Not So New Release Tuesday: Lost and Gone Forever

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the Not So New Release has returned. To kick off the resurrection, I have selected the album that brought me and I am sure many others into the Guster fold. Much like the previous albums Goldfly and Parachute, LAGF is power acoustic pop. Nothing really sets this album apart from other Guster releases, yet it is the most accessible. The songs are extremely catchy. You always find yourself singing along and the hook gets stuck in your head for the better part of a week. If you delve a little deeper, the lyrics in most of the songs have an anger/angst to them, even the most melodic (Either Way, for example). Maybe the boys from Tufts had a bad break-up or something.

What sets these guys apart is the live shows. I have seen them about 4 times, first right after this album came out and instantly bought everything available. They are crowd interactive and watching stick free percussion is always entertaining. Grab this album first if you are a Guster novice or listen to it again if it is a little dusty, then be sure to catch them when they show up in your area. They will not let you down. Enjoy the tunes.

Barrel of a Gun

Either Way

Happier

Two Points for Honesty

Not So New Release Tuesday: (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

It has been awhile since I did one of these, but I pretty much knew that I would be covering this album for weeks now. Blame it on Ian of Middle Distance Runner. He is a huge fan of Oasis and he got "Morning Glory" stuck in my head for weeks. A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with him at a show and he just broke out into song for about 5 minutes straight. Ever since then, I have been fighting the same urge. Damn you Ian. So of course I had to dust off the old CD and give it a spin. I've never been a huge Oasis fan, but I wore this CD out in the mid-90's. Yeah the radio killed it, but "Wonderwall" is a great song. Anyway, enjoy some tunes and take a walk down memory lane with me. If you run into Ian, don't let him start singing to you. There is a reason that he's just the bass player.

Wonderwall
Morning Glory
Champagne Supernova

Not So New Release Tuesday: My Aim Is True

For this week's classic album, I decided to go back to the 70's and hit Elvis Costello's debut LP. My Aim Is True came out in 1977 (1978 in the states) and it is one of my favorite records. It took Declan Patrick MacManus (Elvis Costello) 7 years to get this album out. Thirty years later and he is still going strong. This is where it all began and it is still a great listen today.

Alison
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Watching The Detectives (added for US release)

Not So New Release Tuesday: Rage Against the Machine

It's fall of 1993. I'm a senior high school. Kurt Cobain is still alive. Beavis and Butthead rule MTV. Sega Genesis is the gaming system of choice. Zach de la Rocha is pissed off. My friends and I are filled with angst. We are a perfect match.

I'll never forget the first time that I heard Rage Against the Machine's debut album in full. Back then, a parental advisory sticker actually meant something. My friends and I were dying to get this CD. I was the first of us to turn 18, so I purchased about 5 copies as soon as I did. There weren't a lot of CD players in cars at that point, so I waited until I got home to put it on. I put it on in my room and cranked it up, not knowing that Bombtrack builds. Mike (yes the one that used to run the Austin side of this site) was in the next room and as soon as the song kicked in, he heard me scream. And I heard him laugh. While my ears may have hurt, I immediately fell in love. To this day, this CD can bring out the angst that I had believed to be long gone.


Bombtrack
Know Your Enemy
Freedom

Not So New Release Tuesday: Psychocandy

This week I decided to go with The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 classic, Psychocandy. This is one of those albums whose influence greatly outweighs the popularity that it had at the time. To this day, this album is one of those that I keep going back to. If you aren't familiar with this Scottish group, this is a nice way to become acquainted. Besides, a lot of music released in the past 20 years was influenced by them. They are credited as one of the creators of noise pop and they are considered the predecessors to 90's shoegaze. Enjoy!

Just Like Honey
Never Understand
You Trip Me Up

Not So New Release Tuesday: Debut

I received a couple of requests for Björk, so I figured that this would be a good forum to fulfill them. After bring a fixture in The Sugarcubes, Björk went solo with the 1993 release of Debut. This release saw her gain a cult following in the States, winning audiences over with her penetrating dance beats and seductive voice.

Human Behaviour
Like Someone In Love
Big Time Sensuality

Bonus: Here is a circa 1983 track from her pre-Sugarcubes group, Tappi Tikarrass. Imagine a female fronting the R.E.M. of that era and you get the idea.

Tappi Tikarrass - Krid

Not So New Release Tuesday: Laid

Today really doesn't feel like Tuesday, but apparantly it is. That said, it's time for a not so new release. This week, I am going with Laid by James. A friend of mine has been bugging me for months to put something by these guys on the site, so here you go.

I discovered this band and album while I was in high school and I played it quite a bit during those days. "Laid" is the song that everyone knows and loves. While it is a certainly a classic from 90's radio, I do not feel that it is the true gem on this CD. I would give that distinction to "Out To Get You." Regardless, enjoy this trip down memory land and if you are a sucker like me, welcome back to work.

Out To Get You
Laid
Lullabye

Bonus Track:
The Hourly Radio - Say Something

Not So New Release Tuesday: 20 All Time Greatest Hits!

Due to his death yesterday, I decided to use James Brown for this week's Not So New Release Tuesday. There really isn't anything that I can say about the Godfather of Soul, that has not been said before. The man made some great music and his influence will last long after his passing. Enjoy some of his best tracks and remember the man for his wonderful music.

I Got You (I Feel Good)
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, Pt. 1

Not So New Release Tuesday: Dummy

When I was working on the Jette-Ives feature, I had an urge to pull out my old Portishead cd. Dummy is one of those albums that sounds just as fresh today, as it did the day that I bought it. It is also a very versatile disc. It works whether you are driving, going to bed or trying to wake up. It is also the perfect soundtrack for a late night rendezvous.

Sour Times
It Could Be Sweet
Glory Box

If you like Portishead, definitely check out our feature on Jette-Ives.

Not So New Release Tuesday: The Unforgettable Fire

There is not much that I can say about U2 or this album (buy) that hasn't already been said. So I will let a couple of the tracks speak for themselves. Happy Tuesday!


A Sort of Homecoming
The Unforgettable Fire
Bad


Check out The Twelve Bands of Christmas

Not So New Release Tuesday: Grace

There are some albums that never stray too far from your cd player. For me, Jeff Buckley's Grace is one of those albums. For whatever reason, this is a great winter album. Whether it is his haunting voice, the enchanting quality of most of the tracks or the thoughts of what could have been, I do not know. What I do know, is that this is one of those rare albums that sounds fresh everytime you hear it.

Mojo Pin
Last Goodbye
Lover, You Should've Come Over

From the Legacy Edition...
Forget Her

Not So New Release Tuesday: Fear

Everyone has those albums that made them evaluate where they were musically and shaped where they are today. Toad The Wet Sprocket's Fear is one of those albums for me. It was the early 90's and I was stuck somewhere between Rap and R&B. Then I heard Toad and everything changed. All of a sudden, I realized that there was music out there that actually spoke to me. It understood where I was, where I had been and where I wanted to go. It was a like a giant neon sign flashing in front of me... "Joe, listen to college radio, R&B sucks." I think you pretty much know the rest of the story.

The song selections for this one were kind of hard to make. I had to include All I Want, because it played such an integral part in my musical transformation. Walk on the Ocean is one of those calssics that always makes you sing when you hear it on the radio, even if you don't want to. I Will Not Take These Things For Granted was on every mixtape for like 5 years. I could have gone in a number of directions for the last pick. I decided to go with Stories I Tell, because I feel that it is still a pretty powerful song. This is just a great album.

Walk On The Ocean
All I Want
Stories I Tell
I Will Not Take These Things For Granted

Not So New Release Tuesday: It's A Shame About Ray

*FIXED LINKS*


Since Mike went new this week, here is a classic gem for you. The Lemonheads It's a Shame About Ray, is the kind of disc that you can bust out years later and still enjoy. I was just talking to someone about this CD last week. As I have mentioned before, The Lemonheads were my first indie rock show. This CD always reminds me of those days. It's amazing how relevant it still sounds over a decade later. Everyone is probably more than familiar with this disc. For those who aren't, here are a few tracks to get you started.

Confetti
It's a Shame About Ray
Rudderless
Alison's Starting to Happen

Not So New Release Tuesday: Pretty Hate Machine

It was the end of the 80s, synth pop was in its decline and heavy guitars were slowly making their way back. Then there was Trent Reznor, the man behind Nine Inch Nails, and his first full-length release Pretty Hate Machine.

A combination of industrial and hard-core with the synth laden melodies of the past decade, Pretty Hate Machine was something new on the scene in 1989. The album was much more accessible than KMFDM and other industrial heavyweights to mainstream audiences. Although the songs are dark and the lyrics brooding and sometimes downright hateful, they all followed the pop song formula, catchy hooks and excellent production. The single Head Like A Hole, received major airplay from MTV and college radio. But one song does not make an album. Every track is a piece of work, differing from the others, yet somehow tying each other together. Musically, Trent does magical things, melding guitars and synths into a cacophony of noise that works. Lyrically, he runs the table, from Calling out God in Terrible Lie, pining away in Something I Can Never Have, to veiled drug references in Down In It.

Usually found in almost everyones best list of the 80s, the album is still very relevant today, not sounding dated. Pretty Hate Machine is one CD that should be in everyones collection.

And a friendly civic reminder, Go Vote! If you don't vote, you do not have a right to complain.

Down In It
Sin
Something I Can Never Have
Terrible Lie

Win a Jeremy Enigk autographed World Waits CD.

Not So New Release Tuesday: The Crow Soundtrack

It's Halloween and I can't think of a better album to cover for Not So New Release Tuesday, than the soundtrack to one of the best Halloween type movies of all time. It was 1994 and I was a senior in High School. This crazy movie came out, called The Crow. Mike and I saw what was on the soundtrack and we had to get it. I only had a tape player in the Spedwagon (my infamous High School car), so we copied it to a tape that was permenantly lodged in the car radio for like 6 months. There are so many songs that I could pick from this album, but I am going to go with four of my favorites.

The Cure - Burn
Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls (Joy Division cover)
Rollins Band - Ghostrider (Suicide cover)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Snakedriver

Not So New Release Tuesday: Catherine Wheel "Chrome"

Joe and I first discovered Catherine Wheel at a Live (the band) show in Hershey. They were filling in for Veruca Salt. At first I was disappointed, not knowing much about the replacement and going on what little knowledge I had from MTV (before the internet, folks!). They played mostly off of the album out at the time, Happy Days. It was a show that I will never forget. From this, came the discovery of their previous work.

It is difficult to go backwards sometimes. After listening to Happy Days mostly straight forward hard pop/rock approach, it was a big departure to listen to Chrome. A little bit slower than its follower, relying less on the straight guitar melody riff and more on the fuzz and feedback, but it still has a similar edginess to it. The constant is Rob Dickinson's voice, breathy and melodic, sounding like it should be in an acoustic pop band rather than over droning guitars and keyboards. The lyrics are difficult to truly grasp at times, sometimes needing a quick look at the sheet to see exactly what was being sung, and even when reading along, it may not make much sense.

While no one song truly is the stand out on the album, each song evokes something different. The Nude is dark, yet it has an airy feel to it when Dickinson slides into his falsetto. The straight up pop of Show Me Mary, is the best attempt for the straight to radio sound. Crank, the best track on the album (IMO), is brooding, with a constant guitar riff in the background behind the dream-like, plaintive vocals. The album can seem repetitive to some and sound like most British acts of the time, but in comparison to those bands, it definately holds its own.

Crank
Kill Rhythm
Show Me Mary
The Nude


Check out the CW live show that Joe posted several weeks ago.

Other Not So New Releases:
The Cure: Disintegration
G. Love and Special Sauce
Pulp: Different Class

Not So New Release Tuesday: "Disintegration"

**LINKS EDITED**


Disintegration is the best album ever! Or so says Kyle from South Park. I would place it very high on my list. Released in 1989, it was a total departure from the widely popular Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, as every song stayed within a tight few main themes: love lost and pure melancholy and despair. Most of the songs clock in over 5 minutes long, featuring dark guitars and dramatic synth chords along with Robert Smith's distinctive brood. It is not an album to brighten your day, but if ever in a depressed state, this album will speak to you.

Musically, every song has something different, from the opening chimes and crash of percussions and synths of Plainsong to the piano and guitar opening of Homesick. The overall mix of instruments is a strength, never overshadowing another part. But don't let the different styles and sometimes upbeat backing music fool you. Every song is dark lyrically, even the more radio friendly Lovesong. Robert Smith seems to only have one thing to say, but has so many different ways to say it. The memories flood back in Pictures of You, Last Dance, and Untitled, taking you on a journey into the psyche of a man that so want's things to be like before. The anger and desolation of Disintegration and Prayers For Rain is a counterpoint to the soaring atmosphere of Fascination Street and the almost sillyness of Lullaby, the only two songs that do not follow the overall despair of the album.

Is this the best album ever? Some would like to think so. It is for sure the best Cure album. It is recommended listening even for those who do not like The Cure.

Disintegration
Fascination Street
Plainsong
Prayers For Rain

Not So New Release Tuesday: "G. Love and Special Sauce"

Everyone has heard of G. Love in some way or another. If you haven't, then your musical tastes are very bland and you listen to too much corporate radio. Anyone with any sort of exposure to G. Love and Special Sauce, has had a sample of the 1994 eponymous debut release. It is the start of what has come to be known as the Philadelphonic sound: a mash-up of hip-hop, funk and blues. They are a simple blues trio: G. Love on guitar and harmonica, Jimmy Jazz on the stand-up bass, and Houseman on percussion. But this is not your typical slow back water blues. The sound is completed by G. Love's vocals, almost rapping the lyrics, but still maintaining the musical quality.

Instrumentally, it is sloppy, but the funk and blues styles are not about perfection. Lyrically, the album ranges from the socially conscious to the absolute party anthem and just about everywhere in between. The album starts out strong with the blues standard The Things That I Used To Do, with the G. Love lyrical twist. It is definately recorded live as you can hear G. clear his throat in the second verse. The old time blues homage continues with the second cut Blues Music. While difficult to understand some of the words at times, the simple guitar pick and strum and brushed drums complement the tribute to the music that is the band's inspiration.

The strength of the album is in the more lively tracks, like the down and dirty Garbage Man and the amuzing, riff-heavy Fatman. The lyrics just flow and meld with the underlying bass groove and simple strums and drums. Tributes to chilling out on the porch in the neighborhood, as in Rhyme For The Summertime and the days on the blacktop in Shooting Hoops add to the laid back style, yet still make this a great summer chill-out album. Even the socially minded lyrical switch off with friend from Boston, Jasper This Ain't Living has the vibe that permeates every song on the album. And listen for the plaintive wail of Houseman in the background.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the songs that made the album what it is. What can be labeled as one of the stranger love songs, Baby's Got Sauce is a straight out funk-blues groove telling the story of a man in a relationship and his trials and troubles. Getting slapped with a frying pan, that's gotta hurt. And the ultimate party song, the drinking song to rival all drinking songs, Cold Beverage. It is on every fraternity and sorority party music list, it started the weekend in Philly as one of the stations would play it at 5 on Friday. Stick it in the fridge!

The total album is a complete blues groove with hip-hop flavoring, ready for the day at the beach or just chilling in the yard.

The Things That I Used to Do
Garbage Man
Cold Beverage
Shooting Hoops

Not So New Release Tuesday: Pulp "Different Class"

Tuesday is the day to release everything into the consumer world, DVDs, books, and music. Well, in honor of the day of new releases, it's time to revisit the good, the bad, and the ugly of releases from the past in this new weekly feature.

To kick off the inagural run, I selected an album that I am sure many people have heard of, but never heard the whole thing from start to finish, one of the most underappreciated albums of the mid-90s, Different Class by Pulp.

The whole album is superbly written by front man Jarvis Cocker and band mates Russell Senior on guitar, Candida Doyle on the keys, Steve Mackey on bass, Mark Webber on guitar (and former fan club president), and Nick Banks on drums. Lyrically it is down and dirty, nothing lost in translation. They paint a picture, then make sure you don't forget it. Musically, it is Brit-pop at its best, and Cocker's vocals soar to heights then resonate into low growls in a matter of seconds, but never once losing the emotion necessary to make one feel the lyrics.

Track-wise, this album is solid from start to finish, but the starting 5 make this album what it is. Starting with a call to arms of the lower class in Mis-Shapes, the album turns away from the social upheaval and dives right into seduction and sex with Pencil Skirt. (Lyric: Oh, It's turning me oh, oh, on.) Placement seems to be everything as another commentary on the differences in class appears in the widely popular Common People, a narrative about a socialite who wants to live like the working class, but not without Cocker delivering a scathing litany of lyrics on what the lower classes deal with on a day to day basis and how the upper class does not understand. Mixing the two previous themes is I Spy, the musings of Cocker and how he will avenge the social class he has been dealt by sleeping with and corrupting an upper class wife. Finally, getting away from the class warfare and seduction, Disco 2000 is a pure pop song, telling the story of a boy and his school years' crush and how he never let go. Any other artist would have made this into a weepy acoustic arrangment or a power ballad, but Pulp livens its up with disco beats and upbeat tempos.

The rest of the album mixes up the themes a bit. It continues with sexual overtones in Live Bed Show and Underwear and life with no direction in Monday Morning, but then throws in what can be labeled as a love song in Something Changed and how love can screw your world up in F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. Sorted For E's & Wizz is a blistering commentary on the rave scene, while Bar Italia deals with the hang over from such party excess.

The album as a whole is so diverse in vocal quality, instrumentation, production, and lyrical content, that almost anyone can find a song that is worth listening to. Commercially, it is Pulp's most succesful album, and I believe musically it is their best as well.

Mis-Shapes
Pencil Skirt
Common People
Disco 2000