Saturday, December 29, 2007
2008 - Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks !!
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Friday, December 28, 2007
2007 - Amy McDonald - This Is The Life !!
Amy MacDonald is that proverbial old head on young shoulders, a Scottish singer-songwriter who, despite her tender 19 years, writes songs with the grace, wisdom, and proficiency of one with a score more on the clock. As influenced by the Libertines as by any venerable old folk hand, the eleven songs on This Is the Life combine a traditional, acoustic folk-rock sound with a youthful spirit and self-assured lyrics that veer between the observational and the confessional. "Poison Prince" is a jagged guitar strut dedicated to some Doherty-like bad boy, a song every bit as pathos-laden as the Libertines at their doomed, romantic best with a closing treatise to find "An upbeat song/So we can dance the night away," while "Mr. Rock & Roll" begins as a wryly withering jibe at some perennial party animals, but by the chorus has softened into a subtle, touching tale of human coupling. MacDonald's age doesn't seem to have been an impediment--"Youth of Today," reportedly written when she was 15, is one of the better tracks here, while "Footballer's Wife" is a clear-headed attack on vapid Barbie-doll celebrity that suggests this girl is very much on the right track. "Rolling Stone, here I come, watch out everyone/I'm singing my song," she sings on "Let's Start a Band." Let that be a warning to you.
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Thursday, December 27, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
2007 - NME presents - The Essential Bands !!
2007 two CD release, the fourth in the very successful NME Essential Bands series of albums. Once again, the album combines the unique and famous NME brand with the very best of 2007's commercial Indie hits and up-coming bands. Reflecting a change in this market over 2007 the album includes the likes of Mark Ronson, Kate Nash and Amy Winehouse, alongside more familiar offerings from Kasabian, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, Babyshambles, Klaxons and The Enemy. 40 tracks !
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Monday, December 24, 2007
2008 - Leona Lewis - Spirit !!
Leona was the winner of the 2006 season of the UK's talent show X-Factor and Spirit is the first release under a partnership between the show's creator Simon Cowell and music mogul Clive Davis. Working alongside the world's biggest producers and songwriters, Leona has put together an unrivaled collection of songs. The album plays host to a veritable 'who's who' of writers and producers, with the likes of Dallas Austin, Soulshock and Carlin, Jam and Lewis, Walter Afanasieff And Salaam Remi all having lined up to work with Leona. Each of the tracks on Spirit has the potential to be a single.
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Saturday, December 22, 2007
2008 - Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark !!
As Patterson Hood says about the songs on the album, Stylistically, they run the gamut from old-timey sounding country to a heavy R&B influence. Some songs that are quieter than any we've ever recorded and some that rock harder than anything we've ever done. In the end it's still all Rock and Roll (which is why that will always be the description of choice to us when describing our music in stylistic terms).
Drive-By Truckers are one of the most unique recording artists and live bands in popular music today. The Truckers write about people, places and situations like no one else, and have build an amazing worldwide audience in the process.
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Friday, December 21, 2007
2007 - Top Gear - Seriously Cool Driving Music !!
Featuring the best of the current guitar-led crop on CD1, with a high calibre selection of classic rock on CD2, this album is the perfect soundtrack to every journey, from a midnight blast to the commute to work.
The first disc features the likes of The Killers and Kings Of Leon to Kasabian and Kaiser Chiefs, with disc two playing host to Robert Plant, David Bowie, T. Rex, Deep Purple and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s almighty classic ‘Free Bird’ amongst others.
That’s a total of 39 tracks!
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Monday, December 17, 2007
2008 - Joe Jackson - Rain !!
About the four-year break between albums, Jackson says: "I wasn't in a hurry to make a new album. I promised myself that I wouldn't make a record until I had an album's worth of songs that were the best I could do. I think several of these songs are the best songs I've ever written, and I wanted to have 10 or 12 songs that I felt that way about before I put out another album. I used to be a bit of a workaholic, but I am now much more patient. The quantity has gone down, but the quality has gone up."
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
2007 - OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud !!
The band was formed in Colorado by Tedder and high school classmate Zach Filkins. The pair moved to Los Angeles, where they picked up fellow Coloradan, guitarist/keyboardist Drew Brown and drummer Eddie Fisher. The band's most recent inductee, Brent Kutzle, plays bass and adds something extra to live shows with his classical cello. In addition to his work with his own band, Tedder is a Grammy nominated writer & has written & produced tracks with/for various other artists, including Natasha Bedingfield, Jennifer Lopez, Lil' Jon, Paul Oakenfold, t.A.T.u., Bubba Sparxxx, Tupac and uber-producer Timbaland. A remix of OneRepublic's song "Apologize" is featured on Timbaland's album, Shock Value.
The song "Apologize" explores the personal pain of multiple relationships gone awry and the necessity of moving on, while "Stop and Stare" describes the common frustration of getting to a place in life where you think, "How in the world did I end up here, this isn't where I wanted to be, watching what I wanted pass me by." "The lyrics have shades of melancholy, and there is a definite emotional undercurrent running through them," says the band. "If you can't tap into emotion, you're just selling catchy tunes."
Monday, December 10, 2007
2007 - Crowded House - Time On Earth !!
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Saturday, December 8, 2007
2007 - Stephen Colbert - I Am America !!
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Friday, December 7, 2007
2007 - Hiroshima - Little Tokyo !!
Hiroshima has been around since 1980 and has successfully brought a new sense of jazz to contemporary jazz with its mixture of jazz styles and world music. Hiroshima has pioneered and developed a sound that is uniquely theirs with influences from Asian, Latin American, African American, and more. Their music is imaginative with its intricate jazz motifs.
There are eleven songs in this CD collection. These songs are "Midnight Sun," "On the Fence," "Lanai," "Red Beans and Rice," "Sir Charles," "Hidden Times," "Shades of Honor," "Quan Yin," "Drama," "Hiro Chill," and "Little Tokyo Underground." These songs reflect the themes found in Little Tokyo, a well-known Asian neighborhood in Southern California. "Quan Yin" and "Red Beans and Rice" speak volumes on how harmony can be fully realized in a jazz setting! These songs will appeal to a large audience.
There is an exotic dimension to this CD collection the defies definition. That it is one of Hiroshima's most creative releases to date is definite. Every performance shines with individuality, whether in solo or in group expression.
The songs in this collection are highly lyrical, positive, and enjoyable listening. Hiroshima continues to provide jazz listening audiences with top of the line performances and music. Highly recommended.
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Thursday, December 6, 2007
2007 - Air Traffic - Fractured Life !!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
2007 - She Wants Revenge - This Is Forever !!
This Is Forever continues where their self-titled debut left off, a
figurative morning after to the dance of the night before. Still continuing on the same path of creating thought provoking and emotional dance music, the album deals in the familiar themes of love, loss, and betrayal, yet somehow even darker in tone, with beats that bang even harder, and if it's possible, even catchier songs...a tall feat, but one they welcomed with open
arms. With no intention of playing it safe this time out, the guys have crafted a challenging and compelling album that they are proud to present to their loyal fans and the uninitiated alike.
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