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Music, Pop Culture

CD Review: 2 a.m. Wakeup Call by Tweaker

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Tweaker 2 AM Wake Up Call CD Cover

Artist: Tweaker
Album: 2 am Wakeup Call
Release Date: April 20, 2004
Label: Waxploitation

2 a.m. Wakeup Call is the second album from Tweaker (producer, remixer, ex-NIN drummer Chris Vrenna), following 2001’s The Attraction To All Things Uncertain. Continuing Vrenna’s fondness for conceptual works, 2 a.m. is a journey through nightmares, sleeplessness and a variety of nocturnal disturbances. Warm tones of piano and acoustic guitar moderate the expected electronic flourishes, taking the chill off songs exploring insomnia-inducing subjects like deep depression (“Worse Than Yesterday”), the manic mind (“Pure Genius”) and somnambulism (“Sleepwalking Away”). Framing Vrenna as a modern Burt Bacharach, 2 a.m. finds the composer crafting tunes for interpretation by other voices, though Vrenna had guest vocalists (including David Sylvian, Robert Smith and Will Oldham) write their unique lyrical visions for his mini-soundtracks. The results are surprisingly seductive. From the stark “Nights In White Satin” vibe of “Ruby” to Jennifer Charles’ opiated, candy floss croon on “Crude Sunlight,” Tweaker’s disquieting lullabies for troubled slumber provide uneasy listening at its finest.

Official Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweaker_(band)

This article was originally written for Rolling Stone’s Online Magazine. Though Rolling Stone remains in print and online, this article is no longer a part of their archive and has been added to the content base of The Worley Gig for our readers’ enjoyment.

Music, Pop Culture

CD Review: Dirt by Mark Selby

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Mark Selby Dirt CD Cover

Artist: Mark Selby
Album: Dirt
Release Date: 2003
Label: Vanguard Records

After gaining notoriety for penning hits recorded by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (“Blue on Black”) and the Dixie Chicks, singer/songwriter/ guitarist Mark Selby earned his moment in the spotlight with the release of his own critically lauded, 2000 debut, More Storms Comin’. His exceptional sophomore CD, Dirt indicates that album was not just a fluke. Many of Selby’s songs (some co-written with his wife, Tia Sillers) give vibrant life to romantic ruminations he keeps in his head, (“Willing to Burn, ” “Desire”). Favorable comparisons to Gregg Allman permeate this disc, not only in regard to Selby’s lyrical blues-rock guitar playing, but also his visual songwriting and slightly rough-hewn but engaging vocals — especially appealing on the lead track, “Reason Enough.” Excellent flanged guitar adds a hypnotic undercurrent to the gorgeous title track, but never detracts from the song’s true grit. No need for bells or whistles here: the music does all the talking.

Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/MarkSelbyRocks/

This article was originally written for Rolling Stone’s Online Magazine. Though Rolling Stone remains in print and online, this article is no longer a part of their archive and has been added to the content base of The Worley Gig for our readers’ enjoyment.

Music, Pop Culture

America Needs More Religion: A CD Review

Please enjoy this thought provoking review of Bad Religion’s The Empire Strikes First CD, by Eric J. Iannelli by clicking this link: In Perspective: America Needs More Religion.

Music, Pop Culture

CD Review: You’re Gonna Ruin Everything by The Maroons

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Maroons Youre Gonna Ruin CD Cover

Artist: The Maroons
Album: You’re Gonna Ruin Everything
Release Date: March 5, 2002
Label: In Music We Trust

The Pacific Northwest is the unrivaled breeding ground for the great plague upon pop music known as “indie rock”: the most un-melodic, uninteresting, unenergetic music this side of death. Yawn city. But The Maroons are a whole new animal in the indie rock zoo, in that they seem to be highly familiar with Mid-70’s rock (Sweet, T-Rex, The Kinks), the essence of which permeates their sophomore album, You’re Gonna Ruin Everything. Guitarist Jim Talstra’s Brian May-inspired guitar licks on “Can You Feel?” are spot on, while Mike Clark’s Three Dog Night-inspired keyboards (on the clever “Dance Floor Flirt,” for example) leave plenty of hook residue in their wake. Add a lead singer, John Moen, who sounds like the gay reincarnation of Marc Bolan, and you’ve got a bunch of tunes that would be at home on the soundtrack to Velvet Goldmine. If the Posies wrote a rock opera about the life of a Guided By Voices fan, You’re Gonna Ruin Everything might be the result.

Official Website: http://inmusicwetrustrecords.com/themaroons.html

This article was originally written for Rolling Stone’s Online Magazine. Though Rolling Stone remains in print and online, this article is no longer a part of their archive and has been added to the content base of The Worley Gig for our readers’ enjoyment.

Music, Pop Culture

What is that Bucket Doing on his Head?

A Rad Guest Post By Sir Millard Mulch

Buckethead’s fans think he is a unique, underground artist with pure intentions. This is not true. Buckethead is a strategic advertisement for himself.

It has nothing to do with his music and everything to do with his visual appearance — the same scam as every other Rock Star. He’s an accidental genius phenomenon of masterful marketing tricks; on a higher level than any mersh band on the radio could conceive of. After all, if he didn’t have a BUCKET ON HIS HEAD and a weird mask, no one would give a fuck what he did. Continue reading What is that Bucket Doing on his Head? →