Records

Photos by Jerry Hsu

Jim lives near Father Beiting, behind the Catholic rectory in Louisa, Kentucky. He helps out with all kinds of church business, takes care of the yard, and watches football on TV. He also has a finely tuned ear for music, so we made him our guest reviewer for this issue.

y parents volunteered for Father Beiting in the early 1960s. When my mom died in ’92, Father Beiting came to do the funeral mass. He saw me and said, “Do you want to come back as a volunteer?” I said, “Well, let me think about it.” Next thing I knew, I was here. And I’ve been here ever since. My dog Josie is seven and a half years old. I’ve had her since she was a pup. Somebody came up and asked me if I wanted a dog. I was like, “Hmm, I don’t know,” but then they handed her to me. She sat in my hand and that was that. She’s taken over since then. Anyway, here’s what I thought of some of this month’s new records…

JOHN PHILIPS
John the Wolfking of LA
Varese Sarabande

RUB-N-TUG
Fabric 30
Fabric

BOB DYLAN
Modern Times
Sony

Great CD. I am into acoustic guitars. This guy plays well and writes very nice lyrics. There is a track that was popular quite a while back and I can’t remember who did it, but it seems to a favorite of his as well. It is in the middle of the CD and the ending of the CD as well.   First time I’ve really sat and listened to electro music. This recording has a good beat and some very interesting mixes of genres. It makes you feel like getting up and dancing (if I danced). Truly worth listening to more than once. Josie the dog found it a toe tapper. (You haven’t seen anything till you see a beagle tapping her paw to the music.)   What can you say about Dylan? Every recording he comes up with a new self. This one is a decent mix of rocking beats and ballads, each connected in a way. The tracks are long, but definitely hold your interest with the story they tell.

THE SLITS
Revenge of the Killer Slits
Saf

MEAT LOAF
Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose
Virgin

METHOD MAN
4:21… The Day After
Def Jam

Since I am not into punk rock this EP was definitely too long. It sounded like a bunch of out of tune guitars with tone-deaf women singing down a coal chute. Josie the dog found it so offensive she tried to take it outside and bury it.   I didn’t know this guy was still around. The CD is typical Meat Loaf. The music rocks and the lyrics are better than the first two Bat Out of Hells in that they seem to flow better from track to track. The album artwork is great too.   Rap is one form of music that I am not at all familiar with. You don’t really hear all that much of it on the radio, or at least the stations we get here. I really can’t say much about it, expect it would be nice if the lyrics could be understood.

ALVARIUS B
Alvarius B
Abduction Records

BECK
The Information
Interscope

THE GOTHIC ARCHIES
The Tragic Treasury
Nonesuch

This one is different. It consists of a bunch of short tracks that don’t seem to flow together. When I first listened to it I thought this guy was taking bad drugs or drunk, but after a second time it came together. It still doesn’t flow very well, but is certainly worth listening to.   This is a person I had heard of, but not ever really listened to much of his music. This CD got my attention. It is an interesting mixture of rap, hip-hop, and folk rock. It was truly listenable and it came with a DVD of videos for each track. Plus it has stickers to create your own album cover evidently. Very creative.   This CD is a companion to the Lemony Snicket books evidently. The music is very gothic and dreary. The lyrics are sardonic. It isn’t something for kids to listen to before bed unless they want nightmares

          JIM HARAGAN & JOSIE THE DOG