L
LoafingOaf
Guest
Browsing the newstand, I looked at a section of British pop
music magazines and, out of nostalgia for the days when
I actually read such nonsense, I started checking who was on the
covers and so forth. I noticed Uncut had a CD attached
and looked at the artists, seeing "Johnny Marr's Healers"
was the first one listed. Well, it's about time I finally get
to hear them, I thought, and paid the unreasonable 7 dollars
for the magazine. When I got home I pressed play on the CD,
jumped to the only track I was interested in, "The Last Ride,"
and quickly hit pause. Had to take a deep breath, hoping I'd
hear something to get excited about.
I hate to say it folks, but depression set in at the 30 second
mark. I can understand why the band is listed as "Johnny Marr's
Healers," because no one would give a damn about this track
if they called themselves simply "The Healers." Nor would anyone
be able to tell that a special talent such as Marr was leading this
band. It's not that the song is "bad" or in any way unpalatable.
If it came on the radio, I'd let it play without switching channels.
However, it's just so darned...generic. It's exactly like you usually
expect to find on these music magazine compilations. Just another
boringly fashionable song, like all the others. Chief among the flaws
is the the vocals. Unique vocals is one of the main things that
turns me on about bands, but Marr sounds like 10 million other singers. It was a fatal mistake not to find another singer. and it's also tragic that Marr is OK being just one of the crowd of pop
musicians playing trendy, pointless music. It was the same fatal
flaw of Electronic. Electronic wasn't horrible or embarassing,
just pointless. And what's my point? If you're expecting The Healers
to be a band to look forward to, or hoping that Johnny Marr has finally stopped wasting his talent trying to fit in with the "in" crowd and be "cool" like them playing their stupid music, well, unless they start again from ground zero, or unless their first single is in no way indicative of the rest of their album, you can count this band out. The only people who will buy their album will be doing so because of Marr's name and past glories. Johnny Marr's Healers. Ha. Better luck next time, Johnny.
What people like MArr need to understand is, we're sick of bands like this. Anyone could do a song like "The Last Ride." We don't need Johnny Marr for that. We want bands that mean something. That are special. With Morrissey AWOL, and Radiohead afraid to write pretty pop songs with Thom Yorke's voice the showcase anymore, it's especially frustrating these days. If it wasn't for Kirsty MacColl and Sinead O'Connor and a very, VERY few others, this year would have better have been skipped over completely.
music magazines and, out of nostalgia for the days when
I actually read such nonsense, I started checking who was on the
covers and so forth. I noticed Uncut had a CD attached
and looked at the artists, seeing "Johnny Marr's Healers"
was the first one listed. Well, it's about time I finally get
to hear them, I thought, and paid the unreasonable 7 dollars
for the magazine. When I got home I pressed play on the CD,
jumped to the only track I was interested in, "The Last Ride,"
and quickly hit pause. Had to take a deep breath, hoping I'd
hear something to get excited about.
I hate to say it folks, but depression set in at the 30 second
mark. I can understand why the band is listed as "Johnny Marr's
Healers," because no one would give a damn about this track
if they called themselves simply "The Healers." Nor would anyone
be able to tell that a special talent such as Marr was leading this
band. It's not that the song is "bad" or in any way unpalatable.
If it came on the radio, I'd let it play without switching channels.
However, it's just so darned...generic. It's exactly like you usually
expect to find on these music magazine compilations. Just another
boringly fashionable song, like all the others. Chief among the flaws
is the the vocals. Unique vocals is one of the main things that
turns me on about bands, but Marr sounds like 10 million other singers. It was a fatal mistake not to find another singer. and it's also tragic that Marr is OK being just one of the crowd of pop
musicians playing trendy, pointless music. It was the same fatal
flaw of Electronic. Electronic wasn't horrible or embarassing,
just pointless. And what's my point? If you're expecting The Healers
to be a band to look forward to, or hoping that Johnny Marr has finally stopped wasting his talent trying to fit in with the "in" crowd and be "cool" like them playing their stupid music, well, unless they start again from ground zero, or unless their first single is in no way indicative of the rest of their album, you can count this band out. The only people who will buy their album will be doing so because of Marr's name and past glories. Johnny Marr's Healers. Ha. Better luck next time, Johnny.
What people like MArr need to understand is, we're sick of bands like this. Anyone could do a song like "The Last Ride." We don't need Johnny Marr for that. We want bands that mean something. That are special. With Morrissey AWOL, and Radiohead afraid to write pretty pop songs with Thom Yorke's voice the showcase anymore, it's especially frustrating these days. If it wasn't for Kirsty MacColl and Sinead O'Connor and a very, VERY few others, this year would have better have been skipped over completely.
