Vodka not Included

regina spektor

Begin to Hope

2006, Sire

produced by David Kahne

singles-

• On the Radio/ Ain't No Cover
• On the Radio/ Dusseldorf
• Fidelity/ Music Box
• Better
• Summer in the City

She's Russian, pretty, and her voice is amazing.  Anti-folk is how she explains her music, and I guess that means using creative rhythms and silly sounds to punctuate her folksy melodies.  If Jewel were tougher and Russian, and better looking...

I really can't say how much I enjoy this album...  it's a lot.  The first four tracks are the strongest, and if you don't want to buy or listen to an entire album, those four should be on your To Do list.  I have the special edition release, which has an additional 5 track EP attached.  These extra tracks are pretty forgettable, and one can see why they were left off the original release.  An interesting side note: Dashboard Confessional covered Better... of course he did, that pansy.

Exactly Like a Funeral

Nirvana

MTV Unplugged in New York

1994, DGC

produced by Alex Coletti, Scott Litt

Kurt Cobain - acoustic/electric guitar, vocals

Kris Novoselic - acoustic bass, accordion, acoustic guitar

Dave Grohl - drums, acoustic bass

Pat Smear - acoustic guitar

Lori Goldston - cello

The Meat Puppets - acoustic guitars and basses

singles:

• About a Girl

This is the first album I bought all on my own. I'm pretty proud of it actually. Recorded for Mtv's unplugged series, the album was released posthumously and debuted at #1 on the billboard. The album is mostly acoustic, although Kurt did run his guitar through an amplifier and effects pedals for Man who Sold the World. It doesn't take away from the acoustic sound however.

Not every rock band can pull off the acoustic album, most cheat and incorporate an electric bass. Nirvana's unplugged album is a perfect example of what an unplugged album ought to be. The band departs from what was expected of them, and the tracks chosen are not necessarily the hits. Not relying on Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Lithium makes this album even stronger in its own way.

DGC released the album following Kurt Cobain's tragic suicide. Even though it was recorded a year before the tragedy, listeners cant help but connect the album to the tragedy. In fact, the stage decorations (black candles and lillies) were requested by Cobain because they were "exactly like a funeral". There is a poignant moment at the end of the Leadbelly cover when Cobain loudly sighs, sounding so small and weary.

The album sold very well, I'm sure the news of the tragedy helped propel sales, but I would like to think it would have done well if Kurt had lived. It is a strong live performance. It also reveals a little window into where the band could have been going creatively in a future that never happened.

I Got Your Voodoo Right Here

Screaming Jay Hawkins

I Shake My Stick at You

1991, Aim Records

produced by Peter Noble

I like the blues.  A lot.  So much that I like to go back and find old school stuff to experience it first hand.  Much of my time in college was spent prowling old record stores for cheap music from old genres, and this album is one of those purchases.  

Screaming Jay Hawkins is best known for his one true hit I Put a Spell on You.  This dude is straight up bayou voodoo badassery.  Much more of a lowdown crass dirty sound than Dr. John's more well known brand of creole blues.  Critics have remarked that the Screaming Jay Hawkins style was borrowed heavily by other artists who became more popular as a result.  

However, Screaming Jay Hawkins did have a hugely successful live career.  He is given credit as being the godfather of shock rock, his over-the-top voodoo themed live shows helped influence other bands and stage acts like Alice Cooper, Kiss, Gwar, and Marilyn Manson.  

This is a later release for Hawkins and isn't very memorable.  

Flex The Cerebellum

Alright, back to the music project, after a much needed break. I liked the way the Blues Traveler Suite worked out, so this is another set of albums from one band. Based on the title, and the pictures below, I'm sure you've figured out Rage Against the Machine is the topic band. I'm not that subtle.

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

1992, Epic

produced by Garth Richardson

Zach de la Rocha - vocals

Tom Morello - guitar

Tim Cummerford - bass

Brad Wilk - drums

singles-

• Killing in the Name/ Darkness/ Clear the Lane
• Bullet in the Head/ Settle for Nothing
• Bombtrack
• Freedom/ Take the Power Back

There has been so much said of this album, including "one of the best metal albums of all time" and "I wish they had stopped at this album". Not only is the sound unique to its time (1992: hair metal was gearing down, grunge was gearing up), but it is the first successful and truest blending of rock and hip hop. This album debuts a sound that is never shy, never apologizes, and is powerful in its simplicity.

There are only 4 members, and only 4 instruments used: a guitar from the Eddie Van Halen/ Jimi Hendrix schools of experimentation, a funky yet heavy drum, a hard rocking rhythmic bass, and a hip hop voice. This fact not only makes what is heard incredible, but also lends an amount of honesty and integrity to a music scene full of overdubs, extra musicians, synthesizers, turntables and auto-tune.

The subject matter of Rage Against the Machine is not for everyone, and for as many people sucked into the music due to the revolutionary, humanist, and leftist themes, there are many turned off by the lyrics that make one think and challenge public perception, status quo, and conservative values. These songs are not easy party music tracks, love songs, or Dio-esque epics about rainbow dragons and vikings.

De La Rocha raps and rants about police brutality and racism in America, big media, manifest destiny, urban slums, apartheid, and empowerment.

Thought provoking? Yes. Fueled by anger? Absolutely. I think the best thing about these songs are the ability to inspire one to think outside of the proverbial box, challenge conviction, and formulate opinions based on experience, asking questions, and taking ones education in ones own hands.

Rage Against the Machine

Evil Empire

1996, Epic

produced by Brendan OBrien

singles-

• Bombtrack/ Fuck the Police
• Bulls On Parade/ Hadda be Playing on the Jukebox
• People of the Sun/ Zapatas Blood/ Without a Face
• Vietnow/ Clear the Lane/ Black Steel --> Zapatas Blood

The sophmore effort from Rage Against the Machine came four years later.  The sound doesn't change much on this album from track to track, and borrows heavily from it predecessor.  The subject matter of the individual tracks are far more interesting than the actual songs, where on the debut album the opposite feels true.

There are good moments. Vietnow pulls a classic hip hop move and samples the riff from The Wanton Song by Led Zeppelin. Without a Face and Year of the Boomerang are able to change up an otherwise train of similar sounding metal tunes. Still, much on this album bears a listen. Subject matter expands to cover the Zapatistas, the Zoot Suit Riots, The Black Panthers, the LA Riots, domestic violence, AIM and Leonard Peltier, the Christian Right and conservative radio pundits, class war, sexism, and colonialism.

For me, personally, I heard this album first and it has had a lasting impression. Although I agree the other albums are better, this one still has moments that can not be outdone by earlier or later work.

Rage Against the Machine

Battle of Los Angeles

1999, Epic

produced by Brendan OBrien

singles -

• Guerrilla Radio/ Without a Face
• Sleep Now in the Fire/ Guerrilla Radio/ Bulls on Parade/ Freedom
• Testify/ Guerrilla Radio/ Freedom
• Calm Like a Bomb

The last album of original content, Battle of Los Angeles came out to critical acclaim when I was in high school. I remember being surprised to hear sounds that I hadn't previously heard from Rage Against the Machine, specifically Tom Morello.

This album showed a more mature band and a deeper more polished writing style. Instead of relying on incessant chanting of revolutionary and angry propaganda phrases, there is a focus on story telling, versus, even a hint of singing, which of course makes the chanting of phrases even more powerful. In the end, I guess, reliance on old habits dies hard.

Unlike Evil Empire, where there are forgettable tracks indistinguishable sometimes from others, this album can be listened to from beginning to end, no skipping required. Each track could have been a single, the deeper into the album one gets, the deeper and more adventurous the music gets.

Subject matter expands again to include Mumia Abu Jamal, 1984, privatization and outsourcing, the war on illegal immigration, and Christian missionaries.

While looking up some things for these posts I ran across online postings in music forums. Everytime I read anything from online forums there a few things I always see.

1: Someone has to make it very clear how much he dislikes whatever is being discussed, usually in a way that makes him seem uneducated, closeminded, and unaware of being uneducated and closeminded.

2: No one is able to properly defend and debate said hater in a coherent, educated manner which ends in both parties arguing about each others' homosexuality.

3: the anti-rage sentiment stems from a very few similar statements. I base this on reading such things more than once, in more than one place.

The first is that the band whines about leftist ideologies and needs to grow up, shut up and just play music. This seems to be a knee-jerk reaction that anyone would make after their culture has been questioned, and the comfort of their world has been threatened. Frankly, that particular phrase irks me more than anything else.

There has always been dissent and struggle in music, especially rock and roll. If Elvis, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana had all shut up and played the music that was expected, there would never be any innovation, or change, ever, and we'd all be still listening to good ole country tunes, turn of the century folk music, and classical baroque.

Many bands and musicians that are most revered by our society have a foot (sometimes two) in dissent, revolution, protest, and humanism. And this spans every genre of popular music, from country (Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings), to folk (Woody Guthrie, Steve Goodman, John Prine, Pete Seeger), rock (Jefferson Airplane, MC5, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, U2), metal (Metallica, Guns and Roses, System of a Down) hip hop (the NWA, the Fugees, KRS1, Immortal Technique, Atmosphere, the Coup), punk (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, Rise Against). and truly, any artist ever influenced by any of those already mentioned also carry with them the culture of dissent. Personally, if they all just shut up and played music, it would be pretty uninspired, banal, and boring.

Shut up and play music?  Aye Aye, Captain!

The other complaint I read a lot is that the music sounds the same on every track and the guitar "screeching" is an unimaginative, old, and worn out gimmick. First of all... if you want an album that is completely different from track to track with no similarity, or stylized fingerprint, buy a comp record like NOW 20, or Hot Hits of the 90s. Second... one would have to be pretty dense to not appreciate the Tom Morello sound. Not only has he adapted his play to incorporate sounds never before heard through an amplifier, but is able to seamlessly blend conventional playing with his more inventive style. This makes me wonder if online boards had been around in the 60s and 80s, if similar statements would have been made of Hendrix, Tony Iommi, and Eddie Van Halen.

More than Meets the Eye

I found this interesting table earlier today.  Its a depiction of famous trilogies, most are actually more than trilogies.  The chart shows how the three (or more) films matched up to one another as far as how fans view them.  As far as I can tell, concerning general nerdom sentiment, its pretty accurate.  There are a few trilogies I would like to see added, including Toy Story, the other Star Wars trilogy, Silence of the Lambs, Mission Impossible, The mighty Ducks, The Mariachi trilogy (Once upon a Time in Mexico...), and Austin Powers.

Another trilogy that ought to be in this graphic is Transformers.  The title of this post should be I Wanted More Than Meets Michael Bay's Eye, Tranformers Could Have Been Better, but thats way too long.

I saw The Dark of the Moon the other day.  It was definitely better than the last Transformers film.  When seen back to back to back, however, the trilogy is not good.  It reminds me of Die Hard and Indiana Jones, where the 2nd movie (the one in the middle) is the worst.  The biggest issue with Die Hard and Indiana Jones is the fact that they are prequels to the original.  That and the chick in Temple of Doom is a terrible actress, and protecting an airport is not as cool as a one-man siege of a building.  Transformers: The Rise of the Fallen doesn't have these excuses, however.  Dark of the Moon is so much better that it has been able to highlight the glaring ineptitude of its predecessor, much like With a Vengeance and Last Crusade did to their previous films.

The problem with Rise of the Fallen is the same issue most film franchises have when making a sequel.  The market success of the first film has creators, studio, and marketers clamoring for more.  More new characters, more action, more explosions!  The film suffers from the desire for more.  Michael Bay decided the Dark of the Moon would be the last of the Transformers films, and neatly tied up all the loose ends.  I wish he thought of doing only three movies to start with.  Planning a trilogy ahead of time is much better than doing it piecemeal.  If you dont plan ahead, you may end up with the second and third films sucking (see the graph for Jaws, Planet of the Apes, and the Matrix).

Planning ahead means you've either already written the complete story, or have a pretty good idea how it will progress (see Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Back to the Future).  Star Wars is actually a really good example of a film in three acts, the middle film being the second act, seeing the protagonist seemingly defeated, and at his greatest despair.

Transformers doesn't do this.  In fact, after watching the third film, it became clear that the second film (although references are made in passing) is not at all necessary to the plot.  The main protagonist in the second film is never mentioned, which is odd as two primes hang out together in the third film.  The Fallen (the prime who betrayed) is portrayed as such a powerful figure in Transformer history, you would think Optimus would maybe bring it up to Sentinel.  Also, there are Transformers that are never seen killed that do not appear in the third film (both autobot and decepticon).  On top of this, the arrival of the Transformers in the first film should have made someone involved with the Apollo Moon missions somewhere sit up in shock and make some important phone calls.  No one would be able to watch aliens descend on the planet and still keep that secret.

I would like to point out too that arguably the biggest baddest decepticon has been upstaged in two consecutive films by another villain.  Megatron vanishes in The Fallen, and has to be goaded into taking back his masculinity in Dark of the Moon by a human chick.  And, as cool and badass as Shockwave was, I'm pretty sure he is supposed to be a constant rival for Megatron's power.  Come to think of it, so is Starscream, although their methods vary significantly.  And while we're on the subject of decepticons, I'm also pretty sure a majority of Megatron's followers transformed into aircraft, fighter jets to be specific, not police cars, SUVs, or Mercedes Benz.

And then there is the autobots.  The only thing I did not like about the third film is the Transformers themselves.  The characters that share a name with the title of the film are upstaged by just about every human character.  I wanted to see a movie about shape changing robots, not a bunch of cliche human characters.  The autobot characters are sadly underdeveloped.  And the ones that are developed even a little bit are ones that no one cares about (like the old smarty pants inventor, and the two annoying little toy-sized ones).  The Fallen had the same issue.  The focus is put on the newly introduced characters and not spent making the older characters stronger.  I wanted to see more Ratchet, and Sideswipe, and Ironhide.  What I got was two smartass Chevy Sparks, motorcycles, a crusty old transformer named Q (watch Bond movies much?) an RC truck, Nascars, and a metal gremlin.  Pretty lame.  There are so many better autobots to choose from.  Why make up stupid ones?

If Transformers had aspired to be a trilogy of epic proportions, a three act play ought to have been conceived ahead of time.  Even if the first film flopped and no other films were made, they would still have an anchor with which to draw from, one film at a time.  Continuity would have saved the second film, and made the third less awkward.  Oh... and all three films may have had better plots.