Oblivians
"Popular Favorites CD" (Crypt)
I suspect I should probably fawn over this album, gushing effusively over its retrograde sound and feel. If I were truly one of those alterna-rock geeks who suck blood directly from freshly slaughtered chickens, I'd probably drool over this record's "authenticity" at capturing "rawk." Well, I traded in my shack on the bayou, so maybe I'm just geographically impaired, but I fail to see what, if anything, this skronky, noisy Blues Firecracker has to do with rock, which doesn't surprise me much. Lately, I haven't seen much which has to do with rock, and in such a context, I suppose this album fares quite well with songs like "Bad Man," which isn't half bad. However, this is my idealized world and as such, I demand that all albums fucking ROCK. This one fails to stir my emotions, passions or intellect, much less those more primal parts of the self which ROCK is supposed to access and manipulate. My pelvis didn't gyrate of its own accord, my hips didn't swivel and I most emphatically did not feel the ROCK. 'Nuff said.