OTR: The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits

Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits was released in the Summer of 1999, making it nearly eight years old. It's kind of hard to believe so much time has passed - I remember this album being released and The Ataris being a fresh band, unlike other bands in my collection like The Beatles, who have always been "old."

There's also something simply "youthful" about Blue Skies, which I suspect is nothing more than a consequence of the songwriting; the subject matter rarely veers from the realm of high school romances. Okay, so it's not deep songwriting, but this is damn catchy pop music mined from the same vein that The Ramones built a thirty-year career upon (time will tell if The Ataris have that kind of longevity, though I doubt they'll have the influence). Borrowing another trick from the original pop-punks, Blue Skies total running time is only thirty minutes, because, to paraphrase Henry Rollins: one more minute would have been too much.

I first encountered The Ataris at WAIH as a mere DJ with no executive board powers (or bullshit). The EP Look Forward To Failure was on the new music rack, and to fill my format obligations, I played "My So-Called Life." The song, a humorous ode to stalking Claire Daines, struck a chord with me and I kicked it into high rotation on my show (at the time, two hours on a Friday afternoon, which was meagre rations for an attention whore like myself).

By the time Blue Skies was released, I had significantly increased my air time at WAIH. I was also friends with the then music director, known on-air as "The Moo-Man." The station had been broadcasting over the summer for the first time that anyone could recall because enough staff members had stayed in town to keep it operating. When WAIH received a promo copy of Blue Skies, the Moo Man gave me the copy to review, ensuring that it would be in high rotation on my show. The label was obviously pleased with how high the CD charted, sending us six "give away" copies - one of which was given away to me.

I confess, sometimes I just want some sonic candy and this album does the trick in a pinch. Most of the songs are just fun little pop gems that don't demand too much but aren't trying too hard to be hits. Frankly, this poor little CD didn't have a chance on the Billboard charts once Blink 182 released Enema of the State in the Fall of the same year anyhow. In any case, Blue Skies remains a happy little memory for me when WAIH was a fresh, untainted experience, I was eighteen years old and unnaturally filled with hope for the future.

And I do especially miss doing my annual anti-Valentine's show where I would play a (censored) version of "The Last Song I Will Ever Write About A Girl," where Kris Roe intones the universal truth that "girls are fucking evil." Damn straight.

OTR: Aztec Camera - Stray

This is another CD where it has a CD Warehouse sticker with a price affixed to the case - those little buggers are damn near impossible to peel off! I honestly have never listened to this album all the way through - it was only upon joi_division's recommendation that I bought Stray by Aztec Camera in the first place. Aside from what I could plagiarise from my Last.FM window, I couldn't tell you anything about the band either.

So, this is more or less a first listen...

"Stray" is the opening track and it has a very lounge/soft jazz feel which isn't heard again until three songs later on "Over My Head." I felt somewhat out of place listening to these songs without a smoking jacket on and a Martini in one hand. I'm not poking fun - they aren't bad songs - but I suspect it wasn't a good idea to listen to them after just listening to an album by The Ataris. Obviously, I'll have to re-visit this disc...

I've been digging the upbeat tracks. "Good Morning Britain" sounds like the good moments of Big Audio Dynamite (i.e.: "The Bottom Line") meets Big Country. Edit: well, fuck me - a quick look at the entry for Stray on allmusic.com reveals that "Good Morning Britain" was a collaboration with Mick Jones - can I call 'em or what? It's got good hooks, it danceable, and it's in good company with "The Crying Game" and "Get Outta London." I can't critique the lyrics - lyrical critiques require multiple listens (which aren't forbidden by the OTR challenge, but would likely extend it unbearably).

"How It Is" is rubbing me the wrong way. Maybe it's the Rolling Stones influenced guitar-work...it doesn't sound right. I don't know that I want to hear this particular song again. In the five preceding tracks I've already heard Aztec Camera do much better.

Thankfully, things seem to immediately improve right afterwards. As I said, I'll have to listen to this album again...