I just realized that "Stuck in the Garage" reached the thousand views mark while I was away! This absolutely needs to be celebrated! Instead of another wave of the EP Madness that came in honor of reviewing over twenty albums, I thought that I should do something new.
Lately, I've thought about trying something out for the journal. The idea was to go to a big used CD store and grab a bunch of albums at random, then sharing my thoughts about them after giving them a good listening-to. Well, a few days ago, I did just that, and now I've got five random CD's here to examine! I won't be breaking them down into a song-by-song analysis like I do with my regular entries, as that would result in a massive wall of text. Therefore, I'll dub this "Mystery Shots", as i'm essentially just giving you a quick dose of random music. I have to admit, I was nervous at first, because I thought that I'd end up with a bunch of bands that I'd never heard of before. Luckily for me, I started in the B section of the CD's, and somehow grabbed two albums by bands that I know fairly well! Anyway, let's get started...
The Chains - On Top of Things (2002)
A solid album by a pretty talented rock band, I believe I picked this one out of the miscellaneous C's. They have a clean and modern sound, yet throw curveballs at the listener with songs influenced by 1960's Folk-Pop and Garage Rock ( For example, "Disappearing Man", "Nothing Left Behind" and "Try, Try, Try"). There's also a fun cover of Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown! I'd never heard of this band before, but they seem like a pretty solid outfit. The CD's liner notes place them in Montreal.
Gotta love that guitar solo!
Underground Oldies Volume 7: Rare and Hard to Find Soul Oldies (2000)
Normally I steer clear of Soul (although Honey Ltd. really left an impression on me), but this is what I picked out of the assorted oldies section. And as you might have guessed, I really didn't care much for it. Every single song sounded the same, as the CD went from one slow and sappy Soul/Funk love ballad to the next. Every. Single. Song. I suppose this would be a good album to put on if you were making a porno, but otherwise it just lacks any excitement, energy, and variety among the various songs included. Soul can be a very riveting and varied genre, and this compilation fails to do it justice.
Turn the lights down...
The B-52's - Time Capsule: Songs For a Future Generation (1998)
Hooray! The B-52's! This one came out of the miscellaneous B's, right alongside another CD that I'll talk about later in the entry. With a title taken from their number "Song for a Future Generation", this CD is essentially a greatest hits anthology of their work. And honestly, it's exactly what you'd expect. It has songs from all of the different periods of their career, from "The B-52's" to "Mesopotamia, "Whammy" and beyond. Before you ask, yes, it has "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack" on it. It's a very good introduction to their music, with my favorite tracks being the odd-ball "Mesopotamia" and the catchy "52 Girls".
As anyone whose ever plugged with me before knows, I never pass up a chance to play "52 Girls"!
Koffin Kats - Self-Titled Debut (2003)
Just like with The Chains, I'd never heard of these guys before, even though they're apparently pretty well known in Psychobilly circles. I got this one out of the assorted Psychedelic/Psychobilly section (and yes, that's an actual section that the store has. I love them!) The Koffin Kats hit very hard with Psychobilly that, at times, almost crosses the border into furious Punk Rock. Their songs are all very solid and energetic, and their relative lack of variety is saved by the fact that it's a fairly short album. I had a blast with this one, and I think most Rockabilly/Psychobilly fans will get a kick out of it.
I'm in love with that intro!
The Bangles - Sweetheart of the Sun (2011)
Why didn't someone tell me that The Bangles had come out with a new album just a few years ago?! It seriously took me pulling this one out of the miscellaneous B's along with the B-52's to discover it. I must be their most clueless fan. Anyway, as I listened to it, I crossed my fingers and hoped for songs that were more in vein with their earlier and rougher music, rather than their mid/late eighties pop numbers (which are catchy in their own right, but not my cup of tea). While the album is pretty mellow (with Folk-Pop songs like "Anna Lee", "Under a Cloud", and "Circles in the Sky"), I got what I wished for! "Sweet and Tender Romance", "What a Life", and "Ball 'n Chain" definitely have a fun edge to them, calling back to the band's Paisley Underground days, and they really help to keep the album fresh and exciting! All in all, it's a fun album, and i'm glad that I discovered it by chance.
Reminds me of their debut EP. I really like it!
And thus ends the music! I really had a great time with all of these random CD's (even the Soul compilation was fun in it's own way), and I can't wait to see what bands and genres pop up the next time around! Now, I'll finish things off by giving out a big 'Thanks!' to everyone on Music Banter, and I hope that the journal gets even more strange and exciting as time goes by!
Tomorrow, as usual, I'll bring another great album with me. Since Rockabilly/Psychobilly has two albums so far in this journal, it only seems fair that Punk/Post-Punk gets another entry to even things out...