David Arkenstone: In the Wake of the Wind

Hurtling Between the Earth and the Moon Edition

When I lived with Mark Jaeschke right out of High School, there was a D&D culture that sometimes spilled over into my life, even though I largely stayed away from the Role Playing Games that were played in the garage on a fairly regular basis. The Grammy nominated In the Wake of the Wind was one of the carry-overs, recommended by one of the roommates; I forget who. A soundtrack to a fantasy idea of Arkenstone's, the album plays like a videogame score, and in fact Arkenstone has gone on to make music for videogames, notably World of Warcraft, aka "America and Korea's Number One Addiction".

It's a fine album, though mostly lifeless. There is no movement; no drive to the all-instrumental songs, but it's a good album to have on as background during a rousing game of tabletop role-playing, I'd wager. Maybe in the nursery to put baby to sleep with dreams of adventure and keyboards. Speaking of which, David Arkenstone (Say it out load: ARKENSTONE! Magical!) has three kids. Their names are - Quillon, Dashiell and Valinor. I'd have gone for Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel myself, but that's just me...

Fiona Apple: When the Pawn...

Former Guinness World Record Album Title Edition

When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king
What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight
And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring
There's no body to batter when your mind is your might
So when you go solo, you hold your own hand
And remember that depth is the greatest of heights
And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land
And if you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right

I say "former" because some other jackasses saw an easy way into Guinness and trumped it. Very clever.

I got this for free through a cd-of-the-month club, remembering that I liked the first album. It's very much like the first album, though quite a bit more mature musically. I enjoy it, but I don't love it. I think I will enjoy it more when the songs come up on shuffle when I get an iPod again.

Oh, Fiona, where art though? I know she released a third album, but I never got it. She also sang a "duet" with Johnny Cash, "Bridge Over Troubled Water". It seems as if she did it after he was gone, though. It's jarring, and frankly not very enjoyable. Is Ms. Apple past her expiration date? I hope not.

Fiona Apple: Tidal

Of Your Eye Edition

Confession: I bought this first Fiona Apple CD because I thought she was pretty. Well, that and I liked the "Shadowboxer" song they were playing on the radio. The record company thought she was pretty too, I guess, as they made the album cover an extreme close-up of her face, then riddled the CD booklet with more photos of her very model-like visage.

As a girl with a piano and a funny name, she got a lot of comparisons to a certain artist whose last name also starts with "A". This is unfair, as Fiona's songs are quite different. Her husky, dirty voice is much more "come-hither" than "don't try it", though her lyrics tell of a girl who is wary. Fiona was indeed a girl here, while Tori seemed more the woman on her debut, for better or worse. There are hints of lounge, blues, jazz, show-tunes and an homage to Sade, but the similar instrumentation across all the songs and her distinctive voice hold it together. Good job, producer Andrew Slater! Also unlike Tori's albums, Tidal clocks a mere ten songs, which is just enough.

Shandree and I saw Apple in San Diego. She seemed enthusiastic, if a little green. The "finale" saw her dancing around with angel wings strapped to her back and a huge grin on her pretty face. I am less inclined to enjoy Tidal these days, but it's good for a rainy afternoon.

Tori Amos: Scarlet's Walk

Room Temperature Edition

Shandree described this album as "homogenized". I can do nothing but agree. This is the last Tori album in the docket, apart from quite a few singles and B-sides, but I'll let you listen to her cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" below and decide for yourself if it's a joke or an homage. I've chosen not to cover them for my pleasure and yours.

The reason this is the last Tori album Shandree bought is as stated above: It has no guts. Nothing but mid-tempo 4/4 gravy here. At 18 tracks, with every track after the tenth sounding like it could be the last, this is sleepy-time tea. No bite, nothing to chide or praise. Just lukewarm drivel. There is nothing else to say. Goodnight.

Tori Amos: To Venus and Back

Dionaea Muscipula Edition

We've got TWO discs worth of Tori here, folks. Because more is better...?

Disc one is made up of original songs, and the direction here is sorta ambient-techno. It's alright. Honestly, I think the strange shift in this "side" of the album lead to the inclusion of disc two, which is a live set of material from her first four albums, catering to the fans.

I enjoy disc two much more as well. The band is great, and the energy of the songs is readily apparent. And...she speaks! Tori cutely introduces a song as a "friend", one who never made it on any of the albums despite her best intentions. In fact, her song told her to "F*** Off" at some point. Fascinating. "Jesus" is a lyric in this song, too. Which interests me, as he is often referred to metaphorically, but I have to wonder if she thinks saying his name enough will get him to answer in the way she deems fit? I wonder if he hasn't answered her already? Does she know it?

This is more amusing...

Tori Amos: From the Choirgirl Hotel

The Other Famous Amos Edition

After the sinister lullabies found on Boys for Pele, Tori found The Rock again, and I'm pleased. While I'm less familiar with these songs than I would be if doing a review proper, I can say that I gladly listened through the album twice and a half today on my drive to and from OB. I even turned up the volume a couple times. That's right.

This just goes to show that I have an ear for percussion, and the lack of it makes me crazy. Tori, I think, benefits greatly from having multiple instruments on her songs because her style is so distinct. Because of that, anytime she goes minimalist, the songs run together like warm goo.

I was surprised to hear the musical similarities in the tunes "She's Your Cocaine" and Live's "They Stood up For Love", especially in the intro's. As in, I wouldn't be surprised if the two were written concurrently as a songwriting challenge with each other. Well, probably not, but that would be cool, right?

Tori Amos: Boys for Pele

Hyperventilation Edition

"Mary had a Little Lamb" ala Tori Amos circa Boys for Pele, where "lamb" is a euphemism:
(breathe in) ...mMaaaayaaaRaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiyaaaaahhh.....
Hayaaad a little...(pregnant pause) Laiyaaahhhhhh.....yesssss....

Shandree took me to see Tori in San Diego when she was touring for this album. Like the record, her sound was stripped down. Way down. Just her and a piano on stage for two hours. I might have enjoyed seeing her regular drummer Matt Chamberlain, but alas... The seat was comfy. I was able to relax (read:nap), and I'm pretty sure I was the only guy in the joint. NOT an exaggeration, friends. Honestly, apart from maybe two songs, Boys for Pele has no hook, and sounds an awful lot like meandering whimsy. If you enjoy meandering whimsy, look no further. At eighteen tracks, it's seven too long.

Am I giving you the impression that I don't like Tori Amos? That's not true. There are times when I really enjoy a song or two, but for the most part, her work is a trifle melodramatic, and not different enough, song to song, to hold my interest for extended periods. Which is inconsistent, I know, for a guy who really, REALLY likes Dream Theater.

Maybe I should have saved these albums until "T", like the iPod does.

"Day-yes-perado" (I'm not making this up, am I?)

Tori Amos: Under the Pink

Best and Worst Edition

From "God":
God sometimes you just don't come through
Do you need a woman to look after you?

I don't listen to that song. I'm not saying that to assert myself as better than the song, nor those who do listen. I just don't enjoy it. Musically, it's intense and interesting. Lyrically, it's ignorant and insipid. Lowest Common Denominator stuff. Too bad. Under the Pink also has my favorite Tori Amos song on it, "Cornflake Girl". This song also has a social-justice theme, and is much more thoughtful, I think.

One may argue that I don't enjoy "God" because it attacks my ego, while I can enjoy "Cornflake Girl" because it's about women betraying women, and my penis is left alone. I'm willing to talk that through. I agree that the subjugation of women by men and religion is a problem worth exploring a solution for. But are the differences between the two songs that significant?

"You bet your life ...".

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes

Y Can't Tori Read The Last Man Edition

When I got Shandree, I also got Tori Amos, for better or worse. Tori is fairly amazing, musically. This is her first solo album, after her failure in the glam-metal band Y Kant Tori Read. There are elements of metal here, for sure. Certainly a flair for the dramatic. As a heterosexual male, I have a healthy respect-slash-fear of Tori and her flock. In the comic Y-The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan suggests that if all the men in the world died, Tori Amos would start a commune in Europe for women artists. I believe this is true.

I enjoy the songs "Girl" and "Happy Phantom". Really good arrangements. She sings on the latter "They say Confucius does his crossword with a pen". I'm pretty sure Tori does the same thing, judging by the dearth of restraint her body of work exemplifies.

Almost all of which is on the docket for the next few days. Oh dear...

aMiniature: DepthFiveRateSix

Drummers Gotta Stick Together Edition

Shandree went on the dreaded and celebrated East Coast Trip a couple years ago. Mr. Dyke was the guy in charge, a teacher who happens to live close by, in Santee. He also plays drums, but it was very recently that I learned he used to drum for aMiniature. "Mike Halloran* called me the Pete Best of the band" said Mr. Dyke when I saw him at Starbucks one morning. Turns out, he did not record drums on "DepthFiveRateSix", but I imagine he could have.

This is a perfect example of the proverbial San Diego Sound. Math Rock, as it is wont to be called; Quick tempos, turn-on-a-dime changes, intricate dueling guitars, and absurd song titles. "Featurist", "Weepo" and "Ouisghian Zodahs in Panoply", for instance. I tracked this one down again after selling it in "The Great Purge", and I've listened to it more in recent times than I did when "Showdowned" was being used as background music for KGCR station checks. Good stuff that still stands up.






*Mike Halloran is a local radio "legend", though his legendary status can be equivocated, at times, to his ridiculous name dropping. Still, an ardent supporter of local music, and that's a good thing.

Anthrax: Anthrology - No Hit Wonders 1985-1991

No, I'm the Man (NOT!) Edition

This is the essential Anthrax comp, covering all the best stuff of the "Joey Belladonna Years", including most of State of Euphoria, remastered and at a more suitable volume. Covering two discs, it's nice to have the cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time", as well as the Judge Dredd inspired "I Am the Law". Not the Stallone movie, the 2000 A.D. comic. Rap-Rock trailblazer "I'm the Man" is here, as is "Bring tha Noize" with Public Enemy, which was a staple in Jason's car stereo when we were first hanging out. The last track is their version of "Antisocial" in French, as a tribute to the original song by French rockers Trust.

I, personally, would be remiss to let any mention of Anthrax go without bringing attention to Charlie Benante, the rapid-fire drummer for the band. Charlie is a well documented toy and comic's aficionado, and his influence on the song-writing is unmistakable. Maybe that's why so many singers have come and gone.

No, singers love their lyrics to be written by the drummer.

Anthrax: State of Euphoria

The Other White Powder Edition

Junior High nostalgia is what this is to me. Evan Benner and Ray Klaar introduced me to Anthrax, specifically "I'm the Man", the first Rap-Rock song I ever heard, and probably the first ever executed with any success. That song was on an EP of the same name and not on this album, but "Antisocial" is, which was the closest Anthrax ever got to a "hit" as far as I can tell. (AND IT'S A COVER! From a French band called Trust.) I'm far less a fan of that song now, as it's just too basic and catchy to last past it's age.

There is some strange dichotomy on this record lyrically; In "Make me Laugh" Joey Belladonna mocks the televangelists of the day in a crass, cynical voice, while "Who Cares Wins" cries for social justice with the chorus "There but for the grace of God go you or I; Open your eyes". "Now it's Dark" is an homage to the movie Blue Velvet, and "Misery Loves Company" was released well before the film adaptation of Stephan King's book starring James Caan and Kathy Bates was released.

This album is high-energy, with precision, machine-gun drumming and charged guitar. Unfortunately, the CD I got was an older release, and seems mastered very low in volume. This is the last true "thrash" album Anthrax put out before going a little more straight-forward metal with "Persistance of Time", then full =METAL= when they got the singer from Armored Saint. That sentence explains itself.

Alta Voz: City of Echo

Twin Advantages Edition

I met the brothers Wardle through my involvement in Rookie Card. Jared worked with Adam at the Garden of Speedin', a parts-locater magazine that catered to vintage cars. He and his twin Darrin formed a band called Day and Age together. When Day and Age broke up...that is, their drummer was out...the Wardles formed Alta Voz. As a placeholder, I was asked to drum with them. How could I refuse?

I only played one show at a grungy little dive-bar called Scolari's Office. It was fun, but I was clearly the sore-thumb; The fat white kid between the two handsome latino chaps and the tall, skinny white kid. I have to say, when they found a permanent drummer, I was a little jealous, (AWKWARD) but I knew my term was limited, and it's all good.

Years later, I ran in to Jared at another dive bar down the street from the former Scolari's. I hit him up for a copy of the album Alta Voz recorded, and listening to it now, I remember the fun it was to play with them. Darrin has since married and moved away, and Jared has pursued other musical ventures, soon to be reviewed. (Soon?!) As for myself, I doubt I'll ever be in a band as cool as Alta Voz, but it may be for the best. I'll never feel comfortable in skinny jeans.

Check it

Not Pictured: Me

Alien Ant Farm: ANThology

You're Best Song is a Cover Edition

Smooth Criminal - These guys cover that here. Granted, it wasn't the first single off the album, but it's the one everyone remembers, if they remember Alien Ant Farm at all. Which is unfair, because I feel that they had a few good songs on their first Studio album. In line with bands like Incubus and 311, but with a slightly more math-rock sound, AAF where (Are? I dunno...) pretty decent for a drive to the beach with the windows open. I really like the songs "Movies" (the first single) and "Attitude", but can't stand the ballad "Death Day". Still, the real standout is, indeed "Smooth Criminal". Kind of a bad move to release that as a single and video, but I guess it sold a few more albums, and allowed them to make a second, TruANT (get it?). Wikipedia says they have a third, and a "best-of". Really? Must be nice. I don't own these, because they didn't cover any more Michael Jackson. Looks like they have songs on genre-movie soundtracks and in videogames, too. Must be real nice.

They're also friends with Papa Roach. Well, you can't win 'em all...

Alice in Chains: Dirt

I Should Have Said "Stuff" Edition

Speaking of Godsmack, (and why would I want to otherwise?) they got their name from a song title on this album. Oh, this album. Dirt is pretty jarring, like a swift rabbit-punch to the temples. I would say it’s Alice in Chains’ best CD as a whole, but it’s depressing for its heavy reliance upon nihilism and self-loathing. In other words, perfect for a late teen who hasn’t figured anything out yet. Yeah, I was that guy. I can appreciate the musicality now, if not the sentimentality.

The veteran tribute “Rooster” is on this CD, and I am always reminded of my own stupidity when I hear it. I was at Magic Mountain with my girlfriend at the time, and we were shopping for a bit as we prepared to leave. I grabbed a stuffed Foghorn Leghorn from a shelf and started singing “Yeaaah, they come to snuff the rooooster!” as loud as I could. She was thoroughly embarrassed, and I was totally amused with myself. The trend of that kind of behavior continues to this day…

Alice in Chains: Jar of Flies

Everyone was a Kid Edition

This 7-song EP came out around the same time I was doing a radio show on the Campus of Grossmont College. The promo copy had little toy flies in the jewel-case spine. This is by far AiC's most touching work, and the only CD of theirs I kept during "The Great Purge" of my collection a few years back, when I needed money and Music Trader was buyin'. On the cusp of the band's return after frontman Layne Staley's death, I am hung up on the lyrics from the song "Nutshell":

"And yet I find, repeating in my head
If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead"

Too bad. I return to this disc once in a while, often as fall arrives. There is a haunted quality to these songs, more so than the driving crunch that inspired Godsmack to form needlessly.