Loutallica

When it comes to music, I like to stay on the cutting edge.  Even though I lean more towards Alternative, I really like all kinds of music.  Now when I say Alternative, I don't mean the crap on the radio.  I mean stuff that will not get air play because they can not afford to grease palms or they refuse to do so.

Every so often something comes up, and I am shocked that I didn't hear about it in advance.  Lou Reed and Metallica have an album coming out Oct 31!  I had to stop working, put an out of office on my phone and research this gem.  It is an album that is based around a theatrical interpretation of two works by modernist playwright Frank Wedekind.  OK, I am down.

I remember blowing money as a kid, by judging a band by the cover of the album.  Nowadays it is a couple clicks of a mouse to get a good taste of new music.  Well I tasted this, and can honestly say it is the musical version of a shit sandwich.  Even though I did not buy the album, I did stop working to check this out.  I will need Lou or Metallica to compensate me for time lost.

The music and the vocals do not match up.  It's like a Lou Reed album playing while the neighbor is blasting Metallica.  Now I am basing this on listening to half of the first track "the View", but I do not need to eat the whole shit sandwich before declaring that it is not good. 

I have a lot of respect for both Lou Reed and Metallica, but my assistant put it best "just because spaghetti and ice cream are good, does not mean that they should be together"

Music Review: Mariachi el Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx are a hardcore band based in LA.  They have a  great West Coast flavor, that can be appreciated if you are a connoisseur (like myself) of punk music.  I know this may miss the palate of a lot of music fans, but you cannot look at this genre of having nothing to offer.


I submit, for your approval, the alter ego of The Bronx...Mariachi El Bronx

Mariachi El Bronx

This was borne from a request for The Bronx to do an acoustic set, so they decided to do it as a Mariachi band.  This has taken a life of it's own, including a recent appearance on the Tonight Show. So what genre is Mariachi El Bronx? They play Mariachi music in English, you figure out how they fit into a heading at a music store.  All I know is that you need to listen and expand your mind.

Buy this!!!

Mariachi El Bronx newest release, is a work of art.  The album flows from beginning to end.  The Opening track 48 Roses, is a great strong start.  The mood changes to love ballads including a fantastic song highlighting the infamous Revolution blvd in Tijuana.  This album is good from beginning to end, showcasing their musical talent with great respect to Mariachi music.  This genre might have been a tough egg to crack, without looking like a parody.  They do it with style and grace.  Each song tells a story, and each story is steeped in complex arrangements that are flanked by acoustic guitar and bass.  I could go on and on, but then I would sound like a music snob, aka music douche.  This is the equivalent of someone that sips wine and talks about the woody flavor with lilac doused finish.  This is just really good freakin' music.

Music Review: Aggrolites

The plan this weekend was to completely geek out.  There was a lot of good music that was dropping, and I was gonna break me off some of that.  Nick Lowe, John Doe, Mariachi El Bronx and Aggrolites were going to be my new acquisitions.  This is my equivalent to Christmas, Chanukah and Boxing Day (which I assume involves big boxes filled with delicious sandwiches and fried treats).

I love music, but can't make it to the music store anymore.  Also, all our record stores were eaten up by big box assholes that think that music is the pop crap that falls out of Beyonce's ass.  So it was a going to be a combination of purchasing on line and uploading.  I normally like to buy my CD's, so I can hold it, squeeze it and call it George.  I just could not wait for this round to show up in the mail.  I would upload half and wait for the other to arrive at my door. 

Things did not go as planned, Nick Lowe doesn't come out until September, John Doe end of August, Mariachi El Bronx August 3rd.  One by one, I was shot down.  The music gods were not happy with me, and banished me to musical timeout.

My only saving grace was Aggrolites newest release "Rugged Road"...
This album lacks the intensity and flavor of previous releases.  Aggrolites last album "IV", was a musical masterpiece from the word go.  So it stands to reason that the only place to go, was down.  It is just a little hard to digest when they have consistently excelled expectation with each album. 

The Aggrolites coined the phrase "dirty reggae", a combination of Reggae with a soulful undertones and a nod to punk.  They own this genre.  It is the natural progression that Reggae has made and others have fought.  Look at other types of underground music and you will see how it has evolved, this is one the many evolutions.

It is not fair to make comparisons to this album with previus, but damn it, it needs to be done.  "Rugged Road" starts out slow from the gate, leaning on more of Roots Reggae.  "IV" hits hard with the first track, priming you for things to come.  "Rugged" flexes the Aggrolites muscles by showcasing their musical talent with 5 of the 10 tracks being instrumental.  This is approximately the same number of instrumentals found of "IV", but with double the tracks.  "Rugged" lacks the continuity and brazenness of "IV".  It is more of stroll in the park with Mary Jane, compared to the love, hate, joy and excitement of "IV".

If this album is your first foray into Aggrolites music, you will be very happy.  You will pop it in, and feel the contact buzz as you plow through a bag of Cheetos.  If you love the Aggrolites, then you will be pleased that they did not call this album "V", because it is not a good follow up to one the best albums of their musical careers.

Now excuse me while I try to clean the Cheetos dust off my IPod.