catapult magazine

Ryan,

I too love the new dylan album. I found it quite refreshing and two decent albums in a row is an accomplishment for dylan. Has anyone heard of Atomic Opera? They have a new one coming out in april. I’m always interested in a band who writes songs in 15/3 meter.

becks albums have been getting much worser.

i thinks that his best was ‘odelay’ with that one catchy song— two turn tables and a microphone.

but then… he made that awful cd called mutations. very not good, except for that one song— tropicana.

i thinks that highschoolers don’t actually like that crappy music. because it be so crappy.

This is in response to a quote from grant way back when… do you really think that Brittney Spears is harmless? I suppose in comparison she is but in and of herself I think she can cause a whole lot of damage just because she seems harmless. Her message is subtle and therefore dangerous. Perhaps I am a ridiculously bias though. Does anyone else loathe her as much as I do?

I think B.S. is less dangerous than some of these “Nu Metal” groups because she’s not pretending to be some kind of cutting edge, authentic rock band. She’s more up front about what she’s doing. Kids should grow out of their phase of adoring pop music by high school and college, but instead they are strung along further into the pop mainstream with bands like Creed, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit etc. Though some of these bands have better intentions than others, the music seems to come out of a primary desire to make money while pretending to be giving kids a way out of their dull lives.

Overall, neither are desirable. But there appears to be something of a promising movement happening now. Wilco’s new album, The Strokes, The Hives, etc. We’ll have to watch some of these new bands very closely, however. I think the Strokes could come dangerously close to falling pathetically beneath the weight of the hype.

P.S. Beck’s “Mutations” is a great album. Listen to it again without the anti-folk music bias.

I think the Strokes already have fallen beneath the hype. It’s not quite as satisfying as I thought it was when I bought it. It makes me feel bad. I’d hoped they and their kin would be the salvation of pop rock. Maybe they still will. I suppose the next album will prove or disprove that.

It’s Clash, VU, Stones, and Iggy all over again. Which is good, it’s good music, but isn’t there a NEW sound with the same edge?

Actually, there is. To toot our own horn, Space and I are close to completing our album which attempts to do just what you’re suggesting.

I know there are others out there, but I haven’t found them yet. I would say Clinic is close. I really find them to be sonically very interesting while tapping into the VU spirit. White Stripes have the same problem with rehashing classic rock as some of these other “new” rock bands we’re talking about, but they do it very well with two instruments. But I want the classic rock feel without the classic rock riffs. By the way, I heard a track off the new and maybe never-to-be-released RATM album and it sucked. Anyway, at least Eminem’s new album is out now. That’s good for a few listens.

I always pass the time between trends by diving into the old stuff. Where has Roxy Music been all my life?

God bless Wilco. Amen.

Toot, toot! That’s good.

Rage with Chris Cornell? Blah. What’s Mr. de la Rocha been up to lately? When will you be finished with the album?

yes, grant. when will you be finished? i want to buy your album so that i can support local music in chicago before i move to portland. oh, and i’d also love to hear what you guys have been up to.

All right. Has anyone heard of Cake? Tell me what you think. Though I detest some of their stuff, they are still my favorite band.

Anybody?

Nirvana and Alice in Chains are pretty good! I like Puddle of Mudd and POD also. I have never really gotten into Limp and i am glad because there are some people who are obbsessed and they kinda scare me…..

Cake is pretty good! I get some of their songs stuck in my head. They like drill themselves there and it never goes away. Some of the stuff isnt so great but i do agree that cake is really good :)