Crabb Bits: End Of Month Thoughts

This month has a been a success.  1,200 views from y'all out there and perhaps seeing The Rock N Roll N The Brains Blog blog go over the golden 500 view mark. Good news on that, not so good news is that the more recent blogs only average 15 views.  June Bugs with 19, One Thousand Views at 15 and anything else varies. Guess nobody really cares about The Offspring judging by the anemic views.

Michelle Bachman hasn't made very many friends when she uses their music.  Tom Petty told her not to use American Girl anymore and even Katrina & The Waves gave her an evil eye on Walking On Sunshine.  Nevetheless Ted Nugent will come to her rescue and said she can use Stranglehold or Wang Dang Sweet Pootang anytime she wants.  Knowing her, I'd go with Out Of Control, Smokescreen, Name Your Poison or Flying Lip Lock.  Or Yank Me Crank Me.   Ted Nugent remains a laugh a minute but he still hasn't made a listenable album since leaving Epic Records.

I haven't compiled a best of 2011 since I have not been too impressed with the new music out there and most of it I played once and filed away or sold off.   Overall, I'd go with REM Collapse Into Now, Mike Eldred Trio 61 And 49 and overall best the reissue of Neil Diamond Bang Recordings.  Anything else is up to the listener at hand.

I'm sure my GF is  tired of hearing me talking about it, but I'm still debating about going out to the desert sometime late summer, however I've been dealing with health issues that may make this more of a dream than reality.  The thinking is going to Vegas then drive on down 95 to the usual Northwestern Arizona area and perhaps a quick pop into the old stomping grounds in Mesa/Chandler.  More of a reality will be Madison in middle of July for a couple days since it's close by and still has about 10 decent music stores to check out.  Mad City Music Exchange still amazes me with their dollar LPs and even though they been picked clean the Pawn America out by the interstate still is worth the 2 hours of sorting through the crap to get to the classic stuff.  And of course, 2 Half Priced Books Stores as well.  Still hoping to catch some live music out in the fairs although the only one so far penciled in is John Anderson at Linn County the 8th but that's basically her idea.

She's been here a month now.  And still it's growing pains for me.  Years of being a lone wolf here and still do the things I'm used of doing.  She hasn't been much over at the trailer, she's still crashes on the couch when she gets home.  I'm still trying to find a comfortable norm in spending time over here as well as over there and I'm sure I'll be there more often due to that strange fuck neighbor that lives next door.  In terms of theory it takes 20 minutes to get to work there then the 35 minutes here.  But I noticed that I do more driving since she moved down here.   I'm still working on a plan there but I noticed my brain doesn't work as well as it used to and half the time she's asking me about things I usually have a blank look.  But the things we do for love.  Can't complain but ya know, I'm still looking at that cheap 44 dollar flight to Vegas (Excluding all those hidden fees) and still thinking................

The Buzz (Razor & Tie) was one of those quicky comps that Razor & Tie threw out in 2 CD mail order or just plain 1 CD.  Personally Razor & Tie had that scattershot feeling like K Tel did back in the 70s.  The Buzz reminds me of what 90's radio was like, with some great stuff from REM (What's The Frequency Kenneth), or Belly's Feed The Tree (a song I didn't like too much till much later, now it's part of my top ten at times).  I can't complain about the inclusion of Semisonic's Closing Time and Better Than Ezra's Good from their only album that I enjoyed.  The missteps remain Third Eye Blind's Godawful How It's Gonna Be, Cranberries Zombie (never got into them) and Seven Mary Three's Cumbersome which hasn't aged very well.  Surprised Razor & Tie couldn't get Sister Hazel's All For You.  Overall, like a good K Tel comp, The Buzz has classic among the crap.  Your opinion will vary.

Non Stop Party Rock (Razor & Tie) WTF somebody there must love Runaway Train so much to repeat it on this cd.  LEN Steal My Sunshine remains one of the best songs on a album that the rest was filler and The Gin Blossoms and Counting Crows have their best known (if not best) songs in the form of Hey Jealousy and Mr. Jones.  One hit wonders from the likes of Marcy Playground (Sex & Candy), Eagle Eye Cherry's Stay Tonight and of course Deep Blue Something's Breakfast At Tiffany's. Or Dog Eye View Everything Falls Apart, the only time they ever topped Matchbox 20.  But all these songs that I mentioned basically are the best songs off their albums since anything else from DBS, or DEV or MP was filler.  The reason why Green Day nor Nirvana didn't make it was due to licensing issues, meaning they couldn't afford the price.  But I'm still surprised that Warner Music Group didn't give the go ahead to include Jennifer Trynin's Better Than Nothing on either one.  She was supposed to be the It girl, till Alanis Morrisette popped up with You Oughta Know and  Better Than Nothing became a lost classic.

Probably the Best of the bunch 90's Rock (Time Life)  which yet is another cd that has Soul Asylum's Runaway Train but it does include All For You, Smashmouth's Walking On The Sun, The New Radicals You Get What You Give and Tal Bachman's She's So High along with Breakfast At Tiffany's Hey Jealousy, Mr. Jones. A bit more toward the Atlantic/Warner side of things but Every Morning by Sugar Ray is a fun summertime song to sing along when in the mood.  But then again I tend to avoid any 90s complition that has Mambo Number 5, or Ice Ice Baby (Frequency 99-Greatest Hits of the 90's-Capitol), or Macrena or mmmBop (Vh1's I Love The 90s (which makes me hate the 90s)-Rhino).  The Casey Casem 90s Rocks is interesting for including a Hootie And Blowfish (Let Her Cry) number or Goo Goo Dolls (Name) or Blues Traveler (Run Around), even Oasis figures in this (Wonderwall).

But as they say buyer beware. Or you may have four dupes of Runaway Train against your wishes.

PS  Bands I Outgrew-Suicide Machines, Unwritten Law, Reel Big Fish & Punk Pop Bands Of the 1990s.

I think around 1996 I was beginning to relive my fourth childhood with listening to lots of punk bands that sprung up.  At that time, record labels were signing them to figure who would be the next Green Day since they broke big with Dookie.  I bought the first Sugar Ray album, the uneven Lemonade & Brownies which may have been the second dumbest album title before Limp Bizkit came around and gave the world Chocolate Starfish & The Hot Dog Flavored Water.  At that time Sugar Ray was trying to become the next Red Hot Chili Peppers or perhaps Butthole Surfers with Mean Machine being the played song off their debut.  When that album failed, David Kahne moved them over a more sunny pop sound with Fly and Every Morning, both songs still holding up fairly well but basically the only other album I bought was the 2001 S/T album with Answer The Phone.  Being number 2 to Hootie And The Blowfish in terms of selling the most Atlantic albums not associated with Led Zeppelin really did them well but judging by most of what was sold in the dollar bins, the fickle public moved on to the next big thing. 

The Suicide Machines managed to get themselves signed to Hollywood/Disney in 1996 and made the hard rocking Destruction By Definition, which was mixed by Jerry Finn (Green Day) but perhaps that album is famous for all the F bombs thrown left and right.  I'm not sure Mickey Mouse would approve but the skateboard punks didn't mind it.  But with Urban Hymms (1998) the songs got a bit more darker and there was too much goofing off to consider it anything but passing interest.  The 1999 S/T album I'm guessing their label wanted them to sound more like Blink 182, or CIV and despite having a minor hit with Sometimes I Don't Mind and failed hit single Permanent Holiday the record never took off despite going more toward a punk pop sound.  Steal This Record was a bit better but by then Hollywood and The Machines would part after a best of and they went on to Side One Dummy for a couple more records and retirement despite War Profiteering Is Killing Us All being considered their finest hour.

As for Unwritten Law, they always seem to be at wrong place wrong time.  Suzanne was a fun tune off the Greg Graffin produced Oz Factor but like Blue Room, nothing really stood out.  Their finest moment was the 1997 Unwritten Law LP with California Sky getting airplay on modern rock radio and my fave remains Genocide but then it moves on the bizarre 418 which I could really do without.  Elva, their biggest seller gave them a couple hits and a sound away from So Cal Punk, but the album did nothing for me.

Reel Big Fish started out as a fun band, somewhat like No Doubt and Turn The Radio Off with the hilarious cover art remains their shining moment.  Sell Out, while tongue in cheek remains their best known but they also pay homage to the 2 Tone Ska bands of the 80s. 241 shows their influence in The Specials.  They lost their humor a bit in Why Do They Rock So Hard but came back with Cheer Up, a much better effort.  Funny how everybody talks about No Doubt but nobody ever mentions Reel Big Fish.  Oh well, if I grew up in high school at that time they would have been one of my Go To Bands.  But at my age, they were a passing interest.  Still a lot of fun when I think about it though.

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