RIP Lou Reed

Souljacker

Artist: Eels

Album: Souljacker

Release Year: 2001

 

1) Dog Faced Boy; 2) That’s Not Really Funny; 3) Fresh Feeling; 4) Woman Driving, Man Sleeping; 5) Souljacker, Pt. I; 6) Friendly Ghost; 7) Teenage Witch; 8) Bus Stop Boxer; 9) Jungle Telegraph; 10) World of S#!T; 11) Souljacker, Pt II; 12) What is the Note?

DIMMEL

Best Song: Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Good:

Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Friendly Ghost

Teenage Witch

Bad:

Souljacker Pt. 1

Souljacker is a stupid album, but enjoyably so, once you get used to it.  The album has a very repetitive feel to it, which initially comes off as dated and tiresome but it really does grow on you.  On first listen I disliked the album; up until just after the halfway point.  It just took a few listens for me to actually get it. Souljacker is meant to be a fun, simple album, not overblown and complex like a lot of the music I tend to listen to.  If you take it too seriously you will be disappointed, but taken at face value, the album is pretty good. I found myself actually liking songs like ‘Teenage Witch’ and eventually even ‘Woman Driving, Man Sleeping’ (Which is surprising because on first listen I hated that song).  As a whole, Souljacker is pretty good, nothing more nothing less.  It really doesn’t stand out on any level and in the long run is utterly forgettable.

6.5/10 

JAKE

Best Song: Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Good: 

Woman Driving, Man Sleeping               

Souljacker, Pt. I               

World of S#!t

Bad:  

Dog Faced Boy

First, this is hardly the best introduction to Eels; and Eels takes such a strange approach to the whole "being in a band" thing anyway that it's difficult to review them within the same parameters as I would just about anyone else.  That's one of the reasons Dimmel is along for the ride, though: he gives us the outside-looking-in perspective without the personal bias of having been a fan for years before we started actually reviewing music.

Anyway, this album is louder, more varied, and more direct than any of its predecessors, but it will probably take longer to grow on you.  It follows the usual Eels trend of "diary first, music second," although by no means does that mean Mr. E can't write songs.  The tracks are all listenable, yet the album as a whole lacks the smooth flow of the first two.  The overall character of the work is represented very nicely by the cover, in fact--hell, even the softer songs sound dirty and grungy.  In spirit, that is.  And yeah, of course someone like me would love a song called "World of Shit."

On the personal side, Souljacker is still self-conscious, yet not quite quite as emotionally close to the listener; you've got to some of the work yourself if you want to bridge that gap.  And yeah, some of that work includes trying to appreciate the more generic songs like "Friendly Ghost."  It's more ironic and quirky than usual, as evidenced by the harsh take-that of "Teenage Witch," the black comedy romp of "Jungle Telegraph" (which took me a long time to appreciate); and by the closing track, which contains the hardest rocking the band ever did.  Still, there are some quintessential Eels moments, tender and loney or bitter and angry, in the gritty blues craziness of the first title track and the atmospheric, haunting "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping," which easily grabs a spot in the top five Eels songs ever. 

Sometimes it feels like some of these songs beg for a heavier, more technically-oriented treatment that Eels can't really deliver, but other times the simplicity of the approach works wonders.  Once again, inconsistency rears its head, but hey--it's gotta be more interesting than whatever Beck put out that year.

7.5/10

Reports from the Threshold of Death

Artist: Junius

Album: Reports from the Threshold of Death

Release Year: 2011

 

1) Betray the Grave, 2) All Shall Float, 3) Dance on Blood, 4) A Universe Without Stars, 5) Haunts for Love, 6) The Meeting of Pasts, 7) (Spirit Guidance), 8) A Reflection on Fire, 9) Transcend the Ghost, 10) Eidolon & Perispirit.

DIMMEL

Best Song: A Universe Without Stars

Good:

All Shall Float

A Universe Without Stars

Haunts for Love

A Reflection on Fire

Transcend the Ghost

Bad:

N/A

Junius is a very unique band, a strange form of post rock with a spacey atmosphere (that sounds absolutely nothing like Baroness).  They are capable of writing brilliant guitar pieces (such as A Universe Without Stars) but sadly they are content with just writing background guitar (usually).  Most of the songs on this album just wouldn’t stand up without the vocals, which is completely opposite of the normal post rock formula.  The vocals are a different subject all together.  I have listened to this album 4 times and still haven’t decided how I feel about them.  The singer is talented, but the way he uses the inflection of his voice is odd.  Some songs he will change pitch on notes that just feel off.  But in the long run that makes them sound unique and that is a good thing.  Overall, the album is very good but is definitely a grower.  On first listen is has very few standout songs but once you get used to the feel of the music, it is a wonderful album.

9/10

JAKE

Best Song: see below

Good: N/A

Bad: N/A

Well, first of all, it's not something you listen to for the melodies.  There are no hooks,  just plenty of atmosphere and a smooth, smooth flow.  The haunting, operatic vocals are a nice contrast to the simple, pounding riffs, and it all fits together nicely from beginning to end.  So well, in fact, that it's essentially one long song--and a good one at that.

Imagine drifting through a dark, endless cavern, with the walls stretching out for miles around you, the darkness littered with stars and planets.  That is the feeling conveyed by this album.  Pay attention to it, embrace it, drown in it, for that is the essence of this work.  All the wonder and existential horror are laid out not in words but in atmosphere, and that is the keystone of each of these songs.  I don't even pay attention to the lyrics, even though the vocals are quite essential to the essence conveyed here, because the vocals are a complementary instrument rather than a narrative focus.  

Predictably, this album lacks variety.  It's hard to tell the tracks apart without listening to the album  nine or ten times.  Then again, the feeling of drifting through an endless space-cavern is is unlikely to be very dynamic.  Plus, too much variation means you lose that exquisite atmosphere, and that's what makes the whole thing work.

I'm already repeating myself at this point, so I'll just say that I like the album, but I can't see myself craving it, if you know what I mean.  It's a killer soundtrack for a long nighttime drive, but certainly not something to dance and sing along to when you're bored.  

8/10

Siamese Dream

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins

Album: Siamese Dream

Release Year: 1993

 

1) Cherub Rock, 2) Quiet, 3) Today, 4) Hummer, 5) Rocket, 6) Disarm, 7) Soma, 8) Geek U.S.A, 9) Mayonaise, 10) Spaceboy, 11) Silverfuck, 12) Sweet Sweet, 13) Luna.

DIMMEL

Best Song: Disarm

Good: Cherub Rock

           Today

           Disarm

           Geek U.S.A.

           Mayonaise

Bad:  Silverfuck

Review:

Siamese Dream is the quintessential Smashing Pumpkins album, this is where they started writing good songs, and sadly where they peaked (yes I know that Mellon Collie was released after Siamese Dream).  That being said, this album is not without its flaws.  Billy Corgan does not have the strongest voice and it really does tend to get lost in a lot of songs.  When I listen to Geek U.S.A, obviously the focus is the guitar/drums interplay; Corgan’s voice has to take a back seat and is extremely forgettable.  On the flip side his voice is absolutely perfect for songs like Disarm and Today.  The quiet, downtrodden voice of Corgan just brings out the emotion in these.  The other major flaw is that Siamese Dream is really one dimensional.  They stick to that soft singing chorus and heavy verse pattern pretty much the entire album.  Overall, I think the album is too long for the level of diversity.  I tend to get bored by the end of Soma, Geek U.S.A. brings it back a little but everything after Mayonaise just drones on. In the end though, the flaws are minor and the album is great.

8/10

On a side note, I hate that Soma is after Disarm, I really think that Siamese Dream would have benefited from a heavier song after Disarm but I don’t think that should affect the overall score.

JAKE

Best Song:  Cherub Rock or Today

Track Listing:  1) Cherub Rock; 2) Quiet; 3) Today; 4) Hummer; 5) Rocket; 6) Disarm; 7) Soma; 8) Geek USA; 9) Mayonaise; 10) Spaceboy; 11) Silverfuck; 12) Sweet Sweet; 13) Luna.

Good:  Cherub Rock

            Today

            Mayonaise

Bad:  N/A

Well, well...only two albums in, and already we're reviewing one of the hallowed classics.  I must admit that I've never been an avid Pumpkins listener, apart from hearing "1979" and "Today" on the radio about a million and a half times, so maybe I haven't given the album the requisite time to grow on me.  On the other hand, this album did immediately strike a chord with a lot of Nineties fans without needing time to percolate, so maybe it's not completely off the wall for me to say that this album is, as a whole, boring.

Sorry, but a lot of what drives this album for its excessive 63-minute runtime is Billy Corgan's confessional tone, and he just doesn't move me much.  Alternating between "cynical Nineties sneer" and "awed reverence at the tragic beauty of life" gets played out early on here, so that element means nothing to me.  Though I guess you can blame that one on my nigh-inescapable tendency to hold this kind of music at arm's length, identifying all the tropes and conventions, and say "oh yeah, there's the whole 'where the hell do I fit in the world' sentiment that was all the rage back then.'  

And why the hell is this album considered so revolutionary?  Most of the elements presented here can be heard (albeit in other forms) from earlier bands.  The "dreamy" vocals juxtaposed with aggressive guitar?  Catherine Wheel.  The young, lost, desperate vibe in alternative rock?  The Cure (well, kinda).  Electronic accents to spice up accessible rock songs?  T. Rex.  This album does combine those elements in ways not many artists were doing at the time, but I'm not convinced that that's attributable to anything other than commercial success.

But.  The songs themselves are mostly great.  "Cherub Rock," "Rocket," and "Mayonaise" (sic) drive ahead with some nice edgy riffs; and as much as I hate to say it, "Today" is quite memorable melodically, so that's a winner too.  Hell, none of these songs are unlistenable.  Most are downright infectious.  I could play any of these songs at random, any day of the week, and thoroughly enjoy it.  But there's the thing: I could enjoy any song, not the album as a whole.  I could get into the trance-inducing groove of "Hummer" or the spastic rhythm of "Geek U.S.A." or whatever, but listening to all 13 of these in a row completely removes any distinctions between the songs, to the point of reminding me of listening to a muffled argument in the other room.  Accompanied by some sweet fuzzy guitar riffs, of course.

Hey, at least the glowing atmosphere of these songs makes them all work as standalones.  They're all enjoyable while they last, even if none of them stick with me.  And at least Corgan is a consistent songwriter--that's more than anyone could ever say about Kurt Cobain.

7/10

White Light/White Heat

Album: White Light/White Heat

Artist: The Velvet Underground

Release Year: 1968

1) White Light/White Heat; 2) The Gift; 3) Lady Godiva's Operation; 4) Here She Comes Now; 5) I Heard Her Call My Name; 6) Sister Ray.

DIMMEL

Best Song: I Heard Her Call My Name

 Good: Lady Godiva’s Operation                                         

            I Heard Her Call My Name

Bad: The Gift

This album is a little surprising to the unsuspecting listener.  On first listen I was confused; then irritated; then found myself actually enjoying the album only to have that ripped away the next song.  The Velvet Underground obviously have the talent they need to write good songs, “I Heard Her Call My Name” is a great tune and succeeds at balancing tonality and the experimental elements they seem to love, but that is where most of the rest of the album fails.  “The Gift” throws away song quality by distracting the listener with an overlong story that, albeit engrossing, is tiresome and downright dumb.  Who thinks that the best way to open a box is to stab it in the center with a knife?  He deserved to die for having such a stupid girlfriend.  “Here She Comes Again” decides that lyrics aren’t important, that the listener should have to sit through the dull background chords and repetitive drumming just to here that “she” is “coming now”.  The album then closes on “Sister Ray”.  My biggest complaints about the song are that it is overlong and the lyrics are dumb and childish.  It spans almost 17 ½ minutes but it doesn’t have to content to do so enjoyably.  “Sister Ray” tends to get drone-y  between verses.  The lyrics sound like a poor attempt to be vague and cryptic similar to Dylan’s style but in the long run lines like “She's busy sucking on my ding-dong” just come off as childish.  If you cut the song down 10 minutes it might be a rather enjoyable song.  Overall impression is that White Light /White Heat is a pretty good album.  The Velvet Underground were breaking new ground at the time and sometimes it works out good and sometimes you get “The Gift”

7/10

JAKE

Best Song:  White Light/White Heat

Good: White Light/White Heat

Bad: I Heard Her Call My Name

The Velvet Underground and Nico may have been a tough act to follow, but the band probably could have managed better than this.  This is not an album.  This is a pastiche, a cut-and-paste of oddities that didn't fit in on the debut; and as such it cannot be reviewed as a single unit like I prefer to do.  We'll have to consider it song by song.

The title track is a nice straightforward rock number with a cool call-and-response hook, and since it's actually catchy, it receives the "best song" label.  "The Gift" is totally out of place anywhere that isn't an outtakes collection, but here it is: a story Lou Reed wrote in college, backed by a dark, laid-back jam.  Sure, the story is great-- a wimpy college student mailing himself to his not-so-faithful girlfriend--and the buildup to the conclusion is positively nail-biting,  but it completely breaks whatever flow the album has left, and I get the feeling most will bored by it after a listen or two.

"Lady Godiva's Operation" is a minor highlight, with an unsettling melody and creepy effects (how did they get that bonesaw sound, anyway?) that really cause a sense of dread as the operation proceeds.  "Here She Comes Now" is pretty but short--you do the auditory equivalent of blinking and you miss it.  "I Heard Her Call My Name" is even more of a mess than the album itself: there is almost no melody, just five minutes of messy, distorted soloing with no direction and nothing to support it.  Sounds cool at times, but compositionally it's a wreck.

But let's talk about "Sister Ray" (face it, it's the reason we're all here).  To start with the obvious, it's a loud, dirty, caucophonous behemoth; it's a seventeen minute assault of grinding riffs, piercing atonality, and debauchery.  It's the song they used to drag out for over an hour when they played it live.  It's the song the recording engineer walked out on.  Some worship it, some spit on it.  Me?  I like it (yeah, I'll listen to the whole thing), but I'm a professional VU fan, and I still have no trouble whatsoever understanding those who despise this song with every fiber in their being.  I mean, the first six minutes are incredible--probably some of the best work the band ever did, and a summary of the band's image and contribution to music--but why, why, WHY is it seventeen minutes?  After the first six it just drags and drags, losing steam all the time, while Lou Reed rambles on about girls sucking on his ding-dong (his words, not mine), and the subpar production means the sharp, tinny organ and guitar riffs eventually drill in enough to give you a headache.  It's exhausting, and that's coming from a guy who usually loves long songs. 

But seriously, who says "ding-dong" once they're old enough to talk?  There are so many other, much more streetwise euphemisms for "penis."  Now, if they'd had John Cale cut in like Reed does in "Lady Godiva's Operation" and say "todger" in his impeccable Welsh accent, maybe that would be true entertainment.

6/10