Junkie Jones

Ready for a trip through adolescence and teen adrenalin at the speed of sound? Then prepare yourself for Cats + Jammers pure punk journey through songs like “Spitball,” “Zodiac Girl,” “Not Gay” and “Mannequin.”

All through the CD  – a speedy 17 numbers – I could imagine myself sitting in a lawn chair in front of an open garage door, listening to friends trying to play with my mind. The music is fast and best played loud, the lyrics are mostly testosterone-driven, and I was never quite sure when they were playing with my mind and when they were serious. I like that.

One song that really rocked me was “Jesus Was A Jew.” This is unapologetic bash of televangelists, pop preachers, pedophiles hiding behind the cloth and hypocritical organized religion in general. I first thought – wow, this could be really offensive – but listening through it made it clear that the title wasn’t merely for its shock value. Great job on this one, guys.

One tune I’m not so sure about is “Good As Dead.” Made me feel kinda creepy in a not-so-good way. It’s a song for all these “broken-hearted guys” but it’s never really clear if “she’s good as dead” as in a figure of speech or an actual state of lifelessness. Don’t like it, but can’t fault the music or delivery.

I’m pretty sure there’s at least one statement per song that’s offensive to someone in some way. Offensive, but not hateful. Again, I like that. “Propose Toast” is well played and produced, while still jaggedy and punked. Even more cool – the drummer Addison Monroe is a Grand Junction native who attended Mesa State College. Sweet that he was able to overcome his background and reach for those pointy little stars.

I proclaim Cats + Jammers pure fun. Find “Propose Toast” and a few more CDs, which I’m sure will be just as irreverent and danceable, at www.catsandjammers.net/.

It’s not the fault of Fauna Flash that I like my jazz dark and brooding and my funk just a bit skunky. This band seems unnaturally up-beat and even remixes like Joseph Malik’s “Diablo” are perky, man, perky. For drum ‘n bass pioneers, they appear to have shed the thrumming bass and rackety drums that won’t settle for sitting still.

Fauna Flash are still great musicians/mixers whose “Worx” rarely hit an off note. I believe they’d make a perfect soundtrack to the life of someone who only sees the best in the world and hears only sweet rhythms and bumping bass.

Unfortunately, the CD liner has no info on the band. Fauna Flash could be a single DJ with a glass-is-always-half-full attitude. It could be a group of joyful, vinyl-pushing Krishnas. Regardless, the Flash produces good music for good times and of all the 13 tracks on the CD the only one that really annoyed me was Brazilian band Grupo Batuque’s “Ole Ola.” I wasn’t able to find a download of the song on the Net so I don’t know who to blame for this uninspiring single.

To prove “Ole Ola” has nothing to do with Fauna Flash’s ability to mix a Latin sound, the track “Sweet Samba” is my favorite on the disc. Funny it was originally performed by African beatman Abdullah Ibriham …

The only way I know to contact this band is to search Google and take a chance. You go, happy listeners!

OK, who can tell me what’s been floating in the air of Pagosa Springs lately?

If you said the exquisite sound of Rada Neal’s piano (and not something totally snarky), you win an exclusive invitation to be inspired and transported far beyond any run-of-the-mill, symphony-of-the-week piano solo collections.

“Timeless Third” is 45 minutes of pure relaxation and original inspiration I would call hypnotizing. Rada’s music will flow into creases of your brain you probably didn’t know you had and fire off some completely legal chemicals you will definitely enjoy.

Rada has a sensitive touch and a surprisingly creative intuition. The music seems to come effortlessly and it’s hard for me to imagine that these songs haven’t been being played and refined and interpreted for centuries in order to reach this level of  sophistication and pure musician-to-listener communication.

And just wait until track four – “Haunting Memories.” Wow. This composition is a trance-inducing trip and my favorite on the CD. I don’t know what memories haunted Rada as she wrote this piece, but I hope they are as beautiful and expansive as the song itself.

I always appreciate the chance to support independent artists and when they are Coloradans, it makes it even better. I highly recommend you give Rada a listen and do your part to keep Pagosa Springs’ atmosphere buzzing.

You can buy “Timeless Third” at Rada’s Web site www.pianopassions.com. Nine bucks for the CD and its songbook – why pass this up? Rada’s other CDs are available there, too, and you can sample before you buy.

I’ve listened to this CD so many times that I can hold it up and see my hand through it. Yes. I’m addicted.

The band has a wonderful flavor of Cranberries nicely mixed with the song writing skills of Garbage’s Shirley Manson and the sometimes semi-manic tang of Cocteau Twins. There’s too much too good to say about Little Green Men.

I suspected the group was a front for a pack of really talented, famous musicians who wanted to test their skills without the taint of name appeal. But Little Green Men is real and I’m shocked to learn this is their third CD. Why some disgusting money-hungry and exploitive major label hasn’t scooped them up is beyond me. Maybe it’s the fact there’s a nasty heavy metal band with the same name. Who can say.

And then there’s that thing about the band being on some mysterious 3-year hiatus …

Pam Webberley is the singer/songwriter for LGM and she is a standout. Sometimes, too rarely, these people come along – Shirley Manson, Souixie Sue, Dolores O’Riordan, Liz Fraser – and increase the collective music intelligence of the section of the human race that actually has ears. I can’t and won’t attempt to explain why this CD is so outstanding. It’s something you just have to hear.

And there’s no reason why you can’t. I’m linking you directly to the download page for two songs “Highland” and “Am I Pretty” right here: www.littlegreenmen.net/discography.html. I guess I should warn you that some of the songs might be emotionally disturbing. They’re meant to be. They’re honest and intelligent.

Bad. Bad. Bad.

Go to your room and don’t come out until you’re ready to apologize. Or at least until you know that Indie music doesn’t mean the place you have to wait until you hit the big time.

Indie music, for the most part, is smart music. Kickin Daisies seems to want to turn that idea completely around – their attitude epitomized by the insipid and insulting “College.” Forgive me for this, but I have to share some of the lyrics because I don’t have the words for this kind of vacuity.

“College is overrated
It’s like the cool thing
Everyone’s doing it
And I don’t think it’s fair
To have to prove yourself …”

and “… you don’t need a college degree
to be who you wanna be.
All you need is some faith and a dream
and to know you don’t have to go
’cause they say so.”

Wow. Would you like some fries with your music? Do I need to add that for many people the chance to go to college IS their, like, totally wildest dream?

I admit, musically, the Daisies don’t suck. Song writing and presentation come up way short. Until I hit “College,” I thought the songs were a bit juvenile, but nothing damning. The “cute” stage names – Shy, Deezal, Swan and Ray Dog – could be shed with a touch of maturity.

But the nail in the coffin of this review was when the band dared to “cover” Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” First thing: The song is not a sleazy duet with a male part. Second: If the band knew anything about the history of women in rock they would never have so savagely prostituted the meaning behind the lyrics. Third: “Before I put another notch in my lip gloss case” …? Doesn’t the band or any of the grown-ups around them have a clue about the significance of taking a symbol as feminine as a lipstick case and making it into a symbol of power and defiance? Lip gloss?

Stop me before I invoke the wrath of Tina Turner, Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett and, yes, Suzi Quatro. Kickin Daisies – go learn something. Gain some weight. Take a few classes. Stupid is not Indie. Stupid is just plain stupid.

If you’re forced, go to www.kickindaisies.com.

Anyone who starts out her CD with the kind of trash talking Esthero does better bring it on strong. And this apparently fearless chick does just that.

To quote the first words out of her mouth: “I’m so sick and tired of the sh*t on the radio/and MTV they only play the same thing/no matter where I go/I see Ashanti in the video/I want something more …”

And something more is nothing less than revolutionary, according to “We R In Need of A Musical Revolution.” What follows is 16 more songs encompassing rock, trip-hop, hip-hop, melody and even more mouthing off. This is one wikked lil grrrl.

Speaking of “Wikked Lil Grrrls” – this is time-traveling tune has me picturing a 1920′s flapper carrying a pair a brass knuckles instead of a fringed purse. Esthero has a hand in writing all these tunes and her long-held reputation as a sweet-faced, hard-assed musical wonder is well deserved.

I can’t take the space here to list out all the musicians (famous and not-so) who’ve lent a hand to this CD either physically or spiritually. Esthero seems to know everyone in the biz and her list of props reads like a Who’s Who of modern music.

One thing I feel from this CD is a rift between a polished, professional artist and a hell-bent girl who will sing it no matter how crass and maybe even a bit immature it may sound. I don’t know if Esthero feels a conflict inside. I hope not. I hope she’s an artist who is willing to allow herself to become and perform what’s real with her world as it’s happening. We’re lucky she’s willing to share.

Whether we’ll get to hear Esthero’s musical revolution on the radio remains to be seen. The parental advisory is not kidding. A few of her tunes will have to be shot full of blanks to get by the cranks at the FCC. Otherwise, this CD should be available everywhere real music can be found.

Many of the bands I choose to review send me a bit of mail with their CD submission, and they often suggest three or four songs as “must-hear” if I don’t have time to listen to the whole CD. Not BRAIN BUCKIT. These hot rockers let me know that each song is so stylistically varied I won’t get it if I don’t hear it all.

Beside being self-assured, BRAIN BUCKIT is absolutely right. From “Passion Fruit (Go Bananas)” to “Let The Boogie Loose” I can only relate to you that the band is truly the “Funky Jam Rock” group they claim to be.

Don’t believe me? Good. You’re in luck because BRAIN BUCKIT just happens to be making a swing through Colorado. I mean ain’t this fate or something? You can catch the band at Dulcinea’s in Denver on July 21, the next night at Cactus Jack’s in Evergreen and the 23rd at The Ancient Mariner in Manitou Springs.

I have to admit, the band seems so instrumentally rich and layered, it’s hard to imagine this level of sound coming through live. If any of you have the chance to hear them, please let me know how they translate on the road.

My favorites on this listening were “Sweet Tequila” (mellow groove), “Baja Taxi” (flamenco surf) and “Rocket Science” (Delta swamp – and sure to bring on a smile) and the sincere and brooding “Leavin’ Tonight” (Psycha-delta). Thanks to all you BRAIN BUCKITs for the funky-cool tunes.

Visit the band online at www.brain-buckit.com.

I can admit in all honesty that Achim is my favorite musician from Luxembourg. But if he lived in Nashville, he’d likely be my favorite musician from there, too.

Achim creates wonderful, danceable, mind-melting music that defies genre. His promo song list includes classification of Achimsong’s tunes, which encompass R&B, rock, new age, funk, soul, hip hop … I’m not sure if Achim is trying to break us out of our stereotypes of what these genres should sound like or if he’s just playing with our minds. But it’s good. Really good.

I can hear some sweet R&B notes in “Funky Friend” but the song is pure DJ-mix electronica at its finest. My favorite song, “Spring Time,” is listed as country pop. OK. I hate country music and only tolerate pop. Maybe I don’t know what country he means and I don’t expect to hear songsmithing of this quality on any pop station in the U.S.

“Groovy Kinda” is funky, as listed, but the drums are so beyond funk we gotta bring it back into the techno-tinged fold. “My Sweet Song” is an acoustic, guitar-only masterpiece. I just don’t get how this guy can make me want to dance to it.

Much of the CD is mixed so the songs flow smoothly from one into another – hard to do without the occasional harsh sounds – but done perfectly by Achim. Mostly instrumental with some dubbed-in phrases in a few songs, this CD fits so many moods that there doesn’t seem to be a bad time to listen.

So grab Achimsong and drive, work, exercise, meditate, exercise, shake booty and/or any other activity you enjoy a soundtrack to … find it all at www.achimsong.com/products.htm. Oh, and the louder, the better.

Though I’m often moved by emotion when I review music, it very rarely is anger and disgust. Welcome to Bliss Station.

The “World Bliss” CD begins wonderfully with the song “Flowers and Balloons.” I was jazzed by this song, thinking I had a great CD experience ahead of me. But what happened next I can only compare to a train crashing into the Station. And no Bliss.

The following nine songs and vocals are insipid, immature and repetitive. The female vocalist – who wisely isn’t even named on the CD – had no emotional range, much less a musical one. The lyrics were a sing-song nightmare of childish and predictable rhymes. I don’t like it when a singer uses the word “mysteri-ass” just to make a rhyme.

If this was supposed to be a CD for children, I’d be less critical. Maybe some old Tiffany fans could get into it and sing right along. I can’t.  And I don’t like being so negative.

Listen, my opinion means nada, but I’m compelled to tell Bliss Station to take “Flowers and Balloons” with its sounds and sensibility and run with it. This song is the cliched pearl among swine. Please consider the disparity between this song and the others and follow that train.

To Mr. Lifshitz: Continue to sing, if that was you on “Flowers and Balloons,” you have a great voice. Continue to collaborate with others who can give you input on your song writing. If it means anything to you, “Flowers and Balloons” has been stuck in my head since the first play.

For more info on the band – and to hear samples, go to: www.bliss-station.com

I happened to start this review on a rare rainy day in western Colorado and I was instantly taken away to a warm and welcoming, smooth sand beach. My customary newsroom tension melted away under Gussa’s guitars and I was treated to the best a southern beach can offer – without the worry of sunburn, tourists or any of that smooth sand in the wrong places.

Every song on this CD is lovely and lovingly played. I don’t encounter many CDs that make me feel is if the music is a gift from the artist. Gussa, especially under headphones, creates an intimate getaway without cliche or the usual tourist-trap fare of “location” music.

Track Two, “Welcome to Paradise,” is my favorite song (this listening anyway). I love the layered guitars, which are reminiscent of The Ventures but more beautifully played. Gussa’s music is not an exhibition of how fast he can play – as with too many instrumentalists – his songs are carefully weaved note by note.

Gussa arranged and played all the songs and instruments himself on this “Latin, surf rock, mambo, flamenco” CD. Many artists try this, but few succeed … they usually fail in keeping every instrument sounding fresh and crisp. Each player brings their own fire to their piece, whether it be the lead guitar or the far far back background bongos. Gussa plays each instrument and note is if it was his only concern.

I don’t know what else to say about this CD. I could go on all day. But don’t waste any more time reading this – instead go to: http://www.chrisbriangussa.com/ to learn more and buy the CD. Really.