Dinosaur Jr - Farm

Dinosaur Jr
Farm
Jagjaguwar
LP/CD/2xCD (Ltd. Edition)

Don't let the hugging tree cover fool you. J Mascis & Co. have come back to blow you away. This, the follow-up to last year's original lineup reunion, is a romping good time. Like Beyond, Farm starts off with a bang and peters out a bit here and there. Dinosaur is, and always has been, at their best when Mascis's guitar cuts loose and Lou Barlow and Murph follow his lead. Not to diminish the power of the original line-up but, just as Mascis seemed to feel throughout the '90s, Barlow's songwriting contributions would be better served on a Sebadoh release. His songs really just tend to distract from Mascis's. Truth be told, the band sounds even more in lockstep this time around. This is in no small part due to the rhythm section playing. I may find Barlow's songwriting less interesting but the nuances of his and Murph's playing liven up the sound of the band that was missing for over a decade. Quite a sound to behold.

Track Grades

1. Pieces – 9.6
   
2. I Want You To Know – 9.4
3. Ocean In The Way – 8.5
4. Plans – 8.2
5. Your Weather – 7.5
6. Over It – 8.8
7. Friends – 8.6
8. Said The People – 8.3
9. There's No Here – 8.4
10. See You – 7.7
11. I Don't Wanna To Go There – 8.6
    
12. Imagination Blind – 7.6
    

Overall=8.43

Marilyn Manson - The High End Of Low

Marilyn Manson
The High End of Low
Interscope
CD

It has been well-documented of the self parody that Marilyn Manson has become. The curse of trying to live up to his image has tainted his work ever since 2000's Holy Wood. His message is much more effective and interesting when he is at his most honest instead of painting himself as society's number one pariah. Manson's tales of personal struggle ("Devour," and "Running To The End Of The World," are far more arresting than his childish word play (most other tracks).

In recent years, the musicianship in Manson's albums has suffered. Now, former bassist/guitarist and musical director Twiggy Ramirez (a.k.a. Jeordie White) has returned to try to write honest to goodness rock songs (with a little help from former Nine Inch Nails drummer, Chris Vrenna). The fault in most of the songs is in fact Manson's limited lyrical and vocal scope. Like his last few efforts, there are only a few tracks that can hold the listener's attention for more than 30 seconds. The music is the most interesting since 1998's Mechanical Animals but Manson himself stands in the way of most of the tracks' success. The one ingredient that helped him overcome his abilities was his fury and that is largely missing, along with the intrigue.

Track Grades

1. Devour – 8.3
2. Pretty As A ($) – 7.0
3. Leave A Scar – 6.3
4. Four Rusted Horses – 7.4
5. Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon – 6.4
6. Blank And White – 5.8
7. Running To The Edge Of The World – 9.4
8. I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies – 6.6
9. WOW – 4.8
10. Wight Spider – 5.3
11. Unkillable Monster – 8.3
    
12. We're From America – 7.2
    
13. I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell – 7.0
    
14. Into The Fire – 7.5
    
15. 15 – 6.8
    

Overall=6.94

Explosions In The Sky Live: Thursday, July 2nd 2009

This being the 10 year anniversary of Explosions In The Sky, the precocious Texans celebrated with a tour. Before the Chicago show, I checked out the merch table and found a curious item. The out-of-print CD of The Rescue, an installment in the Travels In Constants series from Temporary Residence Records lied there on the table labeled "Limit One". Needless to say, I plunked down my $15 and was instantly in a good mood. The Congress Theatre was packed but I found a seat in the very back of the balcony. I caught the last three songs of the set by Jason Lytle and was a little bored.

Then, Explosions took to the stage and were captivating. Their music is very easy to get lost in. Their beautiful cacophony was just loud enough to drown out the yammering harpies standing against the wall behind me. It is very impressive the way they keep their set moving amidst tuning changes, with only Michael James switching instruments from bass to guitar and back again. No matter the instrument, James provides the thunder along with Chris Hrasky's drums. Munaf Rayani and Mark Smith's guitar weave a textured tapestry over everything. They provide the beauty to James and Hrasky's beast. Their set was a fine mix encompassing at least two tracks from each of their full length albums. Converted fans as a result of the band's work on the soundtrack to Friday Night Lights only had the extended version of "Your Hand In Mine," that appears on 2004's The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. The performance was powerful and flawless and benefitted from the fact that they weren't supporting any one album but celebrating their entire career. And we were right there with them.

The Setlist

1. Memorial
2. The Birth And Death Of The Day
3. A Song For Our Fathers
4. Your Hand In Mine
5. Snow And Lights
6. Greet Death
7. A Poor Man's Memory
8. Catastrophe And The Cure
9. The Only Moment We Were Alone
   

Sonic Youth Live: Saturday, June 27th 2009, Tour's Opening Night

As you may have guessed from an earlier post, I am a huge fan of Sonic Youth and I had the great pleasure to see them kick off their latest U.S. tour at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. They were, at the very least, incendiary. Not since seeing the Stooges reunion tour have a seen such a focused fury from rock elder statesmen.

Now a five-piece (again), with former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold in tow this time, Kim Gordon had the freedom to rock the mic, dance, or even play guitar instead of just bass duties. She demonstrated much more showmanship than in the past when she was hampered by her instrument, and Ibold's presence live, as well as on the latest record, allowed that.

Gordon, with husband and guitarist Thurston Moore, guitar guru Lee Ranaldo, classic punk rock drummer Steve Shelley, and Ibold rattled off 10 of the 12 new tracks from The Eternal including the raucous "Sacred Trickster," and future classic "No Way," along with what Moore referred to as "hits" like EVOL's "Tom Violence," and "Bull In The Heather," from 1994's Experimental Jet Set and No Star. Unlike most bands their age, Sonic Youth doesn't revel in the past so much. Their preference is to show they've still got teeth and plenty of bite left. The beauty of them as a band is that even though they're coming up on 30 years together, they still feel as though there is some, er, sonic landscape that they have yet to explore and mine. Even when delving into the back catalog, what they pull out are more hidden gems like "The Sprawl," and "Hey Joni," from 1988's Daydream Nation instead of the more obvious "Teen Age Riot," or "Silver Rocket,". The complete omission of 1990's Goo was a tad upsetting. They also played no tracks recorded in the previous 13 years, preferring instead to go all the way back to "The World Looks Red," from 1983's Confusion Is Sex and Sister's "Pacific Coast Highway," was another very welcome surprise.

The old tunes fit in really well with the predominantly new set, proving that Sonic Youth is just as vital and viral today as any other day in their history. It was an honor to be a part of such a small piece of it.

The Setlist

1. Sacred Trickster
   
2. No Way
   
3. Poison Arrow
   
4. Calming The Snake
   
5. Tom Violence
   
6. Malibu Gas Station
   
7. Antenna
8. Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso)
   
9. Hey Joni
10. Anti-Orgasm
11. Massage The History
12. Pacific Coast Highway
13. What We Know
14. The Sprawl
15. Bull In The Heather
16. The World Looks Red
    

Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know

Heaven & Hell
The Devil You Know
Rhino
LP/CD

As a huge Black Sabbath fan, it took me a long time to warm up to Ronnie James Dio but I am proud to say that I am on board. While this album is subpar when you consider landmark albums like Sabbath's self-titled debut, Paranoid, Master Of Reality, Vol. 4, Heaven And Hell. and Mob Rules. Those albums basically were the invention of heavy metal as we know it. For that, I can cut them some slack. However, they don't need much. While it is true that this album doesn't match up with classic Black Sabbath, the fact is nothing can. This album is much stronger than what any other bands can cull together these days. So I say, check it out and enjoy.

Track Grades

1. Atom And Evil – 8.5
2. Fear – 7.9
3. Bible Black – 9.2
4. Double The Pain – 8.8
5. Rock And Roll Angel – 7.8
6. The Turn Of The Screw - 7.4
7. Eating The Cannibals – 8.6
8. Follow The Tears – 7.7
9. Neverwhere – 8.3
10. Breaking Into Heaven – 8.0

Overall Grade=8.22