Archive 2014

 REVIEW:  THE AFGHAN WHIGS- DO TO THE BEAST (April)

It has been since 1998 that the Afghan Whigs have released an album, 1965.  Front man, Greg Dulli, has released several albums as the Twilight Singers and one with side project, The Gutter Twins.  In 2012, a dream came true for Afghan Whigs’ fans when the Whigs reunited for a tour.  The second dream has come true with the release of Do to the Beast, the first Afghan Whigs album since 1965.  It is hard to call Do to the Beast an Afghan Whigs reunion, with original guitarist, Rick McCollum, and any drummer from any incarnation of the Whigs both absence.  The line up is basically The Twilight Singers with original Whigs bassist, John Curley, filling the bass player role.  Musically, Do to the Beast does not pick up where 1965 left off.   It sounds closer to the Twilight Singers than the Afghan Whigs.  With that said, Do to the Beast is still a damn fine album.

Lyically, Do to the Beast is classic Greg Dulli with dark tales of sin, betrayal, and vengeance.  The album opens with the in your face rocker,  “Parked Outside”, where Dulli purrs in the first line, “if time can incinerate what I was to you” and follows with the chorus of “you’re gonna make me break down and cry”.  “Matamoros” has a rump shaking groove where Dulli boasts, “I’ll cut you down, I’ll stitch you up.  You played with fire with me. “ and closes with “I’m so excited you  decided to come over and beg”.    The album slows down with the piano ballad, “It Kills” which is so typical Dulli lyrics when he laments “it kills to watch you love another”.   “Algiers” sounds almost like it is from a western.  Dulli used to be a long time, heavy smoker.  Having quit smoking several years ago, Dulli’s voice is healthier and he shows more range than ever before on “Algiers”, hitting many high notes.  “Lost in the Woods” is a downright creepy piano ballad, sang from a stalkers’ point of view.  “Can Rova” is the most unique song on the album with lush instrumentation that creates a haunting dream like tone.  The album gains speed again with the rocker, “Royal Cream”, a tale of betrayal packed with religious imagery, where Dulli proclaims “I know you’re sleeping with another demon”.  The second act to “Royal Cream” is “I Am Fire” a rocker with awesome percussions.  “Royal Cream”/”I Am Fire” is very reminiscent of the two parts closer to 1965, “Omerta” into “The Vampire Lanois”.

Do to the Beast lyrically does not stray far from the Afghan Whigs.  Musically, it shows how Greg Dulli has grown since the Afghan Whigs’ last outing.  Do to the Beast is not like prior Afghan Whigs albums.  However, it is very much a Greg Dulli album while experimenting with new sounds.  It is a strong album both lyrically and musically and is a great listen.

REVIEW: U2- SONGS OF INNOCENCE (October)

It has been five years since U2’s last release, No Line on the Horizon.  With a band of U2’s stature, there are always high expectations for their albums.  We had hints of where U2 was heading musically with the Oscar nominated and Golden Globes winning song, “Ordinary Love” from the film, Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom and the free download release of “Invisible” in January.  Then the release day of the mystery new album U2 album kept being pushed back and it didn’t look like we would hear anymore new U2 this year.  In a surprising move, U2 suddenly and generously released Songs of Innocence on I-Tunes for free in September with deluxe editions to follow.  (Side note to the haters complaining about the Songs of Innocence free download on I-Tunes:  It was not U2’s fault that the album downloaded automatically to your library.  It is amazingly generous that U2 shared their music with fans in this manner.  This computer bug does not reflect on the quality of the music on the album.  The bug was actually caused by your precious Apple.  OK, end of my rant and on to my review of the music.)

Songs of Innocence recounts the personal, musical, political, and spiritual events from Bono’s youth that shaped his life.  Bono eloquently recounts these events both in the album’s liner notes and the songs’ lyrics.  The album begins with the big “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” an awesome tribute to the power and influence of music, specifically how the Ramones influenced U2.  I just smile when I hear Bono optimistically sing “Heard a song that made some sense out of the world.  Everything I ever lost, now has been returned.  In the most beautiful sound I ever heard”.  “This is Where You Reach Me Now” continues the theme of paying tribute to U2’s influences, in this case Joe Strummer from the Clash, who Bono sings was a “solider” with music as the “weapon”.  “California (There is No End to Love)”, Bono recalls the band’s first visit to Los Angeles and is influenced by the Beach Boys. 

Not all of the songs on the album are about the innocence of childhood but are focused on darker memories from Bono’s youth.  “Iris (Hold Me Close)” was written about Bono’s mother, who died when he was a teenager, where he laments “hold me close and don’t let me go…I’ve got your life inside of me”.    “Cedarwood Road”, named after the street Bono grew up on as child, with its driving guitar riff, shows a duality between the innocence of childhood and remembering the darker things that were kept away behind closed doors or as Bono sings “the hurt you hide and the joy you hold”.  The album gives commentary not just to Bono’s personal memories not the political and spiritual climate in Ireland during his youth.  “Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” is a commentary of the pedophile priest scandal in the catholic church.  “Raised by Wolves” and the haunting “The Troubles”, which closes the album, recall the IRA violence in Northern Ireland.  “The Troubles” features a great collaboration with singer, Lykke Li, sharing the vocals.

Songs of Innocence didn’t grab my attention at the first listen like U2 releases of the past have.  Musically, it is not that different from U2 songs of the past.  However, after several listens, the songwriting on Songs of Innocence is what U2 does best.  Bono perfectly balances personal memories with a global viewpoint in his lyrics.  It is rare to hear lyrics with so much depth, which is what makes Songs of Innocence a powerful listen.

REVIEW- BETTER THAN EZRA: ALL TOGETHER NOW (November)

Better Than Ezra was a band I always enjoyed in the 1990’s, both recorded and live.  Their live shows were always fun and their albums were good mixes of smart pop songs.  After the 1990’s, albums from the band became less frequent and ranged from the disappointing 2005 release, Before the Robots, to the great but highly underrated 2009 release, Paper Empire.  I had high hopes for the first Better Than Ezra in five years, All Together Now.  Unfortunately, the album is more like Before the Robots than their 1990’s releases or Paper Empire.

The album has some good moments.  The first single and album opener, “Crazy Lucky”, is an infectiously catchy pop song.  “Gonna Get Better” is also an enjoyable pop song.  Most of the remainder of the album is annoyingly upbeat pop songs that follow a very similar and predictable writing style.  Almost every song has a boy band “Oh, oh, oh” in the chorus.  The lyrics are trite commentaries like on “Insane” about a pregnant woman getting married and the baby’s father is someone else where front man Kevin Griffin sings “If that don’t sound insane…wait a minute there’s another love coming”.  “Dollar Sign” is a trite commentary on materialism with profound observations like “it’s a bitch keeping up” and “dollar sign right where your heart should be”.  Two songs later the same theme is revisited on “Diamond in My Pocket” with lyrics like “ohh, I know you love me.  I got a diamond in my pocket”.  “One Heart Beating” doesn’t say much beyond a repeated chorus on “there’s one heart beating, ohh, ohh, shine a light on love”.  The only time the band really breaks form is on the beautiful ballad, “Before You”, which features a gorgeous string arrangement.

What bugs me about All Together Now is that most of the songs follow similar formulas.  The band sounds like they are trying too hard to make a mainstream sounding album.  Instead the listener gets an album of songs that lack any lyrical depth.  These songs are so sugary and upbeat, the listener gets a cavity listening to this album.  I know that Kevin Griffin can still write great songs as evident by his songwriting collaboration with Matt Nathanson on “Sunday New York Times” from Nathanson’s  album, Last of the Great Pretenders.  I expected more from the band that brought us 1990’s alternative classics like Deluxe and Friction Baby.

THE BEST AND WORST OF 2014 (December)

THE BEST

BEST ALBUMS
The Afghan Whigs- Do to the Beast (see review in 2014 archive)
Jenny Lewis- Voyager- Jenny Lewis is a “new to me” artist I discovered at this year’s Forecastle Festival.  Her album is a great album of smart pop songs with some girl power slant.
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness- Self titled- Andrew McMahon is another “new to me” artist that I discovered when he opened for Matt Nathanson.  I enjoyed McMahon’s album because his songs are great melodic pop songs and McMahon is also a great piano player.
U2- Songs of Innocence (see review in 2014 archive)
Wussy- Attica- Wussy is one of the best bands in the region, originating in Cincinnati.  Wussy can’t release a bad album and Attica was a great addition to their catalog.  I was also excited that Wussy made their national television debut on CBS This Morning this year.

BEST CONCERT
I went to several great shows this year but I have to give this one to the Replacements for their appearance at the Forecastle Festival.  It was a music dream come true for me to see Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson playing together again.  It was an added bonus that they were joined by Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.  A sober Replacements was more polished than they were back in the day but they still had some of their charming sloppiness (“Tommy, what song are we playing next?).
Honorable mention: Matt Nathanson at the Mercury Ballroom in Louisville.  Matt Nathanson’s shows are always fun because of Nathanson’s stage presence.  The show was even better than his shows normally are because he mixed his set with older songs and covers.  The meet and great after the show was the icing on the cake to an already fabulous evening.

BEST REISSUES
R.E.M., though they have disbanded, were prolific in releasing reissues this year.  First, they released live albums of their two appearances (1991 and 2001) on MTV’s Unplugged.  The 1991 appearance is a classic that I have watched more times than I can count.  They followed this release with the six DVD boxset, R.E.M. TV, which is a definitive collection of their appearances on MTV over the years.  This has brought back so many memories for me.  Lastly, they released an eleven record box set of their 7 inch singles from 1983-1988.  All in all, these releases are a dream come true for R.E.M. fans and collectors.
Honorably mention goes to the Afghan Whigs for the rerelease of their masterpiece, Gentlemen, twenty one years later.  I already had the B-sides but the demos gave me a different take on this album that has been so influential to me.  (Read my article, The Afghan Whigs’ Gentlemen at 20, in the 2013 archive.)

BEST MUSIC COMEDY
Garfunkel and Oates- This duo is like a female Flight of the Concords.  Their show on IFC was smart, raunchy, and funny.  Even their name is funny, named after the lesser members of famous singing duos (they use to be a trio with DJ Jazzy Jeff).

BEST MUSIC MOVIE
Begin Again- This was a charming, underrated movie about the power of music.  Mark Ruffalo plays a burnt out music producer who forms a friendship with a struggling singer songwriter played by Keira Knightley.  Keira Knightley shows she can actually sing.  I really enjoyed the songs and story of this movie.

THE WORST

MOST OVERPLAYED SONG
Anything by the Black Keys, especially, “Gotta Get Away”.  Do I have to go to Kalamazoo to get away from hearing this song several times a day?

WHERE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS WINNER
Nickelback- Revolution- I find it funny that a band that has made a career out of writing power ballads and songs about partying decided they were going to get serious and write a political song.  Who knows what the “revolution” Chad Kroeger wants actually is but damn it you need to take these guys seriously now, they are political!

WORST MOVIE
Noah- I really do get that movies based on Bible stories are going to take creative liberties and not follow the story in the Bible exactly.  However, when you make one of the heroes of the Old Testament into a raving psychopath who is planning to kill his unborn granddaughters, I object.  This movie was so bad on so many levels, it would take me an entire another column to write about it.  Why does Noah’s hair style change like four times while he is on the ark for 40 days?  When did creatures from the Transformers appear in Biblical times?  All questions the makers of this movie ask you to ponder.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO KEVIN SMITH?
I have been a fan of Kevin Smith’s since I first saw Clerks.  I have defended his work, even the less popular films such as Jersey Girl. However, it seems as when Kevin Smith hit middle age, he didn’t really have a direction because he was too old to write slacker movies like Clerks.  However, I really question his creative direction starting with his film, Red State.  Smith first said he was retiring from film making to devote time to his podcasts and speaking engagements.  He then surprised everyone this year with the release of Tusk.  How many drugs is one on when you come up with a movie idea that revolves around a guy kidnapping someone and torturing him by trying to turn him into a walrus???  How in the world did Smith get a star of Johnny Depp’s caliber to be in this movie?  This will be the first movie of Smith’s that I am going to say “no thank you” to.  Take note, this is what happens when you do too much pot.

WORST TELEVISION TREND
Let’s Do the Time Warp- Please writers of television shows quit this annoying trend of skipping ahead many years in the story telling.  First, there was the series finale of How I Met Your Mother.  The writers have twenty two episodes devoted to the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding.  In the last episode, they decided to cram multiple years of story in to one episode to wrap thing up. The audience learns that the wedding weekend was really for nothing, a character they built up was killed off with very little character development, and something the audience was told in the very first episode of season 1 that didn’t happen actually did.  Another show that used this annoying flash forward was the second season of Masters of Sex.  On this show, the several years flash forward didn’t seem to benefit the story at all.  Like with How I Met Your Mother, a character that was built in the story was killed off as a “oh by the way” and major events happened but there was no story development.  At the same time, Masters and Johnson’s relationship seemed to be exactly in the same spot as though several years had not passed by.  This flash forward style is a weak writing technique because it leaves unexplained holes in the story and under develops characters.

WORST TELEVISION TREND PART 2
The naked shows.  When did it become OK on cable to show bare butts and blurred out  or strategically placed objects in front of nether regions?  In what alternate reality does someone appear on one of these shows and then file a lawsuit against the show because everything was properly blurred out?  There are some something that were never meant to be done naked.  This includes, but is not limited to, dating, buying a house, and rock climbing.