It’s an alright album, It’s got 3 really good songs and a few other that are tolerable. It showed the beginning of some change and made the need for change evident. The reason I’m doing their 3rd album as my 4th review is because I was somehow under the impression that Beatles For Sale was their 3rd album, so now that’s fixed.

Raditude is mediocre at best. I feel like Weezer needs to revert, and quit trying to create a new sound, I like the nerdy old Weezer we heard on Blue Album. Why can’t they just bring that back? This new album could be worse though, it shows some creativity, and there are some songs that are good, but they aren’t Weezer good. “Can’t Stop Partying,” “Put Me Back Together,” and “Tripping Down The Freeway” are all pretty good. They show some hope for a better album to come, the Weezer sound is still there they just have to find it again. I wanna see them return to their roots. Two guitars, a bass, and drums. Less synths, less pianos, and less Lil’ Wayne, while I actually enjoyed his contribution, it doesn’t belong in a Weezer song. Sorry guys, good try, better luck next time.

I was really pumped for Casablancas’ Phrazes For The Young since I’m a big fan of The Strokes. Unfortunately, it’s just rough, just awful. I would’ve thought Casablancas’ genius with The Strokes would have carried over into a solo project but I was badly mistaken. “River of Brakelights” is literally the only song worth mentioning and it’s only decent. A huge disappointment, definitely not for Strokes fans.

Say Anything is a hit-or-miss band. Everything from the music to the vocals and lyrics is just weird. Sometimes this all comes together and creates something truly awesome, i.e. “Died A Jew,” “Alive With The Glory of Love,” “Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat,” and “Admit It!” Their first album was good, their second album was long and bad, but I thought this one had potential, however it’s just lackluster, very similar to their second with all the same faults. It’s not as long, and it has 2 or 3 good songs instead of 1 good song, but otherwise it’s terrible.

November 3rd was a bad day for me. So there you have it, music, you can do better, maybe you’ll redeem yourself via the Omar Rodriguez Lopez album coming out this Tuesday, I sure hope so.

Chiodos has a very different sound than most of what I listen too. They have a hectic clashing of guitar and drums that is often accompanied by piano, and their singer uses a mix of screaming and a very high, sharp voice. I really like them though, All’s Well That Ends Well especially, their second I’m not as crazy about, though I’m still a little crazy about it, but this one’s great.

We begin with “Prelude” a short but great piano piece that will become a theme of the album. You’ll hear it again and when I think of the album it’s the first thing I hear. Next comes the track that got me into Chiodos, “All Nereids Beware.” I was introduced to this song when a friend told me I oughtta learn the guitar riff in the chorus, which I did, then started really listening to album, which grew on me. The song has great guitar and piano as well as very techinical drums. It’s a good example of singer Craig Owens vocal style. The next track “One Day All Women Will Become Monsters” is also prety good. It’s a bit more consistent than most of their songs, I mean that while it showcases their sound there’s no element of theirs that really jumps at you. The next track “Expired in Goreville” is probably the worst on the album, it’s followed however by a much better song. “Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute In The Creek” has a great guitar riff to start it off, and the breakdown around two thirds of the way through is probably it’s high point. It also has a really cool version of “Prelude” in the outro.

“The Words ‘Best Friend’ Become Redefined” is the best song on the album hands down. It has a romping guitar intro that dies down into great work on the piano continues as Owens come in with what are probably his best vocals on the album. The drums once he starts singing are really cool too. After the guitar and everthing come back in we experience on of the instrumental high points of the album. We end with a different rhythm with vocals that really feel like a different song. We now get to hear “Interlude Pt. 1″ another great piano instrumental. I’d really love to see Owens do some solo work with only piano. “There’s No Penguins In Alaska” is another one of the best on the album. It’s got some of the best guitar of the album. I love when the guitar starts strumming during the “Never resting time” part, which I guess could be considered the chorus. Next is “Interlude Pt. 2″ a very piratey interlude that’s seemingly a little less serious than the others.

“We’re Gonna Have Us A Champagne Jam” and “No Hardcore Dancing In The Living Room” are both pertty good tracks, the latter of which has a great buildup. The last two songs “Who’s Sandie Jenkins” and “To Trixie And Reptile, Thanks For Everything” are both pretty lackluster. This hurts the album, a great ending is very important in the overall impression an album leaves on you. Luckily for Chiodos, the high points in the beginning and middle of the album are enough to win me over.

You may not like Chiodos, a lot of people don’t, they have an abrasive style that’s a hit or miss for most. So you don’t have to like them, but if you’re a fan of punk rock, or what people now call “emo” they’re probably worth your time.

This first one is Baroness’ Red Album. All their artwork is done by their lead singer, their second album’s artwork wasn’t so great but I really like this one’s. I actually only stared listening to them because I thought the album cover was cool, I later realized the music is pretty cool too.

Here’s a great cover of an an album I really oughtta review sometime. This one’s Chiodos’ All’s Well That Ends Well.

Eh, I’ll give the last one to The Flight of The Conchords’ first album, I’d give it to their second but it’s already picture a few posts below this one. I still need to review this one to compare the two.

The Beatles third album, Beatles For Sale was their best when it came out. The opening track, “No Reply” is pretty cool, a really good song that has the classic Beatles vibe. The next track, “I’m A Loser,” is alright, it’s one of those self-loathing Beatles songs. “Baby’s In Black” is pretty good. “Rock and Roll Music” is a pure, straightforward song. It’s sort of a change of pace for them. “I’ll Follow The Sun” sort of shows them evolving some. It could be compared to some of their later stuff. “Mr. Moonlight” is good, it’s clearly in line with their earlier stuff, but I really like it. I’m not big on “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey.” Now “Eight Days A Week” on the other hand is a classic Beatles song, it’s easily the best on this album.

“Words of Love” shows us some of their best guitar to date. (Keep in mind anytime I say something like to date I’m referring to the date when the album was released.) “Honey Don’t” sucks but that’s just cause it’s sung by Ringo. “What You’re Doing” is really good, it’s good some good odd sounds that will hook your attention, mainly the rising melody in the verses and the guitar riffs in the intro and verses. That’s really the last good song on the album, but it’s a good album, their best of the first three. I’m keeping these pieces on their albums pretty short since I’ll be doing 14 of them before the series is done.

A lot of people disliked Ben Folds latest album. It received mixed reviews and some called it Folds’ worst album. I however, intend to defend it, since I think it to be his best. We see Mr. Folds do some things he hasn’t done before and move outside of his normal sound some, but I think it’s all for the best.

Way To Normal’s opening track stays true to Folds’ upbeat piano romping tunes, and it’s title is one of his more ridiculous. “Hiroshima(B B B Benny Hit His Head)” has a great vibe to it and I’m sure it’s one of his best tracks live. The next track, “Dr. Yang,” is a funny song that shows Folds’ sillier side, and during it’s breakdown we see some of his best piano playing. Then comes The Frown Song, one of the records best, it has strong synths throughout the song, something new for Folds. It’s got great lyrics and while it’s one of his raunchier songs it’s morals could be a lot worse. Some of my favorite Folds lyrics come from The Frown Song. ” Do you remember how we managed before we could afford real nervous breakdowns? Or before the anthropology store was erected on Indian burial grounds? So really don’t you see a little of yourself in the bathroom attendant that you just scowled at, or the child who’s hiding inside as you wipe the smile off the teenage barista.”

Next comes the albums single, “You Don’t Know Me,” which features Regina Spektor singing with Folds. Her vocals add a fresh feel to the song. The next two tracks are the only two on the album I don’t have much to say about, “Before Cologne” and “Cologne” are in my opinion the album’s weakest tracks. The album quickly redeems itself however with “Errant Dog.” A sequel track to Supersunnyspeedgraphic’s “Dog.” It’s just as good, and is one of the funnier tracks the album offers. The next song “Free Coffee” has a very odd sound. When I inquired as to how it was made I discovered that it’s done by placing Altoids tins on top of the pianos strings and then running the feed through a distortion pedal. While it’s a pretty good track it doesn’t compare to most of the album.

The albums last four tracks are all great. “Bitch Went Nuts” is one of the funniest songs and it has great piano work by Folds. It’s songs like this one that keep me loving Folds. There’s a sense of complete love for what he’s doing and you can feel how much fun these songs are to him. The next track “Brainwascht” is sort of corny but so is Folds, so it manages to work. It’s some of bassist Jared Reynolds best work. “Effington” starts with an odd a cappella line before the piano comes in and we hear Folds start on some of the funniest lyrics on the album. There’s a great piano solo towards the middle of this song followed by a reprise of the a cappella line, this time with accompaniment. The albums last track “Kylie From Connecticut” is great. It shows Folds more sentimental side, like we’ve seen in songs like “Still” and “Still Fighting It.”

This album gives me great faith in Folds in the future. I think his career will only get better. I’d reccomend that any fan of Folds go out and pick it up, and if you’ve never heard him check him out.

The Avett Brothers are my current favorite Carolinan Folk-Rock band. Their latest album, I and Love and You, was released in September. You can check out a great review of it, over at my good friend Josh Hurst’s blog, The Hurst Review. I’ll be looking at their 2008 EP, The Second Gleam.

I’m fairly new to the Avetts but so far this had been my favorite of their recordings. The opening track “Tear Down the House” is a great song that is much more solemn than it’s name might suggest. It shows off the Avetts gift with lyrics, “I remember crying over you, and I don’t mean like a couple of tears and I’m blue. I’m talking about collapsing and screaming at the moon, but I’m a better man for having gone through it.” Next comes “Murder In The City” which may be my favorite Avett Brothers song. It’s a great tune about family and why they matter most. It features some great vocal harmonies.

“Bella Donna” is more simple, yet just as beautiful as every other song on this album. It has a great guitar part that interludes between some of the verses. “The Greatest Sum” is one of the album’s weaker track but is still really good. “St. Josephs” is another stellar track that paints a wonderful picture of a young couple and their struggles with hardships that are survived only through their love for one another, or at least that’s my take on it. The final track “Souls Like Wheels” is a pretty good, not their best but the fact that it’s on this record put it very high up in my opinion. It’s a pretty good track on a great record.

The Second Gleam is nearly flawless. It’s certainly possesses very few flaws. It’s highpoints are “St. Josephs,” “Bella Donna,” “Murder In The City,” and “Tear Down the House.” Four out of six songs on the album I’d rate at a solid 10 if I was using that sort of system, however I’ll leave you instead with this: If you give the guys a listen and you’re even remotely interested, pick this up, it’s outstanding.

Welcome to the second installment of my posts on The Beatles’ albums. With The Beatles is much better than Please Please Me. It’s first two tracks, “It Won’t Be Long” and “All I’ve Got To Do,” are both pretty good. They’re followed by one of my favorite Beatles songs “All My Loving.” The next best track on the record is “Hold Me Tight.” “Devil In Her Heart” is alright, it a different sound for The Beatles. The final track is pretty good, probably the third best on the record, “Money (That’s What I Want).”

So in my opinion, while The Beatles sophmore effort is still quite weak in their overall discography, it’s considerably better than their debut.

Baroness’ second album was released recently, a follow up to Red Album it’s dubbed Blue Record, and my first impression tells me that it’s superior than it’s predecessor, but I can’t be sure just yet. Baroness has an odd style, a very melodious hard rock feel that is coupled with the coarse vocals of John Baizley. They also have a very talented drummer. I should also add that Baizley does all their album cover, although the last album’s was much better than Blue Record’s.

The record begins with a trademark Baroness instrumental “Bullhead’s Psalm” which begins with uprising guitar before fading into a droning rhythm of chords. This does well in leading into the next track “The Sweetest Curse.” Not the best track on the album but a strong one no doubt. The guitar interludes towards the middle are great. “Jake Leg” the third and quite possibly the best track on the record has a hectic intro that fades into a nice smooth guitar lead that is then followed by more ruckus and the emergence of Baizley yelling “JAAAKE LEGGG!” which never fails to make me grin. I really love the vocals in this song, they’re not good, but there’s something solid and pure about them. They feel very natural despite their style which is often disliked. “Steel That Sleeps The Eye” in all it’s calm near lullaby feel is a fair followup to the latter song which is much heavier. It features only strumming guitar and Baizley’s rare clean, smooth vocals.

“Swollen and Halo” start’s with a very bizarre twangy guitar, and we get to hear drummer Allen Blickle great work on the hi-hat, an element of percussion that he’s pretty much unrivaled on in modern music. The song feels much like an upbeat extension of “Steel That Sleeps The Eye” until and instrumental break a bit past halfway through. We then return to the intro for the outro where we are once again graced by Blickle’s sizzling hi-hat. “Ogeechee Hymnal” is another instrumental starts softly before picking up then, halfway through, retreating into a trance-like guitar part that is followed only by some ambience until the next track begins.

“A Horse Called Golgatha” has a great guitar riff in the intro and quickly turns to a chugging rhythm. It has some extraordinary guitar work throughout the rest of the song including a solo that uses the same fuzz effect as in the intro to “Jake Leg.” The next song, “O’er Hell and Hide,” consists of a fingerpicked guitar intro that is soon met by drums that gallop like a horse’s hooves, fitting for the title, eh? The song’s instrumental except for some spoken word parts. The next track “War, Wisdom, and Rhyme” is one of the weaker on the album. It’s followed however by a stellar instrumental, “Blackpowder Orchard,” which has a rhythm that resembles “Bron-Y-Aur” accompanied by a warm guitar lead. It’s short but sweet.

“The Gnashing” start’s wonderfully with a warm intro that really brings the album together so far. It’s a fun track all the way through, getting heavier eventually but retaining it’s cheerful feel. It’s up with “Jake Leg” for the record’s best song. The final track “Bullhead’s Lament” starts with the same intro as the first track does, a feature I usually enjoy in a record because it makes me think of the entire record as it comes to a close. In fact it’s essentially the same song except that “Lament last longer and fades out itself unstead of setting up the next track like “Psalm” does. A fitting end for the record.

I love Blue Record it’s better than Red Album and I think will be the album that people view as starting the era of Baroness that we’re seeing years from now. It’s beautiful at times yet will still satisfy Baroness’ most hardcore early fans. It’s highpoints are the “Bullheads,” “Jake Leg,” and “The Gnashing,” as well as Blickle drumming throughout the album which is truly brilliant.

I recently acquired the Beatles discography, and since I’ve never actually had any of their albums besides their greatest hits, I thought it might be nice to meander my way through them. Here’s the first, Please Please Me.

The only song I’d actually ever heard from this album is Twist and Shout, otherwise all this was new to me. I gotta say I’m unimpressed. Most of the album I find pretty dreadful. It’s opener however, “I Saw Her Standing There,” is pretty good. I also like Love Me Do, it’s got just an odd enough tone to be good. “Baby It’s You” is alright, better than most the album anyways.”A Taste of Honey” is pretty weird, but I think I respect it a little for that. Finally, a fitting closer, “Twist and Shout,” is among the top few of the album along with “Love Me Do” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

It’s an alright album, definitely not The Beatles best. It bring to light though how much they were transformed in a mere 7 years. I know bands today that are putting out the same crap after more than a decade, but The Beatles went from this to stuff like “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Come Together” is under 7, which to me is pretty amazing.