Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (Virgin) There he is: Billy Corgan. The Baby Huey of modern rock. The Pillsbury Dough Boy with chops. The pudgy-faced 800-pound gorilla who can sit anywhere he damn well wants. Corgan and his band, Smashing Pumpkins, are currently squatting atop the heap…
The Slims Slow Road to Hell (Mainliner Music) Slims drummer Scott Seymann sports a “London Calling” tee shirt in this CD’s insert photo. That’s tres cool, but the Clash is light-years from the Slims’ stripped-down, medium-tempo fare, which more easily recalls the Feelies. Greg Simmons’ guitar unfurls melodic lines with…
Because disco music was largely the product of assembly-line craftsmanship–conceived by megalomaniac producers and executed by anonymous session musicians–few superstars emerged from the genre. And those who did probably wish now they weren’t so closely identified with that thump thump thumpity thump. Take the Bee Gees, who are still feeling…
Green Day Insomniac (Sire) I admit it: I was a punk rocker in the early ’80s. I had my shoulder dislocated in the pit at a Dead Kennedys concert; I sipped out of the same longneck Bud as Exene Cervenka in the sweaty aftermath of an X show; and I…
Attention, CD shoppers: Manson may be lurking somewhere in your disc collection. If you’re one of the four million souls to throw down for a copy of Blues Traveler’s Four so far, cue up the last cut on the album (“Brother John”) and wait for one Jono Manson to make…
P.M. Dawn Jesus Wept (Gee Street) Maybe it says something about rap’s creative limitations that so many of its top artists feel the need to move beyond the form as they refine their vision. The Beastie Boys’ ongoing journey back to second-wave punk is an example. In any case, the…
If you believe in forever, you may also believe that somewhere beyond the stars is a rock ‘n’ roll heaven with one hell of a band. Rest assured, you’re not alone. Though it’s still too soon for Blind Melon fans to put a silver-lining spin on the latest rock ‘n’…
Candlebox Lucy (Maverick) Candlebox is back, but we never knew it was gone. How could we? The band’s eponymous debut has sold almost four million copies and stayed in heavy rotation on MTV and commercial radio like an old sweat sock that someone keeps forgetting to take out of the…
Flaming Lips Clouds Taste Metallic (Warner Bros.) Let’s play free association. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think “Oklahoma City”? Right-wing kooks with fertilizer bombs? The site of the world’s tallest radio tower (KOMA)? The famed test market for both McRibs and MTV? Not if you’re…
Believe it or not, some audiophiles weren’t immendiately captivated by the sleek look and pristine sound of the compact disc. Some of them actually held off on buying a CD player well into the Ninties! Close your eyes, if you will,, and imagine such a creature – waving his arms…
Meat Puppets No Joke! (London) Immediately after hearing this set’s chipper “Taste of the Sun” on the radio for the first time, I button-punched over to an oldies station and caught a blast of the Cyrkle’s 1966 hit “Red Rubber Ball.” Coincidence? I think not! Both songs share a peripheral…
David Bowie/Nine Inch Nails Desert Sky Pavilion October 18, 1995 David Bowie’s career has always been a masquerade. Most U.S. fans first encountered the D-man when he strutted about saying he was Ziggy Stardust, rock ‘n’ roll messiah from Mars. Adopting that persona was hardly a boost to Bowie’s credibility,…
Red Hot Chili Peppers One Hot Minute(Warner Bros.) The serrano boys have peeled the tube socks off their dicks and pulled on their thinking caps for this fire dance of an album–easily the band’s best since it put funk/punk on the map in 1985 with Freaky Styley. Four years back,…
Generiks Cactus Jelly-Jive? (World Records) I’m thinking Blue Cheer. I’m thinking Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo. I’m thinking Feargal Sharkey. I’m thinking Nervous Norvus. I’m thinking everybody who’s ever sounded worried delivering a lyric. Whether Tempe’s Generiks are musing about being a fetus (“If I was a fetus, I’d probably make…
If it ain’t sung in English, a quick score as a novelty hit is the best a pop ditty can hope for in the U.S. Don’t believe us? Just try naming more than one song by Domenico Modugno (“Volare”) or Kyu Sakamoto (“Sukiyaki”). Betcha can’t! Yet since 1970, the American…
We certainly are hard up for royalty in this country, eagerly crowning tycoons and entertainers “King” of this and “Queen” of that until their self-importance swells like a bad boil. Leona Helmsley married one of America’s wealthiest men and ruled over his real estate empire with an iron fist and…
In a pop perfect world, there would be some deep, cosmic rationale behind every band name. In reality, knowing that Buffalo Springfield is a brand of lawn mower doesn’t yield much in the way of brilliant insight. Since most of the really cool titles–like the Temptations and the Heartbreakers–have already…
Lord knows how many poor, unsuspecting fools are killed by hidden tracks every year. Think of it–the late-night lone driver, winding down a mountain highway, happily head-bobbing to the latest CD by his or her favorite band. The final chord of the last listed track fades, but he leaves the…
If I hear one more newscaster say, “What a long, strange trip it’s been,” I’m going to heave up lunch from a week ago. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sorry Jerry’s gone. I’m sorry his old frame finally couldn’t accommodate all the drugs he believed it should. I’m even sorry…
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters (Roswell/Capitol) “Now what?” God, how Dave Grohl must have grown to loathe that query over the last year. At least now he’s finally come up with an answer, and a good one at that. With his new band’s eponymous debut release, Nirvana’s former drummer has stepped…
They were six fine English boys Who knew each other in Birmingham They bought a drum and guitar Started a rock-roll band And Johnny played the little violin And Bobby Joe played the big violin The one that stands on the floor They were all in the rock-roll band Right…
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers Free Like We Want 2 B (Elektra) Winning a Grammy is the artistic equivalent of contracting a venereal disease. The Melody Makers have two. Grammies, that is. But there’s no confusing these reggae revolutionaries with the soulless dregs found “entertaining” industry hotshots on awards…
