Crabb Bits:Mark Prindle, Shelby Singleton, Blake Shelton

Mark Prindle is the famous review guy and sometimes appears on FOX Red Eye and remains one of the more insightful and funny although vulgar in his reviews.  I was commenting about the new KISS Sonic Boom album when he emailed me with his observations.  He gives the Sonic Boom album itself a 6 and the KISS KLASSICS bonus CD a 9.  6/9 get it? Bwahahahaha.  Took me a while to get it too but Mark raves that the remakes are actually better than the originals found on various albums in the past.  I certainly think that Sonic Boom esclipes just about anything since Lick It Up or Side four of Kiss Alive 2, no pussy ballads or hairspray metal but rather that pop metal that KISS was so good at.  Why buy secondhand retreads such as Motley Crue or Poison when you can get the real thing again.  Perhaps Mr Prindle might have a point there in terms of the remakes being better, hell even the micheal bolton penned Forever sounds good in this context.  And if they are so dammned against the discoized I Was Made For Lovin You, why did they include it on the remakes?  Perhaps Dynasty wasn't that bad after all although Vini Poncia's crappy production just about sinks it.  But then again Unmasked was pretty damn faceless and forgettible as I used to remember it.  Wally World has various KISS albums at 5 to 7 dollars.

Mark must have been bored last night since he commented on another observation about me saying New Music Isn't Dead yet, and he said "if so why is that all your acts are 10 years older?  Perhaps I should have rephased it as New Music Isn't Dead from Old Fart Acts.  So I got to look at my album consortium of the year and found out that most if not all albums reviewed come from bands 10 years older and beyond.  Super 400?  First album reviewed 1998.  Porcupine Tree?  First album reviewed 1996. Incubus? 1999, Status Quo? 1967 and appently it was decided that I wasn't reviewing much new acts but rather the old ones.  Miranda Lambert was one of the few this decade acts that I kept tabs on but she's country and doubt if Mark would like her.  What new acts did I reviewed, I had to dig deep to see where they are act.  Tilted Windows, the power pop super group lineup with James Iha, Adam Schelinger, Bun E Carlos and Taylor Hanson.  Saving Abel-a Nickelback sound off, Parachute-a Maroon 5 knockoff, White Lies-a Killers knockoff and Fleet Foxes-a CSN knockoff.  So maybe I'm not as open minded as orginally thoughted.  I just can't get into Paramore or The Gossip or Metro Station or LMFAO or 3OH!3, or think they suck.  I bought Fall out boy but hell i don't even play those albums.  I guess nothing sticks out anyway when it comes to new music.

Shelby Singleton was a well known producer that had some major hits while working at Mercury/Smash Records in the 60s before moving on to buy Sun Records and starting up his own label Plantation Records which gave us Jennie Riley's Harper Valley PTA and Rod Hart's CB Savage.  He died of cancer at age 77 on October 1.  Amazing how Billboard or Rolling Stone never gave this a glance when it comes to music news or CMT. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/arts/music/11singleton.html?_r=0


This st louis trip gave me a whole bunch of new cds to review and hear but it didn't stop me from going to Best Buy and picking up Joe Cocker's Live At Woodstock, nor Manic Street Preachers Songs For Plaque Lovers which is their best album from what i have heard from them.  Or Drivin N Cryin' Bubble Factory which is their first in 12 years and absoluetly rocks.   Or Miranda Lambert's Revolution, although not as good as Crazy Ex Girlfriend since Revolution goes on a bit too long but to my ears she has remained the best country singer of this decade and easily the best to come out of Nashville Star. Buddy who?  Buddy Jewell was the dude that won that year and made two sugarysweet albums to the point of giving you diabeates and easily forgettible albums for Columbia.  Seems like Buddy isn't on Sony Nashville anymore but Miranda's continuning to get stronger with each album and even to the point that she passed Gretchen Wilson as country babe.  In the meantime, Wilson supposely has a new album coming end of year but so far nothing has been heard from.  With Big And Rich having a greatest hits released, that's a bad sign when a band gets a best of, three albums into their career.  Seems to be a country revolution coming on, Rascal Flatts is getting long in the tooth and Love And Theft might replace them with their smooth Eagles like harmonies and even on the Disney label their new album sounds like it's worth a listen to if found used and cheap.  Lady Antellbellum and Gloriana are two of up and coming bands too and had Lady A come up with another song like Love Don't Live Here Anymore, their first album would have been classic.   The future remains bright for them despite the cloudyness that is Country Music Today.

Blake Shelton is funny on Twitter, especially when he's had too many to drink and gets into it with people who question if it's really him.  Here's hoping Miranda will rub off more of her music unto his.  I gave up following Courtney Love, she simply goes on and on and half the time nobody knows what the fuck she's saying.  Somehow I managing to get more followers from the country side of things rather than rock.  Lee Ann Womack must have found something interesting to follow me and I don't mind.  But then again I don't use twitter all that much outside of keeping a conversation with my fellow bargain hunter and partner Sassy.  That is if I can behind the firewall at work.