Best Music of 2009

Noble Beast Decide Now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

This is my first Andrew Bird album and it took a while to sink in. The songs are a bit complex, with unexpected left turns and unusual structures.
So the first thing that caught me was the whistle. Suddenly I found myself whistling these songs and then the rest just followed and I understood how clever and sophisticated Bird's songwriting is.
Well, not everything works here. Some of the songs fail to grab my attention even after repeated listening. Other songs are too oddly structured. For instance Not a Robot, But a Ghost starts off really nice but half the way through it changes completely, and then again, and again, never to return to its original form - I find it a bit hard to chew.
But at least half of the album is close to sublime and quite unique. And most importantly, it makes me want to check out his previous albums. Get more detail about Noble Beast.

I Told You So (Featuring Randy Travis) Right now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

Hi,
I saw the duet done on American Idol. I downloaded it as soon as I could. I thought it was very good. I had always loved this song from when Randy recorded it but they blended their voices well, of course being a fan of Randy's I wish he would have sang a little bit more of it. He wrote this song back in the 80's. He has written or co-written some really great songs. Check out these songs that he wrote or co-wrote: Heros and Friends, Better Class Of Losers, for uptempo songs, for ballads, Forever Together, I'd Surrender All, The Box, The Reasons I Cheat, Good Intentions, I'm Your Man, I Wish It Would Rain and I think one of the most beautiful love songs ever written (right up there with He Stopped Loving Her Today)is called I Can See It In Your Eyes. If you really love great love songs like I Told You So, PLEASE check out the last 3 songs of Randy's by using the clips here. If you do, you won't be disappointed.Get more detail about I Told You So (Featuring Randy Travis).

Lowest Price These Days [Live At The Olympia]

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

R.E.M has released several of the songs from this upcoming 'live' cd individually. Several tunes from RECKONING were released in an EP called "Reckoning Live at the Olympia". So far, so good. Stipe is a little long-winded and talks in circles prior to the song (what else is new?). Lots of energy in this song and, as always, the band is tight. I won't give it 5 stars because I wish the band would 'remix' or otherwise change some of these tunes. When you cut out the 1:30 of applause and Stipe's monologue, you get a song that is (almost) exactly 3:25 - the same length as when they played it on their Life's Rich Pageant CD. I'm not sure what the point is of releasing songs that are almost exactly the same as they were on the CD released over 20 years ago. We know they can still play.

Thanks for providing this one free of charge. Get more detail about These Days [Live At The Olympia].

Low Price Full Circle

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

I was a HUGE Creed fanatic ever since I was in High School. My Own Prison was the best album that they made, and turned me into a complete Creed fan. Mark Tremonti was my guitar hero, and wanted to learn every song from them on the guitar. As albums passed, I liked the new music, and the direction wasn't far from their musical talent. Then the inevitable happened, and the looming break-up was ever haunting. The gang finally parted ways a number of years ago, and all of the members of the original My Own Prison circa ended up creating the Alter Bridge group. This group is fantastic. It was MUCH better than the previous Creed group, as Myles Kennedy has an incredible rock voice.

With my recent searching on the net about new music groups (and new albums from former groups), I came across the statements that Creed was getting back together with Scott Stapp. I was excited, to say the least, and decided to listen to every sound clip I could get my hands on, pre-release. Pre-release, I had my concerns, as Overcome sounded a little different than their previous endeavors. It sounded good, so I didn't think anything else about it. Rain, the second single, came out, and it was good, but very talent starved and unlike their previous ballads.

I understand that the band has come back together, with some emotional problems with Scott Stapp, and I wish him the best of luck and hope in the future. Sure, you want to sing about what is in your heart, but don't make every single song have lyrics that sound similar to the theme of "I'm different now, I've changed." That's fine in a few songs, but not most of the songs on this album.

I pull this album out for:
Overcome - Good guitar parts, OK lyrics, drums and bass sound good
Bread of Shame - Unoriginal, but still decent. Decent lyrics, and like the progression
Thousand Faces - Fairly decent lyrics, good musical direction
Rain - Completely unoriginal and probably WAY over produced, but decent musical direction

I want my money back for:
Suddenly - "So suddenly, so suddenly"... reverberate that line some more, please!
On My Sleeve - "My heart is tatooed on my sleeve"... Wow. Horrible lyrical direction.
This song actually makes me cringe whenever it comes on. Makes me want to barf.
Time - Again, lyrical direction is horrible. Shame. Song would've been good if it
weren't for the horrible lyrics.

Well, not everyone will be happy with my review, but I hate this album except for a select few songs.Get more detail about Full Circle.

Save One Cell In The Sea

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

I read some of the other reviews and I'm happy that some people were able to get something out of this album but somehow, I never could. I listened and listened to the songs thinking, "This has got to be for me because she's recommended based on other female singer-songwriters that I love." However, instead of loving this album, I was bored and frankly, a little irritated by the boredom that insued from listening. Lyrics were dull, music was all the same and I would say to people looking for a good female singer-songwriter try: Brandi Carlile, Regina Spektor, Tori Amos' older stuff, Missy Higgins, and/or the first My Brightest Diamond album. But don't bother with this one, you can do so much better!

I really wanted to like this but I really didn't.Get more detail about One Cell In The Sea.

Discount Cupid Shuffle

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

I heard this song for the first time at a volunteer camp for the american cancer society.

It is a great song that gets kids and adults out on the dance floor.

The steps are easy to do and the song still makes me dance in my chair when I hear it on my iPod.Get more detail about Cupid Shuffle.

Cheapest The Resistance

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

I kind of hesitated to give this even three stars, but I do think two stars is wholly unfair. I have been a fan of Muse since Origin of Symmetry, which in my opinion is their strongest (most cohesive) album yet. I loved the bombastic hits of Absolution and Black Holes, too--I really thought those albums were high quality.
This album, though, seems to be more like fan service than any sort of musical growth, to me. I could sense Muse's (particularly Bellamy's) need to stake out a political agenda in Black Holes and while it's really strong in The Resistance (notably the first track, Uprising), I didn't think it was too genuine. Most of the tracks seemed to veer off the political path and move more onto the romantic track. At plenty of the lyrics, I found myself cringing.
To be fair, I am biased as I really enjoy the more grit-rock of Origin and Absolution and am somewhat hesitant to listen to more technically-enhanced music (although I wasn't opposed to Radiohead's experimentation am a fan of Bjork, and I hear no complaints of the Beatle's technology friendly progression), so this album ended up disappointing me on a very base level. Whereas with Origin, Absolution, and eventually Black Holes, I did not find myself looking forward to listening on as the album progressed.
There is a big pro for this album, however. I was really excited to hear more of Bellamy's beautiful piano solos. A con? Where is his equally beautiful falsetto?
I think the best way to sum this up is to say that the best track of the album is the first, Uprising, and it goes downhill from there.
My recommendation for those new to Muse is to go purchase Origin of Symmetry immediately if you haven't already! It's one of those rare albums that's best listened to from beginning to end. Get more detail about The Resistance.

Buying Everything

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

Vocals are spot on but background music is plain vanilla wonderbread muzak. Why not pay for a decent band and make a great tune? I consider this a failure in imagination of the producer.Get more detail about Everything.

Buy Fearless

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

(OOPS - I initially gave review this 5 stars. That was for financial potential. I'll still post this review but the rating is for the sound only.)

From Marketing Week -

This new sensation is burning up the Entertainment/Leisure markets; topping every prominent sales chart. This financial miracle was brought into being due to joint venture initiated by three firms contracted by Big Machine Records to produce a product worthy of their label.

Yu-San Corporation of Singapore, responsible for the sound production and refinement software, was initially contracted by Big Machine to modify their QXB15 SoundMastertm system for some post-production cleanup. This led to Yu-San's cross-sale initiative in conjunction with Hibro-Cyberdine Electronics to provide a miniaturized, portable version of their systems.

At this point, Yu-San and Hibro realized that their product was very marketable, but not pleasing to the eye. Foslo-Genentec, a genetics firm based in Oslo, was brought in to provide an appropriate bio-mass shell. For the past five years, Foslo has be constructing battle units for NATO, but were in financial trouble due to the failure of their "Lady Gaga" model. Their head of operations, T.C. Yutani, stated during his latest press conference, "We here at Foslo are very confident in our new `non-lethal' designs. Our researchers have tapped genetic archives all over the world. We have some exciting new products to offer." It is rumored that Foslo found the long lost "Juice Newton" sample and used it along with bobcat, cricket and emu gene splices in this project. "Exciting" indeed!

Obviously, Big Machine is very pleased. Taylor has a very high Q rating. She scores very high in the 13 - 17 male markets. Taylor scores a 130 on Males making 30-60K, a 145 with parents with kids 0 - 17. In fact one test subject remarked "duh, she's pretty-pretty", the extra cost for the bio-mass is paying off. Even better, her Q score for college age males is an amazing 106!! Due to success of this and their "Shakira" model, this cooperative is making plans to go public.

Taylor Swift is a hot stock and a "must buy".
[...]Get more detail about Fearless.

Purchase Hospice [Explicit]

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

I don't usually do reviews but this album compelled me to do so. I bought it because it was one of the 50 for $5 here at Amazon. I listened to the song samples and decided to give it a shot. The album is brilliant......but the subject matter is heavy, to say the least. I'm impressed by the bravery that it must have taken to write and record such personal songs. Anyone who is willing to bare their souls to this extent deserves my respect. The songs are rich and textured and the lyrics are sublime. This purchase was worth every penny. I will definitely be buying more music by The Antlers in the future.Get more detail about Hospice [Explicit].

Order Eight Second Ride

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite songs by Jake. Its very upbeat and catchy.Get more detail about Eight Second Ride.

Where To Buy Disturbia

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

I feel like amazon ripped me off because it doesn't say anywhere that the song is censored yet the one they sold me was. It's a very catchy pop song and I like it, but this is not a good version if you want to hear all the words.Get more detail about Disturbia.

Shop For Burning The Days

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

I discovered VH through hearing (watching?) "Everything You Want" on MTV, then went out and bought their entire back catalog, and liked it all. It's been a long wait since "Go", and I was eager to hear the new CD. It was not what I expected. The harder rock edge of "Go" has changed. Now there's less distortion in the guitars but more time-based effects, which creates a janglier sound. Meanwhile, the tone of the lyrics has darkened substantially. The songs on "Go" were often about looking for, holding on to, or protecting relationships, while "Burning The Days" wants to punctuate and end them. I'm not sure what it all says about Matt's personal life, but I hope the man's doing OK.

I have to echo the question asked by so many reviewers - where's Keith in all this? Having one primary voice for the entire album gives it a unified feel that the older releases sometimes lacked, but it also reduces the variety of the tracks on the disc. Hopefully we hear more from him on the next release, and hear it soon.

Meanwhile I've had "Burning the Days" on continuous play for a week now, and it's got plenty of reps left to go.Get more detail about Burning The Days.

You Found Me

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

Beautiful... "If ones eyes are the windows to their soul, then their ears must be where things enter to fill that soul with beauty". ~Crystal M.Get more detail about You Found Me.

Welcome To The Cruel World Review

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

Welcome to the Cruel World is one of the most beautiful albums I have ever listened to. There are no words to describe the thought that was put into this album which is why the Amazon editorial review holds absolutely no water. You must simply listen.

"Walk Away" and "Forever" are, in my opinion, two of the most moving songs I've heard. Get more detail about Welcome To The Cruel World.

Party In The U.s.a. Top Quality

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

You'd better credit me my 99 cents because this is not the song I bought. It's just the musical portion. It's a rip off. I want 99 cents credited to my account!!!Get more detail about Party In The U.s.a..

Coco This instant

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

As much as 'Bubbly' sounded like a rip-off of a familiar melody, her irresistible positive vibe puts her above the other morose headbanging banshees - quiet has been the new loud for a long time coming, and it doesn't get old... get bowled over by the 'aw-shucks' sweetness of 'realize'... I'm sold...

Get more detail about Coco.

Then Immediately

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

Cream of the New Country Crop -Brad Paisley writes a great song & can shred a guitar like no one else in Country & very few in Rock. On guitar; like Clapton he's so good he doesn't have to show off.
His songs feature wit, insight, great lyrics and superior musicianship-what more can you ask? Get more detail about Then.

Before He Cheats Best Quality

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

this song rocks! and the video is great too! men should think twice b 4 they cheat. between this song and fatal attraction my bf will think twice . any body hae a louieville baseball bat they dont need! lolGet more detail about Before He Cheats.

Summer Compilation 2009 Get it now!

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

If you don't like Hardcore Music, then don't listen to it...that's why Amazon is so friendly in giving you the option to preview songs. It is music, and it is entertaining. I am sure that I would find whatever hippie garbage crap you listen to to be un-entertaining, but I doubt I would say that it is not music. Read a dictionary, stay the hell out of the pit and you'll be just fine.

To anyone else...if you like hardcore this is a pretty good sampler from some, at least to me, unknowns...Download it and melt your face!Get more detail about Summer Compilation 2009.

Come On Buy Now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

This is a very talented group of guys. I was lucky enough to see them in Albany, NY and enjoyed them (openers) more than the main act. These guys will be going far guaranteed. Great song, great album.Get more detail about Come On.

Orange Blossoms Order Now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:25:00 +0000

I agree with the above reviews. This is by far my favorite free download from Amazon. Kind of a laid back beat, just enough (not too much) jazz riffs, and kickin' horns. Download this track (Orange Blossoms) while it's still free. Get more detail about Orange Blossoms.

Wheels Decide Now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

When i found out that Foo Fighters were releasing a best of. i immediately feared that we were seeing the end of foo fighters for awhile.Then when i found out about Grohl's side project (Them Crooked Vultures)I was sure that it was going to be some time before i heard a new foo fighters song. Dave did not let me down though. this song Wheels is excellent. Just what i needed to get by until a new foo fighters album.Get more detail about Wheels.

Float Right now

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +0000

I downloaded this album today and I am astonished by it's fire, passion, and energy. It's a great listen and the price is far less than this music is worth. I was looking at bands coming to play at a local venue (The Music Farm), and FM is on the calendar. I was thinking, yes, they sound familiar, let me go hear a sample. I would not call this punk, but music that melodically and lyrically surpasses most punk; yet is more turf-kicking fresh than old Irish ballads warmed over. I am still a huge fan of the Clash, and listened to Black Flag and Dead Kennedys back in the day. I like White Stripes and Radiohead (alt/indie etc.), classic blues and hard-bop and fusion jazz, so I am all over the map. Don't care too much for country, bluegrass, or weepy folk.

"Float" is original, with excellent, thoughtful lyrics. The musicians are all very good, and very tight, and can do a whole lot more than play fast. Their speed is breathtaking on some of these tracks. The lead singer's voice is wonderful, and like Tom Waits, can be melodic yet gruff at the same time. The main thing that appeals to me in a singer is the honest expression of feeling, which is one of the reasons I like blues and jazz so much. Flogging Molly's lead singer expresses rage, loneliness, lust, nostalgia, and bravado, to name a few.

I think this will be my new favorite album for a while, and I will certainly try to catch this show in December. I am now listening to it for the 3rd time already. The slower numbers just add to the depth of the album, and show the range they are capable of. They will rev you up or break your heart - maybe both at the same time.

Also downloaded the Pogues If I Should Fall from Grace with God today. Somehow I missed hearing them the first time around. Never too late to become a fan.
Get more detail about Float.

Lowest Price Hope Rising

noreply@blogger.com (imakuchi) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

Fee came to where I live for the Passion University tour and I was able to see them. They were phenomenal! They really know how to rock out! I got this cd after the show since I already have the 1st one (which is my fav. worship cd) and its on a constant repeat so I have a new fav worship cd now! I love contemporary music and Fee really knows how to get you on fire for Christ!Get more detail about Hope Rising.