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ken
andrews – secrets of the lost satellite (dinosaur fight)
– yeah I know, I know; but the record definitely belongs on the
list cause it's one of his better offerings like YOTR. It is better
than his other side gig called ON. Known from his FAILURE fame –
well they never really made it to “Fame” rather more like
underground notoriety and production darlings? “up or
down”,”tripped up” - scream FAILURE. A
must have for any KA fan. Strangely enough the i-tunes version, I
know saying i-tunes is probably blasphemy on the pooplist no?, the
i-tunes version has a different song on it than the actual physical
disc. Being that I have both versions, as fanatic as I am, both songs
I must say are worthy of having.
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pinback
– autumn of the seraphs (touch & go) – I
didn't know that this was their 4th
release until I did some research on them, regardless of that, it's
very good. The drums, bass lines, keys/piano & songwriting really
makes this one stand out. Poppy at times, police-like, and also built
to spill vocals at times. The production is quite polished. “subbing
for eden”, “from nothing to nowhere” & “how
we breathe” stand out as favorite tracks. Mine came with a
bonus disc and 3 additional tremendous songs. Definitely a bonus as
these songs are 3 of the strongest from this release & not just
“extra” tracks
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
Buy new or used through Amazon
the
white stripes -icky thump (third man/wb)
– Let me just say many terms come to mind to describe this one;
vaudeville, musical, excellent as usual etc etc. etc.. What
can be said, they don't just make the list due to their name &
who they are, however their records compete for space on the list
every year, and always seem to win a well deserved spot hands down.
“Rag & Bone” is phenomenal, kind of a skit or sketchy
if you will, with it's storytellin' lyrical approach. Love the horns
on “Conquest”; while “Little Cream Soda” &
“Bone Broke” rock out, and “A Martyr for my love
for you” is also a classic. They can do no wrong in my book.
foo
fighters – echoes, silence, patience & grace –
(roswell)
“Summer's End” - tell me this doesn't have a Neil Young
feel to it. “Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners” - reminds
me of “Bron-Yr-Aur” from LZ's Physical Graffiti. “The
Pretender” rocks out of the gate, “Statues” - the
lyrics are perfect & sum it all up, - “time will turn us
into statues – eventually”. This release is far superior
to the last couple they have put out, glad I picked it up. Diverse,
great songwriting, and it ROCKS!, production is solid, every song is
a winner.
spoon
– ga ga ga ga ga (merge) – melodic,
great bass, horns & hand claps, what could be better? “don't
make me a target” - the guitar work is very clean, raw and
edgy. Overall they really show their diversity on this one in terms
of musical styles. A fellow poopster and friend got me a version
including the bonus disc as well with 12 additional songs &
alternate versions.
bennett
avery – 20 greenbrier – (janet) – released
on 11/7 and not on a Tuesday either. The release date got bumped back
a week or so, for unknown label/labor reasons. Weighing in at 7lbs, 3
oz. and measuring 20 & ½ inches, the vocals on this one
can really wail at times. Without a doubt, my favorite release of the
year and certainly my most anticipated release ever. One of a kind
and hard to find, anywhere – so good luck if you are looking.
My most prized release & selection. Most certainly he belongs on
the “POOP” list literally, as he's quite the poopster.
wilco
– sky blue sky – (nonesuch) - “walken”,
“hate it here”, “shake it off”, “impossible
germany” - everyone sounds different and excellent, as this is
how a band such as wilco can find themselves on the list year after
year. I think if I had to choose a camp to be in, I might be
defecting from Jay's to Jeff's; as I have been a little disappointed
with the last SV record(s), - anyway let's get back to wilco shall
we? They put out great records, great instrumentation, lyrics,
melodies, and songwriting. Not anyone else out there like em' as far
as i'm concerned.
beastie
boys – the mix-up – (capitol) – I
haven't bought a BB record in almost 10 years; “hello nasty”,
and being that they don't put out records too often, AND when I heard
it was an instrumental one, I had to ch – ch – check –
check it out (lil' beastie humor there). It's definitely worth
getting. Remember their last instrumental release? “the in
sound from way out”. That too was excellent, however this one
incorporates dub, funk, jazz, garage rock, cool nyc vibe – a
just recently coined & created new genre/style of music right
here, right now. Amazing musicians those boys, now men are. Hard to
believe that they'll be in the hall of fame soon as the've been
around forever.
puddle
of mudd – famous – (flawless/geffen) –
Accuse
me of being lame, I know this is a surprise...but it's a phenomenal
rock record. Produced by Bill Stevenson – legendary DESCENDENTS
fame, and well known producer & well respected Jack Joseph Puig,
this one is P-O-L-I-S-H-E-D. The songs are catchy, and if we need to
call it a “guilty pleasure” - then I plead guilty as
charged. The guitars, the crunch, the vocals, the harmonies, the
melodies, it's all inclusive. “Moonshine” stands out as a
favorite, along with “famous”, “psycho”,
“merry-go-round” & “if I could love you”.
Very “radio friendly” - aside from the language, but
musically a “pop/rock” screamer.
dinosaur
jr. - beyond – (fat possum) – So
ridicule me all you want, but I was never a huge dino or J. Mascis
fan, I understood what they were about, just never turned into a
die-hard as I know their fans are. This one took me “beyond”
- pun INTENDED, what I had known them to be. I actually saw them in
concert this past year as well. “Back to your heart” -
sung by Lou Barlow is one of the best songs on the record. I did like
“bakesale” - sebadoh – maybe that's why? “Almost
Ready” kicks off the record strong right outta the gate, great
guitars as I would expect from J. and
Records
that were deemed, “2nd fiddle”; “close
but no cigar”; “eagerly anticipated, but unfortunately
didn't deliver”; “a letdown”; “some great
songs, just not a home run all the way through” ...........you
get the picture........
Son Volt – The Search
Some really good songs “automatic society”, “action”,
“underground dream”, “the search”,
“methamphetamine”.... horns, Jay's infamous lyrics, but
some dud's on it as well – hence 2nd fiddle listing,
it's no OKEMAH.
Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris
I wanted to love it, but really had problems initially with it. It did
grow on me, as it's just “different” from what they've
done, so they're growing & I guess I didn't grow enough with
them. There are some great songs on it such as “misfit love”,
3's & 7's”, “suture up your future”, run pig
run”, and “turnin' on the screw”. I also got my
hands on the bonus disc which was also OK, not great. Has a song on
it called “the fun machine took a shit & died” -
kinda trippy & primus-like. They also slipped in an older song
“make it wit chu” from the desert sessions & if
you're in the know, you would have picked up on this without ME
tellin' you.
Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
Some really strong rock songs,
with excellent production. The music reminds me of other bands at
times like “no jesus christ” - sounds very tool-ish., and
keyboards in other songs that try and emulate failure-like
sounds...”fake-it” is a very poppy/radio friendly kinda
song - still it makes the 2nd fiddle list.
Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II
“boxcar”, “spirit
road”, “dirty old man”, good songs; but I'm not
buying into the hype surrounding this release.
Ween – La Cucaracha
All over the place in true
ween-fashion...hitting on every possible musical style & genre
under the sun. It's very good as I'd expect nothing less from Dean &
Gene. It just didn't make it into one of the the top spots.