Get Your Hands Off My Hoobastank
Modern Rock didn't give us a whole hell of lot to get excited about this decade. Saliva did deliver on their last two albums but for junk rock you could do worse. Such as the case of Hoobastank, the band that has been around since 1994 and has been on Island since 2001 although if Chris Blackwell still owned Island, he would have laugh these guys out of the building. Island is a far cry from 1969 and even 1979 if you want to get technical about things.
Hoobastank got lucky in 2004 when The Reason topped the MTV top 20 Video, the last gasp year that MTV played videos before 2 AM and The Reason topped the charts on radio for about 3 weeks and got even airplay on Mix 96.5. Enough to garner the Hoobadoos with one hit wonder legend. The next album Every Man For Himself bombed without any major hits and copies of this could be found in the dollar bins but I liked enough of that album to give them another chance. And the chance was blown with their new player For(N)ever, which seems to be a screamo concept album about failed relationships. To sum the whole album up the lyric "The more you speak/The less I care about you". And the more Doug Robb screamed this line the less I begin to care about this album. On I Don't Think I Love You, the chorus line Robb screams I'm sorry over and over again, and I'm thinking, yeah I'm sorry too, sorry about buying this CD. Yep love is a bitch and all 11 songs off this album Robb lets us know in uncertain terms that love is a bitch and being a whiner doesn't get you laid as well either.
If there's one good thing about For(n)ever it is that Hoobastank is actually thinking more of what they want rather than what radio wants or what their label wants. Perhaps they're good as gone as the title suggests. The album flopped on the Billboard, peaking at a dismal 26 and gone south ever since. Going by the old Soundscan, this wouldn't even make the top 100 but since CD sales are slacking every year, a number 26 chart debut doesn't even guarnatee you gold to which I don't forsee this album making, unless Island can find a hit out of this. But appently even the folks who bought into The Reason five years ago have more on and gradurated from high school and rather much listen to something more uplifting than songs such as Who The Hell Am I or Sick Of Hanging On.
Hoobastank still gets a decent production from Howard Benson who produced their last two albums as well and mix polisher Tom Lord-Alge makes it radio ready or MP3 ready since the CD sound is too compressed in typical 2000 style. And the music is so so to good as indicated on lead off track My Turn and it sounds okay till Robb starts screaming and wailing away. By then, I turned it off around track 7 driving home from Iowa City. But I did go home and relisten to everything and still did not care much for this album. And maybe Hoobastank can read the writing on the wall with the title of this album thinking that this may be their last shot with Island.
Perhaps Universal/Island is planning for that 20th Century Masters-The Millennium collection and putting the best Hooba numbers for that best of. But even with four albums, Universal doesn't have much to work with outside of The Reason and whatever minor that Hoobastank have. At least with For(n)ever, Hoobastank can say that they did this album their way without major label intrusion but with less radio play as well. But then again maybe Doug Robb should consider getting laid more often as well. At least he'll remember getting laid better than any song off For(n)ever, an album that you should just forget.
Grade C minus
Other things-Chris Cornell's latest album Scream I have yet to read a positive review. And they have been so bad that Cornell may not recover form the backlash of this record. I always liked Chris as a person and good singer but I have yet to hear a definite album from any of his bands (Soundgarden, Audioslave, etc).
Looks like the Gene Simmons vs Bob Lefsetz get together ended in a draw but I think Lefsetz probaly wins on points of theory. The complete debate you can find at Lefsetz's website. Makes you wonder why Simmons would restart up his record label and move it north of the border. Only success he had was The House Of Lords, which was Gruiffina that made two prissy albums for MCA and whose claim of fame was playing keyboards for Angel, the prissy pop rock band that made a few albums for Casablanca. Simmons lately has done much better on his reality show on A and E Simmons Family Jewels and give him credit, his kids are a lot more better behaved than Hulk Hogan's. Shannon Tweed had a lot to do with that I guess. Then again Lefsetz does have ego as well and thens to repeat himself more often than not but seems like his inside track got the best of Gene. I'm sure the KI$$ faithful will wait for the new album but since Ace Frehley isn't on it, I will take a pass on it. We got duped on Psycho Circus and won't get fooled again on the new one.
AIG is high on everbody's hate list, as our wonderful congress gave them yet another billions so they can dole out the bonuses to their overpayed head honchos. They gotta pay for those soccer teams across the pond or in Mexico. AIG is one of the reasons for the great depression 2 and that's all I will say about those assholes. I don't care for Chuck Grassley but he did score some Crabb points about that comment that AIG assholeheads to do the Japanese thing and resign or commit suicide for taking the bonus. Then again, you can thank the Bush morons for approving the first bailout so that AIG can give those nice soccer uniforms for the English teams. Hmmm, whatever happened to those AIG soccer commercials they used to show to show how fucking great AIG is. Asshole Insurance Group, fits their name perfectly.
Thin Lizzy-Still Dangerous (live at the tower theatre 1977)-VH1 Classics
A recently discovered concert from the late great Phil Lynott and company with their classic lineup to which somebody still cared enough to issue this on cd. It's much shorter than their definite Live And Dangerous and though that one still remains the ultimate TL expierence but this one isn't too bad. This is a less polished effort and Glyn Johns keeps things in that way, a bit more louder guitar but without that lousy compressed sound that most new albums are nowadays, you have to turn it up to hear the tunes. Only three songs that didn't make to to Live And Dangerous and they vary in quality but the jamfest finale Me And The Boys is what the 70s was, good time jamming and the crowd and band getting into it. Unlike today's bands. I kinda wish that Scott Gorham would give up the Lizzy ghost, no Phil Lynott, no band but if he rediscovers anything in the archives with Phil and band, I'll be happy to listen to.
Grade B plus
