Wouter De Backer, AKA Gotye (Pronounced GOH-tee-yay) has put
out this, his third, solo album. The album was released at the end of the
summer of 2011. He is also a part of the group The Basics from Australia. I
have a preview copy that I got off the internet. I knew about this album from
last year but was not interested enough to have a listen. With the super hit,
that has seemingly changed the world, Somebody That I Used To Know I decided to
give the album a chance. I have listened to the album a few times and I find
that the album is good but about a third of the album doesn’t fit. I think that
this would have been a great mini LP and I would have put the other four or
five tracks that don’t fit the album on the shelf for another time. Anyway, the
album is out as it is and there are some really great singles that have been
released from it. The first single that was relerased from the album is called
Eyes Wide Open. This single was released well before the album saw the light of
day. It was released in November of 2010. The song has a fun galloping beat.
His vocals are so smooth making the song easy to listen to. The second single
is the big hit from the album, Somebody That I Used To Know. The song has a
contrasting vocal that helps the song work so well in an artist named Kimbra. The
song has already had two covers done. One by the Glee cast and a second dong by
a group called Walk Off The Earth. The glee version was portrayed by two
brothers talking back and forth. Some fans have complained that the song was
meant to be portrayed a boyfriend/girlfriend only but I personally think that
it could be based on a two person relationship in general. Gotye has also said
that he disapproves of the Glee cover. The Walk Off The Earth cover is really
amazing though. They are a five piece group that only play one guitar during the
song. It is really amazing to see ten hands playing one guitar. The third single
released from the album is called I Feel Better. This is a great R&B throw
back track but this is one of the albums that does not fit on the album. I
think that it shows great history and where his influences are but it doesn’t
belong on the album. I would have either saved it or used it for a B-side
track. The last single released from the album is called Easy Way Out. This
track has a super cool fuzzy bass line with a blues style guitar line that is
just fantastic. I think that this track is musically better than Somebody That
I Used To Know. Like I previously stated, this is a good album but there are
some tracks that could have been left off.
This is the first album from Kajagoogoo. It was released in
1983. I was lucky to find an original pressing of the album that had probably
only been listened to once or twice. It is in absolutely perfect condition. It
is one of the most silent sounding records that I own. What I mean by that is
that records have an inherent sound. This is one of the quietest records that I
have, not the music but the record itself. The reason that this is important is
that it makes the music stand out more clearly. The album was produced by Nick
Rhodes of Duran Duran fame with the exception of the self titled track. This
track was produced by the Tim Palmer and Kajagoogoo. This track was also used
during the opening credits of the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles. The song was
not included in the mini album for the sound track though. In 2004 White
Feathers was reissued with a bonus disc of remixes and B-side tracks. I think
that if I were to look for this album on CD this would be the version I would
want. The big single released from the album is called Too Shy. The bass line
is such a perfect new wave riff, the vocals are silky smooth and the keys
sparkle and shine. The second single released from the album is called Ooh To
Be Ah. This was a hit in the UK.
It is a good dance track but doesn’t seem to hit the mark for me. The keys are
just as sparkly as Too Shy but that is about it for me. It is a really good new
wave album but doesn’t seem to hit the mark as a full album either.
This is the seventh full length album from NIN. It was
released in 2008. The album was released as a free download with a physical
version released in stores a couple months later. The album was originally
intended to be an EP but grew into a full album. Some critics have said that
the album takes elements from each of his past albums and incorporates them
into this album giving the album a feeling of closing or showing memories of
the past. There is a graphic representation in the book for each track. They
are generally black geometric shapes on a grey background. It is an interesting
concept that each track get its own graphic. There was only one single released
from this album. That track is called Discipline. The single was given to radio
stations around the country by front man Trent Rezner. This is the first single
released by NIN after going independent and severing ties from record
companies. The song has that great driving beat with fuzzy bass line through
the verse, the chorus smoothes the song out a bit by adding light and airy
piano and removing the fuzz from the bass guitar. Some critics have said that
the song smacks of disco. This may be the case, I do like disco, but it is so
hard driving that I can’t see it as a disco track ever. I think that Echoplex
and 1,000,000 should have also been released as singles. They are tracks that
deserved to be heard by the masses. Why they weren’t, I am not sure. It could
have been a money issue or some other hurdle that Trent was not willing to jump at the time. It
is a good album but not one that every one needs to hear.
This is their first album. It was released in 1998. The
group was named after a drag queen that one of the band members had met in a
bar. The group is visually recognized by their stylized clothing and face make
up. The first single released from the album was Stitches, as it is sited on
their website. Most people became interested in them when they put out a cover
of the New Order song Blue Monday. The words for the cover are exactly as they
are on the original but the music is what sets the track apart. The guitars are
distorted and fuzzy. The chorus is louder as well. Other than that the song
musically follows the original. It is a fantastic cover of a great song. It is
hard for me to choose which version of the song that I would prefer to listen
to. The song Stitches was re-released after the major success of Blue Monday
for the group. This song showcases what the band is really about. It is not
that different from Blue Monday but shows where the group is sonically. It is
very polished and sounds very good. The physical release of the single did not
actually have the song on the release. The physical release contained 6
different remixes of the track plus a remix of the track Dissention. I can remember
listening/watching the video of this song while visiting my x-wife’s parents. I
was close friends with her brother who was just getting into music. He actually
led me into the world of nu-metal during a time when alternative and indie
music was not that great. I really like that music but when the divorce went
through all that hard music went with it. I don’t think that I have bought any
music from that genre since the divorce.
This is Paula Abdul’s first album. It was released in 1988.
The album has been certified seven times platinum with seven singles from this
ten track album. Knocked Out was the first single released from the album. The
single was not a big hit but showed the potential popularity of the music on the
album. The second single released from the album is called (It’s Just) The Way
That You Love Me. This single was a big flop in the UK
but a huge success in the US.
This was one of my favorite songs in middle school. This was before I started
getting into the new alternative/grunge music and before that style of music
was even an idea. The third single from the album is called Straight Up. After
the release of this third single most radio stations abandoned the second
single for the third as it was more poppy and easier to sell. The next single,
Forever Your Girl, was released as soon as possible to satisfy the publics’
interest in the new female artist. The song is about loyalty in a relationship.
The video is sort of funny in that it makes fun of the video for Robert
Palmers’ Simply Irresistible with three little girls dressed in black dresses
with red lipstick on. The fourth single, Cold Hearted, was also a chart topper.
This was not my favorite song but was still was very catchy indeed. It is at
this point that the second single was re-released. The record company wanted to
make sure that everyone had a chance to hear all of the singles and since this
was a good hit they decided to re-release the song a second time giving it a
second chance. The last single released from the album is called Opposites
Attract. The album version is different from the more recognized video version
of the song. The fun rapping that happens in the video is not on the original
album. MC Scat Kat does the rapping in the video. It is actually a bit of a
disappointment that the interesting parts are not on the original version of
the song. The intro rap part on the video is done by Romany Malco. The closest
that I could get to getting the rap parts was the 1990 mix that was put out on
the remix album. It is a fun version but not the right version. It does have
the short rap in the beginning though. All in all this is a great album that
everyone should hear.
This is their fourth and final album from the group. It was
released in 2007. The CD jewel case on initial release was colored clear
purple. This was to mimic the color that a black light puts out in the dark. There
were three singles released from the album but I think that there should have been
more. It is a very good album and I feel that it was short changed from its
potential. The first single released from the album is called Silver Lining.
This song features the smooth silky vocals of Jenny Lewis and a beautiful
guitar line on a clear bellsey tone of a Fender Telecaster as is common with
this band. The song talks about one person being another’s savior or their
silver lining. But that doesn’t last as the person leaves after time. The
second single released from the album is called The Moneymaker. This song has
very strong funk style with the bass line standing out more than the group
would not normally do. The song is about the sex industry of not the adult
entertainment industry. The last single released from the album is called
Breakin’ Up. The song features light airy synth sounds with the vocals of Jenny
Lewis flowing between light and airy to straight forward vocals. The song is
obviously about a relationship falling apart. There are also heavy disco sounds
in the song making it one of my favorites. It makes me wonder if this song was
about the relationship of the group as they did break up after this album was
made. I can only hope that the group would be able to come together to put out
that album of unreleased tracks that was rumored to be put out. There are other
tracks that could have been released from the album including the title track
for the album. It is a very pretty song that should have been released as a
single in my opinion but with all the complications in the relationship of the
band I guess that I am not surprised that there were no other singles released
from the album. This is an emotional listen, a very good album.
This is a new release from Family Force 5 (FF5). Just
put out on May 1, 2012. It is a five track EP with two new songs and three
acoustic remixes of some of their older hits. The cover of the EP is a picture
of the III album with the white back ground instead. Before the III album came
out the group asked the fans to pick which back ground, black or white, should
be on the cover of the album. The fans chose the black background for the new
album cover. I guess that they chose to use the white one for this EP. The big
single that has been released from the new EP is called Zombie. This track is
super funky and a great track too. The song talks about an abstract idea about
letting Jesus live in your heart. The original Idea is that you, as a human
being, should let go of your earthly ways and let God/Jesus guide you and live
in you. It is a fun song that takes that idea to the abstract with the idea of
zombies. The nest new track is called Cray Button. The word cray is the super
shortened version of crazy, if you didn’t already know that. The song boarders
on the idea of dubstep but shies away from that idea just a hair. It is also a
great funky song. I was just a little disappointed that there was not a super
cool drop with some super cool sparkly synth part. There is a perfect point in
the song for something like that to happen but it didn’t, too bad too. The song
is still a lot of fun though. The other three songs are a refreshing acoustic
look at two tracks from their first album and one from their second. They did
this because of their most recent tour which featured the group playing with
acoustic instruments. The tracks that were given this treatment are Love Addict
from the second album Dance or Die. The other two tracks are Kountry Gentelman
and Fever from Business Up Front/Party In The Back. These new remixes are still
just as punchy as the original but with out the super fuzz from the original
versions.That is all I have for now...
If you have a request for an album to be looked at then let me know in the comments section. Coming up next week will be The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Acid Reflex remix EP, released for Record Store Day in the UK and Europe.
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