American Alternative music reviews

Yeah, this is the one that got me going on the Surfers. I'd heard some of the earlier stuff, but when I heard this I was blown away! The guitar, bass, and drums are ROCKING! They really rip on this release. I was shocked to hear that John Paul Jones was producing them, but then I found an article in Guitar World about the recording of the album. I just love the part in the article where the interviewer is talking to the band about how this is by far their hardest rocking album and (I think) Paul Geary says that "well, John Paul Jones liked the harder songs, so those are the ones we put on the album". And the interviewer says "you let a producer choose the songs on your album??!!" and Paul says HELL YES, its JOHN PAUL JONES MAN!!!

Rolling Stone Magazine once slammed the Butth0le Surfers for being "so genuine in its depravity" and called them scary because "the weirdness is much too real to qualify as mere dadaist showmanship." Those comments are absolutely true and a great reason to love the band.
The Butth0le Surfers releases before this album were tailor made to sound like bad acid trips. They took the "peace and love" romanticism out of psychedelic music and replaced with sickness and fear. It was a more realistic approach to the true LSD experience.
Those albums must be experienced at least once or twice just for the shock value. However, none of those albums are the kind you would want to listen to every day. "Independent Worm Saloon" is an album you could listen to every day.

The Butth0le Surfers hit the perfect balance between weirdness and catchy, hard punk rock. The weirdness is delivered mostly by vocalist Gibby Haynes with his outlandish lyrics and freaky voice. The music will occasionally get as weird as the lyrics, but on the average it's just one catchy riff after another.
The frantic freak out songs "Who Was in My Room Last Night," "Goofy's Concern," and "Some Dispute Over T-shirt Sales" are the highlights followed closely by "Alcohol" and "Dust Devil." The rest is not filler by any means, as it holds the flow of the album together in either mellow "cool down" or comical way. It peaks and dips just like a perfect, drug fueled live performance.

There are some amazing things about the Butth0le Surfers that cannot be ignored. First, they were from Texas which is a place that clearly does not value or encourage such extreme artistic expression that this band has produced. Also, the drug possession laws there are extremely harsh which makes them all the more fearless in their expression.
Second, they ended up becoming mainstream which was once thought to be impossible for a band with a name and sound like theirs. While Nirvana and the alternative explosion in the `90's may have opened the door for the Butth0le Surfers, it was amazing that they survived the `80's underground and emerged on the radio despite their name and reputation. They must make great music.

Sellout schmellout...
The Butthole Surfers are pure blown out crazy F'n rock & roll brilliance... I am admittedly a hardcore BHS fan and will lend my ear to anything BHS, however having said this there is plenty that just doesn't "do it" for me... They have recorded some crap, but very little. Independant Worm Saloon though is hardcore rock n roll brilliance from start to finish... The whole f'n CD rocks hard... It has the classic Gibby craziness... It is the best so far every songs is a BHS gem in the pantheon of psycho acid punk rock.

LONG LIVE THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS!

I grew up on this album as well as Social D's "Mainliner:wreckage from the past" and let me tell you that after 10+ years of listening they have lost absolutely none of their power! I am not a fan of much social D after the early punk years. When mike ness lost the ability to sing reasonably and they became a weird rockabilly/country from the heart type band I said goodbye. If you enjoy bands like Black Flag,Circle Jerks,T.S.O.L. and others from that time period and cali location than you will certainly dig every second of this. The only problem I really ever had with Mommy's Little Monster was that it's only 9 songs long and that the album versions of All The Answers and Moral Threat don't live up to the Earlier ones (which appear on "mainliner"). Do yourself a favor and pick both up right now!

I fell in love w/ Mike Ness and Social D in the 80s. They toured constantly, it seemed like they came to the Cameo Theatre in Miami Beach (and when that shut down, 1235) at least 2X a year. Best energy at those shows, everyone screaming our lungs out to songs that told our stories. If you don't get amped listening to this album, you should really stick to emo-core fluffy music, and quit calling yourself a punk rocker.

The new stuff is just as good, but is more of a showcase for Mike Ness' phenomenal songwriting ability. My favorite band in the whole wide world. God bless Social D, they have fed my spirit for 20 years.

Mommy's little monster is in my opinion, Social Distortion's greatest sound. I'm in high school and really enjoy punk music, So this CD's raw enerfy and blaring guitars is a good sound. Don't let this discourage you not to buy other CD's by them though, Because later Social Distortion isalso great, just a different, more mature sound.

I grew up on this album as well as Social D's "Mainliner:wreckage from the past" and let me tell you that after 10+ years of listening they have lost absolutely none of their power! I am not a fan of much social D after the early punk years. When mike ness lost the ability to sing reasonably and they became a weird rockabilly/country from the heart type band I said goodbye. If you enjoy bands like Black Flag,Circle Jerks,T.S.O.L. and others from that time period and cali location than you will certainly dig every second of this. The only problem I really ever had with Mommy's Little Monster was that it's only 9 songs long and that the album versions of All The Answers and Moral Threat don't live up to the Earlier ones (which appear on "mainliner"). Do yourself a favor and pick both up right now!

I fell in love w/ Mike Ness and Social D in the 80s. They toured constantly, it seemed like they came to the Cameo Theatre in Miami Beach (and when that shut down, 1235) at least 2X a year. Best energy at those shows, everyone screaming our lungs out to songs that told our stories. If you don't get amped listening to this album, you should really stick to emo-core fluffy music, and quit calling yourself a punk rocker.

The new stuff is just as good, but is more of a showcase for Mike Ness' phenomenal songwriting ability. My favorite band in the whole wide world. God bless Social D, they have fed my spirit for 20 years.

Mommy's little monster is in my opinion, Social Distortion's greatest sound. I'm in high school and really enjoy punk music, So this CD's raw enerfy and blaring guitars is a good sound. Don't let this discourage you not to buy other CD's by them though, Because later Social Distortion isalso great, just a different, more mature sound.

I'm the biggest basher of post Lou Barlow era Dinosaur Jr. around. I always felt that J lost a few steps after Bug and a few thousand after Where You Been. Sure the later albums had some cool tracks, but the majority was not good. This is J's strongest album in almost a decade...hands down! The production is fresh and clean (Kevin Shields! When is the next MBV album???) and there are some new sounds floating around which hit the mark. J, you've won me back to the fold!

With Dinosaur Jr behind him, J Mascis continues to do the solo act along with the likes of Mike Watt and Kevin Shields. This band is like an indie collective almost, with Mike being in the Minutemen, Kevin in My Bloody Valentine and J being in Dinosaur Jr (all this needs is Thurston Moore and they're set).

I heard many good things about this album. First good thing I heard was that J didn't change his styles of distorted, loud and heavy guitaring but what he didn't change he fixed. I heard that keyboards run through most of the songs and the last I heard was that the lyrics and vocals have lightened up.

All of the above was true. From listening to Same Day and hearing J do his trademark solos and scratchy vocals, I knew I was in for a treat. Wastin really changed the flow with the chorus that includes some original keyboarding, then we go where the album really picks up at Where'd you Go, which for some reason, reminds me of the old Dinosaur Jr. I think Where'd you Go is J's message to us after three years absense. Grand me to you slows things down a bit, sounds like the Dinosaur Jr from the Without a Sound era almost.

But the next track changes the whole album. Ammaring. It starts with some easy guitar and a keyboard running along with it, the drumming and base are unusually louder then usual. About a minute in J runs through the first solo which sounds slightly distorted then the song just bangs into another LOUDER guitar but maintaining the same easy flow. Another solo which fits the song more. But as J starts singing louder everything picks up then he unleashes the loudest and most powerful solo I've ever heard him so. It's crazy and very distorted. The whole song is just amazing to listen too. It's the defining song of the album, and I'm shocked that this wasn't a number one hit.

Then we run into All the Girls. A slower song that is also reminisent of the Without a Sound/Hand it Over era of Dinosaur Jr. Wait for the distorted middle that runs with a keyboard, that's awseome. I'm not Fine, the next track, is just pure guitar power. Along with a pretty nutty ending. But then things mellow out as much as they slow down with Can I take this On. This song is the nicest song I've ever heard J do. Includes a keyboard, banjo and a barking dog, simply harmless rock. Does the Kiss fit is another great song with a keyboard that runs through it. I love that track personally like Ammaring.

But J tries something new with the closing title track More Light. He (and Kevin Sheilds) completely cranks everything up too 10+ and just lets loose with LOUD distorted guitaring that I just can't define by typing. It's amazing and I think J should try something like that again.

J Mascis would go on to follow this album up with Free so Free which is a HUGE fall back from the pure power and energy this album had.

I recommend this album to anyone new to J Mascis or Dinosaur Jr.

OK, first off, J mascis is a MUSICAL GENIUS. He is an excellent composer, and although the majority of his better releases were with dino jr, the songs on this album are great. I've been listening to "Ground me to you" over and over, because i can relate to it completely, as i am still struggling to get this one girl to love me, but anyway........ The piano solo on that song, combined with the crack in his voice as he whines"i dont want another picture, i need you" is enough to make you weep, and is worth the price of all the songs.

I have to say, I really wanted to like this album. I wait with baited breath for each new moe. release, (No Doy! gets my album of the century award) but based on all the other reviews, I guess I must be missing something.. (perhaps a hit of acid??) Sure, there are some great tracks, Not Coming Down, Okayalright, Crab Eyes, Kids.. and the fusion of live drum/guitar tracks seems like a GREAT idea.. in theory... But Wormwood just doesn't do it for me like moe.'s previous releases. I long for new songs in the same vein of epic masterpieces like Mexico, Dr. Graftenberg, Rebubula, Four, Plane Crash, Opium.. All of these translate wonderfully from studio to live performances, and no doubt many tracks on Wormwood would have a more driving energy live, but as a studio release, I find most to be sub-par to the type of moe. studio work I'm used to. If you're looking for a studio release, and you're new to moe. and are more inclined toward mainstream music, start with Dither. If you're a jamband fan looking for a studio release start with No Doy! or Headseed. And if you want an official live release go with Instant Live: Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK, 10/10/03. It's by far the best live show I own, and I own well over 400 hours of live music from ALL kinds of bands. When you've purchase all moe.'s other releases, circle back around and pick this up, like many of the other reviewers, you may find something here that I'm not.

Just Brilliant, moe. has definately done it again with this gem! A live, studio dubbed masterpiece. This may be one of the all time greatest albums of all times, moe. is on the cutting edge in the live base performers, and now they display their live and studio genius, by blending it all together. Kudos to moe.! This is a must have for anyone interested in great music with a non stop vibe. No wonder why moe. has won so many jammy awards.
Keep it going moe.!

Far and away the best moe. album to date. Very fresh sounding compared to recent efforts like dither. There is what some fans would consider alot of "filler" on the album, however these tracks such as rumble strip, bend sinister, etc, help tie tha album together perfectly. If you are new to moe. I would suggest seeing them live before making any final judgments. These guys are a force to be reckoned with. Highlights of the album are Crab Eyes>Bullet>Kyle's Song, it just flows so perfectly. BUY IT NOW!!!!!

Do you like The Misfits, The Gun Club, The Violent Femmes, The Dead Kennedys, Elvis? Give The Cramps a listen. This is an original band and concept and possibly style. Enter Psychobilly or Punkabilly. Although not my favorite album it is worth buying if you don't have it or any other Cramps albums, cds blah blah. There are other bands (psychobilly)Meteors, Nekromantix, Guanabatz, Demented are go, Tiger Army, but nohing compares to The Cramps...and it is a cool name for a band, sure to piss off or irritate someone. They just don't make em or name em that way anymore (FEAR, The Misfits, Angry Samoans, Catholic Discipline, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Kennedys) a barrage of imagery. Are you a Retro and I don't mean 80's only but the 50's with dark imagery of B horror movies, men in grey flannel and women who screamed and fainted. The Cramps will take you there and play "She" and "All Women Are Bad" for your mother she will appreciate it. Makes a great Mother's Day gift!

I bought this CD years ago and it's still good today. Physcobilly is a perfect term to describe these guys. Their music certainly grows on you the more you listen.

Originally released in 1984,as 'Bad Music...' was the band's second compilation album.Pulling material from the 'Gravest Hits' EP,'Songs The Lord Taught Us' and 'Psychedelic Jungle' discs.Total of eleven tracks.No highlights - they're ALL good.From "Garbageman","Goo Goo Muck",the psychobilly classic "Human Fly","Drug Train" and the foot-stomping standard "Uranium Rock"(hey,I've heard Dylan sometimes play this tune in concert).Only downside is the CD's duration is 31 minutes.A must-have just the same.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this band. But this collection is almost unlistenable. The tracks seem just thrown together in what's got to be the WORST possible order, and there's WAY too many B-Side-type filler songs. This album is impossible to listen to all the way through.

If you're looking to get into X, procure "Los Angeles" and "Wild Gift" first, and proceed from there.

This is one of my most listened to X albums. Each disc stands on its own. There's no way any fan could gather together so many rarities. I got the 2xCD best of release and it's got too much of the later, weaker material for my tastes. This came out some years before that and mines the unreleased stash that most bands appear to create over a period of years and a number of albums. This reminds me of the unofficial TOM WAITS Tales From the Underground series of 5 cds, lovingly put together by some fan. A wealth of unreleased items as well as tracks from other people's records. SUPERCHUNK did two similar releases culling together b-sides, live tracks and songs that appeared on compilations and not elsewhere. A real service to the fan. This accomplishes the same thing. The X fan should definitely have this. The casual fan should probably just get any of the first 4 albums, particularly with extra tracks because they exist. Heck, you really couldn't go wrong getting this as an overview of the band's best material, assuming you have a little tolerance for the occasional song that is not 100% perfectly recorded. That only applies to about 5 songs on this set anyway.

This official release does a similar thing while concentrating on most of X's finest songs. If you have to have ultra high fidelity for every song, sure, then you'll be disappointed in a handful of some of the demo or live tracks. But, punk rock man. And those songs are far from unlistenable. I've always been a big fan of hearing alternate versions of great songs, whether it's live, demo, studio outtake or a good cover by another band (or like GANG OF FOUR just did and covered their own songs 25 years later). I'm not one to simply listen to the same songs, the same versions, over and over again. I can barely get though say, ROLLING STONES hits from the 60's only because I've been hearing them over a 35 year period. Gimme something different and this 2xCD set fits the bill beautifully. This is much more a punk thing to do than a big music business thing. And that's where X comes from. Not hardcore. They're similar to the JAM and ELVIS COSTELLO in that they were present during the punk or hardcore era of late 70's and early 80's yet they had their own sound, more like cousins of punk. As ever, the older I get the more I see it's strong song writing that makes the difference. And X has a number of great songs, particularly from the first 4 or so albums and then those 2 emotional and grown up songs that travel lyrically and musically where few others do: 'I Must Not Have Bad Thoughts' and 'See How We Are'. Thanks X for doing this set. I'm also a big fan of X acoustic. Their 'Unclogged' album has Bonebrake on xylephone for some songs and many of X's songs appear translate very well to acoustic. There's a bit of that here.

In fact, the 2xCD greatest hits they just released has too many songs from the latter part of their career for me. It makes that whole second CD not that much of a joy at all. Yes, it's cuz I have a punk rock bent. And when bands I like such as SUPERCHUNK are blazing and then 10 years later start to soften up and, really, I think the song writing then weakens for both bands, well, something like this package gives us the gift of a variety of versions of some of X's finest songs from their strongest period. Who could ask for more? chrisbct@hotmail.com

Casual fans and folks who want to get introduced to X should first get 'Make The Music Go Bang'. That compilation serves up a 2-CD slice of some of their biggest songs and serves as a proper Greatest Hits package.

'Beyond & Back' is served better as a complimentary collection to 'Make The Music Go Bang' by delving further into the X catalog with rarities, outtakes, B-Sides, and alternate takes on some of their greatest songs.

Together, 'Make the Music Go Bang' and 'Beyond & Back' makes a nice 4 disc set that covers much ground over X's illustrious career.

I'm a fan of various musical genres. All my life I've heard ~ Pere Ubu is one of the original Fathers of Punk Rock. Sadly, the claim is simply not true. While this "music" appeared on the scene disturbing Ohio residents since the 70s it is sadly just ....well, not good. It lacks melody which is a strong ingredient in music, and certainly isn't Dub music. Most of these songs contain no rhythm. Unless you want to purchase this to impress trendy but less knowledgeable friends - save your money.

The most interesting thing to me about Pere Ubu's "Dub Housing" is that vocalist David Thomas surrounded himself with musicians, not noisemakers. Guitarist Tom Herman, drummer Scott Krause, bassist Tony Maimone, and multi-instrumentalist Allen Ravenstine were all serious musicians. Imagine what it would have been like if the Sex Pistols had actually known how to play their instruments, and you have the beginnings of an idea of how to approach Pere Ubu. Hell, they were capable of downright catchy hooks, like the absurdly pop-friendly "di-ni-nah-nah, di-ni-nah-nah, di-ni-nah-nah, na-na-nah-na" chorus on "Ubu Dance Party." It is almost as though despite their sincere efforts to be strange, they couldn't help but be approachable. For a band determined to mine the outer limits of rock'n'roll, they were eminently listenable and a ton of fun. Yes, Thomas's wobbly voice takes some getting used to, but less than you'd think. This is not dreary experimentation--it's fun, and also funny.

...Pere Ubu would be hailed as one of the most original acts to come out of America in the last thirty years. Instead it's almost total obscurity. I'm always amazed at the sheer number of "informed" music lovers who have never even heard of them. Truly sad. I was looking through some SPIN Record Guide thing and they had little boxes where people from bands would list their favorite records. I was astonished the number of times Dub Housing and Datapanik In The Year Zero appeared. Greil Marcus gave them gushing admiration as well while simultaneously trashing the NY and LA scene of the same time period, saying the very best was coming straight out of Cleveland. I agree. This work, along with Terminal Tower and Modern Dance, is a great starting point. I think this album holds together as a cohesive unit better than the other two. If they had released Terminal Tower as just the original Datapanik In The Year Zero E.P. and left off the last few tracks, I wouldn't be saying that. Something about this album is so cold and wintry and bleak, and I always crack it out at that time of the year.

I'm a fan of various musical genres. All my life I've heard ~ Pere Ubu is one of the original Fathers of Punk Rock. Sadly, the claim is simply not true. While this "music" appeared on the scene disturbing Ohio residents since the 70s it is sadly just ....well, not good. It lacks melody which is a strong ingredient in music, and certainly isn't Dub music. Most of these songs contain no rhythm. Unless you want to purchase this to impress trendy but less knowledgeable friends - save your money.

The most interesting thing to me about Pere Ubu's "Dub Housing" is that vocalist David Thomas surrounded himself with musicians, not noisemakers. Guitarist Tom Herman, drummer Scott Krause, bassist Tony Maimone, and multi-instrumentalist Allen Ravenstine were all serious musicians. Imagine what it would have been like if the Sex Pistols had actually known how to play their instruments, and you have the beginnings of an idea of how to approach Pere Ubu. Hell, they were capable of downright catchy hooks, like the absurdly pop-friendly "di-ni-nah-nah, di-ni-nah-nah, di-ni-nah-nah, na-na-nah-na" chorus on "Ubu Dance Party." It is almost as though despite their sincere efforts to be strange, they couldn't help but be approachable. For a band determined to mine the outer limits of rock'n'roll, they were eminently listenable and a ton of fun. Yes, Thomas's wobbly voice takes some getting used to, but less than you'd think. This is not dreary experimentation--it's fun, and also funny.

...Pere Ubu would be hailed as one of the most original acts to come out of America in the last thirty years. Instead it's almost total obscurity. I'm always amazed at the sheer number of "informed" music lovers who have never even heard of them. Truly sad. I was looking through some SPIN Record Guide thing and they had little boxes where people from bands would list their favorite records. I was astonished the number of times Dub Housing and Datapanik In The Year Zero appeared. Greil Marcus gave them gushing admiration as well while simultaneously trashing the NY and LA scene of the same time period, saying the very best was coming straight out of Cleveland. I agree. This work, along with Terminal Tower and Modern Dance, is a great starting point. I think this album holds together as a cohesive unit better than the other two. If they had released Terminal Tower as just the original Datapanik In The Year Zero E.P. and left off the last few tracks, I wouldn't be saying that. Something about this album is so cold and wintry and bleak, and I always crack it out at that time of the year.

I can't believe I almost forgot about this album! Duh. It's been years since I had heard this, and then actually heard "The Wagon" on the radio(?) and went, "Whoa!". So many bands have borrowed from J.Mascis' style on this album- it was really very different in the time when everything "grunge" was cool. AND- every song on this album is good, something you never get nowadays. I'm actually purchasing this CD (and that says alot) to replace my old cassette. haha

This is the one Dinosaur Jr. release I can't imagine anyone not liking. It's the beginning of the "new" phase of DJ, yet it still basically sounds like old DJ. "The Wagon" and "Puke + Cry" are both rockin' songs and a good start to the album, and I also really like "Flying Cloud". However it's the last half of the disc that really shines for me. "Water" is a catchy mid-tempo track, "Muck" is one of their best rock-outs ever, and "Thumb" is magical and mellow. Fans of either "Bug" or "Where You Been" should totally dig "Green Mind". If nothing else, the girl on the cover is smokin'.

have you heard a guitar? have you heard j. mascis's guitar(s)? do it, man.