Unqualified One-Man Review Squad: “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen”

So a few weeks back I’m watching TV and I come across that “Live from Abbey Road” show they’ve got on the Sundance Channel. The acts performing include Josh Groban (Blech.) and Kasabian (Double-blech.). They’ve also got The Good, The Bad, & The Queen. I’d heard them mentioned before, but I didn’t know anything about them and the name kind of turned me off for some reason. While looking up some info on Danger Mouse after I’d first heard The Grey Album, I noticed that he had produced their album. My interest was piqued. And the second I heard Damon Albarn’s voice, the case was closed. I’m very glad that I decided to give them a shot.

First, to clarify, “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” is not the name of the band, but the album. The band doesn’t really have a name, and doesn’t really need one. They’ve got Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Paul Simonon from the Clash, and Simon Tong from The Verve, with Danger Mouse producing.

The album is a wonderfully layered, atmospheric stroll through the sounds and sights of London. The best thing I can compare it to is one of my favorite Gorillaz tracks, “Hong Kong”. “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” follows a similar formula or using rich sound to vividly sketch memory and place. Albarn and company borrow from a range of influences, including a surprising jaunt into a sort of 50’s doo-wop style with “80s Life”. Behind the entertaining musical explorations, the album is quite deep. From the disorientation of “Kingdom of Doom” to the hopeful yearnings of “Behind the Sun” and “Green Fields”, the album is brimming with genuine sincerity.

And despite how much the various talents involved contribute, no instrument adds more to the album’s sincerity than Albarn’s voice. He sings with more passion and power on every track of “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” than on nearly any Gorillaz song. And indeed, “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” sacrifices much of the infectious pop sensibility that Albarn flexed with his Gorillaz work in favor of a more honest and difficult sound. The trade-off is a smart one.

The lyrics cover a wide range of perspectives on life in London, often touching on war. The album closes with the title track, an epic climax that abandons its lyrics for a wild spree of sound and fury about two minutes in and doesn’t let up for another five.

In Short, “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” is Damon Albarn getting dead serious and making some phenomenally deep, powerful music. It’s mournful, angry, and epic all at the same time and it’s damn good music.

(And I know this album came out more than a year ago, but if you expect my review subjects to be timely or relevant, you should probably stop reading right now.)

Highlights: “80s Life” ~ “Kingdom of Doom” ~ “Behind the Sun” ~ “Nature Springs” ~ “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen”

Check out the video for “Kingdom of Doom”

(Yes, I mostly posted that just to test out embedding YouTube videos.)

- Sean, the good, the bad, and the queen…

Wait a second…

February 08

Hillary Sparking Some Obama Drama and McCain In Shame?: Your Election News and Terrible Puns Update

The Wisconsin Primary is done and dusted and it looks like Obama and McCain have come out on top once again.

Hillary didn’t go down without a fight though. She’s been pulling out all the stops in the past few weeks to try and discredit Obama. First there’s the “war of words”, as every clever journalist and news organization has termed it. On the 16th, Obama said at the Wisconsin Democratic Party Founders Day dinner:

”Don’t tell me words don’t matter. ‘I have a dream’— just words? ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’ — just words? ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself’ — just words? Just speeches?”

The problem is that Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick said the same thing in a speech in 2006. Clinton is calling this plagiarism. Obama has admitted that he should’ve given Patrick credit, but Patrick has confirmed that he and Obama are friends and that Barack asked him before borrowing the line. Borrowing lines is certainly not uncommon in politics and Clinton has done it on several occasions herself. However, she seems more than willing to drag this out and use it against Obama.

But of course, none of that is important, because Hillary also claims that words don’t matter. Clinton’s newest route of attacking Obama’s speaking ability, arguably his biggest strength, has been claiming that speeches don’t even matter. The problem is that Hillary is giving just as many speeches as Obama because that’s how elections work. When it comes down to it, the only thing a candidate can do is speak. And in many ways, that’s what being the President or being any kind of figure in politics is about.

There’s also the news that Clinton may attempt to snake Obama’s pledged delegates out from under him, something which - to put it lightly - would be a pretty shitty move. This election hasn’t been as dirty as the media has been playing it up to be, but the way things are going, it’s gonna get a lot dirtier. Hillary has very little chance earning more delegates than Barack at this point, and that means that the fight is definitely going to heat up.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side of things: The New York Times is saying that John McCain and a 40-year-old lobbyist named Vicki Iseman may have had an unscrupulous relationship eight years ago. The sources are dubious and the story is a bit tabloid for the New York Times (As McCain and his people have been eager to point out.) and the verdict is still out as to whether these allegations will hold water. One thing you can be sure of is that whether or not the allegations are proven to be true, the Limbaugh-types are going to be all over McCain on this.

BITS AND PIECES: A California man was robbed at gunpoint of $20 worth of tacos on Sunday night. See people, this is what happens when we don’t control our borders and keep those goddamn taco bandits out of our country! MINUTEMEN FOREVER!! ~ While visiting the Middle East, Sharon Stone has said that she is frustrated by how little the American media covers the deaths of Iraqi civilians. God help me …… I agree with her. ~ Fidel Castro has finally resigned as the President of Cuba. However, The Source is reporting that his retirement will be shortlived and that he will release a new album with Roc-A-Fella within the next few years after doing some side projects and production work.

- Sean, your Funkmaster-Elect.

February 08

“Blogs Suck: or Welcome to Christmas on the Moon”

Hi. My name is Sean and I have far too many opinions. Let me share them.

See, the internet is the only forum besides my school’s paper where I can express my thoughts. But the paper is a monthly publication, where all articles are subject to a two week delay between submission and publication. Meaning that whatever you write better be just as compelling in two weeks as it is today, and everyone knows how fast the news cycle is these days. There are also issues of content. They’ve been very good about letting me do my own thing, but I like being able to write with a bit more freedom. On the fucking internet, I can write my shit as fucking loosely as I fucking want.

Kidding, of course. I’ve resisted blogging for a very long time. They’ve been highly overstated by the media. Statistically speaking, 99% of blogs are never even read. Because most of them are about as interesting as a pile of shit drying out in the sun. The fact of the matter is that no one wants to hear about my day to day life and there’s a good chance that no one wants to hear about yours. But the internet has bred a self-absorbed culture where your life and interests must regularly affirmed by people you don’t even know.

So I promise that my blog will be different. Hell, don’t even think of it as a blog. Just think of it as a…column. A substantial examination of politics and culture. I may give in to the occasional indulgence, but I promise that I won’t bullshit you. Before I post anything, I will ask myself if anyone other than myself will find this interesting or entertaining.

Plus, I’ll spell things correctly.

Which, I think, is more than can be said about most blogs.

- Sean, Your Friendly Neighborhood Moon Master