Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy

Since I started posting again 2-3 days ago, I have been asked the same question a few times now, "What happened to the "Chinese Democracy" review?" I guess I alluded to it so much, that my 3 readers have felt let down since I never actually posted one... So here you go, please realize this isn't actually finished... I found this rough manuscript in my files, and with as much as I'd love to finish it, I just don't care enough to... I haven't listened to "Chinese Democracy" since I started it, and really don't have any desire to finish the last four tracks... That being said, enjoy! -T 8/16/09


We'll I've been alluding to this review for a while, primarily because I have so many ethical issues with this even being considered an authentic GnR album. To me it comes across as an Axel Rose ego trip in which he is proclaiming to the world, "I am Guns N' Roses." I have recently been wondering if asked, if Axel would claim that he was in fact the mastermind behind all the amazing guitar work or true GnR albums, and that Izzy and Slash were a facade... The other option I have come up with is that this is in all actuality a demonstration of Axl's own insecurities... He has realized that without GnR, no one cares about him, and so he's still hiding behind something that died in the early 90's. I think he realized that if he released this as an Axel Rose solo album it's sales would have hit between 5 and 7 disc's it's first week and then never sold a disc again, but by using the nostalgia behind the name GnR he would actually sell a few discs... So here we are, it's obvious that I have wanted to hate this album for quite a while now, so please realize that I am totally biased in this review.

1 - Chinese Democracy - So ummm, I'm pretty sure my first band when I was 13 years old wrote this exact song... maybe I should be suing... Three chords, death metal distortion that sounds like it's coming from a no name $25 stop box... ummm yeah, calling this GnR is an insult to the great guitarists (Slash and Izzy) who are true GnR. The sad thing is it actually starts out pretty cool before the crappy numetal/deathmetal 13 year old guitarist stars playing... Oh well... Axel sounds like Axel, that's the only GnR thing about this track. Then near the end of the track, in order to over-compensate for the lack of guitar work early on, a pseudo-EVH solo comes in... Sorry, but thus far I'm convinced that GnR is dead... Not good, especially when I've just finished the opener.

2 - Shackler's Revenge - Ummm, did I accidentally put in NIN? Oh wait, no there's Axel... So now we have dark-90's-alt with a dance beat... The solo from this track is even more over-compensating than the first track. A truly great lead guitarist (Slash) knows when to play fast and when to play slow. Every guitarist on the album thus far is just trying to show off how fast his fingers can fly... If your EVH more power too you, everyone else... well yeah you get the idea.

3 - Better - I hope the song lives up to its title and the album is getting better... Honestly, the verses aren't bad, they sound like GnR, and the guitar this time around doesn't sound like a 13 year old with a death metal stop box, but the chorus "now I know better, now you know I know better, I know you better..." or something like that... anyway, it's horrible... for the 30+ million and 17 years spent on this album, you would have though someone would have had the heart to tell Axel that his chorus is horrible. Guitar work better (for the most part), verses are decent, but the chorus is horrible.

4 - Street of Dreams - This track starts out with some nice piano and acoustic guitar (say wanna be "November Rain"), the vocals are horrible, they sound to me like Axel doing a really bad Robert Plant impersonation... The vocals just do not fit with this track at all... On the flip side, this track does have the best and most GnR like guitar solo we've heard yet.

5 - If The World - Someone please stop the bad pseudo-GnR... The classical guitar and samba sound is something that should be backing, say Carlos Santana, not Axl Rose. The music is actually pretty cool for what it is, but come on, I'm supposed to believe this is a GnR track?

6 - There Was a Time -This track started out pretty good, but the chorus kills it "It was the wrong time for you, it was the wrong time for me, it was the wrong time for everyone," who writes this garbage? (oh yeah, ego centric Axl Rose) The guitar is kind of cool though, although I'm really missing the interplay between Izzy's rhythm and Slash's lead... Where's my Velvet Revolver CD? Other than missing the rhythm guitar (which has been replaced by violins) I do think the lead guitar is interesting, and pretty cool, particularly the solo, so props to which ever of the 7 guitarists featured on the album that this is...

7 - Catcher in the Rye - So far this is my favorite track, the piano is good, the guitar is good and sounds like GnR, and the vocals fit really well. This is the kind of stuff I expect to hear from GnR. So here goes my first true props to Axl. As much as I really don't want to like anything about this album, I do think this track is pretty cool... It may even go into my GnR mix.

8 - Scraped - I'm getting tired of going on on every song... so no, just no, that's all you get for this one.

9 - Riad n' the Bedouins

10 - Sorry - I kind of like the music, it has an almost Pink Floydesq feel. I hate Axl's voice on this song, but musically its good.

11 - I.R.S.

12 - Madagascar

13 - This I Love

14 - Prostitute


So there you have it, its not a GnR album, it's an Axl solo album, and if he had the least bit of common sense he would have labeled it as so. I know that many of us would have had much more respect for the album if it would have been presented as such. One major issue I ran into is the fact the majority of the tracks are over 4 minutes and just drag, some of them probably would have been better if they would have been shorted. I give it a D+, it's not horrible, but in comparison to what GnR is, this is a joke... I'm sure you'll see hundreds of copies in the used CD stores within a matter of a few months. If you're looking for GnR, this isn't where you should be looking, go pick up the Velvet Revolver albums, you have more of GnR in that band than Axl's GnR will ever have, and additionally you don't have the ego factor behind it.

If Axel gets his act together and the second stamping of this album (if there is one) comes out for what this is, Axel's solo album... I'll considering moving my grade up to a C+...

The best part of this album is definitely the free Dr. Pepper, I'm getting because it came out. Thanks DP

The Killers - Day And Age

After my first listen through the Killers 2006 record Sam's Town, I remember thinking to myself that the band was on their way out, and that they had put all of their great material on 2004's Hot Fuss. I figured that the ultimate fate of the Killers fell into the idea that you have a lifetime to write your debut album, and only two years to write your sophomore album.

Here I sit two years later, and honestly I probably haven't sat down and listened to Hot Fuss in it's entirety in probably 6 or more months, but my last listen to Sam's Town was maybe two weeks ago. When Sam's Town was about to hit the shelves, Brandon Flowers was quoted as saying it would be "one of the best rock albums in the past twenty years" (giant.blackplanet.com, 2006) Like many others, after my first listen through I though Brandon was off his rocker... I have now come to realize that Brandon Flowers knew something that the rest of us didn't... His albums come off as... well... a little bit off, but there is something intriguing and inciting about them that keeps us listening. Then sometime off in the distance future... say 6 months or so, we too suddenly get it and albums like Sam's Town are suddenly in our Top 10 favorite albums. After listening to Day and Age, I'm convinced that once again Brandon knows something and he's waiting for the rest of us to figure it out.

1 - Losing Touch - Very cool opener, it has a little bit too much saxaphone for me, but still a very good track. In someways I wish it had a little bit more of the rock edge that so many of the tracks on Sam's Town had. Iit almost gets there around 2;45 for the second chorus and through the end of the song... but once again the sax takes off the edge that I loved so much. Overall this really is great track, the chorus and guitar solo are the two crowning moments making this track something special.

2 - Human - Total 80's throw back with a modern touch. Like everyone else, I was confused my first few listens while trying to figure out if Brandon was saying "dancer" or "denser" although I was cheering for "denser," after the explanation of "dancer" I'm cool with the lyrics. Verse two has some backing "Nintendo" sounds, as I like to call them which are actually really cool, they totally add to the 80's sound. Although this is a little slower than my preference (as in there is no distortion), still it is one of the best tracks on the album, and a great single!

3 - Spaceman - Who doesn't love a track about being abducted by aliens? This is probably my favorite track on the album. It is very up beat, but it has enough of an edge on it to make a rocker like myself happy. Additionally, there is a lot of deeper meaning to this track for all of us spoiled rich kids who aren't happy with everything we have. Very cool, good job guys!

4 - Joy Ride - Ummm 70's disco... yeah.... not my favorite track. Could someone explain to me where this disco throw back tracks are coming from, I know Maroon 5 (who I don't like, just for the record) had a hit a year or so ago that also sounded like disco... Maybe I'm just out of touch with the "cool kids" who knows. Once again, the way the Killers work, this will probably be my favorite song 4 months from now...

5 - A Dustland Fairytale - This is another very cool track, the slow piano, and lyric style reminde me of "Enterlude" and it's partner "Exitlude" both from Sam's Town, which happened to be two of my favorite moments on that album. The dynamics of this song are great, they remind me in many ways of my current favorite song of '08, Weezer's "The Angel and the One." This was an automatic favorite from my first listen.

6 - This is Your Life - The opening of this track brings back images from the film The Power of One, and P.K. dancing in front of a choir of African inmates. This track is weird, it has African style chanting, a bass line worthy of a Johnny Cash song, 80's keyboard, a U2esq guitar riff, and well Brandon Flowers... but somehow it works, and it's awesome. This one took me a few listens to appreciate it, but it's really good once you get over the weirdness.

7 - I Can't Stay - And the album gets even more bizarre... bring in the harpsichord and steel drums! This really isn't a bad track, although it sounds to me like a cruise ship band covering a Killers track :) It has a very upbeat summery sound, and reminds me of laying by the pool drinking a pina colada in the Bahamas last summer. My only real issue is the blasted saxophone. The sax really is my biggest complaint towards this album.

8 - Neon Tiger - And back to another classic Killers track that sounds great, and has lyrics that make absolutely no sense. I read somewhere that the Killers are the only huge band on the planet that can write songs that make no sense to anyone, and yet are still awesome, this track is a prime example. Although I am sure that after several listens I'll figure out what it's about.

9 - The World We Live In - This track isn't really good or bad, it's just kind of there. It's kind of catchy, but nothing too exiting. It's just kind of there.

10 - Goodnight, Travel Well - This track starts very slow and very dark. The initial percussion is provided by a ticking clock, which is pretty cool. It kind of reminds me of Pink Floyd... actually it really reminds me of Pink Floyd. It's mysterious and kind of all over the place, and ultimately very cool and a great album closer.

Although I miss the gritty edge of Sam's Town, this album has more of it than Hot Fuss did, and delivers nicely as a cross between the 80's pop and 90's pseudo-alternative-grunge the Killers have delivered in the past. Initially I was hoping that this album would be a strong competitor to Coldplay for the best rock album of the year, and although I'm not sure it quite reaches those heights (although once I figure out what Brandon was thinking, it just may...) I give it an A-. It is a very good album, and will almost assuredly make my top 5 favorite musical moments of 2008... but (as of right now) it still seems to fall shy of being an instant classic...

The Rule

So this evening as I've been sitting here trying to get through "GnR's" Chinese Democracy I've created a new rule that I believe should be implemented and enforced throughout the music industry. This new rule will go by the official title of:

"The Two Founding/Significant Member Regulatory Measure of 2008"

The premise of this rule is as follows: In order for a band to continue to produce music under the bands name, at least two founding/significant members MUST be involved (I say significant because there are some people say, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who although wasn't a founding member, was clearly a significant member... The same could be said for Brian Bell of Weezer). I've come to this conclusion because honestly, Chinese Democracy ISN'T a GnR album, it's an Axel Rose solo album. I'd have much more respect for it if that was how it was positioned.

With this new rule in mind, if the members of Velvet Revolver want to change their name to Guns N' Roses, they are welcome too because they curretly have Slash, Izzy and Duff.

I really think that this rule could clear up a lot of confusion in the music industry and should be implemented imediateley.

Thanks for reading my rant :)

-Tim

Moving Forward - Lots of Music in Very Little Time...

I've been sitting here this afternoon looking over my list of albums that either I want to review, or someone has requested I take a look at, and quite frankly... I just don't have time for all of them. Over the next few days/weeks I'm going to write a few articles in which we'll look at multiple albums, and instead of going track by track, I'll just highlight the good stuff and give you a letter grade. My goal is to have everything that is in my backlog taken care of so that I can give next weeks Day and Age by the Killers, Alone II by Rivers Cuomo, Prospekt's March EP by Coldplay (yes they have more music coming out!), and Chinese Democracy by (cough) Guns N' Roses (Axel Rose...) the time and attention they deserve.

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static

Being a huge Jack Johnson fan, this was probably by far one of my most anticipated albums this year. I'm sad to say it left me disappointed. Most of the initial press-releases regarding the album hyped the fact that Jack was going pluged-in, and this really got me excited. If anything, this "electrified" album is slower than the average Jack album.

Don't get me wrong though, there are a few great tracks, for example the album opener "All at Once." I love the drastic panning and slow bluesy guitar on this track, it definitely ranks up there with other great Jack songs.

I also love the ballad, "Angel," and the single "If I had Eyes." Both of which are outstanding tracks! There are a couple of other decent tracks, but nothing that really ads new dimensions to the Jack collection, most of them are more of the same. Overall I give this album a C+. It's slightly better than average, but won't be becoming my preferred Jack album anytime soon.

The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely

I was introduced to the Raconteurs earlier this year by a good friend who was shocked to find out that I was somewhat of a White Stripes fan, but had never listened to the Raconteurs. I say "somewhat" of a White Stripes fan, because they have several songs that I absolutely love, but I find myself having a hard time making it through an entire album. The Raconteurs on the other hand are much better at delivering a complete album that is all listenable. With as much of the musical genius that Jack White is, I think it's good to have him working in a complete band environment where he has to give up a portion of his "creative control." Like I said, the White Stripes have a lot of great material, but some of their music just doesn't work for me, and I think when those songs/ideas come out, it's great to have someone telling Jack to put it on the shelf.

So back to the Raconteurs, these guys are one of the two bands in the world who are still delivering good, old fashion, down to earth Rock and Roll (the other being Jet). I love this album because it's gritty, it's raw, it's stripped down, I mean this is the real deal, this is what rock music is meant to sound like, the level of under-production is fabulous. It provides something special that we've heard very little of since the late 60's to early 70's. In fact, in many ways this album sounds like it's straight out of the 70's.

Some of the album highlights include the opener, "Consolers of the Lonely," which is just an amazing opener. "Salute Your Solution" which happens to be track two and is likewise powerful and fun. "Old Enough" has a late 60's folk sound to it, which is a great break from the heavy distortion of the other tracks. Honestly there really isn't a bad track on this album (although many of them do sound very similar).

In many ways this album is better than the Raconteurs first attempt Broken Boy Soldier (which is also a good album). I give it a B+, it's definitely not for everyone. On the other hand, if you're a fan of the White Stripes, love 70's hard rock, think loud distorted guitars are awesome, and anything else along those lines, you'll love this album. If that isn't your forte, this album probably isn't for you.

The Rentals - Last Little Life EP


I don't know how this little EP alluded me for as long as it did, seeing as it is over a year old, but some how I missed out on it. Fortunately, I ran across it by pure accident a few weeks back and am really happy I did.

For those of you who aren't familiar with The Rentals, they are a group that is fronted by former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. The Rentals first album, "Return of the Rentals," came out between Weezer's first and second albums while Matt was still in Weezer. The Rentals second album "Seven More Minutes" came out two years later after Matt had left Weezer. Following this album, The Rentals disbanded for 7 or 8 years while Matt worked a few different solo projects.

Now that the history is out of the way, we find ourselves at the "Last Little Life" which is very promising! Although this little EP only has four tracks (one of which is a remake of the Rentals own track "Sweetness and Tenderness"), it gives a fresh, but reminiscent sound that in many ways reminds us of the Rentals first album. Of the four tracks, I'm particularly fond of "Life Without a Brain," both because the title is just awesome, and because it is a really fun track.

I'm going to give this one two grades. First, for existing Rentals fans, I give it and A! It gives us a lot of hope for what the future may bring. For the general masses I'm giving it a B... I think it has quite a bit of mass appeal, but at the same time I don't think most new comers are going to have near the appreciation for it that long time Rentals fans will.

So there you go, this has been the first installment of "Lots of Music in Very Little Time..." Hopefully I'll be able to crank out a few more of these over the next few weeks.

Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger

I realize I'm a little behind on this review... about a month behind in fact, but by popular demand (primarily pressure to stop being lazy, coming from Jannifer) here it is...

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this album near as much as I probably should have been. Although I am a huge fan of Andrew McMahon's work with Something Corporate, his first album as Jack's Mannequin didn't really do anything for me. That's not to say it was bad, it just wasn't as good as it should have been (I know many of you will disagree with that statement, but for me it just wasn't up to the quality I had come to expect from Mr. McMahon).

I'm always intrigued to hear solo albums by members of bands, because in some cases they by far outshine any of the collected works put out by the individuals band. For example Ben Folds solo career has been significantly better than the vast majority of music put out by Ben Folds 5, another example would be the original Dashboard Confessional albums (when it was a solo project) in comparison to Chris' work with Further Seems Forever (this all changed with Mark, Mission, Brand, Scar when DC stopped being an honest solo project and became a wanna be FSF). Other attempts are not so notable say Dave Matthews Some Devil, or... well Mr. McMahon's first attempt at Jack's.

As previously stated, the Everything in Transit wasn't bad... it just felt to me like Andrew was trying to hard to distance himself from his previous grandeur, and because of this, the album came across sounding like a really crappy version of Something Corporate (Kind of like Billy Corgan's re-birth of Smashing Pumpkins, or as I'm imagining the re-invention of Guns n' Roses is going to sound like later this year). There were a few really good tracks on the first album, but overall the best word to describe it is... blah...

So now we find ourselves at The Glass Passenger, let's jump in!

1 - Crashin - The opening line of the album is great, "I wanna hear some music." I'm happy to say the album delivers exactly that. As the lyrics later point out, this isn't radio music... It's something better. Good opener, and great foreshadowing of what is to come. The only downside to this track is I feel that it is a little to mellow for an opener, but still a very good track.

2 - Spinning - This track picks up the tempo a bit. It's a great track that in many ways sounds like it could have been on a Something Corporate album, maybe North. One great thing about this album is that instead of trying to set himself apart from Something Corporate, McMahon is simply writing great songs regardless of whether they reminisce his earlier works. Great track!

3 - Swim - "Swim for the music that saves you when you're not sure you'll survive." Yet another reference indicating that the music on this album is above par, which it is. This is a good track, the chorus in particular is memorable. I also really like the instrumentation in this one, the dynamics both instrumentally and vocally are great!

4 - American Love - This is one of my least favorite tracks on the album, not that it's bad necessarily. Musically it sounds good, but the repetitive lines of "Big heart, big hearts, big hearts are for breaking" just don't do anything for me.

5 - What Gets you Off? - In the nature of the previous track, I just really don't dig the chorus to this track. Musically it's really good, but after a couple of times of hearing Andrew whine, "What gets you off?" I end up skipping the track.

(Tracks 4 and 5 are really the two biggest downers on the entire album for me)

6 - Suicide Blonde - Sorry INXS fans, this isn't a cover... Fortunately though, this is probably one of the coolest tracks on the album. It kind of reminds me of "Punk Rock Princess" by the way it starts out, but come the first chorus it stops reminding me of anything I've ever heard before. The chord progressions are unlike anything I've ever heard, and saying they are anything short of awesome would be a shame. Musically it's exciting, lyrically and vocally it's exciting, this is all around just a great track!

7 - Annie Use Your Telescope - When I first heard this track it almost reminded me of something by Pink Floyd. This song is so much bigger than anything Jack's or Something have ever done. The sonic range is huge and it's great. From about 1:20-1:45 the Pink Floyd-esq sound is really apparent. This is definitely a new venture for Jack's, but they pull it off great and deliver another memorable track.

8 - Bloodshot - I'm not a huge fan of this track, it kind of sounds like the new emo-punk-indy-pop that bands like Good Charlotte and Simple Plan are delivering these days. It's okay, but doesn't do a whole lot for me... but then again neither do any of the tracks I'd categorize with this one that are out right now... Maybe I'm too old to get it :)

9 - Drop Out - The So Unknown - This another track that sounds it could have been on North. This is a very up beat track with that classic piano/indy sound that made Something Corporate great.

10 - Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby) - This is a brilliant track. It is one of my absolute favorites, and I'm guessing will likewise be a favorite for all Jack's fans. I'd venture as far as saying this track will become the ballad that Jack's fans chant for at shows... Similar to what "Konstantine" was for Something Corporate. It's songs like this that remind me why I love music so much.

11 - The Resolution - How often do you find an album where the lead single doesn't show up on the album until track 11? It's pretty rare to say the least. I was instantly drawn to this track. It's a great track and is definitely single worth, I only hope it drew enough interest to Jack's to give this album the credibility it deserves.

12 -Orphans - This is another cool track. It for the most part is very stripped down which I love. It is mostly based around the piano, an acoustic guitar, drums, and vocals that only Andrew could deliver to us. I'm generally not a huge fan of doubling the lyric tracks up so the that the same individual is singing several parts, but for this track, they pull it off and it works great.

13 - I'm not a huge fan of the digital noise in the background when this track begins. I get the point that this is somewhat of a slow artsy piece to take the album out on a nice mellow note (you know the arpeggios, falsettos, strings section, etc), but to be completely honest, the first half of it doesn't really work for me. After the crazy Beatles-esq instrumental part in the middle, the song gets really good and fortunately ends on something worthy of the album, although in some ways I think the album would have been better off ending with "Orphans."

Aside from my few nit-picky remarks, I have to say that this album is a reminder to us all of why we love piano rock. After the first Jack's album, I felt that there was a void left in my music collection where Something Corporate used to be. This album has no only filled that void, but has shown me that Andrew McMahon has the talent to be a great solo artist. Overall I give this album an A-, and recommend that all Something Corporate fans who lost interest after Everything in Transit, go pick it up. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

-T

How iTunes Ruined the Music...

Tonight's topic is one that has been on my mind for quite a while now, and although I spent the entire afternoon listening to Jack's Mannequin's latest with the full intent of reviewing it tonight, I have decided to put it off and rant just a little. (That's my warning. This is a rant, so you may just want to stop reading now...)

Recently I was having a discussion with my good friend Greg about high end recording equipment. He's been looking into possibly upgrading some of the gear in his studio. After discussing several different products and their multi-digit price tags, I told him that I'm starting to feel that purchasing high end equipment in hopes of reproducing a true, natural sound is a waste of money, because in today's world, a sound engineer can work for months to create a beautiful mix, but as soon as it reaches the masses, it is compressed into a .mp3, and all of the magnificent subtleties that took hours of mixing and EQing to produce are essentially flushed down the digital toilet.

Now to iTunes... Not so many years ago, music enthusiasts would go to the local music store and pick up a copy of the newest album... The preferred format since the late 80’s was CD (I know the vinyl guys are waiting for an article about how vinyl is the pure format for music, and CD ruined that... but that whole discussion would take too much time...) Anyway, this CD would then be listened too in the car, on home stereo's, and more recently on computers. As technology got better, people started ripping their CD's to their computers so they wouldn't have to change disks... This was all fine and dandy until Mr. Steve Jobs realized that he could capitalize on this. With the release of the iPod, it suddenly became un-cool to carry around your Discman and your 12 CD wallet. Instead, all of the cool kids were using white earbuds, through which they were blasting low quality reproductions of something that in it's pure form was beautiful... Unless, of course they were listening to rap, in that case the “music” was degraded to start out with ;) Because of the massive music libraries we all now carry around, listening to music has gone from being a form of entertainment to simply being background noise. In many ways, the art of music is gone. People don’t specifically sit down to listen to an hour long album anymore. Instead, they throw all the tracks they like into a playlist, push play, and then at any given moment if you ask what they are listening too, they have no clue… Background noise…

Now don't get me wrong, I love being able to carry 200 albums with me everywhere I go on my Creative Nomad. With my cheap Sony earbuds, even mp3's sound okay. In fact they sound okay on my $10 computer speakers, and even on the stock stereo system in my '97 Escort, but as soon as it comes to my home stereo system, the mp3’s sound like they were recorded inside of a tin can using a $9.99 computer microphone.

The root of the problem comes down to this, we have become a society of convenience, we want quantity over quality. If we can't have instant access to something, it's not worth our time... iTunes gives the individual a way to purchase a song or album and have it on their computer in seconds. Keep in mind, this is a low quality representation of what the artist originally released, and you are playing full price for it, but never the less, it is convenient. Instead of driving to Wal*Mart tomorrow, or ordering the disc from Amazon and waiting a few days, we give up a high quality hard copy for a low quality copy that is gone forever as soon as your computer or iPod crashes.

To illustrate this point even further, I read an article in Ad Age this week about how more people watched the SNL Sarah Palin skits on youtube then they did on NBC. How many of the people who watched it on youtube have a 60 inch HD plasma screen on their wall at home, but instead of waiting up until 8:30 PM on a Thursday night, they threw all the quality out the window for instant access? I reiterated, we are a society of convenience... quantity not quality is what we live for.

I know some of you are thinking, "Tim's ranting because of his background in sound engineering, I can't hear the difference between a CD and an mp3." I have heard this, and I can assure you, anyone with ears can hear the difference, I've proven this to many individuals by simply going back and forth between the same song on CD and mp3.You don't even need an incredibly hifi system to do it. Most home surround sound system, or even decent computer speakers should be good enough to show you that you too can hear the difference. The only exception is Bose... I know some of you are scratching your head thinking, "My iPod sounds awesome through my Bose iPod Doc." And my friend, I'm sorry to tell you that you have been hit with a double wammy. You’re listening to degraded compressed music through "technology" that is about a half a step away from being a complete scam (call or email me if you really care to know all the details).

Now that I've ranted, I'm going to give you all a solution to this problem. Later this month when the new Killers album comes out, don't download it from iTunes. Go to Wal*Mart, Target, Amazon, or any other CD store and buy a physical copy. When you get home, rip it to your hearts content; listen to it on your iPod, computer, in your car and so on. But every now and then, when you have a few minutes, pop in the CD and enjoy an art that is all but lost, the art of listening to great sounding music.

-T

Alone Again...

Alternative/emo/indy/punk/pop/rock/(whatever else you wanna throw in here) guru River's Cuomo announced last week that on November 25th, he'll be releasing Alone II. This new album will be the second official release of Mr. Cuomo's private home recordings, giving Weezer fans another gimpse into the personal life of this musical genius.

I for one can hardly wait for Alone II's release. Last years Alone contained an amazing collection of River's private works... It was so good in fact, that it is now a regular part of my Weezer playlist. According to the artist himself, this collection will be better than the first. Be watching for a full review due the end of this month.

***As a side note, "Longtime Sunshine" from Alone, has been in my playlist below since day one. Go check it out. -T

The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

Wow, it has been a while since I last wrote one of these. I've been so busy lately that I've had little if anytime to review albums. I literally have 4 or 5 sitting here in my main music rotation waiting for their time in the sun... or shade... or whatever Guitar Guy Tim's is...

Enough senseless rambling, let's ramble with some sense. This album actually came out probably 4-5 months back. When I heard the first single "Hammerhead," I wasn't impressed so I blew the album off. Then a few weeks ago I heard the single "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" and I honestly didn't believe it was actually The Offspring. When I found that in all actuality "Kristy..." was really The Offspring, I knew I had to check out the album. Without giving too much away, I really think this album was the summers biggest musical surprise!

1. Half-Truism - This is an amazing opening track, it starts out with a slow arpeggio on the guitar which is complemented by a lo-fi record effect. It then goes into full power punk/pop like only The Offspring can deliver. To top this off, the chorus is fabulous! Great Track!

2. Trust in You - I hate to call this a filler track because it honestly sounds like everything else The Offspring have ever done. It's not bad, it's not incredibly good... it's, well... exactly what you'd expect from The Offspring.

3. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - Single #3 from the album... it's catchy, but it's also full of profanities, so full in fact that I've removed it from my play list. If you buy this one off iTunes, make sure to get the Walmart Edit :)

*Quick Note... I know, you're all thinking, "Tim said he really liked this album, but at 3 tracks in, he's only liked one..." But don't you worry, the best is yet to come -T

4. Hammerhead - So initially I didn't think this track was all that special, after a few listens my opinion has changed. This is a great punk track! I really like how the track starts out with a cool guitar riff, followed by a heavy drum beat, this then leads us into a full on punk track! It's much more innovative than past works by The Offspring, and a great track!

5. A Lot Like Me - This track kind of reminds me of Linkin Park from the intro... The big difference here is that Linkin Park almost always seems to fail at making a good song after having a good intro. The Offspring on the other hand have written another amazing track that will appeal to more than just the traditional Offspring fan base. I could easily see this being another single from the album.

6. Takes Me Nowhere -This is another powerful punk track. It is definitely better than a filler, but isn't really single quality. I like it, but don't love it.

7. Kristy, Are You Doing Okay? - This is officially one of the top two best songs ever written by Dexter Holland. Who knew these guys could pump out a ballad, and a great one at that? Some have criticized the band over this track saying that they have sold out, and are trying to appeal to a broader audience... I, on the other hand, like to look at this track as the band finally displaying to the world that they do have talent beyond yelling, playing power cords and cussing. It is truly a fabulous track!

8. Nothingtown - This track would have fit in nicely on Americana. It has some random profanities, and some what of a juvenile feel, but overall is an okay track... just okay...

9. Stuff Is Messed Up - Just skip this track, not only is if full of explicit language, it's a true filler in all senses of the word (it didn't even get a full play before being deleted from my play list... that bad)

10. Fix You - Here we find the second truly great song that Dexter Holland has written. Katie (my wife) thinks that this is by far the best Offspring song ever, and aside from "Kristy..." I have to agree with her. It is a slower ballad, and is all around an amazing track. I'm guessing this will be another single before too long.

11. Let's Hear It for Rock Bottom - This is a fun track, it has almost a reggae feel too it (well the verses do at least). It's a decent track.

12. Rise and Fall - And the album wraps up with a powerful punk track that leaves us wanting more... I love it when album closers do that :)

This album, in many was, is probably the best album that The Offspring have ever put out. Unlike most of their earlier albums, the songs and their lyrics are more serious and well thought out. I know we all love, "Pretty Fly For a White Guy," but the funny/juvenile songs and lyrics get old real quick. Needless to say, I'm very impressed by the mature change the Offspring has made. That being said, this still is an Offspring album, it has 3 tracks that are clearly explicit, and it is for the most part a punk album. I'm a strong believer in buying whole albums and not individual tracks, but for this one I'd either say buy the .mp3's online, or go buy the Walmart edit.

Okay, with all that out of the way, I give the album a B. It has some great moments, and some amazing material... but even with that, it still doesn't hold up to A quality when compared to albums like Viva La Vida.

-Tim

Troublemaker - Weezer 2008 Tour

As you can see from my post below, I went to the Weezer show last week, and I have to say that it was out of this world! I've actually seen Weezer in the past, so initially I was actually a little more excited to see Angels & Airwaves live. Unfortunately after about 3 A&A songs, I was ready for Weezer to take the stage. Now don't get me wrong, A&A put on a decent live show, musically they sounded good although all the music sounded the same... One major drawback was that Tom DeLonge just couldn't seem to figure out how to sing live. Well, that and when he decided to talk between songs, he used as many explicative as a Blink 182 track... I thought I read somewhere that he left Blink and started A&A because he wanted to produce something he could show to his kids and be proud of... Let’s hope Tom Jr. never see's his dads live act. Since I love to grade things, I'd give their show a B-. It was fun, but I wouldn't pay $20 to see them again. They're a decent opening act, but I don't see them headlining anytime soon.

Now on to Weezer... To start, I just have to say that marriage is the best thing that could have ever happen to Rivers Cuomo. In the past, he's been the kind of lead singer that talks little if ever between tracks, and stands in the same spot the entire show. Now this isn't to say that they didn't put on a great sounding show, the band just lacked the energy of many other acts. Well, as of the Troublemaker Tour this has all changed. Rivers gave a few of the other guys a chance at lead vocals, or lead guitar in that matter so he could move all over the place. Additionally, he was incredibly funny between tracks. One particular memorable moment happened during the intro to Troublemaker in which he told a story about he and his daughter at the Childerens Museum of SLC. Anyway, enough rambling, lets talk music.

The show started the same way the Weezer catalogue started, with the classic My Name is Jonas, this classic track was followed by Pink Triangle. Being a huge fan of both the Blue and Pinkerton, the show at this point had already exceeded all of my expectations! Pink Triangle live is a concert moment I will never forget. The band cranked out nearly two hours of classics old and new, including: The Sweater Song, El Scorcho, Buddy Holly, The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, King, Island in the Sun, Beverly Hills, Perfect Situation, Suzanne, Dope Nose, and many others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. They also had a few random covers from I believe Oasis and Nirvana. In the end it was a musical night to remember. It was hands down the best sounding, and most entertaining I have ever seen Weezer, and I highly, highly, highly recommend everyone go see them if they come through your town! I give this show an A... No, make that an A+!

-Tim

Addendum #1

So yeah, I did miss a few tracks, here is a set list I found online.

1. My Name Is Jonas
2. Pink Triangle
3. Perfect Situation
4. Say It Ain't So
5. Susanne
6. Keep Fishin'
7. King
8. Undone
9. Pork and Beans
10. Dreamin'
11. Dope Nose
12. Troublemaker
13. Automatic
14. Hash Pipe
15. El Scorcho
16. Morning Glory
17. Greatest Man
---------------------------

18. Island in the Sun
19. Beverly Hills
'---------------------------

20. Heart Songs vinyl into Sliver
21. Buddy Holly

Rocked My Socks Off!

Well my friends Zach and Weezie were right, last nights Weezer performance totally rocked my socks off! I don't have time right now to give a full review of the show, but I thought I'd post a few pics, and then give greater detail at a later time.

Enjoy,

-T


Angels & Airwaves opened the show, for the most part they were really good, although Tom DeLonge can't sing on key for the life of him... Other than that they sounded great musically!


For some reason, Angels & Airwaves chose to use so many strobe lights, that it was hard to look directly at the stage.

Weezer takes the stage, and although it may be hard to tell from the pic, Rivers is wearing a ski mask.



The Sweater Song with the guys from Angels and Airwaves. Pat, Weezer's drummer can be seen in the middle of the picture playing the guitar solo, and Rivers, Weezer's guitarist/vocalist can be seen on the far right drumming.

The encore "hootenanny" preformance with 30 local musicians. They preformed Island in the Sun and Beverly Hills.

The second encore featuring Buddy Holly and the classic lighted Weezer =w=


***sorry for the low quality pictures, they were taken with my cell phone***

RIP Richard Wright

On Monday, Richard "Rick" Wright, a founding member of Pink Floyd passed away from a form of cancer. Instead of writing my own thoughts, I have posted the comment released by Rick's good friend and co-Pink Floyd member, David Gilmour.

"No one can replace Richard Wright. He was my musical partner and my friend.

In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten.

He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.

I have never played with anyone quite like him. The blend of his and my voices and our musical telepathy reached their first major flowering in 1971 on 'Echoes'. In my view all the greatest PF moments are the ones where he is in full flow. After all, without 'Us and Them' and 'The Great Gig In The Sky', both of which he wrote, what would 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' have been? Without his quiet touch the Album 'Wish You Were Here' would not quite have worked.

In our middle years, for many reasons he lost his way for a while, but in the early Nineties, with 'The Division Bell', his vitality, spark and humour returned to him and then the audience reaction to his appearances on my tour in 2006 was hugely uplifting and it's a mark of his modesty that those standing ovations came as a huge surprise to him, (though not to the rest of us).

Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously."

David Gilmour
Monday 15th September 2008

I have added two of Rick's notable Pink Floyd works to my play list below.

In closing all I have to say is, "Shine on you crazy diamond"

Muse - H.A.A.R.P.

Before I start our review for the day, I'd like discuss my favorite bands for a moment. If you would have come to me this time last year and said, "Hey Tim, who are your top 5 favorite bands," the list would have gone like this:

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Beatles
4. Weezer
5. Cake

Followed by about 50 honorable mentions.

I take my favorite bands very seriously, this isn't an easy category to get a place in. As a matter of fact, spots 1-4 are all bands I have been listening too since the mid-90's. Cake entered the arena of favorites probably about the time they came out with Comfort Eagle, which was such a brilliant album, that it inspired me to go out and purchase their entire collection, thus securing their position.

I write this because over the last year my mind has officially been blown by Muse. I was introduced to them several years ago, but didn't really take the time to listen to them (I get introduced to a lot of music... and never seem to have enough time to evaluate it all). This all changed about a year ago when I heard Muse's single "Starlight" on the radio. The track was so good that it inspired me to check out the album Black Holes and Revelations. This beyond brilliant album lead me to acquire the entire Muse catalog, and to purchase tickets to their last Utah performance.

After the show, not only had Muse secured their own spot in my top 5, moving Cake to #6 (sorry John McCrea) but had also became my number one band to see live. Yes the show was that amazing.

This leads us up to my latest review, H.A.A.R.P. Which not only comes as an amazing live album, but also includes a live DVD to show you just how good these guys really are live. H.A.A.R.P. is in many ways a greatest hits collecting for the band, and will hopefully introduce fans to songs they may not already know.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I love live music. After sitting in recording studios for several years listening to individuals play the same 3 second snipit over and over again until they got it right, I came to the conclusion that we all need to go back to four track tape and record as a band (like the Beatles used to) until we get the song right, or at least get it good enough to send it out to the masses. Multi-tracking has destroyed musicianship, and created a plethora of sloppy live acts. Because of this I find live performances like Zeppelin's BBC Sessions, the Beatles Anthologies, and Pink Floyd's Is There Anybody Out There, so refreshing.

In the style of the Rock and Roll masters of the 60's and 70's, Muse has single handedly restored my faith in the possibilities of great rock shows still existing. H.A.A.R.P. is the proof of this.

1 - Intro/Dance of the Knights (From Romeo and Juliete) - From the DVD version of this track, we see that it is used as an introduction of our "Musical Knights." With the video, this is a great piece to help build anticipation for what is about to be had, on the CD it's not near as exciting, but seeing as it takes less than 2 minutes, it's not worth complaining about.

2 - Knights of Cydonia/ Close Encounters of the Third Kind - As the band takes the stage, Matthew Bellamy (guitarist/pianist/vocalist) plays a highly distorted tune straight Spielberg's alien classic "Close Encounters..." It cracks me up that this is how he chose to start the performance, since after seeing them live, my brothers and I decided that seeing a Muse show is kind of like seeing a UFO land. Although you'll try to explain how amazing it was to everyone, they will never truly understand until they too have seen it for themselves.

The band makes a smooth transition from "Close Encounters" to their previous albums closer, "Knights of Cydonia." Although this isn't one of my favorite Muse tracks, there is just something special about this live version that makes me prefer it over the album version. Maybe it's the screaming fans, maybe it's the sporadic guitar improvisations, or maybe its just the fact that I spent hours on Guitar Hero trying to master this song.

3 - Hysteria - Sometimes I listen Muse to albums and wonder how they could possibly reproduce the guitar/bass parts live. "Hysteria" is proof that Chris Wolstenholme really is as good of a bassist as he appears to be on the bands different albums. The bass line is flawless, as is the guitar solo.

4 - Supermassive Black Hole - "This next song is for anyone who likes R&B," states Bellamy as he's playing around with false harmonics on his guitar. Although I'm not a huge fan of "Supermassive Black Hole" and the falsetto Bellamy sings for most of it (Katie once told me he sounded like a girl while listening to this song :) I do have to say that if more R&B sounded like this track, I'd think about listening to more of it... That being said, it's a decent track with some crazy sound effects during the guitar solo, but overall I don't really like the live version much more that I do the album.

5 - Map of the Problematique - On the album Black Holes and Revelations this track sounded almost like a mid-80's synth-pop track. On this version, Bellamy plays all of the "synth" sounds on his guitar, which is awesome! Where this guy learned to used effects, delays, and so on, I'll never know. Overall I like this live version is better that the original, it has much more of a heavy guitar rock sound, this may be due the the heavy riff added on as the outro to the track.

6 - Butterflies and Hurricanes - After five tracks of sheer power, its time to slow things down a little bit... Well slow for Muse that is, there is still a heavily distorted guitar in the background. The live version of this track has a great solo right in the middle of it that the original lacks. One thing I love about Matthew Bellamy's playing is that he knows how to keep a solo interesting without dragging on far too long just for the pure fact that he can. In fact, in this track he cuts the solo short to go into a classical piece on the piano. Not something you would generally see at a rock show. Just more proof of how amazingly talented these guys really are.

7 - Invincible - Seeing as this is already one of my absolute favorite Muse tracks, I was excited to see the live treatment of it. Needless to say, I'm not the least bit disappointed.

Like the studio version, this track starts out with a little bit of guitar and a drum beat worthy of a Civil War era march. One thing I love about the live version of this song is that the guitar is much more present in the second verse than on the studio version. In addition to this, the solo is beyond amazing, it was amazing on the album, but to hear it live is simply mind blowing. It's like Bellamy took everything that guitarists have worked for years to accomplish, and then turned it on its side and pumped out something that would make even the greatest players of all time drop their jaws. Yes, it really is that good.

8 - Starlight - So I find it kind of ironic that the song that really got me into Muse is one that I honestly don't think is that great in live form. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad, I just prefer the studio version, thats all. I'm not a huge fan of the mixing on the album, the piano seems to be hidden behind the overly-powerful distorted bass. Still a decent track, just not my favorite

9 - Time Is Running Out - Although I do think that this is a great track, one thing that annoys me on live albums is when the vocalist steps away from the microphone to let the audience sing. I'm not paying to hear them, I'm paying to hear you Mr. Bellamy. Other than that, this is a great live version of a great song.

10 - New Born/Microphone Fiend - Seeing as "New Born" is probably my all time favorite Muse song, I was a little nervous about hearing the live treatment of it. I'm not sure if I like it better than the original, but I'd say that I like it at least as much. The transition from the piano to the heavy guitar riff is fabulous. This song is literally the perfect meshing of beautify played piano and death-metal guitar. It's amazing! The only flaw I can find in this live track is that the vocal track doesn't seem to be balanced throughout the song, this may have been caused by Bellamy stepping away from the mic or something like that. I've already written too much, so just one final though... The live solos are great!

11 - Unintended - Reaching back to 1999's Showbiz this is a nice little ballad. Honestly I'm not a huge fan of Showbiz but this is one of the better tracks off of the album, and is a nice addition to the album. There isn't anything overly special about the live version, other than it is nice to have a slower, softer song among all of the other powerful tracks.

12 - Micro Cuts - This is the second track on the album that is sung entirely in falsetto which I'm not a huge fan of. That being said it does have some great guitar work. So decent track, nothing special, but seeing as it leads into another of my favorites, I'll forgive the vocals.

13 - Stockholm Syndrome - This track, which happens to be one of my favorites off of Absolution, is just as good if not better in the live format. Not only does the song sound amazing, but after the track finishes, there is nearly 3 minutes of the band having an improvised jam session which is great. It really shows the great level of musicianship possessed by the band.

14 - Take a Bow - I find it really interested that on the tour to promote Black Holes and Revelations, the band chose to open with the album closer, and close with the album opener. Although this isn't my favorite track, it does have great dynamics, and great guitar work. It comes as a great closer to a near perfect performance.

Reviewing a Live album is a little different than a studio album, since they generally are more or less a collection of Greatest Hits, so in theory all of the music should be good. This isn't always the case, but overall I think Muse did a great job at their musical selection. What I really look for in a live album is the musicianship. Since I generally already own all of the music found on the live album, there has to be something special to make me want to go out and buy it. I'm not looking for a reproduction of what I already have. In the case of H.A.A.R.P. I'd have to say that Muse's live performance is as good if not better than nearly all of their studio tracks, and is a great addition to the Muse catalog for any fan. I give it a solid A. This is, in my opinion, the best live album to come out since 1999's Is There Anybody Out There: The Wall Live by Pink Floyd.

As a final thought, throughout the 60's and 70's there were several guitarist who earned the title of "Rock God." Not to discredit anything any of these great players did, but I think it's time they slide over and make room at the table. This albums single handedly proves that Matthew Bellamy is clearly their first worthy heir of the new millennium. All hail Mathew Bellamy.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

I realize that I'm a little behind in my reviews seeing as this album came out electronically almost a year ago, and physically back in December (still 8 months ago), but since I wasn't actively reviewing albums back then, well at least not reviewing on a public forum like this fancy ol' blog, I thought I'd give praise where it deserves to be given. Well, that and nothing that has come out in the last few weeks has been overly exciting to me, and I've felt the need to write about music for the last day or two.

My last review, as you can all see below, was a major disappointment. I really hate it when I anticipate a new album for sometimes months before its actual release, only to be overly disappointed and $9.87 poorer (I buy my CD's at Walmart). Although I was highly anticipating Radiohead's latest, there is always a part of me that is afraid of what they might just come up with. Now don't get me wrong, Radiohead has great material on all of their albums, but some of the music they were putting out in the late 90's and early 00's was even a little much for a devoted fan like myself. So... without any further rambling, lets review!

1 - 15 Step - This track starts out with a techno-ish drum beat, which is quickly accompanied my a whiny Tom Yorke. When this track started, I honestly thought Radiohead had become either a techno or not-so-good R&B group, but then 40 seconds into the track Jonny Greenwood comes in with a brilliant guitar line, the guitar is then joined by the bass, and this seemingly bizarre track suddenly become an amazing song. It's brilliant, not only is this a great album opener, but it has also become one of my favorite tracks on the album. Good job Radiohead!

2 - Bodysnatchers - If track one wasn't good enough to get you exited about what is to come in the next 45 minutes of great music, then "Bodysnatchers" will. The track starts with a great little riff with an early 90's grunge crunch distortion sound, paying homage to Radioheads early tracks off of albums like "Pablo Honey" and "The Bends." This is my official favorite track on the album, it is a great, grungy sounding, Radiohead classic.

3 - Nude - This track is much slower than the previous two. It seems kind of long and repetitive to me, kind of like the last album I reviewed :) It's not horrible, but it isn't really anything special either.

4 - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Like the first track, this song has kind of technoish sounding drum beat, and layered on top are two different acoustic guitar tracks playing arpeggio's, a bass line, and of course Thom. While this isn't one of my favorite tracks, it is a good melodic piece, and the guitar work is really good.

5 - All I Need - I think this is about as close to writing a love song as Radiohead gets. I really love the instrumentation on this track, it starts out with a bass line (it may be played on a keyboard, on the lower keys though) which sounds like it was recorded at about 8 bit's (think cheesy NES sound effects), over top of a basic drum beat and some sustained keyboard notes. As the song builds up the drums, piano, and a xylophone (I think) become more present. I really love the dynamic build of this track. This is the perfect meshing of bizarre Radiohead sound effects and great song writing!

6 - Faust Arp - I really like this track, it starts with a nice acoustic part, followed by some off beat vocals which I just love. The song later incorporates a strings section to accompany the acoustic guitars. In some ways this song almost sounds a little too pretty to be a Radiohead song. At just over two minutes, this is a great, short track.

7 - Reckoner - This track starts out similar to track one, although this time the drum beat isn't so techo-ie... The drums are accompanied by a fabulous guitar part. Thom brings in some classic Radiohead falsetto, which is good, not great, but it works with the song. The middle of the song gets really slow, with harmonizing ooohs or mmmms or something like that, kind of reminiscent of something off of "Amnesiac" or "Kid A". Musically it's really good, lyrically it reminds me of some of my lesser favorite Radiohead material.

8 - House of Cards - Have I mentioned how many great guitar parts this album has? Because if not, nearly every track has a brilliant guitar part, including "House of Cards." This song is a little more radio-friendly than many of the other, hence it being a single. It's a good track, it is a little slow and repetitive for me though, it's a decent track, but not as good as a lot of the others on the album.

9 - Jigsaw Falling into Place - Honestly, I really can't get over how good the guitar work on this album is. Musically, everything about this track is great! It sounds a bit like earlier Radiohead, say "The Bends" or "Ok Computer" which is not a bad thing at all. This is a great track that should appeal to all Radiohead fans, and even to some of you who aren't fans yet.

10 - Videotape - This track reminds me of the good tracks off of Radiohead's more bizarre albums (Amnesiac and Kid A). This track is a slow piano/vocal piece that in my opinion, is a great closer for the album. It's a very emotional sounding track and really raps up the album nicely. One thing that impresses me about this track is that it leaves the listener wanting more, in a good way. (I guess thats why if you but the bonus edition of the album you get a second disc... great marketing guys!)

Before I give my official grade, I'd like to discuss a little bit about the positives and negatives of this album. Positives: this album, unlike several of Radioheads albums, sticks to traditional song writing, they don't use near as many crazy sound effects, electronic noises and so on, but instead experiment within the realms of traditional song writing. I really like this, because it reminds me of the Radiohead of early days before they discovered that computers can make crazy sounds. In addition to this, the guitar work is brilliant throughout pretty much the entire album, I'd have to say that this may possibly be Radioheads best guitar album.

As for negatives, I really only have one issue with album, it all kind of sounds the same to me. The first time I listened to it, the only track that stuck out was "Bodysnatchers" while the rest of it kind of just blended together. Now don't get me wrong, after a few listens I started picking out tracks I really enjoy, but for the most part, all of the tracks are slow and melodic. Aside from "Bodysnatchers" there really aren't any other powerful songs on the album.

That being said, I give the album a B+, with a disclaimer. Radiohead isn't for everyone, if you haven't liked their work in the past because they're too weird or what not, you probably won't enjoy this album. Thom Yorke's vocal and writing style are definitely an acquired taste.

With that being said, if you enjoy earlier Radiohead, but have been turned off by their last few albums, give "In Rainbows" a try, it may just renew your love for these 5 lads from the UK.

Death Cab For Cutie -- Narrow Stairs Review

Well I wasn't planning on reviewing "Narrow Stairs" today, I actually have a backlog of albums that have come out in the past 6 months that need an official review, but I got a copy of Death Cab for Cutie's latest and decided to review it today before I "forget" (foreshadowing) about it.

I've know about Death Cab, and have been listening to them on and off for several years now. For the most part, my listening to Death Cab goes something like this; a friend would come along all excited to share Death Cab's newest release with me, I'd listen to it, it would be alright... but nothing exciting and the disc would end up sitting on the shelf, only getting pulled down once or twice a year when I was bored and looking for something new.

This was pretty much the pattern until an amazing little album called "Give Up" came out by the Postal Service (Death Cab's front man, Ben Gibbard's side project). It was so good, that I actually anticipated Death Cab's next release "Plans". These two albums changed my opinion of Death Cab, aside from some of the tracks being way over played on the radio, "Plans" is an amazing album, and really had me looking forward to today's review... So here we go:

1 - Bixby Canyon Bridge - This track for the most part reminds me of pre-Plans DC (I'm abbreviating to DC from now on...). Kind of slow, long, and uneventful... not necessarily bad, but nothing special. At 1:45 it does start to pick up with a heavily distorted guitar and prominent bass, but it never really "Rocks" if you will.

2 - I Will Possess Your Heart - Unlike the radio single, the album version of this song starts out with an extend intro lasting nearly 4 and a half minutes. Honestly I think it's really cool for about 3 mins, but then it starts to feel a little too long. The song itself is decent, although the lyrics do come across as being rather stalkerish... I really think DC is trying to make a second "Soul Meets Body" with this track, and unfortunately it falls a little short. Still, even at that it is one of the better tracks on the album.

3 - No Sunlight - From the intro of this song, there is clearly potential. It is much more upbeat than anything we've heard thus far. Unfortunately it never really goes anywhere beyond the intro. Once again, it isn't horrible, but it isn't great either... it's kind of just there.

4 - Cath.... - Like the previous track, "Cath..." starts out with a lot of potential, but never gets to where it could go... I do actually like this track better than #3 though, it's a little better, and definitely the second best thing we've heard thus far.

5 - Talking Bird - Blah, filler track. The lyrics are kind of fun, but the music is... well... blah...

6 - You Can Do Better Than Me - I'm starting to think that someone is having relationship trouble and it's coming though in his music... In this songs defense though, at just under 2 minutes it doesn't get boring, and it's kind of catchy.

7 - Grapevine Fires - I like the kind of jazzy/bluesy organ in the background (it may be a keyboard). This song is alright, I'll add it to the list of decent tracks.

8 - Your New Twin Sized Bed - More relationship problems... At just over 3 min, this song manages to stay somewhat interesting. It doesn't drag like most of the other tracks, and overall, it's a decent track.

9 - Long Division - I actually like this track, I know you're all surprised to finally hear me say that, but it is true. The lyrics are good and catchy, the music is upbeat, and it's just all around a good track.

10 - Pity and Fear - I have mixed feelings about this track. I really like the music, it's much darker and harder sounding than most of the other tracks, but I like it. I'm not a huge fan of the vocals and guitar playing/singing the same melody, but hey you take what you can get. For some reason this track reminds me of another song (which I can't put my finger on... maybe it was a forgettable DC track from a previous album..) Anyway, the song has some really good moments, and overall is one of the stronger tracks on the album.

11 - The Ice Is Getting Thinner - The album closer is essentially Ben Gibbard telling his girlfriend, or former-girlfriend, or whoever he wrote the album for (possibly Kath...?), "Hey I wrote this entire album about how our relationship failed..." I'm not sure if she'll get the message though, because this song is as forgettable as many of the other tracks on the album... I think they should have ended with "Pity and Fear," it was a much better track, and in my opinion a much better closer.

So there you go... After my first listen through, I thought that maybe the album was better than my first impression or that Plans wasn't as good as I thought it was, so in the last 24 hours I have listened to this album 3 times, Plans once, and Transatlanticism (album before Plans) once just for the heck of it. I have come to the conclusion that Plans may have just been a fluke; it may be the only really good album we ever get out of DC. That being said, if you have been a fan of DC for years, you'll probably love this. If you're one of those individuals who thought Plans was a great debut album, you're probably going to thing that DC's sophomore album failed to achieve the grandeur of its predecessor. That being said, I give it a C, it's not great, it's not horrible, it's just average... As for my copy, it will be going on the shelf, and 6 months from now when I'm bored, I may just pull it down for a listen.

Fender Standard Tele Review

Well after my little rant earlier today on the proper way to review things, I feel the need to review something, so I'm going to give my review of the newest addition to my guitar collection (see my previous post on buying, selling, and trading... this is some what of a follow up).

Ever since I started playing guitar some 14-15 odd years ago, I have wanted to own a genuine Fender. I have finally realized this dream, and I am not disappointed at all. For years I have been particularly fond of Telecasters, and because of this decided that my first real Fender should be a Tele. Since I don't have unlimited funds, I decided to go with a lower end, Mexican made Tele (or Mexi-Tele as they are lovingly known among guitarists). Before making my purchase I decided to do my homework, since back in the 90's, Mexican made Fenders had many known issues including: sloppy fret work, noisy/faulty wiring, crooked bridges, lose neck joints and so on. From my research I learned that in 2006 Fender really cracked down on their quality assurance department because they didn't want anything less than par going out with their logo on it (that’s what Squire is for).

I looked at, and played several different Tele Standards, and finally settled on an Electric Blue Tele Standard (just like the one pictured above). I have been playing it for about a month now, and honestly I have been nothing but impressed with this guitar. The action was a little high when first purchased, but that is something that is very easy to remedy. The neck feels perfect under my hands, it is smooth and fast. The medium round frets are amazing for playing fast little riffs; say the intro to "Octopuses Garden" (Didn't George use a Rosewood Tele for that track?). The guitar came stock with Fender Bullet 9's strings, which in my opinion are way too light, so I put on some 11's I believe, and they are amazing. On playability I definitely give this guitar an A.

My one hesitancy in buying a lower end Fender is that I have heard that the hardware isn't all that great. I haven't found this to be the case at all. The volume and tone knobs are smooth, much nicer than the knobs found on most lower end guitars (say both my Epiphone and Washburn, and both Ibanez's I have owned). The pickup switch is likewise smooth and silent (although it is most likely going to be traded for a 4 way custom shop switch here in the near future). The tuners are tight, and stay in tune very well. The bridge is as straight as can be; there have been some issues in other reviews about it having 6 saddles instead of the traditional 3 found on a Tele... I actually like the individual saddles, it makes it much easer to adjust the guitar. Finally the pickups, I'll be honest, they aren't Vintage 52's (although I'd love to swap them for a pair of 52's) but for what they are, they sound great. The bridge pickup gives you a bright Tele sound, and the neck pickup gives you more of a muddy blues sound. I really like the sound of the bridge pickup, or the combo of the two. I rarely play the neck pickup on its own, but that’s solely because of my tone preferences. Overall, they are great pickups. So once again, I give the guitar an A on hardware.

The final category I'll look at is the appearance of the guitar. It is beautiful, the finish is flawless. The electric blue has a slight sparkle in it which really comes out when you look at the guitar under bright lights. The 3 ply white pickguard is a nice compliment to the blue... although I am curious as to how the guitar would look with a black pickguard. The neck has a thin satin finish which lets the beauty of the maple neck shine through, and I love the dark wood strip down the back of the neck where the truss rod is.

In all honesty, I can't find a single thing wrong with this guitar. At $400 (or slightly less) I am confident in saying that it is probably the best bang for your buck on the market. I've played many different lower end guitars, and very very few are even comparable to the Tele Standard, I'd even go as far as saying that these guitars are much better than their brothers the Strat Standard. I give this guitar a solid A and recommend that anyone looking for a good guitar that isn't too expensive take a look at this piece of rock history... Now all I need is a vintage tweed case for it :)

Stay tuned for more guitar reviews to come, I have a Vox Valvetronix that needs a review... it is pretty much the perfect amp for anyone who likes to pretend they are a rock star when they get home from work... and if you're suffering from self-esteem issues, just wait until I tell you about my Thunderbird bass, it is so cool looking that it will make you cool. I guarantee it!

-Tim