I wondered how good either of these could possibly be. Let's just get the Spin Doctors out of the way, I guess. I admit that I still love Pocketful Of Kryptonite. It's a fun record, it's harmless, it reminds me of when I bought my first car in the spring of 1991 and hearing "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" on the radio. The record after that was horrible; I even forget what it was called (Turn You Inside Out?) but it was obvious they were dialing it in, they were coasting. It was trying to recapture what the earlier record had but it didn't have any of the IT. I remember seeing them at Merriweather Post with Cracker and the Gin Blossoms. I think I even bought their t-shirt which has since disappeared. I guess I enjoyed the show. It did the trick when I was 20.
Now 20 years later I listen to the new record If The River Was Whiskey because it was there and it was just going to cost me 45 minutes. Chris Barron had some vocal issues (no jokes please) where he couldn't sing for a few years (again...). He doesn't sound very good here. But he sounds more tired than anything else. It's sort of bluesy, less stoner-jam than they used to be. Would I recommend it? No, unless you really really love them. And even then I'd say try it before you buy it. But good for them continuing to churn out records that somebody is buying.
Then there is Iggy and the Stooges. It's probably sacrilegious for me to say but despite being diametrically opposed to The Spin Doctors this record Ready To Die is probably just as un-essential. I am not a Stooges fan...I like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and recognize what they and MC5 did for Detroit, but I will admit being ambivalent. I also saw Iggy when I was in college. One of my roommates wanted to go and it was at the Capitol Ballroom which was a dangerous place to go at the time so I went because hey why not. The bill was crazy. First up was something called Exotica, if I remember right. The band had a cello player all decked out in biker leather, a guitarist that looked like the spawn of Tom Petty and an ape, and a lead singer wearing what I recall as being akin to a body condom. They played whatever it was that bands of that ilk played in 1994. He beckoned us to "come closer" which only caused us to take a couple steps back. Up next was Junior Kimbrough. Here was an ancient old bluesman led out by his son to a chair set up at center stage. He was joined by his sons, who handed him his guitar, which he proceeded to play the shit out of. This was awesome. Finally Iggy came out wearing a sequined American flag jacket and leather pants and not much else. Iggy was pretty much pure energy. Racing around the stage, flailing about maniacally. At one point he swung the microphone over his head and into the crowd; the thumps as it hit spectators crashing over the PA. Every song had "thanks, fuckers" as the segue. Yeah, crazy show.
Anyhow here I am listening to the new record and it is what it is. It isn't terrible but it doesn't really do anything. There are some songs that have horns on them that sound jarringly out of place. The title track started and I actually paused to listen but then went right back to typing. As I stress here all the time all music has value and if it makes you happy then great. If you're a fan then you'll probably enjoy this. If you're not you won't be won over.
So I get to the point which is what is the point? Does the world really need a new Spin Doctors record or a new Stooges record in 2013. Are record labels really interested in this? I guess so. I guess there is a built-in audience for this. Fans from 20 or 40 years ago will see this and say "I remember liking them" and will instinctively pick it up. They'll listen to it once or twice and say "oh" and then forget about it. The Stooges have street cred (where the Spin Doctors have ZERO) so rock writers will probably say nice things or at least give them a pass.
But that is a part of pop music. Disposable. Bands you remember liking when you were young and feel some sense of obligation to hear again. I think anybody who buys either of these (I am probably one of the few who listened to both let alone bought them...which I didn't) isn't someone who is that deep a music fan. If someone is on the prowl for new music and new bands they likely aren't stopping by The Spin Doctors except to mock it and will listen to The Stooges because as a music-expert they are supposed to. But not everybody has to be that way. I don't mean to sound like a snob, that I like stuff that speaks-to-me-man. There's a reason "background music" is a descriptor beyond it's literal meaning. Both these records are the kind that pass by and wind up in the cut-out bin, except we don't have cut-out bins anymore. We just have the ether and it's full of noise.
PS...AllMusic gave both of these records 4 stars showing that I know nothing.
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