The Dog's Day

Finally, another Mixed Bag review!

Up this time is Tom the Dog's "You'll Play It and You'll Like It, Volume 1".

First, Tom was worried that the dsic may have a little noise on it, and unfortunately he was right, at least on my copy. It's not anything that is super annoying, and didn't take away from my enjoyment of the music, but I'll definitely be tracking a lot of these songs down for better versions I can add to my growing mp3 collection.

Track one is by The Presidents, who I have one album of, called Kick Out the Jams. It's not on the album I have, so I haven't heard it before, but i like the Presidents sound, always have. This is a damn goop opening track, and puts me in the mood for more Presidents music. It's no Naked & Famous, but I liked it a lot.

I'm now ashamed to admit having never listened to the donnas. I have to fix that. I hate the term "chick rock" because everyone tends to lump female musicians into one of only a few categories, and if you're a female band with a guitar player, you get labelled "chick rock", and it just sounds whiney to me. Most women I know who like "rock" usually like female performers like Avril Levigne, more pop than rosk i think. The Donnas are rock music, period. Their influences are clear, and if i had to compare them to any other current band it would be Jet. If the rest of their music is half as good as this tune (I Don't Want to Know), I'm in for a treat when I buy this CD sometime this weekend.

Track three is by They Might Be Giants, appropriately titled Number Three. It's catch and funny. I've never been a huge Giants fan, but i really liked this track.

Up next in the four-spot is The Boss with Further On (Up the Road). It's the Boss, how can you not like The Boss?

Track five is an odd one. Tom thought my inclusion of Stardust was out of place, but Marvin Gaye singing Let's Get It On hardly fits with the rest of these tunes. BUT, I love the song, it's a classic, and is welcome on any disc that resides in my CD player.

I'm not a big fan of Lit, and grew tired of Miserable's radio play, so I can;t really say anything positive about it. I found it amusing when i first heard it, now it just strikes me as a band trying way too hard to be clever.

Ben Folds Five comes in at number seven with The Battle of Who Could Care Less. Good song from a performer I've always meant to hear more of. The title makes me laugh, and the song is brilliantly written, it reminds me of high school.

Green Day makes an appearence with their Uptight at track eight. I like Green Day. Good song, fits well on the disc.

I say BLEH to Harry Nilsson's Coconut. That damn Coke commercial has ruined this song forever, as if it weren't annoying enough already. Ditto to Gary Numan's Cars. Sorry Tom.

Joe Jackson pops in at spot eleven with I'm The Man. Good tune, but not really a Jackson fan, so I doubt i'll be seeking out anything by him after this. It's catchy as hell though "You think you're immune but I can sell you anything" is a great line.

Dean-o croons his heart out on track twelve with That's Amore. Classic Dean. Love this tune, love this singer. I wish like hell somone hadn't stolen my collection of crooners and 60's pop CDs.

The Refreshments are another badn I knew I should be listening to. I loved their King of the Hill theme, and this song just reaffirms my thoughts. This is a great song to hear in the car, makes me want to just keep driving and never stop.

I haven't the foggiest idea who Kim Wilde is, but i enjoyed kids in America okay. It has an 80s pop feel to it, makes me think of sweatbands and those damn things people wore on their ankles.

AC/DC is always great, I prefer them live to studio recrded, but I'll take em any way they come. It's a Long Way to the Top is a classic.

Not a big Lemonheads fan either, and this song (Style) won't be converting me. sorry, just didn't enjoy it.

Therapy? makes me think of 80s hair metal. Not always a bad thing, it's sure to find its way onto a compilation disc I make of 80s songs. The song is Screamager.

I'm well on my way to becoming a Dropkick Murphy's fan. The Legend of Finn MacCumhail is a great, upbeat, catchy tune, with lyrics that don't really fit the style, but it's Irish-y folk-punk music, so, it's not a style that's really set in stone.

The Who shows up on track 19 with Who Are You. I know Tom loves The Who, so I'll avoid really laying into this song. I'll just say that my local station plays it enough that when I hear it i want to bang my head against a wall.

You could do worse than including Patsy Cline on a CD, but i think Crazy is just too overplayed to be repeatedly enjoyed. Still, it's a classic and rightfully so, and when I'm in the mood (I call it "drunk"), this song is a must listen.

Barenaked Ladies come inwith Shoe Box, not my favorite song, but I like the Ladies period, so I dig it.

Tori Amos' cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit weirded me out and puts the song in a completely different context for me. Following it with Foo Fighter's Times Like These is appropriate, and adds even more chill to Amos' version of Cobain's grunge anthem.

Saving the best for last, the Beatles sing on Her Majesty for the final track. Good song, but every song by the Beatles is a good song, so...

I liked Tom's disc a lot, despite the handful of songs I just couldn't get into, most of them due to too much radio/tv play around these parts, no fault of Toms or the songs performers. I listened to the disc several times before that background noise really bothered me too much. Like i said, i'll be seeking out a lot of these to own anyway, so no harm no foul.

-L