The Digital Divide---music, CDs, and concert reviews. Nolan's Pop Culture Review #147

Now in our fourth calendar year
PCR #147 (Vol. 4, No. 3). This edition is for the week of January 13--19, 2003.

Frontpage
La Floridiana
Movie Review
Mike's Rant
PCR Archives 2003
2002
2001   2000
Crazed Fanboy home
PCR Home

     CD REVIEWS    by Terence Nuzum
CDs are rated 1 to 5 LEDs

The Streets: Original Pirate Material
Available at Amazon.com!

Just because he's white, it would be easy to dismiss Mike Skinner as a British Eminem but that would be entirely untrue. Skinner's project, The Streets, first off, has better arrangements and, of course, far more of a message than the egotistic overkill of Marshall Mathers' latest offerings. The Streets are part of the UK Garage sound. UK Garage for those of you who haven't been doing their homework is an underground scene of rap, backed by techno and trip-hop beats. Tricky could be considered an early influence on UK Garage. The Streets' sound mostly though can be compared to two Blur songs "On My Own" and "Parklife". Steady beats and repetitive synths backing deadpan beat-rapping is the sound of The Streets. For all Skinner's deadpan rapping (reading some might call it) of the lyrics, he somehow manages to choose the right words and the right timing to accompany the beats and keyboards. On the song "Lets Push Things Forward" the chorus rails on the current state of music:
You say that everything sounds the same
Then you go buy them! Thats no excuse my friend
Lets push things forward.
The chorus is sung in a nervous dub by Kevin Mark Trail. Skinner raps back his answer "I whole heartedly agree with yer viewpoint/ But this 'ain't your typical Garage joint/ I make points which hold signifigance". And indeed he does, which is why he can make the claim "I excel in both content and deliverance" sound so believable. Not all of the tracks are punk rock (punk rap?) rebellion though. For instance, the track "It's Too Late" in which Skinner raps in chorus against a new age vocal by Jacqueline Rawe backed by synth strings, creates almost a thing of beauty. Original Pirate Material is one of the most important British albums to come out since Nevermind The Bullocks. It documents the current underclass youth movement in Britain just as the Sex Pistols did in '77. Also, like that album, it bashes and pokes fun at the current musical climate. It is hard to get used to the deadpan rapping, and some will either hate it or love it. Personally, it reminds me of the kind of music the droogs in A Clockwork Orange might listen to before a bit of the old ultraviolence. The lingo of UK Garage is far different than US rap and Hip-Hop, though. For example, Skinner remarks "Around 'ere we say Birds not Bitches" and usually in a song the replacement for "niggas" will be "geezers". The beats and backing compositions are for more intricate than anything US crap-rappers Eminem and Nelly can hack out. US rap used to be exciting and important in the late 80's with groups like N.W.A. and Public Enemy, but it seems that now we could learn a thing or two from UK Garage. Ok so it's not Rock, it's rap, but in the end, it's all Punk! And that's more than you can say for a lot of Punk Rock these days.
The Raveonettes: Whip It On
Available at Amazon.com!

Upon listening to Whip It On's first three tracks, it dawns on one that the remaining five tracks will not stray from the formula whatsoever. And they don't. That's not to say that the songs are bad, because honestly, the Ramones-covering-Black Sabbath sound of "Belly Of The Beast" is undeniably catchy, but in the end, ultimately unfulfilling.
The Raveonettes seem to suffer from the great Garage Rock comedown: the realization that the Garage Rock Revival which sounded so fresh and exciting in 2002 is now, in 2003, sounding like it was simply the flavor of the year. A year ago, The Raveonettes surf-twang ala' Kevin Shields fuzzy guitars stlyings would have been genius, but now, sadly, sound trite.
The opening track, "Attack Of The Ghost Riders", is something of a gem though. It's like a haunting soundtrack to a '50's greaser/film noir film. Twangy guitars, eerie '50s vocals, and the suggestion of a theramin all make it great. It would have made a kick-ass single, but alas, we have instead a whole album of the same song. The songs aren't exactly bad but they aren't great either. It's simply a decent garage rocker. Not an album that you would sell back to your record store, but nothin' to write home about either. Will this be a omen for all garage rockers in 2003? Let's hope not. And if it is, at least no one can say it wasn't a great 12 months.

This issue's Digital Divide was composed in its entirety by Terence B. Nuzum, ©2003. Webpage design and all graphics herein, except where otherwise noted, are creations of Nolan B. Canova.    All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2003 by Nolan B. Canova.


Frontpage La Floridiana Movie Review Mike's Rant PCR Archives 2003 2002 2001 2000 Crazed Fanboy home PCR Home



		The Streets: Original Pirate Material Available at Amazon.com! Just because he's white, it would be easy to dismiss Mike Skinner as a British Eminem but that would be entirely untrue. Skinner's project, The Streets, first off, has better arrangements and, of course, far more of a message than the egotistic overkill of Marshall Mathers' latest offerings. The Streets are part of the UK Garage sound. UK Garage for those of you who haven't been doing their homework is an underground scene of rap, backed by techno and trip-hop beats. Tricky could be considered an early influence on UK Garage. The Streets' sound mostly though can be compared to two Blur songs "On My Own" and "Parklife". Steady beats and repetitive synths backing deadpan beat-rapping is the sound of The Streets. For all Skinner's deadpan rapping (reading some might call it) of the lyrics, he somehow manages to choose the right words and the right timing to accompany the beats and keyboards. On the song "Lets Push Things Forward" the chorus rails on the current state of music: You say that everything sounds the same Then you go buy them! Thats no excuse my friend Lets push things forward. The chorus is sung in a nervous dub by Kevin Mark Trail. Skinner raps back his answer "I whole heartedly agree with yer viewpoint/ But this 'ain't your typical Garage joint/ I make points which hold signifigance". And indeed he does, which is why he can make the claim "I excel in both content and deliverance" sound so believable. Not all of the tracks are punk rock (punk rap?) rebellion though. For instance, the track "It's Too Late" in which Skinner raps in chorus against a new age vocal by Jacqueline Rawe backed by synth strings, creates almost a thing of beauty. Original Pirate Material is one of the most important British albums to come out since Nevermind The Bullocks. It documents the current underclass youth movement in Britain just as the Sex Pistols did in '77. Also, like that album, it bashes and pokes fun at the current musical climate. It is hard to get used to the deadpan rapping, and some will either hate it or love it. Personally, it reminds me of the kind of music the droogs in A Clockwork Orange might listen to before a bit of the old ultraviolence. The lingo of UK Garage is far different than US rap and Hip-Hop, though. For example, Skinner remarks "Around 'ere we say Birds not Bitches" and usually in a song the replacement for "niggas" will be "geezers". The beats and backing compositions are for more intricate than anything US crap-rappers Eminem and Nelly can hack out. US rap used to be exciting and important in the late 80's with groups like N.W.A. and Public Enemy, but it seems that now we could learn a thing or two from UK Garage. Ok so it's not Rock, it's rap, but in the end, it's all Punk! And that's more than you can say for a lot of Punk Rock these days. The Raveonettes: Whip It On Available at Amazon.com! Upon listening to Whip It On's first three tracks, it dawns on one that the remaining five tracks will not stray from the formula whatsoever. And they don't. That's not to say that the songs are bad, because honestly, the Ramones-covering-Black Sabbath sound of "Belly Of The Beast" is undeniably catchy, but in the end, ultimately unfulfilling. The Raveonettes seem to suffer from the great Garage Rock comedown: the realization that the Garage Rock Revival which sounded so fresh and exciting in 2002 is now, in 2003, sounding like it was simply the flavor of the year. A year ago, The Raveonettes surf-twang ala' Kevin Shields fuzzy guitars stlyings would have been genius, but now, sadly, sound trite. The opening track, "Attack Of The Ghost Riders", is something of a gem though. It's like a haunting soundtrack to a '50's greaser/film noir film. Twangy guitars, eerie '50s vocals, and the suggestion of a theramin all make it great. It would have made a kick-ass single, but alas, we have instead a whole album of the same song. The songs aren't exactly bad but they aren't great either. It's simply a decent garage rocker. Not an album that you would sell back to your record store, but nothin' to write home about either. Will this be a omen for all garage rockers in 2003? Let's hope not. And if it is, at least no one can say it wasn't a great 12 months.