CMJ:
Not only a free CD, but some good articles and reviews.
 
CMJ
New Music Monthly
Magazine Description Read what's
happening in the exciting world of new music in every issue of CMJ New
Music Monthly. You'll read about the hottest new bands and recording
artists around, as well as in-depth reviews and upcoming releases. Plus,
every issue of the magazine includes a CD compilation of 20 songs. It's
an aural delight! (Better than a 9" dildo up your
ass, anyway.) |
The
free CMJ CDs: Reviews
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| August 1999 |
Dreadful. The CD starts
off with a whole bunch of fans much admired by football player rapists.
Some of the songs here are OK, but most aren't worth naming. The
mellow sound of Spain
is just about the only thing that got my interest, although Praga
Khan's Breakfast
in Vegas techo/dance stuff was fun too. The Smoke
City track from Red
Hot and Lisbon is pretty. |
| July 1999 |
It's been a while since
CMJ has provided an outstanding free CD, and this isn't it. Some
big-hitters (jeez, I just used a sports analogy) with Chemical
Brothers, Moby,
and Pavement,
all doing good if predictable jobs. I can't get that excited by the
Echo
and the Bunnymen track, despite the strong reviews they have got.
The highlight for me, being a sucker for minimalist synth pop with sweet
female vocals, is the Kid
Loco track, remixed by St.
Etienne (I notice that the US EP release of this French band also includes
a remix by Jim
O'Rourke.) A great version of Big
Star's "September Gurls" comes from a recent previously unreleased
performances, which is presumably a way of cashing in on their newfound
fame due to "That 70s Show," but
why not? Juno
provides some very satisfying angst-thrash, and the Donnas
end the CD with good girl-pop. Honorable mention should go to the
Beta
Band for their lo-tech shambolic happy song style, even if I can't
work out why people have been raving about them. |
| June 1999 |
Well, I'm late with my reviews
here. This is probably a good thing, since it's given me a chance
to listen to these CDs much more, and my initial boredom with the songs
has dissipated, and I've grown to like them. For instance, I first
thought DJ
Rap was crap, and her main selling point where her mammary glands.
But after hearing the tune "good to be alive" enough times, it grew on
me. Similarly, I thought Manic
Street Preachers went downhill after their first single. Their
political sincerity and guitar/orchestra/pop managed to win me over though.
Push
Stars have a big Beck
influence, but they are catchy more than clever. Who would have thought
I'd come to like the funky soul of Macy
Gray, but that too grew on me. The new Orbital
is not very surprising, but it's reliably good. Atari
Teenage Riot has lots of energy, as ususal, but it's still tiresome.
Strange though that when I heard Joan
of Arc on this CD, I completely ignored them. It was only when
I heard tracks from Live
In Chicago 1999! on Spinner.com
that I realized how great they were. Very Chicago post-rock, but
a little more human. I have seen some reviews complaining about the
singer's voice, but it sounded wimpy-fine to me. |
| May 1999 |
Maybe the worst CD from
CMJ so far this year. Not anything here that I really liked.
I have started to grow a little fond of the la-la pop of Len's
track "steal my sunshine," (on the Go soundtrack) and the psychedelic pop
of the Lilys.
Of course it's good to hear a new track from Tom
Waits, but it is very much the old Tom
Waits. The twin offerings from Guided
By Voices' Robert
Pollard and Tobin
Sprout are passable, as is the also retro pop of Pete
Krebs and the Gossmer Wings. The eastern wailing combined with orchestral
backing on Prayer
Cycle was interesting, like a fish on a bicycle. But just about
everything on this CD is totally forgetable. Yawn. My favorite track
was the extra mellow Brazilian guitar and voice of Vincinius
Cantuaria: sweet. |
| April 1999 |
Not many great songs here
this month. Even after several listens, there are few stand-out tracks.
My favorite track is from The
Latin Playboys: it's not very Latin or playboyish, to my ears, or at
least, it's nothing like the sounds that I hear on the local Hispanic radio
stations. But they are spikey and dissonant in a late Tom
Waits sort of way, so I want to find out more about them. Also
on the CD are Blur,
in an end-of-the relationship sort of mood (Damon and Justine are no more),
and Underworld,
doing more of the same. The biggest surprise was the Automator
remix of Medeski
Martin & Wood, sounding more like a big beat version of My
Life In The Bush of Ghosts than the jazz sound I expected. |
| March 1999 |
There's a large group of
songs in the second half of the CD which are worth skipping, but it starts
well. I loved hearing Built
to Spill, and their new CD is now on my wish list. Sebadoh
and XTC
are sounding good, I feared I am getting soft because I liked Gus,
(not to be confused with Icelandic Gus
Gus), and the lounge pop of Arling
& Cameron was another guilty pleasure, sounding like a lite version
of St.
Etienne, if you can imagine that. |
| February 1999 |
I especially liked Edith
Frost's song (she's on the Drag City label--it figures), and Ani
Difranco, the Hope
Blister, the Boo
Radleys, and AMP make it worthwhile. Hearing Mojave
3 sound like Bob
Dylan was reason enough for me to not want to hear any more of their
new CD--I miss Slowdive. |
| January 1999 |
Some pretty good songs:
Beth
Orton, Sleater-Kinney,
Vic
Chesnutt and Robyn
Hitchcock (a live track about how it feels like 1974 again) stood out
from the pack |
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And sometimes it is
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Magazine DescriptionSpin
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