Word: riffs
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...commercially appealing nature of the album: Blowback is Tricky’s re-introduction to MTV after conquering his demons. He has found himself a rock solid band, including alterna-soul singer Ambersunshower, whose keening “You Don’t Want To” takes the riff at the heart of the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams,” and twists it into something even more sinister, yet never disappears down into his gloom sink of previous albums. Perhaps one of the biggest changes is the arrival of Hawkman, a big voiced raggaman who takes...
...absolute revelation; he is now my favorite musical theater performer. This was not the first time I saw Esparza on stage—I was impressed by his turn as Che in the 20th anniversary tour of Evita that played Boston two summers ago and was wowed by his Riff-Raff in Rocky Horror—but as Jonathan he displayed such vocal power and genuine vulnerability, that there was no way I could pull my eyes off of him. Esparza is a theatrical force to be reckoned with and I’m sure he will captivate in this...
...herself guests in minor roles on some of the juiciest, most attractive songs, like the sweet and sour “Traffic,” which revolves around an introspective bass riff and heart-on-sleeve lyrics by Bitch: “All we have is our love and our guts, baby.” The melody takes a back seat for much of the album though, in favour of repetitive bass lines and vituperative rap. Folk rap has becoming increasingly popular since tracks like Everlast’s “What it’s Like...
...Black and Kyle Gass couldn't really play guitar or write melodies. Luckily, they can. Black and Gass are both actors, and they continue to behave like actors when they have guitars strapped over their shoulders. As much as their enthusiasm for rock 'n' roll enlivens every fist-pumping riff, it's their flair for performance that makes Tenacious D worth listening to. Black assumes the voice of an array of comic characters on the album, from a sex-obsessed buffoon on "Kielbasa" to a lonely Don Juan rock star on "The Road" (the latter has been praised...
...only one that totally kicks ass is American Hi-Fi's "Vertigo," which happens to be the lone slab of undiluted Cheap Trick-era rawk. It doesn't extend an olive branch to hip-hop fans with a DJ scratch, or to metal fans with a jackhammer riff , and who cares? You can dance to it or make out to it or, I suspect, execute cheerleading moves to it. It's encouraging that movies like the "American Pies" seem to believe teenagers can all just get along these days. I suspect the movies are at least partially right, because they...