Wednesday, July 11, 2007

CD Review: ARCADE "Arcade"

I got this CD to review thinking it was that band Arcade Fire, or someone like that-- a current popular band-- Panic in the Arcade? Something like that. What exactly is an arcade? Well, it's nothing more than a walkway covered with arches-- which is pretty cool-- so I guess it's an okay band name. It's more specific than if you called your band "Hallway."

My first experience with an arcade was the Penny Arcade at Cedar Point, the Midwest amusement park. I was always fascinated with that place, but returning years later, I realized it wasn't the games that I loved, it was the intricate vaulted ceiling in this place. It's quite spectacular. When they tear THAT down (please tell me they haven't) that park will be finally all but dead to me.

Back to the CD, it's heavy metal, and from 1993, which in rock terms is ancient history. Not bad for heavy metal, it kind of sounds like 2nd-rate Aerosmith. But even cut-rate Aerosmith is better than 99 percent of the bands out there. But next time, you know, I'm going to be a little more careful while shopping!

3 comments:

Jeff said...

When I was there last year, Cedar Point still had their great, huge 'penny' arcade. Of course, they've updated many of the games there, but the cool thing is -- many they have not! There are still tons of really old klunky pinball machines (my favorite!) as well as really antique 'fortune telling gypsies' and 'love meter' machines where you grip the metal handle and it tells you what kind of lover you are, etc. My firm has their annual summer picnic there, and we're going again next weekend, so hopefully it will still be there.

When I was a senior or junior in hi-skule, I went with some classmates, and put a quarter in this machine there where it gave you little postcard photos of 1950s bikini girls, and something happened to it and the machine got stuck spitting out card after card after card. I got a stack of them about an inch and a half thick, many of them turning out to be pictures of Betty Page.

Anyway, yeh, the Arcade at Cedar Point has got to be better than any band with the word Arcade in their name..

Anonymous said...

Good post.

Anonymous said...

Nice