ALL & DESCENDENTS / Live Plus One (2001)

I’m going to make a list of the most nerdy comparisons to this that I can muster. It’s like:

• Human Centipede 3: Alternate Universe Heiter AND Martin
• Mega Man Powered Up: Mega Man AND Proto Man AND Roll
• If Resident Evil 6 was delivered as intended: Chris AND Leon co-op!!!

It’s Chad and Milo together at the same concert, and Milo sings back-up for Chad!!! Don’t worry, though, this is two discs and the second is an entire Descendents set. Wikipedia tells me the latter was a different concert. Whatever, man~ Milo even tries his hand at one of Chad’s songs, to great effect. I can’t hype this enough: Chad sings She’s My Ex!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfection.

Songs of Note: She's My Ex; Original Me

5 Floors Strong Enough to Bear the Weight of Greatness out of 5

ALL / Mass Nerder (1998)

Most folks will know the majority of this band from their other incarnation: the Descendents. Regardless of who's in the driver's seat, Bill Stevenson is omnipresent musically and with his incredibly poignant and pointed lyrics. The era of ALL that owns my heart is without question Chad Price's. He's a quintessential vocalist and his songs are some of the most eloquent and moving I've ever heard.

This ping-pongs between hyper-brief blasts and more melodic romps. The band's strength (both as ALL and the Descendents) is that the former aren't always silly and instead often use their abbreviated run times to address things undeniably worth pondering. They've always been both thoughtful and heartfelt and if you aren't familiar with both incarnations, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Songs of Note: Until I Say So; Silly Me

5 Albums That Actually Know How To Make the Most of Thirty Minutes out of 5

ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD / The Bible 2 [2016]

Andrew Jackson Jihad's (or AJJ as they like to be known as now) previous album Christmas Island was a nervous reinvention that wasn't quite right but thankfully they've worked out most of the kinks on 2015's The Bible 2.
Picking up exactly where Christmas Island's "Angel of Death" protagonist Cody left us, AJJ kicks right into hilarious misery and honest self-deprecation with "Cody's Theme".  There's only minor traces of the folk-punk detected, so instead the complete band relies on lo-fi guitars, booming drums and whiny synths to get the head a bopping to their trademark cheery sneers.  Heavy with frightening sincerity is what AJJ does best and thankfully they aren't watering down the uncomfortable lyrics with an ever-growing audience.

4 flaming mommies out of

Songs of Note:  American Garbage; No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread

ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD / Christmas Island [2014]

For their fifth studio album, 2014's Christmas Island, anti-folk punksters Andrew Jackson Jihad beefed it up some more with producer John Congleton, known for his work with Swans, Marilyn Manson and not-surprisingly The Mountain Goats.
Pushing forward with a more fuller sound, that includes more fuzzy guitars, somber violins and humming 80's-esque synthesizers, AJJ are prepared for wider recognition.  They're still writing upbeat head-boppers but seemed to have found a love for some softer songs where frontman Sean Bonnette seems most emotionally comfortable.  His lyrics are still sarcastically vulnerable reality checks but as a whole the band sounds really tired which on many tracks it's used to their best bitter advantage.

3½ museum melt-downs out of 5

Songs of Note: Coffin Dance; Temple Grandin Too

The Animatrix: The Album (2003)

There are a few extremely nice, balmy hits of diversity present here, which is fitting given the source material. Though, a number of tracks would have benefited from a more strict editorial hand, sticking around long past their welcome as they do. This is ironic considering the appalling brevity of some of the cues elsewhere on these soundtracks. The elephants in the room are Red Pill, Blue Pill and The Real. Were they serious with these? I’m aware of the technique of sampling audio but when EVERY Game Grumps remix I’ve ever heard is better than these, something is horribly wrong.

Songs of Note: Blind Tiger; Under the Gun

2 Sultry Shuffle-beats out of 5

EMILIE AUTUMN / Fight Like a Girl [2012]

Inspired by her time spent in a psychiatric ward, theatrical violinist Emilie Autumn came up with the idea for the 2012 musical concept album, Fight Like a Girl.
Scaling back the presence of the violin, Autumn focuses more on the glam rock and Victorian cabaret aspects of her music, giving it a full-blown Goth rock opera feel.  The song-writing itself is finely tuned, with the exception of a few weak lyrics scattered about but it's obvious Autumn is feeling very confident with what she out's to prove.  Snuggling in traces of crunchy industrial drones and jittery harpsichord plucks over Autumn's frantic vocals make for a pretty entertaining listen.  Individually the songs don't really work, so if you have the time and patience the album is best heard in it's complete form.

4 asylums for wayward Victorian girls out of 5

Songs of Note: Girls! Girls! Girls; What Will I Remember?

ARCTURUS / La Masquerade Infernale (1997)

Listening to La Masquerade Infernale conjures images of a theatrical, costumed ball taking place during a lunar eclipse, populated with people in grotesque animal masks who indulge in all kinds of icky vices at the drop of a hat. It's an almost vaudevillian exploration of what 'metal' can be. In plainer terms, the words 'avant-garde' and 'Norway' will tell you some of what you need to know.
The dissonance and daring semi-operatic vocal style will alienate many hardcore fans, but those that connect to the madness will likely still love it even after they see through the veil and become more familiar with its inner workings.

Songs of Note: Master of Disguise; La Masquerade Infernale

4 painted horrors out of 5

ALAN MOORE + TIM PERKINS / Snakes and Ladders (2003)

With spoken word performances it's natural to give your full attention to the first listen, but there's a different, no less valid appreciation attained from repeated listens; such it is with Snakes and Ladders. When the mind drifts or loses focus, or when words lose their distinctiveness and become hypnotic triggers, there's a semi-unconscious feeling that what's being spoken is deeply poignant, magickal and filled with enduring mystery. Eventually, stand out words, sure to be different for each listener, will inevitably draw you back in, but the musings that were birthed in the interim will hopefully have served their purpose.
Moore never falters, letting up only when it suits. In those instances the music of Tim Perkins takes centre stage whilst never betraying its primary supporting role of providing an aural chalice within which the words reverberate.

Songs of Note: The Gates of Tears; Stars and Garters

5 trout skins out of 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS / Have Yourself a Meaty Little Christmas (2009)

Meatwad is somehow able to afford the studio time necessary to make a Christmas album and his perfect balance of naivety and inanity indeed makes for a savory flavor of Christmas subversion when paired with Master Shake’s outright blasphemy. Frylock doesn’t try particularly hard to reign them in and that’s all for the better. Boxxy Brown is the only cast member who gets to contribute outside of the main four and while disappointing it does lend focus when paired with the stated rationale for the endeavor.

This both turns the holiday on its ear and delivers about three episodes worth of the show’s delightfully absurdist content. It’s so much of what Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics isn’t.

Songs of Note: Feliz Navidad; I Sure Hope I Don’t Have to Beat Your Ass This Christmas

4½ Elf Boogies out of 5

ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE / The Road to Rampton (2007)

It's not enough reason to want own it but it's worth pointing out that ANL's ability to place lyrical satire and disaffection alongside comedy and not have one overwhelm the other surfaces in places, albeit sporadically. If only the music wasn't so bloody weak, safe and predicable.
I'm listening to Rampton as I type and it's depressing me. I'll need to go back to the classic début album afterwards to ease my pain.

Songs of Note: Turn To Shit; My God's Bigger than Yours

1½ short, sharp, shocks out of 5

THE ATARIS / So Long, Astoria (2003)

I was pretty obsessed with this album because of a certain someone. How does it fare a decade removed from that time? Not as bad as I imagined. Kris Roe deals in (what he desires to be) philosophically minded emo-rock. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he doesn’t. Thankfully, the missteps here aren’t nearly as damning as they are on the ridiculously pretentious follow-up. It isn’t an eye-roll free experience but there’s some nice sentiments expressed, especially when you have the context for the more schlocky-seeming among them. Between now and then I’ve heard far worse and far better.

Songs of Note: All You Can Ever Learn is What You Already Know; Eight of Nine

2½ Mantras for Mutsuki out of 5

ALICE COOPER / School’s Out (1972)

The title track of the fifth studio album is one of Alice's best known anthems, appearing on dozens of those Best Ever Rock compilations that you find in people's cars.There's no denying its Rock and Roll credentials, but it's morally ambiguous, as is much of the remainder of the album. It's like a Broadway musical with James Dean in the lead, strutting his way through a school themed haze, a flick-knife in his back pocket and a sneer on his lips; fuck with him and he'll cut you, but let him pass and you can run home unharmed. Despite all its charm, it's not the AC album that I turn to when I want to be entertained.

Songs of Note: Luney Tune; My Stars

3 pairs of flammable undies out of 5

ANASTASIA VRONSKI AND RICARDO ALRUCINI / The Groom is Still Waiting for the Bride at the Altar (2011)

One track lasting 23 minutes that never once feels like it's gone on too long. It reminds me of music designed to give atmosphere to tabletop RPGs, except it has some haunting and creepy spoken word throughout documenting the opening of the 6th seal, from the Revelation of John the Apostle.
The instrumentation is equally as unsettling. There's rattling chains, creaking protestations from ancient wood and ritualistic drums.
When the sky splits apart and the land moves, it turns to noise. It feels then as if the horrors it's documenting are happening right at your feet and you better not look down unless you want to be a part of them.

Songs of Note: The Groom is Still Waiting for the Bride at the Altar

5 falling stars out of 5

THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT / I Robot (1977)

Readers of science fiction will recognise the title of the album. It’s a conceptual work that was originally about Asimov's Robot Series but was later changed to be less specific. Lyrically it's still heavily influenced by the author's writings, but musically it's Parsons' and Woolfson's special blend of experimentation, prog guitars, futuristic synth, funk and the usual amount of timeless melodies.

Songs of Note: I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You; Don't Let it Show

4½ other places out of 5

ASHLEE SIMPSON / Autobiography (2004)

Did Ashlee have help writing these songs? Yes. However, there’s enough charming, off-kilter wording to convince me that she was largely allowed to do exactly what she wanted. Those awkward turns of phrase and her various squeaks and off-key warbling would have been ironed out systematically if Joe and the record label were the guiding force behind this. Not every track hits the mark but the soul-bearing is nicely balanced with measured catchiness and sass. Perhaps best of all is the theme of embracing one’s flaws that’s loosely threaded throughout.

3 Girls Who Know They Like it Rough out of 5

Songs of Note: Autobiography; Love Me For Me

BILLIE JOE + NORAH / foreverly [2013]

Most folks wouldn't think the idea of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and jazz-popster Norah Jones would sound good covering harmonizing country rockers The Everly Brothers' 2nd album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us, which in turn is already a collection of cover songs.
Yet, 2013's duet album foreverly works in every way you wouldn't think it would seeing as it's ever so faithful to the original record by never steering off into a rough pop-rockiness or Starbuck's friendly soft jazz.  The duo's voices work so very well together as one gives the other edge whereas that other gives the first one a graceful smoothness creating a vocal sound not normally heard from either.
It's not particularly clever, inventive or astonishingly good but simply delightful for a ride down a country road on a rainy day and sometimes that's exactly what one needs.

4 girls named Rose Connelly out of 5

Songs Of Note: Silver Haird Daddy Of Mine; Put My Little Shoes Away

ALICE COOPER / Alice Does Alice (2010)

Like it says on the cover, the guy with the girl's name re-recorded five classic songs for this pointless effort (School's Out, I'm Eighteen, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Welcome to My Nightmare, Elected). They don't have the same vibrancy as the originals, but other than that there's nothing wrong with any of them. The songs are timeless and the production is top-notch. I do wonder why he did it, though. It's not like he needs the money. It was a download-only release, so I can’t even trade the damn thing in. Just for that, I'm not even going to rate it. Alice won't give a shit but it'll make me feel better. I'm not averse to small, asinine victories.

Songs of Note: The originals of them all.

_______ out of 5

ALICE COOPER / DaDa (1983)

Alice's 15th album is… well… it just is. It's ignored by most fans and by Cooper himself, who created it during another alcohol daze. But it's not a total washout; its merits lie in the fact that it's more interesting than it is exciting. The lame synth and computer experimentation are the biggest problem, but the occasional flashes of a lucid Alice raise a few songs high above the blandness.
Former Lee Warmer is a classic Alice ballad, eerie, volatile and beautiful. Scarlet and Sheba has the beginnings of the sound that he'd adopt for his sober comeback album a few years later. New arrangements on the remainder could give them the kind of heartbeat they deserve, but that isn't likely to happen.

Songs of Note: DaDa; Former Lee Warmer

1½ twisted keys out of 5

AUSTRA / Olympia [2013]

A colorful cover featuring frontwoman Katie Stelmanis in bright pink and radiant red hair leads one to believe that goth synth-pop act Austra was trying to break free from their dark & mysterious image.
However their 2013 sophomore album Olympia is just as ethereally esoteric as their first album only now the beats seem to throb a bit more and the compositions shine with confidence..
As chilly and cold as the hypnotizing music is, it's all given an intimate and warm feeling with Stelmanis' soaring, yet vulnerable voice.  As modern as the arrangements are, the production could easily fit into 4AD's heyday with Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins with it's shimmering pulses and blips & beeps.

4 quiet indoor fights out of 5

Songs Of Note:  What We Done; Painful Like

ABDOUJAPAROV / Cycle Riot History Gang (2007)

Cycle Riot is the second full-length album from the trio with the difficult name fronted by Les 'Fruitbat' Carter. It's a collection of retro-sounding guitar-driven post-punk anthems that should strike a chord with the matured generation of students that embraced Carter U.S.M in their heyday.
It's a lot tamer than I expected and to be honest I was mildly disappointed on first listen, but after repeated spins it settled into the correct parts of my brain. Plus, it makes me happy to know that Fruitbat is still making music.

Songs of Note: Do It Myself; Hit Her With the Pig

3 Led times out of 5