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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

The Cranberries - Chicago 11.25.09 - Review

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

I’m a 90s alt-rock fan. Most people that get to know me realize this and if you’ve read any of my music reviews on this site, you’ve probably come to know that too. Oddly enough, I missed out on the 90s. Being home-schooled in an ultra-conservative, uber-religious household, I didn’t really get to see many of the movies or listen to much of the music from that era and have only really begun doing so in the last ten years or such.

So it stands that a lot of the bands of that time-frame, I missed out on. In the last couple of years, I’ve been making attempts to catch some of them if the chance arose, as I did when the Smashing Pumpkins played my hometown in August of 2008 and I intend to do when Alice in Chains plays St. Louis in February. And with the reunited Cranberries hitting Chicago, I knew it would be a show I wouldn’t want to miss.

riviera

My buddies Andy, Craig and I made the normally 3-hour trek to Chicago in a little over 4 hours thanks to traffic and weather, took a wrong turn off of Lake Shore Dr., ended up having to traverse back alleys and cemeteries to find a parking spot, and made it to the Riviera Theatre half an hour late. Luckily, there were still people streaming in and so the show hadn’t started yet. Unfortunately, it was standing room only and our spot initially wasn’t the greatest (until the fat guy in front of us moved after the fourth or fifth song and we suddenly had a fantastic view of the stage).

The show itself was okay. Don’t get me wrong: they’re the Cranberries and their music in concert is as good as it is on the CD. But for at least the first few songs, something seemed off, as if the band just wasn’t clicking. That changed however and they eventually found a rhythm and pumped out some life into the crowd. Still, the only two performers that seemed like they wanted to be there were singer Dolores O’Riordan and drummer Fergal Lawler, both of whom were much more fun to watch than the rest of the band.

cranberries

My other problem was, despite doing some new material and some of O’Riordan’s solo stuff, the concert seemed more like a meeting of fan’s expectations than a true show, with the band hitting each of their hits and not straying too far off the beaten path. That kind of bothered me as I would have liked a bit more depth to their set list, much as the Smashing Pumpkins injected into their when they did their 2008 mini-tour (however, “Zombie” right before the encore and “Dreams” as the final song still killed).

Still, despite those slight criticisms and the fact that it was a billion degrees inside the Riviera, the show was still enjoyable. It may not have been the same quasi-religious experience that the Pumpkins produced, but it was still better than some shows I’ve attended (I’m looking squarely at you, Nugent). And based on the new stuff they played, I look forward to them returning to the music scene, should they decide to release a new album.

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New Disc Reviews

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

The Resistance - Muse - Right off the bat, I’ll admit that this has been on a loop on my iPod in my car for the nearly two weeks that I’ve had it. Seriously, I dig this album a lot. I’m not an old school Muse fan, having only been introduced to them with their previous album, Black Holes and Revelations, so I can’t compare it to anything they did before that. However, when this album is mediocre, it is hitting at the best of BH&R; when it is good (tracks “The Uprising” and “United States of Eurasia”) it is superb. The whole thing is catchy and has a tendency to get stuck in my head. Highly recommended.

Black Gives Way to Blue - Alice in Chains - Wow. New Alice in Chains sounds more like regular Alice in Chains than any of the leading competitors. Which I’m not sure is good or bad at this point as I’ve only listened to it once all the way through. Sure enough, the album sounds exactly like Alice in Chains’ other albums, but at the same time, it sounds so much like them that I’ve yet to truly be able to differentiate it from their previous endeavors. There’s not enough that stands out to make me go “Oooh! Nice” and instead I feel more or less like I’m on a nostalgic flashback to the grunge-era. Not saying that it’s bad - it’s nice to know that these guys are at least performing at the same skill level that they were when they left us - but it’d be nice to hear their sound progress and evolve. I suspect that if they do another album it will, as my gut tells me that this album was more or less about getting back on their feet and reestablishing the identity of the band after Layne Staley’s death a few years back. Recommended for the heavy metal, grunge, or Alice in Chains enthusiast, but not to many others.

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Detektivbyrån – “Om du möter varg”

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Discovered this little gem thanks to director James Gunn and a post he made on Twitter:

I love the bizarre, carnival feel to the piece. It would be most appropriate in a horror flick of some sort, I think.

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Disarmed but Not with a Smile

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

Those that know me know that I’m a bit of a Smashing Pumpkins fan. I got into their music well after their 2000 break-up simply because that’s when I really began getting into alternative rock. I know that some people don’t consider the reformed Pumpkins the “real” Pumpkins, but only having half of the original members never bothered me.

Of course, yesterday I learned via my friend and writing partner Paul-Thomas Ferguson that original Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has left the group, leaving front-man and founder, Billy Corgan, as the sole remaining original member.

I have mixed feelings on this. While I’ll be the first to say that Billy Corgan is essentially the heart and soul of the Smashing Pumpkins, without having at least one other original member, the name kind of rings hollow to me. Bono with any three dudes besides the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton is just Bono. Put him with any one of the other three dudes, and I’d be willing to call that U2 (yes, I’m aware that Larry Mullen Jr. founded the band, but c’mon, Bono is the front-man). Same with the Pumpkins - while it might always have been the Corgan show, without one of the others it just becomes more apparent to me. It makes me that much more appreciative that I was able to see them in Davenport, IA at the Adler Theatre on August 8th of last year. Still, I wish Jimmy and Billy the best and hope they both continue offering some good tunes for years to come.

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FOL - Smashing Pumpkins - Review

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

During the Super Bowl a couple of weeks ago, Hyundai had a commercial that was edited by Billy Corgan, front man of the Smashing Pumpkins. During the commercial, a new Smashing Pumpkins single, FOL, debuted and Hyundai has made it available to download for free off of their website. Now, I’ve heard a few people saying that “the Smashing Pumpkins are selling out,” but when you listen to Corgan in interviews, he’s very interested in pursuing alternative methods of music distribution, including commercials, video games, and the internet (he’s said something along the lines of media being used to cross-promote each other and that he feels the day of standalone media - i.e. the album - is fading away). I don’t fall into the “sell out” mindset and so being the rabid Smashing Pumpkins fan that I am (I probably have more Smashing Pumpkins music than any other single artist - lots of demos, rarities, and b-sides), of course I downloaded it.

The verdict: I like it. I really like it. In has a vibe much more in line with the Pumpkins from ‘94-’98, I think. In fact, if you had told me that it was a long lost single from their golden years, I’d have easily believed it, as it definitely has more of that vibe and less of the Zeitgeist feel (after their previous album and the singles released since). The only noticeable difference to me is that perhaps Corgan lacks a little bit of the angstiness that he had during that time. That isn’t a knock to the song. It’s pretty catchy and I’ll probably have it rotation more regularly than the Pumpkins previous two singles: G.L.O.W and Superchrist. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone that digs Smashing Pumpkins, even as a casual fan. Head on over to SmashingPumpkins.com and give it a try.

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More Disc Reviews

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Dry - PJ Harvey - I missed a lot being raised in the middle of nowhere in the 90s by ultra-religious, uber-conservative parents, not the least of which was the alternative rock of the era. I actually didn’t start listening to music that wasn’t Contemporary Christian or Oldies until late in ‘97 (I was getting close to turning seventeen), and even then it was the mainstream pop station that played such things like Aqua, Chumbawumba, Spice Girls, and Shawn Mullins. The odd thing is, as I’ve begun expanding my musical tastes as an adult, it is the alternative rock that came about during my teenage years that I’m most drawn to. Whether it’s because that despite my youth spent in isolation I am still a product of that era as is the music and therefore I identify with it more or it’s just a coincidence, I’m not sure. But in the last year, I’ve noticed my tastes tend to be towards bands and artists from that time and so I’ve begun filling in the massive chunks of missing musical knowledge. I’d first heard of PJ Harvey from my buddy Seth a few years back. Didn’t really pay attention to her much at the time, nor when she showed up in a short film by one of my favorite directors, Hal Hartley. Then, the other night, I was on Wikipedia looking up 90s alternative rock and I saw her name. So, I opened up iTunes and began previewing her stuff. It was then that I realized she fit the bill for the kind of music I like and so I purchased her debut album from ‘92. I gotta say, I dig it. I’ve only listened to it twice thus far, but it fits right in there with Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, the Cranberries, and the other 90s alt-rock that I listen to on a regular basis. I’ll definitely be putting it in my regular rotation and am looking forward to acquainting myself with the rest of her discography.

Cease to Begin - Band of Horses - I looked into this band on the advice of my friend Justin. An indie rock band out of Seattle, I was sold by the first track on the album “Is There A Ghost,” about a guy wondering if his house is haunted. The rest of the album has held up, though, admittedly, I’ve only listened to it once. Still, even though it has a different style than Arcade Fire’s Funeral, I have the distinct feeling that this album will be similar to that one for me in that the more I hear it, the more I’ll like it.

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Some Disc Reviews

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

I picked up some new music recently thanks to a few iTunes gift cards and birthday money. Here’s what I got and my thoughts…

Black Holes and Revelations - Muse - I’d bought the songs “Knights of Cydonia” and “Assassins” off of iTunes about two years ago and had been meaning to buy the rest of the album but only recently got around to it. All in all, I’ve got to say, it’s probably one of my favorite albums that I’ve picked up in the last three or so years. I especially like the last half of the album, starting with the song “Assassins,” continuing with “Exo-Politics,” “City of Delusion,” “Hoodoo,” and ending with “Knights of Cydonia.” The overall feel reminds me of science fiction flicks from the late 70s and early 80s (visions of “Flash Gordan” and David Lynch’s “Dune” keep popping through my mind as I listen) and it seems almost like “space rock.”

Secret Machines - Secret Machines - Speaking of “space rock,” the band that describes their music that way had a new release out in October and only recently did I pick up Secret Machines self-titled, third album. I definitely enjoyed it more than their previous album, Ten Silver Drops, but not quite as much as their first album, Now Here is Nowhere. Still, it’s a littler edgier than TSD was and harkens back to NHiN, which in my mind is a good thing.

Dirt and Jar of Flies - Alice in Chains - Both albums are grunge classics and it’s surprising that I haven’t added them to my collection before this. As someone who’s been hearing such AIC songs as “Rooster,” “Them Bones,” “Down in a Hole,” and “No Excuses” on the radio for years, they were pretty much what I expected and didn’t disappoint.

Day and Age - The Killers - You know what? I haven’t been overly impressed with this one. Then again, I’ve only listened to it twice and it might not have had the chance to grow on me. But my initial reaction to it was that while being good, the Killers haven’t quite lived up to the potential they showed with their first album, Hot Fuss, which is still my favorite of theirs. Still, I’ll admit that “Human” is a catchy enough track and again, like I said, I’ve only listened to it twice, so it has room to grow with me, I suppose.

Third - Portishead - Okay, I picked this one up last summer, but I felt like writing about it. It may have taken eleven years between studio albums, but I thought this one was a worthy addition to the band’s discography. I haven’t listened to it in a few months, so it’s not as fresh in my mind as some of the others, but I do remember liking it.

Mercy…Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy - Ours - This one is downloading on iTunes as I speak and I’m listening to the first three tracks. So far, I’m digging this album more than I did the band’s previous venture from six years ago, Precious. Hopefully, the rest of the album lives up to the beginning.

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My Musical Style of Choice

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

I’ve given it a lot of thought, and for my money, alternative rock from the 1990s is about the best genre of music ever. You might disagree with me, but that’s fine: I said for my money, not yours. I think the reason I feel this is because to me, the rock coming out of the 90s had some balls. There was an almost lingering, unspoken threat behind 90s rock. I mean, c’mon, who would you expect to win in a fight? My Chemical Romance or the guys from Nirvana? Kanye West or the Smashing Pumpkins? The Jonas Brothers or Nine Inch Nails?

Seriously, in comparison, there’s a lot of artists out there that seem like pussies and they’re putting out pussy music. C’mon, how about a little anger in your music? Enough of the emo or the celebrating of celebrity; grow a pair and put a little angst into your music. I think that’s why when I do tend to stray into other genres of music - and I have from time to time - I tend to like darker stuff. I like Common and Nas in hip hop, because they don’t sound like pussies. I like Johnny Cash because he doesn’t sound like a pussy. Actually, I like a lot of the 70s rock because it had some teeth to it, but not the 80s because it was filled with hair and materialism.

In fact, I recently had a conversation where I said I think music goes in cycles: dark, light, dark, light. 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s. If that’s true, here in the next couple of years some bands should start popping up that will really bloom with some angst ridden stuff in the 10s. I hope so. If I have to hear Nickelback cry about photographs or Stone Sour tries looking at me through a glass one more time, I’m going to lash out at someone. Preferably, Seether, Hoobastank, Puddle of Mudd or any other one of those myriad of nameless, faceless, and personality-less acts that try passing themselves off as bands these days. And when they go away, can we please convince them to take indie rock with them? And Linkin Park. The less is said about them, the better.

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Smashing Pumpkins, Aug. 8, Adler Theatre, Davenport, IA

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

I went and saw the Smashing Pumpkins last night and man, were they good.

In fact, they were phenomenal.

Seriously, apart from seeing Clapton - who is a Rock God and in a league of his own - I’ve never been to a better show. When I found out last week that Smashing Pumpkins were coming to town, I knew that one way or another, I would find a way to go. They are easily one of my favorite bands and one of my biggest regrets about being homeschooled/extremely sheltered is not being able to enjoy 90s rock when it was going on. In fact, about the time I was getting into Smashing Pumpkins, they were announcing their break-up. With last year’s Zeitgeist, they came back.

Granted, it wasn’t the original line-up. D’arci and James Iha weren’t playing, but Smashing Pumpkins has always been the brain child of musical genius Billy Corgan. And with him headlining and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain banging away behind him, damn if it wasn’t Smashing Pumpkins.

My buddy Andy bought four tickets for the show as soon as I told him they were coming to town. One for him and his girlfriend, one for me ’cause he knew how badly I wanted to go (especially difficult because of unemployment…), and one more because he knew he’d find someone for it. His buddy Eric from work ended up joining us and we arrived at the Adler about ten minutes before showtime because it was all assigned seating. Still, the line stretched around the block. We found out about a side entrance where they were taking tickets and we were inside the building in no time.

What we didn’t realize when we got there was that Smashing Pumpkins were kicking off their 2008, ten city, small venue tour at the 2400 seat Adler Theatre in Davenport. We knew it was sold out but we didn’t realize we were the starting point of the tour. It made sense of course, seeing as they are from Chicago and we’re not far from there, but still, it was pretty great being the first stop of the year.

We got in line for drinks at the bar and waited and waited while the oldest bartenders known to man took care of everyone and the line slowly inched up to them. A half hour after the concert was supposed to start, we were still in line for drinks when we hear “Tarantula” off of Zeitgeist (my favorite off of the album), begin to start. We finally got our two double Captain ‘n Cokes each and made it in just as the second song began: “Siva”, off of Gish. I’ve got to say, that was a pretty kick-ass way to enter the theatre. We made our way to our seats, the second to last row in the balcony, but still, in an auditorium that only holds 2400 people, they were still great seats with a clear view at the stage and not all that far back.

I went in expecting to hear a lot of the stuff off of Zeitgeist, seeing as how that’s the newest CD, but it was probably about 2/3 of their older stuff. “Siva,” “Today,” “Perfect,” “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” and so many others that I’m forgetting right now. One of the highlights was “United States” from Zeitgeist, which on the album is nearly ten minutes and I swear in concert was closer to twenty.

There were a few songs that they didn’t play that I was hoping for, notably “Disarm,” “Cherub Rock,” and “1979.” But all of this was made up for in my mind when they played my absolute favorite Smashing Pumpkins song: “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning.” I seriously did not expect them to play it; it’s an alternate version of their 1997 Grammy Award winning song “The End is the Beginning is the End.” It’s much slower than that version and ten times creepier, but it’s just good. Right now, it’s getting some play because it’s the only music in the trailer for the movie Watchmen, which is why I think they played it. But even still, I was blown away that they actually chose it, as I didn’t think there was a shot in hell they’d play that with so much other great material in their catalog. It was a surprise. Billy Corgan didn’t even have his guitar the whole song - he just sang.

Even despite the other songs I was hoping for, their set list was still pretty fucking good and there wasn’t a bad one in the bunch. All in all, it was a surreal experience and the entire time I was thinking, “I’m at the Smashing Pumpkins!” Which was something I never really thought would happen. And the new members were actually pretty decent. As Dawn (who saw the original line-up back in 1996) said, their new members fit right in: a chick bassist and a guitarist who never lifts his head, just like Iha.

Wow. I’m still in shock. I liked that about halfway through, right after a slow set, Corgan got on the mic and said he wanted to talk about something important. “Politics,” he said, “are bullshit.” Paraphrasing the rest, he said “The politicians would have you believe that there are no more good times. We’re having a good time in here tonight. And (the Smashing Pumpkins) are going to be around for awhile.” I hope so. According to some of the show crew who Andy chatted up yesterday, next year the band will be doing a large city tour. If they come anywhere near here, Andy, Dawn, and I are planning on road tripping. It was that good and these guys are definitely worth seeing more than once. I know I’ll be trying to. If I can help it, I won’t miss a Smashing Pumpkins show if I can help it.

Oh yeah, another highlight: Corgan wore a silver skirt the whole time. Just like the old days. Hell yeah.

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