Thursday, November 17, 2005

Bonji Infects Hisself

So I decided to take one for the team and buy the new My Morning Jacket - Z. As always, I'm a little underwhelmed by their studio work (saw them live opening for GBV and that spoiled me). Now I got this infection...it burns when I pee or when I try to play the disc through my default audio playa. Thanks Sony! Right after I get myself to the clinic, I'm callin' your mama...and your boyfriend...and your sister.

And while I'm all negative now, lemme tell you about Brian Wilson's SMiLE. I've never been a Beach Boys fan, but all the hype and all the cool press on SMiLE piqued my interest...especially when I read things like "Smile-like psychedelia" in other album's reviews. It took me close to six months just to get the dang disc out of the package (how about a thumb slot next time). Uggh...I'm concerned I missed something, and I will really give it a few more chances, but at no time while listening to the album did I find anything worth listening to more than three times. The Bonji is usually down with drug-induced artistic achievements, especially when they've been given the grace of a 38 year sobering up. But here, right now, color me deeply disappointed.

1 comment:

2poppy said...

I can't help but share a bit of the same disappointment with Wilson. I think it comes down to the fact that it's out of time. If you can imagine this being released around Pet Sounds / Sgt. Pepper's era, it might be a different effect altogether. Also keep in mind most of it was already available on bootlegs, so for the big fans, well, they've already been influenced by it and it shows in their work. Just listen to bands like Splitsville or Wondermints (who have actually played with Wilson) or even Matthew Sweet to hear it. To make it so sonically accomplished so many years later is quite amazing. With that being said, it doesn't necessarily make me want to listen to it any more.