2016
Year In Review
2016
has been a wild year. From the 2016 Presidential Election to the terrorist
attacks, it hasn’t been the easiest year. It’s also been quite the year for
music. While we mourned the loss of many icons, some great music came out this
year. Personally, this is what my year was like in music.
New albums
David
Bowie
Blackstar
Rating: ****
FAVORITE
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
If
David Bowie hadn’t died earlier this year, would I still say this is my
favorite album of the year? It’s hard to say but I think Bowie knew it would be
his last, although producer Tony Visconti says otherwise, saying Bowie had
demos for a follow up ready. Whatever the case may be, I think this was David
Bowie’s goodbye. Bowie died only two days after the release of the
album. In that time span, I enjoyed Blackstar
and thought it was a wild experimental jazz album. With Bowie dead, the album take
on a whole new meaning- which I think was intended. It’s a bleak yet intriguing
album dealing themes such as death and loneliness. Bowie really put his heart
into this one and the end result is amazing.
Highlights: Blackstar, Tis Pity She Was
A Whore, Lazarus, Girl Loves Me
John
Cale
M:
FANS
Rating: ***
After
years of being out-of-print, John Cale’s 1982 bleak classic Music For A New Society was reissued on
CD. Along with reissuing the album, Cale decided to re-record the album. As
much as hate to say it, M: FANS is
just okay for me. I do like the idea behind re-recording this album. Cale
recorded the original during a difficult time in his life. With M: FANS, it’s Cale’s first album since
the death of his former band mate Lou Reed. The main problem I have with the
new album is that most of the re-recordings aren’t too different from the
originals. Still, there are some interesting re-workings of these songs- most
of them dabbling in dubstep.
Highlights: If You Were Still Around
(Reprise), Changes Made
Iggy
Pop
Post
Pop Depression
Rating: ****
It
has been a while since Iggy Pop has recorded a proper solo album. Pop did
release two French themed albums in 2009 and 2012- as well as reunite with the
Asheton brothers (and later James Williamson) in the reformed Stooges before
then. With both of the Asheton brothers deceased, the Stooges name seems to
have been laid to rest. With that, Pop decided to make a new studio album, with
Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme producing. The album, Post Pop Depression, was supposedly recorded with the idea of it
being a sequel to Pop’s first two albums- The
Idiot and Lust for Life. While
the production for this album is very different from those two album, Post Pop Depression is a fairly
consistent album from Pop. The songs do sometimes feel like they fit with the
songs from The Idiot and Lust for Life. Pop, now 69, shines
throughout the album. Even at his age, Pop’s voice is still strong.
Highlights: Break Into Your Heart,
Gardenia, Sunday, Paraguay
Scorpion
Child
Acid
Roulette
Rating: ****
If
the name doesn’t sound familiar, it’s probably because Scorpion Child are a
reasonably recent band. However, after listening to their music- you would
think they came from the 1970s. Coming from Texas, Scorpion Child are a hard
rock band that are heavily influenced by classic rock- specifically Led Zeppelin,
Deep Purple and even Thin Lizzy. Their debut album from 2013 was a fun
old-school hard rock album. With their sophomore effort, Acid Roulette is a more psychedelic offering- sometimes teetering
near heavy psych. In this year of 2016 where almost everything is overproduced
or uses Autotune, it’s refreshing to hear an album that utilizes the droning
sounds of a hard rock organ. Something tells me the late Jon Lord would’ve been
proud.
Highlights: My Woman in Black, She Sings I Kill, Twilight Coven, Tower Grove
Lucifer’s
Friend
Too
Late to Hate
Rating: ****
German
hard rockers Lucifer’s Friend reunited a year or two ago for a number of
reunion shows. This reunion, along with last year’s release of a compilation
featuring new songs, have all led to the band releasing a brand new studio
album. Too Late to Hate is the band’s
first album decades (whether it be 1981’s Mean
Machine or 1994’s Sumo Grip as
Lucifer’s Friend II- it’s still been a long time). It’s a shame that Lucifer’s
Friend are only known by a few people because Too Late to Hate is a very good album. In terms of sounds, Lucifer’s
Friend have changed their sound from album to album. If you liked and/or owned
any of their earlier albums, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
Highlights: Demolition Man, Sea of Promises, Straight for the Heart, Jokers & Fools
Metallica
Hardwired…To
Self-Destruct
Rating: ***
½ or 3.75
After
a universally loathed collaboration with Lou Reed and a 3D concert movie, Metallica
are back with a brand new studio- their first since 2008’s Death Magnetic. Although a double album, the 77 minutes on Hardwired could’ve easily fit onto one
disc. However, the problem with this one is that the music isn’t all that
exciting. The album’s first disc is quite strong but the second disc is where
it falls apart. Still, does that make the album bad at all? No, not really.
When it’s good, Hardwired delivers with
some strong metal tracks. In fact, I’d say most of the album has good songs. However,
it could’ve been kept to eight songs instead of twelve.
Highlights: Hardwired, Moth Into Flame,
Halo of Fire, Atlas Rise, Spit Out the Bone
The
Rolling Stones
Blue
& Lonesome
Rating: ****
The
last time The Rolling Stones released a brand new studio album was in 2005 with
A Bigger Bang. At this point in their
career, the band doesn’t need to write any new material. When going into the
studio to record an album of new material, the band ended up recording this
album of blues covers- live in the studio with no overdubs. For what it is, Blue & Lonesome is a strong album.
The band are pretty tight and the production isn’t too over-the-top. The band
have gone back to their roots, covering the music they hold near and dear to
them. With it being a blues album, it can
be boring at times. However, this is not a bad album at all. In fact, I
wouldn’t have a problem with this being their last one.
Highlights: Just Your Fool, Bring ‘Em On
Down, Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Blue & Lonesome
Rankings
1. David
Bowie- Blackstar
2. Iggy
Pop- Post Pop Depression
3. Scorpion
Child- Acid Roulette
4. Lucifer’s
Friend- Too Late to Hate
5. The
Rolling Stones- Blue & Lonesome
6. Metallica-
Hardwired…to Self-Destruct
7. John
Cale- M: FANS
Archival/reissues
John
Cale
Music
for a New Society (1982)
Rating: ****
Along
with the new M:FANS album, John Cale’s
long out-of-print Music for a New Society
was finally reissued on CD. The album was released on CD sometime in the
1990s and quickly disappeared. You’d be lucky if you found it on eBay for less
than $30. During my time in college, I was able to find my college radio
station’s copy of the album on vinyl- which I used my USB turntable to rip. I
didn’t expect for album to come out on CD so soon!
As
an album, Music for a New Society is
a wonderfully bleak album. It’s not the easiest album to listen to but the
minimalism and emotion in the songs is quite remarkable. When in comes to the
Velvet Underground and their solo careers, most would think Lou Reed was the
only member who released anything worth listening to. While not as great as
Reed’s, I’d say John Cale’s solo albums are really underrated. If you’re new to
his solo material, I wouldn’t start with this. Get yourself Paris 1919 and The Island Years set (which includes Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy) first. If you like those,
you might like this one. Also, it’s now easier to get the album with it back in
print.
Movies
Note: not all of these movies were
released in 2016. The ones that aren’t from 2016 were at least released on home
video in some way in 2016.
We
Are Twisted F***ing Sister
Rating: ***
¾
Twisted
Sister were pretty big back in the 1980s when they released Stay Hungry in 1984. However, the band
had been around for nearly a decade before then. Going into this documentary, I
thought this documentary would be an in-depth look at the entire history of the
band. This isn’t the case, unfortunately. To be fair, Behind the Music covered their successful period quite well. The
story that hasn’t been told is the story of the band prior to the release of Stay Hungry. That’s exactly what this
documentary is. Is it good? Yes, it is. Without giving too much away, the
things that Twisted Sister went through just to make a name for themselves is
astounding. While the documentary does show some archival footage of the band
performing, most of the time is taken up by talking heads. There’s nothing
wrong with this but with a runtime of 137 minutes, that’s a lot of information
for someone new to the band to process. Even with its long runtime, some things
are missing. I noticed there was no mention about the impact the 1979 cult
classic The Warriors had on the band.
Dee Snider has mentioned many times that they adopted their look based on the gangs
depicted in the movie. However, this movie was partially funded by fans through
a Kickstarter-like campaign. I’m guessing they didn’t have the money to do some
things. Given what they had to work with, this is a pretty decent documentary.
Jaco
Rating: ****
While
he wasn’t exactly rock, Jaco Pastorius has had an incredible influence on
bassists in the genre. Co-produced by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Jaco tells the story of the influential
bassist. Pastorius’ story not the most uplifting but it’s a story that needs to
be put on film. Among the interviewees are his friends, his band mates, his
family and the bassists who were influenced by him. If you’re a stranger to
Pastorius and his music, this movie serves as a perfect introduction.
Theory
of Obscurity: A Film About the Residents
Rating: ****
With
a band as mysterious as the Residents, how do you make a documentary on them? You
make the documentary about their mystique, their history and their influence. I
usually prefer it when a documentary presents the story in chronological order.
This movie doesn’t exactly do that and sort of swifts into other directions-
which I’m okay with. This might be more of a movie for those who don’t know
about the Residents but either way, it’s a good movie.
I
Am Thor
Rating: ***
After
retiring from his career as a bodybuilder, Jon Mikl Thor decided to take his
love for heavy metal music and form a band of his own. I Am Thor is a decent movie about Jon Mikl Thor, as well as his
band of the same name. I really wanted to like this movie but I have some
problems with it. While I like that the story is told chronologically, it’s
done in a way where a majority of the movie is showing things that happened in
the past. It isn’t until the last 20 minutes when the present day kicks in.
Even then, I didn’t feel there was any conflict in Jon Mikl’s story. As I type
this, I’m even having a hard time remembering the movie. Usually with
documentaries like this, I become intrigued by the artist and want to listen to
their music. With I Am Thor, I really
wasn’t all that interested. Still, this isn’t a bad movie. It told me about
someone who I had no idea existed. For what it is, it’s okay.
Janis:
Little Girl Blue
Rating: ****
Little Girl Blue has been getting a lot
of praise from movie critics all around, as a heartbreaking documentary
covering the life of Janis Joplin. Having seen it, I enjoyed this movie too-
however to a certain degree. Even though a good movie, it’s missing some
information. Anything about her getting her start at Threadgill’s or even some
of her music is completely overlooked. I always found E! True Hollywood Story’s episode on her to be very strong and full
of information. Sadly, that’s a hard video to find. I think the focus on this
movie was more so about Janis Joplin as a person- which I’m completely fine
with. I think this comes pretty close to THS
and it acts as a nice alternate documentary to 1974’s Janis (similar to how the Hendrix doc Hear My Train A Comin’ was a good update on 1973’s Jimi Hendrix).
The
Beatles: Eight Days A Week- The Touring Years
Rating: ****
Ron
Howard decided to make a Beatles movie this year. With there being dozens of
documentaries on the band and its individual members, what makes this one
different from all the others? This one focuses on their touring years. Even
with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr giving new interviews for the movie, Eight Days A Week doesn’t really reveal
anything new for diehard Beatles fans. I’d say about 15% of the information is
new to me while just some of the video footage looks new (I can’t tell at this
point). So we really didn’t need this movie. Is it still worth seeing? Yeah,
sure. It won’t hurt. It’s always good to hear from Paul and Ringo but I feel
the movie benefited from the interviews with Larry Kane, who went on tour with
the band for their US tours.
Expected releases for 2017
Black Star Riders will be releasing
their third album, Heavy Fire, on
February 3rd
Steel Panther will release their fourth
album, Lower the Bar, on February 24th
Deep Purple will release Infinite on April 7th
Quiet Riot will also be releasing an
album of new material with new singer Seann Hayes
In terms of reissues, the delayed
reissue of Paul McCartney’s 1989 album Flowers
in the Dirt will finally be released on March 24.
RIP
Dale “Buffin” Griffin- drummer for Mott
the Hoople
Glenn Frey- guitarist for the Eagles
Jimmy Bain- bassist for Rainbow and Dio
Paul Kantner- co-founding member of
Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship
Signe Toly Anderson- original member of
Jefferson Airplane, singer prior to Grace Slick
Keith Emerson- keyboardist for the Nice
and Emerson Lake and Palmer
Andy Newman- member of Thunderclap
Newman (“Something in the Air”)
Henry McCullough- guitarist for Wings
(1971-72) and Joe Cocker’s Grease Band
Alan Vega- co-founding member of Suicide
Greg Lake- bassist for King Crimson and
Emerson Lake and Palmer
