Music Mix in Review: 2009
I kind of wanted to do something for music, as I never really talk about it. Like movies, I don't want to devote an entry to every single thing I listen to, so I think I'm gonna try a year-end list, like I do with movies, and see what happens.
But music's a more fluid thing too. For the sake of this list, I want to let you know a few things:
1) I'm no including music I haven't bought. In other words, there are albums my husband bought that I've listened to and have on iTunes (Muse's latest, as well as Alice in Chains), but haven't really had the time to process in terms of a listing like this.
2) I'm not including soundtracks, scores, or instrumental albums. It's just not a fair comparison, but I will list them at the bottom of the review if anyone wants to ask about them.
3) These albums may not have necessarily been released in 2009. This list is of the stuff I bought this year, whether they were new releases or not. There's plenty of new releases on this list, but some of it isn't. Fair warning.
There will be four categories, like my movie breakdown: Great, Good, Average, and instead of Bad, I'm going to have "Not My Thing." For me to actually think an album is BAD would be really surprising, and I'm the kind of person that recognizes everyone's got their own "thing" when it comes to music, and what doesn't work for me might be someone else's favorite album ever.
Clear as mud? Let's try this:
The Great
Allison Iraheta, Just Like You: Allison wasn't my favorite contestant on this eighth season of American Idol, but I loved the rough growl to her voice and she had enough rock prospects that I thought long and hard about getting this album. Her single, "Friday I'll Be Over U," is actually more pop than I prefer, but it's a song that's a lot of fun and gets stuck in your head, so I finally broke and got the album. Surprise, surprise: I loved it. It's pretty solid all the way through, with some songs purely pop (but always having a rock edge thanks to her voice), and some songs that are more rock, a direction I hope Allison goes into in the future. My favorites from this album are "D is for Dangerous" and "Holiday." It's just a fun album, and the songs fit her far better than anything she did on Idol, and are more age-appropriate, in a good way.
Listen to this: Holiday
Daughtry, Leave This Town: It took me a couple run-throughs before I warmed up to this album. Daughtry's debut was so rock-solid (pun intended) that the follow-up was just different enough to make me think, "I like the first album better." But it grew on me, even the country-tinged "Tennessee Line" (with background vocals by Vince Gill). "Traffic Light" I can put on repeat and listen to FOREVER (iTunes pre-order only), "Supernatural" is another one that gets stuck in my head, and "Open Up Your Eyes" is sad but has soaring vocals. It's another solid album, maybe not quite as good as his debut, but any Daughtry fan should be happy.
Listen to this: Traffic Light
30 Seconds to Mars, This is War: I absolutely loved their sophomore album, A Beautiful Lie, so when I first heard This is War, I was a little disappointed. Not near as epic, and it utilizes children's choirs, something I tend to despise. Then I listened to it a couple times (and I learned the "children's choir" is actually the recording of fan voices), and the album grew on me. I mean, REALLY grew on me. As in, I'll listen to it on repeat for days on end, grew on me. My first favorite was "Hurricane" (the version featuring Kayne West, which is apparently illegal, but you can hear it here), and then I fell in love with the current single, "Kings and Queens." Overall, I really enjoy the repeating motifs and Leto's soaring vocals. Sure, some of the songs feel and sound familiar, but that's comforting, especially those, like "Alibi," that are very U2-esque, but I wasn't expecting anything ground-breaking, and this album is just excellent. A Beautiful Lie might still be my favorite, but this one comes a close second of the three total.
Listen to this: Hurricane, featuring Kanye West (yeah, I know: Kayne's not cool right now. I've never been a fan of him, but this song is REALLY excellent)
The Good
Ilya, Leaving Sans-Souci: a random bit of trivia: "Sans-Souci" is actually the FRENCH spelling of my maiden name, Saunsaucie. It's pronounced the same way. :) At any rate, Ilya is an independent band that I first discovered at the Disk Exchange. They had Ilya's debut, Poise is the Greater Architect, playing in the store, and I finally broke down and asked who it was. I never picked it up, not right away, but I fell in love with the album once I downloaded it off of iTunes. I didn't even know they had a sophomore album until I was browsing online, and it took some extra research to make sure it was the same band and not another of the same name (I think the other band sings Spanish pop?). To be fair, I've only listened to this album once (something else came out pretty quickly and I just haven't gotten around to listening to it again), but I love this band's dark, noir-esque yet kind of jazzy sound. This may sound weird, but it just sounds like music the city would make, if it could make music.
The Average
Kris Allen, Kris Allen: Poor Kris. I think he's an excellent musician, but this album is just kind of meh for me. Now I'll admit, his kind of stuff isn't the sort of thing I normally go for (think of Jason Mraz, John Mayer, etc), so in that regard, it's pretty good, but it just doesn't stand out. It's one through two run-throughs on my rotation, and that's about it. I have grown fond of his single, "Live Like We're Dying," and his "Let It Rain" is really, really good. I'm just sorry that they didn't take advantage of his excellent acoustic version of "Heartless" that he did on Idol, because that's far superior to the version we get on this album.
Creed, Full Circle: this band used to be a kind of guilty pleasure. I've loved their work, their anthems, and the power of their music. But I felt pretty meh about this album, Creed's first since they broke up the band. The single "Rain" really didn't appeal to me; however, "Overcome" is pretty solid and does, on occasion, get stuck in my head. Yet, the album on the whole just isn't doing anything for me. Maybe I'm past my Creed "phase" and that's why, or maybe the music just isn't what it used to be. Who knows. I doubt I'll get the next album, but you never know. I'm always allowed to change my mind. :)
Lacuna Coil, Shallow Life: What a disappointment. When I first got into Lacuna Coil, I went on a buying streak and got EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. On every album, there's always one or two songs that I just fall in love with and want on repeat, but not so here. On "Shallow Life," everything blends together in a bad way, and the songs sound too similar. Too much of the guy (Andrea Ferro) singing instead of the girl, Cristina Scabbia, and that just makes me sad. Nothing stands out on this album, yet when I do stick it on my playlist, all the music is solidly familiar. Hopefully, their next album will work better for me.
U2, No Line on the Horizon: What a BIGGER disappointment! I loved How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, but nothing on No Line on the Horizon sticks in my ear. In fact, what I loved most about the album was the cover art, and that's not the thing I should love most about the album, you know? I'm gonna give the album a few more tries, but I think this was the biggest disappointment of the year.
Not My Thing
Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment: No, I'm not obsessed with Idol and its graduates, but I did like Adam, Kris, and Allison the best out of season eight, and I had to give their albums a shot. With Adam, I had a solid feeling he just wouldn't make the kind of music that would speak to me, and I was right. No doubt, he's talented and entertaining, and while some of the songs catch my ear, overall, the album doesn't make me want to stick it on repeat. There's a bit of a retro thing going on here too (as made obvious by the RIDICULOUS COVER, which was intentional, don't worry), but overall, the album's just not for me. Although, I'll give Adam some credit, I like "Music Again" and "Whataya Want From Me" pretty well, and the single, "For Your Entertainment," has grown on me.
Haven't Finished
Johnny Hollow, Dirty Hands: While I loved their self-titled debut, I just haven't been in the mood to give their sophomore effort a single run-through. I've got to fix that, but Johnny Hollow's music is such that I need to be in the mood for. It's not the kind of thing I normally listen to (it's dark and very atmospheric), but I will give it a full shot. One of these days. It's not them, it's me. :)
Instrumental, Soundtracks, Scores
Moon: Original Score
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Original Television Soundtrack
Lost: Season 4: Original Television Soundtrack
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Original Television Soundtrack
Caprica: Original Television Soundtrack
Twilight: New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Jon Hopkins, EP 1
Jon Hopkins, Opalescent
But music's a more fluid thing too. For the sake of this list, I want to let you know a few things:
1) I'm no including music I haven't bought. In other words, there are albums my husband bought that I've listened to and have on iTunes (Muse's latest, as well as Alice in Chains), but haven't really had the time to process in terms of a listing like this.
2) I'm not including soundtracks, scores, or instrumental albums. It's just not a fair comparison, but I will list them at the bottom of the review if anyone wants to ask about them.
3) These albums may not have necessarily been released in 2009. This list is of the stuff I bought this year, whether they were new releases or not. There's plenty of new releases on this list, but some of it isn't. Fair warning.
There will be four categories, like my movie breakdown: Great, Good, Average, and instead of Bad, I'm going to have "Not My Thing." For me to actually think an album is BAD would be really surprising, and I'm the kind of person that recognizes everyone's got their own "thing" when it comes to music, and what doesn't work for me might be someone else's favorite album ever.
Clear as mud? Let's try this:
The Great
Allison Iraheta, Just Like You: Allison wasn't my favorite contestant on this eighth season of American Idol, but I loved the rough growl to her voice and she had enough rock prospects that I thought long and hard about getting this album. Her single, "Friday I'll Be Over U," is actually more pop than I prefer, but it's a song that's a lot of fun and gets stuck in your head, so I finally broke and got the album. Surprise, surprise: I loved it. It's pretty solid all the way through, with some songs purely pop (but always having a rock edge thanks to her voice), and some songs that are more rock, a direction I hope Allison goes into in the future. My favorites from this album are "D is for Dangerous" and "Holiday." It's just a fun album, and the songs fit her far better than anything she did on Idol, and are more age-appropriate, in a good way.
Listen to this: Holiday
Daughtry, Leave This Town: It took me a couple run-throughs before I warmed up to this album. Daughtry's debut was so rock-solid (pun intended) that the follow-up was just different enough to make me think, "I like the first album better." But it grew on me, even the country-tinged "Tennessee Line" (with background vocals by Vince Gill). "Traffic Light" I can put on repeat and listen to FOREVER (iTunes pre-order only), "Supernatural" is another one that gets stuck in my head, and "Open Up Your Eyes" is sad but has soaring vocals. It's another solid album, maybe not quite as good as his debut, but any Daughtry fan should be happy.
Listen to this: Traffic Light
30 Seconds to Mars, This is War: I absolutely loved their sophomore album, A Beautiful Lie, so when I first heard This is War, I was a little disappointed. Not near as epic, and it utilizes children's choirs, something I tend to despise. Then I listened to it a couple times (and I learned the "children's choir" is actually the recording of fan voices), and the album grew on me. I mean, REALLY grew on me. As in, I'll listen to it on repeat for days on end, grew on me. My first favorite was "Hurricane" (the version featuring Kayne West, which is apparently illegal, but you can hear it here), and then I fell in love with the current single, "Kings and Queens." Overall, I really enjoy the repeating motifs and Leto's soaring vocals. Sure, some of the songs feel and sound familiar, but that's comforting, especially those, like "Alibi," that are very U2-esque, but I wasn't expecting anything ground-breaking, and this album is just excellent. A Beautiful Lie might still be my favorite, but this one comes a close second of the three total.
Listen to this: Hurricane, featuring Kanye West (yeah, I know: Kayne's not cool right now. I've never been a fan of him, but this song is REALLY excellent)
The Good
Ilya, Leaving Sans-Souci: a random bit of trivia: "Sans-Souci" is actually the FRENCH spelling of my maiden name, Saunsaucie. It's pronounced the same way. :) At any rate, Ilya is an independent band that I first discovered at the Disk Exchange. They had Ilya's debut, Poise is the Greater Architect, playing in the store, and I finally broke down and asked who it was. I never picked it up, not right away, but I fell in love with the album once I downloaded it off of iTunes. I didn't even know they had a sophomore album until I was browsing online, and it took some extra research to make sure it was the same band and not another of the same name (I think the other band sings Spanish pop?). To be fair, I've only listened to this album once (something else came out pretty quickly and I just haven't gotten around to listening to it again), but I love this band's dark, noir-esque yet kind of jazzy sound. This may sound weird, but it just sounds like music the city would make, if it could make music.
The Average
Kris Allen, Kris Allen: Poor Kris. I think he's an excellent musician, but this album is just kind of meh for me. Now I'll admit, his kind of stuff isn't the sort of thing I normally go for (think of Jason Mraz, John Mayer, etc), so in that regard, it's pretty good, but it just doesn't stand out. It's one through two run-throughs on my rotation, and that's about it. I have grown fond of his single, "Live Like We're Dying," and his "Let It Rain" is really, really good. I'm just sorry that they didn't take advantage of his excellent acoustic version of "Heartless" that he did on Idol, because that's far superior to the version we get on this album.
Creed, Full Circle: this band used to be a kind of guilty pleasure. I've loved their work, their anthems, and the power of their music. But I felt pretty meh about this album, Creed's first since they broke up the band. The single "Rain" really didn't appeal to me; however, "Overcome" is pretty solid and does, on occasion, get stuck in my head. Yet, the album on the whole just isn't doing anything for me. Maybe I'm past my Creed "phase" and that's why, or maybe the music just isn't what it used to be. Who knows. I doubt I'll get the next album, but you never know. I'm always allowed to change my mind. :)
Lacuna Coil, Shallow Life: What a disappointment. When I first got into Lacuna Coil, I went on a buying streak and got EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. On every album, there's always one or two songs that I just fall in love with and want on repeat, but not so here. On "Shallow Life," everything blends together in a bad way, and the songs sound too similar. Too much of the guy (Andrea Ferro) singing instead of the girl, Cristina Scabbia, and that just makes me sad. Nothing stands out on this album, yet when I do stick it on my playlist, all the music is solidly familiar. Hopefully, their next album will work better for me.
U2, No Line on the Horizon: What a BIGGER disappointment! I loved How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, but nothing on No Line on the Horizon sticks in my ear. In fact, what I loved most about the album was the cover art, and that's not the thing I should love most about the album, you know? I'm gonna give the album a few more tries, but I think this was the biggest disappointment of the year.
Not My Thing
Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment: No, I'm not obsessed with Idol and its graduates, but I did like Adam, Kris, and Allison the best out of season eight, and I had to give their albums a shot. With Adam, I had a solid feeling he just wouldn't make the kind of music that would speak to me, and I was right. No doubt, he's talented and entertaining, and while some of the songs catch my ear, overall, the album doesn't make me want to stick it on repeat. There's a bit of a retro thing going on here too (as made obvious by the RIDICULOUS COVER, which was intentional, don't worry), but overall, the album's just not for me. Although, I'll give Adam some credit, I like "Music Again" and "Whataya Want From Me" pretty well, and the single, "For Your Entertainment," has grown on me.
Haven't Finished
Johnny Hollow, Dirty Hands: While I loved their self-titled debut, I just haven't been in the mood to give their sophomore effort a single run-through. I've got to fix that, but Johnny Hollow's music is such that I need to be in the mood for. It's not the kind of thing I normally listen to (it's dark and very atmospheric), but I will give it a full shot. One of these days. It's not them, it's me. :)
Instrumental, Soundtracks, Scores
Moon: Original Score
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Original Television Soundtrack
Lost: Season 4: Original Television Soundtrack
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Original Television Soundtrack
Caprica: Original Television Soundtrack
Twilight: New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Jon Hopkins, EP 1
Jon Hopkins, Opalescent