Thursday, January 26, 2012

Vol. 3 Episode 3


Here it is, More music fun for most ages. Enjoy!

This is the first full-length album from Battles. It was released in 2007. This is also the first album that the band used vocals on. They had released a few EPs previous to this album but had not used any kind of vocals on them. There were only two singles released from this album. The first single is called Atlas. There is a lot of electronic sounds and looped sounds used in the music that Battles creates. This is shown at its peek with this single. The break down in this song is especially sweet. When I get that far into the song I can’t turn it off. It is just too good. The second single the band put out is called Tonto. This song doesn’t have the same magic that the first single has. It is good but it doesn’t keep my interest through the whole song. Parts of the song come off as wrong notes being played on purpose. To me it is being artsy just to be artsy. It doesn’t seem right to me. The whole album is very interesting. I know that some people say that something is interesting because it is just that interesting but they still have no interest in the subject. Personally, I say that something is interesting because I have interest in whatever I am talking about. The music that this band makes is interesting. I like it but I don’t think that I could listen to it repeatedly over and over.

This is the twelfth album from David Bowie. It was released in 1977. This was the second release in the Berlin trilogy set recorded with Brian Eno. IN my opinion most David Bowie albums are iffy. They are remembered because they have great atmospheric singles on them that seem to touch the heart. This album is no exception. The first single released from the album is the title track. There is nothing and everything special about this track. For me it is the epitome of the new wave sound. The simple soaring guitars in the background are really what push me over the edge. It is a simple two not sound through most of the song. The lyrics and the sound of the vocals that Bowie delivers work so well in the song too. It is about a couple that saves the world, or at least the city where they live. As Bowie says, “We can be heroes, just for one day.” The second single from the album, Beauty and The Beast, is really not that great of a song compared to the first single. It starts off very poorly. As the song continues it gets better. The chorus is actually very interesting. Just remember that “You can’t say no to the beauty and the beast.” It is a great album but if you are not into Bowie you should at least check out the title track to the album, “Heroes”.

This is the first album from Day of Fire. It was released in 2004. This is a group that has God in mind within the music. I think that the idea is to be Christian with out showing it directly. I think that this is the appeal for me. I am not a fan of Christian bands shoving Christianity down my throat. It makes it hard to introduce friends who are not Christians to the new music that I have found. The vocals are somewhat gravely with heavy distortion on the guitars. It is just what I like from my Christian music. There was a single released from this album called Fade Away. This is a good song with good melody to the vocals especially during the chorus. I don’t think that this is the best track on the album though. I think that the first track on the album is probably the best track on the album and should have been released as a single too. Actually I think that the first three tracks on the album could have been released as singles. It is too bad that they did not catch on as much as I would have liked. The other songs two songs that I think should have been released as singles are called Detainer and Cornerstone. The group has had fair success in the music world though because they have released a total of three albums so far.

This is the first album from Nada Surf. It was released in 1996. I loved the third single from this album. This is the reason that I got into the group in the first place. I later found out about the other singles that were released from this album. There were quite a few of them but they were not played on the radio very much at the time. The first single that was released from this album is called The Plan. This was released as a 7” record in 1994. I was lucky to get a repressed copy of this 7” when the group put out the box set of their full length albums up to the fifth album, Lucky. This track has the b-side called Telescope. The song, The Plan, is a very quick track that is really typical for the music that was coming out at the time, i.e. the mid 90s alternative music. Really the whole album is this way. I wouldn’t want it any other way but it is at the same time a bit cliché.  The next single is called Deeper Well. I like this track much more. It sounds a little bit simpler than the previous single and a little bit easier to listen to. Now, on to the track that made me buy the album, it is a very unique track for the time that it was released. The song is called Popular. The verse parts of the song are parts from the 1964 teen advice book Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, written by television actress Gloria Winters. The chorus of the song is created by the band and not part of the book. The lyrics in the verse part of the song are spoken in a very tongue in cheek way that keeps the listener interested. The fourth single released from the album is called Treehouse. There is not much to say about this track and the following track that makes them stand out. The next song released as a single is called Zen Brain. It was released with French lyrics as a promo. This is a great album but gets played out very quickly for me. I do recommend the single Popular for everyone though.

This is the first full length release from Pizzicato Five (P5) in the US. It was released in 1994. This album is a compilation put out for the USA. The album's title is a reference to the Japanese town of Usa, Ōita, and claims that products made in this town and exported to the US in the 1960s carried the label "MADE IN USA, JAPAN", in order to have an appearance of being "Made in USA". The only single that I remember ever hearing on the radio from this album is called Twiggy Twiggy / Twiggy Vs. James Bond. No, I don’t think that there is a music reference to Buck Rogers in this song at all. There is a fun dose of the James Bond theme in the song though. This is why I got in to the band. It was a very clever way to use a theme to get more fans in the USA. This is a very fun album if you don’t mind not understanding the lyrics. More than half of the lyrics are in Japanese. If you want to understand what is being said then don’t bother with this group. If you like pop music and don’t care if you understand what is being said then what are you waiting for. This is some of the best pop music ever made in the 90s. There are samples and brilliant layering of synth sounds with a superb sounding female vocal that overlays it all. It is really too bad that this group is not together anymore. They put out some of the best J-pop ever.

This is the second album from System of A Down. It was released in 2001. This was the album that I was introduced to them with. The first single, Chop Suey was the first song that I had ever heard from them. I was just getting into the harder rock (Nu Metal) music. They were an interesting band with very interesting music if this single had anything to do with what they were doing musically that is. The song has a very nice opening then kicks hard core into the rest of the song and doesn’t stop until the chorus. This is how the hole song goes. It is kind of the pixies style, loud soft loud idea. I think that this is part of why the song works so well. The next single released from the album is called Toxicity and is the title track for the album. This track is not as much of a successful hit as the first and third singles from the album but is still a good song in its own right. It doesn’t have the kick you in the gut feel of the first single or the calming swoon of the third but it is still pretty good. The third single from the album is called Aerials. The track has a nice swoon through the song but still has that hard rock sound that is expected from the group. My favorite track from this album is called Bounce. It is super simple about a guy that goes on a date and brings his po-go stick. The song is really bouncy and short. You can’t really expect much of a song that is about a po-go stick.

 All right, that is all I have for now.


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