Got a few CDs today. Yes, at Rasputin’s. Since you guys always ask what I get, I might as well detail them here. But they’re just going to be first impressions, so bear with me. Or not.
First one: Hootenanny. By The Replacements. Again. It’s their second album, and it is pretty good. It’s not as great as Let It Be or Tim, but most of the tracks are pretty interesting. The title track is kind of sloppy, but considering that all of the band members switch instruments, and all Paul Westerberg does (besides play drums) is repeat the title. During the whole song. There’s also “Run It,” which is very energetic, and only lasts about a minute. And “Color Me Impressed,” which is pretty much a pop rock song. The song that stood out to me the most was “Lovelines,” which is a catchy, upbeat, shuffle blues thing with Paul reading from the news. He doesn’t even sing, but it still feels like it is in rhythm to the song. Pity it’s only 2 minutes. Then again, it would get tedious if it was longer. I guess it’s better to leave them wanting more.
Next; Ocean Eyes, by Yellowcard. I have no idea why I got this. Maybe because it was $1.95. It’s not particularly interesting, but it’s not bad, not bad at all. Apparently Yellowcard has a violinist, which is almost unheard of in a “so-called” punk band, but it fits in nicely with some of the ballad-ish songs, like “View From Heaven.” “Miles Apart” is also catchy.
I also got a soundtrack to a movie. It’s a romantic comedy about a bunch of 20-somethings and their love problems. Doesn’t sound like me, does it? Well, I bought the Footloose soundtrack before, so this doesn’t seem so bad. Then again, most of the songs on the soundtrack for Singles is from the early 1990s grunge era, so there. All of the big names are here; Pearl Jam (“Breath” is pretty good), Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, Soundgarden… Well, all of them except Nirvana. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was supposed to be used, but when it got famous, the royalties got too expensive. There are also a few artists like Jimi Hendrix and Paul Westerberg that seem out of place, but it doesn’t matter, since their songs are good too (especially Paul’s “Dyslexic Heart”).
Return of the Rentals is basically a new wave album. That’s what it sounds like to me, at least. The Rentals are fronted by Matt Sharp, who you would know if you were paying attention to one of my previous posts (no, he is not one of Nirvana’s drummers). It’s kind of boring, and definitely not as exciting as The Cars, but Return of the Rentals has songs that it would feel good to sit in a hammock and rock back and forth too (“My Summer Girl”).
Do you know who The Presidents of the United States are? They’re a power pop/post-grunge band that don’t even play guitar or bass. They play a “basitar” and a “guitbass,” which sound ridiculous, but add effect to their short, stupid (in a great way), often humorous songs. What do you expect from a band whose first single is “F*ck California”? Unfortunately, that song is not their debut album, which I got. You may have heard of “Lump” on Pandora, but another great song is “Kick Out The Jams,” which has a cool riff and great drum parts.
The Who is one of those classic rock bands that still sound relevant today. All of their musicians are insanely good (John Entwistle is one of my all time favorite bassists) Their soundtrack (again!) to their documentary The Kids Are Alright is able to stand on it’s own as a great (but at times inconsistent) live album with great versions of stuff like “My Generation,” where the bass drum explodes (I’m not kidding; Keith Moon filled it with explosives), “My Wife,” and a couple of tracks recorded in the studio (the live tapes didn’t work); “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which sound alive (I can’t think of a better word, I know it’s redundant), compared the versions on Who’s Next (great album, by the way).
Wednesday, October 13th, 1982
Volume 4, Number 79
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