American Alternative music reviews

WOW - I have hundreds of cds and this almost instantly became my favorite. No matter what type of music you listen to, there is something here for everyone. The variety of styles all blend together perfectly for a front to back listen.

It is almost impossible to know if others will like a tune when they hear it for the first time. Consequently, choosing music to give as a gift is often a waste of time and money to both parties. This is one of the CD's which I believe should be given anyway. Aside from a variety of styles making this CD a delight to listen to, the stories , though sometimes a bit dark, are intruiging as well.

Give one to a friend at be surprised at what they like about it...

I can listen to these guys forever. Every tune is either happy and upbeat or smooth and pensive. They are all excellent. Some of Sonia Dada's stuff reminds me of Little Feat, but they have a greater range of sound and content --imagine a rock, gospel, R&B and folk melange. I want to hear them all over the radio. And no, I'm not sleeping with a band member. I just really love their music.

WOW - I have hundreds of cds and this almost instantly became my favorite. No matter what type of music you listen to, there is something here for everyone. The variety of styles all blend together perfectly for a front to back listen.

It is almost impossible to know if others will like a tune when they hear it for the first time. Consequently, choosing music to give as a gift is often a waste of time and money to both parties. This is one of the CD's which I believe should be given anyway. Aside from a variety of styles making this CD a delight to listen to, the stories , though sometimes a bit dark, are intruiging as well.

Give one to a friend at be surprised at what they like about it...

I can listen to these guys forever. Every tune is either happy and upbeat or smooth and pensive. They are all excellent. Some of Sonia Dada's stuff reminds me of Little Feat, but they have a greater range of sound and content --imagine a rock, gospel, R&B and folk melange. I want to hear them all over the radio. And no, I'm not sleeping with a band member. I just really love their music.

This album, along with Double Nickels by the Minutemen, and all albums by the Replacements changed how I listened to, and appreciated music. J. Mascis is an incredibly unique guitar player. There is no one on earth similiar to him in style and grace. I hope that on the other side his solos roar on for eons.

This CD has no less impact than when it came out eighteen years ago. As Byron Coley says on the band's website, it shows their sound becoming more orderly as they were ready to burst at the seams from internal strife. Well, sad but true, but tension often makes for the best music of a band's career, and J didn't live up to the manic glory here ever again. (Now this line-up is reunited! Get to see them for the first time with Lou on bass next month. HO-LY CRRRRRAAAP!!!).

So many highlights, where do you start? I think Kurt really learned the soft/hard dynamic from J, and in many ways J's use of it sounds more fresh (likely because a trillion J wanna-be's failed to ever pop up--only a score, Kurt being one of them). The album starts with this in somewhat famous fashion on "Freak Scene," where there's a major chord strumming pattern that is mildly distorted. Within in a minute, the low E power chord is thrashed so hard that the piece resembles a form of proto-death metal. The middle part is really pretty . . . and then back to the death metal. A lot of the songs feature this dynamic & it really never gets boring. If you have the right tools, use them to make as many creations as possible. I think my favorite use of this dynamic is in "Pond Song." It starts out with a delicate picking pattern: "Long distance left you undecided/ I'd sprinkle enough to let you know," J pathetically croons to the girlfriend he never finds. Before you know it, the song is awash in fuzz, reverb, and thrashing chords. This pattern happens to match J's attitude towards his love interest, which alternates between tender yearning and murderous disenchantment, best reflected in "Freak Scene": "Sometimes I don't thrill you/ Sometimes I think I'll kill you./ Just don't let me f**k up will you,/ 'Cos when I need a friend it's still you."

There's so much more to say about this classic, but I will leave it at the guitars for now. Simply put, the interplay between J on guitar and Lou on bass remains a high watermark for alternative. Sometimes muddy, but always evocative of new and fresh emotions, there have been few power trios who have got as much out of their guitars (Rush comes to mind, tho' I know the hipster "cognoscenti" would poo-poo me for saying this). Lou ups the ante with his use of chords and arpeggios on the bass for one thing. J himself is certainly one of the top guitarists in the history of alternative. He's not a harmonic genius in the technical sense: more in the intuitive sense. His use of feedback is heartbreakingly beautiful at times (the solo in "No Bones" amply evidences this). He uses dissonance strategically, creating hooks out of repeating skronky lines after a particularly melodic run (again, the second solo in "Freak Scene" is great for this). He shreds the thing like he's, well, ready to break it in two. Oh yeah, and it's LOUD. I saw them live (without Lou) back in the early '90's. He would play solos and my head literally felt like it was being cleft at the lobes. It hurt!!! But it was the true definition of sublimity: intense pleasure mixed with intense pain. Can't wait to feel the pain for the first time with Lou helping me smash my head on the punk rock.

Last contrast: I played this to my girlfriend for the first time today. She liked it a lot. Of all the grunge bands in the '90's, this was a good one for the women, 'cos J writes more traditional melodies and also wears his heart on his sleeve, unlike, say, the phrygian modes and D&D bludgeonings of Soundgarden. Male/female, yin/yang, silence/noise, love/hate, within/beyond . . . _Bug_ has more than enough contrasts to keep you occupied for a long, long time to come. Check them out live if they are coming to your area.

To start off what a great album you can't get any better grunge than this folks i mean with songs like "POND SONG and FREAK SCENE" they are so good but also have really amazing harmonies in the back. So good don't miss this one it's such a classic and it's to bad they never really got the spotlight.

My wife tried ordering this item thru a Amazon listed seller (caiman) December the 10th it was due to ship out in 3 days (for a x-mas present nonetheless), by end of January it had not shipped. I cancelled our order with caiman and tried to order thru AMAZON itself the same day Feb 3rd i believe. Here it is March the 20th. No nothing , just an endless extending wait. Apparently AMAZON & their sellers feel they can list items they dont , wont and cant stock. Dont waste your time. I just cancelled my order and bought it on E-BAY , it will ship tommorow. Forget Amazon, or unless you like being blown off endlessly by email with no LIVE person to talk to, then by all means order this thru Amazon (or Caiman!). I prefer to spend my money else-where, this has really soured me.

5 great CD's with great songs like "Crossing Over" or "Mao Reminices About his Days in Southern China". The songs on Greatest Hits Played Faster, the live CD, sound better than the recordings on Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart or Key Lime Pie. It is relatively cheap for a 5 CD set.

In my wallet I keep a "want list" of music and movies for all of those times I find myself in a store and can't remember that album or movie I wanted. One of the first entries is "Camper Van Beethoven--First three albums". Finally, this wonderful boxed set is available. The collection includes, as stated, all of the band's work from the Santa Cruz years. The CD cases are cardboard miniature reproductions of the original album jackets and the fourth and fifth discs are rarities and a live disc. If you remember the fun of their music and haven't heard it for a while, get this set. It brought back memories of a less responsible time and the music, it seems, hasn't been remastered leaving the vocals slightly buried which was always a part of their sound I liked. They could entertain you with light ska instrumentals or rock with catchy guitar riffs. The extensive liner notes are interesting too, except the part where the writer tries to defend the band's selling out as not selling out but simply wanting to sign to a bigger label to make their music more available. No problem here with selling out if you don't change your music to do it; and that's exactly what they did. I feel their major label stuff just isn't as fun as the early stuff..... and Cracker was horrible. If you remember why you liked Camper Van Beethoven in the first place, buy this set.

of course that's the rub for many good local bands. the wipers were (are?) a very good local band but i had never heard of them before amazon .the reason for that is there are no great songs on this box set. they play great, sound great but nothing is memorable (except maybe the overall guitar driven sound). comparisons to the velvet underground, love or big star are absurd because all those bands had many all time great songs. and that's the main difference between all time greats and very good local bands. great songs. it's what's lacking on this box set. 3 and 1/2 stars.

Like Syd Barrett, Greg Sage has been afflicted/blessed with a condition known as synthaesia, the ability to 'see' sounds and 'hear' color. One of the guys from Crackerbash said that the Wipers sound like Portland in the winter. Listen to 'youth of america' and you will know what months of rain and grey skies look/sound like...
One more thing, that guy that said they had no songs is stupid, "Messanger", "Romeo" and "Window Shop.." are standouts among many...

A very addictive set of records... Particularily 'Is this Real?' and 'YOA'. It's beautifully flawed stuff: self-romanticized teenager music that takes itself too seriously; but damn, is it awesome.

Very sincere. Honest, sometimes angry and most often naive. Very thoughtful changes, sometimes almost amatuerishly ornate. Oh yeah. And they also rock.

Listen to any of these records once, and I can understand if you aren't blown away. Listen three times, and if you're not madly, hopelessly in love, it's because you have no soul.

Until the track "Jesus Was A Communist," this is a flawless, breakneck speed early 80's hardcore disc. After that point, it gets a bit too metal-ish for my taste (I mean, come on.... there's practically a guitar solo on What Will the Neighbors Think.)

So, I gave this 4 Stars instead of 5. Additionally, I gave it 4 instead of 3 because it's an important piece of musical history (which I'm sure that Reagan Youth would find pretty funny) and because the first 11 tracks are so great.

This is good 80's hardcore,If you are new to punk I suggest you pick this up and add it to your collection.

The riffs are heavy and the drums are fast what more can I say other then this is an amazing hardcore album. I'd reccomend this to any fan of punk or hardcore.

Favorite Songs: "New Aryans" "Happy" and "Jesus Was A Communist"

Simply put, this is one of the best albums ever, and save for THE CLASH's LONDON CALLING, I think THE GUN CLUB's FIRE OF LOVE just might be the best rock album ever, hands down, no contest. As a matter of fact, SEX BEAT just might be the best rock-n-roll song ever recorded, summing up the raw, ragged, sexy, unholy power of rock past, present, & future in under three minutes - but isn't that how the best of rock should be? I mistrust the current Jeffrey Lee Pierce idol worship circa 2006 - all I know is, I got this LP when it first came out on Slash in the early 80s as a teen and haven't stopped playing it since - it's almost three decades old and still puts most everything else in its path to shame. JLP and THE GUN CLUB never quite managed to scale these heights ever again (even if parts of MIAMI and LAS VEGAS are nice) - if you don't own this, you don't know good music, period.

The Gun Club is an awesome punk band that everyone should know about. Sex Beat, She's Like Heroine to Me, and For the Love of Ivy are my favorites. The songs on this album rock and are really fun to listen to. In the words of the informercials "Get your credit card now"

The greatest rock and roll album ever made. With the standard makeup of vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, The Gun Club stripped away the fluffy production of the 70s that had infected even LA Punk bands and reached through the fog of corn whisky to the very swamp culture of depravity that inspired rock and roll in the first place. This is the album Panther Burns and Alex Chilton hoped to record, but never approached, and only the Cramps ever become a worthy satellite of. This is the Elvis we all always knew was underneath the jumpsuit when he said his backup singers "smell like catfish." Let us hold in abeyance the current faux-worship of Jeffrey Lee Pierce that has become a pedestrian given for dead rock figures. On the internet he has been elevated to the Jim Morison Throne of insightful poet. He never was, and I could care less, for the raw animal sensuality that the simple lyrics, beat, and illustrations Fire of Love offers are the only poetics one needs. Here is the invitation to the Bacchanal, with both Ivy and wine present, a mystery religion whose rites are held in the dark, we are lured there by the sounds of the lyre and drums of animal skin, but it all ends in a primal scream, and is as inevitable and as welcome as our own death.

This one rocks.... if I were on an island forever this would be in my top 50.... almost perfect!!

enjoy

the wipers are like black flag with a strong velvet underground influence. this album in particular is beyond description. it is unfortunate that nobody but the the seattle punk scene (nirvana, mudhoney, melvins, etc.) really knew who these guys were. (p.s. neil young IS into punk rock. rust never sleeps has two songs dedicated to the sex pistols).

The Wipers sound like if Neil Young was into punk rock.
Great guitar work, brilliant song-writing, groovy, trippy, underground sounding.
It's easy to hear how this band had effected bands like Nirvana, The Melvins (whom both had coverd The Wipers) and sure countless others.

The Swan's apocolyptic epic double disc collection is arranged like a regular lp and the illusion holds up well. Gira's vocals are wise but ultimately souless, sounding like the weary teachings of an empty shell of a man who has lost all reason to live years ago. His lyrics paint a portrait of a world where the sun, love, and God no longer offer comfort, a world where human life is nothing but a meaningless blip on the radar of time and nature. During her songs, Jarboe's more expressive operic vocals often serve as a break from Gira's nihilism though she is equally effective accenting his songs with atmospheric haromonizing.

While the vocals are at the forefront, the Swans are almost just as interesting musically. Employing a minimalist approach the music often lurches with dark strumming accoustic guitars and ringing synth melodies that alternate between eerie and hammering. The result is a menacing intimate sound that threatens to suffocate the listner like a slowly lowering ceiling. This album can indeed be truly terrifing.

In her cover of "Black Eyed Dog", Jarboe transforms the dreary saddness of the original into a hellish, assaulting nightmare. While songs like "Was He Ever Alive?" are just as unsettling in a more unnerving cerebral way with Gira's hollow voice pondering the finality of death and the insignifance of life while the God of the Old Testament offers no answers, just violence and cruelty as he unleashes his curses on the Egyptians.

But there are rare moments of beauty as well. "Picture of Maryanne" in particular rises out of the oceans of despair with its haunting strings and gentle tribal percussion as Gira's vocals are delivering in a more soothing comforting manner. The country ballad, "God Damn the Sun" is indeed mournful but there is hope in that Gira is expressing a human emotion that he previously seemed incapable of. While Jarboe's memorable cover of "Love Will Tear us Apart" is shockingly bittersweet and peaceful. And of course the opener, "Miracle of Love" is a masterpiece of rising tension that greatly contrasts with the rest of the album's deliberate sluggish pace.

But the true highlight is the powerful "Blind", dealing with regret and the enlightenment of age. Gira's vocals are mostly a stoic drone but when he sings "I'm Blind" his voice breaks into this single delicate held note that manages to convey all the sorrow the protagonist/himself has been carrying over the years. This song alone makes this album a worthy purchase but buyer beware, the entire album is a very tough and patient listen that you have to be in a certain kind of mood for.

I've owned this double album for 3 years and only love it more with the passage of time. Not since the band "Neurosis" have I felt music more in the quietest places of my mind that continue to encant such calm and depth in the loudest crashing of thunder.

Swans are amongst the deepest places you'll ever look for music and you'll find a world of music open to you. You will find Michael Gira and his "Angels of Light" and just the end of last year you get to hear Jarboe with Neurosis(the 2 making a perfect collaboration) and many solo albums and projects along the way for both Jarboe and Michael Gira.

The music of Swans in this album is so warm. Swans become the warmth of the darkness. Never a cold and lonely place to be. The acoustic guitars, keyboards and drums all lend so much while the beats will pound like thunder and the gentle elegant melodies give way to an enrapture of intensity completely unexpected lending the listener a new set of ears.

Most people that are new to Swans will like them in the most uncertin way. Like all things that are worth thier time should require time, Swans go slowly and directly into your darkness and remain as friends.

That's the correct title of the last song on the first disc. You can't find it anywhere else these days, just here. It's right up there with "Miracle of Love". YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS SONG, SWANS FANS. Jealous Yahweh, deserting his people in Old Testament style. That's the spirit of the symbolism here, the true feeling of nothing left and the questioning of all dreams and hope. Such beautiful bitterness, for it's absolute desolation, as you've maybe never heard. And such poetic economy in the transition from literal circumstance to expansive existential doubt. I have all Swans' albums and this is one of the most amazing songs ever. A Top-5 Swanssong, this offering. No one has done this kind of stuff like Gira, that I've heard. "Was he ever born in blood..." See my other review for other stuff.

I purchased this when it was released and just now am submitting a review. "Beautiful World" didn't light a fire under my tail when it was released but as time has past it has made its mark as a very good effort. "Resignation Superman" grows stronger with each listen as does the title track and "Crazy Mary" but then again I could list every song here. This effort may not be a good as previous BHTM efforts but don't letthat discourage you. BHTM are mellow and profound. Todd's guitar is smooth and easy as is his lyrics which are wise beyond his years. A true "craft" band, honing their style and crafting their art, they never fail to deliver quality in the studio and on stage.

I bought this solely on the strength of "Please Don't Tell Her" and after never really delving into the remainder, put it aside. A recent road trip required a recycling of my main car CD fare and I threw this into the mix. It caught my ear, my attention, and still remains. I had not sampled any of their other efforts, but after continous play of this, I have looked and discovered the quality of their work here extends to other offerings.... Great sound, excellent instrumental sides and a package that works...and works very well. I still get a raised eyebrow or curious look from others when they hear something I'm playing from here, ask who the artist is, and I reply "Big Head Todd and the Monsters"....Not sure if they go out later and discover what I did, or assume I'm pulling their leg..Their loss if they don't. This is extremely good stuff...

The lyrics are great. The album flows well throughout and the three men are masters of their instruments. I have owned it for some time and have only grown to like it more. I also own Sister Sweetly and Riviera. I can say that all three of these are really, really strong albums in my view.
The songs are bluesy and reflective with a touch of sadness throughout. Worth the money.