Quick Hits, Vol. 240 (Tool, Lana Del Rey, Sam Fender, Pixies)

Tool - Fear Inoculum.  Tool is an interesting band to me.  If I think about their catalog, which until recently I had to do through old mp3s I have on my home computer, because their albums weren't up on Spotify for streaming, I think that their first album is slightly different, but then since then, I would be hard pressed to tell you which album contains which song.  They all just bleed together in this mass of syncopated rhythms, thudding bass, repetitive guitar chugs, and Keenan growls and wails.  Don't get me wrong, I will absolutely crank "forty-six and two" or "sober" or "schism" when those come on the radio or pop up in my angry Pandora station.  But if there is an appreciable difference in the songs on this album, that was not present on their last album, I'd be genuinely shocked.  The top song is the title track with 27.4 million streams.  Buckle in for ten minutes, buckaroo!

I like it just fine.  And they've even used those drums before that some in near the beginning, sounds like "sober" redux.  I like the way it builds up as well.  It's a good tune.  But nothing on here is lighting me up to where I feel like I need to save this album to my saved disc list - more likely I'll just go shuffle Tool songs when I want a fix of this particular flavor of rock.  Also, an hour and twenty six minutes for ten songs?  Come on, man.

Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell.  I listened to this one a bunch of time the other day because it was on several end of year lists.  I actually don't hate it.  Several of the songs have a Fiona Apple vibe that I dig, and the cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time" is very enjoyable.  This one is the second biggest streamer, and has a nice, depressing, relaxed vibe to it - "Mariner's Apartment Complex."  66.5 million streams.

That being said, I'm not going to save this album.  I like some chill tunes, but this is a little theatric for me.

Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles.  One of the best things I discovered at ACL this year.  Well, that isn't exactly true, I discovered the music while preparing for ACL, and was psyched to see the guy, and then he fell ill and had to cancel the show.  Major bummer.  This is great rock and roll stuff reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and The Killers.  The title track is the key song - wait for that saxophone and try to act like this isn't homage to the Big Man.

Lyrically, he does a good job as well all over this album.  I dig the groove of "Play God."  I dig the sad story contained in "Dead Boys."  I dig the Strokes-ian guitar and soaring vocals of "Will We Talk?"  This is a good album that I'll keep.

Pixies - Beneath the Eyrie.  Dammit, Pixies.  Why couldn't you just let it be?  Actually, I have a confession to make about the Pixies.  I really don't like them very much.  Back when I was in high school, I dug Doolittle with a friend of mine who was very into the band, and so I went out and bought all of their albums and immersed myself in it.  But, I've realized over time that I really don't care for it.  The last time I bought a new phone, I took the time to load up a good number of full albums that I could listen to when the internet was down or whatever.  And now, when the shuffle brings me something from Surfer Rosa (or Doolittle, for the most part), I'm ready to forward the song almost immediately.  I know this harms my cool status in the music world, but really I'd just say that I still enjoy a couple of songs - "Where is My Mind?," "Here Comes Your Man," "Gigantic," or "Monkey Gone to Heaven" - but even ones I used to think were cool, like "Gouge Away," I'd skip now if presented with them.  I think they gained a lot of hipster cred whenever "Where is My Mind?" was used at the end of Fight Club, so they get more interest than I think they should anymore.

So, these songs may not be as bad to you as they seem to me - they just seem like the most generic versions of their old style, which bums me out.  "On Graveyard Hill" is the top streamer at 2.4 million, but it doesn't crack their ten most popular on Spotify.

Eh.  Its definitely better than some of the other songs on this album, but it ain't great.  I feel like the drums might doom it - they're stilted sounding or something.  Anyway, I'm OK without this one.  Sorry if you are disappointed in me.