Kings of Leon is one of those bands where the name completely misleads the public. When I see a band called Kings of Leon, I think Fountains of Wayne -- new wave/nerd rock. This is one of the main reasons that I have successfully avoided Kings of Leon for several years."Sex on Fire" changed all of that.Per usual, I like to take a listen to the Grammy winners that I haven't heard of to see if th...
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Album Review: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
Album Review: The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
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While I wait for new releases to peak my interest, I will go back to the year 2006, when the New York-based Brand New released their major label debut (third album overall) entitled The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. The reason this is an important album is that it signaled the breaking away from their old style of music and cemented them into this new captivating type of rock that has no ...
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Fake? Definitely. Hilarious? Yeah, Definitely Too.
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U2 to produce Spidey MusicalNow, I've been taught since a little boy not to take anything read in the Sun seriously. These were the same guys who broke the "amazing" story of Eddie Murphy playing the Riddler in an as-of-yet unwritten Batman movie. However, even if it is a complete sham, imagine Bono singing a song about MJ or The Edge ripping out the theme on guitar. Imagine how glorious this w...
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Album Review: Ben Folds - Way to Normal
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Artist:Ben Folds
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Album:Way to Normal
Musically, there are two sides to singer/songwriter Ben Folds: either you get the sincere, solemn songs that harvest strong emotions such as "Brick" or "Landed"; or you get the silly, off-kilter comedy songs that make people laugh but don't generally do much else such as "Song for the Dumped" and "Rockin' the Suburbs." After 2004's Songs for Silverman was created using largely the former, the c...
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Best Albums of 2008, What To Look For in 2009
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It's been a busy holiday so far, so I haven't really gotten to listen to a lot of CDs that I'd like to. However, in a year as strong as this one for good music, I figure a recap of some of the year's best albums would be a good way to segue into what we're looking forward to in the first few months of 2009.*Note: the albums recognized by me will likely be in the last half of the year seeing as ...
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Album Review: Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
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Fall Out Boy has always been an interesting band to me, but in an effort to prevent this review from turning into an essay I will only explain this briefly.By having an introverted bass player who writes all of the band's sharp and poignantly lyrics and having a lead singer who, among other things, is a producer and good friends with most of the popular music industry, Fall Out Boy teeters the ...
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Music Abuse! U.S. using music to torture prisoners.
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So Trent Reznor and other artists are being used to fight terrorism. At first this has sort of a comedic value, and many interesting and humorous situations come to mind:"I'll tell you nothing.""Oh really? Are you sure you want to face the consequences?""I'm strong, I can withstand any torture...""Even...HANSON?""Mmm bob dip a dop...""NO! NO! THE AGONY! THE PAIN!"But after the chuckles pass awa...
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Album Review: Common - Universal Mind Control
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Common has always been a bit of a background player in the world of hip-hop. He gets the critical acclaim that a suburban poet of his nature deserves, but for the most part gets looked over in the general radio scene. After he was nominated for a grammy for Be, it became universally accepted that Common's type of music is deep and powerful, and his lack of commercial success was due to that fac...
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The Lonely Island's New Video is So Awesome That I...
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"Jizz in My Pants"Saturday Night Live member Andy Samberg's music group, Lonely Island, finally released their first single, and it is as crude as it is funny. There are some big guest stars in the hilarious video, such as Molly Sims, Jamie Lynn Sigler, and an especially funny cameo from Justin Timberlake. I think it will be hard for the Lonely Island's music aspirations to completely take off,...
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Album Review: Scarface - Emeritus
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Scarface is not the type of rapper you'll find doing the late night performance circuit, or collaborating with one of your favorite pop stars for heavy music rotation. He's just not that high profile guy.By the same token, he isn't the underground rapper who isn't accepted because he defies convention. In fact, Scarface fills his albums with the same sort of material that bogs down popular hip ...
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Freshly signed artists Hey Champ wraps up tour with Lupe Fiasco
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Lupe Fiasco's 1st and 15th Records has taken a different turn from most rapper-based record companies. First comes the signing of Matthew Santos, Lupe's reliable hookman, and in October Lupe signed Rockford, Illinois electro group Hey Champ. Hey Champ's myspaceLupe has taken them with him on tour for the past few months since their signing, and last night in College Park was their last show. Th...
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Coldplay Accused of Plagiarism...Again
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So Joe Satriani has filed suit against Coldplay for apparently stealing one of his riffs for the song "Viva La Vida." Things are getting heavy for Chris Martin and the boys: first the Creaky Boards cry plagiarism and now this. This most recent accusation is sort of a hard pill to swallow for a few reasons:1.) "Viva La Vida" was released in May of 2008. The Creaky Boards complaint was made a mon...
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My Top Comeback Albums
Time released an article chronicling the best comeback albums in honor of Britney Spears trying to resurrect her career. While the list does have some pretty good albums, I decided to create my own list of albums that helped me get over a band's past mess-ups.Incubus - Light Grenades. After the successful reception of Make Yourself and Morning View, bassist Dirk Lance left the band for creative...
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Album Review: 8Stops7 - In Moderation
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I've mostly taken it upon myself to do new album reviews since that is the nature of the music beast: it is all about what is new and happening right now. This is why I plan on reviewing CDs from Scarface and Akon among others in the coming weeks. But sometimes a CD that is a little bit older just takes hold of you and won't let go, even after almost ten years. This sort of CD deserves a review...
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Wale: when is this dude gonna make an album already?
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Track:5 Minutes
"5 Minutes"He's had some mixtapes, sure, but the Washington, D.C. rapper is sick and really needs to get something out there. He has the flow of Jadakiss but the mindset of Lupe, and I think the combination is something hip hop really needs right now. "5 Minutes" is a pulsing track that affirms in my mind Wale's skills. Get this kid on an album yesterday!
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Top Pick-Me-Up Songs: My Favorite Four-Minute Escape Sessions
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Music has followed me everywhere I go for as long as I remember, and I know I'm not alone in saying that it has become a driving force of every conceivable situation and emotion in my life. Music for me is most helpful when I need a pick-me-up and the real-world solution isn't in sight or ready to happen yet. This is when I play the songs that, for whatever reason, put me in a better mood just ...
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Album Review: Ludacris - Theater of the Mind
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Although I am a firm disbeliever in the current "look at me" era of hip hop that has produced uninspired acts such as Soulja Boy and Dem Franchise Boyz, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Atlanta-born Chris "Ludacris" Bridges. I think it's mostly because he makes me laugh, and never seems to truly take himself seriously. A lot of his singles have been unintelligent club bangers, but Lu...
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Album Review: Kanye West - 808 and Heartbreak
The first time I ever saw the music video for "Through the Wire", I scoffed and bristled at the idea of Kanye West becoming a household name. To me, he was just another producer-turned-rapper who would find out he had more talent in the former than the latter and fade into the background.Well, hindsight being 20/20 and all, I'm the biggest retard on the planet.Kanye West has proclaimed himself ...
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Today on the Rick Report Card...No One Is Safe
Not even the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.Watch the clip!Call this overdone if you want, but I think it was funny and may possibly be the final straw for the Rick Rolling phenomenon. Which means maybe Rick Astley will release another CD. God I hope not.Either way, it was fun while it lasted. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. We have much to be thankful for. Like resurrecting a Brit's song 20 year...
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Album Review: The Killers - Day And Age
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The Killers have always had a knack for standing out. Whether it be from their odd song “Somebody Told Me” off of their Debut album Hot Fuss or their interesting marketing of lead single “When You Were Young” from Sam’s Town, The Killers have something about them that make the average listener stop, at least for a moment, and pay attention.For the most part, though, it’s only been a mo
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