** Lovecraft and Witch Hearts by Cradle of Filth – No Longer Shocking But Annoying

I’ve got to admit; I am a dad, and this music really just doesn’t fit the bill when it comes to selection of music for the house.  Granted, I usually listen to music when my family isn’t home.  However, really I only like the Lovecraft cd, and that is probably because it brings me back to my college years where I saw Cradle of Filth live at Tramps in NYC, at one of their first USA shows.  It was a great show, exciting to see a metal band come from Europe, even if it was only Great Britain.  I had a lot of fun at the show.  I still remember when Dani said, “Smells like Catholics in here,” and the show was clearly sold out.  The place was packed!  However, this band seems to be all about attracting youth and then polluting them, hence the name Cradle of Filth.  I can remember listening to a video where some parents were concerned about their children listening to this band, and laughing in college.  Then, as a college student I wasn’t very interested in having morals to live by.  As an adult, in my 30s, this music seems totally inappropriate for children.  I bought it because I had lost all of my old Cradle of Filth cds, and boy was I disappointed by what I used to remember as a good metal band that pushed the envelope.  I recall the children’s size clothing Cradle of Filth sold, as well as their lunch pails, and there is a part of my conscience that says, I shouldn’t be promoting this stuff.  Of course I did when I was young and stupid in college.  I admit, I wouldn’t clothe my kid in the attire and give him a lunch box for school.  It is just poor taste, and as someone who is now grown up Cradle of Filth does not strike me the same way that they used to.  I used to love this stuff for shock value.  Now it no longer shocks me, so I see no value in it.

***** Dear Old Stockholm by John Coltrane – One Of My Coltrane Favorites

This cd was released before Coltrane’s very experimental cds like Stellar Regions, which was a terrible experimental album.  However, Dear Old Stockholm surpasses that age where he was trying to recreate Kind of Blue, something which almost all of the jazz musicians of the time sought to do, and it is no wonder as Kind of Blue is one of jazz’s bestselling albums.  (I haven’t a clue why, because I don’t like it much.)  First, in his solo career Trane tried to do what has already been done before with Blue Trane, and Soul Trane, each trying to copy Kind of Blue.  However, in my opinion these albums don’t represent the best Trane had to offer.  I guess there will be some disagreement with me when I post this.  Trane was at his best on albums that were experimental, where he was pushing the envelope in jazz.  That is precisely what Coltrane does on Dear Old Stockholm.  If you are expecting a same old same old jazz cd, don’t buy this album!!!  This album is nothing short of awesome!!!  So far as I know, this is what I would call a unique jazz album.  I have never heard any album like it!  So many jazz artists try to recreate what has been done before them, but now jazz isn’t healthy enough of a genre to push the envelope like John Coltrane on Dear Old Stockholm.