<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>John Shelton Ivany Top 21</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html/css; charset=iso-8859-1" ></head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#000000" alink="#000000" vlink="#000000" text="#000000"> <a name="top"><img src="top.jpg" alt="A weekly guide to the music industry's buzz and latest releases in full review." ></a> <center><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b><i>Issue: #274</i></b></font></p></center> <table width="600" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <tr> <td align="center" width="276"><font face="myriad" size="2"><b>ALBUM REVIEWS</b></font></td> <td align="center" width="368"><font face="myriad" size="2"><b>THE HIGH FIVE</b> </font></td> </tr> </table> <table width="600" border="2" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#000000" bgcolor="#E6D176"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="225" rowspan="2"><font face="myriad" size="2"> <table align="center" bgcolor="#FBFFD5" width="95%"> <tr> <td> <p align="center"><font face="myriad" size="2"> <a href="#1" target="c">Madonna</a>, <a href="#2" target="c">Ronnie Milsap</a>, <a href="#3" target="c">India.Arie</a>, <a href="#4" target="c">Seth Walker</a>, <a href="#5" target="c">Field Mob</a>, <a href="#6" target="c">Shandon Sahm</a>, <a href="#7" target="c">WWE: Wreckless Intent</a>, <a href="#8" target="c">Oakenfold</a>, <a href="#9" target="c">Regina Spektor</a>, <a href="#10" target="c">David Russell</a>, <a href="#11" target="c">Joshua Radin</a>, <a href="#12" target="c">The Counting Crows</a>, <a href="#13" target="c">Joan Baez</a>, <a href="#14" target="c">Rescue Me</a>, <a href="#15" target="c">BR549</a>, <a href="#16" target="c">Cattle Decapitation</a>, <a href="#17" target="c">Curly Seckler</a>, <a href="#18" target="c">Holly Brook</a>, <a href="#19" target="c">Eric Hanke</a>, <a href="#20" target="c">Train Of Love: A Tribute To Johnny Cash</a>, <a href="#21" target="c">Dope</a> </font></p></td> </tr> </table></td> <td valign="top" width="57%"><font face="myriad" size="2"> <table align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" width="95%"> <tr> <td><center> <p><font face="myriad" size="1"><b> #1: Jamie Reno, <i>"Greatest Hits: Survivors' Songs"</i> - 33rd St/Tower<br /> #2: The Thieves, <i>"Tales From The White Line"</i> - Liquor and Poker<br /> #3: Underoath, <i>"They're Only Chasing Safety"</i> - (CD/DVD) Tooth and Nail<br /> #4: David Gogo,<i>"Skeleton Key"</i> - Cordova Bay<br /> #5: Rockie Lynne,<i>"Rockie Lynne"</i> - Universal South</b></font></p> </center></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table align="center" bgcolor="#FBFFD5" width="95%"> <tr> <td> <center><font face="myriad" size="1"><b>Political Song of the Week: </b> Propane's "<a href="#ps" target="c"><i>Blood For Oil</i></a>"</font></center></td></tr><tr> <td> <center><font face="myriad" size="1"><b>Political Quote of the Week: </b><a href="#pa" target="c"><i>"Helplessly Hoping: Day 21, Troops Home Fast - by Cindy Sheehan"</i></a></font></center></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="95%" align="center"><tr><td><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Album Reviews:</b></font></p></td></tr></table> <table width="90%" align="center" cellpadding="8"><tr><td> <a name="1"></a> <table cellspacing="4" cellpadding="10"><tr> <td align="left"><img src="madonnasecret.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Madonna</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>I'm Going To Tell You A Secret</i></font></p> <hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">(Live CD/DVD) Warner Bros</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table cellpadding="20"> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">America's favorite blonde is back on the stage giving it out, but not for free. Her latest, "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret" is the live CD for her 2004 "Re-Invention" tour. Featuring hits such as "Vogue," "Like A Prayer" and "Into The Groove" spanning years of Madonna albums, mixing the old with the new. <br><img src="space.jpg">The DVD portion of this release is more impressive than the audio. Although the CD portion displays the intricate sounds that she achieves on stage, using electronic effects and filters for all the audio aspects including her voice. The live show, however, is an extravagant multimedia event with dancing, lights, video, with plenty of glitter and extras. <br><img src="space.jpg">And to my surprise, Madonna even gets on the guitar for "American Life," and does a damn good job. But, of course, no-one is more excited about this show than the audience who soaks up every last note. Madonna, at 44 years old, looks as good as she did when she was 20 and sounds better now than she did then. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="2"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="rmilsap.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Ronnie Milsap</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>The Essential Ronnie Milsap</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">(2 CD SET) Arista/RCA/Legacy/Sony BMG</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Ronnie Milsap enjoyed immense popularity in the 1970s. And even though he has fallen from the popular spotlight, he continues to record and perform successfully. This "Essential" collection is nothing new, but contains all of his hits including "Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still of The Night)," "Why Don't You Spend The Night" and "I Hate You." <br><img src="space.jpg">Milsap has dabbled his fingers in several distinct genres that show up clearly in his music. Although Milsap is billed as a pop country dude, he clearly has been versed in gospel, bluegrass and the genre he used to record: R&B (until he was blacklisted from R&B stations for being white). <br><img src="space.jpg">Milsap has a distinct baritone voice that doesn't falter or crack, just smooth country/R&B style. Not only has Ronnie Milsap won many hearts with his voice, he has penned many of his own hits. "The Essential Ronnie Milsap" to too good to pass up. <br><b>***Shelton's Single of The Week: "Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still of The Night"***</b> </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="3"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="indiaarie.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>India.Arie</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Motown/Universal</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg"> India.Arie is a soulful singer who mixes classic hip hop elements with traditional folk sensibilities. She utilizes bassy beats while incorporating laid back guitar licks and piano. Her tone is relaxed but earnest and true. She speaks from her heart and from the soul of a deeply religious believer. When she chooses to bring her faith into her music, she chooses appropriate and wise verses and quotes; such as the quote from the Intro, "Oh God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change/ The courage to change the things that I can/ the wisdom to know the difference." <br><img src="space.jpg"> "In the face of the unexpected, you never know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I want to live," is the way her mid-album "Intermission" begins. Small gems of wisdom such as these are dispersed throughout the album. Her voice is simply beautiful, and her samples are extremely enlightening. Nothing can stand in the way of this artist's vision now. <br><center><b>***Best Album of the Week***</b></center></font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="4"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="sethwalker.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Seth Walker</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Seth Walker</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Pacific Blues</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Seth Walker has the blues feel that is just enough soul and emotion, but not over the top with unnecessary loud noise. His version of Tom Waits', "Picture In A Frame" is a testimony to the man's power to take a another person's song and turn it into something completely different: to take an idea and alter the delivery enough to change the way it is received. <br><img src="space.jpg">Seth's voice has the scratchy and crackley sound that compliments the blues like a dress at a banquet. The vocal delivery that takes place throughout the album brings out the emotion in the music. Walker's guitar is an entirely different story. <br><img src="space.jpg">His guitar style is reminiscent of B.B. King, but retains the spark of originality that makes great guitarists stand out, not blend in. Walker's guitar is almost like an extension of his persona. The rhythms, solos and ramblings on the guitar are Walker's soul bursting out from his fleshy casing and singing the blues. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="5"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="fieldmob.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Field Mob</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Light Poles and Pine Trees</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Disturbing Tha Peace/Geffen/UMG</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Field Mob have released their 3rd album on Disturbing Tha Peace Records, started by Ludacris. Field Mob are supposed to be representing southern rappers. Despite the interesting marketing technique of country boys doing thug styled rap, the beats and rhymes are nothing new. They focus on money, cars, clubs and sex; especially on "So What" which is from the perspective from a girlfriend of a thug which glamorizes an unfaithful partner, "They say he do a lil' this, he do lil' that, he's always in trouble/ And I heard he's nothin' but a pimp, he's done a lot of chicks, he's always in the club/and they say he think he's slick, he's done a lot of chicks, he's sellin' them drugs/ and I heard he's been locked up by somebody else, he ain't nothin' but a thug, but so what?" Geographically, these guys are different from the rest. Stylistically, Field Mob blends right in. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="6"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="sahm.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Shandon Sahm</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Knock Yourself Out</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Killing Bird</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Shandom Sahm is son to Sir Doug Sahm of the Sir Sahm Douglas Quartet, a seventies country-rock band. Shandom has played with his father, the Meat Puppets and the Butthole Surfers as a drummer. On this album he does most of the arrangements for the songs. The songs themselves are less than quality. The first 8 songs drag on through clichéd and derivative lyrics and styles. Just, quite simply, boring as fuck. <br><img src="space.jpg">The first song, "Everything's Cool" has minimalistic and ear bleeding lyrics, "Everything's Cool, Everything's Fine." Track Five, "Woofie" contains even more minimalist lyrics, "Da Da Da Da Da Da/ Woofie Woofie Woofie Yea." I can't take it! It sucks! The last two songs on the album are really the best on the album. They are also the only songs he did not write. This probably had a great deal to do with the quality. Do yourself, and everyone else a favor and destroy this album on sight. </font></p> </font> </p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="7"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="wwe.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Various Artists</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>WWE: Wreckless Intent</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Columbia</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg"> This is one weird compilation. It has it's finer points, as well as it's low points. The album compiles leading WWE wrestler's entrance songs. For the white men, the tracks are uniformly metal bands such as Saliva and Motorhead. For the black male wrestler (Mark Henry) the track is a heavy rap song. For the ladies, the songs are girly, such as Desiree Jackson and Zebrahead with, "With Legs Like That." <br><img src="space.jpg">Despite the merciless stereotyping and whitewashing, some of the music on the album is worth listening to. The tracks by Saliva, Theory of A Dead Man, Three 6 Mafia and Killswitch Engage are all good tracks. But, for most people, the album is so random that it cannot be listened to straight through. </font></p> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="8"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="oakenfold.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Oakenfold</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>A Lively Mind</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Perfecto/Maverick/Warner Bros</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Oakenfold is back after a lengthy hiatus from record making with his second album, "A Lively Mind." This time around he has a host of guests he has collaborated with from Brittany Murphy and Spitfire to Grandmaster Flash! As always, he brings out the best in electronica and dance music by incorporating other techniques and styles. For instance, he never strays to far from instrumentally based music, including real instruments when necessary, which adds a much fuller sound to his tracks. <br><img src="space.jpg">The cut with Brittany Murphy, "Faster Kill Pussycat" is a sexy female singing track that is only outshined by the rest of the album. Grandmaster Flash's track is a headbutting of styles: Flash's hip hop background and Oakenfold's dance background. Oakenfold has spent three years in the making of this album, and the effort definitely shows through, from the crazy amount of layering to the tedious revisions that must have occurred for him to get the exact sounds he wanted. Oakenfold really deserves the title "The Godfather of the dancefloor."</font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="9"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="spektor.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Regina Spektor</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Begin To Hope</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Sire</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Regina Spektor is a strange plethora of sound to hear. She damns any convention for the sake of creating a better song. Her passion and emotion is clearly evident in every song she recorded for this album. Her voice is beautifully enticing. <br><img src="space.jpg">I can't stop listening to her sing. Her energy is implicit in her arrangements which carry the signs of a lifetime of influences and styles that have been incorporated from a million different bands. No reviewer can encapsulate this amazing thing that is captured on this album. I love it. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="10"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="drussell.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>David Russell</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Renaissance Favorites for Guitar</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Telarc</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg"> In this speechless compilation, David Russell assembles classic Renaissance pieces from 8 different composers. Each one of the compositions is intricate and difficult as well as hauntingly beautiful. David Russell has won a Grammy for his classical guitar talents. <br><img src="space.jpg">During the Renaissance, guitar was one of the instruments of choice for stringed composition as well as the lute (a relative of the guitar). The point of the music in this time period was to accentuate the emotional power of music without the inhibiting use of lyrics and vocals. It was a glorious experiment and has created some of the most impressive guitar work the world has heard to date. David Russell is talented enough and kind enough to share this lost sound with the world again. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="11"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="joshradin.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Joshua Radin</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>We Were Here</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Columbia</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Joshua Radin's music has appeared in various movies and TV shows. Currently, Radin is living out every songwriter's dream. He has come out on top of a bidding war from 5 different record companies and having his CD released the way he has envisioned. <br><img src="space.jpg">His songs are soft and lullaby-like. His voice is almost softer than his guitar. But, his lyrics are truly cathartic and close to his heart, not manufactured at all. His tone gets to be the norm of the album, not much change in style, but this seems to be what works for Joshua, and it works well as a meditative and cathartic excercise for the soul. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="12"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="newamsterdam.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>The Counting Crows</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>New Amsterdam: Live At Heineken Music Hall February 4-6, 2003</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Geffen/Universal</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">The Counting Crows may have blown their load on the first CD, but that is no reason not to give them the benefit of the doubt. On each following CD there is at least a few songs that are worth listening to. They will never touch the greatness of "Mr. Jones" and "Long December," but they have a knack for making music that appeals to the most basic senses of wanting emotional understanding. <br><img src="space.jpg">The Counting Crows' second live CD is filled with songs that span their career; from "Omaha" to "Miami." Adam Duritz has one of the most distinguishable voices in coffeehouse rock. The band really proves they have chops on stage and in the studio: from on stage harmonizing to catchy guitar solos, The Counting Crows are worth keeping in our minds and music libraries.</font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="13"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="baez5.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Joan Baez</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>5</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Vanguard</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Joan Baez is by far one of the most influential folk singers of the sixties. Her and Bob Dylan would travel, write and play together at festivals, marches, protests and rallies. She visited North Vietnam at the peak of hostilities, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. at Washington DC and consistently pointed out the injustices and inequalities of American life during her era. <br><img src="space.jpg">Vanguard's release of "5" is an excellent chance to rediscover the music of Baez, which at all times is inseparable from her politics. Songs such as "There But For Fortune," "Birmingham Sunday" and "Tramp On The Street" all speak to important issues of the sixties that are equally, if not more relevant, today: evils of capitalism, racism and poverty. Beyond her political importance, Baez is aesthetically gorgeous. Her voice is full body and carries simple tunes with brilliantly executed vibratos and sustains. "5" is a blessing on today's youth, and the turmoil they will have to face for years to come. <br><center><b>***Political Album of the Week***</b></center> </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="14"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="rescueme.jpg"> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Various Artists</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Rescue Me</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">(Television Soundtrack) Nettwerk</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">A terrible TV series has done the inevitable and released an even worse soundtrack. This must, somehow, be a profitable thing to do. Although, I cannot imagine the people who would buy this drivel. In any case, should one be inclined to listen to whitewashed, spineless, bland, alt-rock, wanna punker album. Well, this is the CD for you. However, so that I don't leave this album on a bad note, I will put in a couple good words for it: The Subways! </font></p> </td></tr> </table> <p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="15"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="br549.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>BR549</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Dog Days</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Dualtone</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">BR549 is just one of those bands who have been around forever and a day, yet still get no recognition to speak of. They have released nothing but skillful, classic sounding rock-country-bluegrass-rockabilly styled music that gets your foot tapping and your hand reaching for the moonshine. <br><img src="space.jpg">"Dog Days," their latest release, is a mix of the same sort of styles that have made them stealth classics. "Poisin," the opening track, is a quick paced, southern-styled bluegrass pickin' tune that will have you singing, "Pooooiiiisin, Git thee outa me!" "The Devil and Me," on the other hand, is a gospel-country cut that will make you feel downright righteous for being evil. "Dog Days" is the perfect addition to an already impressive songbook for BR549. <br><img src="space.jpg"><b>***So Nice, Gotta Do It Up Twice (Created by the Original NYC DJ, Jocko, 1955)***</b> </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center" /> <a name="16"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="cattled.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Cattle Decapitation</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Karma.Bloody.Karma</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Metal Blade</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">It's a mystery to me why groups such as this continue to thrive. With song-titles like "Human Jerky," "Homovore" and "Total Gore?," Cattle Decapitation focuses on gory and bloody lyrics that make little to no sense. Not that anyone can decipher them in the first place. This music was fun when it began. But now, with bands like Sepultura and Pantera already past their prime, the draw to this kind of gore metal is diminished. At least in my eyes. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="17"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="seckler.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Curly Seckler</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Down In Caroline</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Copper Creek</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">There is nothing bad that I can say about this. All the cuts are peaceful country songs that sing of a time gone by, love, loves lost and other such themes that are staples of great country songs. Now, when I say country, I do not mean what the masses think of country today. I'm talking Carter Family style strummin', pickin' and harmonizing. This is pure country bluegrass that comes straight from an old school guy: Curly Seckler. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="18"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="bloodhoney.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Holly Brook</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Like Blood Like Honey</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Machine Shop/Warner Bros</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Holly Brook says that a couple of her main inspirations are Sarah MacLachlan and Fiona Apple. Her inspirations are more than worn on her sleeve; they are plastered all over her music. I can't listen to songs like "Giving It Up For You" and "Curious" without hearing MacLachlan's voice or Apple's piano work. Her music isn't poor quality, or even bad. It is just derivitive and already done. "Like Blood Like Honey" is quality Lillith Fair music. <br><center><b>***New Album of the Week***</b></center> </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="19"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="hanke.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Eric Hanke</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Autumn Blues</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Ten Foot Texan</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Eric Hanke is an accomplished guitarist, flavored with a dulcet finger picking style. While tastefully and pleasantly familiar to today's folk stars like Dave Alvin, Greg Brown and James Taylor. But Eric Hanke has a style all of his own. From "War," a realistic ballad about the contradictions and horrors of war, to "Flora," a thankful tune about the beauty of nature, Eric Hanke has the persona to bring out the best, and worst, in the world around him. A true poet who can see life for what it is, and show it in a unique fashion, Hanke is a new face with a new tune. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="20"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="cashtribute.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Various Artists</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>Train Of Love: A Tribute To Johnny Cash</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">CMH</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Johnny Cash: the most honored, Influential and beloved country music star of the 20h century. Cash--who made over 1,500 recordings, 48 of which landed on Billboard's hot 100 pop chart--coaxed his way into the honky-tonk heart of America. Ask any band to play a J.R. Cash Song, and without hesitation they'll launch into one of his legendary hits. <br><img src="space.jpg">"Train of Love: A Tribute to Johnny Cash" delves into the legacy with performances by some of today's hottest rockabilly, country and bluegrass acts. Hang on for a no-holds-barred, wildly entertaining ride. </font></p></td> </tr> </table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"> <a name="21"></a> <table><tr> <td align="left"><img src="dope.jpg"></td> <td align="top"><p><font face="myriad" size="3"><b>Dope</b></font> - <font face="myriad" size="3"><i>American Apathy</i></font></p><hr size="2" width="75%" align="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2">Artemis</font></p></td> </tr></table> <table> <tr> <td><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><img src="space.jpg">Their name says it all. Cocaine, booze, strippers and lyrics that express directionless angst. Songs such as "Lets Fuck," "Fuck The World," "Bastard," "Sex Machine" and "Bitch," these guys say what they want, when they want, whether or not it makes any sense, "I wish I was the President/ I'd have a big white house with a yard and a fence/ So I could keep all the terrorists out/ I'd be the king of the world I would lie and deny/ and get high with the little honor role girls." <br><img src="space.jpg">Despite their questionable taste in lyric writing, they can play metal fast and loud. Their drummer, Racci, has feet that move so fast on the double bass pedal I'm surprised his feet don't fall off, especially on "Burn." Perhaps the best song on the album is "Fuck Tha Police," a cover of NWA. The song, although altered in the lyrics, is fun to sing along to. Dope lives up to what they claim (which isn't much), but enough to get fucked up and have a good time. <center><p><b>***If You Like Music, You're Gonna' Love This!***</b></p></center> </td></tr></table><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a> </font></p><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"></table> <a name="ps"></a><table width="550" align="center"> <tr><td><center><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><b>Political Song:</b></font></p></center><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"><br> <table width="95%" align="center"> <tr> <td valign="left"> <p><font face="myriad" size="2"> <b>Artist:</b> Propane<br> <b>Song: </b> Operation Blood For Oil<br> </td> <td align="right"s><img src="" alt=""></td> </tr></table> </font></p></td></tr></table> <table width="350" align="center"> <tr><td> <p><font face="myriad" size="2"> <br> Odessa Texas 1948<br> Destined for greatness, and he couldn't wait<br> As for motive, that's up for debate<br> Lone Star, yeah... he's packin the heat<br> Rubbin elbows with the social elite<br> Who took notice of a world at his feet<br> The big drill, and the CIA<br> Richard Nixon paved the way for this god to have his day<br> VP under Bonzo Reagan<br> Then Pres, of this once great nation<br> 91', his first invasion<br> Oh... the good ol' days I miss<br> Now get me out of this, this hierarchal abyss<br> Kissin' Middle Eastern ass<br> While pride, black gold, and gas<br> Just a profiteer on your foreign soil<br> Operation Blood for Oil<br> Passed the buck to his number one<br> Now we're fucked by the bastard son<br> Can't hide, so we better run<br> Three cheers for the underachiever<br> Once a drunk, and now a believer<br> All hail The Great Deceiver<br> First term saw mass corruption<br> 2 wars to boost production<br> All done for your protection<br> C'est La Vie to French relations and to NATO's limitations that <br> prevent occupations<br> Oh... bleed me til' I'm bled<br> Voices never heard, blues are getting' red<br> Kissin' Middle Eastern ass<br> Skull bones, black gold, and gas<br> He an irritation and a fucking boil<br> Operation Blood for Oil <br><br> <a name="pa"></a><table width="550" align="center"> <tr><td><center><p><font face="myriad" size="2"><b>Political Quote:</b></font></p></center><hr size="2" width="95%" align="center"><br><p><font face="myriad" size="2"> <table width="95%" align="center"> <tr> <td valign="left"> Published by CommonDreams.org July 25, 2006 <br> Helplessly Hoping: Day 21, Troops Home Fast <br><b>By:</b> Cindy Sheehan<br> </td> <td align="right"s><img src="sheehan.jpg" alt=""></td> </tr></table> <br> <br> I have been in such a blue funk of depression and worry since Israel's over-reaction---or "over action" in Lebanon in what seems to be insanity escalating out of control. What our media and some world leaders seem to expediently forget is that Israel massacred an entire family on a beach in Lebanon with a rocket and kidnapped two Palestinian citizens before Hezbollah and Hamas kidnapped some Israeli soldiers. Who started the cycle of violence in those countries? Who knows? Who cares! The important question is: who is going to be the courageous one(s) with integrity, wisdom, and compassion that is going to at long last stop the absurdity? <br><br> As hard as I may try, I cannot wrap my mind around the fanatical rhetoric coming out of DC and from all over the world and the mindless and seemingly overwhelming support of Israel's right to "defend itself." What Israel is doing in Lebanon by killing hundreds of innocent civilians in a relatively short period of time is like the US defending itself from the tens of thousands of innocent babies, women, and children in Iraq. It is morally reprehensible and just an extension of BushCo's campaign to enrich the voracious war profiteers. <br><br> I read yesterday that our State Department approved a new shipment of bombs and rockets to Israel. With the thousands upon thousands of US made bombs and rockets being dropped on Lebanon by the IDF it makes one wonder if the expiration dates on the bombs were nearing and the war machine needed to sell and ship more bombs so that the CEO's could fill their Hummers, limos, and jets with gas. Naively, I always presumed that the State Department was there to prevent the use of military force, not support it by authorizing more weapons for more efficient killing! Don't we have a War Department for more killing? I feel like I am living in Bizarro World. <br><br> I have been watching a lot of cable news networks and have heard such one-sided phrases as: "Over 50 civilians killed in Lebanon today, but the real story is in the Israeli city of Nazareth, where two Hezbollah rockets landed." Why is that the real story, Tucker Carlson? It is an immensely tragic story because two harmless children were killed in Nazareth, but how does it trump over 50 civilians being killed in Lebanon? Oh yeah, I forgot! John Bolton said that there is no "moral equivalency" between innocent Arabs being killed and innocent Israelis being killed. It's not immoral for Israel to kill innocent civilians because they are fighting terror with more terror: it's the American Way! <br><br> One day I heard another perfectly coiffed and composed talking head say while the fancy war graphics rolled across the TV screen in my hotel room: "This is day 12 of fighting in the Middle East." Day 12! Try selling that idiotic sound bite to the people of Iraq and who are dying by the dozens still everyday in increasing violence. Try telling our soldiers who keep on dying over there that this is "Day 12"Š it is more like 2567 on day 1200-plus of fighting in Iraq. The war crimes in Israel and Lebanon have so conveniently knocked Iraq completely off the radar screen which is probably a thing of beauty and a welcome development to the White House and Pentagon. <br><br> We are being told that a few hundred people have been killed in Lebanon when we were shown a mass grave on CNN in the ancient city of Tyre that had almost 90 coffins in it being presided over by a distraught mayor telling us that at least two or three hundred more of his city's residents were buried in the rubble of the barbaric Israeli attacks. Tyre is one city and we viewed the mass grave days ago. Tyre and the rest of the country are being relentlessly bombed for the sins of a few which is a crime against humanity. <br><br> It seems like we are armchair witnesses to Armageddon and ashamed witnesses to our fool of a President at the G-8: groping women; talking, eating, and swearing with his mouth full; drooling over slicing a pig and generally acting like a drunken and amorous frat boy at a toga party. I would like to ask George Bush a few more questions besides, "What noble cause?" Like: "What the hell is so humorous you jester in a tailored suit? You told us that you were making the world a safer place because of your War of Terror, and you are decidedly not!" I would also like to ask him if he is proud of himself for the way things are going on the 1200th-plus day of fighting in the Middle East. Of course it is not about pride---it is about profit and the Project for a New American Century. <br><br> I mourn for the murders of the Israeli people, which are just as tragic (but not more tragic) and done just as barbarically (but not more barbarically) as the murders that Israel is commiting in this needless violence, as much as I mourn the deaths of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the innocents in all Arab countries who are trapped in this insane spiral of bedlam. When is the world going to realize that bloodshed cannot be stopped, cured, or even alleviated by shedding more blood? Killing is a cancer that spreads the more it is fed. This disease is spreading around the world and instead of passing resolutions to condone the punishment of an innocent civilian population; Congress should be passing resolutions condemning ALL types of violence and should be supporting Rep. Dennis Kucinich's (D-Oh) ( H.Con.Res 450) call for a truce so a diplomatic solution can be sought---one that brings ALL sides to the table and one that ALL sides can feel comfortable and safer with. The only way to a "lasting cease fire" that the weapons broker, Condi, keeps talking about is a negotiated settlement that includes and insists on peaceful co-existence in the region. <br><br> Martin Luther King, Jr said it is either; "Peaceful co-existence or mutual co-annihilation." Our planet is headed on a path of annihilation if we don't all stop and take a deep breath, relax and realize that our brothers and sisters are being killed in the Middle East so that more bombs and rockets can be rushed there (on all sides) and so that our oil companies can have total control of the world's oil resources. <br><br> I have felt so helpless in the face of such unwarranted carnage, calamity, and sorrow. I have felt hopeless that anything I do can even alleviate the suffering of one person. I am helplessly hoping that the people of the world will join me and rise up to say a collective: "In God's (Allah's---whatever's) name: enough is more than enough, already!" <br><br> One last quote: Dwight David Eisenhower said that: "I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it." I believe that we the people of Earth should demand that our governments get out of our way and stop be beholden to the war machine and allow us to have peace. Selfishly, I would love to have a world that my surviving children and their children can peacefully co-exist with peoples of other nations in. <br><br> I recognize Israel's right to defend itself as I recognize the US's right to defend ourselves as I recognize Lebanon's and Iraq's right to defend themselves---but I do not, cannot, and will not recognize anyone's right to commit wholesale slaughter on babies and children. I refuse to recognize that right no matter who does it---terrorists or state-sanctioned wars of terror---I refuse to recognize the right to slaughter and, whether it makes a difference or not, I refuse to be silent about it. <br><br> It must stop: For my children, your children and their children. <br><br> They are all our children. <br><br> Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc Casey Austin Sheehan who was KIA in Iraq on 04/04/04. She and thousands of others from around the world are getting ready for another summer of holding BushCo accountable in Crawford, TX, at Camp Casey. She began her hunger strike against the war in Iraq on July 4th.</i> </td></tr></table> </font></p> </font></p><p align="right"><font face="myriad" size="1"><a href="#top" target="c">Back To Top</a></font></p></td></tr></table> <br><br> <table width="400" align="center"> <tr><td> <center><p><font face="Arial" size="1"><a href="home.html" target="c">Home</a> - <a href="current.html" target="c">Current Top 21</a> - <a href="bnd.html" target="c">Books & DVDs</a> - <a href="past.html" target="c">Archives</a> - <a href="shelbio.html" target="c">About Us</a> - <a href="contact.html" target="c">Contact Us</a> - <a href="links.html" target="c">Links</a></font></p></center> </td></tr></table><br><br> <!-- Start of StatCounter Code --> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=754649; var sc_partition=6; var sc_security="b152762e"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/frames.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c7.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=754649&amp;java=0&amp;security=b152762e" alt="advanced web statistics" border="0"></a> </noscript> <!-- End of StatCounter Code --> </body> </html>