I was informed this afternoon that I am a "sound snob." As much as I wanted to become all defensive, take this as a huge insult, and be incredibly offended... I realized that this is totally true. I, GuitarGuyTim, am a sound snob! I'm not sure where my level of snobbery began, possibly all the concerts or the hours and hours of sitting in a studio. Regardless, somewhere in my 28 years of existence I've come to love high fidelity sound. In my opinion, there is nothing better than sitting back and listening to a great album on a great set of speakers!
Today, the Beatles, my favorite band of all time gave me something I didn't even know I was missing, truly hi-fi CD reproductions of their music! This afternoon while listening to The White Album, I was blown away by the clarity of Ringo's cymbal crashes and the thump of Paul's bass, among many other subtle improvements.
Musically the first thing you'll notice is that the volume level is substantially hotter (louder). The clarity is so good that the songs literally sound like they were recorded yesterday, not between 40-50 years ago. In addition to the volume increase, you can also hear the individual instrument better. The original '87 remasters were "muddy" sounding, meaning the instruments would blend in with one and other and parts of the mix were all but lost. This is no longer so, if you are familiar with the Beatles catalog you'll be amazed by the array of instruments you haven't noticed in the past.
One particular moment that stuck out to me was the 'bass line' on I Will which is actually sung by Paul. It is far more present and clearly a voice, not an instrument. You'll also notice a heavier reverb sound, amp feed back, longer ring of cymbals and much more. Other things like amp buzz in While My Guitar Gently Weeps and finger scrapes in Blackbird, give these remastered tracks the feeling of being live performances, like only the Beatles could produce.
The only criticism I can find (and it may be unfounded) is that all of the individual albums are in stereo. This maybe unfounded since I haven't listened to any of the earlier albums, but up until I believe either "Hard Days Night," or "Help" everything was recorded on two track tape. One track for the vocals, the other for the instrumentation. Not to be too critical, but I can't see how you can make an amazing stereo mix with only two tracks. Then again, I haven't heard any of the early albums yet, so I may be totally wrong.
So the question is, should you go re-buy the entire collection. The answer to this isn't so easy, obviously the new packaging is cool as are the mini-documentaries that are included with each album, but then again those are more for hard core fans and not casual listeners. If you're going to listen to the actual CD's these are a must have, if you're going to rip them to mp3's and stick them on your iPod, don't waste your time with the new versions. As for me, I'm afraid that I've found something to spend my hard earned cash on.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thank You Walmart for Screwing Up!
According to my incredibly reliable sources (wikipedia) We have Walmart to thank for the early release of Weezer's latest "If you're wondering if I want you to (I want you to)." Apparently the track was put up for sale on Walmart.com a week early by accident. Instead of freaking out, the folks over at Weez central decided to go with it (although official sales of the single won't be out until next week). So, if you haven't heard it yet... you're going to have to go to weezer.com, sorry they killed the youtube link... ***quick update, this track has been added to my player at the bottom!
My initial reaction was, "Wow this kind of sounds like the Violent Femmes," and although I still think that, I'm really enjoying IYTIWYT(IWYT). I would go as far as saying that I think this may be the best First Album Single since the Maladroit days. I honestly think IYTIWYT is better than both "Beverly Hills" and "Pork and Beans." Now don't get me wrong, I loved both of those tracks, especially the wahwah solo in "Beverly Hills" and the Pinkerton-est sound of "Pork and Beans," so musically this track may not be better, but lyrically I definitley think it is. It seems to fit right in line with Weezer's "glory days" (you know all that early stuff that some of you think is the only "true Weezer").
Along with this official first release, the boys over at Weez-town also gave us a taste of what other portions of the new album are going to sound like last month in Korea and Japan.
The first live track has already been heard by those of use who own Alone II, it's called "I Can't Stop Partying"
Next comes "I''m Your Daddy" and finally to finish things up, "Girl Got Hot" Unfortunately I can't embed either of these since they're not on Youtube. They are being broadcast from some site in Brazil, so if you go to googlevideo.com and search Weezer+the title of the song, you should be able to hear them no problem.
As stated above, I really liked "If You're Wondering..." The other three tracks are iffy, but then again all we have are live versions recorded with cellphones, so undoubltedly the studio versions will be much better, right? All are catchy, I'll give them that, but I'm not sure how I feel about the lyrics/subject matter...
The track "Girl Got Hot" really cracked me up (warning here comes a story from my life so you may want to close your laptop screen...). Several years ago (Pre-Green album), I was a young LDS missionary in Mozambique. I was working with another Elder Devin (Devok) Sheppard, who happened to be a fellow guitarist. While wondering the suburbs (huts) of Matola, we decided that upon returning to the U.S. we were going to start an awesome band called Optimus-Prime. Both being fans of Weezer (Blue and Pinkerton, since that is all that existed up to that point) we decided we wanted to be the band that when people described us, they'd say to their friends, "Optimus-Prime, you know, the guys who sound like Weezer, but aren't Weezer." (keep in mind, we both though Weezer was... well... dead) While in Moz. we wrote (well came up with lyrics at least) for several songs, one being entitled "Early Bloomer" which was about a guy who was really mean to this girl in elementary school/Jr. High because she liked him. Now many years later, he's doing everything he can to get her attention, but she won't give him the time of the day. It is strikningly similar to the subject of "Girl Got Hot."
The realization of the similarity between these two songs has brought me to two different conclusions, the first being all the similarities of my music which I wanted to sound like Weezer was purely coincidental. The second on the other hand, the one I like to believe is this, clearly I know where the band is headed, more so than they know themselves... Since we know that bassists are the most dispensible part of Weezer, it looks like Mr. Schriner (as much as we love you) has to go to make way for bassist #4. Yup, I'll be rockin' out stadiums with my trusty Thunderbird, booyah!
Just incase you're wondering what ever happened to these Optimus-Prime tracks. Most of them never saw the light of day, probably to the betterment of the music community. A few did make appearances in my band at BYUI, Smells Like A Girl (yes that was our name). They were re-worked by myself and Cory Brown. A handful of lucky... or un-lucky depending on your opinion, people heard variations of "Amnesia" "Early Bloomer" "Childhood Dream" "Another Stupid Girl" "Psycho-Ex" and possibly a few others. At various preformances (Sunrise 43 Living Room, Ward Tallent Show, Jamba Juice... yeah we were playing the big-time venues in Rexburg :)
-T
My initial reaction was, "Wow this kind of sounds like the Violent Femmes," and although I still think that, I'm really enjoying IYTIWYT(IWYT). I would go as far as saying that I think this may be the best First Album Single since the Maladroit days. I honestly think IYTIWYT is better than both "Beverly Hills" and "Pork and Beans." Now don't get me wrong, I loved both of those tracks, especially the wahwah solo in "Beverly Hills" and the Pinkerton-est sound of "Pork and Beans," so musically this track may not be better, but lyrically I definitley think it is. It seems to fit right in line with Weezer's "glory days" (you know all that early stuff that some of you think is the only "true Weezer").
Along with this official first release, the boys over at Weez-town also gave us a taste of what other portions of the new album are going to sound like last month in Korea and Japan.
The first live track has already been heard by those of use who own Alone II, it's called "I Can't Stop Partying"
Next comes "I''m Your Daddy" and finally to finish things up, "Girl Got Hot" Unfortunately I can't embed either of these since they're not on Youtube. They are being broadcast from some site in Brazil, so if you go to googlevideo.com and search Weezer+the title of the song, you should be able to hear them no problem.
As stated above, I really liked "If You're Wondering..." The other three tracks are iffy, but then again all we have are live versions recorded with cellphones, so undoubltedly the studio versions will be much better, right? All are catchy, I'll give them that, but I'm not sure how I feel about the lyrics/subject matter...
The track "Girl Got Hot" really cracked me up (warning here comes a story from my life so you may want to close your laptop screen...). Several years ago (Pre-Green album), I was a young LDS missionary in Mozambique. I was working with another Elder Devin (Devok) Sheppard, who happened to be a fellow guitarist. While wondering the suburbs (huts) of Matola, we decided that upon returning to the U.S. we were going to start an awesome band called Optimus-Prime. Both being fans of Weezer (Blue and Pinkerton, since that is all that existed up to that point) we decided we wanted to be the band that when people described us, they'd say to their friends, "Optimus-Prime, you know, the guys who sound like Weezer, but aren't Weezer." (keep in mind, we both though Weezer was... well... dead) While in Moz. we wrote (well came up with lyrics at least) for several songs, one being entitled "Early Bloomer" which was about a guy who was really mean to this girl in elementary school/Jr. High because she liked him. Now many years later, he's doing everything he can to get her attention, but she won't give him the time of the day. It is strikningly similar to the subject of "Girl Got Hot."
The realization of the similarity between these two songs has brought me to two different conclusions, the first being all the similarities of my music which I wanted to sound like Weezer was purely coincidental. The second on the other hand, the one I like to believe is this, clearly I know where the band is headed, more so than they know themselves... Since we know that bassists are the most dispensible part of Weezer, it looks like Mr. Schriner (as much as we love you) has to go to make way for bassist #4. Yup, I'll be rockin' out stadiums with my trusty Thunderbird, booyah!
Just incase you're wondering what ever happened to these Optimus-Prime tracks. Most of them never saw the light of day, probably to the betterment of the music community. A few did make appearances in my band at BYUI, Smells Like A Girl (yes that was our name). They were re-worked by myself and Cory Brown. A handful of lucky... or un-lucky depending on your opinion, people heard variations of "Amnesia" "Early Bloomer" "Childhood Dream" "Another Stupid Girl" "Psycho-Ex" and possibly a few others. At various preformances (Sunrise 43 Living Room, Ward Tallent Show, Jamba Juice... yeah we were playing the big-time venues in Rexburg :)
-T
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thanks Jack Black for Teaching Us the Importance of Music.
A few days ago while flipping through the channels, I came across a movie I absolutely love, but for some reason haven't watched in a while. The movie being, School of Rock. I would personally consider School of Rock to be one of Jack Black's best films, although in my opinion, aside from Nacho Libre there really isn't much competition...
I stared watching right as Mr. Schneee... aka. Mr. S., aka Dewey Finn, realizes that the class members not only play instruments, but play them well. As part of his scheming he organizes his students into a band and the accompanying personnel. The scene following the bands first practice is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. Larry, the nerdy keyboard player, approaches Mr. S. and tells him that he can't be in the band because only cool people are in bands, and he isn't cool. Later on in the film another similar conversation takes place between Mr. S. and Tomika (a young girl who is embarrassed to sing in front of a crowd because of her weight). Mr. S. explains to her that Aretha Franklin is also over weight, but after she sings, everyone wants to party with Aretha.
These scene really cracks me up when I think about the different friends I played with and bands I played in throughout Jr. High and High School. Although there is some kind of perception that people in bands are cool, nothing could be further from the truth. My first band consisted of a choir member, brass band member, and a drama kid. Not the coolest kids in the school by any means. But you know what, none of that mattered to us. The fact that we weren't on sports teams, weren't in student-body leadership, didn't have girlfirends, and in my case wore Coke bottle glasses, didn't matter. What did matter is that we could pull off half-decent covers of "The Sweater Song" and "Say it ain't so" by Weezer, "She" and "When I Come Around" by Green Day, "Mary Janes Last Dance" and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty, and ten or fifteen other tunes. When we were playing it didn't matter that we were 'nerds' all that mattered is that we rocked!
I remember my sophomore year in high school me and a couple of friends were invited to play at one of the "cool" girls birthday parties. It was a little awkward when we showed up, the party goers consisted of all of the members of student government (student-body pres, VP, class presidents, VP's, counsel members, etc.), cheerleaders, football players, you know all the popular kids. Then there we were, we didn't wear cool clothes, didn't really participate in school activities, and we definitely didn't hang out in "Stud Hall." Needless to say, we were out of our element.
We set up our gear, played a few popular songs from the time, probably consisting of Weezer, Green Day, Live, Collective Soul, maybe some DMB or U2, and finally ending with a rendition of "Birthday" by the Beatles.
Post the performance we suddenly fit in, people who wouldn't give us the time of day at school were suddenly talking to us. You'd be amazed by how many high school football players are fascinated by the electric guitar. After that performance things started to change for me. By this point in life I had shed the glasses for contacts and had a decent hair cut (I'm sure those things helped), but now instead of being looked at as just another guy who wore Beatles or Zepplin shirts because it was cool, I was known for wearing them because I was a musician.
Battle of the Bands was always a highlight for me and my friends. It was the one time of year that we got to take over the assemblie, and instead of watching the popular kids put on lame skits, we got to rock everyone's face off! For the week or two after the Battle of the Bands, people we didn't even know would come up and tell us how much our band rocked. It was the ultimate high for the non-athletic, non-popular guitar nerds.
When I look back at my high school days, and early college days, most of my best memories involve me holding a guitar or bass.
It seems as though all of my posts lately have mentioned Weezer and in particular Rivers Cuomo. I fully acknowledge this is due to my excitement about the upcoming Weezer album, but even with that, I think what I have to say is applicable regardless of whether a new album is on it's way or not. It seems like musicians/rock stars have always tried to portray themselves as being cool. This was particularly apparent in the 80's when their hair and guitar solos were as big as their egos. This all changed in the 90's with Weezer. They showed the world that nerds can be cool too. The funny thing is when you think about the percentage of people who are cool or popular verses those who aren't, you'll realize that maybe 10% of the population fits into the cool crowd. I think that's why Weezer has been successful for so long, they sang songs for the rest of us... the un-cool 90% of the world. Weezer's second album Pinkerton has been recognized by many as the first true Emo album. There exists an entire genre of non-cool kids making music now, and all of this can go back to Weezer showing the world that its okay to be yourself, cool or not.
In the end, not everyone is going to be a football or basketball star, not everyone is cut out to be a homecoming or prom king/queen, but everyone can excel and be 'cool' in his or her own respective area. For me, it was music, for others this could be anything; art, drama, math, science... whatever you are good at.
I have heard and read over and over again about school districts pulling the arts from their curriculum to save money. This is essentially depriving a huge faction of their students the chance to excel. From my perspective, the guys playing guitar in the hall of the high school and the guys making pots in the ceramics class are just as important as the guys on the football field. Together they create a society, and once one piece is removed the balance is gone and everyone suffers.
It's kind of funny to think that such important lessons can be taught to us through silly movies staring people like Jack Black, but truth is truth regardless of where it comes from. Things like music help kids who lack confidence gain the confidence they need to succeed, I know playing the guitar did just this for me.
-T
I stared watching right as Mr. Schneee... aka. Mr. S., aka Dewey Finn, realizes that the class members not only play instruments, but play them well. As part of his scheming he organizes his students into a band and the accompanying personnel. The scene following the bands first practice is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. Larry, the nerdy keyboard player, approaches Mr. S. and tells him that he can't be in the band because only cool people are in bands, and he isn't cool. Later on in the film another similar conversation takes place between Mr. S. and Tomika (a young girl who is embarrassed to sing in front of a crowd because of her weight). Mr. S. explains to her that Aretha Franklin is also over weight, but after she sings, everyone wants to party with Aretha.
These scene really cracks me up when I think about the different friends I played with and bands I played in throughout Jr. High and High School. Although there is some kind of perception that people in bands are cool, nothing could be further from the truth. My first band consisted of a choir member, brass band member, and a drama kid. Not the coolest kids in the school by any means. But you know what, none of that mattered to us. The fact that we weren't on sports teams, weren't in student-body leadership, didn't have girlfirends, and in my case wore Coke bottle glasses, didn't matter. What did matter is that we could pull off half-decent covers of "The Sweater Song" and "Say it ain't so" by Weezer, "She" and "When I Come Around" by Green Day, "Mary Janes Last Dance" and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty, and ten or fifteen other tunes. When we were playing it didn't matter that we were 'nerds' all that mattered is that we rocked!
I remember my sophomore year in high school me and a couple of friends were invited to play at one of the "cool" girls birthday parties. It was a little awkward when we showed up, the party goers consisted of all of the members of student government (student-body pres, VP, class presidents, VP's, counsel members, etc.), cheerleaders, football players, you know all the popular kids. Then there we were, we didn't wear cool clothes, didn't really participate in school activities, and we definitely didn't hang out in "Stud Hall." Needless to say, we were out of our element.
We set up our gear, played a few popular songs from the time, probably consisting of Weezer, Green Day, Live, Collective Soul, maybe some DMB or U2, and finally ending with a rendition of "Birthday" by the Beatles.
Post the performance we suddenly fit in, people who wouldn't give us the time of day at school were suddenly talking to us. You'd be amazed by how many high school football players are fascinated by the electric guitar. After that performance things started to change for me. By this point in life I had shed the glasses for contacts and had a decent hair cut (I'm sure those things helped), but now instead of being looked at as just another guy who wore Beatles or Zepplin shirts because it was cool, I was known for wearing them because I was a musician.
Battle of the Bands was always a highlight for me and my friends. It was the one time of year that we got to take over the assemblie, and instead of watching the popular kids put on lame skits, we got to rock everyone's face off! For the week or two after the Battle of the Bands, people we didn't even know would come up and tell us how much our band rocked. It was the ultimate high for the non-athletic, non-popular guitar nerds.
When I look back at my high school days, and early college days, most of my best memories involve me holding a guitar or bass.
It seems as though all of my posts lately have mentioned Weezer and in particular Rivers Cuomo. I fully acknowledge this is due to my excitement about the upcoming Weezer album, but even with that, I think what I have to say is applicable regardless of whether a new album is on it's way or not. It seems like musicians/rock stars have always tried to portray themselves as being cool. This was particularly apparent in the 80's when their hair and guitar solos were as big as their egos. This all changed in the 90's with Weezer. They showed the world that nerds can be cool too. The funny thing is when you think about the percentage of people who are cool or popular verses those who aren't, you'll realize that maybe 10% of the population fits into the cool crowd. I think that's why Weezer has been successful for so long, they sang songs for the rest of us... the un-cool 90% of the world. Weezer's second album Pinkerton has been recognized by many as the first true Emo album. There exists an entire genre of non-cool kids making music now, and all of this can go back to Weezer showing the world that its okay to be yourself, cool or not.
In the end, not everyone is going to be a football or basketball star, not everyone is cut out to be a homecoming or prom king/queen, but everyone can excel and be 'cool' in his or her own respective area. For me, it was music, for others this could be anything; art, drama, math, science... whatever you are good at.
I have heard and read over and over again about school districts pulling the arts from their curriculum to save money. This is essentially depriving a huge faction of their students the chance to excel. From my perspective, the guys playing guitar in the hall of the high school and the guys making pots in the ceramics class are just as important as the guys on the football field. Together they create a society, and once one piece is removed the balance is gone and everyone suffers.
It's kind of funny to think that such important lessons can be taught to us through silly movies staring people like Jack Black, but truth is truth regardless of where it comes from. Things like music help kids who lack confidence gain the confidence they need to succeed, I know playing the guitar did just this for me.
-T
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rivers Cuomo, My Friend and Yours....
Well friends, it has been nearly 9 months since my last post. Life's just been so busy between grad school, work, and having a crazy toddler... but I'm back, and I'm going to start writing again. Besides, there are so many great albums, or at least albums by great bands that are on the horizon. There is no reason why I shouldn't be listening and writing... Enough blabber though, let's discuss the topic at hand.
A few months ago, a good friend of mine made a comment that disturbed me... The situation stemmed from a discussion about the great (in my opinion) and not-so-great (his opinion) band Weezer. My friend informed me that I am not a true Weezer fan because I enjoy their four (soon to be five, hence finally writing about this incident) albums post Pinkerton.
I've thought about this statement of me "not being a true Weezer fan," quite a bit since there seems to be an attitude among many that anything post Pinkerton is worthless teeny-bop-pop-crapola...
I think the best way to address this comment is by creating our own analogy of a friendship... Imagine being in 8th grade back in 1994 (since that's where I was), and you and I make a new friend by the name of Rivers Cuomo... He's kind of a shy, obscure guy, wears Buddy Holly glasses, plays Dungeons and Dragons, loves KISS, has relationship issues, and invites you to destroy his sweater. Somehow this awkwardness/nerdyness becomes cool and suddenly everyone loves Rivers. He rides this trip for a few years, but deep down inside he's really Blue.
Not knowing how to deal with this coolness, in 1997 Rivers tries to open up to all of his friends and show us what's really going on inside. Now instead of dwelling on all the awkward things of '94, he talks about pointless/failed relationships, popularity, half Japanese girls, pink triangles, more Japanese girls and butterflies. After seeing and hearing all of the things that are really going on inside of Rivers, most of you rejected him. Suddenly he wasn't cool anymore. Because of this, our pal Rivers goes into seclusion, sells all his belongings, paints his walls black, and then goes off to Harvard to study.
After a few years, our pal Rivers comes back. Now it's 2001 and we all greet him with open arms. All of his old friends are so happy that he's back in our lives. This time around Rivers is all about hash pipes, tropical islands, photographs, girl friends, etc. Ulike the dark depressed Rivers of '97 that so many friends rejected, the new '01 Rivers is light hearted, and having fun. So what did you do? You sat around and complained that this new happy Rivers isn't as good as the open, depressed Rivers. Yeah, that's right four years ago you didn't like Rivers being open and dark and now you're complaining that he isn't like that anymore... Our good friend Rivers just can't seem to please some of you. The fact is, and you are all going to hate me for this, but the Green album is very similar to the Blue album, a little bit more poppy, but very similar.
Although you, and many like you are still complaining about Rivers, he gains a bunch of new friends with his new-found happy attitude. Just for the fun of it, less then a year later in 2002 he decides to do whatever he wants. He says things like, "Sit down and quiet everybody,
you got a long way to go," yeah Rivers is taking control now, he continues, "If you want me, you can't have me," and so on. Essentially Rivers has figured you out, you're never going to be happy, all you're going to do is complain about him and hope he goes back to being depressed, even though you didn't like him when he was that way... Some friend you are. As a side note, I have more than once heard Maladroit referred to as 80's hair-rock... and all I have to say is, are you kidding me? Do you know what 80's rock is? Go listen to some Poison, White Lion, Cinderella, or Bon Jovi... then you tell me if this is the same. Sure Maladroit is Weezer's most guitar heavy album to date, but it is by no means 80's hair-rock. It does happen to be a brilliant album though.
Anyway back to our friend Rivers. In 2005, with or without you, Rivers has become more popular than ever, but now he's enjoying life. He starts singing about things ranging from Beverly Hills, to spiders, drugs, and he even apologizes for not being so nice in his earlier days. What do you do, instead of giving him a chance now, you don't even listen what he has to say, instead you hear one radio hit (sorry I'm straying from the analogy) and you decide it just isn't as good as the good ol' days.
In '08 Rivers is back again, having more fun than ever. He's now into making trouble, dreaming, being the greatest, and of course pork and beans, and like '05 without even giving him a chance you dis the fact that he's now happily married, has a kid and is enjoying life and ask for the guy who lived in an all black apt. 10 or so years ago.
Here's the point, how can you call yourself a "true" Weezer fan, when all you care about is depressed Rivers... Come on, instead of dwelling on '97 why don't you actually give the new four/five albums a chance. You might surprise yourself.
Below I have listed several tracks that are as good as, if not better than a good deal of material on both Blue and Pinkerton.
Green:
Hash Pipe - Sure it was on the radio too much, but it is a great track!
Island in the Sun - Not my favorite track, but is honestly like Holiday part II.
Glorious Day - Love it, love it, love it.
Maladroit:
American Gigolo - I love this track because it really addresses exactly what I'm ranting about today.
Take Control - Great guitar work, particularly the solo, and all around an awesome track!
Fall Together - Can you tell that I really like the heavy tracks?
Make Believe:
Perfect Situation - This one is totally in the top 10 best Weezer tracks ever.
Hold Me - You're looking for the vulnerability of '97, just found it.
Damage to Your Heart - Another honest and emotional song... I read somewhere that Weezer gets less mature with each album, but I'm just not seeing it.
Red:
Pork and Beans - I just have to bring this one up, because musically you know this would have fit perfectly on Pinkerton.
Dreaming - Now we're jumping back to the '94 sound. Very retro Blue-ish track.
The Angel and the One - Forget top 10 ever, this song deserves top 5 of all Weezer songs.
There you go, it's time to get over the hate, get over your wanting to dwell in the depressing past of '97. It's time to grow up like Rivers and embrace him with open arms... At the end of the day, aside from all your complaints, you know that Weezer is still putting out some of the best alt-rock songs on the radio.
***please don't take this too seriously, if you're a Weezer fan I consider you a friend regardless of which albums you preference. And just for the record I love both Blue and Pinkerton, and am anxiously awaiting Pinkerton's Deluxe release.
A few months ago, a good friend of mine made a comment that disturbed me... The situation stemmed from a discussion about the great (in my opinion) and not-so-great (his opinion) band Weezer. My friend informed me that I am not a true Weezer fan because I enjoy their four (soon to be five, hence finally writing about this incident) albums post Pinkerton.
I've thought about this statement of me "not being a true Weezer fan," quite a bit since there seems to be an attitude among many that anything post Pinkerton is worthless teeny-bop-pop-crapola...
I think the best way to address this comment is by creating our own analogy of a friendship... Imagine being in 8th grade back in 1994 (since that's where I was), and you and I make a new friend by the name of Rivers Cuomo... He's kind of a shy, obscure guy, wears Buddy Holly glasses, plays Dungeons and Dragons, loves KISS, has relationship issues, and invites you to destroy his sweater. Somehow this awkwardness/nerdyness becomes cool and suddenly everyone loves Rivers. He rides this trip for a few years, but deep down inside he's really Blue.
Not knowing how to deal with this coolness, in 1997 Rivers tries to open up to all of his friends and show us what's really going on inside. Now instead of dwelling on all the awkward things of '94, he talks about pointless/failed relationships, popularity, half Japanese girls, pink triangles, more Japanese girls and butterflies. After seeing and hearing all of the things that are really going on inside of Rivers, most of you rejected him. Suddenly he wasn't cool anymore. Because of this, our pal Rivers goes into seclusion, sells all his belongings, paints his walls black, and then goes off to Harvard to study.
After a few years, our pal Rivers comes back. Now it's 2001 and we all greet him with open arms. All of his old friends are so happy that he's back in our lives. This time around Rivers is all about hash pipes, tropical islands, photographs, girl friends, etc. Ulike the dark depressed Rivers of '97 that so many friends rejected, the new '01 Rivers is light hearted, and having fun. So what did you do? You sat around and complained that this new happy Rivers isn't as good as the open, depressed Rivers. Yeah, that's right four years ago you didn't like Rivers being open and dark and now you're complaining that he isn't like that anymore... Our good friend Rivers just can't seem to please some of you. The fact is, and you are all going to hate me for this, but the Green album is very similar to the Blue album, a little bit more poppy, but very similar.
Although you, and many like you are still complaining about Rivers, he gains a bunch of new friends with his new-found happy attitude. Just for the fun of it, less then a year later in 2002 he decides to do whatever he wants. He says things like, "Sit down and quiet everybody,
you got a long way to go," yeah Rivers is taking control now, he continues, "If you want me, you can't have me," and so on. Essentially Rivers has figured you out, you're never going to be happy, all you're going to do is complain about him and hope he goes back to being depressed, even though you didn't like him when he was that way... Some friend you are. As a side note, I have more than once heard Maladroit referred to as 80's hair-rock... and all I have to say is, are you kidding me? Do you know what 80's rock is? Go listen to some Poison, White Lion, Cinderella, or Bon Jovi... then you tell me if this is the same. Sure Maladroit is Weezer's most guitar heavy album to date, but it is by no means 80's hair-rock. It does happen to be a brilliant album though.
Anyway back to our friend Rivers. In 2005, with or without you, Rivers has become more popular than ever, but now he's enjoying life. He starts singing about things ranging from Beverly Hills, to spiders, drugs, and he even apologizes for not being so nice in his earlier days. What do you do, instead of giving him a chance now, you don't even listen what he has to say, instead you hear one radio hit (sorry I'm straying from the analogy) and you decide it just isn't as good as the good ol' days.
In '08 Rivers is back again, having more fun than ever. He's now into making trouble, dreaming, being the greatest, and of course pork and beans, and like '05 without even giving him a chance you dis the fact that he's now happily married, has a kid and is enjoying life and ask for the guy who lived in an all black apt. 10 or so years ago.
Here's the point, how can you call yourself a "true" Weezer fan, when all you care about is depressed Rivers... Come on, instead of dwelling on '97 why don't you actually give the new four/five albums a chance. You might surprise yourself.
Below I have listed several tracks that are as good as, if not better than a good deal of material on both Blue and Pinkerton.
Green:
Hash Pipe - Sure it was on the radio too much, but it is a great track!
Island in the Sun - Not my favorite track, but is honestly like Holiday part II.
Glorious Day - Love it, love it, love it.
Maladroit:
American Gigolo - I love this track because it really addresses exactly what I'm ranting about today.
Take Control - Great guitar work, particularly the solo, and all around an awesome track!
Fall Together - Can you tell that I really like the heavy tracks?
Make Believe:
Perfect Situation - This one is totally in the top 10 best Weezer tracks ever.
Hold Me - You're looking for the vulnerability of '97, just found it.
Damage to Your Heart - Another honest and emotional song... I read somewhere that Weezer gets less mature with each album, but I'm just not seeing it.
Red:
Pork and Beans - I just have to bring this one up, because musically you know this would have fit perfectly on Pinkerton.
Dreaming - Now we're jumping back to the '94 sound. Very retro Blue-ish track.
The Angel and the One - Forget top 10 ever, this song deserves top 5 of all Weezer songs.
There you go, it's time to get over the hate, get over your wanting to dwell in the depressing past of '97. It's time to grow up like Rivers and embrace him with open arms... At the end of the day, aside from all your complaints, you know that Weezer is still putting out some of the best alt-rock songs on the radio.
***please don't take this too seriously, if you're a Weezer fan I consider you a friend regardless of which albums you preference. And just for the record I love both Blue and Pinkerton, and am anxiously awaiting Pinkerton's Deluxe release.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
Since I started posting again 2-3 days ago, I have been asked the same question a few times now, "What happened to the "Chinese Democracy" review?" I guess I alluded to it so much, that my 3 readers have felt let down since I never actually posted one... So here you go, please realize this isn't actually finished... I found this rough manuscript in my files, and with as much as I'd love to finish it, I just don't care enough to... I haven't listened to "Chinese Democracy" since I started it, and really don't have any desire to finish the last four tracks... That being said, enjoy! -T 8/16/09
We'll I've been alluding to this review for a while, primarily because I have so many ethical issues with this even being considered an authentic GnR album. To me it comes across as an Axel Rose ego trip in which he is proclaiming to the world, "I am Guns N' Roses." I have recently been wondering if asked, if Axel would claim that he was in fact the mastermind behind all the amazing guitar work or true GnR albums, and that Izzy and Slash were a facade... The other option I have come up with is that this is in all actuality a demonstration of Axl's own insecurities... He has realized that without GnR, no one cares about him, and so he's still hiding behind something that died in the early 90's. I think he realized that if he released this as an Axel Rose solo album it's sales would have hit between 5 and 7 disc's it's first week and then never sold a disc again, but by using the nostalgia behind the name GnR he would actually sell a few discs... So here we are, it's obvious that I have wanted to hate this album for quite a while now, so please realize that I am totally biased in this review.
1 - Chinese Democracy - So ummm, I'm pretty sure my first band when I was 13 years old wrote this exact song... maybe I should be suing... Three chords, death metal distortion that sounds like it's coming from a no name $25 stop box... ummm yeah, calling this GnR is an insult to the great guitarists (Slash and Izzy) who are true GnR. The sad thing is it actually starts out pretty cool before the crappy numetal/deathmetal 13 year old guitarist stars playing... Oh well... Axel sounds like Axel, that's the only GnR thing about this track. Then near the end of the track, in order to over-compensate for the lack of guitar work early on, a pseudo-EVH solo comes in... Sorry, but thus far I'm convinced that GnR is dead... Not good, especially when I've just finished the opener.
2 - Shackler's Revenge - Ummm, did I accidentally put in NIN? Oh wait, no there's Axel... So now we have dark-90's-alt with a dance beat... The solo from this track is even more over-compensating than the first track. A truly great lead guitarist (Slash) knows when to play fast and when to play slow. Every guitarist on the album thus far is just trying to show off how fast his fingers can fly... If your EVH more power too you, everyone else... well yeah you get the idea.
3 - Better - I hope the song lives up to its title and the album is getting better... Honestly, the verses aren't bad, they sound like GnR, and the guitar this time around doesn't sound like a 13 year old with a death metal stop box, but the chorus "now I know better, now you know I know better, I know you better..." or something like that... anyway, it's horrible... for the 30+ million and 17 years spent on this album, you would have though someone would have had the heart to tell Axel that his chorus is horrible. Guitar work better (for the most part), verses are decent, but the chorus is horrible.
4 - Street of Dreams - This track starts out with some nice piano and acoustic guitar (say wanna be "November Rain"), the vocals are horrible, they sound to me like Axel doing a really bad Robert Plant impersonation... The vocals just do not fit with this track at all... On the flip side, this track does have the best and most GnR like guitar solo we've heard yet.
5 - If The World - Someone please stop the bad pseudo-GnR... The classical guitar and samba sound is something that should be backing, say Carlos Santana, not Axl Rose. The music is actually pretty cool for what it is, but come on, I'm supposed to believe this is a GnR track?
6 - There Was a Time -This track started out pretty good, but the chorus kills it "It was the wrong time for you, it was the wrong time for me, it was the wrong time for everyone," who writes this garbage? (oh yeah, ego centric Axl Rose) The guitar is kind of cool though, although I'm really missing the interplay between Izzy's rhythm and Slash's lead... Where's my Velvet Revolver CD? Other than missing the rhythm guitar (which has been replaced by violins) I do think the lead guitar is interesting, and pretty cool, particularly the solo, so props to which ever of the 7 guitarists featured on the album that this is...
7 - Catcher in the Rye - So far this is my favorite track, the piano is good, the guitar is good and sounds like GnR, and the vocals fit really well. This is the kind of stuff I expect to hear from GnR. So here goes my first true props to Axl. As much as I really don't want to like anything about this album, I do think this track is pretty cool... It may even go into my GnR mix.
8 - Scraped - I'm getting tired of going on on every song... so no, just no, that's all you get for this one.
9 - Riad n' the Bedouins
10 - Sorry - I kind of like the music, it has an almost Pink Floydesq feel. I hate Axl's voice on this song, but musically its good.
11 - I.R.S.
12 - Madagascar
13 - This I Love
14 - Prostitute
So there you have it, its not a GnR album, it's an Axl solo album, and if he had the least bit of common sense he would have labeled it as so. I know that many of us would have had much more respect for the album if it would have been presented as such. One major issue I ran into is the fact the majority of the tracks are over 4 minutes and just drag, some of them probably would have been better if they would have been shorted. I give it a D+, it's not horrible, but in comparison to what GnR is, this is a joke... I'm sure you'll see hundreds of copies in the used CD stores within a matter of a few months. If you're looking for GnR, this isn't where you should be looking, go pick up the Velvet Revolver albums, you have more of GnR in that band than Axl's GnR will ever have, and additionally you don't have the ego factor behind it.
If Axel gets his act together and the second stamping of this album (if there is one) comes out for what this is, Axel's solo album... I'll considering moving my grade up to a C+...
The best part of this album is definitely the free Dr. Pepper, I'm getting because it came out. Thanks DP
We'll I've been alluding to this review for a while, primarily because I have so many ethical issues with this even being considered an authentic GnR album. To me it comes across as an Axel Rose ego trip in which he is proclaiming to the world, "I am Guns N' Roses." I have recently been wondering if asked, if Axel would claim that he was in fact the mastermind behind all the amazing guitar work or true GnR albums, and that Izzy and Slash were a facade... The other option I have come up with is that this is in all actuality a demonstration of Axl's own insecurities... He has realized that without GnR, no one cares about him, and so he's still hiding behind something that died in the early 90's. I think he realized that if he released this as an Axel Rose solo album it's sales would have hit between 5 and 7 disc's it's first week and then never sold a disc again, but by using the nostalgia behind the name GnR he would actually sell a few discs... So here we are, it's obvious that I have wanted to hate this album for quite a while now, so please realize that I am totally biased in this review.
1 - Chinese Democracy - So ummm, I'm pretty sure my first band when I was 13 years old wrote this exact song... maybe I should be suing... Three chords, death metal distortion that sounds like it's coming from a no name $25 stop box... ummm yeah, calling this GnR is an insult to the great guitarists (Slash and Izzy) who are true GnR. The sad thing is it actually starts out pretty cool before the crappy numetal/deathmetal 13 year old guitarist stars playing... Oh well... Axel sounds like Axel, that's the only GnR thing about this track. Then near the end of the track, in order to over-compensate for the lack of guitar work early on, a pseudo-EVH solo comes in... Sorry, but thus far I'm convinced that GnR is dead... Not good, especially when I've just finished the opener.
2 - Shackler's Revenge - Ummm, did I accidentally put in NIN? Oh wait, no there's Axel... So now we have dark-90's-alt with a dance beat... The solo from this track is even more over-compensating than the first track. A truly great lead guitarist (Slash) knows when to play fast and when to play slow. Every guitarist on the album thus far is just trying to show off how fast his fingers can fly... If your EVH more power too you, everyone else... well yeah you get the idea.
3 - Better - I hope the song lives up to its title and the album is getting better... Honestly, the verses aren't bad, they sound like GnR, and the guitar this time around doesn't sound like a 13 year old with a death metal stop box, but the chorus "now I know better, now you know I know better, I know you better..." or something like that... anyway, it's horrible... for the 30+ million and 17 years spent on this album, you would have though someone would have had the heart to tell Axel that his chorus is horrible. Guitar work better (for the most part), verses are decent, but the chorus is horrible.
4 - Street of Dreams - This track starts out with some nice piano and acoustic guitar (say wanna be "November Rain"), the vocals are horrible, they sound to me like Axel doing a really bad Robert Plant impersonation... The vocals just do not fit with this track at all... On the flip side, this track does have the best and most GnR like guitar solo we've heard yet.
5 - If The World - Someone please stop the bad pseudo-GnR... The classical guitar and samba sound is something that should be backing, say Carlos Santana, not Axl Rose. The music is actually pretty cool for what it is, but come on, I'm supposed to believe this is a GnR track?
6 - There Was a Time -This track started out pretty good, but the chorus kills it "It was the wrong time for you, it was the wrong time for me, it was the wrong time for everyone," who writes this garbage? (oh yeah, ego centric Axl Rose) The guitar is kind of cool though, although I'm really missing the interplay between Izzy's rhythm and Slash's lead... Where's my Velvet Revolver CD? Other than missing the rhythm guitar (which has been replaced by violins) I do think the lead guitar is interesting, and pretty cool, particularly the solo, so props to which ever of the 7 guitarists featured on the album that this is...
7 - Catcher in the Rye - So far this is my favorite track, the piano is good, the guitar is good and sounds like GnR, and the vocals fit really well. This is the kind of stuff I expect to hear from GnR. So here goes my first true props to Axl. As much as I really don't want to like anything about this album, I do think this track is pretty cool... It may even go into my GnR mix.
8 - Scraped - I'm getting tired of going on on every song... so no, just no, that's all you get for this one.
9 - Riad n' the Bedouins
10 - Sorry - I kind of like the music, it has an almost Pink Floydesq feel. I hate Axl's voice on this song, but musically its good.
11 - I.R.S.
12 - Madagascar
13 - This I Love
14 - Prostitute
So there you have it, its not a GnR album, it's an Axl solo album, and if he had the least bit of common sense he would have labeled it as so. I know that many of us would have had much more respect for the album if it would have been presented as such. One major issue I ran into is the fact the majority of the tracks are over 4 minutes and just drag, some of them probably would have been better if they would have been shorted. I give it a D+, it's not horrible, but in comparison to what GnR is, this is a joke... I'm sure you'll see hundreds of copies in the used CD stores within a matter of a few months. If you're looking for GnR, this isn't where you should be looking, go pick up the Velvet Revolver albums, you have more of GnR in that band than Axl's GnR will ever have, and additionally you don't have the ego factor behind it.
If Axel gets his act together and the second stamping of this album (if there is one) comes out for what this is, Axel's solo album... I'll considering moving my grade up to a C+...
The best part of this album is definitely the free Dr. Pepper, I'm getting because it came out. Thanks DP
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Killers - Day And Age
After my first listen through the Killers 2006 record Sam's Town, I remember thinking to myself that the band was on their way out, and that they had put all of their great material on 2004's Hot Fuss. I figured that the ultimate fate of the Killers fell into the idea that you have a lifetime to write your debut album, and only two years to write your sophomore album.
Here I sit two years later, and honestly I probably haven't sat down and listened to Hot Fuss in it's entirety in probably 6 or more months, but my last listen to Sam's Town was maybe two weeks ago. When Sam's Town was about to hit the shelves, Brandon Flowers was quoted as saying it would be "one of the best rock albums in the past twenty years" (giant.blackplanet.com, 2006) Like many others, after my first listen through I though Brandon was off his rocker... I have now come to realize that Brandon Flowers knew something that the rest of us didn't... His albums come off as... well... a little bit off, but there is something intriguing and inciting about them that keeps us listening. Then sometime off in the distance future... say 6 months or so, we too suddenly get it and albums like Sam's Town are suddenly in our Top 10 favorite albums. After listening to Day and Age, I'm convinced that once again Brandon knows something and he's waiting for the rest of us to figure it out.
1 - Losing Touch - Very cool opener, it has a little bit too much saxaphone for me, but still a very good track. In someways I wish it had a little bit more of the rock edge that so many of the tracks on Sam's Town had. Iit almost gets there around 2;45 for the second chorus and through the end of the song... but once again the sax takes off the edge that I loved so much. Overall this really is great track, the chorus and guitar solo are the two crowning moments making this track something special.
2 - Human - Total 80's throw back with a modern touch. Like everyone else, I was confused my first few listens while trying to figure out if Brandon was saying "dancer" or "denser" although I was cheering for "denser," after the explanation of "dancer" I'm cool with the lyrics. Verse two has some backing "Nintendo" sounds, as I like to call them which are actually really cool, they totally add to the 80's sound. Although this is a little slower than my preference (as in there is no distortion), still it is one of the best tracks on the album, and a great single!
3 - Spaceman - Who doesn't love a track about being abducted by aliens? This is probably my favorite track on the album. It is very up beat, but it has enough of an edge on it to make a rocker like myself happy. Additionally, there is a lot of deeper meaning to this track for all of us spoiled rich kids who aren't happy with everything we have. Very cool, good job guys!
4 - Joy Ride - Ummm 70's disco... yeah.... not my favorite track. Could someone explain to me where this disco throw back tracks are coming from, I know Maroon 5 (who I don't like, just for the record) had a hit a year or so ago that also sounded like disco... Maybe I'm just out of touch with the "cool kids" who knows. Once again, the way the Killers work, this will probably be my favorite song 4 months from now...
5 - A Dustland Fairytale - This is another very cool track, the slow piano, and lyric style reminde me of "Enterlude" and it's partner "Exitlude" both from Sam's Town, which happened to be two of my favorite moments on that album. The dynamics of this song are great, they remind me in many ways of my current favorite song of '08, Weezer's "The Angel and the One." This was an automatic favorite from my first listen.
6 - This is Your Life - The opening of this track brings back images from the film The Power of One, and P.K. dancing in front of a choir of African inmates. This track is weird, it has African style chanting, a bass line worthy of a Johnny Cash song, 80's keyboard, a U2esq guitar riff, and well Brandon Flowers... but somehow it works, and it's awesome. This one took me a few listens to appreciate it, but it's really good once you get over the weirdness.
7 - I Can't Stay - And the album gets even more bizarre... bring in the harpsichord and steel drums! This really isn't a bad track, although it sounds to me like a cruise ship band covering a Killers track :) It has a very upbeat summery sound, and reminds me of laying by the pool drinking a pina colada in the Bahamas last summer. My only real issue is the blasted saxophone. The sax really is my biggest complaint towards this album.
8 - Neon Tiger - And back to another classic Killers track that sounds great, and has lyrics that make absolutely no sense. I read somewhere that the Killers are the only huge band on the planet that can write songs that make no sense to anyone, and yet are still awesome, this track is a prime example. Although I am sure that after several listens I'll figure out what it's about.
9 - The World We Live In - This track isn't really good or bad, it's just kind of there. It's kind of catchy, but nothing too exiting. It's just kind of there.
10 - Goodnight, Travel Well - This track starts very slow and very dark. The initial percussion is provided by a ticking clock, which is pretty cool. It kind of reminds me of Pink Floyd... actually it really reminds me of Pink Floyd. It's mysterious and kind of all over the place, and ultimately very cool and a great album closer.
Although I miss the gritty edge of Sam's Town, this album has more of it than Hot Fuss did, and delivers nicely as a cross between the 80's pop and 90's pseudo-alternative-grunge the Killers have delivered in the past. Initially I was hoping that this album would be a strong competitor to Coldplay for the best rock album of the year, and although I'm not sure it quite reaches those heights (although once I figure out what Brandon was thinking, it just may...) I give it an A-. It is a very good album, and will almost assuredly make my top 5 favorite musical moments of 2008... but (as of right now) it still seems to fall shy of being an instant classic...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Rule
So this evening as I've been sitting here trying to get through "GnR's" Chinese Democracy I've created a new rule that I believe should be implemented and enforced throughout the music industry. This new rule will go by the official title of:
"The Two Founding/Significant Member Regulatory Measure of 2008"
The premise of this rule is as follows: In order for a band to continue to produce music under the bands name, at least two founding/significant members MUST be involved (I say significant because there are some people say, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who although wasn't a founding member, was clearly a significant member... The same could be said for Brian Bell of Weezer). I've come to this conclusion because honestly, Chinese Democracy ISN'T a GnR album, it's an Axel Rose solo album. I'd have much more respect for it if that was how it was positioned.
With this new rule in mind, if the members of Velvet Revolver want to change their name to Guns N' Roses, they are welcome too because they curretly have Slash, Izzy and Duff.
I really think that this rule could clear up a lot of confusion in the music industry and should be implemented imediateley.
Thanks for reading my rant :)
-Tim
"The Two Founding/Significant Member Regulatory Measure of 2008"
The premise of this rule is as follows: In order for a band to continue to produce music under the bands name, at least two founding/significant members MUST be involved (I say significant because there are some people say, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who although wasn't a founding member, was clearly a significant member... The same could be said for Brian Bell of Weezer). I've come to this conclusion because honestly, Chinese Democracy ISN'T a GnR album, it's an Axel Rose solo album. I'd have much more respect for it if that was how it was positioned.
With this new rule in mind, if the members of Velvet Revolver want to change their name to Guns N' Roses, they are welcome too because they curretly have Slash, Izzy and Duff.
I really think that this rule could clear up a lot of confusion in the music industry and should be implemented imediateley.
Thanks for reading my rant :)
-Tim
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