Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris (3x10", 2007)

I have been revisiting the shit out of this record as of late, and realizing that maybe I didn't spend nearly enough time with it when it was released. Not only have I been repeatedly listening to the opening track, the incredibly awesome "Turnin' on the Screw," but I've been remembering why I thought "Sick Sick Sick" was such a sweet song when it came out.

Not sure when I sort of lost track of this one, but I definitely hadn't spent much time with it in the last couple years. I think at some point I had just oversaturated myself with Queens of the Stone Age, and I ended up taking an intentional break that lasted an unintentionally long time. This last week has been great, because I've been getting back in touch with all their music, but this record has been the one that's hit me the hardest.

Probably makes sense because it's the most recent one and the one that I've obsessed over the least, but damn: this one is a go-getter. The 47-minute running time doesn't hurt. The band was getting really expansive in their couple LPs before this one, and while that was cool, they were lengthy. This one's 11 tracks (12 on the vinyl version, with the bonus cut "Running Joke" thrown in right in the middle), and just a lot easier to play and replay.

There's more finesse in these tracks than simply full-on pummeling rock, and it really works. Songs like "Make it Wit Chu" and "Suture Up Your Future" are very un-Queens, but they're cool. "Into the Hollow" is a song that I had forgotten about, and I don't know how. Same with "Misfit Love." both awesome. And both weird. This whole thing's weird. "I'm Designer" is flat-out bizarre, at least for QOTSA.

To go along with that oddness, the band issued this album on triple 10", which is one of the sweetest moves ever. There's only two songs on each side of the records, so it makes listening to it a real workout, but it's one of the cooler packages I own and, as corny as it sounds, the format gets you really involved with the songs, which I like.

All this Queens has gotten me excited for their new record, which I think they're recording right now. Bring it. But for now, we move to the R's.

"Misfit Love"

Queens of the Stone Age - Over the Years and Through the Woods (CD, 2005)

Ah, the sign that a band has really made it: the holiday-season live album. I know I got it for Christmas in 2005, and I couldn't have been happier. And while records like this are usually a shameless cash-grab (anyone remember Big Boi & Dre Present... Outkast?), this thing is so full of material that it's certainly well worth whatever the asking price was those six years ago.

Not only does this package include a 14-track, 75-minute live CD, but it also comes with a DVD that contains an almost two-hour, (very) pro-shot live show, as well as a ton of random bonus features that cover the band's entire career. So, yeah: in that regard, this wasn't something that was thrown together to capitalize on the band's hugeness at the time. Or, if it was, it was thrown together really, really well. Any fanboy would be happy to have this in their Queens collection, as I certainly was/am.

The main material, though all culled from one (or maybe two?) shows, finds the band playing stuff from all of their albums, and does a fine job of capturing the band at their beefiest: five, sometimes six members deep. They sound huge, and though I prefer a more raw Queens, these recordings are still very impressive, and the band sounds great.

The bonus features on the DVD contain live performances from years previous, most too grainy to ever be considered for inclusion on an official release, but perfect as add-ons here. Seeing the earliest version of the band do "Mexicola" and "The Bronze" at some outdoor show in front of like a hundred people is awesome. And the Rated R-era stuff is gold, too.

There's too much stuff on this thing to list, really. There's also a bunch of hidden features that I haven't even ever checked out, because by the time I watch the main feature, the bonus features, and listen to the CD, I'm Queensed out. But I might get to it soon. I'm enjoying it pretty hard right now.

Might be worth mentioning here that the only time I've seen Queens of the Stone Age live was right around this same time - actually about two months before this package was released. In September of 2005 I saw Nine Inch Nails at the Rose Garden in Portland, just so I could see Queens of the Stone Age, after many flubbed opportunities to see them previously. The venue wasn't ideal, but the band put on a great show. I remember Josh Homme saying, "Hey, we're Queens of the Stone Age and we're really fucking drunk." And then he proceeded to shred for like 55 minutes. Think he was wearing white boots, too, which I thought was stupid. Also, he clowned some guy in the crowd hard, making a joke about how the guy can't help but piss on his balls because his dick's so small. Or something like that. It was all very Rock & Roll.

And then Trent Reznor came out and I felt like a choad for being there.

My point: Queens of the Stone Age are a sweet live band, and this is an awesome representation of that.

"The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died"

Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze (CD, 2005)

While this is definitely my least favorite Queens of the Stone Age record (and the one with the hokiest title), given their previous output, it's not shocking that they couldn't - in my mind at least - find a way to top their first three insanely good records. And don't get me wrong: this isn't a bad group of songs, by any means. It's just cursed by being preceded by three albums that were very, very strong.

Maybe it has something to do with the departure of Nick Oliveri, or the fact that Homme, aside from a few vocal turns by Mark Lanegan, is playing with an entirely new group of dudes. It doesn't make for an awkward sound, but the focus on trying to be dark and devious is a little too pronounced in parts. The 1-2 combo of a pair of seven-minute songs, "Someone's in the Wolf" and "The Blood is Love," right in the middle of the record, is a bold move, and one that usually finds me zoning out. The tracks fit the atmospherics laid out by the creepy blues of the awesome "Burn the Witch" and the steady stomp of the great "I Never Came," but they just don't pack the same oomph.

But plenty of the other songs do. "Tangled Up in Plaid" is huge, and "Everybody Knows That You Are Insane" is a fantastic track to follow the two two-minute pre-thoughts that kick off the record. "Little Sister," the first single from this album, isn't as immediately catchy as some of their other lead singles, but its grittiness and speed are sweet. "In My Head" was never one of my favorite Queens songs, but it works as a single, and I definitely don't dislike it.

Along with the two seven-minute songs I mentioned earlier, the tail end of the album drags a little bit, with "Skin on Skin" and "Broken Box" sounding slightly b-side-ish. But "You've Got a Killer Scene There, Man..." and "Long Slow Goodbye" end things on a solid note, with some of the more sparse and groove-y material on the record.

So, like I said, definitely not a bad record. In fact, it's a pretty damn good record. But it does sound a bit like a band trying to figure out where they're going next, and I guess that makes sense. Part of me misses Oliveri and his wild vocals, but part of me also enjoys the mostly Homme-fronted version of the band, because it seems more steady. Which is something the Queens hadn't been before. And that, somehow, makes this album their weirdest one.

"Burn the Witch"

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (CD, 2002)

This album is a beast.

In my heart of hearts, I'll always be a Rated R man, but I enjoy the shit out of this record almost as much. If it weren't for the 60-minute running time and the radio DJ intermissions that don't accomplish much aside from interrupting the flow of the album, I think they'd be in a dead heat. But, it's not a competition. And when this thing came out, I listened to it a lot. Maybe not quite as much as Rated R, but pretty darn close. So it's safe to say I love it.

I was hotly anticipating the new Queens of the Stone Age record after my year-long obsession with their major-label debut, and when I heard that Dave Grohl was joining the band on drums, I got even more excited. This was still back when you didn't hear an album until you actually bough the CD and took it home, and I'm almost positive I bought this the day it came out. I still have my copy, the special edition (probably limited to a million) with the bonus DVD of live clips and band-shot studio footage.

I don't know why I get such a boner from watching Dave Grohl play drums with this band, but I really do get a rise out of it. I've gotta say: of all the incarnations of QOTSA, the combo of Homme, Oliveri, Grohl, and sometimes Lanegan is my all-time favorite. Watch this vid and tell me that seeing Grohl punish the bejeezus out of his drums isn't awe-inspiring. It's brutally sweet. The dude had been fronting Foo Fighters for a while at this point, and you can tell he was juiced up to be back behind the kit. Love it.

The band covers an insane amount of ground over the course of these 14 tracks, and the fact that a lot of folks consider this their signature album doesn't surprise me. In fact, I might agree that it represents their body of work better than any other single record in their catalog does. And Homme has never sounded sharper as a vocalist. On songs like "The Sky is Fallin'" and "Do it Again," he's a force, sounding both incredibly confident and able to match sounds with the ridiculously huge guitar.

Oliveri's vocal performances on this record are insane as well. Dude handles lead vox on four tracks, wails like a maniac, and adds an element of chaos to the album that neither Homme or Lanegan even bother to try to compete with. This would be the last Queens LP that Oliveri would appear on, and while I don't think the band has necessarily gotten worse since he left, the diversity that he brought as a vocalist and a songwriter is definitely missed. But that's the way it goes.

Really wish I would have bought this on vinyl the few times I saw it. Now I'm going to have to shell out 80 bucks on eBay at some point, and I'm not looking forward to that. But this is such a crazy-good record, that in a way, it'll be worth it.

"Go With the Flow"

Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (CD, 2000)

This is the record that introduced me to Queens of the Stone Age, and it'll probably always be my favorite. I've listened to it hundreds of times, and though I don't rock it as regularly as I did in years past, I never have any trouble coming back to it.

One of my friends turned me onto this record when it came out, bugging me to listen to it. He failed to mention that it was the guys from Kyuss, and I had yet to figure that out on my own. I thought the band name sounded sort of meat-headed, and the first time I heard "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," its only lyrics being "Nicotine, valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol...c-c-c-cocaine!," I hated it. But when "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" kicked in, I changed my tune. And after the album sucked me in and took me over, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" had a context, and it all made sense to me. And I loved it.

I remember reading an interview with Josh Homme about the recording of this record where he said he was inspired by the concept behind The Stooges' Fun House. There were only seven songs on that LP, but those songs were flawless. He wanted to do the same thing. Maybe there wouldn't be a ton of tracks on the album (there are 11 on Rated R) but each one would be worked on until it was perfect. (I'm totally paraphrasing a memory from a decade ago here, so this could be way off. But you get the point.)

The dude pulled it off. There's no fluff on this record. (Unless you want to count the horn loopage that closes out the record's final track, "I Think I Lost My Headache," but I'd still argue that that's not wasting space.) Every song is carefully structured, brilliantly sequenced in the LP's running order, and produced meticulously. And the variance in sound is staggering when compared to their first release. A song like "Better Living Through Chemistry," my favorite cut on Rated R, is proof positive of how far Homme and Nick Oliveri had come as musicians and songwriters. There's hand-drum percussion, like eight different parts, and sparse lyrics that are vaguely druggy but not in an over-the-top cornball way. It's just a fantastic song.

And while that acts as the core to this LP, it's just part of an incredible whole. Tracks like "Leg of Lamb," "Auto Pilot," and "In the Fade" (featuring a lead vocal assist from Mark Lanegan), are stellar, and all house completely unique vibes. Homme had clearly taken things to new level by this point, with any shyness he was previously harboring disappearing, never to show up again. And he was just getting started.

If you don't own this record, you are a sucker.

"Feel Good Hit of the Summer"

The Promise Ring - Wood/Water (CD, 2002)

In between Very Emergency and this, the band's last album, lead singer Davey von Bohlen developed a brain tumor and had surgery to have it removed. Much has been written about how that event affected the overall scope of Wood/Water, but I think those theories are reaching a bit.

What I hear when I listen to this record is another natural shift in the band's sound. And yes, some of the lyrics are noticeably morose, and the overall feel of the album is noticeably darker than its predecessor, but that's not saying much. Very Emergency was shockingly bright; almost anything was going to be a step in a more sullen direction. I guess what I'm saying is I don't really give a shit about any of that. I think this is a really fantastic album, and it's always annoyed me that it's their most divisive.

This was the only record that The Promise Ring put out when I was a current fan, so it's the only one for which I experienced any anticipation. I wasn't freaking out, waiting for its release, but I didn't waste much time buying it when it came out. (Still regret not buying the 2x10" version. Don't see those around much anymore.) But here's what irked me: Spin had done nothing but build up the band during the late 90's, and were clearly fans. But when this record came out, they gave it a 5/10 and compared the band to Train. Yeah, it's just a review, but it was the lead review in the issue and it was dickish. The Promise Ring broke up shortly after this album was released.

I'm not saying that the review had anything to do with it, but for some reason it felt like that to me. I dunno. A lot of great records are the ones that you don't see coming, and I feel like that's the deal with this one. And I felt like the band was just getting started with a new sound on this thing. It doesn't sound like a Promise Ring record. It doesn't really sound like any other record I own. It's a weird side of a band that had never even flirted with being weird. And I really feel like it worked.

I'm not sure how this record comes across without any frame of reference to their previous output, but if you need a good rainy-dayer, I'd look into this one. I'll just leave it at that. And we'll leave The Promise Ring with that.

"Stop Playing Guitar"

Pedro the Lion - Achilles Heel (CD, 2004)

I was listening to this in my car the other day, and my wife goes, "What the hell is this? Coldplay?" Fair enough.

Somehow this is the only Pedro the Lion album I own (though I do have a caseless copy of Control that drives me mad with its caselessness and therefore doesn't count for our purposes), and I don't think I even bought it. I'm fairly certain a friend gave it to me. Listening to it recently, I remembered why I never really got into it. It doesn't exactly sound like Coldplay, but it is lacking some of the darker moments of their earlier work. "Discretion" almost gets back to it, but not quite.

There's also the slight current of Christianity that runs through these songs, and that just doesn't work for me. Ever. So maybe that's skewing the whole thing for me. But maybe not. Control still sounds pretty solid to me. This was the band's (or just really David Bazan, I guess) last record, and it sounds like that. Sort of the last stab at something lighter that doesn't really work.

I'll keep it because maybe I'll change my mind. Maybe I'm missing something. Though I don't think so...

"Foregone Conclusions"

Okkervil River - The Stage Names (CD, 2007)

I don't usually put much stock in Pitchfork reviews, but they gave this album such a hand job that I, after reading the article and determining that it sounded like something I might like, had to hear it. So I found a site that was streaming the entire album to promote its release (it might have been their MySpace page), and after listening to it for days straight and driving my future wife nuts, I decided it was worth picking up. I found a used copy, listened to it even more, and drove my wife even further into Okkervil madness. I still remember her whining when the first few bars of "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" would come on. Memories.

So, anyway, this record was my introduction to the group, and I was really excited to find some new music to listen to. So much so that played this one into the ground, bought their two previous records (we already talked about that), and proceeded to get completely burnt out on all of it. I've since taken a long enough break that I can listen to this album in particular and remember what I initially loved about it so much.

If the group hadn't already found their sound - and I think they had - they definitely found it on this group of songs. There are only nine tracks here, but they're all good, all completely fleshed out, and all complementary to the songs that precede and follow them. That's the sign of a great record, and something that I think gets lost a lot these days. I love this record because I never have any desire to do anything with it but straight up front-to-back it. It's got a striking beginning, a huge ending, and a bunch of cool shit in between. That's waaay oversimplifying it, but you get the idea. The songs are good, the execution is appropriate given the material, and there's no space wasted.

I'm always hesitant to recommend this to people (I'm still pretty sure my wife doesn't care for it), but what the hell. It's your life. Live it. Of course, I still haven't purchased their new LP, so who the heck am I to tell anyone what to do?

"Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe"

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (CD, 2005)

While I like Down the River of Golden Dreams quite a bit, this record is even better, and over time, I've grown to like it almost as much as The Stage Names. In fact, this record sounds like Part One of that album, in a way. While the production is a little different, the songwriting is strikingly similar, and you can tell the band has found their sweet spot.

"For Real" starts out in their standard timid fashion, but soon blows open and turns into a legitimately powerful track, while still remaining comfortably ragged. "Black" is another romper, and one of the band's catchiest songs. It made me realize that while I certainly enjoy their fragile stuff, I like it when they really get the strum going, too. Will Sheff's got a more versatile voice than he lets on, and this record really give him a chance to use it.

Tracks like the slow and frail "In a Radio Song" and the eight-minute "So Come Back, I Am Waiting" might be a little much for some people, but I think they move just enough to be really effective at what they're trying to do. And that can be said for this whole record. It's jam-packed with peaks and valleys, but the sequencing is smart and the songs are strong. That's all you need.

"For Real"

Okkervil River - Down the River of Golden Dreams (LP, 2003)

After reading tons of rave reviews for Okkervil River's 2007 LP The Stage Names, I listened to it online, loved it, bought it, and then quickly bought the band's two previous releases. This is the first of those two, though it's the group's third full-length overall.

A bit about Okkervil River, before I go through the few of their albums that I own: I've never been able to put a finger on exactly why I like this band. Like a few other groups that I almost guiltily enjoy, I feel like they're constantly inches away from being a group that I despise. Will Sheff always sounds like he's about to cry, the tracks are often frustratingly delicate, and they're sometimes painfully slow. But when I'm the right mood, the tunes really do it for me. Dude's got a knack for melody, and although his lyrics can get pompously literary, I always find that's way better than throwaway lines.

So, as I said, I started out on The Stage Names, and worked backwards to this one. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the band's sound had barely changed between records, and what I like about their then-newest one was still a part of the sound on this older release.

The band's not for everyone, but if you like your indie folk/pop timid with the occasional build-up-then-controlled-explosion, cuts like "It Ends with a Fall" and "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks" should do it for you. Some of the songs here push the five-and-six-minute length markers a little too hard, but often I don't notice. And that's a good sign.

"It Ends with a Fall"

The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (CD, 2005)

I think I said that Electric Version is my favorite New Pornographers record, and I'll probably stand by that. But it's not by much. This one is great as well, though a little more smoothed-out, which drops it a notch for me towards the end.

Still, it's not till the last two tracks that this one starts to slip, so really, I shouldn't complain. And I won't. So, this record doesn't sound vastly different than their previous stuff, but there's a slight jump in the production quality that's noticeable, and that's not a bad thing. There's a lot going on with this group's songs, and it's great to be able to hear all of it.

The title track is possibly the best song on the album, and while I might say that they blew their load by putting it first, it stomps in so authoritatively that it shouldn't be anywhere else. And the songs that follow it, while maybe not quite as forceful, are nearly as good. "The Bones of an Idol" is mad pretty, and "Use It" is ridiculously catchy. "The Bleeding Heart Show" is the song of this record that, even if you don't realize it, you probably know. It's been used in a few prominent commercials - or at least one section of it has - and is, not surprisingly, ultra-catchy as well.

The whole damn thing is. I've been listening to this album for the past few days and I'm really starting to regret not buying their LP that came after this one. There's still time, people. I'm going to make it happen.

Also: I saw them on this tour and it was good.

Also: They have a new record coming out in a few months.

Also: If you need some new music to get into and don't feel like struggling through anything, I would recommend these guys. They'll suck you in quick.

"Use It"

The New Pornographers - Electric Version (LP, 2003)

What a fine record this is.

I first got into The New Pornographers via this clip for "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism," from their first record, Mass Romantic. This was years ago. I used to have a dubbed copy of that album, but never took the time to buy a proper one. So that's why we're starting here, with their second one. Anyway, I loved that song, and I still do. They were another one of those bands that I kept reading about, and it sounded like it might be something up my alley. I was delighted to find out that it was.

This LP is my favorite record of theirs, though I'm ashamed to admit I never bought Challengers, their most recent one. Not sure why. I still see it in the record stores, and I just haven't picked it up yet. I go through phases with this band, and I guess I haven't been paying them a whole lot of mind in the recent past.

Still, Electric Version is always nice to come back to. It's hard to nail down the Pornographers' sound, but they've managed to craft a fairly distinct one. They've got multiple vocalists, a whole lot of folks in the band, and they make use of all of it. The first three cuts on this record are incredible, and really, so is the rest of it. "The Laws Have Changed" is one of the finer pop-rockers in recent memory. And that's really the deal with this whole album. It's just really catchy. So if you're in the mood for hooky melodies, this is a great place to go.

The band has a new record coming out soon. I feel a New Pornographers phase coming on. I'm going to embrace it.

"The Laws Have Changed"

Mudhoney - The Lucky Ones (LP, 2008)

Wanna hear about what an idiot I am?

Mudhoney played a show in Portland last night and I didn't find out about it until today. I am unstoked. I heard it sold out really quick (it was in a tiny venue - double argh!), so maybe I wouldn't have been able to get in anyway, but it would have been the best topper to this Mudhoney spree we've been on! I am old, out of the loop, and really feeling like a dunce. I'm actually sort of embarrassed by how legitimately upset I am by this. I've been on a huge Mudhoney kick lately and I would have loved to have seen them.

Anyway. On with the entry at hand.

Like a lot of great bands who have stayed together longer than anyone expected, Mudhoney experimented with some shit, made some great albums while trying that new shit, and then returned to their bread and butter. This is the revival of raw-rock Mudhoney, a horn-less album that was recorded in a scant four days but doesn't sound rushed or compromised at all.

It's really great to hear the band get back to the guitars-and-a-little-bit-of-organ approach, and there's some really great songs on here. The title track is the only one of any notable length (4:52), and it features a sweet mini-drum-solo by Dan Peters, which will make you wonder why they never left room for that before. The reason I mention the length is to point out that the long jams are gone, with the band back to the ol' three-minute rock song.

"And the Shimmering Light" is a great example of this, a fairly mellow little ditty that features the band flirting with pop, but kind of in the way they did on "Good Enough" in 1991. It's great. The rest of the record mostly sticks to the rock, and like I said, it's damn nice to hear the band do the no-frills thing. The songs are solid, and they'll grow on you. The LP comes with a bonus 7" that includes two cover songs, one by Pere Ubu ("Street Waves") and one by The Troggs ("Gonna Make You Mine"). Not often that Mudhoney does covers, so that's cool to have.

I'm pretty excited about this record right now, mostly because it's their newest one. I sometimes whine about all the bands I love breaking up, but I've never been able to add Mudhoney to that list, and that's a great thing. Now I just need to keep better track of their touring schedule.

"The Lucky Ones"

Mudhoney - Under a Billion Suns (LP, 2006)

Are you ready for Mudhoney to get political?

If you had told me in 1992 that Mudhoney would someday put out an album filled with horns and anti-war sentiments, I would have guffawed and gone back to listening to their version of "Hate the Police" for the fifth time consecutively. But things change, and honestly, I appreciate the fact that Mudhoney changed. (Though I probably would have been equally happy if they would have just remade their debut over and over.)

Under a Billion Suns is actually a lot like their previous LP, Since We Became Translucent. Both begin and end with monster songs, both have a few tracks in the middle that aren't too notable, and like I mentioned previously, they both have horns. However, Under a Billion Suns tends to rock a little bit more, and that's never a bad thing.

After the wide-open weirdness of "Where Is the Future," the opening track that finds Mark Arm wondering why we don't have flying cars yet (?), the band gets a good one-two punch together with "It Is Us" and "I Saw the Light," two tracks with thick layers of guitars and nice build-ups. "It Is Us" is the first song where you get the vibe that Arm is getting worked up about the state of national affairs, talking about bombs and whatnot. This continues in a later track, "Hard-On for War," and possibly in a few others, depending how you want to look at them.

Admittedly, it's weird to hear Mark Arm singing about anything serious, but it does make a nice switch from the vagueness of most of the other lyrics on the album. And while Mudhoney albums used to be as much about the lyrics as they were about the music, the longer the band went on, the more it shifted towards the music side. This record features some of their more complicated tunes (the horns certainly add another element), and they still seem eager to experiment, which is great.

This record ends strong, with "On the Move" and "Blindspots" (the third-to-last and last songs, respectively) being two of the best songs on the album. Mudhoney were full-on veterans at this point, and though the songs aren't quite as strong as they may have been 15 years previous, they're smarter and more confident. And that makes it really fun to listen to.

"I Saw the Light"

Mudhoney - Since We've Become Translucent (LP, 2002)

Mudhoney took four years off, got themselves a new bass player, went back to Sub Pop, and released a record that is probably pretty divisive among their hardcore fans. I don't know about anyone else, but I never really expected the band to incorporate horns into their music.

But incorporate they did, and this album ends up being probably the most "mainstream" (it's a relative term here) album the band has made. That is, after you get past the eight-and-a-half minute opener, "Baby, Can You Dig the Light," which features the band going psych-rock a little bit. Not the greatest song they've ever done, but I respect the shit out of putting it first. A gutsy move, to say the least.

I haven't had this record for very long, so I fear that I'm not going to have a ton to say about it. But I've been listening to it fairly steadily for the last few days, and it's growing on me quick. The sound is definitely different, but it's not that different, and if the band was attempting to write catchier tunes (for whatever reason), they pulled it off. "The Straight Life" and "Where the Flavor Is" are both crazy infectious and don't fuck around at all. They're solid little three-minute songs that get the job done.

"In the Winner's Circle" and "Our Time Is Now" both bring the blues vibe back a little, which works, and "Dyin' for It" is a propulsive rocker that follows them nicely. "Inside Job" is another steady track, and it features some gritty guitar work that is tough to deny. "Take It Like a Man" threatens to bring the album to a standstill (it is probably my least favorite Mudhoney song ever), but thankfully it's only two and a half minutes long.

The album is capped off by two long ones: "Crooked and Wide" and "Sonic Infusion." Both sound remarkably like their titles. The latter clocks in at almost eight minutes, making it a nice bookend, along with the opener. Apparently the band was getting into the long jams. It's a weird move, but they pull it off. The song closes things out with chaos, which is a good way to do it.

Like I said, I'm still settling into this one. But it feels pretty damn good so far. And the clear vinyl (you can't title the album that and not press it on translucent wax) is super schweet.

"The Straight Life"

Travis Morrison Hellfighters - All Y'all (CD, 2007)

My confusion with Travistan didn't prevent me from buying the shit out of Travis Morrison's follow-up as soon as it came out, and I'm glad I did. This is the album I expected Travistan to be: not exactly like Dismemberment Plan, but an exploration of the themes that were bubbling to the surface on their last album. This record isn't exactly that, but the guitars and the double-tracked hooks are back, and they sound pretty damn sweet.

Dismemberment Plan was an acquired taste for me, and this album has been, too. I still feel like I don't know it super well, and I still hear new shit when I listen to it. The lyrics on some of the songs are lacking a bit, but what the hey. The bizarre melodies are there, and the sounds are layered without feeling chaotic. Morrison's vocals sound urgent again, and the songs are slightly complex, but mostly straightforward.

I dig it. Morrison has always struck me as a weird guy trying to act normal, and if this album feels awkward and uncomfortable in spots, that's why. But his best songs have always been like that.

If you like the Dismemberment Plan and haven't picked this up yet, you're missing out. It won't blow your mind, but it'll make you move a little bit. And that's fine.

"You Make Me Feel Like a Freak"

Travis Morrison - Travistan (CD, 2004)

I was never a hardcore-obsessed Dismemberment Plan, but I was definitely into the group. I was bummed when they broke up, but definitely not as devastated as some. Still, I was looking forward to frontman Travis Morrison's first post-Plan album.

I've spent five years with this album, and I still don't know what to make of it. Between the four "Get Me Off This Coin" interludes and the general busyness of the tunes, I've just never been able to latch onto this thing. I don't hate it; far from it, in fact. And I don't mind that it sounds nothing like Dismemberment Plan. It just didn't ever hit me the way the last Plan album did. Strangely enough, the first post-interlude track on this album shares the same name as the final Dismemberment Plan album ("Change"), and is the only song that sounds remotely similar to Morrison's previous band. After that, it's an experimental pop free-for-all that toggles between trying too hard and phoning it in.

Part of my problem is that I can't get past the four "Get Me Off This Coin" sections on this record, especially when I remember that there's only 13 proper tracks on this thing, not counting the hidden cut, "Represent," which should have been left off. So they just feel like space-taker-uppers, and they suck anyway.

Pitchfork made it cool to hate this record, but they were just being extra-pissy that day. I'd rather listen to this than Fuck Buttons or most of the other skinny/greasy bands they're humming on the nuts of. In fact, listening to this now, I'm wondering if I don't come back to it enough.

It's just so fucking weird. I have to prepare myself for it.

Listen to a few cuts here.

Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy (CD, 2007)

From the get-go, this album is much more palatable than his first, which makes me almost like it less, but that's just the cool guy in me. If nothing else, this record (released twelve years after his first solo record, with no others in between) is a testament to how far Thurston's come with both his songwriting and his production tendencies.

"Frozen GTR," the first track, has what sounds like strings on it. Yowsa. And it has backup vocals. What is this, a grown up Thurston Moore? Kind of. These tracks are more deliberate and more meticulous than the songs on his first solo record, but the shit Sonic Youth does now sounds much more mature than the stuff they were doing in '95, too. And you know what? Both eras are completely awesome for completely different reasons. In fact, I really like this album, because it's completely different than anything he's ever done. Not drastically so, but just hearing him use acoustic guitars for more than just a novelty appearance is great. And when a guy's made as much music as Thurston Moore has, it's really cool to hear him still find a new way to work things.

In the end, I probably don't like this one as much as his first one, but that also might be because I haven't spent as much time with it. I rocked this steady when I first got it, but then I must have become distracted. That can happen. And why I didn't buy this on LP, I don't know. They put out a sweet picture disc of this thing, and I guess I just didn't know about it or didn't look for it. I am a rube.

"Fri/End"

Melvins - Colossus of Destiny (CD, 2001)

When you get burned by the Melvins, you get torched.

I distinctly remember buying this CD at the Music Millennium on NW 23rd here in Portland. It had just come out, and I was in a Melvins mood. I took a chance. What I ended up with is a CD I've listened to twice.

This is a poorly recorded live show from 1998, featuring about 57 minutes of feedback, synthy noodling, and noise, followed by a sludgy version of "Eye Flys." The disc is broken up into two tracks, with the first being 59:24 long, and the second clocking in at five seconds. Yeah, the second track is not even dedicated to the actual song they play.

Such are the chances you take with the Melvins. You can consider it a huge annoyance, or part of the fun. I've still held onto this one, so I must find it sort of fun.

But, still. Bold move.

Here's the first ten minutes.

Maritime - Glass Floor (CD, 2004)

You'll find out here pretty quick (when we get to the P's) that I'm an unapologetic fan of The Promise Ring. I don't like their straightforward pop as much as I used to, but it got to me at a point in my life when I was more than ready for some, ahem, "emo" rock in my life. Anyway, I'll legitimize that when we get to it. For now, just know that The Promise Ring's last record, 2002's Wood/Water, was the album I always thought they were capable of making, the one that proved they had more in them than just the poppity-pop-pop. Of course, they broke up directly after it was released. So, when I heard that two of the key members (lead dude Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier) were teaming up with badass bass player Eric Axelson (from the then also recently-defunct Dismemberment Plan, one of my other guilty sensitive-rock pleasures), I was excited.

Of course, this record didn't end up being anything like what I hoped it would be. Instead, it feels like a rewind to the heart of The Promise Ring: overly poppy songs that really challenge me to like them because they're so goddamned corny. Songs like "A Night Like This," "I'm Not Afraid," and "If All My Days Go By" are just as hammy as their titles indicate, and I feel like a joker when I listen to them.

There was a time when I tried hard to love this record, and there was a time when I convinced myself that I did. Listening to it now, I realize it hasn't aged well for me. The Promise Ring had some cornball restraint (it was hard to find, but it was there), and this doesn't.

I have to be really cheery to identify with this one, and that doesn't happen too often.

"Lights"