Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mandy Moore: new album fail

So I decided to check out Mandy Moore's new album, Amanda Leigh (released yesterday). I will start by admitting that I have never really been a fan of Ms. Moore. Her voice has always had this airy tone to it that kind of makes me want to gag. BUT, I did try to give the record a fair listen. Being that she is married to Ryan Adams and all, I thought for sure this could actually turn out to be decent. However, I was wrong, and it was worse than "not decent." Ironically, it sounds to me almost like a Ryan Adams album gone terribly wrong. In her attempts to be folksy and (maybe??) alt-rock, she came out with a record full of songs that very much fall into my category of "cheesy, not quite pop, just kind of weird." My mother is an elementary school music teacher, and the best comparison that comes to mind is one of the cd's that would go along with her K-5 music books. I'm not really sure where she was going with song titles like "Merrimack River" and "Fern Dell." Again, I'm just having to guess it was a failed attempt at being folksy. The sound is way too clean, which to me is almost the opposite of what gritty, folksy, alt-rock is supposed to be. And there you have it, Mandy Moore dishes out a less-than-satisfying album once again.* I really think I would rather her just stick to pop music, and maybe come out with a good surface level love song every now and then to go along with some sappy movie. I could appreciate that.

*I do give her some props for Coverage. It was decent...perhaps because she didn't write any of the songs.

I feel like that was harsh. But honesty is harsh sometimes. Happy Wednesday!
A side note: One review I read of MM's album actually called it "classic rock." That boggles my mind.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

weekend in [music] review

I have been listening to the new Tori album all weekend! It's available for streaming (in full) on her myspace before it's released this Tuesday. So far, I'm loving it. Well, I can pretty much guarantee I will always love anything she comes out with. BUT, in all honesty, I'm not quite getting the entire album. I've only listened to bits and pieces of some of the songs, but a few of them are even too lyrically obscure for my taste...and just kind of made me go "ehh- not so much." My absolute favorite so far is "Curtain Call." If you want a very detailed review of the album, I recommend you check out this one. Overall, I think it's another great delivery from Tori- but a few songs could've been left out.

Moving on. I spent some time just letting my itunes actually go through shuffle (you know, without skipping to the next song I know I actually want to listen to) and rediscovered a few great songs. Here's the list:

1. Dogs -Damien Rice ...I am loving this one. I think I probably didn't ever devote enough time to listening to the 9 album, and I have plans of doing so. 
2. Paper Aeroplane -KT Tunstall ...ditto, but replace 9 with Drastic Fantastic.
3. Waking Up in Vegas -Katy Perry ...guilty pop music pleasure. I've had the whole album since it came out, but hadn't given this song a second listen until it started coming on the radio a week ago. and it is now my ringtone. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that.

Short list, I know. But it's one I am loving right now! (#3 will be short-lived, especially after the 4.3 millionth time I've heard it on the radio/my phone). 

Goodbye weekend. :(

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Blue October show + other stuff

SO in recent news, I saw Blue October a couple weekends ago in Charlotte at Amos' Southend...awesome show. I have been a big fan of Blue October for quite a while, so I was happy that I could finally catch them in CLT. They mostly played songs off their new album entitled Approaching Normal, which I hadn't really listened to. One of my favorite new ones was "My Never," and I also didn't realize it was connected to Breaking Dawn (Twilight series). Of course they still played a few older ones like "Congratulations" (one of my absolute favorites). You can never fully appreciate the sound and energy of a band until you hear them live, and Blue October is definitely worth seeing. Justin is awesome, as is the rest of the band. Amos' Southend is also a great venue if you live in the Charlotte area. I loved the atmosphere AND they have decently priced drinks...I definitely plan on going back. I should have bought the new album before the concert, but I didn't. I do have it now though, and I can't stop listening. "Dirt Room," and "Picking Up the Pieces" are two favorites right now.

I finally bought the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, and I'm still getting used to it. It's almost dance party-ish. Not sure how I feel about that, which is exactly what I said when I first heard "Zero." I'm still in that same place. But I'm glad the itunes version includes acoustic versions of several of the songs- adds a little bit of variation to the mix. I can say that I always admire bands for going where they haven't been before in terms of sound. I think it's a mark of a real artist (or in the YYYs case, artists). 

Kings of Leon was in Charlotte recently as well and I could kick myself for not going. Saw an interesting fact pop up on twitter from John Acuff (Stuff Christians Like) - Kings of Leon's new album actually sold more copies in the UK than Coldplay's newest album. I knew Kings of Leon was huge in the UK, but that's pretty darn impressive. Ahh well, I'm sure they'll roll into this area sometime again in the near future. 

I suppose I'll leave you with my spin list for the week!

1. Dirt Room -Blue October
2. Picking Up the Pieces -Blue October
3. Hysteric -Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Cherry-Coloured Funk -Charlotte Martin
5. Keep Me In Your Pocket -Charlotte Martin
6. Ickis Wish -I Nine
7. Come Around -M.I.A. (feat. Timbaland)
8. Stoned -Dido
9. Anne -Santigold
10. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. -Ryan Adams

I know, quite the range of genres there. Keeps my iPod interesting. ;)