Customer Reviews

Cocaine Rodeo

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, the good news is that nobody has given less than four stars. It could be five stars, idunno.

Every other reviewer seems to want to say something either obvious, inane, or irrelevant. A good deal say, "This band is formed by Nick Oliveri, he is the bassist for Kyuss/QOTSA". Really? Oh, glad I know that. I just type random words in the search fields hoping maybe a band will match the nonsense I'm typing. It worked for Sadistik Exekution and Loudness.

Others say, "I like it, but it's not as good as Kyuss or Queens or Fu Manchu". Clearly you were looking for the same boogie-woogie stoner rock that sedates you when you are high. If you want the same old stoner rock go to meteorcity.com and grab any of their subpar stoner bands. Also, to anybody who referred to Mondo Generator as "stoner rock" you clearly have a myopic view of things. You see a guys name and you assume, "it's stoner rock". Even after you hear it, you're so set in your "everything must have a genre" ways that you still say, "it's stoner rock". Did you not realize, after hearing "Six Shooter", "Tension Head", "Junior High Love", or "Wake Up Screaming" that Nick has a very obvious proclivity towards gutter-punk and noise rock?

And finally there is the guy complaining about the "weak lyrics". You must of been really bummed when an album called "Cocaine Rodeo" didn't have beautiful prose, follow iambic pentameter, and invoke visions of lush landscapes. I can't remember the last time I even cared about lyrics, at least not in rock 'n roll. Or did you think that "Thong Song" was the epitome of lyricism?

"Cocaine Rodeo" is an excellent punk rock album. It came out in 2000 when punk music had all but lost it's way and it is packed with noisiness, buttholes, cigarette burnt carpets, dirty whores, and middle fingers. Brant and Josh do make appearances, but this has Nick written all over it -- a groovy album that doesn't let you get comfortable enough to get groovy with it.

I cannot overstate the exceptional nature of the song "13th Floor" (later cleaned up and called "Tension Head" on QOTSA's "R"). The riff is a short and scary descent into doom but lightened up to the extent that you can dance rather than burn in hell.

"Cocaine Rodeo" is in a precarious place. It arrived at the height of boy bands and nu-metal but before Facebook, MySpace, and Blogs completely changed the marketing of music. Though mainstream corruption of real music is still viral, I see this album as one of the last stands of rock n' roll against the old guard of record execs looking to sign endlessly similar bands. Though Nick definitely has some personal issues, he is one of the last true rock heroes.

OK, to be fair, I am no Music master. By far.

I enjoyed the 'Desert Sessions' and figured Oliveri would follow the creative genius of his Kyuss and QotSA brethren on his little pet project called 'Mondo Generator'.

In the end I found it failed to live up to the expectations I had set.

First the good:

Mondo Generator bang out great music; riffs, bass, drums, so on. Nick Oliveri and co deliver the goods in this department hands down.

Then the bad:

Unfortunately the lyrics are subpar at best; simple, cliched, tacky sometimes painful (not so much on this particular album, but more so on the future 'Mondo' releases).

If I could cut the lyrics/vocals from half of 'Mondo's' tracks (on all their albums) I think I'd enjoy them MUCH more.

Overall, I'd say their collection is worth a listen, because some people won't be offput by the lyrical shortcoming and get lost in Oliveri's eclectic rock assault.

So while I find 'Mondo Generator' doesn't deliver the overall genius of QotSA or Kyuss, they are in their own right a head-banging rock band worth a listen or two.

5 starts for music, 2 MAX for lyrics. 4 overall.

This Band is awsome. It's a new sound. I'm a fan of Pantera, Down, LOG, Mastodon and Slayer. These guys don't really sound like my typical music to be honest. But thier songs will be stuck in your head for days and you'll just want more. Very addictive and heavy. These guys are gonna be big very soon. Great live band, I saw them in concert. I'd say it's kind of like Punk Metal. If you like this CD you'll love "Dead Planet" The newest one. Even better and more matured.

I have been anxious to hear this album since discovering the mastery of QOTSA and upon dowloading the first song, I was slightly disappointed to hear a song from QOTSA's "Rated R". Nonetheless, my curiousity never faltered and I proceeded to seek out this album from Nick Oliveri and co. Much like QOTSA, Mondo Generator is a healthy and balanced blend of vaious styles of rock, not falling directly under the "stoner rock" mantra. It has a very unique blend of more punk rock a' la Black Flag or Bl'ast with some indie rock undertones that remind me of Shellac that is rounded off and solified with a stoner rock vibe. Much like QOTSA, there isn't a disappointing moment to be heard on this recording that should be sought after by those seeking something more than your average radio schlock.

Mondo Generator is a stoner band that consist of Ex Kyuss/queens of the stone age members. Cocaine Rodeo is a good release and will not leave stoner fans dissapointed after a couple of listens. Yes this is a stoner record but it is not a laid back psychedelic album. It is furious , hard and even has a touch of punk that makes this album more interesting and avoiding it being another stoner record without a name. Songs are well crafted and band plays like they are trying to demolish stonehenge with a huge wall of sound. Stoner fans shouldnt avoid or overlook this release.

nick was in the dwarves too, and recorded i want you to die in dwarves fashion on their come clean album. both albums are totally killer!!!

nick oliveri (formerly of kyuss, now of queens of the stone age with buddy josh homme) smokes it up on this album. i mean, he's really tearing it up on the songs (although it sounds as if he may have been stoned during some of the songs). any of you who enjoy space-rock/stoner-rock, or whatever the crap you wanna call it, should enjoy this recording. songs like "shawnette", about a girl with tourette's syndrome and wanting rampant sex, are rumbly anthems to the underground sound. then there's the punkier "i want you to die" (title says it all), reminiscient of hard core punk-rawk. the title track is a hick-country spoof about...duh!...cocaine! there is also a different version of the song "tension head" (also found on queens of the stone age R album). all the songs sound lo-fi, but all of them are amazing. buy it, love it, but don't smoke it.

This is heavy aggressive damage and it's gonna bang in your face just like Westwood.