Holy crap! It's more reviews of CDs!
Well, I figured, since Chris "Lefty" Brown has fired up another round of CD exchanging, I should try to finish checking out the ones I already got. I've been listening to nothing but the scads of CD goodness I received from all these varied bloggers, and I may have a handle on some more of them. Let's check them out:
First up, Johnny Bacardi and his "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag Mix or Captain Electric Strikes Back." (This is one reason why mine isn't as cool as the others - they all have cool names on theirs.) It's a good mix, but it's kind of strange - Johnny isn't that much older than I am, but it seems like he's from a whole different generation, musically-wise. That's not a knock, it's just a strange observation on my part. He's got a bunch of stuff from the Sixties, man! I really like the opening track, The Orange County Lumber Truck by good ol' Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. It's a nice way to kick everything off. There's a nice T. Rex song, King of the Mountain Cometh, and the beautiful Glastonbury Song by The Waterboys, or, as I call them, the band that Karl Wallinger was in before he went off and formed World Party. I really like It's All Too Much by Steve Hillage, someone I'd never heard of. Baby's In Black by some group called the Beatles, and it's not bad, but I have decided that I don't get the Beatles. I like them, and they're a good band, but I think they're kind of a "You had to be there" thing. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band have a nice little tune, Long Neck Bottles, and I really liked Bob Dylan's Catfish, even after I listened closely to the words and realized it was about Jim "Catfish" Hunter. Strange. Good song, though. A couple of other tracks stand out - St. Matthew by the Monkees (yes, the Monkees) is a really nice song about, well, a crazy lady, and Joe Henry's Let Me Have It All would be a nice way to end the disc, if Johnny didn't stick a Yoko Ono tune on the end. What a weird chick she is, and although I don't hate I Have A Woman Inside My Soul (duh, Yoko!), I don't love it. All in all, a very good disc that makes me want to take to the streets and protest at some sort of political convention. The Sixties Rule, man!
Next we have the contribution of Mercury X23, who really needs to update his blog more often. I like his disc, but two words come to mind when I'm listening to it: Cowboy Junkies. I dig the Cowboy Junkies, but they often put me to sleep. Mercury's mix is full of good tunes, but they are all rather ... somnolent. The Arcade Fire's Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) is a bit rollicking, and toward the end of the disc we get William Shatner's totally bizarre cover of Common People, but other than that, the disc needs a good kick in the ass. Individually, the songs are strong. See America by Grant-Lee Phillips is a nice tune, as is Chicago by Home. I enjoy El Caminos In The West by Grandaddy, as well as Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum. I have never been a Flaming Lips fan, but Lightning Strikes The Postman isn't a bad song, just kind of typical of why I don't really like them. I won't skip the song when I listen to this mix, because that would be rude, but I won't run out to buy a Flaming Lips CD any time soon. All in all, it's a bunch of good songs, but I would have liked more variety and less jangly guitars. The Shat rules, though.
Dorian's mix is next, and I think he's gay. WE GET IT! (I kid because I love, Dorian!) There's a lot of gay stuff on this disc, and ironically, it's when he's not giving us gay stuff that is mix is weakest. Weird. For instance: Phil Ochs' Pretty Smart On My Part is a fun tune, but I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy it on any more than a novelty level. Peter & Gordon's You've Had Better Times suffers from poor production quality, I have never liked Eartha Kitt, and I Want To Be Evil isn't going to change my mind (and let's face it - Julie Newmar was a much better, and hotter, Catwoman), Pirate Jenny by Nina Simone would, I think, work much better in the context of whatever show it's from, and Harvey Fierstein should NEVER sing (he does Love For Sale here). However, Shirley Bassey's up-tempo, disco-ish take on Hey Big Spender is very neat, Wig In A Box by the Polyphonic Spree is a nice, somewhat sad but also uplifting song, and If You Were Gay from the show Avenue Q is a wonderful parody of Bert and Ernie. I love the Magnetic Fields, and hearing I Thought You Were My Boyfriend from the latest album just makes me want to go out and buy it. Franz Ferdinand is a band that has gotten a lot of press recently, and Michael is a nice introduction to them (for me, at least - no, I haven't heard any of their other stuff, because I don't listen to the radio). The Scissor Sisters' Backwoods Discotheque is a fun song about, well, a backwoods discotheque. And I LOVE Soccer Practice by Johnny McGovern. I just makes me want to go all gay, which I'm sure is Dorian's insidious plot.
Again, there's nothing on these discs that I absolutely hate, and that's cool. These are interesting glimpses into others' psyches, which I suppose is the point. More soon!
Reminder: You only have until Tuesday to enter my free comics contest! I have received some excellent entries, but there's no reason why you shouldn't throw your hat in the ring!
First up, Johnny Bacardi and his "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag Mix or Captain Electric Strikes Back." (This is one reason why mine isn't as cool as the others - they all have cool names on theirs.) It's a good mix, but it's kind of strange - Johnny isn't that much older than I am, but it seems like he's from a whole different generation, musically-wise. That's not a knock, it's just a strange observation on my part. He's got a bunch of stuff from the Sixties, man! I really like the opening track, The Orange County Lumber Truck by good ol' Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. It's a nice way to kick everything off. There's a nice T. Rex song, King of the Mountain Cometh, and the beautiful Glastonbury Song by The Waterboys, or, as I call them, the band that Karl Wallinger was in before he went off and formed World Party. I really like It's All Too Much by Steve Hillage, someone I'd never heard of. Baby's In Black by some group called the Beatles, and it's not bad, but I have decided that I don't get the Beatles. I like them, and they're a good band, but I think they're kind of a "You had to be there" thing. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band have a nice little tune, Long Neck Bottles, and I really liked Bob Dylan's Catfish, even after I listened closely to the words and realized it was about Jim "Catfish" Hunter. Strange. Good song, though. A couple of other tracks stand out - St. Matthew by the Monkees (yes, the Monkees) is a really nice song about, well, a crazy lady, and Joe Henry's Let Me Have It All would be a nice way to end the disc, if Johnny didn't stick a Yoko Ono tune on the end. What a weird chick she is, and although I don't hate I Have A Woman Inside My Soul (duh, Yoko!), I don't love it. All in all, a very good disc that makes me want to take to the streets and protest at some sort of political convention. The Sixties Rule, man!
Next we have the contribution of Mercury X23, who really needs to update his blog more often. I like his disc, but two words come to mind when I'm listening to it: Cowboy Junkies. I dig the Cowboy Junkies, but they often put me to sleep. Mercury's mix is full of good tunes, but they are all rather ... somnolent. The Arcade Fire's Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) is a bit rollicking, and toward the end of the disc we get William Shatner's totally bizarre cover of Common People, but other than that, the disc needs a good kick in the ass. Individually, the songs are strong. See America by Grant-Lee Phillips is a nice tune, as is Chicago by Home. I enjoy El Caminos In The West by Grandaddy, as well as Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum. I have never been a Flaming Lips fan, but Lightning Strikes The Postman isn't a bad song, just kind of typical of why I don't really like them. I won't skip the song when I listen to this mix, because that would be rude, but I won't run out to buy a Flaming Lips CD any time soon. All in all, it's a bunch of good songs, but I would have liked more variety and less jangly guitars. The Shat rules, though.
Dorian's mix is next, and I think he's gay. WE GET IT! (I kid because I love, Dorian!) There's a lot of gay stuff on this disc, and ironically, it's when he's not giving us gay stuff that is mix is weakest. Weird. For instance: Phil Ochs' Pretty Smart On My Part is a fun tune, but I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy it on any more than a novelty level. Peter & Gordon's You've Had Better Times suffers from poor production quality, I have never liked Eartha Kitt, and I Want To Be Evil isn't going to change my mind (and let's face it - Julie Newmar was a much better, and hotter, Catwoman), Pirate Jenny by Nina Simone would, I think, work much better in the context of whatever show it's from, and Harvey Fierstein should NEVER sing (he does Love For Sale here). However, Shirley Bassey's up-tempo, disco-ish take on Hey Big Spender is very neat, Wig In A Box by the Polyphonic Spree is a nice, somewhat sad but also uplifting song, and If You Were Gay from the show Avenue Q is a wonderful parody of Bert and Ernie. I love the Magnetic Fields, and hearing I Thought You Were My Boyfriend from the latest album just makes me want to go out and buy it. Franz Ferdinand is a band that has gotten a lot of press recently, and Michael is a nice introduction to them (for me, at least - no, I haven't heard any of their other stuff, because I don't listen to the radio). The Scissor Sisters' Backwoods Discotheque is a fun song about, well, a backwoods discotheque. And I LOVE Soccer Practice by Johnny McGovern. I just makes me want to go all gay, which I'm sure is Dorian's insidious plot.
Again, there's nothing on these discs that I absolutely hate, and that's cool. These are interesting glimpses into others' psyches, which I suppose is the point. More soon!
Reminder: You only have until Tuesday to enter my free comics contest! I have received some excellent entries, but there's no reason why you shouldn't throw your hat in the ring!
posted by Greg | 6:23 PM
2 Comments:
Glad you liked it!
But I gotta say, in all fairness, that only 2 songs (the Beatles and Monkees tunes) on that CD are from the 60's. Well, the Mothers track was most likely recorded in 1969, but the album from whence it came was released in 1970.
That's weird. Well, they sound like '60s tunes. Isn't that what really matters? I look forward to the next one!
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