The Alternative Nation News Report 11.23.08: Lost And Loaded
Posted by Taylor Martin on 11.23.2008
It’s Sunday and you know what that means! No, not resting and football, it’s The Alternative Nation News Report! The Beatles contemplating releasing “Carnival of Light”, Blink-182 are friends again, The Roots involved in a bus crash, Coldplay could be hanging it up, Maynard James Keenan’s Vegas show, and Stephen Colbert’s Christmas album! All that plus DLC of the Week and the best albums of 1988. Come on in, take off your pants and jacket!
Welcome back to The Alternative Nation News Report. I'm your host, as always, Taylor and I've got news out the ass this week. Not only that, but I continue my series on The Greatest Albums of My Life with the best of 1988. But right now, here's some news.
Headlines!
Sources: Ultimate-Guitar, Rolling Stone, Absolute Punk, Pitchfork Media
You think you've heard everything from The Beatles? Well, you haven't according to Paul McCartney. Sir Paul has been pushing for the release of "Carnival of Light", a 14-minute experimental track recorded in 1967, since 1996 when he tried to put the track on The Beatles Anthology 2. He says that "the time has come for it to get its moment", but needs the permission of Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison to make that happen. I hope it does happen. A 14-minute track that reportedly has McCartney and Lennon screaming incoherently has ‘holy shit this is awesome' written all over it.
Blink-182 has reunited, sort of. Following drummer Travis Barker's plane crash that almost killed him, Mark Hoppus (who is Barker's bandmate in +44) and Tom DeLonge have been "hanging out" in an attempt to reconnect as friends. Regarding a proper Blink-182 reunion, Hoppus had this to say on his blog: "The answer is none of us know. We haven't talked about it at all. Right now it's just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect, and let the past be the past." I sort of have mixed feelings on this. If it's just dick and fart jokes all over again, then I would hate it. But judging from their last album, it seemed like they wanted to be taken seriously as artists and, for the most part, succeeded. That record gave them the best critical reviews of their careers. If they continue in this direction, a reunion has the potential to be a very, very good idea.
The Roots are lucky to be alive after a bus crash on Wednesday in France. Except for some cuts and bruises, the band escaped unharmed and drummer ?uestlove even blogged about it only hours after it happened: "in reality the crash was all of about 7 seconds....but to do a 360 on the highway and end up ramped up (the van that crashed into ours was UNDER our double decker bus) in the air....is....well... a frigging miracle." In other Roots news, there is a rumor going around this week that the band will retire from touring and become the house band for NBC's "Late Night" when Jimmy Fallon takes over for Conan O'Brien next year. It's amazing that they aren't seriously hurt or worse. Bus crashes don't usually turn out as good as it did for them. As for the "Late Night" rumor, I think it's just that; a rumor. If it were to happen though, I would watch it every night, no matter how much I hated Jimmy Fallon.
This is the best news I've heard all week: Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan is planning a cabaret-style show in Las Vegas in February. The show would feature both comedy and music and feature material from his side project, Puscifer, as well as other material. Believe it or not, MJK has done something like this before in his pre-Tool days in Hollywood. "Generally started off as a name that I was attaching to some of the comedy things I was doing with (comedian) Laura Milligan at this club called Tantrum which existed in the Diamond Club on Hollywood and La Brea. [We'd] have a variety show, lots of talent coming through there just kind of trying out their new stuff. So Puscifer was kind of like the band that would kind of close the show." Man, I wish I lived in Vegas. This has the potential to be really, really funny.
Quickies!
- Coldplay is considering retirement is a couple of years, based on statements made by singer Chris Martin. This has nothing to do with the story, but when I was in the sixth grade I used to tell kids in my class that he was my uncle. Same thing with Ricky Martin.
- Following the departure of Scott Weiland, Velvet Revolver has been dropped from their label, RCA. Remember a few years ago when Velvet Revolver was doing great and GN'R was a joke? My, my, how things have changed…sort of.
- The Foo Fighters will play at the inaugural Grammy Nominations Concert on December 8th. They have a concert for that now? That's a little bit of overkill, don't you think?
- And in second best news I've heard all week, Stephen Colbert will be releasing a Christmas album entitled, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. If you're looking for guaranteed funny, look no further.
DLC of the Week
This week is a little unusual as both Rock Band and Guitar Hero will feature songs from The Killers.
Rock Band:
Some good tracks this week:
The Killers
"Mr. Brightside"
"Spaceman"
"Smile Like You Mean It"
The Killers are pretty good, albeit a little overrated. I'd recommend this.
Yngwie Malmsteen
"Caprici Di Diablo"
"Damnation Game"
"Red Devil"
It's Malmsteen, so you know it's gonna be hard as shit, but it's probably a lot of fun, too. Recommended.
Soundgarden
"Jesus Christ Pose"
"Pretty Noose"
Sweet, "Jesus Christ Pose" is an awesome song. Recommended.
Lamb of God
"Laid to Rest"
A horrible song by a horrible band. Not recommended.
Guitar Hero:
More tracks by The Killers:
"Mr. Brightside"
"Losing Touch"
"Human"
Recommended, although I'd go with the RB version of Mr. Brightside. But that's just me.
The Greatest Albums of My Life
This week, we'll discuss the best albums of 1988, a very diverse year in which hip hop was starting to get mainstream attention, a band goes from thrash heroes to worldwide superstars, and a band releases a record that is widely considered the greatest alternative album ever made.
The Best Albums of 1988
Honorable Mentions:Pixies - Surfer Rosa, Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Slayer - South of Heaven, Guns N' Roses - G N' R Lies, Dinosaur Jr. - Bug, R.E.M. - Green, Danzig - Danzig, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper
3. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton: 1988 was probably the apex of the golden age of hip hop and it didn't get much better than this one. A pioneer in gangsta rap, Compton is still controversial to this day, with its themes of Black-on-Black crime, gang violence, sex, and, yes, cop-killing. The lyrics were mainly written by Ice Cube and it shows just how talented the man is. The production values are still pretty good and the samples used are great as well. Straight Outta Compton is a landmark in hip hop and in music in general and will be remembered for a long time to come.
2. Metallica - …And Justice for All: The two years between Master of Puppets and this album were not a good time for Metallica. The band's bassist, Cliff Burton, had died in a bus crash and left Metallica's future in doubt. However, they decided to carry on and recruit a new bassist, which turned out to be Jason Newsted. Justice is not the best Metallica album, but it is my personal favorite. The production values are weak (the bass is almost non-existent) and the songs are kind of long, but this was the last true thrash album that Metallica made (until Death Magnetic anyway), even though it had major prog influences. The song structures were very complex, which was pretty rare at the time for a thrash album. …And Justice for All is, in many ways, the most personal and darkest album Metallica has ever made and is a testament to the strength of the band to come back after such a horrible tragedy and make a record as good as this.
Recommended tracks: "Blackened", "…And Justice for All", "One", "To Live is to Die"
1. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation: Admittedly, I've only been a Sonic Youth fan for only a couple of years, but this is truly one of the best albums I have ever listened to. The change in style that was implemented in the two previous albums, Evol and Sister, have been perfected. The balance between experimentation and traditional, more accessible structures is where the album succeeds in its greatness. Songs like "Teen Age Riot" and "Candle" are pretty catchy but then you have songs like "Eric's Trip" and "Rain King" that are pretty weird. In typical Sonic Youth style, the guitars are unusually tuned, they lyrics are surreal and don't really make a lot of sense, and the vocals switch between Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, and Lee Ranaldo. The album was never a commercial success, mainly due to it being out of print until it was reissued by DGC Records in 1993. Nevertheless, it has garnered nearly unanimous critical acclaim and was even selected to be included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2006. So if World War III actually happens and the world is turned into a nuclear wasteland, at least the survivors can still listen to Daydream Nation!
Recommended tracks: "Teen Age Riot", "Candle". "Eric's Trip", "Silver Rocket"
It's Over!
Well, that does it for this edition. Come back next week for more news, DLC, and the best albums of 1989!
