Album Review: Mutiny! by Set Your Goals

There are just some albums where every time I listen to them I get a new appreciation for the fine craftsmanship at hand, or in this case ear. In the masses of “everything sounds the same” music, Set Your Goals have managed to break free from the pack and create Mutiny! . This band from the city by the bay consists of Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown on vocals, Audelio Flores and Daniel Coddaire on guitar, Josheph Saucedo on bass, and lastly Michael Ambrose on drums. Set Your Goals released the EP Reset in 2006. Over the past couple of years the band has been growing in popularity while touring along side well established names as Anti-Flag and New Found Glory as well as playing the Vans Warped Tour.

Mutiny! Starts off with the song “Work in Progress”, which I think is a great, ear catching set off for the album. This tune show cases Set Your Goal’s talent for delivering songs that do not define themselves to one genre. The lyrics are up lifting and talk about how everything you start in life does not have to have a definite finish or end. One of my favorite parts of the song is the bass line that mimics the vocals.

“We do it for the Money OBVIOUSLY!” is basically a 53 second rant against bands calling each other out about selling out. Not much can be said about this song because it’s so short. I like the constant fastness to it and how it is so in your face.

The next track on this album makes me want to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney every time I hear it. I know nothing about drums but I really love the beat on “Dead Men Tell No Tales”.

The transition, or lack there of, between “Dead Men Tell No Tales” and the next song has to be one of my favorite moments on Mutiny!. Within the first three notes of this song you automatically get the urge to move your body in whatever way you fashion to the hypnotic music. “Mutiny!” is the title track to the record and the forth song on the album. The only thing I dislike about this song is the spoken word part towards the middle. The song could really do without it but at the same time it’s not a deal breaker.

"This Song is definitely not About a Girl” is the fifth song on the album. Lyrically the song is confusing, all we know is it is definitely not about a girl…or is it? I love the bass line on this song. I also really like the contrast between the faster parts and the slower, more singing parts.

“An Old Book Misread” is the next song. The lyrically content is controversial, expressing the band’s opinions on religious matters. Aside from agreeing or disagreeing with the subject matter, I think this song tends to sound too much like “Mutiny!”.

Next is my favorite Set Your Goals song “This Very Moment”. I love this track because I relate to it. The lyrics touch personally on my own experiences. This song is a great example, for me, why I love music so much. I can hear some one else’s lyrics and relate to them and it lets me know that somewhere someone else relates to me. I think that is the universal meaning behind music. Another one of my favorite moments on this album happens in this song with the bass drop in the middle. You better have some good speakers to get the full effect.

I like “The Flight of the Navigator” but I think it sounds too much like previous on this record. After listening to the album a couple of times I started to get a new appreciation for it, but it does not stand out at first.

“To be Continued…” is my second favorite. What makes this song so great is the combination of lyrics, instrumentals and energy. The beginning starts out pretty and slow while Brown and Wilson switch back and forth singing lines then everything else comes in with this burst.

Set Your Goal’s has a way with writing up lifting songs. This is true on the tenth song “Don’t Let this Win Over You”. Its lyrics stress to the listener that you can not always let every single thing get to you and stress you out, some things you can not control. I think everyone can relate to this message. Even though it is only one minute long exactly, I always think this song and the last song are just one big work.

Finally, “Echoes” rounds off the record. I think this song can easily be forgotten. I think the placing is why it kind of fades into the background. I love that this is probably the slowest song on the album (as slow as you can get with Set Your Goals). Ending the album with this song was a subtle. They did not exactly save the best for last but they did not let the album fade off either.

Set Your Goals really hit the mark with Mutiny!. The album is a great blend of punk, pop punk, and a more melodic hardcore. Every song on the album has the potential to stay stuck in your head all day long. I would recommend this record to anyone who likes to listen to albums all the way through without skipping any tracks. Set Your Goals have produced one of my favorite albums to come out in the past three years. You’ll be hardcore dancing in you living room well into the third song.

You can check out Set Your Goals by visiting thier myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/setyourgoals

Reader Request!

You spoke, and I listened. The first ever request for me to review a CD came from a myspace friend of mine named Chelsy. Upon her request I immediately searched the web to find Modest Mouse’s The Lonesome Crowded West. Coming into this experience I was very excited. I tend to find my reviews biased, because frankly I review things that I like. My main goal is all of this is to open people’s minds to something they may not be normally open to. So, when someone surprisingly asks me to review something for them, I feel a little out of my element. But I enjoy being pushed out of my comfort zone, writing wise that is.

The only song I’ve ever heard from Modest Mouse was that song they played non-stop on MTV with the really weird music video a couple of years back, you probably know the tune “Float On”. But I wikipedia-ed (yes I just made that word up) and had high expectations for a band with a guitarist from The Smiths in it.
My first initial reaction to hearing the first song was Wow this sounds nothing like that song I know them by. I really like the lyrical content of the album as a whole, even if I did have to look the lyrics up to understand what he was yelling about. The lyrics happen to be witty and are matched with eye catching titles. I felt lead singer Brock’s vocals/slurred screaming annoyed me and became redundant at times. The album really gave me the feeling of something Primuis-y for some reason. My favorite song on the album was “Jesus Christ Was an Only Child” because I enjoyed the fact that musically there was less going on in this song to trigger my A.D.D. I liked “Long Distance Drunk” for its striped down feeling also.

As a whole I mildly disliked The Lonesome Crowded West. I think it is mainly because I was expecting something completely different than what was delivered to my ears. When you have expectations, I find they easily get let down (Katie’s Life Lesson One). Another reason may simply be that, even though it is extendable, my personal music taste did not match up with this album. It was not the worst album, and maybe after a couple of listens I will change my mind, but I certainly would not run out to F.Y.E with my $20 in hand ready to buy.

The Song Of The Day! Local Edition!

Today, my friends, I have a very speical Song of the Day to deliver to you. I thought for my first one back I'd go all big.

Normally my taste in music varies. Mostly the gerne of music I won't lay a finger on is country. I can safely say the Dave Mathews band is not one of my favorites, and won't be found on my ipod. So changing my mind, is in fact, an acomplishment. And that's exactly what my friend Evan Ferrell has done with his cover of "Stay or Leave" and that's why I choose if for today's Song of the Day. I enjoy this song mainly because Evan's voice is very soothing. I like the striped down element that you can only get when recording with less than professional equitment (a rock band mic does just as good of a job!. It reminds me of something I could fall alseep to, which in this case is a good thing. While people will aruge wether or not it with stands to the orginal, I would like to congraudate Evan on creating a work that is his very own. He'll deffinatly be going places.

You can listen to Evan Ferrel's "Stay or Leave" by following this link://www.myspace.com/evanferrell

I'm Back in Action!!

First of all, I'd like to thank each and every one of you who read this from time to time. It means the world to me to know that atleast one person takes in my opioin.Hopefully, I'm giving you the greatest gift of all: good music.

Let me explain the hiatus: I was having Technical difficulties . Thats why sometimes I'd post the song of the day and it would only be up for an hour or so and then be taken off. Being the idiot I am, it took me a long to realize that they were being taken off because they held a link where you could download music. I tired to figure out a way around it, but I found myself getting more and more frustrated. I like giving you the option of being able to listen to the song of the day. Hopefully it opens doors to explore other music made by that particular artist, and maybe you dont like the song I picked and want to voice your opioin. I've come up with a solution where I can offer you a link to listen to the song but it cannot be downloaded but merely listened to on the computer. You can then decide for yourself if it's worth the 99 cents itunes makes you dish out.

The future: Readers, start checking here more often. I promise that I will be actively updating the site. I've got many things in mind for the up coming weeks. I need your help too! Send me bands, albums, and or songs you'd like me to check out and review. (check the references down below to contact me) I'm happy for anything you can throw out at me. Make sure you check back tomorrow for a speical edition of The Song of The Day! This one will be hitting close to home (take that literally!) for some of us.

I'd like to hear from you: You can always have my opioin, for whatever it is worth. But I'd like some feed back. Maybe you too enjoyed the song of the album? I would like you to voice your opioion. I know some of you may not be able to comment on this blogspot, but below I have listed a couple of alternative references to get ahold of me. If your comment is any good I'll throw it up here on the site for all too see and you'll get credit!

XOXO
Katie

Contact My By Any Of The Following:
Snail Mail (AKA email): vivalakatie182@aim.com
Aim: Vivalakatie182
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/katieandhercamera

Duet All Night Long

With a reputation like Reel Big Fish has and a name like Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer there’s nothing that can go wrong. The two bands teamed up to make a split EP named “Duets all Night Long”. The whole EP consists of five covers ( two from Reel Big Fish and three from Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer), each song features the lead singer from the other band.

            The album starts off with the cover of “Ask” by The Smiths. There’s nothing like a Ska version of a Smiths song, but the original is much better. Rachel Minton’s voice on this song doesn’t complement Aaron Barrett’s.  The next song is my favorite song on this EP, “Dress You Up”. Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer put justice to this Madonna song. I would even say I like this song better than the original. The music is great and the singing just puts the whole song together. Zolof The cover’s another 80’s song “Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League. Aaron Barrett steals this song away from Zolof, his parts out shine Rachel Minton’s singing. I would have preferred Reel Big Fish to have covered this song. The next song is “It’s Not Easy”. This song was made famous by the Disney movie Pete’s Dragon. Reel Big Fish covered this song, and also used remixed it for a song on their newest CD. The song is fun but sounds out of place on the EP. Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer ends the EP off with the cover of “Say Say Say”, originally recorded by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. This song is a very fitting ender to the CD. Zolof and Aaron Barrett join together to recreate the magic that happened between McCartney and Jackson when this song was originally recorded.

            Even though everything single song on this EP was recorded previously, Reel Big Fish and Zolof the Rock& Roll Destroyer put their own spin on each song. Being a fan of both bands, this EP is great to add to my collection. I do not recommend this record for new fans of either band. If you are already a fan of either band it is a wonderful piece to add to your collection. 

Song Of The Day! 99 Death Eaters- Draco and the Malfoys

There's only one genre of music that has ever made me contemplate finding myself a drummer and a guitar player and putting that bass to good use: Wizard Rock. Maybe I'm exposing myself to be made fun of for my nerdy obsession but I'm betting you'll find today's song of the day just as amusing as I do. I choose Draco and the Malfoys's "99 Death Eaters".  This is a "cover" of Nena's 80's classic "99 Red Balloons" is quiet possibly the funniest song in my music library. While Draco and the Malfoy's might be an acquired taste, I think causal and hardcore fans of the series can enjoy them. Some times the band's slow sound can be boring. I think Draco and the Malfoys are an all together better band than Harry and the Potters. I've made myself sound dorky enough today.

You can download the song here: Link!

To make this legal: Remember kids, you should delete any music downloaded from this site 24 hours with-in downloading. Support Music.

You Pick!

This is your chance! I'm in need of new music and I'm enlisting your help!

Send me Bands, Songs, Albums that you think I should check out and then tell my readers about. I'm open for anything so don't be shy.

You can contact me in any of these ways:

Myspace

Aim: Vivalakatie182

Email: Vivalakatie182@aim.com

I'll make sure to give you credit if I end up using anything you've turned me onto.

Folie A Duex

If you have not brushed up on your psychiatric terms lately Folie A Deux translates into “a madness share by two” and is also the title of the newest Fall Out Boy CD. In the recent couple of years this band’s fame and popularity have been growing rapidly. Member of the band are as follows: Patrick Stump vocals and guitar, Pete Wentz lyrics and bass guitar, Joe Trohman lead guiar, and Andy Hurley on drums.  In 2003, the album Take This to Your Gave was released to much underground success on the label Fueled By Ramen. Fall Out Boy hit the main stream two years later with the single “Sugar We’re Going Down” off of From Under the Cork Tree.  Mid last year, the band sent internet fanatics and super fans alike on a wild goose hunt giving them clues to something new the band was working on. A month later the band announced the release date of their new album.

 The album starts off with the 2:18 long prelude called “Lullabye”. The song uses a haunting organ while Stump’s vocals are nothing short of epic. A good start to draw people in and something very not Fall Out Boy-ish.

 As guitar power chords start to drown out the Organ music “Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes” comes in and completely changes gears. Once you get past the piano part in the very beginning this song reminds you why you fell in love with Fall Out Boy in the first place. Lyrically the song sounds like a B-side off of From Under the Cork Tree.

Next is the first single off of the album “I Don’t Care”. When I first heard this song way back in September I was skeptical about the album as a whole. After a couple of listens I understood why FOB chose this as their first single. The song is loud and in your face (as in your face as a Fall Out Boy song can be). And although Wentz’s message may not be completely clear as to what he doesn’t care about, we can all relate to the song in our own personal ways. The video for this single has some famous faces in it including pop punk legend Mark Hoppus .

 “She’s My Winona” keeps your foot tapping. The chorus seems slightly repetitive though and musically the song sounds to close to the previous for comfort. Not a stand out tune. The next track is my second favorite on the album.

 “American’s Suitehearts” has everything a good Fall Out Boy song should. The lyrics are snotty and poke fun at the friends one might encounter when striving for fame. Trohman’s guitar riffs will be stuck in your head all day while Stump belts at vocals with his larger than life voice. Fall Out Boy enlist a lot of famous friends to add some character to some of their songs.

“Head First Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet” is the first example because the insanely talented Elvis Costello lends his vocal talents to the song. But you’ll have to listen very closely or you might miss exactly where he sings. Even with Costello this song sounds like something you might find off of a Panic At The Disco CD meets something Danny Elfman might have composed. The piano parts make it seem too dramatic even for Fall Out Boy.

 Next is another song that just sinks into the album. “The (Shipped) Gold Standard”  is not horrible but nothing about it will catch your attention. Don’t feel bad skipping this song.

 The lyrics in “Coffee’s For Closers” seem to be pulled right out of the recent political headlines. Stump sings “change will come” while the rest of the band puts everything they have got into their instruments. Even if you do not agree with its political message, the song can certainly open your eyes to see the light in anything bad in your life this is why this song is my favorite.

 “What a Catch Donnie” comes in next slow. The only thing that keeps this song from being completely boring is the part in the end where a couple of Fall Out Boy’s friends and lable mates take their turn at singing famous choruses that made the band a household name. Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta, Gym Class Heroes’s Travis McCoy, The Cab’s Alex DeLeon, and The Academy Is…’s William Beckett one by one sing verses from everything from “Where Is Your Boy Tonight?” to “Thanks For The Memories”.

 The album gets a little repetitive again with “27”. You’ll start thinking. “Didn’t I just hear this song a little while ago?” No, there’s nothing wrong with your stereo. Although the lyrics are not half bad if you can get over the fact that musically we have pretty much already heard this song before. It’s not a complete miss, but not a hit either.

 “Tiffany Blews” treads the water of “Selling Out” while it features the current biggest name in rap music Lil Wayne. Surprisingly the rapper does not even rap in the song, he “sings”. The track does have a lot of hip hop influence but it ends up working.

 Thankfully “W.A.M.S” starts to pick up the album where it was beginning to trail off. This is Wentz’s writing as we know it, bitter at some past lover. If the tune didn’t sound so clean, we might mistake it as a lost track from the Take This to Your Grave era.

 Fall Out Boy again tap into their inner Panic at the Disco with “20 Dollar Nose Bleed”. If it weren’t for Stump’s unique voice you might mistake this for something off of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. Even the use of horn instruments makes this song sound like something Panic might have put out three years ago. We’ve been there and done that.

 With the last track on Folie a Duex Fall Out Boy pull out everything they have. The song sounds less commercially appealing than anything on this album. FOB even recruited Blondie’s Debbie Harry to show how in touch they are with their retro roots. Harry’s scratchy vocals contrast nicely with Stump’s clean and suave style. Overall the song is a nice ender to the album. It picks you back up where you might have gotten lost with a couple of previous songs by being the hardest song on the album.

 While Folie A Deux, filled with its share of hits and misses, may not be Fall Out Boy’s best record to date it keeps die hard fans satisfied and rakes in some new fans at the same time. Commercially it’s not as appealing as their last CD Infinity On High, one can tell a lot of sweat and tears when into producing this work. I liked this album a lot and am sure my love for it will only grow more in time. I think the band got carried away with over producing it. If you were to take away the polishing, glitz and name dropping you would have something that would bridge the gap between “New” and “Old” Fall Out Boy. I would recommend this CD to any previous Fall Out Boy fan and those of you who have doubted them. Folie A Deux is a nice album to complete your still growing Fall Out Boy discography.

Song Of The Day! The Authority Song- Jimmy Eat World

Say what you want about Jimmy Eat World but I can almost guarantee  that you own at least one of their records or you've found yourself singing one of their songs while you thought you were not in ear shot of anyone. Even though Bleed American was the band's commercial break through, not every single song of the album is pop-ed up for the masses so don't let "The Middle" fool you. Now to totally contradict myself, I choose today's Song Of The Day to be "The Authority Song" off of Bleed American. The lyrics are a little scattered and sometimes do not make sense but they're just so damn catchy its ridiculous. The actually music part is my favorite for once. I like the use of the "timely handclaps" (more bands should use them).  I do not have to much to comment on because "The Authority Song" is just a simple, catch song in the purest form.

To Download "The Authority Song" Click This Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?25mzqjzwmyz

Remember Kids: Delete Any Music You've Downloaded From My Site 24 Hours With-In Downloading. 

Go out and buy your music!

Song Of The Day! What Katie Said- The Matches

Deep down inside a girl really only wants one thing. Listen closely boys because I'm about to reveal the secrets behind every dating problem you have ever had. The only thing a girl really wants is a song with her name in it. I choose "What Katie Said" off of The Matches' second album Decomposer for the simple fact the song has my name in it and this is my blog. No, I actually really do love this song aside from the brownie points factor of it baring my name. Like everything on Decomposer, the song sounds more mature than anything The Matches had put out at that time. But "What Katie Said" is the closest thing to a b-side from E.Von Dahl Killed the Locals as we're going to get. I love The Matches sound on this song and the line "They can take my stereo, But you can't take me for a kid anymore" describes what every angst-filled 16-year-old music snob feels on a daily basis.

You Can Download The Song Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dhwnnd2wczw

To Make Everything Legal: Please remember to delete any music that you have downloaded 24 hours with in downloading. Buy your music kids!