Sublime - Sublime (Deluxe Edition)

MINE

Another example of the wide, wide distances that exist in this musical marriage.

Sublime are great at what they did, when they did it, but I find nothing in common with a bunch of SoCal surfer/skater/smoker dudes.  I've listened to this CD all the way through, twice, and occasionally I nod or tap in time.  I can't deny the voice of the late Bradley Nowell is beautiful.  The production's great and there aren't many songs that have me reaching for the skip button.

But it's just not my language they're talking.  I'm a child of the so-called second wave of ska (Specials, Madness, etc) and find this reggae/punk/ska hybrid at the same time vaguely familiar and yet unsettling.  Like all those songs I keep hearing in the gym that remake the good and bad songs of my youth, it's not quite what I was expecting - it doesn't quite deliver what I want.  I'm a Two-Tone girl at heart, really.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN (play it while I'm out, hon)

YOURZ

Oh come on...  I honestly though Mine would get why I love this band so much and fall in love with it too.  I mean, it's not a big ask.  Like her, I'm a fan of the second wave of ska as well so I don't understand why she doesn't like it as this has so many damned good ska flavours on it.  I guess there's just no pleasing some people.  And she calls herself a punk.  Hah!  (Okay, I think I've baited her enough.  I do have to sleep next to her and don't fancy waking up with my testicles nailed to the ceiling).  (Mine says: never called myself a punk never ever.  She's a mod She's a mod...) (YourZ sez: I stand corrected; she IS a mod)

Me and Sublime go way back to a time when I was a guitar-playing punk (of a sort) in a band of punks who shall collectively remain nameless (as they are now very respectable sell-outs, the bloody splitters!)  I was introduced to this band via a CD called 40 Ounces To Freedom.  A rambling, somewhat disjointed disc of 20 plus songs, this became the soundtrack for a number of wasted years.  These guys sounded like a cross between NOFX and The Specials, with a little bit of Marley and The Clash thrown in for good measure.  I adored them and wished hard for them to tour the other side of the world so I could see them live.

But the whole thing came crashing down when I heard about the death of Bradley Nowell, from a heroin overdose mere months before the release of this major-label debut.  In a lot of ways, this had a much more profound effect on me than the death of Kurt Cobain some years earlier mainly because I had (and still have) a bigger connection to their music than I ever did to grunge.  And it's telling that this band's style is still a reference point for a lot of newer, lesser bands (yes, Sugar Ray, in your case, much lesser).

I have such an attachment to this album, it's hard for me to pick out favourite tracks as they all pretty much inspire and delight me with every listen.  From the SoCal punk of Paddle Out, the authentic ska of Wrong Way, the cruisy, dubby sound of Caress Me Down, the sheer summery delight of What I Got and the fresh (at the time) hip hop stylings of Doin Time, there's literally something for just about everyone.

RIP Brad, you're still missed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/sublime

In our collection we also have 40 Ounces To Freedom, Robbin' The Hood, Second Hand Smoke and What I Got EP

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

Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep

MINE

Ermph.  Reasonable.  Not Tricky.

I can't figure why YourZ thinks I'll like this, there's too much rappin' and not enough melody.  It just made me want to play Blue Lines full bore to remind myself what good Sarf London dubby-stuff is like, especially when you mix it with good melodic lines sung by great-voiced girls.

I liked the lyrics on some of it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN/THROW IT OUT (can't raise enough interest to decide) (YourZ sez: c'mon, you have to pick one or the other) (Mine says: whatever YOU say we should do, darling)


YOURZ

I went through a phase where I brought a lot of hip hop, mainly because I was working with a young MC, writing and producing backing tracks for him.  I saw this as a way of educating myself about the variety of sounds and production techniques used by various artists around the world.  I knew I wasn't interested in any of the established black American artists mostly because I didn't (and don't) like their misogynistic attitudes and conspicuous consumption - bling culture has never interested me.

But there are artists making great, interesting music in the genre.  Artists like Handsome Boy Modelling School, The Roots and Mos Def make truly intelligent and innovative music.  While I get what he does and enjoy some of the tracks, for me Roots Manuva, unfortunately, can't be included in this group. 

While named by some as the one of the innovators of the British grime movement, Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva, makes music that is almost Tom Waits-ian in its production with literate, intelligent lyrics and lots of deep overdubbed voices.  There is also a bit of a nod to his Jamaican roots in some of the beats and use of horns.  But it is not particularly joyous music.  It is dark and challenging and often depressing in it lyrical content.

To be honest with you, hitting on this merely reminded me of how much crap I've added to the collection over the last half dozen years or so.  It actually kind of annoys me because I could've used my hard earned dollars to buy a lot of music we both like as opposed to music I considered necessary to have at the time. Damn it, I should've been more selfish.

Anyway, not to beat that puppy to death, while Mine and YourZ (truly) regularly go through our various collections (believe me, the music one is nothing compared to the book one), a lot of that stuff has managed to avoid the Great Axe of Disinterest (patent pending).  But not any more.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (can you believe it, Mine, huh?)


For more information: http://www.rootsmanuva.co.uk/

In our collection we also have Run Come Save Me and Slime And Reason

Radiohead - Amnesiac

YOURZ

I could start this by throwing a bunch of shit at Mine.  But while I know she doesn't get Radiohead, in some small way, I'm kind of pleased about this.  It means I can be a little bit possessive of their music and a little bit geeky about the band without annoying her too much.

Some may wonder why she doesn't get it.  I don't.  I know why.  It's for the same reason some people enjoy Mingus or Monk yet can't abide modern music.  It's for the same reason some love Death Metal while others gag at the thought of listening to it.  It's all about our uniqueness, our very individuality.

I like to tease Mine and say her Radiohead bone is broken but the truth is she's only expressing her uniqueness.  And I can't help but love her for it.

This is also why I love Radiohead.  At no point in their career have they slackened off.  From the outset, they worked hard at everything they did, conscientiously choosing to do things their way.  Amnesiac saw them continuing the experimental twists in sound they first ran with on previous album, Kid A.  Like that album, it divided fans and critics alike between those who wanted the band to return to their more straight rock days and those who loved the new more experimental tunes.

Personally, I prefer the less predictable Radiohead.  There are plenty of bands in our collection who play it safe and stick to what they know.  But the reason I like Radiohead is because they don't.  More power to them, I say.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Oh, cheer UP!!  That's all I want to say to Thom Yorke, whose whiny, nasal drawl just makes my ears itch.  I know, I know, they're critically acclaimed, the world loves them, they can do no wrong.  But guess what?  I JUST DON'T GET IT.

I resisted buying OK Computer for ages, until Q Magazine rated it the Album of the Year in 1997.  And I tried, I really did.  I played it several times, willing myself to have that moment when distaste would turn to wonder.  But Radiohead, like the taste of olives, will forever make me grimace.

Oh, I quite liked Creep.  That's it.  The rest is what I call booooooooooring sub-prog rock (Your sez: I'm not even sure what this means).  I can appreciate that it's well done, that it's clever - but it doesn't sing to me.  Fortunately, liking Radiohead wasn't a deal-breaker for YourZ, or we never would have gotten married!

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN (because he'll never let me chuck it)

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

In our collection we also have OK Computer, Kid A, Hail To The Thief, In Rainbows and I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings

Powderfinger - Double Allergic

MINE

And I thought I didn't know any songs on this album.  But that's the thing about Powderfinger - the songs are just there, under your subconscious, ready to be sung along to.

Double Allergic isn't their best-known album but it contains some damn fine songs.  While I was listening, I was pondering what makes the Finger stand out so - and it's not just the cut-through achieved by Bernard Fanning's vocals.  The songs are polished - but not so much they lose the essential rawness that often characterises Aussie pub rock.

There's variety on the CD, too - it's not all straight edged rock - and it's this melding of hard and soft that along with You Am I makes me wonder what it is that makes one rock band an international success - Jet? - and others not. (YourZ sez: probably because most of the decision makers are SOBs whose only real taste is on the end of their fingers after they scratch their sweaty fat arses).

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (tell your friends)

YOURZ

Here's another band I first met as a fellow musician, playing supports with them when they visited the town I was living in at the time.  But before I get to this, I have to rant.

When we employed the pointy stick to pick out this selection, it first landed on Powderfinger's debut album, Parables For Wooden Ears.  I was stoked because, while we have a number of their albums in our collection, this one was given to me by one of the members of the band after we supported them for the first time.

Upon opening the case to put the disc in and have a listen, I discovered that, at some point in the last number of years, somebody had either stolen the disc itself, or had neglected to put it back in the right case (despite my over-protective habits, this happens when living in group houses).  I can't begin to tell you how fucking annoyed I was and still am about this.  You see, I am anal about our discs - I treat them with respect, look after them, put them away properly and most certainly don't just chuck 'em in what ever case I find handy. Unfortunately, others (particularly some friends I used to share with) don't have the same respect.  Bastards! End result: we had to pick another Powderfinger album and Double Allergic was it.

Anyway, back to this mighty fine band.  Of all the bands I played with back in those days, apart from being articulate, passionate and intelligent musicians, Powderfinger were the nicest, most down to earth blokes one could hope to meet.  The first time I played with them was in a small club when the band was still relatively unknown.

The second time, however, was a much bigger gig.  Pre-show, they invited us to sit at a long table set up back stage and share a meal with them.  They were wonderful hosts who travelled with an entourage of equally down to earth and passionate people.  I think my band were all a little bit awed by how nice and welcoming they all were.  It was almost like being accosted by a hippy sect of some sort and we were waiting for them to either get nude and jump each other or bring out a sacrificial virgin or something similar.  But they didn't do anything of the sort.

What they did is go on to be one of the most loved Australian bands of the last 20 years, playing an updated cross between grunge and pub rock coupled with sensitive and intelligent lyrics, and hook-laden choruses.  Like the men themselves, their music is smart, fun, thoughful and honest.  Yeah, this isn't their 'best' album in terms of success.  But you know anything these guys release is going to be the best they could have done at the time.  And what more can a fan ask?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

In our collection we also have Internationalist and Odyessy Number Five

New Order - Substance

YOURZ

Predictably, I thought Mine would give me shit for not liking Substance but I'm pleased to say, in this case, she's wrong.  (Oh, you can't imagine the joy I get from writing this...) (Mine says: OK, stop gloating - but it's really nice you can still surprise me after all this time)

I happen to have a deep, abiding attachment to New Order going back to the early 80s when I was a pale, skinny goth boy who hung around in the only gay club in my town with two of the most beautiful blond girls I never slept with (no regrets there, nope, none at all).  The reason we hung out there is because it was the only place in town playing the sort of music we wanted to hear.

I would dress in black, they would dress in white and we would drink and dance until the sun came up.  I remember walking out into Sunday morning shoppers many times, blinking in the bright  sunlight and burping cocktails into their faces.  New Order, among others, was the soundtrack of these times.

'Hold on, it's never enough, it's never enough until your heart stops beating...'

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

While I'm sure YourZ will find this album yawnable, it's such a classic for me, I can't imagine my life without it.  Not that I play it much.  I wonder why that is?

When I first sat down to re-listen to Substance for this exercise, it reminded me of a couple of recent incidents, when I've stumbled across a friend from the past I'd lost touch with.  As you do, in this Facebook age.  After the inital surprise I was happy to catch up and was reminded how much I enjoyed their company.  But I'm not rushing to see them again -although I haven't deleted their numbers from my phone and at least one is still a friend on Facebook.

Substance is much like that.  I like to know it's there, and I might take it out and have a listen every few years - but it's not on high rotation.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/neworder

George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen - The Best Of George Michael

MINE

And he thought Kylie was bad... when the pointy stick landed on this CD I could hear the agony in YourZ' voice at the thought of having to listen to this, let alone review it.  But then, he's not fond of the dance floor, and I am. 

This double album is divided into two moods - and I've never listened to the first disc labelled "For The Heart".  URK *mimes vom*.  But Disc Two, "For The Feet," contains one of the best ever songs to hear on the dancefloor - Fastlove.  There's a moment on that - particularly in the remix - that's one of those moments.  When the world goes away and all that remains is your body, the music, the dancefloor... No?  It's the same in the Shep Pettibone remix of Madonna's Like A Prayer and Massive Attack's Be Thankful (Paul Oakenfold mix).  Only those who've experienced this on a dance floor - a really big one, preferably with lots of volume - will understand.

There are a few other good dance tunes on there but generally this is dreck.  So... now it's on the iPod...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Excuse me... *retch*...  Okay, I think I'm fine now... no, wait *retch*

Yep, this is what George Michael does to me.  I really tried to listen, I truly did but my hands rebelled and refused to push the play button.  Eventually, I used my nose, despite its dripping protests and sat through a quick selection of tracks before my ears closed down.

Nope, don't like it at all.  Not one bit...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (it burns, it buuuuuurns...)

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