Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

13. The Sonics - This is the Sonics (Revox) Who would expect a band that hasn't released a record for more than forty years to rock so hard? This is the Sonics undoubtedly shows that rock and roll is not necessarily a young person's game. The Sonics prove they still have what it takes in spades, delivering a record that has all the power of their early recordings with the levels turned up to eleven. The recording sounds crisp and clean, and the band has power to spare. The mono recording captures the power and passion of a group that sounds psyched to still be playing together and does not lessen the sheer visceral impact of their chosen material and performances. While it does not quite match the intensity of their 60s recordings, the album packs a wallop. Gerry Roslie still has the pipes to belt out frantic rock and roll numbers and Larry Parypa plays some riffs that could teach the youngsters a thing or two. Rob Lind blows his sax with the expected squall. Th...

Mick Foley is a cultural icon in some circles. New York's Night Birds know this, and have delivered a mean paean to another New York boy who found fame through professional wrestling. "Maimed for the Masses" chronicles Foley's massive success through a series of choice quotes from the man himself, backed with the kind of punky/surfy music that only Night Birds can deliver. A modern update of the Dead Kennedys guitar sound is married to the basic tenets of an east coast wrestling sensibility.  Brian Gorsegner’s snotty, speed fire vocals intermingle with vocal harmonies that create a monster of a song. The chorus and verses are damn catchy and the bridge demonstrates their guitar virtuosity; they seem to get tighter and more efficient every album, even though this song is on the longer side for the band, clocking in at more than three minutes. The song first appeared on the "Maimed for the Masses" EP, but easily remains a standout track on Born To Die in Su...

This year has been really slow at Snobbin'. Grad school and other engagements have kept me from posting like I would like to. One of my resolutions is to post more often and write more about music and other important cultural artifacts. I even amended the title of the blog and excised the word "Indie" because the topics of the blog have never been quite that narrow. As the end of this year neared, I had no idea just what albums I would put on the list. It has been so busy and I'm sure I missed a ton of good stuff. I've never been one to say that older music was better, but as I drift into my 30's, I understand the lure of this trap. I was second guessing this year's crop of albums from the start. There was nothing so immediate as what made the list last year. I even recalled conversations from the past that cursed odd years as being worse for music. While these types of High Fidelity conversations can be fruitful at times, they trend fairly closely to t...