Redder talks about cool music, pt. 1

2/10/2024


oh man i got so many things to talk about and i don't even know where to start!

i'm pretty "eklectrick" about music, i never really stick to one genre though i do have my favorites like geek rock (not to be confused with gay porn) and shibuya kei (not to be confused with japanese gay porn AKA YAOI).

i guess i can start this off with a band i love dearly, the classic nerd rock band... the ones i listen and talk about on the daily...

OZMA!




which is just Weezer but better.

legit they are Weezer but better, and Rivers Cuomo even said it himself that Ozma was beating him at his own game! Ozma is like Weezer from an alternate universe where Pinkerton was incredibly well received in its debut and also Rivers wasn't touching himself to a letter sent by an 18-year-old Japanese fan.

you know what i miss about Weezer? SYNTHS! Songs From The Black Hole had a ton of those but that album never came into fruition and the only song to survive from that album and keep its synths was Tired of Sex!

but this is about Ozma, not Weezer, so let's talk about Rock And Roll Part Three.

Rock And Roll Part Three



oh man i love Rock And Roll Part Three. i remember searching the web for "Pinkerton-esque albums" and came across this album. "Domino Effect" is great and i love that drum break on the beginning that goes "bum bum tssk bu-bum bu-bum tssk OOOOH YEAH!"- and Battlescars which is like Only in Dreams if it was good (which it already is). when i first heard this i was immediately SOLD! these songs makes me wanna get up and just YEAH!!! you get me?! it's the bomb! and honestly, not much to say about this album other than IT'S JUST GOOD OKAY?! it's basically Pinkerton but geekier and less creepy which i didn't think was possible.

10/10 Favorite song: Domino Effect

Doubble Donkey Disc



Doubble Donkey Disc is next, which is in my opinion the best album Ozma has ever made. it's actually two EP's stitched together, that being the Russian Coldfusion EP and the Bootytraps EP (hence the name "Doubble Donkey Disc"). i just love the russian theming in the first half of this album with the whole astronauts and cosmonauts stuff; and then it transitions to the Bootytraps which are more nerdy and playful. Maybe in an Alternate Dimension being one of my favorites because it's all about falling in love in Legoland which has got to be the most nerdiest thing you could ever come up with for a song, not counting that one Falling In Reverse song. but the BIG one i wanna talk about is the closer to this album, Continental Drift.

Oh.



My.



GOD!!!



it's the BEST closer to an album EVER!!! PERIOD!!! you say anything else then your opinion is WRONG!!! this song is a big reason as to why i adore this album so much. that chorus being sung to the tune of Piranha Plant's Lullaby AAAAHHHHHH!!!! YOU GUYS ARE SUCH NERDS!!!! I LOVE OZMA!!! absolute 11 outta 10!! Ozma didn't just stuck the landing they DEMOLISHED it, like there is a big burning crater on where they just landed. love this album, i love it love it love it!

11/10 Favorite song:Continental Drift (duh)

Spending Time on The Borderline



let's move on to Spending Time On The Borderline. Ozma was just on a streak of good albums back in the 2000s like holy hell you made Doubble Donkey Disc and now you made this? again great album, it's nerdy, it's geeky though i feel like this album was a bit more videogamey for me (maybe because of Gameover. no not the Falling in Reverse song). Spending Time is a great opener, Restart makes me say "same", and Wake Up makes me wish i had a falling out relationship to dance to. good album, great great great! not as good as DDD but at least they can stay consistently good, right?

9/10 Favorite song: Restart

Pasadena



Pasadena.... don't get me wrong, it's a good album and it has the best song they've ever made which is Heartache vs Heartbreak, but i don't like how this album has No One Needs to Know and Eponine (which were already on DDD and STOTBL). they're not bad versions, it's just that i prefer the original over these versions. there are good songs here like "Motorology 3:39" and "Underneath My Tree" but the closer "Straight Flush" just plops. like plop, it's not good! it's not as grand as its other predecessors. and closers are BIG when it comes to me liking an album, you could have the most flawless tracklist ever but if that closer is poop then i'm taking off 5 points. but because this album does have Heartache vs Heartbreak, i'm giving it a 6/10.

6/10 Favorite song: Heartache vs Heartbreak

Boomtown



lastly, Boomtown! ehhhh... it's better than Pasadena at least. we got Nervous which is sung by Star Wick! (which also sung on Heartache vs Heartbreak but this is the first time she sung a song on Ozma by herself (i think)). i always play this song when i'm stressed and anxious. like "YES STAR WICK! I WILL BE STRONG! I WILL KEEP CALM! I WON'T BE NERVOUS! ALL FOR YOU!!!" and then run into a wall and start punching it. she really needs to sing more duets and solos because she's good. this album does have some songs that are honk shoo's and mimimimi's but they're not bad, just slow, it's an acquired taste, and the closer is good too! so that puts it above Pasadena.

7/10 Favorite song: Nervous

Demos and other projects


unfortunately, i'm not a true gherm for Ozma because i haven't listened to all the demos and the other projects the other members are doing. though i have listened to a little bit of Sanglorians' Initiation (formed by bassist of Ozma Daniel Brummel) and it's good! real good! Everybody Likes A Pretty Girl is probably a song you see often pop up on my Spotify activity if we're friends on Discord and that's because IT'S GOOD AND YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO IT!!!


there's also Songs of Inaudible Trucks And Cars but i'm too lazy to talk about it, so here's a short review: Iceland good.

that concludes GHERM post number two! i'll make more of these music reviews (as evident of the pt. 1 in the title). originally this was gonna contain multiple artist, but i talk too much so i'm splitting it into different parts.

some closing thoughts: Ozma is a good band and it's better than the band they're taking huge inspiration from. i pray for another album, just know i'll be there DAY ONE when it releases!

Music - Say It Ain't So (8-bit cover) by hiimqsm