Death Cab For Cutie

Narrow Stairs

1:Bixby Canyon Bridge.WoW!What a way to start off an album.This song is a rocker.The lyrics tell the story of a man going back to where his girl(I suppose) lost her soul.He finds nothing....there is a good jam...and he walks back to his car.

2:I Will Possess Your Heart.I was listening to Don McLean's 'American Pie' the other day and thinking,'You wouldn't hear an eight minute and thirty second song playing on the radio today.' I was correct...this great song comes in at 8:25.I love the rockin' non lyrical opening.Gotta spend some time,love...

3:No Sunlight.This is a nice little pop ditty.

4:Cath...This is a song about a woman marrying a respectable man because her heart is dying.The people in the pews are betting that it won't last and the girl(Cath)is going to miss out on many a man whom would love her more...but,concludes the story teller,he would have done the same.

5:Talking Bird.This is the best song on the cd.It really isn't about a caged bird,me thinks,living inside a house inside a house.The longer you think...the less you will want to do.

6:You Can Do Better Then Me....but I can't do better then you.Great drum beginning.Great singing.This song lasts just long enough.

7:Grapevine Fires.I love the way D.C.F.C. mixes it up.A song of fear,fighting the good fight,and ultimately child like hope and salvation.Musically extremely well put together.Wunderful tune.

8:Your New Twin Sided Bed.A song about doing what you have to do.Taint easy.Emptiness vs. holding on.I hate good byes,but love this song.

9:Long Division.Powerful lyrics.I have to admit these guys sing about other things.The end results of deceit...or should I say the end cost.This is the new style rock,kids.Lead or get out of the way.Awesomeness.

10:Pity And fear.It should be downcast,but It's not.Beware and rock out....watch the ending.

11:The Ice Is getting Thinner.If you should go skating on the thin ice of modern life...no wait,that's the other thin ice song.I love Ben Gibbard's vocals and guitar.In fact,the whole band (Ben Gibbard Chris Walla Nicholas HarmerJason McGerr) jells better then The Blob.

A

Neil Diamond

Home Before Dark


First off,I like Neil Diamond.I have always liked his music.He has made hits for The Monkees,Deep Purple,Barbra Streisand,UB40 and many others.

He has had tons of hits of his own,too...'Forever In Bluejeans','Love On the Rocks','I Am I Said','Song Sung Blue',etc,etc and so forth.

He is also a minor player in my life.I remember the Cleveland late night duo,'Hoolihan and Big Chuck'' playing,'Sweet Caroline ,every single time they were on Tv.Also,my Mom loved Neil's song,'America' so much,that my Dad made sure that the live band played it at my sister,Nora's,wedding.It was' one of the highlights of the reception.

Good stuff:-)

But I hadn't heard much from Neil lately.And what I had heard was sort of greatest hits,Vegas kinda stuff...so,I was curious.

I was pleasantly surprised.On,'Home Before Dark',Neil Diamond has made a jem of an album.Mr.Diamond was actually brave enough to make timeless,real music instead of another unneeded or unwanted pop music cd.Looong songs that tell stories and that are well crafted.What's up with that?WoW![Kudos to producer's producer Rick Rubin]

From the very first song,'If I Don't See You Again',you know you are on to something special...a craftsman,at the peak of his form...not caring about the 'pop' value,but just making enjoyable music.

'Pretty Amazing Grace' is a song of salvation-either via someone loving you,or,perhaps,even religiously.Either way,I say,'Hallelujah'.

My favorite song on the cd is,'Don't Go There'.The song clicks in at 6:04,but is so good that despite it's length,it should be a radio hit....it won't be...but it should be.It's that fun.

'Another Day(That Time Forgot)-'with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines- and 'One Bite Of The Apple' are both story songs.I am telling you folks,by this time,I am just enjoying a great album with actual songs that mean something on it.While the songs seem simple-just Neil Diamond,and a guitar or so,Mr.Diamond's husky voice and smooth tale telling come across with more 'ump paa paa' then almost every over produced cd that I have heard this year.

I also like,'Forgotten'.Sure,some of it is corny,but that is it's strength.It is so unique to hear an artist sing passionately about something he seems to care about.

Next,is the introspective,'Act Like A Man'.The beginning word instantly puts me into mind of 'Song Sung Blue',but Neil quickly turns this beauty into a nice country tweaked song...very nice.

'Whose hands Are These' and 'No Words' are also very nice pieces of music,but along with,'The Power Of Two',are probably the weakest songs on the cd,with 'Two' being the only misstep.It comes across as a little 'too' trite.

I don't want you to forget the last two songs,'Slow It Down',and the title track,'Home Before Dark'.If you listen to the cd a couple of times,I am sure you won't.

A very good cd.

A

Madonna

Hard Candy













Madonna is exactly one week older then me.She is probably one of the beautiful women in the world.

So,it's not that I don't like older women.One of the great advantages of getting up there in age is that you find mature women more and more attractive.

To put it another way,let's-just for the shits and giggles-compare a woman's beauty to an apple.Actually,this is a great metaphor.Even though most Biblical scholars consider the pomegranate 'the' forbidden fruit...all the rest of us Bozo's think of the tempting fruit as our apple.

Now,there is a certain appeal to a nice young green apple.Everyone loves to bite into a beautiful crisp,tart green apple.Yum...Mmmmm.

But,in reality,this green apple has very limited uses.It is the fully mature red apple that is just so juicy and delicious.Aah,just thinking about biting into a fully mature red apple,it's juice rolling down your chin...nothing better.

And the multiple uses of the 'at it's peak' apple.Slice it,dice it,put it in salads,dip it in caramel.It is used in other products as a sweetener....just like a beautiful woman...it's am amazing multi-tasker.

In fact,nothing can diminish the fantastic beauty of this sensuous fruit except for when it pretends to be less then it is...when it dresses up as a green apple.

That is why-though I commend Madonna for showing us her true self-on the photos in the liner notes and on the cover,I feel these latent dominatrix photos weaken her image of a very fantastically sexy cougar.

Take these two pictures of famed silent screen movie star Gloria Swanson.

I think Madonna imagines herself in these photos looking like this....













...when,in reality,she looks more like this!

I only mention this because I find Madonna overly sexy,talented and in league I will never ever even hope to attain.She has more balls then most men ..and who am I-the no talent that I am-to question her visual and musical making decisions?

I am a buyer of her product,that's who.Not only a buyer,but a reviewer.if Madonna is going to pitch a product,it is my(if you can't do:review)duty to voice my opinion.

All this tirade leads to my review of the first song on the cd,'Candy Shop'.I know she wishes to come across on this song as the ruthless White Witch.But,to me,she comes across more like the old witch in the story of 'Hänsel and Gretel'....It's like biting into an old mushy apple...ugh!

It's humorous actually.

And that sets the tone for the whole cd.

It's a shame,because there are some really good Madonna songs,here.But it's hard to take them seriously.These include,'Give It 2 Me',The Kate Bush inspired,'Miles Away',and,'Heartbeat'.

'She's Not Me',I like and,yet,don't.Just what is this song about,lost love,Sean Penn?'

'Dance 2nite' has a positive message,but reminds me of John Lennon's message in,'Imagine','Imagine no possessions'/'You don't have to be rich and famous...'easy for the rich to spout.

'Spanish Lesson' is good,but the song hints at using a pungi
,the snake charmer flute.Aaah,if only it would have.

I think that in some ways,'Devil Wouldn't Recogize You',is the most honest song on the cd.

All & all,if you like Madonna,you will enjoy,'Hard Candy'.If you don't,you won't.

B+

FrEE wEek # 5


YippY! ThE BlaCk kEyS HaVe COmE OuT WitH,
'ATtaCk
& REleASe"...

... and I love it.

There are very few music groups-now-a-days-that I get excited about releasing a new Lp,but I was so excited about the new Black Keys release that I could hardly sleep the night before it came out....

...and i love it.

I wondered if they would stray far from their roots[or not far enough] when they got mega producer,Danger Mouse,to motivate them.Alas,no need to worry.This is The Black Keys best cd yet.

Growth...it's funny how by just tweaking their sound a little bit here and a little bit there,The Black Keys have added just the right amount of new soul to their sound .

A banjo here(Psychotic Girl),a flute there(Same Old thing),a duet(Things Ain't Like They used To Be),a little bit of background chanting(I Got Mine/Strange Times),an organ(Things),a second guitar(Lies/So He won't Break) etc,etc and so forth.

And yet...still so much like the freakin' great Black Keys.

New players besides Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney include Ralph Carney.Ralph is Patrick's uncle and has played with a ton of groups...including Tom Waits,Elvis Costello,Tin Huey and one of my all time favorite band's,Kent,Ohio's own,'The Waitresses.He add's-at least-the clarinet on,'Remember When' and the Tull like flute on,'Same Old Things'.Great stuff.

Another Waits/Costello alumni on,'Attack & Release' is guitarist Marc Ribot.Listen to his work on,'Lies' and 'So He Won't Break'.

On,'Things Ain't Like They Used To Be',Dan even sings a duet with another Kent,Ohio product,18 year old blue grass singer, Jessica Lea Mayfield.Take a listen...

...I love it.

The heavily produced by Danger Mouse single,'Strange Times' fits in with the rest of the Lp perfectly.This is the Black Keys,baby.Ditto,'I Got Mine'.

Perhaps my favorite song is,'Psychotic Girl'.With it's piano and banjo backing,this is a very smooth groove.It almost seems to come from some demented western..hmmm..perhaps from 'The Dark Tower',say,'The Gunslinger'.This song is the bomb.

On the album,the softer,'Remember When(Side A)' is on side A,and the more jamming 'Remember When(side B)' is actually on Side B.Either way...very enjoyable.

'Same Old thing' is another favorite.Flute,man!Rockin flute!This ain't the same old thing...yet,it is.

'Oceans and Streams' should be a radio staple.It sounds like sonar love.'All I Ever Wanted',starts off both the cd and the Lp.It is a mostly acoustic blues tune.But a nice beginning.

The Black Key's:"Attack & Release...

YippY!

A

Mariah Carey

E=MC2



Mariah Carey has one of the most beautiful exotic,erotic voices in all of music.That is why it is a total mystery to me why this cd does everything in it's power to try and hide it.

Back in the sixties,Motown produced group after group in an endless procession of hits.Much of that music got tons of airplay.The same musicians,the same producers,the same sound.Everyone pretty much benefited from the machine...except maybe the vocalists.O-K,some of the cream came to the top ,but the artists were sort of an after thought.Come on,how many of these groups can you name.

It seems this faceless music is back.I am sure I have heard this album six or seven times already this year.It could have been done by anyone.

And that's a shame.For the most part you will have to wait for the video to come out to even know it is Mariah Carey singing.

Oh,the cd started out with high expectations,all right.Mariah's patented high pitched banshee calling card on,'Migrate',is the perfect opener.And on the closing,'I Wish You Well',it is all Mariah.The only trouble is that directly after the,'Migrate' opening,you never hear Mariah's distinct vocals again.In fact,even the end of the opening high notes seems electrically manipulated.

The only songs that Ms.Carey shines on are the very nice,'Love Story' and the destined for airplay,'Thanks For Nothing'.Even here,the production discredits her voice by layering it and using male vocals.

It's as if the Mariah Carey value is downplaayed on purpose.That the less the Mariah the better.

Is this what pop music has come to?Has bland,faceless music become what the audience wants?Has it become more important to not offend-or just give the people what they expect then to produce a specific album knowingly from front to back done by one artist?

Is the music from one party to the next's only object to be new,yet the same?Gotta have a love song.Gotta have a party girl song,a song of lost,a song of romance?

When you have to fight and/or listen multiple times just to hear the artist cd after cd,you get so disappointed.

I guess the goods must come through in the videos.Something I don't often have the time to watch...because I am listening to the music!

Like the great 'Saturday Night Live' sketch that asks for more cowbell...next time,more Mariah Carey,please.

C-