Thnairg's Podcast - 2008 Top Ten Favorite Albums Countdown!

It's that time of year again already, boys and girls! Ready or not, here I come with my special, year-end, two-part podcast, counting down my ten favorite albums of the past year! Part 1 gives you the bottom five (#10 to #6), along with a quick shout-out of my other five (#11 to #15) favorite albums in no particular order; and part 2 counts down the top five. There are sure to be surprises and treats for all ... so, enjoy!

Thnairg's Podcast - December 2008 - part 1 (#10 to #6 favorite albums of the year)

Thnairg's Podcast - December 2008 - part 2 (#5 to #1 favorite albums of the year)

Coming next month ... probably the usual "stuff I've recently gotten" podcast.

Note: Thnairg's Podcast is delivered at the bitrate of 64kbps ... below CD quality, but still perfectly listenable. This is done both to make for quicker downloading, and to discourage piracy. As always, if you enjoy the music featured in my podcast, I encourage you to buy the artists' CDs or MP3s through legitimate means. After all, that's why my podcast is here!

Hey Whatever, Indeed (or: How I Learned to Stop Loving Westlife)

A couple of weeks ago, I put a Westlife album in my trade-ins stack for the first time. What surprised me is that it ended up being such an anti-climactic thing. (Or was it? I am devoting a long blog entry to it, after all....) It's made me look at the last few albums they've put out, and ... well, don't take this the wrong way (remember that I have been, still am, and will probably always be a loyal fan of boybands) ... but why are Westlife still bothering to record and release albums? And more to the point, how can they still be topping the charts?

I mean sure, they are and consistently have been a very fine bunch of vocalists, and there's that one characteristic voice whose soaring resonance and tight vibrato make it one of the most listenable in pop. (Is that Mark's or Shane's voice?) But what good does it do to have talent if it's dragged out over an endless stream of bland, room-temperature ballads, only occasionally stirred up by a perfunctory, rarely-better-than-okay uptempo ditty? Surely I'm not the only one who's noticed their descent into that rut over the course of their last two or three albums.

To be entirely subjective, I do like my boyband pop more on the upbeat side: NSYNC, Five, V and Take 5 (short-lived though the latter two were) have always had more of a place in my heart than Backstreet Boys, Code Red, or the snoozer of all boybands, 98 Degrees. And yes, Boyzone may arguably have been as ballad-heavy as Westlife, but at least they knew to stop after three albums (Westlife's first three were arguably their best), and to take advantage of the fans' lengthy anticipation of a comeback with a reasonably strong single. Besides, they had Stephen ... how can you not like Stephen?

To be honest, my Westlife fandom did diminish for a year or so, until Mark's brave coming-out in 2005 reignited it. And that's part of a somewhat embarrassing fact about me: There was a time when I'd buy a CD just because the artist was gay. Although that period of "unwavering fag loyalty" yielded a few singers who continue to be favorites of mine (Rufus Wainwright, Will Young, Anthony Callea), most of them were passing fancies for me at best, or downright duds at worst (names withheld to protect the semi-innocent). And now, I almost have to laugh at how the total opposite seems to be happening: I've recently become a fan of a few different artists (Ferras, Sam Sparro, Dan Gillespie Sells of The Feeling), but didn't discover they're gay (or they didn't come out) until after the fact. Not that it matters, of course. But, I digress....

For as long as my buy-each-of-their-albums-as-they- come-out-no-questions-asked loyalty to Westlife lasted since buying "World Of Our Own" in 2001, it took comparatively little time for the spell to break. I suppose I should have sensed the first inkling of "the beginning of the end" when I heard "Hey Whatever", a goofily insipid butchering of a way-cool but little-known quasi-gospel anthem by Irish rock band Relish. But despite that travesty and their completely unremarkable cover of Barry Manilow's "Mandy", I hung onto the album anyway, since a few of its other songs are decent.

I returned to my buy-without-hesitation pattern with "Allow Us To Be Frank", since I pretty-much can't get tired of listening to boybands doing Rat Pack standards (or Motown hits, for that matter -- shout-out to Human Nature!). As it turned out, I also found quite a bit to like in "Face To Face": decent covers of The Eagles ("Desperado") and Nick Carter ("Heart Without a Home"), a couple of the best upbeat tunes I'd heard from them since "World Of Our Own" ("She's Back" and "Hit You With The Real Thing"), and a totally scrumptious Motown-styled song ("Change Your Mind"), which is definitely ranked in my Top Three favorite Westlife songs of all time. As you can imagine, by this time I thought that the mediocrity of "Turnaround" was just a fluke.

But then came "The Love Album", a release so pointless that one wonders why they bothered. Westlife specializes in covers, and sappy ballads -- so do we really need a whole album full of sappy ballad covers, and most of them from the extra-sappy '80s? The fact that I'm an '80s kid and do kind-of like a few of the songs is the only reason I haven't jettisoned that CD by now ... and believe me, it's hanging on by a meager thread. And let's face it, the forementioned first Westlife CD I traded in, "Back Home", isn't anything to write back home about. For Pete's sake, would it hurt Westlife to not have any covers on an album of theirs, or at the very least to not release any of them as singles? I still like Westlife's earlier work as much as I ever have, but at this point the guys are going to have to come up with something pretty remarkable to make me want to buy it. I think their taking a year off is a very wise move ... maybe it'll stir them into making some more of the bouncy pop from their good old days.

I honestly don't know if there's a point to posting this, but I kind-of wanted to get it off my chest ... and since I'm not posting as much as I used to, I thought maybe you'd appreciate something new to read in these pages. Plus, I have to say I'm curious to see if anyone comments on what I've said here. I just hope the staunch Westlife supporters can come up with a better excuse for why they still love Westlife other than, "Because they're Westlife!" Hey, New Kids On The Block are still New Kids On The Block ... but it sure as heck ain't making me want to buy their new album.

Thnairg's Podcast - November 2008

As promised (but not as early as hoped -- what else is new?), here is my November podcast. It's the latest in the "Discography" series, and features one of my favorite artists of all time. If you're one of the few who are familiar with them, I hope this podcast rekindles some fond memories. If you're not familiar with them, I hope you end up calling them a new favorite artist ... or, at the very least, enjoy them enough to check out one or more of their albums.

Thnairg's Podcast - November 2008

Coming in next month's podcast ... yes, it's my special, two-part, year-end countdown of my favorite albums of 2008!

Note: Thnairg's Podcast is delivered at the bitrate of 64kbps ... below CD quality, but still perfectly listenable. This is done both to make for quicker downloading, and to discourage piracy. As always, if you enjoy the music featured in my podcast, I encourage you to buy the artists' CDs or MP3s through legitimate means. After all, that's why my podcast is here!

Another Idol On The Rise

Who can forget Josiah Leming, the misty-eyed contestant from Season 7 of American Idol? The Tennessee-born singer and songwriter will release his eagerly anticipated debut album for Reprise Records in early 2009. The 19-year-old newcomer, who made a splash with his powerfully expressive voice and passionate performance style, recorded the songs, all of which he wrote himself, during several weeks over the summer with producer/musician David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Faultline.)

Leming left his home in Morristown, TN, at age 17 to make it as a musician, hoping to find a way to help support the family he was leaving behind -- eight siblings (six of whom are adopted), an out-of-work stepfather, and a mother with terminal cancer. Leming traveled around the Southeast playing open-mic nights in any club or coffeehouse that would have him, sleeping in his car and taking odd jobs to pay for food and gas, all the while dreaming about the album he would make one day. His appearance on American Idol landed him a manager who brought him to Warner Bros. Records, who signed him in June 2008. For Leming, the dream of making an album has finally arrived.

To give listeners a sneak peek at the album, Leming is releasing Angels Undercover, a five-song sampler of tracks from the album. It is now available digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com, and on CD from Josiah's MySpace page, where Leming’s songs have been listened to nearly three million times collectively.

Downolad "Arctic Outcry Wind" for free here!

Another Reason...

As if I needed any more reasons why I'd do Pete Wentz in half a second, here's one more....




















Yay, Pete Wentz! And shame on you, California.

Thnairg's Podcast - The Season Premiere!

It may be a week or two late, but better late than never, as they say. Have no fear -- Thnairg's Podcast is back! I hope it was worth the wait for you. In this installment: some indie pop that's worth a thousand words ... a guy who's not a queen or a prince, but does have a kingdom underground ... a torchy lady who's all hot and bothered ... a UK rock band, also with a royal-sounding name ... and a 16-year-old rocker whose guitar work just might set your computer's sound card on fire (don't say I didn't warn you)!

Download here ... Thnairg's Podcast - October 2008

Note: Thnairg's Podcast is delivered at the bitrate of 64kbps ... below CD quality, but still perfectly listenable. This is done both to make for quicker downloading, and to discourage piracy. As always, if you enjoy the music featured in my podcast, I encourage you to buy the artists' CDs or MP3s through legitimate means. After all, that's why my podcast is here!

Plugging Away

Well, folks, I'm beginning to like the idea of doing a monthly podcast in place of this blog (though I wouldn't rule out the occasional written entry), so I'm gonna shoot for either next weekend or the weekend after as its "season premiere", which you'll be able to find right here as usual. But until then, here are a few up-and-coming artists that have been lobbed my way thanks to being added to the email lists of industry folk. I might not necessarily be buying these CDs myself, but seeing as how said industry folk have begun sending me free promotional CDs that I never even asked for (How cool is that?!?!), it's only decent of me to return the favor and give a bit of promotion to artists that I think some of my readers might like.

First up, a 24-year-old New Jersey singer/songwriter named Laura Warshauer, whose self-titled debut release is now out on Island Records. A sweet voice, and a nice sense of lyric and melody:





Next up is a new boyband (yes, boybands are back, and who am I to pass one up?!) named Varsity Fanclub. Their album drops later this year via Capitol Records (a major label ... wow, I guess they are back!). Here are a couple of adorable videos of the guys, one of whom appears to be non-heterosexual.... (Will he take the bold and momentous step of being the first ever openly gay member of an active American boyband? It's about time, frankly....)

Varsity Fanclub Photoshoot:


Varsity Fanclub Pool Party:


And finally ... we've all probably heard of this guy by now, but just in case we haven't, here's newcomer Brendan James with the video for his single "Green", from his album "The Day Is Brave", now out on Decca Records:

To Be Continued...

You've probably noticed a distinct lack of activity on this blog in the past week or so. I think it's been a long time coming, frankly. I honestly haven't had a whole lot of "me time" lately, with my actual day job getting busier, and now the fact that one of my recent posts has disappeared -- and that Google/Blogger are apparently not at all eager to help us users who've lost posts retrieve them -- has understandably made me a bit less excited about blogging lately.

And then there's the "epiphany" I had earlier this week. I was listening to music on my iPod one day ... and I stopped thinking about what I might say on my blog about it, and just let my mind go. What happened next was ... I enjoyed it! That's something that has been missing in my life lately: the simple joy I get from listening to music. As much a "labor of love" as this blog has been, its emphasis has slowly been shifting from the "love" part to the "labor" part. Now I'm not saying that I need to be paid to enjoy writing about music, but I don't have to tell you that the job that pays the bills comes first. (If there's anyone out there who wants to make writing about music a paying job for me, then by all means let's talk!!)

Let me make one thing clear right off the bat: I'm not shutting down this blog altogether. I don't know what's going to happen with it, but I know I'll be scaling it back significantly. At the moment, I'm leaning toward either a monthly audio podcast or a once-a-month "digest" entry (four or five shorter reviews in one post). I have to say it's been fun, and I've sure made a nice long go of it -- 200 posts in about a year and a half is nothing to sneeze at -- but now I realize why quite a few bloggers out there post somewhat sporadically. I guess I'll be joining them in that regard. But have no fear, 'cause I'll be back, sooner or later....

Tal Bachman

NOTE: It appears that Blogger (or someone else...???) has waited until what was supposed to be my 200th post to delete one of my recent posts, thus making this the 199th post. I'm hoping it magically reappears (indeed, I suspect it's a malfunction, 'cause when I went to edit this post, it opened the original "scheduled" version of it instead of the one that was already posted), but in case it doesn't, does anybody remember what it was...?

TAL BACHMAN
"TAL BACHMAN"
(Columbia, 1999)


"I Wonder"


The son of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive alumnus Randy Bachman struck gold with the phenomenally successful single, "She's So High" (covered by, amongst others, Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen), but it was such an overexposed song that Tal Bachman has ended up being viewed by many as a "one-hit wonder". It's a shame, really, since his self-titled debut album had so much more to offer.

Bachman's distinctive voice, gritty or smooth depending on what fits the mood, suits these mostly upbeat, guitar-rock songs well: there's a harmonica-spiked, swaggering blues rocker ("You Don't Know What It's Like"); intimate, '70s-AM-radio acoustic ballads ("Beside You", "You're My Everything"); a pomp-laden pop track reminiscent of Supertramp and Elton John ("Romanticide"), and a mid-tempo, synth-organ-accented tune that defies easy reference ("Strong Enough").

Having a guy like Bob Rock as the album's producer makes its radio-friendliness an almost foregone conclusion, but he and Bachman aren't afraid to scuff the sheen with a little bit of sandpaper in order to give the songs a depth and relatability that a less-skilled producer might have forsaken in the interest of more album sales.

I have to wonder if the somewhat bleak-looking album cover (much darker than the contents of the album turn out to be) might have detracted from its sales -- not that it was a "flop" by any means, but I don't think it sold as well as it should have. I also wonder if lower-than-expected album sales might have been the reason he waited five years before putting out his next CD. I tend to find this disc in bargain bins quite often ... it seems to be a rather unappreciated album that deserves to be heard by everyone.

Josh Hoge

JOSH HOGE
"EVERYTHING SHE WAS"
(Blackledge, 2008)


"Addicted"


I hadn't even heard of Josh Hoge until about a week ago. Right after I did, I hopped over to Amazon and listened to the audio clips. Fairly confident I'd enjoy it, I put it on my mental "to buy" list. What I didn't know until today (managed to pick up the CD at a local shop yesterday) was how bowled over I was going to be -- those clips didn't do the songs justice.

When Josh Hoge says he "can be country or city" on the barnstorming "Take It Or Leave It" (featuring roots rocker Marc Broussard), he means it -- that track could tear up the contemporary country charts as much as the rock charts. But Hoge can also be R&B ("Beautiful Distraction"), soul ("Keeps Getting Better"), acoustic-singer-songwriter ("Shadow"), and blues (the scrumptious duet "Space" with Caitlin Crosby).

A guy this versatile and this good is all but guaranteed a long recording career. Silly as it might sound, I think we need to thank Epic Records for dropping this guy from their roster before recording his debut album, 'cause I bet it wouldn't have sounded half as good coming from a major label. Of course, even "half as good" in this case would still have been great, but Epic's loss is turning out to be our gain.

Newton Faulkner

NEWTON FAULKNER
"HAND BUILT BY ROBOTS"
(Columbia, 2008)


"All I Got"


I wish I knew what song clip I had listened to a few months back that made me think I wouldn't like this CD, because I'll be damned if I know what it is now. I'm just glad I decided to give this album a second chance, 'cause now there isn't a song on here that I dislike. UK singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner delivers an album that's as whimsical, enjoyable, and hard to categorize as the cover image would suggest.

He is entirely adept at delivering Jason Mraz-ish quasi-rap folk-funk-jazz ("Gone In The Morning", "To The Light"), affecting balladry ("Uncomfortably Slow", "Straight Towards The Sun"), and breezy, wistful pop ("Ageing Superhero", "I Need Something", "People Should Smile More"). Throw in a seemingly random track here and there (a cover of the Massive Attack song "Teardrop", and the acoustic southern-style ditty "She's Got The Time") and you have one of the more enjoyable albums to come along in some time.

Newton Faulkner's voice is a bit gravelly and "earthy", but for some reason it doesn't sound the least bit out-of-place on an album of more lightweight material like this. If you're one of those people who think that "singer-songwriter" equals "boring", this CD is all the proof you need to the contrary.

The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show

various artists
"THE SATURDAY SESSIONS: THE DERMOT O'LEARY SHOW"
(EMI/UK, 2007)


"In Other Words" - Ben Kweller


Not even knowing who Dermot O'Leary was, let alone that he hosts a weekly music show on BBC Radio 2 which features live in-studio performances, of which this album is comprised, I almost didn't give it a second look -- especially since I'm not terribly fond of live albums to begin with. However, had I known that there's no studio audience, and therefore no audience applause to "clutter" the recording, I'd have saved a lot of the time that I wasted hesitating before picking it up. But the roster of artists featured in the track listing was too full of pleasantly familiar names for me to ignore.

This double-disc set, jam-packed with over two and a half hours of rare performances, features a relatively balanced mix of covers (The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian" performed by The Feeling, and Bat For Lashes performing Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire") and original tunes ("Grace Kelly" by Mika, and Kings of Leon's "On Call"). Fortunately the good tracks (Orson's take on Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" seems like a natural fit, K.T. Tunstall delivers a unique version of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back", and Rufus Wainwright's rendition of "Hallelujah" is gorgeous), outweigh the bad ones (I just didn't care for Willy Mason's strange interpretation of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", and Camera Obscura's version of Abba's "Super Trooper" didn't quite seem to fit either).

This compilation is perfect to pop in on those days when you're just not sure what sort of music you're in the mood to listen to, because it has a little bit of everything. But don't just leave it in the corner as a "last resort" CD, because it deserves better than that. Of the 2-disc and 3-disc import compilations I found in my Virgin Megastore visits back in June, this was the most expensive at about $25 (I managed to find all the other ones for $10 each!), but it was well worth it. It's a times like these when I wish I were living in the UK so I could listen to Dermot O'Leary on a regular basis. I may have to see if I can get Radio 2 on the web....

E.M.D.

E.M.D.
"A STATE OF MIND"
(Sony BMG/Sweden, 2008)


"We Can"


Since I don't normally pay much attention to Swedish pop, I almost missed this one ... and it probably would have slipped past me completely unnoticed, if I hadn't happened upon another blog's coverage of it. Essentially a "Swedish Idol supergroup", E.M.D. consists of Danny Saucedo, Erik Segerstedt (both of whom were finalists in the contest's 2006 season), and Mattias Andréasson (a 2007 finalist).

Swedish pop is usually a little "too pop" for me, but boybands are another matter entirely. (Yeah, I know, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Go figure, eh?) This frankly isn't one of the best boyband albums out there -- a number of its songs are nondescript, if not downright boring -- but then, at the risk of sounding harsh, what can we expect from three also-rans from a TV talent show?

Having said that, though, this album does have its moments. I've always enjoyed "All For Love", the power-ballad made famous by Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart, and it's nice to finally hear a version that isn't sung by three old raspy-voiced dudes. You can imagine my giddy delight when I realized that "We Can", another of the cover songs on this album, originally appeared on -- get this -- my favorite CD of 2007! Yes, that's right, they covered Eran James, of all people! Sure, neither of these covers is as good as the original, but they're just fine for me. And then there's "For You", an E.M.D. original which just plain rocks my socks.

So, bottom line: is this album worth getting? It depends. If you totally love boybands, then you won't be disappointed. If you tend to be a bit picky about your boy-pop, then as long as your expectations aren't too lofty, this should be decently enjoyable.

Safetysuit

SAFETYSUIT
"LIFE LEFT TO GO"
(Universal, 2008)


"Annie"


Another one of my in-store discoveries that I didn't know existed, this four-man band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, quickly reeled me in on the listening station when they demonstrated excellent vocal harmony in the first few bars of the first track. And, to my delight, that one track wasn't a fluke ... the album maintained a very respectable momentum all the way through, with no shortage of crafty hooks, intriguing instrumentation, and skilled vocals.

Newer-generation listeners will probably liken this band's sound to Switchfoot, which is a perfectly appropriate comparison (lead vocalist Douglas Brown even sounds quite a bit like Jon Foreman). But music fans of previous generations, like myself, may think of classic '80s bands like Journey (particularly when hearing the guitar in "What If") or Asia when they pay closer attention to Safetysuit's melodic sensibilities and tendency toward sweeping, echo-laden grandeur. But lest you think this is strictly an old-school affair, wait until you hear the eerie, spacey waltz that closes the album -- almost as if it were recorded in the future like a reverse message-in-a-bottle.

This is one of those bands that doesn't appear to have gotten any publicity from their record company, and it's a damn shame. Fans of any honest-to-goodness rock music -- including, but certainly not limited to, the groups named above -- will find plenty to like in this album, and should pick it up pronto.

Curtis Peoples

CURTIS PEOPLES
"CURTIS PEOPLES"
(Control Group, 2008)


"Back Where I Started"


I guess this blog is good for something after all ... like when a musician's publicity firm puts me on their mailing list and brings great stuff to my attention that I probably would have otherwise missed completely. Take Curtis Peoples, for example. The press release describes his sound as "coffeeshop arena rock", and if any phrase is going to pique my curiosity, that would be it. Add to that the fact that one of the songs was co-written by Tyler Hilton, and another by Ryan Tedder, and that's all the convincing I needed to give this disc a try.

Curtis Peoples' songs are as rich and lively as the likes of Tonic or Better Than Ezra, but he still manages to maintain the cozy feel of singer-songwriters like Teddy Thompson and Ben Lee. His voice reminds me of a cross between Alex Band (of The Calling) and Michael Tolcher -- yet another thing to love about him, as far as I'm concerned. Curtis Peoples has toured with artists such as Tyler Hilton, Josh Kelley, Hanson, and Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, all of which make perfect sense; his music can be thought of as power-pop with a southern-rock twist.

I hesitate to call this album "perfect" (if there's one complaint, it's that a few of his songs in the middle sound samey, but then I still have yet to completely absorb the album), but it is only his first, and debut albums don't come much more impressive than this. And it really makes me wonder how much better he'll get as time goes on.

Joey McIntyre

With less than two weeks until the release of New Kids On The Block's first new album in almost 15 years, I thought I'd take this opportunity to revisit an album by the "New Kid" who's enjoyed the most productive solo music career -- and who also just happens to have been my favorite member of the group.

JOEY McINTYRE
"MEET JOE MAC"
(Atlantic, 2001)


"Easier"


Although the title might imply that it was his solo debut, "Meet Joe Mac" is actually Joey McIntyre's second album. It may be an unremarkable release in terms of its music and lyrics, but it plays an important part in his discography. It was on this album that Joey first collaborated with producer/songwriter/singer Emanuel Kiriakou, forging an ongoing working relationship that would help Joey to further define himself as an artist.

If there's one major fault in this recording as a whole, it's inconsistency. A few of the songs are handicapped with unimaginative lyrics, despite having decent melodies. You'll hear a great track one minute, and then a bad one the next (the worst being Joey's misguided attempt at hip-hop, "NYC Girls"). Furthermore, If you're the kind of listener who enjoys a cohesive set of songs that flow naturally from one to the next, you'll probably be disappointed ... but then I'm not an "album" kind of person, so that doesn't matter to me.

Having said all that, though, this album definitely has its enjoyable moments. Joey knows his way around a great ballad (the single "Rain", and the gorgeous "Easier" which would sound wonderful covered by David Archuleta, whose voice I now realize reminds me a lot of Joey's); his charm works for him in the quirky "National Anthem Of Love" (given a slightly heavier sprinkling of cheese thanks to a guest appearance by the B-52s' Fred Schneider) and the flippant kiss-off song "If I Run Into You"; and there's not much to dislike about the energetic pop songs like "Walk Away" and "With a Girl Like You".

Looking back from what he's done since this album, it's more apparent now that he was trying to introduce his playful sense of humor into his music; perhaps he was being just a little too subtle about it here (although the tongue-in-cheek front and back cover photos hint at it) and that may partly account for its less-than-warm reception. But I think his natural likability makes up for any of the shortcomings the album may have. Suffice to say that this may not necessarily be his best album, but it's my favorite, and it's a fine way to "Meet Joe Mac".

Espen Lind

Oh, Poster Girl, Poster Girl ... where the flů¢ж are you?!?!?!? Does anyone out there know what's happened to her? I hope she's around to read this, 'cause I know she's as big an Espen Lind fan as I am -- so if anything will get her attention, this post will. Come back, Girl ... we all miss you!!!

ESPEN LIND
"ARMY OF ONE"
(Polydor/Norway, 2008)


"Sweet Love"


One never fully knows exactly what sort of album Espen Lind will put out next ... but then, that only makes it a little more exciting waiting for the CD to arrive in the mail. After the aurally intricate "This Is Pop Music" (I couldn't have written a better review of it than this one here), I was a bit disappointed to find that his follow-up, "April", was a comparatively stripped-down, ballad-heavy, back-to-basics album. Sure, it was good, but I must have been more disappointed in it than I originally realized, because it seems that almost no time at all had passed before his latest release, "Army Of One", suddenly appeared -- although it has actually been three years, just one year shorter than the wait time leading up to "April".

For the first time, Espen Lind has entrusted the producer duties of one of his albums to someone other than himself or his longtime partner, Amund Bjørklund (credited sometimes by himself as "Bluefish", and with Espen as "Espionage"*) -- in this case, Bjørn Nessjø. The result is the most sonically diverse album that Espen Lind has ever released. The use of ukulele (in the single "Scared of Heights" and the opening track "Sea Of Love") brings to mind the relaxing vibe of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Over The Rainbow". There's something about "Sweet Love" and "The Music Takes You There" that bring back warm memories of the '80s for me (probably the saxophone in the former, and the vaguely Elton John-like piano in the latter).

Lyrically, the song I enjoy the most at the moment is "Clearly You Are Falling In Love" ... it's filled with rhymes that are clever without being cutesy. There are a few nice ballads on the album, such as "Childhood Fields Of Clover" (if you can look past the Hallmark-card title), the breezy acoustic-guitar number "Nightrider" (nothing to do with David Hasselhoff, don't worry), and the beautiful, almost hymn-like closer, "I Don't Let My Heart Be Troubled".

I've only listened to this CD three times so far, the first time being about four hours ago, but I can already tell this is one of my favorites of the year, and far more enjoyable than its predecessor, "April". It basically reinforces Espen Lind's standing as one of my ten favorite artists of all time, and it makes me all the more curious for what he might come up with for his next album.

*assuming the info I got from the web was right!

Michael Franti and Spearhead

MICHAEL FRANTI AND SPEARHEAD
"EVERYONE DESERVES MUSIC"
(Boo Boo Wax, 2003)


"Everyone Deserves Music"


I'm not really a fan of Michael Franti and Spearhead, just because it's generally not my kind of music -- I've never been a big fan of socio-political "message" songs, for which Franti has earned a reputation -- but this particular CD has a poignantly ironic significance to me. You see, on the day that a local CD store, which I had patronized faithfully for years (and browsed in on an almost daily basis) went out of business, this CD -- specifically its title track -- was playing as I morosely walked out the beloved establishment's doors for the very last time. So, maybe you can understand when something inside me told me that I simply had to buy it.

The group's music is hard to categorize, at least as far as this album goes ... and that's the kind of album I like. Whether you're a fan of rap ("We Don't Stop"), R&B-glazed hip-hop ("What I Be"), 21st-Century reggae ("Pray For Grace"), soul from the '60s ("Yes I Will") or the '70s ("Love Invincible"), moving balladry ("Love, Why Did You Go Away?"), or even pseudo-bossa-nova ("Crazy, Crazy, Crazy"), it's all here. And let's not forget the cornerstone of the album, the moving anti-war song "Bomb The World", written in the aftermath of 9/11.

One thing I've learned over the years is that you can't go out and expect to find your next favorite artist; if you're meant to hear a song or an album or an artist and fall in love with it, it'll find you. That must be why "Everyone Deserves Music" was playing at that particular moment, in that particular place, on that particular day -- serendipity. I'm not exactly saying that Michael Franti and Spearhead are a "favorite" of mine or that I've "fallen in love" with them, but it's hard not to like an album like this.

Backstreet Boys

BACKSTREET BOYS
"UNBREAKABLE"
(Zomba, 2007)


"Any Other Way"


I've just completed yet another significant pruning of my CD collection (having lost my fondness for this CD and that CD, as well as getting rid of a Huey Lewis & The News album for the first time, a bittersweet occasion indeed), and this title was one of the first that I pulled off my shelf, so certain was I that it was going to be one that I would be getting rid of. But just to be sure I was making the right decision, I decided earlier this week to listen to it once more on my iPod. Well, imagine my surprise when I had a change of heart and put it back on the shelf.

I won't sugar-coat things here (bear in mind that it took months for me to really warm up to this disc) ... the Boys are a long way from their glory days of "Millennium", and this is by no means a perfect album -- its lead single "Inconsolable", aside from being just an okay song, is placed right next to a tune with a very similar bar at the beginning of its chorus, thus diluting the originality (for lack of a better word) of both songs -- but it's not half-bad either.

Apparently taking a cue from their less-than-lovingly received 2005 effort "Never Gone", the guys break up the somewhat monotonous adult-contemporary sound of that album by mixing in some of the more energetic synth-pop that made them famous a decade ago. The result is a totally listenable album in which even the dancey numbers sound surprisingly non-pretentious being sung by guys in their late 20's and early 30's.

Sure, they've no longer got Kevin Richardson with them, but they're not suffering at all from his absence. And yes, they've done better stuff than this, but they're not quite washed up yet. The ballads here are mostly so-so but with a couple of standouts ("Helpless When She Smiles", "Trouble Is"), but the upbeat numbers ("Everything But Mine", "Panic") make them sound almost as good as they did in their heyday. Maybe it's just me, but I can still hear an energy in their vocals that I just can't imagine coming from people who don't still thoroughly enjoy performing together as a group.

George

GEORGE
"BELIEVE"
(Avex/Japan, 2007)


"I Wanna Love You"


Remember Justin Nozuka, whose CD I reviewed about a month ago? Well, allow me to introduce you to his brother, who bills himself by just his first name, George. But their parentage is about all they have in common; whereas Justin specializes in soulful, bluesy, singer-songwriter pop, George Nozuka has taken a rather different route, namely contemporary R&B.

At first listen, there really isn't much of anything that distinguishes George from the rest of the young male R&B crowd clamoring to be the next Usher. But something about this CD has made it grow on me faster than any other R&B release in years. I'm not sure if it's the songs -- every one of which was co-written by the artist, which always earns extra points in my book -- or the voice behind them -- soulful, tender, husky but smooth ... enough to give Chris Brown or Justin Timberlake a run for their money.

Truth be told, the simple fact that I like his brother so much is the only reason I bought this album in the first place, and may have a lot to do with why I've come to like George almost as much. It was a risky purchase, since I've tried and failed to enjoy music by siblings or cousins of some of my favorite artists more than once before, but in this case it paid off handsomely.

The Bridges

THE BRIDGES
"LIMITS OF THE SKY"
(Verve Forecast, 2008)


"One I Love"


When I first heard The Bridges (on a listening station at Virgin Megastore), I was immediately reminded of a sunshiny jangle-pop group from the early '90s called The Sundays. Then the slightly bouncier songwriting of The Beatles came to mind ... then the dreamy harmonies of The Mamas & The Papas were what I recalled next. Suffice to say, this North Carolina quintet (consisting of four siblings and their cousin) somehow manages to incorporate the best of all these groups and more.

The lyrics occasionally get a little introspective, but never enough to bring down the mood. The album's varying instrumentation (some songs are guitar-based, some are piano-centric) and Brittany Painter's delightfully airy vocals make it a joy to listen to. The album effortlessly bounds from one irresistibly buoyant song to another, but the whole time it avoids sounding repetitive or cloying ... an achievement the group owes in no small part to having power-pop veteran Matthew Sweet as the album's producer.

This album couldn't have had a better title, because the sky really is the limit for this band, provided they're able to keep up their boundless optimism and pretty sound for a second outing. Plus, I've gotta hand it to any band that makes me regret getting rid of a CD (The Sundays' "Reading, Writing & Arithmetic") that I haven't thought about at all for years.

B4-4

There's been a distinct lack of cheesy boyband pop on this blog lately, so....

B4-4
"BEFORE FOUR"
(Columbia/Canada, 2000)


"Go Go"


Comprised of identical twins Dan and Ryan Kowarsky, and Ohad Einbinder, B4-4 was signed to the Canadian division of Columbia Records after angling an impromptu audition for a record company executive. That gutsy gamble paid off with an eventual Juno Award nomination for best new group following the release of their debut album.

Sure, "Before Four" may not measure up to some of the other boyband releases coming out at the time -- in terms of either quality or album sales (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and A1 were all still basking in the glory of their most successful releases) -- but there's enough talent and appeal in this mix of sweet, smooth ballads ("Smile", "Savin' For a Rainy Day") and groovy, energetic dance tracks ("Go Go" and the very cheeky "Get Down") to see why the Juno Awards took notice.

After releasing one (or was it two?) subsequent albums in Europe, the trio went their separate ways, with the twins venturing into Il Divo territory and releasing a classical-crossover album under the moniker RyanDan in 2007. One could see even back in 2000 that the Kowarsky twins had voices that would take them far.

Dave Barnes

DAVE BARNES
"CHASING MISSISSIPPI"
(2006)


"Everybody But You"


I first became aware of Dave Barnes when the track "Everybody But You" appeared on a Paste Magazine sampler CD a few years back, but I ended up waiting nearly two years before finally picking up this album ... and I'm sorry I waited that long. The album's title notwithstanding, there's little doubt that Barnes hails from the American South, with most of the tracks slathered in blues and funky soul, like a pat of butter on a thick slice of cornbread.

When he's not kickin' out the southern R&B, he lays down an equally tasty '70s-throwback AM-radio groove on "Someday, Sarah" and "Stay Away" (in the latter of which he bears a striking vocal resemblance to Don Henley), crafts tender country balladry on "Jackson" (featuring an appearance by Vince Gill) and "I Have And Always Will" (with Amy Grant), and pounds out a contagiously joyous gospel jam on "All That Noise".

No wonder "Me + You + The World", Dave Barnes' major-label debut from earlier this year, left me so cold ... it's because this one was such a tough act to follow. Dave Barnes is a man of faith, but fortunately for me he keeps his music largely secular here (as does Matt Wertz, a friend of his who actually makes an appearance on this album as well). I'll have to do a little investigating to see if his debut album is worth getting, too....

O.A.R.

O.A.R.
"ALL SIDES"
(Atlantic, 2008)


"Something Coming Over"


I've never cared much for "jam bands" (as broad a musical taste as I like to think I have, I mostly prefer my songs in easily digestible, three- to four-minute pieces with a fairly clear verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure), and from what I gather, New Englanders O.A.R. fit firmly into that category before their 2005 mainstream breakthrough album, "Stories Of a Stranger". So it's no surprise that they flew well under my radar until I fell victim to that über-catchy nugget of ear candy known as "Wonderful Day" -- complete with a saxophone which, for an '80s kid like me, is kind-of hard to resist.

At the risk of alienating their old-school fan base, O.A.R. is forging ahead with the formula that made their previous album a success, and I for one am liking this album even more. Marc Roberge's resounding vocals are still fantastic, and the band arrangements are as tight as ever. Their reggae and ska influences can still be heard in several of the songs, but they also do a fine power ballad ("Dinner Last Night"), a simply beautiful acoustic number ("The Gift"), and a swaggering rocker ("Living In The End") that sounds like a cross between Bon Jovi and Creedence Clearwater Revival. There are the obligatory radio-friendly hooks ("Try Me" and first single "Shattered"), but they also indulge in the occasional spread-out tracks ("Whatever Happened", "War Song") that let them strut their stuff. This album truly does show "All Sides" of this fine band, so it's hard to get bored listening to it.

I always wonder how groups like The Dave Matthews Band approach the decision to abandon (whether temporarily or permanently) their meandering, improv-heavy style for a more compact, radio-friendly sound. It's undoubtedly a double-edged sword, as they're sure to lose plenty of their traditionalist fans in a bid to win over new ones -- not that gaining popularity or sales is necessarily their goal. But in the case of O.A.R., it's worked with this guy; I've found a new band to love. In fact, the more I read about their 2003 album "In Between Now And Then", it doesn't appear to be as jam-bandy as I assumed it was, so I'll probably be checking it out, too...!

Tally Hall

TALLY HALL
"MARVIN'S MARVELOUS MECHANICAL MUSEUM"
(Atlantic, 2008)


"The Bidding"


Here's yet another one of those CDs that I stumbled upon at the store, having never even heard of the artist before. The album's title is what intrigued me first (after shaking off its unfortunate resemblance to the mediocre Dustin Hoffman movie "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"), as did the curious cover art. This is a case in which you can judge a book (or CD, as the case may be) by its cover, as Michigan-based Tally Hall throw together a surprisingly coherent hodgepodge of sounds for their self-produced major-label debut.

These guys are entirely original pop-rock artists, but at the same time they'd fit right in with the more quirky, whimsical acts like They Might Be Giants, Madness, and (as a far-lesser-known reference) The Uninvited. Like Frank Zappa and Queen, they take serious left-turns in the middle of their songs, with changes in key, tempo, or sometimes the whole style of the song. They toss in a rap here and there even though they know they sound totally uncool -- and that makes them even cooler. One of the best comparisons, I think, would be to Barenaked Ladies' earlier material: they can bring on the silliness in full force, but at the same time they can write a killer pop song.

If there's one thing this album might suffer from, it's inconsistency ... but even that's limited to just one track that is a complete and total throwaway ("Two Wuv") -- unless I just didn't get the joke. But put that against all the good songs here -- the aptly titled "Taken For a Ride", the apparent "Day-O" sequel/tribute "Banana Man", the cute and clever "Haiku", the straight-faced but excellent "Just Apathy", and the tour-de-force closer "Ruler Of Everything" -- and it's a very small complaint about an otherwise great album.

George Stanford

GEORGE STANFORD
"BIG DROP"
(Mercury, 2008)


"Big Drop"


I had a feeling this album would be good when I listened to the soundclips online the first time, but it still surprised me how much I'd love it. George Stanford doesn't try to knock our socks off with either his songwriting or his singing, but he somehow manages to do so, at least with me. His phrasing is mature, but not pretentiously so; and his voice is earthy and real, but not impeccably perfect. But that's his style, and this album is all the better for it.

My current favorite track is the Jason Mraz-like "Get Free", with its insanely catchy chorus. "Let's Stay Here" has a kind of Paul Simon vibe, but with a bit of a country sound. There's the pseudo-funky title track, and the sunny '70s throwback "30,000 Feet". But then, every song on here is a keeper ... I'm even starting to like "Downriver" despite that note in the chorus that originally struck me as sounding terribly out-of-place.

Since I can't precisely put my finger on why I like this guy so much, I realize that this review might not be all that helpful, at least not until you check the guy out for yourself. Maybe then you'll find out why George Stanford's "Big Drop" is sitting comfortably in my list of the Top Five albums of 2008, and is unlikely to be removed from it.

Yoav

YOAV
"CHARMED & STRANGE"
(Verve Forecast, 2008)


"Adore Adore"


Just a guy and his acoustic guitar. Sounds kind-of boring, right? Well, just take a listen to this guy. With only a little bit of overdubbing, Israeli/South African musician Yoav has managed to create an amazing atmosphere of sound with just his hands -- whether they're plucking the guitar strings for melody or tapping on the guitar body to create percussion -- and his voice.

Yoav's music is almost uncategorizable, because most of the time he sounds like pop, R&B, Latin, world music, and soul, all stirring around at once in a gentle whirlwind. The phrase, "There's no one else out there like him," is tossed out there far too often when an up-and-coming musician appears on the scene, but with Yoav it's completely and totally true.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most stunningly unique albums I've heard in years. If you don't run out (or jump online) and get this CD after listening to the tracks "Wake Up" and "Sometimes...", then -- well, maybe you just don't get him ... which I suppose I shouldn't hold against you, because this is the kind of album that I wouldn't have gotten as recently as five or six years ago.

Oh, and read his biography here (in the form of a PDF file) ... just as fascinating as the guy's music.

Peter Grant

PETER GRANT
"TRADITIONAL"
(Universal/UK, 2007)


"On The Beach"


I was vaguely aware of the existence of Peter Grant a couple of years ago when his debut album "New Vintage" was released, but my curiosity never grew to the point of actually compelling me to purchase it. But as I was flipping through the racks at Amoeba last month, I happened upon this, his second album, which I didn't know existed. Its price tag was all of ten dollars, so I decided this was my chance to give the young British crooner a try.

Peter Grant can probably best be described as the UK's answer to Michael Bublé, as both are young and handsome, have smooth and appealing voices, and sing in basically the same genre of music. There are a couple of differences, however: Grant's voice, though having a similar timbre to Bublé's, is a bit deeper; also, Grant relies less on classic standards and puts more original material on his albums.

The track on this album titled "That's Life" is not the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, but rather a more upbeat and inspiring anthem (complete with some first-class vocal scatting). Nor is "Let The Good Times Roll" the '50s sock-hop staple, but instead a Rat-Pack-inspired bouncer. There are some covers here, though -- Grant's take on "Until You Come Back To Me" is more reminiscent of Basia's jazzy rendition than the Dionne Warwick original; "On And On" is a cover of Stephen Bishop's neglected '70s soft-rock hit; and I dreaded hearing his take on the chronically tired and overdone Turtles song "Happy Together" until being pleasantly surprised by this fresh big-band arrangement of it.

The rest of the 13 tracks included here are pretty darn enjoyable too: the samba-flavored opener "Traditional" ... my current favorite "You're Worth It" ... the superbly sensual duet "You Don't Know (How Glad I Am)" with Belle Erskine ... and the closing celebration of music (hmm ... now I have two favorites!) "Never Too Far Away From a Song". All in all, this is one of the better albums I've come across so far this year -- and this is coming from someone who usually gets bored a bit quickly with this sort of stuff.

A Major Hang-Up

I think I might be a big fat hypocrite. You see, late in my vacation last month, as I was browsing the CD racks to my heart's content, I realized that I have the nasty little habit of flipping the case around and looking at its back side ... specifically, I zero in on the copyright information. And it occurred to me what happens when I do that. For all the ranting I do about my distaste for the major record labels, I found out that I'm actually more likely to buy a CD if it's manufactured, marketed, or distributed by one of them ... and I'm more likely to put it back on the rack if it's from an independent label.

Why do I do that? What difference does it make? I've asked myself and am still not sure of the answer. It can't be the quality of the physical product -- a CD is a CD is a CD. (Indeed, the one time I can remember having a problem with a CD being unreadable by my player, it was actually a major-label release ... the unfortunate victim of an isolated manufacturing defect.) And it's not any worries over the audio -- the resulting product's sound quality is determined through the studio and its engineers and producers, long before it ever reaches the manufacturing phase.

So why am I the dreaded creature I swore I'd never be: a label whore? Part of it is my ever-present fear (for lack of a better word) of accidentally purchasing Christian music that's cleverly disguised as secular (not that there's anything wrong with people who like it); major labels usually keep their rosters as praise-free as possible and leave the religious stuff to the independent companies. But I imagine the other big reason would be familiarity. Who doesn't find a bit of comfort in the trusty old labels like Warner Bros., Columbia, Capitol, Arista, RCA, MCA, Mercury, Polydor, Motown, Island, etc.? When you recognize that logo nestled in the corner of the back cover or on the end of the spine, you (or at least I) get that warm twinge of a "This must be good, 'cause these guys have been around forever and know what they're doing" kind of feeling.

It sounds silly, I know. And yes, I've found several great albums on independent labels, be they newly discovered artists or old favorites who have (wisely) broken free of the majors and gone out on their own. But hey, what can I say? Maybe I am, to an extent, a label whore (but only in terms of CDs ... you won't see me buying that ridiculously overpriced junk that A&F, Tommy Hilfiger, Hollister and Aeropostale peddle in the malls). Isn't admitting your weakness the first step...?

Justin Nozuka

JUSTIN NOZUKA
"HOLLY"
(Coalition, 2007)


"Be Back Soon"


I'm happy to have found out the other day that Tyler Hilton is finally getting ready to put out his next album, 'cause I've been waiting for what seems like an eternity. I've been hoping that Kyle Riabko would put out another full-length CD, but he's apparently been busy doing other stuff, such as Broadway. But now, thanks to newcomer Justin Nozuka, that void has been filled quite nicely.

The son of a Japanese father and the nephew of actress Kyra Sedgwick, Justin Nozuka has the same prodigious guitar savvy, songwriting talent, and deliciously soulful voice that made Kyle Riabko so striking. (And, by interesting coincidence, they both grew up in Canada ... a characteristic that a lot of good musicians I've found seem to share.)

Some tracks on this album are stripped-down, intimate acoustic recordings, and some are with a full plugged-in band, but they all show off his skill without any glossy over-production taking away from it. There's first-rate blues ("Mr. Therapy Man"), breezy and uplifting pop ("I'm In Peace"), cool folk-rock ("Golden Train"), and a whole lot more. Part of me hopes that Justin gets snatched up by a major label so he can get the nationwide exposure that he deserves -- but the rest of me hopes that doesn't happen, because it could only water down the richness of his talent.

Teddy Thompson

TEDDY THOMPSON
"A PIECE OF WHAT YOU NEED"
(Verve Forecast, 2008)


"In My Arms"*


I became aware of Teddy Thompson (son of veteran folk musicians Richard and Linda Thompson) by way of Rufus Wainwright, with whom he regularly collaborates, each making regular appearances on the other's albums. Until now, Teddy has been a rather subdued, semi-country-tinged (indeed, his last album was a collection of covers of classic country songs), folk-pop singer-songwriter. But all that time spent around the flamboyant Rufus appears to finally have had an effect on Teddy's music.

The ironic thing is that this is the first of his albums to which Rufus has made no contributions. With all the added flourishes, from the glassy echo of piano ("Turning The Gun On Myself") to the bouncy oom-pah of a brass section ("One Of These Days"), one could easily be led to think he was all over it.

The subject matter in Teddy's songs may still be somewhat sullen at times, but the instrumentation and arrangements frequently have a liveliness and catchiness to them that's quite uncharacteristic of what we've come to expect from him. Sometimes it hits you right from the start ("What's This?!!", "Jonathan's Book") and sometimes it sneaks up on you ("Can't Sing Straight", "The Things I Do"), but this album is an engaging and enjoyable listen from beginning to end. If you've ever even thought about checking out Teddy Thompson, this album is the perfect place to start, 'cause it's his best yet.

*Link provided by Sneak Attack Media, Teddy Thompson's promoter.

Simple Kid

SIMPLE KID
"2"
(Yep Roc, 2007)


"Serotonin"


It's funny sometimes how one artist in a particular sub-genre will "click" with the listener, while another very similar artist won't -- and in my case, I usually seem to gravitate more toward the lesser-known artists (perhaps for the very reason that they're lesser-known, as if they're "my own little secret"). For instance, I've come to like Kristian Leontiou more than Daniel Powter, and Simple Kid more than Beck.

Irish-born Ciaran McFeely is fond of the banjo (but uses plenty of other instruments too), records his music onto 8-track tape, and then cobbles it together on a laptop with samples of his own making, forming a unique and hard-to-pin-down sound, with traces of everything from country to hip-hop to mainstream pop to electronica to swamp rock. Do you remember the Saturn car commercial with that funky, bouncy, banjo-laden ditty with the audible "whoop!" hidden in the rhythm? That song ("Lil' King Kong") is on this album, and together with the track I've uploaded here gives you a good idea of what to expect from Simple Kid.

I'd probably give Beck a try, but I wouldn't hold out a whole lot of hope for liking him ... at least not nearly as much as I like this guy. Those "you might also like..." lists can be very hit-and-miss for me, after all. For now, I'll be quite comfortable with the charmingly slipshod pop of Simple Kid.

George Carlin: 1937 - 2008

I of course knew he wasn't going to be around forever, but it still came as a shock to find out that it happened so soon. My favorite comedian, the great George Carlin, has died of heart failure.




















Here's a Carlin bit called "A Modern Man", one of my all-time favorites, from his last album, "Life Is Worth Losing". If this doesn't show what a master wordsmith he was, nothing will.

I'll miss the hell out of ya, George. Now you'll be able to watch "the freak show" from one of the best seats in the house.

Back On The Blog, Y'All

Well, I'm back from one of the best vacations I've had in years! It may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I came home with the biggest bunch of CDs I've bought in years, but it definitely has something to do with this. Several of my purchases you'll be reading about here in the weeks to come, of course. But in the meantime, here's a picture of the pile (click to enlarge):
















I know ... frightening, isn't it? I don't even want to think of what the credit card bill is going to look like next month. But anyway, a handful of the CDs were items that were actually on my "to buy" list, but many of them were pleasant surprise discoveries: artists I didn't know or care about until I heard them playing on the store's sound system ... artists I had thought about checking out when their first albums had come out but didn't realize they'd put out anything since then so I decided it was the perfect time to try them out ... and a few neat-looking compilations (usually at excellent prices -- I guess Virgin Megastore isn't a complete and total waste of space ... yet) I stumbled into along the way.

Since I've been home now for several days, I've begun the slow process of actually listening to all these discs ... and, sad to say I've already found a few clunkers that have been put in the trade-ins stack. But if anyone wants to know about any specific titles they spot in the photo, please let me know and I'll try and make a point of reviewing them (if I haven't already gotten rid of them, that is).

I've been thinking recently about revamping the look of my blog (perhaps a new title and banner, but the content would remain the same), but that probably won't happen anytime soon, if at all. And you might have already noticed that I replaced the plain old blogroll with the new Blogger feature "Blog List", which you can see shows the title of the most recent post and how long since its last update. Neat, eh? (I've decided to sort them by most recently updated.) But anyway, I hope you missed me, and that you're ready for me to dive back into the great musical ocean and swim to the surface twice a week with more goodies for your ears.

Oh, and if any of you ever venture to California, you simply must make a point of visiting one of the Amoeba Music locations -- the vastness of those stores will unquestionably blow your mind, and the time and effort to visit them is absolutely worth it.

It's Him! It's Him!!!

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to be updating this blog for two weeks or so, and this post isn't music-related at all, but I simply had to share this with everyone. My friend and I were at Amoeba Records in Hollywood yesterday (yes, I found a few goodies ... more on those later, of course), and he hurriedly came up to me while I was browsing and quietly ushered me to another part of the store, where ... are you ready for this? ... I MET JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT!!!





















Well, I don't know if "met" is the right word, 'cause I didn't give him my name. He was with a female friend (and no, I don't know if it's his girlfriend ... didn't ask and it's none of my business), so I just quickly extended my hand to him, begged their pardons for my interruption, and told him that I'm a big fan of his, to which he flashed that swoon-inducing smile of his and replied with a cheerful, "Thank you!"

Now, for those of you who don't know me, "JGL" (as I like to call him) is a favorite actor of mine, not only because of his sheer talent, but obviously because he's also unbelievably gorgeous ... plus, there seems to be a really down-to-earth, sincere, approachable quality, made all the more apparent by my encounter with him, that makes him seem like -- to put it embarrassingly bluntly -- the perfect boyfriend. (And no, nothing about him made him seem gay, so I kind-of doubt he is ... but let me have my fantasy life, okay?)

What still totally blows my mind about all this is not only meeting him, and not only that he seemed totally gracious and appreciative of the recognition, but the sheer odds of the encounter: me on vacation from Oregon, and just happening to be in the same store at the same time as one of my favorite stars. I could easily have turned into a hysterical, endlessly genuflecting, babbling idiot, thereby embarrassing both him and myself to no end, but somehow managed against all odds to avoid doing so. If I may say so myself, I'm quite astonished at my restraint.

Okay, now I'll let you get back to your lives, and try to get on with my own.

OMG!! I MET JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT!!!!

The Moffatts

Well, friends, I'll be taking a bit of a vacation starting tomorrow -- not only from home, but from the blogosphere as well. I'll be gone for about two weeks (perhaps a bit longer), but rest assured that I'll be back with more of the wonderful music you've come to love from me ... and no doubt I'll pick up a few CDs along the way, since I plan on doing some hardcore music shopping at least once. But before I go....

THE MOFFATTS
"SUBMODALITIES"
(EMI/Canada, 2000)

"Life On Mars"
"Walking Behind"


Okay, folks, do you mind if I put aside the well-structured critiquing for a minute? I'll be honest with you ... I've been having a lot of trouble deciding how I was going to describe how much I totally love this album ... so much trouble that my brain was on the verge of seizing up like an oil-depleted car engine. Have you ever loved a CD so much, with every fiber of your being, that you felt like you needed to make it your life's mission to get every one of your friends -- and, if you ran out of them, random acquaintances and total strangers -- to love it too? If so, then you'll understand the essence of this blog entry, because for me, this is one of those albums.

I'll save space by not going into the band's history, but all the same I'll try not to prattle on too much. Suffice to say that "Submodalities" is the fourth and, unfortunately, final album by the Canadian sibling act The Moffatts, consisting of Scott and his younger triplet brothers, Dave, Clint, and Bob. It could easily have come across as an ill-conceived, pretentious attempt to escape the "boyband" label that their previous, bubblegum-pop album, 1998's "Chapter I: A New Beginning", almost branded them with, but the guys had the foresight to recruit producer-writers extraordinaire Bob Rock and John Shanks to help them focus their talents into creating a tour-de-force album that seems like a natural next step in their evolution as musicians.

My inability to put into structured thought how much I love this album is the main reason I'm posting two tracks from it instead of the normal one ... that, plus the fact that it gives the listener a better idea of how amazingly all-encompassing this album's songs are. From emo-punk-pop ("California") to power-balladry ("Who Do You Love") to psychedelic rock ("Life On Mars") to radio-friendly pop ("Bang Bang Boom") to epic experimental prog-rock ("Spy"), this CD comes about as close to having a various-artists-compilation feel as any album by a single group possibly can, helped by the fact that each of the four brothers sings lead vocal on at least one song.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating the excellence of this album, let me remind you that I have around one thousand CDs, and this one is -- and has been since the day it entered my collection -- my absolute favorite. This album could have and should have been a worldwide smash hit, and to this day I continue to curse The Universe that it wasn't. If you've liked even half of the stuff I've featured in this blog, then believe me when I say that your CD collection is not complete unless The Moffatts' "Submodalities" is a part of it. Trust me, it's worth every penny of whatever you spend on obtaining it ... and all you have to do is click on the cover art above. Don't you owe your music-loving self that much...?

Ehhhh...

It occurred to me recently that I always talk about the good albums that I have in, and regularly add to, my collection. Well, I've run into a few not-so-good albums in just the last month or so, and as much as I believe in the old adage, "If you can't find anything nice to say, don't say anything at all", I figured it's as much my duty to steer you away from albums that I think you might regret buying as it is to point you toward the albums that I love. So, if your musical tastes are at all like mine, don't say I didn't warn you....

Johnny Mathis: "A Night To Remember" -- My two favorite "classic crooners" are Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis, so I was eager to pick up this newly-recorded album. What I didn't expect was that I'd be left so cold by it. I can only figure that it was the choice of songs ... the original versions of most of them were kind-of cheesy, AM-radio fluff, and I had hoped that Mathis would have found a way to improve on them. Sad to say, that didn't happen ... either that, or I'm just so unforgiving of the originals that I'm unable to find anything to like in Mathis' versions.

Everclear: "The Vegas Years" -- Another cover album that seriously underwhelmed me. While I'm not necessarily a big Everclear fan, I've enjoyed a handful of their songs over the years, and was intrigued by the possibilities that the track listing hinted at. But unfortunately, this album just didn't work for me for some reason. Some of the songs I wasn't familiar with, and others just didn't seem to fit the band ... and a couple of them made me seriously wonder what they were thinking (the themes from "Speed Racer" and "Land of the Lost"!?). I didn't like Everclear's or Johnny Mathis' cover albums, but I ended up liking Clay Aiken's ... and I can only assume it was the songs that each artist ended up choosing.

Jesse McCartney: "Departure" -- I've only listened to this album once so far, but just one song on it was the least bit memorable to me ... and even that one was just a bit better than "okay". What disappoints me is that I really liked the rock-ish sound he had on his last album, and I'd hoped he would continue in that direction. But instead, he pulled a U-turn and went back toward the R&B-pop of his debut. I also felt kind-of betrayed by McCartney building up to the album's release by promising that it was going to be something unique and different ... sorry, Jesse, but all I hear is some warmed-over Craig-David-meets-Chris-Brown. I'm going to listen to it a few more times before considering getting rid of it, but let's just say that I'm not holding my breath.

Lucie Silvas

LUCIE SILVAS
"BREATHE IN"
(Mercury/Europe, 2004)


"Twisting The Chain"


I honestly didn't think much of this album after picking it up on a whim from the Tower Records clearance bin, so I traded it in at the local store about a year and a half ago. Since then, her lovely bilingual re-recording of her single "What You're Made Of" with the late, great Grégory Lemarchal on his debut album -- and my discovery that this disc also contains, of all things, a Metallica cover -- sparked my renewed interest in this album. Fortunately for me, the local shop still hadn't sold it when I went back last week looking for it, and they even cut me a break on buying it back.

How could I not have appreciated British singer Lucie Silvas before? I suppose the closest vocal comparison I can readily make (bearing in mind my limited familiarity with female voices) is to Christina Aguilera -- she can be delicately intimate in one track, and boldly brassy in another -- and she even has vaguely the same timbre. Not quite as soulful as Joss Stone (except maybe on the pseudo-gospel number "The Longer We're Apart"), but not quite as pop as Mandy Moore (though the bouncy title track comes close), there's really not a bad song on here.

It turns out that Lucie Silvas is something of a songwriter as well, having penned tracks for Will Young, Gareth Gates, and others. Not only am I sorry I ever got rid of this disc, and lucky beyond reason to have been able to get it back, but I'm putting her second album on my wish list right now.

Lazyboy

LAZYBOY
"LAZYBOY TV"
(Universal, 2004)


"We Only Read The Headlines"


I know I mentioned this album briefly before (in the same post with another "genre-bending" artist from Denmark, their common nationality something I didn't even realize until after I'd written that post), but it's been awhile, and as I said about that other artist, this one also deserves its own post, complete with a song sample. (Besides, the artist name is kind-of appropriate ... seeing as how I'm too much of a "lazy boy" to post something completely fresh right now.)

The Danish techno-pop outfit calling themselves Lazyboy basically made all of human culture the subject of its debut album, a collection of chill beats underneath a series of voiced-over trivia tidbits, statistics, and other nuggets of information. Sometimes enlightening, sometimes ironic, sometimes humorous, and always entertaining, the spoken-word snippets are grouped into different tracks by their varying subject matter.

"Facts Of Life" and "We Only Read The Headlines" provide a string of miscellaneous factoids about pop culture and human behavior; "Are You Qualified?" examines our struggle between conformity and individuality; "Man Woman (Yin & Yang)" has the opposing sexes taking jabs at each other's idiosyncrasies; "This Is The Truth" offers philosophical observations for the listener to think about; and "It's All About Love" and "Inhale Positivity" lighten the mood with a feel-good vibe.

This is another of those albums that I can't imagine anyone not liking. And to top it off, the U.S. edition even comes with a companion DVD containing the videos of four of the album's tracks. Such a package at such a low price really makes it worth picking up. In "Inhale Positivity", Patric Allen urges listeners to "go buy a CD with music that you wouldn't normally have bought". Sounds like good advice to me.