SOUNDTRACK: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-Spectres (1977).
Let’s face it, Blue Öyster Cult are silly. If I didn’t know better I would swear that Spinal Tap is a takeoff on them. And yet, they have such well regarded people associated with them: Patti Smith; Michael Moorcock! I first got into BOC because of MTV. Back when MTV first came out they played videos by basically anyone who had a video. And it seemed that at the time it was mostly new wave and metal bands. And naturally, we metal heads embraced all of the metal videos and scoffed at the new wave ones. But it was through MTV that I found out about some of the best metal bands around: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Blue Öyster Cult to name just a couple. And it was through MTV that I got Fire of Unknown Origin, my favorite BOC record. Several years later when I got to college my roommate was a huge Rush and BOC fan. He got me into BOC in a big way, and even though I know they’re silly, I still love ’em. And this album is a pretty strong classic.
It has the great silly song, “Godzilla.” The hilariously Spinal Tapesque “R U Ready 2 Rock” (with the great chorus answer: Yes, I am.) And of course, “The Golden Age of Metal.” It also contains possibly the worst BOC song I can think of “Going Through the Motions”: A tinkly keyboardy song that belies BOC’s metal roots, and the apparently unironic chorus that they are just “Going Through the Motions.” Weird. Anyhow, I’ve been enjoying the reissues of the BOC CDs, and am looking forward to the special treatment that Fire of Unknown Origin ultimately gets.
[READ: July 28, 2007] The Secret Language of Sleep: A Couple’s Guide to the Thirty-Nine Positions.
I bought this book through the McSweeney’s sale. It looked really funny. And it is. Funny enough that I can’t decide if it’s all a joke, or an actual guide tarted up like a joke. The premise is fairly simple: there are 39 different sleeping positions, grouped by one of the four “elements:” Sun, Wind, Sea and Wood. And these positions range from the common Spoon Position to the rather ludicrous Springloader. What is so very intriguing and simultaneously disconcerting about the book is the way claims to realism are balanced with great absurdity. Suggesting that the way you sleep can determine your personality seems reasonable, and further, that changing the way you sleep can similarly have an impact on your personality also seems plausible. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE ATARIS-So Long, Astoria (2003) & THE STARTING LINE-Say It Like You Mean It (2002).
THE ATARIS-So Long, Astoria. I am only reviewing this CD because of the circumstances in which I acquired it. Driving out of my driveway this morning, I was surprised by a shiny thing in my lawn. It turned out to be a CD. This one. Indeed, someone had thrown this CD out of their car (I assume) onto my lawn. [Later inspection uncovered two more CDs, one by a band I didn’t recognize and the other a burned CD with no writing on it… I can’t WAIT to see what it is!] So, anyhow, I had not heard the Ataris before, but had heard of them. And the record is okay. It’s sort of generic pop punk, meaning it is really catchy and fairly fast and I probably would have loved it if I were 18. Or maybe 16. This also features the cover of “Boys of Summer” that I remember hearing on the radio oh so many years ago. The only distinguishing feature of the song is they change the lyrics to a “Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac.” Otherwise, not much else of note.
SOUNDTRACK: NADA SURF-High/Low (1996) & The Proximity Effect (1998).
High/Low. This CD features the “novelty” hit “Popular” from some years back, you remember, the spoken word bit about trying to impress your high school sweetheart by washing your hair “every two weeks, once, every two weeks.” The song is pretty great, even after the novelty factor has worn off. However, you may feel that you got screwned (see What I Learned… (5)) if you thought the rest of the record would sound like that. For the most part High/Low is kind of forgettable, and a surprising lead off point to what are some really fine follow-up albums. Overall the sound is, not quite murky, but very samey. So that even the catchy parts sort of blend together. It was not until their next album that they start to show some great songwriting.
The Proximity Effect. As I understand it, when Nada Surf didn’t produce a hit like “Popular” for their second album, the label dropped them. Which is typically short-sighted because The Proximity Effect is a much better album. In fact, it contains a song akin to “Popular” called “Mother’s Day” but it is so much darker–almost the anti-“Popular.” It too has a spoken word type vocal, and yet the song is an anti-rape song. A dark subject to be sure, but the guitar riff is so great it stays in your head, and you wind up thinking even more about the song. The first four songs really break Nada Surf out of the sameyness of High/Low by introducing high notes! It really cracks through the grungy sound by including some contrast. However, it’s the next album, Let Go, that really shows Nada Surf taking off.
SOUNDTRACK: RICHARD THOMPSON-Sweet Talker (1992), Mirror Blue (1994), You? Me? Us? (1996).
Sweet Talker. I found this used. It’s a mostly instrumental soundtrack to a film no one (including me) has seen. There are a couple of “real” songs on it, but mostly this is notable for the origin of “Persuasion” a tremendous instrumental song that RT has reintroduced in recent times with lyrics. I think as a duet with Tim Finn. I’ve also heard it as a duet with his son Teddy, and it is truly a great song. This album can easily be overlooked though (even though, blah blah blah the songs are solid and well played, they are mostly just designed as background music).
Mirror Blue
You? Me? Us? As I mentioned before, this is the first RT album I ever bought. Weird place to start I guess. It is designed as a double CD with a Voltage Enhanced and a Nude disc. As you can tell the one disc is electric rockers, the other is acoustic (somewhat solo). My only gripe with the record is that usually the balance of soft and hard songs really compliments the record nicely. So, with this one, you don’t really have that. I also realized that since I was more of a rocker when I bought this, I listed to the Voltage disc a lot more than the Nude side. And why not? “Razor Dance,” which appears on both, and is strong in both incarnations, is really just sublime in the Voltage version. Such rage and such a great choppy electric guitar. This song really sold me on RT. Some other great tracks are “Dark Hand Over My Heart,” “Put It There Pal” (most of the lines of this song are always running through my head), and “The Ghost of You Walks.” A beautiful ballad is “She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair.” I don’t have as much to say about the Nude side, even though I did listen to it twice today and it was all pretty familiar and good. I guess I think they did two versions of “Razor Dance” and “Hide It Away” and figured they’d make it two discs instead of one long one. Which is fine. I would have liked the two discs intermingled is all.
SOUNDTRACK: RICHARD THOMPSON-Across a Crowded Room (1985), Daring Adventures (1986) & Rumor and Sigh (1988).
Across a Crowded Room. The only flaw I found with this one was that the backing singers and instrument choices really tend to date this record in the 80s. Some of the songs get a little bogged down, especially when compared to the raw live versions. That said, this disc has five songs that I think are amazing, and that’s just scanning the title list. “When the Spell is Broken” and “She Twists the Knife Again” just show the amazing range of styles that RT can pull off, from beautiful heartbreak to bitter rage. Stunning.
Daring Adventures. 
Rumor and Sigh. Wow. This is a high point. “Read About Love,” “I Feel So Good” (one of the greatest balls out rockers that no one knows about!), “I Misunderstood” (oh, emotional heart wringing right after the rocker!). And, here’s what I’m talking about regarding the timelessness of RT, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” (such a great, tender song about thugs) came out in 1991!? at the same time as “I Feel So Good?” That song simply has classic written all over it, and here it is barely 15 years old (and hey if that’s a long time to you you must not be over 30 yet). And “God Loves a Drunk,” such a sad mournful song that I first heard in a great cover by Mary Coughlan. And this is an aspect not really talked about yet…the number of songs he’s written that others have covered and–proving how great a songwriter he is–how others can makes them sound equally good. Must…stop…gushing. Since you’re here, go check out Richard’s 
SOUNDTRACK: ARCADE FIRE-Neon Bible (2007) [update].
I’ve decided my previous review was a little harsh. There are some tracks that do stand out. In fact, the first four tracks are really great. With “Intervention” being perhaps even better than “No Cars Go.” Then the ending is very solid. The middle tends to meander a bit, I’m afraid. And, I still stand by my comment that the highs and lows just aren’t here. The way to really notice this is to hear how great the highs and lows of “Intervention” and “No Cars Go” are. You really miss them on the rest of the album!
SOUNDTRACK: WEAKERTHANS–Reconstruction Site (2003) & Watermark (single) (2001).
I heard about the Weakerthans in, I think Esquire, of all places, in their Canadian Bands You Must Listen To article. They were described as more literate than The Decemberists, and even thought I have not actually included a Decemberists album yet, my love for them is pure. So I thought I’d check them out. Turns out the main Weakerthan used to be the main guy in Propagandhi, a fun, overly political punk band that I enjoyed when I was feeling overly political myself. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the Weakerthans keep a similar musical sensibility: catchy pop punk stylings, yet they are less angry and more introspective. The music is not as brash as other pop punk bands, in fact there are even some quiet parts! 
SOUNDTRACK: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY-How Strange, Innocence (2005).
Explosions in the Sky is one of those instrumental bands that the kids are raving about these days. Bands have been doing instrumentals forever, really, but I guess about a decade or so ago, some bands started specializing in an all instrumental format. Bands like Scenic, Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor are probably the forefathers, although to be honest I can’t think of too too many more bands doing the style (aside from the Constellation Label in general). These bands work a great, atmospheric sound, usually building to a crescendo and pulling away before reaching the ultimate climax. This album is EITS’ first, recently reissued. There are some bands who hit their stride running on their first record, these usually seem to be bands that aren’t too complicated. Nothing wrong with them, in fact their debuts are often stellar, as if they were born playing their style. EITS is not one of these bands. 
I Just Read About That... 