Core
The minute the first chord burst forth on
"Dead and Bloated," we knew we were in the height
of grunge glory. Pumping this in a nasty fraternity room strewn
with tapestries, spilled bong water and rotten Chinese food
hiding in every nook and cranny just felt right. Sure parts
of this album are kind of paint-by-numbers 1992 rock 'n' roll,
but if you turn the stereo as loud as it'll go, it still f'n
rocked. Plus, there was just something about Scott
Weiland that you had to love. I never really understood
the Pearl Jam comparisons, but
then PJ was every frat boy's dream band back in the day and
nobody sounded quite like them. I mean who didn't sing along
with "Creep" and/or "Plush" at least once
a week? Oh, maybe that was just me. There are some real gems
here (the aforementioned among them), but it's going to take
them some time to find a real identity. |
No. 4
What a title! Yes, it is STP's fourth album.
I skipped that Tiny Music thing (I think that's the
album they went disco or lounge or something). Now they've turned
into a heavier version of Shudder
to Think--at least on some songs. Others they just sound
like a straight-ahead hard rock band. To me it feels like they've
lost some of their personality here, and have gotten stuck in
some weird grunge circle. They're trying to essentially make
grunge music, but have taken out all of the grunge. So they
just end up sounding kind of like a generic band. This signaled
the official official divorce between me and STP. Sorry, dudes,
it's you not me. |
Purple
This thing got so damaged in college, that
I've been unable to play it or rip it to my iPod. I must have
played "Big Empty" at least one million times before
the CD pooped out on me. I still consider it one of the best
pop rock songs ever. I will play it on any jukebox I find it
on. "Interstate Love Song" is also really good, and
makes the second of about four decent songs on the album. Unlike
today's records, it was okay back in the day to have four legit
bangers and then an album full of filler. This fulfills the
requisite number of really good songs, and has two defining
songs of the age that makes it an almost classic. |
Musical Connections:
Julian Casablancas
The Strokes
|
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