I tried really hard to get into LCD Soundsystem because I felt like I was supposed to. I even have their concert film Shut Up and Play the Hits on my Netflix Instant queue because music media is telling me that it's revelatory. No matter how optimistic I am when I listen to them, I'm always bored. It's not that I dislike dance music. It's that I dislike hipster dance music. That stuff is the worst. I remember watching LCD Soundsystem at Coachella in 2010 and their set was an incoherent mess of posturing and I was amazed at the crowd around me who seemed to be mesmerized.
Rush is probably my favorite band. 2112 is not my favorite album, however. This is usually surprising to people because 2112 is generally regarded to be their best, but in my opinion it's just their most famous. I still love the hell out of it. This song would be perfect if it weren't for the cheesy oriental melody that pops up from time to time (you know the one). In this song Geddy refers to smoking reefer, and I've wondered about the band's relationship with the drug. Rush has always seemed wholesome, but I'm pretty sure they were stoners too.
Sonic Youth is one of the best live bands I've seen. Heck, I've only seen them once and it was when all of their members were in their 50's; I could only imagine how crushing they were 20+ years ago. Their sound ranges from pure noise to laser-focused pop grunge. This one is somewhere in the middle and it's in that sweet spot that I like Sonic Youth the best. It's sad how the dissolution of Thurston and Kim's marriage brought an end to Sonic Youth, but that's one of the inevitable outcomes of being in a band with your spouse. When the marriage crumbles, so does the band.
Evergrey had a great run with In Search of Truth, Recreation Day and The Inner Circle but they lost their balance for the following two albums. Glorious Collision is an almost return to form. It's obvious that they were shooting for that Recreation Day sound, but the stink of Monday Morning Apocalypse is still burned in my nose, and I won't forget it. Evergrey will probably never be the same again. They do still try; even after their core lineup was completely gutted they still stuck together against all odds. I'll still check out everything they release out of curiosity.
I've seen Napalm Death live twice. The most recent time was last year at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. I was amazed at how brutal these guys still are after more than 30 years. They certainly don't show their age on stage and you can't hear it on their records. The Code is Red... Long Live the Code is one of their stronger recent recordings. That is saying a lot because all of their recent recordings are strong. I have to go all the way back to the mid-90's to even find a weak point in Napalm Death's discography (Diatribes).
The Black Keys sure did blow up pretty quickly. They've been around for over a decade and they did their time slogging around in clubs, but I'm talking about how they went from being nobodies to being one of the biggest bands in current modern rock seemingly overnight. It's almost a Nirvana story. Well, a 2000-and-whatever version of a Nirvana story. I still enjoy their first three albums (although their debut has been literally stuck in my car's CD player for two years and I can't listen to it any more). The Black Keys have caught a lot of crap lately and only deserve some of it.
I haven't listened to much Corrosion of Conformity since America's Volume Dealer, and that came out 13 years ago. I probably starred this with the intent of checking out what they've been up to, but never got around to it. It sounds as though they've been inching closer toward the sound of one of Pepper Keenan's other projects, Down. The strange thing is that Keenan apparently isn't even in C.O.C. anymore and doesn't play on this album. That's probably why I'm not as into this as I am their other material. Man, I really want to go back and listen to Wiseblood now.
Kassie always tells me that these guys sound like Bright Eyes. I'm not sure if she really means it, or is just saying that to annoy me because she knows that I don't like Bright Eyes. Either way, she's kind of right sometimes. This song sounds like something that Mr. Oberst would have put out. I actually hate this Titus Andronicus album, along with their newest one. I really only like The Monitor; you know, the one that actually rocks. These guys also have the most songs that are more than seven minutes long for no apparent reason. I'm probably going to go ahead and unstar this.
I never bought into the whole Odd Future thing too much, but for some reason I can tolerate Tyler, The Creator. His lyrics are childish and he tries too hard to drop f-bombs to be edgy, but I really dig his beats (if you can even call them that) and his creepy melodies. I can never listen to one of his albums in one sitting, but I will throw a song on a playlist now and then. I can only take his homophobia in small doses. Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt and the rest of the Odd Future crew will probably go down as the most over-hyped musical phenomenon of this decade.
I hate the Ram Jam version of this song. Every time it comes on the radio I guarantee you I will groan and change the station. When I searched for a YouTube video of it for the above link, I had to copy the URL and close the window as quickly as possible to avoid actually hearing it. I really enjoy this much older version of the song because I love the blues. You can really hear where Robert Plant gets a lot of his phrasing and delivery in this. If classic rock radio stations would only play this version instead of that methed-out redneck version, the world would be better off.
Listen to these songs in sequence on Spotify
Drink pairing for this post: Real Ale Brewer's Cut Kölsch
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