http://geeksofdoom.com Stuff by geeks, about geeks, for geeks. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:00:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/07/12/music-review-new-york-dolls-cause-i-sez-so/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/07/12/music-review-new-york-dolls-cause-i-sez-so/#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:28:20 +0000 Obi-Dan Brian DelanyDavid JohansenNew York DollsSammi YaffaSteve ConteSylvain SylvainTodd Rundgren http://geeksofdoom.com/?p=24446 'Cause I Sez So
New York Dolls
Produced by Todd Rundgren
Atco
Rhino
Released May 5, 2009

In 1973 a young band from New York released an album into the world. The cover featured a black and white photograph of a group of men dressed in women’s clothes. In stark contrast to the photo was a line of pink lipstick which spelled out their name: New York Dolls. A band too Punk for Glam Rock and too Glam Rock for Punk.

In 2006 came the release of One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This after a thirty-two year studio album absence (granted there was a break up in that time). This was a new New York Dolls, New York Dolls Part 2, even. A band that had time to reflect on their rock ‘n’ roll lives, who had suffered the heartache of losing loved ones. They were more laid back and David Johansen’s voice had succumbed to years of hard living, becoming a gravelly growl rather than a cocky yell. This was the sound of the New York Dolls growing old gracefully (whoulda thought it?) not re-hashing their best work of thirty years ago in a desperate attempt to re-capture that popularity.

Sylvain Sylvain and David Johansen are the only two surviving original members. There is always a question mark over whether bands should keep the name when so many line up changes have occurred (yes, Axl Rose, i'm looking at you, too). To many, the New York Dolls just isn’t the same band without Johnny Thunders and Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane. Its true, without those guys the band is very different, but there are some similarities...]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/07/12/music-review-new-york-dolls-cause-i-sez-so/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/18/music-review-iggy-pop-preliminaires/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/18/music-review-iggy-pop-preliminaires/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:01:26 +0000 Obi-Dan Iggy Pop http://geeksofdoom.com/?p=23303 Préliminaires
Iggy Pop
Produced by Hal Cragin
Astralwerks Records
Release date: June 2, 2009

For over 40 years, James Newell Osterberg, Jr. has shrieked, crowd surfed and wriggled his wiry, leathery torso for our entertainment. His music is often ahead of its time, even providing a catalyst for at least one significant music genre and his influence continues to shape the music of his contemporaries. Iggy Pop has not released a studio album since 2003's electrifying Skull Ring but now the 'godfather of punk' is back with…a jazz album? Quite frankly, Préliminaires is nothing like I expected.

The album opens with a French jazz song from the 1940s. "Les feuilles mortes" sounds like 'Whats Going On' by Marvin Gaye over Serge Gainsbourg's 'Je t'aime... moi non plus' with Iggy performing the vocals in spoken French. Unfortunately the language of love sounds a little like the language of the creepy old man as he talks his way through it.

What at first listen sounds like the creepy old man in English, "I Want To Go To The Beach" is actually beautifully melancholic. Iggy sounds great with a big band orchestra which he uses to great effect on the swaggering "King Of The Dogs" and this is one of the best tracks on the album [...]]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/18/music-review-iggy-pop-preliminaires/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/08/music-review-green-day-21st-century-breakdown/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/08/music-review-green-day-21st-century-breakdown/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:40:27 +0000 Obi-Dan 21st Century BreakdownGreen Day http://geeksofdoom.com/?p=22538 Green Day -- 21st Century Breakdown
CD | MP3
Producer: Butch Vig
Reprise Records
Released May 15, 2009

Five years after the release of American Idiot, Green Day returns with its latest studio album, 21st Century Breakdown.

2004 marked a huge change for Green Day. Four years after their last album, Warning, Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool emerged a different band: black hair-dyed, eye-linered, and tie wearing. This new Green Day put down their bongs, took their hands out of their pants, and sung about politics. This met with a mixed reaction. They lost fans who thought they had sold out with their emo traits. They faced some curious older fans who weren't sure if they approved or not and most interestingly, they welcomed a new, younger fanbase. I admired Green Day for having the guts to try something so different, even though I was not a fan of American Idiot. My main problem with the album was I felt they had lost their energy which was a major facet of their sound. I know album opener "American Idiot" has pace but I felt it had no soul, I felt the agenda got in the way.

21st Century Breakdown however combines the energy and philosophy with good effect [...]]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/06/08/music-review-green-day-21st-century-breakdown/feed/ 6 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/13/music-review-metallica-death-magnetic/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/13/music-review-metallica-death-magnetic/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:57:39 +0000 Obi-Dan Death MagneticJames HetfieldKirk HammettLars UlrichMetallicaRick RubinRobert Trujillo http://geeksofdoom.com/?p=4197 Metallica would have walked away (or done the decent rock band thing and imploded in a cloud of drugs and lawsuits) after And Justice For All. The Black Album at the most. Since then their output has been pretty awful. Let’s face it: St Anger was a catastrophe. The album was shrouded in turmoil and embarrassment. Welcoming ex-Ozzy bassist Rob Trujillo into a mixture that was ready to explode, the band released St Anger, which displayed their ability to perform generic riffs to a very high standard. Gone was the boundless energy and, most interestingly, guitar solos. The documentary Some Kind Of Monster demonstrated how fragile Metallica had become thanks to, well, almost everything and as such it seemed their creativity and tolerance for each other and love for the music had vanished.

But now five years after their last studio album, Metallica is back to metal up your ass with Death Magnetic. I was very apprehensive about pushing ‘play’ on my CD player when I put this in. But one thought kept pulsing through my head: "It’s Metallica!" Whether I liked it or not, whether I was ready or not, Metallica had returned.

And what a return it is...]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/13/music-review-metallica-death-magnetic/feed/ 13 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/04/music-review-the-lost-boys-the-tribe-soundtrack/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/04/music-review-the-lost-boys-the-tribe-soundtrack/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:25:08 +0000 Smed Lost Boys: The Tribesoundtrack http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/04/music-review-the-lost-boys-the-tribe-soundtrack/ ost Boys: The Tribe, I felt I could get a few listens as I drove hither, thither, and through yon cornfields. So on my way to a small Midwestern college through the Illinois farmland, I switched off of Fred 44 on XM and popped in the CD. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much, since the movie was a rather unauthorized sequel of a movie that I always felt was OK, but not all that and a silver crucifix. Plus, it starred one of the Coreys, a dude that looked like a younger Corey, a generic hot chick, and the half-brother of Kiefer Sutherland. (What? Were Joe Estevez and Robert Z’Dar not available?) And the first track, a remade of the theme song from the original movie (“Cry Little Sister” by Aiden), solidified my predisposition that this was not going to be a very exciting CD. That song signifies the worst qualities of the current emo/goth/hard rock/whatchamacallit scene that’s been popular since the '90s, with bombastic choruses that offset ‘gentler’ moments that show they have ‘emotion’ but are too calculating and generic to be sincere. Yick. However, starting with track two, a classic hard rocker called “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast” by Airborne, things picked up a bit...]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/09/04/music-review-the-lost-boys-the-tribe-soundtrack/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/08/07/music-review-scarlett-johansson-anywhere-i-lay-my-head/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/08/07/music-review-scarlett-johansson-anywhere-i-lay-my-head/#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:42:48 +0000 Jack Bauerstein83 Anywhere I Lay My HeadATCO RecordsScarlett JohanssonTom Waits http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/08/07/music-review-scarlett-johansson-anywhere-i-lay-my-head/ Scarlett Johansson's first foray into music is through the songs of another artist. In her debut album, Anywhere I lay my head, Johansson decides to go the cover-tune route. With the help of producer Dave Sitek, Johansson brings together nine Tom Waits song and adds in an original song written by herself and Sitek for good measure. The big question though is, with so many actresses out there with albums, does Johansson's album out shadow the rest? I think the main question everyone wants answered is can Johansson sing? Well, after listening to the whole album, I can safely say I am still on the fence about that one. You really need to listen carefully to hear it. The whole album, arranged by Sitek, is so instrumentally driven and so electronically enhanced, that at times, Johansson seems to get lost in the shuffle in a number of songs. It feels as if Sitek is trying to mask or make up for Johansson's shortcomings as a singer...]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/08/07/music-review-scarlett-johansson-anywhere-i-lay-my-head/feed/ 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/06/07/music-review-indiana-jones-and-the-kingdom-of-the-crystal-soundtrack/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/06/07/music-review-indiana-jones-and-the-kingdom-of-the-crystal-soundtrack/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:15:45 +0000 Jack Bauerstein83 Indiana JonesIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullJohn Williamssoundtrack http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/06/07/music-review-indiana-jones-and-the-kingdom-of-the-crystal-soundtrack/ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film. ]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/06/07/music-review-indiana-jones-and-the-kingdom-of-the-crystal-soundtrack/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/04/03/music-review-my-blueberry-nights-music-from-the-motion-picture/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/04/03/music-review-my-blueberry-nights-music-from-the-motion-picture/#comments Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:58:29 +0000 Groovespook Amos LeeCassandra WilsonCat PowerChirikara TsuzukiGustavo SantaolallaHello StrangerMavis Staplesmy blueberry nightsNorah JonesOtis ReadingRuth BrownRy CoodersoundtrackWong Kar Wai http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/04/03/music-review-my-blueberry-nights-music-from-the-motion-picture/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/04/03/music-review-my-blueberry-nights-music-from-the-motion-picture/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/03/14/nine-inch-nails-first-9-tracks-of-new-album-as-free-mp3s/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/03/14/nine-inch-nails-first-9-tracks-of-new-album-as-free-mp3s/#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:55:20 +0000 1-900-HEY-NICK Creative CommonsDRM-freefree musicGhostsmashupMP3NiNNine Inch Nails http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/03/14/nine-inch-nails-first-9-tracks-of-new-album-as-free-mp3s/ Ghosts I–IV, as free MP3s.]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/03/14/nine-inch-nails-first-9-tracks-of-new-album-as-free-mp3s/feed/ 5 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/14/music-review-xanadu-on-broadway/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/14/music-review-xanadu-on-broadway/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:01:50 +0000 Empress Eve BroadwayXanadu http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/14/music-review-xanadu-on-broadway/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/14/music-review-xanadu-on-broadway/feed/ 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/08/music-review-juno-soundtrack/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/08/music-review-juno-soundtrack/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:59:21 +0000 Empress Eve Barry Louis PolisarBelle and SebastianEllen PageJunoKimya DawsonMichael CerasoundtrackThe KinksThe Moldy Peaches http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/08/music-review-juno-soundtrack/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/02/08/music-review-juno-soundtrack/feed/ 5 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/12/music-review-paul-mccartney-memory-almost-full/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/12/music-review-paul-mccartney-memory-almost-full/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:53:47 +0000 Smed Paul McCartney http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/12/music-review-paul-mccartney-memory-almost-full/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/12/music-review-paul-mccartney-memory-almost-full/feed/ 2 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/03/music-review-u2-the-joshua-tree/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/03/music-review-u2-the-joshua-tree/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:03:32 +0000 1-900-HEY-NICK Adam ClaytonBonoGold UltradiscLarry Mullenmusic reviewremasteredThe EdgeThe Joshua TreeU2 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/03/music-review-u2-the-joshua-tree/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/12/03/music-review-u2-the-joshua-tree/feed/ 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/20/music-review-vanessa-carlton-heroes-and-thieves/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/20/music-review-vanessa-carlton-heroes-and-thieves/#comments Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:04:23 +0000 Groovespook Heroes and ThievesStephan JenkinsStevie NicksVanessa Carlton http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/20/music-review-vanessa-carlton-heroes-and-thieves/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/20/music-review-vanessa-carlton-heroes-and-thieves/feed/ 3 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/04/music-review-love-is-the-song-we-sing-san-francisco-nuggets/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/04/music-review-love-is-the-song-we-sing-san-francisco-nuggets/#comments Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:59:42 +0000 Smed Box setRhino RecordsSan FranciscoSummer of Love http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/04/music-review-love-is-the-song-we-sing-san-francisco-nuggets/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/11/04/music-review-love-is-the-song-we-sing-san-francisco-nuggets/feed/ 0 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/10/02/music-review-the-simpsons-testify/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/10/02/music-review-the-simpsons-testify/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:22:45 +0000 Smed Alf ClausenB-52sBaha MenChalie CallasCharoDavid ByrneJackson BrowneLos LobosMr. TShawn ColvinSoundtrackSteve BuscemiThe SimpsonsWeird Al Yankovic http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/10/02/music-review-the-simpsons-testify/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/10/02/music-review-the-simpsons-testify/feed/ 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/26/music-review-lindsey-boullt-composition/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/26/music-review-lindsey-boullt-composition/#comments Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:04:19 +0000 Groovespook Atma AnurDerek SherinianGuitarJeremy ColsonJerry GoodmanLindsey BoulltMingo LewisMusic ReviewPeter Van GelderStu HammSukhawat Ali Khan http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/26/music-review-lindsey-boullt-composition/ Compositions comes off as a very tasty and well-recorded fusion of some unexpected styles and some intense tune-smithery.]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/26/music-review-lindsey-boullt-composition/feed/ 3 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/13/music-review-megadeth-that-one-night/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/13/music-review-megadeth-that-one-night/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:48:03 +0000 Empress Eve Dave MustaineGlen DroverJames MacDonoughMegadethShawn Drover http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/13/music-review-megadeth-that-one-night/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/09/13/music-review-megadeth-that-one-night/feed/ 5 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/14/music-review-elvis-presley-viva-las-vegas/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/14/music-review-elvis-presley-viva-las-vegas/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:47:35 +0000 Smed Elvis PresleyMusic ReviewViva Las Vegas http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/14/music-review-elvis-presley-viva-las-vegas/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/14/music-review-elvis-presley-viva-las-vegas/feed/ 1 http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/05/music-review-joe-satriani-surfing-with-the-alien-legacy-edition-cddvd/ http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/05/music-review-joe-satriani-surfing-with-the-alien-legacy-edition-cddvd/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:54:53 +0000 Dave3 GuitarGuitaristJoe SatrianiJonathan MoverMontreux Jazz FestivalMusic ReviewStu HammSurfing With the alien http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/05/music-review-joe-satriani-surfing-with-the-alien-legacy-edition-cddvd/ Surfing With The Alien. ]]> http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/08/05/music-review-joe-satriani-surfing-with-the-alien-legacy-edition-cddvd/feed/ 3