"What's the name of that reggae song, you know, the one that goes 'mm mm cha kah, mm mm cha kah'? Oh yeah, it's every reggae song!"
Whilst it's nice for musicians to take an interest in the outside world every once in a while and diffuse the trials and tribulations into melodic form, you do need to have an approach. Whilst Rage Against the Machine dealt with issues which were rarely made mention in the mainstream press and Connor Oberst (via Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos brought an immense amount of style and wit to the issues he dealt with, State Radio seem content to say “What about that government, don't they suck! yeah!”
Within the genres of punk, rock and reggae, political lyricism comes as no surprise, it's almost commonplace, but State Radio offer little food for thought ("Torture advocate / Got his dick up in a chicken hawk / Life is what he'll get / War president is a criminal / Still the years they go by / No charge of trial date / You're accused of whatever you confess to / Until then you won't see the light of day.") Most of it reads like a endless diatribe of a poet who just bought his first issue of “Private Eye”.
The music doesn't fare much better, mixing together reggae, punk and rock, “Year of the Crow” is a mostly slow-paced, perennially dull journey which feels like a bunch of hippies sat around a campfire who are peed off because “they” won't “legalise it”. Very rare is the experience of ones attention being captured, “Gang of Thieves” is one of these occasions, where the full force of a guitar assault is brought in, but then brushed aside just as quickly.
Should you make it through the nearly hour long album, you can expect to learn the following things.
1.) Bush is bad.
2.) If you point at something long enough, it will eventually go away.
3.) Slow punk is never going to take off.
4.) There are things on this earth worse than ska.
2 / 10
I have to say, it sounds like you started writing this review as soon as you pushed play. No one enjoys "Guantanamo" on the first listen (and perhaps that's the point?), but dismissing the lyrics in as "[offering] little food for thought" is akin to dismissing an encyclopedia for not providing any commentary on its articles. Listing injustices seems to be the purpose of the song, opening the album with a straightforward, red-tape-aside list of grievances to frame the rest of the album.
And even if "Guantanamo" has its issues, it seems to me that the rest of the album strives a little more for story-telling than taking defined stances (eg. Unfortunates, Story of Ben Darling, Fight No More, Barn Storming, Rash of Robberies, Omar Bay, Wicker Plane, Fall of the American Empire...hmm most of the album...). Perhaps we don't have enough hippies sitting around campfires writing protest songs these days, and we want too badly for State Radio to be those hippies. To me, they simply don't fit the mold, and judging them as such seems unfair.
If you're searching for an answer to all the world's problems, I'd look at your politicians (I guess...), not your musicians. If you're looking for some resonance for your Dubya-agression, mixed with some artfully crafted short stories, I'd look to State Radio - Year of the Crow.
It's actually funny how wrong you are.
I'm sorry, who are you?
Do you know anything about the band?
Do you know anything about Chad?
Do you know what music is?
Do you know the difference between good music and bad music?
obviously not. As the other posted said earlier, you must have started writing this review as soon as you hit play and your mind was never going change. State Radio is dedicated to it's fans, who mostly are all hardcore for them. This album proves that. YotC is for the fans, the fans that listen to state radio inside and out, everyday for hours. I'm sorry State Radio doesn't sing like/about the bands on MTV who only say "I cut my heart in two". Maybe if you listened to the album more than once and kept an open mind, you would change your mind.
until then, I have no respect for you as a writer, journalist, or person. You are scum for not giving the band a fair shot before you reviewed the CD.
Haha Kyle, that was pretty intense. As this is an album review though, I have to say I don't really expect the reviewer to go to a State Radio show, sign up on RLT, and purchase a gas can guitar before he reviews it. An album should be able to stand on its own as a creative work.
It just seemed like to me that the review was suspiciously imbalanced. I would expect the writing of an album review to be preceded by an hour of solid listening with the lyrics in front of you. But given the large amount of attention give to the opening track, "Guantanamo" and what I read as a complaint, "Should you make it through the nearly hour long album..." (isn't that normal?), it just seemed like that wasn't exactly the author's style. And if that's true (and only the author knows, don't you, author?), then that's a shame...
Triple posting... no good.
But Kyle Troxell...The P2P video guy! Couldn't remember where I heard that name before. Awesome work man.
"mm mm cha kah" ?
do not insult reggae music because you don't like state radio.
Yeahhhh... You need a good old slap in the face there, buddy. You're entitled to your own opinion, no matter how judgmental, stubborn, and carelessly offensive it is, just as everyone else should be. Oh, but do tell, I love to hear you rave about something you couldn't care less about, let alone hear. After all, I could do the same mindless, hateful bullshit to any band, album, and song out there, and I'd have the same effect. Hell, it wouldn't even be that difficult, would it? You need to step down from your psuedo-pedestal and get a wiff of the fresh, smog-filled air down here on Earth before making such outrageous comments. I'm pretty sure you're getting high off the altitude.
Oh, and of course my own little rave was a bit biased, as any person's would be. After all, I did just get back from a State Radio concert in San Fran, and they played all of my favorite songs from them, which was absolutely wonderful.
Ooh, and before I forget.
You voted for Bush, didn't you?!
I have to admit, when I first heard Guantanamo I was a little taken aback too. And I LOVED Us Against the Crown, Peace Between Nations and Flag of the Shiners cd's. When I bought Year of the Crow, my first thought was, "Where is the State Radio I knew and loved?". Then I talked to a fellow SR fan and asked him what he thought of the album, he said, "Just give it time, it'll sink it" And now I can't get the album out my CD player. I can't skip any song that comes on my iPod. Like many great artists and songs, it just gets better the more you hear it.
I also incredibly disagree with you trying to pigeon hole SR as "just another hippie reggae band." You sir, must not like to think when you listen to your music. I cannot help but think a little during "Barn Storming" what it would be like the night before leaving for war. "It was all I could do to stammer, yes...yes, please..."
Or during the Story of Benjamin Darling, "the Captain said in all my days, I never seen anybody save, the very person who kept him enslaved. God damn it Ben you should have your freedom." About a slave on a ship saving the captain after the ship crashes, the captain then being remorseful and impressed and setting him free.
But I guess you don't get emotional when you listen to music, or you don't let the very lyrics you are listening to provoke thought. All you hear is "The Government Sucks" instead of thinking about the characters being portrayed in the songs.
I am seeing State Radio this Wednesday, July 30th, I will bring a copy of this review, let them read it, and we'll use it for zig zags...
Wage Peace.
Hmmm, me thinks State Radio fans are both scary and organised.
Shame their dumb as F*** too.
"Ryan V" if that is your real name (dont think that all you lot posting with your first name and just the first letter of ur second go unnoticed) errr, this is a British music site, thus thankfully we are not part of your "democratic" process.
However that doesnt stop me from being an Obamaniac. (sorry i digress).
Just shut ya face, mmmmmk?!
The Story of Benjamin Darling Part 1 is one of the most moving songs I have ever heard. It's impossible to not feel something when he sings "The captain said in all my days, I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved. God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom for what you have done. And I should be forsaken for what I have done."
Barn Storming, "But tonight she said just like the flower to the bees, I'm gonna give you a little somethin' before you go overseas. All I could do was stammer, yes, yes please look in the other direction." How could he have captured the feeling of the time and the resulting emotions any better? It's so subtle yet so completely true.
(I just realized Nate used both of those quotes. . .but they deserve to be mentioned twice. I could spend another few hours describing the talented lyricism and outstanding musicianship of the album, but I don't have that kind of time.)
I hate getting personal in a legitimate argument, however, I think you incredibly misrepresented this album in your review, possibly because you did not understand it.
You weren't so far off with your numbered list:
1. Bush is bad. People should learn that.
2. At least SR is pointing. What are you doing?
3. What slow punk? So no it isn't going to take off...
4. There are indeed things worse than ska, for instance the genocide in Sudan. I hope people learn that from this album if they haven't already.
As for Cathy, how can you call an entire group of people you don't know dumb as F***? I can name more than one SR fan at Harvard, Cornell, Colgate, Bates... SR fans are organized, and we are dedicated, because legitimate protest bands like SR are so rare and so needed.
Woops...sorry for posting that twice...you can just go ahead and delete one...
NO, NO, NO! NOTHING IS WORSE THAN SKA!!!
What about Cobra Starship?
Numbers 3 and 4 are correct, because slow punk doesn't make sense and ska is actually good.
Numbers 1 and 2 are incorrect. I won't go into it.
Genre hybrids are nothing... Read on
There's often a reticence... Read on
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Jakk
commented 4 months ago
I disagree.