Reviews (29)

irony-free zone
hmmm. this is a tough one. dan auerbach plays some raw-boned blues geetar to match the world-weary (22 whole years) gruffness of his voice. nothing he does wreaks the slightest of affectation or irony, he plays and sings from the heart. patrick carney provides solid, slightly-updated beats, and there you have it - a great two-piece blues band. the white stripes are not a blues band, they're a pop band who count the blues as one of their myriad influences, so no comparison between the two is necessary or even warranted. these guys update the blues a bit through some noisy interludes, hip-hop beats, and covers of beatles and stooges songs, but essentially this is a delta-influenced blues band. this means howlin wolf, fred mcdowell - not stevie ray vaughan or his ilk, thank you - maybe john lee hooker and such. they're really good at what they do. here's the tough part - why don't i like it as much as i think i should? i mean, i like it quite a bit, but i don't feel the enthusiasm expressed by many. i think that listening to this makes me feel like i'm listening to creedence or cream or even paul rodgers (yecchhhh) or something. i hope i get over it, because they're coming to town soon, and i'm trying to get up the urge to go out and see them. my guess is they're probably a much better live band.

Brilliant Debut
Words cannot express how great this disc is or how great The Black Keys are. The Big Come Up is rooted firmly in the hypnotic North Missippi hill country blues brought to attention by RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. This disc is proof positive that blues music, REAL blues music, knows no color or geography. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, If you get it...YOU GET IT!!!!!!!!!! Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney HAVE IT. The playing, and more importantly, feeling are 100% genuine. Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach doesn't play many solos and isn't concerned with technical brilliance or how fast he can play or how many scales he knows. He doesn't consider himself 'the midpoint between Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix' (as one popular blues wanker once stated). Real blues musicians know style, "THEIR" style, is more important than mindless aping and idol worship. Dan's style echoes many great bluesmen but comes out all HIS. I can think of no greater compliment to pay a blues artist. Drummer Patrick Carney concentrates on rythmic FORCE. At one time, that's how blues players ACTUALLY played. No kidding.
To sum up: Buy this album and thank your lucky stars that bands like The Black Keys are out there doing it the way it should be done

none of you know anything
i wish the guys from the black keys would slap you all, but they don't cuz they don't give crap about anything you say in fact they hate you cuz i know everything and you don't. shut up.

to music fan from seattle
in your review you said we should all start listening to "music."the you started bitching about the black keys being compared to the white stripes and how the white stripes play blues and only u know that because YOU listen to "MUSIC." the two bands should not be compared because they are completely different sounds. you see there are different types of blues and there is a difference between playing the blues and being influenced by the blues but im sure you know that because you listne to "music" unlike the rest of us

Good...been done, but good.
This is an excellent disc. For those White Stripes fans out there, the Black Keys-White Stripes debate is not worth getting worked up over. The Black Keys are a much different band. And seriously, if you want the low-fi, raw blues sound, you should be listening to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. (Yes, music like this was recorded before 1999.) The Keys or the Stripes are good places to start, but check out JSBX and hear where this low-fi, raw sound really became modernized. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Of all the downtrodden intellectuals turning skate-punk into emo, Dashboard Confessional's Christopher Carrabba is by far the most bruised. With just an acoustic guitar and some choice words, the Ben Folds sound-alike turns the concept of the love song on its head with The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most's torrent of poetic abuse aimed at girls who've taken advantage of his good nature. From "Saints and Sailors" ("This apartment is starving for an argument / Anything at all to break the silence") to "The Good Fight" ("I claimed you as my only hope and watched the floor as you retreated") to "Screaming Infidelities" ("So kiss me hard because this will be the last time I let you"), Carrabba is unapologetically bitter. Yet while his love life may be a tragic mess, the pure cathartic joy he derives from putting the ladies in question back in their place--evident from his venomous acoustic attacks--is unmistakable, infectious, and fantastically liberating. Wallowing in self-pity has seldom been so much fun. --Dan Gennoe ... Read more

Reviews (239)

Acoustic Sounds You Fear The Most
Grab a blender. Mix in 2 parts Green Day, 1 part Indigo Girls, 1 teaspoon James Taylor, and 3 parts Robert Smith of the Cure. Hit puree for 5 minutes and walah...you've just mixed you up a strong batch of Dashboard Confessional. Be warned though, this may be one case where the sum of the parts is not equal to the whole. The acoustic format eventually wears on you and Chris Carrabba's voice cracks when he shouts his "emo" lyrics at the top of his lungs.

I bought this CD after hearing these guys in a MTV2 unplugged concert. The kids were all caught up in the music singing every lyric like a group of Boy and Girl Scouts sitting around a campfire. There is also a video out there with the Dashboard Confessionals street performing in San Marco's Square in Venice and it was equally engaging. From the performances, I though the musicianship was above average, especially the drummer. However, the acoustic format really isn't the preferred choice for showing off a drummer's skill, but on "Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" the skill does show through from time to time. If it wasn't for the drummer (who is that guy anyway) this CD probably would have garnered 2 stars.

Some of the songs here are enjoyable and I have no doubt that Chris Cabbarra has an audience of disaffected teens out there wanting to go punk acoustic but not wanting to go to far in the punk world. It's just that imagine the things that were important to you as a teen being put to acoustic strumming and being shouted at the top of one's lungs with a voice that cracks at that decibel level...sometimes it comes off as 90210 angst that becomes difficult to listen to. If you are a teen and want some campfire punk, go get this. If you aren't I would warn you away. Catch the drummer on the MTV2 unplugged segment and see if you aren't equally impressed.

My favorite singer-songwriter/arist/band/whatever.
Song breakdown:

1 - The Brilliant Dance - 5/5 - Some of the best lyrics ever written.

2 - Screaming Infidelities - 4.5/5 - His best known song. The Swiss Army version is better though.

3 - The Best Deceptions - 4.5/5 - Very, very, very good chorus.

4 - This Ruined Puzzle - 3/5 - Weakest song on the CD. The lyrics themselves are fantastic... but musically, it's a bit underwhelming. Still, by no means a bad song.

5 - Saints & Sailors - 3.5/5 - My friends love it. I dislike the way Chris delivers his vocals. It's a pretty good song, still, but... not my favorite by a long shot.

6 - The Good Fight - 4/5 - Great.

7 - Standard Lines - 5/5 - My favorite song ever. It's very simplly done, just 2 verses and 2 shots at the chorus, but the quitar is so intricate and it's beautiful beyond words.

8 - Again I Go Unnoticed - 4/5 - Swiss Army version was much better. Backing instruments take away in this song... not add.

9 - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most - 5/5 - My second favorite song ever. When Chris starts screaming the chorus about 2 minutes into the song, I get chills down my spine.

10 - This Bitter Pill - 5/5 - Very, very well done. The emotional breakdowns during the chorus really sound like Chris is going to totally ravage his voice to beyond complexity.

Overall: Not as good as The Swiss Army Romance, but still an excellent release from my favorite music-spawning entity. Go buy all Dashboard releases. They're ALL good.

Let the bad-girlfriend slamming begin
I can't even begin to describe how liberating it is to listen to a CD like this. Lead singer Chris Carabba is a lyrical genius whose talents probably derived from a lot of heartbreak. Sometimes, emotionally damaging situations bring out the best in us. Armed with his acoustic guitar, he tells tales of girls who break hearts and the guys who endure the pain. During the emotional choruses of many of his songs, he strokes the guitar with so much anger and pain that you can feel it. The best song on the cd is EASILY The Best Deceptions. Listening to the lyrics is like following a story. The song is about an ex-girlfriend he broke up with, but who he still hears about. When the chorus comes up and he screams "So Kiss me hard, cause this will be the last time that I'll let you", you can't help but feel the emotion.

Other noteworthy tracks are....
The Brilliant Dance

Screaming Infidelities---a very depressing song yet liberating.

This Ruined Puzzle--- The chorus where he sings "Does he ever get the girl", is well written.

The Good Fight.

A must buy for emo fans.

Just to break the silence
Browbeaten and fantastic, Chris Carrabba faces up the acoustic guitar with a punch. The first time I heard the screams of a heart broken man was on the stilled yet painful Screaming infidelities, Dashboard Confessional made an impressive entrance. It's hard to walk away from this CD, from the lonely Brilliant Dance to the treasured Good Fight, the confessions of a first kiss seems ever so lovely with the bitter cut of a wound. Underrated at first Dashboard is screaming their lungs to the top, the sadness that lays in between the words is simply worth the listen, simply worth the play, simply worth the buy.

You MUST buy this CD
I didn't really know a lot about Dashboard, but then I heard Screaming Infidelities on the radio and I couldn't get it out of my head. The CD is amazing, I don't think there is one song that I don't like. It is the perfect CD to put on when you are in a bad mood. He uses so much emotion when he sings it feels like you have been through what he has been through. You have to buy this! ... Read more

Reviews (61)

Vocal and instrumental music in a brilliant combination
This is the album that finally convinced me of David Bowie's genius. Of course, he has help from people like Brian Eno and Iggy Pop (who sings backing vocals on "Sound And Vision"), but this is very clearly a David Bowie album.

The songs are epigrammatic - short terse lyrics - with colourful and interesting instrumental accompaniment. The instrumental pieces (they are NOT songs! and should not be referred to as such) range from disco styled pieces ("Speed of Life" and "A New Career In A New Town") to more pensive, ambient styled and lengthy works on side two of the original LP.

One wonders what Mr. Bowie was listening to during this Berlin period? Gorecki, perhaps? It doesn't really matter because this is a splendid album from one of contemporary music's greatest figures. I feel that his previous albums became 'mere pop music' after the release of Low.

Launching Pad...
I once thought that I knew everything about synth-music (a term I find myself using more often since "synthpop" is a term that just seems to take away from the real meanings behind songs). I once thought that David Bowie was just another glam-rocker from the early 70s who happened to hit it big with Let's Dance sometime in the early 80s, with apparently no consideration as to what happened inbetween. On a whim, I bought David Bowie's latest album, Heathen, and read about the return of the Berlin trilogy producer-Tony Visconti. Upon hearing that album, an insatiable desire for hearing all of Bowie's "electro" material was firmly established. I took a chance and decided to begin at the starting-point of the trilogy.
Low caught me completely off guard. Early industrial came to mind. Then, ambient soundscapes, then...well, I just gave up trying to put a label on everything. It was all just so unique and different, nothing I had ever heard had really touched upon this particular type of sound. The instrumentals, Speed of Life, A New Career in a New Town, and Art Decade seemed so claustrophobic and yet, so expansive at the same time. The seemingly suicidal despair of Breaking Glass, Always Crashing in the Same Car (great titles!), and Subterranians seemed so comforting at the same time. Finally, this was an album with genuine angst, not the commercialized angst force fed by record companies through bands like Korn, Slipknot, or Blink 182. As far as I'm concerned, there's no better album than Low to throw you into the pit of despair, then pulling you out again by actually enabling you to meditate and move on.
Since purchasing this album, I have bought several other Bowie albums, namely Hunky Dory, Station to Station, Heroes, Lodger, Scary Monsters, and 1. Outside. Even after hearing them all ten times or more, Low remains my favorite Bowie album. There's not a single note on it that I would say was wasted.

Bowie's best album
David Bowie's Low is far from both his "folk" work of the early 70s and his "soul" work of the mid 70s. At its higher moments, Low mixes Bowie's knack for songwriting with Eno's amazing instrumentation ("What in the World," "Sound and Vision," "Be My Wife"), but the best moments of the album are Bowie and Eno's collaborative ambient songs on the album's second half.

Low is my favorite Bowie album. It still sounds like the future more than 2 decades after its release. Most people remember Bowie for Ziggy Stardust, but this album is far more impressive. Eno and Bowie used technology to their advantage to make an experimental pop classic.

Yes, it took >25 years for me to admit it, but yes, 5 Stars
I bought it when it came out. A piece of vinyl; that week's purchase. Played it to my friends; we weren't so sure; we weren't saying 'No', but we weren't saying 'Yes' either.

Slide the timer forward to now.

I can look back and realise it's one of those albums which has been in my brain for all that time. Hovering in the background. Understated , but always there in the subconscious.

How do I know? I just picked it up again afer a long hiatus and found out, for the first time, what I had always suspected ~ what a wonderful, wonderful album this is.

I think I'd better say that again, in case you weren't listening - What a wonderful album this is.

Ahead of its time
"Low" is one of my favorite experimental albums. It was released in 1977 and it sounds like it was released in 1980. Peter Gabriel's "melting face" album is obviously influenced by the type of experimentation here. This just shows that Bowie and Eno were brilliant in making experimental music together. Bowie was doing post -punk new wave on "Low" before anyone else. His rampant experimentation and sound scapes are amazing. I like how the album uses the first lyrical songs as a general introduction to the sound scapes, which are the emphasis on the album. The album seems to move the listener through a continuous experience. You really feel that the order and nature of the songs take you somewhere on this album. The experimentation here will set the foundation for post -punk new wave for the next 5 or so years, and this alone justifies the historical importance of "Low." But music fans know that the real test of an album is just listening to it, and this album passes that test by taking you to musical realms you never thought existed.

If you like "Low" then you will probably like some of "Lodger." ... Read more

Amazon.com

With a name designed to shock, and song titles like "Oh Shit?" and "Orgasm Addict" the Buzzcocks were proud proponents of British late-'70s punk rock. But in retrospect, it's easier to see what else they accomplished--some of the catchiest, most provocative pop singles ever. Pete Shelley expressed heartbreak and frustration ("Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with?" goes one catchy chorus) without falling victim to lovey-dovey cliches. This definitive 1979 collection nicely captures the Manchester quartet's tight melodies, economic writing and appropriately fast pace.--Steve Knopper ... Read more

Reviews (47)

For the fans...
After hearing "What Do I Get?" in a Toyota Rav4 commercial, I absolutely fell in love with it and spent about a year searching for it. I didn't know who it was by, and when I finally found the Buzzcocks album it was on, I realized I'd never heard of them. Funny, because at the time I was a die-hard Sex Pistols fan and they're in a similar league, but I has a rather novice punk fan (I was only 12), and the band was unfamiliar to me. When I brought the CD home and listened to it, my heart rejoiced at hearing that snotty, high-powered pop punk anthem in full...I guarantee that any old school punk-listener will find What Do I Get? very good. There are a few other good songs on this compilation, like "Orgasm Addict," "Everybody's Happy Nowadays," and "Autonomy." Otherwise, the music begins to turn into a poppy mass of British drivel. Considering the low price, it is worth it to buy the album, but there is a considerable amount of filler material. I just hope you're into the strangely familiar-sounding "Everybody's..." or the schoolboy-horny "Orgasm Addict"...and to bring back that warm fuzzy punky feeling you got when you saw that car ad, turn "What Do I Get?" up to full blast and repeat, repeat, repeat.

What Do YOU Get? This NOW!!
I was just remembering how I wore out my original vinyl copy of this incredible collection from Pete Shelley and the hilariously named "Buzzcocks.".............. I had first heard "What Do I Get" when watching a program on TV with British bands. Needless to say, I ran to the store for my copy of "Singles Going Steady." .............There are non-stop power pop punk classics throughout this compilation. "Ever Fallen In Love", "Everybody's Happy Nowadays", and the long great closing cut "Something's Gone Wrong Again" are songs that get me moving even when I'm tired! There is not one bad cut here. I'd say this CD is like a shot of musical adrenaline. It pounds, it surges, and it makes you want to dance and smile as you listen. ............ After aquiring this release, I bought, "A Different Kind Of Tension" too. It's a continuation of that great rip-roaring guitar pop-punk melody laden music. More about THAT CD in another review... ............. If you are a fan of late 70's punk, todays alternative, or plain old guitar pop with catchy hooks, you should definitely catch THIS "Buzz" too.

Call it what you want, it's still great music.
If you want to know how truly varied punk is, listen to this album, followed by Black Flag's Damaged, bearing in mind that both albums are part of the same genre. The effect is something that no ammount of halucinogenic drugs can reproduce.
But nevermind all that. Singles Going Steady truly is a rare album, a collection of melodic, radio-friendly pop tunes that can still be considered punk classics, and rightfully so. The sixteen songs all have intense appeal, in a sort of singing-along, get-stuck-in-your-head-all-day kind of way (One of my worst work experiences was when I went into the office with "Orgasm Addict" lodged in the ol' cranium.) The tracks can all be considered rock standards, with rapid-fire guitar chords and a powerhouse drum beat, all of which sweeps you up into a flurry and brings a smile to your face. The songs are all delivered with a punky sort of tounge-in-cheeck humor, mixed with ironic cynisism ("Everybody's happy nowadays."). The energy of "Ever Fallen In Love" is irrisistable (though I can't imagine why anyone would want to resist it), and I challange you to listin to the chanting, anthemic chorus of "I Don't Mind" and not jump to your feet and start singing along. Well... maybe that's just me.
"Orgasm Addict" is a real pleasure (sorry), a rapid-fire two-minute lightning bolt of a rocker, backed by high speed guitars and a rockin' bass line, not to mention some of the all around greatest song lyrics ever, especially when you consider that it was realesed in 1979 ("You get in a heat/ You get in a sulk/ But you still keep on beating your meet to pulp/ Yeah you're an OR-GASM addict!")

Which brings me to my next point (how convenient). Pete Shelly sure knows how to write. Sophomoric lyrics of the afformentioned song aside, Shelly's words are powerful, introspective, and love-lorn ("Ever falln in love with somebody you shouldn't have fallen in love with?"). They perfectly capture the feelings of teenage angst without being whiny. This makes the songs surprisingly honest, and allows listiners to identify with the permenently blue lead singer. I guess this means that the Buzzcocks sacrifice a ton of punk credentials for that, but does it really matter? If the music is enjoyable, then what's the harm in a bit of genre-bending?

Hard-core punkers dismiss the Buzzcocks as being insufficiently punk, comparing them to the shi*ty "pop-punk" bands of today. What they fail to realize is that Shelly and Co can write good, entertaining songs, while Good (bad) Charolette and Simple Plan cannot (The 90's pop-punk scene has got to be one of the bigest musical disasters since Bette Midler. If I hear another whiny pre-pubescent "punker" whine about some girl just because Blink one-eighty-what-the-hell-ever did it, I'm gonna explode. But I digress). In fact, if you really want, you don't have to call the Buzzcocks punk. Call them rock, call them pop, call them whatever the hell you want, just ENJOY the MUSIC.

what do you get?
Is this emo punk? (Does that even exist?) Pete Shelley's voice combines vulnerbility and...um, cockiness at the same time, which is a tempting combination. Its funny-sad. It defies labels. Plus, you don't hear too many orgasming guys in music nowadays. I heard "What do I get?" during Ghost World and was throughly disappointed it wasn't on the sound track. I couldn't get the song out of my head, so I got this cd and have no regrets.

Plus, they just included a really mediocre remake of "ever fallen in love?" in the new shrek movie. Hear just how much better the original is.

Standout songs: What do I get, ever fallen in love, everybody's happy nowadays

Funny Voices+Catchy Hooks=Classic!
Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, it all was the same to me when I was younger. Fast rock with annoying British accents. Now I love this stuff...Weird. Every now and then you come across that guy that tells you "You're not punk untill you listen to (fill in the blank with any punk group before Green Day)" Sometimes those guys can get annoying, but they do have a valid point. The Buzzcocks took the pop-punk sense of The Ramones and made it perverted. "Orgasm Addict?" Heh, heh. Don't act like you don't remember where your mind was at age 15. The other great one, "What do I get," sums up my love life. I want a nice, funny, normal girl...But what do I get get? Man, you don't wanna know what I get. I get some scary chicks. Heh, heh. Now I'm getting personal. This is a good cd. My gripe is that the sound is HORRIBLE! I mean, that cheap sound is cool to an extent but if I didn't have that sound system in my car, I'd be screwed. Plus I liked the less popular songs, but that's just me. But for the usual Buzzcocks fan, this is right up your alley. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Released four years after the Talking Heads called it a day with 1988's Naked, Popular Favorites provides a thorough overview of one of the most important American bands of the '80s. From tightly wound early efforts such as "Psycho Killer" and "Don't Worry About the Government" to the seriously funky likes of "I Zimbra" and "Burning Down the House," David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Franz grew as musicians as they stretched the original concepts of the unit to the breaking point. Over the course of two discs and 32 selections, the anthology chronicles the Heads' development from Bowery art punks (albeit of the most civil stripe) to unlikely arena stars. A smattering of unreleased tracks and notes from the original quartet nicely flesh out the retrospective. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Talking Heads Career Celebrated On 2CD Set
Few groups merged the disposable bubblegum pop of the Ohio Express with the hypnotic dance-funk of the Ohio Players. Talking Heads lead singer/ writer/guitarist David Byrne, who in the liner notes ranked the Jackson 5's "Get It Together" with the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper," saw New Wave as a synthesis of those styles. The Talking Heads, with cryptic lyrics and art-rock presentation, led that sound, and became one of the most influential bands of the last 20 years.

"Sand In The Vaseline" chronicles their career. Drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth studied 70s funk albums like textbooks, giving it right back to George Clinton in rave-ups like "Wild, Wild Life," "Burning Down The House," and the hits from 1985's "Little Creatures." ("And She Was," "Stay Up Late").

Byrne's lyrics were often misunderstood; evangelical Christians bristled over his vision of heaven as "where nothing ever happens." (Wait 'till they read his liner notes on "Take Me To The River.")But his stories often shifted from dark ("Life During Wartime," "Psycho Killer," unleashed during 1977's Summer of Sam) to whimsical ("Nothin' But Flowers").

Not every experiment is successful ("Love For Sale" falls flat; Frantz found "City of Angels" "relaxing." You'll find it boring). But all of it intrigues, and hearing it again reminds you of rock and rap artists today influenced by the Heads, payback for the group's own roots. In her portion of the liner notes, Weymouth thanks her bandmates for "never, ever, being boring.") With rare exceptions, she was correct, and "Sand In The Vaseline" is highly musical, compelling proof. Recommended.

A very good overview of a seminal American group
The first (and not the last) posthumous Talking Heads release is a great overview of the band. This and 'Stop Making Sense' provide an excellent scope of the Heads' repertoire. Including hits suchas 'Psycho Killer,' 'Once In A Lifetime,' and 'Burning Down The House,' as well as a few unreleased songs. This is a great place for neophytes to start or seasoned Heads experts to collect. The second disc, however is slightly spotty (their last few albums weren't GREAT material, but still deserve recognition). If this is your first Talking Heads purchase, don't let it be your last...check out their albums, mainly their 1977-1984 material ('77,' 'More Songs About Buildings and Food,' 'Fear Of Music,' 'Remain In Light,' 'Speaking In Tongues').

What happened to real music?
So, I guess you would say I'm a jerk for saying this but what happened to music? I wasn't alive during the 80's and I have grown up with the "music" of the 90s and early 2000s. I don't really listen to it anymore because I have discovered that this is around. Honestly, find me a rap cd that has the contingency of "And she was", "Burning down the house", "Psycho Killer", or their cover of "Take me to the river". The talking heads are amazing. Their instruments sound GOOD together, not just like a heavy metal bang. Oh, and have you noticed there's actually a tune to the song, making it possible to whistle it? These two cds cover just about every category of loudness, some uprising, some moderate, and some that lull you to sleep. This is completely amazing that this one band is able to create such a beautiful, yes beautiful, mix of noise. do yourself a favor and buy this cd to save music!

Da Peace Dog hasn't got a clue
Well, Da Peace Dog gave me a splintering headache. He sounds like he never got past the second grade with his unnecessary point of David Byrne's brain. This collection of songs is great! I think it is a great retrospective from the nascent years of the Heads until they disbanded. Although, I would have liked to see "Pulled Up" from '77 on the disc, but it's not there. '77 is a greatest hits on it's own. This music is classic and colorful in it's art rock form. David Byrne's Rei Momo and Uh-Oh are my favorite solo albums. Amazing work. Unique. Groovy. Experimental. Solid.

The guy singing is kind of a twerp
Despite his nerdy appearance, David Byrne has a good sense of music and a broad-based knowledge of music diversity around the world. I base that on some of his geeky apperances he blessed us with as host on some lame PBS music session show a few years back that played at midnight on Saturdays. Anyway, I haven't heard all the cuts off this record album cd offering from the Talking Heads, but I'm betting a lot of it is pretty intellectual-sounding, which right away keeps me out of the loop. I may not be as bright as David "the nerd" Byrne, but I know a good guitar riff when I hear one, and these guys couldn't write a decent riff with hand-written instructions from Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets. So anyway, I guess we're all doomed to listen to this new-wave garbage for the rest of our lives, as critics praise it and fans of true rock abhor it.

Oh well, for every cool Van Halen I suppose we must also endure the wimp rockers of the world, like the Talking Heads. Hey, by the way, is Roth getting back together with his old mates? I heard the "Halen Reunited" tour was supposed to be in full swing soon. Keep me updated, and thanks for your time on this message board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Everything the peace and love vibe of the '60s wasn't the Stooges 1969 debut record was: dangerous, violent, chaotic, mean-spirited, and sex crazed. Iggy Pop's monotone birthday lament, "1969" ("War across the U.S.A. / Another year for me and you / Another year with nothing to do"), pretty much sums up the band's coldly disaffected outlook. Producer and Velvet Underground second banana John Cale lends the proceedings an appropriately ominous feel, although his attempt to transform the Stooges into V.U. clones on the 10-minute-plus "All Fall Down" is the band's weakest studio moment. But Iggy Pop and company more than make up for that misstep with the mind-numbingly ugly-and-great "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and the distortion-drenched "Real Cool Time." --Percy Keegan ... Read more

Reviews (45)

4.5 stars - Awesome album
The Stooges (1969.) Stooges' first album.

While the latter half of the sixties was drenched with nothing but happy, pop-oriented tunes, the latter half of the decade brought something entirely new onto the table. It was in this era that hard rock as we know it was brought to life. The earliest traces of punk rock date back to this period. Although the MC5 was the most popular of the "proto-punk" bands, another fairly popular one was a band called the Stooges, a band that the MC5 once referred to as their "little brother" band. The band featured Iggy Stooge (later and better known as Iggy Pop) on lead vocals, Ron Asheton on guitar, Dave Alexander on bass, and Scott Asheton on drums. On the band's 1969 debut, the boys set out to start a musical revolution. Did they succeed? Read on for my review of the album.

This is where it all began for the Stooges, and for the most part, this is an excellent debut. The band's sound combines elements of the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the MC5 - and this makes for a damn fine listening experience. The opening track, 1969, sounds very similar to the Who classic My Generation. Of course, the band manages to do their own thing with the sound. Up next is another Stooges classic, I Wanna Be Your Dog. This is another pretty cool hard rocker, but I think the band could have done without the jingling bell in the background. Oh well, no complaints. The lengthy We Will Fall comes next - a track that exceeds ten minutes! It's not like punk-style bands to create songs that are this long, but it's still a decent song. It's not as good as some of the other songs on the album, but it's good overall. As the album progresses, the band manages to serve up several more excellent rockers. There aren't any weak tracks on this album, but some of the tracks are certainly stronger than others. What more can be said? This is a very good debut album.

THIS TEXT REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE ELEKTRA RECORDS CD REISSUE OF THE ALBUM FROM THE LATE EIGHTIES/EARLY NINETIES. The first reissue of the album is the only one that is readily available in America at this time, and the one that has been produced ever since. This is a good reissue in that it improves the sound quality of the original version of the album, and in that it adds a brief essay about the band (a pretty interesting read, actually.) I wish they would reissue the album, though. This current issue is becoming more difficult to find, and some bonus tracks would be pretty cool.

In the end, the first Stooges album is a damn fine one. The band hadn't quite decided on the direction they wanted to take with their music yet, but they did manage to create a damn fine album nonetheless. If you're a fan of classic hard rock or classic punk, or you want to see what Iggy Pop sounded like before he went mainstream, check out this album. You're bound to be impressed.

Birthplace of punk
Before Nirvana, before the Misfits, before the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and the rest of the so-called first wave of punk rock, the Stooges originally used thrashy rock and roll to epitomize average young angst. It not an overestimation to say that every distressed grunge rocker, raging metal head and disenfranchised punk can trace his or her roots back to the Stooges' eponymous debut, an album that was woefully misplaced in the idealistic, flower power era. With the exception of the faulty artrork endeavor, "We Will Fall," every moment of the 1969 LP surges with the rage of pent-up, unruly youngsters. Lead singer, Iggy Pop, takes the role of a ...everyman, tunelessly wailing about awkward sex drive ("Not Right" "Real Cool Time"), youthful apathy ("No Fun," the pounding, perfect anthem "1969") and misplaced passion ("Ann" "I Wanna Be Your Dog," which is likely the most frighteningly forceful song of devotion ever recorded). The band backs his idiosyncratic frenzy with thumping drumbeats; sling-shotting, quasi-psychedelic guitar riffs and a generally, delightfully rough sound. This was an approach and a sound so revolutionary that it reverberated through the Woodstock era, inspired the countless disenfranchised youths who became the punk movement in the mid-seventies and continues to echo today. True, bitter teens and twenty-somethings would have likely used music as an outlet even without the Stooges. But Iggy and company should be accredited for founding the style by which so many of them did.

KILLER Acid Rock
This was the stuff we tripped to. Absolutely the best jams. If you were there in 69, you know. If you weren't there, you missed it and this album will give you a chance to get the flavor. 1969 was the peak and Iggy was at the extreme end of it. I have bought this album three times over the last 35 years. I love every song. No Fun... Asheton is at his garage best. 1969... Oh my and a ooh hoo! We Will Fall... Trip music extraordinaire. I Just Wanna Be Your Dog... The bells just keep ringing. And all the others... each with its own magic. Wow do I love this album!! I'll have them playing these songs at my funeral.

The Definitive Rock Album
Remember the Sex Pistols debut, Nevermind The Bullocks, Here's The Sex Pistols? Well, this onecould be called Never Mind The Ramones Here's The Stooges! This album is the first real punk record. It takes the rough guitars of proto-punks like The Troggs and makes them harder. Simple melodies, great guitar, it's what defines rock. Ron Asheton is the best guitarist ever (okay, maybe Hendrix beats him a LITTLE)

"1969" opens the album with a look at the year. Then it crashes into a hard and strong guitar solo!
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" screams with angry distorted guitar and Iggy sounds pretty riled up! More great guitar at the closing.
"We Will Fall" is the only song here nobody seems to like. Actually, I think is a good song. it's eerie and mencacing. Iggy sets the perfect pace. The fiddle at the end may seem just a tad to artsy and refined for a hard rock group, but it too has an eerie feel (supposedly the producer wanted them to do a Velvet Underground type number since he had once worked with them).
"No Fun" has a....well, fun tune! Catchy little rocker.
"Real Cool Time" starts off with a mechanical sounding guitar and builds weith slow angry tension. Then it bursts with hard guitar fury!
"Anne" starts off quiet and slow, yet still menacing. Then Iggy sceams "I loooove yooooooo!" and the fury starts over again.
"Not Right" is the best song. Fast paced and well sung (even if the lyrics are simple) it features yet ANOTHER guitar solo at the end, in fact one of the best solos ever!
"Little Doll" closes the album with the lines "c'mon shake" building it up another slow and angry rock jam! Great way to end it!
Great album, you need to get it. So go get it NOW! This is what rock is all about!

An all time punk classic.....
If your one of those people who didnt know that punk existed prior to the ramones untill now, then the first thing to do is to get "Kick out the jams" by MC5. The next thing you must do is buy this impressive debut from the stooges. MC5 were louder, angrier and politically minded, but the stooges made better music.

There is only one bad song on this album...yep, its the much hated "we will fall". The rest is pure gold. The best here is really 1969 and no fun, but its all good. As hard as it might be to believe, this is not their best album! Fun House and Raw power are both better than this, but that doesnt mean that this isnt a masterpiece, because it is. ... Read more

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The final album by the Clash's original Strummer/Jones incarnation is also their most inconsistent. There were musical and ideological rifts developing within the band, and it shows: the experimentation is almost as wild as Sandanista!'s (and the biggest experiment is heading away from their punk shiftiness and into a commercial rock sound), but they seem to be enjoying it less. The band's stabs at funk and poetry aren't terribly successful, but it all came together for two massive hits: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" has the biggest, stupidest, most perfect riff this side of "Louie Louie," and "Rock the Casbah" pulls the band's politics, fine-honed sarcasm, and saw-toothed guitar sound into the service of a dance-floor beat. --Douglas Wolk ... Read more

Reviews (75)

ready for combat
combat rock is one of those albums that gets alot of heat for becoming the record that makes a band a sell-out.sure should i stay and rock the casbah are their two most well known songs but who cares?this has taken alot away from combat rock and it's very sad.combat rock may not be the clash's best album but it does have it's really good moments.straight to hell has to be the greatest song the clash have ever done.joe's words are so emotional and powerful in this song you'll forget that this band used to be a punk band.while the album doen't really contain any punk songs the lyrics are punk enough and the best example of that might be the opening song know your rights.ghetto defendent is another song that has some powerful lyrics and it features writer allen ginsberg.sean flynn has almost the same ammount of emotion as straight to hell does and it's also one of the clash's best songs.inoculated city is another great song on the album and mainly because of the lyrics.the whole album has an apocalypse now! feel to it.don't listen to the people who say it's a bad album because of the lack of punk and don't let the people say it sucks cause it's not all like the two singles.combat rock is a good album.-rancidpunx

Ghetto defendant/It is heroin pity...
Critics like to talk about The Clash "selling out" with this album, but aside from the singles SISOSIG? and Rock the Casbah, there's very little here that sounds even remotely commercial. Nearly all the songs are good. Know Your Rights is a little too obvious, and isn't really a song, but, that's the only glaring weakness, and even that could be worse. There's my favorite Clash song ever, Ghetto Defendant, which is strange and surreal, but also very gritty, in a way. And of course it features Allen Ginsburg guest vocalling. Sean Flynn, Inoculated City, and Death is a Star are along similar lines, if not quite as strong. Then there's Car Jamming, which, like a number of songs here, is kind of a political stream of consciousness, and works out well. Straight to Hell and Overpowered by Funk are also highlights. And let's face it, the singles are pretty good too. All in all, if you like the Clash, you need this album. It may be somewhat less challenging than their earlier work, but it isn't compromised at all.

Big Letdown After A Creative Peak
London Callimg and Sandinista showed The Clash developing from their initial punk beginnings to a great studio band making excellent albums with much depth. The rot set in with Combat Rock, which for all purposes really is the last true Clash album(Cut The Crap can be dismissed altogether). This album is nothing more than two hit singles sandwhiched between a bunch of filler that sounds like the worst moments of Sandinista, plus two pretty decent songs "Know Your Rights" and "Straight To Hell".I have it because it's The Clash, but hardly their best.

the Clash's worst!
I bought most of the Clash's albums upon their original release (including this one). Their music continually evolved, however, that evolution took a wrong turn with this album. It wasn't inventive like London Calling (yes you whipper snappers, nothing like it had been put out till then - we all realize that a lot of stuff since then has borrowed that sound) or experimental like Sandinista. Quite frankly, it's just a dumb album. I gave it two stars because it was the Clash, anyone else would have warranted less.

Half good, half bad
Mind you, I'm not a huge Clash fan...

A lot of people call this the Clash's sellout album. The production is more 80s, there are lots of synthesizers and some catchy, poppy songs. It's also known as a bit of a muddled up record. For me, listening to it is definitely a mixed bag.

The first half of the album isn't that bad. Some of it's pretty clever. I actually like "Know Your Rights", unlike a lot of people. It's got some cool guitar effects, noises and the like, and with his sneering voice and confrontational lyrics, Joe Strummer paints a paranoid picture regarding the state of human rights. "Car Jamming" has got a great rhythm by drummer Topper Headon, and the echo on the harmonies gives the song a cluttered up feel, a lot like a car jam. "Should I Stay or Should I Go", with the blaring guitar, thick British accent singing and relationship issues would probably be the Clash's catchiest track if it wasn't for "Rock the Casbah". It's rare to find a fun political song, especially one as catchy as this. With it's dancable rhythms, goofy sound effects, and Joe's raw, sarcastic lyrics, it's my favourite track on the album, sellout or not! "Red Angel Dragnet" an angular, spoken word piece about crime in New York city, and I think is one of the Clash's best spoken word songs. They have a lot of fun with it (gotta love the accents in it), the rhythms are catchy, and they get the message across. The message is also heard loud and clear on the moody, atmospheric "Straight to Hell", the sound effects and synthesizers adding to the gloom. Once again, great rhythm work by Topper Headon!

It's a bit downhill from here on though...

"Overpowered By Funk" hasn't aged well, I guess. I think it's probably the most annoying song. Disco beats, big cheesy synths, overuse of the word "funk", and a cameo by a very slow rapper. Only in the 1980s... "Sean Flynn", with it's saxophone, flute and 1980s sonic trickery seems to be more about atmosphere than anything else, and I didn't think it was very interesting. "Ghetto Defendant" features Allen Ginsburg, but they don't use his weathered, throaty voice very well. They just have him spouting words rhyming with "metropolis" in front of a repetitive melody that sounds a lot like lift music. Bit of a shame. Songs like "Atom Tan" and "Innoculated City" sound all right, but it sounds a bit like Joe and the boys are just going through the motions a bit. Getting a bit sick of each other and all that. "Death is a Star" is an intimate, odd spoken word piece that starts off in a storytelling style then bends itself into a folky ballad. There's sound effects of crickets and some piano too, quite good piano playing for a punk band, actually. I know Joe's singing is a little rough around the edges at the best of times, which is what he's known for, but here he tries to sound delicate, which he doesn't quite pull off as well.

If you want to hear what 1980s Clash was like, I'd say this is the album to get first, rather than "Sandista!" or "Cut the Crap". If you're only just getting into the Clash, it might be better to start with "London Calling". ... Read more

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England's Faces (1970-1975) wound up playing stadiums, but they always had a compact, pub-band feel. They were proud boozers, tuning up wasn't a major obsession, and Rod Stewart(in pre-disco prime) always sounded like he'd sung himself hoarse the night before. They kept the mood light, but ensemble work was deceptively tight, thanks to drummer Kenney Jones (later Keith Moon's replacement in the Who) and guitarist Ron Wood (post-Jeff Beck, pre-Stones), who'd switch between raunchy lead and raunchy rhythm roles between beats. Wood's blues-drenched slide work snuffed most of his rock competition, and helped define the band's wiry sound. But Faces offered more than teapot blues. Tuneful bassist Ronnie Lane's sweet voice and countryish melodies--think "Ooh La La," revived as the movie Rushmore's closing theme--both lightened and deepened the texture. Keyboardist Ian McLagan picked and sequenced 67 tracks, programming them out of chronological order, to flow like concert sets. Included are abundant rarities--out-takes, b-sides, rehearsals, BBC-broadcast excerpts--including live takes of songs Faces recorded under Stewart's name, like "Gasoline Alley" and "Maggie May." (A few tunes are heard in live and studio versions.) It's a very good selection of music that wears remarkably well. --Kevin Whitehead ... Read more

Reviews (50)

The Curse Is Anything But...
Going into the release of "The Curse," I like many Atreyu fans were worried about what was to come. "Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses" was an absolutely amazing album; an almost perfect balance between blistering metal, stomping hardcore, and flourishes of melody strewn throughout. There was a raw emotion captured on the album that few bands are able to capture, especially on a debut record. With the increased popularity the release brought the band, I know I was not the only one worried about what direction the band would take, especially being on a label which predominately features abnds I feared Atreyu would become all too similar. Now that "The Curse" is finally released, I can rest a little easier.

First off, one must understand this album is not "Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses." However, this disc is amazing in its own right, with the band building upon what worked in the past. The most noticeable change is that the melody is more predominant this time around with far more clean vocals thrown in. Not only are these melodious sections more numerous, but the delivery has improved tenfold. At times Brandon Saller's (the drummer who handles the majority of the clean vocals for the band) voice is haunting, a quality that probably couldn't even be forseen on the last album. However, don't think that Atreyu is becoming soft, as there is still plenty of the face-peeling riffage and breakdowns that were featured in the first album. This time around, there is just much more of a balance between the two dynamics this time and the result only increases the power of the songs.

The album is a bit more accessible, but I'm not going to say it really has a comercial touch; this album certainly isn't going to cause Atreyu to become the darlings of MTV anytime soon. What it might do is grab some radio airtime on most hard rock/metal stations and probably have a few more people take notice. Atreyu has also managed to pull off a rare feat on the disc. While the album defintely has a more accessible sound, the band has somehow managed to bring more musicanship and creativity to the table. Atreyu's guitar work continues to push the limits utilizing tapping technique, harmony lines, and more. The bass seems a bit tighter on this one (perhaps to be attributed to their new bassist, but probably more a result of better recording) and the drums continue to drive the music. The songs themselves have also expanded quite a bit as well. One complaint about the first album was that the songs often sounded too similar. While this may still be said about this album, Atreyu has defintely added some new keys and even changes keys, as demonstrated towards the end of "The Crimson." It may not seem like much, but the smallest thing can improve a band greatly. There is still a little work to be done in this area, but the fact that they took steps to improve only tells me that they are headed in the right direction.

Like the last album, there really isn't a bad track on the CD, but I see a few standouts. The one catching everyone's attention is "Bleeding Mascara," a song that features a chorus with a swing-feel and a very inventive solo - this is defintely the "Holy crap" moment for guitarists as the duel guitar licks at the end of "Living Each Day Like You're Already Dead" was on the previous album. "This Flesh A Tomb" is proving to be one of the more underrated tracks on the album, but it is one of the songs that features Atreyu experimenting with new keys. It defintely is one of the less traditional Atreyu songs, but it really is a powerful song. Two of the strongest and most emotional songs may lie in the middle of the album in "The Crimson" and "The Rememberance Ballad." The former features arguably the best Atreyu lyrics to date, a seeming ode to unconditional love. The latter is a slower, yet soaring song that really features how much the clean vocals have improved on this one. The closing track is not quite as strong as "Lip Gloss and Black" on the previous album, but features the same elements, closing with a similar anthem of fighting for what is good in the world.

Overall, this is a great disc and I dare say that over time, many people are going to find themselves enjoying it more than "Sucide Notes and Butterfly Kisses." I know that every listen of the album so far that I have experienced has drawn me more into this masterpiece that Atreyu has created and it comes closer to reaching my love of the first. Perhaps what is more alarming is that this is only Atreyu's second major-label album and they have already surpassed bands with three times as many albums. Assuming their artistic vision is not comprimised in future releases, it is almost scary to think about the levels the band is going to reach. But for now, "The Curse" is the antithesis of Atreyu's musical presence; this album and the band are both truly a gift.

Good, but bad
I am not a longtime atreyu fan, so I won't act like it. But this one is not nearly as powerful as Suicide Notes is. Sure, the music is more intricate and the production is better (Which in my opinion makes it sound weaker), but there seems to be a less sincere feeling about the album lyrically. The screaming is better sounding on this one, but there also is WAY more singing which sounds way too fake. I dunno, Suicide Notes had better hooks and breakdowns and it had a raw sound to it that I personally dig. I really like the song "you eclipsed by me", though. It is a standout. Bottom line is that this sounds MTV friendly and not as powerful as the last. Yes, I know it is cliche, but it sounds mainstream. And yes, I don't like mainstream music. Listen to it before you buy it. : )

the cover gave me a boner
that girl is hot. i like goth and vampyre chicks. on to the album, which is a great album. any differences from the last? any progression? eh, slightly. not too much. they done somehwat tweaked their sound, without total change. it's a bit more clean, a bit more sharp, a bit better. generally nothing sadistically noticeable. they stick with the same style. of course, i am a lyrics man, so i have to rant. the lyrics are amazing, very deep and thought-provoking. at times it can seem simple because their theme never changes. but it is great. just buy the damn cd this time. i didn't because christian paid for it and thinks im paying him back!!! (STALKER) anyways, this album is good. not too heavy, not too light. perfect.

I don't agree with Ms. I'm to alternative for everything
I think this CD is just as good if not better than Suicide notes...the production is far better, and the songs are put together way better as well, I guess I am just another angst-ridden 20-something that secretly wathches MTV.....Dousche!

crap
Who else could like this crap known as Atreyu but frumpy girls who look like boys and skeleton-thin boys who look like girls? Just because it doesn't sound like Britney or Puddle of Mudd doesn't mean it isn't uninspired generic garbage. This band is not talented nor original. Their songs and image were probably conceived by middle-aged record executives who are trying to appeal to angsty, depressed teens who secretly watch MTV and shop at Hot Topic for ugly black clothing. The music is poorly written and executed. The vocalist needs to learn how to sing before he starts belting it out like he's Burt Bacharach as well as learn to scream because he sounds about as tough as a little girl.

If the only reason you listen to this band is because someone told you it's cool (and that means you considering thats the only way anyone could possibly like this uninspired drivel) just realize that people who listen to REAL metal and hardcore are still laughing at you because you're still nothing more than a pseudo-pretentious loser with horrible taste in music AND fashion. Take my advice and drop the black hair dye and studded belts because you'll never be anything but a fake until you start thinking for yourself.

When this metalcore fad is over in a few months you'll be stuck with nothing but a terrible cd collection, a wardrobe perfect for the funeral of a suicide victim, overstretched, gaping holes in your ears and cheesy star tattoos on your pimply skin.

Oh and in the meantime, stop saying you're an individual and "different" and "misunderstood" when you look and sound identical to everyone else in your stupid little, irrelevent scene. ... Read more

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While comparisons to nerd-rock dandies Weezer are probably inevitable for the fabulously named All-American Rejects, discerning listeners will note that where the cheeky lyrics about painfully awkward love end, the group's rhythmic force picks up, positioning the Oklahoma crew more as a geeky Green Day than the above-named preppy pop dabblers. No shame in that--on their major label debut, the All-American Rejects marry punk and pop with a clear sense of purpose and no particular loyalty to either form, cherry-picking the best of each and arriving at a spiky, effervescent middle ground. Singer Tyson Ritter is especially convincing in his role as hapless lover. But on tracks like the muscular "Too Far Gone" and the vaguely orchestral "The Last Song," Ritter's comrades drive the whole shebang home with instrumental freight. And you'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to find yourself echoing the sing-singy strains of "Swing Swing" and "My Paper Heart." Fans of ironic pop--Box Car Racer, Fountains of Wayne, and their ilk--get crackin'. --Kim Hughes ... Read more

Reviews (600)

definitely not rejects
i first heard "swing, swing" on mainstream radio, and well, who could forget such a catchy tune? not quite pop, not quite rock. i loved its multi-facetedness (it's not a word is it?). i soon found out that the masterminds behind the song were the All- American Rejects, and i fell in love. the lyrics, the beats, the instrumentals, the singable tunes (i usually don't go for music you can't sing to), everything. i listened to every song on the CD, and they're every bit as good as "swing, swing", though maybe not as catchy. my favorites are "my paper heart" (the awesome lyrics: "please just don't play with me, my paper heart will bleed; this wait for destiny won't do, be with me, please i beseech you") and "your star" (again, wonderful lyrics, but i like it because of the addition of keyboard and the awesome bass, especially in the intro, it's definitely not timidly standing in the background as with other bands' music.) to fully appreciate the songs, you have to pay attention to the details, and if you know a thing or two about playing music, you'll certainly realize what geniuses Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler are. (not to mention the eye candy :)

Yay for the rejects!
About 2 or 3 months ago my close friend told me about this "sweet new band" that he was listening to and how he already knew that he was getting their cd for christmas. I didnt really think much of it after he said they fell into the "emo" category...i dont care much for that genre. All the bands seem to sound the same and they sing about how mean girls are and blah blah blah.

But a couple weeks ago i saw their music video on TV, made the connection that they were the band my friend loved, and was greatly impressed with the vocals as well as the instruments, they sounded so edgy and like nothing that i've heard for a while. They really have a sound all their own.

From that day on that one song was stuck in my head for eternity...i knew i had to buy the cd. And boy am i glad that i did so. Every song sounds different from the next, and that's how it should be! And it seems that The All-American Rejects cd is in rotation in my cd player all the time. They're just grand. But don't take my word for it find out for yourself !

FABULOUS
This is a great cd...I may even be a little in love with it. It takes a few times listening to it though, so don't give up on it if you didn't like it the first listen through.

The All-American Rejects
Now that emo has truly and irrevocably gone mainstream, fans have two choices: 1) Whine about it online and dismiss all major-label releases as hypocritical sellouts like punker-than-thou elitists; or 2) Accept it, move on, and judge the albums on their own merits.

If you prefer 1), avoid this debut album from The All-American Rejects.

If, however, you endorse 2), you could do worse than these Oklahoma youngsters.

On the one hand they're accessible, with the big hooks, bittersweet melodies, catchy choruses and plaintive vocals of a poppier Dashboard Confessional, Get Up Kids or Jimmy Eat World. On the other, they're slightly innovative, incorporating squishy synth effects and squirrely beatboxes into their sound to separate them from the backpack pack.

Sure, they aren't exactly reinventing the wheel here -- but they aren't the rejects they paint themselves as.

a $13 dollar cup coaster
wow........what a deal $13 for a fancy coaster to put your drink on ... Read more

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Fugazi fans already know that this is the original gospel according to Ian MacKaye. This Washington, D.C., quartet hit harder, faster, and franker than just about anybody--and were willing to see through their own bull as quickly as anyone else's. MacKaye manages to be charismatic and confrontational at the same time: tossing brilliant, genuinely funny asides into his serious-as-a- heart-attack lyrics. Meanwhile, the band, led by Lyle Preslar's staggering guitar attack, pushes MacKaye on with the tightest, most razor-sharp sound in all of hardcore. Nothing in the punk pantheon can come close to "In My Eyes," "Out of Step," or "Salad Days." Absolutely essential. --Michael Ruby ... Read more

Reviews (151)

It's been said, but this is the BEST!!!
The first time i listened to Minor Threat, frankly, I didn't like it. The music was too fast and it was devoid of any melody(that i heard at the time). Ian's vocals were screamed so fast and unintelligibly, that it turned me off at first. At the time I was listening to Rancid, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols. I bought the Blue Minor Threat tape, thinking it would be along those lines. It wasn't. But there was something infectious about the music that kept me coming back for more. I didn't know what straight edge meant at the time,(i thought it was some reference to cocaine) and I wan't sure what the hell Ian was talking about. Then I started analyzing the lyrics. They cut with such razor sharp poingancy and heartfelt honesty that the music started to make my stomach churn. I finally got it. This music blew away my old punk records. Minor Threat presented rage in an honest and beautiful way, whereas the Sex Pistols were just out to shock people. Musically these guys were tighter than 95 percent of the hardcore bands of their day, and the music stands up. Ian's lyrics stand as some of the best, dare I say it, "rock" lyrics of all time. I can only imagine how revolutionary this band must have been when they came out, both musically and politically. All I know is that I can still put this record on in my room and roll around like an idiot, get all sweaty, and sing along, and love every second of it. This record transcends punk, hardcore, or any B.S. label like that. This music is timeless, and it WILL live forever, albeit, a little Out of Step...

Out of step with the world
"Amazing" is usually a really crappy word to use to describe albums. It's a word overused by high school freshmen to describe their Thursday albums. However, in this case, I can think of few other words to describe this record than "amazing".

In case you've been living under a rock, or watching a lot of MTV, Minor Threat is a Washington DC hardcore punk band from the mid 80s who never failed to create some awesome music. If you're an average radio-listening music fan, chances are, you don't like hardcore. This album could very well change that. This was my first true hardcore record and has since got me into bands such as Black Flag and the Bad Brains. At the time I got this, I was listening to mostly '77 punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, and Stiff Little Fingers. I got this record, popped it in my CD player, and proceeded to be beaten up. Compared to Minor Threat, the other punk bands I was listening to sounded like adult-contemporary. I was truly amazed at how much energy could be flowing through a band and its music at one time. I listened to the whole record in one sitting, and have since listened to it countless times. It simply never gets old. Before I heard this, I didn't believe that an album could be "life-changing". Well, this one is. Because of this album, I've gotten into so many bands (Black Flag, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Germs, et al) that I would have never heard of if I didn't buy this. Even though this is extremely hardcore, it occasionally takes some time to slow down and even employ (gasp!) some meoldy. Songs like "Cashing in" and "Think again" are good examples of this idea. They're a bit slower, less abrasive, and catchier than most of the songs on the record (which doesn't mean they don't rock HARD). Minor Threat is a kind of gateway to hardcore. Though they're not the BEST hardcore band (that honor would go to the Bad Brains), they're definitely the most accessible (and 2nd best). If you're completely new to hardcore, or if you're already in to it, this album is definitely worth your money. It's an absolute essential in any punk collection and if you don't have it, you don't know what you're missing.

OWN THIS CD IF YOU ARE INTO PUNK! PUNK THAT COUNTS
This is the definitive collection of any PUNK Music. Early 80's at the best. If there were only 5 bands to choose from from these days(the original days) it would be Minor Threat, The Dead Kennedy's, The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, and the Subhumans. The Ramones were awesome as well as the Clash
(but neither were really true Punk music).
Anyone saying this is ripoff music or anything else negative about this is a true loser who knows nothing about music.
This is the best Punk CD ever! EVER! Nothing touches this! Nothing! Ian McKaye is a true straight edge god. The best Punk to come from America(with the DK's following in second). If you only own one Punk CD this is it. truly amazing music that transcends any time or age barrier. Hard, exciting, brutal, real, confident, pure, traditional, angry, true, the best!

Screw anyone who says this new garbage is good music(blink 182, Good Charlotte, Offspring, or whatever other crap that exists today). This is it. the best. Own it or suffer the consequences of being a total loser!

I love this CD and I loved it when i first owned it on cassette in 1986. All posers must die!!(...)

Good so far...
Okay, let me admit it upfront: I am a fan of Blink-182, Green Day, and (gasp) Good Charlotte. However,I am not in denial; I know that what I am listening to is pop-rock, if that, and the above bands are in no way punk. But I can't totally have no taste in music if I loved this CD, can I? Knowing my mother would object to the purchase of it, I instead burned it from my father who has some of the same taste in music as I do (some meaning he doesn't like the pop bands but he likes Bad Religion and all that, blah blah blah) and I loved it. The songs were intelligent and lyrical yet had that good guitar sound. There were two or three songs that I found a little strong for me but what can I say? I'm not a hardcore punk; I'm a curious girl who happens to have just found a new band to love.

ANYONE WHO VOTED LOWER THAN FIVE SHOULD DIE
This is quite possibly one of the greatest punk albums ever. Stop reading this and buy it! ... Read more

Amazon.com

There's only one word that comes immediately to mind when describing Anberlin's Never Take Friendship Personal release. The word? Amazing. This is one of those truly remarkable releases that is so refreshing, so defining, and so well done, you will feel a need to let every know about it. Much like Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown and D.C. Talk's Jesus Freak, Anberlin's second release captures the musical styles of the day but recasts them in a unique and exciting way. Much credit up front should go to producer Aaron Sprinkle, who never lets the music overshadow Steven Christian's emotive alto vocals. Joseph Milligan's guitar work is nothing short of phenomenal and propels such blistering tracks like "Paperthin Hymn," "Runaways," and "Feel Good Drag." Let's not forget the rock-steady rhythm from drummer Nathan Young and bassist Deon Rexroat that continually lays down a concrete foundation. Also worthy of note is the intelligent songwriting that prevails throughout the release, showing that Christian-based bands don't always check their brains at the studio door. Moody at times, exhilarating at others, this is a giant leap forward for a relative newcomer in Christian music. It's also a release worthy of widespread acclaim and a breath of fresh air in a genre that is sadly growing all too predictable. --Michael Lyttle ... Read more

Reviews (78)

please but tis cd!!!!!
This is the most popular band exaling from tooth and nail. And it shows becuase there music is outstanding

Thank goodness they still rock!
I'll admit it. I was worried. I loved Anberlin's first CD, and I wasn't sure they could do it again. They could, and did. The sound is still pretty much the same, not much musical maturation, but frankly, I don't care. Why mess with a proven formula. The songs are all different enough to please me.

totally underatted
This refreshing release from the so called "christian" label is outstanding. Beautiful melodies in stationary, stationary will just make you fall in love w/ this. Not to mention the little alternative style in dance dance christa paffgen. If it was a shorter song i would play it on a popular station thats plays yellowcard and all that kind of stuff. Definetly worth buying and they should be on the map but maybe they'll break the line with a future realease!

also taking back sunday fans look to see if anberlin and tbs are in concert close to youre area.

Some real shining songs, and some fillers to finish.
"Amsterdam" and the title track are well-written songs that make this album hard to pass by. Everything is well done here, but it, like so many other albums, is nothing groundbreaking... the aforementioned stand-out songs are beautiful, but some of the songs on the album sound like they were written just to fill a quota for song numbers. i would say that 75% of the songs on this album are great, but you will be left with a 25% that seems dull and less interesting.

breathtaking
anberlin is back and better than ever. this is a great sophmore release. amazingly beautiful vocals, and different styles make each song individually great. their singer has one of the best voices ive ever heard. if you like the non-whiny emo like armor for sleep or new hopesfall, get this. you wont let it out of your cd player ... Read more

Amazon.com

When Devo's debut album came out in 1978, nobody knew what to make of the mutant new-wave quintet from Akron, Ohio. With Brian Eno's skillful production, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Jerry and Bob Casale, and Alan Myers emerged fully formed and outrageous with their razor-sharp social commentary and exhibition of subversive media savvy.Beyond their industrial uniforms and pseudo-devolved demeanor, Devo also happened to be a rocking little band. Classic rave-outs like "Mongoloid," "Jocko Homo," and "Uncontrollable Urge" illustrate the band's perky-jerky intensity. On their inimitable cover of the Rolling Stones' youth anthem, "Satisfaction," Devo's avant-garde robot funk takes the song to a new level of alienation and discontent. While the band went on to greater fame, this was the only album they made that truly mattered. --Mitch Meyers ... Read more

Reviews (41)

The Truth About DE-EVOLUTION
1978 was the height of the disco craze, with millions of Americans shaking their respective bootey's to such homogenized drivel as "Disco Duck." But alas, out of Akron OH came five Kent State neo-nerd types who with this one album basically called the bluff of a popular culture that was being force-fed to millions of unsuspecting spuds everywhere. Devo introduced "The sound of things falling apart," or devolution as their satiric theory as to why our "culture" seemed to be regressing backwards.

With incredible production by Brian Eno, Q: Are We Not Men/A: We Are Devo! provides a uniquely clever look at popular culture via 1978's crass commercialism that truly doesn't take itself too seriously.

With the tonge in cheek sentimentalism of "Come Back Jonie," to the over the top outrage of "Gut Feeling/Slap 'Yo Mammy," Devo rocks with a hypnotic urgency that made the New Wave movement so much fun. The listener felt that he/she was privy to someting that not everyone else new about. Also includeded is Devo's interpetation of The Stones' classic,"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and of course their unofficial theme song "Jocko Homo." But what makes this CD so timeless is that Devo could rock! The runaway punk of "Uncontrolable Urge" and the energy-chocked guitar chaos of "Too Much Parinoia," make this stand up even two decades later. This album was more than a clever concept, it delivers the goods.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
At this point in their career, Devo's music was a strange combination of 1950's rock-and-roll with shouted, screamed lyrics about their peculiar, Church of the Subgenius-esque theory of 'De-Evolution', mixed in with a bit of punk and new wave. Probably their best album, this strikes a fine balance between being genuinely bizarre, and also being fun to listen to. Their later music, although sporadically brilliant, tended to become a bit like the B-52s, but with synthesisers. 'Q', on the other hand, is constantly interesting, containing one of two bizarre covers of the Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction' (against their wishes, the Residents had released a similarly detached, alienated version a few months previously) to be released in the late 70's, the early singles 'Jocko Homo' and 'Mongoloid', and a clutch of catchy / disturbing rock-and-roll. Brian Eno's production is almost transparent, and makes you wonder whether he just turned up and switched the tape machines on. The album was also released as a picture disc, and the original cover was different to the one above, featuring an alarmed-looking man who appeared to have dropped a camera.

Great performance by robotic intelligence
OOooh ,yeah! Uncontrollable urge is surging.Every time I listen to this CD,I cannot help giggling over those guys who have fire inside them with all their might.They severely criticize and sing abot the modern civilization and corruption of our society.
That is, they have a cool perspective towards our way of living.
The sound they use is more punkish and violent and more intelligent with a distorted and twisted edge.They always whip our ears with their avant-garde taste futuristic sound texture.

No comparison!
O.K. I'd like to start off by pointing out that this record was the end result of DEVO's long and complicated de-evolution from multi-media project to major label "pop" band. The reviewer that wrote something about DEVO ripping off some idiotic Euro-dweebs has no idea that almost all of the songs on this perfect album were being developed since 1974-75. Lookie here spud, DEVO were WAY head of "new wave", "electro" or whatever pretentious label you wanna give it. Yeah, Kraftwerk were around before DEVO but man, those guys took themselves SO seriously! DEVO created a kind of glorious primitive futurism that is complex while being darkly funny. DEVO are part freak show, part futurist, part goon and 100% pure godhead. That said, "Are We Not Men" is a blistering manifesto and a great record.

THE BEST OF ALL 80's BANDS!
Except for They Might Be Giants, maybe.
I really like 80's music and listen to it a lot.
Now, pay attention.
This CD/tape/LP is NOTHING like those bands.
Spandau Ballet Is mellower
Human League is more punk and rockish.
Now DEVO, they SCREAM, they rap (just a little), they play rock, and sound nothing like them. And their album was actually released in 1978, not '76.
SO THERE!
NOw for my review.
Their debut album [NOT LIVE(as the title says)]is my favorite.
Their other albums are a 4 star to me.
This is entertaining through out the whole thing. It starts off with a rock song sounding nothing like other 80's bands.
Then there is a cover of Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones.
Sounds very different, and almost impossibly better.
Next are praying Hands and Space Junk which I like, and Mongoloid, although a little offensive, is one of their greatest hits, and I like it. (Ignore the booji boy version heard elsewhere) Jocko Homo, is not inappropriate if it sounds it.
It's a species in De-evolution they made up.(Like homo sapiens and homo erectus). Gut Feeling and Shrivel- up are good, but I can't understand why they aren't on the anthology.
Too Much Paranoias, I think, is about advertising. Smart lyrics and a good tune. The other two are just good Devo songs, nothing really to say about them. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This sophomore release by the Velvet Underground cofounder has long been hailed as one of the key touchstones of the punk and alternative eras that followed it. Reinforcing the literary adage to "write what you know," Reed paints an alternately detached/debauched portrait of the drag-and-drugs-infused underground of Warhol's New York, a place, time, and mindset so compelling it has largely overshadowed the rest of the singer-songwriter's mercurial career. That the album would also give Reed an unlikely Top 20 pop hit via the teasing, twisted sexuality of "Walk on the Wild Side" is but one of its deep, rewarding ironies. Indeed, as produced by David Bowie and guitarist and cohort Mick Ronson at the height of their own Ziggy Stardust fame, Reed's songs are cast in a seductive cabaret setting that's more Jacques Brel than Lower East Side. This 30th-anniversary edition features two unreleased acoustic demos ("Hangin' 'Round," "Perfect Day"), a vintage radio spot by announcer and word-jazz cult fave Ken Nordine, and a new illustrated booklet and perceptive essay by Michael Hill. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Lou's glam-rock classic
Over these eleven perfectly crafted tracks, Lou showed us various little panoramas of Andy Warhol and The Factory, transvestitism, New York's [homosexual] scene, urban decadence, [narcotics] use and more in a wonderful blend of humour and irony and in a brilliantly diverse musical setting. The guitar-driven hard rock of Hangin' Round and Vicious is balanced by the subdued power of the poetic Perfect Day and the imaginative arrangements of Walk On The Wild side and Goodnight Ladies. Transformer is a literate, intelligent and enduring statement of an era and is one of the few albums of the glam-rock movement that has survived with its artistic integrity intact and that still has something to say today. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced it with all the expertise they lent to the Ziggy Stardust album. But its varied styles, broader subject matter and feel of personal experience make it a better album than Ziggy Stardust. Unlike on most of Reed's other albums, there is great melodic variety too, and classic pop like the poignant Satellite of Love which by the way, is beautifully covered by Eurythmics on their Sweet Dreams video. It ought to have been as great a hit as Walk On The Wide Side! This most accessible album of Reed's was a deserved commercial success and spawned a million dreams.

Eccentric and Eclectic: A great Lou Reed starter kit.
I bought this album on the recommendation of a couple of my Lou Reed-fan friends, and now I believe that I'm a convert. I've heard Walk on the Wildside and Perfect Day before, and always loved them both. Perfect Day's contrasting lyrics and musical sound are fabulous. Walk on the Wildside is just one of those songs that you always hear on a classic rock station. It's a classic! The use of piano and keyboards throughout the whole album is really well orchestrated. It's rare to hear such wonderful use of piano in rock n'roll. If you're into that kind of sound, check out Perfect Day and Sattelite of Love. I was far from surprised to see that David Bowie is in the credits for production, song arrangements, and backing vocals. There is definitely Bowie-influence, particularly on Sattelite of Love and Wagon Wheel. The mixture of Lou Reed's distinctive vocals and lyrics with the Bowie sound is just enchanting. If you are into an eccentric, eclectic kind of rock n'roll, this is the album for you. If you're just starting to get into Lou Reed, this is also the album for you. I've owned this album for about a week and I'm already clicking through reviews of other Reed albums, desperately trying to plan my next musical purchase.

Slice of glam, loads of NY attitude and heroin chic
What kind of scene might the world of avant gard music if not for the wonderful inventions of Lou Reed and Velvet Underground. Lou Reed knows how to craft a pop song with the best of them and and inject his persona thus making it quite unique.
This was the album which positioned the rest of his solo career. David Bowie true enough did not write one of these songs but did his best to put onto tape the way he heard these songs in his head by acting as producer over the project. Mick Ronson (guitarist in the Spiders from Mars) also helps in molding the soundscapes which make this album a one of a kind. The thin white dukes thoughtful overtures often go misconstrued in the many albums he's helmed production duties on. I'm not sure if the album was remixed or not but for those who remember, Iggy Pop and Stooges 'Raw Power' had this kind of treatment in a re release some years back. Iggy opted to reduce the treble and increase the bass and percussion instead.
Lou at this time was struggling to find his solo voice and wanted something different from what he was used to putting forward with Velvet. His finest songs are found on this incredible album...Walk on the wild side, Satellites of love and perfect day just to rattle of a few. Whether Bowie's contributions have held some lasting impact on the albums resonance some 30 years after being released is questionable. It certainly doesnt hurt in my opinion. Good place to start for those just now investigating Lou's reputable catalogue.

4.5 stars - Lou's most popular solo album
Transformer (1972.) Lou Reed's second solo album.

Following the disbandment of the Velvet Underground, frontman Lou Reed started a solo career. Although his self-titled 1972 solo debut didn't really add anything special to his name, it was still an excellent album, even if many people overlooked and/or bash it needlessly. Later in 1972, Reed began recording his second solo album, Transformer. And with the glam rock uprising, who better to produce the album than the king of glam rock himself, David Bowie, along with his guitarist Mick Ronson? Before 1972 came to a close, Transformer hit stores. How does it measure up? Read on and find out!

This is Lou Reed's most popular album, period. And the reason it has earned that reputation is due to a single song - but it's a damn good song. Walk On The Wild Side, Reed's ode to drag queens, is one of the finest songs ever recorded that managed to crack the top twenty on the charts. But, as with any artist, there is more to Reed than just the hits. As the album progresses, Reed serves up a variety of songs - no two of them sound exactly alike. David Bowie produced this album, and you can see his influence in many a place on here - he even does some backing vocals! It's also interesting to note that one of the bass players on this album is none other than Klaus Voorman. Voorman is best known for playing bass on several of the former Beatles' solo albums, as well as for drawing the Beatles Revolver album cover. Through and through, Transformer is an excellent album, but it starts to weaken as it draws to a close. Many of the songs featured near the end of the album sound too much like David Bowie circa 1967, and if you've listened to David Bowie's self-titled solo debut album from that year, you know that that's not really a good thing. Fortunately though, there are more than enough saving graces to make this one of Lou Reed's finest efforts. Four and a half (out of five) stars.

In 2002, this album got a serious revamp in the United States. The sound quality was remastered, the liner notes were expanded, and two bonus tracks were added! The bonus tracks featured here are acoustic demo versions of two of the songs. If you're a big Lou Reed fan, you're bound to get a real kick out of these bonuses. Likewise, the lengthy text in the liner notes will be of interest to you, whether you're a Lou Reed die-hard, or this album is your first introduction to his music. All in all, a good reissue.

Transformer is Lou Reed's most popular album, and while not necessarily his best (contrary to popular belief), it is nothing short of excellent. If you're new to the musical stylings of Lou Reed, this album would make an excellent first purchase from his catalogue. There's a reason this album is so popular - it flat out rules.

the undisputed champion of lou reed albums.
Argubably better than his first musical effort lou reed reached his peak on transformer. maybe the album was as good as it was simply because bowied pruduced it. The production of yet another brilliat artist did nothing but help. the mellownes especially was magnificent. yes the velvet underground never were exactly high octane musicians but reed simply pulls it of better here. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Weezer was one of the unlikeliest success stories of the post-Nirvana alt. rock boom, a band whose initial multi-platinum success (spawning the successful singles "Buddy Holly," "Undone," and "Say It Ain't So" and high-profile videos by Spike Jonze in its wake) was arguably its most ironic aspect. Indeed, the band's geek-appeal was refreshingly organic, a charm that came sharply into focus on leader Rivers Cuomo's painfully sincere, slice-of-loser-life songs and the energetic, pop-grunge confections the band concocted around them. This deluxe, double-disc edition of one of the '90s key rock albums treats the original collection's 10 tracks to a new, 24-bit digital remastering, as well as insightful liner notes and the reproductions of the songs original, often scrawled lyric sheets. But it's the second disc that will hold the greatest appeal to Weezer fans, gathering 14 tracks that encompass import b-sides and outtakes that include winsome, affectionate odes ("Mykel and Carli," "Suzanne," "Jamie") aimed at everyone from the band's friends to its label personnel and lawyer. Other highlights include the oddball barbershop quartet exercise "My Evaline," several live and acoustic cuts from the album's tour as well a handful of insightful, previously unreleased home and studio demos. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Reviews (36)

With the Blue Album and more, ya can't go wrong.
I'm a big fan of the Weez. Out of all their albums this one is probably the best. It's got a good balance of the laid-back (Say it Ain't So, the Sweater Song) and the just plain aggressive rock (Buddy Holly, Only in Dreams) thats kinda got a 50's vibe in there somewhere (or maybe its just me). The b-sides on disk 2 are also pretty good as a whole, very eagerly awaited by a lot of fans who never had the bootleg connections to get them earlier.
All in all this is a great collection of songs, both disks. But why 4 stars? The packaging. For me personally, I bought this CD only for the 2nd disk. I already have the first cd, but because of this, I had to buy it again. For a lot of weezer fans this will be the case, but there's nothing we can really do about that unless they start releasing the b-sides separately. If you are a newcomer to the weezer music, by all means, buy this set instead of the regular blue album, and you will thank yourself later and save youself a few bucks too.

still incredible
Every now and then i pick up Weezer and listen to it, every time i still can't believe how incredible this album is. Once i start, i can't stop listening to it. From the finger plucking on "my name is jonas" to the meaningfull lyrics of "only in dreams" Weezer is by far the best of their albums. When the Deluxe edition came out i bought it soon as i could and it blew me away again. the b-sides are incredible. Songs like "Mykel and Carli," "Susanne,"and even the barbershop quartet harmony on "My Evaline" show Weezer as a band different from anyone else, making them so addicting to listen to. For any weezer fan go out and buy this album. With the original album along with the 2nd disc this cd is a must for anyone who listens to weezer.

=w= makes me happy (in verse)
i think
not a lot
but this one thing
i hope its what you want of me
about this cd
which you have considered
it makes me happy
i think it will
make you
happy too.
please buy me! (says the cd)

Better every day
The blue CD in general never leaves my CD changer, and I dont forsee it ever leaving. Its just about as close to perfect as you can get. The addition of the 2nd disc just makes it better. Its great to finally get "Mykel and Carli", "Suzanne", and "Jamie" on the same CD, and to hear Weezer stripped down (the acoustic tracks, and the Kitchen Tapes) really make this Band stand out as one of the best out there. In Particular, the acoustic version of "No One Else" is great. Also, these guys can really sing.

Improving a "Blue" Classic
It's kind of hard to expound on Weezer's classic debut. In the aftermath of grunge and the death of Kurt Cobain, along came four noisy geeks who made the world safe for noisy hook laden songs about loudmouthed girlfriends ("No One Else"), the joys of high-school love ("Buddy Holly") and a great metaphor about an unraveling relationship ("Undone - The Sweater Song"). Along with seven other great songs, this was a first album that yielded some perennial material, and founded the cult that Rivers Coumo rides today.

So why should you pony up the extra dough for the "expanded" edition? Is the second disc really worth it? For a change, the answer is yes. You get four great live tracks, complete with some funny self depreciating comments, one song from a various artists rarities album that the band wrote about their lawyer ("Jamie"), and a handful of demos. The best of the bunch is an a cappella quickie titled "My Evaline" that highlights Weezer's uncanny harmony abilities, something occasionally lost in the din.

If you're reading this, you're probably already inclined towards buying this. Go ahead. Maybe we'll get lucky and "Pinkerton" will get the same royal treatment. ... Read more

Album Description

Unwritten Law, one of the finest bands to emerge from the late 90's SoCal rock scene are back with an incredibly solid, new studio effort entitled Here's To the Mourning. Taking a page from Rock n'Roll 101, Unwritten Law's frontman Scott Russo is consistently one of the most unpredictable and volatile singers on the scene today. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Largely the conceit of co-writer/star John Cusack, "Grosse Point Blank" is oft compared to Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," which brings to mind that old adage about apples and oranges. Cusack's film is, in its own right, the morally bleaker (and funnier) of the two--a shaggy dog tale about a neurotic young hitman returning home for his tenth high school reunion. The first in what appears to be a slew of films ready to cash in on '80s nostalgia (gen-Xers apparently having learned little from the Baby Boomers they sneer at), "Grosse Point"'s song score covers the decade like a shotgun blast, from the Violent Femmes bouncy "Blister" to Guns 'n' Roses overwrought "Live and Let Die". Minus points: the Clash is represented, but not Joe Strummer's incidental score.--Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Great Soundtrack To A Great Film
No cheesy love ballads or songs "inspired" by the film here. The soundtrack to Grosse Pointe Blank is a nice collection of some great songs from the past. Check out classics such as "Rudie Can't Fail" by The Clash, "Mirror In The Bathroom" by the English Beat, and "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen. There are many other fine selections here from the likes of The Specials, The Jam, and the Violent Femmes. The only slow spots seem to be the mediocre "Blister 2000" by the Violent Femmes, an odd reworking of "Blister In The Sun", and "Live And Let Die" by Guns N' Roses because I never liked Guns N' Roses that much. In the end though, I really enjoyed the soundtrack as much as the film.

Oh yeah, the version of "Blister In The Sun" (track #1) by the Violent Femmes on this soundtrack is not the original version from 1982 which appeared in the film. Instead, we are treated to a fine remake (I'm not talking about "Blister 2000"). Does anybody know why the original isn't here?

John Cusack Rocks the Kasbah
This soundtrack is a blast. Chock full of head-bobbing songs (well, maybe with the exception of Guns'n'Roses, but Axl has always been a downer, if you think about it), this vibrant CD will let you have fun again. Good job, John Cusack. I approve!

Almost as good as the movie.
This is a random mix of 80's songs, that I find to be half excellent, and half ok. The better tracks in my opinion are "Blister In The Sun", "Rudie Can't Fail", "Mirror In The Bathroom", and "We Care Alot". I also really like the song from "Pete Townshend". However, I don't think we really needed two tracks from "The Clash", and two versions of "Blister In The Sun". "Live And Let Die" also gets on my nerves. But if you're a fan of the movie, or most of these songs, then you can't fail with "Grosse Pointe Blank".

Great hits and party songs from the 80's
Don't miss this one. The soundtrack will bring you back to late nights and really stupid behavior. The DVD will also take you back in time and remind you of how nieve we all were. This is a great party soundtrack.

Wonderful, quitrky and fun.....(3.5 stars)
This is a great soundtrack that really captures the sprit and style of the movie. The songs are commercialized punk and reggae mostly from the 80's that are light hearted and fun. Blister in the Sun, Mirror in the Bathroom, Under Pressure, I Can See Clearly Now, Live and Let Die, and Let My Love Open the Door, are all ditties that we know and are popular for a reason. We Care A Lot by the Faith No More is a great as well and Rudy Can't Fail is sub par Clash fare. Overall the order of songs and the selection amount to great soundtrack that is light and easy to listen to. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This remarkable debut album, released a full seven years after the group had formed, was still way ahead of its time back in 1978. Suicide--Alan Vega on vocals and Martin Rev on keyboards and drum machine--are one of the most original acts in the history of popular music. They're often called the first synthpop act; synth-punk is closer to the truth--their music was far more edgy and menacing than that of any of their followers, with the notable exception of Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, et al. Suicide drew on the right protopunk influence (Nuggets-type stuff, Velvets, Stooges) and came out of the same Mercer Arts scene that bred the New York Dolls. Their guitar-bass-and-"real"-drummer-deprived setup outraged audiences; on the superb bonus disc you can hear a European crowd rioting in the background while their apocalyptic nursery rhymes sound away. Tough guy Vega croons like an evil Elvis bred on garage rock and performance art; the stoic Rev lays churning, repetitive, and oddly melodic lines down on his beat-up Farfisa, and the ancient drum machine--it actually sounds steam-driven--propels the music toward a ratty, Blade Runner future. "Dream Baby Dream," "Che," "Ghost Rider"--these eerie, sturdy, steam-punk anthems rank among the most visionary, melodic experiments the rock realm has yet produced. This reissue is bright and clear-sounding, and with the full disc of live performances (a 1977 CBGB's soundboard tape plus the legendary "23 Minutes Over Brussels" performance) this is an essential purchase. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (12)

First Album
For a band that really had no other electro-punk influences to draw from at the time of it's release, this album proves that they were WAY ahead of their time. Always minimalistic and staggering in its approach, the album's power derives mainly from trance-inducing and repetitive keyboards from Marty Rev and unpredictable, howling vocals from Alan Vega. Not bad sounds coming from what mainly started with a broken down Farfisa organ and cheap-o drum machine. And tracks like "Ghost Rider" and "Frankie Teardrop" have proved to be timeless and greatly influencial even by today's standards. The live tracks taken from different shows of the era only prove how often controversial and violent this kind of music was taking it's only influences from the doomed and claustrophobic climate of the late 1970's in NYC. HIGHLY recommended and a leader of the genre.

Brilliant but Underappreciated
I first heard this album 5-6 years, and I thought to myself "This pretty lame. What do people like about this?" I listened to it again a couple of year later, and I was blown away. Two guys, one with a menacing vocal presence and another with synthesizers that sound like they were bought at a yard sale, pulled off an incredible album with this one. It's absolutely incredible what a singer and a guy with old synthesizers can do. The music is spare, dark, edgy, and even pretty scary sometimes. The song Frankie Teardrop is legendary not only for its subject matter but also, in my opinion, the scariest visceral screams that any singer has produced. All the other songs are also great. The music pulsates and Vega interjects with singing and screams throughout the album. Absolutely incredible! If you're a fan of post-punk bands like Joy Division, you'll love this album. If you don't like punk or post-punk, you still may be pleasantly surprised.

Not techno, not "punk", just incredible
It really bothers me to see all these reviews that try to pigeonhole this album into some kind of concept of "punk rock" or "electronica" to make it more palatable to Joe Consumer. Both of these genre titles dumb down what this album really is. It is not untalented three-chord rebellious silliness, and it is not take-designer-drugs-and-dry-hump all night nonsense. It is a couple of very creative folk who were stuck in 1971 and decided to make something very different. There is no "drum machine" -- there is rhythm culled from the rhythm "machine" part of some old, decrepit organ; it has more in common with the madness of Sly and the Family Stone's "Fresh" than some boring New Romantic album. Alan Vega was known for wearing a leather jacket and hitting walls with chains in 1971 and scaring audiences that expected yet more hippie feel-good rock -- years before the Sex Pistols' poseur rehashed 1950's hits -- and Martin Rev -- I won't be arrogant enough to claim to know the model of organ he played -- he didn't by any means play "state of the art" equipment nor a Farfisa, but rather the kind of organ you'd probably find for $20 in a thrift store these days. There are no synthesizers on this record. Synthesizers by definition are instruments which attempt to re-create the sound of other instruments by synthesis; what you hear on this record is not some wanker trying to re-create a lush orchestral arrangement. The lyrics are often parodies of contemporary rock -- to be blind to that is to confine this record to the cut-out bins of history. So please, no more bland "if you love the Sex Pistols, this is great!" or "this is a lot like Joy Division" reviews written by people who bought this because they read a SPIN magazine article citing this as "influential" -- you're all full of something that stinks and comes out of male cattle. Rot.

Ahead of their time -- maybe ahead of ours too
There is now a flourishing synthpunk underground, but the sound invented by Suicide, Metal Urbain, and a few other '70s pioneers was scorned and ignored for years. Dreamy, threatening tracks like "Ghost Rider" and "Frankie Teardrop" foreshadow everything from Bauhaus to psychedelic trance. But at their heart, the songs throb with pure rock-n-roll violence.

Stark electronic punk
Punk rock is a very visceral form of music to start with; one listen to the Sex Pistols' catalog (or at least their debut album)will leave no one doubting that. But the idea of a punk recording adopting influences from the German rather than British or American rock scenes struck most people then as unusual. Moreover, the idea of a punk recording consisting of no more than of what were then state-of-the-art electronics (today they're 'vintage') and extreme vocals was even more unusual. After honing their skills for six years prior, the duo of Alan Vega and Martin Rev who make up Suicide released this, their debut album in 1977, probably one of the most forward-thinking pop recordings of its day.

Having very little experience with groups like Wire and Joy Division (both significant in their own right), I find it hard to accept that either act could have created something more chilling than this. Perhaps Suicide are the beginning of what's now refered to as "post-punk", a style of punk which relied heavily on synthesizers, drum machines, and so on. Suicide's second and third releases convey a similar energy and drive, but this self-titled work remains the purest expression of their modus operandi, a harsh, almost dirty, bed of synth arpeggios which provide the foundation for Vega's vocal meanderings, most powerfully expressed on 'Frankie Teardrop' and the alternate take of 'I Remember' from the CBGB live performance on the bonus disc. Think of it, if you will, as the kind of music either Terry Riley or Klaus Schulze would have made if they were punk musicians, or if Kraftwerk had stronger theatrical tendencies. Beautiful, occasionally distrubing and always mesmerizing, Suicide's debut is certainly one of the great electronic albums of the '70s, and maybe of all time. ... Read more