http://www.tuesdaysrobot.com/
Tom Hallet at the Pulse of the Twin Cities had this to say recently about tuesdays robot in his "Round the Dial" column:
"Tuesdays Robot Self-Titled 2006 Self-Released
If the bands name, the monikers of the two members (Robot and Android), and the bizarre, nihilistic album cover dont tip ya off that these local guys might be a bit off the beaten path (musically speaking, of course, yuk yuk yuk), then the liner notes revealing that it was produced by Grain Belt Premium might seal the deal. Not that theres anything wrong with that, you understand. If ACTUAL robots pretending to be human (yknow my faves to pick on, the Britneys, Whitneys and Shanias of the world) can do their thing, why cant a couple of red-blooded, fucked-up, wild-eyed humans pretend to be robots and androids? AHHHGGHH!! Its sometimes all too much to bear must get to stereo turn tunes up LOUD!!
Another Cup Of Tea is an in-your-face, no-bullshit love ditty, Robot comin off like 65-era Dylan with a few guarded Roger McGuinn-isms and more than a spoonful of glittery 70s pop attitude thrown in for good measure. Bottom line, its a catchy, powerful intro to an album that I really, really, really wanted to hate at first sight. Nothing personal, I was just afeared that ol humor schtick was fixin to wallop me over the head again no worries, Robot and Android may have overactive imaginations when it comes to presenting their work, but that work is viable, professional, REAL, and more human than human.
And Then There Was Ruth, my personal fave, is a spine-tingling, goose-flesh-inducing wamma-jamma of a love song, fired by Grain Belt an held together loosely by spit, rust and scabs torn from heart-shaped chest wounds. Constitution Blues lives up to the innuendo in its name, in every possible way, right down to the castigation of Guantanamo Bay, Bible-thumpers ( some people dont read it the same/ Well, theyre killin in Jesus name ), television, prejudice, homophobia, mindless violence, needless cruelty, greed an a slew of other modern-day blights on society. The music is visceral, haunting and complex on one level, airy, light and deceptively simple on anothera further clue that these aint yer average white-boy blues monkeys, thank Christ, Buddha, Mohammed or any other long-dead male godhead figures currently tuned in to Radio HMAN up there in the ol cosmos
Theyre all good, solid songs, but Id be remiss to not give a bit of ink to the nine-and-a-half-minute opus Xmas Day Revisited (I, as well, enjoy revisiting things, especially in music, and, well, how could you POSSIBLY emulate Bob Dylan without (A) Covering the three main points of this trackits almost 10 minutes long, contains original, socially-aware content, and of course, revisits that ol revisiting thangand (B), Singin through yer nose?), which at first listen seems almost impenetrable but soon morphs into a riveting bedside horror story retold for the umpteenth time but somehow different, new, exciting and strange
Naw, it dont matter. Its not really like a Dylan song other than those pointsand the fact that, thanks to Bob himself, Ill always hear echoes of his work in this style and presentation. Is it a good tune? Yeah, it is. Will I play it over an over? Naw. Not anymore than I do Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Low-Lands (she gets pulled outta her vinyl nightie once or twice a year, given a randy toss in the old hay and carefully returned to her cardboard nest) or the double-edged sword that is Roger Hodgsons Sleeping With The Enemy. Either way, I am genuinely glad I heard it: Ill use it on a few Xmas mix CDs next year, and you can decide for yourselves if you wanna jam it in yer space or not.
When all is said and done, it doesnt really matter whether this album and these songs were penned 40 years ago or last week, or if the writer is Jewish or Christian, or Republican or Democrat, male or female, gay or straight, or if theyre black or white, or if they really know what The Blues is any more than I or anybody else really do, or if theyre rich kids or wrong side of the track-ers, sinners or saints, poets, prophets or madmen. I have fun imagining theyre all of the above at different sections of the album.
What matters here is that this music is REAL, universal, honest, frank, forthright, fun, challenging, and leaves the listener with not only a sense of contentment and well-being, but also leaves a goodly portion of its lyrical wealth ensconced in his or her noggin, to be used at a later date. Thats Tuesdays Robot. Sell by as soon as humanly possible. Check em out at www.tuesdaysrobot.com.
Theres the rub for this week, friends, knee-knockers, back-stabbers, monkey-backers, an slap-happy, dirty faced barn-burners tune in again next time out for more of the same. Until thenmake yer own damn news.
If you have local music gigs/events/CDs youd like to see mentioned in this space, or you just have to share your own personal robot/android fantasy, send replies to: Tmygunn77764@yahoo.com. || "