Audioslave - Revelations

I liked Soundgarden. I loved Rage Against the Machine. I knew Audioslave would be at least interesting when I first heard that the instrumentalists of RATM had hooked up with Chris Cornell. And I did like their first self-titled CD. When they toured to promote their second CD, Out of Exile, I went and saw them. They are much, much, much better live. Chris Cornell gets into it, and gives the performance his all. Tom Morello has got to be the most talented guitarist I have ever seen live. But I just don't think the studio recordings capture the band's true spirit. I can't recapture what I saw live so I haven't been able to get into their CDs.

Revelations is a decent CD. It's just there's probably a couple Audioslave songs on each CD that really gets to me, but then the rest make me long for RATM. The lyrics aren't as strong as they used to be. I love the sound of Morello's guitar, and Brad Wilk is a damn good drummer. And I don't even notice drummers most of the time. Tim Commerford lays down a good groovy bass. But Cornell's voice only works for me about half the time. I guess I'm just wishing the band was still recording with angry Zack de la Rocha.

"Original Fire" does show Cornell at his best when he screams. The song is a good rocking number. "Broken City" has a real groovy beat that I like. Most of the songs have places for Morello to show off his guitar solos. But most of the songs lyrics just don't really say anything to me.

There's one exception. "Wide Awake" covers a topic that every American seems to have feelings about, so even Chris Cornell was willing to get past his aversion to just being in a "political band," which made him hesistant to join the former RATM members. The topic? The Bush's Administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.

You can a look a hurricane right in the eye
1200 people dead or left to die
Follow the leaders, we're in an eye for an eye we'll all be blind
Death for murder and this I'm sure in this uncertain time

So come pull the sheet over my eyes
So I can sleep tonight
Despite what I've seen today
I find you guilty of a crime, of sleeping at a time
When you should have been wide awake

Down on the road the world is floating by
The poor and undefended left behind
While you're somewhere trading lives for oil
As if the whole world were blind, hey

The other songs have lyrics that may sound a little political, but not so upfront. Once again, it's not like this is a bad album, it's just each Audioslave album makes me miss Rage Against the Machine more.

For further reading:
Audioslave's homepage
All Music Guide's Audioslave entry
Wikipedia's Audioslave entry

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood

To give you a good idea what sort of person I am, I'm kicking off this blog with, of all people, "Weird Al" Yankovic. I've been a fan of "Weird Al" since the early 80's, when I first heard "Eat It." Here it is, over 20 years later, and I'm still listening. I can't remember the last "Weird Al" album I didn't run out and get a copy soon after release. Some may think the 46-year-old Al has lost his touch, but I disagree. Sure Poodle Hat had its weak spots, but "Why Does This Always Happen to Me," Al's duet with Ben Folds, was as good as any original Al song from the '80s or '90s.

"Weird Al" kicks off Straight Outta Lynwood appropriately with a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin." This is a genre I'm not too familiar with, but from what I've heard of the original song, musically Al nails it as usual. The lyrics follow Al's long running theme of making fun of his own geekiness. However, it's the next track, "Pancreas," that wins me over to the album. In my opinion Al is at his best when writing his original songs, even though they're usually in the style of a certain group or genre instead of a song itself. "Pancreas" shows Al's musical talents as he takes on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. The song really reflects on the songs that appeared on Smile, Brian Wilson's long awaited masterpiece.

"Canadian Idiot" falls flat to me. I didn't really like the song he parodies by Green Day, and the jokes don't really stand out. "I'll Sue Ya" has some funny lines, and does a good job of capturing Rage Against the Machine's sound, even though the band has been broken up for some time.

No "Weird Al" album would be complete without his take on today's current hits in a polka medley. This track made me feel old because I only recognized about two-thirds of the songs he used. But considering the quality of the original songs, I don't think I'm missing much. The next few songs on the album don't really grab me. I guess I don't really get where Al is going with any of them. "Close But No Cigar" kind of reminds me of Cake, but not quite.

My favorite song on the album is "Trapped in the Drive-Thru," a parody of R. Kelly's epic "Trapped in the Closet." I am not a R. Kelly fan, but I strongly urge you to go out and hear "Trapped in the Closet" (all 12 parts) if you haven't already. The original version is much funnier than Al's, just because it goes on and on, introducing more absurd characters as the story meanders all over the place. Al does a great job of capturing R Kelly's dramatic cliffhangers and dialogue. Unlike R. Kelly's version, I can at least relate to Al and his wife's dilemma of what to eat for dinner.

Finally the album closes out with "Don't Download This Song," which is mildly funny, and reminds me of those '80s charity songs like "We Are The World." The real humor in the song lies in the fact is Al made this song available free to download before Straight Outta Lynwood was released.

Overall, like all "Weird Al" Yankovic albums, Straight Outta Lynwood has its highlights and forgettable filler. But to me, the funny songs make it worth it.

For further reading:
"Weird Al"'s homepage
All Music Guide's "Weird Al" entry
Wikipedia's "Weird Al" entry