Albums of the week

Nine Inch Nails: With Teeth: I got a chance to listen to a preview of this album. It makes me miss Trent’s glory days (Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral seem much more inspired to me, probably because I was much younger when I heard them. Listening to TDS instantly transports me back in time to my more care-free college days). The single The Hand That Feeds, however, is the gem of this new album.

Chingon, Mexicon Spaghetti Western: At the very end of Kill Bill Volume 2, the first part of the credits roll showcasing the actors in a montage of scenes from both movies. The Chingon song MalagueƱa Salerosa plays during this, and it is one of the best songs from both movies. Chingon is a Robert Rodriguez side project – basically the result of traditional mariachi music slapped around into a rock and roll format. Great stuff! The Chingon version of MalagueƱa Salerosa is a rock-ified version of an old mariachi song. After hearing it the first hundred times, I was desperate to find more Chingon songs but alas at the time nothing was available. Until now!

Easy Star All Stars, Dub Side Of The Moon: Not a new album, but new to me – before listening to this album I naturally chalked it up as a novelty tribute album (a la Fade To Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica). But the mixture of reggae/dub music and the classic Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon goes way beyond the novelty of mere tribute by becoming a damned perfect blend of styles and standing very firmly on its own.

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