Music Critisism & Appreciation Okay, welcome welcome!! So here it is! I'm really excited at this page because now I am free to criticise all dem stupid bands all around the world! Heh heh! *evil grin* But anyway, whether I have been fair or not, I shall let you be the judge of that. I will try to be impartial as best I can. But if I honestly think an album sucks, I won't be afraid to say so. So without further ado... let the games begin! (heh... it's a game for me!)
Razorblade Suitcase - Bush Fairweather Johnson - Hootie & the Blowfish 
The Aeroplane Flies High - The Smashing Pumpkins Lull - Smashing Pumpkins Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop - Stone Temple Pilots
Razorblade Suitcase - Bush (Trauma/Interscope) 1996
It's only been a short while since Bush's debut Sixteen Stone made it pretty big in the States and these British rockers have returned with a new album and new single Swallowed which has made it to the number one spot on Billboard. But one really wonders whether it is their quality of music or just lead singer Gavin Rossdale's good looks which is attracting a strong following in the US.
Personally, I don't think much of these grunge wannabes. Their first album wasn't that bad. Glycerine was sweet but lacked any depth (don't let the days go by/glycerine/glycerine/glycerine...) while Machinehead rocked pretty hard. This new album, though, sounds like a complilation of rejects from 9-year-old Kurt Cobain's wastepaper basket. Only one track caught my attention. It was second last track Bonedriven and I think it only sounded not too bad because the violins in it reminded me of Glycerine. Other than that, this album isn't as hot as people would think it to be. Oh, if you're bored, you could listen past the last track. There's this short part after that which features some violins playing for a very short while. Anyway, it's interesting that Bush are signed to Trauma Records... oh well...
Ratings: C
After their major label debut success with Cracked Rear View and all the various awards received, Darius Ruckus & gang went back to the drawing board and came up with this 14 song LP.
Expectations ran high for the band, but this album must be one of the disappoinments of the year - even for non-fans - for everyone must have expected something of at least half the quality of Cracked.
FJ is a very light and easy-going album - country-pop, I'd call it. The songs are incredibly repetitive and lyrics aren't a very big deal. The only songs of any worth are the singles, Old Man & Me, Tucker's Town and also other songs like Sad Caper and maybe Be the One. The problem about this album is that out of 14 tracks, there are very few memorable ones and just too much repetition. This is as opposed to Cracked where there were the hit songs as well as some excellent supporting album tracks.
All in all, FW is quite good for easy-listening, but could grind the nerves of someone who's impatient. Personally, I'd opt for a dose of Smashing Pumpkins anytime. =)
Ratings: C+
I was really excited at the release of this special box set which contained the 5 SP singles released so far ("Bullets With Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", "Thirty-Three"). A strange thing was how SP actually decided to release this formerly limited edition, but now free-flowing, boxset even before their latest single 33 actually left the charts. This must certainly have affected sales of the latter.
Anyway, this collection is certainly a splendid collection for the SP fan. It comes in a special retro-styled box with concentric circles around it, complete with a steel lock and all. The CDs themselves are also different from those previously released. The BwBW single contains 5 extra covers missing previously from the original promo single. The 33 single comprises songs from both the US and UK versions of the single. All in all, SP show their extreme use of symbolism. Firstly, the box set contains 33 songs. Next, although the track Pastichio Medley is listed on the CD as 25:59 long, it really is only 22 or 23 min long. Why? Well, add up all the times listed on the CDs and what do you get? 1:33:33 or something like that. Hmmm...
All in all the CDs are pretty good. The TT and 33 singles are my faves. This is a must get for all SP fans who don't already own the singles. However, hardcore fans may just want to get the box set just for the cool box! I shall do a detailed review of each single on another date.
Ratings: B
Lull is a CD single released off Gish, the band's debut album. Although really a Rhinoceros single featuring B-sides Blue, Slunk and Bye June (there isn't actually a song called Lull), the band decided to christian their album for some unknown reason.
I highly recommend this album if you want a sample of earlier SP work. Rhinoceros is wonderously soothing and quite a classic to SP fans. Blue reminds one of Siva (Gish) with its moodiness while Slunk exposes SP's early psychedelic rock roots ala Jane's Addiction. Bye June was written when the band started out in 1989 and is an excellent demo.
Anyway, if you want to buy this single, there hasn't been a better time to buy it then right now! I just saw it at Tower Records in March, and snapped it up immediately! I've never seen it anywhere else in Singapore, so I guess if you're a hardcore like me, you know what to do...
Ratings: A-
This is STP's 3rd album after Core and Purple. After previous criticisms that they sounded too much like Pearl Jam, these lads have discarded their grungy sounds and come up with this new album which is sometimes refreshing in this post-Nirvana era.
First single Big Bang Baby rocked it's way to pole position on alternative music charts. A great head-banger of a song, it's just one of the few radio-friendly songs in the album. Musically, this albums tries hard to be diverse and in so doing, tries to rid the band of its "grunge copycats" tag. It includes 2 mediocre instrumentals which sound more like B-sides than anything else. Lyrically, songs like Lady Picture Show and Ride the Cliché are really pathetic while others like Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart have interesting metaphors.
All in all, this album is pretty ordinary and the band may have had it better in their grunge days. Still, there's nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation (though I'm not talking about lead singer Scott Weiland's well-known drug problem). There's also a mini-poster at the back of the lyric sheet with pictures of the band all over a background altar.
Ratings: B-
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