WHEN I FEEL HEAVY METAL

1340. Radiohead - Creep Single

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:15:00 +0000

Just got this three weeks ago and I am glad I did as with most Radiohead singles. Contains the following tracks: Creep, Yes I am, Blow Out (remix) and Inside my head (live). It's pretty worth it for the 'yes i am' song alone. Great track.

7 out of 10

1339. Radiohead - Com Lag

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:34:00 +0000

This collection of B-sides from Hail is, albeit overpriced, a nice little mix of tracks. Most of them I had heard before, and actually own, but regardless it's nice to have and more importantly has made me incredibly excited about a new album next year.

7.5 out of 10

1338. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:04:00 +0000

Japanese import of the Last Goodbye single - also contains a 14 minute live version of Mojo Pin, Kanga-Roo and Lost Highway. The live Mojo is pretty great, containing a really long intro. Kanga-Roo sounds like Chad and I playing and Lost Highway, which I have on the So Real single is a slide guitar blues jam.

6.4 out of 10

1337. Frank Black - Show me your Tears

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:35:00 +0000

I've been on a big Frank Black kick lately, so when I came across this on Sunday for $3 I didn't think twice. It's a solid outing veering more into country than the bar rock of FB - but tracks like Nadine, and Everything is New still rock, just somewhat quietly.

6.8 out of 10

1336. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Aeroplane

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Just picked this up yesterday for a mere $3.00. Why? Well, because I have been curious lately about the Navarro era RHCP, especially since we will be entering another non Frusciante era. The single is backed by three live tracks here all from that tour with Navarro: "Backwoods", "Transcending" and "Me and My Friends". The performances are incredibly loose and Backwoods includes the Come as You Are intro riff, while "Me and my friends" openly uses the Hey Joe riff throughout (and it works!). Good stuff.

6.9 out of 10

1335. Rivers Cuomo - Alone: The Home Recordings

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:56:00 +0000

These are demos, which means a lot of times a drum machine is used, the lyrics are improvised and the quality is shaky - but this still would have made for a better Weezer album than what has been released lately. I haven't heard part 2 of this set - but I know I could have grabbed that along with the Summer song demos and made a good Weezer album... sounds like a project.

6.9 out of 10

1334. PJ Harvey & John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:58:00 +0000

John's a lucky guy to have PJ as a friend - the fact that she's always willing to sing on his records says a lot about their friendship. I would have to say that if I removed PJ's vocals and just heard the instrumentals I wouldn't be impressed - they aren't bad, they just aren't memorable. When you hear the cd again you find yourself waiting for key vocal parts.

Overall the disc is a mixed bag of some very dim bright spots and a lot of ok moments.

6.9 out of 10

1333. PJ Harvey - White Chalk

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:26:00 +0000

The story of this album is simple - PJ taught herself how to play the piano and recorded an album of herself playing it. The songs have so much air in them that they become filled with a dense aura to them. Her lyrics and rhythmic playing of the piano makes the album a haunted masterpiece that sucks you in, quickly.

8.9 out of 10

1332. Flaming Lips - Dark side of the moon

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:55:00 +0000

People were outraged when they heard this lp. I'm not sure what they were expecting. A proper remake of an unremakable lp? Remakes shouldn't be carbon copies. Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake was a frame by frame color reproduction of the original - sure it was a massive undertaking to replicate the master, but for the viewer who wasn't part of the process it felt like seeing the original again but with less gifted actors. So the Lips do what I think is the only way to cover Dark Side: doing it their way - enlisting the help of their crazy friends, making the entire album feel more like a theatre production. Peaches, Rollins and Coyne's nephew's band all add a weirdness and live energy to the project that makes it a winner for me.

8.2 out of 10

1331. Flaming Lips - Embryonic

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:01:00 +0000

A return to form - a return to structureless pop - a return to experimenting and ultimately a return to critical and fan acclaim. Easily one of the best releases last year...

8.9 out of 10

1330. Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:52:00 +0000

In the early 2000's the Lips were at the height of their popularity. Yoshimi had given them radio play and critical appreciation, something they had never got both at the same time. I guess the pressure was on to follow it up with an album that would be as equally successful commercially as the previous. At War is half good, and half bad. The bad contains weak attempts at crafting pop nuggets as poetic as Do you Realize - keep in mind this is the flaming lips, so I would never assume that they literally sat down wanting to make a carbon copy - but they did seem to want to follow a familiar path. The other half that's good veers away from that path with genuine Lips songs that take you from the insanely mundane to the mundanely insane. or something like that.

7 out of 10

1329. Chad Vangaalen - Soft Airplane

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:10:00 +0000

I really like this guy. Why? Because he sits in his room all by himself and makes up all this crazy shit. Sometimes I feel like my entire life should be like that - 24/7, sitting with my own thoughts making weird shit with all my little projects. He's an inspiration and his music is pretty great too.

8.2 out of 10

1328. The Go! Team - Proof Of Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:09:00 +0000

I got this because I did enjoy the first Go Team cd and this follow up was released on Sub Pop. The first release managed to avoid sounding cliche - but this collage of a second cd often sounds just too familiar - a shame, but it still is a strong effort.

7.2 out of 10

1327. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:14:00 +0000

I must admit I thought these guys were all hype and no substance mainly because of all the dumb kids who were dancing to 'kids', but having revisited this disc and enjoyed the latest release These guys are shaping up to be quiet geniuses who may be responsible for some of the most exciting music to come out of this country for years to come.

7.5 out of 10

1326. Beck - Modern Guilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Another classic by Beck. He puts down the drum machine for a bit and picks up his guitar and makes his most rock based record since Odelay - Danger Mouse's production allows it to still have that digitized, processed vibe which works perfectly with the mood of the record - a mood that is reserved yet somewhat funkified - like tapping your feet while sitting at your desk.

8.1 out of 10

1325. Beck - The Information

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:14:00 +0000

It bears repeating: I love Beck. The man is a genius of tremendous scale. The artwork, concept and execution of this disc is great. Classic.

8.4 out of 10

1324. Archer Prewitt - Gerroa Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:18:00 +0000

This was the only Prewitt disc that iluded me and I finally did find it. When I heard it I was somewhat surprised. Archer's music to me always had a harp like quality to it and was uplifting and sad at the same time. Gerroa Songs has a haunting quality to it - you can hear the room it was recorded in, the atmosphere on each song is dense and thick.

7.3 out of 10

1323. Black Francis - Svn Fngrs

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:40:00 +0000

I'm not sure what inspired this little ep, but what inspired me to get it was Meadow's playing me "Garbage Heap", an exercise in control, played perfectly by Frank Black. The rest of the seven tracks are as loose as you'd expect and have a slight darker tone to them. Good stuff.

7.5 out of 10

1322. Black Francis - Bluefinger

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:15:00 +0000

This disc marries the Pixies sound with Frank's rockabilly stuff with the Catholics into one fine mess. There are the classic Pixie like mechanics in 'Threshold Apprehension' and the quieter more contemplative country roll in 'Bluefinger'.

7.4 out of 10

1321. Frank Black - Frank Black

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:19:00 +0000

Frank Black is a genius. He's also such a prolific artist it's hard to keep track of all of his releases. It's funny how no matter how many times you hear a Frank Black song or a Breeders song they never come close to matching the intensity and brilliance of a Pixies song. But this solo debut is fun and is filled with moments that are very reminiscent of Bossanova.

7.9 out of 10

1320. Menomena - Friend And Foe

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:10:00 +0000

A great album with amazing interactive artwork. The band took a nice step forward with building upon their debut sound and making it sharper and tighter. Can't wait for the new LP out this year. 'Wet And Rusting' is a classic.

It's hard to risks with a pessimist.

8.4 out of 10

1319. Menomena - I Am The Fun Blame Monster!

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:15:00 +0000

I love this band. They are so simple yet sound so big. "I Am The Fun Blame Monster!" is a pretty great debut for them, highlight their harmonic capabilities while demonstrating a knack for large epic moments where it all comes crashing down to silence.

8.3 out of 10

1318. Pinback - Autumn Of The Seraphs

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:30:00 +0000

I love Pinback - the harmonies, melodies, time signatures, lyrics - they are pretty perfect. This album wasn't a greater hit because I think that people were maybe a little turned off by the cover thinking it was some sort of metal project. The album as a whole is missing just that one little bump to make it perfect - I can't wait to hear the next release.

8.2 out of 10

1317. Pinback - Some Voices [EP]

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:15:00 +0000

This EP highlights Pinback's humble beginnings, from the photo of their home studio with the beige Mac on the desk to simple, yet unmistakenbly hook filled tracks.

6.4 out of 10

1316. Ween - La Cucaracha

noreply@blogger.com (Jazz) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:32:00 +0000

I love Ween because they are funny and they are doing their own thing. La Cucaracha sounds like they wanted to tackle very specific styles of songs - from soft rock to dub to country. While the release isn't their best, they manage to throw in a couple of classics with 'woman and man' and 'you party'.

7.2 out of 10