Ed Said: Millenium 2000 Roundup: 23 CD Reviews in 46 Sentences

Ed Said:
Occasional Ramblings About Arts and Entertainment

Millenium 2000 Roundup:
23 CD Reviews in 46 Sentences

by Ed Yashinsky

While the Millennium Music Seminar is now just a memory, I’ve had the privilege of delving through a stack of CDs left at the MODE booth in the Hilton or given to me by the many bands I saw throughout the weekend. The coolest thing about this CD grab is there will always be some good bands I knew nothing about. The other cool thing is if the CD is not so good, I get a few empty jewel boxes to replace the screwed up ones in my collection. So, without further adieu, here is my review of 23 CDs in 46 sentences:

Delivered in a paper CD jacket (points off already), Feltsideout’s Contagious Entity EP reeks of current ilk that fills 105.7 The X and every other alternative (?) radio station out there. It’s good in the way that Lit, Creed, and Filter are good, and it continues in that long line of unexciting musical footnotes that currently populate the radio and one day will all fade into oblivion … Off The Wagon’s debut CD delivers hot, smokin’ traditional country without trying to package it as cool, alternative or hip. These guys can play, and they are even better live than on this CD … I guess Vikki Vox’s parents were being pretty slick when they named their golden-throated daughter, but they really should have cut down on the music played on the home front. Can You Feel It? is mangled mess of R&B, dance, country, and covers that sounds more like a demo release to attract anyone’s attention who will listen instead of a musical vision … Channeling Owen’s Furry Bright Green Shoes is great for two reasons: first, all the great riffs are played on an electric cello that kicks serious ass, and second the songwriting and music is intense, intelligent, and memorable. Think about what was great about early Queen and The Tubes and then wrap it in a ’90s sheen and that’s a small tastes of what Channeling Owen offers … Julian Fist’s three song EP bounces off distorted guitars, slick melodies and good harmonies that zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, ugh, ah, sorry I dozed off there. This CD is not bad, but there’s nothing here that screams out as great either, just eleven minutes of blah … Be very afraid, Aston Family Reunion delivers subversive messages in a thrashy stew of unintelligible lyrics and wall of distortion guitars. There are some nice Husker Du influences here, but the vocalist needs taken behind the woodshed to have a sense of melody beat into him … On Everything Becomes You Eventually, Manifold Splendor mine the golden years of college radio, striking a vein that meshes The Feelies with just a touch of The Sundays, and it couldn’t come at a better time. In this age of thrash instead of melody, a little reckless guitar across a cool melody and banshee drumming is a breath of fresh air … The Pixies were one of the greatest bands ever, and if imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, than The Fat Little Demons are bowing to their idols. It’s been too long between records for The Demons, but Wipe it Clean eviscerates the senses with no-nonsense rock that screams for the attention it truly deserves … Oh, I want to be like David Bowie and Bryan Ferry with a really cool early ’80s synthesizer driven sound. That’s what Go Robot Go is all about, but some pretty cool songs are quickly dismembered by studio trickery that over flanges the piss out of the vocals and may lead to convulsions during repeated listening … Vocally reminiscent of Black 47 and musically recalling Nirvana, Star Drag is as messy as those two influences running into each other in a dark alley. This is one of the finer examples that just about anyone with a few thousand dollars can go “legit” and release a CD … If ever there was a legitimate heir to the Pearl Jam throne, Bonehead might be it. Yeah, their sound has been done before (just like many others), but Fade is full of great songs, ripping guitars, and cool vocals … I am a firm believer in anyone’s right to record music, but Sky Blue Pink may be the first example of why CD burners should be outlawed. Bigger Than a Breadbox elevates bad to a level that only Spinal Tap could joke about … Oh no, not another ska record, but wait, after that faux-ska intro Kiwi’s Fuzzy and Tangy turns into a beach party bonanza that slinks like The English Beat and slides like Squeeze. Fuzzy and Tangy is born to be played at loud volumes with the top down sending traveling companions into wide-eared grins and passers by into blank stares … Amazing Meet Project’s Undrugged is the CD most worthy of a second, third, fourth, and fifth listen. Recalling classic Pink Floyd and timeless hard-edged acoustic pop, Undrugged gets better and better with each listen as it shimmers to life across an amazing collection of songs … Kill By Inches’ Down to Three is an intelligent hard-driving CD that is loud for all the right reasons. Breakneck stops and starts clash headlong into vocal yowls that somehow find a killer groove and just enough musical humor to stay fresh and exciting … Recalling Marty Ballins (and his band mates Jefferson Airplane), Michael Reich’s Before I Let it Go captures the essence of acoustic music with its eclectic mix of percussion and acoustic guitar. Perhaps a touch preachy, naïve and simple, but still memorable … Another fine example of it’s been done before, Anthrophobia’s In the Zero to 3 Movement, sounds a lot like Limp Korn, but these guys do it pretty well. Besides, if the songs get annoying (which they do after a while), there’s some pretty funny incidental recordings throughout the CD … D’arey October’s Guide to Teenage Glamour screams for attention the same way Courtney Love has for years. But while Love reached (and probably lost) the gold apple with Hole, D’arey October yells “look at me, look at me” over relatively inane music that doesn’t offend but hardly inspires … On Hellraisers and Hooligans, Daze Alone proves they might be one of the best bands in the Skacore universe. They’re loud and pissed off, but more importantly, this nine-piece ensemble plays tough as nails and takes no prisoners … Andrew McCutcheon’s Welcome to Periphery slips on a psychedelic palette that recalls The Doors, The Moody Blues, and Beck. And while it sometimes falls back into a Beck-lite groove a little too often, there is enough intrigue across Welcome to Periphery that makes it stand out among the crowd … Bluesuedegoove can really play that Phish-like, twirlie-girlie, jam-band thing like there’s no tomorrow. But all the talent and ability can’t cover up their largest flaw — one of the stupidest band names ever … Roxanne Beck is a diamond in the rough. The self-produced Garden of Love shows off Beck’s honest songwriting, and with the right producer, this woman might go places … We are Skurj. Our CD is Flatline and we are loud … While their name and punk attitude might allude to talentless snots, Double Zero unleashes punk anthems that rely on energy melody instead of yelling and anger. This CD is five great songs that are a truly a pleasant surprise.