Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 1x****/ Get Nice 4x****
For the life of me I can't see why this band is so popular. These ten songs are listenable enough, and I can even hear a few singles, but they would be singles I would skip. Case in point is "Don't Make Me a Target", which while distinctive, sounds sketchy. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" may be huge on XRT, but while recognizable is forgetten instantly. Ditto "Don't You Evah", Wilco for amateurs. "The Underdog", with its horns, is almost a good single, but I'm done with it. "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" is a better though rather low-key Squeeze-type tune, but "Finer Feelings"**** is the only stand-out, which is a better Wilco imitation with a smooth descending riff. The bonus disk Get Nice is several times more interesting, even if it is made up of Eno/Radiohead experimentation like "Love Makes You Feel"**** and "I Can Feel It Fade Like An AM Single"****, low-fi pop songs like "1975"****, "Leave Your Effects Where They're Easily Seen", a couple more unmemorable soundscapes ("Be Still My Servant" and "Curfew Tolls"), and a couple Nirvana outtakes ("I Got Mine" and "Tasty Fish"). I prefer this version of "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"****, which sounds live and is awash in reverb. "Dracula's Cigarette" also isn't bad, with its minimal bass and guitar riffs.
For the life of me I can't see why this band is so popular. These ten songs are listenable enough, and I can even hear a few singles, but they would be singles I would skip. Case in point is "Don't Make Me a Target", which while distinctive, sounds sketchy. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" may be huge on XRT, but while recognizable is forgetten instantly. Ditto "Don't You Evah", Wilco for amateurs. "The Underdog", with its horns, is almost a good single, but I'm done with it. "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" is a better though rather low-key Squeeze-type tune, but "Finer Feelings"**** is the only stand-out, which is a better Wilco imitation with a smooth descending riff. The bonus disk Get Nice is several times more interesting, even if it is made up of Eno/Radiohead experimentation like "Love Makes You Feel"**** and "I Can Feel It Fade Like An AM Single"****, low-fi pop songs like "1975"****, "Leave Your Effects Where They're Easily Seen", a couple more unmemorable soundscapes ("Be Still My Servant" and "Curfew Tolls"), and a couple Nirvana outtakes ("I Got Mine" and "Tasty Fish"). I prefer this version of "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"****, which sounds live and is awash in reverb. "Dracula's Cigarette" also isn't bad, with its minimal bass and guitar riffs.
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