The Automatik

Miami Vice notwithstanding, I’ve got a serious 80s fashion fetish, one that has remained strong for twenty years. When I was a mall rat back in the day, my friend and I used to hang out at Merry-Go-Round every weekend our moms would let us. Even though it was dreadfully overpriced, it was THE place in the suburbs (The French Quarter downtown had BONGO) for cool 80s attire, and since it was close to the Wild Pair, shoes to go with your parachute pants were available right next door.
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House of Blues
September 19, 2003

I’m looking for a song to sing
I’m looking for a friend to borrow
I’m looking for my radio
So I might find a heart to follow
-Hanson, “A Song to Sing”
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Let’s talk about a little-discussed genre of music, the “I’m on tour now but I’ll be home soon” genre, or what I like to call “Tour Trauma.” (If it is discussed somewhere, please point me in that direction.) You know the kind of song I’m talking about. Kiss’s “Beth” is sort of like that, although it’s more about band practice and not touring, but you get the idea. A good example, and a maudlin one, is Journey’s “Faithfully,” where Steve Perry sadly laments that “the road ain’t no place to start a family.” Bon Jovi’s paean to manifest rock destiny, “Wanted: Dead or Alive,” really stretched the boundaries and elevated the rock star to the same level as Billy the Kid.

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I’ve been railing against the RIAA for a long time now, and I’m tired of it. Something has got to give. The latest article I have read is perhaps the worst offender of all.
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House of Blues
September 27, 2003

Last time I saw the Super Furry Animals, they were so loud that my ears rang for two days. This time, I wisely remembered to pack earplugs. Sadly, they did not block out Grandaddy, who thankfully performed last and spared me from having to endure their entire set. It seems unbelievable to me that anyone would want to follow the phantom power of the Super Furry Animals, particularly Grandaddy, who I saw open for Elliott Smith three years ago and who didn’t impress me then.
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Self-Released, 2003

This is the first CD I’ve reviewed in a while which I didn’t actually purchase. Long gone are the zanier, zinier times, of trudging through crappy “punk” 7 inches and weird, under-produced cassette tapes. Hopefully my comments won’t cause it to be the last CD I am sent to review.
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Geffen, 2003

At their best, Rooney sound like Jellyfish, Jason Falkner, and vintage Weezer. At their worst, they’re sugary enough to give you a toothache; too much bubblegum and not enough bittersweet.
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Watch this at: http://www.vikrecordings.com/sloan/actionpact/multimedia.html

Relief flooded over me when I realized that this song was the first single from Sloan’s new album, since I was certain it would be the album opener, “Gimme That.” Not that “Gimme That” doesn’t provide a thorough sonic ass-kicking; it’s just that we went down that route with Pretty Together‘s “If It Feels Good, Do It” and I was hoping for something different this time around. (Someone should serve me with a “Comparing Everything to Pretty Together” gag order, I swear to God.)
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Outside Records, 2003

Reddish hair and pale, luminous skin
She stuck it in with an Ultravox pin
They say the Germans make the best ones
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“We were trying to not be as precious about our previous conception of what Sloan was all about. It used to be about four guys equally represented, but this time, it wasn’t so much about expressing yourself as trying to put together a fun rock record.”
- Singer/guitarist Patrick Pentland on Sloan’s latest album

Let’s get the Pretty Together conversation out of the way first.

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