Music Time

Well, it appears as if my father of all freaking people- one year ago he didn't even know how to spell internet, now he's Mr. Online - isn't grooving on my TV reviews. Speaking of which, Summer is officially here: TV viewing is so bad that I am actually watching Dog: Bounty Hunter. And the scary thing is it's not half bad. Oh we've come a long way from a mere two weeks ago, when we were looking at a Tuesday night lineup of American Idol, House and Boston Legal.

So, in respect to my old man, we'll move on to a topic which I have yet to address and which I am sure he will appreciate even less than TV: music. More specifically, alternative music. I'm saving some music-dedicated posts for the dog days of Summer, but thought I'd list out five albums that I strongly recommend.

I am fortunate to have a great group of guys who "share" much of their music with me, so I'm fairly in tune with what's new, what's "hot" and what's "not." For a 41 year old, I feel somewhat dialed in to the music scene, though these guys are light years ahead of me.

Frankly, I'm not personally digging many of these new, ballyhooed bands, but if you have the time and disposition to sift through it all (which is what I do during my weekend long runs) there are some gems, including without further ado, my five recommendations:

1. Perry Farrell's Satellite Party: Ultra Payloaded

As many of you who know me are aware, I am a huge Jane's Addiction fan. In fact, they are probably my second favorite band of all-time behind The Clash. While I think Perry has peaked with Janes, even when he produces something that's a bit uneven, such as this album, it's better than 99 percent of other other stuff that's out there. Plus, who but Perry would ever doing anything as wacky as pair up with the guitarist from Extreme? This album is getting better with each listen and is highly recommended. Furthermore, he had a great appearance on Howard Stern today and his wife is SMOKING hot. Perry is most definitely the man.

2. The Teddybears

Who are these dudes and why have I never heard of them before? Another album that is a tad uneven, but the good songs are off the hook. "Punk Rocker" with Iggy Pop is one of the best songs that I've heard in a long while. I heard it on Alt.nation on Sirius (by the way, if any of you drive for more than 30 minutes continuously during the day, then you MUST buy Sirius. At only $9.95 a month, it's an incredible value. Or conversely, you can do what I just did and buy a new car that offers six months of free service. More on that later).

3. The Arcade Fire: Neon Bible

I was inherently skeptical as I thought this album was a bit overhyped, but there's no denying the fact that it is very, very good. I think pound for pound, these guys are the most talented band to come around in years. I think they are one of the few bands out there -- I'd put The Killers up there too -- that are capable of attaining "super band" status, ala U2. In order for that to happen, their next album will need to be a classic. By the way, on the topic of The Killers: I really am not sure why the pundits were so down on Sam's Town. I think it is excellent and arguably even better than Hot Fuss.

4. Smashing Pumpkins

This bad boy isn't even out yet but based on the recently released single, Tarantula, I know it's going to just rock. If Jane's is my second favorite band of all-time, the Pumpkins are a very close third. I'm kind of bummed that they are getting back together though, for the very selfish reason that I thought it pretty cool that I was at their last show (and ended up partying with Billy Corgan at his after party, a story which I will save for another day).

5. LInkin Park: Minutes To Midnight

I take tremendous shit from some of my indie snob friends (hi Beno!) for this one, but what can I say: I like music that rocks. I'm old school like that. And there's no denying the fact that Chester and the boys rock. And when you are on a Computrainer, suffering like a dog while pedaling at 210 watts for 5 minutes intervals, well, Linkin Park is just the ticket for keeping the legs moving. And for the record: LP is what Lance listened to while warming up for the Tour. So, if it's good by Lance, then it's certainly good by me. While this new album is a tad softer than I would have preferred, it is produced by the master himself, Rick Rubin, and all RR productions are pretty darn solid.

Five others that didn't make the cut, but merit mentioning, include:

-- Silversun Pickups, Caravanas. This one is very Pumkin-esque and is *very* much growing on me
-- Deerhunter, Cryptogram. Another one which I have owned for a while but is starting to now grow on me
-- Feist, The Reminder. This one is deserving of the accolades. My only thing: it's a bit of a downer and I haven't exactly been in the mood for downer music of late for obvious reasons
-- LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver. For all you technoheads, this one is just pumpin.'

Test: dad, you make it to the end of this post? My guess is no. If you've made it htus far, please leave another borderline inappropriae comment.

That's it for tonight. Long day and longer tomorrow.

(Ps. The Dog Bounty dude is a total bad ass. Anyone know anything about this show?)