Before I get going with the nice CD roundup I had planned, let’s take a moment to comment on the Pete Townshend thing.
Glossing over most of the details, The Who’s former guitarist was arrested Monday after one of his credit cards was used to enter a child porn site. Townshend admitted to accessing the site but asserted that it was in an attempt to confront his own possible childhood molestation.
I certainly don’t think Townshend is a pedophile, and I will assume the truthfulness of his alibi — but you have to admit, it sounds really bad on paper. His fate really hinges on whether or not British police find any illegal images on his computers, which they confiscated. I, for one, await a speedy dismissal of all this hullabaloo. But while we await that news, let’s restate the valuable lesson Townshend has reinforced: Never use a credit card to view pornography.
Now, onto more amiable music news.
“Emotions,” the first album by alaska! — the band not the state (the exclamation point is part of the name) — was recently released, and it’s fantasma-great. I saw them in concert over a year ago, when they opened for Elliott Smith. I was amazed by the full sound they created with just two guys singing and playing guitar. Though this is alaska!’s first album, Russ Pollard and Imaad Wasif bring experience to the table, having previously played with Sebadoh and Folk Implosion, respectively.
Their sound falls somewhere in the folk rock genre, with songs ranging from slower instrumentals to pulsing rock tunes. The first track, “the western shore,” is one of the best on the CD– a common tactic used on first albums to make music critics actually pay attention — which sets the tone for the two-part harmonies. Pollard and Wasif sing with sorrowful sustain: “I can’t believe I let things slide.”
The other gem, “rust and cyanide,” could be the band’s theme song, with its lyrical remembrances of Alaska. However, I’m not sure that the L.A.-based band has ever actually been to The Land of the Midnight Sun. I suppose I can “let things slide.” I’ll ask them when they come to town Feb. 28 with Folk Implosion.
From Alaska, I move down to Texas, the oil-soaked wellspring from which spews Reverend Horton Heat, a rockabilly whirlwind that’ll knock you flat on your kiester. Their seventh release, “Lucky 7,” is the kind of album where you know 60 percent of the lyrics just by reading the song titles.
But predictability isn’t passive with the Reverend. As soon as the riff from “Loco Gringos Like a Party,” assaults your ear drums, you know this is the kind of Rock (capital “R” required) that’ll turn your teeth yellow faster than a pack of Lucky Strikes.
There really aren’t any stand-out tunes, and unless you’re in the precise “car rock” mood, listening to “Lucky 7” straight through could be a chore. But the payoff at the end — with the Reverend’s “Sermon on the Jimbo” and the subsequent tune, “You’ve got a Friend in Jimbo” — proves the time-tested preacher gag never gets old. Check out this soundbite: “When you have sinned, he will baptize you in the clear waters of his above-ground pool.” Ha-HA! Be on notice for their show Feb. 25 at the WOW Hall for a chance to show off those marigold chompers.
Struggling to float in the Reverend’s wake is Slobberbone, a mediocre-at-best Texas rock band with their new CD, “Slippage.” There are two reasons a band like this can get my attention:
1) It is fun to say “slobberbone.” However, it should only be pronounced “shlabbabohun” and cannot be spoken without drooling on yourself. You should hear Pulse editor Jacquelyn say it. I tell you what.
2) They sent stickers. It has long been my assertion that everyone loves sticking stickers on things. I know I do. But my stringent moral code prohibits the sticking of a sticker that promotes anything I don’t support or doesn’t look really cool.
To sum up: Stickers good. Child porn bad. Have $30 handy for concert tickets in February. We’re one week closer to spring break.
Contact the Pulse columnist at [email protected]. His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald.