Album: As Cruel As Schoolchildren
Artist: Gym Class Heroes
Before I begin, let me say that I Love Hip-Hop. I’ve been a fan from way back and still am but I’ve got issues with the genre.
Some hip-hop groups (most recent ones at least) seem to strive on catering to the normal stereotypes of the genre. Shameless self-promotion, party and bullshit. Basically the “I’m All That” line of thought. Not so much with these guys. For those who’ve never heard of them, they are an alternative hip-hop or rap/rock group who have charted twice so far with the singles “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “Clothes Off”, both of which are on this release.
Much like The Roots, you’ve got a full live instrumental group backing up lead rapper Travis McCoy who a great flow and a smooth delivery as well as a fairly decent singing voice. His lead, however does not overpower the music on the tracks which have a rich depth all their own. The lyrics and delivery of Travis’ rhymes harken back to the party days of hip-hop, when people were more concerned about having a good time and a great party which is always a plus in my book.
Upon listening to this CD, I was immediately struck with how familiar the tracks seemed. Not that I had heard them before, but they seem to engender a feeling that the listener is somehow in on the project. A few of the songs seem to almost start with an unspoken, “Remember this one?” and they draw you into the colorful tapestry that was been woven.
It’s been a while since I’ve had any sort of gym class, but these guys would have been the heroes had they been there.
Favorite Track: Viva La White Girl
Friday, June 19, 2009
Brief Hiatus
Sorry for the brief hiatus. I had not been listening to anything new for a few days and had a few other things occupying my mind (or what passes for it). But for now we'll get back to our regularly scheduled notes.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Day Three
Album: What About Us
Artist: Ruth Ann Boyle
I had been waiting for this CD for a long time. Well, that's not entirely true, in spite of the fact that I didn’t know it existed, I still wanted to hear it. Ruth Ann was lead vocals for the electronica/trance group Olive who spent five or so years between albums and they were about due for a new one and I'll take what I can get.
Ruth Ann’s voice carries well across all of the tracks and any fan of Olive will immediately think back to their earlier work. This CD however, has more of an Electronic sound which I would primarily say was due to the fact that she does not have the production side that Olive did.
Still, all in all, the album is solid with all of the tracks being enjoyable. I was particularly surprised by a cover of The Car’s “Drive” which Ruth Ann’s voice brings a wistful, haunting sound to.
All in all, a fine bit of work. Well worth the wait.
Favorite Track: Dancing Into Hell
Artist: Ruth Ann Boyle
I had been waiting for this CD for a long time. Well, that's not entirely true, in spite of the fact that I didn’t know it existed, I still wanted to hear it. Ruth Ann was lead vocals for the electronica/trance group Olive who spent five or so years between albums and they were about due for a new one and I'll take what I can get.
Ruth Ann’s voice carries well across all of the tracks and any fan of Olive will immediately think back to their earlier work. This CD however, has more of an Electronic sound which I would primarily say was due to the fact that she does not have the production side that Olive did.
Still, all in all, the album is solid with all of the tracks being enjoyable. I was particularly surprised by a cover of The Car’s “Drive” which Ruth Ann’s voice brings a wistful, haunting sound to.
All in all, a fine bit of work. Well worth the wait.
Favorite Track: Dancing Into Hell
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Day Two
Album: The Way I See It
Artist: Raphael Saadiq
There are very few albums I’ve listened to where I was really and truly surprised by what I heard. This is one of those albums.
Raphael Saadiq, former front man for the R&B Group Tony! Toni! Toné!, brings a sound to his third solo project that is both old and new at once. The songs on this album are a flashback to the style that R&B has been missing for decades. Saadiq has captured and brought back to us the sounds that made Motown great and this album evokes memories of the Miracles, the Platters and other groups of that era.
The album is, not to put too fine a point on it, FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. The only thing that mars this otherwise flawless release is the final track, a remix of the track “Oh Girl” featuring Jay-Z. To say I didn’t like the final track is an understatement and Jay-Z should be dragged under a moving train for scarring this albums beauty.
I heartily recommend this release to anyone with a love of Motown, Jazz, R&B and music in general. Just stop before you get to the end.
Favorite Track: 11 - Never Give You Up (feat. C.J. & Stevie Wonder)
Artist: Raphael Saadiq
There are very few albums I’ve listened to where I was really and truly surprised by what I heard. This is one of those albums.
Raphael Saadiq, former front man for the R&B Group Tony! Toni! Toné!, brings a sound to his third solo project that is both old and new at once. The songs on this album are a flashback to the style that R&B has been missing for decades. Saadiq has captured and brought back to us the sounds that made Motown great and this album evokes memories of the Miracles, the Platters and other groups of that era.
The album is, not to put too fine a point on it, FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. The only thing that mars this otherwise flawless release is the final track, a remix of the track “Oh Girl” featuring Jay-Z. To say I didn’t like the final track is an understatement and Jay-Z should be dragged under a moving train for scarring this albums beauty.
I heartily recommend this release to anyone with a love of Motown, Jazz, R&B and music in general. Just stop before you get to the end.
Favorite Track: 11 - Never Give You Up (feat. C.J. & Stevie Wonder)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Day One
Album: October Rust
Artist: Type O Negative
Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect for this one. I’ve heard the name of the group before in different circles and even when looking them up online with regards to genre, they are listed as “Goth metal”.
Now, when I see the word Metal in a musical context, my mind immediately draws me to visions of 80’s hair bands or grungy long-haired types who only seem to know the three classic metal chords.
Not so with this CD.
The first track, which is actually about 40 seconds of nothing, and the intro to the album on track 2 are basically filler. You know, the sort of thing that you’d expect to hear between songs at a show, you know, band banter.
The album really starts with Track 3 and is quite good. The music is dark and a bit somber with heavy guitar and drums. Funerary would be a good adjective. The bass and the heavy, deep-voiced vocals evokes a sort of Gregorian chant vibe and the lyrics, what I could understand of them at first listen, were okay.
All in all, a little moody, but sometimes that’s what fits.
Favorite Track: 03 - Love You To Death
Artist: Type O Negative
Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect for this one. I’ve heard the name of the group before in different circles and even when looking them up online with regards to genre, they are listed as “Goth metal”.
Now, when I see the word Metal in a musical context, my mind immediately draws me to visions of 80’s hair bands or grungy long-haired types who only seem to know the three classic metal chords.
Not so with this CD.
The first track, which is actually about 40 seconds of nothing, and the intro to the album on track 2 are basically filler. You know, the sort of thing that you’d expect to hear between songs at a show, you know, band banter.
The album really starts with Track 3 and is quite good. The music is dark and a bit somber with heavy guitar and drums. Funerary would be a good adjective. The bass and the heavy, deep-voiced vocals evokes a sort of Gregorian chant vibe and the lyrics, what I could understand of them at first listen, were okay.
All in all, a little moody, but sometimes that’s what fits.
Favorite Track: 03 - Love You To Death
Monday, June 8, 2009
Welcome to the project.
I Love Music.
I figure there's not really a better sentence to start this blog off with as it pretty much sums up what it will all be about. And to a certain degree, it pretty much sums up me as well.
Now I'm sure everyone has got SOMEBODY who has, at one point said, "Have you heard the new [insert band or artist name here] CD?" or "So and so has got a new song on the radio. It's good." In fact, I'm sure most of you have an MP3 player of some stripe or even satellite radio. Hell, if you don't, they at least you listen to the radio sometimes, right? Who knows, some of you may even have heard of Pandora before too.
So I came up with the idea for doing this the other day when chatting with a friend and she suggested that I give one of her favorites a listen. I asked what, in particular, should I listen to and she responded with a list of tunes.
So, after tracking down the tunes, I thought to myself, "How often does one listen to a CD or album in it's entirety? So this is what I will be doing for the forseeable future, though I don't know how well it will go.
Each day, I will listen to a single CD that I haven't heard before and critique it here. Granted, some CD's will be one's that I have listened to in the past, but not in their entirety. So my challenge to others will be to recommend some tunes.
I'll be listening.
I figure there's not really a better sentence to start this blog off with as it pretty much sums up what it will all be about. And to a certain degree, it pretty much sums up me as well.
Now I'm sure everyone has got SOMEBODY who has, at one point said, "Have you heard the new [insert band or artist name here] CD?" or "So and so has got a new song on the radio. It's good." In fact, I'm sure most of you have an MP3 player of some stripe or even satellite radio. Hell, if you don't, they at least you listen to the radio sometimes, right? Who knows, some of you may even have heard of Pandora before too.
So I came up with the idea for doing this the other day when chatting with a friend and she suggested that I give one of her favorites a listen. I asked what, in particular, should I listen to and she responded with a list of tunes.
So, after tracking down the tunes, I thought to myself, "How often does one listen to a CD or album in it's entirety? So this is what I will be doing for the forseeable future, though I don't know how well it will go.
Each day, I will listen to a single CD that I haven't heard before and critique it here. Granted, some CD's will be one's that I have listened to in the past, but not in their entirety. So my challenge to others will be to recommend some tunes.
I'll be listening.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)