tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62202692011-07-31T03:25:00.617-05:00Matt Crabtree and Andrew Kirkpatrick like music... possibly too much. We were originally listening to a CD every day, but we ran out after a couple of years. Now we just talk about music... you know, like most blogs.Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1155842202651367322006-08-17T14:15:00.000-05:002006-08-17T14:16:42.656-05:00

For better or for worse, this is the state of pop music today: one hour of "Fresh" on VH1 this morning...(forgive me, I didn't bother to write down the song titles. You know 'em if you listen to the radio).Evanescence - odd video. It seems like they're saying "piano + metal = English hunting lodge" And not to be mean, but I think Amy Lee might be wearing a corset for a reason.OK GO - The band

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1132607082152170362005-11-21T15:00:00.000-06:002005-11-21T15:04:42.163-06:00

MLB.com is helping to promote the new solo album from Scott Stapp, the guy from Creed. If you buy the album through mlb.com, you get five full-length audio streams, and you can watch him singing two songs live in the mlb.com studios. MLB.com has studios? What the hell for? Aren't they a baseball website? And how can Scott Stapp "have baseball in his blood"? He's from Orlando, who do not have a

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1132440769185254292005-11-19T16:47:00.000-06:002005-11-19T16:52:49.200-06:00

So INXS is back after a big summer-long reality series. Yeah, I know the show ended two months ago (I was a Marty Casey fan, personally), but their new album comes out in a week or two and the tour is starting to sell out, so I feel compelled to comment. Have you guys heard the new song "Dirty Vegas" yet? The new guy (J.D. Fortune, for the uninitiated), sounds EXACTLY like Michael "maybe

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1128636009194117792005-10-06T16:59:00.000-05:002005-10-06T17:00:09.203-05:00

Honestly, can you tell the difference between Theory of a Deadman and Default? Are they the exact same band using different names so they can have more product out and make more money?

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1126360885705208522005-09-10T08:57:00.000-05:002005-09-10T09:01:25.716-05:00

Just announced... November 13 and 15, 2005, SBC Park, San Francisco, Calif. ... The Rolling Stones, with special guests Metallica and Everclear. What the hell? The Rolling Stones, Metallica, and Everclear. Quick question 1: why in the world are Metallica opening up for the Stones? Can't they play stadiums, too? I know that last album was pretty weak and all, but really? Warm-up act for a bunch

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1115593330319606972005-05-08T17:53:00.000-05:002005-05-08T18:02:10.323-05:00

Just when I thought '80s music was all the rage, every '90s band that was any good is coming back in the next couple of months. We've already had new albums from Garbage and Nine Inch Nails, and this month brings new Weezer, Oasis, Better than Ezra. Later this summer look for new Foo Fighters. That's good, classic mid-'90s stuff right there. Meanwhile, Audioslave are reportedly playing Rage and

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1113420792316848612005-04-13T14:28:00.000-05:002005-04-13T14:33:12.316-05:00

I bet you do, because these days it's being shoved down everybody's throats. Don't get me wrong; I liked the '80s. I even watched both chapters of "I Love the '80s," and I think the Killers album is one of the best in years. But the trend has snowballed beyond our control; when My Chemical Romance and the Used are teaming up on a cover of "Under Pressure" (by the way, that worked for David Bowie

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1110948976330320872005-03-15T22:50:00.000-06:002005-03-15T22:56:16.333-06:00

So "Head" from Korn quit the band and became a Jesus Krispie.I've got no problem with folks finding religion, but methinks Head might be a little bit on the crazy side. First off, he told MTV he was deep into meth before he found the Lord. Then he went to Israel to be baptized in the Jordan. Now he says God is speaking through him to 50 Cent. That's right, 50 Cent the gangsta rapper.Let's go over

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1109636617825682882005-02-28T18:21:00.000-06:002005-02-28T18:23:37.826-06:00

Did anybody else see Collective Soul on Leno last week? First of all, what happened to their drummer? That was definitely a new guy. Second, why did Ed Roland start bleaching his hair? Now he looks like the guy from Nickleback without the goatee. Third, I know the band's not that emotional on their albums, but live, they used to at least pretend like they were into it. They might as well have

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1108868368022081102005-02-19T20:33:00.000-06:002005-02-19T20:59:28.023-06:00

I'm getting a little tired of this new trend with alt-rock supergroups. I'll admit, I liked the first Velvet Revolver single, and I didn't completely hate the first Alter Bridge single. But the second and third Velvet Revolver singles were ass on a stick, and every time I hear the new Alter Bridge song, I want to gouge out my eardrum with a rusty nail. And, honestly, who's excited about the new

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1108096312177631632005-02-10T22:21:00.000-06:002005-02-10T22:33:53.283-06:00

So Britney Spears is suing some insurance companies who didn't pay her when she cancelled her Onyx Hotel tour last year. Seems Brit-Brit screwed her knee up and could no longer perform. Hm... seems to me that Britney could have just sung the songs with a knee brace on in a stationary position while her dancers danced behind her, except... oh, that's right... Britney lip-synchs live. At times

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1107729070057894082005-02-06T16:19:00.000-06:002005-02-06T16:31:10.056-06:00

So, if you're a nu-metal drummer seeking to join a band, the competition got a lot stiffer. First Fuel's drummer quit (and said in an online post that Brett Scallions, the lead signer, had been lip-syncing the last tour because his vocal cords were shredded), then Nickleback unexpectedly fired their drummer, who told the Edmonton newspaper that Three Doors Down's drummer was about to join the NB

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1107660778917627222005-02-05T21:25:00.000-06:002005-02-05T21:32:58.916-06:00

So Matt bailed like three months ago, and I'm tired of listening to a different CD every day. So I declare victory. Think about it: my three favorite new CDs of the year are the Killers, the new Get Up Kids, and the new Jimmy Eat World. I realized today I've listened to each of those about four times each, max. If you like music, listen to it! Plus, I'm about six weeks behind posting stuff to

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105937360445225612005-01-16T22:45:00.000-06:002005-01-16T22:49:20.446-06:00

This one's another traveling album, and it might qualify as a weird one, too. You get four Leann Rimes songs (as the "voice" of Piper Perabo's character), and a bunch of songs from the Coyote Ugly bar's fictional jukebox. So EMF's "Unbelievable" and Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down to Georgia" are on the same album. Finally.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105937136656988692005-01-16T22:41:00.000-06:002005-01-16T22:45:36.656-06:00

Not so much a weird album as an album I listened to while traveling with my lady friend. This was Jars of Clay's second album, the one after "Flood" made 'em Christian alt-rock stars. This album's still pretty good, but not as smooth as their first album.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105936907216727032005-01-16T22:38:00.000-06:002005-01-16T22:41:47.216-06:00

This is an odd one; an entire album built around a fusion of organic sounds and electronica. I liked track one, with all the bird sounds (chirping, wings flapping), and the insect noises in track 5.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105502358368295272005-01-11T21:54:00.000-06:002005-01-11T21:59:18.366-06:00

Gotta love that Tom Hanks. Not only did he write and direct That Thing You Do!, my favorite movie of all time, but he also commissioned an entire album of original songs (some of which Hanks co-wrote) designed to sound like they could have fit on the radio in the early 1960s. In addition to the title track (which was written by one of the guys from Fountains of Wayne, ya know), you get four other

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105502034400808822005-01-11T21:48:00.000-06:002005-01-11T21:53:54.400-06:00

Definitely one of my favorite REM albums, and I'm looking forward to the CD/DVD-audio reissue in February. This was the band's first with Warner Bros., and it's an odd mix of poppy songs such as those that were later on Out of Time, and rockers more like the rest of the band's late-80s output. Some of my favorite REM songs are on here, like "Orange Crush," "Pop Song '89," "Turn You Inside-Out"

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105501662397628112005-01-11T21:43:00.000-06:002005-01-11T21:47:42.396-06:00

Great news (for me)! As devoted fans will remember, I couldn't find my copies of Sponge's first album and REM's Green. Well, while cleaning up a box, I found 'em. And this album su-ucks. The production is absolutely terrible, except on the three singles, "Plowed," "Molly," and "Rainin'," which are great songs. And yet this sold scads of copies. Sponge are largely forgotten now; I was telling my

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105501399817690562005-01-11T21:40:00.000-06:002005-01-11T21:43:19.816-06:00

This album features the Fiona Apple cover of "Across the Universe," which I personally think is far superior to the Rufus Wainwright cover that was on the I am Sam soundtrack. The rest is '50s covers, to go with the theme of the movie (one of my favorites, if you haven't seen it). And then there's a Fiona Apple bonus track which doesn't really fit.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1105501222284694212005-01-11T21:32:00.000-06:002005-01-11T21:40:22.286-06:00

Why is this a weird disc? Because of the alt-rock talent slumming it here. An all-star band featuring Matthew Sweet on guitar and the chick from Letters to Cleo on vocals sings songs supposedly by Josie and the Pussycats, the cartoon band brought to life in the blink-and-you-missed-it movie. The songs were written by Jason Falkner, Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104820564283720322005-01-04T01:31:00.000-06:002005-01-04T00:36:04.283-06:00

Tuatara are a class of reptile only living in New Zealand and relatively unchanged since the age of the dinosaurs. Tuatara the band are a horrible mishmash of world music and jazz that I bought because Peter Buck from REM was a member (along with the drummer from the Screaming Trees; there are also guest appearances from a couple of the Pearl Jam guys). I think it's great that Buck moved to

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104820266586733562005-01-04T01:28:00.000-06:002005-01-04T00:31:06.586-06:00

Rivers from Weezer once was photographed wearing a Smarty Pants t-shirt. That's probably the high point in this band's career. They are from Edmond, and I know Matt's a fan. I'm more a fan of the song titles than the music, which is a little more indebted to Weezer than it oughta be. Best two song titles on this disc (and possibly ever): "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104794009370198902005-01-03T17:11:00.000-06:002005-01-03T17:13:29.370-06:00

Borrowed this one from my brother for weird music month because it is certainly weird. It sounds like the residents of an insane asylum listened to nothing but Talking Heads and then tried to make an album. There are some great tunes and melodies, but the lyrics make no sense whatsoever. Why for instance, does the singer want "Paul Newman's Eyes?"

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104793866231493612005-01-03T17:08:00.000-06:002005-01-03T17:11:06.230-06:00

Disc 4 has the Nirvana parody, the Chili Peppers parody about the Flintstones, and two great original songs: "Trigger Happy" and "Frank's 2000" TV," among others. Ultimately, Weird Al has a niche; he writes songs for teenage dorks about themes they can understand: food, television, and Star Wars. And there are always gonna be 14-year-old boys who eat this stuff up, so Al should have another few

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104793679795506612005-01-03T17:06:00.000-06:002005-01-03T17:07:59.796-06:00

Disc 3 contains music from Al's career high point: the song "Fat" and the movie UHF. I especially enjoy the song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota."

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104786234652681222005-01-03T15:02:00.000-06:002005-01-03T15:03:54.666-06:00

Disc 2 has "Yoda," "Like a Surgeon," and the best Christmas song ever, "Christmas at Ground Zero." Actually, come to think of it, maybe "Christmas at Ground Zero" isn't that funny a title anymore.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104786156211856472005-01-03T15:00:00.000-06:002005-01-03T15:02:36.213-06:00

This isn't actually my Weird Al box set, but it has somehow come into my possession (Andy, if you want it back, e-mail me and I'll get it to you). It's a very good career retrospective of Weird Al Yankovic up to 1994. Disc 1 features an awful lot of accordion, as most of it was recorded before he got his whole band. I believe my favorite on this one was "King of Suede."

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104786009791020272005-01-03T14:58:00.000-06:002005-01-03T15:00:09.806-06:00

OK, to a true New Orleans music aficionado, I'm sure this sounds like horrible huckster crap designed to be sold to gullible tourists. But to me, the guy who got it for free a couple of years ago, it sounds like some nice, Dixieland jazz background music. This album does have "Go to the Mardi Gras," but loses points for not having "Went on down to the Audubon Zoo."

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104785743374694572005-01-03T14:55:00.000-06:002005-01-03T14:58:17.296-06:00

Disc 2 is really better than Disc 1, with a pretty good Bowie cover ("Starman"), Sparklehorse doing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with Thom Yorke on backing vocals (I think this got some play on the old SPI), a "Ziggy Stardust" cover, a "Rhinestone Cowboy" cover and a truly inspired, bizarre take on the oldies chestnut "Do Wah Diddy Diddy."

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104785524616927442005-01-03T14:50:00.000-06:002005-01-03T14:52:04.623-06:00

This was some kind of EMI promotion in 1997 where they had some of their newer artists redo songs from their catalog of the last 75 years. Disc 1 features the Foo Fighters' take on "Baker Street" which I know you've heard, plus a very odd "Where Did Our Love Go" and Belinda Carlisle singing a Sex Pistols song. Oh, and Jesus Jones inexplicably pops up to do a cover of a song I've never heard of,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104785167811140802005-01-03T14:43:00.000-06:002005-01-03T14:46:07.813-06:00

I actually got this for Christmas about 10 years ago. It's a parody album of the Looney Tunes characters singing Beatles songs, and despite the fact that Mel Blanc was long dead when this thing came out, it's funnier than you'd think. I especially like Yosemite Sam's version of "Help!" Although I could have used more Foghorn Leghorn.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104475315918216152004-12-31T01:40:00.000-06:002004-12-31T00:41:55.920-06:00

Carl Stalling, the in-house composer for all the Looney Tunes cartoons, was absolutely brilliant. And you really realize this listening to these soundtrack compositions for various cartoons. Not all great music has to have vocalists, kids. Check this one out if you find it in a used bin somewhere.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104475215598986832004-12-31T01:31:00.000-06:002004-12-31T00:40:15.596-06:00

Everybody remembers the Partridge Family, but few recall that the Brady Bunch recorded three albums and a handful of singles of teen-pop sludge in the early '70s as well. If you were a fan of the show, the "hits" are on here: "Keep On Moving," "It's a Sunshine Day," and "Time to Change." But there are also bizarre covers of "American Pie" and the theme from Charlotte's Web, and some decent songs

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104474702183355002004-12-31T01:29:00.000-06:002004-12-31T00:42:42.630-06:00

I bought this for 50¢ at a record store going out-of-business sale, and it's the best 50¢ I ever spent, because I challenge any of you to find an album that is more '80s than this. Every track on this album is booming electronic drums, screeching synths, and glossy overproduction. I bet there's even a keytar on some of these tracks. You get Teena Marie, the Bangles, REO Speedwagon, and two, count

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104474556521402962004-12-31T01:27:00.000-06:002004-12-31T00:29:16.520-06:00

Actually, this disc rocks. It's music from the Ren and Stimpy cartoon show that was on in the early '90s. You get the Muddy Mudskipper theme, the Log theme, the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen anthem, and, of course, "Happy Happy Joy Joy." And in between all that, you get a bunch of jazz cuts that were used as background music. But I needed some more Mr. Horse. Yes, sir, I did.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104362026572492032004-12-29T17:04:00.000-06:002004-12-29T17:13:46.573-06:00

November 1: Orgy - Candyass November 2: Salt - Bluster November 3: Splender - To Whom It May Concern November 4: Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery November 5: Aimee Mann - Lost in Space November 6: Atticus Fault (self-titled) November 7: The New Pornographers - Electric Version November 8: Dig (self-titled) November 9: Space Monkeys - The Daddy of Them All November 10: Crash Test Dummies - God

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104301901991567252004-12-29T01:25:00.000-06:002004-12-29T00:31:41.993-06:00

Not really a keep or sell album, just something I felt like listening to. Remember when the Goo Goo Dolls were a rock and roll band? Go back and listen to this album; the only wimpy ballad is "Name," and it's a good wimpy ballad.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1104301515063931332004-12-29T01:22:00.000-06:002004-12-29T00:25:15.063-06:00

Emo meets Something Corporate meets something pretentious. The songs are very good, with some jazz touches and interesting arrangements, but the singer can't sing. Not that he can't sing very well, he can't sing at all. He sucks. Bad. Apparently the Get Up Kids discovered this band somewhere and got them signed to Vagrant, the emo label of choice. Gee, thanks, TGUK. I will say that I saw them a

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103469451874357522004-12-19T09:13:00.000-06:002004-12-19T09:17:31.873-06:00

I had actually lost this album for more than a year when I found it a few days ago in another CD case. Something Corporate had a little bit of hype when they came out as a sort of Ben Folds / Green Day hybrid. And this album starts out really well, with five strong cuts in a row. But then the second half of the album tails off in quality, and the band starts to sound like an Elton John wannabe

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103469186202522912004-12-19T09:10:00.000-06:002004-12-19T09:13:06.203-06:00

This reminded me a lot of the David Mead album I did a few months back. Like Mead, Falkner writes a lot of very well-crafted, sophisticated power-pop songs, and like Mead, he put 'em out on a major label that didn't have a clue what to do with him. In the label's defense, there's nothing on here you could call a hit single, but there are some very good song ideas. Nevertheless, it didn't quite

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103404689752948842004-12-18T15:13:00.000-06:002004-12-18T15:18:09.753-06:00

This is one of the first CDs I ever bought, and I don't think I've listened to it even once since it came out in '96. Therefore, it's a keep-or-sell candidate, and a candidate for "disappointing follow-ups" week, since it came after the classic Kerosene Hat, featuring "Low," which still gets played on the radio. This one's a little more country-rock than Kerosene Hat (which I don't own anymore

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103404422084775882004-12-18T15:10:00.000-06:002004-12-18T15:13:42.083-06:00

Inexplicably, after the dungfest that was V, I came back to Live and bought Birds of Pray. Live love me, you know. They might kill me one day, but they love me. This one seems to be a rehash of The Distance to Here, with a fish theme on the artwork and lots of uplifting songs (and absolutely no rapping, which is good). The first two-thirds of the album are waaaay too bombastic, though; it seems

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103400715701345602004-12-18T14:05:00.000-06:002004-12-18T14:11:55.700-06:00

I feel like a battered woman when it comes to Live; they keep hitting me in the face with their crap, and I keep coming back for more. This was Live's fifth album (hence the title... remember this for later, kids: roman numerals aren't that cool), and it is pretty freakin' terrible. Ed Kowalczyk is experimenting with hip-hop on several of the tracks, and comes off as the Sugarhill Gang's clueless

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103317663693273912004-12-17T14:24:00.000-06:002004-12-17T15:07:43.693-06:00

If trademarks are allowed for musical styles, then Art Alexakis should have one for the "duh duh duh duh-nuh-nuh-nuh. Yeah." He had a lot of hits with that riff, all through the late '90s. This is the album where the novelty of that riff finally wears off. I met Art earlier this year, at the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati. He implied that he was leaving Capitol Records because he was angry

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103314784250469302004-12-17T14:16:00.000-06:002004-12-17T14:19:44.250-06:00

Some bands shouldn't go political. Take Travis, for example. Travis are a very good Scottish band who had some small hits over here and some really huge hits in the UK. They're a nice, light, acoustic group who write good pop songs. Well, after their last album, their drummer broke his neck diving into a shallow pool in France and was nearly paralyzed. As a result, the band had a lot of downtime,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103314504132373792004-12-17T14:12:00.000-06:002004-12-17T14:15:04.133-06:00

Let's do some "disappointing follow-ups from great bands" to finish out the month, shall we? First up, Superdrag. This is their first indie album, after Head Trip in Every Key (one of my top albums of all time) had flopped royally on Elektra and they got dropped. Unlike Last Call for Vitriol, the album after this one, Superdrag doesn't sound like a band at the end of its rope yet. Instead, they

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103314323940140132004-12-17T14:08:00.000-06:002004-12-17T14:12:03.940-06:00

You know how great a band Oasis were? They put out a b-sides album after only three regular albums, and it was as good as the first three albums. Seriously. "Acquiesce," "Stay Young," and "The Masterplan" could have been super-huge "Champagne Supernova"-style hits, but Noel Gallagher just wasn't as big a fan of them. So he dumped 'em off as b-sides. Maybe Noel should have stayed on the cocaine,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103314076880635622004-12-17T14:02:00.000-06:002004-12-17T14:07:56.880-06:00

Josh Joplin Group is good, but it's a bit of a depressing album. So I needed a pick-me-up, and Rancid'll do it. I'm not sure why I didn't do this during punk month, but oh well. This is a great album, and when it came out in '95, it taught all the nü-punks like me who bought Green Day and Offspring what punk rock was really about (and led me into bands like Bad Religion and NOFX). "Roots Radicals

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103313754531716422004-12-17T13:59:00.000-06:002004-12-17T14:02:34.530-06:00

Sometimes another person's opinion of something you love can ruin it for you forever. Case in point: this album. I was crazy into the song "Camera One" off this, and played it for the 12 Pearls guys on a road trip one time. Their reaction? "Eh. Sounds like the Wallflowers." I was crushed, and haven't listened to this much since. So it was a keep-or-sell candidate, but you know what? I can't get

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1103038201747282182004-12-14T09:12:00.000-06:002004-12-14T09:30:01.746-06:00

Another CD I picked up at that convention in Vegas a couple of years back. At the time, I could have sworn this band said they were from New York, but from the liner notes in this album, it looks like they're from Denver. The music on here is pretty good, but it's kind of an evolutionary dead-end, like the super-smart dinosaurs that they think showed up right before the asteroid hit. 3rd Degree

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102884387285222162004-12-12T14:42:00.000-06:002004-12-12T14:46:27.286-06:00

Man, lots of people must be reading this thing; only 10 months after I publicly asked "where the hell are Collective Soul?", they're back! Like Stroke 9, they're on their own now, and like Stroke 9, they appear to have not splurged on a top-grade graphic designer. The last CS album and the two new tracks off the greatest hits sounded robotic, as if Ed Roland had hit on the exact mathematical

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102884118716979632004-12-12T14:32:00.000-06:002004-12-12T14:41:58.716-06:00

Remy Zero were one of several bands in the late '90s pegged as "The American Radiohead." Alas, none of them came close to matching Radiohead's talent, prestige or sales. This is another album that was hurt by 9/11; if I remember right, "Save Me" was one of those songs that Clear Channel quit playing (along with "Fly," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," etc. etc.) right afterwards. But then it got picked

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102869468961981822004-12-12T10:32:00.000-06:002004-12-12T10:37:48.960-06:00

Here's a recipe for disaster: take one Austin-based band of veterans (half of them were in a band called Seed that had a song on the Melrose Place soundtrack 10 years ago), record with the guy behind Matchbox 20 and that Aerosmith song "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," write a whole bunch of uplifting, you-can-do-it songs, the kind Survivor got big with in the early '80s, and then release the whole

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102804964115274052004-12-11T16:37:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:42:44.116-06:00

File this one in the "huh?" basket. Pilot Radio are a band from Houston that 12 Pearls played with about 18 months ago. We traded CDs, and I didn't think much more about them until I dug this out of a box last week. So I go on their website, and they've signed record deals in France and the Philippines, where the album is out and a video is on TV. Wha?!? I didn't even think this was that great.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102804653644113852004-12-11T16:28:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:37:33.646-06:00

It's my opinion that, more than any other band, Stroke 9 got royally screwed over by 9/11. See, here's what happened: Stroke 9 were coming off a multiplatinum debut (Nasty Little Thoughts; go pick it up, it's a good listen), and had the lead single, "Kick Some Ass," on the Jay and Silent Bob soundtrack. It was also the lead single off their second album, scheduled to come out early October 2001.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102804072310603522004-12-11T16:25:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:27:52.310-06:00

If memory serves me correctly, I got this at a music conference in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. The band were (their website's gone, so I assume they've broken up) from New York and got signed to a startup record company run by an Internet millionaire. My impression then (and now, too) is that they realized this was their only chance to make a real album, and so they packed it. This thing's

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102803900094416862004-12-11T16:21:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:25:00.096-06:00

I think Crash Test Dummies got a bad rap. Yeah, we all heard "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" too much, but so what? There's other good songs on here. The old SPI in Stillwater used to play "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" all the time, and that song was good. Go back and listen to this album if you've got it. Now ignore "Mmm Mmm" and what do you get? A band that sounds like Dave Matthews Band or Blues Traveler,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102803658384817542004-12-11T16:18:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:20:58.383-06:00

I got this a year or two ago in a bargain bin somewhere. I believe Space Monkeys were the last major band on Factory Records, the legendary Manchester label that had Joy Division, New Order, and the Happy Mondays. This was, apparently, an ill-fated attempt to wed Oasis-style Britpop with late-'80s Madchester dance music. Other than "Sugar Cane," which was kind of a hit here in... '97? '98?

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102803467669131772004-12-11T16:13:00.000-06:002004-12-11T16:17:47.670-06:00

Anybody besides me remember Dig? They had that song "Believe" about 10 years ago? No? Bueller? The story I heard about these guys was that they were LA studio musicians who got together to make a "grunge" album, a la their '80s counterparts Mr. Mister and Toto. Other than "Believe," they didn't do a very good job of it. My least favorite part has to be "Conversation," where they took actual

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102463542323803532004-12-07T17:49:00.000-06:002004-12-07T17:52:22.323-06:00

Hm... first of all, if you call your band the New Pornographers, I don't think Wal-Mart will carry your CDs. Just a tip. This album was very well-reviewed when it came out two summers ago. I bought it, listened to it once, and then promptly forgot about it. Well, it's time to drag it back out. Apparently this is some sort of Vancouver collective that's all people from other bands. Didn't I do

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102437227210701032004-12-07T10:26:00.000-06:002004-12-07T10:33:47.210-06:00

Don't always believe what BMG tells you in the one-paragraph blurb. That's my message for today, kids. Atticus Fault's, for instance, said something like "Band from Nashville combines U2, Coldplay with grunge." I was intrigued, and it was another buy-one-get-three-free sale, so hey, why not? Here's why not... a) they don't sound like U2 orColdplay. b)if anything, it sounds like Nine Inch Nails

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102191518247865222004-12-04T14:09:00.000-06:002004-12-04T14:18:38.246-06:00

I liked the movie Magnolia a great deal, mostly because of the really good Aimee Mann-led soundtrack. Unfortunately, the best I can say for this album is that it reminds me of the movie Magnolia, even though none of these songs are on it. Oh, and the CD jacket is really cool; lots of alternative comic-style art. Check out the song "Humpty Dumpty"; the rest is a bit hum-drum.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1102190931107055752004-12-04T14:03:00.000-06:002004-12-04T14:08:51.106-06:00

This is one of the few albums that I bought because I liked the cover. Seriously, I was in Tulsa at this indie shop (Starship Records, if you guys know Tulsa), and I was trying to talk the owner into carrying the 12 Pearls CD. So I thought I'd butter him up by buying a CD, and picked this one because the jacket looked pretty cool. Mistake. Turns out (thanks to some allmusic research) that

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101955166148260942004-12-01T20:36:00.000-06:002004-12-01T20:39:26.150-06:00

When I popped this disc in, I was convinced it was a sure-thing sell. After all, it's Splender's second album, not even the one that had the hits on it back in the late '90s, and I only got it from BMG because it was buy one, get three free and there were only two I really wanted. But then I gave it a listen, and it's actually really good. Seriously. Check out "The Loneliest Person I Know" and "

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101954994386727552004-12-01T20:34:00.000-06:002004-12-01T20:36:34.386-06:00

I vaguely recall the title track from this album being played on the old SPI in Stillwater (or maybe 95X in the early days? It's all such a blur now). I believe they're a Swedish grunge band maybe? Another album that mysteriously showed up in my collection; maybe I borrowed this from somebody in high school and just never gave it back. Regardless, it hasn't aged well either, and it's a sell.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101954850652933402004-12-01T20:31:00.000-06:002004-12-01T20:34:10.653-06:00

Hm... I actually bought this album? Worse, I was actually into this band? Hard to believe, listening to this Korn-with-more-keyboards slop now. I remember being disappointed that I missed Orgy's set at Edgefest in Tulsa one year. But this album, their first, has really not aged well. Even the cover of "Blue Monday" by New Order isn't doing it for me. I think it's November's first sell.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101834088860263442004-11-30T10:42:00.001-06:002004-11-30T11:01:28.886-06:00

October 1: REM - Man on the Moon original soundtrack October 2: REM - Reveal October 3: REM - In Time: The Best Of, 1988-2003 October 4: REM - Rarities and B-Sides, 1988-2003 October 5: REM - Around the Sun October 6: The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends October 7: Athlete and Shed Seven October 8: Feeder - Seven Days in the Sun and Turn October 9: A & Doves October 10: Embrace - I Wouldn't Want

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101833994190083492004-11-30T10:42:00.000-06:002004-11-30T10:59:54.190-06:00

October 1: REM - Man on the Moon original soundtrack October 2: REM - Reveal October 3: REM - In Time: The Best Of, 1988-2003 October 4: REM - Rarities and B-Sides, 1988-2003 October 5: REM - Around the Sun October 6: The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends October 7: Athlete and Shed Seven October 8: Feeder - Seven Days in the Sun and Turn October 9: A & Doves October 10: Embrace - I Wouldn't Want

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101832918732207492004-11-30T10:38:00.000-06:002004-11-30T10:41:58.733-06:00

Reubens Accomplice are some Phoenix buddies of Jimmy Eat World; sort of like the Steve and Edie if JEW were Frank Sinatra. Like Steve and Edie, they're not that talented, but Jim from JEW throws 'em a bone by playing "extraneous percussion" on here. (what, like egg shaker?) I picked up this album at Waterloo because it was only $2, and that's good, because it's only worth about $2. Most of the

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101832699196567102004-11-30T10:35:00.000-06:002004-11-30T10:38:19.196-06:00

Supposedly this is a compilation featuring the Budweiser True Music Live bands (12 Pearls is the OKC band, ya know), and there are eight of them on here, but they're at the end of the CD. At the beginning are album tracks from Morrissey, the Darkness, the Von Bondies, the Streets, and Ben Kweller, all of which are top-notch. As for the Bud bands? I liked Welbilt, and Buckra and El Guapo were both

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101489574441756482004-11-26T11:12:00.000-06:002004-11-26T11:19:34.443-06:00

Amer-ee-ca! Amer-uh-ee-ca! Am-air-ica, f*ck yeah! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go see Team America, and then you need this album. Because Trey Parker and his little jew-fro hanger-on Matt Stone (you know, the South Park guys) are back, and this soundtrack album of original songs is hilarious, assuming you have no politically-correct pretensions whatsoever. Try "Everyone

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101489140460990642004-11-26T10:45:00.000-06:002004-11-26T11:12:20.460-06:00

I don't know what's more surprising, how great this album was, or how crappy its follow-up, Underneath, was. I'd been a fan of that Verve Pipe song "The Freshmen;" I was a freshman in college at the time, how could I not be? I didn't pick up the Verve Pipe's first album, but then a free copy of this one came to the Tulane newspaper's offices, and I snagged it because I liked the first single, "

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101487496660825832004-11-26T10:40:00.000-06:002004-11-26T10:44:56.660-06:00

At some point either right before or right after this album came out, Evan Dando admitted to an interviewer that he'd smoked so much crack in one sitting a whole week of shows had to be cancelled. This album is a lot more unfocused than Shame About Ray; Belinda Carlisle and Juliana Hatfield show up to do backing vocals, and Rick James plays bass and sings backup on the song "Rick James Style" (

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101487226411369882004-11-26T10:35:00.000-06:002004-11-26T10:40:26.413-06:00

Most people remember the Seattle scene of the early '90s, but there was also a parallel scene in Boston at about the same time: Pixies, Breeders, Belly, Dinosaur, Jr., Letters to Cleo, Throwing Muses, Juliana Hatfield, and the Lemonheads, among others. As it's turned out, they weren't as influential to what's on the radio today as the Seattle bands, and the Boston bands didn't sell as many albums

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101141358981732162004-11-22T10:28:00.000-06:002004-11-22T10:35:58.980-06:00

When i'm in my truck, sometimes I dip into a really old music collection that's in a case in the backseat. This is one of those albums. I bought it back in England, after (maybe before?) I saw the band play at the student union in Manchester. They had a pretty big hit in the UK, called "Beautiful Day," which is on here, and then I believe they broke up after the follow-up single tanked. This is a

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101140893924850652004-11-22T10:18:00.000-06:002004-11-22T10:28:13.923-06:00

So 12 Pearls got invited to this festival in Cincinnati at the end of September, and got invited to put a track on the official compilation CD, which is awesome. You can get your own copy at this website. And I finally got around to really listening to my copy today. I'd had it on in the car on the way back from Ohio a couple of times, but you know how it goes: you're talking, you're not really

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1101140110704398722004-11-22T10:10:00.000-06:002004-11-22T10:15:10.703-06:00

On previous releases, Jimmy Eat has let some of the original demos for their albums trickle out, and they were radically different from the finished product, allowing a window into the creative process (or letting you see what a rocker would sound like as a slow, acoustic song, or vice-versa). So, as a bonus to their new album, you could buy the deluxe edition for $2 more, containing demos of all

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100965354344329842004-11-20T09:27:00.000-06:002004-11-20T09:42:34.343-06:00

The reason I've gotten so behind in posting on this thing is that I wanted to really let this album digest with me before writing about it. Not to sound cooler-than-thou, but I've been into Jimmy Eat World since early '97, when I heard "Call It In the Air" on a CMJ sampler and picked up Static Prevails at the Mushroom in New Orleans in the $2 cut-out used bin. I ordered their self-titled EP and

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100195374600611812004-11-11T11:46:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:49:34.600-06:00

Yes, not only do I own this, but I own an autographed copy of this album. I am that cool. Dishwalla got a lot of flack for that "Counting Blue Cars" song, the one that speculated that God was a woman. When I first got to Tulane in the fall of '96, there were flyers around campus for the campus radio station that said something like "down with the Dishwallas and Everclears of the world! Listen to

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100195163358895692004-11-11T11:43:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:46:03.360-06:00

These were some nice boys from Georgia that we hung out with at a music festival in Nashville about a year ago. They'd moved from Rome, Ga. to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to "make it." (why Murfreesboro? You got me.) Anyway, we traded discs, and I've been meaning to pull this one back out for awhile. It really is good, solid roots-rock, with one drawback: everything, down to Patrick Collum's voice,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100194930356184162004-11-11T11:38:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:42:10.356-06:00

Matt (hey everybody, remember him?) was nice enough to procure this for me at a Randy's M&M bargain bin sale a few weeks back 'cause it has an REM song on it. Vic Chesnutt is a guy from Athens, Ga. who's paralyzed from the waist down and writes quirky acoustic songs. Michael Stipe discovered him and produced his first couple of albums. Sweet Relief is a charity organization that works to pay

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100194699694078942004-11-11T11:35:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:38:19.693-06:00

I think Soul Asylum are a really interesting case in rock history, because they somehow managed to hang around in the national music scene for 10 years without being any good, then suddenly had a huge album with a bunch of hit singles (Grave Dancer's Union), then went back to mediocrity. This album's from 1988, and I gotta admit, it kinda sucks. There are two good songs, "Sometime to Return," and

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100194520387462482004-11-11T11:33:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:35:20.386-06:00

Now disc 2 is pretty good; showing off all the Manics' influences, from the obvious (Guns 'N Roses, Nirvana, three Clash covers) to the less obvious ("Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "Can't Take My Eyes off of You," a George Michael cover).

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1100194403385077842004-11-11T11:30:00.000-06:002004-11-11T11:43:29.786-06:00

Got this in the discount import bin at Waterloo; disc 1 is a collection of b-sides over the Manics' career, and disc 2 is all cover versions. Disc 1 was a bit boring; no real stand-out cuts, though it was interesting to hear "Judge Yr'Self," which was supposed to be the lead single from the Judge Dredd soundtrack before Manics guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1099079490367664342004-10-29T14:50:00.000-05:002004-10-29T14:51:30.366-05:00

If you buy Supergrass' greatest hits in America, you get a bonus, 11-track live CD recorded in London sometime earlier this year. It's mostly the same tracks as the greatest hits, except live. I will say I appreciated "Caught by the Fuzz" more as an acoustic number, but the rest was pretty inessential.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1099079404266902872004-10-29T14:46:00.000-05:002004-10-29T14:50:04.266-05:00

My roommate Sam had a copy of Supergrass' second album when we were sophomores in college, and used to listen to it a lot. I always thought they were the most Brit of the Britpop bands; they had a song called "Richard III," for Chrissakes! But this hits compilation proves they were also the most retro of the Britpop bands. This album could have been released in 1971 as a greatest hits album, and

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1099079201449109392004-10-29T14:45:00.000-05:002004-10-29T14:46:41.450-05:00

I like Feeder. And this single wasn't half-bad, either.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098716124473449862004-10-25T09:50:00.000-05:002004-10-25T09:55:24.473-05:00

As I've said, REM are my favorite band, but Better than Ezra are firmly in second place. I've seen them somewhere between 10 and 15 times (I lost count), everywhere from an arena to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall club when they performed under the secret name of Manwich. It's probably sacreligious to say so, but to me, Better than Ezra are the sound of New Orleans. So this live album was right up my

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098715815167275882004-10-25T09:48:00.000-05:002004-10-25T09:50:15.166-05:00

This is probably the weirdest CD I'll do all month, maybe all year. Flogging Molly combine traditional Irish folk music with oi-style punk-rock. And you know what? It's pretty good, the first seven or eight songs, especially "Factory Girls," which features Lucinda Williams. But then I started to get bored. And 15 tracks is waaay too many.

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098715712411839662004-10-25T09:44:00.000-05:002004-10-25T09:48:32.410-05:00

Embrace have had an interesting career. They started out as a second-generation Britpop bands, ripping off the pompous bits from Oasis and the sweeping, anthemic bits from the Verve, and then combining them into big, sweeping, anthemic, pompous ballads that were huge in the UK (and completely ignored in the U.S.) "I Wouldn't Want to Happen to You" was from their second album, in 2000, and comes

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098715431302044742004-10-25T09:40:00.000-05:002004-10-25T09:43:51.303-05:00

How to do a good single: record a really-good new song, and instead of sticking it on your next album in 18 months or whatever, slap it on your single, complete with a video for the song. That's what A did on the "Starbucks" single. Not only do you get "Starbucks," which should have been a hit in America, but you get a new song called "Coming Around," which is very, very good. Top form. Another

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098200686595628532004-10-19T10:30:00.000-05:002004-10-19T10:44:46.606-05:00

I've mentioned on several occasions the fact that I really like Feeder, so getting these two singles for $1 each, with two b-sides apiece and the videos for both singles, was a pretty cool deal. The singles were on the Echo Park album, which I've done previously, so I won't mention them much. The b-sides are pretty good. The videos are worth the $1 alone, especially "Seven Days in the Sun," which

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098199814789622402004-10-19T10:27:00.000-05:002004-10-19T10:30:14.790-05:00

Happened to be in Austin today, and you know what that means: I raided the $1 discount British singles bin. These two bands offer a good contrast in how & how not to release a good CD single. Athlete, who are sort of a Beck-wannabe band from London that have some undeserved critical hype behind them, offer up the single, a halfway decent b-side, and then a crappy remix of the single. Not cool,

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098199629651902392004-10-19T10:25:00.000-05:002004-10-19T10:27:09.653-05:00

Neil Hannon is back, and he's ditched the rest of the band and the Radiohead producer. So this new album again sounds like the soundtrack to a Broadway show never written, only better. My favorite part? The song "The Happy Goth," where he informs us that "her skin is white as the snows of Hoth." Empire Strikes Back references on orchestral-pop albums are cool, kids, no matter what Tiger Beat

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1098199478743292732004-10-19T10:09:00.000-05:002004-10-19T10:24:38.743-05:00

Snuck over to Best Buy first thing this morning to get the new REM disc; it's sort of a ritual with me to get it on opening day, ever since Automatic for the People. I spent about five minutes dithering over whether or not to buy the special edition, which has 14 fold-out posters with cool art prints on one side and the song lyrics on the other. But it was $30, so I just went with the regular

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1097861275007597682004-10-15T13:15:00.000-05:002004-10-15T12:27:55.006-05:00

Disc 2 of the greatest hits makes up for some of the things missing from Disc 1: You get alternate versions of "Drive," "Pop Song '89" and "Turn You Inside-Out." But out of 15 tracks, only five of them are actual songs that aren't available on other albums, and of those five, one is an instrumental and one is a bizarre excursion into techno that is laughably bad. And do we need TWO demos of

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1097856090380482162004-10-15T10:50:00.000-05:002004-10-15T11:01:30.380-05:00

After the commercial disappointments of UP and Reveal in the U.S., Warner Bros., (who had, after all, signed REM to the largest record contract of any rock band in history back in '96, $80 MILLION) pushed for a greatest hits. And the band obliged, combining it with a huge world tour in '03. I got the deluxe two-disc edition, with awkward packaging. How does it stack up as a greatest hits? There's

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1097685768939661782004-10-13T11:40:00.000-05:002004-10-13T11:42:48.940-05:00

"The Great Beyond" teased REM fans that their next album would be a little more up-tempo, but alas, such was not to be. Instead, Reveal was almost as drum-less as UP had been, though it was a little happier. The album has the feel of the car ride home after a nice day at the beach. Which is great, but doesn't exactly rock, you know? And once you get past "Imitation of Life" and "The Lifting" (my

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220269.post-1097684837383637792004-10-13T11:17:00.000-05:002004-10-13T11:27:17.426-05:00

After UP came out, REM did a tour in the summer of '99 (I saw them in St. Louis, and it was an excellent show) where they teased fans with a new song called "Great Beyond." That song, as it turns out, was written for the soundtrack to Man on the Moon, the Jim Carrey movie about Andy Kaufman. The movie sucked balls, but I enjoyed the soundtrack, probably because in addition to "Great Beyond," REM

Mr. Peepersnoreply@blogger.com0