Tag: rock

366. Gore Gore Girls

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(November 2021) Episode 366 is GORE GORE GIRLS. Nothing quite refreshes the palate like good garage rock. I so present Gore Gore Girls out of the Detroit garage rock revival, so named after member Amy Gore and a 1970s slasher film of the same name, highlighting their retro kitsch vibe.

Favorite album: Get the Gore

Favorite song: Casino

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you listen to Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM, you’ve heard Gore Gore Girls, and by definition, you like Gore Gore Girls

365. Steve Vai

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2021) Episode 365 of the “opus project” is STEVE VAI.  I’m not into shredder rock, but I’ve always liked Steve Vai due to his early work with Frank Zappa, not to mention his “we’re not worthy” transcription of Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption.” In fact, his first solo album sounds as much like a Zappa album as anything else.  Much of the rest is axe-man virtuosity stuff, which is not as interesting to me, although there is an occasional weird gem in there.

Favorite album: Flex-Able

Favorite song: The Attitude Song

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: for Zappa fans and guitar aficionados

364. Teenage Fanclub

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2021) Episode 364 is TEENAGE FANCLUB. Their early 90s shoegazing albums put me in their fanclub. The rest is pleasant but unremarkable harmony-rich power pop and chill rock. When they get the guitars going, though (like the one-off second album), they sound like Crazy Horse, which is cool. 

Favorite album: Bandwagonesque

Favorite song: What You Do To Me

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: just Bandwagonesque will do

358. The Decemberists

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2021) Episode 358 is THE DECEMBERISTS. I listen to little aughts indie rock, so I was unprepared for how pretentious it can get, as exemplified by The Decemberists with their precious song titles and knowingly literate lyrics delivered in an affected voice.  Somewhat counter-intuitively, it gets better when they move into concept albums, featuring guest singers and an occasionally heavier sound.

Favorite album: The Hazards of Love

Favorite song: Everything is Awful

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: nah

356. Ash Ra Tempel

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(September 2021) Episode 356 is ASH RA TEMPEL, along with ASHRA and MANUEL GÖTTSCHING solo albums. It started as a classic avant-garde Krautrock collective leaning toward the spacey side (Kosmische Musik). But it became a vehicle for Göttsching and reached a peak when he put his guitar at the center. He gets the most Mike Oldfield-like guitar tone I’ve heard elsewhere. The best stuff sounds like a blend of Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and Discipline-era Fripp. 

Favorite Ash Ra Tempel album: Schwingungen

Favorite Ashra album: Blackouts

Favorite Manuel Göttsching album: Inventions for Electric Guitar

Favorite song: Echo Waves

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: If you like the artists listed above, this is a must.

355. KISS

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(September 2021) Episode 355 is KISS. I can’t think of a rock band whose fame is derived from a higher ratio of style over substance. Cock rock has not aged well (other than as period pieces in movie soundtracks), and KISS is no exception. It’s like they presciently made music in order to be mocked by Spinal Tap, and later made music that mimicked the mocking. I was too young for the KISS Army and like to think I would not have succumbed.

Favorite album: Destroyer

Favorite song: Dark Light

Oddest yet weirdly compelling album: Music from “The Elder”

Best late-period album: Carnival of Souls

Best 1978 solo album: Ace Frehley

Favorite member: Ace Frehley

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: don’t bother

353. The Polyphonic Spree

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2021) Episode 353 is THE POLYPHONIC SPREE. I was captivated by their debut album, with a technicolor choir robe-adorned chorus playing trumpet and flute and singing mystical sunshiny lyrics, creating a very Age of Aquarius vibe.  But later recordings never matched the initial promise, and it descended into 10s-typical synth pop.

Favorite album: The Beginning Stages Of…

Favorite song: Have a Day/Celebratory

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: just first album

352. Everly Brothers

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2021) Episode 352 is THE EVERLY BROTHERS. Their flawless harmonies gave us pop standards and were immensely influential to the development rock-n-roll.  To my ear, their harmony fit best outside their most popular, early 60s, somewhat bubblegum, period – in an early album of folk songs from an earlier generation (Songs Our Daddy Taught Us), and their later albums of country-rock (Roots). 

Favorite album: Two Yanks in England

Favorite song: Gone, Gone Gone

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you want to know that music that influenced the music you listen to

351. Mudhoney

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(August 2021) Episode 351 is MUDHONEY. I started this one while in the Seattle area.  They were delivering the grunge sound before the other Seattle-based bands who got more famous. I didn’t have Mudhoney in my playlist back then but I’m sure there are devotees who rank them above the others. They have a comparatively more punkish sound and sensibility and have been durable.

Favorite album: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Favorite song: Thorn

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: pretty core if you like any grunge stuff

346. Mountain

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(August 2021) Episode 346 is MOUNTAIN. You know them for “Mississippi Queen” and perhaps for their appearance at Woodstock. Mostly their legacy comes from their heavy and loud sound which influenced the development of heavy metal. The first two albums are excellent period pieces and all that you need.

Favorite album: Climbing!

Favorite song:  Nantucket Sleighride

Compared to expectations: same