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Week 32 Review (18+ Only, NSFW)

All-American Rejects – All-American Rejects (2003)

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 0 out of 5 stars album. And that’s being incredibly fucking generous. I reached into the deepest depths of my humanity to pull that zero out of my ass. It truly deserves a negative rating because those motherfuckers owe me at least 3 stars as compensation for making me miserable for an entire week.

Artist Background: When the album was released, AAR was a two person band. They currently have four members. And I hope for the sake of humanity that the band has improved since their major label debut in 2003. I have two more of their albums in my collection but I’m scared to listen to them. I start physically trembling if I even think about the other albums. And rightfully so. I’ve been given the equivalent of late 19th century shock therapy for 5 straight days. I’m surprised I’m not curled up in the fetal position right now while my editor lightly strokes the top of my bald head and softly tells me everything is going to be okay. So back to the two jackasses that created this monstrosity. Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler formed the band in Oklahoma. Look, I’m not blaming Oklahoma for this mess, but where the fuck were you guys? Why didn’t somebody nip this shit in the bud? Well, what’s done is done. Let’s move on and get this shit over with.

Album Background: This album (I’m not sure it qualifies as one honestly) is pop punk emo bullshit at its worst. It runs 43 intelligence-insulting minutes long and came out in 2003. It went platinum and actually got some decent reviews. Lots of 4/5 stars. And honestly, this has some really catchy material. But in reality, this album is a cruel joke. It’s a grape tootsie pop with a diarrhea stank center ready to explode onto the tastebuds of an unsuspecting listener. There should not be this many positive reviews. I think reviewers got far too hung up on liking this album because the duo was so young at the time of recording. Sure it’s impressive for their age but how long are you impressed with your newborn pooping? At some point, shit is shit, right?

Favorite Track: I know you’re all thinking I’m going to pick their massive hit Swing Swing which got all the way up to #8 on the charts for my favorite track. But the best song is My Paper Heart. Why? Because it is the first track on the album. When I first heard this song on Monday morning as I pulled out of my garage, there was so much promise here. It was going to be such a great week. Nice upbeat pop punk tempo mixed with poignant lyrics about a broken relationship. And then there’s this little bell thing they do combined with sugary sweet sing along moments. Bop. Bop. Bop. La-la, la, la. Bop. Bop. Bop. Unfortunately, it’s all a prison-style shower raping from there on out. Every subsequent listening of this album has been a soapy prison dick right in my ear.

What Works: 

  • Nothing Fuck this album. Nothing works. It’s a tragedy it’s just MP3s instead of a physical CD. I’d fucking set it on fire if I could. Melted plastic fumes never smelled so good. Like god damn roses on a dewy spring morning walk with your mother.

What Doesn’t:

  • Everything I could go into great detail about how I hate the phrasing the lead vocalists uses. And the drum machine. FUCK the drum machine. I could bitch about how they keep using the same tricks over and over throughout their album. That little bell thing in the first track I talked about? I think I counted probably three other songs where they do the same thing. I’d go back and look at my notes to get an exact count but my notes look like the diary of a madman with ‘fuck you’s scribbled over everything. But really, I just want to focus on what pissed me off most of all: Track 1 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 2 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 3 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 4 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 5 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 6 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 7 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 8 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 9 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 10 is a song about a failed relationship. Track 11 is a song about a failed relationship. The cherry on top of this shit sundae was that I have the version of the album that included a bonus track which is a song about…you guessed it…a failed relationship. How fucked up was Tyson and Nick’s high school experience that this is the ONLY kind of song they could write? Fuck the band for making this album. Fuck the record label for releasing it. Fuck the radio for playing it. And fuck the public for buying it. I hold all of you responsible for making 2003 a music tragedy. Hopefully, we can all learn a valuable lesson from this so it never happens again.

In Conclusion: Even some of the best albums, I can be tired of hearing on repeat by the end of work on Thursday. But this album? By early Monday afternoon I desperately wanted to stop listening to it. I actually didn’t have a real good idea of why I hated this album until I started doing my final listen and began taking notes on each song. I spent most of the week scared I wouldn’t be able to explain what went so wrong here. Like most worrying, it was all in vain. It’s pretty fucking clear why this album is a shit stain.

Please note this entire review was written purely for comedic purposes.  I don’t actually hate the album that much. Fuck that. I do actually hate the album that much. I really really really hope these guys got better with their later albums. There’s obviously a lot of potential talent there. It’s just the execution could not have been any worse. Praise Jebus that the rest of their albums are only in my collection and not on my MP3 player. I really can’t take the chance of going through this again.

Music Video Links:
All-American Rejects – Swing, Swing (Official Video)
All-American Rejects – The Last Song (Official Video)
All-American Rejects – Time Stand Still (Official Video)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
iTunes
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Information Links:
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Week 31 Review

U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 4.8 out of 5 stars album. It’s not a perfect album but it is really close. There is a lot to like here and I fully agree with the statements of this album being U2’s third masterpiece. For me, it was the consistency in quality across this album that really impressed me as I listened to it all week.

Artist Background: Really? The background of U2? There’s probably entire books dedicated to this. Oh look at that. There are. I’m going to do my best anyways. They formed in 1976 and are from Ireland. The band’s lead singer, Bono, is always wearing sunglasses. The band’s lead guitarist is The Edge and he is always wears a beanie. Those two are really easy to pick out in a picture. Adam Clayton plays bass and Larry Mullen, Jr plays percussion for the band. They reached international super stardom in the 1980s with their album, The Joshua Tree.  In the 1990s, they experimented with their sound by incorporating different genres. Overall, this did not go as well for them as they probably would have hoped. In 2000, they decided to go back to basics which led to the album I’m reviewing. Their most notable recent moment was the fiasco with Apple where they gave a free digital copy of their new album, Songs of Innocence, to anyone with an iPhone 6. Not everyone was happy about this as U2 can be pretty polarizing. There are people that absolutely worship the band but there are also people that completely hate U2. If you are wondering, I don’t fall into either of those categories.

Album Background: The rock album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, is about 50 minutes long. The most notable thing about this album is that it won Grammy Record of the Year in both 2001 and 2002 for two separate tracks off of the album. This is the only album to ever do that so I think regardless of how you feel about U2, you need respect that accomplishment. But all together the album won 7 Grammy awards. Development took place from 1998 to 2000 and they brought back producers they worked with on Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby which are considered their other two notable albums. I assume it was done in an effort to recapture the sound of their earlier work.

Favorite Track: You would think I would pick one of the songs that won Record of the Year. You’d be wrong. Well, then you would think I would at least pick one of the 4 singles from the album. And again, you’d be wrong. So what in the world did I pick? I actually went with the sixth track off of the album: In A Little While. In terms of lyrical content, it’s your basic song about returning to one you love. It’s not surprisingly addressed to his wife who inspired Bono for many of U2’s songs. The song is also held in high regard by U2 because it was the last song Joey Ramone listened to before he died. While many songs have been done on the topic, it doesn’t really take away from the song in my view. If it’s good, it’s good. I really like the intro. It starts off with a nice guitar hook that draws you into the song. Bono’s voice has this raspy quality to it that I also really like. It adds to this idea of being worn out but still putting in all your effort to make it back to the person you care about most in the world. Bono also wrote an incredibly beautiful verse in this song that I think could easily be included in a book of poetry. “A man dreams one day to fly, A man takes a rocketship into the skies, He lives on star that’s dying in the night, And follows in the trail, The scatter of light” Maybe I’m partial to it because I’m in awe of what the human race has been doing in terms of space exploration over the past couple years. Or maybe it is actually an excellent verse. Overall, it’s a nice laid back song worth listening to a couple times. Hopefully, within a short period of time from now.

What Works: 

  • Edge One popular song off of the album was Elevation. Some of Bono’s vocalizations on the track probably are what make it stand out the most, but I think a major reason why the song works is the guitar playing from The Edge. It’s just this crazy wall of sound rocking your ears from start to end. And works so freaking well. This isn’t the only song that is a winner because of him, but it’s a good example.
  • Bono An aspect of this album that really stood out for me was how well Bono can make his approach to singing on a particular song blend so perfectly with everything else with the song. He’s like a vocal chameleon. Maybe it’s not so apparent with casual listening, but I was seriously impressed by the end of the week. In addition, Bono can write such beautiful lyrics as I already noted. Unfortunately, his lyrical prowess is not nearly as consistent as his singing.
  • Intros U2 knows how to write a track opening. Kite‘s opening is interesting since it sounds almost like the note is being playing backward with Edge on a sliding guitar. It’s a unique note to build a song around but it works. Many times they slowly eased into the song like an old man into a nice warm bath. Grace and Peace On Earth are great examples of this.

What Doesn’t:

  • Stacked I’m not a particular fan of front loading an album with your strongest material. I like it to be distributed evenly throughout the album. Reward me for sticking it out and listening to everything. And it’s impossible to not accuse U2 of doing this when the four singles from this album were the first four tracks of the album AND they were released in the same order that they appeared on the album. It is the textbook example everyone should refer to. And the second half does suffer because of it. The first six tracks for me are absolutely amazing. The weakest point of the album for me is probably track 8 through 10 where I kind of get my typical ‘lost in a U2 album’ lost. Thankfully, Grace is a strong closer.
  • Bono You know how I said Bono can write beautiful heartfelt lyrics? Well, sometimes I wonder if U2’s writing process is more like this:

    Bono: Okay, next!
    Larry: But that lyric doesn’t make any sense. In fact, it’s kind of silly.
    Bono: Does it rhyme, Larry? Does…it…rhyme?
    Larry: Well, yeah. But..
    Bono: Okay then. NEXT!

In Conclusion: If I wasn’t all that familiar with U2 and I wanted to get a better feel for their music, I would honestly start with this album. I know Joshua Tree is this incredible 80s album that’s probably on a good chunk of Albums to Listen to Before You Die lists but it also sounds incredibly 80s. I think ATYCLB still sounds very modern and almost timeless due to the mix of their attempt to go back and reboot their sound mixed together with everything they learned from experimenting with other genres in the 90s.

Music Video Links:
U2 – Walk On (Official Video)
U2 – Beautiful Day (Official Video)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
iTunes
XBOX Music
Spotify

Information Links:
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Week 30 Review

Girl Talk – All Day (2010)

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 4.75 out of 5 stars album. Saying Girl Talk aka Gregg Gillis is at the top of the mashup scene is an understatement. He’s more like Zeus atop Mount Olympus throwing remixed thunderbolts at all the mere mortals. Describing him as anything other than a god is an insult to him and the perfection he has achieved of his craft. He’s that damn good.

Artist Background: Greg Gillis aka Girl Talk didn’t enter the music scene using the stereotypical slacker path. He studied biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University with a focus on tissue engineering. Girl Talk released his first album in 2002 while still in college. His early albums were of the glitch genre which to me sound like you’re listening to an Atari game on acid. Don’t expect me to review any of those. Eventually he quit his engineering job in 2007 to focus on music full-time. But how did I hear about Girl Talk? Rip: A Remix Manifesto, of course, which you can watch right now if you click on the link. I highly suggest watching it. It’s very entertaining and is a great introduction to remix culture. It’s probably even more relevant now than in 2008 when it was released.

Album Background: The album, All Day, clocks in at 1 hour and 11 minutes and is considered to be part of the mashup genre. If you don’t know what the mashup genre is, I’m going to yet again encourage you to watch Rip. That’ll explain it way better than I can. It’s divided up into 12 tracks buts it’s really meant to be listened to as a single continuous experience as each track flows seamlessly into the next. Want to listen to whole album? Well, you do all that by clicking here. It’s available as one continuous track or split up into 12 tracks. And it’s even available in FLAC if MP3 isn’t your bag. All Day was released for free in 2010 and his concert tour sold out shortly afterward unsurprisingly. So he definitely has found his audience. You can also find some videos on Youtube where people match up the music videos of the original songs with the mashed up versions. Here’s one I found. They’re pretty entertaining.

Favorite Track: Like I pointed out earlier, there aren’t actually 12 tracks on this album. There are dividing points to allow you to get to a certain part of the album easily. I could talk about the entire album in great detail since that’s the only favorite track I could pick or I could go with something a little more sane which is to talk about a couple standout moments for me. The album starts out really strong by combining Black Sabbath’s War Pigs and Ludacris’s Move Bitch. They’re both pretty intense songs that get your heart pumping right away which is really helpful if you’re going to a Girl Talk concert. That place will be overflowing with non-stop energy until Greg closes the lid on his Windows notebook. The combination of Jay-Z’s Can I Get A… and Tenderness by General Public works well because of the contrast between the two songs. ELO’s Mr. Blue Sky and Juicy J’s Twerk mashup work for much the same reason. Combining Radiohead’s Creep with Ol’ Dirty Bastard rapping the lyrics from Shimmy Shimmy Ya was something I looked forward to on every play of the album. The ODB should have been a part of the band. So much lost potential there. Later on Aphex Twin gets paired with Soulja Boy. I think I like that one because the idea of them together is hilarious. I also loved the pairing of Nicki Minaj and Blue Oyster Cult every time I heard it. Her voice works really well with the music. But I think my most favorite pairing on the entire album is combining Rolling Stones’s Paint It Black with Wiz Khalfia’s Black and Yellow. Brilliant.

What Works: 

  • Nostalgia Listening to a Girl Talk album is probably the most intense nostalgia trip you will ever take. It’s just off the charts. He covers quite a few decades in this album so it’s going to be pretty difficult to be immune to it unless you’re a 5 year old. In which case, I’m very impressed with your reading and comprehension skills. But anyways, nostalgia plays a huge factor in the appeal of his albums. It’s incredibly addictive once you start listening to it.
  • Everybody Having attended a Girl Talk concert with my editor, I can say without a doubt that he attracts a very wide audience. You will see the biggest music nerd standing right next to the most stereotypical sorority girl you could imagine. They might like Girl Talk for completely different reasons but I bet they enjoy him equally. Knowing this album can appeal to such a diverse audience while being part of a niche genre makes it that much more enjoyable for me. All Day is all about having fun regardless of who you are.
  • <insert here> I think the part I love most is noticing the little things that Greg throws into the album. Some samples can last well over a minute and they are really the heart of the music, but I love the samples that appear and disappear in a beat or two. I try to listen to a lot of different kinds of music and I didn’t even come close to knowing all of the songs used to make this album. When I could recognize an obscure lyric or note that quickly passed by, it gave me a little music nerd high. Like I said, his music is addictive. And I’m not the only one interested in figuring out what was sampled and when. Decoding the album was a pretty big thing when it was first released. For those of you who want to know, here is everything.

What Doesn’t:

  • Pony No, not the song by Ginuwine. Though it is actually sampled for this album. I’m talking about the fact that Girl Talk is a one trick pony. That’s probably the only valid complaint against this album which is that it’s the same thing over and over again for over an hour: take a rap song and combine with a pop or rock song. Repeat. But I won’t make that complaint because I think it’s like somebody complaining about being tired of eating chocolate too often. I’ve never heard anybody say “You know, I’m just really tired of eating chocolate chip cookies.” And I would say the same thing about Girl Talk’s music. Enough is never enough of the stuff.

In Conclusion: I couldn’t give this album 5 stars even if I wanted to because his prior album, Feed the Animals, is better. Coincidentally, that album is featured on Rip which is another reason you should watch the documentary. FtA is packed with even more nostalgia and fun, if you can believe it. However, I think All Day is technically superior in terms of actual mixing. Greg is always improving his skills and it’s clear he has advanced quite a bit between the release of the two albums. This is one of only a handful of albums that I’m going to be reviewing that you can go download for free right now so go take advantage and get ready to have some incredible fun.

Music Video Links:
Girl Talk – All Day (Official Video)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE

Information Links:
Wikipedia Artist
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Official Site

Week 29 Review

Tech N9ne – All 6’s and 7’s (2011)

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 6.76 out of 7 stars album. Tech is a very interesting figure in the world of hip hop and his albums clearly reflect that. All 6’s and 7’s is jam packed to the brim with intense energy and emotion covering an impressive range of topics. You need to listen to it just to hear one of the greatest rappers out there do his thing.

Artist Background: Tech N9ne is the biggest independent rapper in the world as far as I can tell. He’s sold a million albums by 2008. So he’s doing pretty well. And he co-founded his own label, Strange Music, in 1999 with Travis O’Guin. I imagine he has far more control over and freedom with his albums than many of the other artists out there as a result of this. Tech grew up in Kansas City and makes sure his city is well represented in his music. He’s built a hardcore and devoted following for himself. Tech N9ne is known for his rapid delivery which is just incredible. But I think I appreciate him more for the content of his songs, which tend to be introspective and often philosophical in nature. If he’s questioning something about life, he’s going to let you know.

Album Background: The album, All 6’s and 7’s, is much longer than your average hip hop album at 76 minutes with 18 songs and 6 skits. This album was his first mainstream success as it was his first album to crack the top 5 of the US charts at number 4. This album includes a lot of guest artists including B.o.B., Hopsin, Yelawolf, Snoop Dogg, Jay Rock, Twista, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, E-40, Busta Rhymes, Kendrick Lamar, and a bunch of other people. It’s pretty packed and the well chosen guest rappers are a big part of why this album is as good as it is.

Favorite Track: My favorite track is Am I a Psycho. It was a really close race though; it wins but just barely. The chorus is very memorable and catchy. Tech N9ne, Hopsin and B.o.B. let their imaginations go to a dark place and come up with some clever lines throughout the song. All three of them rap solid verses both in content and delivery. Their approaches to the topic of psychosis are different enough that it keeps your attention for the entire song. I could start listing the lyrics, but I really think you need to hear the song to get a sense of why I like the song so much. It’s definitely not the most technically impressive song on the album, but still very enjoyable because it’s so fun.

What Works: 

  • Four The first four songs on this album (Technicians, Am I a Psycho, He’s a Mental Giant and Worldwide Choppers) plus the two accompanying skits of The Pledge and Military is the greatest opening for any album I’ve ever heard. All of the songs are easily 5 star songs and the intense energy projected during these songs is through the roof. Put them all together and you have something I’m not sure anybody else will ever be able to replicate. For those looking to duplicate it, I found this really cool video put out by the guy who did the beats for Technicians and he explains how every sound used to make the beats was put in there. It’s pretty amazing to see all the work that went into the beat. I wish I had that kind of technical knowledge about making music.
  • Rhythm I know everyone is incredibly impressed with how quick Tech can spit. And I am too. His delivery is instantly recognizable. But I think I’m more impressed with rhythms used in his delivery. While Tech N9ne can go 200 MPH, he also knows how to and when to change it up. I love how he will flip back and forth between very distinct rhythms in his song without missing a beat. Or deliver 10 lines in a row using the same intricate pattern perfectly.
  • Exposure Tech is very much willing to let his fans into his world. In Cult Leader, he talks about the comparisons that have been with him to Jim Jones and David Koresh. I love that he basically trolls those making the comparisons by delivering a very cult like speech to a group of “followers” at the end of the song. O-W-H-H! The songs Delusional, So Lonely, If I Could and Mama Nem discuss some of the difficulties of his life. If I Could talks about the struggles of trying to provide for your family and still be there for them. I can definitely relate to this with all the hours I am putting in at work right now. Mama Nem may seem like your average cliche mother song, but the collection of songs preceding it clearly show Tech is nothing but sincere with his music. Unlike your generic cliche mama song, Tech fills his with numerous specifics that give you a real glimpse into his life and the pain he felt. It’s quite obvious he’s making this song for himself rather than trying to tap into something that he knows everyone would identify with in order to sell more records.

What Doesn’t:

  • Graphic Like really damn graphic descriptions of sexual acts. I honestly don’t have a problem with it. However, I’m not sure everyone is going to be comfortable listening to music with lines like ****** ***** **** * ****** or ******* **** **** ****** ****** *****. I’m going to go as far as to say the songs are really well done and do a fantastic job celebrating sex in its most pure and raw form. And surprisingly, it does so for both genders. In Pornographic, I feel like Tech is talking to one woman in particular and sharing something with her rather than having this feeling of all women being interchangeable. Unfortunately, Snoop Dogg ruins it with his misogynistic verses; very similar to what he was doing in 2001. To counter things like this, Tech dedicates an entire song to pleasuring women properly in the bedroom with Overtime. There’s actually a great part in the song where the rapper hands off the line “pack a stud in your luggage” to Stevie Stone. I don’t know how often trading lines like that happens but I loved it every time I heard it. On top of that, Tech N9ne starts out the collection of sex songs on the album with Kansas City Poet Camile’s graphic ripping apart of a boastful man who didn’t quite live up to his promises. I can’t really repeat any of it but I love how she ends it with “I love you, Tech N9ne! You inspire me!” Like I said, I think the songs are well done, but I think it might be really alienating to some people.

In Conclusion: Tech N9ne’s All 6’s and 7’s is such a great album. Tech deserves all of the praise that he gets. He is incredibly talented and pours so much of himself into his work. If you’ve never listened to him, this is where you should start. If after the first 4 songs you aren’t blown away like I was then you can stop listening and move on. But I think that you’re going to want to make a trip to Strangeland and, like me, never want to leave. And remember: Tech won’t go mainstream. Mainstream will go Tech.

Music Video Links:
Tech N9ne – Am I a Psycho? (feat B.o.B. and Hopsin) (Official Video) (I seriously hate this video. It doesn’t even come close to what they could have done with such great lyrics. So incredibly boring.)
Tech N9ne – He’s a Mental Giant (Official Video) (I actually like this video since it’s done in the spirit of one of my favorite book series of all time: The Wizard of Oz.)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
iTunes
XBOX Music
Spotify

Information Links:
Wikipedia Artist
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Week 28 Review

Steely Dan – Aja (1977)

Bottom Line Up Front: This album is 5 out of 5 stars. Period. End of story. Everyone should absorb Aja into their auditory cortex and enjoy as the other areas of their brain light up like fireworks. If you do not have it in your music collection, your music collection is incomplete. It really is that simple.

Artist Background: Let’s first get this out of the way before we talk about anything else. Steely Dan is named after a dildo from William S. Burroughs‘ 1959 non-linear classic novel Naked Lunch. Now that we know that little fun fact, Steely Dan is basically Walter Becker and Donald Fagen with a collection of session musicians. Originally, the band had more members but these two guys are seriously obsessive about having the perfect sound. And it’s a lot harder to do that if you can’t swap out your musicians on a track by track basis. They even went so far as to use two completely different drum kits in a single song to get the exact sound they wanted. And you can also clearly hear every instrument they feature in their music. Examples like that put Steely Dan in high regards among many audiophiles.

Album Background: How important is this jazz rock record that runs 40 minutes over 7 tracks? So important that it was added to the Library of Congress as part of the United States National Recording Registry for 2010. Aja is the most commercially successful album from the group. It got to number 3 on the US Pop charts. That’s right. Pop charts. Aja is as much pop as it is jazz. I’m not going to list all the musicians involved because it’s a pretty long list. But I highly suggest reading the background of each of them, if you get a chance, to really get an idea of the scope of talent that was involved in the creation of the Aja. And it seems like nothing but their very best was good enough as they auditioned many musicians and even after finding the perfect person for the part, usually many takes were still required. And for those wondering about the cover, that’s a picture of Sayoko Yamaguchi who seems to be Japan’s first international supermodel.

Favorite Track: My favorite track is Deacon Blues. It’s the 3rd track on the album and is 7 minutes and 36 seconds long. I think what put this song over the top for me was the chorus. Not only are the lyrics great, but the way they are delivered is perfect. Just the right amount of backing vocals in the right spots. It also intrigues me that they wrote a song featuring a reference to a college football team, the Alabama Crimson Tide. On a side note, the Crimson Tide happen to be ranked #1 in the nation right now. Even the term “Deacon Blues” has a nice ring to it. The sax solo by Pete Christlieb in this song is also fantastic. And should be as the chorus also makes a reference to playing the saxophone. It’s hard to describe this song as anything other than perfection.

What Works: 

  • Engineering The sound recording quality of this album is out of this world. Every morning when I would start it up in my car, the music would catch me off guard because the bass bumped so hard. I don’t know if any rap artists sampled Aja, but they should have. The album did win a Grammy for the quality of the sound recording. Honestly, it would have been a crime for them not to win it. You really can hear every instrument with all the gorgeous details each one provides. All the instruments sound unbelievable. You could listen to the whole album and just focus on what you hear in the background while still enjoying yourself immensely.
  • Solos The solos on this album are epic. The sax solo on the second track, Aja, is probably my favorite. Aja is a good 8 minutes long so they have plenty of time to work in an extended solo performance by jazz legend, Wayne Shorter. I just love the way Wayne plays off of everything going around him. It’s such an incredibly powerful and inspiring solo. I remember just being in awe at a red light on my way to work one morning. It’s that good. On top of that, the drum work by Steve Gadd is brilliant. Especially during Wayne’s solo and the outro where Steve just owns it. The whole album is full of awesome moments like this.
  • Backing Vocals The backing vocals on this album are especially enjoyable. They compliment the main vocals and instruments so well. I know I keep using the word perfect. But there is no other way to describe this album.

I’m not even including a What Doesn’t section. That would be an insult.

In Conclusion: Go listen to this album right now if you’ve never heard it before. Keep in mind, Spotify has an ad-backed free option now. So take advantage. Why are you still reading this? Go! Now!

Music Video Links:
None available. 😦

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
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Information Links:
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Week 27 Review

fun. – Aim and Ignite (2009)

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 4.5 out of 5 stars album that’s going to win you over with its completely over the top compositions and simple but often clever lyrics. Some Nights may have put fun. at the top of the charts and won them multiple Grammys, but Aim and Ignite is still very much worth your time.

Artist Background: The band, fun., is made up of 3 main members:  Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost. There were 19 additional musicians that played on the album providing a wide range of instruments and vocals. You can’t do compositions like this without getting more people involved though Dost does play quite a few different instruments. The band started in 2008 shortly after Ruess’s band, The Format split up.

Album Background: The album, Aim and Ignite, is described as indie pop/baroque pop. (Now where have I heard that before?) It runs about 43 minutes with 10 tracks. It received many positive reviews when it was released. On an interesting note, Take Your Time (I’m Coming Home) is unusually long at nearly 8 minutes.

Favorite Track: My favorite track is I Wanna Be the One. It’s the 4th track on the album and is 3 minutes and 36 seconds long. While initially hearing this song, I thought Nate was singing about his daughter. But with further research, I think it is most likely about his newborn niece and him becoming an uncle given how long the song has been in the works. The song is about wanting to document a child’s life by writing songs about everything from their successes to their failures and all that lies in-between. In the age of Facebook, documenting everything about a child seems quite feasible. It includes several of my favorite lyrics such as “And I know that it’s been sang before but you’re my human holiday” and “Cigarettes are raining hard on the Upper East Side.” I particularly like the trombone, oboe and piano parts in this song. Overall, the arrangement is very upbeat and overflowing with joy. You can’t help but be happy after listening to it.

What Works: 

  • Vocals Given how fun. was basically everywhere after We Are Young exploded, maybe some people are sick of hearing Nate. Don’t include me in this group. I absolutely love Mr. Ruess’s voice. He’s in my top 5 for favorite male vocalists of the past 10 years. I love his tone and his phrasing throughout the album. In addition, many of the supporting vocals work quite well on several tracks. The female vocals in At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I used to Be) are particularly appealing with them having a singsong nursery rhyme like quality to them.
  • Lyrics The lyrics in this album are incredibly accessible because the word choice is simple as are the rhyming schemes. Given how complex the arrangements are on this album, the lyrics seem to be the perfect compliment. At the end of At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I used to Be), the line “I’m not a prophet, but I’m here to profit.” always stuck out for me. And in a verse from Light a Roman Candle with Me, I’m particularly fond of the rhyme between “…both wrote a sonnet, Together a sandwich with everything on it.” I think it’s a rather playful way to work sonnet into a rhyme. Walking the Dog also has a memorable couple of lines in the chorus with “If you could see me, Whoever I am. It’s not like a movie, It’s not all skin and bones.” This song reminds me a lot of the band, Vampire Weekend, for some reason. I think it’s the guitar part.
  • Composition From the very beginning of the opening track, Be Calm, the music lets the listener know that tracks on this album are going to be beautifully layered songs with elements of classical music mixed with indie pop. There is so much going on during the songs with so many instruments fading in and out as the song is in a continuous state of rising and falling. However, it never becomes overwhelming but it does mean that it’s going to take multiple listens to really appreciate everything fun. brings to the album at any given moment. Of particular interest is The Gambler because I believe it doesn’t contain a single percussive instrument and instead relies on the piano to keep the tempo moving along. I would also like to note that until I started writing this review, I had no idea that Take Your Time (I’m Coming Home) was so long. I think that says a lot of the quality of the writing that I never became bored with that song or wish that it would be over already despite listening to it numerous times during the past week. Since I’m talking about this song anyways, this is the only song I noticed that uses a swear word. Thankfully, Nate uses the greatest and most versatile of all of the swear words available.

What Doesn’t:

  • Nothing There really isn’t anything that is so disagreeable that I would make a change to this album. The only reason I took off half of a star is because I’m not sure it’s going to appeal to everyone. But I think everyone should give it a listen to see if it does.

In Conclusion: fun. put together a fantastic album with Aim and Ignite. It sounds like Nate was going through a lot of emotional stress after the break up of The Format, but it paid off tenfold in my opinion. This album is so much fun to listen to and can be returned to multiple times thanks to the elaborate arrangements. I liked this album from the very first listen and I don’t see that ever changing.

Music Video Links:
fun. – Walking the Dog (Official Video)
fun. – All the Pretty Girls (Official Video)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
iTunes
XBOX Music
Spotify

Information Links:
Wikipedia Artist
Wikipedia Album
Facebook
Twitter
Official Site

Week 26 Review (Revised)

St. Vincent – Actor (2009)

St._Vincent_-_Actor

Bottom Line Up Front: This is a 4 out of 5 stars album that you’re going to want to check out. It’s an interesting mix of the indie, pop and classical genres with a very high replay value due to enigmatic lyrics.

Artist Background: The woman behind St.Vincent is Annie Clark. She dropped out of Berklee College of Music after 3 years so she could start her professional career. It seemed to be a smart move on her part because she is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist and a highly skilled composer.

Album Background: The album, Actor, is described as indie pop/baroque pop. It runs about 40 minutes with 11 tracks. Clark wrote it while watching lots of movies including many Disney films. The songs actually came from soundtracks she imagined for scenes from the movies she watched. She would then add the lyrics for it. The album was well received by many critics and made quite a few end of the year lists.

Favorite Track: My favorite track is The Bed. It’s the 8th track on the album and is 3 minutes and 43 seconds long. St. Vincent’s use of contrasting ideas and sounds is prevalent throughout the album. I think she does a particularly good job on this track where she combines the viewpoint of young children with gun violence. The track begins with a pair of siblings hiding underneath one of their beds with their “dear daddy’s Smith and Wesson” ready to shoot and kill monsters. It’s a rather disturbing image but the track itself is very soft and laid back with her soothing voice and a guitar being gently picked. Further playing off the innocence of children to enhance the contradictions, many of the lyrics make references to common gun expressions includings “the whites of their eyes” which was made famous at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 and “put your hands up” and “stop or I’ll shoot” which have probably been said at least once in every cop show ever made. This is just one example of where St. Vincent is masterful in mixing ingredients that don’t normally belong together to give the listener something new and delicious.

What Works: 

  • Juxtaposition Both in her music and lyrics, Annie creates contrasts that are often quite jarring to the listener. In the opening track, The Strangers, after nearly 2 and a half minutes of her beautiful voice painting the black hole blacker and luscious multi-layered instrumentation, a blaring distorted guitar rips into the music. These contrasts only further enhance the qualities of the dissimilar approaches and strengthens her music overall.
  • Mystery Even though I’ve listened to this album countless times over the past week, I’ve had a hard time actually deciphering what the lyrics mean. And this is a great thing. I love lyrics like this. I love it when they are very specific yet open to interpretation for those willing to dig into them. Actor would probably end up on my Desert Island list because of this.
  • Tension In Black Rainbow, there is a wonderful crescendo that builds slowly and patiently using violins and distorted guitars. At some point, you’re really not sure if it’s ever going to come to a climax but eventually it collapses and you can finally start breathing again. It’s relentless attack reminds me of I Want You (She’s So Heavy) by The Beatles.
  • Clockwork There is a lot of repetition in this album that works quite well. Multiple times, St. Vincent will switch between a phrase and a lyric like in The Strangers or alternate with sound processing like in Laughing with a Mouth of Blood. At other times, the instruments feel more like I’m listening to the rhythmic ticking of a clock more than anything such as in Marrow.

What Doesn’t:

  • Variation There isn’t a huge amount of variety between songs even if each song is well-crafted. Sometimes the tempo is mixed up to give it an almost dance song quality such as in Actor Out of Work. But I still feel the tracks on the album blend together more than I would like. This might be a side effect of the way the album was put together by starting out as mini-soundtracks for individual scenes from movies.

In Conclusion: Annie obviously put a lot of thought into the music and I seriously doubt that there is a word or note that wasn’t carefully dissected before it was left in its final resting place. Actor is exactly what it should be. And you’ll most likely notice more and more little details each time you listen to it such as the silence used in The Bed or the wonderfully slow build up in Just the Same But Brand New.

Music Video Links:
St. Vincent – Out of Work Actor (Official Video)
St. Vincent – Marrow (Official Video)

Streaming/Purchase Links:
Amazon Music
Google Play
iTunes
XBOX Music
Spotify

Information Links:
Wikipedia Artist
Wikipedia Album
Facebook
Twitter
Official Site

Taking a Break

Like most hobbies/side projects, life sometimes gets in the way. I plan returning mid-November when hopefully things have settled down. Sorry if this disappoints anyone, but I’d rather take a break then post half-assed reviews or become so flustered that I quit doing this completely.

This has been so much fun to do so I have no plans of quitting. I’m going to let Wyclef set the mood as I take a break for the next couple months.

Week 25 Review (End of Summer Blow Up 4)

This week I’m reviewing my favorite hip hop album from 2013: Jarren Benton’s My Grandma’s Basement. It did chart but nowhere near as high as it should have. Actually, anything less than #1 is too low.

My_Grandma's_Basement_Jarren_Benton

Artist: Jarren Benton {Jarren Benton, emcee; Kato aka Christopher Ju, producer}
Album: My Grandma’s Basement
Year: 2013
Genre: Hip Hop
Rating: 5/5

Worth Your Time? Benton has an incredible flow that everyone should familiarize themselves with.

Twitter Review: The combination of Benton and his talented producer Kato make My Grandma’s Basement a fantastic album worthy of many repeat listens.

Top 3 Tracks:

  1. My Grandma’s Basement
  2. Heart Attack
  3. My Adidas

Things to Look For:

  • Benton’s Flow. I love when Jarren raps. I love it. He can spit fire word after word while making it all seem so effortless but he’s smart enough to break it up occasionally with some really interesting rhythms. On PBR & Reefer, Benton starts out with a stutter step for the first couple lines which actually complement the chorus perfectly. Now contrast with his delivery in Life in the Jungle where he’s going at a frantic pace to reflect the intensity of innercity life. I think that Benton is so used to going fast that going slow throws him off. In Dreams, Benton actually has a fairly slow delivery reflective of the subject matter. And this song contains the only moment on the album where I think Jarren isn’t flawless. It’s actually awkward for a fraction of a second. I’m not going to tell you where it is. I want to see if you can pick it out. And it only sticks out to me because he is so amazing everywhere else.
  • Kato! Kato’s name is said in the beginning of nearly every track in one way or another for every track he produced on this album.  And he absolutely deserves the recognition. The first three tracks of the album (Razor Blades & Steak Knives, Life in the Jungle and Don’t Act) are produced by Kato. The beginning  is probably the most consistently enjoyable section of the album in large part thanks to Kato’s big beats. The production of Razor Blades & Steak Knives is particularly impressive thanks to the false ending. The first time I heard it, I thought a new song had actually started but nope. I was still listening to the first track.
  • OMG Hilarious. Even More No Homo (skit) is not the most politically correct skit to laugh at. But George Carlin said even rape can be funny and further explains: “I believe you can joke about anything. It all depends on how you construct the joke. What the exaggeration is…because every joke needs one exaggeration. Every joke needs one thing to be way out of proportion.” And this skit absolutely nails it. My brother and I laughed about this skit for weeks. I think it is hilarious regardless of your outlook on gay rights. Feel free to disagree if you want. But I’m still probably going to keep laughing every time I hear it.
  • Serious Like A Heart Attack. I have to mention Heart Attack. The subject matter is very dark as it describes the brutal murder of an ex after an uncontrollable rage building up inside is finally let loose. Domestic violence is inexcusable, but Jarren does an excellent job communicating his rage to listeners. And thankfully, at least, has an ending with very real consequences with the cops closing down on him shortly after the murder.  The real surprise about this song is the last minute which sounds similar to Pink Floyd’s Great Gig in the Sky. Benton counts several non-rap musicians as primary influences so should I really be surprised to see some Pink Floyd pop up on his album? Probably not.
  • Even More Serious. The best song on the album is My Grandma’s Basement. Why? One reason is because this is one of the few songs on the album where Jarren does not resort to shock value in his verses. Now is probably an appropriate time to bring up that a lot of his delivery and word choice reminds me of Eminem’s Slim Shady LP. Even on Cadillacs & Chevys Jarren says “They say I sound like Eminem.” So I’m not the only one to notice the parallels. I honestly think that Jarren’s wordplay is a bit more inventive. So many times, I was impressed with the way Benton combines and relates ideas in his verses. Many times those ideas were meant to shock but they were impactful on me regardless. But in My Grandma’s Basement he seems to focus on some very real and universal fears about moving your life forward and making something of yourself before you become trapped. I really hope to see less shock and more tracks like this on his next album. I know he is more than capable of it with this track and My Adidas. Equally interesting is the beats used on the track, which make you feel like you too are going to be swallowed up by the basement with Jarren never to be seen again. Those are some seriously claustrophobic beats.

Low Points: While Big Rube Interlude is quite good and sounds like it belongs on a Quentin Tarantino movie with a beautiful trumpet solo, Dreams doesn’t appeal to me as much as the rest of the album. It seems too different from the rest of the tracks. It almost feels like an obligatory slow song more than anything. And with an album runtime of over 70 minutes, I probably wouldn’t have missed it if it was left on the floor of the recording studio. Big Rube, by the way, is known for doing these interludes. He has done them for several artists.

Anything Else: I just wanted to share the song that first introduced me to Jarren Benton. The song is Skitzo and it’s incredibly catchy. It highlights many of the reasons why I instantly fell in love with his music in the first place and it also has a great ending. If I remember correctly, Hopsin (who later signed Benton to Funk Volume) had mentioned it through social media. My brother caught hold of it and then showed it to me. And Skitzo is probably the only single I’ve bought since I got out of college, so that’s saying a lot of how much I wanted it. (I’m more of an album kind of guy if you couldn’t figure that out.) It was featured on a compilation and none of the other tracks really appealed to me so I bought the track by itself. And the rest is history. Now you all need to tune into his new album My Grandma’s Basement. I hope you like it.

Additional Links: