Todays idiot washout award goes to Scott Stapp, whose career in front of one of the most insignificant but overblown bands of the last decade, Creed, has resulted in a musical legacy akin to a second rate Styx, third rate REO Speedwagon, but 1st rate violent imbecile.
Put him in a cell with Paris Hilton.
Kosheen really caught my attention with their debut; both Suicide and Hide U were stellar singles. But their follow-up, Kokopelli, never quite struck the right chord with me. Their third full-length, Damage, finds a cozy middle space and is growing on me. The lead-off track, Overkill, also is the Video of The Day.
Someone gives these guys bigger exposure. Please.
Sage Francis
Sickly Business
While Sage Francis has a considerably better flow than Aesop Rock (and certainly riffs off the roof of anyone on regular radio rotation) but some of the tracks on Sickly Business are lyrically contrived, and suffer from the same kind of pretentious left wing tirades that made Zach DeLa Rocha annoying in RATM. The Masters Are Back is a prime example. Alternatives to College is a close second.
He rises out of that mire on slick quick cuts like Garden Gnomes with Danger Mouse and Tree of Knowledge grooves its deep ostinato bass figure and dirty high hat, and the broken jazz slackout of Doomage (produced by MFDoom...who'dathunkit). Sandpaper Gloves has an organic alterna-funk on a Herbie Mann musical backdrop, which works for reasons I can neither explain nor describe fully. It kind of reminds me of early Divine Styler.
There is some real boredom here. There is also some very sharp material. Overall, jury is still out.
And by that I mean the band, not the region. Since the were dropped by their label, they decided to put up their latest as a free download. Might be worth a peek.
I originally got into Jojo Mayer when the debut album from Screaming Headless Torsos hit. He is a monster player, but his mixing of jazz and jungle in a live setting is something else.
