Under the Scalpel 05.07.09: Eminem, Bell X1, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga & more

Posted by Mark Ingoldsby on 05.07.2009

Eminem finally gives a reason to anticipate Relapse, Bell X1 starts making an impact across the pond, Katy Perry surprises me, Lady Gaga doesn't, and more. These biased reviews are proudly brought to you by the sometimes humorous, always heartless guitarist of the hard rock band that is opening for Korn on May 23 – A Simple Complex.

"Under the Scalpel: Dissecting Pop Culture One Song at a Time" is a weekly column written by Mark Ingoldsby, songwriter and guitarist for the hard rock band A Simple Complex.

If you want to see the band perform with Korn in New Hampshire on May 23, get tickets now at www.asimplecomplex.com!

Eminem – 3am
Hope For Relapse

After being thoroughly unimpressed with "We Made You," "Crack A Bottle," and a handful of Eminem's latest freestyles, I recently wrote, "I hope something else on Relapse, or its scheduled follow-up album, saves Em from the cut-out bin at the CD shops."

With Em's new single "3am," I have a feeling of renewed hope. I wouldn't call this song a full return to glory, but it is a very promising sign that Relapse and its sister album may have some tracks that will appeal to fans of his earlier (darker and more controversial) material.

"3am" feels like a combination of a few of Em's other songs. The music sounds a bit like a slower version of "8 Mile." His vocal style mimics "Ass Like That," where Em overuses a silly accent that sounds more like a cartoon character or puppeteer than an MC. And, the song's story evokes memories of "Murder Murder."

In "3am," the song's protagonist is an orphaned serial killer who experiences violent episodes after ingesting alcohol, pharmaceuticals and hallucinogens. References to a bucket, a hose and lotion indicate that the song was modeled around Jame Gumb, the fictional serial killer from the story The Silence of The Lambs. Em's character often recovers from a blacked-out state to discover dead bodies everywhere.

"I remember the first time I dismembered a family member,
December I think it was,
I was having drinks with my cousin,
And I wrapped him in Christmas lights,
Pushed him into the stinking tub,
Cut him up into pieces and just when I went to drink his blood,
I thought I ought to drink his bath water,
That ought to be fun."

If the lyrics make you feel the slightest bit nauseous, take my advice when I say do not watch this song's video.

In his trademark style, Em throws in plenty of distasteful comic relief into his gory tale. Lyrics include kissing a naked male mannequin and masturbating to Hannah Montana so vigorously that he "bust(s) all over the wall panel and dismantl(es) every candle on top of the fireplace mantle."

Em reclaims his throne as today's top wordsmith in the MC game with "3am." His flow is at its prime, as evidenced in how effortlessly he crafts and delivers complex and clever rhymes.

"Right there's the coroner,
Waiting for ya to turn the corner,
So he can corner ya,
You're a goner,
He's onto ya,
Out the corner of his cornea, he just saw ya run."

If you can overlook the overuse of Em's newer, goofy-sounding vocal style, this song easily compares to his best work of the past. I finally look forward to the release of Relapse.

If You Like: Eazy-E, Geto Boys, Ice-T, Insane Clown Posse
Rating: ***** (5 out 5)


Bell X1 - The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella
Irish Band Begins To Impact Across The Pond

What do you do when your lead singer abruptly quits the band and moves to Italy to tend sheep and grow vegetables? The same thing that the remaining members of Genesis did when they became Peter Gabriel-less. Keep going.

Bell X1 formed from the ashes of a band named Juniper. After Juniper was signed to a six-album deal with Polygram, lead singer Damien Rice was quickly getting fed up with his fellow band members and the record label. On the day the band was scheduled to begin recording their debut album, Rice bailed. After spending some time as a shepherd and farmer, he did eventually return to music, releasing an album that sold millions of copies... without his prior band mates.

When Universal Music Group acquired Polygram, the remaining members of Juniper changed re-christened themselves as Bell X1, the namesake of the first aircraft to break the sound barrier.

An Irish band named after an aircraft? What a novel idea!

Although the band is largely unknown in the US, they are chart-toppers in their homeland. Their last two albums debuted at #1 on the National Album Sales Chart in Ireland.

Musically, "The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella" is uber-retro, feeling like a new wave rock song inspired by the past radio hits of bands like Talking Heads, ABC, Thompson Twins, OMD, The Cars, Modern English, et al. Classic keyboard sounds of the 1980s are prominently featured whenever the band's David Byrne-esque vocalist, Paul Noonan, is absent. Underneath, a simple, uptempo drumbeat and bass line make the song danceable and catchy.

Like most new wave hits of the past, the upbeat music is contrasted with cheerless lyrics. In the story behind "Umbrella," a man has spent many years longing to be with the girl in a photograph he keeps.

"She was only just a girl in a picture,
But he thought 'If I could only make her smile,
Then she'd be mine',
He'd fooled it, re-folded it so many times,
He'd already lost some of her to the creases,
Precious pieces."

"I met an old man in a bar in New York who had come to America many years before from Poland to seek a better life," Noonan told Shore Fire Media late last year. "He knew that a girl from his hometown had also made the journey west, and they had planned to meet in New York City. Her name was Liza. He had hoped to make her his wife, but he couldn't get in touch with her, and still carried a photograph of her in his wallet. He had lived most of his life in New York, and never married, always holding a candle."

Bell X1 has begun making some headway across the pond as of late with "The Great Defector," the first single from their latest album and first charting single in the US. With "Umbrella" as the follow-up, you can expect to hear more about them in the coming weeks as their fan base continues to grow around the world.

If You Like: Coldplay, Ryan Adams, Talking Heads, The Cars, Thompson Twins
Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

The Six Pack: A half-dozen quick song reviews in an easy-to-carry cooler!

Atmosphere – Your Glass House
Atmosphere's MC, Slug, paints a vivid picture of the morning after in "Your Glass House." A girl who again wakes up hungover and alone in a strange house asks herself, "How'd you get from the bar to this mattress? And when you got here then what happened?" But like most of the songs on Atomsphere's incredibly good album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, the plot in this song takes a twist that makes you need to hear it again the way The Sixth Sense made you want to re-watch it.

If You Like: Arrested Development, El-P
Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)

Grandmaster Flash & KRS-One – What If
This year, a founding member of the first rap act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released his first studio album in over ten years titled The Bridge. "The album title represents all the bridges I've crossed worldwide," Grandmaster Flash told ilikemusic.com, "The bridges of time, cultures and colour, the bridges of hip hop, funk, pop, rock, jazz, punk, disco and R&B." The album's list of contributing artists reads like a who's who of rap. Guests include Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and many others. But the song that stands out to me the most features one of my favorite rappers, KRS-One. In "What If," KRS-One asks the rhetorical question "What if Hip Hop didn't exist?" He goes on to praise the many things that Hip Hop culture has spawned like sampling, cutting and scratching, graffiti, and most importantly imparting stories of the ghetto to mainstream America. He goes as far to say "Without rap, I'd be saying this here in country music." Man, that thought sends a shiver down my spine. Makes me want to give a shout-out to Hip Hop culture for 30 years of great music.

If You Like: Public Enemy (2006-)
Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

Katy Perry – Waking Up In Vegas
I hated both of Katy Perry's first hits "I Kissed A Girl" and "Hot N Cold." And it seemed like I was the only person on Earth who felt that way. So, when I discovered Katy Perry had released another single, I expected it to induce spasms of revulsion. Instead I was pleasantly surprised. "Waking Up In Vegas" is a solid pop song with fun lyrics and a catchy mid-1990s rock sound. Perry sings about waking up from a hard night on the strip to discover she's now married. Hilarity ensues.

If You Like: Avril Lavigne, Fastball, Goo Goo Dolls (Singles), Matthew Sweet (Singles), Michelle Branch
Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

Lady Gaga – Love Game
"Love Game" is more trash from a horrible Diana Ross-meets-Britney Spears wannabe. As she did in "Poker Face," Lady Gaga offers unimaginative music and unbearable innuendo. She relates falling for a guy on the dance floor whose method of flirting involves smiling and grabbing his crotch. Classy. Gaga responds with "Let's have some fun, this beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco stick. Don't think too much, just bust that thick." Sounds like a match made in trailer park heaven.

If You Like: Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Spice Girls
Rating: * (1 out of 5)

Oomph! – Labyrinth
I've been a fan of industrial rock since first hearing Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine back in 1990. I avidly seek out new electronic metal acts and am always surprised when a good one gets past me. I'm not sure how I missed the German band Ooomph! for so long – they've been around for ten years now. Their 2008 single "Labyrinth" is a dark track that can be danced or moshed to. If the translation of the lyrics I'm reading is accurate, and the song is about abusing a child for pleasure, I'll toss my "ignorance is bliss" card onto the table and enjoy the fact that the song in sung in German. However, I would rather hear the album's first single "Wach Auf!" in English, because being at concert full of sweaty guys chanting something that sounds like "Whack Off!" holds zero appeal to me.

If You Like: Hanzel Und Gretyl, KMFDM, Rammstein, Rob Zombie
Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

Safetysuit – Stay
"Whine whine whine. Boo friggin' hoo." Please, not another dopey, mopey rock song about being so damn sorry. I am fan of genuinely sad songs, but I'm tired of these pseudo-rock bands writing wussy monster ballads. The world doesn't need another pathetic soul moaning about "Come on, baby, let me in and show me what this really is about," and "Something must have made you say that. What did I do to make you say that to me?" over a generic and forgettable melody. Quitcher-bitchin' and get your blubbering out of my speakers. And take your cookie-cutter, yawn rock with you.

If You Like: Bon Jovi ("This Ain't A Love Song"), Crossfade ("Cold"), Staind ("Believe")
Rating: * (1 out of 5)

To buy tickets to see my band, A Simple Complex, perform with Korn on May 23 in New Hampshire, visit www.asimplecomplex.com.