The Obits -- My First Attempt at a Music "Review!"

I put "review" in italics 'cause I'd be lying if I said I knew how to review music. I can tell you how awesome a video game is when you shoot someone in the face causing their brains to explode, and how you should run out and get that game ASAP, but it seems a little weirder to explain why the color yellow is the best color ever, or why pumpkin spice candles are the greatest smelling candles on Earth. That's how I feel when it's comes to reviewing music, or hell, even movies or TV. How does what enters your ears and eyes and nose equate to what will enter another's? What gives you the power to tell people what's great and what's not? Who has that power? Who the hell says I even have a say in this kind of shit?

Well, to be honest with you, the above makes zero sense. A review is a review, your opinion or my opinion, and that's pretty much that. No real science or guidelines behind it, maybe throw in a few sweet adjectives, though, to make it seem legit. I really just needed a cool, semi-intelligent opening paragraph for this post, an idea I'm pretty sure will never surface again, so don't-worry-this-is-the-last-time. Either way, I still will admit I know nothing of writing music reviews, but I'm pretty sure that I just finished my opening blog icing on this delicious blog cake. Booyah!

Moving on, we've got a band called The Obits, with their record, "I Blame You."


This is Rick Froberg's new band, whom you might know from Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes. There's a bunch of other cool, indie rock royalty playing on the record, too, but I'm so full of shit if I say I knew who they were. I hear drums, though. So there's a drummer of sorts. I do know that much!

Froberg's back on vocals, and I'm into it. Like his previous bands, there's a lot of rock and roll guitars, surf-y guitars and really rad riffage. His style (vocals as well as guitar) seems so frenetic and frenzied, like a television on fire set to explode. It's a weird and wildy confusing comparison, but it sounded neat when I wrote it.


If you know any of his other bands, you can pretty much imagine what this sounds like. I haven't listened to it enough to start gushing just yet, but I dig it. I might say check out Hot Snakes first (I love Hot Snakes oh yes I do) for some of my favorite pure-rock, Froberg-Mania, but any of his musical journeys will do just fine in rattling your skull. This seems like a little laid back, mellower Hot Snakes, sorta something like what The Night Marchers are doing. Which is home to John Reis, the guitarist/vocalist of Rocket From the Crypt and guitar slinger in Hot Snakes (look up above, yo) So yeah, all these dudes are in all these same sounding yet awesome bands...it's kinda like one big rock and roll circle jerk of fun. Circle rock? Rock jerk? Yeah, that's it. A ROCK JERK!

Alright, so check it out.

Hey, reviewing music is fun! And easy!

Stay sleazy, my friends.