Album Review – Lady Gaga’s ‘The Fame Monster’

Lady Gaga’s debut CD ‘The Fame’ is one of my favorites, so I eagerly awaited the release of her EP ‘The Fame Monster‘. And I have to say, if you liked her debut CD, you are going to love this EP. The only bad thing I can say about this album is that I wish that Lady Gaga had just added a couple more songs to make it a real LP! If there’s one thing that Gaga knows what to do, it’s how to write killer ear-worm hooks that stick around way past what should be their expiration date.

I’ve already talked about ‘Bad Romance‘ before in my blog – it really was genius to choose this as the first single since it kind of acts like a bridge from the songs of ‘The Fame’ going into ‘The Fame Monster‘. It didn’t hurt that the insanely catchy ‘Bad Romance‘ became almost an instant radio darling and had a really creative music video behind it.

My absolutely favorite track off this EP is ‘Teeth‘ – which suprised me. Usually, I like a little hook-y melody in a song, and ‘Teeth’ does not have that. Instead, what it has is a very clever hard-driving tribal-infused beat that makes me want to march or stomp-dance around the room. As sexily as possible. lol

Listen to “Teeth”

My other absolute fave is the ballad ‘Speechless‘ that Lady Gaga performed at the AMAs. I’ve always liked Gaga’s ballads (off her debut album, I almost played ‘Brown Eyes’ to death), and ‘Speechless’ is gorgeous. The lyrics are very personal and according to Gaga, she wrote the song for her dad when he went into the hospital for heart surgery. There’s something very grand and yet vulnerable about this song that I really like.

‘Telephone‘ (which features Beyoncé) is a pretty silly song about being disturbed by a phonecall while dancing at a club, but it’s picture perfect to be blasted at your local club dance floor. When I heard that this was a collaboration, I wondered if Beyoncé would outsing Gaga, but their voices actually compliment each other well. ‘Dance In the Dark‘ is a disco-fied electropop track that is perfect for the dance floor – and it’s a homage to Madonna’s ‘Vogue’. I don’t know if that’s what made it feel dated to me though.

‘Alejandro‘ is a ‘La Isla Bonita’-light song that has a hella catchy chorus … I wasn’t sure if I really liked it that much while listening… but this was the song that I found myself humming for days and days afterwards. “Alejandro, Ale-ale-jandro”!!! Took me forever to get it out of my head. That signals a hit right?

‘So Happy I Could Die‘ and ‘Monster‘ I would consider to be the weakest tracks in the EP. But even these two tracks could be released as singles to radio and do well. That’s how strong this EP is. P.S. Is it just me or is the chorus of ‘So Happy I Could Die’ very similar to ‘Pocketful of Sunshine’?

I know that many people are turned-off by Lady Gaga’s persona, but I like it. Yes, she’s very provocative and almost all her lyrics scream SEX!, but at the same time, Gaga’s songs aren’t really meant to be taken that seriously – I mostly whip her playlist out when I just want to have some fun and just let myself go. She’s remained true to that spirit on ‘The Fame Monster’ and I couldn’t be happier with it.

Currently, Amazon is slashing prices in the spirit of Black Friday. Makes me wish that I had waited to buy! ‘The Fame Monster‘ is available on Amazon as an MP3 Album ($5.00), Audio CD ($7.99, savings of $2.99) or as a Deluxe Audio CD ($13.99, savings of $7.99, and includes the tracks off her debut album ‘The Fame’)

iTunes is priced similarly, ‘The Fame Monster’ is available as just the EP, but with a bonus song (a remixed version of ‘Bad Romance’ that I didn’t really like) ($7.99) or as the Deluxe version ($13.99).

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Album Review – Adam Lambert’s Debut Album ‘For Your Entertainment’

If you’ve been following my blog, it’s pretty obvious that I’m a huge Adam Lambert fan. I was a bit skeptical the first time I saw him on American Idol and thought he oversang on Top 36 night. But ‘Ring of Fire’ came around, and I was a fan starting that point. I’ve followed him closely (actually, obsessively may the better word) after AI, and I’ve liked everything he said his album would be. So, talk about anticipation! But being a realist, as I’ve said on my review of Kris’ album, I was also preparing myself for a disappointment, given the previous track record of AI alums.

Now, after listening to the album ‘For Your Entertainment‘, I realize that I need not have worried. Adam had a vision, and he went about carrying that vision out, somehow managing to get the needed support from 19/RCA and an A-list of producers and song-writers that read like a ‘who’s who’ in the music industry. I was hella impressed the first time I read the album tracklist and saw just who exactly he had been working with.

Now, the funny thing about Adam’s album is that it actually comes across to me like someone asked him – hey, can you make a playlist of some really good dance music, but throw in a couple of ballads for the slow dances? – and that’s pretty much the album in a nutshell for me. I am completely amazed that the album isn’t a hot mess (given the too many cooks in the kitchen scenario), but instead, it’s like getting a ticket to the hottest dance party that a really cool dj mixed up.

I know that I pretty much have no objectivity left when it comes to Adam, but for whatever it’s worth, my personal favorites are ‘Music Again‘ (Love love the guitar riffs and the falsetto! Holy Freddie Mercury! Or Mika if you live only in the present), ‘Whataya Want From Me‘ (P!nk definitely knows how to pen a winner!), ‘Strut‘ (Killer earworm of a chorus! Who knew I would like Kara again after No Boundaries? The song is just so unapologetically silly!), ‘Soaked‘ (A sweeping vocal challenge of a ballad written by Matthew Bellamy, sung by Adam. Enough said), ‘A Loaded Smile‘ (I swear only Adam could’ve pulled this really weird song off – it’s kinda like the aural version of a high after toking some, you know, mushrooms or the like… LOL… very space-y), ‘Fever‘ (Very, very sexy – Please, please release this as a single RCA! – I can already visualize the music video, it’s probably bound to scandalize even more people. And please, Lady Gaga, do a cameo on the video!), ‘Broken Open‘ (Loved this one – it’s another space-y song, with absolutely gorgeous tune and emotion-laden imagery – and it has that ’skirting on the edge of-’ feeling that I loved with ‘Mad World’. Seriously… I cried… Trust me – this song is best enjoyed held in someone’s arms. Try it. I’ll wait.)

Second tier (but still beloved) songs for me were ‘For Your Entertainment‘ (A song that I had to let grow on me; just didn’t leap out at me the first time I heard it), ‘Sure Fire Winners‘ (can I hope that Adam can sing this at something like the World Cup? sounds awfully relevant to me!), ‘If I Had You‘ (It’s kinda like ‘Strut’ only more electro-pop, very very catchy, but repetitive), ‘Pick U Up‘ (Like FYE, this took a couple of listens before I warmed up to it… but now… I really really love it. It’s a really busy song – with some parts that allow Adam to be as theatrical as he wants, and he does let it rip! And thank you producer for keeping the laugh at the end, *hearts in my eyes*).

Ooops, was that virtually every song on the album? LOL -I did say that I absolutely love this album, right? Well, there were some songs… ‘Sleepwalker‘ I didn’t like that much (although it does have that really great guitar break in the middle) – I don’t know – all the Ryan Tedder songs sound too similar to my ears these days for me to completely enjoy them. And as for ‘Aftermath‘, sorry Adam, it was a total wash for me. Please, no more collaborations with your buddies next time. This one stuck out like a sore thumb, and I wonder why this was picked instead of one of the bonus songs? ‘Master Plan‘ has a really great hooky sound. Loved the chanting quality it has. For me, this would’ve made a stronger album track. ‘Down the Rabbit Hole‘ is another bonus which could’ve been a contender too.

So, yeah, I think there are a lot of songs on this album that can be huge singles for Adam in a perfect world. The problem is – I’m not sure how well Adam will actually sell – when I surf the internet – I always get disheartened by the outright hatred directed at him – and as has been pointed out, his style isn’t a huge seller if it’s done by a male here. Otherwise, Robbie Williams and the Scissor Sisters would be superstars in the US, right? There’s a part of me that really, really hopes he breaks out big here. Then the UK and Japan, baby, next stop for our ‘glittery alien from planet fierce’ (tm Neil Lambert). Seriously, I want to be able to say to my grandkids someday – when Adam is this huge icon of a rockstar – I was there for the whole ride from the start, how about that?

For Your Entertainment is available on Amazon (CD, $9.99) and iTunes (LP, $16.99, but you get two bonus videos – one BTS vid is like 24 minutes! – and ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’). ETA : The shorter bonus video is up on YouTube if you want to watch.

** In celebration of Black Friday week on Amazon, ‘For Your Entertainment’ (MP3 album) is being offered for $3.99 only! I think (not sure) this is only for today (Nov 23). And if you get the Amazon $3.00 gift- or give-away, you can actually download Adam’s album for only $0.99! How’s that for a bargain, huh? **

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Album Review – Kris Allen’s Self-Titled Debut Album

I’m a fan of Kris Allen from American Idol, and I guess that automatically makes me predisposed to like his album. But here’s the thing – I also pretty much prepared myself to be disappointed, because year in and year out, the AI winner’s album (and also the runner-ups) have been huge disappointments for me. Case in point, Season 7’s Davids pretty much produced hugely disappointing albums that I have listened to maybe a handful of times since I bought them. Their albums are in limbo somewhere in my iTunes and I don’t really care.

Anyway, I followed Kris’ album from the 30 second previews to the stream from AOL Music. And it was with much relief that I could go – hallelujah! – finally, an AI winner got it right! I’m not saying that Kris’ album is the best or is breaking new ground (hello? This is 19 after all) – but Kris had managed to both remain true to who I thought he was (based on his AI persona) and at the same time, show growth and versatility. I’ve said this before, but I do wish to thank Kris’ A&R person for letting Kris be Kris. He ended up co-writing 9 of the songs on his album, and whataya know? Those Kris co-written songs ended up the absolutely best tracks in the whole album for me! I kinda shudder to think what the album would be like if he wasn’t allowed that artistic freedom. We’d be left with a bunch of uptempo uber-wordy songs from The Script writers, I suppose. Shudder.

Vocally, Kris sounds like Kris – and that means his voice remains front and center – and sounds even better than he did before – fuller, stronger, rounder – and surprise, surprise – he isn’t over-processed or overwhelmed by the production. Claps all around for the production team! He manages to keeps it as real and as emotionally connected as he has always been (listen to the heartbreaking rawness of ‘I Need To Know‘ if you have doubts). Speaking of, another thing that surprised me was the theme that permeated song after song – I mean, if I didn’t know better since they seem to be real happy together, I’d have thought that Kris and his wife Katy were having a serious relationship bump during the album-writing process!

Personal favorites of mine from the album include ‘Before We Come Undone‘, ‘Bring It Back‘, the gorgeous ‘Red Guitar‘ (where Kris gets solo writing credits) and the heartwrenching ‘I Need To Know‘. ‘Before We Come Undone‘ and ‘Bring It Back‘ need to be pitched to Gray’s Anatomy – they would be perfect for the next existential crisis montage for the highly dramatic ladies of that show. ‘Red Guitar‘ is simply gorgeous.gorgeous.gorgeous. I think Kris shows uber-promising song-writing gravitas with that song – and I would die if the person I loved ever wrote a song full of metaphors like that for me. Lucky, lucky Katy! And ‘I Need To Know‘ may never be released as a single (it’s as far from commercial as a song can be), but I hope more people get to listen to this – Kris sounds really weird singing it (I found out that he was actually lying on the floor when he recorded it), but the next time you’re drunk and feeling like shit, take this song out for a listen – see how it hits you slam! in the heart. Loved the absolutely beautiful piano accompaniment in that stripped down song. Another favorite of mine ‘Alright With Me‘ is pure bouncy fun – and needs to be in the next Shrek soundtrack. Surely, I couldn’t have been the only person who had a mental image of Shrek and his sidekick Donkey bouncing along to this song as they embark on their next mission?

I remember when ‘Live Like We’re Dying’ came out, and I said, it’s okay that it’s a cover – it sounds like Kris! Well, I do think it still sounds (kinda) like Kris, but with all the songs out there that Kris himself wrote, it now pales by comparison. Don’t get me wrong though – LLWD and the other songs called not-my-favorites serve their purpose too. They enable Kris to branch out and go a little hip-hop/urban (Live Like We’re Dying), rhythmic R&B (Written All Over My Face), funk-rock (the sexy & flirty Can’t Stay Away), power ballad-y (The Truth – this would also be good for Gray’s Anatomy or maybe ‘Vampire Diaries’) and blues-y (Is It Over). They break up what would have been an album of mostly mid-tempo pop-rock.

Seriously, this is IMO the best debut album to come out from an AI winner – it remains true to who Kris is as an artist and definitely showcased his talents not just as a singer, but as a very promising song-writer. I’m looking forward to future efforts from him where he gets more solo songwriting credits.

P.S. Oh, yeah, if you had pre-ordered Kris’ CD from iTunes, you would have received a bonus track ‘From the Ashes‘ – if you didn’t – don’t sweat it – I didn’t find anything special with it really. And oh yes, notice how I failed to even mention the new arrangement of ‘Heartless‘? Hated.hated.hated. it. Enough said.

Kris’ CD is still available for full online streaming at AOL Music, so check it out!

** Grab Kris Allen’s debut album NOW @ Amazon ($9.99, savings of $3.99) or iTunes ($10.99) It’s also available as a Walmart Exclusive (with another bonus track ‘Send Me All Your Angels‘). **

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Album Review – Jason Mraz’s ‘Beautiful Mess – Live On Earth’

Tracks:

1 Intro
2 Sunshine Song
3 Traveler / Make It Mine
4 Anything You Want
5 Coyotes
6 Live High
7 Only Human
8 The Remedy
9 The Dynamo of Volition
10 A Beautiful Mess
11 I’m Yours
12 Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat)
13 Copchase
14 All Night Long
15 Butterfly
16 The Boy’s Gone

Product Description:

Jason Mraz follows up his platinum selling 2008 release ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things’ with a brand new release, ‘Jason Mraz’s Beautiful Mess – Live On Earth (CD/DVD) ‘ This Live CD/DVD was filmed at Jason’s Gratitude Café Tour date at the Charter One Pavilion – Chicago (August 13, 2009). Jason Mraz’s ‘Beautiful Mess – Live On Earth’ features all of the old favorites as well as the hits Lucky (with a special guest appearance from Colbie Caillat), and I’m Yours from ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’ The DVD, directed by Darren Doane, features the full length concert, never-before-seen bonus footage, and a special mockumentary titled ‘un beau desordre’.

I actually got the iTunes version which is just the songs, not the CD/DVD combo from Amazon. Maybe I should’ve gotten the CD/DVD – oh well, I’ll just add it to my Christmas wish list then! So, my review will just be on the CD part.

I’m a huge fan of live CDs – it’s a good way of reliving a concert you really liked, and alternatively, it’s also a good way of attending a concert you couldn’t actually physically go to. Many times, I prefer live CDs to studio recordings, since it captures both the energy of the performance and the audience ‘loving’ the performer back. It works best, of course, if the performer was actually doing things live (and not lip-syncing unlike some other acts I won’t mention).

In this case, it’s win-win. Jason Mraz is a top-notch live performer; he sings as well, if not better, live as in studio. And the audience in Mraz’ concerts are a wonderful bunch too, very responsive and very enthusiastic. The live album is beautifully recorded – Jason’s vocals, the instruments, even the audience’s cheers/reactions (which acts as a compliment and never overshadows the music).

‘Beautiful Mess – Live On Earth‘ also benefits IMO from the good selection of songs/hits that Jason Mraz picked for the Gratitude Cafe tour. Of course fans will complain on why this or that song from this or that album (or even from the actual concerts) wasn’t added to the track list – but personally – I was pretty happy with the selection. It’s a good mix – the cd is never boring – and you have an idea of how Mraz’ songs have evolved through his (extraordinarily prolific) years. You’ve got the good breezy and happy music mixed in with a jazzy sound, some rap, some raggae, some funky, some soul, some inspirational… Sorry, I can’t even pick out a highlight, since I basically loved it all from start (‘Sunshine Song’ is pretty as a picture) to finish (‘The Boy’s Gone’). I even liked the cheesy Lionel Richie ‘All Night Long’ cover! Okay, okay – I have to say I about died with the trifecta of Sunshine Song, Traveler / Make It Mine and Anything You Want. Loved that section especially. And oh yes, I think this CD has one of the best renditions of ‘A Beautiful Mess’ out there. Absolutely.Heartwrenching.

Basically, if you purchase this, I can guarantee that you won’t regret the $11.99 (iTunes – MP3s only) or the $16.99 (Amazon – CD/DVD – with $7.99 savings!) you spent out-of-pocket. This album is a little pocketful of sunshine (TM Natasha Bedingfield) I imagine I’ll take out to have a little bit of fun when I’m feeling a little down or just feeling like being chill for a while

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Album Review – Landon Pigg’s ‘The Boy Who Never’

I didn’t buy Landon Pigg’s ‘The Boy Who Never’ – I only knew of his song ‘Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop’ because of the AT & T commercial. Anyway, the album was gifted to me by my cousin who saw Landon Pigg in that movie “Whip It” and is now a Landon Pigg stan. She iTunes gifted me the album in hopes of converting me to the cause, since as she put it – ‘He’s so cuuuuute!’ [insert eyeroll here] There’s a stan for you. Anyway, I’m not one to turn down anything free (especially since I’m broke right now), so thank you, cuz!

As I’ve said, the only song of Landon Pigg I was familiar with was ‘Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop’. There’s a reason that song was picked for a commercial and that’s because it’s a perfectly charming, sentimental and infectious love song. You can’t beat the lines “I think that possibly maybe I’m falling for you” – anybody who’s ever been a confused teen-ager with a crush could possibly not identify with that.

‘The Boy Who Never’ features a couple of songs I’d have plunked down money for (if I had money still) – I really liked ‘A Ghost‘, ‘Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop‘, ‘Made for Glory‘ and ‘Speak to the Keys‘. I found these songs very mellow and easy-listening and it helped that they had ‘catchy‘ melodies. Not to mention I really liked how the stringed instruments were worked into the songs.

You know how you listen to certain albums, and you go – perfect for the beach! perfect for a party! perfect for… Well, this album is perfect for lying back on your backyard, maybe on a porch swing, relaxing while sipping a hot chocolate on a fall day. While watching multi-colored leaves floating down. Just perfect.

Okay, many of Landon Pigg’s songs are a touch nutella-sweet, but he manages to pull them off and as I’ve said, they sound very charming and smooth to the ears. The tracks I ultimately liked best had a ‘poppish-folk’ bent and seemed like a throw-back to the 60s. Throw in a bit of introspection. Maybe Pigg was listening to a lot of the Beatles (and the like) when he was writing the album?

The other tracks on the album really weren’t that memorable for me – exceptions are ‘Take a Chance‘ which is kinda boy-bandy and the ballad ‘Look So Tired‘ which on second thought may just need some repeat listening before I start to really like it. But for now, those are the songs I would have downloaded if I were on a singles-buying-spree. Would I buy the entire album outright? My answer is yes, but only because it makes more economic sense to buy the whole thing at $7.99 than buy each song I liked ($1.29 each).

Listen to ‘Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop’ and ‘A Ghost’

The Boy Who Never is available on Amazon ($9.49 for the CD). It is also available as an MP3 album on Amazon ($7.99) and iTunes ($7.99).

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Album Review – Christmas From the Heart by David Archuleta

For a person who vowed to be a ’singles buyer’, I seem to be on an album splurge again these days! And there’s still November and December to go through… So anyway, I caved and ordered David Archuleta’s ‘Christmas from the Heart’.

So, did I really need another Christmas album? I think so – for me, Christmas albums are special and timeless delights. I’m one of those corny people who listen almost exclusively to Christmas tunes in December, and YES, I also LOVE carolers!!! I will not only NOT be annoyed by them, but I’ll actually stop and listen awhile and enjoy the caroling darnit! Besides, I’ll bequeath my (considerable) Christmas album collection to my descendants some day.

I’ve wondered if this really is the right time for David Archuleta to be releasing a holiday cd, but hey, he does say in the liner notes that he wanted to do the album so he could share his love of Christmas (and as a gift for his fans), so (as a fellow Christmas-lover) who am I to complain? It would be pretty stating the obvious to say that David has the perfect voice for the traditional Christmas hymns – it’s that choir boy purity / bell-like clarity of his voice coupled with his rich and warm tone.

I don’t think anyone will be surprised when I say that the stand-outs on this CD for me are ‘Ave Maria‘, ‘O Holy Night‘, ‘Silent Night‘ and ‘What Child Is This‘ which David sings with heartfelt and genuine conviction. In particular, I have to emphasize how much I love his ‘Ave Maria‘ (!!!) – I’ve gotten so used to it being sung with operatic embellishments, it’s a breath of fresh air to have it sung simply and reverently, while still eliciting that strong emotional reaction that this beautiful song inspires.

I was also pleasantly surprised with how much I liked ‘Pat-A-Pan‘ (such a fun, upbeat song! And it’s French!) and ‘Riu Riu Chiu‘ (it has this wistful & yearning quality that I like, although I have no idea what the song’s Spanish lyrics are about!). Both are new-to-me Christmas songs (in a foreign language) that are excellent additions to my old favorites. So, thank you David for these two.

Jive hasn’t scrimped on production for this cd, and I enjoyed the accompanying orchestral instrumentation / background choir, (very evident on such songs as ‘Joy to the World‘, ‘Angels We Have Heard on High‘, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful‘) but above all that, it is David’s voice that is the major selling point of this album.

Okay, I’ve talked up all the positives for this album, but there are some songs I’ll be skipping in this album and unfortunately, it includes the only original song in the album. I seriously did give ‘Melodies of Christmas‘ a fair shake by listening several times (since David co-wrote it), but it just doesn’t measure up well – lyrically or melody. I don’t hate it, and it’ll probably grow on me eventually, but if I were buying just singles, I wouldn’t really get this song. (But at least, David will receive bigger royalties from this song since he did co-write it). I do get what David was going for – hell, it’s in the title – tying up all the Christmas melodies in one neat little bow.

I’ll also be skipping over ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas‘ and ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas‘. Just not enjoying these songs like the traditional ones. Charice Pempengco does a great job on the duet with David, but for some strange reason, I’ve never liked this song. Like ever. I would have preferred to have David sing ‘Mary Did You Know’ or ‘Grown Up Christmas Wish’ instead, if Jive wanted to add “newer” (relatively speaking) songs to the album. Or maybe, they could have added more foreign language Christmas songs? (** speaking of, anyone out there with foreign language Christmas carol recommendations?) But I will add that I’m very thankful that David/Jive did not add any ‘novelty’ songs in this cd, especially since his voice would’ve been totally wasted on them.

The entire cd is streaming on AOL music, so head on there for a listen, and if you like, buy, buy, buy! “Christmas From The Heart” is now available at Amazon for $9.99 (with $3.99 in savings) or as MP3 Album Download ($10.99, with savings of $2.18) OR at iTunes (also $10.99). All in all, I’m pretty pleased with my purchase and this cd will definitely be in rotation this Christmas!

ETA : Check out First Listen: David Archuleta’s ‘Christmas From the Heart’ IdolChatter’s review of David’s CD Brian Mansfield. He goes in-depth in his review.

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Album Review – Mika’s The Boy Who Knew Too Much

So, this is another album exempted from my ‘will only buy singles from now on’ rule. I loved Mika’s debut – “Life in Cartoon Motion” – it was definitely NOT one of those albums chock full of songs I turned out never to have listened to. So, I had a (semi) good feeling about Mika’s sophomore album, the semi-ness mostly because I really didn’t like the first single that was released “We Are Golden”. But I’m happy to report that I’m pretty much sold on the album (well, majority of the songs) now. I’m a huuuge fan of Mika’s soaring falsetto and as in his last offering, the soaring voice is still front and center in this album. Whew – no overproduction that I can detect here!

Basically, if you liked “Life in Cartoon Motion” – just go and buy “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” because it’s very faithful to the upbeat & positive spirit (minus one or two songs) of his debut album. It’s the same piano pop with crazy infectious hooks and driving beats, coupled with joy! laughter! bounci-ness! Add in a bit of vaudeville and a retro-60s touch to the mix. Sprinkle in more ambitious (and expensive?) production values. And voila – it’s just a perfect mix for me. As for the people who criticize Mika’s lyrics – well, I’d have to say that lyrics are not his forte (check out The Avett Brothers for that!) – so if you were critical of the weak lyrics in his last album, you’ll probably remain critical here. I just mostly ignore the words in his songs. Funny. But true.

So, I’ll just go a bit in-depth on the songs. Blame It On the Girls, Touches You and Good Gone Girl are simply perfect for celebrating life and dancing (you can also include running/exercising). Just simple fun-, carefree-, doesn’t take itself too seriously- kind of music that just effortlessly gets your body moving (and before you know it, you’ve burned off x number of calories!). Plus points for being a bit addicting to listen to. I guess you could argue that Rain and We Are Golden are in the same mold, but somehow, I’m not so into these two.

Personal favorites of mine are Dr. John, Blue Eyes and especially the very quirky Toy Boy which made me imagine I was off somewhere enjoying an English fair in the 40s or an old Disney cartoon or a Vaudeville show (think Queen’s Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon or Good Company – they captures the spirit of these Queen songs).

In addition, loved loved the sultriness of Pick Up Off The Floor (it’s a bit jazzy/bluesy), and even the songs that I didn’t really get into that much on first listen, I can see myself warming up to them (eventually). Example was One Foot Boy which I wasn’t too sure of at first, but loved after a couple of listens. I don’t regret getting the whole album – like in my review of the Muse album – there really isn’t a song that’s bad in here and I can see myself listening to the whole thing again and again. I’m pretty sure I won’t be skipping songs with this one!

Mika’s The Boy Who Knew Too Much is available on Amazon ($9.99) with a Special Edition ($11.99) that includes a documentary and live performance videos. It’s also available on iTunes as a Deluxe LP ($11.99).

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Album Review – The Resistance by Muse

I’ve pretty much called a ‘cease-and-desist’ on album buying, meaning I’m basically a singles downloader now. That happened when I noticed one time that when I placed my iPod on shuffle, I skipped basically every other song. And when I looked at play numbers on iTunes, there were a LOT of songs I’d played only once or fairly infrequently. So, that led me to thinking why I had these songs I obviously didn’t like anyway – and yup – these extraneous songs just came attached to the songs I did like when I bought the albums… Muliply each song by .99 cents and my wallet kinda gave a shudder… and it’s been singles for me since then.

But in life there are always exceptions and of course I had to have the Muse album. I’d read repeatedly that if you were a fan of “Black Holes and Revelations”, it’s pretty much a given that you’ll like the new album. So, I’m sold, I’m in, I’m a fan. And after listening to the new spankin’ album on repeat, I’m very happy, money well spent indeed.

Stand-outs for me on this album are : Uprising, The Resistance, United States of Eurasia and Guiding Light. These songs are exactly what I expected from Muse – catchy, bombastic, melodious-rock. Very strong choruses that you can sing-along with on concerts.

Not to say I didn’t like the other songs – Undisclosed Desires was unexpectedly poppish but A LOT of fun. I Belong To You deserves a special mention – it doesn’t quite take itself as seriously as the rest of the album and I pretty much loved it after I listened again. and again. (And I kept on flashing back to the Dancing Through Life sequence in Wicked. Meaning the dance steps there would work with this song – I’m weird like that.)

If I had to pick, I’d have to say that Mk Ultra and Unnatural Selection would be the weakest of the lot. That being said, there isn’t a real bad song in this album and that’s saying a lot in this day and age where albums are made of 60% filler.

I’m not quite sure what to think of the Exogenesis mini-symphony – but I respect the band for trying this little experiment. Freddie Mercury once asked why a rock star couldn’t dabble in classical music (I’m paraphrasing here – and Freddie did dabble in it and successfully), and Matthew Bellamy seems to be saying – why not indeed? My only problem is that I’d hoped that they’d gone all the way and split this off to a CD2 or something and make it a real symphony – not just limit this part to 3 minute songs each.

To finish this little review, I expect to get a lot of mileage out of this album and am looking forward to listening to these songs live. If you still haven’t grabbed your copy – what are you waiting for? The Resistance is available on Amazon @ $8.99 ($1.90 savings) and iTunes @ 11.99 (special LP version with loads of cool new features).

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