank God my visit did not happen in mid-winter. I can only imagine the cold and snow blowing in off Lake Erie). I had business that kept me–well– busy, and the time eventually came for me to drive away from the affectionately (?) nicknamed “mistake by the lake.” But while I was in Cleveland, I took some time to visit the much-touted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (hereafter HOF), and this post contains my reflections on that visit, foremost among them: What the heck is the HOF doing in Cleveland!? Read the rest of this entry »
My hunch is that the vast majority of people reading this are not independently (or even dependently) wealthy. That means that most likely, we’re all looking for ways to get some impact out of the money we have in terms of everything, including music. While I didn’t plan it this way, I’ve had a lot of cool little music things happen over the last 12 days - and they’re all cheap. So why not share?
Discovered Gem: Oregon “Together” with Elvin Jones
Author: Anthony Medici
I have only a glancing acquaintance with the group Oregon, although some of its members, like Ralph Towner are known to me. I suppose I’ve heard enough to be interested if not convinced. I invite Oregon fans to post to this blog entry and voice your thoughts about the group. My own initial impression is that the group had some interesting musical ideas, the overall result was a bit pallid and airless. Nevertheless, when I came across the Oregon LP “Together” (Vanguard, 1976) in a recent used LP foray, I was intrigued by the match up of master jazz drummer, Elvin Jones, with the group. If Oregon seemed pallid, Elvin was anything but, typically offering an explosion of power and drive. This, I thought, was a match up that was either a disaster or something special. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s That Time Of The Year!
Author: Dee
Rock Band: Must Be Played To Be Remotely Understood
Author: Melissa
Hello, everyone! Today, for your reading pleasure, I will give an account of my brief encounter with pop culture. That is, pop culture that is actually still popular at the time of the encounter: participation in the Rock Band video game.
Okay, there’s something I must admit: the reason I don’t usually deal with popular entertainment is because I have seen it get very addicting, especially in technology. First it’s this gidget, then it’s that gadget. As soon as you get your iPod, you have to ditch it to get an iPhone, which you must immediately use to locate the nearest store selling iPhone 3G’s. At least the Harry Potter books always operated properly and never crashed! True, there are some of you out there who have been able to restrain, but unfortunately, I have never met you. Regardless, I’m not hear to scold those with the love of expensive, hi-tech toys. I am hear to tell a tale!!
As, I was saying, my story begins innocently. A friend I hadn’t seen in a while called and asked if we could meet at my house. After a few rounds of pool, she asks, “Melissa, have you ever played Rock Band?”
“No,” I said. “But I’ve heard of it. Why?”
“Oh, because the girl up the street just got it and we need a guitarist. I was wondering, since you play guitar, if you would be interested.” I said I was interested. We then went to the girl’s house and thus began my adventure with relevant culture.
Most wouldn’t argue when I said walking into that basement is like walking into a Best-Buy. Shelves of DVDs and video games sit next to a huge flat-screen television, there is one computer for every family member, and there is not one, not two, but FIVE guitar-shaped controller-thingies, six counting the one for Guitar Hero for Wii.
I must now admit something else…putting the strap of one of those controllers over my head and getting ready to play was one of the more frightening experiences I have had in my short life. I guess it scared because had never even touched a game controller. What if I stunk at this game? What if they found my inexperience uncool? (Please do not ask me why I sweat silly stuff like whether or not I’m “cool”!( It turned out be in vain, anyway. On the first try, I got an 84% accuracy grade and the title of “Energy Grabber”.
Anyone whose played the game has said the controller and actual guitars are very different, and I see what they mean. The controller’s method of using buttons for notes instead of frets and strings makes it definitely easier to play, but the difficulty is not lower by much at all. It was a pleasant surprise to note that a certain amount of familiarity with rhythm was needed, particularly on tracks like Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ”Dani California”. I did very well for a first time, but was only was able to stay on medium level for a small bit of time. Apparently, adding an extra button can throw you off more than I thought.
All in all, it was an interesting glimpse at the world of relevant culture. I enjoyed it very much. However, I do not want to hear “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” ever again!
See Ya!
Thinking About: Oscar Brown Jr.
Author: Anthony Medici
There has always been a relative paucity of male jazz singers. This is one area of jazz where women dominate. The only male jazz singer today who commands my respect, if not always my appreciation, is Kurt Elling. His “Man in the Air” is masterful, and leagues above what any other male jazz singer is doing. Elling’s respect to Mark Murphy is admirable; his infatuations with Jon Hendricks is less well-advised. But Elling is generally adenturesome and often fearless, and for that, he is worthy of respect and attention. Most others are to busy trying to channel Sinatra. In any event, this blog post is about another master jazz vocalist, Oscar Brown Jr. Brown died a few years ago, and I am afraid may already be slipping into relative obscurity. Not for lack of talent; more likely for an abundance of political consciousness. Read the rest of this entry »
I Promised Myself I Wouldn’t Say Anymore About WBGO, but…
Author: Anthony Medici
…then I took another trip to the New York/ New Jersey area last weekend and found myself thinking that WBGO should advise listeners who are driving to keep their windows rolled down for fresh air lest the programming lull them to sleep while they are behind the wheel. OK, I’m being snarky. In previous responses to my blogs on WBGO, I was told to give the station more of a listen than I had time to do on my last trip, which I thought was fair, so I kept the station locked in until I couldn’t stand it any more. But this was initially going to be a blog about about baseball and jazz, so let me tell you about that first. Read the rest of this entry »
No More Bruce…Please!
Author: Dee
So, a couple of years ago, I found myself in a focus group that WXPN called a “Listening Board”. It was hosted by Bruce Warren and Roger LaMay, who are both the program director and the general manager of the station.
The Return of Return to Forever: Going Nowhere?
Author: Anthony Medici
“FUSION LIVES!” trumpets the cover of August 2008 Jazz Times. “They’re Back!” screams the August 2008 cover of Downbeat. Two cover stories in the same month in the main jazz monthlies. What’s going on here? Well, for one thing, the hype machine is in Full Hot Air Mode. For another, the PR-driven, editorially compromised character of the primary jazz mags stands nakedly revealed. The Big Sell is on. Are you buying? Read the rest of this entry »
Hold Steady deliver again.
Author: Dan Gephart
What’s this? Talk-box guitar? A theremin? A banjo? Yes, that’s the new Hold Steady. But don’t believe what you’ve read elsewhere. The new Hold Steady is the same as the old Hold Steady. They’ve just added a few new instruments and a couple guest appearances.
Read the rest of this entry »
Mo choices, mo music!
Author: Dee
It’s the same thing every year; XPN puts on a four day music festival and then we’re asked to make lists of our favorites of eight hundred, eighty five something or another into to a “top ten” list format based upon our preferences.
A Hapless Solo Bear Watches Man And Sighs
Author: Jeff Boule
Chris Arduser is not now, nor will he ever be a household name. But I would rather keep this Chris Arduser in tact as opposed to some record label machination. I have come to know and love Deathy (as he is known in the inner circles of the Bear’s cave) through his work with Adrian Belew and the Bears, the Psychodots and later Raisins, Graveblankets and his own solo albums.
Read the rest of this entry »
Just about everyone I know has a “You haven’t seen” movie. You know, the movie you haven’t seen that is considered a classic - the one when you SAY you haven’t seen it, someone remarks “Wait, you haven’t seen (whatever movie)?” This is usually followed by some sort of action plan requiring you to see the movie immediately, even if you’re in the middle of mowing your lawn or something (though why you’d be discussing movies while mowing your lawn is kind of lost on me. But hey whatever, it’s your life). Anyway, many genres of music have the same type of thing. And if you’re down with the Metal and HAVEN’T heard ‘Reign in Blood’ by Slayer…. why haven’t you? Damn, stop mowing the lawn and listen to the record!
There’s a reason that you can go anywhere now and hear people randomly shout ‘Slayerrrrr!‘ every time something comes up that rocks (I heard someone say it at DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist’s ‘The Hard Sell’ tour!)…. and that reason goes back to Reign in Blood. It’s my favorite record ever, 29 minutes of thrash metal perfection.
And now, there’s a book about it.