Live - Songs from Black Mountain

By nature, I am a person who resists change. I’m really trying to work on this, and I think I’ve come a long way. Still, to hear an album like Live’s seventh effort Songs from Black Mountain makes me sad. It’s because when I was in high school, bands like Live were the tip-top. Now, ten years later, they’ve all either broken up or gone through some change, and my instinctual reaction is one of distress. Live may have matured in their growth, but part of me thinks they’ve gone a little soft.

Ed Kowalczyk and his crew can be considered the spiritual gurus of rock and roll. Groups like Creed can pretend, but Live’s spirituality goes a lot deeper than a few camera-ready Christ poses. They walk the wandering walk, instead of just talking the Jesus-like talk. The journey Ed Kowalczyk has taken in his lyrics and the place he has come to is fascinating to me, and does at least a little to help me form my connection to God and the spiritual world. But now, I fear the journey is nearing its end, as Ed seems to be getting more and more satisfied with each Live album. That’s great for Ed, but not so great for me. It’s good to be spiritually satisfied, but more often than not it makes for some pretty boring music.

But I’m being unfair to this album; despite some rather vapid spiritual revelations, it is pretty good. It’s just not of the caliber I’ve come to expect from Live. They’re one of my very favorite groups, so it’s a little disappointing to get an album from them that’s just okay. The problem is that when I wasn’t looking, they went and grew up. I could sense it a little on Birds of Pray. But that album still had enough bombast to make it appealing to my young eyes. That album worked because it combined high-energy anthem rock with deep philosophical statements. With Songs from Black Mountain, the deep ruminations are fully intact, but the rock part seems very damaged.

The song “Get Ready” is a perfect example. This has the potential to be a loud, triumphant Live-style anthem, but as it is, it seems neutered and stale. They’ve mellowed in their old age, and they’re still really good. But I miss the version of Ed Kowalczyk that drove to the hoop every night, that offered himself up as a living sacrifice to the gods of rock and roll. This newer, calmer version who’s a parent two times over is nice, but it makes me yearn for the past.

Unlike other Live albums, there are no really great songs, but instead a bunch of pretty good ones. It’s hard to tell them apart from each other, actually. “The River” is the first single, and it sets the tone for the rest of the record, with little deviation. “Love Shines” is basically a Sunday school lesson, but quite often the most meaningful statements are couched in pretty simple things. And “Sofia” is a good tribute to a woman we would all like to marry. Like I said, the album is good, even if there are no surprises. While from lots of other bands that’s pretty good, Live are held to a greater standard, and it’s sad to see them falling just barely short of it.

Prime Cuts:
Mystery
Sofia
Love Shines (A Song for My Daughters about God)

22 Rating: 7

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Thom Yorke (much to his own chagrin, I’m sure) is a rock star. He’s been elevated to a level where millions of people admire him, and any weirdness he veers off into, his fans will embrace, if a little hesitantly. He probably doesn’t destroy hotel rooms or sleep with hundreds of groupies, but his originality and categorical distinctness are what make him so interesting. He makes music that forces people to sit up and listen or get left behind. I’m sorry, Thom, but that’s a rock star. You’re a rock star; get over it.

Separating himself from most of Radiohead for one album has done a few things for Yorke. One, he’s not as concerned with melody or consistency. Two, he’s a lot less reliant on guitars and is exploring the soundscapes seen on Kid A. The Eraser is a lot like Kid A, but more optimistic (ironic, considering Kid A contains a song called “Optimistic” that is anything but). He may be doing his own thing, to the exclusion of anything else, but his fans are going along with it. I think Radiohead fans like to be confused; that’s sort of the natural state for them. With a lot of pop acts, we like them at first, but the taste of them eventually sours over time. With Radiohead and Thom Yorke, we have the opposite. While The Eraser may seem incomprehensible and space-cadet at first, give it time. One lesson I’ve learned from my years of interaction with Radiohead’s music is that it needs time to grow on you. That’s true of Thom Yorke’s solo work, as well.

The title track begins the album, and it tells you instantly that this will be a difficult listen. A distorted piano playing a hard-to-follow rhythm continues throughout the whole thing, with a few key changes, just in case you weren’t confused enough already. But the genius of this song is that when examined closely, it’s actually in 4/4 time with a chorus. “Analyse” has a wicked cool groove to it, and is primarily beat driven. The music suggests that it is all about to unravel, and that things may actually be better once it does. In “The Clock,” Thom does that doomy/lilting thing that only he can do, marrying a sense of impending danger to a very soft and malleable melody. “Black Swan,” probably the album’s most single-worthy song, has a great sing-along chorus, or at least hum-along. The entire Eraser album seems like a logical extension of Hail to the Thief, with many of the songs seeming similar to the “I will eat you alive” and “You have not been paying attention” vibe. How strange that The Eraser can very logically follow both Kid A and Hail to the Thief, when those two albums aren’t very similar at all.

Many songs have guitar, but they just provide subtle touches instead of being the main feature of a song, like on The Bends and some of OK Computer. I actually think most of the songs were written on a drum machine; almost the entire album has a very strong beat, if a somewhat discombobulating one. Thom Yorke doesn’t deal in pop sensibilities or mainstream conventions. Amazingly, his popularity only seems to be growing, as is the respect that the music community has for him. What can I say? He’s a rock star.

Prime Cuts:
Analyse
Black Swan
And It Rained All Night
The Clock

22 Rating: 9

Dream Theater - Octavarium

Dream Theater have never been ones to rest on their laurels. The last four years have seen three studio albums from these dynamos, and they haven’t been just throw-away efforts, toss-offs with no distinction one from the other. Each has been a unique entity, a little different from the others. They’re probably the most famous of all the progressive rock acts of all time. Though that’s not saying much for their number of fans, the fans that they do have are quite a sight to behold. I can say from experience that you don’t just have a passing interest in Dream Theater. At times it’s stronger than at others, but you really have to fall into one of two camps: you either are wowed by them, or you don’t get it.

Octavarium is Dream Theater’s eighth full-length album, and they sound every bit as alive, excited, and mind-bogglingly proficient as ever. At the same time, Octavarium seems a little stale. I don’t think Dream Theater is losing their touch so much as their touch is remaining the same. Yes, they’re masters at their instruments. Yes, they do progressive metal better than just about anybody. Yes, John Petrucci has skills with the guitar that should be reserved for heavenly beings. All this we know. They don’t seem to have gone through the progression that most bands do of playing only passingly in the beginning and then getting better as they grow, eventually reaching excellence. Dream Theater seem to have skipped the “only passingly” part all together, and gone straight to excellence.

Even so, Octavarium has changes in other ways, as their previous albums do. The blackness and anger of Train of Thought is left behind, and it’s replaced by a more even-handed approach. “The Root of All Evil” picks up where Train of Thought left off, making the transition from one musical mode to the next. “The Answer Lies Within” is a little boring and simple-minded, but boring Dream Theater is way better than inspired Nickelback. Then there’s “I Walk Beside You.” This is a pretty odd song for Dream Theater. It’s quick, driving, upbeat, and even radio-friendly. GASP!!! You heard right.

Dream Theater must have thought they had to compensate for their moment of pop, so they did just that. Almost the entire second half of the record is taken up by only two songs; the 10 minute “Sacrificed Sons,” and the 24-minute epic title track. Dream Theater seems to have grown a social conscious, having one song on their last three albums explicitly about an issue facing our contemporary world. This time it’s “Sacrificed Sons,” the subject being 9/11. As far as number of tracks go, this is a very brief album, being only 8 tracks long. However, it’s 75 minutes long, which is almost all that a single CD can hold. Honestly, this is a lot like the classic albums from the 1970s, generally known as the heydays of progressive rock. The final title track, also, contains a section where Dream Theater pulls influence from every progressive source imaginable, from Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, just to name a few. And this isn’t just my own interpretation; anybody with knowledge of those groups would be able to pick up on it.

Octavarium proves that Dream Theater are not going soft in their old age. They can’t get any sharper, because they’ve already hit the ceiling on that, but they aren’t losing even a miniscule amount of their edge. However, it can’t be too long till they start to… can it?

Prime Cuts:
Octavarium
I Walk Beside You
The Root of All Evil

22 Rating: 13

Nada Surf - The Weight Is a Gift

Back in 1996, the musical landscape was dominated by post-grunge and pop, and in the midst of it was the Little-Band-That-Almost-Could, Nada Surf. They strove for greatness, but only ended up a one hit wonder. “Popular” was a great song, but it got lost in the shuffle of “One Headlight,” “The Freshmen,” “Sell Out,” and “Only Happy When It Rains.” Even so, they pressed on and kept the faith, and it has finally paid off.

Most successful bands start off indie and then go mass-market, but the journey was actually opposite for Nada Surf, starting on Elektra Records but eventually moving to Barsuk, original home of Death Cab for Cutie. Journey is really the right word for what Nada Surf did, too. They began as a good but fairly anonymous pop-punk/post-grunge band, churning out melodies that were largely forgettable, “Popular” excepted. 2002’s Let Go did just that, releasing all the grunge elements in favor of delicate harmonies and lightly-strummed acoustic guitars. Now, 2005’s The Weight is a Gift marks the return of some of those rock and roll tricks, but Nada Surf is being much wiser in their choices. Matthew Caws was always a little on the willowy side with the vocals, and Nada Surf’s music in general was a little more positive, never quite fitting in with the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins or even the Verve Pipe. It’s so good to see them doing their own thing, really using Caws’ voice instead of apologizing for it.

“Concrete Bed” starts the record off on an upbeat note, with a catchy chorus and driving guitar work. One can tell that this is a faster, more intense record than Let Go, as pretty as that album was. Prettiness is not gone from Nada Surf’s repertoire, however, as “Always Love” and “Your Legs Grow” prove. They have improved upon the prettiness, morphing it into one that doesn’t whisper as much as it sings. “Blankest Year” and “Armies Walk” are probably the strongest examples that Nada Surf are embracing their rock roots, but they also utilize Caws’ voice to the greatest effect. And “Imaginary Friends” closes the album with the same flavor as “Concrete Bed” had opening it, bringing the album into a complete circle that is really quite nice.

The Weight is a Gift doesn’t seem like much at first, but it’s very comforting to have it there. It’s a very rewarding listen, getting a little better each time you listen to it. The thing that makes me sad about it is that not many people will really get to experience the gentle but insistent touch of the album, since the band doesn’t have much exposure. Despite that, they are one of the better rock bands out there today. Most of today’s music is really dishonest, as it’s either dismal heavy metal or produced on the American Idol assembly line. It’s good that Nada Surf has finally found their audience; one that’s grown weary of all the contrivances of mass-market music, one that’s ready to move on and take balance over chaos.

Prime Cuts:
Always Love
Do It Again
Your Legs Grow
Blankest Year

22 Rating: 11

Nickelback - All the Right Reasons

On an episode of Friends, the girls are waiting in their apartment for the boys to arrive so they can start barbequing. When Chandler and Joey walk through the door carrying a bag of charcoal, they speak in deep caveman voices saying, “Men are here. We make fire,” and then beat their chests. The girls give them withering looks, as if to say “whatever.” That’s what I feel like saying to Nickelback; whatever.

Chad Kroeger and company are like cavemen, grunting and shambling their way to success. It’s hard to believe that rock and roll that’s this ugly, incompetent, and childish makes the top of the charts, but it does. Nickelback is probably the most popular of all the traditional rock bands, and one of the only ones making a splash in any circles other than the avid rock fans. But why? Sweet Mother of God why? Nickelback makes a lot of the wrong choices, with a few exceptions. When they are really tender, when Kroeger lets all the walls of machoness down and becomes naked (in the metaphorical sense instead of the literal like he usually does), they actually dance pretty gracefully. But it’s the moments of over-arching maleness (and there are a lot of them) that sink this ship. And frankly, I take a little glee in seeing it crash to the bottom of the ocean.

All the Right Reasons is a lot like all their other albums. They’re 10 years into their career, and they don’t seem to have grown at all. The lyrics range from clumsy to disgusting, with lines like “what the hell is on Joey’s head?” leaving me not knowing whether to laugh or cry, at the same time as “it’s a little hard to leave when you’re going down on me” make me want to puke. The proceedings start off on a good enough note. “Follow You Home” has a good groove to it, and the lyrics are creative, if very stalker-like. “Photograph” also has a flow to it that is very nice, even if the lyrics are pedestrian and base. Then there’s “Savin’ Me,” the latest entry to the “How You Remind Me”/”Someday” sound-alike contest. Kroeger may be writing from his own actual perspective, but it’s one of juvenile delinquency, and only a limited number of people can identify with that. Also, some of the juvenile delinquency is celebrated rather than condemned, like in “Animals.” Besides talking about oral sex while driving (against the law, by the way) in the basest and simplest of terms, it describes the selfish and visceral actions of its two protagonists with the line “ain’t nothin’ wrong with it.”

Overall, the music is settled comfortably (read as boringly) in the post-grunge tradition of the mid- to late 90’s. While the lyrics are pretty sexually graphic in nature, the album does not carry an advisory label. Maybe Tipper Gore was asleep at the switch. Even so, it’s not without it’s good moments (“Far Away,” “Someone That You’re With”), but they’re just that: moments. They adhere to the exception rather than the rule. It makes me a little sad (and more than a little confused) that Nickelback’s audience is 75% female, considering that their music is so pig-headedly and chauvinistically male. Oh well, though. If a girl is really into Nickelback, that’s my first indication that she’s not the one for me. Actually, that’s pretty helpful.

Prime Cuts:
Far Away
Someone That You’re With

22 Rating: -8

An apology

Sorry for slacking on the updates. This month is pretty crazy for me, but I should have time to do some reviews after this weekend. Look for Nickelback's All the Right Reasons soon, and Nada Surf's The Weight is a Gift shortly after that.

Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison

I really don’t see what all the fuss is about. Sure, this world is evil and fallen and rotten and all those other things, but do we really need another band telling us that? Bullet For My Valentine’s debut album, The Poison, is laborious, aimlessly angry, and a little tiresome, but it’s also pretty cool. It is filled with tortured screaming and all the self-mutilating fun a guy could want, and you really have to be in the right mode to listen to it.

What mode is that, you ask? Well, you need to be feeling anger at the world in general, like your life doesn’t have a whole lot of purpose, and that you are helpless in the face of your own circumstances. And it helps if your girlfriend just dumped you. In truth, The Poison brings a lot of good things to the table. The guitar sound is simply awesome, the drums deliver gut-churning power (a requirement for any metal band worth their salt), and the vocals are sufficiently passionate, if being a little over the top… alright, a freaking ton over the top.

As much as it grooves, jerks, and jostles in a good way, the thing that turns me off is the screaming. Why do so many bands today feel it necessary to scream at the top of their lungs? And I don’t mean occasionally; all the freaking time! Never mind that the lead singer cannot possibly hope to do it every night without needing surgery in short order; it’s just not as good as singing. In Bullet For My Valentine’s case, they don’t scream to cover up the fact that they can’t sing, because they certainly can. Instead, it comes out of a passion and fervency for what they are screaming about. I can respect the idea behind that, even if I don’t like the particulars.

On the plus side, the thing that’s causing the songwriter so much trouble is one we can all identify with: love. Really, his reactions to the wrongs that love has dealt him are not the best (like the titular bullet), but we are all prone to them, and we have all had them at one time or another (in spirit, anyway). In that way, Bullet For My Valentine are making music that is pretty universal, whether we want to admit it or not.

In summation, I liked The Poison; I just don’t think I’ll really listen to it that much. In fact, I would be fine with never hearing Bullet For My Valentine again. Nothing on the album really grabbed me, so I’m fine just letting it pass by. Still, though, I appreciated it. The band is pretty skilled, both at the technical aspects and at making music people can believe in. It has a lot of passion, even if it completely lacks subtlety. At the end, though, I don’t know what they’re so upset about. Well, actually, I do know, but my first reaction would not be to scream about it; it would be to shrug. There’s no sense getting yourself all worked up over something you can’t change. Bullet For My Valentine are definitely getting themselves worked up.

Prime Cuts:
Intro/Her Voice Resides
Tears Don’t Fall
Cries In Vain

22 Rating: 6