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[BlackDragonSlayer]

Electric Warrior by T. Rex




Electric Warrior is the second studio album by the band T. Rex (in their incarnation under that name), released in 1971. I'm a couple days late from when I wanted to do this, but hey, better late than never, right?

The album is one of the most notable of the glam rock genre, which started around the year this album was released and continued to have prominence throughout the mid 1970's. This particular album, though it sometimes verges on the more mellow side of glam rock (particularly due to singer Marc Bolan's somewhat soothing, relaxed voice), is definitely a strong example of the genre and a great starting point if you want to listen to some more 70s music.

I don't actually have much else to say about the album, so I'll keep this review fairly brief. This is definitely an album you should listen, or at least check out a song or two from; of the songs, "Mambo Sun," "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," and "Life's a Gas" are probably the three I'd recommend most from the album, though from the rest, it's hard to pick favorites! "The Motivator" is probably the worst song of the album, if only because it's pretty much a not-as-good version of another T. Rex song "Hot Love," one that's included on the bonus tracks for one of the reissues of the album.


Track List Overview:
Side one
1. "Mambo Sun" - 3:40
2. "Cosmic Dancer" - 4:30
3. Jeepster" - 4:12
4. "Monolith" - 3:49
5. "Lean Woman Blues" - 3:02

Side two
6. "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" - 4:27
7. "Planet Queen" - 3:13
8. "Girl" - 2:32
9. "The Motivator" - 4:00
10. "Life's a Gas" - 2:24
11. "Rip Off" - 3:40
Total Length: 39:02
Track listing information from here.

Tracks in Platinum are the one I consider to be the absolute best of the album.
Tracks in Gold are ones I consider to be among the artist's best.
Tracks in Red are ones I consider to be standout tracks on the album.


Consistency: 8/10
Though not as "out there" as other examples from the glam rock genre, the album sets its style well.

Quality: 9/10
Though this album doesn't contain all their best hits (the bonus tracks—not included here—go a long way by adding "Hot Love," which is a great song), it's still very solid overall.

Overall Rating: 9.2/10
Among the most notable albums of 1971, Electric Warrior definitely gets a strong recommendation from me. If you're interested in the glam rock movement—which you should be—this is definitely the album to listen to.

[BlackDragonSlayer]

Songs I Hate: Christmas Edition

So, the Christmas season has come and gone. The winter chill may still be in the air, but gone is the warmth of holiday cheer that wells up within each and every one of us when we feel Christmas coming round. Corporations are done with Christmas, so shouldn't we be too? Greedy consumers swarm Walmarts across the nation looking for the inevitable post-Christmas sales. And corporations rake in the money. After musing about this exploitation of the Christmas holiday, I'm feeling particularly bitter and miserly today, so this is the perfect time for me to talk about today's subject: Christmas songs I hate. Yes, that's right kiddos, not all Christmas songs are pure and perfect. There are song bad ones. There are some annoying ones. And then there are some that make you want to rip your ears off. Ouch. Of all shapes and varieties, here are a few songs I want to call out in particular for being overrated, without any further ado.

#1: "Last Christmas" by Wham!

I do not like this song. I do not enjoy this song. I hate this song. I will not listen to it in a cab, I will not listen to it in a mall, I will not listen to it at home, here, there, or anywhere! What, may you ask, is the reason for my passionate hate for this song? Well, let's break it apart, piece by piece, and see what the problem is...

1: "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart." Ooh, sounds painful. Oh, wait, this probably isn't supposed to be taken literally. Ah, well, moving on.
2: "But the very next day you gave it away." Well, that's a pretty scummy thing to do to someone you love. Let's see where this leads.
3: "This year, to save me from tears." Now, this is going somewhere. What are you going to do this year? Not give your heart away to people so carelessly? Realize that you're a whole and complete person by yourself? The tension is palpable.
4: "I'll give it to someone special." I... I... I... what. You'll... give it... to someone... special. So what you're saying is... last year... you didn't give it to someone "special." You practically just gave it to some rando who you probably shouldn't have given it to. Wow. I mean, really. Wow. This person is really the sharpest knife in the drawer. We're dealing with a real winner here. Totally didn't bring this situation onto yourself. But I mean, we... we can redeem this, can't we? Just have to go a little further, and...
5: "Now, I know what a fool I've been/But if you kissed me now/I know you'd fool me again." SWEET HOLY FRICK FRACK. We're trapped here, we've hit rock bottom. We can't go back, cause there's bad lyrics back there, and we can't go forward, because what comes next might possibly be worse. I don't know if the speaker of this song if supposed to be one of those protagonists you don't root for, but dear God, I do not root for this person. Keep this person far, far away from me; almost as far as you should keep this song away from me. They are unhealthy and probably a bit bipolar. This is not what Christmas is about.

This song is a thinly veiled love song masquerading as a Christmas song. It's an awful, horrible song, and every time I listen to it, I die a little inside; what's worse is that it gets even more awful when you hear a version by any artist other than Wham! I don't know how that's possible, but it is. The song gets even more unbearable. I don't want to associate anything about this song with Christmas, and from now on, I will try my best to repress all memory of this song. Goodbye.

#2: "The Christmas Song" by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé

Now, after the vitriolic fire I just got finished spewing above, you may wonder what pure, unadulterated hate lies in store for this song. Happy to say (or possibly disappointing, depending on your perspective), this song isn't one I hate with a burning passions. Rather, I simply have a few issues with the song and find it rather overrated.

1: This song has the gall to call itself THE Christmas Song. Seems rather preemptive and uppity of them. A Christmas Song isn't good enough for them?!!?
2: I'd just point out that having somebody literally nip at your nose would probably hurt. Or be very awkward. That line conjures some weird, un-Christmassy images for me.
3: Saying "folks dressed up like Eskimos," is blatantly racist and I refuse to believe they couldn't have substituted it for something else.
4: EVERYTHING about the lines, "And so I'm offering this simple phrase/To kids from one to ninety-two." Ninety-two? NiNEtY-TwO!?!!!! It's like nobody had ever lived past ninety-two years old when this song was written. "Hey, ninety-two rhymes, so let's use that!" Maybe you should rewrite the song to make something more sensible work!? Huh huh huh? Ever thought about that, bub? What, according to this song, is supposed to happen when someone becomes ninety-three? You're just gonna tell em to screw off because Christmas isn't for them, and they should just lay in a hole and freeze to death, because apparently ninety-three year olds can't have a merry Christmas? This line is just lazy writing and it completely taints the song for me, much like with Last Christmas. With a line like that, seriously, how did this song even become that popular!? I'd like to imagine I'm not the only one who wants to bang my head against the dashboard every time I hear this song come on the radio. It's a dumb line! It's mind-numbingly stupid! It's inane! I don't like it! I don't like it one bit!
5: Nat King Cole's version is pretty much the only version of this song you're going to hear. Because it's hard to make this song sound anything other than the mess it is if you don't have a voice like Nat King Cole.

Okay, well, that was more than a "few" issues. More into the territory of a "couple" issues. Uh, well, anyway... moving on?

#3: "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Meredith Willson

Ok, to be fair, I don't really hate this song at all. It's an okay song, it's decent. But there is one line I would like to point out for your consideration.

1: "And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again." Wow, that's just... wow, that's sad. Apparently, for these parents, Christmas is not a happy time to spend with their family, free of all care, worry, and responsibility, but a time to be dreaded and the end of which is eagerly anticipated. What are these parents going to say when their kids are all grown up and out of the house? I bet they'll miss them then. I bet they'll miss them when they're old and crippled and can't take care of themselves any longer. I'll bet they'll miss them when they're taking their last breath and just want to see their children one last time. But they're not there. The children are gone. They couldn't wait to get as far away from you as possible, because you were never happy when they got out of school for Christmas break. You were never happy with them. Ever. And that's not the meaning of Christmas. No, no, not at all.

We, uh, actually got pretty dark here really quickly. That was, uh, actually, not my intention. I'm going to call it a day and end things here, before they get any worse. Goodnight everybody, and have a happy New Year!!

[BlackDragonSlayer]

Animals by Pink Floyd




Animals is the tenth studio album by Pink Floyd, released in 1977. Like other Pink Floyd albums released before and after this one, some of the songs are long. Really long. In fact, if the first and last song were not included, the album would only have three songs but would still be almost 40 minutes long. That being said, I'm glad those two songs are included, because together, they bookend the album fantastically, a short and sweet message drawn from Roger Waters' relationship with his then-wife. The whole album is credibly jaded and depressing, about all kinds of horrible people (the eponymous "Animals," divided into three different categories) who inhabit the world, but the two parts of "Pigs on the Wing" reveal that there's still a glimmer of hope in the world.

All the songs on this album are super great, and it's really hard to pick a favorite out of the middle three. I think that's a good testament to how strong the album is. With the exception of the two parts of "Pigs on the Wing," I don't think this is really an album that you listen to individual songs of, which might be a downside to some people because of the time commitment, but then again, when you have songs that are all longer than ten minutes, time's always going to be an issue.

As a last note, I also love the way Waters sings "charade" in the third song.


Track List Overview:
Side one
1. "Pigs on the Wing (Part 1)" - 1:24
2. "Dogs" - 17:04

Side two
3. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" - 11:28
4. "Sheep" - 10:20
5. "Pigs on the Wing (Part 2)" - 1:24
Total Length: 41:40
Track listing information from here.

Tracks in Platinum are the one I consider to be the absolute best of the album.
Tracks in Gold are ones I consider to be among the artist's best.
Tracks in Red are ones I consider to be standout tracks on the album.


Consistency: 10/10
Being a concept album, all of the songs pretty much share a common theme. The two parts of "Pigs on the Wing" offer a touching counterpoint to that theme.

Quality: 10/10
Every song on this album is amazing, which is good because there are only five of them. Both parts of "Pigs on the Wing" put together is probably my favorite Pink Floyd song.

Overall Rating: 9.8/10
This is absolutely a fantastic musical experience and I think it's very much underrated to the casual listener. Definitely my favorite Pink Floyd album. I can't wait for them to finally announce and release the planned remaster.