Listening Post: U2 - Ranking

Following the metric I established for Devo I thought it prudent to apply the same to the very first Listening Post artist and see how they fare. (Seriously, with my newborn son still in the hospital, I've got nothing to do....)

The Joshua Tree: A+ (100)
Achtung Baby: A+ (100)
The Unforgettable Fire: A (98)
War: A (98)
Boy: B+ (89)
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb B+ (88)
All That You Can't Leave Behind B (85)
No Line on the Horizon D (65)
October: D (64)
Zooropa: D- (61)
Pop: D- (60)

U2 Average grade: C (74). When they hit, they are classic. When they miss, they are awful. The bottom of the pile really drags down the average inasmuch as the top 5 are some of the best rock music has to offer.

Listening Post: Devo - Ranking

Something I've never done but might go back and complete is the the actual rankings of Listening Post and Reflecting Pool records in order of grades.

I'll start with the latest Listening Post for Devo.

Freedom of Choice: A+ (100)
Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo: A+ (99)
Something for Everybody: A (93)
Oh, No! It's Devo; B- (81)
Duty Now For the Future: B- (80)
New Traditionalists: C- (74)
Shout: C- (72)
Smooth Noodle Maps: C- (70)
Total Devo: D- (61)

Devo output average: B- (81)
In other words, about average. What one can expect from any artist. Stick with the top three and you'll be fine.

Listening Post: Devo - Something For Everybody

Devo - Something for Everybody - 2010

The image clean, the icon reminiscent, the name familiar, it's 20 years later and Devo has a new album.
Should we care?
I'm not sure, I want to like it, the way I dug Freedom of Choice and Q/A.
For one thing, they've seemed to bury the hatchet between the band and guitars. Because the first single and first track, "Fresh" is boiling with lead solos, a sound sorely missing, and Mothersbaugh's chimpanzee vocals have a newfound freshness. In other words, it works in every way that the last 2 albums (20 years + old) did not.
The techno-march of "What We Do" perfectly matches the Devolution concept and the song itself is an unapologetic anthem for the band and any spud followers.
What comes to mind is that Devo has found its sense of humor again. They aren't trying too hard to be the leaders of the tech revolution. They've learned a LOT from scoring cartoons and, realizing that their sound and image and concept is basically a cartoon to begin with, they've embraced this with love and aren't...angry about it anymore. More corporate than ever before, I would have fully embraced and accepted it if they had shorn hasmat suits in favor of suits and ties ala The Tubes during Completion Backwards Principle.
The techno-soul is finally back on the near perfect, "Please Baby Please" and it's welcome, baby. Followed by "Don't Shoot, I'm a Man", a song that harkens back to the first album in both style and substance, S4E really feels like a return to form. Incorporating "Don't tase me, Bro" and grafting it to a song about a hybrid car driver worried about being shot by a rooftop sniper, I'm reminded that this is a band that once wrote a song based on the writings of President Reagan's would be assassin.
If you remember and sort of miss Devo from the "Whip It" days and you have a little space in your heart for herky jerky new wave space rock, Something For Everybody is the record for you.

Grade: A
ASide: Fresh, What We Do, Please Baby Please, Don't Shoot I'm a Man, Sumthin'
BlindSide: Mind Games, Human Rocket, Step Up
DownSide:

Listening Post: Devo - Smooth Noodle Maps

Devo - Smooth Noodle Maps - 1990

Remember all that anonymous pseudo-dance synth music on the last Devo record? It's ba-a-a-ck! Only more monotonous than before. At least this time we are only treated to a 30 minute blast. Half the time, the same amount of schnooze!
I have to believe that opening track, "Stuck in a Loop" is a commentary on the banality and exhaustive sound the band is vomiting out.
It says a lot that the most interesting track is the cover of the early 60s hit, "Morning Dew". One of the things I notice as I listen is that Devo is exceptionally capable of making acceptable dance tracks. But, it's like dance tracks done by someone with low-functioning Asperger's. Their ability to embrace the sex or sensuality or connective tissue that is required of dance tracks is missing. It's dance music for robots. Which is why it must fail. To dance is to connect. Not just to put words on beats.
It isn't until the album is almost over that the band gets their snark on for real. "Jimmy" is like Ween's "Spinal meningitis" for people with very thin skin. And there's "Devo Has feelings, Too", with it's crunchy guitars and the sense that the door might be closing on the spuds. Not a moment too soon.

Grade: C-
ASide: Post Post Modern Man
BlindSide: Morning Dew, Jimmy
DownSide:

Listening Post: Devo - Total Devo

Devo - Total Devo - 1988

Here's the thing about this record. Besides the fact that who the fuck knew it even existed?
It's really boring. There's no doubt that Devo know how to put notes together and create music or "songs". And the first track, "Baby Doll" does contain a certain amount of nightmarish soundscaping. But, beyond that it's a dull record.
And, most egregious, it's almost an hour long. That's almost TWICE the length of Oh, No! IT's Devo, or Shout or Freedom of Choice and a full 20 minutes longer than their previous longest record, Duty Now for the Future. So, not only is it boring, it's a LOT of boring.
That it sounds like every other third rate synth-o record from the era is an insult to Devo AND those other records. Weirdly, I think Harold Faltermeyer is to blame for most of this stuff's success. A track "The Shadow" which incorporates that era-popular orchestral synth chord that was used to death by Trevor Horn (Or is it Rabin...?) sounds like a desperate attempt to write the soundtrack to some comedic actioner. No surprise that Devo's foray into that world was the distant and desperate to be funny, Doctor Detroit. While the theme to that god-awful Dan Ackroyd movie was awful, we didn't need an entire album's worth. Let alone 58 mintues worth.
And what's with the synthetic xylophones? Why did you ever bring this to us, Thompson Twins??? Worse, Devo, why did you appropriate them?
I'm often reminded of a great passage from a review of Adam Ant's alter work on Allmusic where the reviewer pointed out that Adam had been rendered anonymous on his own record. I will use that here and never again offer it as anything but my own idea.
Devo couldn't sound less like "Devo" and more like "every other band of its type" on this record. Anonymous is the perfect adjective.

From a band who, just ten years earlier were on the cutting edge of theory, ideology and cracked pop, this is an egregious offering.

Grade: D-
ASide:
BlindSide: Baby Doll
DownSide: The Shadow, Man Turned Inside Out (Adam Ant probably owes Devo some royalties because this song sounds TOO much like Room at the Top), Sexi Luv, Blow Up

Zack Attack: Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me edition

Took Zoe to school today. She's alternating between the thrill of being a big sister and the abject rejection of her loss of station. That's cool. I understand that. I was a 5 year old who lost his power position to an obnoxious, screaming, whining pain in the ass baby. I remember the experience like it was yesterday.
We explained to her that the baby was coming home today and that she could help and watch her own movies and blah blah blah.
I got home to find Beth on the phone.
Turns out the hospital never asked us to sign a consent form for our Dr. to perform the circumcision. I don't much cotton to religion but we were going to have a mohel do it. Mainly because I've seen them done poorly by internists and I wanted a pro. I have no family here in LA and no real reason for a ceremony. This is a conformity/health issue with a smattering of "If he wants to be a religious jew later, so be it".
Anywho, now we have to wait for that operation which can't happen until we get to the hospital and sign the form.
But! There's another snag. Guess who must have figured out he was going home so he decided to stop breathing a little again? You guessed right.
Our little bundle of neuroses did it again (sort of). He didn't turn blue this time, nor did he have an apnic reaction but the nurses threw him on oxygen again.
The neonatologist ordered the oxygen stopped, that it wasn't necessary, so that's a relief.
BUT.
He also vomited. You don't wanna vomit in the icu, it gets everyone all up in arms and nervous. His pediatrician thinks that he was just overeating, since he's actually a healthy baby who should by now be out of the ICU. The nurses probably just overfed him and he barfed.
However, the doc thinks it might be prudent to keep him there one more night for observation.
He did stress, however, that if we wanted to take Zack home tonight, we could. They expect nothing to go wrong. But, heck, if he's gonna have surgery and he's already there.....
So, it looks like Zack WON'T be coming home today.
Tomorrow.
Unless he does something else.......

No good deed goes unpunished

So, this happened last night.



Beth and I were in the tv room watching Californication, enjoying the soft core comedy stylings of David Duchovny and Evan Handler, when we heard a loud BOOM outside.
We raced out to see a car had been heading down the street, lost control, hit a parked car and ended up on its side. People said they had called 911, but they were doing it from their cell phones and we have learned that land lines are the best for that. So, Beth handed me the home phone that we barely use, except for emergencies and I called.
911 was extraordinary. The asked that the passenger be given space so I started to yell, "Get away from the car!". At first they did exactly that.
Then 911 wanted to be sure that no one touch the car. Inasmuch as the car could topple over, to leave it be.
One jackass went over to the car and put his hand on the roof and was trying to get the driver to open a window.
"Get your hand OFF the car!" I was yelling. It took about 4 times for me to yell this for the guy to respond.
His reaction? To get in my face and call me out for yelling at him!
I told him that 911 said the car could fall over.
"They don't know." He replied. "It wasn't gonna fall over". I could see the beer in his eyes.
I thought he was going to take a slug at me.
the rescue team arrived and cordoned off the scene as you can see. I made mea culpas to the drunk simply because I'm the new guy in the neighborhood and I don't want my house robbed.
People suck. You know?