I'm Floored.

Dear Tim Brough,

Congratulations. On behalf of Pantheon of Leather, I would like to inform you that you have been nominated for the Pantheon of Leather Lifetime Achievement Award.

My Amazon Reviews: Marilyn Manson "Born Villain"

Reborn Again,
3 Out of 5 Stars

Manson jumps to the world of Indie-recording and delivers a big bang. "Born Villain" is his heaviest album since "The Golden Age of Grotesque" and sounds like he's back to being a bad-guy. Or at least a bad guy that isn't going though the motions. Gloriously gory, obviously obscene, flirtatious and filthy, all while MM wallows in some back to basics bible bashing. Have you heard it all before? Of course you have. But sometimes some gratuitous sex and violence in your hard rock makes for good junk food.

"Born Villain" works the turf like the pro Manson is. Starting with a "Life Sucks" number and closing with a deconstructed cover (featuring, of all people, Johnny Depp on one bluesy guitar), Manson sneers and winks his way along some well trodden paths. The highlights include the ode to sexual abuse in "Pistol Whipped," the talking blues of "The Gardener" and the mangling of "You're So Vain." There's plenty of absorbed Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop in these three songs alone to make this tasty.

Then there's the unexpected stuff, like the MacBeth soliloquy that opens "Overneath The Path of Misery;"

""And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

Yes, it's Shakespearean, and Manson chews through it in a carnivorous whisper. Just when I thought the guy didn't have any shocks left in his bag of tricks, he pulls one off. It's glitter from the gutter, and Manson, with "Born Villain," is back in form.

    

My Amazon Reviews: Eric Hutchinson "Moving Up Living Down"

Pure Pop for Moving People
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Eric Hutchinson is such a talented songwriter that I keep wondering why he doesn't get snapped up by the Jason Mraz crowd. Lilting melodies, great wordplay, more than a bit of smart-alecky tongue in cheek lyrics, but with a sense of warmth many singer-songwriters lack. In the 80's, he would have been gussied up, hitched to a Casio and produced by Nick Lowe. This is pure pop for now - circa 2012 - people. After all, you have to love a guy who sings about how cool he's not ("I'm Not Cool").

Eric as a writer often reminds me of the oft-underrated Jules Shear (but is also an immensely better singer). The best song here, "Watching You Watch Him," kept calling me back to Shear's "Whispering Your Name" as Eric deals with the girl he pines for as she follows the unattainable..."God only knows why I still wait around/Except I hate to see you cry" he moans. He's the Jonah Hill of pop.

"Moving Up Living Down" is limber, good-natured pop. Eric has the soul of a Daryl Hall and the funk-lite of Mraz. He is certainly a better songwrter than Mraz, and "Watching You" should be a smash like "Private Eyes" for its own infectious paranoia. I can also recommend "Talk Is Cheap" and the fun "Afterlife."