"Ghoti Hook" seems to be everywhere. They have songs on Sprite and Reebok commercials as well as a few MTV shows. The band sites their reason for forming as "to create fun-loving, energetic and exciting, adventurous music." I can't say that they're really met their objective with this album.

The title track, "Banana Man", is fun for sure and quite humorous. The music is a bit flat, but that doesn't detract from the overall experience.

"My Bike" is another funny and fairly enjoyable song. It begins with a Pee Wee Herman soundbyte and continues with an 'ode to The Bike'. The Bike is described in detail -- it's quite clear that this is an important object. I have to say, however, that there are ups and down to the song and the downs are pretty low. It's a funny concept and it's well written, but you can really only listen to a song about a guy and his bike for just so long!

Next is "The Box" which borrows a little from the Twilight Zone theme and has some incomprehensible screaming. It's a twisted, creepy little song, but also one of the easiest to listen to. The crazy thing is that they put two other versions of the song on this cd, all of them only varying slightly from one to another.

The song that stands out the most on this album is "Middle Ground." It's actually pretty musical and the beat is good. The lyrics are, like a good deal of the rest of the songs, very similar to really lousy teen angst poetry. Nevertheless, this is a really pleasurable song to listen to.

The next decent song is "Cowboy," complete with the sound of the reins on the horses. This is a really cool song that's upbeat and well-done musically. If only every song was like this one.

I can't really recommend this album. Some of the songs are pretty good, some are consistantly annoying, and most are just slightly below average. There's little point in listing many of the songs because most of the tracks would be hard to distinguish from one another if the lyrics weren't different. There's nothing that really jumps out and says "listen to me!" There are stolen guitar riffs, a lot of really bad lyrics. Even just considering the good songs, it's hard to rate this one better than two stars. If you're really into punk/rock music it might be interesting to you, but I sure wouldn't count on it.

Anyone following the music scene in the past year will be familiar with
the Jacksonville, Florida quintet  going by the name of Limp Bizkit. Ain't no denying, dear readers, that this band of rap/metal musical boys have quite a little buzz going these days. Of course, one can't ignore the fact that Limp Bizkit's recent strong presence on the music scene has been largely due to a huge shove into the national spotlight by the band Korn, who saw fit to take the Limpsters under their wing and do everything to help land them a recording deal short of placing a contract in a box and tying it all up with shiny, shiny ribbon. After all, how many other struggling bands in this great industry can boast the fact that, through their association with Korn, they were actually able to enjoy touring with bands such as House of Pain and Deftones in addition to Korn, before a recording contract was ever even offered, let alone signed? However, the object of the game is not necessarily how much of a buzz a band can get going with the help of some well-placed friends, but whether or not a band is strong enough musically to have been able to earn the same degree of attention on their own merits. After all, there was once a time when groups like the Partridge Family, the Osmond Family, and The Brady Bunch Kids were also placing on charts and selling albums, thanks to some super-slick hype. Whether or not they deserved to is another story...

But first, a little history on these boys. Formed in late 1994, "the Bizkit,"
as their record label calls them, came into being when vocalist Fred Durst and his longtime friend, bassist Sam Rivers, decided to join talents. Rivers brought in his cousin, jazz drummer John Otto. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Wes Borland and DJ Lethal joined up; and voila! Limp Bizkit pushed its way out into a rap/metal world whose skids have been well-greased by forerunners like Deftones, Coal Chamber, Sepultura, and, of course, the aforementioned Korn.

Limp Bizkit's association with their mentors began after Fred Durst met Korn bassist Fieldy and guitarist Head after their first Jacksonville show. A friendship was struck up during a tattooing session at Durst's house (Durst had been wielding a tattoo needle for pay for only a couple of weeks, although he told the members of Korn he was an experienced artist). When Korn returned to Jacksonville, Durst passed along Limp Bizkit's demo to them. They, in turn, passed it along to their producer, Ross Robinson (Sepultura, Korn), who was instructed to do what he could to get them a recording deal. And the rest is recent history. The result is the release of  their debut, "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$."

The album starts out promisingly enough, with the tracks "Intro" and
"Pollution;" a combination that begins with a forty-seven second foray intothe buffoonery of the world of a twisted televangelist, calling on his
congregation to join him in taking up their guns and condemning the "noise pollution" of Satan. "Pollution" is the furious response; an alternating rap/scream fest punctuated by an underscoring of metal-edged, heavy guitar and pounding rhythm section. Truth is, it's nothing I haven't heard before, but for the most part, it's high-energy, and well done. I like that, and I'm hyped to hearing the rest of the album.  "Counterfeit" follows, a funk-groove track that, once again, relies on rap-style lyrics to revile those who compromise themselves in order to fit in with a certain crowd. Hmmm... Then comes "Stuck," a tirade against those who bow down to greed; and about halfway through, a red flag goes up. This track begins to sound a lot like the bastard child of the previous two. It sounds like nothing more than another variation of the same basic three or four elements. By the time track five, "Nobody Loves Me," hits the one-minute mark, I'm more than a little disappointed, and I begin to wonder if this clip-and-paste style of music is all there is on the album. And the sad answer is, yes. Except for a few little tricks here and there, thrown in to distinguish one composition from the next, most of the remaining tracks end up sounding like sad little imitations of a generic whole that is nothing but an imitation itself. Picture a copy of the Mona Lisa being duped a dozen times on a Xerox machine, and you'll understand what I mean. The original is a work of wonder. The first one or two copies that follow are still pretty amazing and deserving of admiration. But anything after that, and it becomes overly-familiar and progressively
tiresome. Cliche, even. "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$" seems to have fallen into this trap.

Whether or not this is due to Limp Bizkit's relative inexperience as a band, only time will tell. Their resentment at being constantly compared to Korn (they've been dubbed Baby Korn by more than a few who have noticed an uncanny resemblance to the senior rap/metal act) may well increase in the coming months, when Limp Bizkit once again go on tour with them in support of the release of Korn's next album. How this might affect the style of any future songwriting efforts might be interesting to see. But as it stands at this moment, I can only recommend "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$" to those whose love of rap/metal is so intense that even this mediocre album is worth owning.

“Live from 6A” is a collection of live performances from Conan O’Brien’s Late Show.  The album was produced by Jim Pitt, music producer for the show. For each song, there are show dates supplied. The graphics on the album cover and inside consist of scribbled sketches in white, on a black background. It has a bare look to it, which isn’t terribly inviting. The minimalist quality of it seems in keeping with the feel of O’Brien’s Late Show.

Breathy, gutsy vocals make Ani DiFranco’s “Shameless” a stand out on this collection and a good way to open the album. DiFranco sings over funky guitar and drums to a cheering crowd. David Bowie’s acoustic version of “Dead Man Walking” carries the listener into the album. It’s a great live set with Bowie and guitarist and cowriter Reeves Gabrels. For those listeners used to hearing Bowie surrounded by a band and a lot of hoopla, this is a rare, totally stripped down treat, showcasing his talents.

Matthew Sweet’s live version of ELO’s “Do Ya” is a spirited rendition of the song. Recorded during a sound check, this is a uncommon glimpse of a good cover tune. Sweet and company play it the same way ELO did; sounding surprisingly like them. The song ends with the applause of two people.

“Jamiroquai” is R&B with a nice edge. They’re song, “When You Gonna Learn,” kept me rocking along, though R&B isn’t my usual taste. A horn section and good vocals keep the song interesting. Bjork’s “Human Behavior” features the unique vocals and music stylings of the former “Sugar Cube.” The music is fairly minimalist, yet amazingly full. Elvis
Costello sings “All This Useless Beauty” to Steve Nieve’s piano and his own guitar. Costello’s voice is polished, smooth, and impassioned. He’s a master of his craft, supplying perhaps the most moving piece on the album.

"The Distance” from “Cake” opens quietly, with just John McRea’s vocal, “Reluctantly crouched at the starting line/ Engines pumping and thumping in time/ The green light flashes/ The flags go up. . .” The musicians join in gradually, one at a time; the tempo increasing as they do. The song mixes Rap and alternative rock well. It’s a satisfying, energized performance.

Jonathan Richman’s “Let her Go Into the Darkness” is an eerie song from the perspective of a man watching an old lover fall under the spell of her newlover, becoming involved in drug and alcohol addiction. Edwyn Collins belts out his song “A Girl Like You” which reminds me of early eighties New Wave music. It sounds pretty good live, but I found the combination of this and Richman's song to be a real downer.

311 rips into “Down,” opening with funked out guitar, which is soon joined by screaming vocals. The energy level on this song live is intense, creating a sharp contrast to the previous two songs. Mike Doughty growls into the microphone as “Soul Coughing” plays “Soundtrack to Mary." It’s an interesting, quirky tune. “Squirrel Nut Zippers”  sing “Lover’s Lane.” It sounds like a time trip into the 20’s, the age of the flapper crossed with folk. This is the most eccentric tune on an album marked by much eclecticism.

“Live from 6A” is certainly an interesting collection of live tracks, but I
found it hard to listen to, on the whole. It jumps around from one music style to another, making it difficult to get into. For the most part, I really
didn’t want to hear these songs together. While all the performances were
quite good, I think they lose something when you can’t see the performers. Perhaps this would work better as a video collection.