MOHIT - Yoghurt

One problem: this is only a double-sided single release.

Now, whenever reviewing a single, it’s necessary to reconvene the legendary Jukebox Jury, a panel of big-time famous people who listen and then rate the song while adding clever commentary about music, fashion, a rich and spoiled lifestyle, and their take on the meaning of life.

Sadly, my chosen celebs, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Harry Styles, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have once again, failed to return my calls.¹

So, I called upon my other source of music wisdom, a local character (and a bit of an eccentric), Randy Hooper, better known to all as “Rock ‘n’ Roll Randy." He’s a great guy, but he does tend to speak in what we affectionally call Rock ‘n’ Rollese. He only expresses himself through the names of rock bands and their songs. It’s odd. It’s like a Star Trek episode during which James T. Kirk & Company communicate with the sole survivor on a planet whose populous (for some weird and unexplained reason), listened to rock records that were beamed into their culture from our rock ‘n’ roll radio stations, and sadly believed these albums were some sort of a better reality than their own. (The writers did a similar one called A Piece of the Action, which sanctified the Chicago mob culture of the 20’s.)²

For example, when asked to review the record, Randy said, Paul Rodgers, man, All Right Now, baby it’s all right now!”³

And about the “A” side, “Yoghurt,” Randy nodded in approval and said, “Pink Floyd, you know,⁴ Wish You Were Here. Levon Helm. Levon Helm. Japan. David Sylvian. And Wire. Talk Talk. Mogwai, you know, Mogwai.⁵

And for the flip side, “Reggaeezer,” his voice danced a bit as he almost sang “No Woman, No Cry, Three Little Birds, Sandinista! you know, One More Dub, Carlie Don’t Surf, you know, and John Martyn, Solid Air, the guy Blessed the Weather. You know, he Blessed the Weather.”⁶

Then he finished with the words, “Bad Company. Come on come on come on and do it. I can’t get enough of your love.”⁷

That’s a rock ‘n’ roll verdict. And it’s a good one. Guilty as charged. Rock ‘n’ Roll Randy loved the two songs. As a personal comment, I’ll just cite the story of Tantalus. The songs create the thirst for the album. These are nice and very modern rock tunes. There’s a big space between the notes. The universe plays its heart between big notes. And there are ephemeral melodies that dance over the hardwood floor of the very Earthy bass and drums. Music should expand, and these two songs fill their spaces with melody, tension, and a very hypnotic groove. This is epic stuff. Or, as loosely translated into Randy’s Rock ‘n’ Rollese, The Who, you know. The Who. Won’t Get Fooled Again. You know. We won’t get fooled again.

¹See my review for Glass Famine’s Grumbling Bellies.

²As is often the case, Captain Kirk would, in this rock 'n' roll imaginary episode, be perfectly justified in violating The Prime Directive, because, let's face it, any culture that bases its reality on rock music, is simply not a healthy bunch of people.

³He says, (with a loose translation) Sure, he’ll review the record.

⁴ Just so you know, I have edited (more than) several you know insertions. Randy tends to overuse the phrase. However, those included do, I believe, add to the intended artistic merit of his answers.

⁵(yet another loose translation) The record has an acoustic Pink Floyd sound with earthy drums like the sound of The Band’s Levon Helm and lighter-than-air vocals of Japan’s David Sylvian. Oh, and the guitars are quite post-rock in their big arty wonderous windmill sound.

⁶He says there’s a little bit of reggae and dub, while the vocals soar the sublime skies of the soul.

⁷Randy wants to hear an entire album, and he loves rock ‘n’ roll. And, you know, Amen.