Straight Edge Life

The best that reggae has to offer today. Period.

Jr. Gong has been a favorite of mine since I heard Stuck In Between off of the Halfway Tree disc. Not all that long ago… and I wasn’t in love with every single song on Halfway Tree, but it was obvious enough after one run through that Damian Marley has talent in ways few in modern reggae have. He’s got roots.

Listen to the lyrics on Welcome to Jamrock and you find a cutting almost brutal confrontation with all aspects of life. In the way that The Blues isn’t made to make you forget but to revel in life, Marley lifts your spirits without making you forget about reality. I’m not sure if that’s the best way to say it. But After listening to this disc you’ll be full of energy to fight rather than forget. And I think that’s what reggae has always been about to me. Mobilization of those who connect with the message. Mobilization not pacification.

In true Rastafarian spirit Damian Marley keeps every word and note of every song of Welcome to Jamrock positive with a forward-looking perspective. Makes me smile because I didn’t think anybody was making reggae like this anymore. Welcome to Jamrock is richly textured, extremely direct and a hell of a pleasure to hear loud through your speakers.

As my friend Gabriel said “that cd mellows me the fuck out” and “…it’s like the road-rage vaccine”. I have to agree. Whenever I pop In Between Dreams into my iTunes sequence I pretty much instantly get into a better mood. Stress level goes down a bit, things get better. It’s a great CD. And all the girls LOVE Jack Johnson so if you’re looking for a nice gift grab it for your girlfriend. Assuming she doesn’t already have it, and a big poster of him up on her wall. I give it a clean 10/10. There’s nothing about this album that I would change.

I’m not a huge hardcore fan anymore. It’s range is limited and it’s sound grew old for me about 3 years after high school… so like 8 years ago. So I was a bit reluctant to pick up this album. It came recommended from a friend and I am damn glad I bought it.

I spent the majority of time driving home trying to slice the cd out of it’s damn plastic sticky wrapping and didn’t get to listen to it much in the car (sadly, my best stereo) and had to listen to it at work through headphones on my powermac. The first thing about it that caught my attention was that the whole fucking thing is straight edge. Not just one or two songs, but the whole album. Every word. And not just shallow lyrics but stuff that made me feel less alone in being a straight edge guy. The struggle, the passion, the pain, the benefits and the glory of being straight edge in every song. 100% killer for content on this album.

It’s been a long time since I listened to hardcore and I’ve been listening to a lot of complex jazz lately so I’m not sure I’m qualified to rate on the music on this album. Let’s just say that for hardcore these guys are competent. It’s not dry, it’s not boring. It’s good. If you dig hardcore. It’s got enough energy to carry the album on it’s own, even if you disregard the lyrics.

Straight edge started in the hardcore realm and in many ways it still stays there. Many straight edgers are loaded with pent up energy and hardcore is a damn good expression of how we deal with it. If you can play this, or if you can mosh in a pit to this you don’t need drugs and you don’t need the headaches of those who use them.

I’m damn glad I bought this album and I have no doubt that I’ll work a few of the songs into most of my playlists. Check it out when you can. It’s damn good.

Few recordings can instantly change my mood. Fewer still can make me think hard about my life. And almost none can accomplish both while sounding so absolutely beautiful. I’m hooked. Can’t wait to hear their next album. Would LOVE to see them in show. This heavy and dark elegance is a gift. Rich, powerful, delicate. Each track a welcome relief from the mountains of trash being churned out by compromised music labels. Everybody’s Fool… Good god what an amazing song. That’s all I have to say. Get this cd.

Set your iTunes import preferences to 320kb, this is easily Steel Pulse’s best album since Earth Crisis (1984). African Holocaust is a solid album. It sounds and feels like Steel Pulse again. David Hinds’ rich voice mixing perfectly with Alvin Ewen’s deep bass, damn. Their backbeat is so tight it’s hypnotic. They’re doing real roots music, and tackling more global and contemporary issues.

Two decades is a long time to wait. They released 7 compilation albums (live or otherwise) and 6 original albums in that time; all of which were a bit of a disappointment. I’m always on the lookout for good roots reggae music, and I had almost given up on Steel Pulse. I’m glad they’re at it again.

As the name implies, this four song release contains Kristin Hersh’s take on a few classic spiritual songs. When my dad brought this cd home as a review cd some years ago I listened to it once, didn’t really like it, and stowed it away for, oh, 8 years or so. I dug it up when I was searching for some old Zip disks from college projects the other day and have finally realized how nice it is. Kristin is apparently known to dive into spirituality from time to time. And as I am more accustomed to her work with Throwing Muses and some of her introspective solo work this is a nice change that serves to further outline her range. Amazing Grace, sung with Kristin’s perfectly fitting melodic charm is gorgeous. Can The Circle Be Unbroken is such a sad thing, also wonderful. Sinkhole shows up in many playlists on my ipod where it doesn’t really fit because I like it so much. And Jesus Christ isn’t my favorite song, but it’s done with such style that I definitely don’t skip it when it comes up in my iTunes rotation.

If you are a Kristin Hersh fan and don’t already have this album, you need to track it down and buy it or borrow it from a friend. It’s different from most of her other work. Beautiful, charming, fun, and spiritual. It’s only four tracks long but I’ll give it a 9 out of ten anyways. Short and sweet.

This is really a review of the Har Mar show and of being back in Agate Hall. Because for me, both were experiences worth mentioning. Agate Hall (formerly Condon School) has always been a sweet place to go see small obscure bands with a really really fun crowd of kids. Kids. Like high school kids. For the most part from South Eugene High. The kind of kids who never really thought to take drugs and get drunk because they were always too busy just having fun in their own way to think about doing that. It was fun just being there, really reminded me of high school again.

So Har Mar Superstar was about what I expected. He’s like the non-porn star singer version of Ron Jeremy. In physical appearance at least. I’ve never actually seen a Ron Jeremy flick and can’t tell you if Har Mar matched Jeremy’s attitude, but I can guess that he pretty much does. He’s friggin’ hilarious. I might go so far as to say that he’s a one man party. He’s got all the cheesiest dance moves refined to a near art form. I sat there watching him and just didn’t know whether to be disgusted or amazed. There really is nothing like seeing an overweight, balding and hairy dude who sweats profusely dance around stage in tighty whitey underwear singing about how awesome he is. I think everyone needs to see Har Mar in show at least once in their lives. I video taped the whole thing. I’ll grab some shots and post them with this review in a few days.

This was a good show. I’ve been wanting to see Kristin Hersh play live for a long time. Since I was a freshman in college. A long time ago, from two separate states my best friends Sara and Les introduced me to Throwing Muses simultaneously. I was hooked right away. Those two mixed tapes (yes tapes, I know I’m OLD) carried me through at least one very lonely winter in Illinois. A horrible time of year to be in a pretty depressing part of the country. There’s nothing there in in Illinois, in the geography to inspire. But Kristin’s music has a very gorgeous geography. Her voice. Oh God, her voice is a beautiful place where I can hide for hours at a time. And I did. And I have since way back then. So when 50 Foot Wave came through town there was no way in hell I was going to miss the show.

So, first off, this show was on Monday night. There was barely anyone there, and in true Wow hall fashion there were two opening bands starting at 9:45. So the show didn’t start until nearly midnight. And they were two pretty bad opening bands at that. Well actually, the Ovulators were pretty fun. I can’t complain too much about them. But Kristin and 50 Foot Wave, damn. Such a voice. And their sound is faster and harder than anything she’s done in the past. I really liked it. Their EP is only 6 songs long and I think they actually played them in order because I didn’t only know the words but I knew the continuity from song to song. It was a great show.

Have I reviewed Liz Phair’s new self-title album, Liz Phair yet? No? Because I’ve been listening to it non-stop for the past three weeks and I should review it. Non-stop I tell ya. When the album first came out it got a lot of flack from critics for being a little on the pop side of indy. And because of that, I waited months to buy it. I dig pop but I don’t really dig indy folks swinging in that direction. Feels like corruption. But now that I have this awesome album I don’t know what these critics were thinking. I know you can’t get a fully unbiased review from a fan, as I am, and reviewing music is pretty subjective as it is… but this album is sweet.

Ask me about this album and I’ll tell you that it takes the best elements of most of her other albums and maintains that level of artistry through every song on the album. The music is definitely a bit more upbeat than her normal stuff. Her choruses (is that how you spell it?) are catchy. But when comparing this album to typical pop, that’s where the resemlences end. I might go so far as to say the music and arrangements have matured a bit. Every song has the same raw honesty that made me fall in love, and kept me in love, with Liz Phair’s music years ago.

In a nutshell, this album is about sex. Not in the same way that Ani Difranco is about sex, that raw turn-me-on sexual energy that makes everyone in the audience of her shows a guaranteed winner in the “I’m getting laid tonight” lottery. It’s not that kind of thing. It’s an honest and exciting look at Phair’s love life. It’s sexy in a different way. An open honest conversation about sex through the eyes of someone who knows it humanly. Not the glamour of it, not the lust of it, it’s different. And it’s awesome. I don’t really know how to describe it. Maybe you will see what I mean when you get it. I’m actually at a loss for words trying to talk about this.

Ok, wait, take the song “Why Can’t I?”. I guarantee you’ve heard it. The chorus is “Why can’t I breath whenever I think about you? Why can’t I speak whenever I talk about you?” Sounds romantic, kinda sweet. Etc. Well the song is about cheating on her boyfriend with a guy who is cheating on her girlfriend. Just listen to the lyrics, there’s a lot more than first meets the eye. Ok. Enough. Get this album. It’s very good. 9 out of 10, only because I am not totally absolutely in love with every song.

Bob Marley & … The Roots, MC Lyte, Ghetto Youths Crew and The Marley Boys, Joseph Perry & Steven Tyler, Chuck D., Rakim, Lost Boyz, Guru, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes & Flipmode Squad, Krayzie Bone, and Lauryn Hill. Do I really need to say more? Some of the most creative remixes of Bob’s stuff that I’ve ever heard. Every track is rich and well spun with a respectful mix of Bob’s lyrics, new beats and all sorts of stuff from each dj and singer. It’s a killer album. Highly recommended. Highly as an album. Highly as a set of single songs. If you are going to buy one song I’d say you should get 3 O’Clock Roadblock with Krazie Bone. Sweet. Hypnotic, danceable, just rich.