Album of the Day

Cracked Rear View, by Hootie & the Blowfish (1994): Why on Earth do I own this album?!? Most of the albums I own that truly suck are either failed experiments, gifts, or near freebies. It's hard to work up too much of a hate for those. But I paid full price for this (from Columbia House no less!) at a time when the singles saturated the airwaves. What was I thinking? This is the musical equivalent to a room full of walls painted beige. Utterly inoffensive and dull. My memory is that these guys were big on the frat party circuit in South Carolina and I can see why. It's the perfect unobtrusive aural wallpaper, with just enough of a groove to impress that sorority chick with your stumbling drunk dance moves. That's all well and good, I guess, but it's seriously not my thing.