Skip to main content

Sound Bites

Though I've been buying music at an alarming clip this year, lately I just haven't encountered any discs that are screaming for a full length review. BUT, here are some brief thoughts on what's been spinning in my head.

80. Teenage Fanclub - Man-Made
The Scottish rockers' 7th album is not as immediately satisfying as their previous two (1997's Songs From Northern Britain and 2001's Howdy), but give it time and you'll find their gifts for gentle melody and harmony are just as sparkling as ever. This band is a real treasure.

Grade: A
Fave Song: Flowing



81. Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947
Mr.Aimee Mann is not prolific or flashy, but he is a craftsman. His first album since 2000 (only the fifth in his 19 year career) is another solid effort. Unfortunately it's also just as unexciting as the rest of his catalog. This one attempts a theme around events that happened in the title year. I can't really follow it, and I'm puzzled as to why there are two tracks of white noise (The Transistor and 18 September).

Grade: B-
Fave Song: On Automatic

82. Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree
You can never have enough emo. These guys love a long, funny song title (e.g. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"), but thankfully they keep the songs mostly serious. The album bops along singable and irresistible until it loses just a tiny bit of momentum on the thirteenth and final song.

Grade: B+
Fave Song: I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me

83. M.I.A. - Arular
Sometimes I wonder if critics will ever get tired of collectively going completely apeshit over a certain artist. For the music fan, hearing the actual album usually ends up feeling a empty after the avalanche of glowing reviews. But M.I.A. isn't your usual indie collective with oblique songs and an oboe player. Instead she's a British-by-way-of-Sri Lanka kitchen sink mix of dance, international, and hip-hop. It's definitely something new and arresting. U.R.A.Q.T. even appears to sample the Sanford and Son theme!

Grade: B
Fave Song: Bucky Done Gun

84. The Wallflowers - Rebel, Sweetheart
This album solidifies The Wallflowers as a trusty rock 'n' roll unit who can be counted on to produce quality albums. That's a rarity. While nothing is as thrilling as the best songs from Red Letter Days, it's a stronger album as a whole. The melodies are insinuating, and Jakob Dylan consistently shows a gift for clever turns of phrase ("who will ignore me when you're gone?"). Wonder where he got that?

Grade: A-
Fave Song: The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon

I suppose I should have known the saga of REO Speedwagon couldn't end with a whimper. Before I get into the latest developments, here's a brief review of what's happened so far: In September 2024 came the announcement that the band was effectively breaking up at the end of the year. Apparently, frontman Kevin Cronin ruled that bassist Bruce Hall was no longer fit to continue touring following back surgery in summer 2024. Hall felt otherwise. Here we learned that REO had essentially become a three-way partnership between Cronin, Hall, and Doughty (who retired from touring in January 2023) following the departure of original members Alan Gratzer and Gary Richrath in 1988. Doughty sided with Hall, so Cronin was outvoted 2-1. No Bruce Hall, no REO Speedwagon. In December 2024 Cronin revealed he would continue performing REO Speedwagon songs with the two musicians who replaced Doughty and Hall, as well as Brian Hitt and Dave Amato (who replaced Gratzer and Richrath), with the on...

Stuck, or Obsession Cessastion

You may have noticed that things have slowed down around here. I had the summer off from teaching, and I spent it with my 7 month-old son. I gave myself permission to make this blog less of a priority. Well, "less of a priority" is putting it lightly. Initially, I considered an abrupt retirement. But then I reconsidered. Maybe the proximity to Brett Favre is causing this. If you're a long time reader, this is probably not all that surprising to you. Since 2007, it has become an annual ritual for me to soul-search about my waning interest in music. First I blamed an inability to express myself and a lack of quality music . Then in 2008 I cited new technology and the death of the album . Last year I wrote about how my changing life priorities hindered my ability to seek out new music. I've done a lot of thinking about it this summer and in truth I believe this was all just dancing around the issue, a slow realization of something I didn't want to admit to myse...

Billy Joel: 1980 - 1977

When I decided to write about every single Billy Joel studio album I knew had a bit of a leg up in that I'd written reviews of a handful of his records already. What I didn't realize until just now was that those reviews were of albums that had been released consecutively between 1977 and 1980. As I reread those reviews - the most recent of which is 14 years old! - I found that I still stand by them. My writing style has mellowed a bit, and I no longer give grades to albums, but otherwise my opinions then are my opinions now. So here you go... Billy Joel: Glass Houses (1980) Billy Joel: 52nd Street (1978) Billy Joel: The Stranger   (1977)