Before I get started I want to direct everyone over to a very special column. Ben Morse, the guy who brought me 411 and later to InsidePulse, is leaving the site for greener pastures. If it weren’t for that guy you wouldn’t be reading this. So he deserves either the credit or the blame. Either way, read his farewell.
Oh that’s right, I’m officially “under the weather.” For the first time in 360 days, I don’t fell well.
Now I thought that the reason for my lack of sickness the previous year had a direct correlation to my lack of sharing bodily fluids with anyone during that same time period. I was mistaken. But I suppose that I should delve into some music related topics.
Everyone Was Right
The Eminem album was disappointing. It was so disappointing, that I was glad I got it used. But in all fairness I haven’t given it a proper listen to yet. That said, even the snippets were disappointing.
Em has a flow and he can rhyme. My real problem is the producing. How does the equation go; 2 turntables 1 microphone? Em needs to reacquaint himself with that one.
The problem with self-producing is the lack of variety. Now maybe Em writes his song, then makes the beat, or maybe vice versa, but either way sucks. There is no variety. The only way to describe Em’s beats are “plodding.” When they suck, they plod. When they’re decent, the still plod.
Use your imagination for a second. Imagine Em writing a rhyme to match a beat by 9th Wonder (and shame on you if you don’t know who he is.) Imagine Em flowing over a Primo construct. Hell, I’d even take a Kanye beat for Em to rhyme over.
The point is that extra spice would really add something. Eminem is like chicken, from McDonalds. If it’s in McNugget form or in a sandwich, it’s all basically the same thing. But Eminem and an outside producer (and I mean outside of Dr. Dre too) is like chicken prepared at home. It’s tastier and much more satisfying.
Sometimes I crave McNuggets, but I’ll always be in the mood for a home cooked specialty.
Smells Like It’s Time for an “I Miss The Soundgarden” Segment!
I do miss The Soundgarden.
Recently I was in my room typing a column, while I had VH1 Mega Hits on in the living room. It was on loud enough for me to hear, but not loud enough to distract. I heard something that caught my attention. It was something that intrigued me enough to leave my room, to investigate. It was familiar, yet new. I sat on the couch in wonderment; full of that feeling you get when you discover your new favorite song.
It turns out that video was for Jeff Buckley’s “Everybody Here Wants You.”
Now I’m not a stranger to Jeff Buckley, though I did catch on a bit late. I remember working at Circle K back home, in Tucson and listening to 92.1 KFMA. A caller requested “Last Goodbye” and I was slayed.
So I went out and bought Grace. Of course I loved it.
A couple of years later I was talking to a co-worker about romantic song. She brought up Jeff Buckley. We both gushed about his work. She told me that she was fiend for his music, and that I had to pick up “a-b-c”. I wasn’t really paying attention, because she was kind of hot and I was trying to capitalize on our shared interest. However upon seeing that video I remembered her talking about that song.
“What does this have to do with The Soundgarden” you ask. Well, upon seeing that video I went decided that I was going to bone up on Jeff Buckley. He’s had a few posthumous releases, though nowhere in the league of Tupac, so I decided to pick them up.
So I went down to Big B’s in search of Jeff Buckley. It was somewhat prosperous.
I picked up the Legacy Edition of Grace and Mystery White Boy. But they didn’t have Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk), which contains the song that inspired my quest. And that is why I miss The Soundgarden so much.
Y’see The Soundgarden is as close to walking into the Internet as one gets. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself going to Amazon or Ebay or CDNow and just typing artists names in to see what they have to offer. Sometimes I type in the name of an artist I’m familiar with, and sometimes it’s someone that I’m just interested in. Either way you an idea of their releases. I could do that for a decent amount of time. Well that was what it was like shopping at The Soundgarden.
If you were interested in Radiohead’s catalogue, you could find the majority of it in store, including various import singles. If you wanted to buy every Jimmy Eat World album, they were there for purchase. You could buy them new or used.
That is exactly what I did with Bjork and PJ Harvey. I walked in to The Soundgarden, found their respective names, grabbed the albums and went to the check out line.
But I can’t do that now. If I want to get all of the Distillers albums and maybe a couple of volumes of Desert Sessions, I might as well go online and pick them up. It’s like this; I could spend half a day at The Soundgarden, but at Big B’s I can barely spend an hour.
Sorry to end on a down note, but like I said, I don’t feel well. However reading these folks makes me feel better.
Out of Sight
Gloomchen never disappoints. This time she tackles the infamous Rolling Stone. This could be The read of the week.
Gordi not only has chops at writing, but he’s an accomplished musician. Every week, he amazes me more and more.
Eric doesn’t dig Interpol. But his column is still great. Gee, I wonder why Indie Bands don’t play Vegas?
Tom gives you The Inside Pulse on Pearl Jam!
Solaris
Melchor has issues with the net and is still tripping about getting engaged.
Ian not only thinks that Franz Ferdinand is overrated, but he also claims to have gotten no feedback.
MSD tackles X-Clan? You’ve go to see it to believe it.
Five Songs My Roommate Requested I Put On A CD, That I Did, Reluctantly
1. Jimmy Eat World – “Pain” – I’ve got a problem with singles
2. Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out” – Ditto
3. Foo Fighters – “Generator” – Not my favorite song of theirs
4. Eminem – “Superman” – He’s got such better songs
5. Jay-Z/R. Kelly – Big Chips – Wait a minute, did I just admit to purchasing the album?
