Mon Aug 09 1999 20:22:
Listening to Nowhere Standard Time again, two years after its release: a review by Leonard Richardson
Arbitron and Relativity are really the unsung heroes of this album; both pack a double-precision punch. I Screw Up Everything I Touch may no longer be my masterpiece (I have unreleased songs which I think might rival it), but it's still up there. Asia Carrera is funny in at least five different ways. Revolution in A Can kind of emberasses me; I can see what I was trying to do, but I don't think it really worked. Vertigo and Malibu are awesome. The Drool cover is a pleasure to listen to, except for the parts where I have to sing notes I can't reach.
Minnesotan People Having Sex is stupid, but it would have been less stupid if Carlos had said "You betcha!" a couple more times. All the other skits are still funny, except for the ones that weren't really supposed to be that funny; Atari, Still Dying, and (to a lesser extent) the Seinfeld bits.
The performance is fairly amateurish in parts; When I Was Young, The Chickadee, etc. I have a fundamental problem with keeping a beat; that's another thing that helped bring about the downfall of Revolution In a Can. I wish I had enunciated the lyrics more clearly in Bastille Day, but the tempo was too fast.
I don't think Literacy Rate does a
good job; it's certainly not as cool as its name would indicate.
Death and Destruction and Don't Leave Me Here (Over There
Would Be Fine) do what Literacy Rate should do but doesn't.
Choppy The Pork Chop and Posture Pal do that and more, kicking my sorry
butt up and down the block while they're at it. Circus fails
in the same way as Revolution In A Can, but it was never intended
to be as good as Revolution In A Can, so I don't feel too bad about it.
Radio Free Singapore still works very well,
That's my review. Tell me what you think.
