na: Crue, Other Lives, Nick Lowe, etc.

Yancey, Joe and Alex have departed for SXSW as of this morning, and hopefully we’ll be hearing about their experiences soon here. So it’s just Maris and me this week, and I’d say that “it’s all quiet here” except there is a brain-jarringly loud St. Patty’s Day parade happening on the street right below our window, and every seven minutes or so we are greeted with a fresh blast of bagpipes.

The big haul today is Motley Crue, who have come to be easily the most infamous hair metal band ever. Chuck Klosterman, almost certainly the only hair metal fan to compare the videos from GNR’s Use Your Illusion to the Gospels in print, has written a typically hilarious and engaging essay for us making the musical case for the Crue. The whole thing demands reading, but I think he makes the point nicely and succinctly here:

The Crue aspired to Aerosmith and competed against Metallica, but their best work is more like a harder version of T. Rex processed by Kelly Clarkson. It’s for non-metalheads, really.

Personal reminiscence: My cousin Joel grew up in the era of Crue (he played drums in a bar band called Voxie Dee that was basically a Crue cover band that happened to play originals) and he was sort of the most stereotypical Crue fan possible: aggressively, almost frighteningly macho, a fan of dubious-quality beers in cans and Zoobaz pants. I inherited a lot of his Crue tapes at a hilariously young age (7? 8?) so listening to these tinnily produced, hyper-compressed records brings back some weird childhood memories for me. (True facts: my other favorite albums of that period were, in no order, George Michael’s Faith, Led Zeppelin II, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s He’s the DJ, I’m The Rapper, Faith No More’s The Real Thing, Metallica’s Master of the Puppets (seriously), and Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl (also, seriously).) The first four records or so still sound pretty goddamn good to me in their own, very specific way. Too Fast For Love, in particular, stands out as a undeniably raucous and fun rock album.

Other stuff that came in today:

Other Lives, Other Lives: I have not listened to this, but Kristina Feliciano definitely makes it sound appealing. Any thoughts on this one?

Nick Lowe, The New Best of Nick Lowe: A great new collection of the seminal pub rocker’s stuff. Terry Staunton writes:

A maverick with mainstream appeal, Lowe has charted a course through the winding streets of the pop map for more than three-and-half decades. This compilation stops off at various points of his journey, from the fledgling New Wave of early Stiff Records cuts “So It Goes” and “Heart Of The City” to radio-friendly hits “I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass” and “Cruel To Be Kind,” to the electric folk of “Rose Of England” and “Lovers’ Jamboree.” Later, less celebrated singles “Ragin’ Eyes” and “All Men Are Liars” display a sly wit and a never-failing ear for a catchy tune, while the elegant and mature country of his more recent albums is represented by the sublime “Lately I’ve Let Things Slide” and “I Trained Her To Love Me.”

Crystal Stilts, Love Is A Wave: New single from eMusic faves! On first listen, this might be turn out to be my personal favorite Crystal Stilts song. I tend to really dig these guys when the pace picks up and the chords switch from “dourly minor” to “blurrily major.” Sounds really, really great OFL.

Oddisee, Mental Liberation EP: Oddissee is a D.C. rapper who got the attention of Jazzy Jeff a few years ago, and he follows the template of the sort of rapper Jazzy Jeff might cosign: warm, self-deprecating, thoughtful, undeniably talented, unmistakably throwback. The cover, title, and first song title (“Hip Hop Is Cool Again”) are all a little cringeworthy, but the songs themselves bump nicely….if you are a Native Tongues dude, this will sound like sweet backpacker-rap ambrosia. LOVE the drum sound on “Hip Hop’s Cool Again.” Oddisee made a great appearance on last year’s great J-Live Record, Then What Happened, as well.

Pree, A Chopping Block: This sounds really nice, folkish, strummy country-folk paired with unsteady, warbling female vocals that are a dead ringer for Joanna Newsom without those creepy high-pitched kitten squeals she sometimes does. Def worth checking out.

Post your faves in the comments! It’s so lonely here without a constant stream of all-caps IMs from our friends in Austin…..