Sound Bites

  The Blue Meanies “The Post Wave” MCA
Records

The Blue Meanies “The Post Wave” MCA
Records

The chaotic, hardcore, carnival punk sound of the Blue Meanies
is present on its new album “The Post Wave.” According
to the Meanies’ official Web site, frontman Billy
Spunke’s one goal on this album was to actually sing. Good
idea, Mr. Spunke. The Blue Meanies have been an indie rock,
low-profile band for almost a decade, releasing a half dozen
independent albums during that time. Now the Meanies are making
their MCA record debut, with “The Post Wave.” The
energy of this album matches the band’s boisterous live show
and individual personalities, but it is certainly not music for
everyone. The eclectic mix of music found on “The Post
Wave” combines eerie sounds and cynical lyrics with a sense
of depressant-laced irony. Songs such as “Mama Getting High
on Chardonnay,” “Creepy,” “Big
Brother’s Watching,” and “Employee 00765,”
give a sense of the paranoid, cynical outlook of the album. But
there’s a sense that it’s all in good fun and should
not be taken too seriously. Spunke’s cagey vocal performance
fits well with the theme of the album. Despite the fact that the
Meanies’ music is not exactly pop, catchy hooks are not
missing from the album, as showcased by the upbeat tone of songs
such as “Lose Your Mind.” The celebratory tone of the
song contrasts with sardonic content of the lyrics and displays the
band’s keen sense of irony. The carnival aspect of the band
is in full swing in the song “Employee 00765″, which
sounds like a two-minute trip through one of the most frightening
carnivals of your nightmares (you know, the ones with the really
scary clowns that chase you). The album then breaks into the punk
flavored “Camaro Man,” displaying the versatility of
these 10-year veteran rockers. The Blue Meanies are a
musicians’ band, focusing on making a trademark sound rather
than radio-friendly music. “The Post Wave” will neither
make nor break The Blue Meanies, but it is an interesting album
overflowing with great imagery and not-quite-so-mainstream music;
enjoyable, but not exactly an award-winner.

Chris Moriates Rating: 4

The Offspring “Conspiracy of One”
Columbia

After listening to the Offspring crash and burn on its last
several albums, it’s nice to hear the boys back on track.
While the majority of the punk quartet’s recent releases can
be kindly described as lame and/or boring, “Conspiracy of
One” shows that Dexter Holland’s outfit has got it
together once again. Though it started off promisingly back in the
“Ignition” and “Smash” days in the early
’90s, Offspring faltered mightily after switching from
Epitaph Records to Columbia. What began as a feisty, energetic punk
group quickly lost its edge, flirting with classic rock tones on
1997’s “Ixnay on the Hombre” and falling into
flat-out schlock on 1998’s “Americana.” Any way
you sliced it, the band was just making amped-up novelty songs,
hilarious the first time and forgettable afterwards. That’s
why “Conspiracy” is such a refreshing change ““ it
forgoes most of the messing around in favor of quality music. The
foursome still plays around a fair amount, but it directs a much
larger portion of that energy into rocking out, not goofing off.
Whether it’s in the form of the blistering title track or the
cleverly spliced-together “Special Delivery,” the
Offspring deliver the goods in top form. While there’s still
some of the Weird Al Yankovic-goes-alternative mentality evident,
most clearly on “Original Prankster” and “One
Fine Day,” the album is remarkably driven and punky
throughout. As Greg K. whacks at his bass and Ron Welty shreds
through his drum heads, Noodles unleashes a flurry of hard-hitting
guitar licks. Though his approaches aren’t terribly
innovative, making cuts like “Come out Swinging” and
“Million Miles Away” difficult to distinguish from one
another, he’s still a darn good guitarist. The blend of his
axe-work and Dexter’s screechy vocals propels
“Conspiracy” through its 37-minute run-time nicely. So
while punk diehards may be hesitant to welcome the Offspring back
to where it came from, the rest of the crowd won’t have any
trouble embracing the band. If it can keep making albums in this
vein, things ought to be just fine.

Brent Hopkins Rating: 7

Fatboy Slim “Halfway Between the Gutter and the
Stars” Astralwerks

As the album’s title indicates, Fatboy Slim is at that
comfortable midpoint between quality and crap. He’s not
making amazing stuff, but hey, it’s not too shabby. After
riding the electronic wave to the mainstream with “Better
Living through Chemistry” and “You’ve Come a Long
Way, Baby,” the programming wizard, also known as Norman
Cook, finds himself in an odd place. While his music has been
devoured by countless pop fans who latched onto his catchy hooks
and combustible energy, now he’s got the daunting task of
following up the smash success of “Baby.” With his
latest disc, he straddles the line between the Top 40 and the big
beat scene that spawned him, with mixed results. Things begin
nicely with the slow-ish “Talking Bout My Baby.” While
it lacks the quickness of “Gangsta Tripping” or
“Rockafeller Skank,” the lead track shows Cook at his
best, mixing things up, twiddling knobs and adjusting pitches with
ease. Though its slow tempo doesn’t lend it to the dance
floor, “Talking” is one of the musically better tracks.
Cook runs into trouble when he starts messing around too much,
however. “Star 69″ boasts the high beats per minute of
a good dance track, but Cook is far too interested in jacking
around with the samples to make it interesting. Sure, you can move
to it, but it’s not very much fun to listen to. The same goes
for “Love Life,” which features over-processed Macy
Gray vocals. When Cook hits the halfway point, blending both cool
sounds and danceable rhythms, he’s on solid ground. If he
could hit on those points consistently, as he does on the gritty
“Retox,” then he’d be headed in the right
direction. Until then, however, he’ll be stuck right in the
middle.

Brent Hopkins Rating: 6

Primitive Radio Gods “White Hot Peach” What
Are Records?

Primitive Radio Gods’ newest release, “White Hot
Peach,” seems to glorify the use of a monotonous beat, and,
at the same time, incorporates melodic variation, creating a
coffeehouse feeling. The album switches from low tempo to upbeat
through its 11 song set. The slow, jazzy background of “Ghost
of a Chance,” and “Gotta Know You” contributes to
the somewhat sullen atmosphere the album seeks to create. This
album, however, is everything but a jazz album. It seems to be
lamenting over life, while at the same time “Fading
Out,” as one of its songs says, from being in the face of
listeners. The music presents itself as stable and grounded, but
the words seem to prove otherwise, suggesting a confused state of
the songwriter in a struggle to make sense of the world around him.
“First Alien Photo” suggests the songwriter’s
feelings of isolation accompanied with outerspace-like guitar riffs
carrying through the entire song and coming together in an
electronic fade. “Wayward’s Pilot Mission”
captures the feeling of a pilot attempting to keep his plane
steady, though the song attempts to keep the mellow mood constant.
Sometimes creating a higher level of excitement, it reverts back to
its tonic state of melancholy. “White Hot Peach” is an
album of self exploration. Its music sounds like a combination of
The Wallflowers, Radiohead, and Live. Unlike these bands, though,
Primitive Radio Gods presents a darker approach in its music, not
concentrating on connecting with listeners, but rather remaining
stable and waiting for listeners to find the meaning within the
music and words.

Tamar Boyadjian Rating: 6