neurological dryer lint

holla, review goodness!

matisyahu's youth is powerful and satisfying.. much more diverse than shake off the dust... but feels short. you get to the last track (a surprisingly cheesy remix of king without a crown by the beastie boys' mike d) and think, they were just getting started. felt like more filler than i would expect was on it. the brevity is offset by the range of styles hit - the title track starts out with P.O.D.-eqsue riffs, time of your song is a gentle, feel-good dance track, and jerusalem is absolutely infectious with some ridiculously addictive beats.

mad props to nick the italian stallion for hooking up mars ill's blue collar sessions... i've heard these guys complementing a few other tracks but never their own stuff, and now i'm craving more. lyrically they're more serious than i expected, which was refreshing, and DJ Dust's beats are much more original and inventive than a lot of others in the genre.

finally, live at the palladium - a 90-minute bad religion show interspersed with a 45-minute history of the band told by the band members. it was really interesting but there's no reason to watch it more than once. i did dig how the filmmakers made a point to illustrate how differently each of the band members see things - they'd ask a question (like "does music change the world") to each one separately, and then show brian baker, greg graffin, and greg hetson answering it, each one with completely different views. they also talk (way too much) about where their name came from - it was the early 80's, and apparently they were frustrated by televangelists (they mentioned jerry falwell about a dozen times) and their hypocrisy and their attempts to take advantage of their followers. not that i blame them - if the majority of my experience with Christians was seeing those guys on TV (which it was until about 10th grade), i'd feel the same way.

the show itself was ridiculous - lots of favorites, lots of energy from the band, even though they're all like 40. graffin is still as goofy as ever, with wacky gang-sign-esque hand gestures during the song. the guy just needs a podium so he can look like an angry politician. they play their stuff from 20 years ago just as well as their stuff from last year.

the DVD also had a few music videos... they picked some strange ones to include (struck a nerve) and left some strange ones off (21st century digital boy, a walk). and yes, ryan, los angeles is burning is included. there are a few other extras i still have to check out.. anyway, highly recommended if you enjoy this band at all.