July 2001

JUSTY'S MUSICAL CAVALCADE

OK folks, I've been buying new music at the pace of about one album per week for the last 4 weeks, so there's a lot of stuff I've been listening to on my daily commute. I'm not gonna cover this in any particular order, just as it comes to me.

WEEZER - (self-titled, I guess they call it The Green Album) 2001

I have never disliked a Weezer album. I still do not dislike any Weezer album. 10 songs, 29 minutes, no filler, no preservatives. My highlight song on this album is the clap-your-hands sing-a-long "Photograph." It takes me back to a simpler time, when boys wrote whiny guitar-driven pop songs to their agonizingly cruel ex-girlfriends, and people liked it. I'm pretty sure people like the new Weezer. I do anyway, the rest of you can screw.

I give it 4.9 stars. 29 minutes is not nearly long enough.

RADIOHEAD - AMNESIAC 2001

The title of this album is someone who forgets things. I don't get it, but then again I didn't get what Kid A was either. In either case, this album was a tough first listen. I was sitting in the car thinking "What the hell, it sounds good, but there's no concept to connect all these songs!" Then I figured that maybe the concept was that there is no concept, I should just shut my mouth and be happy they put out an album at all. So I adjusted, and my life is better for it. The songs are all good, no room for argument, and you should go buy this immediately.

I give it 4.9 stars as well, only because I had a blow-up with this girl the night it came out, so thanks a whole hell of a lot, Radiohead.

TRAVIS - THE INVISIBLE BAND 2001

I have been a-waiting for the new Travis to come out ever since I picked up their first two albums last summer whilst in England. They are really good, and I listened to this album a whole bunch for the last week or so. They have a knack for cheesy lyrics and a total lack of personality, which apparently they have been working very hard at. I'm a bit disappointed at much of this record, but I bought it and here I am. I'm still alive. One of the songs was written for Cinjun Tate, who was divorced from Alyssa Milano last year I think. It's all about the "bird that needed to fly away." Ick, I hope Cinjun didn't kill himself.

I give this album 4 stars, because I'm a sucker for slick Brit-pop guitar ballads.

GORILLAZ - GORILLAZ 2001

This album pretty much blew me away. The concept is this whole "virtual band" thing, but there is some weighty brass behind the cartoons. Damon Albarn of Blur, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto, and Dan
Nakamura are the conspirators. This album is laden with tracks infusing hip-hop, Brit-pop, punk rock, reggae, dub, world beats, garage, wacky sound bites, and honest-to-goodness weirdness. That's what I like about it. If I wasn't listening to Legislative Session right now, I'd be listening to this album.

I give this album 4.9 stars, falling short of 5 only because I've listened to it only twice. Check out www.gorillaz.com too. It's fun.

I listen to other music sometimes, and I recommend the latest releases from Jurassic 5, Rocket From the Crypt, and Craig David as well. That's it.