Dr. Dog - good stuff mining the neo-beatles/beach boys/freak-out wilco scene...

So, the first time I heard Dr. Dog I really didn't like them. I don't know why. I heard them in my car & the stereo was shitty; maybe that's it. I don't know. But I thought, "Damn, these guys are a giant god damn mess." I was listening to their album "We All Belong."

Then about 2 weeks ago I listened to this self-same album while at work. Yeah, I have a day job; ask me about my day job. It's a pretty good job, actually. But enough about me. You charming flatterer, you.

So, 2 weeks ago I listened to the album again and was really surprised. Yeah, the album has some roughness around the edges. And at points it sounds like a Beatles party with the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson acting as emcee. And it has a certain early Wilco-esque kind of neo-psychedelic rock and roll mess quality to it. And not just because this song is called "The Worst Trip." It's a fun song. I like its use of diminished scale arpeggiation in the horn line right after the line sung directly after the "Is this the worst trip that you've ever been on?" chorus line... and the opening bass line is fun, too; it's like a tweaky version of some motown line, in that it do the 1 to 6 to 5 movement but flats the 6, messing things all up & making everything a little more confusing.

So, no. It's not the worst trip I've ever been on. But it's a pretty cool song.