Archive for the ‘Music reviews’ Category

Crystal Method - Legion of Boom

Thursday, February 12th, 2004

Most techno (or trance or electronica or ambient or whatever the hell this is) deserves the rep it gets — repetitive, annoying beats with random samples that loop on into infinity. Crystal Method, for reasons I cannot quantify without actual musical knowledge, transcends this. I like the crap techno anyway, but these guys are clearly several levels above that. They remind me of the Dust Brothers, with their uncanny ability to patch together just the right sounds to make a hell of a great album to write, drive or whatever to. All the reviews I read said that this latest release doesn’t match up to their two previous releases, Vegas and Tweekend.

Thankfully, people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I guess they just love to be those first leapers off the bandwagon. I hate people like that — the “nothing is as good as it used to be” people. Anywho, Legion of Boom is just as good as its predecessors. There’s not a lot more I can say… either a techno album is good or it isn’t. This one is. Okay thank you.

Frank Zappa - Strictly Commercial

Monday, January 19th, 2004

Wow.

This guy was amazing. I don’t know how I’ve lived 29 years and never really learned anything more than his name. I picked this CD up on a whim while on vacation, and I was hooked after a single play.

While not exactly a “greatest hits” compilation (Zappa wasn’t the most commercial artist, hence the ironic title), it is an excellent sampler of 30 years and 70 albums created by one of music’s more unsung visionaries.

Early favorites of mine include “Muffin Man” (which effortlessly blends a studio recording and a live one), “Valley Girl” (which, given the subject, you’d think would come off dated, but somehow it doesn’t) and “Trouble Every Day” (a rarity for me: a 60s protest song I actually like and agree with). While I might not be buying every single thing Zappa ever recorded after this, I’m certainly going to look more into his work.