So I’m in one of my favorite newstands, in the Music section, and I come across the latest edition of Mojo, a terrific music publication out of the UK, and I look through the table of contents to the music review section, and see this title: “Depeche Mode delivers another clunker.” I immediately start laughing out loud, because without even hearing the songs on the album, except for “Wrong”, I feel relaxed, and not anxiety ridden on what to expect before the album actually comes out. I get worked up before an album from one of my favorite artist’s comes out, usually just hoping for great expectations, good songwriting and such…

I have to say that even though it’s not another “clunker”, it’s nothing earth-shaking either…it starts off fair enough, with a blippy intro going into “In Chains”, with Dave Gahan singing mournfully and seductively as always…but I want something more…I want to hear this band dance and swing like I know they can..good driving music with a steady backbeat…this is what is in my head prior to hearing the actual album…instead I’m hearing slowed down keyboard arrangements, except for a handful of tunes, like “Wrong”, and “Fragile Tension”…”In Sympathy” is quite captivating…but-but…I don’t know..I’ve listened to the album in its enirety 4 times now over the past week, thinking maybe I’ve got it wrong, or listening with an open mind…yet, I can’t get that phrase out of my head: “Another Clunker”..

The Lollapalooza lineup is finally out and its ridiculous, I would expect no less from this show.

The acts include [links to Lollapalooza band page]:

Man, talk about an extraordinary show Saturday night (April 4th 2009)… I must’ve seen Morrissey , The Smiths around 18 times by now… And as far as Morrissey solo, this ranks way up there as far as best performances. Yes, everyone knows the Aragon is acoustically challenged and the like…. Yet Morrissey insists on playing at this venue most of the time, and I bet if you ask him, he loves it for the charm, the history, the bells and whistles…

If you know anything about Morrissey, you know the excitement leading up to the actual performance… Such as the song selections from the mixing board before the opening act, the video montage before Morrissey hits the stage and so on. It’s important to reflect on this, besides the actual performance, because Morrissey gives out little clues about his likes and wants, and he treats this with the utmost thought into his overall presentation.

When walking into the venue of the Aragon, and approach the dance floor; For the next 40 minutes all you hear is spoken poetry. Not poetry slam like Mark Smith at the Green Mill (Which, by the way is an extraordinary time if you have not gone), but old English, UK-ish stuffy yet pertinent spoken word…. Unfortunately, not many standing early on got it… Too much jostling for position in front of the stage and so on… So no one could really hear this… But if you paid attention, you’d understand why he presented this… It’s obvious that he cares deeply about words, and poetry – and lyrics – and how important they are, as much as actual music. Then comes your typical mix of music before the opening band, for maybe a half hour consisting of rockabilly, show tunes and the like. Even this is given care, with thought in mind… What stands out in this mix is Tom Jones, singing The Bond theme “Thunderball”, circa 1965, and it was played Loud with a capital “L”. Now why you may ask? Lots and lots of reasons… First and foremost – a crooner with a booming voice, octaves all over the place, fearless in approach, balls out singing, and, still singing to this day… and even though Morrissey is nothing like Tom Jones, he has an affinity for this type of music, whether male or female.

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