WEEZER

BACKDROP:
It was easy to dismiss Weezer as a joke when they first came onto the scene. A review in Guitar World provided the classic line, “You used to steal their lunch money, now you steal their riffs.” I remember watching them perform “Say It Ain’t So” on David Letterman. All throughout the show, Letterman kept riffing on a joke from the previous night’s White Zombie performance about how bands these days scare him. Then after one commercial break, he held up their CD and said, “They don’t scare me so much anymore.” One of the few times Letterman has made me laugh.



BLUE:
Poor Weezer. Between their nerdy look and the singles “Buddy Holly” and “The Sweater Song,” they were doomed to be a joke band. They probably would have if there wasn’t something quietly revolutionary about their music. Maybe not revolutionary. But they combined old school metal riffs with unabashed pop melodies in a way Poison could never make work. Mostly because Poison sucks. But I digress. Weezer also presented the other side of metal fans—those of us who weren’t jocks, those of us who were beat up by the jocks. And is “My Name Is Jonas” not one of the greatest songs ever? It is.



PINKERTON:
I have a confession to make. I’m one of those people who helped contribute to Rivers’ breakdown by passing on this when it came out. What can I say? I was a fickle teenager. Don’t judge me. I do wish I had gotten it back then. It’s a perfect teenage soundtrack. Raw, sloppy, bare, this thing is just alive with naked ache. Many a emo kid has aped its style but very few have honed its craft. Every moment is perfect and that is just too rare these days. Oddly, the album’s most tender moment, “Butterfly,” is also its most misogynistic.



GREEN:
Ah, I remember it well. Fans were happy that there was a new Weezer album. Then they weren’t so happy that there was this new Weezer album. I too have been guilty of hating on this then loving on this only to be hating on this again. I’m currently loving on it. Sure, it consciously tries to be the BLUE album, but it’s every bit as good as that disc. The only difference is that the focus is more on hooks, which are ridiculously catchy, by the way. Nice and tight, just the way I like it. You know what other album crammed 10 songs into 30 minutes of goodness? Slayer’s REIGN IN BLOOD.



MALADROIT:
Whereas GREEN tipped the balance in favor melody, MALADROIT tips it back in favor of riffery. This album is arena-rock ready. “Keep On Fishing” and “Slob” could’ve been plucked straight from the 70s. This is the first time Weezer breaks from their 10 song album format, and it’s not for the better. Even though it’s only about 34 minutes long, it still feels bloated.Perhaps because too many of the songs feel half-written and tossed together. I used to think it was an improvement over GREEN, but GREEN shows better craftsmanship.



THE LION AND THE WITCH:
This live EP was notable among Weezer fans for two reasons. One, it was the first time in half a decade the band played material from PINKERTON. Two, Rivers forgets the words to “El Scorcho.” If either of those things interest you enough to pick this up, more power to you.



MAKE BELIEVE:
It’s interesting that Weezer’s weakest albums are the ones that have more than ten tracks. Just an observation. This was supposed to be a return to the PINKERTON style but it’s not very raw or sloppy. Okay, lead-off single “Beverly Hills” is atrocious with its Peter Frampton guitar solo and TV theme song chorus. But it’s the first track, and once it’s out of the way, we get an enjoyable if unremarkable effort.



RED:
You kind of know what to expect when Weezer releases a self-titled album. You get tongue-in-cheek goofs (“Pork and Beans”) and tender odes (“Heart Songs”). Things are changed up a bit by allowing the other members to sing to not unpleasant results. Sure, this is all fluff, but like cotton candy, it tastes so good going down, you’ll overlook the fact that it’s not very filling.



FINAL THOUGHTS:
There will never be another PINKERTON. Get over it. Six albums into their career, it’s an anomaly. But focusing solely on that masterwork, you’re missing out on the solid quality they’ve been pumping out. Weezer is the Cheap Trick of the alternative generation. Show Rivers the love he craves, and maybe he’ll show some back.

EELS Pt 2

SHOOTENANNY:

E's rock phase must be over, at least for now. Here, he returns to the sound of DAISES but without sounding like a retread. Sure, it's a step down from SOULJACKER, but you can only top yourself so often. This is still a passionate record and with sublime closer "Somebody Loves You," you really can't go too wrong. Absolutely gorgeous.



BLINKING LIGHTS AND OTHER RELEVATIONS:

"Old Shit/New Shit" pretty much says it all, doesn't it? More or less par for the course with subtle variations. This also demonstrates what I dread about double albums. I think this might be some sort of concept album, but the man called E treads familiar ground too often to sustain interest the whole way through. Which is a shame, because as usual, he is very, very good at what he does. Trimmed down, it would've worked a lot better. Even if it had been split into two separate albums, it might be more digestible. Still, this was my first time listening to it, so perhaps if I lived with it a while, I'd appreciate it more.



USELESS TRINKETS:

Dear faithful reader, I tried listening to this, I truly did. Mostly of the sake of keeping this blog entry too short. But I couldn't get into it, and stopped five tracks in. Maybe it lives up to the title, maybe I just really didn't want to listen to it. Que sera sera.



HOMBRE LOBO: 12 SONGS OF DESIRE:

Wow, the man called E really has nothing left in his bag of tricks, does he? Not that this is a bad album. Far from it. It just doesn't do much to distinguish itself from or recommend itself over any other Eels album. Yet it's impossible not to enjoy listening to it. Keep on trucking, E.



FINAL THOUGHTS:

I don't know why Eels aren't bigger than they are. I don't know, maybe they're bigger than I think they are. Either way, they've proven they're in it for the long haul. May the man called E continue to provide quality releases for years to come.

EELS

BACKDROP:
I saw Eels on the second stage of Lollapalooza and they instantly won me over. Not only did they take some good pot shots at Snoop Dogg (who was playing the main stage), they reworked the arrangement for “Novocaine For The Soul.” This is the type of move a band does after playing a song for decades, not on its first major tour. I use the term band loosely. Eels is really all about the man called E, the band is just there for window dressing.



BEAUTIFUL FREAK:
This album sets the groundwork for the Eels sound. Some people have criticized them for not deviating from their formula, but I say bull hickey. Granted, they don’t deviate, but neither does AC/DC, and we still love them. Eels have gotten some flak for sounding like Beck, but here E wears his heart on his sleeve at a time when Beck was still drenched in irony. And the title track was used on the soundtrack to Hellboy II. That’s pretty cool.



ELECTRO-SHOCK BLUES:
The lyrical themes have grown darker this time (“Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor” is second only to Bright Eyes’ “Padriac My Prince” as my vote for most depressing song ever), no surprise given the deaths of E’s mother and sister, though he does weave in some black humor with “Cancer For The Cure” and “Hospital Food.” Musically, the variations from BEAUTIFUL FREAK are subtle at best but effective nonetheless. If you like Eels, you’ll like this.



DAISIES OF THE GALAXY:
A happier and more upbeat sheen on this one, though I guess thematically, E had nowhere to go but up. I mean, unless he wanted to go full-on nihilistic. The hip hop tinged edges are toned down to focus more on the folk pop sensibilities. E has honed his songcraft further. The tossed off feeling belies the tight composition and masks the underlying vulnerability. Another beautiful release. And against all conventional wisdom, go for the edited release where "It's A Motherfucker" is reworked into "It's A Monstertrucker."



SOULJACKER:
The most immediate thing that's apparent here is, well, how immediate it is. More rocking, more aggressive, more passionate. Even on the quirkier moments, E is more forceful than he's ever been. There's not a bad moment here. Another album that'd be on my top 50 list. Everyone else should reserve a spot too. By the way, I once saw a bus stop boxer. It's a pretty odd sight.

[I didn't intend for this to be a two-parter, but after typing most of it up, I came to realize that there's a double album I haven't listened to. I haven't had the time to listen to it and debated whether or not just to leave it off, but then I decided I'd like an extra week's worth of material so I'm shortchanging you all with two short blogs on Eels.]

SMASHING PUMPKINS Pt 2

[And now the conclusion of my look at the Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan, I know you've been waiting with bated breath.]



MACHINA/THE MACHINES OF GOD:
The beginning of this is actually kind of exciting. It represents a bold new direction for the band to go in, and it works, melding organic rock with mechanical flourishes to produce sort of a Mecha-Pumpkins monster. Unfortunately, it too quickly drops into mediocrity. The latter half probably wouldn’t seem so bad if the first half wasn’t as good. This album isn’t bad, but it feels like a major disappointment given the promise shown at the beginning.



MACHINA II - FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF MODERN MUSIC:
I have a rare promo CD of this, which I think can probably fetch me about 5 bucks on eBay. This was only released on vinyl to fan club members with the intention of them spreading the songs through various file-sharing programs. Kudos to Billy for not forcing people to pay for this crap. In all fairness, there might be some good songs hidden here. But for whatever reason, the Pumpkins went for a lo-fi sound here. Lo-fi just doesn’t suit Billy’s grandiose bald head. Maybe this was all an evil plot hatched by Billy to destroy Napster in ways Metallica could never imagine. That or the record company absolutely refused to put out this album (true according to Wikipedia), and Billy couldn’t stand the idea of some of his songs going unheard by the masses. Ironically, I think the songs still went unheard by the masses.



ROTTEN APPLES/JUDAS O:
This is the way to do a hits compilation. A smattering of the big singles for the casual fans who aren’t likely to notice the glaring omissions. And for only a dollar more, the harder-core fans can get the bonus disc of B-sides and rarities. Though the hardest of hardcore fans will feel ripped off since most of these tracks already appeared on THE AEROPLANE FLIES HIGH or MACHINA II. Interestingly, the MACHINA II songs are listed as being previously unreleased. Granted, that album was never commercially released but it was somewhat officially released by the band. As suggested by the title, JUDAS O is a sort of sequel to PISCES ISCARIOT, but it lacks that album’s fluidity. There’s some exquisite and sublime moments here, but nothing creates the urge to listen to it as a whole. It’s best to rip these songs and throw them into the MP3 shuffle playlist.



ZWAN – MARY, STAR OF THE SEA:
I know what you’re thinking, “Hey, this isn’t an SP album. Why are you putting it in this entry?” Well, let’s take a look, shall we? Jimmy Chamberlain on drums. Ethnic guy on guitar, girl on bass, neither of whom actually play on the album. Billy Corgan’s tyrannical bald head. Yep, a Pumpkins album in all but name. Most people didn’t care much for this, mostly because it wasn’t, you know, GISH. Since I don’t care much for GISH, I feel I have a better perspective. This is Corgan’s best and most consistent batch of songs since SIAMESE DREAM. And if Zwan had managed to attain the sublime production of those early Pumpkins albums, I guarantee you’d all love this album. I think the main weakness here is the lack of a standout single. Everything’s generally pleasant with no bad tracks and even a decent sprawling epic in “Jesus, I.” It just needs some great songs to elevate everything else.



ZEITGEST:
I don’t know. I kind of like this one. Maybe I was just in a good mood. Maybe my expectations were just really low. But it is nice to see Billy just rocking again, even if there’s nothing particularly remarkable or memorable about it. This is pretty much a take it or leave it release. But it does beg the question. Is it reasonable to expect an artist to maintain a high level of excellence, or should we be happy if they can at least continue to churn out entertaining music?



FINAL THOUGHTS:
There’s really no final thoughts when it comes to Billy Corgan. He’s a douche who also happens to be a musical genius even if he’s not quite the genius he once was. In other words, he’s the white Kanye West.

SMASHING PUMPKINS Pt 1

[NOTE: I now subscribe to Rhapsody, which means I now have the ability to suffer through a band's entire catalogue, not just the albums I own. Since the SP discography contains quite a bit, I'm splitting this blog into two parts.]



BACKDROP:
I think that just by writing this, Billy Corgan’s ego will increase by +2 points. That might not be a bad RPG game. Though the word “game” in the phrase “RPG game” is redundant if you think about it. What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, Billy Corgan. I picture Billy googling himself and finding this blog on page 927. Then after reading it, he writes me an angry email calling me a douchebag. Far-fetched? Probably, but hey, it could happen. Erik Estrada once wrote me an email saying that I had a unique writing style and that I better not make any more jokes involving his wife.



GISH:
This is THE album for cool, hip indie kids. Being neither cool nor hip or even all that particularly indie for that matter, I can be the one to admit the truth about GISH. It’s a fucking boring album. Now, I’m not saying it’s a bad album. It’s definitely good, great even, at times brilliant. But it’s also tedious. Sort of the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY of alternative rock. Incidentally, I still can’t get through either one. Corgan shows talent for creating textures, but his songwriting is just not quite there yet.



SIAMESE DREAM:
There’s really no reason I like this album so much when I dislike GISH. And it’s not warm, fuzzy nostalgia. I hated SIAMESE DREAM in high school. I even gave my copy to a friend in exchange for a Morphine CD. I have never for a moment regretted the move. But I don’t know. It seems as if Corgan took his ethereal textures and grafted them onto actual songs. “Today,” “Disarm,” “Quiet,” “Geek USA,” “Mayonnaise.” All superb enough to make up for any deficiencies (of which there really aren’t many).



PISCES ISCARIOT:
I once read a review of this that read “Billy Corgan’s funky leftovers taste better than most bands’ main courses.” It is pretty amazing that after just two albums, the Pumpkins had enough material left over to craft a third album with “B” material that’s on par with their “A” material. There’s no surprises lurking, no peak at a different facet of the band. Just more quality material from a quality band at their quality peak. And the best version of “Landslide” to boot. Funny story, I used to think that “Landslide” was a Corgan original (yes, despite the booklet crediting Stevie Nicks). The first time I heard the Fleetwood Mac version, I thought to myself, “Why would anyone want to do a crappy adult contemporary version of a Smashing Pumpkins B-side?”



MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS:
I used to think that this would be better as a single-disc album, but now I’m not so sure. For starters, distilling this into a single disc would still leave plenty of filler. Let’s just say it couldn’t have been very difficult to pick the singles. Corgan’s prolific writing seems to have caught up with him. He does not have enough steam to pull of such a grandiose effort. Hell, he even allows James Iha to sing a song. Pace yourself, Billy. Your career should be a marathon not a sprint. Yet there’s something hypnotic about the indulgence of this being a double album, particularly because so much of it is simply mediocre. The bright spots shine brighter amidst all the muck (perhaps that’s why these songs work so well on the radio). The grandeur and pomposity is fragilely held together by Billy Corgan’s bald-headed ego. This is a smattering patchwork of songs with no cohesive flow. PISCES sounds more like a well-plotted album than this. Somehow, MELLON COLLIE manages to be good by not being all that good.



ADORE:
Wow, what an incredibly boring album. This is my first time listening to this, and I realize why. To be fair, it does sound pretty. There’s just nothing underneath the gloss. Has there ever been such a chasm between style and substance? Even the high points, if you want to call them that, feel little more than rehashes. “Perfect” desperately wants to be “1979,” does it not?



[To be continued next week, don't get your panties up in a bunch, Billy.]

HOLE

BACKDROP:
I love Courtney Love. Love, love, love her. She came to prominence as Kurt Cobain’s widow. She quickly became a magnet for controversy and outrageousness. Somewhere amidst all the craziness, she had a recording career, as well as an acting one. The latter produced nothing of interest except for a brilliant turn in “The People Vs Larry Flynt.” Didn’t hurt that she got naked in that one. I think Courtney Love may have been my first rock star crush. And as much of a mess as she is these days, I’d still hit it.



PRETTY ON THE INSIDE:
Nothing much on this that hasn’t been done better on a Babes In Toyland or L7 record. Interesting side note, Courtney Love has been in bands with both Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch. Hmmm. Still, it’s hard not to get sucked into the cult of Courtney. This is one of those albums that gets by on pure attitude. The punky-metal riffs tend to blend together and nothing stands out, but it all moves by quickly enough so as not to wear out its welcome.



LIVE THROUGH THIS:
Rumors abound that Kurt Cobain actually wrote this album. I could see that. “Gutless” is pretty obvious, don’t you think? And the music here is vastly superior to that found on PRETTY. Then again, maybe Courtney Love has improved as a songwriter. I don’t know if the mighty KC had anything like “Softer, Softest” in him. And the lyrics on this album make more sense than your typical Nirvana song. So let’s say the truth lies in the middle and this was a collaborative effort. Incidentally, I don’t buy the theory that Courtney killed Kurt, unless you count the fact that living with Courtney could drive a man to kill himself. But why would she want to slaughter that cash cow? And no, El Duce is not a reliable source. But I digress. Now that time has separated LIVE THROUGH THIS from the surrounding tragedies that proved the title ironic (Kurt’s suicide, the fatal overdose of bassist Kristin Pfaff), the album stands stronger than before. Okay, there are some flaws. The false starts in “Rock Star” are a forced attempt at sounding spontaneous. The “Old Age” excerpt at the beginning of “Credit In The Straight World” really makes no sense. (By the way, Wikipedia and Allmusic tell me that "Old Age" is a reworking of a rare Nirvana song.) But that’s minor quibbling for an album that rocks this hard. Courtney Love shows some nice range, from the aching tenderness of “Doll Parts’ to the vicious sneer of “Jennifer’s Body.” Guitarist Eric Erlandson—one of the most underappreciated musicians around, even his own band hates him—adds some nice textures, but make no mistake about it. This is Courtney Love’s show. And I, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way.



MY BODY THE HAND GRENADE:
This is a collection of, as the Who would say, odds and sods. It’s ironic that I’d say that because, as anyone who knows me can attest to, I hate the Who. Nothing too amazing or revelatory here. It is interesting to hear the demo of “Miss World,” and it’s nice to finally have the full version of “Old Age.” It would’ve been nice to have some more selections from their Unplugged session, particularly “You Know You’re Right.” I think this release is out of print, or maybe only available as an import. Either way, only hardcore Hole fans should seek it out.



CELEBRITY SKIN:
Let’s see. PRETTY ON THE INSIDE was L7-esque. LIVE THROUGH THIS was Nirvana-esque. CELEBRITY SKIN is Smashing Pumpkins-esque. Nope, don’t see a pattern here. Billy Corgan takes songwriting credit, but only on a third of the songs. Judging by how I perceive Corgan’s ego to work, he either wrote none of the songs but wished he did, or he wrote all of the songs but was ashamed he did. Interestingly, Corgan also worked on Marilyn Manson’s MECHANICAL ANIMALS, released around the same time. Both records are ruminations on the shallowness of celebrity. And the theme suits Manson’s limited (and somewhat fake) delivery better. Courtney Love holds back too much here, and restraint is not one of her assets. She’s a powerhouse personality and should be tearing the place up. For example, take “Malibu.” It strives to be like “Doll Parts,” but without the ragged emotionally hoarse vocals, it falls flat. The songcraft is arguably the best the band has produced yet the production polishes the rough edges, leaving everything castrated. Only in “Northern Star” does the band truly deliver, creating the majestic epic the bands has been building up to all these years. It’s quite unfortunate that the rest of the album does not mine a similar vein. Still, it’s a lot more entertaining than most albums released after a talent band has hit their creative peak.



FINAL THOUGHTS:
Since the breakup of Hole, Courtney Love has done some solo albums. She’s also done a lot of drugs. Guess which has been better for her career. But still, I love Courtney, as well as we all should. But where is her reality show? So many boring semi-celebrities get their lives documented (I think E! and VH-1 send television applications in the mail with free samples of Tide). How ‘bout this trainwreck? That’s one show I wouldn’t mind being on my television incessantly. And believe me, I’d watch it each time.

BLOODHOUND GANG

BACKDROP:
White boys delivering humorous insult raps. Clearly, they set the stage and made the world safe for Eminem. Okay, not really. Well before I learned how annoying frat boys are and how much they over-love stuff like this, I was grooving to the BHG. It’s easy to dismiss the band as sophomoric, but think about this. An ultrafeminist I knew in college that hated me for being misogynistic thought they were the funniest thing ever. What point this proves I don’t know. I like stories.



USE YOUR FINGERS:
I’ve forgotten how good this album is. Actually, good’s not the right term to use. Fun would be more apropos. I also forgot how much Daddy Long Legs owns this record. Sure, his mic battles with Jimmy Pop won’t rival Sugarhill Gang vs Furious Five. But look at Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst on Korn’s “All In The Family” to see just how terrible these things can get. This album runs about five songs too long and there’s nothing terribly original about it. It’s definitely no IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS. Hell, it ain’t even PLEASE HAMMER DON’T HURT ‘EM. But come on, there’s a cover of the K.I.D.S. Incorporated theme song. Dumb fun, but Bloodhound Gang never aims to be more than that. That’s admirable, I think.



ONE FIERCE BEER COASTER:
Jimmy Pop is en fuego here, spitfiring one-liners left and right. Okay, some jokes are recycled from USE YOUR FINGERS and some jokes fall flat, but for the most part, this album elicits, perhaps a few guffaws, even after multiple listens. And how many pro-cunnilingus are out there anyway? On the downside, the music gets quite annoying, courtesy of one DJ Q-Ball. Okay, I get that having a DJ was the cool thing to do in the late 90s, but what purpose does Q-Ball serve other than providing annoying scratches?



HOORAY FOR BOOBIES:
Great title. Let’s get this out of the way. “The Bad Touch” is not a good song. Yeah, yeah, everyone loves singing the chorus, but the best joke in the song, the only good joke, really, is the dead-on synth pop parody. This album’s a mixed bag. Musically, the band has gotten better and finally learned to bury the DJ in the mix. On the other hand, the lyrics—the true attraction in BHG—just don’t pack much of a punch. I’m sure Jimmy Pop thinks he’s being clever but at times, even he sounds bored. Example? Okay, here’s one. Chasey Lain was the first pornstar I got into (figuratively, not literally) so I definitely can relate to Jimmy Pop’s desire to eat her ass. But the lyrics are the laziest piece of writing this side of any given Gary Glitter song. Though I must give props for “Mope.” Sampling Falco, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Metallica and Homer Simpson? That takes talent.



FINAL THOUGHTS:
Holy shit, these guys are still putting out records! Just kidding, I know they had a fourth release, HEFTY FINE. I’m just exaggerating to illustrate the fact that no one really cared. And keep in mind, the title of their song “Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo” is nowhere near as clever as Britney Spears’ “If You Seek Amy.” ‘Nuff said.