December 31, 2004

2004 TAM Music Awards

1. Van Lear Rose Loretta Lynn

   She may be old, but Loretta Lynn can rock. It helps to have The White Stripes' Jack White helping with production and bringing in a backing rock band. But what shines on this is album Lynn's storytelling. It starts off in the title song with a lovely tale of her mother and father's courtship. "Portland, Oregon" is a great duet with White about love while drunk. "Have Mercy on Me" is a country/rockabilly gumbo song. "Women's Prison" may seem cliche for a country artist, but Lynn tells the story so well to make it a four-minute musical novel.

2. Ethnomixicology Outernationalists

   What a wonderful mix of world music chants and instruments, funk, rock, and dance beats--and that's just in one song on this hour+ mix. In the late 80s, REM's Michael Stipe thought the future of music would be indigenous sounds fused with cutting-edge technology. Ethnomixicology fulfills that prediction.

   "Mash ups" may be hot with The Grey Album and Jay-Z's and Linkin Park's joint effort, but Ethnomixicology literally embodies the concept. We need a new term to describe music of such diversity. How about a "mix-up?" You may think that the combination of sounds should be a mistake, but the music sounds too good.

3. How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb U2

   This album had the most hype with it prior to release. This was supposed to be U2's first "rock" album. What the previous ones were, I don't know. Then with rocker "Vertigo" becoming the theme song for the iPod fans were expecting big things.

   All the typical U2 sounds are here: The Edge's one-of-a-kind guitar; Bono's passionate voice; a flawless rhythm section. The songs pack energy, heart, and sheer love for making music. "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" changes pace with beautiful honesty and Bono's hitting a few high notes. With a song titled "Love and Peace or Else" you may think it's a threat. Instead it's a cry. "We need love and peace," sings Bono in this mid-tempo burner. U2 offered no letdown from All that You Can't Leave Behind.

4. Hot Fuss The Killers

   Until recently I though power pop was dead. Sugar is no more, and it's been years since the Goo Goo Dolls put out an album that incorporated power to their pop. Pop punk has the guitar crunch. But the vocals are as whiny as the songs' lyrics. So I had to look elsewhere for my pop rock fix. The retro sounds of The Killers grabbed me. Hot Fuss contains hooks, tough guitar riffs, and the Moog syths that transport you to 1983. "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me" are full of lyrical wordplay which adds to the subject's troubled psyche. The band is from Las Vegas, but they sound like 80s Euro pop. You can hear echos of The Smiths, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and New Order, especially in Brandon Flowers' vocals.

5. Crimes of Passion Big Head Todd & the Monsters

   This album is a slow burner on the heels of the rockfest Rivera. BHTM have done this before. After their Sister Sweetly album they came back with Strategem. In both cases the follow-up album is more subdued, but not less interesting. BHTM kind of tricks you with "Dirty Juice" the first song on CoP. While not a full-throated rocker, it's got an addictive groove. Next, you come to "Beauty Queen." The smoky jazz vibe in this one assures you the band has taken a break from high-powered rock and roll. This song like "Drought of 2013" and "ICU in Everything" are the type that requires multiple listenings to really appreciate. Todd Park Mohr tells some good stories in these songs, and his precise, unexpected guitar playing shows the breadth of his talent. The best song is "Imaginary Ships." The dynamic soundscape created is heartbreaking, sublime.

   Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 09:03 PM | Comments (0)