Issue #5 Albums I Love 2010

Unlike previous years when I’ve had top 10’s and even 20’s this year there’s only five. That’s not meant to imply that said five albums are just the best of a year that’s short on great music. They would all be on any top list I made regardless of when they were released. My top five albums of 2010 go as follows:

The Obvious – Bringing Wreck – This was without a doubt the most highly anticipated for me. I had first seen this band about a year prior and been entranced by the combination of their sound, energy, enthusiasm and talent ever since. Sadly I had nothing to own and listen to whenever I felt like it with the exception of having “K.O.? O.K.!” (which continues to be my favorite track) on the pop out player of my myspace profile. Take everything you love about 90’s grunge (especially the female fronted bands) and mix it with everything you love about whatever you’d classify a group like Yeah Yeah Yeahs as, and you have a pretty good idea where this band is coming from. It’s only a five song EP, so making it flawless is a little easier than it is with a full length. But considering I love everything else I’ve heard from this group’s live sets I don’t doubt that they’re capable of releasing just as perfect an entire album.

Black Wine – Black Wine – Continuing with the awesome resurgence of the 90’s alt/grunge sound most of us grew up on, but still making it their own and not coming off as some sort of retro gimmick is Black Wine with their self-titled release. Comprised of the former rhythm section of Hunchback and Jeff Schroeck formerly of The Ergs it’s no wonder this is incredible. While the members are all capable of all sorts of intricate musicianship their guitar/bass/drum acrobatics and feedback squeals never come at a cost of keeping the melody intact. My personal favorite track would have to be “Chateau Of Ghosts”.

Screaming Females – Castle Talk – Much like their previous release this album took longer to grow on me than their first two. The great songs are all there, but the downside of our fellow New Jerseyan’s meteoric rise to national prominence is that they’re always on the road and we’re not hearing the songs in the basements of New Brunswick or the local venues we love prior to their release. We had grown accustomed to seeing the songs played live for months before actually owning them to listen to at our convenience. Sadly now we have to wait for the album to drop like the rest of the country. And when the tour comes “home” it’s way the hell up in Hoboken. Songs like “I Don’t Mind It” and my personal favorite “Sheep” however make the wait feel worth it.

Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle – Odds are you already know who this band is/what they’re about and already have your good, bad or indifferent feelings about them. Personally I love them. This was the most pleasant surprise of the year to me in that it was promoted very little prior to its release. I had literally gone to the store to purchase the next album on the list as part of my wife’s birthday present and right by it in the new releases section was this. Since becoming an ipod owner it’s rare that my car cd player sees much use anymore, but I had to open and put this in immediately on my drive home. This album is easily the equal if not the superior of their previous release. Also on the off chance you need to still be further sold on this it was produced by Rick Ruben.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned The Hard Way – Whether it was released this past year or had it come from soul’s inception in the 60’s/70’s this would still be one of the finest offerings the genre had to offer. Musically this is one of the tightest and most impressive ensembles you could ask for. Combine that with the relatable lyrical content and urgency of delivery from the voice of Sharon Jones, and it is an unstoppable force.

Issue #3 "Album I Love"

Mephiskapheles – “Maximum Perversion” – 1997 Moon Ska Records - There are albums that came out at pivotal times in your life that, on top of being great, hold such sentimental value that they always take you back to that time and mindset. I thought of that as I drove into work this morning and Less Than Jake’s “Automatic” came on my ipod. As you all know that’s on their album, “Losing Streak”, arguably their greatest. Listening to that album always takes me back to my teens in the mid to late 90’s when I first saw them headline Ska Against Racism at Montclair University and when I won my cassette copy of that album on one of the wheel games down at Seadside and then played it incessantly in whatever boom box, walkman or car stereo I had access to. But everybody already knows that album rules and doesn’t need me to tell them so. As luck would have it though my ipod seemed to sense I was wistful for the 3^rd wave ska explosion and the next track was “Introduction To The Yellow Passion” from Mephiskapheles’ underrated 2^nd album “Maximum Perversion”. Despite this album coming out at the same time as many of the other benchmarks of the genre it somehow seemed to slip through the cracks for most people, myself included. I actually purchased this album almost a decade after its release. I did however have several compilations (a lost concept- it seems nobody’s putting out good cheap comps like they used to) that had tracks from this album on it. All of those comps are also worth owning, but for now I’m gonna stick with talking about actual albums. Mephiskapheles for the most part were geniuses in the sense that they knew people would enjoy them most in smaller dosages, so they just gave submitted songs to comps like crazy which is how most of us learned about them. That and satanic imagery is always fun for teens trying to be rebellious. Their first album that more people are familiar with, “God Bless Satan” really milks the latter whereas “Maximum Perversion” is more about “okay you know what our gimmick is, and we’re happy you dig it, but check out our musicianship cuz we’re all really awesome at what we do”. Don’t worry they knew what their bread and butter was and still have a couple tracks on there that give props to the Prince Of Darkness. But my personal favorites “Attack Of The Geniuses”, “Bad Toupee” and “Break Your Ankle Punk” don’t seem to be about religion or really much of anything in particular other than showcasing incredible horn and rhythm sections. Seriously there’s a lot going on in ska and drummers typically fade into the woodwork, but this guy makes you take notice. Check this album out you’ll be glad you did. You can most likely find it on Half.com for less than $5 with shipping. What have you really got to lose? (with the possible exception of your soul)  SCRUFF

Issue #1 "Album I Love"

Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs" released 1985 on Island Records –

Today I was cruising around running various errands unemployed people run (getting cotton balls for my fiancé and a cheap vcr from Craig's List for myself if you're wondering) listening to my ipod when
" Union Square" by Tom Waits came on. As I often think whenever a song from Rain Dogs comes on, "holy crap this is a great album".  Tom Waits as you may or may not know is an acquired taste. He's got a gravely voice and loves macabre subject matter and often employs creepy circus/carnival instrumentation to recite said macabre gravelly tirades over. This is one of his more accessible albums which still aren’t to say that many will care for it. It was a favorite of mine to put on during my brief stint working at the Hot Topic in Woodbridge Center back at the turn of the century.  To watch the confusion and annoyance of the younger patrons wondering why we didn't just put on more nu-metal or emo teeny bopper pinup bubblegum what have you, which were sadly the two most prevalent genres at the time? This was the first album by Tom Waits I bought. Like most people of my generation my first introduction to him was seeing the video for "I Don't Want to grow Up" (famously covered by The Ramones) on Beavis and Butthead. Shortly after that I noticed an album by the same guy within my Dad's cd collection. It was 1973's live album "Nighthawks at The Diner" (also flawless and worth owning, but that's for another time). Upon one of the many visits I would make to the no longer existing CD World at Menlo Park Mall back during that time because of their expansive used section and seemingly random selection of non-used albums to put on sale for under $10 I found "Rain Dogs" for the too good to pass up price of $6.98 and it's one of the wisest purchases I've ever made. The opening track "Singapore" has been one of my favorite mixtape/playlist staples ever since.  Other favorites include the closer "Anywhere I Lay My Head" with it's New Orleans jazz funeral outro, the title track "Rain Dogs" featuring the unmistakable staccato guitaring of Mark Ribot, country song it's okay to admit liking "Blind Love" and the almost impossible to classify genre-wise trifecta of "Tango Til They're Sore", "Cemetery Polka" and "Jockey Full Of Bourbon". This album also contains "Downtown Train" which Waits is the original writer of. It's a far cry from the more polished but much less soulful version popularized by Rod Stewart. If you love things you get to describe using words like quirky, atmospheric and peculiar, then odds are you'll love this album. And if for some reason you don't, somebody that's fortunate enough to find it in the used bin after your giving up on it surely will.
Scruff Cardinale