Thirdmango's Music Review

Bang Camaro -- Bang Camaro

2009-01-26T23:55:00.001-07:00

The thought of having a large amount of singers on stage seems like a really fun idea to me. From what I've heard this band is amazing to see live because of that fact. Of course on the flip side to that fact as far as singing quality goes it's probably not that high, so in the songs where it's a bit slower or there's more notes for the singers to do, I find I like the songs less, such as in "Gates of Love" and "The Ballad". However when this band is doing something fast and pounding the gates of sound such as in "Push Push Lady Lightning" and "F.Y.T.F.O." then they are spot on. The guitar solos are quite impressive when they do come out. Overall I'm glad I listened to this album, it had some fun moments and I can see myself listening to the songs when they come up on random, but as an album it's pretty repetitive.

2 1/2 stars out of 4

Wax Tailor -- Hope & Sorrow

2008-05-21T09:49:00.000-06:00

Wax Tailor is DJ and Producer. I like it when the title of an album shows you the emotion of the album. There are songs which you feel Hope from, and some which you do feel a sense of sorrow. There is a very nice mix in here and some very interesting stuff. The guests on the album sound like they did something out of their comfort zones in some ways, like Sharon Jones on The Way We Lived and The Others on House of Wax. They were directed well by Wax Tailor who seemed to know what (s/he) wanted. Wax also uses some good cuts from different obscure media forms to get across the mood she wants.

This is an interesting album, and anyone who wants to listen to something which goes to different levels and has lots of different feelings to it, you might want to try this one out. I really liked it, but I do have a strong love for DJ mixed music. Really a cool find, check some of it out here. (Provide Link if Possible).

3.5/4 stars

311 -- Soundsystem

2008-05-21T09:47:00.000-06:00

When I first got this album I didn't like most of it, but for some reason every time I gave this album I liked a new song on the album until one day I found I liked most of the album. There isn't a song on this album I dislike but there are definitely and order to how much I like each song in comparison to the others. Like my favorite songs which are among my favorites by 311 include "Large In The Margin", "Evolution" and "Livin' and Rockin'". Whereas my least favorite is "Eons". This album is a really good mix of 311's songs and it comes at a time in which I think they reached their peak of musical expression. They've grown up in this album but still feel young enough to rock.

This has the best mix of chill and rocking 311 songs of their albums so far. If you like or want to try 311 this one would be a good one to check out. 311 has a distinctive sound though so either you'll like them or not. As for me, I tend to like 311.

4 out of 4 stars

MC Chris -- Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp

2008-05-21T09:45:00.000-06:00

The oh so memorable MC Chris, if you've heard him you'll always remember him, after all, who can forget a 5 foot tall fat white rapper who raps like he's a nerd gangster. This is his first EP, and it's just eight tracks with only four songs. In between each song is just little snippets from his answering machine or something he thought was funny, all of which aren't worth listening to. There's also a song called DQ Blizzard which isn't really all that great either, but it's in the other three songs he excels. First is the Star Wars ode "Fett's Vette", which is a rap about Boba Fett, with such great lyrics such as, "See my name is Boba Fett, I know my shit is tight, start not acting right you're frozen in carbonite, got telescopic sight, flamethrowers on my wrist..." Wow. Then comes the great song "The Tussin", a song about getting hooked on a drug called Robotussin. "She don't know I'm on a robotussin trip". Then finally a song entitled "F***in' Up My Christmas", which if you were curious from what the chorus tells us, "F***in' Up My Christmas is a new way of saying F***in' Up My Shit, this is not so much a holiday concern, as it is an exclamation of dismay at the sight of a beautiful woman." These three songs are the best the album have to offer, and after you've listened to them enough for their camp value then they get old pretty fast. So overall it's an okay album, it's funny for a little while but it doesn't sustain itself through time.

If you're into nerdy stuff you might want to listen to a couple of the songs, you can download this album for free at his website. http://67.18.79.2/lab/ Careful cause it does have the swears. 2 out of 4 stars.

Dogs Die In Hot Cars -- Please Describe Yourself

2008-05-21T09:44:00.000-06:00

If I were to Describe DDIHC, it would be one three letter word. Meh. This album is boring and irrelevant. The first song is the only one that has any merit, and even if has a better version which isn't on this album. The song is called "I Love You 'cause I Have To", and it's a silly song that has a catchy tune and that's about it. All the other songs sound like that song but lesser and there's little to no difference between any of the songs. They all have the same droning singer singing exactly the same. Bah, this album is just putting me to sleep.

Boring boring boring. This album just plain sucks. .5 out of 4 stars.

Lifesavas -- Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack

2008-05-21T09:41:00.001-06:00

I like the concept of this album, as if it were an original soundtrack to a movie, and so all of the songs have a common theme to them. As far as the Lifesavas go, I really like their member Versatyl, but other then him I'm not big on the rest of the group. There are about 4 songs on this album which I can see myself going back to and listening again. Other then that nothing really impressed me all that much. Plus there's not much going on in the background, just repetitive beats on most tracks instead of finding some way to make it interesting. These guys seem to be on the border for me between the kind of rap I like and the kind which is more famous. I really liked however hearing one of the members of Digable Planets on this album, that was good to hear from him again.

I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone, it's got some good songs here and there, but even then there are many other rap songs which I'd rather listen to anyways.

1.5/4 stars

The Prodigy -- Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

2008-05-21T09:39:00.000-06:00

On this the fourth album by The Prodigy, it took them seven years form their commercially successful Fat Of The Land before they released this one, and if it was this bad, they should have waited another seven. This album is a poor job at creating anything musical. Only two songs bring it out of that lack luster, and both are because they brought on other people to help. The first is the song "Get Up Get Off" with master of the mic Twista. He lends his vocals to a decent track which could have been made better by anyone else, but his vocals are on point and it makes me want to check out his own stuff. His fast rap is very intoxicating. The best song on the album is the pulse pounding "Hotride" with lyrics done by female vocalist (Name needed). The song is amazingly danceable and makes me wish the song was on a different album by someone different so that there would be more songs like it, unfortunately all there is, is early 90s feeling techno with little to no soul behind them. Just a couple of beats here and there looped and layered about four times. Nothing special, each of these songs sound like the rejects that an amatuer would throw away before getting to something more meaty. If this album is any indication on where they should take their music, it's towards being in the back for other stars to come in and do tracks with them.

Hotride is worth checking out, but other then that, the whole album isn't any good. Not recommended for anyone. 1 out of 4 stars.

The Bird and The Bee -- Please Clap Your Hands

2008-05-21T09:37:00.001-06:00

Get ready Indie fans, I'm going to give a positive review for an indie album. I really like this album. It is only five songs but it leaves me wanting more by this group. (The Girl's) voice is so beautiful and it works well in both the slow songs and the upbeat stuff. This group knows how to do a proper slow song, and then mix it well with a good danceable song as well. Even after listening to this album a couple of times, I've gotten to like it more and more so it's replay ability is high. I really like the mixture they tend to do of dance music with a sweet singing voice, the first track describes it well in it's title, "Polite Dance Song". My only complaint is that it is too short, of course it's meant to be that short as it's an EP, so we'll see if their full length albums can measure up.

If you're an indie fan you already own or will own stuff from these guys soon. For everyone else, if you like girl singers with a light dance feel to it, you should check them out.

3.5/4 stars

Jurassic 5 -- Power In Numbers

2008-05-21T09:35:00.001-06:00

I gave myself an easy one today. This album is easily one of the best crafted albums of all time. The songs flow together so well and there isn't any wasted space on the album. The songs are rapped by a great mix of the four MCs with the really well thought out beats of Cut Chemist and DJ NuMark. They ever have some really cool lyrics about rap life which are different then the usual stuff, for instance, "How many times do I gotta hear some fanatic in my ear tellin' me to keep it real when they ain't payin' my bills or feeding my kids, judging me on how I live, if my crib in the hood or if it's up in the hills." The other line I find great about rap life is, "

They even use one of the songs to tell a story through raping over the telephone to each other, there are such good songs on this album. This is by far and away my favorite rap album of all time.

I love this album and I think anyone should check it out, have an open mind if you're sure you don't like rap, cause it is a lot different then the kind of stuff you might be used to. 4 out of 4 stars.

Insatiable -- Inflatable

2008-05-21T09:33:00.000-06:00

This is the only ska album that I have ever purchased and it's only because this band was a local band in Salt Lake City that I had seen live. They were a pretty fun band and put on a good show so I decided to buy one of their albums and this one was it. Now it's not like I dislike ska, it's that I've never gotten into the genre. I've never gotten around to it is more like it. I like the occasional ska song, but I never really saw any need to go out and buy any albums. This album though is actually really well done and an enjoyable one. It's not just ska but jazzy too and fun like how the band is live. The thing I found interesting about this album is I didn't find myself bored by any of the songs and the songs don't over do it. They keep the songs to a good length and don't over do the ska element of it. The other thing that's nice about the album is that it's at a good length, the only other ska album I was going to purchase was the Mighty Mighty Bosstones big one, but when I found out it was 30 minutes I didn't do it. Anyways, back to this one, I am not an expert on ska at all, but these guys make me like ska, so that's saying something.

If you like ska, or if you like local bands you should check these guys out. Not much more to say on it, for what it's worth it's my favorite ska album of all time. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Sasha -- Airdrawndagger

2008-05-21T09:32:00.002-06:00

Not often do I change a rating, but in this case I need to. When i first reviewed the album Airdrawndagger by Sasha I gave it 2.5 stars, but now having listened to it a lot more and grown to love it, it has become my favorite techno album of all time. The contemplative tone that goes over the whole album is one in which keeps me relaxed the entire time. So here I am changing this album to 4 stars.

311 -- Don't Tread On Me

2008-05-21T09:29:00.001-06:00

For this their eighth album, the guys of 311 don't sound like they used to, they sound older, more calmed down, and they add a tinge of raggae and calipso to their sound as well. I actually like this album, it's very much on the lighter side, not really any hard tunes, the rapping section has pretty much gone away, now it's 2 singers and a band. It feels almost as if they've grown up had kids and yet still play in a band, making music cause they like to. This added to the song titled "It's Getting OK Now" gives you the sense that their settling down and making music for the heck of it. I got the album because I've been a long time 311 fan and I really like the catchy upbeat title track Don't Tread On Me. The rest of the album has some upbeat stuff like Speak Easy and Long For The Fowers. Overall it's a fine album.

I'd say only pick this up if you have nothing better to buy or if you need all of 311's albums in your collection. Not really any reason besides that to own, but if you do already own it, listen to it now and again for it's nice and breezy tones.

3/4 stars

Nine Days -- The Madding Crowd

2008-05-21T09:27:00.000-06:00

You know it really gets me angry when a band comes out with their first album and the band tries to be incredibly righteous and pertinent to society as if their music is some sort of tool for making the world a better place. I can understand when someone established does this, but a band that has one album and they think they're so special. You might remember this group Nine Days, on this album is their famous song that was all over the place, it starts "This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world..." Remember that song? Well the whole album is like that, self righteous and annoying. They also had a song on the album which got a lot of air play because it dealt with teen suicides. That's right they made a song about Teen suicides. You know what else they did? They did a song called Bob Dylan in which they say how Bob is playing Music in the basement. Also with the chorus starting off with "It's just like Bob Dylan says..." and then use a clip from one of his songs and then they expound on the clip. Wow. They really think they're important. Just two more lines to show how weird their stuff is. How about this line from the song Bitter. "If I could change anything I would change everything, these bitter days shall remain." Huh. Now for the best line on the whole album, "I wanna crawl inside your womb". Wow, what a fantastic album ladies and gentlemen. Ugh. This album has no redeeming value, it's lame, it's atrocious and it's pure self righteous written all over it.

Don't bother. Don't get this album. It's not worth your time.

.5/4 stars

Cake -- Comfort Eagle

2008-05-21T09:26:00.000-06:00

Cake often times is too ordinary for me. They do a specific style and very rarely change their sound in any way. So if you like their sound it's great, but for me, I'm not a big fan of their sound and so it's hard for me to get into them. Among their style, they sometimes make really good songs, of which tend to be their radio hits and those tend to be the ones I end up liking. This seems to be the case with this album as well as there are only three songs in which I actually enjoy listening to and could possibly listen to again. The first two are the first two songs on the album "Opera Singer" and "Meanwhile, Rick James..." both of which excel at the formula in which Cake keeps themselves in, however my personal standout song on the album and by far and away my favorite Cake song of all time is the title track of the album Comfort Eagle. They switch up sounds in that one and give you a pulse pounding beat and what sounds like a really tight mandolin and put it together in a good catchy song. It's in all three of these songs that they stray from the usual sounds they tend to make and that's when I think they shine.

The thing about Cake is if you like their music then you should get all their albums. I think everyone should give a listen to the song Comfort Eagle but other then that if you don't like Cake just skip it all together. 1.5 out of 4 stars.

The Prodigy -- The Fat Of The Land

2008-05-21T09:24:00.000-06:00

I was excited when I picked up this album recently because I had been a big fan of the two hits off this album Firestarter and Breathe back in early high school. I had hoped there would be more good to this album when I picked it up but I didn't find too much else. I had known they were more to the techno side as I listened to one of their early albums back in high school so listening to it now, the album has some good songs, and they are famous. I like the beats when it comes to the song Smack My Bitch Up, but I still can't get down with the only four words in the song. The only other song which I thought had a little promise to it was the last song Fuel My Fire. Otherwise the whole album is faulty and repetitive. The way techno shouldn't be, but most of the time is.

Like I said, I still love those first two songs, they have some coolness to them and they deserved to be hits when they came out. So anyone who wants to get these two songs, if you need to get the album to do so, then get the album, otherwise there's no need.

1.5/4 stars

Gogol Bordello -- Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike

2008-05-21T09:21:00.001-06:00

This album is very well named first off. Now if you haven't heard of Gogol Bordello, then just look to the album name to find out the kind of music he does. That's right, Gypsy Punk. Imagine Gypsy music added to Punk and you really do have the music down right there. The stuff this man does is truly fun and insane. His music is crazy and you can't help but enjoy it. As long as he's doing faster tunes, which most of the album is, you can't help but feel the craziness of the music. The slower songs though still pretty good, don't hold the same feel that the fast songs do. I'd say the biggest problem you can find in his music is that if you listen to one of his songs and find you don't like Gypsy Punk, well then you're not going to like anything he does. But if you find yourself liking it, go out and get his stuff cause you'll continue to like it.

I'd recommend this album to anyone who's willing to try out Gypsy Punk. It's fun, it's exciting and it's an all around good time. This album has some really fun stuff on it and you don't find yourself getting bored but you could feel drowsy during the slower songs. Very good album, I'm glad a friend of mine told me about this guy.

3.5/4 stars

Earth, Wind & Fire -- I Am

2008-05-01T10:02:00.002-06:00

"I find romance when I start to dance in Boogie Wonderland."

Earth, Wind and Fire are a very funky very danceable group. The stuff they put out just makes you want to dance. This album is no exception, it has the wonderful and infectious song "Boogie Wonderland" which I can't stop playing. Even when they do slow stuff on this album, it's sweet and genuine. It's not a very long album, but it gets the job done. You get in, you get out, you've had a good time. The instrumentation is phenomenal. There's not enough I can say about this album.

If you don't like anything the Disco era could ever bring then you'll probably just dislike this album out of principle, but even then you should try it out and see if it doesn't get you dancing. Best of the genre right here.

4/4 stars

Medeski, Martin, and Wood -- Uninvisible

2008-04-12T13:53:00.003-06:00

The Twelfth Studio album of MMW mixes the usual jazz we're used to hearing and adds some elements of electronic music, mostly for moods and quick shots of sound. This album is a nice blend of upbeat with slower moody tracks. I have yet to hear this group put out a bad album, however it is still Jazz mixed with freeform, so if you don't like it you won't like anything they do. These three really know how to play together and how to keep themselves on the same track. All of the songs are good but the standout song is the upbeat and funny titled "I Wanna Ride You".

Not the best album to start on if you want to see if you like their music. Try Shack Man instead. If you don't like you won't like this album, if you do, you will like this album. Enough said.

3.5/4 stars

The Flaming Lips -- Yoshimi Battle The Pink Robots

2008-04-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

I've really tried giving this album a chance. Two people in whom I respect their opinions in music have told me time and time again that this is an amazing album. Now I do admit that I love the title and the song that shares the title. Also the opening song Fight Test I like, but the rest of the album isn't so much that I don't like it, it's just that it feels like they're not really doing anything. The feel of the album confuses me. Because at first it's more powerful while still having the airy tone. The first four songs really create this powerful mood that completely dies through the last 7 songs. The rest of the album is too light for me. The good thing is, though I find the last 7 tracks boring, at least I don't hate it. I could put this in if I wanted something for background ambiance but not so if I were to play the first four tracks. Still I love the song Yoshimi, very enjoyable tune which I can play over and over again, but not too much else which I'll go back to again and again.

I can see where indie fans can go right with this album. It's light and airy which seems to be where most indie fans like going, but for me that's just become boring.

1.5/4 stars

Muse -- Origin Of Symmetry

2008-04-12T13:42:00.003-06:00

The thing I like about is this album is the band Muse just gives you a lot of good rockin' songs. Each song has different elements to it but each one is a nice and rockin'. They went out on a limb with a bunch of the songs to see if they would work, and they did, except one song called "Micro Cuts" which goes into an almost Opera sound and it doesn't really hit the mark. But overall with the rest of the songs, they give you enough variety that you're not bored and they don't go into any slow stuff either. The lead singer also probably loves to hear his own voice cause he hits the high register in every song. Overall it's a nice consistent rocking album.

If you like Muse, this one is one you need to get. If you like rock music with some falsetto and some electronic sounds mixed in, you'll love this album.

3.5/4 stars

Juno Reactor -- Bible Of Dreams

2008-04-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

I must say first that I'm not used to this kind of techno, a techno which evokes certain moods in each song and is generally repetitive. I was enjoying the album very much in the first three to 5 songs. But with 9 songs all going through the same progression all between 7 and 9 minutes long soon I became tiresome and wanting something different. This album is very good when it comes to individual songs. I liked each of the songs just fine it's just hard for me to listen to the whole album at once. For instance if I got one of the songs every once in a while I'd probably dance and enjoy it, but all of them together as an album is tiresome and just too much. I really do like his usage of different voices to add to the mood of each song, and the techno aspect is quite well done. But overall as an album I just can't handle it.

Techno fans should get this album, if you don't like techno there's no reason for you to own this one.

3/4 stars

Ozomatli -- Embrace The Chaos

2008-04-12T13:34:00.002-06:00

This is the second album from the amazingly talented Ozomatli, unfortunately it is their weakest album. There are some good moments, the first two songs are excellent as is the ninth "Lo Que Dice". Also having a guest cameo by Will I Am on "Vocal Artillery" can help as well. But other then that, most of the songs are just more filler. Some of the songs are good but nothing as near as good as anything else they've put out. They had an amazing rookie album, so it can make sense that on their sophomore album they are working out the kinks.

This is a must have if you're a die hard Ozomatli fan, but if you're just getting into them you can pick this one up last. It has some good stuff but all around it's not that great.

2.5/4 stars

Slagsmalsklubben -- Boss For Leader

2008-04-11T02:04:00.001-06:00

SMK for short, this 6 piece Bit Pop group from Sweden is an amazing mix of the sounds we loved as a kid with rockin' good tunes. I recently discovered this group and listened to this their 3rd studio album. I must say I am enthralled with this group. Watching them on youtube you can really see what goes into making each of these songs, and there is a lot to it. They all know their role and they fit so well together. This album has some really fun upbeat tunes and that's when this group is at their best. They do a couple of slower things and that's when their music starts to get weak. But overall these guys know how to take the sounds from nintendo games and make them into pure danceable hits.

If you liked nintendo music, and you like upbeat sounds, you'll love this group. I have fallen in love with them in the short time I've listened to them, though a lot of their best stuff isn't on this album, but there is still some really good sons on this one like the really nice "Malmo Beach Night Party". If you want to hear their sounds go to youtube and type in "His Morning Promenade"

3.5/4 stars.

Linkin Park -- Minutes To Midnight

2007-05-26T01:56:00.000-06:00

I admit it, I bought this album today. I was curious to check it out. And all I can say is.... wait, who is this? Violins? It feels like Linkin Park decided to go back to the early 80s and hang out with Metallica. If you bought this album because you were looking for the old Linkin Park, I can tell you that if this album is what's on the horizon, then the Linkin Park you knew is close if not dead. Luckily for those hardcore fans, there are one or two songs which almost go back to their old sounds, but not quite. Here's some interviews about the album. "We were looking back at the things that we had done in the past... and I think we just figured that we had exhausted that sound. It was easy for us to replicate, it was easy for other bands to replicate, and we just needed to move on," said Mike Shinoda. Apparently this album is their first album to contain guitar solos. And as much as I hate to say it, some of the songs sound like U2. Has this band gone off the deep end? "Hands Held High" and "Valentine's Day" sound like they were directly influenced by U2. Though I'm not a big fan of Linkin Park it feels almost like they decided to leave being the top of the pack and take a second teir to 30 Seconds To Mars. Even the lyrics which I usually don't notice feel strangly alienating. For instance a sampling from the song "In Between", "Let me apologize to begin with, let me apologize for what I'm about to say but trying to be genuine was harder then it seemed and somehow I got caught up in between." This song is on a surprisingly light track and feels extremely un-"genuine". To summarize, this band though they didn't have the best sound, were the top of their tier, and though I do like the fact they're trying something else, they didn't do a very good job with it and are now among the scatterings of smaller alternative rock bands. They've lost their identity when they tried to find a new one. I will say this though, I am happy to see the cd have a parental advisory and the fact that the cd had a bunch of F words in it. The reason why I'm happy with this is that many people I know said they were a good band because they had clean lyrics. Now they've also gone against that.

Seriously folks, this is an awful album. In looking at other reviews, the only place I can find that gave it a good review was Rolling Stone, the one place I read before buying the album. They gave this awful album four stars. This album doesn't even feel produced well. This album is a disappointment and just plain dumb. Don't get it, even if you do like Linkin Park, in fact especially if you do like Linkin Park. I'm going to give this album 1 out of 4 stars. I'd give it lower but I was slightly entertained on the 11th track "In Pieces" until they went against what they were starting and went back to U2. And if I liked listening to U2 ripoff bands then this one would be a good one to choose. Awful album, by far their worst.

The Urge -- Too Much Stereo

2007-04-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

In honor of my 100th review I will review my 100th cd. I counted once and noticed I owned around 95 cds, and so I counted up until 100, and this was the 100th. i bought it on the day it came out as I was big fan of The Urge at the time. For those that haven't heard of them and I'm sure it's most of you reading this, this band combines a couple of styles together, most notably ska and thrash metal. Imagine 40% Disturbed with 60% Mighty Mighty Bosstones. This cd is their third and last cd. They broke up due to musical differences and for anyone familiar with the first two cds, when listening to the third cd you would understand why. Basically they tone it down to 10% Disturbed and 90% Bosstones. Which is really sad cause I really think on their first two cds they had a really good balance, but this one just doesn't cut it with the other cds. There are still a couple of songs which make the cd enjoyable to listen to but overall it feels like a let down. The highlight of the cd is the combination of the songs I Go Home and Say A Prayer, I Go Home is a more thumping song with some electronic elements added in followed by a multi-faceted song which hits a couple of varying styles.

Overall, not as good a cd as the other two but it still has it's moments, only get it if you're a fan of the other two cds and you really want more Urge in your life. This one only gets a 1.5 out of 4 stars. Not the biggest 100th cd ever, but you win some, you lose some.

Daft Punk -- Human After All

2007-02-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

This is the third album from the electronic duo out of Paris, Daft Punk. This album clocks in at just about 45 minutes and apparently took the duo only 6 weeks to make, which is much less then their other two albums. These guys are known for their pulsing bass lines and this is no exception to that rule. In all this album feels like a constant headache. This album really does feel like they made it in 6 weeks, it feels rushed, forced and just not all that good. The only shining ray of hope that this album has to offer is the funky tune "Technologic" which has a robot singing cool words done seemly randomly. Every other song either gave me a headache from how pulsing and repeating it was or was just plain boring.

This album has much the same feel as their first album Homework, and if you liked that one, you may like this one. Also if you like pulsing bass electronica, you'd like this one. If not steer clear. This album isn't worth it. If you want to try this band out, pick out their second album Discovery, it's much better. 1 out of 4 stars.

Golden Earring -- Moontan

2007-02-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

Golden Earring is a Dutch Rock band from the 60s and 70s and they're still making music to this day. This is their 9th album and the only one I have. I got it because of the hit "Radar Love" which I consider to be one of the best "Crusing" songs of all time. This album has only 5 songs, the shortest of which is at 6:13. The rest of this album plays like a good 70s rock album. It feels much the same style as Styx or Rush. They actually toured with Rush, The Doobie Borthers and Led Zeppelin. The other songs on this album are of the same quality of Radar Love, good long rock songs with lots of varying themes and changes. I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of longer songs and this album produces them. However dispite it being a good album besides Radar Love, the tunes don't have much of a singular impact. It's good as an album, but after listening to it, I can't go back and remember the other songs all that well.

This is a really good album and anyone who wants to go through good bands of the classic rock era, this is a good album to pick up. It may not be good for those who aren't accustomed to longer songs though. This one is a 3.5 star album. I should check out more of their stuff.

Gift of Gab -- 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up

2007-02-06T00:06:00.000-07:00

Those that know me and those that have been following this site know how big of a fan I am of Quannum Productions. It's a rap group which makes really interesting rap cds, ones that don't sound anything like modern rap. They're really good at making some high quality music. Gift of Gab is a member of Quannum and you'll understand how sad I am to say that this cd is no good. Gift of Gab is half of Blackalicious and this cd proves that he needs to stay with Cheif XCel next to him, cause when left to his own devices, he suddenly becomes the same as every other rapper. Most of the songs are just a beat with him rapping over it, and it doesn't offer any cool and new ways of creating music. His lyricism is still quite good however and so if you can get past the dullness of the music then you can get some pretty cool lyrics in there. There are still two songs which show some of the old Blackalicious flavor, "Writz" which samples from the old song "Puttin' On The Ritz", and "Evolution" which showcases some of his interesting rhyming abilities. This cd is a bit more soulful as a whole and that may be why he made it.

Only pick this one up if like me you become a big fan of Quannum Projects. There are a lot of different ones you can start out with which you'd like. I hate having to give it this, but I'm going to have to give it 2 out of 4 stars. There are still some good stuff on it, but not worth how much I payed for it.

Eels -- Daisies Of The Galaxy

2007-01-31T04:05:00.000-07:00

You know, I hate it when I get a recommendation for something I'll probably like, but it takes me a couple of months before I actually get around to listening to it. Well once again I've done just that with this album. For those that don't know of the Eels, it's the brain child of frontman "E". The rest of the band changes at different times. This album released in 2000, has some songs I remember from high school and some other songs I hadn't ever really listened to. But it wasn't until I listened to the song "Packing Blankets" that I decided to finally give this album a chance. Though it's still not the kind of music I would listen to on a regular basis, it still is able to find it's way in. Also unfortunatly after a while, E's voice starts to get on my nerves, I'm not a big fan of his voice, and so for me it would seem to have an occasionaly Eels song more then a full album.

I'd recommend the Eels to Elliot Smith fans. I'm not really sure who else to recommend them to though. This album is going to get 3 out of 4 stars from me. This has some exceptional songs, and some that make me forget I'm listening to a cd. Overall it's a good cd, and I'm sure a couple of songs will go into my heavy rotation.

Gorillaz -- Gorillaz

2006-12-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

This, the self titled debut from the virtual band Gorillaz started by Blur front man Damon Albarn and comic book writer Jamie Hewlett, is a rock, electronica and hip hop hybrid that has grown very popular. This cd though not as popular as the second album did produce a couple of huge singles including "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock The House", the later being my favorite song on the album. This album feels a bit more like a Blur album then the Gorillaz but they do get their own sound by the second album. With that said if you like either Blur or the second album of the Gorillaz you will like this album. For the experimentalist in you, this is a good album to pick up, it has a lot of songs which try new things, such as the song 5/4 which is in 5/4 time also there are a lot of sounds that you won't find on any other album. Though there are some cool songs on the album and cool things the album doesn't have much staying power, I find myself drifting a lot during the album, and I never really think of listneing to the album. It has some memorable stuff but not much that makes me want to come back for more, with one exception being "Rock The House" which I listen to on a regular basis.

This one is worth picking up for the most part, especially if you already like Blur or The Gorillaz. This is a good album overall, but does lack in some areas. It doesn't have a high replay factor. 3 out of 4 stars.

The Pillows -- Happy Bivouac

2006-12-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

This album by the Japanese rock band The Pillows features some songs that were used in the anime FLCL. This album came just two years after Mr. Lostman and they still rock it out like they do on that one. This is a staple for any Pillows fan and is also a good one to start on as well. My favorite Pillows song ever is on this album entitled "Advice", it's a a quick 2 minutes and 15 seconds of heart pumping rock. This album also has some good lighter and fancy tunes such as "Kim deal" and "Beautiful morning with you", songs which resemble The Pixies in many ways.

Overall this is a good album, much the same caliber as Mr. Lostman. I think many people would like this one and recommend it to anyone willing to try it out. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Lateef & The Chief -- Maroons: Ambush

2006-12-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

I thought since it's getting late but I'm not done with what I want to do that I'll do a shorter album. For those that haven't gotten the intro about Quannum, they're a rap group comprising four rappers, well they like mixing it up for different cds, and for each combination they have a different name, well this cd is the pairing of Lateef and Chief Xcel. Now what happens when you mix these two together the background really takes the background to the lyrics, these two are all about the lyrics. Basically this is a good complimentary album. It's a good rap album but really becomes the best when you've already become a fan of other Quannum cds. This is a good cd in the fact that there aren't any bad songs, but also there isn't anything truely exceptional, it's just overall a good rap album. It's better as an album then for single songs.

Check out something else by someone in Quannum before checking this one out, and if you find you do like the stuff they do then pick this one up to. 3.5 out of 4 stars for this one. Good album.

DJ Shadow -- The Outsider

2006-12-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

DJ Shadow is much the same type of music as Cut Chemist, in fact DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist have put out albums together. This is DJ Shadow's fourth solo album. Now this cd is an interesting one for me, as a big fan of this kind of music and having gotten this album at the same time as Cut Chemist's cd I was expecting to really like it and the beginning blew me away. The Outsider Intro kicks off the cd with a really cool introduction and then the cd goes into the incredibly jazzy "I'm Gonna Try It My Way" which is by far the best song on the album. But then Shadow completely abandons the styles he was going for and goes into playing sidekick to a bunch of to a bunch of nasaly rappers. See he does the opposite that Cut Chemist does, he makes it into a cd by a bunch of rappers that features DJ Shadow. However, luckily this trend dies off after seven songs and suddenly goes back into what it started as, an interesting and explorative cd. It gets really good by the time it makes it to the song "What Have I Done" featuring Christina Carter. The addition of Chris James on both "Erase You" and especially "You Made It" make the cd much more enjoyable. And right when you think he wouldn't go back for the last two songs he goes back to the rap that doesn't work. The only rap song on this album that I liked was a song called "Enuff" with Q-Tip and Lateef. This cd has gotten such mixed reviews and I can see why, he basically tries to take two very different cds and mix them into one and it feels very alienating. I think all of the songs could have worked if he had put out two albums or maybe made this as a double album and added more songs of each flavor then it may have worked but in it's current state it doesn't flow.

This album could work for specific people but not everyone. The stuff that he does that isn't rap is some of his best stuff and could appeal to almost everyone I know, but the rap songs may only appeal to one or two people I know, so this one is hard to recommend to anyone. This one is getting 2 1/2 stars. This cd really has some of his best and also some of his worst stuff. At least there isn't really any mediocrity on the album.

Cut Chemist -- The Audience Is Listening

2006-12-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lapse in reviews, this was mostly due to finals, and you can expect lags like these each time finals comes around. Now first off is the first solo cd of Cut Chemist, he's a turntablist DJ whom I saw live and then shortly afterwards got his album. He's my favorite DJ around and I really want to be able to make music like him. For those that are wondering where they've heard of him before he was a member of Jurassic 5 for a while before going solo and he was Ozomatli's first album. DJ's like Cut Chemist often are different from techno DJs and are more associated with the rap scene. They'll often incorporate more elements of dance and funk then most techno DJs, as well as their standard record scratching type sounds. The thing that works on this album of Cut Chemist's is he's able to have a nice mix of all different styles and is able to easily make them meld together. The other big thing which some DJs can fall into the trap of is beomceing the guest star to their guests. With this album, it's Cut Chemist's album and when rapper Hymnal joins for the song "What's The Altitude", it's Cut Chemist's song with Hymnal guest starring instead of the other way around.

Cut Chemist may be a bit hard to get into if you aren't used to the style of music, but if you do try and get into it might I recommend first listening to the songs "(My 1st) Big Break", "The Garden" and "What's The Altitude" off of this album or check out "Swing Set" on Jurassic 5's album "Quality Control" and "Lesson 6: The Lecture" off of Jurassic 5's first EP. I obviously am completely in love with this cd, but do think that it's still good not just because I love it so. I do think other's could like ti quite a bit as well. I'm giving it a resounding 4 out of 4 stars.

Chevelle -- Wonder What's Next

2006-11-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

This is the second album from the band Chevelle, a Grunge/Hard Rock Band that is often put in the same group as Tool. This type of a genre seems like a very hard genre to do well. There are som ebands that really have a hold over it and know how to make some impressive stuff. However, because it's such a hard genre there are a lot of bands that really aren't any good, especially most of the newer bands that put out 2-3 cds. Chevelle seems to me like one of these bands. Now before any of you hardcore hard rock fans start disagreeing with me, I do like my fair share of hard rock, but as someone who just can't bring myself to immerse myself into the culture so that there is no return, I can't give this genre the benefit of the doubt. Especiallyt when there are bands like Chevelle trying to make music. A band which seems like the Oasis of Hard Rock due to it's 2 brothers and ever changing other members of the band. Also when a band like this decides to make a lighter song so that it can become a hit, that is one thing that I dislike the most about rock bands like this.

I couldn't find anything I liked on this album. If anyone has any good thoughts on the album I am sorta curious, but overall, I don't like this album at all. But I will give them a .5 for effort cause I doubt I'll ever give zero out of four stars, and as a note on that, I'd never seen Rolling Stone give a zero rating until they rated K-Fed's new album. Anyways, .5 out of 4 stars.

Phish -- Lawn Boy

2006-11-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

Lawn Boy is the second studio release album by Phish. This is one of my favorite album covers by the way. The follow up album to one of my favorite albums of all time, this album is a good cd as well. On this one they really experimented with the lyrics, and created some of their best loved tunes. Probably my favorite set of lyrics on this album is on the first song called "The Squirming Coil", which says "Id like to lick the coil some day, Like icarus, who had to pay, With melting wax and feathers brown, He tasted it on his way down". This is one of their nicer melodic albums, and also very mellow.

This is a good album to start out with or to get as a second album. This album is a classic, and has very little flaws to it, however it's not quite four star material. It's one of their best, but when it comes to Phish, their albums just aren't as good as their live stuff, and it makes the albums just a little sub-par. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Primus -- Antipop

2006-11-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

This is the third album I've done by this group. Antipop is their latest full length album and it came out back in 1999. This album is much different from their earlier albums as it sides itself more with the nu-metal of the day like Limp Bizkit and Korn. At least it does for the first half. The second half starts getting back into the funky side, but they still keep the dark tone that the begining of the album put together. This album might be more memorable if the first and second half were reversed as it's always been hard for me to get past the first 6 songs. But yet this second half is pretty decent. With the exception of the last song "Coattails of a Dead Man" which just seems to go forever.

Overall, this is one of their lesser albums and should only be picked up by big fans of Primus. Start somewhere else if you want to get into this band. This album has some good songs here and there, and the layout of the album as a whole is actually quite decent, however the lack of memorability of this album and the scattering of just sort of lame songs here and there, doesn't give it too high merits in my book. Overall I'm going to give this one 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Violent Femmes -- Add It Up (1981-1993)

2006-11-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Violent Femmes are an alternative/folk rock band that started in 1981 and are still together today. This is a compilation album chronicalizing their music from their beginnings until their original drummer Victor DeLorenzo left to pursue a solo career. Even if you don't recognize the name of the group, most people have heard at least one of their songs as a couple of them are very famous and used all over the place. The most famous is probably their hit "Blister In The Sun". The lead singer also has a very recognizable voice which isn't usually mistaken for anyone else. This compliation was one of the groups biggest selling records, and it has most of their big hits as well as a couple of song which had been unreleased until this album came out, such as the title song "Add It Up". It was actually the song Add It Up which got me to finally seek out some of the band's other music.

This is actually quite a decent album. It has a lot of cool songs of which I had already known about and some that I hadn't previously which I really enjoy. The song Kiss Off has become one of my favorites off of the album. The Violent Femmes suffer the same thing as They Might Be Giants and other bands in that if you don't like the lead singer's voice you won't be listening to any of their stuff. But if you can get passed his voice or even find you like it then you'll like this group. Now ususally I'm not a fan of Best of Albums and will usually not pick them up but this one I ended up doing so and it's actually pretty decent and makes me want to check out their other stuff. This is a really good collection of songs, but it's really an album per se, and so it doesn't really flow well between songs, that's pretty much my only qualm with this album. So as such I'm giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars, and will probably end up getting some of their actual albums.

Soul Coughing -- El Oso

2006-10-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

The third and final album from one of my favorite bands from high school Soul Coughing is called "El Oso". Though I really liked these guys in high school, my enjoyment of them has greatly diminished in the past couple years. I still like certain songs such as my favorite song on the album called Blame, and though M. Doughty is about the hardest person to understand, I still like his incoherent ramblings on this song. However in most of the other songs it just becomes asinine. When I say I liked these guys in high school, it's funny listening to this cd, because I only really liked 2 or 3 songs at best. The first album of theirs is the best, which can also probably be attributed to the inner tension in the band at the time this album was made, they had basically decided to break up before the album had been completed but still wanted to finish it. So the cd is probably the worst out of the three, but it still has a couple of songs that I'm sure I'll continue to listen to until the day I die.

I'm only recommending this to those that really like Soul Coughing, if you want to try them out, go with Ruby Vroom. Still I do like it a bit, and so 2 out of 4 stars seems reasonable to me.

Smashing Pumpkins -- Adore

2006-10-31T01:33:00.000-07:00

Adore which is the Smashing Pumpkins' fourth cd, takes a radical turn from their earlier rock music and turns more towards electronic music. Yet they do still keep much of the sound that made them popular. In listening to this cd, I find I actually like it more then I expected. What's weird is the first single Ava Adore makes the cd sound like more of an industrial sound when it's actually more of a mellow laid back kind of cd. I really like Ava Adore and think it's the best song on the album. Perfect, the fourth song on the album is also a gem of a song, it feels like an ode to their early stuff back on Siamese Dream. The rest of the cd while good doesn't really have any breakthrough songs, it's a really nice cd if you want some relaxing rock songs though. The songs due flow well, yet the cd seems a little long. Now usually I'm not against a long cd, and usually I encourage it, but with the similarity in songs after Perfect, it's gets a little drab.

This is a good cd and anyone that likes The Smashing Pumpkins should look into it, also if you like softer alternative rock then I think you'd like it too. Overall I'm going to give it 3 stars, it's a good cd, not great, but good.

Particle -- Launchpad

2006-10-25T23:12:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since the first song of a cd excited me as much as the title track of this Particle album called "Launchpad". Particle is one of the most interesting bands you'll ever find, take a jam band and give them a whole lot of electrical/techno equipment and let them go loose and you have Particle. I saw their cd today in a used bin for 3 dollars and knew I had to get, and after listening to the first song on the album, I would have bought it for 15 just for that song. But it doesn't stop there, they then gives us a cool off song that is a little more laid back in Metropolis, but then start back up the extreme rockin' with The Elevator. Then once again they give a funky yet relaxing follow up with Below Radar, then go into the uber-funky "The Banker". It's been a long time since I've had this kind of reaction off a first listen. This album is flawless, and maybe it's just cause it's my first time but I really think this cd will be going into very heavy rotation for me. Now I really want to see these guys live.

This one of the best buys I've gotten in a while. I know by my hyping it so much people may not like it that much but I still have to say this cd blew me away. If you can handle long song with no words and like funky rock, then I think you'd like this cd. I have to give it a resounding 4 out of 4 stars.

Pigeon John... Sings The Blues

2006-10-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

I had a breif hiatus there, but now I'm back with Pigeon John. This is his third cd, and for every cd he has it starts with Pigeon John... (Then title of the cd). I'm doing Pigeon John's cd in honor of him coming to town this Friday. I'm going to go see him with Lyrics Born and Cut Chemist. The thing I like about Pigeon John is he has very interesting and clear lyrics to his songs. He mixes well also. For instance here's some of his lyrics I especially liked from one of his songs, it's just the beginning so it's not that long.

[Intro-talking]
Hey John, I'm glad you came
Uh, listen, um, your CDs aren't selling too well
And uh, we need you to start actually rapping (okay)
Because we signed you as a rapper
We gave you the money (yeah whatever, I'm seriously gonna get those sales)
I don't care, we need you to rap

[Pigeon John]
Well I'm trying not to sing, the same old song
But it's the same old people that all wanna sing along, right?
Now open the doors, open the blinds, let in the sunshine
Find a place to rest, deep in their minds
Cause times are changing
But really not, it's just the same old plot
It's just rearranging.

This cd especially is very bluesy, from what the title discribes. It's much more bluesy then his other cd I've listened to. This cd also wins the prize for the best design on the top of the cd. The one cd I don't like as much as the others is a remix of the song Emily from another cd, and it doesn't have the same power that the original has. But overall I really like this cd, it doesn't have as cool background stuff as the other guys in Quannum, but he has some of the coolest lyrics.

If you like the other stuff that Quannum productions has come out with you may end up liking Pigeon John. I thought this cd was done quite well, better then his last cd, and I think i'll enjoy him at the concert. But it's not quite the best, it's close though, so I'm giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Soundgarden -- Superunknown

2006-10-14T03:11:00.000-06:00

This is the fifth studio album by the hard rock/alternative band Soundgarden. It is deemed as their breakthrough album as it has a lot of their most famous songs including "Spoonman", "Fell on Black Days", and probably their most famous song, "Black Hole Sun". I originally got into this band because of a song on another album and I went ahead and bought this one too, though I've never really gotten into Soundgarden besides a couple of songs, mostly just the famous ones. This band feels a lot like Pearl Jam for me, which is another band I've never been able to get into. Once again i think my problem with this stuff, is my inability to comprehend the words, the music has to be catchy for me to listen to it more and then find out what they're saying, but the music of Soundgarden doesn't keep me very often. However, in listening to it, the last two songs, "Half" and "Like Suicide" were actually quite good and kept my attention, I hadn't ever really heard those two songs before.

So overall this is about a half and half cd when it comes to the songs, and as an album it doesn't feel like it flows as well as it could. So I'm going to give this one 2 out of 4 stars.

Radiohead -- Hail To The Theif

2006-10-13T07:48:00.000-06:00

This is Radiohead's 6th album and is often viewed as the tie in cd, the cd which fuses the rock of early Radiohead with the electronic of later Radiohead. I am personally a bigger fan of the early Radiohead, but I do like the later stuff as well. In fact they're one of my top ten favorite bands/groups of all time. This cd is my favorite of the later 3 albums. I especially like the songs "2+2=5", "Backdrifts" and "Go To Sleep". Thinking also about this cd, I think this one is about their most started friendly, like if you haven't listened to their stuff before, i think this one would be a good one to start on. The end of the cd ends really well as well with "A Wolf At The Door". Overall I just find it to be a good cd and one of the best for the double zeros. I really like Thom, he's got such a good voice.

Anyways, I think this is a good cd to start on with Radiohead, and it's definatly in my top 3, it might even be my second favorite. Plus it's the longest which is a plus. 4 out of 4 stars.

Stone Temple Pilots -- Purple

2006-10-11T02:51:00.000-06:00

Stone Temple Pilots is an alternative rock band form the 90s, Purple was their second cd and it had some of their biggest hits including the really good, "Interstate Love Song". This cd does about half and half for me, it has about half good songs, half I don't care for. The first half especially is really rockin, they have good songs and they mesh well together, then the second half sort of loses it's power. This is one of the better alternative cds of the 90s, and the band is one of my favorite alternative bands.

If you like alternative bands of the 90s, or just merely want to figure out what made the 90s so popular, this is a good cd to check out. I do like it quite a bit and keep it in my regular rotation. 3 out of 4 stars.

Iron and Wine -- Our Endless Numbered Days

2006-10-10T02:18:00.000-06:00

Iron and Wine is the stage and recording name of solo artist Sam Bean. He uses a very light and airy sound. His music mostly consists of acoustic guitar, banjos and slide guitars, all of which he plays himself and overlays them on top of each other. His sound is very similar to Ben Harper and The John Butler Trio, and basically any solo acoustic guitarist. It just feels like it's been done so many times before that unless you have some cool version of it then you shouldn't do it anymore. This is a nice sleepy cd though, it's very airy as I said before, his voice, and his guitar has a very airy quality to it. I don't know how much I like it. I do like the song "Free Until They Cut Me Down", still much like the other stuff, but a little bit cooler. Probably if I comprehended words a little better, then I might like the lyrics, but I have a hard time with the airy sound figuring out what he's trying to say. I'm so much more intrenched in music that this kind of stuff eludes me.

This is an alright cd in my opinion, not much leaning good or bed, just alright. You'll like it if you like singer songwriters. Someone who actually comprehends lyrics should tell me how it is. Basically I just feel on the fence about this one, cause it's not bad, I just don't find anything extraordinary about it. 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Vida Blue -- Vida Blue

2006-10-09T03:29:00.000-06:00

What do you get when you mix Page McConnell of Phish, Oteil Burbridge of The Allman Brothers Band, and Russell Batiste of The Meters? A jazzy electronic jam band called Vida Blue. This is their self titled debut album, it was made during the first Phish hiatus. The best part of this album is the infectously funky "Where's Popeyes". This cd is very good if you want a relaxing jaunt into electronic styles, mixed with Page's excellent piano workings. However at the same time, it doesn't have all that much staying power. It's got some good songs and good vibes but nothing too memorable besides Where's Popeyes.

If you like jam bands or want some funky electronic groove, I'd check these guys out. Overall I liked it but it's not too memorable, so I'm going to give it 3 out of 4 stars. It could use some improvement.

Cake -- Fashion Nugget

2006-10-09T02:26:00.000-06:00

This is Cake's second album and probably it's most famous. I'm not a big fan of Cake overall, mainly because I only really enjoy the radio hits. Their sound for me is very dry, and because of this, even the hits don't entertain me as much as they once did. This cd does have my second favorite Cake song which is also probably their most famous song "The Distance". I also like the hit "Frank Sinatra" and I slightly like their cover of "I Will Survive" though I like the original much more. Also I like the actual song of "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and their's is alright, and then I really like the instrumental version of "Italian Leather Sofa". Though the instrumental version is not on the cd, but because of this I do sort of like that song. The biggest drawback I have with this cd is the lyrics, now usually I don't pay too much attention to the lyrics, however, when it comes to Cake there isn't much else to focus on besides the lyrics, and I really don't care for most of the stuff, especially the songs, "Open Book", "Race Car Ya-Yas", and "Stickshifts and Safetybelts".

Overall I dislike this album, I like some songs, but overall it's really dry. Though they have their own distinctive style, it just doesn't fit right with me. 1.5 out of 4 stars for the radio hits.

Ben Harper -- Fight For Your Mind

2006-10-09T01:21:00.000-06:00

Ben Harper is a singer/songwriter, who mostly does folk and folk rock songs. This is my first time listening to his stuff, besides the song "Steal My Kisses". It's pretty good if you like folksy guitar songs, I think I'd really like it if I played the guitar. He also infuses a lot of his stuff with a gospel feeling, the ending of the cd especially. The long yet beautiful song "God Fearing Man" I think is my favorite song on the album. The main problems I have with this cd though, is that there isn't much change in the different songs, there is only so much you can do with an accoustic guitar and light drumming.

If you like folksy rock you'll like this cd. Almost anyone I think could like this cd. I thought it was good, but not great. 3 out of 4 stars.

the pillows -- Please Mr. Lostman

2006-10-06T03:23:00.000-06:00

If you haven't tried out "the pillows" you really should. They're an excellent rock band out of Japan, they have mostly Japanese lyrics but also some english as well. This was their breakout album. The band became most famous in America when they agreed to have most of their songs be on the anime "FLCL". Some people have compared the pillows to the Japanese equivalent of such bands like the Cure and The Smiths. They carry a light rock style while still being able to rock when they want to as well. The other draw is that even though you can't understand it all, it's still really well sung.

This is a very excellent album and I recommend it to everyone. This is a very high quality cd and deserves 4 out of 4 stars.

Evanescence -- Fallen

2006-10-06T02:11:00.000-06:00

The first major studio album but not first album by the band Evanescence is called Fallen. This album apparently has gone platinum (x6). Listening to it this time is the first time I've listened to the cd. So far from what I've heard, besides the song "My Immortal", if you traded their woman singer for a male singer you'd have Linkin Park's Meteora cd. The music is very similar, as is the genre as a whole. That said, I do enjoy the album. Not as much as Meteora, but more then Linkin Park's other cd Hybrid Theory. I really liked the song "My Last Breath" but for a different reason then anyone else, and I can't say why, let's just say it reminded me of something nerdy and happy. This album ends well with the song "Whisper".

This is a pretty good album and actually impressed me more then I thought it would, however with that said, it feels a bit over the top at times and really just not my kind of stuff all the time. I'm going to give this one 3 out of 4 stars, I'll listen to their next cd as well and give it a try.

Elliot Smith -- XO

2006-10-06T01:22:00.000-06:00

This is Elliot Smith's 4th album. I am constantly impressed with Elliot Smith ever since I took a bunch of his albums from my roommate. Elliot Smith is a singer songwriter who was taken way too early. He made some amazing stuff which I'm now just getting into. This album in particular is very very good. I haven't yet listened to all of his albums, but from what I've listened to, this is my favorite of his albums. We'll have to see if anything changes. His sound is very ranged, from mellow and melodical to hard and pumping, he could do it all. For those that actually do read this, and know elliot smith, could you tell me your favorite album of his? Thanks. I especially like the song "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands".

This album is amazing. If you haven't picked up Elliot Smith yet, give it a try, it took me quite a while myself, so don't take my word for it. 4 out of 4 stars.

Modest Mouse -- Building Nothing Out of Something

2006-10-05T23:56:00.000-06:00

This is a compilation by the band Modest Mouse which has singles and rare tracks from various points before 2000. A bunch of the songs are taken from the band's first EP which isn't widely available. Compelations are harder to judge usually but this one doesn't seem as hard as it's all songs I don't know and I can treat it as if it were an album. This band relies heavily on using weird chords but also making them fit into the song. One of the drawbacks to this band, is that they initially have an oddity that you don't find in most other bands, but then as you become intrenched in the band you find that though it's a cool new sound, it's really their only sound. One big surprise out of the album is the song "Medication", it felt like it sprung up out of the mire. A very good song. Still, even with one or two songs which are able to capatalize on their interesting way of playing, it doesn't work as well for the rest of the songs.

If you end up getting into this band, you'll like this compilation, but it is definatly not the one to start with. This one is going to have to get 2 out of 4 stars, it may get more if I liked their style a little more, but as it is, this is it.

Moby -- Play

2006-10-05T22:49:00.000-06:00

This is Moby's breakthrough album, the one that got him the most mainstream success, though it's actually his 6th album as Moby and far later if you count his band from the 80s. This album is especially famous for combing elements of techno with gospel and folk. It was good to listen to this cd again, since I had forgotten most of the songs and rediscoverd some. The thing with this album though is it's got some good stuff on it, but it's almost an overkill, as a lot of the songs, have a really cool hook at the begining but then it's repeated over and over again, until you get sick of it. Because of this it's always hard for me to come back to this album. Although it does have those staples that I could listen to over and over again like "Bodyrock" and the especially good "Run On". Although, listening to this cd again, as I passed the song "Run On" I remembered why I didn't listen to this cd all that much especially when it comes to the worst song on the album "The Sky Is Broken". This cd starts off pretty good but doesn't really end well.

I think this is an album that people should check out due to it's very interesting nature, but overall I'm not a big fan of it. I'm going to give this one 2.5 out of 4 stars. It could have been a lot better.

The Ocean Blue -- Beneath The Rhythm & Sound

2006-10-05T22:16:00.000-06:00

I honestly know very little about this band, I had a recommendation a couple of months ago by Azurerocket to check out their stuff, but haven't until just recently. This is also a kind of music of which I'm not very accustomed to. This band sounds a lot like The Cure, which is another band I haven't listened to all that much. This is the third album by this group and was put out in 1993. I just don't know about this kind of music, I think it's nice, and mellow, but it doesn't keep me fixed for any period of time. I keep wanting to go on to something else when listening to their stuff. Though occasionally as with all bands like this, they'll get me with a song that I think is really good. Such as the song "Bliss is Unaware", which I found to be incredibly catchy. I find I really enjoy this cd when doing something else, it feels good as background noise.

I'm not quite sure who to recommend this to as I'm still in the begining of finding this band. This album though good at times I had a hard time keeping my attention to it, and I just couldn't get into it overall. Though I don't dislike the cd, it's far from being really good. 2 out of 4 stars.

Nirvana -- In Utero

2006-10-04T00:33:00.000-06:00

This is the third and final album from the pioneers of grunge rock Nirvana. It's actually the only one of the three that I do own. The bands intention for this album was after recieving such mainstream success off their album Nevermind, they decided to "return to their roots" and record a more abrasive and less mainstream sounding release. I actually think this helps the album quite a bit. This is very apparent in the hits that came out of this album such as "Heart Shaped Box", "Rape Me" and "All Apologies" as well my personal favorite on the album "Very Ape". "Frances The Farmer" also is an excellent performance. Overall this is actually quite a good album.

I had thought in choosing this one, that I wouldn't rank as I high as I am. This album did surprise me a bit more then I expected it to. This is a good album for anyone looking to get into grunge rock and experimental hard rock. Though it is a good album, it's not quite up to par with the other four stars and thus can only make it as high as 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Trey Anastasio -- Trey Anastasio

2006-10-02T16:17:00.000-06:00

This self titled album is the second solo project by Trey Anastasio, the lead singer and guitarist of Phish. This album was released in April of 2002. I consider Trey to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time, so I am a bit biased. That being said, this is still a pretty good album. It has a lot more horns then any of Phish's music which is an interesting addition. There is a bit less jamming on this album, but it is still there. Most of the songs on this album are also very mellow. Probably my favorite song is the very upbeat song "Alive Again".

This is a very good album, but it also lags in some parts and fails to keep your attention in others. I'll recommend it to those that either like Phish or have liked Phish. 3 out of 4 stars for this one.

Galactic -- Ruckus

2006-09-28T13:07:00.000-06:00

This is the fourth album from the New Orleans based Jazz/Jam Band Galactic. This band is actually my favorite band to see live, and will try and make sure to hit every concert they have in Utah. My number one favorite concert of all time was a free one they did in Salt Lake City. Never have I seen both a band and an audience feed so well off of each other. The energy was amazing. That was my third time I went to see them and they each signed autographs after the show, but the second time I went to see them, just having been home from my mission for five days, I won an autographed copy of this particular album. So that's how I ended up getting this album. The other big thing about this album is it marks the last time that Theryl DeClouet is with the band. Theryl was brought on near the beginning as a singer for about half of their songs, the other half being instrumental. They have since parted ways with Theryl and have decided to go entirely instrumental. The third concert I saw of theirs was this way, with no singer. The first two times I saw them they had a singer, the first time it was Theryl, the second time it was backup vocalist Theresa Anderson. One other interesting tidbit is that Stanton Moore, the drummer is regularly regarded as the leader of the band, instead of the lead guitarist as most bands are now a days. Galactic is well known for their innovation in Jazz, finding new ways to use instruments, the saxophonist Ben Ellman is often found using equipment to make his saxophone sound like an electric saxophone. This album has a lot of really innovative tracks, such as Bongo Joe which uses a Japanese kid's voice saying some crazy things reverbed. Another song called "The Moil" uses a lot of darker electrical elements to make a really cool song.

This is a good cd, and it holds a special place in my heart, unfortuantly, even then I can't quite give it four stars. It's just not memorable enough and good enough to be that high. So I'm going to give it 3.5 stars out of 4. As with most jam bands their live stuff is just so much better then their albums, because of this, if you want to check them out, try "We Love 'Em Tonight: Live at Tipitina's".

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy -- This Beautiful Life

2006-09-28T04:53:00.000-06:00

You remember the explosion of swing artists in the late 90s for about 6 months? There was zoot suit riot, bottle makes three tonight, well, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was one of those bands. They were the more successful out of the bands because they ended up getting a second album out. This is that second album. I bought the first album and liked it enough to buy this one as well. This is a good sophomore album, and though as an album it isn't as good as their first one, I think it has some better songs on it. Which also means it has some of their worst stuff as well. They have a really inventive song called 2000 volts which has some really good lyrics behind it. But on the flip side, it has a drab version of "I Wanna Be Like You" from the Jungle Book. When this band sticks to swing and dance songs they do well, but when they try and hit other types of genres it doesn't really work too well.

This is an okay cd, if you want a good swing cd, check out their first album before this one. 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Led Zeppelin -- II

2006-09-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is the second album from Led Zeppeli, and is in my top three favorites by the band, but still not my number one. The thing I like most about this cd, is the song Whole Lotta Love, it has some amazing solos and also the usage of a violin bow to the guitar strings. This is a very innovative album as it did a lot of things never before found on any album.

Not much to say besides, if you haven't listened to Led Zeppelin, you need to. This album is a definate must for any rock fan. 4 out of 4 stars.

Fatboy Slim -- Better Living Through Chemistry

2006-09-26T04:11:00.000-06:00

This is the second review I've done for this British DJ, but this is his first cd he ever put out. Due to that, this cd is a lot different from his newest cd Palookaville which I reviewed earlier. This album is a lot more rooted in techno then his other stuff. That being said, there are a lot of really good songs on this album, such as "Everybody Needs a 303" and "The Sounds of Milwaukee". This is one of the better purely techno albums around.

If you like techno you'll like this one, I liked it but as it is, early techno isn't the best. But this is a good cd, so it's getting 3 out of 4 stars.

Linkin Park -- Meteora

2006-09-25T07:54:00.000-06:00

I always hate saying this, but I actually do like this cd. My natural instincts tell me to hate this band, yet I find I actually do like this cd. For those that don't know, Linkin Park is one of the first bands to make the genre nu metal/rapcore. Basically it's hard rock with rap elements and a DJ. They have two singers, one whom raps most of the time, and one who has the perfect scream voice. I am actually impressed at his scream voice because for him to be able to keep that up is actually quite impressive. Note that I don't like all the songs on the cd and I am not a fan of the cd only being about half an hour. The part of the cd I actually like the most is the middle from Hit the Floor until Breaking the Habit. My favorite song though is called "Session" which is the first instrumental the band has done.

You'll like this cd if you like harder rock with some industrial elements. It's a good cd, but not the best, it had a lot of potential to be better. I'm going to give this one 3 out of 4 stars.

Less Than Jake -- Hello Rockview

2006-09-25T07:19:00.000-06:00

Less Than Jake is a ska/punk band. This is their 5th album. I got this cd from a friend and don't have much ska so it's a bit of weird cd for me to have. You know, there's something about ska that just doesn't appeal to me at all. They're alwasy very similar, very fast repeating chords of a guitar with horns playing back up notes. Its a genre that feels so limited. I haven't yet found a band that has been able to take the genre and do something that other bands haven't done before. Though most of the songs on this album were all toe tapping songs, none of them were really memorable. the other thing that bugs me is the fact that it's all under three minutes. There are 14 tracks on this cd, the longest of which is 3:31. Only four of the tracks surpass the 3 minute mark. For the genre though, this is one of the better cds I've heard.

I'm not really going to give this one as a recommendation, unless you really like ska. 1.5 out of 4 stars.

Primus -- Sailing the Seas of Cheese

2006-09-24T03:43:00.000-06:00

This is Primus' second studio album. Their first album which I already reviewed is found here. There you'll find a more comprehensive overlook on Primus' overall style. This is their second album and also the most commercially successful album. It has two songs of which has recieved a huge amount of radio play, "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver" and "Tommy The Cat". This album embraces their more heavier elements as well as pushing somewhat of a politcal agenda. I like this cd quite a bit, but for Primus' albums it's probably my third favorite. It has some pretty good songs, but also some pretty lame songs. The song I didn't really know before that I really like now is Fish On, that's a good song.

Once again, Primus is a very hard band to get into, but if you do, this is another good one to pick up, it's not quite four star material though, it's almost there, but it could be better. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Steely Dan -- Pretzel Logic

2006-09-22T01:47:00.000-06:00

This is the third album from the highly jazz influenced band Steely Dan. This album has two songs in which you may have already heard from radio play, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Barrytown". I ended up pikcing up this cd because of my good friend Pat's incredible love for this band. I can definatly see the love that this band has to give. This is a very jazzy and also rockin cd. They also have a really good cover of a Duke Ellington song called "East St Louis Toodle-oo". Probably the best song i'd say is the incredbly funky "Parker's Band". There isn't a single song on this cd I don't like, this is a really well made cd.

If you like jazzy rock, or are trying to get into some 70s rock, this would be a good cd to pick up. Very good. 4 out of 4 stars.

Parliment -- Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome

2006-09-22T01:10:00.000-06:00

Led by the Funk master himself George Clinton, this is Parliment's 7th album which produced their biggest hit in the song Flashlight. The thing that surpirsed me about this cd is that there are only 6 songs, but besides two songs they're all about 9 minutes long. It's a pretty good cd when funk is concerned, but besides Flashlight it's not the best for singles, it's not really danceable either. It feels like they think they're the bomb so they can do whatever they want. For instance, one of the songs is basically a robot talking with a groovy beat behind it. So it's just sorta weird.

If you like Funk you could check this one out, but I'd try a different cd by the same group. This cd is just weirdness with some funkyness behind it. I'm going to give this cd 2 out of 4 stars because of its on amazing song and for a couple of good moments in the long songs.

Metallica -- Reload

2006-09-21T02:47:00.000-06:00

This is the 7th album from the Metal band Metallica, originally intended to be a double disc with the album Load it ended up being it's own album. This album starts off well with the two hits "Fuel" and "Memory Remains". It also does well with "Unforgiven 2". But the past that there's not a whole lot. This album has three good songs which became hits and everything else is just fluff. Just a sampling of some of the lyrics from "Attitude" should show you how lame they've gotten on this album, "Just let me kill you for a while, Just let me kill you for a smile."

If you want to get into Metallica go with one of the other albums because this one is just long and lame. It has three good songs, but the past that it goes no where. 1.5 out of 4 stars.

Smashing Pumpkins -- Siamese Dream

2006-09-21T01:38:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard of the Smashing Pumpkins then you didn't listen to music in the 90s. This album is their second album and as Corgan the lead singer puts it, if this album hadn't been a success then The Pumpkins would have broken up. I never picked up an album by the Pumpkins until just only recently. In fact in a funny story my MTC companion once told me that he had his first kiss at a Smashing Pumpkins concert because the girl with him knew that they were his favorite band. Listening through this album, I actually recognize a good three or four songs from radio play. You know, I always told all through out middle school and high school that this album was amazing, but I just brushed it off and didn't think anything of it. But now that I've actually listened to it, I can see what they were talking about. If you want a good 90s album this is an awesome one. My favorite song is probably the last one, "Luna, which was a very nice ending to the cd. This cd flows really well and was really well done overall.

If you like 90s alternative you should pick up this album. I hadn't listened to it all the way through until today but I really like it. 4 out of 4 stars.

Trapt -- Trapt

2006-09-20T03:46:00.000-06:00

This is the self titled debut of the alternative metal rock band Trapt, whom have one of the worst stories of how they got their name, basically they called themselves Trapt because they felt trapped in their privileged up bringing. As to the music, when this band does alternative metal, they hit it spot on, when they try and pull a "Staind" and go for a slow song they do it awfully. As long as they're sticking to hard alternative they can be a good band. The album starts with the chart topper "Headstrong which really is the best song on the album, after that they pump out a bunch more no name hard songs that give you a good rush. But then there are those songs such as "Echo" that try to be a feel good alternative song and it just feels out of place. Well as it turns out, Echo sort of marks the start of the slower ballad songs that Trapt just doesn't score well with, this album is about half Trapt and half trying to be Staind. Luckily though they are able to finish strong with the song "New Beginning".

If you like alternative hard rock then you might want to check this group out. If you like Staind (and I don't) then you might also want to check out this group. Overall it's about half and half, There is some good stuff on the album but there's also just some rubbish, which means I'm giving this album right in half, 2 out of 4 stars.

Phoenix -- Alphabetical

2006-09-20T03:04:00.000-06:00

Alphabetical is the second album from this French Electronic Rock Band. You may know these guys from having a song in the movie Lost in Translation, or also as being buddies with the group Air. The hit song of this album is the second track "Run Run Run" which is actually ow I had heard about the band, I liked the song off of a promotional cd I got, and then a friend had the album on his harddrive and let me snag it. Besides Run Run Run, the first half of the cd just sounds like any newer cd now a days, until "(You Can Blame It On) Anybody", which isn't all that great but it does sound a little bit like ABBA which is sort of interesting. "If It's Not With You" is a catchy song near the end of the cd which feels like they're trying to add an element of R&B to their song. The final track "Alphabetical" about halfway into the song, started doing something different that shocked me, but then after about 3 seconds the song went back to normal. This album really feels like a band trying too hard to be a band that incorporates ABBA influences and really comes up short. The other big problem with this cd is it comes in at a measly 30 minutes, and that includes a hidden track after 4 minutes of nothing, and what is the hidden track? A one minute interlude type song with a couple notes going back and forth. Basically "Run Run Run" is the only decent song on the whole cd, and it isn't even a really great song, just good.

Don't waste your time on this one. If you want something like this that actually sounds good go with Air. Most of the songs even annoyed me at how dull and bland they were. I can't believe it but I'm giving this cd my lowest score yet. .5 out of 4 stars. .5 for one decent song. Hopefully their other album is better then this one. Blimey.

Moxy Fruvous -- Bargainville

2006-09-19T02:00:00.000-06:00

Moxy Fruvous is a folk pop band from Canada. This being their first album which hit wide release, is a very good debut for a band I hadn't heard of until recently but really do enjoy. They have very melodic lyrics and good poppy type songs. If you haven't checked them out this is a good one to start with.

Wow, this one was wicked short, whoops. Oh well. If you like melodic tunes with cool lyrics then you'll like this cd, 4 out of 4 stars.

Smash Mouth -- Astro Lounge

2006-09-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

This is Smash Mouth's second album and most critically and commercially successful album. Mainly for such hits as "All Star", "Then The Morning Comes" and "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby". This album has some catchy tunes, but besides that once you've listened to it once or twice, you're pretty much done. Some of the songs are pretty good and catchy, and it's a little nostalgic listening to them again, but other then that there's not too much substance to this album. If you want poppy catchy tunes, then by all means, get this one. But it doesn't do too much for me. Even when i first bought it I didn't really care for it much.

If you like poppy music, this one is for you, if not don't bother, unless you find it for free or something. Because of it still having a catchy tune here and there it gets bumped up to 1 out of 4 stars.

Chemical Brothers -- Dig Your Own Hole

2006-09-16T20:10:00.000-06:00

This electronic duo from England's second album Dig Your Own Hole is my favorite of all their albums. It's also recieved a lot of critical acclaim as well. This is one of the first electronic albums I ever got and it's still in my heavy rotation. I don't have much in ways of electronic music, so when I do, I tend to like it a lot. When it comes to this album I especially like the beginning more then any other part, the first two songs especially are what's good in electronic music, "Block Rockin' Beats" and the title track "Dig Your Own Hole". Overall this i one of the best electronic albums available.

If you like electronica, techno, big beat or any of those other classifications, this is a must own for you. If you don't like those genres then steer clear of this album. But I do like it quite a bit, and thus give it 4 out of 4 stars.

Phish -- Rift

2006-09-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

Phish is my favorite band of all time, that being said it's very hard for me to give bad ratings to my favorite band, though there are a couple of albums I will end up giving bad ratings because they just aren't all that great, since this band does have a gigantic discography there are bound to be some mishaps. However, this is one of their better albums. This is their 6th album and their second concept album. This album has a lot of their really good stapes such as the title track Rift, Wedge and Maze. For those unfamiliar to Phish, imagine taking a rock band that relies heavily on their power of improvisation and also relies heavily on crowd involvement, meaning if the fans are enjoying themselves they play better. Going to a show you are gauranteed to hear something you haven't heard before. It's that newness that first drew me to Phish and has kept me with them through the years.

This is one of their best albums, and if you're getting into Phish, I'd say this would be a good third or fourth disc to pick up. Phish is tough to get into, you have to like long lengthy jams, but if you find you do, Phish is your band. 4 out of 4 stars.

Dave Matthews Band -- Under The Table And Dreaming

2006-09-15T02:01:00.000-06:00

I dread coming to albums like these because I already know what I'm going to give it. So it becomes hard to review it. So I'm going to say this, I really like DMB's early stuff, and as this is their first album, this is by far my favorite. It has hits that still give me goose bumps. This is a perfect blend of bluesy rock with jazzy rock that just makes my head spin that such a good album could come out. Though this is a really good cd, it sorta ends for me after Warehouse, as I'm not a big fan of the last two songs. However even with those two songs, the cd is spectacular.

If you haven't given this one a listen, I'd recommend trying it out, it really is good. Basically it's a recommendation to everyone. 4 out of 4 stars.

Incubus -- Make Yourself

2006-09-15T00:59:00.000-06:00

The third album from these rockin' fellas is a pretty good one. I first found out about it when their first single came out called "Pardon Me" I wanted to get it after hearing that song, but waited for a while luckily for me the song "Drive" became huge and since it's the only song on the album that sounds like that there were a lot of used copies and I was able to pick it up cheap. I actually really like this cd, it's right in between alternative and hard rock, and is also able to use a DJ to produce some cool sounds as well. My favorite part of the cd is actually the first five tracks, very hard and still good, a very rockin' beginning. This is one of the better bands when it comes to semi hard rock. Though this cd really hits well for me, i haven't really heard any of their other stuff. The only song I'm not a big fan of is Drive mainly because it doesn't really fit well on the album, just sort of a weird entrant. It's a decent song on it's own, but not all that good with the album.

If you like alternative rock you should pick this cd up, because it is very good, if not I wouldn't recommend it. But I do like alternative rock thus I really like this cd. one of the best for it's genre. 4 of 4 stars.

Of Montreal -- The Bedside Drama A Petite Tragedy

2006-09-15T00:10:00.000-06:00

Of Montreal, another one of those crazy bands from Athens Gerogia. This is one of the only two albums done by the original two members of the band. Through out the years it's mostly been the lead singer David Barnes. This is the band's second album. They're called Of Montreal because of David's ex girlfriend being from Montreal. Overall this seems to be an interesting album, very melodic and yet childish in nature. There are some really catchy songs, but also some songs that just don't seem to fit well. It's a very uneven album, lots of good and lots of bad. For instance, "Cutie Pie" seems like it should be a really good song, but it just feels off, never really hooking you. Where as "One Of A Very Few Kind" gets you right at the beginning and doesn't let go until it ends. The album is very lyric heavy, however they keep accompanying it with minor chords and weird tunes that just distract from the words. But sometimes the cd does shine, like the song, "Just recently Lost Something Of Improtance". Also the ending is very good, which is called "It's Easy To Sleep When You're Dead".

Overall, just not an album that works with me, it's got a couple of good singles but it just doesnt mesh well for me. I'd say only get this one if you're really bg into Of Montreal, even then I really like their newest cd, but didn't like this one as much. This one gets 2 out of 4 stars.

Ween -- Quebec

2006-09-14T22:50:00.000-06:00

There's a big reason why Ween is in my top 3 favorite albums of all time. They are able to constantly entertain me, and keep me happy with their every changing songs. Just starting off this album you have the incredibly rockin' "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" followed by the incredibly mellow "Zoloft" and then coming in with the lyricly awesome "Transdermal Celebration", this group just makes me happy every time I listen to them. If you want a group that will always keep you guessing, this is them. I especially like the song "Happy Colored Marbles". Very intense and happy song at the same time. This cd has some really good segways, the blend between Happy Colored Marbles into the great song "Hey There Fancy Pants" is eclectic. Only "Captain" and "Alcan Road" I wouldn't put it heavy rotation, but still they're pretty decent songs. The cd ends with two amazing ballads of "The Argus" and "If You Could Save Yourself".

So far I'd say this is the most user friendly Ween album with the most purely good songs on it, that I think most people could get into it. I'd recommend this album to just about everyone as it is really quite good. Definate 4 out of 4 stars.

Electric Light Orchestra -- Out of the Blue

2006-09-08T07:01:00.000-06:00

Electric Light Orchestra or ELO for short, is a band from the 70s that formed out of another band when the members wanted to have rock with more strings in it, so they created ELO to facilitate that. This album Out of the Blue is their 7th album and it has the most singles of any of their albums. Those singles are "Turn To Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Its Over, "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Wild West Hero". ELO is one of those bands I heard a lot of as a teenager but didn't pick up any of their stuff until just recently, especially when I found out the strings thing, and I think strings should be in more rock music now a days. One of the funny things about this album is even the songs that aren't singles feel like singles.

I liked this album quite a bit, it was a good album all around, however it was very hard for me to make it through the entire album, plus I don't think I'll listen to it as much now, it doesn't really have much replayability. I'll recommend this album to those that really like classic rock. I think it may just be my growing dissatisfaction with classic rock as a whole, it just doesn't really have anything new for me. Now mind you this was a really good cd and I'm going to give it 3.5 stars out of 4, I'd move it up half a point if it was more replayable.

No Use For A Name -- More Betterness!

2006-09-08T06:34:00.000-06:00

Punk is a musical genre that I've never really been able to get behind. It's never really caught my attention like many others, however, even in genres I'm not particularly a fan of, there are often two or three exceptions inside the genre, this album is one of those exceptions. I could listen to this entire album over and over, and I do. Most people call this particular band a melodic punk band which is probably why I like it so much, they have good melodies that I can get behind. Add to that some words that are singable as well. This is one of those cds that make me remember that each genre has hope even if it isn't all that good. if it's any indication of my play count on iTunes, this album has an average of 10 plays per song. Which is quite good for an entire album.

If you don't like Punk music but have always sort of wanted to, try this cd out. When it comes to Punk I really don't know how to make recommendations because it's a genre that just has alluded me, I can't pick people out of a lineup and say whether they like punk or not. This isn't my favorite punk album, but I would put it in my top 5. Give it a try. 4 out of 4 stars.

TV On The Radio -- Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

2006-09-05T05:15:00.000-06:00

In Honor of this brilliant band's new cd coming out in a couple of days, I'm going to debut the band's first album. TV on the Radio is a very very interesting group. They're desciribed as a steady blend of Free Jazz, Psychedelia, Trip-Hop and Electronic mixed into one ball. Or to make it one small catergorization, an avant-garde indie rock vocal band. This is one reason why I find the band to be so interesting, that they're so different that people can't find one way to classify them. I have completely fallen in love with this cd and find every song on the track to be just as good as the one before it. They're able to hit you with catchy beats to really good words that make you think, it's an interesting blend that is all it's own. With the new cd coming out, apparently David Bowie who became a big fan of the band, is guest vocalizing on one of the tracks for the new cd entitiled "Return To Cookie Mountain".

If you like things experemental give this guys a listen, it won't be anything you've heard before I can gaurantee it. 4 out of 4 stars.

As a side note, they have a completely free song HERE. It's a pretty good song, and it's gives you a small taste of what TV on the Radio sound like.

The Reverend Horton Heat -- It's Martini Time

2006-09-04T05:37:00.000-06:00

This rockabilly band has been together since 1985 and is still going strong, I first picked up this cd back when I had heard them do a cover of the Johnny Quest theme, I picked up a couple of songs off the internet back in napster days and liked their stuff so I snagged this album, however as is the same as today, I'm just not really impressed with this album. It's got a couple of good stand out songs such as "Slingshot" and "Rock The Joint" but other then that nothing really catches my fancy. I do want to give these guys another try with a different cd because I think I just got a bad roll, but then, maybe I'm just not a big fan of rockabilly. We'll have to wait and see. I like Rock The Joint because it's so completely Rockabilly, and I like Sligshot because it's a really enjoyable instrumental, but everything else really doesn't do anything for me. It's almost sad for me to say, but I just feel very indifferent to this album, nothing excites me at all.

I'll only recommend this to those that are in love with rockabilly. 1 star out of 4.

Panic! At The Disco -- A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

2006-09-04T04:56:00.000-06:00

I tend to really like debut albums, one because it's a new type of music and two because it's when the band seems to be trying as hard as they can to make really good music. Both of these are the case for this band. Though this band seems to take things from other bands they definatly have their own sound, I didn't really get into them until I had gotten the song "I Constantly Thank God For Esteban" on random, which continues to be my favorite song on the album. The thing that impresses me about this album is it has an air for being about the singles yet surprisingly the album melds well together, especially due to the fact that they have an intermission that actually does it's job. The first 7 tracks feature futuristic instruments such as accordians and drum machines and then tracks 9 through 13 use more traditional instruments such as accordians, pianos and strings. With track 8 being the intermission. Though they are able to impress me with their usage of instrumentation, they're also able to hook me with the lyrics which many bands fail at when it comes to me. I do like the second half a little more then the first half but overall I think this is a very good debut album, and I'm interested to see what else this band has in them.

If you don't like newer music, I wouldn't recommend this band to you. If you are enjoying how music is currently evolving, then try this band out, it won't dissappoint. I'm gonna give this one 4 out of 4 stars, very good debut.

311 - Music

2006-09-04T04:01:00.000-06:00

This is the first time on this site that I've done a band twice, as I've already done 311's self titled album. Music is 311's first album that was done to a wide release, it didn't garner the same attention that their other albums did, mostly due to it being their first album. Though I didn't give a very good review of the self titled album, I am a big fan of 311 and here is one of the reasons why. This album is actually my second favorite album by the band and it has a raw energy to it that a good opening album should. It has a lot of variety to it, and excels in each of the styles they try out. It also has one single that recieved generous air play called "Do You Right". When i first got the album I never really listened to it, but after listening to the live album and getting to know the songs on there, finding a bunch of them on this one and enjoying them I ended up really getting into this one. It has catchy hooks in actual good songs and good lyrics taboot.

Overall I'm a big fan of this album, but would only recommend it to those that already like 311, it's not a good starting album. Actually, 311 is the kind of band where you either like them or don't. I don't often give people 311 as I assume they've already heard them and would be or not be a fan already. But if you haven't heard of them, give them a try, I can give some good recommendations to see if you would. Now if you do know the band, see if you can guess which album is my favorite as this one is my second favorite. Though it's my second favorite it's still a good 4 out of 4 stars. Very good album.

Blur -- Think Tank

2006-09-04T03:27:00.000-06:00

Blur is one of the leading groups in the Brit Pop movement, they had many hit songs in Britain and a couple in America. Their possible final album entitled Think Tank is in my opinion their most interesting album. This album was when the guitarist Graham Coxon decided to leave the band. Graham and Damon Albarn (lead singer) were both instumental in the writing of many of Blur's songs. Damon Albarn, the mastermind behind The Gorillaz decided to take it full force, but because of not having Coxon they had to rely on not using the electric guitar, which led to a lot of really cool things happening. This album has the feel of being the connecting link between Blur and The Gorillaz. It has a very interesting air of experimentation as well as being able to produce hit songs. One thing that may have also led to this being such a good album is "Fatboy Slim" was the supervising producer of the album and appears in two tracks as well. This is a very good album and is in my opinion Blur's best album. Unfortuantly it doesn't look like they will be able to create another one that would add onto the success this one recieved.

If you like British music, get this album. If you like Blur and/or the Gorillaz then you'll like this album. It's a very good album and I give it a lot of praise, check it out. 4 out of 4 stars.

Jamiroquai -- Synkronized

2006-09-02T04:46:00.000-06:00

A lot of people know this album because of the movie Napolean Dynamite as the first song "Canned Heat" was featured in it as the song the lead character Napolean dances to. The album itself actually came out in 1999 which is when I bought it where as the movie came out in 2004. I had become a fan of them after their third album and so when their fourth one, this one, came out I decided to pick it up. As well as having the good song of Canned Heat, the other ones that are particularly good are "Black Capricorn Day", "Supersonic" and "Soul Education". Overall this a very funky album, if you've heard Canned Heat, expect more songs like that, very danceable, very funky. There's even slow funky, such as the song "Falling". Though it's a very funky album, it doesn't have the holding power to keep your through the entire album, after one or two songs you feel like you're done and ready to move onto something else. There isn't really much variety, just a lot of funky singles. This is a very good cd to take songs from for this or that. Though if you do make it near the end King for a Day is funky as well, but it's a slight variation on the rest of the stuff, also a good single.

So if you're looking for funky danceable songs, this is your album to turn to. If you want that, do pick up this album. Now though it is mostly the same thing, it does start well, it also ends well. Plus, you don't find this type of music often so it is a nice change. I'm going to give this album 3 out of 4 stars.

Jane's Addiction -- Ritual De Lo Habitual

2006-09-01T23:20:00.000-06:00

Jane's Addiction is a band that I heard most of their songs on the radio through out the 90s but never got their cd until only recently. According to most lists, this is on most magazines and critics top 50 most influential albums of the 90s. Many will recognize two of the members of Janes Addiction as Perry Farrell whom started Lollapalooza and Dave Navarro who recently dated and married Carmen Electra. These two have very differing personailties, so it's easy to see how this band only survived two albums in the beginning then made one 10 years after they broke up. However, when these guys did agree they made some pretty kickin' music. You may recognize a lot of radio hits such as "Been Caught Stealin" and "Stop". One song in particular that I like is called "Three Days" a lengthy ballad, done really well, very good song on the album. As I reaching the end of the album, also the song "Classic Girl" really impressed me.

Overall there are some really rockin' rock songs on this album, The thing that really surprises me though, is how much this feels like a mid 90s album, after Nirvana, yet, in fact it's from 1990, which is before the big explosion of Nirvana. Not to say that this album is anything like Nirvana. I can see how it's quite influential for how early it came. Once again, through doing this review site, I've discovered another album that is really good that I hadn't ever really listened to before. There are many albums that I've just picked up here and there whether for free or a little bit of money and have never listened to them, and will sometimes just assume they're not as good as they turn out to be, that's the case with this album. Very good cd, I'll recommend it to anyone that likes 90s rock. Definate 4 out of 4 album, I can now see why it's so highly regarded.

Beastie Boys -- Check Your Head

2006-09-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

Beastie Boys are a 3 person rap group which were the first white rappers to become famous. Interestingly enough they actually started as a punk band. Which does actually flow over into this album, Check Your Head, their third album. I really like this album due to the fact that there is a lot of different styles wrapped into one cd, lots of sampling, a bunch of rap, and a bit of rock as well. Very good blend. Many of my favorite songs aren't the rap ones. In fact one of my favorite songs is the very funky "Live at P.J.s"

I'd recommend this to anyone that has only heard the Beastie Boys rap. This is an overall good album, and very highly recommended by me. Even the rap on this cd is at the height of the Beastie's. Really good overall. 4 out of 4 stars.

Rusted Root -- When I Woke

2006-09-01T21:05:00.000-06:00

Rusted Root is often lumped in the jam band catergory but that's not really who they are, they're more like Guster with their use of acoustics and african style percussion. They really embrace african styled music into their music. When this band goes for more upbeat songs they excel, where as their slower songs aren't as good. Their use of woodwinds in a rock band is also very good. This cd is their most commercial album as it has their most famouse song and very good song Ecstasy. One of the best moments of this cd is the 3 minute drum intro track that goes into the song Ecstasy, very good stuff. I forgot how much I liked this album until listening to it again.

If you like upbeat songs with african influences and lots of percussion then you'll like Rusted Root, I am highly recommending this album to anyone as I think most people would like it. Especially if you like Guster, then you'll like Rusted Root, as they're very similar in styles. Though their slower songs aren't as good as their more upbeat ones they're still decent and few and far in between. This is a very good cd, very upbeat and even danceable. 4 out of 4 stars.

Rage Against The Machine -- Evil Empire

2006-09-01T19:17:00.000-06:00

Rage Against The Machine is a very hard rock and politaclly charged band that made most of their stuff in the 90s. This is their second album which had the most monetary success. Rage was one of the most influential hard bands of the 90s as they had very interesting uses of their instruments in very innovative ways and using lots of politcal leftist views. My favorite thing about the band is their guitarist Tom Morello as he finds very interesting ways to use his guitar to make many different types of sounds that fit well into their songs. Now this album has a lot of very good singles on it such as Bulls on Parade, People of The Sun and Revolver. The thing that might keep me with the band more then others is I often have a hard time comprehending words in songs, I can sing along with a song without realizing what it's talking about. Thereare very few Rage Songs that I actually know what they're talking about, if I actually did, I might not like the album as much or I might like it better, I'm not sure. So mostly it's about the hard pumping music that gets me excited that I like.

Some of the songs I don't like as well, and overall it doesn't flow well for me as an album as much as their first cd. I won't recommend this group unless you've shown signs of liking hard rock in some way. This time I listened to it was the first time I had listened to the album all the way through and I found that I like a good majority of the songs, many more then I expected to like. I'm gonna give this one 3.5 stars, it's so very close to being at 4, but it doesn't quite make it. Very good album if you like the type of music, as I do.

They Might Be Giants -- Mink Car

2006-08-29T02:50:00.000-06:00

It's taken me a long time to try out They Might Be Giants, it wasn't until my brother got really into them and picked up just about every album they'd done that I decided to give them another chance. Bascially I wanted a different album then Flood which is the one that every would listen to. One that actually caught my attention was the album Mink Car. This is a delightful album with some meat to it that I hadn't expected. I actually like every song on this album with one exception being Cyclops Rock. This album doesn't seem as childish as a lot of their other stuff, it has the same feel but yet each song has a bit more to it then I expected. I've actually found myself coming back to this album when I want to listen to TMBG. There are a lot of different kinds of music on this album, from Mink Car to Another First Kiss and Man It's So Loud In Here. Each song just continued to surprise me how much I liked it.

After listening to this entire album, I'd have to give it high nods. As definatly my favorite TMBG album to date, and for being able to surprise me a lot. I still would have a hard time recommending it as you either like or dislike TMBG, but if you do dislike them but haven't listened to this album, give it a try, let yourself listen to it by yourself and you might just like it. I'm going to give this one 4 out of 4 stars for being such a surprising album for me, and showing me that TMBG actually have some good musical talent.

Weezer -- The Green Album

2006-08-29T02:31:00.000-06:00

Weezer is a tough band for me to swallow, originally liking them a little bit back in high school, I have since not been able to keep up with most of their stuff. Due to my need to have music that will take twists and turns and Weezer is very stable in their own brand of music that it doesn't quite sit well with me. There are exceptions even with this band, but this album doesn't fit in that catergory. The thing that irritates me about this album is how much they embrace their staying in one genre, as they have ten songs, all fit around 3 minutes and clock the album in at around 30 minutes, hardly worth calling it a full album as I know of EPs that are that long. The one song I feel that sort of makes its mark on the album and saves it from totally mediocrity is the song "Hash Pipe", though it has the same cord progression through the song, it does have a little bit of an edge to it that makes it a little different. Now I know there will be a lot of disagreements but let me put this forth, I liked the first album, then the second album blew me away so I figured a third album would be even better, but it feels like they decided that normalcy was good enough for them. Sure there are some catchy pop songs, but who now a days can't make a catchy pop song.

I'm just not a big fan of this album, I don't hate it as much as it seems, it just doesn't do anything for me, but because of this I also just don't like listening to it in leisure, I've taken them off my iPod so that people won't choose it as I don't really want to listen to it. I'm not going to recommend this to anyone but if you do like the kind of music I would recommend checking out Pinkerton. As this has basically one saving grace this one is getting 1 out of 4 stars.

30 Seconds To Mars -- A Beautiful Lie

2006-08-29T02:15:00.000-06:00

I first found out about 30 Seconds to Mars shortly after their first album was released, I had heard about 2 songs and wasn't impressed at all, so 4 years later, it was surprise to me to see that they had made a music video for their new album, I really hadn't expected them to make it past that first album. But when I heard the song "Attack" I actually liked it, then about a month later when I heard the song "The Kill" from the same album, and really liked it I thought I should give the band a second chance. Upon hearing this album I find a lot of good singles but not an overall good album. The thing that bugged me the most is the tenth track is incredibly repetetive and then they drop out to give you a hidden track after ten minutes of nothing, but what was worse was that after that there are two more tracks. When going to wikipedia I found that apparently the actual album ended there but they added the next two tracks as bonus tracks. But still, even doing that, to have a ten minute pause in the middle of an album is just downright dumb and obnoxious.

The songs onthe album are actually pretty good, sometimes though he goes into his screaming voice and it doesn't work as well. But I really do like the radio friendly hits like Attack and The Kill. Their music is much like a hard pop band, radio friendly songs with a hard edge. So overall, not many recommendations around the board. I give this album 2 and 1/2 stars as it's got some good songs on it, but some of the obnoxious things just made me angry.

We Are Scientists -- With Love and Squalor

2006-08-23T03:42:00.000-06:00

I first found out about these guys when I saw their music video for "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" which featured the band being chased by a man in a bear costume. I found the song to be so catchy that in the days following I couldn't stop thinking about the song and had to eventually buy the cd. This breakout album for the surprisinly witty band is a very good one. They are an indie rock band for those that don't know yet. My biggest problem with the album is it has a lot of good singles but as an album I rarely listen to the whole thing, I'll often skip tracks to others. But the singles how they score, they are well played on my iPod.

If you like the way music is currently going in this era then you should check out We Are Scientists. My hope is that they don't just end up getting lost in all of those types of bands coming out right now, that they'll be able to make a name for themselves. Overall it's not an album that I love, I like it, but don't love it. Thus I'm going to give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Sasha -- Airdrawndagger

2006-08-23T01:53:00.000-06:00

Sasha is a Welsh DJ that plays mostly dance trance music. Trance is a form of techno which can be described as more psychadelic then other forms of techno. This is a very weird cd for me to own as I personally only scratch the surface of techno with quite mainstream groups, and so to have something like this is very odd. I got this off of a recommendation and saw it pretty cheap so I decided to pick it up. This is very hard for me to judge as it's so different then anything else i've had to judge. It's a lot of hard beats with a dance element and weird audio effects. I do admit, so far in the times I've listened to it, I've enjoyed it the most as I listened to it with headphones. I especially like the last song titled Wavy Gravy. Overall I really like this one with headphones on, but haven't enjoyed it other times.

I really have no idea where to start on recommending this one. I guess I can say if you like trance then pick this one up, but then I think if you already like trance then you already know about this cd. Overall as I like it, but don't really think I'll listen to it much more then every once in a while, I'm going to give this one 2.5 out of 4 stars. It's good as I listen to it, but I really doubt I'll put it in all that much.

The Mars Volta -- "Frances The Mute"

2006-08-16T03:26:00.000-06:00

The Mars Volta is a very interesting band, as wikipedia explains, "They are generally considered progressive rock, with heavy punk and Latin influences. They are known for their wild and energetic live shows, cryptic lyrics, and experimentation in and use of ambient music to help establish mood." Now when they say Latin, they mean the language. Frances The Mute is their second album and it follows this description quite well. I personally think this album is completely brilliant. Stocked to the brim and coming in at about 72 minutes, this album gives some amazing pounding musical moments and really good lyrics from English to Latin. The thing about this album is it has sparked debate in the fact that this album is an extreme album, they take things to the extreme in this one. Thus, if you don't like the extremes you will hate this album, if you do, you will love this album. There aren't many people that are on the fence when it comes to this album. This album gives lots of long ballads and amazing ambient sounds. Overall I just love this album.

Now because of the fact that this is such an extreme album, it's hard for me to recommend it to anyone. It has such a style that most people I know wouldn't like it. But then I could be wrong. If you want to give it a try then go for it, but don't blame me if you don't like it. But if you do, let's be friends. 4 out of 4 stars.

Ozomatli -- "Ozomatli"

2006-08-16T02:58:00.000-06:00

Imagine taking a ten piece latin group that sings in spanish, add in a bunch of english rappers, stir it together and add in a whole lot of Funkiness and you have Ozomatli. This the first album by Ozomatli was the first one I ever heard and I was as blown away then as I am today by how awesome of a sound this is. You won't find a band like Ozomatli anywhere else. This particular cd has the band accompanied by Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and Cut Chemist on the turntables. This cd excels so much in creating and defining new sounds, there are just so many things that go on and it all mixes into good music.

Those that are willing to try new things might want to try this group. Also those that like salsa, latin or spanish music, plus those that enjoy musical rap should check this one out. If you haven't heard Ozomatli yet, give them a try. 4 out of 4 stars staight up.

De-Phazz -- "Godsdog"

2006-08-15T05:16:00.000-06:00

Now here's an interesting cd. I first heard De-Phazz on last.fm, and after hearing a couple songs I decided to pick this album up to see how it all is. It's basically what you would get if you were to mix a jazz band obsessed with dance and techno. It's basically a cool electronic dance cd where they take most of their style from 50s and 60s dance music and electronisize it. It gives it a really interesting and very groovy style. It's this kind of thing that makes me excited to see what new things I can find. There are also some more jazz influenced tunes which honestly aren't as good. The best songs are "Mambo Craze", "Jazz Music", Happiness", "Godsdog" and "Next Message".

Overall this is a really cool and inventive cd, and very enjoyable. Because of this I think I can recommend it to almost anyone as it's so interesting. I'm also going to give this one 4 out of 4 stars because this. Very good cd.

Chubb Rock -- "I Gotta Get Mine Yo!"

2006-08-15T03:03:00.000-06:00

Now here's an interesting cd. Chubb Rock is a really fat rapper from the early 90s. I first got this cd due to the fact that I'd never heard of the guy but it looked funny and it was one dollar. The first half of the cd is just weird, it has songs such as "The Milk is Spoiled" which has the weirdest lyrics in the world. So I first thought this was just an odd one in my collection, but the second half actually is quite decent, and showcases some good old school rapping. But overall it's just a silly album with not much to it. But for one dollar it was good buy.

Unless you really like old school rap you probably won't like this one. So don't worry about it. Because most of the album is pretty lame but it still has some good songs, I'm going to give this one 2 out of 4 stars.

Fatboy Slim -- "Palookaville"

2006-08-15T02:39:00.000-06:00

Fatboy Slim is a Big Beat Techno master. This is his fourth album Palookaville which unlike his other albums relies more on actual instruments. This album is just a complete treat to listen to. Even though it's a techno album it uses a lot of actual instuments and features a lot of differing and amazing sounds. Two of the best examples of this are firstly the song "Wonderful Night" which is a rap and techno collaboration featuring Lateef of Quannum Productions. The thing that is really cool about it though is that it has a 50s style beat with lots of instumentation as well as melodious rapping. The other song of mention is a cover on the Steve Miller Band song "The Joker" which features former Parliment band member Bootsy Collins in vocals. It gives the song a very funk laden sound and makes it definatly it's own song and not just a similar sounding cover.

This cd is just brilliant and I think everyone should give it a try. It redifines the things you can hear in a techno album. This one recieves a definate 4 out of 4 stars.