Tribute: The King of Pop

In music there are certain genres that people themselves defined. Paths have created by this man. Future careers and fortunes would not be had if it were not for this man. In the past decade, Michael Jackson’s tremendous influence on modern music has been over shadowed by his person life and court trials. Though many of you might not realize it, the music that he made shaped Pop music and many of your favorite artists today would not be here if it were not for him. His music video for “Thriller” paved the way for the flashy vids you (not very often anymore) see on MTV. So I suggest you go buy yourself a copy of Thriller (if you can even get your hands on one right at the moment) and pay your respects to the King of Pop.

Album Review! Taking Back Sunday- New Again

Sunday’s are great days to take back. Over the time period between Taking Back Sunday’s last album Louder Now and their new album New Again a lot has happened. The band went through a very public loss of a member, and words were exchanged as he immersed himself in his solo project. A replacement has founded. Band members tied the knot (though not with each other). It is no wonder this new album was entitled New Again.

Ironically enough, with all this talk of new beginnings and change, New Again sounds like a b-sides compilation to Louder Now. The track “New Again” starts off the record with a mediocre approach. There is nothing about this song that instantly stands out for me.

The next song however is my favorite, even upon the first listen to the album. “Sink Into Me” is musically more up beat than pervious TBS songs. My favorite thing about this song is the lyrics because even with the catchy music, the lyrics maintain a sense of desperation and pleading.

The rest of the album flies by under the radar. “Lonely, Lonely” might catch your ear with its appealing choruses. Though most of the songs fall through the cracks. My least favorite song off of the album is “Where My Mouth Is” simply because I do not think TBS fairs well with slowed down acoustic songs; this is definitely the sore thumb if there ever was one.

“Cut Me Up Jenny” is the last song that holds any punch. Lazzara’s vocals have always made girls (and some boys) swoon everywhere. This is the song that will be stuck in your head days after you have listened to it.

Over all Taking Back Sunday did not do too badly with New Again. I was disappointed though because I thought the band would have come up with something a little more creative because of the large time span between this album and the last. The only minor difference is most of the songs seem to be a bit faster than the majority of Louder Now. Original Taking Back Sunday fans might think of this as a snack just to keep them full for the next album.

You Can Check Out Songs From New Again and other Taking Back Sunday Albums by visiting thier myspace: http://www.myspace.com/takingbacksunday

Top Four Summer Albums! Summer Is Here Kids!

Top Four Summer Albums

Songs are dedicated to it. Kids in school fight each other off when the last bell rings to be the first one out. Teachers often dream of it too. All for three months of relaxation, tans, swimming, and vacations-- all in the name of Summer. Not one word has brought more joy to children since "Christmas". Below I have compiled a list of four albums I am encouraging you to go out and pump through your stero speaker this summer. Who knows, I might end up writing your summer soundtrack, I know I already have mine written.

4. 3OH!3- Want

This album is pretty much the definition of a party album. What's a bigger party than summer? 3OH!3 somehow mange to create thier own genre of music by mashing together thrash, electronica, and hip-hop. The smart lines they drop will leave you rethining what it means to be "dope as hell". Recommended Tracks: "Richman" and "I Can't Do It Alone".

You can listen to 3OH!3 by visiting thier myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/3OH!3

3. Death Cab For Cutie- Plans

To slow things down a bit I choose Plans. THis is the perfect ablum to put on during bonfires to chill the mood. Death Cab maintains a certain sense of laid back-ness without putting you to sleep. Nothing is more relaxing than this ablum through your headphone while you work on your tan. Recommended Tracks: "Soul Meets Body" and "Summer Skin".

You can listen to Death Cab For Cuite by visiting thier myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/Deathcabforcutie

2. Blink-182- Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

Nothing has made this album mean more to me than the recent announcement of Blink-182's summer tour with my favorite band Fall Out Boy, and they are coming near me! After this hiatus, the band got back together this year. Though this is not my favorite Blink record, I still appreciate its humor and pop punk sound. It is one of those ablums to turn your car speakers up while you are driving with the windows rolled down on your way to Warped Tour (see you there!). Recommended Tracks: "The Rock Show" and "Rollercoaster".
You can listen to Blink-182 by visiting their myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/blink182

1. Lady Gaga- The Fame

This, hands down, is the best pop album I have heard in a long time. Lady Gaga is so inventive and new she sometimes suprises herself. There is not one skipable track on this alum. The Fame represents everything summer is- fun and exciting. Each song on the album has dance beats and Gaga's singing make her a power house. While serveral tracks from this album have already produced hits for the singer, the album as a whole hits the mark and raises the bar. Recommended Tracks: "Summer Boy" and "Starstruck".

You can listen to Lady Gaga by visiting her myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/ladygaga

November Gentlemen! Songs Of The Day!

The sweet smells of chi lattes and chocolate peanut butter pies are all things that come to mind when I hear the sweet soundings of November Gentlemen, not to mention dashing good looks. November Gentlemen, Kevin Merrill’s stage name, has just released two new songs entitled, “Being A Gentleman…” and “I Can’t Bring Myself To Believing” on his myspace. Merrill may not be going by this birth name anymore, but we can certainly tell he has not lost his touch. Not only do these two songs contain the elements in November Gentlemen that we love such as great acoustic guitar playing and a raspy voice that boarders on pretty without being too over the top, but Merrill’s playing and music abilities have gotten better. The recording in both of these songs is crisp and clean. I enjoyed the very soothing guitar melodies on “Being A Gentleman…”, along with the lyrical content. The drumming and organ playing on “I Can’t Bring Myself To Believing” are a great a accompaniment and give the song a more light hearted feeling. Over all both of these songs are great, and I can not pick with one I like better. Hats off to you, November Gentlemen.

You can check out November Gentlemen by following this link: http://www.myspace.com/novembergentlemen

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.