Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

What's this? Two New Music Tuesday entries?!?! Hooray music! About a year ago now, I was just some dummy off the street who had no idea who Florence + The Machine was. And you say, "But B Side, the first album came out in July of 2009!" And I say - I know dear reader. I really dropped the ball on this band. But once I listened to them, I was hooked. My loyal readers will recall I went to a show to see her perform this summer, and she was outstanding. Even as much as I loved her before, the show gave me a whole new respect of what she's capable of doing. The backstory for this record was Florence Welch was approached to do this "American pop music" record out in Los Angeles. At first, she was ecstatic, as she's a self described "sucker" for American pop. But when she read through the initial plan for the album, she couldn't do it. She couldn't just give up on all the principles that made 'Lungs' so amazing and true to her style. So back to London she went, working in the studio. This album was set out to be a better version of 'Lungs' with a "more dark, more heavy, bigger drum sounds, bigger bass, but with more of a whole sound". Pretty big shoes to fill. Listening to this for the first time this morning - wow. I'm honestly shocked. It feels so much like 'Lungs' but the songs have this quality, this depth that is almost like 'Lungs' on steroids. I refuse to say this album is "better" or even "worse" because it's too early for me to judge. But I can say this, her vocals and the heavy, dark drums - wow. It's just simply a style that I personally can't ever get sick of. I adore this. And no, it's not the most manly of albums out there, but so what? It's flat out great music. I'm going to have an initial hard time picking out my three tracks, but maybe I'll revisit this one in a few weeks. It's good enough that I'm gonna run out to buy it. So at the very least, you should check this one out.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Only If For a Night
2. Shake It Out
3. What the Water Gave Me
4. Never Let Me Go
5. Breaking Down
6. Lover To Lover
7. No Light, No Light
8. Seven Devils
9. Heartlines
10. Spectrum
11. All This and Heaven Too
12. Leave My Body
13. Remain Nameless
14. Strangeness and Charm
15. Bedroom Hymns
16. What the Water Gave Me (Demo)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Seven Devils
2. Never Let Me Go
3. What The Water Gave Me

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Megadeth - TH1RT3EN

New Music Tuesday is in full effect today with a little Halloween style album that dropped today. Megadeth is one of my favorite metal bands of all time, and they put out the 'Thirteen' release today. For the future discussion of the album, I'm not going to spell it out with the clever numbers for letters scheme, because it takes too long and it kind of loses its fun. Anyhow, my first thought this morning was the film 'Thirteen Ghosts' could have played into this somehow, or that the movie will be upset that it sucked, and that this album wasn't out to promote the movie back in 2001 or whatever it was. Perhaps what's more obvious than that convoluted nonsense is that it very well might be their thirteenth album. Guess which one is the case? I'll let you decide. This album has been talked about for a couple years now. I recall reading about Mustaine talking new music in early 2010. This album is supposed to be amazing. I mean, every artist says their next album is going to be phenomenal, but they were hyping this one up pretty good. I think the plan was to somehow go back to the old school Megadeth 'Countdown to Extinction' feel, but also make that modern. I'm not sure this feels a whole lot different from the older Megadeth records, but hey - that's a good thing. There are some crazy stories about odd events that happened during production, and how it could relate to the old unlucky '13', but I don't really care enough to talk about it. I think this album rocks pretty gosh darn hard. It's 13 tracks of pure metal in the way that only Dave Mustaine can spit it. It's hard to imagine a metal fan not falling in love with this, and it's not like Megadeth is dropping albums every year to feed the fans fix. So for me, this one is a home run. If I'm in the mood for metal these next few months, this one is going straight in the player.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Sudden Death
2. Public Enemy No. 1
3. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
4. We the People
5. Guns, Drugs & Money
6. Never Dead
7. New World Order
8. Fast Lane
9. Black Swan
10. Wrecker
11. Millennium of the Blind
12. Deadly Nightshade
13. 13

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Sudden Death
2. 13
3. Public Enemy No. 1

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Coldplay - Mylo Xyoto

We're back! I was out the last couple of days last week, so I didn't get to posting. And I dropped the ball on New Music Tuesday - so here is the first and probably last "Sorta New Music Monday"! Woohoo! Anyways, Coldplay dropped this album last Tuesday. Apparently this album is in the genre of industrial rock. I don't really see Coldplay as that type of band, so this may prove interesting. Lead singer Chris Martin stated this about the lyrics and writing on the album, "It's about love, addiction, OCD, escape and working for someone you don't like." The album itself is actually a concept record, in which Mylo and Xyoto are two protagonists. They live in this oppressive, urban environment, that I've heard referred to as a dystopia. One day the two meet each other and fall in love, and the story kind of goes all sappy from there. I know they've made comments in the past how they wanted to make an album more acoustic and passionate than the more recent records, but I'm not sure if this accomplished those goals. It's kind of been an up and down road for Coldplay. While I think they feel proud and comfortable with the way this album turned out, the critics are very mixed. Many of them seemingly leading to the negative end. And I guess while I get the theme, I'm not sure they did a great job at portraying the whole sequence in album form. I would expect the first few tracks to be fairly somber and darker, then the album to lighten up to the point where the love and happiness theme is cemented toward the end. And instead, you get this overall up and down record that seems to not be flowing very well. I prefer my Coldplay old school, slow songs that make you think and want to cry. This doesn't have any of those. I guess I'm leaning toward very average at best as well. It just doesn't scream Coldplay and that's just sad.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Mylo Xyloto
2. Hurts Like Heaven
3. Paradise
4. Charlie Brown
5. Us Against the World
6. M.M.I.X.
7. Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
8. Major Minus
9. U.F.O.
10. Princess of China
11. Up in Flames
12. Hopeful Transmission, A
13. Don't Let It Break Your Heart
14. Up with the Birds

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Paradise
2. UFO
3. Princess of China

FINAL RATING:
2.25 out of 5 stars

Aerosmith - Get A Grip

My indifference on Aerosmith has been documented on the B Side before. It's really nothing new. But this album came out in the height of my music listening start. In April of 1993, I was certainly a young, impressionable listener. And I do recall my parents buying this cd very shortly after it came out. The album is 7x platinum in the states, so obviously a few other people rushed out and picked it up as well. This ended up being the last album dropped by the band on Geffen, as they moved to Columbia after this release. This album has a couple of crazy cameos in it, which I'm guessing most people didn't have any clue were on here. Don Henley sings backup vocals on 'Amazing' and Lenny Kravitz offers backup on 'Line Up'. Those aren't some small time names there. And for a band that had already seemingly reached legendary status - that's pretty cool. While this is tied for their best selling album in the states, it's the best selling album worldwide - over 20 million copies. So gosh, even my homer-ish opinions have to be wrong on this one. I mean, that's literally a metric ton worth of albums. And it's not like you only heard a song or two off this either. Even if you didn't own the record, there were SEVEN singles dropped from it. That's exactly half the album. Crazy. I guess my question to people who love this, is why? I mean, there is no question it sounds good. No question that you can put it on, drift away for an hour and find your toes tapping. Maybe even singing along with a track or two. But does it have any substance? I don't hear any. It's like bubblegum pop music meets rock n' roll. Lyrical content is zero, production values are none, arrangements are sloppy at best - it's merely a "get me over" fastball when you're already down 3-0 in the count. Aerosmith knew they were leaving Geffen. I don't think they even put a ton into this album. It just so happens to turn out, not trying lead to a ton of poppy guitar anthems that people loved to listen to in the car. Hey, that's never a bad thing.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Intro
2. Eat the Rich
3. Get a Grip
4. Fever
5. Livin' on the Edge
6. Flesh
7. Walk on Down
8. Shut Up and Dance
9. Cryin'
10. Gotta Love It
11. Crazy
12. Line Up
13. Amazing
14. Boogie Man

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Crazy
2. Cryin'
3. Amazing

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming

I know it's not Tuesday - but I'm going to do a dance album anyway. I just feel in that sort of mood this morning. So we touch on M83 - which is an act by a French musician Anthony Gonzalez. It's name is derived from the spiral galaxy, Messier 83. The band has been around since 2001 - the same year he dropped the debut album. The album however, didn't release outside of Europe until 2005. The album simply didn't take off, and it wasn't until the 2nd studio release in 2003 that a label took notice, and released the original worldwide. Gonzalez employs an array of other people to help him with the music. He has a composer and then some folks that play instruments at live events and recordings. The feel of the music is very transcendent. I think there is a term called "shoegazing" that M83 uses. What is that exactly? I'll try to paraphrase it. Shoegazing is typically the artistry of using heavy distortions, riffs that keep reverberating and using sounds that sort of create this wall of sound. While they use guitar to keep the distortion, it's not the main focus of the sound. Everything is supposed to sort of blend together and create this very subdued, dreaming effect. Does it work? You be the judge. This album is supposed to be all about dreams. The sort of dreams you have as a kid, a teenager and then an adult. Tough subject to concur. But the goal would be to have this album feel like the dream state, and summarize the change in patterns throughout life. I don't know much about the other drops, but most people hail this as the best M83 has done yet. Even Gonzalez himself called this "epic". I'm kind of up in the air. I really like the sound and I like the feel - but reading through the intention, I don't feel it. This doesn't invoke emotion like the artist intended for me. That's always a bummer. But the music is still really solid. If you like Passion Pit, you'll like this too.

TRACK LISTING:
DISC ONE
1. Intro
2. Midnight City
3. Reunion
4. Where the Boats Go
5. Wait
6. Raconte-Moi Une Histoire
7. Train to Pluton
8. Claudia Lewis
9. This Bright Flash
10. When Will You Come Home?
11. Soon, My Friend
DISC TWO
12. My Tears Are Becoming a Sea
13. New Map
14. OK Pal
15. Another Wave From You
16. Splendor
17. Year One, One UFO
18. Fountains
19. Steve McQueen
20. Echoes of Mine
21. Klaus I Love You
22. Outro

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Midnight City
2. Fountains
3. This Bright Flash

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Feist - The Reminder

Going back and listening to my Top 100 of the 2000's recently, I was reminded about 'The Reminder' upon hearing '1234' off of this record. Leslie Feist was born in 1976 in Nova Scotia. She was born into a family of the arts. I know some people say that figuratively - meaning they're part of any sort of culture. But this is literal, her parents were artists. Dad dabbled in abstracts and mom was in ceramics. Her parents divorced soon after she was born, and mom and brother moved away. Since her father was American, she has dual citizenship to this day. She started singing for a band called Placebo in 1991, but had to take some time off of music when she suffered some vocal cord damage. She didn't take to doing solo stuff until 1999. She dropped a couple studio albums before this one, and none of them saw any major publicity or success. Even with as big as '1234' became, this album is only listed as gold in the USA. Now, digging into this today - she's got a tremendous vocal. It's a little unique, in a way I cannot really describe. There are times when her voice is almost a little opera and times when it sounds so polished, yet rough. Not sure if that makes any sense - but her uniqueness isn't easy to describe to a reader. I'd encourage you to simply listen. What I forgot about and love, is James Blake covered the song 'The Limit To Your Love' and it's a really good track here too. Blake basically just redid the beats a little, but kept some of the lyrics. I do like his version better, but this one is nice in the ballad direction. This album as a whole has a really nice summer afternoon feel to it. I know it's getting colder out there, but I think this will transport you to a nice summer day drinking lemonade on the porch overlooking the lake, and just relaxing.

TRACK LISTING:
1. So Sorry
2. I Feel It All
3. My Moon My Man
4. Park, The
5. Water, The
6. Sea Lion Woman
7. Past in Present
8. Limit to Your Love, The
9. 1234
10. Brandy Alexander
11. Intuition
12. Honey Honey
13. How My Heart Behaves

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. 1234
2. The Limit To Your Love
3. The Water

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

Gaelic Storm - What's The Rumpus?

Every so often someone drops something in the Suggestion Box - but doesn't leave their name attached to it. Which is fine, but I don't have any idea who to thank or who to give credit for if I love something. So here we go, with an anonymous suggestion for some good ol' Irish music. Gaelic Storm here is a band that formed in 1996 in Santa Monica, California. I know, slightly disappointing that they're not from Ireland directly - but it's okay. These guys got their big break in 1997 by being quasi-extras in a movie. Now, you must be asking, if they were just background extras in a film, it must have been a pretty big film if their careers took off. And I'd answer to you, yes - you are correct. The name of the film was this low budget flick called 'Titanic'. These guys are crazy dedicated to their craft. They do over 125 shows every year around the world. Those are crazy numbers. You know how many Jay-Z did last year? One. Yeah. This particular record came out in June of 2008. It made a small splash on the billboard charts, but nothing to write home about. I'm guessing these are the types of guys that if you see a show, you're so impressed you buy a cd or two. If you haven't seen them live, you either have not heard of them, or you wouldn't rush out to spend cash. Now, I will say - I do enjoy a good Irish/Scottish band every now and again. And what's cool about these guys, is this album has the signature Irish type drinking jams on it, but it also blends styles a bit and have a couple tracks that could pass as regular Top 40 style jams. Don't you worry though, there are plenty of bagpipin' good times over the 14 tracks. I'm not walking away blown out of my seat or anything, but I'm leaving happy - and that's what counts.

TRACK LISTING:
1. What's the Rumpus?
2. Lover's Wreck
3. Darcy's Donkey
4. Mechanical Bull, The
5. Human to a God
6. Slim Jim and the Seven Eleven Girl
7. Don't Let the Truth Get in the Way (Of a Good Story)
8. Samurai Set, The
9. Beidh Aonach Am rach
10. Death Ride to Durango
11. Faithful Land
12. If Good Times Were Dollars
13. Floating the Flambeau
14. Night I Punched Russell Crowe, The

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. The Night I Punched Russell Crowe
2. What's The Rumpus?
3. Darcy's Donkey

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Do you know know who Thom Yorke is? He's an English musician born in 1968. He's the frontman of a band too, but that's not important today. This is all about a solo album. A little history, when Thom was born, one of his eyes was fixed shut. Doctors said the eye was paralyzed, and the condition was permanent. Upon going to a specialist, he determined a muscle graft could work, and Thom underwent five eye operations before the age of six. While I believe he has vision, the surgery left him with a drooping eye. He attended Oxford after moving around a ton as a kid, but quickly figured school wasn't really for him. He was involved in a fairly serious car accident as a young adult, that to this day has left him very weary of any mechanized transportation. He started fronting his band in 1991, and they've been extremely successful. This solo record, his first, came out in 2006. The media wanted to blow that out of proportion, stating the band was breaking up - when that couldn't have been further from the truth as time has shown. The solo thing was done with their blessing, and even play a couple of his solo works at band shows. The style of this album is very alternative, true to form. It features some electronics, and very 808 type beats. Mind you, in 2006. Lyrically, this album is on point with just about any of the bands records, no dip in quality. That was recognized by him winning a grammy for best alt record. I'm not sure if I love this album or not, but it's really, really good. I think a couple times through, it's taking me a little while to catch the total vibe - but I'm getting there. Like some albums, they take a while to realize how amazing it actually is. If nothing else, this is one heck of a solo effort. It reminds of Beck a lot - except more of a lust for the style, and not as much arrangement change like a Beck record. Anyway, this is a good one to listen to today. And keep it in the player for a week or so. I think it'll grow on you.

TRACK LISTING:
1. The Eraser
2. Analyse
3. The Clock
4. Black Swan
5. Skip Divided
6. Atoms for Peace
7. And It Rained All Night
8. Harrowdown Hill
9. Cymbal Rush

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. The Eraser
2. Analyse
3. Cymbal Rush

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Shelby Lynne - Revelation Road

New Music Tuesday kicks in with a little Shelby Lynne. Now, I suspect most of you have no idea who this lady is. Completely fine - you probably wouldn't have had any reason to know who she is. I only know her from an early 2000's soundtrack contribution 'Wall In Your Heart' that was oddly on the 'Orange County' soundtrack with Jack Black. I'm not sure I ever actually saw that movie, but I recall that song being on the trailer. Regardless, Shelby was actually born in Quantico, Virginia. There is nothing in Quantico, other than a lot of military and federal agency headquarters. She moved to Alabama shortly after being born, in which she lived in an increasingly abusive household. Her father ended up shooting and killing her mother, and himself when Shelby was 17 years old. Just one year after her parents death, she appeared on the TV program, "Nashville Now". Soon after making that appearance, she was signed to Epic Records. She continued to toil in the mediocrity for a decade plus, until she hit it big with a 1999 album release and subsequent contribution to the 'Bridget Jones' soundtrack. She was named "Best New Artist" in 1999, even though she'd been working in the business for years. This is Shelby's twelfth studio recording, and none of her albums have done particularly well commercially. This is her second drop on her own label, Everso Records. In terms of style, she's a vocalist. Very small arrangements typically, just an acoustic guitar and then maybe a slight drum beat. Very faint though. I like her voice - it's not super unique or amazing, but it's nice. Something comforting about the way she sings. But in terms of this album - it simply lacks anything that would make you think twice. Certainly not bad, but I'd really have to be in that slow music mood for it, and even then I'd probably rather listen to about 10 other records. It's worth checking out, just don't expect the world.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Revelation Road
2. I'll Hold Your Hand
3. Even Angels
4. Lead Me Love
5. The Thief
6. Woebegone
7. I Want To Go Back
8. I Don't Need A Reason To Cry
9. Toss It All Aside
10. Heaven's Only Days Down The Road
11. I Won't Leave You

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Even Angels
2. Lead Me Love
3. The Thief

FINAL RATING:
2.25 out of 5 stars

Das Racist - Relax

Apologies for late last week. I ended up getting sick and I didn't post. But we're back today with follower Ashley's Suggestion Box drop of Das Racist. Now I won't claim to have been a big Das Racist supporter before today, but I'd heard of them before at least. And listening to them more this morning, it's certainly not hip hop in the conventional sense. There is this new genre out there called 'alternative rap'. What exactly does that mean? Nothing really. Basically it isn't standard hip hop or rap, so they drop that single meaningless word in front of it. I guess they call LMFAO something similar, although they could also fit the "party rap" standard. So dumb. Anyways, these guys are from Brooklyn. They all met in Connecticut at Wesleyan University. The name came up from a tv show that would have a little kid exclaiming that things were racist. So it became a game for friends of the band to yell that things were racist and call people out. (in a joking way) So they ended up calling their band Das Racist, with the potential influence from Das EFX. That isn't confirmed, just a thought. With all of them being minorities at a liberal arts type college in Connecticut, I can imagine that they faced a fair amount of obstacles getting through school. As someone who went to basically and all white school myself, I know it was hard on the couple of black guys I was friends with. Anyways, that's kind of the debate with this group. Are they just another joke? Do they have a solid take on hip hop today and taking down some sort of cultural barrier? I'm not here to debate any of that, so I'll just form my opinion on the merits of the music. And for me, this isn't worth my while. It reminds me a lot of Soulja Boy meets LMFAO or something. Maybe slightly better lyrics, but not all tracks. I mean, 'Rest In Peace Selena'. Is that being real, or some sort of sick joke? I can't tell, and it just doesn't have the feel of some sort of tribute. I don't know. I'm sure these guys have talent, but this album isn't legit.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Relax
2. Michael Jackson
3. Brand New Dance
4. Middle of the Cake
5. Girl
6. Shut Up, Man
7. Happy Rappy
8. Booty in the Air
9. Power
10. Punjabi Song
11. Selena
12. Rainbow in the Dark
13. Trick, The
14. Celebration

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Rainbow In The Dark
2. Relax
3. Brand New Dance

FINAL RATING:
2 out of 5 stars

Clem Snide - Ghost Of Fashion

Oh Hump Day. We roll into Wednesday with a little Clem Snide. Who is that? Great question. I have no idea either! My buddy Heidi dropped Clem into the Suggestion Box a while back. No album or anything, just the name. Looking him up today - it's not a him, but a full band! Who'd have guessed? But apparently they've been doing this country thing for quite some time. Except country with a caveat. They have this alternative/indie feel to them too. They started making music WAY back in 1991 - and they dropped a variety of independent type albums. They didn't drop their first record until 1998, which is quite the delay from inception to release. They from the New York area though, so some bands end up being quite content playing music on such a big stage. Being from New York, the 9/11 attacks took quite the toll on the band. At first they banded together and wanted to tour around and hope their music was a brief distraction for those people that were in need of support. But that tour was quite ill-fated, and didn't go well. Between all those emotions from the tour, the actual event emotions coming together - they decided to break apart for a while. The breakup didn't last too long though, and Clem Snide is back making music again today. If I've ever reviewed them, or if you've heard them on your own, the lead singer sounds like he's the front man of the Decemberists. I'm not sure what exactly makes this country, but that's the label they want. It's got this great mood feel, and it's extremely laid back. Being a decade old now, I think this really holds up against the test of time. I'm listening to this right now for the first time and it could have easily come out last week. Needless to say, I really enjoy this. I love the vocals, they make me want to listen to more. The soft guitar arrangements are nice, and they make the album flow very well. A couple tracks have that banjo-y country feel, so I think it has something for everyone.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Let's Explode
2. Long Lost Twin"
3. Ice Cube
4. Chinese Baby
5. Don't Be Afraid of Your Anger
6. Evil vs. Good
7. Moment in the Sun
8. The Curse of Great Beauty
9. Joan Jett of Arc
10. The Junky Jews
11. Ancient Chinese Secret Blues
12. The Ballad of Unzer Charlie
13. No One's More Happy Than You

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Moment In The Sun
2. The Curse Of Great Beauty
3. Ancient Chinese Secret Blues

FINAL RATING:
4.25 out of 5 stars

Evanescence - Self Titled

New Music Tuesday is in full swing today with one of my closeted favorite bands, Evanescence. I'm not sure why I don't proclaim from the heavens that I love these guys - but I do. I enjoy their hard rock - yet somehow ballady style. It's a really great contrast. This album drops today - but is a couple years in the making. They started writing lyrics for this album all the way back in 2009. They started recording this in 2010 - but after getting halfway through it, they determined they had hired the wrong producer for the job. Sometimes that happens. You feel a certain guy will give you the edge you're looking for, but when you hear everything on playback, it just isn't what the band thought it'd be. Which is hard, since you end up so far in the process before you make that determination. Some people think calling your album the same name as your band is just lazy. (Yep, me too) but for this particular album, they claim to have a reason. Amy Lee talked about how everyone in the band was getting tired, and maybe losing the love for music they once had. Suddenly they had this revelation. They all realized the band is a huge part of them and makes them really happy making music for not only themselves, but their fans. So this album is called Evanescence because it's all about their revitalization in themselves, and this album is for the band. In terms of style, this album doesn't stray too much from the secret Evanescence formula. It still has that heavy overtone with great Amy Lee vocals and solid arrangements. There seems to be a little more electronics on this album, which surprised me pleasantly. I do feel this album is more in your face than previous albums. Like, if I could put myself in Lee's shoes, and think about how she felt while writing these tracks, I feel this might be her most passionate album to date. And I'm coming away impressed. I'm going to recommend this one today. I think you'll enjoy it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. What You Want
2. Made of Stone
3. The Change
4. My Heart Is Broken
5. The Other Side
6. Erase This
7. Lost in Paradise
8. Sick
9. End of the Dream
10. Oceans
11. Never Go Back
12. Swimming Home
13. New Way to Bleed
14. Say You Will
15. Disappear
16. Secret Door

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Secret Door
2. My Heart Is Broken
3. Erase This

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Kansas - Point Of Know Return

Checking the old Suggestion Box, a while back follower janis! asked that I take a peek at some Kansas. Now, I know my way around a Kansas record - but I can't really say that I've ever taken the time out to listen to a full length recording. Not sure why - but maybe they've never been my wheelhouse groove since I was a kid. Now, it what I would call the shocking revelation of 2011 - Kansas formed in, yes - Kansas. I'm sure you're stunned, I know I am too. They got their start in the early 70's, and they were kind of a hodgepodge of band members that just liked jamming out. They have a very unique style - mixing their love to boogie with very complex symphonic arrangements. It makes for the opera type album from start to finish. You certainly have the climaxes and falls that you'd expect to hear in a very well told story. They didn't really hit it big until 1977 with their release of 'Leftoverture' which produced the single 'Carry On Wayward Son'. That album sits at 5x platinum, their highest selling record to date. It was one year later that this album dropped, and it has reached a very respectable 4x platinum. The reason I chose this record instead, is the signature track 'Dust In The Wind'. Even if you never heard Kansas before, you probably have seen 'Old School' and can picture Will Ferrell belting out that track while serenading his deceased buddy - Blue. It's pretty much in the middle of the album - and it creates this really nice ballad break for the listener. You can't ignore the opener track as well, 'Point Of Know Return'. Very uptempo style that doesn't really carry that unique classical Kansas feel. But the rest of this album falls right in line to that symphonic effort, and they basically mastered that craft. It's not going to fit everyone's tastes, but it's a pretty solid album. And if nothing else, you can never go wrong listening to 'Dust' over and over.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Point of Know Return
2. Paradox
3. Spider, The
4. Portrait (He Knew)
5. Closet Chronicles
6. Lightning's Hand
7. Dust in the Wind
8. Sparks of the Tempest
9. Nobody's Home
10. Hopelessly Human

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Dust In The Wind
2. Point Of Know Return
3. Nobody's Home

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

LL Cool J - Mr. Smith

So recently I was talking with someone about music, and upon asking what music this person was big into - one of the first responses was LL Cool J. After I stopped laughing, I returned a glance to notice this person was dead serious. So clearly I missed out on something and need to go back to his stuff. I went with this album as it's his best selling, at 2x platinum. He had a couple other 2x records as well, but I didn't feel like listening to 'Mama Said Knock You Out' today. Some people refer to LL as a visionary, and one of the pioneers of hip hop. Why you might ask? Great question! He was one of the first rappers to really arrange his songs in a pop style - and basically blend the two together. Before LL, believe it or not, pop fans and rap fans were two very separate groups. He took a big hit in terms of street cred for that, in which he has responded over the years. He's done a number of more hardcore rap records, in which pretty much all of them are terrible. It's hard to listen to a guy talk about all the things he likes in the bedroom as his "style" and then talk about blowin' holes in gangsta's. It just doesn't jive. He tried though, and that's half the battle. So here's why I don't like his music. This album is 15 tracks deep. The bigger singles on this album were 'Hey Lover' and 'Doin' It'. Now, if you listen to those songs, you'd get the feeling this is a guy who is going to do collabo ballads and that's his sweet spot. But then you have the 'I Shot Ya' tracks here, where he seems to be trying to be hardcore. You can't have it both ways! And then you go and do this NBC show 'In The House'? That's supposed to clean up your soft image? Get serious. I heard he's pretty good in the NCIS series and I actually liked the movie 'Any Given Sunday', in which he did a fine job. Personally, I think he should stick to acting and call it a day. Thankfully, he hasn't dropped an album since 2008 - and I don't see a plan for another.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Intro, The (Skit)
2. Make It Hot
3. Hip Hop
4. Hey Lover
5. Doin It
6. Life as...
7. I Shot Ya
8. Mr. Smith
9. No Airplay
10. Loungin
11. Hollis to Hollywood
12. God Bless
13. Get da Drop on 'Em
14. Prelude (Skit)
15. I Shot Ya (Remix)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. I Shot Ya (Remix)
2. Doin' It
3. Loungin'

FINAL RATING:
1.5 out of 5 stars

Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks

Sorry for the delay today. Somehow I was locked out of my computer for two hours. The mysteries of these crazy machines that will someday take over the world. Anyways, when I think about punk rock - these guys typically enter my mind first. I'm not really sure why, but when I play word association with myself, punk rock = Sex Pistols. Now for some of you, you may think that's perfectly normal. But the strange thing is, I've never really been a fan of theirs. I know some of their stuff, but I don't own any albums or have a poster on my wall or anything. It's fairly random. And even in pop culture, these guys formed in 1975 or so, and they only lasted for about two and a half years. Only dropping one studio album. Yet somehow, they are known as one of the most influential acts in music history. The band had really just started rolling when bassist Sid Vicious passed away. Interesting story. His girlfriend was murdered and found dead in his apartment via a knife that belonged to Sid. He was in a drunken and drug based stupor - and claims he had nothing to do with it. He was charged with murder, and thusly tried to kill himself. When he failed, he was in Bellvue Mental Hospital for a while. Upon his release, they had a party to celebrate where his mother had heroin delivered to the party - against the wishes of his girlfriend he'd met his first day out. Sid ended up OD-ing, but the folks at the party were able to revive him. He died in his bed that night. Shortly thereafter a note was found that said this: "We had a death pact, and I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye." Crazy stuff. There is so much more about that story I'd like to tell, because it's fascinating, but I digressed too much already. This is mid 70's punk rock at its finest. If you enjoy punk rock today, this is where it all got started. I won't suggest that I'm their biggest fan, because I still won't be after listening to this. But I respect it. I think had they been able to continue with the original line up, they'd have been one of the best selling bands ever. Instead, this album is platinum in the states, and they never reached that mark again. Take a listen to this and remember what was, and what could have been.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Holidays in the Sun
2. Bodies
3. No Feelings
4. Liar
5. God Save the Queen
6. Problems
7. Seventeen
8. Anarchy in the U.K.
9. Submission
10. Pretty Vacant
11. New York
12. E.M.I.

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Anarchy In The UK
2. Bodies
3. God Save The Queen

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Nirvana - Nevermind

Recently, Nirvana would have celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Nevermind'. Since this occurred during my quasi-hiatus, I didn't get a chance to tell you guys about it. This album was expected to pretty much do nothing. It was this small Seattle based band that drew inspiration from a band like the Pixies - just making music that identified with the grunge era. Then, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' hit the MTV circuit and the song hit the radio. It went from something that would sell maybe a million to something that sold well over 10. To display how big it was, by 1992 it topped Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous' in the billboard charts. That's no small feat. People have made a big deal about the lyrical quality over the years. But in my opinion, it's just nit-picking a really tight, solid album. Sure, you can't fully understand what Cobain is saying all the time, and sure, if you do make it out, it doesn't always make sense. But so what? Whatever he was singing about, he was obviously very passionate about it. And attempting to decipher any rock band and their lyrics is mostly an exercise in futility. It's frankly amazing how sites like Rolling Stone initially gave this a 3 out of 5 the day it dropped, but now consider it one of the best albums of all time. Why is that? At first glance would you think, "oh - it's just another rock band doing the grunge thing?" But then we got to know Cobain through his death, and all of the sudden all the works we did have became legendary. I wasn't on board with that. I always felt Nirvana's music was glorified because of the way it ended, versus the quality. Well, I was a fool. Listening to this again and again, it's just flat out awesome. 'Teen Spirit' is one of my least favorite tracks on the record. The rest of them are powerful, well done tracks that make you want more. There is a reason this album sold over 30 million copies worldwide - and it isn't just because the frontman died tragically. Do yourself a favor and pick this up again. I think even casual rock fans will come to remember and respect what Nirvana was all about.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come as You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On a Plain
12. Something in the Way

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. In Bloom
2. Lithium
3. Something In The Way

4. Come As You Are
5. Breed

FINAL RATING:
5 out of 5 stars

Daft Punk - Discovery

I'm no fool. I know 'Techno Tuesday' isn't the reason most of you log on to read on Tuesday's - or any other day of the week. But heck, I like dance music. And I know a couple others that do too. So if nothing else, this makes me remember to listen to some beaty goodness each week. And why shouldn't anyone want to listen to Daft Punk? The only person I know that doesn't like the song 'One More Time' is follower Mithrandr. Craziness. Anyways, I believe I've documented my enjoyment of this band before. I reviewed their 'Homework' album a while back, to a fairly high praise. Discovery here is a bit of a curveball to their earlier works. This one is a little more synthed out than previous albums, and has a little different feel overall. It's called Discovery as it's supposed to mimic the stages of being a child, and really figured out what everything is in this crazy world. Other than the big hit I already mentioned, a lot of this album feels like late 70's funk music and then early 80's synth rock music. It's like if George Clinton and Styx got together and made a funky fresh dance album - this would be the offspring. When this came out in 2001, the dance revolution was starting to calm down quite a bit from what it was in the late 90's. They lost a little steam from their prior record, and this never got to be quite a big as they all thought it could have been. Maybe because a song like 'Short Circuit' sounds like a really bad 'Top Gun' song - but still. There are a couple good tracks here, and if you like dance music, you'll like this.

TRACK LISTING:
1. One More Time
2. Aerodynamic
3. Digital Love
4. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
5. Crescendolls
6. Nightvision
7. Superheroes
8. High Life
9. Something About Us
10. Voyager
11. Veridis Quo
12. Short Circuit
13. Face to Face
14. Too Long

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. One More Time
2. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
3. Voyager

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

Scotty McCreery - Clear As Day

Ahh yes. The HIGHLY anticipated debut release of Season 10 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery. Seriously, did anyone even remember about this kid? I understand the show is huge and that people vote in droves for this contest. But is anyone really going to rush out today and pick this up? Please let me know if you are. Anyways, New Music Tuesday swings into place with Scotty here. He's 17 years old, and hails from Garner, North Carolina. What he has going for him, is he has the vocal of a guy 55 years old who has been smoking and drinking whiskey his whole life. Perfect if you want to get into the country music business. Even though he was from NC, he ended up auditioning in my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The judges of course were impressed and shocked by his voice. He won the show pretty easily, among seemingly no real competition. This is all my opinion of course, and I don't find his style to be all that appealing. When I do listen to country music, I enjoy listening to guys sing about their issues and stuff I can relate to. This "kid" is a kid! He's 17! What's been his biggest problem so far? I wanted to kiss a girl, but I didn't have the courage? My mom didn't make pancakes this morning and I had to settle for two Eggo's WITHOUT any syrup? These aren't problems I can relate to. And that's pretty much what this album is. Sure, he's got the voice. Sure, he's got some pretty nice arrangements on this album. But it's pure nonsense. 'The Trouble With Girls'? Come on. If you're over 16 this song shouldn't be relate-able to you. I'm all fired up now. It isn't so much as this is bad, it's just not worth listening to. I'd rather listen to Taylor Swift's problems - at least she has a great Kanye story.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Out of Summertime
2. I Love You This Big
3. Clear As Day
4. Trouble with Girls, The
5. Water Tower Town
6. Walk in the Country
7. Better Than That
8. Write My Number On Your Hand
9. Dirty Dishes
10. You Make That Look Good
11. Back on the Ground
12. That Old King James

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Better Than That
2. Clear As Day
3. Back On The Ground

FINAL RATING:
1.75 out of 5 stars

Iced Earth - Framing Armageddon

We're back on what is shaking out to be a normal week for me, and thusly, regular reviews! Hooray! Iced Earth here is a Florida based heavy metal band. The lead man of the group is Jon Scaffer - who has been around since day one. He started the band while in Columbus, Indiana - and called them Purgatory. The name was forced to change when he moved down to Florida, and there was already a fairly popular band with the same name lingering around. Iced Earth is became, and the rest is history. Their first studio album came out in 1990, and they are still out there making tunes today. This particular record came out in 2007 as part of a two piece concept recording. They were going for this metal opera type theme which tends to be pretty common. For some reason, metal makers seem to have this deep down desire to be thespians and make albums showing such. But this concept was two albums depicting the fictional creation and destruction of mankind. Heavy stuff. I'm not really sure what I think about this. While on one hand, the deep down metal lover in me says it's pretty solid. I like the Mustaine type vocal and the really fast paced guitar in places. The other side of me that's logical, hates when bands create these alternate worlds and sing about them as if we're supposed to know what's in their crazy dreams or nightmares. If I can weave my way past that though, there is some good music here. And it opens with track one being this, brooding melody that sets the tone. The only down side is how a couple of the tracks are a little cheesy, and sound like something The Lonely Island would parody. But all in all, it's worth listening to. And it's probably only a metal fan type of record - but give it a shot anyway. Maybe if you're into fictional novels like LOTR or that ilk, this will be your thing too.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Overture
2. Something Wicked, Pt. 1
3. Invasion
4. Motivation of Man, The
5. Setian Massacre
6. Charge to Keep, A
7. Reflections
8. Ten Thousand Strong
9. Execution
10. Order of the Rose
11. Cataclysm
12. Clouding, The
13. Infiltrate and Assimilate
14. Retribution Through the Ages
15. Something Wicked, Pt. 2
16. Domino Decree, The
17. Framing Armageddon
18. When Stars Collide (Born Is He)
19. Awakening, The

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Framing Armageddon
2. A Charge To Keep
3. Reflections

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

Moving Forward.

So a little explanation of where I am for you guys.

Next week and going forward should be back to "normal" for me for a while. I think I'm going to cut down to one post per day, maybe two still if I'm feeling ambitious.

Please do keep your suggestions coming, as well as the comments.

I'd also like to look into other forums for you guys to share more and all that. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'm looking into some layout options too - just to make things more fun.

Hope all is well in your worlds, and Go Badgers, Brewers and Packers!

B Side

J. Cole - Cole World: The Sideline Story

Finally back to normal after being out of the office for the last few days. A long while back, follower Ashley dropped some J. Cole into the suggestion box. Sometimes though, stuff is in the box before it drops, which was the case with Mr. Cole here. This is his first studio record, and it dropped on Tuesday this week. Jermaine Cole was born in 1985 in Frankfurt, Germany. Yes, you read that correctly. Born in Germany. That didn't last long though, as he moved to North Carolina at eight months. Turns out he was a pretty smart kid too. He ended up attending St. John's University on an academic scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. Cole got into rap at a young age, citing 2Pac, Eminem, Nas and Andre 3000 as his major influences. He started rhyming words at age 15, and he thought he might have a shot at a career someday. A story goes that he made this great track over a sampled beat, stood outside of Jay-Z's office for over 3 hours waiting to show it to him. When Jay came out of his office, he shunned J and things looked grim. Cole was working at a collection agency at that time, and a couple months after that incident, an associate of Jay-Z left a message for Cole saying they needed to meet as soon as possible. Immediately, Cole left his job and got ready for the meeting. He was signed shortly thereafter. In terms of style, this album is a little different. It's a little lighter like in the the Drake realm of hip hop. It's more than that though. It seems to have more substance than most Drake records. While I don't think he knocked this record out of the park, it's a solid first effort. It reminds of of like a cross of Drake, Bruno Mars and maybe Lil Wayne. Some rapping, some piano laced beats and a lighter flow - yet solid flow. Even if you're a pop fan, this is worth checking out. It's got a semi-pop feel to it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Intro
2. Dollar and a Dream III
3. Can't Get Enough
4. Lights Please
5. Interlude
6. Sideline Story
7. Mr. Nice Watch
8. Cole World
9. In the Morning
10. Lost Ones
11. Nobody's Perfect
12. Never Told
13. Rise and Shine
14. God's Gift
15. Breakdown
16. Work Out

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Lost Ones
2. Work Out
3. Can't Get Enough

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding Pink Floyd as of late. Maybe only in my inner-circle (which solely includes myself) - but still. They put out all their albums and a bunch of new artwork in this huge, super expensive box set that I totally want. I won't buy it because I'm cheap, but it looks pretty amazing. They also have this Australian based experience show that's touring the states soon. I think it's coming to Milwaukee in December, so that'll be super fun. I probably will go, because I'm such a Floyd nut. But it made me think of how many reviews I've done for the band, and the answer was a shocking one. ONE??!?! Come on. And that one review was way back when the blog first started. That's just crazy. So here I am, reviewing one of my favorite albums of all time. And you might look at me and think, what makes this go good? It's only 5 tracks deep? And normally, I'd kick my feet up and whole heartedly agree with you. Five tracks is typically way too short of an album for my tastes. But my friends, there is a reason this 1975 gem is 6x platinum in the USA. It's freakin' amazing. And even though it's only 5 songs, it's still about 50 minutes long. Not too shabby. But all the songs are incredible, and make you want to listen to more and more Floyd. There is a really great story about one of their band mates, Syd Barrett and this album - and I highly encourage you all to read about that someday. It's part of the reason this album is so great, the inspiration the band drew from his mental decline. Regardless, I can't emphasize enough how great this record is. 'Shine On' is broken into two separate tracks and nine parts. If you put all 20+ minutes together, you have a symphonic masterpiece. The other three songs are just ho-hum Top billboard type materials. With 'Have a Cigar' being one of the most recognized Floyd songs of all time. I have no way of deciding what my Top 3 are, because all 5 songs (4 if you don't break out the sections of 'Shine') are amazing. Please, check it out. Make me happy today by telling me how much you love this as well.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)
2. Welcome To The Machine
3. Have A Cigar
4. Wish You Were Here
5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. THE WHOLE ALBUM!!!

FINAL RATING:
5+ out of 5 stars

Amy Grant - Heart In Motion

You know what's crazy? Amy Grant is 50 years old. Now, I know that I'm no spring chicken - but 50? Come on. I remember this album pretty vividly. It was hard not to hear at least one Amy Grant single every day back in 1991. I'm getting ahead of myself though - I need to start from the childhood beginning. Her family settled in Nashville when she was a kid, which pretty much guarantees a kid will end up in music. She wrote her first song and performed the first time at 16. She recorded her first album in 1977 - at the ripe age of 17. Here was this regular girl with a solid voice, singing Christian tunes. It wasn't really common at the time, and Grant had the market cornered. Where now Christian acts tend to have more barriers than doors opening, it was the opposite for Grant. She was contacted by just about every major company wanting her to do specials and appearances. She was even labeled as the "Queen of Christian pop" by the media. Not a bad thing. In the mid 80's - Grant got a little greedy though. She wanted to be more than just a Christian act. She wanted to make contemporary pop music (still with a Christian undertone) but have it appeal to the masses. Her first couple attempts didn't fare so well - but then BAM! 1991 came, and 'Heart In Motion' dropped. What exactly did this accomplish? Only a 5x platinum rating in the states. Not bad eh? Now, this certainly isn't the kind of music I normally groove on. We all know that. A 7-8 year me however, thought singing this all over our townhouse at the time was pretty amazing. If nothing else, bring back some memories today. I promise you know all the words still.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Good For Me
2. Baby Baby
3. Every Heartbeat
4. That's What Love Is For
5. Ask Me
6. Galileo
7. You're Not Alone
8. Hats
9. I Will Remember You
10. How Can We See That Far
11. Hope Set High

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Good For Me
2. Baby Baby
3. Every Heartbeat

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Another one of my big supporters has always been my partner in crime, Heidi. And it doesn't happen super often, but once in a while she'll drop me a band she's grooving on and wants to get my input on them. Well, this is coming much later than I'm sure she wanted, but here goes nothing. Local Natives are an indie rock band based out of Los Angeles, California. This album dropped in the United Kingdom in November of 2009 - but didn't make it's way across the pond until nearly March of 2010. The band mates knew each other from high school - and then they went on to attend UCLA together as well. They 100% self funded this album, which is super cool. That means you have the five members jamming away - and not putting anything out that doesn't pass their standards. The album is named after a house they stayed at in Orange County, with a pretty neat backstory: "It was insanely messy and there were always friends over knocking around on guitars or our thrift store piano. It was an incredible experience and I’ll never forget that time." Love band stories like that. In terms of sheer style, I have no idea what I'd call this. Almost every track seems to be a three part harmony, which for some reason I'm finding super cool. It's somewhat uptempo, yet still really chilled out - which is an odd paradigm. I think these guys have merely scratched the surface for what they're capable of. But this is still a really worth while album. Fun listen. The whole thing kind of runs together into something beyond my words. This is a great "get you into the weekend" type of record, so please, check it out.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Wide Eyes
2. Airplanes
3. Sun Hands
4. World News
5. Shape Shifter
6. Camera Talk
7. Cards & Quarters
8. Warning Sign
9. Who Know Who Cares
10. Cubism Dream
11. Stranger Things
12. Sticky Thread

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Wide Eyes
2. Warning Sign
3. Airplanes

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Faith Hill - Breathe

WE'RE BACK! Thanks again to everyone who made it very clear they want me to keep going. It really helps. And a HUGE shoutout to JenInTosa who not only said I should keep going, but also dropped some new reviews in the Suggestion Box. For her efforts, my first review back will be country - in the form of Faith Hill. Audrey Faith Perry here was born in 1967 in Ridgeland, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant into a Christian family who also raised two biological children of their own. Her vocal talent was on display early and often, as she first sang at seven years old in front of a big audience. Her biggest influence came after seeing Elvis Presley perform at the age of 9. She was so impressed by his on stage presence, that she wanted to get into the same industry. She had all sorts of performances while in college and beyond - but couldn't quite crack the bigtime. Of course, she then decided to move to Nashville to get noticed. After auditioning as a backup for Reba McEntire - she failed to secure a job doing that, and ended up working at a music publishing firm. It was there where she met her first husband, Dan Hill. After singing whimsically around the office, co workers took a shine to her voice, and ended up getting her in the door at Warner Bros. Records. Her debut album came out in 1993 and is certified 3x platinum in the states. Not too shabby. In 1994, her marriage ended and Faith was moving onto the fame by herself. She married Tim McGraw in 1996, and her career has soared. 'Breathe' came out in 1999, and is her biggest selling record at 8x platinum in the US. We all know my stance on country music - but this isn't that sort of album. This is a country/pop crossover record, that almost seems to lean more to the pop side. Some of these tracks you could easily see someone like Whitney Houston belting out. I like it. I like the overall feel of it and the way I quickly breezed through it. It's pretty upbeat and toe-tapping, which is fun. And then there are plenty of songs to sing along to, which is always fun. Give this a run today, I think you'll enjoy it.

TRACK LISTING:
1. What's in It for Me
2. I Got My Baby
3. Love Is a Sweet Thing
4. Breathe
5. Let's Make Love
6. It Will Be Me
7. Way You Love Me, The
8. If I'm Not in Love
9. Bringing Out the Elvis
10. If My Heart Had Wings
11. If I Should Fall Behind
12. That's How Love Moves
13. There Will Come a Day

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Breathe
2. If I'm Not In Love
3. The Way You Love Me

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

Hang In There!

Thanks to everyone who commented, emailed, called, texted, and all that - letting me know they want me to continue blogging it up.

I've decided I will keep going - potentially Friday this week. I have an odd couple of weeks coming up with a crazy schedule - but I am going to do my best to get back in the swing of things.

Thank you so much for the support - and we'll see you soon!

B Side

What To Do....

Hey All.

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but I want to be open with all you guys. I've been finding myself having a harder and harder time getting all pumped for the reviews lately. Part of me thought I could just do less - but if I couldn't keep up with the two per day, I'm not sure if it'd be worth it anymore.

I guess I'm contemplating shutting 'er down - at least for a while, but I might be convinced otherwise too. It's been a really fun almost two years now, but I'm not sure I'll be able to go another two.

Shoot me a comment or something with your thoughts. I think if enough people let me know they really do want read this daily and enjoy finding new music - I'd most likely be happy to continue forward.

B Side

Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk

It's New Music Tuesday - but I don't want to get into too much filler words, because I'm not sure if you read the artist headline - but yeah, it's THE Hugh Laurie. Now, I've never been a fan of the tv show 'House', but I recognize this guy as an actor - and not a musician. Apparently in July of 2010, he signed a record deal with Warner Bros and was slated to make a blues album sometime in the future. Well, the future is just over a year later, and here we are. Hugh isn't just sitting back and collecting checks either for this. He is playing the guitar and the piano while it appears others are handing the vocal side of the house. It seems to be a compilation of classic blues tracks, and simply done with the Laurie brand on them. Now, most of the arrangements were done by someone else and naturally the album was produced by someone else too - but people say it has his "seal" on it. Whatever that means. Since I don't watch the show I had no clue - but it sounds like he would often play instruments on the program as well. Some conjectured that it was not real and that it was a professional with him syncing, but hey, you were wrong! I have no idea what to make of this. Honestly - help me. I mean, it's not bad - but it's kind of out there. I really enjoy blues music - I love old school Clapton, BB King that sort of stuff. But this is arranged to not even sound like blues. Plus, he's a freakin' actor! I let out a long sigh while typing this and just say out loud, "I don't know". Maybe there are merits here, and maybe the music is worth while - I think it's just that I don't care. I'm ambivalent to this, maybe you won't be.

TRACK LISTING:
1. St. James Infirmary
2. You Don't Know My Mind
3. Six Cold Feet
4. Buddy Bolden's Blues
5 Battle of Jericho
6. After You've Gone
7. Swanee River
8. Whale Has Swallowed Me, The
9. John Henry
10. Police Dog Blues
11. Tipitina
12. Winin' Boy Blues
13. They're Red Hot
14. Baby, Please Make a Change
15. Let Them Talk

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. St James Infirmary
2. Battle Of Jericho
3. Swanee River

FINAL RATING:
2 out of 5 stars

Wild Beasts - Smother

I certainly hope everyone is back from a nice, long holiday weekend - well rested and ready to grind it out for another shortened work week. But we come back today - and it's Tuesday! We should have Monday off every week and just start on Tuesdays! But since I'm over on Techno stuff, I'm just going to run with a band I heard about recently, Wild Beasts. They're from Kendal, England and have been making music since 2002 or so. In what started off as a small duo - they turned into a trio in 2004 and started making music that labels wanted to be a part of. Their first studio drop came in 2008 and this particular album came out most recently in 2011 - their third studio recording. It went all the day up to number 17 on the UK charts - no real movement in the US mainstream though. I'm not totally sure what prior albums sounded like for these guys, but this is a very synth based sound. It really has that dream pop type feel to it as well. Like and indie rock meets dream fantasy land type sound. It's pretty neat. The band moved to London in response to wanting to make their third record, and it seemed like a solid move for all the band members. They talk about the album name and have some interesting thoughts on the word smother as it relates to humans and our reaction to the world. Worth a read if you're up for it someday. Anyhow, this has gotten pretty great reviews universally, and I won't be any different. It's not only intriguing, but really good music to boot. Not a bad combo platter. I can't imagine too many people not at least thinking this has a solid vibe, and it music you wouldn't at least be excited to sample.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Lion's Share
2. Bed of Nails
3. Deeper
4. Loop the Loop
5. Plaything
6. Invisible
7. Albatross
8. Reach a Bit Further
9. Burning
10. End Come Too Soon

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Lion's Share
2. End Come Soon
3. Plaything

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Rant #20 - "March On"

As I briefly mentioned yesterday, it was the start of college football yesterday. While I'm simply a sports nut - I understand there are a variety of other things that get people excited about game day. When I get to my seat about 20 mins early - I enjoy watching the warm up videos on the big screen, listening to the starting line ups and just generally chatting about the upcoming gridiron matchup. But there is something else going on while I'm off in la-la land. And that small little thing, is the old marching band.



Now, I don't want to come off as a band snob or anything. I've gone to the UW Band's performances outside of sporting events as well. They're usually quite entertaining. When I'm in sports mode though, nothing else matters to me. I took a couple to the game last night, and the wife of the tandem wanted to head to the Union where the band performs before the game starts. I don't think I'd ever done that in my life, so I figured what the heck - let's give it a whirl. The Union is brand new and gorgeous, and a perfect venue for the band to put some show on. Now, they're all seated so you don't get the full marching experience - but it was fun to hear them play. To think about how hard these guys work, and how much time goes into their performances and all that, it's pretty amazing.



The bigger performance comes at the end of the games. Win or loss, rain or shine, the UW band performs in what they call, "The 5th Quarter". Now, I've been a regular season ticket holder for 7 years now, and had student tickets 2 years prior to that. And I can honestly count on one hand the amount of times I've stayed and watched the 5th Quarter. They usually do a random collection of dance favorites, and typically the same songs week over week. The Chicken Dance, Steve Miller's 'Swingtown', 'Shout' among many other songs that get the crowd up and moving after 3 hours of sitting and watching football. A really neat idea, and an overall fun time.



I think in general, the bands like that tend to get overlooked by the general population. Everyone knows and understand how hard the athletes work on and off the field to maintain grades, practice and try to have any sort of social life. Well, the band goes through similar strife, without any of the real recognition. If you're ever in town, check out their spring performances sometime. They tend to play more regular songs versus the ones that make everyone get up and dance. It's a really neat show. I'm sure wherever you're reading this - you have some college town relatively close to you that does something similar. Go check 'em out. Music doesn't always have to be so cookie cutter and the same, mix it up with a little marching band action sometime. You might be surprised how much fun you have.



Have a great, safe holiday weekend B Siders!

Journey - Escape

Can you believe I've been blogging for about a year and a half and I've never reviewed any Journey? How does that even make sense? Regardless, who doesn't love Journey? I mean, they're one of the best bands of all time. Wait, that's going way too far. They're just a band that put out a lot of really catchy music for a lot of years. Unlike my Abdul review - I do find their music stands the test of time, and a couple songs are actually even better today than they were years ago. This album came out in 1981 and is sitting at a cool 9x platinum in the states. It featured four Hot 100 singles, with the headlining 'Don't Stop Believin' only hitting number 9. The highest charting song ended up being 'Open Arms' which got all the way up to number 2. While I think this albums talks a lot about relationships and growing up and all that comes along with those two things - it isn't an album that musically feels restricted to those themes. Meaning - it's kind of timeless music talking about timeless subject matters. And I'm not attempting to imply this album is flawless or anything - but start to finish, it's extremely well done. I mean, the album was so inspiring they created a video game, Journey Escape for the Atari 2600. How many musical acts could say the had a video game in 1981? Not many - that's the answer to my own question. This is very much worth checking out today. And I'd be stunned if anyone took away a feeling of hatred or even dislike for this record. It's really good, and that's all I need to say.



TRACK LISTING:

1. Don't Stop Believin'

2. Stone In Love

3. Who's Crying Now

4. Keep On Runnin'

5. Still They Ride

6. Escape

7. Lay It Down

8. Dead Or Alive

9. Mother, Father

10. Open Arms



Listen To Samples



Top 3 Tracks:

1. Don't Stop Believin'

2. Open Arms

3. Who's Crying Now



FINAL RATING:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl

Today is a big day. It marks the start of college football season - more namely the Wisconsin Badgers. I'll be at the game tonight, and quite pumped. So yeah! That has nothing to do with Ms. Abdul here though - and her pop music straight out of the 80's. Follower janis! asked that I run through 1988's 'Forever Your Girl', which was her first studio release. Paula comes from a mixed background and grew up in a Jewish family. She took to dancing early in her life and knew it was something she was passionate about. She was a cheerleader and honor student in high school - and ended up getting a scholarship to Cal State - Northridge. Her freshman year she was selected to be a Laker Girl and became head choreographer for the University. So obviously the dance side was there and solid. It was 1987 when she first tried out the singing thing, even through her voice was raw and she'd never had any training. It took 62 weeks after the debut for her album to hit #1 - which sets a record in length to reach the top. It then spent 10 weeks at number one. She won a grammy for the video for 'Opposites Attract', and things seemed to be going nowhere but up. Her decline is something for a different post though, I'll focus on this album. So - we all know how I feel about pop music. And this is the ideal review to display how I feel about it. This music is absolute garbage. It's catchy as hell and makes you want to dance if you're into it. But lyrically, it's awful. The beats are fun and the 80's synth is worked in well. But when the day is said and done - the music doesn't hold up over the years. You could easily listen to this and feel nostalgic and love it again - but I think if you played this for today's pop crowd, they'd laugh. I'm laughing. You should laugh too.



TRACK LISTING:

1. Way That You Love Me, The

2. Knocked Out

3. Opposites Attract

4. State of Attraction

5. I Need You

6. Forever Your Girl

7. Straight Up

8. Next to You

9. Cold Hearted

10. One or the Other



Listen To Samples



Top 3 Tracks:

1. Straight Up

2. Opposites Attract

3. Forever Your Girl



FINAL RATING:

2 out of 5 stars

Canned Heat - Living The Blues

Have you heard of Canned Heat? Wait. Loaded question. You have, but you may not know it. They have a plethora of outstanding tracks out there - most of which you'd recognize at the drop of a hat. These guys are all about blues, but in a more uptempo fashion. From what I hear, they were sort of pioneers at making blues something you could tap your toes to. They formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California - which makes perfect sense. One could almost call this west coast blues, since it has that sort of feel to it. When the band was launched - they were called 'Canned Heat Blues' - after a 1928 song done by Tommy Johnson. After touring and becoming popular around the US, fans seemed to simply shorten the name to Canned Heat. The band went with it. With the way they did music and their general attitude - they became icons of the hippie era. They basically played every major music festival during the 1960's. The band had two international hits - including one off this album 'Going Up The Country'. Now, I love this song. And the track is a remake of an older blues song done by Henry Thomas called 'Bull Doze Blues'. The group had a knack for turning old, obscure blues tracks and revitalizing them into something new and fresh. Boy were they rewarded for their efforts too. They sold many copies of this album and the song was #1 all across the world. My only complaint about this album is the length. It's too darn short - but then again, all albums were that way back in the day. I love the feel of it and I love the uptempo blues idea in general. I've always been a fan of the Canned Heat - and you might already be - just give 'em a shot.



TRACK LISTING:

1. Refried Boogie, Pt. 1

2. Pony Blues

3. My Mistake

4. Refried Boogie, Pt. 2

5. Sandy's Blues

6. Going Up the Country

7. Walking by Myself

8. Boogie Music

9. One Kind Favor

10. Parthenogenesis



Listen To Samples



Top 3 Tracks:

1. Going Up The Country

2. Pony Blues

3. Sandy's Blues



FINAL RATING:

3.5 out of 5 stars