BEN HARPER * BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN
Taking the cue from the 70's, he's basically released a double album today. Or CD, if you will. Both CD's are only 9 tracks (and about a half an hour) long. So it could've easily been a 18 track, hour long single disc, but Harper wanted to keep it divided into mellow and upbeat. I think both sides are powerful and as a total package, this might be his best offering yet. Both lyrically and musically, he is at the top of his game. He even produced it all himself, which goes to show how much confidence he's been gathering up over the years.
This release feels as if it came right out of the 70's as well. Funky, meaningful, poetic, political, Ben Harper is truly from another time. Artists aren't supposed to make records like this any longer. Where's the catchy single? Where's the token love song? Instead you get personal turmoil as in "Cryin' Won't Help You Now."
*****
sit there and call me
a liar and a cheat
i just wish you'd pin a rose on me
now you won't even
come out and take a bow
cryin' wont help you now
now your poets
have all put down their pens
the only songs to sing
are those sung again
lonely just doesn't
look good on you somehow
cryin' wont help you now
i just keep on staring
into the black eyes of the truth
we'll have to learn to live apart somehow
cryin' wont help you now
*****
But where BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN really shines is in the fustration with what has gone wrong in the world. Some are specific, such as "Black Rain," which bashes the response to the Katrina victims, "you left them swimming for their lives / down in new orleans / can't afford a gallon of gasoline / with your useless degrees." But songs like the title track cover so much more ground. It speaks volumes about all that is corrupt in our current culture of apathy and fear.
*****
living these days is making me nervous
archaic doctrine no longer serve us
now we're left as silent witnesses
we don't know quite what this is
other than a war that can't be won
i feel like i'm crowded, i can't get out
world keeps on filling me up with doubt
when you're trapped you got no voice
where you're born you got no choice
other than to go and take you some
one dimensional fool
in a three dimensional world
politics, it's a drag
they put one foot in the grave
and the other on the flag
systems rotten to the core
young and old deserve much more
than struggling every day until you're done
tension
too much to mention
living on both sides of the gun
*****
PRINCE * 3121
I don't see why this album is getting shit on from Entertainment Weekly. Sure, it's not a CLASSIC Prince album, but it's still damn good. Songs like "Lolita" and "Black Sweat" are sure-fire-hits! The only thing that I wish is that he'd go back to cussing. I mean, he does the whole "Shhhh..." instead of "shit" which is like...c'mon, we get it. What harm is saying the word? I miss the old days of "Sexy Mother Fucker" and "Pussy Control."
THE FLAMING LIPS * THE W.A.N.D. (single)
I know the full album comes out in two weeks, but this single has not one but TWO b-sides, "You've Got To Hold On" and "Time Travel...YES!" It totally makes the $3.00 worth it.
I almost bought this, but I already had the amazing cover of "I Found A Reason" by Cat Power and figured I had bought enough for one day. Next week, perhaps...
Remember Remember - Dario Marianelli
Cry Me A River - Julie London
Governments Should Be Afraid Of Their People - Dario Marianelli
Evey`s Story - Dario Marianelli
Lust At The Abbey - Dario Marianelli
Red Diary, The - Dario Marianelli
Valerie - Dario Marianelli
Evey Reborn - Dario Marianelli
I Found A Reason - Cat Power
England Prevails - Dario Marianelli
Dominoes Fall, The - Dario Marianelli
Bird Gerhl - Antony & The Johnsons
Knives And Bullets (And Cannons Too) - Dario Marianelli
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