Do you like Fresca? You're fired.
I think I'm pretty much just going to blog exclusively about going to Borders from now on. It's pretty much all I do anyway. I got the new Spin Doctors and Cracker records yesterday.
The Cracker one, the band-endorsed greatest hits, is okay, but it pretty much sounds like Cracker's greatest hits. The track list isn't exactly the same as the one from Virgin records...there's nothing from Forever on the band version, and nothing from Countrysides (e.g., "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself") on the label version. The re-recorded stuff isn't really that exciting...I mean, it's okay, but there's no reinterpretation or anything. They're pretty much the same as the originals with a different instrument here and there. I don't think the stuff from Countrysides was re-recorded, either. They wouldn't really have any reason to, since it's fairly new and it wasn't on Virgin Records, but still. It would have been cool. And there's one new song, but I was listening to the record when we went to bed, and I think I fell asleep before I heard it. So overall, the concept is a lot more entertaining than the record, but I feel like a good fan for buying it.
I think I like the Spin Doctors record. It's with full original line-up. Gravymonster says that's the lineup we saw in 2002, but the band claims they hadn't worked together for like seven years. So one of them is lying. It pretty much sounds like the Spin Doctors, but to paraphrase what Gravymonster said about the new Depeche Mode, it sounds like they're all really into the Spin Doctors right now. There was a little interview piece on the DVD that came with it where they were all talking about how great it was to work together again, and how much they all respect each other as musicians. Turns out they're as big dorks as you think they are. And the first thing they played together after seven years apart was "What Time is It?" A lot of the lyrics on this one are on par with their best cleverly goofy stuff, I think. "Margarita" and "Happily Ever After" are pretty good, and "My Problem Now" is probably my favorite so far. My only complaint is that if Mark White's going to be back in the band, I want to hear some serious slap bass. Come on, dude. As the only Spin Doctor whose autograph I have, I expected a little more from you. Also, I could probably do without Eric Schenkman's vocals on track 8.
I went back today and wandered around for a while and eventually settled on the new P.O.S., Audition. It's probably the most exciting of this round. It sounds a lot like Ipecac Neat, but a little more polished, which kind of suits his weird, dense, indie-rap-punk-electro-hollering thing pretty well. I really like his kind of abstract cut and paste sort of lyrics. He reminds me of Aesop Rock, but with more of Atmosphere's sense of melody, such as it is. Speaking of, there area couple of guest spots by Slug from Atmosphere, as well as a guy from the Hold Steady and a guy from the Bouncing Souls, but I don't know who they are. Both of those songs are really good, though. He kind of toned down the political stuff, too, which is cool. He's clever and all, but the last album waxed a little too topical in places, and I wonder if it's going to end up sounding dated before too long. Also, I don't really care about his politics, and his stuff about being a sad rapper is way more interesting. He's like a more agressive Fatlip. The random stuff that he says in the studio that they didn't edit off the album is pretty entertaining, too. My favorite line on the album so far is, "I think the best threat in the world is to say 'I'm going to put tacks in your cereal...in two years.'" I think that's probably true.
I also bought another banjo book while I was there today. It felt weird buying stuff like that not at work, but we don't really have much banjo stuff. I'm sure I could have ordered it but...I had a coupon. I think it's a good one. The ones I have right now are either too basic and vague or too advanced. I don't want to stagnate and lose interest in playing it, and I think this one might help.
I'm running out of stuff to buy now. That Neko Case album comes out next week, so I'll get that, but then there's not much else that I really want. I lost interest in that John Stirratt album after I put it down, and I'm not quite ready to commit to the whole Merle Haggard catalog yet. Suggestions?
The Cracker one, the band-endorsed greatest hits, is okay, but it pretty much sounds like Cracker's greatest hits. The track list isn't exactly the same as the one from Virgin records...there's nothing from Forever on the band version, and nothing from Countrysides (e.g., "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself") on the label version. The re-recorded stuff isn't really that exciting...I mean, it's okay, but there's no reinterpretation or anything. They're pretty much the same as the originals with a different instrument here and there. I don't think the stuff from Countrysides was re-recorded, either. They wouldn't really have any reason to, since it's fairly new and it wasn't on Virgin Records, but still. It would have been cool. And there's one new song, but I was listening to the record when we went to bed, and I think I fell asleep before I heard it. So overall, the concept is a lot more entertaining than the record, but I feel like a good fan for buying it.
I think I like the Spin Doctors record. It's with full original line-up. Gravymonster says that's the lineup we saw in 2002, but the band claims they hadn't worked together for like seven years. So one of them is lying. It pretty much sounds like the Spin Doctors, but to paraphrase what Gravymonster said about the new Depeche Mode, it sounds like they're all really into the Spin Doctors right now. There was a little interview piece on the DVD that came with it where they were all talking about how great it was to work together again, and how much they all respect each other as musicians. Turns out they're as big dorks as you think they are. And the first thing they played together after seven years apart was "What Time is It?" A lot of the lyrics on this one are on par with their best cleverly goofy stuff, I think. "Margarita" and "Happily Ever After" are pretty good, and "My Problem Now" is probably my favorite so far. My only complaint is that if Mark White's going to be back in the band, I want to hear some serious slap bass. Come on, dude. As the only Spin Doctor whose autograph I have, I expected a little more from you. Also, I could probably do without Eric Schenkman's vocals on track 8.
I went back today and wandered around for a while and eventually settled on the new P.O.S., Audition. It's probably the most exciting of this round. It sounds a lot like Ipecac Neat, but a little more polished, which kind of suits his weird, dense, indie-rap-punk-electro-hollering thing pretty well. I really like his kind of abstract cut and paste sort of lyrics. He reminds me of Aesop Rock, but with more of Atmosphere's sense of melody, such as it is. Speaking of, there area couple of guest spots by Slug from Atmosphere, as well as a guy from the Hold Steady and a guy from the Bouncing Souls, but I don't know who they are. Both of those songs are really good, though. He kind of toned down the political stuff, too, which is cool. He's clever and all, but the last album waxed a little too topical in places, and I wonder if it's going to end up sounding dated before too long. Also, I don't really care about his politics, and his stuff about being a sad rapper is way more interesting. He's like a more agressive Fatlip. The random stuff that he says in the studio that they didn't edit off the album is pretty entertaining, too. My favorite line on the album so far is, "I think the best threat in the world is to say 'I'm going to put tacks in your cereal...in two years.'" I think that's probably true.
I also bought another banjo book while I was there today. It felt weird buying stuff like that not at work, but we don't really have much banjo stuff. I'm sure I could have ordered it but...I had a coupon. I think it's a good one. The ones I have right now are either too basic and vague or too advanced. I don't want to stagnate and lose interest in playing it, and I think this one might help.
I'm running out of stuff to buy now. That Neko Case album comes out next week, so I'll get that, but then there's not much else that I really want. I lost interest in that John Stirratt album after I put it down, and I'm not quite ready to commit to the whole Merle Haggard catalog yet. Suggestions?