MAGNIFICENT

Musician, visual artist, and widow of Beatle John Lennon, Yoko Ono Lennon’s latest album is less than amazing.

Yes, I’m a Witch is a remix album, and includes songs which have all been previously released on a variety of her old albums, some with John Lennon. Ono had many artists contribute and redo songs, all of which took her singing and added their own music as accompaniment.

Some of these artists include; Peaches, Shitake Monkey, Le Tigre, Cat Power, The Polyphonic Spree, The Flaming Lips, and Sleepy Jackson.

The album has a wide variety of musical influences and every song is very different from the previous one, but the singing of Yoko Ono just brings the whole work down. There are many different messages in the songs, and the contributing artists do an alright job in portraying the message that Ono wanted to send.



Ono and Rob Stevens produced the album. It was released in February 2007 on Astralwerks, the same label that brings you Chemical Brothers, The Beta Band, and VHS or BETA.

Yes, I’m a Witch is worth listening to, but I certainly would not buy it. Ono does not need any more money to support her sub par art.

Favorite song: Walking On Thin Ice with Jason Pierce of Spiritualized
www.astralwerks.com/ono

In an attempt for further discussion on this topic I just wanted to point out the Ono will be releasing a new album in April.

Some of the songs (in Yes, I am a Witch) were originally released more than twenty years ago. She asked a wide variety of musicians to contribute because she is trying to create a new generation of fans.

All the bands contributing have a solid fan base. They are well known in the indie art scene and although not many people like all of the bands, they are probably dedicated to the bands they do enjoy.

There is an interesting group of “sub top forty” (© Baylen Forcier) listeners who are really commanding the direction of music. They are probably more educated about the history of their music and are more open to different music than the “American Top Forty” fan base.

I believe that they are going to change American music over the next few years, as we can see from bands like Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, and Dead Prez. These bands were top indie bands and their genres are popping up all over the top forty stations.

Of course music has always been like this in some respects.

But …

I smell another grunge era.

Ono is trying to be a part of this movement, good for her. Maybe she hopes that the children of the people who hate her (a.k.a Beatles loving baby boomers) will forget that she “killed” The Beatles. (I don’t think she did. Lennon was crazy.)

What do you think?

This Town Ain't Big Enough...

The Killers caused quite a stir with the release of their second album, Sam's Town. No, it wasn't just the gobs of eye makeup being replaced by worn Old Western attire and scruffy facial hair; They've now traded the glitzy, glamorous pop-rock essence of their first album, Hot Fuss, for a grittier, more raw type of sound which, as a result, has left the door wide open for them musically.

So what makes Sam's Town so different from its predecessor? Well, the most obvious change is in the vocals. Unlike those on Hot Fuss, in which lead singer Brandon Flowers admitted to using auto-tune technology, the vocals heard in Sam's Town are completely genuine, which I think gives them an entirely new sense of emotion and depth.

The vocals, however, aren't all that's changed on the new album. The song structures have become much more complex, and have broken away from the traditional verse/chorus/bridge arrangement. The song "This River Is Wild", for instance, is possibly the most unpredictable track on the album. It opens with heavy blasts of drum crashes and power chords, only to settle into a subdued, bass-driven verse, as a palm-muted guitar sneaks in to build up to a chorus of epic proportions. Finally, just when you think the song has reached its peak, the energy suddenly subsides, leaving nothing but Flowers' gentle lyrics floating over a distant piano.

The album does, much like any other album, have its flaws. There are a couple of songs that are less than impressive, mostly because they sound like they had been made just for the sake of having more songs on the album. "Bling (Confession of a King)", which I find to be somewhat reminiscent of U2's old material, is structured so awkwardly that you could almost take the last half of it and create an entirely new song. Other tracks, such as the album's hit "Bones", retain the upbeat catchiness featured in Hot Fuss, yet lack the profound skill exhibited through the other songs on Sam's Town. All in all, though, the Killers have come a long way...and I think that if they continue in the direction they went in with this album, the possibilities for them are endless.
The Killers - When You Were Young
The Killers - Read My Mind
The Killers - Bones