Napalm Death -- Utopia Banished

  Goddamn I used to have this tape ages ago, and at that time I thought this was Napalm Death's greatest achievement, thinking of it now what the hell is the point of this music, if it can even be classified as music, the only thing I can think of is that they wanted to sound as crazy as possible, and if that was their goal, mission accomplished!

Kurt Vile -- Wakin On A Pretty Daze

  Thank God this guy came out to save Indie Rock from it's utter demise, with a simple formula of stoner Lo-Fi mixed with Americana, I love it!

Speedy Ortiz -- Major Arcana

  I don't think this album is even out yet and you know what I don't give a sh*t, I'm going to judge it anyway.  Rolling Stone said these guys were a mix of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, plus their name is taken from a character in Love and Rockets, my favorite comic book, so in my mind this was bound to be awesome.  I look 'em up and what I found was more wimpy hipster Indie garbage that's been going around like the clap at a hookers convention, I kept thinking what happened to the tough yet heart felt Indie Rock of yesteryear ... I guess those days are over ... so please God somebody COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW!!!!!!

The Devil's Anvil -- Hard Rock From The Middle East

  This bizarro Rock band from the Middle East has some traditional Eastern numbers but the album also features fuzzed out Garage Punk.  It was an interesting listen, one of those things you can't believe exists, but it was the 60's, man -- so everything goes! 

Pulp -- This Is Hardcore

  These guys were around forever before hitting any kinda success, I'll give it to them for not throwing in the towel.  This Is Harcore is the follow up to the hit record A Different Class, with this they take a different approach to their music, instead of trendy dance pop licks, they try to emulate Gainsbourg's Melody Nelson.  Question is how well do they pull it off, I'd say it's ok, but they could hardly out do or compete with the master himself. 

Blur -- 13

  Fueled by the muse junkie, heroin driven scene bicycle Elastica's front woman Justine Frischmann who turns boys into addicts with her charisma, charm and smack.  Blur's 13 showcases a darker angrier side to a usually cutesy pootsy poppy boy band.  What I like about this album is that Blur steps away from the Britpop comfort zone and starts going towards American style Indie Rock, the prime hit examples are Mudhoney-esque Bugman and Sebadoh-ish Coffee and TV.  As a whole it sounds like pretty boys trying to be hard-ass American junkies while finding some chops and discovering manhood.

Lush -- Gala

  A collection of Lush's early EPs when they started off as an ok, no surprises, run of the mill, Shoegaze band.  In the latter part of their career, which starts off the album, they start to mix in elements of Dream Pop and that's where they really shine.  Unfortunately this band sold out and jumped on the Brit Pop lame-train in the mid-nineties to finish off their career, no pun intended.     

The Police -- Synchronicity

  Man, so many people love the sh*t out of this band, I get it, they are technical masters, but really, the music is so lame and cheesy it totally forfeits whatever talent they have.  

Ennio Morricone -- Les Meilleures Bandes Sonares De Ses Films

  This best of LP from the legendary film composer Ennio Morricone is hardly a good showcase of his most brilliant work.  Side one features some of his western scores with director Sergio Leone, personally I was hoping to hear some of my favorite memorable numbers, unfortunately most of them were not present.  Side two was a total f*cking debacle of garbage, probably taken from his lesser known works.  All in all it was fun to hear some of these songs on my turntable, but I think the bargain basement label who put together this compilation couldn't afford the good stuff.  

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

  Classic Synth-Pop group OMD.  These guys are primarily known for their dance club mega hit Electricity, but the sax driven Mystereality is the real piece of brilliant work. 

The Yardbirds -- Shapes Of Things

  This compilation spans most of the Yardbirds career, featuring their slew of luminary guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.  These guys have more in commune with, and influenced, the American Garage Rock and 60's Punk scene, rather than their British Invader contemporaries.  This band served as a stepping stone to the future of the music scene by showing us the Shapes Of Things to come!  

Eric Clapton -- 461 Ocean Boulevard

  While spending his time at home, 461 Ocean Boulevard, trying to cope with a vice-less life and probably experiencing some pretty heavy heroin withdraw, old Clappy pulls out what I'd consider his greatest solo effort, which is not very good.  The album starts off strong, just good old music for music's sake, no over the top solos, but some great guitar noodling.  The flipside gets even better, but halfway through Clapton drops the ball terribly hard with some countrified numbers that are so bad it ruins the integrity of the entire record.  I'll have to agree with the dog on the famous "Clapton is God" picture -- taking a piss! 

Ariel Pink -- Before Today

  There's a cool airy 60's style Dream Pop feel to this album, but some of the numbers are a little too 80's drenched for my taste, but I'd still file it under pretty good!

Derek And The Dominos -- Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

  Don't get me wrong they are very talented musicians and somehow for some odd reason I always wanted to like Eric Clapton, he's got an interesting story and kicked ass in The Yardbirds.  But unfortunately I found these song hollow, boring and cheesy as f*ck.  Honestly I was never too fond of Layla but i was hell bent on finding the hidden gems on this album, cause' c'mon, you've got Duane Allman and Eric Clapton on the same damn record, you'd think you'd be experiencing music on an epic scale, but all I found was run of the mill white boy bar Blues! 

Trio

  Yeah yeah they're the dudes who wrote Da Da Da, which is fitting because these Germans tackled Rock 'n' Roll with Dadaist simplicity.  The album itself is either hit or miss, but it excludes my favorite Trio song of all time, Sunday You Need Love, luckily I got the 12" single yesterday!

Madness -- One Step Beyond ...

  What you've got here is a three faceted album, part killer Ska, part way too British New Wave and part borderline Baggy music -- all in all a pretty good record.

Berurier Noir -- Concerto Pour Detraques

  Armed mostly with a guitar and a drum machine this Parisian punk band writes politically charged songs with strong social commentary, but they feel more like mini plays rather than straight up Rock 'n' Roll numbers.

Liverpool Five -- Arrive

  Not so great but not so bad British Invasion wannabes.  Can't say there is too much to write about other than they're fun to know!

Wavves -- King Of The Beach

  The album opens with some killer surfy Garage Punk, but as time passes the numbers change form into terrible hipster Indie garbage -- at least they didn't pull out the banjos!

The Fleshtones -- Roman Gods

  New Wave/ Garage Revival outfit The Fleshtones.  These guys are not only a pioneering Revival band but have some Rock action that foreshadows early Alternative music.

King Tuff

  I solely expected some rockin' Garage Punk when I saw the cover of this album, but King Tuff offers much more than that, there are some killer Indie sounds that will knock your sock off, explode your banjo and burn your hipster beard too!

The Flamingos -- The Best Of ...

  There are a couple of re-worked stinkers on this Best Of compilation, but if you toss those aside you've got some dark desperate Doo Wop that remind you of all the love you have lost and the frailties of what it is to be a man.