Part 2 of the music the kiddies brought back at Christmas for daddy. :)
The Pogues - "Hell's Ditch", "Pogue Mahone", "Red Roses For Me", "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash": Whooo.. 4 CDs to review? Well.. I'll shorten it up, including the album titles (via acronyms). These span from 1984 (RRFM) through 1995 (PM), so it's a range of their work.
I like these guys partly because they are in between Flogging Molly (who are more celtic punk) and Runrig (who are more ethnic folk) - they're a nice blend. And.. their sound is pretty consistent across the albums (including the other two I have - If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and Waiting For Herb, which I may have reviewed elsewhere..) You can depend on them to sound decent all the time. And it's pretty mellow and chill music a lot of the time. Not too frenetic for background. :)
Favorites: from HD, House of the Gods, Madrin Rain, Six To Go. From PM, Living In A World Without Her, Bright Lights, When The Ship Comes In, Where That Love's Been Gone, Love You To The End (also featured in movie - P.S. I Love You). From RS&L, A Pair of Brown Eyes, London Girl, Rainy Night In Soho. From (RRFM), The Battle of Brisbane, Boys From The County Hell, Dark Streets Of London. Two thumbs up for the PM CD - it's good from start to finish - one thumb up for the others.
Gorillaz - "Demon Days": I'm not sure what this is, exactly. Is it rap? Is it dance? Electronica? Alternative? Pop? Obscura (a'la Decemberists)? All of these, I think. There's even a dramatic reading.. "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head" which is like a fairy tale set to music. Hm. I don't get this group at all. I do like some tracks, like the title track, "Don't Get Lost In Heaven", "Dare", but not others (White Light, November Has Come, Feel Good Inc.) It's a puzzler.. one thumb tentatively up.
Daft Punk - "Homework": House/funk/electro/techno.. yeah, whatever. As the title implies, it's study music. :) Keeps me awake on long nights reading about human origins or pneumatology. Some songs are a bit too.. space-y? for my tastes. (Ex: Burnin') ) I mean, I thought space noises went the way of the Moog Synthesizer and the Apollo program: mothballs and museums, man.. and some are tough to study to because of endlessly looped words (ex: Oh Yeah) I'd prefer more beats & bass and less words & squeakage. Favorites: Alive, Rock 'n Roll, High Fidelity, Phoenix, Da Funk. One thumb up. :)
Elvis Costello - "The Very Best of": This best-of double-CD runs from 1977 to 1999. As I listened in chronological order, I sure wound up liking his later stuff much better than his early stuff. The early material sounds a bit Billy Joel-ish at times, but without the chops to pull it off. But later.. oh yeah. :) His songwriting matures and his material works better with his voice and band. See his collaborative work with Diana Krall on her "The Girl In The Other Room" CD for more. Favorites: She (great song), So Like Candy, Tramp The Dirt Down, Indoor Fireworks, Almost Blue, I Want You. One thumb up.. for the second of the two CDs. :)
Coming up next time.. Milosh, K-OS, Psapp, Zoe Keating, more..
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