A Trapdoor In The Sun

Well, today marks the 10 th anniversary of the release of Trent Reznor's "The Fragile". This double album was way ahead of it's time sonically, although so was The Downward Spiral. What sets The Fragile apart is the composition of the songs. They are more detailed and intricate than anything on The Downward Spiral. There are moments of beauty, such as La Mer , well you can tell that the sun is peaking out from the dark places in Trent's soul. And of course, there are the angry screamers like No You Don't and Starfuckers , Inc that definitely reflect Trents aggro writing style. Overall, though. This was a really decent record, and one of the best prior to the Orwellian stuff he has gotten into lately with Year Zero. Trust me, Trent. We've already got Muse covering that. Leave it alone and go back to what you do best.

I picked up the new Pearl Jam album, Backspacer, over the weekend. I have to admit I was a little bit worried that I may not be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Not because I expected a lesser effort from the band than they put out with their self-titled album, but because I've been on a Pearl Jam moratorium for a few years now. Pearl Jam was the one band that I shared with an ex I had dated for six years. We were both enthusiastic Jammers, attending some 13 shows around the country between 2000 and 2006. We went through a pretty brutal break up during the bands last tour. I guess I was worried that I would associate the new material with those memories and it would sap the enjoyment out of it. The good news is that the whole album seems fresh to me and I don't feel even a twinge of emotional heartache when listening to it. By far, the earworm on the album is a rocker called "The Fixer". My take on the song is somewhat personal. As men, it seems like we spen...