Review of You Can Play These Songs With Chords (Death Cab For Cutie)

The title of the recording refers to two possible recordings. The original recording was released in 1997, featuring only Ben Gibbard (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano), as a demo. This demo was then re-released in 2002 by the members of Death Cab For Cutie after their successful album The Photo Album. With the original songs of the demo were ten more tracks by Death Cab For Cutie, adding Christopher Walla (Vocals, Guitar), Nicholas Harmer (Bass) and Nathan Good (Drums, Tambourine) to the mix. I'll be reviewing 2002 release.

This album has a few strengths, the first of which is Ben Gibbard's notable talents. The first eight songs feature him and only him, and they are excellent considering the demo nature of the recording. Songs like "Champagne From A Paper Cup" and "Hindsight" show skilled song-writing through simple music and well-crafted lyrics. The low-fi nature of this half of the recording appeals to me quite a bit, as it shows the strengths of the musician and not the producer. The other thing I really love about this album is the flip that occurs when we leave the demo and enter the bonus tracks. It's not often you can hear in one recording the growth of a group of musicians, and you can hear it here.

Some of the songs on the newer part of the album, such as "TV Trays" and "New Candles" are a little dull, but these incidences are uncommon enough that's it not hard to listen through the album to hear the good ones. There's one really odd song, called "Flustered/Hey Tomcat!" which involves many production-based effects that warp spoken words. I'm still not quite sure what to think about it, but if you like that kind of thing, you'll probably like this too.

Personally, I really like this album for the low-fi demo tracks and the experience of time-travel you get by leaping into more mature Death Cab music, and that's why you should listen to it.

Review of Weezer [Blue Album] (Weezer)

The Blue Album is Weezer's first eponymous release, and referred to in this way to disambiguate it from The Green Album, another eponymous release which came seven years later. The band consisted of Rivers Cuomo (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Keyboards), Patrick Wilson (Percussion), Brian Bell (Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals), and Matt Sharp (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals).

The first release by Weezer definitely sounds like a first release. It's rough around all the edges, it's immature, and most of the songs are little more than catchy. Which is, of course, why I love it. It shows a wonderfully reckless disregard for the polished kind of music I'm used to hearing, and while the music is basic it does exactly what it means to do, which is to entertain. The first song, "My Name Is Jonas", is one of the stronger tracks on the record, with a funky little acoustic intro, the theme of which makes it into the solo-like bridge, which is my favourite piece of guitar work on the album. I can't call it a solo, because there's one guitar laying down a constant droning rhythm while another guitar slowly builds on top.

Other positives on the album include the bass-heavy "Only In Dreams", one of few seven-minute songs I'm willing to listen all the way through, and "Say It Aint So", purely for the chorus. I always wonder why I'm listening to the song, and then the chorus hits me and I remember. The weaker songs on the album are tracks like "No One Else", and "Surf Wax America", which are like the Pringles of the album. They're kind of entertaining, but there's a complete lack of substance in them. "Buddy Holly" fits this bill too.

Personally, I get a kick out of this album. It's catchy, and I enjoy listening to it. It's not an amazing piece of brilliant work that will last for the ages, but I don't think it was ever meant to be. So if you listen to music to enjoy it, and not just to marvel at it, you should definitely be listening to this album.

Question of the Week

Hi everybody, I thought I'd kick off the grand public opening of the blog with a segment I hope will be weekly. I ask a question, something about music in some way, and everybody answers it! I hope.

This weeks question:What is the most embarrassing record/album/cd/recording you've ever bought with your own money?

Mine's pretty easy: Nickelback's "Silver Side Up"

How about you?

Review of Nashville Skyline (Bob Dylan)

Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline explores a country style unheard from Dylan prior to its release. The first song on the album is a re-recording of his own song "Girl From The North Country" which was performed with Johnny Cash, and really sets the tone for the rest of the recording.

As my friends will tell you, I am not generally a fan of country music, but this record is country done right. The technical skills of the musicians are showcased in the songs "Nashville Skyline Rag" (an instrumental piece), and "Country Pie", where the vocals are quiet and unassuming, allowing the musicians to really shine. The song "I Threw It All Away" is a heart-felt ballad about making a mistake in love, and Dylan's vocal talents make the song extremely touching.

The most well-known song from the album, "Lay Lady Lay", was originally recorded for a movie, but Dylan did not finish with it soon enough for it to be featured. "Tell Me That It Isn't True" is a brilliantly performed song wherein the singer is desperately asking his love to deny the rumours that she had been sleeping around, and Dylan's performance conveys the desperation very convincingly.

You might notice that I didn't have my usual "negatives" paragraph. That's because I couldn't find any. There is nothing about this album that I don't like. If you don't like or can't appreciate country music or Bob Dylan, you probably won't like this album, but apart from that, it's an astounding piece of music done right, and that's why you should listen to it.

Review of VU (The Velvet Underground)

VU is considered by many to be the "lost album" of the Velvet Underground. Recorded in 1969 while working under the MGM Records label, the Velvet Underground was released from its contract because their music was considered offensive to the moral standards of Mike Curb, the new CEO. Many of their recorded tracks were unreleased, and ten of them were released in 1985 as the album VU. The Velvet Underground is comprised of Lou Reed (Vocals, Guitar), John Cale (Bass), Maureen "Moe" Tucker (Percussion, Vocals), and Sterling Morrison (Guitar, Backup Vocals). Doug Yule (Bass, Keyboards) contributed as well.

This is one of my personal favourite Velvet Underground albums. Despite the fact that it was tossed together from a group of unreleased songs, the album is musically just as strong as the other Velvet Underground works. The song "Foggy Notion" puts forward some of the best sprawling guitar work I've ever heard. "Lisa Says" is another wonderful song, with quiet verses crescendoing into powerful choruses, which drop off right back into the soft sounds again.

Some of the songs, notably "Andy's Chest" are somewhat immature, which detracts from my overall enjoyment of the album. Before I did the reading for this review, I hadn't known that this was not a well-planned album, but in retrospect I can hear some of the differences in style from song to song, and this prevents the album from really sounding like a cohesive whole.

All things said, however, this album has some of indispensable music by the Velvet Underground, and should be listened to any serious alternative rocker at least once. The music of this band is too influential to ever disregard, and that's why you should be listening to it.

Review of Keasbey Nights (Streetlight Manifesto)

Keasbey Nights is a re-recording of an album by the same name by Catch 22. Tomas Kalnoky (Guitar, Vocals, Mixing, etc. etc...), formerly of Catch 22, was responsible for all the writing -- both lyrics and music -- for the original and this re-recording. He is backed by Jim Conti (Tenor Sax), James Egan (Trumpet, Background Vocals), Chris Paszik (Bass, Background Vocals), Dan Ross (Alto Sax, Baritone Sax), Mike Soprano (Trombone), and Chris Thatcher (Drums). Though chronologically second, this album is often not counted when ordering the band's official releases, because it is a re-recording.

In case you didn't figure it out from the massive number of people and brass instruments, this album is a third-wave Ska, released in 2006. It features much more skilled musicianship than the original Catch 22 recording. If you like Ska, this album is a huge treat with a never-ending run of brass solos that would rival the greats. The song "Walking Away" features a horn battle that showcases the talents of the musicians, if you're as interested by that as I am.

The other thing I really love about this album is the gangster feel about it. I'll say that again: "Gangster", not "Gangsta". Songs like "9mm And A Three Piece Suit" and the title track really give off the impression of the mob, and it's an oddly enjoyable feeling. My favourite lyric on the album is "Jack dropped 21, Jill 22, the look in his eye said 'Brother, what you gonna do, with a nine-milimetre and a three piece suit?'"

Negatively, this album has a couple songs that are not done as well, "Giving Up, Giving In" is rather uninteresting, and the half-screaming vocalist does not impress. "As The Footsteps Die Out Forever" suffers from a similar issue.

If you don't like Ska, or don't know what I'm talking about, this album is a pretty good one to wet your feet on. It's very standard ska fare done uncommonly well. I'll be honest, I enjoy listening to it in part despite the ordinary nature of the music itself, but that's Ska. It's jumpy and fun, and that's why you should listen to it.

Review of Cosmic Thing (The B-52s)

The B-52s are an Athens Georgia pop-rock/electronic band who got their start in 1976. The band consists of Keith Strickland (Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals), Kate Pierson (Keyboard, Vocals), Fred Schneider (Percussion, Vocals), and Cindy Wilson (Vocals), at its core. A great number of other people contributed to the album, which is their fifth full-length release.

One of the notable things about this band is the two distinct vocal styles applied by the men and women respectively. The women sing high, soft and sweet, while the men tend to belt out the tunes somewhere between singing and speaking in an almost Shatnerian style. This, combined with the electronic effects, tends to produce some very catchy-but-odd music, especially on tracks like "Love Shack" and "Roam". The album also has some more "normal-sounding" songs, like "Dead Beat Club", though the term "normal" and this band don't exactly mix.

The problem with this album is that it's pretty far out there, and I think one's either going to like the style of it or not. I find it easy to lose myself in the harmonies and the almost-spoken lyrics, but if this isn't your thing, you're really, really not going to like it. Generally it's a little more produced than I like to hear music. I'm a huge fan of the Low-Fi sound, and I consider the perfect sound to be a little too perfect, but once again that's a personal feeling and I'm sure many of you will disagree.

All I can say is that if you're the sort who likes your music wacky and weird, you'll get a kick out of these folks. I like it because it's too strange to do otherwise.