I’m reasonably sure none of this reflected my day or my mood
today. It wasn’t as thought I had a
mixture of good news and bad news, praise and criticism, happiness and sadness
or even love and hate. I’m looking
forward to a full weekend, a relaxing evening with “M” tonight and a nice
autumn day in the Botanical Gardens on Sunday. Hell, I’m even reasonably
optimistic the Dogs will do well in their match against North Melbourne tomorrow.
So how do I explain this schizophrenic selection? I don’t
know but it sure made for an interesting day.
(# 351) Fantomas –
The Director’s Cut (2001)
Colour spectrum = blacker than black.
The Fantomas is an alternative supergroup (members include
Melvins’ guitarist Buzz Osborne and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo) and
another of Faith No More’s Mike Patton’s projects. This album contains covers of movie (mostly
horror flicks or thrillers) or television drama themes rendered, for the most
part, in a loud, heavy and aggressive manner.
The template is set by the opening track, an awesome version of The
Godfather theme which ultimately disappears into a squall of what can only be
described as country flavoured thrash. How
much you enjoy the rest of the album might very well depend upon how well you
know the source material but for me, the highlights come from positively evil
interpretations of the themes for Cape Fear (the original movie), Rosmary’s
Baby and, most of all, The Omen. Charade
ends the album on a distinctly unusual note.
(# 352) Augustus
Pablo – King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1976)
Colour spectrum = the sunniest of sunny summer days.
This is one of the most celebrated dub albums ever released
and with good reason. A cast of celebrated players – Bob Marley’s rhythm
section of the Barrett Brothers, guitarist Earl Smith and renowned bass player Robbie Shakespeare –
joined Pablo to produce an album of instrumentals featuring his distinctive melodica
(This is a keyboard that is played whilst blown into like a woodwind
instrument.) all wrapped up in some inspired King Tubby dubs. The title track, Each One Dub and Satta Dub
stand out in an otherwise very consistent album.
(# 353) Massive
Attack – Mezzanine (1998)
Colour spectrum = dark grey, fading to black.
This is one awesome album of electronica/trip hop/call it
what you want. Set against a backdrop of
crackles and other found sounds, this is an album of barely supressed menace. On this album’s centrepiece and best track,
Dissolved Girl, that menace explodes in short and highly effective bursts that
it barely comes across as a release.
Tension is everywhere, with Teardrop, Inertia Creeps and Man Next Door all
standing out. It is unquestionably
Massive Attack’s finest album and how its predecessor Protection still gets the
majority of plaudits is simply mystifying.
(# 354) Rowland S
Howard – Pop Crimes (2009)
Colour spectrum = mourning black.
Unfortunately his final album due to his untimely death due
to a liver disease, this is very much in the same vein as his previous album of
ten years previously, Teenage Snuff Film
His buzz saw guitars and gruff voice are to the fore in a batch of
mostly dark songs. In an album of only
seven tracks, the title track and Ave Maria stand out. The opener, (I Know) A Girl Called Johnny, a
duet with Jonnie Standish provides some light.
(# 355 ) Belle &
Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
Colour spectrum = a bright white indoor light.
Just the notion that, of all producers, Trevor “Buggles”
Horn can take these Scottish folkies and create such a rich, warm, and engaging
sound is enough to make me smile all the way home. Some killer tunes such as the title track, Asleep
On A Sunbeam and If You Find Yourself Caught In Love help too.
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