SOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-Everything to Everyone (2003) & Barenaked for the Holidays (2004).
Everything to Everyone. I was pretty down on this album when it first came out. I remember being rather disappointed in it because BNL had, gasp, matured somewhat, and were making more “serious,” less “wacky” songs. To me, the whole CD was somewhat flat. But, after a recent listen (possibly the first time in 4 years) and expecting the worst, I was pleasantly surprised by the record.
“Celebrity” is a decent start off, although it breaks from their standard set up of rollicking lead off tracks. “Maybe Katie” is a somewhat disappointing track 2 (a track that seems to produce great results for them)…. It seems to be so close to a single, yet it just misses. There is a somewhat zany song “Shopping,” which sets off a run of three or four good songs. It also ends on a pretty high note with, “Have You Seen My Love?” being a slow, but, sensibly, short song, so it doesn’t just drag on.
The noteworthy thing about this album, is what its title alludes to: everything for everyone. It seems like this album has fifteen different styles at work. There’s an Irish jig type song, a crazy rocking song, a soft ballad, a salsa beat. Basically everything is on here. It’s either crassly commercial or (more likely) a funny jab at their complex styles.
The overall sound of the album is definitely more mellow and “mature” than their earlier ones. There’s not a lot of outright silliness involved, and the tunes themselves have certainly calmed down a lot. If you’re not expecting the zany BNL of old, then the album works pretty well. Just don’t have high hopes for “If I Had $1,000,000.”
Barenaked for the Holidays. This has become one of my favorite Christmas/holiday records (and it’s a good time of year to be writing about it.) It ranks up there with Brave Combo’s It’s Christmas, Man, 
South Park’s Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics, 
Sufjan Steven’s great boxed set Presents Songs for Christmas, 
and Brian Wilson’s What I Really Want for Christmas, 
which has also quickly jumped to the top of my Xmas list.
BNL’s is definitely silly, but it is also somewhat reverential for the time of year. They mix classics with originals (and if Jews don’t adopt “Hanukkah Blessings” as an official Hanukkah song, then they have no taste!).
The recording is a mix of old and new tracks (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” was recorded almost ten years (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS-Anthology: Through the Years (2000).
To me, Tom Petty suffers more than anyone else from egregious overexposure. I’m not sure if it’s just me who feels that way, but in my experience, “Free Fallin'” was utterly inescapable for what seemed like an eternity. And, geez, his mug was all over MTV when that album came out. It got so bad that I simply decided I was done with him.
SOUNDTRACK: MOTHERHEAD BUG-Zambodia (1993).
Motherhead Bug is the creation of David Ouimet. David was my boss at Tower Records way back when. He has been in some other influential NYC bands like Swans and Cop Shoot Cop, and he’s worked with Foetus as well. He has since moved on to bigger and better things, including doing wonderfully creepy illustrations for YA books (like Cat in Glass and Double-Dare to Be Scared).
SOUNDTRACK: FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS-The Distant Future EP (2007).
SOUNDTRACK: MARILLION-Fugazi (1984).
Ah, the delights of Marillion. My best friend in high school, Al, got me into Marillion. And he started me off with this record. As such, I can’t imagine how I could realistically critique it. I must have listened to this thing hundreds of times at this point. I also got into the other Marillion albums (until the theatrical madman and lead singer, Fish, departed). I did get one post-Fish album, Season’s End, but didn’t think too much of it. Although I still regard them highly, and anyone who names an album Anoraknaphobia is still alright in my book, I haven’t heard a note of anything post-Season’s End.
SOUNDTRACK: TORI AMOS-American Girl Posse (2007).
I had been pretty down on Tori records since Scarlett’s Walk, which I felt was kind of blah. The Beekeeper followed and it didn’t do that much for me either. So, I was basically not that excited when this latest record came out. I probably would have gotten it eventually, but then my wife bought it for me for my birthday. Thank you!
SOUNDTRACK: THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH-Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989) & Choke (1990) & 0898 (1992) & Miaow (1994) & Blue is the Colour (1996) & Quench (1998) & Painting It Red (2000) & Goldiggas Headnodders and Pholk Songs (2004).
When the Housemartins broke up and The Beautiful South sprang into existence, I was working at our college radio station. I received a Beautiful South poster of the debut album, Welcome to the Beautiful South, and I remember hanging it on the hallway bulletin board of our dorm. It stayed up there an unreasonably long time for a public bulletin board Maybe everyone liked the picture of the women with the gun in her mouth. But really, that’s all I knew about them for a pretty long time. Then sometime around Blue is the Colour, I started paying attention to them and really started to like them. I was also amazed to hear that Carry On Up the Charts, their greatest hits record was one of the best selling records in England at the time. 
So, I thought I would have to check them out more fully.
SOUNDTRACK: GUSTER-Lost and Gone Forever (1999) & Keep It Together (2003).
Lost and Gone Forever: Guster’s third album is an unreasonably good one. The songs are all tight and catchy, the production is really warm and inviting, and the choruses just make you want to sing along to every one. Major highlights include: “Barrel of a Gun,” “Fa Fa,” “All the Way Up to Heaven,” and “Two Points for Honesty.” And the rest of the record is just as strong. 
SOUNDTRACK: SQUEEZE-Singles 45s and Under (1982).
This record came out in 1982. When I was in college in the late 80s, we used to joke that every freshman was issued a copy of Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits, because it was played virtually every day by someone. It seemed that Squeeze’s Greatest Hits may have been issued as an alternate. I never really thought much of this record back then. I enjoyed it, especially “Pulling Mussels From a Shell,” but I never really considered the quality of the record. Since then I learned that Difford and Tilbrook are up there with Lennon and McCartney and Jagger and Richards, or, if not that grand, at least with Forster and McLennon of the Go Betweens. So I grabbed this CD to play at a party and gave it some scrutiny, and I have to say it is a terrific album. I know for a Greatest Hits, it should be, but man, they can write songs that are stories, or observational or even funny and yet not sound twee or noveltyish. 
SOUNDTRACK: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE-The Black Parade (2006).
I know that Green Day is derivative. It’s obvious that they aren’t the originators of any kind of punk anything, and yet, they seem to have been the catalyst for a new breed of poppy punk bands, and they make an excellent reference point for these snotty young kids who sing catchy choruses with brash guitars. My Chemical Romance follow in a Green Day footstep. I don’t know too much about their previous records, but this one garnered rave reviews, so I thought I’d check it out. It seems to be some kind of concept album.
I Just Read About That... 