SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-In Your Face (1986).
Fishbone’s first full length starts out with two great songs. “When Problems Arise” has the great stop/start techniques that Fishbone uses so well, as well as a great riff and some fantastic funky bass playing. The second track “A Selection” has a great ska feel, and could easily be The Specials or Selecter; however, Fishbone throw in a bit of humor (“No toothpaste?”) to make the song their own.
The rest of the album is good, but it stands in the shadows of its follow up. (And, actually a bit in the shadow of the preceding EP). The album admirably mixes up styles throughout. It includes some of Fishbone’s lightest, most soul/gospel songs like “Movement in the Light,” but it also has some rocking tracks, especially the ending pair: “‘Simon Says’ The Kingpin” and “Post Cold War Politics” (the two songs together are less than two and a half minutes).
My copy still has the Used: $5.99 sticker on it, and I know I got it much later in my Fishbone appreciation. But really the only problem with the disc is that Truth and Soul and The Reality of My Surroundings are just so good, this one can’t compare. It’s a good stepping stone though.
[READ: December 26, 2008] “Lostronaut”
The title tells you pretty much all you need to know about this story. “Lostronaut” is set up as a series of letters from Janice (an astronaut) to her boyfriend, Chase. Janice is an astronaut at a space station called Northern Lights. Things are going pretty badly for all on board, and each letter tells of the deterioration of both ship and spirit. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 