I’ve always had this bias towards Billy Bragg. I can’t put my finger on why, maybe it’s his voice or that you can still hear his English accent when he sings. Every once in awhile I have an irrational dislike for something and I have a hard time setting that aside, just ask Mark B. my feelings on Jethro Tull before I listened to them. I am trying to get over this not judging thing and not let it get in the way of my reviews, and after listening to a CD a few hundred times it usually works. It worked with this one too. I listened to it on the plane here to Idaho and I was surprised by how much I didn't mind listening to it. A ringing endorsement.
The CD is a compilation of Billy Bragg's first two CDs plus an EP he released. On the CD it is pretty much him and his guitar. Every once in awhile there is another instrument but not often. I saw somewhere Billy Bragg being described as England's loudest socialist folkie. I guess that kind of describes what his music sounds like. He does always seem like he is singing a little too loud. His song topics are also very politically focused.
My favorite songs are "Milkman of Human Kindness," "A New England," and "A Lover Sings." I cheated a little on this CD as I already knew the second song. I liked that one before I had heard the rest of the CD. I think what I appreciate most about Billy Bragg are his lyrics. These three songs are great examples of it. In the song "Milkman of Human Kindness," Billy is trying to make the person feel better.
"If you're lonely, i will call -
If you're poorly, i will send poetry
I love you
I am the milkman of human kindness
I will leave an extra pint"
I like the idea of someone leaving me a pint of human kindness when I am feeling crappy. "A New England" is about this guy who is just looking for someone to love him.
"I don't want to change the world
I'm not looking for a new england
I'm just looking for another girl"
The last song is a story about a relationship that goes awry.
"There is no real substitute
For a ball struck squarely and firmly
And you're the kind of girl who wants to
Open up the bottle of pop
Too early in the journey
Our love went flat just like that"
I like the part about the love going flat because they "opened up the bottle of pop too early." Kind of cool symbolism there. When I look back at the songs I had chosen, I noticed they all had a common theme, love, not always happy endings, but definitely about love.
Ross loved Billy Bragg. I could never understand it because I had such a hard time getting past his annoying voice. Listening to this CD helped me get over that a little bit. Now, after listening to the songs more closely, I think part of the reason he liked him so much was because his songs were so full of meaning. I could especially see that with "Milkman of Human Kindness." I have thought long and hard about whether to keep this or not. I like it but I just don't know that I can listen to it just for fun. Maybe there is someone out there who could.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Meet Dr. No by Masters of Groove
Over the past 9 months there have been times when I feel like being at my house is like living in Pompeii. Everything was frozen into place by an event that I knew would happen someday but it still felt like a surprise when it actually happened. The last few months I have awakened from my slumber and been digging out from under that event. It is always a surprise to find something that Ross left, just as it was. This Masters of Groove's CD was in the CD player's turntable, which I only got around to opening up and turning on recently. I remember him listening to this all the time but, as has happened with other CDs of his, I never really heard the music.
The Masters of Groove are essentially four guys, Reuben "Funky" Wilson on the organ, Grant Green, Jr. on the guitar, Tarus "Mean" Mateen on the bass, and Bernard "Pretty" Purdue on the drums. Gotta love those nicknames. I wonder why Grant didn't get one. The CD cover says that they are all-star jazz-soul-funk-groove veterans who are taking on the music from the first Bond adventure film "Dr. No." Yes, you read that right, the music from the first Bond film. Truthfully, the only music I ever thought was in the movie was the Bond theme song and perhaps some cheesy song by some has-been music group or singer. Oh wait, those are the later films. This CD was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought it would be cheesy as well. It is great. It's all instrumental, very jazzy and funky at the same time. The organ is the best part, it really makes the music stand out. It's right out front and gives each song a lot of character. On one song they have a sax playing but most of the time its just the organ and the guitar. The guitar plays the prerequisite funky riffs and also some mellow jazzy stuff.
I love every song on this CD. I was trying to think of which is my favorite and was having a hard time. The songs are very different from each other and yet when you listen to it sometimes it feels like one long groove. If I had to pick a favorite or two, I would say it's their take on the James Bond theme, "Bond II;" it is pretty outstanding. Very original and yet you can pick out the theme song right away. I also like "III Blind Mice;" it is quite the jazzy version of that real simple song we all know but they do it up pretty good.
Similar to the summer feel the Son Volt CD has, this CD also feels like summer to me. Where the Son Volt CD was like a lazy summer day driving out in the middle of a country road, this CD is like sitting on the porch outside at about 9 o'clock on a hot summer night in the city, having a cocktail, and just hanging with your friends. It is a great CD to have on as background music, yet it is so much better than that. I am sure Ross heard a song from this CD on KBEM or KFAI and just had to have it, like so many other CDs in the collection. As I dig out and find these unexpected treasures, it makes me appreciate Ross's far ranging tastes in music that are now being passed on to me. I won't ever like everything (read Jethro Tull's Minstrel in the Gallery) but I have come to appreciate and really listen to music so much more than I ever used to. I am keeping this CD. Anyone want to come over for a cocktail and a listen on a hot summer night?
The Masters of Groove are essentially four guys, Reuben "Funky" Wilson on the organ, Grant Green, Jr. on the guitar, Tarus "Mean" Mateen on the bass, and Bernard "Pretty" Purdue on the drums. Gotta love those nicknames. I wonder why Grant didn't get one. The CD cover says that they are all-star jazz-soul-funk-groove veterans who are taking on the music from the first Bond adventure film "Dr. No." Yes, you read that right, the music from the first Bond film. Truthfully, the only music I ever thought was in the movie was the Bond theme song and perhaps some cheesy song by some has-been music group or singer. Oh wait, those are the later films. This CD was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought it would be cheesy as well. It is great. It's all instrumental, very jazzy and funky at the same time. The organ is the best part, it really makes the music stand out. It's right out front and gives each song a lot of character. On one song they have a sax playing but most of the time its just the organ and the guitar. The guitar plays the prerequisite funky riffs and also some mellow jazzy stuff.
I love every song on this CD. I was trying to think of which is my favorite and was having a hard time. The songs are very different from each other and yet when you listen to it sometimes it feels like one long groove. If I had to pick a favorite or two, I would say it's their take on the James Bond theme, "Bond II;" it is pretty outstanding. Very original and yet you can pick out the theme song right away. I also like "III Blind Mice;" it is quite the jazzy version of that real simple song we all know but they do it up pretty good.
Similar to the summer feel the Son Volt CD has, this CD also feels like summer to me. Where the Son Volt CD was like a lazy summer day driving out in the middle of a country road, this CD is like sitting on the porch outside at about 9 o'clock on a hot summer night in the city, having a cocktail, and just hanging with your friends. It is a great CD to have on as background music, yet it is so much better than that. I am sure Ross heard a song from this CD on KBEM or KFAI and just had to have it, like so many other CDs in the collection. As I dig out and find these unexpected treasures, it makes me appreciate Ross's far ranging tastes in music that are now being passed on to me. I won't ever like everything (read Jethro Tull's Minstrel in the Gallery) but I have come to appreciate and really listen to music so much more than I ever used to. I am keeping this CD. Anyone want to come over for a cocktail and a listen on a hot summer night?
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Colossus by Walt Mink
Who remembers Walt Mink? Raise your hands. I do. It has been awhile but when I saw this CD sitting in Ye Olde CD rack I had to give it a turn. I remembered clearly a song that they used to play on the radio (was it REV105 or maybe Radio K?) and there was this phrase they kept saying throughout the song "What a drag, what a drag, what a drag, drag, drag." I always thought that was the name of the song until Ross corrected me. Anyway, that song is on this CD.
Walt Mink was a band formed in the late 80s by three Macalaster College students and has since broken up. They named the band after one of their professors. I would describe the music they play as alternative. The drums totally thrash throughout this CD and the guitars are loud and razor sharp. The guy who is the lead singer has a voice that kind of reminds me of Billy Corrigan from the Smashing Pumpkins because it is a little irritating and unusual. I think his voice is better than Billy Corrigan's though.
My favorite song on this CD is, of course, the song I mentioned in the paragraph above, it is called "Brave Beyond the Call." There is just something about the beat and that phrase they keep repeating that I love. I also like the song "Lost in the World." It is actually kind of a mellow song compared to the other songs on this CD. It is about spacemen coming down to earth and taking over. It reminds me of David Bowie or "Major Tom," a futuristic song.
Ross was a big local music supporter as I am sure you have noticed from some of the other CDs I have reviewed on here. That is probably why he had this CD. I don't know if he ever saw them live. I assume he did since he tried to see most popular bands and back in the day they were pretty big here. Walt Mink is an acquired taste but I like them. I only wish I had been able to see them live. I love this CD. It thrashes a bit more than I am used to but I love it. I also love that I can listen to that song over and over again. It never gets old. I am keeping it.
Walt Mink was a band formed in the late 80s by three Macalaster College students and has since broken up. They named the band after one of their professors. I would describe the music they play as alternative. The drums totally thrash throughout this CD and the guitars are loud and razor sharp. The guy who is the lead singer has a voice that kind of reminds me of Billy Corrigan from the Smashing Pumpkins because it is a little irritating and unusual. I think his voice is better than Billy Corrigan's though.
My favorite song on this CD is, of course, the song I mentioned in the paragraph above, it is called "Brave Beyond the Call." There is just something about the beat and that phrase they keep repeating that I love. I also like the song "Lost in the World." It is actually kind of a mellow song compared to the other songs on this CD. It is about spacemen coming down to earth and taking over. It reminds me of David Bowie or "Major Tom," a futuristic song.
Ross was a big local music supporter as I am sure you have noticed from some of the other CDs I have reviewed on here. That is probably why he had this CD. I don't know if he ever saw them live. I assume he did since he tried to see most popular bands and back in the day they were pretty big here. Walt Mink is an acquired taste but I like them. I only wish I had been able to see them live. I love this CD. It thrashes a bit more than I am used to but I love it. I also love that I can listen to that song over and over again. It never gets old. I am keeping it.
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