I have mentioned my deep and abiding (if not a little creepy) love for Third Eye Blind at least twice now on Sound and Tonic.

Here comes round three.

Ursa Major was released not so long ago, and I’ve been mulling it around for a few weeks now. I know that it often takes a reasonable amount of time for me to move from music being ‘okay’ to ‘pure genius’. The Abrasive Wheels took 3 years before they worked into my larger and more accepted music library.

So I kept listening to Ursa Major, but I noticed a pattern. I rocked out through the initial tracks. I danced and sung along and had a good ole time. As the album progressed I found myself not paying attention to the music, or unthinkingly turning the album off in favor of something else. The album starts out quite strong, but unfortunately I don’t feel Third Eye Blind does a very good job of carrying that momentum through the rest of the album.

This, of course, upsets me. With the exception of the cheesy way-too-teenage-angsty tracks (*cough* Jumper *cough*) of their self-titled album, I’ve found the entirety of their catalogue to be truly fabulous. Rating a Third Eye Blind song less than 4 stars hurts my soul. I feel like a traitor.

That’s not to be helped, though perhaps another couple months of listening may sway me to bump some of those 3 and 3.5 starred songs upward to a 4. It has happened before.

Most unfortunately, I feel as is Stephan Jenkins’ writing powers are failing. I let “Non-Dairy Creamer” slide because it was only on an EP, and obviously meant to be flippant. Ursa Major gives off no flippant vibes. This is unfortunate to a point, because I can’t write any poor lyrical choices off to flippancy.

In fact, Stephan Jenkins’ lyrics on this album occasionally leave me annoyed to the point of near anger. “Sharp Knife” leaves me twitching. The verses are quite alright, and remind me of old Jenkins’. The chorus, and the repetition of “I wish I was a Sharp Knife” makes me wish I had a sharp knife, so that I could somehow make it stop.

“Sharp Knife” however, has nothing on “Why Can’t You Be“. Oh my goodness how I dislike that song. The regular version is bad enough, but when Kimya Dawson (who is normally wonderful and good) is brought into the equation, I nearly lose it. It’s mostly the lines about the Water Pick shower massager that leave me screeching like a banshee.

Really?

The line “My water massager’s the purest love I’ve ever known” makes me want to find Jenkins and punch him in the face. Sure he’s written amazing things, and sometimes I think those amazing things should give him a few ‘get out of Leslie’s doghouse free’ cards…but in reality his awesomeness of lyrical abilities just makes me hold him to a higher standard. By congress, I hate that song.

Here’s where I regain my composure. Excuse me a second. *ahem*. Better.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Ursa Major.

So, aside from the rather strong initial songs, and the songs that leave me spitting and sputtering in rage, the rest of the album fails to really interest me. I mean, it’s not bad. But I don’t find it particularly engaging. Kinda boring. The lyrics don’t sparkle with the glory of old Jenkins

Perhaps I’m being overly critical, but at least to me this album rests squarely at the bottom of the Third Eye Blind’s Studio Album Pile of Greatness.

What to Take Away?

Leslie is rather bummed that this album did not automatically take the place of best album ever.

What to Expect?

Slower Third Eye Blind songs that are hard to rock out to. You could probably get a good mini-groove going, or a slight foot-tap-head-bob combo, but a full rock out loud dance party would probably only last the length of the first track.

What to pair it with?

A Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza beer. It sounds amazing, and you are oh-so sure you are just going to love it. And you a take a sip, and it pulls you in and you start internally pontificating on it’s strengths, weaknesses, and worthiness just long enough to realize you don’t particularly feel like finishing the glass. You also feel slightly put off by the amount of money you just threw down in ratio to the enjoyment derived.

Favorite Song?

The first track “Can You Take Me” is a fast paced song that I could easily see on any of Third Eye Blind’s other albums. It has a good beat, good lyrics, aptly located harmonies and back up vocals, and a solid guitar part. It also attempts to incite a riot. It gets my approval.

Frequently I find music that isn’t particularly well known. This leaves me having to obsess all by my lonesome until the fateful day that I run into someone else who knows of this music. I then get super excited, freak out a little bit, and surely scare them far enough away that I’m back to solo obsessing.

Warren Zevon is not one of those musicians.

Don’t misunderstand that. I do obsess. And he isn’t particularly well known. But there’s a problem with his filling that previous role.

No one seems to know of him. Pretty much at all. And since he’s one of my favorite musicians of all time, I bring him up quite a lot.

Admittedly he is considerably older than my generation, but many bands older than my generation are held in high esteem by my peers. Somehow Warren Zevon slipped through the cracks.

Actually, the only other person I’ve met who loves Warren Zevon was an employee at a Pittsburgh based book store. Warren Zevon was playing over their speakers and I just about had a fit. She saw this fit and mentioned her love of Warren Zevon in such a way that kind of scared me off.

Ghost of Leslie future?

Anyway, onto Warren Zevon.

He’s a god. Or close to it.

He falls into the category of singer-songwriter, and generally he jives with that categorization. His music is relaxing but deeply intriguing. His lyrics paint a story, and are deeply emotional and amazing – which is all the more interesting as half of his songs seem to be about topics very few can empathize with. Poor farmers in an exceptionally fucked up family. Boxers and boxing matches. Danish Thompson Gunners. Frank and Jesse James. The list is really quite amazing.

Most of his songs are slow and completely heartfelt. Warren Zevon apparently led quite the turbulent life, and it shines through in his music. He’s not faking anything, nor is he whining of trivial matters. His music may be the most sincere I’ve ever heard.

If serious music about unlikely things doesn’t float your boat, Warren Zevon does us the favor of throwing some upbeat goofy songs into the mix. These are unfortunately Warren Zevon’s most well known tunes, but, regardless, are still fabulous. Though perhaps upbeat is the wrong word. Songs about demented murderous children, being beaten by women and beating women who like being beaten and the like aren’t ususally described as “upbeat”.

“Werewolves in London” is a classic of this goofy side of Warren Zevon. Amusing, a good car ride sing along song, and apparently an amazing enough Piano line that Kid Rock felt the need to borrow and bastardize it.

Some day I hope to punch Kid Rock in the face for that travesty of a song: “All Summer Long“.

But that’s a rant for another day.

What to expect?

Mostly acoustic instrumentation with Warren Zevon’s amazing – if unlikely – voice. Sincere and heartfelt songs that often play out more like a narrative than a chorus.

What to take away?

Warren Zevon, in my opinion, may be one of the most overlooked musicians of the 1970s. Despite a cult following and amazing music, he has somehow managed to just miss being universally embraced – which is a pity.

What drink to pair with Warren Zevon?

“All the salty margaritas in Los Angeles, I’m gonna drink ‘em up” Says Warren Zevon in the middle of my favorite song. Thus, I think a good and salty margarita would be appropriate.

Favorite song?

“Desperados Under the Eaves” by far. When the air conditioner’s humming turns into an orchestra of stringed instruments, I am blown away. Every single time. As far as slow and marginally melancholic music goes, “Desperados Under the Eaves” wins my ultimate favorite song. It’s that good.

There are some bands that will forever hold a place in my heart. Oft, these bands are some of my earliest secular musical rememberences, or my first delve into a new Genres.

Third Eye Blind, as mentioned a few posts ago, is one of these bands.

Third Eye Blind is amazing. Not only was their debut album an amazing smash hit, with chart topping singles all around, their sophomore album saw, if possible, better things. and Out Of The Vein? simply amazing. I’d say it’s one of the best albums I’ve ever heard.

But excuse me. I’m gushing.

What I came here to say today is that I will cut slack for some musicians. Slack I (admittedly) would probably not give others. Third Eye Blind is testing me on this, I think.

Once upon a time I had a couchsurfer who had a lot in common with me. Books. Movies. Hobbies. Music. But most gloriously, Third Eye Blind. You’d be surprised how hard it is to find left over Third Eye Blind junkies these days. But this lovely couchsurfer of mine pointed me to *gasp* a Third Eye Blind EP that I’d never heard of.

Red Star.

I was amazed. I was excited. I was shamed and had to serve penance to the Third Eye Blind Appreciator Society. But I did get my paws on this new Third Eye Blind.

Eh.

I’d love to say I love it. But I don’t think I do. The major song on it, ‘Non-Dairy Creamer’, is certainly catchy. I’ve been listening to it constantly. Catchy does not always equal good, however. While I like this song, I’m not going to say It’s good. I may even concede that the only reason I really enjoy it is because it’s Third Eye Blind. I have been wanting new material so badly.

The first track, Non-Dairy Creamer comes off too heavy handed…While trying to be tongue and cheek. It doesnt mix well. It blatantly calls ‘the man behind the pulpit a bigot and a liar’ in a fashion that is not playful. Later, it finds culprit in ‘two young gay republicans’ for the death of marriage. This part is obviously a joke. Then comes an epic chorus of ‘Young Gay Republicannnnns! Young Gay Republicans!’

Really? I get that Young Gay Republicans are supposed to be ironic in some fashion. But a rousing chorus of ‘Young Gay Republicans’ is neither witty nor ironic. It’s just odd.

I’m just gonna go ahead and say I don’t really get it. It’s like they’re trying to cram too much into a song, and in doing so the lyrical ability of the members (mostly Jenkins) got left behind somewhere.

But it’s still catchy as hell. and I still like it. Even though I know it’s not a good song.

But what about the other tracks on the album, you wisely ask? To be honest, I don’t really remember. I’ve listened to this three song EP many times, and all I can remember is Non-Dairy Creamer. The fact that neither of the other songs were memorable enough to recall makes me think they probably aren’t worth tracking down and listening to again.

Ursa Major, Third Eye Blind’s fourth full length studio album is due to come out at the end of the month. None of the songs on Red Star are slated to be on it. Let’s hope this is a sign of better things to come.

What to take away?

Red Star EP is only worth anything for Non-Dairy Creamer. Which is an odd song. But one you will most likely be unable to resist, if previous catchy Third Eye Blind songs tickled your fancy.

What to expect?

Not much, unfortunately.

What drink to pair it with?

Rolling Rock. I mean, it’s beer. And if you like beer, and you have nothing else at hand, you’ll drink it. And it is better than Pabst or Schlitz or something. Much like Red Star. Red Star is better than Schlitz.

It’s always sobering to hear a band for the first time and think you’ve uncovered this new gem only to discover that not only are they far from new but also prolific with thousands of fans and millions of plays.

That’s what happened with Metric.

The quasi-grunge-alternative-rock group first came onto my radar through – you guessed it – Pandora. “Dead Disco” was the title of the catchy track paired for the radio station I had created (I don’t recall what exactly the station was). “Brilliant!” I exclaimed to myself in the dark of my apartment – it was late and I hadn’t bothered to turn on lights. “Surely this is the new Garbage.” I happily crooned as I maneuvered to last.fm (still distraught that Garbage had disbanded).

Twenty million plays… Bugger. Not as fresh as I’d thought.

I guess the sense of loss, if you could call it that, was not particularly substantive since I still really liked the band and affinity can’t be diminished by the number of plays a group has, but it did manage to raise the question: “How did I not know about this group for the last decade?” I can take some solace in the fact that of the millions of artists on this planet the chances of me encountering even a slim fraction of them are limited – after all, how much variety can a person digest over the course of a normal lifetime? One would of course hope for a lot, but still there are big fish that slip through the net and it boggles my tiny mind.

Metric was admittedly not the direct Garbage scion that I had initially presumed it to be (the comparison was made after listening to only a few select songs), but it was close. Emily Haines uses her seductive, smoky vocals to the same effect as Garbage’s Shirley Manson, albeit to less sensual music. Metric, however, is a constantly changing beast.

I acquired their most recent album, “Fantasies,” and had a listen. The tone is somewhat industrial and a bit dark despite bright overtones… Maybe “encapsulated sadness” would be a good way to put it? The lyrics are catchy and the rhythms memorable and addicting, but “Fantasies” isn’t like their other material – it’s evolved.

I will admit that my exposure to their older works is limited (I hope to remedy that), but from what I can tell the group has progressed steadily from slower more indie/experimental music to – as one commenter on last.fm remarked – “busier” rock-infused sound. Not a bad progression if I do say so myself. In fact, the reason I purchased “Fantasies” over the other albums available was because I liked the more rock inspired feeling, and the harder the beats, the more feeling Emily seems to be able to put into the piece.

This is of course a first-thoughts piece that I will follow up on when I listen to more of there older work. In the mean time however, if you’ve never heard of Metric you should definitely look them up because they’ve already found a niche in my heart.

What to take away…

Metric is an evolving sound that currently sits somewhere around alternative rock. Check out their older stuff for softer tones that are equally as good as their modern pieces (if not different) and to analyze the transition for yourself.

What should you expect?

The feeling is almost-but-not-quite grungy, but expect beats that keep your head bopping if no other part of your body can find a reason to dance.

What to pair them with?

The modern stuff just seems too industrial to me for cocktails. I feel whiskey on the rocks although I’m not entirely sure why…

Favorite song?

“Help I’m Alive” is likely my favorite – it’s a bit experimental and opens with one of the best sequences I’ve ever encountered in music. “Gimme Sympathy,” however, is a close second with more of a pop feel to it.

Do you remember the first album you bought? Back when you were young, pirating music off the internet wasn’t an option, and the 10 dollars you saved up for that album seemed like a small fortune?

I do. Vibrantly.

I was raised rather sheltered, and secular music was both magical and contraband material. My first CD seemed like a huge move in the name of defiance and coming into young-adulthood.

My first album was Third Eye Blind’s self-titled album. Racey, no? Completely scandalous.

I was probably in 7th grade when I bought it. I still attended Christian School at that point, and I remember sneaking listening to the radio, taping music from it, and listening to the cassettes on my walkman on car rides and hikes. The bands that I enjoyed the most from those slices of radio heaven were Matchbox Twenty, Savage Garden, and Third Eye Blind.

One day, when my family was at Wal*Mart, I decided to go crazy and buy an album. I tracked down Third Eye Blind and remember being scared of the album art. It looked kind of … evil. It didn’t bother me, but if my parents stumbled across it I’d be hosed. I couldn’t play that off as contemporary Christian.

I bought it anyway. I was such a rebel. *cough*

I managed to sneak it out of the store without detection. Next we went to Ames, and I brought it in with me. I wanted to open it up and look at it, and I figured I could ditch my parents and get a quick look.

Except Wal*mart’s anti-theft device set off Ames’ alarm. I was busted. The store didn’t care. I had my receipt, they just came and turned off the system. But my parents now knew of the album, and one look at the case and they were skeptical. My father said he’d have to look through it later to see if it was appropriate.

From what I had heard on the radio, I promised him it was. Songs about how drugs aren’t the answer and stuff.

In the store I broke it out and started at the beginning, reading the lyrics. I was terrified. The first song said ‘goddamn’ about 10 times. Semi-Charmed Life had a line about ‘those little red panties’ passing the test. That was edited out of the radio version.

Worse yet. One song mentioned people ‘Jesus couldn’t save’. I was fucked. My parents would kill me, and even worse, take my album away.

Somehow they spaced it all out. Somehow they forgot all about it. I wasn’t about to mention it.

Thank congress the non-instrumental version of “Slow Motion” didn’t make it to the album. Reading about gun violence and various forms of drug abuse including cutting Coke with Draino just to make someone bleed probably would have been enough to make me admit the folly of the CD and beg forgiveness. Oh yes, I was that big a rebel.

That was the only album I owned for months. I listened to it endlessly. For the next 7 or 8 years, it still was in my top five list of albums.

I am so incredibly and undeniably biased about the album that I’m not sure I can talk about it without gushing. I love it. Everything from the poppy and way overplayed Semi-Charmed Life to slower beautiful songs like Motorcycle Drive By are perfect. The album covers it all.

The album is to me the perfect incarnation of post-grunge. I don’t really like grunge, but that 90’s alternative post-grunge scene was perfect, with this album being it’s pinnacle.

While Semi-Charmed Life may have been what got in me in the proverbial door, don’t expect that obscene catchiness from the rest of the album. That’s not a bad thing. If the entire album were like Semi-Charmed Life i think i would have been burnt out on the album about a decade ago.

The album manages to pair the despair of grunge with catchy harmonies and perfectly played ‘arena rock’. The songs are far from happy, with Semi-Charmed Life, perhaps the catchiest song of the 1990s, about a methanphetamine addiction. With instrumentation seemingly meant for much tamer topics, i’m sure more than a few people were shocked when they finally looked up the lyrics.

What to Expect?

A mixture of Pop harmonies, Rock instrumentation, and Grunge influences to both music and vocals.

What to Take Away?

There’s a reason why Third Eye Blind has such a cult following, even this far down the line. If you’re only familiar with their Radio Singles, I recommend hitting Youtube to see if perhaps acquiring the album would be up your alley.

What Drink to Pair it with?

Some manner of Stout. Perhaps a Lefthand Milk Stout. Dark, just a little heavy, but sweet enough to keep coming back for more.

Favorite Song?

Either the non-instrumental version of “Slow Motion”, or “Motorcycle Drive By”.

Karen from New Jersey writes us this week to say:

“I have three-quarters of a bottle of Blackberry Brandy. What would be the best band to pair with this drink?”

Well Karen, my esteemed co-conspirator and I have discussed heatedly and thoroughly, and have come to a decision.

If you had a whole bottle, this would be a different matter entirely, but three-quarters of a bottle screams Goldfrapp. Specifically the “Supernature” album.

Brandy is distilled wine boiled down closer to it’s essence, and in doing so it changes the structure of the drink. Flavors shift, the composition changes, and suddenly what was meant to help lessen tariffs becomes a proper beverage in it’s own right.

Brandy then became a classic of it’s own. Brandy even stopped the communists. Well, at least until St. Petersburg’s stashes were consumed and the hangovers subsided.

Now take this classic and toss in some blackberries and sugar. Suddenly a classic shifts. Sugar adds that sweet taste, and the blackberries add that tang. The stuff will pull you right in, there’s no resisting it’s sweet seduction.

The thought of stuffy old men in front of fireplaces completely disappears. Images of young people enjoying themselves come to mind.

Segue, Goldfrapp.

Goldfrapp’s Supernature is an electronic album with whispy breathy vocals and heavy synthesizer action. Every song on this album is danceable. Playing it sitting down seems to be an exercise in futility; within 2.5 minutes I find myself out of my chair.

I would say their style can be traced back to the days of Disco. Disco heaped with generous amounts of Electronica and Rock. They don’t stop there, building upon it, adding a hint of this, a waft of that. They make it that extra delicious.

At times I almost feel as if they are toying with me as a cat toys with a mouse. They know I cannot resist that beat, and they know that when they randomly come up in my shuffle mode I’ll be doing a poor imitation of the Robot within seconds.

Their music is extremely palatable; nothing on this album is abrasive or sharp. It’s pure seduction. It makes my head feel all fuzzy and full of happiness. It seems perfect for an outside dance party on a cool fall evening.

Seriously. That beat would even stop a rioting communist in their tracks.

What to take away?

Both Goldfrapp and Blackberry Brandy are unique twists on a classic. They both seem well suited for early twenty-somethings with a slightly off-beat but well defined sense of style.

They both can temporarily detain communists.

What to expect?

Funky beats, seductive vocals, and cool delicious blackberry brandy.

What song matches best?

“Ooh La La“. She may need Ooh La La, I need more brandy.

What drink to mix it with? (if straight up isn’t your bag).

Cola.

One part blackberry brandy to two parts cola. Dub it the Blackbird and you’re done. It is supposed to taste a tidge like Cherry Cola. On a side note, the album preceding Supernature is “Black Cherry“. Coincidence? I think not!

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I’m just another Brody Dalle fan girl. I am about as close to being in love with Brody Dalle as I can without being completely creepy. This obsession used to be more pronounced, but recently it’s taken a back seat to other obsessions. Why? Because Brody Dalle forsook us!

With the demise of The Distillers (congress rest its soul), there was a Brody sized hole left in the fabric of the music-time continuum. After years of pointlessly and obsessively googling for updates on Brody I gave up.

My most excellent cousin, Taylor, mentioned the other day that Spinnerette, Brody’s new band, finally came out with something. My ears perked up. I started to excitedly wiggle a little bit. In typical Anderson fashion though, I promptly forgot all about it.

…Enter, today. Sitting at work, listening to my last.fm library, The Distillers came on. I hadn’t listened to them in ages. Suddenly I had a desire to listen to the entire Distillers catalog all night. Suddenly I missed Brody. Suddenly I remembered Spinnerette and their supposed release!

A little internet spelunking proved my cousin correct. Not only was there an EP, there was also a full length. Fifteen new Brody songs. I listened to what I could online, and one of the first things I did when I got home was order their self-titled full length. I also tried to order the Ghetto Love EP… But it was only a digital release. As much as I love instant gratification, I prefer hard copies. This may have something to do with the frequency with which my computers self destruct.

Despite only a digital release, I plunked down my $5 and had the music in minutes.

The first thing I did was watch the music video for Ghetto Love. It came with the digital release from their website. It’s lovely. It’s quite simple, but has Brody popping out from behind Brody for back-up vocals. Any song that fits multiple incarnations of Brody into it is okay by me.

The EP to me seems the next logical step after The Distillers’ Coral Fang. Brody’s singing style is roughly the same from that album: more smoky vocals, less yelling. The Music accompanying her is tamed down a little too. The angry anthems of Sing Sing Death House are long, long gone. Coming close to growing up with The Distillers, I like this. Sing Sing Death House was perfect for my pissed off little 15 year old self. This new stuff is perfect for that same pissed off little 15 year old 7 years down the line. The sharper points are sanded down, but with that transformation is also a suddenly danceable beat hidden within most of the songs of this EP.

Predominantly I would say this is a rock album. Easily teased out are elements of punk and grunge, one may even say ‘post-punk.’ Aside from these broad categories, a subtle layer of beats hides, unassuming until I found myself prancing around the living room in a way The Distillers never made me prance before. This danceable current easily falls within the broad basis of rock-punk-grunge, leaving it hiding in the shadows, present but not pointedly so.

For a four song EP i’m impressed. I cannot wait until my package comes in.

What to take away…

Spinnerette is undeniably a musical force steered by Brody. Her musical style has evolved into something bigger than her punk days of yore, but that’s not saying it’s a bad thing. it’s just a different thing. Any Brody-whore will like it. An enjoyment of rock and punk outside of the usual Hellcat Records paradigm will help with the appreciation.

What should you expect?

Well fashioned songs of what seems to me to be a unique fusion of musical styles formed into a new style that is hard to pigeonhole.

What drink to pair with it?

Bourbon, from the bottle.

Favorite Song?

Ghetto Love seems to be the best of her new style. Smokey vocals, a good beat, and well timed yelling make it a great opening song. Valium Knights is also wonderful, and it seems to me to be reminiscent of Brody’s older style, specifically the Coral Fang album.