I am assuming at this point that you feel remorse for having bought that Vanilla Ice cassette when it first came out and that your interest in Britney, Ricky, Justin or Shakira is purely sexual. Still, there are some popular music pot-holes out there and a powerful media machine driving people like you and me into them every day.
I wouldn’t be a very good friend or arbiter of taste if I didn’t warn you about a few things - and I do so with only the slightest hint of snobbery since this, like my other lists, is compiled from music in my own collection. That's right, these are things I actually bought at some point only to regret today.
I wouldn’t be a very good friend or arbiter of taste if I didn’t warn you about a few things - and I do so with only the slightest hint of snobbery since this, like my other lists, is compiled from music in my own collection. That's right, these are things I actually bought at some point only to regret today.
The Thorns s/t Matthew Sweet, Edwin McCain, and Pete Droge do their best Crosby, Stills & Nash impression, but all the folksy harmonies in the world can't save this one. If that's the sound you're after check out The Jayhawks "Rainy Day Music."
Rooney s/t "Blue Side" seemed like harmless, sunshiny fun when I heard it. Of course now I realize what silly, repetitive schlock-passed-off-as-indie-pop it really is. Shame on me.
Jet "Get Born" Did those iPod commercials get you too? "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is a lot of fun and could have been the Kinks long lost #1 hit.
Beastie Boys "To The 5 Boroughs" The Beasties are officially old and they sound it here. For die-hard fans and deep collectors only.
Ataris "So Long, Astoria" This band was better in 1995 when it was Green Day. In fact Green Day is still making better records than this.
Jimmy Eat World s/t As reassuring as the chorus to "The Middle" may be, everything will not be just fine if this is what you're listening to - needlessly stern and vapid all at once. Amazing.
U2 "Pop" I owned this cd for the 24 hours it took me to get it home, listen to it, eat, sleep, go to work and return it on my way home.
Luna "Puptent" This band was supposed to be good, and occassionally was. This album never was.
Radiohead "Pablo Honey" Anyone who knows Radiohead for their avant-atmospheric pop opus spanning "Ok Computer" to "Hail to the Thief" be warned... this is all jangly, unsophisticated 90s guitar noise which they didn't get right until their sophomore disc "The Bends." Skip this and go straight to "Kid A."
Polyphonic Spree "The Beginning Stages of the Polyphonic Spree" Drugs!
Mooney Suzuki "Electric Sweat" This album single handedly pushed the NY garage scene from vitally relevant to passe. Ironic since they'd been doing it longer than most, just not better.
Ryan Adams "Rock-n-Roll" For irony to work it has to be either intentional or funny. There is no evidence of either here. This confirms my fear that he is a drunken poser with ADD masquerading as an Americana Prodigy rather than the reverse.
The Vines "Highly Evolved" Pretentious snarling youth playing upbeat Nirvana toss-offs as if it were the most important thing in the whole fucking world but they still don't care. You can't have it both ways, boys.
Weezer s/t (green album) I still want to like this, but I just can't. If you must support the Weez, as I must, "Maladroit" is the better of their new offerings.
Dinosaur, Jr. "Without a Sound" "Feel the Pain" was an anthem of its time, unfortunately the rest of the album is just plain painful.
Jewel "Pieces of You" Between the junior high diary entries she calls lyrics, the yodeling and her six-year-old-but-sexy intonation this is a difficult listen made all the worse since she decided to become a sex-pot.
Filter "Short Bus" "Hey Man, Nice Shot" is a good song to start a fist fight to, but there's only so much pointless synth-guitar crunch a person can take. Nine Inch Nails for frat guys, the worst of both worlds.
Republica “Ready To Go” The title track is a sporting promoter / ad agent’s wet dream – all adrenaline and optimism with Spice Grrrl vocals to punch up the sex appeal. I guess it worked on me, I was Ready To Go, but the rest of the disc wasn’t.
Lo-Fidelity Allstars “How To Operate With a Blown Mind” “…tell me, is it time to get down; on your mutherfuckin’ knees…” They stuttered out the “M.F.” on FM for the only clean version made to sound better than the original. Another electro-dance hit you’ve heard on every car commercial not featuring Moby.
The Hives “Veni Vidi Vicious” Another victim of the quick burning 2002 garage-glam scene. They keep yelling and yelling but I just don’t care anymore.
Def Leppard “Adrenalize” “Hysteria” may have been the soundtrack to my junior year of high school but a lot changes in two years. Def Leppard didn’t change.
Six Pence None the Richer s/t I bought this for their version of “There She Goes” to use on our wedding video. Turns out the videographer had a copy. Now I can never get rid of it or I’ll jinx my marriage.
Lou Reed “Magic and Loss” Weird and dour, even for him.
The Verve Pipe s/t “Heroes” somehow bore its way into my favor, the rest is flat as the dissected frog on the cover.
Paul Westerberg “Eventually” This is what happens when good artists get lazy and/or abuse chemicals. A very disappointing follow-up to “14 Songs” which is actually very good.
Meat Puppets “No Joke” Seriously, you’re gonna call it “No Joke?” Lousy follow-up to the almost come-back album “Too High to Die.” The drugs take their toll.
Veruca Salt “Eight Arms to Hold You”
Ben Folds Five “Naked Baby Photos”
Alice in Chains “Jar of Flies”
Elastica “The Menace”
For albums you might expect to see here but don't check out my Guilty Pleasures.
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