sexta-feira, fevereiro 24, 2006

490. Matthew Sweet -sick of myself

490.MSsickofmyself
490.MSsickofmyself,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
"Sick of Myself" was the first Matthew Sweet track I ever heard and it still holds up very well - and why? Because it's catchy, sweet and very sincere... he communicates the best part about being in love (I think): when looking at the person you're dating you can't figure out how you got so lucky to be with someone so great and cute. The bside sort of sucks.
Sick Of Myself
7 out of 10

quinta-feira, fevereiro 23, 2006

489. Matthew Sweet - girlfriend

489.MSgirlfriend
489.MSgirlfriend,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This record isn't as good as I hoped it would have been prior to revisiting it. I never really gave it the time of day before - I must have gotten it 6 or 7 years ago through BMG and had certain expectations. "Girlfriend', 'Thought I knew You', 'I've been waiting', 'You don't love me' and 'Looking at the sun' are all decent, solid tracks but as a whole the album sounds like a really, really talented friend you have who has been playing in his band since college... which is fine I suppose... though I sympathise with Matthew regarding relationships his music needs to be beautifully melancholy (or incredibly sweet) to help his lyrics pop.

6.7 out of 10

segunda-feira, fevereiro 20, 2006

488. Ben Kweller - on my way

488.BKonmyway
488.BKonmyway,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Hey, I love being in love. It seems like when you fall in love it all starts to make sense like 'oh! this is why I wake up everyday and go to work. got it'. But something happens to musicians when they fall in love. I was very much looking forward to this album. Young goofy Ben had enjoyed some success with his debut, toured with the other two Bens, gained a ton of fans... Look at him now, all dressed up, looking good, he became a pet owner and fell in love... HARD! But he switched his tongue in cheek melancholic pop for oh my god I'd kill for you babe, you even look cute when you fart, matter of fact tracks. They aren't irresistible anymore - they are really just declarations - this album could have been a spoken word record. I admire and respect some of his sincere moments like in the track below when he's telling his mom how much he loves this girl - but his undying love doesn't make for good pop. A shame.
On My Way
5.3 out of 10

487. Ben Kweller - wasted and ready

487.BKwastedandready
487.BKwastedandready,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
"Wasted and Ready", a solid track off of 'Sha Sha' is backed by two b-sides here 'I don't why', a decent little ditty and 'Problems' which has the right intentions but ends up just becoming annoying.
Wasted & Ready
7.3 out of 10

486. Ben Kweller - sha sha

486.BKshasha
486.BKshasha,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
The first track I heard from Ben, and immediately loved was 'Falling'. The track is pure pop bliss, irresistible, impossible to dislike. I liked it even more when I found out he was only 19. At times he very much sounds like the other Ben, Mr. Folds, a bit of Weezer, but most of all he comes across as a very talented kid. Chances are you've heard 'Falling' so I'm posting a different track.
Family Tree
8.4 out of 10

domingo, fevereiro 19, 2006

485. Radish - failing and leaving

485.Rfailingandleaving
485.Rfailingandleaving,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I got this single (I know the picture is wrong) based on how much I liked Ben Kweller's solo debut... his teen aged band sounds like a bunch of kids doing their thing to the best of their abilities... thankfully this single has only one song.

4.5 out of 10

sábado, fevereiro 18, 2006

484. Fear of Pop - volume 1

484.BFfearofpop
484.BFfearofpop,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Technically this was Ben Folds first solo album and it's an odd mix of tracks - instrumentals, spoken word vocals by William Shatner, sampled loopy vignettes. It came out at a time when everyone was doing something electronic and I guess Ben wanted to play around too.

5.5 out of 10

domingo, fevereiro 12, 2006

482. Ben Folds Five - army

482.BFFarmy
482.BFFarmy,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Oops. I did these out of order. Anyway, 'Army' contains the single track and two non album numbers: 'Air' and 'Theme from "Dr.Pyser"'. Having just read the liner notes, the two bsides were produced by Brendan 'Pearl Jam' O' Brien and 'Air' was featured on the soundtrack to 'Godzilla' - ahh the things I've learned since I started this blog. 'Air' is decent and 'Dr.Pyser' is purely instrumental and honors its title by sounding very much like a theme.

6.3 out of 10

483. Ben Folds Five - don't change your plans

483.BFFdon'tchangeyourplans
483.BFFdon'tchangeyourplans,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Contains two 'Reinhold' tracks and live versions of 'Song for the dumped' and 'Missing the war'. I got this for the live tracks - I remembered seeing an episode of HBO's Reverb with BFF and amazed at the energy this three piece had. Though 'Baby photos' has a live version of 'dumped' this one is much better.

7.3 out of 10

481. Ben Folds Five - Reinhold Messner

481.BFFreinholdmessner
481.BFFreinholdmessner,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
A follow up to 'Whatever and ever amen', 'Reinhold' also became their final album as a band, I think. The record is a solid one with the band still fighting categorization... the addition of strings and a greater production budget both add and take away from the release. It's great to hear tracks played to crisp perfection but at times one can't help but feel like you're listening to a theme song from a sitcom. Nonetheless, there are enough good moments to keep this. I always wondered about Ben's solo stuff. I know he has released quite a bit so far - I'm open to recommendations...

7.6 out of 10

480. Ben Folds Five - naked baby photos

480.BFFnakedbabyphotos
480.BFFnakedbabyphotos,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Released after the successful 'Whatever and ever amen', 'Naked Baby Photos' collects b-sides and live tracks from 95 to 98. At first I was concerned that I had again misplaced another band into the 'prankster pop' category... but after listening to 'For those of ya'll who wear fannie packs' BFF does at least partially belong in here. All in all a decent release, more for hard core fans though.

6.5 out of 10

sábado, fevereiro 11, 2006

479. Ben Folds Five - whatever and ever amen

479.BFFwhateverandeveramen
479.BFFwhateverandeveramen,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Finally a new post. I listened to this album a lot when it came out... its strength lies in Ben's ability to make 60's/70's harmonies sound fresh, marrying melancholy, pop and wit. Easily the band's most successful record BFF deserved all the hype they got with this release - 'Brick' is a strong ballad and has surprisingly aged well and 'Song for the dumped' is classic BFF that no matter how many times you listen to it you still chuckle. Still the aspect that I enjoy the most about BFF is the nostalgic harmonies and arrangements that remind me of listening to my mom's jazz/soul/r&b tapes when I was four.
Selfless, Cold, and Composed
8.7 out of 10

sexta-feira, fevereiro 03, 2006

478. Butthole Suffers - dracula from houston

478.BSdraculafromhouston
478.BSdraculafromhouston,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
The Buttholes Surfers had some interesting moments, I'm not sure on which albums (feel free to recommend any if you know) and I took a chance with this, and lost. The single is lame, it reminds me of another song, almost tv theme or nursery rhyme like. The second track 'They Came In' is better, more in keeping with what I expected, but still not great.

5 out of 10

477. Marcy Playground - saint joe on the school bus

477.MPsaintjoeontheschoolbus
477.MPsaintjoeontheschoolbus,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Now what possessed me to buy this? Sure I liked that 'sex and candy' song and I liked the track that's on the x-files soundtrack, I think. But a single of this? The lead track isn't bad, but it isn't really going anywhere, ditto with the other two songs as well.

4 out of 10

quarta-feira, fevereiro 01, 2006

476. PUSA - pure frosting

476.PUSApurefrosting
476.PUSApurefrosting,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
A medley of b-sides, live tracks and covers. 'Love Delicatessen' is classic PUSA and they pull off a decent version of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' - heck even the theme to the Drew Carey Shows sounds good and not overplayed. A must for fans, nothing special for the casual listener.

6.5 out of 10