Robot Rock Critic

July 10, 2003 9:57 AM

"It was hard on the ear, and my dog hated it too." The Robot Rock Critic generates album reviews. "Type in an artist name. Pick from a list of ten music genres, from 'teenage pop' to 'frighteningly loud music.' Specify whether it's a band, a male solo artist, or a female solo artist. Then click 'review.'"
[via Easy Bay Express]
posted by kirkaracha (14 comments total)

The same site also has Write Your Own Mel Gibson Movie. "Choose which member of his family is murdered (or raped and murdered), and whether Mel goes mad, goes crazy, or goes insane before he seeks revenge."
posted by kirkaracha at 9:58 AM on July 10, 2003

Cool link. BBSpot had this little gem as a Daily Link today...
posted by Jughead at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2003

Moby's attempt to broaden his sound -- even integrating Serbian war hymns with the blue-eyed soul of the acoustic "Cryo-Fiend" -- isn't entirely an artistic success. Moby offers more of the usual cryptic, tuneful pop sensibility on this one. Whether singing about being a rebel ("Sarah Says") or being on the road for 40 days ("Deeply Astonished"), Moby takes being radio-fodder to the extreme. Most of the time, Moby can't shake a reputation for being undeniable. Never before has an artist taken as many chances in the studio as Moby. This guy is apparently very sensitive. No surprises here.
posted by VulcanMike at 10:04 AM on July 10, 2003

i tried to stump it with local favorites Mr. Airplane Man, and it came out 100% wrong but still funny...it named their record "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Mr. Airplane Man." hee.
posted by serafinapekkala at 10:15 AM on July 10, 2003

U2
Radio K.A.O.S.
Buy this LP

1993

U2 understand that recycling musical styles is a pop tradition that's older than the blues. "Revolution, Or Else" is a anything-goes exercise in falsetto bad attitude. Thankfully, they have stuck to what they know best: soulful vocal interplay. "Where Are You, Christmas" is an eerie ballad about girls who are really messed up and high-profile lawsuits against ex-girlfriends, with strings hauntingly arranged by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. U2 is more poignant than ever. Radio K.A.O.S. gets things off to a rapid-fire start with the power-pop "My Own Worst Enemy."

The latest from U2 starts with the Brian Eno-produced pop sensibility of "Poster Child, Running Wild," and doesn't let up.

At its most brutally honest, Radio K.A.O.S. recalls the Stones' Exile on Main Street.

And if that doesn't make this album worth waiting for, I don't know what would.
posted by eustacescrubb at 10:22 AM on July 10, 2003

I miss Melody Maker's Mr.Agreeable (1997 example- warning: coarse language).
posted by 111 at 10:25 AM on July 10, 2003

I don't need it. I already have the Philadelphia Weekly.
posted by creamed corn at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2003

At Bubb Rubb And The Woo-Woo Girls's most inspired, you think your stereo is going to spontaneously combust.
The most audacious cut is the 15-minute prog-rock epic, "Radio Head." It's their most powerful outing in quite a while. It's the best thing I've heard since 1987. This music is narcotic and awe-inspiring. What's unbelievable is how melodic the band's trademark R.E.M.-lite vocal interplay has gotten.

"Power Chord" shows off their sensitive, majestic pop artistry.

Their lyrics about Kurt Cobain ("Ten Seconds to Love") and being on the road for 40 days ("Not the Way It Seems") reach a new level of faux-Quincy Jones and visionary Beach Boys-inspired harmony.
posted by rrtek at 10:57 AM on July 10, 2003

Hmmph, another case of I-was-almost-there, I've gone and left the East Bay, and now it's the "Easy Bay."
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:19 AM on July 10, 2003

Our readers respond

Dear Robot,

Glad to see Radiohead finally getting some well-deserved praise. I listen to Never Mind, It's Radiohead every day. Keep up the good work.

-- Radiohead fan

Har. I listen to Never Mind, It's Radiohead every day lately too, except I call it Hail to the Thief...
posted by jokeefe at 11:19 AM on July 10, 2003

awesome, i was trying to program something like this a while back
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 11:25 AM on July 10, 2003

i put in autechre and it gave me "autechre unplugged" as the album name. ha.
posted by juv3nal at 1:05 PM on July 10, 2003

Wow, I reviewed myself, and I would totally avoid me like the plague.
posted by cortex at 4:14 PM on July 10, 2003

The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters
The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters

1998
3 1/2 stars


Underneath their antics lies a bittersweet artistic maturity that reveals how they have grown since they were young punks. A penchant for headbanging stomp makes The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters truly compelling. The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters's sonic assault is truly sultry, all thanks to the thick production by Brian Eno.
An amibitious concept album about the universal brotherhood of man and tirades against organized religion, the main dish of this savvy meal is the metallic "Hear Myself Think."

The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters lives up to its title.

Imagine the aching noise of Bob Seger's "Night Moves" grafted, as if by a mad scientist from the bayou, to the crass hip-hop assault of the No Limit Tank Soldiers, and you haven't come close to describing the sounds on The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters.

This one's getting a lot of rotation at the office. The Boiling Hot Fajita Beaters gained a reputation early on for being explosive. Hands down, the album of the year.
posted by jonp72 at 2:40 AM on July 13, 2003