Fiercely Me

Um yeah.  I listen to the record from beginning to end one time.  Next I write down my initial impressions of the record.  Lastly I post my reviews on the mysterious Internets and wait for you to tell me how clueless I am.  Let's commence. 1 solo homerun (barely worth the effort anymore) 2 run homerun (good.  can make a difference but probably won't.) 3 run homerun (now we are talking.  You might win with this one.) 4 Grandslam (You are the man!  Or woman.  But probably man.) 5 Grandslam walk-off homerun (You won the game!  Yes you!  Multi-million dollar contract is on it's way!) Givers "In Light" 2 run homerun.  Poppy and fun but not great. Straight from the bio: Lafayette, Louisiana based indie-poppers' debut record combines a perfect mix of shimmering pop and summer-strong songs.  Okay so it's shimmery and poppy.  Maybe even a little summery.  But as I ask with a lot of the records I review, "Where's the h...

Record reviews! I stream each record online! I listen to each record one time through while I’m working my exciting office job! I write my observations in review form!! I publish online in my blog!!! I use lots of exclamation points!!!! 1 ! – Not enough. 2 !! – Okay, but probably not worth your money. 3 !!! – Better than two but why stop there? 4 !!!! – Party time! All doors will open to you but are you the exclamation pointiest? 5 !!!!! – WHA WHAT??? Awesome!!!!! The Cars “Move Like This” 1 !. Party like it’s 1986…whatever. The Cars return with their first record since 1987! Wait let me rephrase that: The Cars return with their worst record since 1987! Okay that’s better. Hey! Don’t look at me like that! What??? Are you a Cars fan??? Actually I’ve always liked some of their songs but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan. They have always had too many clunkers (HA!) on each album. And “Move Like This” definitely has it’s share of clunkers! They still sound like The Cars but wh...

So yeah...I haven't written in a while.  How are you doing?  Sorry about that "not writing" thing but I've actually been enjoying listening to music while not really worrying about what I think about it or what I should say about it.  Sure there's been some good stuff (Smithereens "2011") and some not-so-good stuff (way too much to mention) but for some reason I haven't been able to get past the blank page to record my witty and relevant observations on these recordings.  Oh and also my band Certain Stars has been taking up a lot of my time lately.  We have a handful of shows coming up this month plus we just released our new single "The Great Destroyer" and b-side "Too Drunk To Dream" for download online.  The same songs will show on a 7" record by our Record Store Day show on Saturday, April 16th at Record Breakers in Chicago.  You can find the songs on iTunes, Amazon, and many other music related websites right now. S...

Record reviews (you know the drill): 1 Sunday brunch Mimosa – Not good enough. 2 Sunday brunch Mimosas – Okay, but try again next weekend. 3 Sunday brunch Mimosas – Better than two but why stop there? 4 Sunday brunch Mimosas – Party time! All doors will open to you but are you the drunkest? 5 Sunday brunch Mimosas – Breakfast and lunch and drinking all in one??? Awesome!!! Buffalo Tom “Skins” 4 Sunday brunch Mimosas. Party like it’s 1990 whatever. What year is this? 1994? It’s actually really nice to see Buffalo Tom back again. They were never a powerhouse band even at their high point but they always featured fairly strong songwriting skills. This record starts out very promising with “Arise, Watch”, a catchy pop song that made me smile when I first heard it. “Don’t Forget Me” is a slower country-ish ballad that features vocals from Tanya Donnelly. “Guilty Girls” rocks like it’s right off of their excellent album “Big Red Letter Day”. Buffalo Tom is back and I am very than...

Records were streamed once from Spinner.com and then rated on this ridiculous and arbitrary scale. 1 Charlie Sheen – Not good. 2 Charlie Sheens – Okay, but try again next weekend. 3 Charlie Sheens – Better than two but can you prove you aren’t just Emilio Estevez’s brother? 4 Charlie Sheens – Party time! All doors will open to you but are you the greatest? 5 Charlie Sheens – YES! The Greatest! Put them all in your Martian Rockstar brain and punch the World in the face! Ron Sexsmith “Long Player Late Bloomer” 2.5 Charlie Sheens. Grandpa just said you are his favorite! If James Taylor and Morrissey had a baby that baby would be Ron Sexsmith. This record gives new life to the smooth music movement. So what in the world is Bob Rock (Metallica, Motley Crue) doing producing this record? There is a lot of piano, acoustic guitar, and quiet vocals. Some songs are okay. Nothing really great though. Nice Sunday afternoon music. Highlight: “Believe It When I See It”. Chamberlin “Bit...

All records were spinned one damn time over dem der internet listenin’ doohickeys. Reviews and ratings were just my damned opinion so get over yerself and go get me another beer! 1 Cold beer on a warm patio – Ok you drank it…but so did Trent Dilfer. 2 Cold beers on a warm patio – Good stuff, but try again next weekend. 3 Cold beers on a warm patio – Better than two but can you prove you aren’t just lucky? 4 Cold beers on a warm patio – Party time! All doors will open to you but are you the greatest? 5 Cold beers on a warm patio – YES! The Greatest! Put them all in your belly and punch the World in the face! Drive-By Truckers “Go Go Boots” 5 Cold beers on a warm patio. Grandpa just said you are his favorite! DBT’s newest release starts out with the song “I Do Believe”. It is an upbeat pop-ish song that seems to declare, “This new record is something different from the Truckers.” But the next couple of songs tell a different story. DBT likes soul music. DBT likes to take it’s...

Records will be reviewed using the following nearly ridiculous grading scale: 1 Super Bowl Ring – Ok you did it…but so did Trent Dilfer. 2 Super Bowl Rings – Good stuff, but try again next year. 3 Super Bowl Rings – Better than most but can you prove you aren’t just lucky? 4 Super Bowl Rings – Party time! All doors will open to you but are you the greatest? 5 Super Bowl Rings – YES! The Greatest! Put them all on one hand and punch the World in the face! And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead “Tao of the Dead” 2.5 Super Bowl Rings. Grandiose and boring. I’ve listened to bands years ago that have a similar style to this band. For Love Not Lisa, Quicksand, and Failure all come to mind. (Failure especially.) The difference between those bands and Trail of Dead is that they had the hooks and sometimes even had songs. (If you read my stuff you know what I mean by that. If you don’t well I’ll try to explain in a later blog what I really mean by that statement.) Now I’m not sa...