Reviews by jlazerus

Super-groovy mostly uptempo psych rock without the scariness of Pink Floyd, or the stupid country leanings of someone like the Dead. Draws from a lot of sources for a satisfying variety, executed with outstanding vocals. Some interesting, novel songcraft,, especially "Sitting by the Window," "Omaha," "Hey Grandma," and "Indifference" (kind of an odd way to end the disk). Not much to complain about here unless you don't like the genre or era.

Creepy. Intense. And really weird. I love it.

The perfect example of how punk can be both smart and stupid at the same time.

Ashamed of myself for not knowing about this gem. I’m not the only one I’m sure. Good to finally see where the Ramones stole their ideas from! Glad to have heard this and now I can finally see why critics claim a straight line from V.U. -> The Stooges -> New York Dolls -> Ramones and how that is how punk rock happened. They all forgot to input this before the Ramones. And it’s all New York art rock really anyway, like rap many years later, a lot of regional scenes erupted. Was NYC ground zero for this shit? Maybe, maybe… I might be starting to come around.

This bit from the Wikipedia article says what I think far better than I could write it: “ funny, brilliantly played and hopelessly naïve masterpiece of self-indulgent smartass rock'n'roll".[10] Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Go Girl Crazy's junk-generation culture and smart-aleck sensibility did provide an essential blueprint for '70s punk. With its TV references and homely vocals, this ground-breaking and long-unavailable album continues to inspire underground groups everywhere."[7]”

“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart “ is one of the best pop songs ever written. Should have put it last instead first!

I see what they’re trying to do. The saddest feeling a young man can have is the pain of losing his relationship. The Bee Gees get SO CLOSE to expressing their version of that feeling. Over and over and over. They remember what it was like, they remember her, they wish she wasn’t gone, over and over. Sometimes Beatle-ish, sometimes like Sam Cooke, very rarely as themselves

A little monotonous with some exceptional vocal performances as you would expect. Really morose though. Overwrought production, which is forgivable considering that’s what you did. And I guess it more or less fits the theme. Still for me a bit much, a bit false in its intensity.

Production technology evolved in big leaps more than as a gradual, smooth flow. In the early/mid-seventies we were getting Todd Rundgren, Pink Floyd, 10cc … notes for a longer essay perhaps.

So the phenomenal production of this album, combined with some really elaborate compositions make for a fairly interesting and entertaining work. And some of the most perfectly executed vocals and instrumentation you’ll ever hear.

And that’s the problem. It’s very much “overworked,” they sanded and polished it down so much that the feeling and any discernible edge is gone. Which is why this is a pop album and not a rock album I suppose. Rock has, at its core and as its most defining characteristic, a rebellious, underground quality. Difficult to describe, but the sinister, outsider attitude of the music and musicians gives rock its appeal. This ain’t it.

But who’s to say that everything should be rock, or that it’s somehow the best or has an elite place in music? I think the term “rockist” has been coined for that attitude. And I am 100% not going to justify my own rockist leanings. One of the great things about doing this project is getting away from it more and more through exposure to all the stuff I wouldn’t necessarily listen to because of rockist bias (in my defense, not all my own doing). So as it relates to Sheet Music, I think it would be better if the band took their foot off the production pedal and felt the music a little more.

Regarded for its influence on the California Sound, whatever that is, Sweetheart of the Rodeo is certainly an album you must hear before you die.

This sounds like The Byrds experimenting with Country. Gram Parsons definitely adds a flavor, more herbal than spicy. The ubiquity of the slide verges on annoying and feels layered on. And they don’t commit to trad country or bluegrass or blues (think Hank Williams). Hickory Wind and 100 Years are certainly standouts. Well executed and well crafted, mostly. Still feels like outsiders to the genre paying homage more than a deeply felt, sincere work.

Cool lookin’ cover though.

This sounds like something you’d come up with in a college songwriting class. A little contrived but not all bad. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. After “…Fun” it went off the tracks.

This is making me uncomfortable and I want to go home.

Never got into these guys even though it’s the exact genre and era that I “should” love - a sort of post hardcore 90s alternative rock. It’s okay when sounding like Pixies or The Fall, but otherwise the singing is really off putting and the word I always think of when I listen to Pavement is “dumb”.

Power pop or pop punk. Fun though. Good energy, more like the Ramones than anything else.

A little spacey, a little naive, a little oddball. Not great singing and I’m still waiting for something catchy that I can remember.

Chaotic high-energy pastiche that not only defiles its source material but somehow manages to create a tasty sonic sausage from the ground up mess.

Surprisingly great. Marlene on the Wall is the big hit, but a lot of other standouts are here like Undertow, The Queen and The Soldier, Neighborhood Girls. I like the poetry, and the contrast between her light voice and heaviness of the lyrics. Confidently executed folk rock.

Now is the time for us all to revisit Entertainment! The music is singular, amazing, astonishing. But there's so much more to it and that's what makes it a true masterpiece of any era and any genre.

Read Kevin J.H. Dettmar's excellent 33 1/3 analysis/memoir about Entertainment! for a really in-depth look at the philosophies, attitudes, and politics that make this album more than just a groundbreaking and earth shattering work of musical art.

Here's the thing: fascist white nationalist scum repeatedly try to castrate and cut the legs off of us humans. Men, women, and everyone in between. They will burn this place to the ground in their narcissistic attempts at gaining power at any cost. Our lives become flatter, less colorful, less fun. Resistance and acceptance both end the same.

Turning humans into a commodity started a really long time ago. Sending soldiers to war with the promise of heroic status on return, working your ass off (starting as a child) for some small meaningless consumer product, transactional sex in and out of the bedroom, music that is manufactured for the most efficient psychological impact, love like anthrax.

So, Gang of Four address this problem and provide its soundtrack. You can't dance away these systemic problems. Andy Gill's slashing atonal guitar will pull you back in line, crashing the party that started with the hippies and found its groove in the disco era. That malaise you feel when 'your new purchase' does not provide the joy you expected? It has no lush reverb, it has no catchy, easy to digest power chords or twee vocal to divert your attention inward. Nah.

GoF don't provide us much of a solution. But they absolutely help us detach ourselves from the situation and invite us to reestablish our deeper more meaningful human essence.

Upside: mellow, well executed jazzy new wave pop, perfectly “80s”. Paddy McAloon writes perfect songs for his vocal style and range. Entertaining, romantic and melancholic in turn. This type of music is really easy to get wrong but there’s a necessary sophistication here that carries this. The Thomas Dolby production is crisp, and the band is tight while remaining ever so slightly funky.
Downside: a bit milquetoast. Overly smooth when some of the themes want more edge.

Appetite and Horsin’ Around are standouts and McAloon has a great voice. Really enjoyable if you’re in the mood for some mid-eighties stylish new wave pop

Cool and stylistically eclectic alternative from the mid-aughts and better than a lot of other alternative rock coming out around that. High energy rhythms that groove, sometimes funky, always heartfelt.

The singer's twee whisper was so annoying I let some flies and mosquitos in the house just to cheer myself up. Considered violence at one point.

Couldn't get all the way through.

More alienation. Good job. Now EVERYONE is in a bad mood.

Trying a bit too hard to be Soul. Or maybe a neo-Stones? “Step On” is fun( why you gotta be twistin’ my melon, man?) Love this most when the guitars get to go wild. Tight rhythm section. A low 3

In which PJ Harvey gets dressed up for a date is very, VERY disappointed. As well she should be.

Maybe her best album. Love the heaviness. But, you know, she's never NOT heavy.