The Strokes - Is This It?

MINE

Mmf.  It's not really my kind of music, and it was a freebie from back in the day.  Listening to it again, I got irritated by the constant use of the megaphone-effect on Julian Casablancas' voice.  It does have an unmistakable New York sound, but it's not Iggy or the Ramones.  It's kind of like G-rated punk. 

I also hated the cover in a Spinal Tap Smell the Glove kind of a way.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Gotta be said, I'm just not a fan of this hipster crap.  Partly because I've never been cool enough to be considered a hipster (not that I wanted to anyway... or is that the sort of thing a wanna-be hipster might say just to be all 'whatevah'?  If you've got a definitive answer to this question, you're almost certainly not a hipster either so how the fuck would you know?)

Anyway, lets get this back on track...  The other reason I'm not a fan is because I think the music is repetitive and I don't like the way Casablancas hangs a lot of his melodies off the same lines as the bass or guitars.  It is lazy and boring and, and...

You get the idea.

Oh, yeah, and I'm pissed at the drummer, Fab Moretti.  All I'm gonna say is I called dibs on Drew first, you bastard!

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.thestrokes.com/

Boss Hogg - Boss Hog

YOURZ

Led by the husband/wife team of Jon Spencer (yes, the Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion fame - see our review of Orange here) and Cristina Martinez, Boss Hog initially shot to fame because of Ms Martinez's habit of performing nude with boots (a habit she had unfortunately abandoned by the time I saw them in '95). 

This self-titled major label debut is a sneer-laden rifftastic shot in the nads, where most songs clock in under the 3 minute mark.  Not straying far from his day job, Spencer's typical insane blues guitar is teamed with crackin' rhythm section.  He shares the occasional vocal duty with his beloved (particularly on the splendid duo I Dig You) but for the most part plays the part of dutiful guitarist. 

Boss Hog is a natural evolution of the same swamp blues and psychobilly/punk attitude exemplified by The Cramps.  There is even some of Lux in Spencer's falsetto delivery of I Idolize You.  Mostly, this is not doing anything new but even though I haven't listened to it for some time now, it still has an undeniable energy and excitement and, most importantly, a wicked sense of fun.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and get nuuuuude!

MINE

OK, this is too creepy... I was listening to Boss Hog for the first time while on a long car trip recently, and I thought to myself "This is what Juliette Lewis' band should sound like."  A short trip to YouTube today has confirmed it for me... Juliette & the Licks sound remarkably similar to Boss Hog.  (YourZ sez: well, if this is the case, then I think we should do ourselves a favour and add some to our collection - it's about as close to Juliette as I'm ever gonna get, dammit all!)

Juliette's been in my mind recently because we saw the Drew Barrymore flick Whip It (which I can highly recommend, full of roller derby gals and starring Juno's Ellen Page).  It's been a while since I saw her in a movie and I know she's been concentrating on her musical career, which made me wonder what her band sounds like, and then something shiny crossed my line of sight and I forgot about it until I was listening to Boss Hog and I thought to myself... oh wait, I already said that.

Aaaanyway, YourZ has filled you in all about the band and stuff, so all I can say is, they didn't suck.  Damn fun in spots.  Had me nodding my head.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

 

For more information: http://www.intheredrecords.com/pages/bosshog.html

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

MINE

Her name is Yoshimi/ She's a black belt in karate...

If you know the song, I'm betting you're smiling right about now.  Wayne and the Lips gave the most far-out performance (and truly deserving of that term) I've ever seen.  Made even more special after the fact, when I learned that they were sharing a stage with Drew Barrymore in an animal suit (she was dating Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti at the time and they were playing the same festival).

These guys are fun and far-out and happy and sad and just gosh-darn GOOD to listen to.  I know I've mentioned funeral songs before, and I guess Do You Realise? would be a really good one to add to the list. (YourZ sez: yeah, thanks, I'll have that one too, babe)   But I'm trying to keep it short, geez, no-one wants to hang around for hours at a memorial!,

This is definitely on the list of CDs to replace right away if disaster strikes.  It doesn't come out often enough these days and I'm glad the pointy stick made me re-listen.

It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ:

She uses va-a-a-a-aseline...

I thought I'd take a leaf out of Mine's book and start with a Flaming Lips lyric.  Oh sure, this lyric isn't from a song on Yoshimi but it was the first song of theirs I heard and loved, way back in the dim dark early 90s.  I remember is was accompanied by a wigged out, nutso video.  The song epitomised every thing great about DIY and slacker rock of the time.  I absolutely loved it.  But a lot of the world didn't.  In fact, I remember Beavis and Butthead slagging it off good and proper.

Fast forward to 2002 and the release of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots and all of a sudden, The Flaming Lips found their place in the hot light of international fame.  As Mine mentions, we were blown away when we saw them at a Big Day Out a number of years ago.  They were the last band on the bill, and a perfect way to end a wonderful day of music.  Their blissed out, effects-laden live show was simply wonderful. 

In a lot of ways, I think festivals saved this band from slipping into obscurity as they perfectly suit the communal atmosphere often found there.  That they also definitely enhance any, erm, chemical experiences the audience might be having works very well in their favour.

While every track on the album is a winner for me, I don't quite know how to put into words what I feel about Do You Realise?  Aside from its simple profundity and the beauty of its melody, Wayne Coyne's vocals and lyrics resonate with me like very few artists do (I can count 'em on one hand).  It's a beautiful, melancholic inspired piece and definitely one of the tracks in my Top Ten favourite songs of all time.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, turn off the lights, turn on the lava lamps and float away on purple clouds of pleasure, man.

For more information: http://www.flaminglips.com/

In our collection we also have At War With the Mystics, Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell, The Soft Bulletin and Fight Test