418. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Devo
1978

Tracks
1. Uncontrollable Urge 
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
3. Praying Hands 
4. Space Junk 
5. Mongoloid 
6. Jocko Homo 
7. Too Much Paranoias
8. Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy 
9. Come Back Jonee 
10. Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')
11. Shrivel Up

What a snappy title this album has.  Thankfully, it recovers from its titular flow problems.  Recently, it's like the musicians are trying to make us lower our expectations by wrecking first impressions (I'm looking at the cover of Siembra when I say that).  Maybe it's a good strategy, because I actually really enjoyed this, despite the fact that the term "new wave" makes me skittish.

Lately all my favorite songs have been covers.  At least Devo had an interesting take on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."  Still, at least the cover was about something as harmless as a meaningless existence.  "Mongoloid" took a turn for the offensive, as you could have probably surmised from its title.  The lyrics were"Mongoloid, he was a mongoloid.  One chromosome too many."  What reason could you have for writing a song like that?  Trying to get a reaction?  That kind of thought process usually makes me lose respect for artists.

Still, enjoyable enough and actually was over faster than I would have liked.  And that's a statement I very rarely make.

RATING: 3/5

417. The Cars

The Cars
The Cars
1978

Tracks
1. Good Times Roll
2. My Best Friend's Girl
3. Just What I Needed
4. I'm In Touch With Your World
5. Don't Cha Stop
6. You're All I've Got Tonight
7. Bye Bye Love
8. Moving In Stereo
9. All Mixed Up

This is another band that I could not have picked from a line up.  Once I got into the album, I recognized quite a few songs.  I was actually just reviewing Fast Times at Ridgemont High on my film blog, which featured Phoebe Cates taking her shirt off to "Moving in Stereo".  At the very least, this album will bring back happy memories.

I also was familiar with "Good Times Roll."  It was nice to finally have some love songs on an album.  Normally, the songs on this List are about...well, I don't really know what the other songs are about.  Buildings and food, I guess.  The simplicity of a song about a friend dating your ex appealed me today for some reason.  Probably because I am still heavily medicated for pain.

It was also kind of fun that we weren't looking at a poster child for a specific genre.  The Cars manage to blend punk and rock well in this album.  Worth a listen.

RATING: 4/5

416. Siembra

Siembra
Willie Colon and Ruben Blades
1978

Tracks
1. Plastico
2. Buscando Guayaba
3. Pedro Navaja
4. Maria Lionza
5. Ojos
6. Dime
7. Siembra

I asked my sister after listening to this album if she would ever be interested in learning how to salsa.  I was quite alarmed when she told me that she already knew how.  Is that a skill that many people have?  I can't even dance normally.

This is a salsa album, which I don't think you are supposed to enjoy listening to alone at night in your bedroom.  You are supposed to enjoy this on the dance floor, a thing I am rather incapable of doing.  Parts of all this album still managed to interesting.  I mean, I don't speak Spanish but I did catch a small tribute to West Side Story, a sure way to win me over.

Still, what is with the Anne Geddes cover?  It didn't remotely fit the tone.  Can you be ironic with salsa music?

RATING: 3/5

415. Van Halen

Van Halen
Van Halen
1978

Tracks
1. Runnin' With The Devil
2. Eruption
3. You Really Got Me
4. Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love 
5. I'm The One 
6. Jamie's Cryin'
7. Atomic Punk 
8. Feel Your Love Tonight 
9. Little Dreamer
10. Ice Cream Man 
11. On Fire

I had heard Van Halen referenced many times before today but I don't know if I could have actually named one of their songs.  I have to say, I'm not sure I was missing much.

I guess the most striking part of this album is the guitar solos which were...at best, self indulgent.  I read a review by a fellow blogger who described the music as "just some guy wanking his guitar off."  Colorful and fairly accurate.

The best song on this album is definitely "You Got Me" but I found out that is a Kinks cover.  Not particularly impressive, but at least the album could be correctly identified as music.  Unfortunately, that makes it a stand out work on this List, at least recently.

RATING: 3/5

414. Another Music In A Different Kitchen

Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Buzzcocks
1978

Tracks
1. Fast Cars 
2. No Reply 
3. You Tear Me Up 
4. Get On Our Own 
5. Love Battery 
6. Sixteen 
7. I Don't Mind 
8. Fiction Romance 
9. Autonomy 
10. I Need 
11. Moving Away From The Pulsebeat 

My, we are getting quite self aware with these album titles.  Also: Buzzcocks.  Teehee.

I suppose this qualifies as a punk album, but is nothing like the punk albums that I have been used to listening to.  They sounded a lot less angry and almost...sweet?  There was a sadness behind the lyrics that usually isn't present in punk.  In "I Don't Mind," they say "I used to bet that you didn't care/ But gambling never got me anywhere/ Each time I used to be so sure/ Something about you made me doubt you more."  That is shockingly sincere and sad.  I bet they wear turtlenecks in their free time.

And really, who can't relate to "Fiction Romance" where he talks about how real love is never like anything in fiction?  That should have been my jam in high school.  I also appreciated the talent behind the vocals.  Definitely an improvement from yesterday.

RATING: 4/5

413. More Songs About Buildings and Food

More Souls About Buildings and Food
Talking Heads
1978

Tracks
1. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel 
2. With Our Love
3. Good Things 
4. Warning Sign 
5. Girls Want To Be With The Girls
6. Found A Job 
7. Artists Only
8. I'm Not In Love 
9. Stay Hungry 
10. Take Me To The River 
11. Big Country

I wasn't too impressed with the previous Talking Heads album on the List, which has probably transformed my head into a dartboard for many the music fan.  Yes, I am the center of their universes.  I wish that I could say I enjoyed this one more, but I can't.

I found the lyrics on this album to be quite strange.  For example, in "Girls Want To Be With The Girls" they say "Girls are getting into abstract analysis/ They want to be make an intuitive leap/They are making plans that have far reaching effects/And girls want to be with girls."  I'm sorry, what?  That sounded incredibly awkward.  Even the title is awkward.  Cut out the "the!"  I also found the accompanying instrumentals to be rather yawn worthy, even though the musicians were obviously skilled.

Overall, just a meh and certainly doesn't stand out for its lyrical quality.

RATING: 2/5

412. Live and Dangerous

Live and Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
1978

Tracks
1. Jailbreak
2. Emerald
3. Southbound
4. Rosalie
5. Dancing in the Moonlight
6. Massacre 
7. Still in Love With You
8. Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed
9. Cowboy Song
10. The Boys are Back in Town 
11. Don't Believe a Word
12. Warriors
13. Are You Ready 
14. Suicide
15. Sha La La
16. Baby Drives Me Crazy
17. The Rocker

I fully expected to hate this, as I always seem to have to have my guard up with this List.  No, I don't think I'm being dramatic.  However, I can't stop listening to "Southbound" now, proving I'm one of those cool girls that listens to hard rock.

The first half of this album was definitely better than the second half, which seemed to transition into everyone's nightmare about what hard rock is.  Still, "The Boys are Back in Town" and "Southbound" actually a kind of sweet nostalgic feel about it.  I know this band would probably hate being called sweet so I will stop there.  Little darlings.

One of the better albums we have had lately and I am excited to discover more of Thin Lizzy's work, as I never heard of them before.

RATING: 4/5

411. D.O.A. The Third and Final Report

D.O.A. The Third and Final Report
Throbbing Gristle
1978

Tracks
1. IBM 
2. Hit By A Rock 
3. United 
4. Valley Of The Shadow Of Death 
5. Dead On Arrival
6. Weeping 
7. Hamburger Lady 
8. Hometime 
9. Ab/7a
10. E-Coli
11. Death Threats 
12. Walls Of Sound 
13. Blood On The Floor

Some of these albums feel like a practical joke.  Maybe someone is pulling a prank on people who will do anything if it is on a list.  Well, I think that is just cruel! We know we have a problem.

I knew that this was going to be incredibly pretentious when I saw that one of the tracks was titled "Walls of Sound."  This did not sound like music.  The closest comparison I can make is that it sort of resembled factory noises.  Apparently this album is classified as "industrial."  All right.  It is not fun or pleasing to listen to.

Hopefully this streak of truly horrific albums will end soon.  1 star, proving again that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

RATING: 1/5

410. One Nation Under a Groove

One Nation Under a Groove
Funkadelic
1978

Tracks
1. One Nation Under a Groove
2. Groovallegiance
3. Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock
4. Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo-Doo Chasers)
5. Into You
6. Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll)

Oh Funkadelic.  I was almost going to give this album a good review.  I was going to write about how scared I was about funk music and how their music made me see the light blah blah blah.  Then "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad" came on, bumping this album from a 4 star to a 2 star rating.  And I am being generous.

I wish one song didn't ruin an entire album for me so much.  After all, the other songs were  quite enjoyable.  "One Nation Under a Groove" actually wasn't as corny as I thought it would be and "Into You" was surprisingly sweet.  So why did they have to ruin it for that song?  For those of you can't infer anything to save your lives, "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad" is gratuitous scatological song that sounds like it was taken off the "Gargantua and Pantagruel: The Musical" soundtrack.

Surprisingly enough, I played this album while my sister and I were working and she enjoyed it.  She never enjoys any of these albums.  I don't think she was really listening to the lyrics and I didn't have the heart to enlighten her on their meaning.  It was a decent album; it's a pity that one song shit all over it.

RATING: 2/5

409. Darkness on the Edge of Town

Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
1979

Tracks
1. Badlands
2. Adam Raised A Cain
3. Something In The Night
4. Candy's Room
5. Racing In The Street
6. Promised Land
7. Factory
8. Streets Of Fire
9. Prove It All Night
10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town

It seems that my eyes are a bit bigger than my frequently purged stomach and I was unable to start writing daily album posts.  I have been having trouble with my painkillers, as they make me too nauseated to do anything, even listen to late 70s rock music.  I am now taking less pain meds, which has significantly cut down on my vomit output.

I thought that Bruce Springsteen would be a bit hard for me to relate to, as I am not a working class man who just wants a nice car and a cold beer (although I do a great impression of one at cocktail parties).  However, I found the songs to be quite enjoyable and actual lyrical beauty.

I personally recommend "Streets of Fire" for anyone interested in exploring more Springsteen.  This is probably the first you are hearing of Bruce, but apparently he is a big deal.

RATING: 4/5

408. Real Life

Real Life
Magazine
1978

Tracks
1. Definitive Gaze
2. My Tulpa
3. Shot By Both Sides
4. Recoil
5. Burst
6. Motorcade
7. The Great Beautician In The Sky
8. The Light Pours Out Of Me
9. Parade

Two announcements before I get started on this album.  Because I totally have a lot to say about it and am not stalling in the slightest.  First, this morning I found out that David Bowie has died.  He has really had a large impact on this blog; every time a Bowie album came along, I knew I was safe from awful music, at least for a little while.  Secondly, I haven't posted in awhile as I have been busy moving and getting surgery.  Now that the surgery is over and I can't get out of bed for eight weeks, I anticipate a lot of progress being made on this blog.  I am going to try to post once a day for awhile.  We will see how that goes.

Moving on to Real Life.  I will admit that I like post punk better than regular punk.  But I feel like post punk only has one sound.  All these songs sounded pretty identical to me.  But I am also on a ton of pain killers so who knows.  Maybe I was just listening to the same song on repeat.

See everyone tomorrow,  unless I am vomiting too much.

RATING: 3/5