U2 - ACHTUNG BABY

At some point, U2 wanted to be cool. Smartly, they decided that rather than ripping off bluesmen and pretending to be American like they did for the past 4 years, they said "hey, let's try a new style by stealing other aspects of other people's music. like that young crap kids listen to these days". SO, Maurice Star came in and the rest is history...

Well, actually, Eno and Lanois went with the boys to Berlin were they hoped to rekindle the spirit of a long creatively-dead David Bowie and create a new experimental album of STUFF! that didn't work, so they went back to Ireland and wrote and recorded the album.

How does it sound? Well, that's up to you. Personally, this was the first U2 album I heard, as it was born shortly after I was, so this album is my childhood. I remember watching the music videos for it, like "even better for the real thing", which included them all falling or something. i don't know, i had a VHS tape of it somewhere...

here, U2 went for a "harsh" sound, meaning everything sounds like it was recorded by Robert Pollard. and all the songs are 45 seconds long. well, neither of that's true! but, its really distorted! and noisy! and the mix gets a little weird! I say this all in terms of U2 albums. I mean, you won't confuse this with "Confusion is Sex", but if you LOVED "the Unforgettable Fire", this might cheese you off a bit. However, it did sell 18 million copies.

I chose to review this because I listened to it while driving to Boston a month ago while moving there, and when I visited my aunt earlier this evening, we watched Bono make a fool out of himself wearing a light up suit, singing into a steering wheel, swining on it like a Cirque du Soliei character to the song "ultraviolet (light my way)", which i genuinely like. so, i listened to the album while making cookies and said "i'm gonna review this".

It brought me to a time where Bono wasn't embarrasing as much. Where he was "cool". But not "Pop"-era cool. And where he was breaking "new" ground, but not like "No Line on the Horizon" new ground. And he was "rocking", and not like "vertigo" rocking, and for one brief time, he didn't care about Africa. Such a simpler time. Now, I feel like to watch him could be a chore. I mean, there's no reason for him to sing "Bad" while wearing a light-up suit made from laser pointers while screaming about children not having clean water. I wonder how much water and energy it takes for the U2 road crew to make it through one performance? or what about how much paper it took Rolling Stone to print the same article on U2 its been printing for the past 7 years about "a back to basics, yet extravagant rock show" complete with crappy journalism and a GLOWING review of the new Pearl Jam album by Rob Sheffield, who you can see on VH1 talking about who knows what. (not to dis on Pearl Jam, but nothing is THAT great if "bugs" isn't on it).. And, the suit isn't a joke, it actually happened.

I fail to see any emotion or worthwile value in U2's most recent work.


That's why I'll listen to this.

OVERALL RATING - fine job boys! how about you and me and the fellers all get a burger together?
KEY TRACKS - ultraviolet, zoo station, until the end of the world, tryin' to throw your arms around the world.

THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282 - MOTHER OFF ALL SAINTS

So this is the one people like? I think so. I'm not sure.

YOU SEE, a lot of people like this. They LOVE this one. Other people prefer the one after this "Strangers of the Universe" as it's "normal" sounding to some degree. Some people really like "Lovelyville" (like me) for other reasons.

NOT to say this is bad. I mean, its a great album. But here's the deal -
It starts with a 1-2-3-4-5-6 punch of great songs. then some filler. then, an ok song. then a great song! then, filler! then, a better song. then, a fantastic song! then, 15 minutes of practice tape feedback stuff. then! a wonderful close to 6 minute epic instrumental. then, a slight break, 1 more good song, a heavily distorted instrumental, and some barely audible guitar noise for a minute, then, its done. and 70 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE ARE GONE FOREVER. I think honestly, that this is a fine album, but because of the sequencing, it deserves to be heard in its original double LP format. and because of its strong start, i feel that unlike "lovelyville", its tends to meander around a bit, but then it turns around to kick you in the teeth again.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- lots more banjo!
- anne's jam "tell me", which features a distorted banjo and a crazy noise interlude thing followed by pure rock.
- "tuning notes" - 4 minutes of noise and stupidity worthy enough to aggrivate any person you might be around within 40 seconds (still quite enjoyable though...)
- "hornet's heart" which features some violin and singing. and one of the 15684961 singers singing in silly voices!

OVERALL RATING - fine job fellers, let's go get a bite to eat.
KEY TRACKS - "a gentleman's lament", "tell me", "star trek", "raymond h.", "hummingbird in a cube of ice"

THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282 - WORMED, BY LEONARD

Dear god, doesn't this look like the worst album artwork you've ever seen? AND doesn't have the world's most awkward band name there? AND DOESN'T IT LOOK LIKE THAT THIS "ALBUM" HAS 20 SONGS AND 6 BONUS TRACKS!?!?!?!?!

Well here's the deal. This was released as a cassette in 1988 and was since reissued in 1995 with 6 bonus recordings spanning the gap from 1986 to 1989. AND the bonus tracks include a CARPENTERS COVER! the same one sonic-youth did on the juno soundtrack, along with that kinks song "victoria" who's lyrics went as such:
"inside, village green
juno dear, you're my queen
drive a van,
i'm your man,
yellow shorts, all so clean,
juno's baby, washing machine,
kim gordon leather bag face,
makes me dance all over the place -
VICTORIAAAAAA
VICTROLAAAA
VITERACOLA
LA LA LA
LOLA
WOAAOOOAA
LOLA
CHERRY COLA
MAXWELL POLKA
WARSAW
IAN CURTIS".

ANYhoos, so, yes, originally, this was a 20 song cassette. how is it? well, kinda mixed.

YOU SEE - the thinking fellers were from san francisco, BUT before they wound up there, they were all grew up in IOWA. these two places, are quite different. HERE. FOR some reason, this doesn't sound as much like a TFUL282 album as the others (Lovelyville, Mother of all Saints). Maybe because its the first release?? I don't know, it seems like listening to this TFUL282 album, that the group could be made up of a bunch of loggers or something from Virginia. I mean, it tends to have a very "rural" feeling to it. Maybe that's the Iowa aspect or something. For lack of a better term, it seems kinda hick-ish. I mean, look at the tracks: "truck drivin' man", "mile wide", "mr tuna's big old place", "misfits park". They all have some sort of semi-rednecky feel to them. Maybe its the guitars. Or they just overuse that yokel-sounding accent a little to much. I can't tell.

Also, some songs go on too long. Like "out in the kitchen" doesn't need to be 6.5 minutes long. And "get off my house" certainly spends too much time building for something that just barely comes. BUT I do like "nipper", the song about a dog. and "hell rules" is quite fantastic as well. ohh! and what about anne's lead vocal debut, "i don't know"?? well, its not the best, but still, nice job!

and they all sound so young here! i mean, listen to the voices - they sound so little! it's adorable!!! and if you are one of those folks who's like "dude, where's the feller filler?", well, "its right here!" is what i would reply/

the whole album is just feller filler! and my whole turkey is stuffing! from stouffer's!

and i can't think of a better way to start off a first release by a band than "it's seven", which is a brief noisy mess with the band members yelling in the background. truly delightful.

OH! and let me say, that this is with the original drummer. how can you tell? because the other guy who's on every other TFUL282 release is better. at least, i think so. but, i bet this guy was a nice feller. GET IT, A NICE FELLER!?

OVERALL RATING - "WAYSIDE SCHOOL GET'S A LITTLE STRANGER"
KEY TRACKS - hell rules, narlus spectre, nipper, leaky bag

THE FEELIES - TIME FOR A WITNESS

**NOTE - I couldn't find an image of the LP cover that would work here. You can see it on google image search or something. yay!**

This album shouldn't exist. Honestly. There's no reason for it to. I mean, the Feelies were pretty much done and washed up and lacked any capability to write music. Glenn Mercer had a cane and cataracts and couldn't see; Bill was suffering from back problems, and Laura's finger exploded during a gig.







KIDDING!

actually, while this isn't one of the landmark ones, it sure is a delightful romp. I mean, i really like "doin' it again" and the stooges cover is also cool (even though "doin' it again"'s guitar tone sounds like a song by ned's atomic dustbin). I also enjoy "invitation" a whole bunch - a little spunked out acoustic pop song with a lovely refrain of "take me there" that just makes children smile. it makes couples in love stop dead in their tracks. dishes fall to the ground unbroken - - - - and I'm in love with her when she SAAAIAIIIIINININNNAAAAAAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAINGGGGGGSSSS!
(shellac - DORIS)

i can't honestly say why this one isn't as well known as the others. I mean, i consider it an improvement over "only life" (the drum sound is MUCH better here). not to say there aren't some clunkers - namely "what she said", which is 5 minutes of a riff and "that's what she said" jokes. maybe its because its all kinda similar to the last 2 albums. or its because of the guitar. there's effects on it that sound new, but it kinda dates the albums and make it sound like a album from 1991 (see "for now"). or that yo la tengo has been ripping off (along with r.e.m.) "find a way" for the last 15 years of their careers.

after this one, the feelies broke up for 17 years. i saw their first reunion show in chicago and i'm seeing them in boston in november. i kinda like this group...

OVERALL RATING - not a dove bar - maybe a choco taco?
KEY TRACKS - "doin' it again", "time for a witness", "invitation"

THE FEELIES - ONLY LIFE

HEY

so sorry about the album covers, but the feelies albums aren't on wikipedia w/ cover art and i usually use that (hence the almost always uniform look). so, i'm going with different sizes from different sites.

SO THE ALBUM:

today, I got a dove ice cream bar at lunch. it was delicious. what happened was: I got 4 hours of sleep because I did laundry until 5am, and i had to wake up around 9 to record some improvised music for a play based on hitchcock films until 12ish. So, i got lunch (crispy chicken sandwich w/ fries), and after eating and buying the s-y tickets, i said "i want ice cream!". so, i walked towards the cooler thing, and it was good.

SO THE ICE CREAM:

well, its more of the same. but, this has more "hits". how so? i mean, no one actually likes the feelies. they only claim to so they can be like "dude, r.e.m. is like american apparel and urban outfitters and a hot dog stand and a mcdonalds and a band aid and the feelies are like a BLOODY band aid". But i mean, look - "deep fascination"? "higher ground"? "for awhile"? "away"???? i mean, I LOVE "away". that's a wonderful song. i mean, its got that suite intro there, and glenn's guitar licks are just all over and wonderful. honestly one of the feelies finest. hands down, along with their cover of "powderfinger" and any young wu album. and there's a velvet underground cover at the end. i think its the velvets - if not the velvets, solo lou reed, but im too lazy to check. and "undertow" sounds more like something from "the good earth", but it fits nicely here.

and once again, the entire record sounds great except one aspect - THE FRICKING DRUMS!!!!
i mean, how can you have such a rhythmically driven band and have such a band drum sound? the toms and bass drum blend together and the snare has some awful 80s gating or reverb or something on it that makes it sound like a shotgun all the time.
And, remember how different and cool "the good earth" sounded from "hazy scisms"? well, you coulda fooled me and called this album "the better earth" - not to say its a better album, but this at times feels like more of a "songs" album than an "album album".

still enjoyable though.

OVERALL RATING - GWAR! GWAR! GWAR! EMPIRE RECORDS! EMPIRE RECORDS!
KEY TRACKS - "higher ground", "too much" (which is excellent to sing along to while driving), "away", "the undertow

THE FEELES - THE GOOD EARTH

So, 6 years passed between "Crazy Rhythms" and this. Why? Because time is a black hole. All we know is that the music is less jittery and chaotic, there's 5 people on the LP cover (a new drummer, bassist, and other percussion guy), and there's a ton of acoustic guitars. Oh, and Peter Buck "co-produced" it, which I think means they gave Mr. Petey some money and he got to hear one of his favorite bands record an album. Honestly, it makes sense to think that this could be a completely different band. I mean, couldn't they just have started a new group with these new songs and called themselves "the Meet Puppets" or something? But, don't let all this fool ya!

There's a ton of stuff here thats the same - Glenn's crazy solos ("Slipping into Something"), percussion along the Hudson (see almost every track), and the fact that, much like "Crazy Rhythms", the sound is almost perfect. I mean, these guys (and now, one girl) knew how to nail that optimal studio sound. And there's still plenty of nice little ditties thrown in (see "When Company Goes" - feat. a doggy!!!) and that song "Let's Go", which some people know.

The biggest changes are two things:
1 - Glenn's voice sounds less nerdy and nervous, but more confident and relaxed
2 - the songs are all more immediate. Unlike "Shmaazy Shmyhtms", the songs usally start right away and not after 45 seconds of silence.

The only Buck influence I could see on this album is on "Tomorrow Today", mainly because it reminds me of "King of the Birds" which is on R.E.M.'s album "Document". But no problems there.

OVERALL RATING - wehhheheheeehheeehheetteeettetee ice cream!
KEY TRACKS - "the high road", "the good earth", "slipping into something"

THE FEELIES - CRAZY RHYTHMS

Where can I start?

Seriously, I can't remember the last time I fell so hard and fast for an album. I think it'd have to be the Pixies "Surfer Rosa" which was actually around this time my freshman year. I actually remember listening to it on a discman because I didn't waste time putting it on my iPod and instead of studying for my finals, I listened to it 7 times a day for a week and I didn't do great on my finals. Luckily, I don't have any finals I have to come in for, so go me!

Well, you ever listen to the first couple of Yo La Tengo albums? Well stop, because most of it sounds like the Feelies. You ever listen to Young Marble Giants? Well, so do I. Let's hang out some time... But, this is truly a great album. It is mainly guitar driven, but who cares? There's also some craaazy percussion stuff that's happening that's just pretty cool (see the breakdown at the end of "Crazy Rhythms"). Fa Ce La is just a wonderful romp through what would be 80s college music that's now studied at Juliard and Northwestern, completely with a gibberish/French chorus, acoustic guitars, with a fast tempo and maracas. Track one (the Boy With Perpetual Nervousness) sounds like R.E.M., Loveless Love (track 3) has these great double tracked guitar solos, Forces at Work has, hands down, one of my favorite guitar sounds of all time. The rest of the album is just great.

Ira Kaplan, especially on the earlier YLT recordings, tries to much to sound like the singer, and the music sounds like how R.E.M. later would. But, still, entirely different from those bands.

There's even a Beatles cover (Everbody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey)!!!

RATING - Hands down, throw out your copy of "Ride the Tiger" and "New Wave Hot Dogs" and buy this while hanging out at a truck stop - - - - - IN BRITAIN! (fancy truck stops over the pond, mate).
KEY TRACKS - Forces at Work, Crazy Rhythms, Raised Eyebrows.