Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Music Review - This Heat - This Heat

And so it happened one day that I learned that the song "S.P.Q.R.", an entertaining ode to ancient Romans, was not written by Sleepytime Gorilla Museum but was rather penned by an influential experimental rock band named This Heat. This happens from time to time, me stumbling across an "influential" band I had never heard of but at the time I had some loose change in my pocket and decided to gamble via Amazon with the first of their two and only two albums. It was uncreatively titled This Heat.

Perhaps I should have listened to the 30-second samples a few more times or perhaps I should have purchased their second album, which contained "S.P.Q.R.", or perhaps I'm the kind of guy who likes more "rock" and less "experimental" in his experimental rock. Perhaps I should have realized that they likely put more thought into the above blank album cover than they did the music within. In any case, I find the album practically unlistenable. The "songs" are electronic goofing around, like some friends bought a Groupon for studio time even though they didn't know how to play any instruments. Yes, I'm likely being too harsh but still I'd like my money back.

"This Heat" came out in 1979. Other albums that came out that year that I'd rather listen to include:

Spirits Having Flown - The Bee Gees
Breakfast In America - Cheap Trick
Reggatta de Blanc - The Police
The Wall - Pink Floyd
Armed Forces - Elvis Costello
Discovery - E.L.O.
George Harrison - George Harrison
Appalachian Melody - Mark Heard
Johnny's Cafe - John Fischer

Okay, maybe not The Bee Gees.

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