Brassy - Got It Made

MINE

Blending their own form of hip-hop with some hard drumming and punchy guitar sounds?  This should be right up my alley, and indeed, it's my CD.  But it's one I bought because I liked the single - Work It Out - and the rest of it's left me a little disappointed.  Mostly because they use the same damn effect on the lead vocal all the time.  And while that scratchiness is kinda catchy when you hear it the first time, the gloss has definitely worn off the fifth or sixth time.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT uh-huh

YOURZ

I have a confession to make (yes, another and I can tell you, it won't be the last either) - I loved this album when it first came out.  I thought Brassy were the shit and I particularly liked Muffin Spencer's pouty vocal/raps. That she is the sister of Jon Spencer (of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) also counted greatly in her favour.

It wasn't until a few years later that a friend made the point that Brassy sound like the houseband for a teen television show.  The reality is while this album was a lot of fun when it first came out, it is actually pretty dumb (and not in a good way either) and very light on.  Over-use of similar breakdown patterns, cheesy drum machines and generally juvenality almost guaranteed this a very limited shelf life.  So what its still doing in our collection is anyone's guess.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.wiiija.com/artists/brassy/biog.htm

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 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange

YOURZ

The Blues Explosion oooowwww, the Blues Explosion ooooooowwwwwww...  So, if you were to count how many times Jon Spencer either sings or screams The Blues Explosion on one record, it would be... lots.  All the old blues men did it but usually because they were either so pissed or stoned, they couldn't remember their lyrics, so they'd say their name over and again, kind of the forerunner to modern-day branding, I guess. (In reality, I don't know if this is really why, but it sounds like it could be so...)  I guess Jon likes to think of himself as an old bluesman.  Either this or he's afraid we'll forget the name.

Let me make one thing clear: this aint gonna happen.  Once you've seen this band live, you'll never forget them.  My first time (ooo, I sound positively virginal) was watching a defunct Australian music show called Recovery.  This was a live show, aired on Saturday morning and meant for either those of us who could make it up and plow through our hangovers to watch it or those of us who hadn't yet gone to bed.  The show was hosted by a maniac called Dylan Lewis.

He had the energy of a blowfly trapped in bottle and enough survival wit and instincts to get away with pretty much anything.  But when JSBX (as they are affectionately shortened to) came on the show, Dylan was absolutely out-maniac'd by Jon Spencer, who ran riot through the studio audience and wrecked the set.  It was superb television and won Spencer and Co. many fans.  If you've not seen this before, check it out here.

JSBX, or The Blues Explosion, as they now prefer, have also provided some of the most memorable nights out as well.  Okay, I would like to say these are memorable and they were, but once again folks, years of excess has wiped a lot of the good bits.  But I remember these shows were memorable, so I guess this is something.  Orange was the soundtrack for a lot of shenanigans at various parties back in the day too.  It even made me wanna shake my ass like a mofo, which is really saying something.  Listening back to it now, it still makes me wanna let it all hang out in my rockin' chair.

I honestly forgot how dirty, raw and dang good this is.  In fact, I'm naming it my second Forgotten Gem.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, rip off your shirt, mess up your fucking fauxhawk, wannabe, and howl at the moon like you mean it!

MINE

I've seen them live, and after listening to Orange, I'm convinced that's the best place for them.  Listening to this CD, I just had a picture in my mind of a bar - no, maybe a dive - which doesn't even exist anywhere any more.  You know, with the dim lighting and the scuffed floorboards and a bar all the way down one side with some random bowls of dubious snacks and smoke hanging in the air and a couple of pool tables in the back and some hard-bitten regulars and equally hard-bitten bar staff.  With a small stage at the end where the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have a regular Friday and Saturday night gig that packs the place to the gills and generally ends in some sort of brawl.

I miss those days.  I mean, I know I can go out any night of the week and catch a live act, but in my town the venues are getting fewer and further between, most of them have poker machines (slot machines), you can't smoke (although as a reformed puffer I say thank goodness), and with the Responsible Service of Alcohol, the bar staff can and do cut you off if you're looking more than a bit squiffy.

But I do recall wild nights spilling out on to the pavement outside various live-act bars around town.  And I feel that's the best place to experience the Blues Explosion.*  It doesn't work so well in the car - but it might be OK as a soundtrack for doing the housework.  I have mentioned I don't really like the blues, but these guys can make it work.  It just doesn't seem to flow so well off the CD, and maybe that's because I'm feeling a live vibe.

* erm, why do they feel the need to mention the name of the band in almost every song?  Gets a bit cheesy and annoying after a while, FYI JSBX.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://thejonspencerbluesexplosion.com/

In our collection we also have Extra Width, Now I Got Worry and Plastic Fang

The Beastie Boys - The Sounds Of Science

YOURZ

Ah, the Beastie Boys...  What can I say about this trio without sounding too sycophantic? I suppose I could say listening and getting into this band was my first foray into what was then the new world of rap and/or hip hop (the definition is still elusive to me - if anyone can give me a good one, I'd be mighty pleased).

I suppose I could also say they inspired me to look beyond my guitar rock leanings to a whole world of great music.  I suppose I could also say they helped inhibit, and then rid me of the idea that good music should be made by real instruments and not with turntables and samples.

They did all those things.  But primarily, for me, they opened doors for me to become involved.  As a musician, my past is littered with memories of bad bands, average bands and one or two really good bands.  But the best band I was ever in was a hip hop band, as a guitarist/writer/producer because it allowed me to explore all the styles of music I love without inhibition, something no other band enabled me to do.  I love The Beastie Boys for this.

The Sounds of Science is the best starter kit for anyone who doesn't know this band.  For the fan, it's brilliant to have so many of the Beasties best songs gathered in one place.  It's a bit like seeing them live, where they mix it up between a straightup hip hop show (3 MCS and 1 DJ) to their live band mode.  Personally, I never tire of hearing songs like Sabotage, Sure Shot, Root Down or Hey Ladies.  Yeah, there's a good dose of misogynism and schoolboy humour, but they're also guaranteed to Shake Your Rump.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, B-Boy



MINE

Mmmph.  Ergh. *sigh*.  My reaction on finding out I had to listen to not one, but TWO Beastie Boys CDs.  Because while I quite like them, the thought of getting all the way through this promised me a headache.  My brain's wired for music, and a lot of what rap artists do is just yell at you.  For hours.

That said, there are a bunch of tunes I love on this best-of collection. And there's no doubt I enjoyed the band live when I saw them with YourZ in 2005 at a festival where we also caught the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the Chemical Brothers.  The Fatboy Slim remix of Body Movin' is a favourite - and I'm sure we all have to Fight for Your Right. 

There are others, but for me the joy of a Beasties song is when it's dropped into the mix by a consummate DJ.  If you don't believe me, check out The Dirtchamber Sessions released by the Prodigy.  Damn, must buy that one again.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, no TURN IT DOWN, no OH I DON'T KNOW

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

In our collection, we also have Licensed To Ill, Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To The 5 Boroughs