Oldies But Goodies

My apologies on the delay.  We have had a couple of crazy nights.  Tonight we don't have the usual classic albums, instead we have some new albums from Old Friends of the Skog Blog.  Be prepared to rekindle the flames with a middle school band, debunk a one hit wonder theory, discuss the state of the pop music union and even share the formula for world peace.

Living Colour - The Chair in the Doorway

When I heard the boys were getting the band back together I was a little worried.  Living Colour was one of the greatest bands of my youth and I was skeptical as to whether or not they could regain some of the old glory.  I'm pleased to say that although there are a few stinkers and not all of the tracks are fantastic it's great to have these guys back in our lives.  Sadly (or not sadly, perhaps) they left the Body Glove suits behind this go around but they brought the rock and funk as usual.  I doubt this album is going to create any new converts but old fans will enjoy Young Man, Behind the Sun, Hard Times and Bless Those (Little Annie's Prayer.) 

Marcy Playground - Leaving Wonderland in a Fit of Rage

When asked about Marcy Playground most people either respond with, "Who?  Marcy what?" or "Isn't that the stupid band who sings that Sex and Candy song?" which has been featured on every one hit wonder of the 90's VH1 countdown and still gets played daily on X96's 90's at noon.   Little do they know that the band is far from a one hit wonder and has been putting out solid albums for over a decade now.  Leaving Wonderland is their fourth album and is their most mature and solid effort to date.  Gone are the slacker pop songs about fictional cartoon characters and in their place are songs about real relationships, happy times, sad times and addiction.  Try Memphis, Thank You and the heartbreaking tale of a wasted life, Down the Drain.

Brendan Benson - My Old Familiar Friend

Regular readers of the Skog Blog should recognize Brendan Benson from a previous post where I documented my man love for him and whined about the current state of pop music.  I won't go on and on about him again but Friend is just another gold star to place on his already stellar resume.  The album opens with A Whole Let Better which is as good as it gets for power pop.  This guy needs to teach lessons as once again not a bad track to be found.  Go Nowhere is also fanfriggintastic.

Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio

Sondre was one of the original New Music Monday features back when the Skog Blog was in its infancy.  Unlike KG, Lerche continues to grow up and blow us away with his ability to write pop songs that would make Burt Bacharach jealous.  Most people would kill to write one catchy pop song and this guy has been writing albums and scoring movie soundtracks loaded with great songs since his teenage years.  Not to mention he does this in a second language rather than his native Norwegian.  I think if everyone listened to a Sondre album daily the world would be a much happier place.  No more wars, no more strife - spread the word.  Recommend songs = all of them.

Oldies But Goodies

Brendan Benson - Lapalco

In a just world Brendan Benson would be selling millions of records and teaching the art of perfect pop songwriting at his private college, Pop University. Even with gushing critical acclaim, Lapalco achieved only minor success and has slid under the radar as one of the underrated gems of this past decade.

Lapalco, released in 2002, was the second and best of three solid albums for Mr. Benson. The problem is that in 2002 the radio waves were still clogged with Pop Punk and Rap Metal garbage posing as 'Pop Music' and there was no room for Brendan. Had this album been released in the late 60's or early 70's we might be seeing it in Rolling Stone articles where they discuss the Top 100 albums of all time. Lapalco wasn't alternative enough for play on modern rock stations or commercial enough for Top 40 so he did what other musicians in similar situations do - get a few songs in movies, commercials and TV shows and that pays the bills enough for them to tour and continue cranking out fantastic yet barely heard music.

I too often throw out 'Beatlesesque' when describing music like the 12 songs found on Lapalco but this is one case when it is well deserved. The slow burn of Metarie that explodes in harmonies upon reaching the chorus would make Lennon and McCartney proud. Other songs that wouldn't seem out of place on a late Beatles record include Good To Me, What and Jet Lag. You can tell that Brendan grew up listening to the classic albums of the 60's and 70's and his music seems familiar without sounding like a cheap imitation.

More recently Brendan Benson has found popularity and more commercial success partnering with friend Jack White in The Raconteurs. He also has a new solo album My Old, Familiar Friend set to be released later this year and I already have it penciled in for The Skog Blog End of the Year Top 12 Countdown.