Music Reviews: XTC, R.E.M., Radiohead

Yeah, yeah, a bunch of old stuff this time. Well, to me it really isn't old. I never listened to these bands when they were coming up, so .. it's all fresh! :)

XTC - "Apple Venus" (Parts 1 & 2): Goodness gracious, me oh my! In the 90's where was I? :) All of a sudden I have a new favorite band! Or.. at least, a new favorite album. And to think I once thought that Wayne Coyne was the new Brian Wilson. Ha! I found a better candidate: Andy Partridge. Part 1 of this 2-CD series could have come right out of "Pet Sounds", except with way more overtly religious imagery. Part 2 is harder-edged, but with still lots of religious imagery, just.. the evil side, not the good.

Wowie, zowie, this is cool! :) I thought that XTC was a late-70's band that was sort of Kiss-like, and so.. one that I could basically ignore. ;) Instead, while I wasn't watching, they evolved into something pretty thought-provoking, with the ability to produce a concept album on the level of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, or the Doors. Favorites: almost everything. :) But topping the list are, from Vol. 1, Easter Theatre (very Beatles-sounding), Greenman, Harvest Festival, I Can't Own Her. From Vol. 2, Church Of Women, I'm The Man Who Murdered Love, My Brown Guitar, Playground, Standing In For Joe, Stupidly Happy, We're All Light. Two thumbs up for this epic two-volume work. :)

The Dukes of Stratosphear - "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball": XTC's alter-ego, and much more directly BeachBoysian, Beatleish, and Hollie-esque (are these even words?) Heck, it's almost a tribute album to these groups (complete with sitars and tambourines), without actually doing any of the songs from their LSD-influenced periods. If you like that style of music, it's done authentically. Favorites: Pale and Precious, Vanishing Girl, You're My Drug, Braniac's Daughter, The Mole From The Ministry (they even play it backwards to reveal the encoded message!). One thumb up. Personally, I prefer jazz. :)

Okay, and while I like these bands which follow, too, I'm not going to rave on *quite* so much. I just uploaded a few older CDs from J1 when she was back at Christmas, and thought they deserved a quick comment or two. Or three.


Radiohead - "Kid A", "Hail To The Thief": So while these guys really did form up in 1988, they seem to be peaking now, with the release of "In Rainbows", reviewed elsewhere. Whenever you see tribute albums coming out, it's a good bet the band has peaked.. unless they can push themselves beyond that success, which Radiohead seems to be able to do. I have to say that some of this stuff reminds me of the "head music" of 1970 or so.. oops. Sorry for that anachronistic reference.

"Kid A": Hm. Peculiar. Some songs (like the title track) seem like aimless doodling - directionless sound. Others, like The National Anthem, sound like the chaotic improvisation of the bebop and new wave jazz of Miles Davis and his followers. Give me tracks like How To Disappear Completely, where there's a discernible melody and a non-jarring feel. If some new-agey sonic drifting is in order, then tracks like Treefingers and Motion Picture Soundtrack do it much more appealingly. :) I suppose you could say that the whole album hangs together thematically. I just don't like the theme, I guess. ;) No thumbs up for this one. :(

"Hail To The Thief": This one didn't rise to the level of In Rainbows either. But it's closer. :) I think I'd rather listen to something by The Flaming Lips instead. I mean, I like Thom Yorke's voice better than Wayne Coyne's, but Coyne has a way with a melody and a hook and a feeling that appeals to me a lot more. But this CD is more atmospherically friendly to the listener (less argumentative sonically) than "Kid A", by quite a stretch. Each track also has a subtitle on this CD, not sure why. Maybe just to be sure that we all remember that they're still quirky, even if this CD isn't quite so? :) Favorites: Sail To The Moon, I Will, A Punch Up, Scatterbrain, Go To Sleep, Sit Down, Stand Up. One thumb up for this CD. Still needs more melody to go with all that atmosphere. ;)


R.E.M. - "Automatic For The People", "Monster", "Around The Sun", and two "Best Of" CDs (1982-87; 1988-93): Yikes! Waaaay too much music to discuss in depth, so I'll just hit the highlights.

First off, am I right in thinking that these guys pretty much invented the genre of "alternative" music? They sure had the sound down pat 20 years ago. Their old stuff sounds awfully fresh, still. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the radio station I listen to plays these guys routinely, right alongside Lifehouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Coldplay and KT Tunstall. :)

So many good songs scattered throughout the years.. most are great for laying back and reading/chilling, not too aggressive on the ears, but with lyrics that are engaging enough and picturesque enough (ex's: Aftermath, The Great Beyond, Nightswimming) to listen attentively when you want to. The latest CD, Around The Sun, missed the cutoff of the last "Best Of" CD, and it is a great album. So I can hardly wait for their new release in May. :)

Too many favorites to list them all (their catalog is as big as U2's), but some of the better of the best: Aftermath, All The Right Friends, Around The Sun, At My Most Beautiful (sooo Beach Boys!), Bad Day, Daysleeper, Everybody Hurts, Fall On Me, Final Straw, I Wanted To Be Wrong, Imitation of Life, Leaving New York, Losing My Religion, Make It All Okay, Man On The Moon, Nightswimming, The Outsiders, Sweetness Follows, Wanderlust. Wow. That's quite a list.. one burned CD's worth, in fact, which has been playing in the car lately. :)