yet another great cut-price sampler
When I read the title of this compilation, I must admit that I didn't hold out much hope. It seemed that some high level record executives (who for the purpose of demonstration we will name Bill and Ted) had just sat down at their mahogany conference table, taken a sip of their expensive mocha-frappa-latte-café and had a conversation that probably ran as follows:
Bill - "Right, we need to name this new compilation. It needs to be something that our market can relate to, something popular - it has to sell a lot, my second Mercedes is riding on this one. So what's cool with the kids today then?"
Ted - "Erm, films right? Kids love films."
Bill - "Yes ok, cinema... What else?"
Ted - "How about drink? Children seem to drink an awful lot nowadays, too much if you ask me..."
Bill - "I didn't... Ok, so cinema, beer. Cinema Beer? Hmm, not bad, but it just doesn't have that ring to it. We need something else to finish it off. Something hip, something groovy, a word that kids use."
Ted - "Friend? Kids have friends don't they?"
Bill - "Nice, I like it, but how about something trendier?"
Ted - "Buddy?"
Bill - "Cinema Beer Buddy. I like it. Sold. Let’s do lunch."
It just sounded like a title that was designed to appeal to young 'dudes' all across America, who could buy this CD safe in the knowledge that it would be jam-packed with songs that would fit perfectly at that cool house party they were planning - "we've got a keg and everything!" Cynical maybe, misguided certainly. Had I looked past the title to the track listing, I would've seen words like 'Converge' and 'Poison The Well' inscribed on the CD, and at once my mind would have been put at ease - nobody would try to make a unit-shifting money-making compilation, only to then ensure that it only appeals to about 0.0031% of the population by including such challenging and uncompromising music as Converge and PTW.
The album opens with the irresistible pop sensibilities of Jimmy Eat World, with the lively rhythms and sing-along chorus of 'Bleed American' providing the perfect icebreaker. Thursday's emotionally strung 'Understanding In A Car Crash' shines like a beacon of perfection, creating an atmosphere that is at once soothing and stirring, harrowing yet uplifting, only for the musical thunderclap of Thrice's 'Deadbolt' to destroy the peace and darken the tone. This impossibly high standard does not falter, with classic tracks coming thick and fast from Taking Back Sunday, Audio Karate, Strung Out and the aforementioned Converge and PTW. This compilation really does have something for everyone, with, as is the sign of any well-assembled compilation, a multitude of styles and genres sitting in each other's company with an effortless grace.
There is also apparently some enhanced media, including videos from "some of the biggest names in independent rock", but I unfortunately cannot verify this as my useless computer refuses to play it.
Hopeless have come up with the goods once more, with the fifth compilation in the 'Cinema Beer' series: 'Buddy' being every bit as good as I thought it wouldn't be. With the current spate of high-quality, low-price compilations that seem to be hitting the shelves at the moment, it really does beg the question - who needs actual albums?