8/05/2011

No Dust Here

Last night was the opening for No Dust Here, a group art show I'm taking part in. For the show, a number of artists were given old record albums and asked to reinterpret the cover(s) however they saw fit, using whatever medium they wanted. As usual, my medium was photography. Here are side-by-side comparisons of the source material (album cover) and my final submitted image:









The show runs throughout the month of August, at the Basil Hallward gallery on the third floor of Powell's City of Books. If you can, go check out it. There's some really amazing work in the show.

overlooked, underrated pt 2

A few more entries in my favorite overlooked albums list



Morrissey -- Kill Uncle
After Southpaw Grammar, this album probably receives the most ire and criticism of Moz's solo attempts. I've never understood why. I think it's a damn solid album, full of gems and career highlights. In fact, I've listened to this one so much that my CD has tiny holes worn through the top side, making it unlistenable now. Thankfully I was able to rip it into iTunes before that happened.








Morrissey -- Maladjusted
This one isn't spat upon so much as it's simply ignored by most. And unfairly so.
All in all, this album was probably the last good album the man recorded (he's still making records that follow this same blueprint, yet those have been received unwarranted praise from all corners, while this one is continually forgotten -- even the recent resequenced reissue didn't do much to improve it's general legacy).





more to come...

8/02/2011

overlooked, underrated

Recently, PopMatters posted an article on "10 albums that supposedly suck, but don't" -- which got me thinking of my own list of personal favorite albums that are often looked down upon or ignored by long-time fans. Sometimes, a band will branch out and try a new sound, or find itself drifting into some different territory. Some times, this change is awful. Other times, it's just new and different; and after time, it comes to stand out as something to give a second (or third or fourth) chance.

Here are a few of my favorites, in no real order.



Twisted Sister -- Love is for Suckers
Originally conceived as a solo vehicle for Dee Snider, this is a huge departure for a Twisted Sister record and often receives a lot of unfair criticism. It was never meant to be a proper "metal" album, and so it can't really be criticized for not meeting any kinds of "metal" standards. It was meant to be a more pop-oriented, more radio-friendly device to launch Snider as a solo artist. Depending on whose story you hear/believe, one side or the other -- Snider or Atlantic records -- was a bit weary of releasing it as a solo record and demanded it be released as a Twisted Sister record. The album itself had been recorded with a series of studio musicians (Kip Winger among them), but the other members of Twisted Sister received credit on the album. So, in the end, fans were given a "Twisted Sister" album that had not been recorded by the band proper, so sounded a far sight different than expected. It was also a Pop album disguised as a Metal album -- never a good thing.
And unfortunately, the backlash the band received, in addition to conflicts within the band itself, was too much. And an album that most of them had nothing to do with was to be their swansong.

If you can put aside any notions that this is supposed to be a "metal" album, I think you'll find a pretty strong (not perfect), utterly enjoyable pop album.






GWAR -- Carnival of Chaos
I once read a review that described this album as the "thinking man's GWAR album," and I kinda have to agree. After setting the world on fire with Scumdogs of the Universe, watching it burn with American Must Be Destroyed, and then feeding it to the World Maggot with This Toilet Earth, there wasn't much left for them to do. So, they brought about the end of times with Ragnarok and reveled in it all with Carnival of Chaos.
They tried some new things, tried some new sounds, and (unfortunately) set the stage for their near-demise. While certainly not a flawless album, it's certainly one that deserves more attention than it currently receives; as well as a higher rank among the GWAR echelon.







Misfits -- American Psycho
Yes. We all know that the Michal Graves era of the Misfits could not hold a candle to the (classic, legendary) Glenn Danzig era of the Misfits. Such an argument is ridiculous, cliche, and should not still be happening in 2011.
That said -- if you're able to take this (first) reincarnation of the band on its own terms and its own merits, you'll find a really solid horror-themed pop-punk band who released two solid albums. The first one -- American Psycho -- is the stronger of the two, and definitely worth a re-appraisal if you happened to be one of the ones who initially cast it off.





....more to come....