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

Rating Systems

I was recently presented with the question, "Why do you review everything with letter grades... (ie. A, B, C, D, F and their respective +'s and -'s)" So I thought I'd write a quick post on why I have chosen this grading system instead of the others that exist.

Some people like to use stars, but the problem with stars is the difference between really bad and really good is generally only 3... sometimes 4... So that doesn't give you very much flexibility, because of this you are forced to start adding 1/2 stars, 3/4 stars, 5/8 stars, and 55/64 stars... It just gets too complex, and this ever so simply way of grading becomes ever so complex.

Others choose to use a scale, usually ranging from 1-10, this sounds like a great way to grade something, but once again people have to start throwing in 8.5 or 3.7, or the 9.9999999 and so on. Once again this seemingly straight forward grading system rapidly becomes a mess of 30,000 different numbers to choose from.

Finally, lets look at the perfectness of the A-F with +'s and -'s. It's the perfect grading system. First off, we all know it by heart, because we were all held accountable to it for at least 12 years (unless you never went to school, but I don't accommodate for those people because they probably can't read this anyway). As for myself, I am coming up on my 18th year of being judged by this system. In addition to having this scale engraved upon our brains, it is also straight forward. You don't get B--'s or C+++'s or anything like that, your only options are A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and the dreaded F. Can it get more simple than that, I think not.

So there you go, now you all know why I like the A-F scale :)

Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky VI)

The other evening I sat down and watched the newest and final (isn't that what we said about Rocky V) installment in the Rocky Story. I've actually seen this film before, but it had been a while, so I thought I'd watch it again.

This is a great movie! I would say it is hands down the best Rocky movie since the original Rocky. I'm writing this post to encourage everyone who reads this to go out and watch Rocky Balboa. Not only does it have a great story and great acting, but it also contains several positive and inspirational messages. On top of all that, this is a clean film. I would feel comfortable watching it with anyone. There is some boxing violence, but it isn't gruesome and gory, it's part of the sport and nothing more than what you'd see by watching a real boxing match.

I love this movie, if I was reviewing it (which I guess I kind of am) I'd give it an A, maybe even and A+. It truly is one of the best sequels I've seen in a long time, and the best sequel in the Rocky story.

"It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward."

Coldplay - Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends) Review

Well, I had so much fun writing up a full review of Weezer's latest self-titled album, that I thought I'd get back at it and write a review of Coldplay's latest. I have been a big Coldplay fan since Parachutes, and have been looking forward to their latest release for a while now, and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed by it at all. Lets start with Track 1 and go from there.

1 - Life in Technicolor - I'm about 99% sure this is Coldplay's only instrumental track on any of their albums (well there are some "oooohhh's" in the background, but overall it's instrumental...) I really like this track, it's a great album opener, it does a great job of setting the mood for the entire album.

2 - Cemeteries of London - This is a good track, it sounds very much like what you'd expect from Coldplay. There isn't anything overly special about it, but like I said, it's a good track.

3 - Lost! - Like the previous track, Lost is a good track, it isn't anything overly special, but still something worth listening too. The organs and the melody of this song almost make it feel like a gospel hymn which is pretty cool.

4 - 42 - This is one of the weaker tracks on the album, primarily because the first minute and a half are kind of boring, and the lyrics are bizarre. At 1:30 it really starts to pick up though, the next two minutes of the song are actually pretty good, not enough to make the entire song great, but all and all it's a decent track. For some reason even Coldplay's weaker tracks are still worth listening too.

5 - Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love - This is, in my opinion, one of the best tracks on the album. As seen in the title, it is actually two songs, and switches from the first to the second about half way through the track. Both are very good, the first song is very upbeat and is great both musically and lyrically, the second half is a slower ballad which is equally as great as the first half.

6 - Yes - I'm not a huge fan of this track, I think it's a little better than 42, but still not as good as everything else we've heard so far. This track, like the previous track switches in the middle to what sounds like a different song, but is in fact the same song, pretty tricky. I actually enjoy the second half quite a bit, but not enough to make this a preferred track.

7 - Viva la Vida - This is all around a great track, one of the best on the album. It's no surprise that this was the second single and the title track. If you listen to the radio, you've probably already heard this a ton of times, so I'll move on.

8 - Violet Hill - This is another great track. I really like it because it doesn't sound like every other Coldplay song, it's a new sound for the band, and a great new sound at that. Once again, since this was the first single, you've probably already heard it a million times, so I'll move on.

9 - Strawberry Swing - This is the kind of song I was hoping to hear on the album, it is a great track, and although it probably won't ever be a single, it is definitely something to look forward to when listening to the album. X&Y, Coldplay's album previous to this had two such songs, Til' Kingdom Come and Swallowed in the Sea, which are probably my two favorite songs on the album, and this in a way reminds me of them. Great track!

10 - Death and All His Friends - This song, like the previous track, reminds me of my two favorites from X&Y, and consequently is a great track in my opinion. It starts out very slow, gradually building up to an upbeat track, and then slows down again and transitions into a reprise of Life in Technicolor, giving the album the perfect closer it needs.

Although there are a few tracks on this album that I'm not a huge fan of, and I don't think it is quite as good as its predecessor X&Y, I'm still going to give it a sold A. It is definitely another great addition to the Coldplay catalog. One thing I really like about Coldplay is that their albums only get better with each listen. I wouldn't be surprised if 6 months from now, the tracks that I wasn't immediately a huge fan of become some of my favorites... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

One other thing that should be noted is the familiar, almost U2esq sound found throughout the album. This is obviously Brian Eno's (U2's Producer, and Producer of this album) influence. Normally I don't like it when one band sounds like another, but in this case it works great, and I think credit should be give to Brian Eno for adding a new dimension to Coldplays sound.