Move Along by The All-American Rejects (2005)
Ok, ok, before you start knockin', lemme remind you of my stance on musical taste: there's no such thing. It's what you like and what you don't like. So yes, AAR are a brand of pop rock/emo that most rock fans shake their heads at, but I have fun with this album. It's upbeat choruses are great for summertime. Not every song on the album is a hit with me, but a pretty decent chunk of it tickles my fancy. I guess that's all I have to say. Something tells me I'll probably like their first album, but not so much the third. We'll see. I don't have either of them yet. But this one's a fun one.
It gets a 4.0/5 on my likeability...likability...is that a word...scale.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
My Library VI - We're Punk, But Not Punk, K?
After I finish this blog, I'm gonna tinker with the layout a bit. We'll see how that goes...
Let's Build Something to Break by After Midnight Project (2009)
There's nothing that I outright dislike here, but I think AMP has some growing to do, musically. It's just a little...static. About half of the songs seem to blur into each other, and then the ones that have a little more substance to them are just different takes on the same idea. It works for me, but I'm eager to see if they can pick up the pace a little in the future. Sorry for being redundant, but I'll remind you that I happen to enjoy catchy melodies, and there's plenty of that here. Overall, I enjoy the album. Oh, and as for my not-so-clever title, that refers to the fact that AMP has been on the Warped Tour for the past couple of years. Warped Tour used to be really punk, but now it's adopted a more...poppy punk image...and while it's difficult to nail down genre these days, I don't hear much of any of today's punk styles in AMP...
Giving it a 4.0/5 on my scale.
Let's Build Something to Break by After Midnight Project (2009)
There's nothing that I outright dislike here, but I think AMP has some growing to do, musically. It's just a little...static. About half of the songs seem to blur into each other, and then the ones that have a little more substance to them are just different takes on the same idea. It works for me, but I'm eager to see if they can pick up the pace a little in the future. Sorry for being redundant, but I'll remind you that I happen to enjoy catchy melodies, and there's plenty of that here. Overall, I enjoy the album. Oh, and as for my not-so-clever title, that refers to the fact that AMP has been on the Warped Tour for the past couple of years. Warped Tour used to be really punk, but now it's adopted a more...poppy punk image...and while it's difficult to nail down genre these days, I don't hear much of any of today's punk styles in AMP...
Giving it a 4.0/5 on my scale.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
My Library V - Can I At Least Get a Little Cheese On This, Please?
Adelitas Way by Adelitas Way (2009)
Oh, the mixed feelings I have here. I do like it, but I enjoy this album way more than I should. I blame the live shows. The first time I saw these guys, they had just been signed and hadn't even released the first single off of their soon-to-be-released first album. So, I kinda feel like I've watched them grow up. They have really energetic live shows, and I've always said that live is the best spice. I don't think I would feel the same about this band or their music if I had just heard them on the radio. But I've seen them four times (fifth coming up on July 7th). It's not that the music is bad. It just sounds like anything else out there. There's not really anything about Adelitas Way that stands out amongst their peers. They could use a little cheese. But look, I knock'em, but I'm about to give this album a good score. Again, because these aren't reviews, just my opinions on my library, and everything being said, I still like this album. It gives me good, happy feelings and reminds me of all the times I've seen them live.
This one gets a 4.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
Oh, the mixed feelings I have here. I do like it, but I enjoy this album way more than I should. I blame the live shows. The first time I saw these guys, they had just been signed and hadn't even released the first single off of their soon-to-be-released first album. So, I kinda feel like I've watched them grow up. They have really energetic live shows, and I've always said that live is the best spice. I don't think I would feel the same about this band or their music if I had just heard them on the radio. But I've seen them four times (fifth coming up on July 7th). It's not that the music is bad. It just sounds like anything else out there. There's not really anything about Adelitas Way that stands out amongst their peers. They could use a little cheese. But look, I knock'em, but I'm about to give this album a good score. Again, because these aren't reviews, just my opinions on my library, and everything being said, I still like this album. It gives me good, happy feelings and reminds me of all the times I've seen them live.
This one gets a 4.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
Friday, June 25, 2010
My Library IV - Nothin Like Summer
Before I jump into today's entry in the series...
I sleep with the radio on. After I woke up this "morning" (Ok, so it was more like noon...), I was just laying in bed, delaying the moment when I actually I had to get up, when I heard something muy interesante on the radio: "The Smashing Pumpkins are BACK, ladies and gentlemen, and they're gonna be HERE at the Valarium on..." I didn't even hear the rest of the sentence because that was all it took for me to leap out of bed and run to my computer. Sure enough, there it was. I had just been to the Valarium's website maybe a week ago, and that concert sure as hell wasn't listed then. This a new development, and the tickets went on sale today at noon. I checked the balance in my bank account and ordered myself a ticket. Yes, I know that Billy Corgan is all that remains of the original Pumpkins, but this concert is still gonna be sweeeeet.
Anywho, on with the show!
Uplifter by 311 (2009)
Would I define myself as a 311 fan...not particularly. That doesn't mean that I don't like them. I just don't love them and don't really listen to them very much. Just a song here and there. But I really fell in love with their singles for this album, especially "It's Alright." So I went ahead and picked up Uplifter. I'm definitely satisfied with the purchase. I don't dislike any of the songs, though I can't really get into about half of the album. I will say this, though. This album is perfect for summertime: in your car, windows down, bright sunny skies...I'm going to see them in July. It's an amphitheater show, and I think they'll be perfect for it.
I give this one a 3.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
I sleep with the radio on. After I woke up this "morning" (Ok, so it was more like noon...), I was just laying in bed, delaying the moment when I actually I had to get up, when I heard something muy interesante on the radio: "The Smashing Pumpkins are BACK, ladies and gentlemen, and they're gonna be HERE at the Valarium on..." I didn't even hear the rest of the sentence because that was all it took for me to leap out of bed and run to my computer. Sure enough, there it was. I had just been to the Valarium's website maybe a week ago, and that concert sure as hell wasn't listed then. This a new development, and the tickets went on sale today at noon. I checked the balance in my bank account and ordered myself a ticket. Yes, I know that Billy Corgan is all that remains of the original Pumpkins, but this concert is still gonna be sweeeeet.
Anywho, on with the show!
Uplifter by 311 (2009)
Would I define myself as a 311 fan...not particularly. That doesn't mean that I don't like them. I just don't love them and don't really listen to them very much. Just a song here and there. But I really fell in love with their singles for this album, especially "It's Alright." So I went ahead and picked up Uplifter. I'm definitely satisfied with the purchase. I don't dislike any of the songs, though I can't really get into about half of the album. I will say this, though. This album is perfect for summertime: in your car, windows down, bright sunny skies...I'm going to see them in July. It's an amphitheater show, and I think they'll be perfect for it.
I give this one a 3.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
My Library III - SCREEAAAMMMOOOOO
Damn, I'm on a roll with these posts! Anywho, next up...
A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars (2005)
I don't think I would exactly call myself a fan of emo/screamo in general, but I certainly do have a soft spot for this band. You know me. Good guitars + memorable melodies = good tunes. Plus, I can handle a little screaming here and there. That being said though...I was a tiny bit disappointed by this album. Before I purchased it, I had only heard the four singles, and I loved every single one of them (especially "The Kill" and "From Yesterday"). I don't dislike the remaining tracks. I just don't think they sound as special. There are a few other songs that I really like, though they don't quite have the power of the singles. Overall, I enjoy this album though (despite the dreaded hidden track).
I give this one a 4.0/5 on the Kim Scale.
A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars (2005)
I don't think I would exactly call myself a fan of emo/screamo in general, but I certainly do have a soft spot for this band. You know me. Good guitars + memorable melodies = good tunes. Plus, I can handle a little screaming here and there. That being said though...I was a tiny bit disappointed by this album. Before I purchased it, I had only heard the four singles, and I loved every single one of them (especially "The Kill" and "From Yesterday"). I don't dislike the remaining tracks. I just don't think they sound as special. There are a few other songs that I really like, though they don't quite have the power of the singles. Overall, I enjoy this album though (despite the dreaded hidden track).
I give this one a 4.0/5 on the Kim Scale.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Pet Peeve
What? Two blogs in one day? Yeah, well I had something else to write about, in addition to today's entry in the new series. Wanna know one of my pet peeves? Hidden tracks. Am I the only person that finds them annoying as hell? I feel like in the the digital age, they're pretty obsolete. I like the idea behind them. A nice little surprise or bonus is good sometimes. But I think it causes a slight bump in the road in today's digital age.
Hidden tracks come in various forms. First, there's one of the most common, the "Oops-you-left-the-CD-on" hidden track. Usually, it happens after the last track on the album. The song plays, followed by several minutes of silence, then the hidden track plays. The point of these is usually to surprise fans. It works, and gives a nice bonus to fans who are purchasing the CD. In today's world though...
Many who buy albums buy digital copies through iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, what have you. Those who still buy CDs usually end up importing them to their computer also. What happens then? The music often ends up on iPods and other such mp3 players. A track that is fifteen minutes long, with ten of those minutes being complete silence, is just a pain in that digital setting. Either you can get to the skip button and the hidden track goes unheard, or you have to sit through minutes of silence, which isn't why you shoved those buds in your ears, now is it? Plus, what if you just want the hidden track to play? Nope, sorry. No soup for you! Case in point: "Your House" from Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill or Jagged Little Pill Acoustic.
Another big one is the "We-Swear-You'll-Only-Find-This-One-By-Accident" pre-grap hidden track. Most commonly, this one is found only by putting your CD into a player and manually "rewinding" from the beginning of track one. Pre-gap tracks are often referred to as "Track 0." You have to rewind all the way through the song, to the beginning of the track, where it will play forward from there. Computers can't read these at all, so there's no way to even get them to your computer to move them to your mp3 player. So not only is it a pain to get to these tracks from your album, but you can't get them in any form digitally. Case in point: "Uncle Bobby" from Flyleaf's Memento Mori. It's actually a really good song. Too bad...
This rant has been cooking for a while, but what spurred it? I've been listening to the albums that I'm using for the series, and 10 Years uses 2 instrumental pre-gap tracks on each album. The next one from 30 Seconds to Mars has the dreaded nine minutes of silence before that super-secret hidden track plays...(insert rolling of the eyes here). Come on, guys. I appreciate that you all want to make us work for our hard earned songs, but let's get what the present, shall we?
/rant
Hidden tracks come in various forms. First, there's one of the most common, the "Oops-you-left-the-CD-on" hidden track. Usually, it happens after the last track on the album. The song plays, followed by several minutes of silence, then the hidden track plays. The point of these is usually to surprise fans. It works, and gives a nice bonus to fans who are purchasing the CD. In today's world though...
Many who buy albums buy digital copies through iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, what have you. Those who still buy CDs usually end up importing them to their computer also. What happens then? The music often ends up on iPods and other such mp3 players. A track that is fifteen minutes long, with ten of those minutes being complete silence, is just a pain in that digital setting. Either you can get to the skip button and the hidden track goes unheard, or you have to sit through minutes of silence, which isn't why you shoved those buds in your ears, now is it? Plus, what if you just want the hidden track to play? Nope, sorry. No soup for you! Case in point: "Your House" from Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill or Jagged Little Pill Acoustic.
Another big one is the "We-Swear-You'll-Only-Find-This-One-By-Accident" pre-grap hidden track. Most commonly, this one is found only by putting your CD into a player and manually "rewinding" from the beginning of track one. Pre-gap tracks are often referred to as "Track 0." You have to rewind all the way through the song, to the beginning of the track, where it will play forward from there. Computers can't read these at all, so there's no way to even get them to your computer to move them to your mp3 player. So not only is it a pain to get to these tracks from your album, but you can't get them in any form digitally. Case in point: "Uncle Bobby" from Flyleaf's Memento Mori. It's actually a really good song. Too bad...
This rant has been cooking for a while, but what spurred it? I've been listening to the albums that I'm using for the series, and 10 Years uses 2 instrumental pre-gap tracks on each album. The next one from 30 Seconds to Mars has the dreaded nine minutes of silence before that super-secret hidden track plays...(insert rolling of the eyes here). Come on, guys. I appreciate that you all want to make us work for our hard earned songs, but let's get what the present, shall we?
/rant
My Library II - Movin' On Up
Division by 10 Years (2008)
So if I really like the first album, I love this one. Division was written with a more experienced hand. It has none of the static of the first album, instead delivering a string of impressive songs that really have a way of sticking to me. This is an album I come back to a lot. This album is why I love 10 Years and why I'm excited for their upcoming album.
I give this one a 4.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
So if I really like the first album, I love this one. Division was written with a more experienced hand. It has none of the static of the first album, instead delivering a string of impressive songs that really have a way of sticking to me. This is an album I come back to a lot. This album is why I love 10 Years and why I'm excited for their upcoming album.
I give this one a 4.5/5 on the Kim Scale.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
My Library I - Start of a Series I May or May Not Finish
First off, I have my Muse ticket! Four months and four days until I'm rocking out on the floor level of the arena in Raleigh!
So...about this new series. I feel like dishing out my thoughts on my entire CD library. Will I finish it? Hellllls no! Do you know how many CDs I have? But I'm in the mood to start this, so let's start a pool on how far I get before I get tired of it and give up, shall we? Put me down for...12.
Here's how it's gonna work:
First, these will not be reviews. If you've been paying any attention to my rantings, then you know I hate reviews and the fact that critics feel that their opinions matter. Rather, these will just be a brief summary of what I do or don't like on each album (so prepare to be very bored).
I'm going to rate each album on a scale of 0-5. Again, that's not a scale of how "good" the album is, but a scale of how much I like the album.
I'll still do my..."regular" posts. Just mingled in with this doomed series. And I'm mostly going in alphabetical order. I'm skipping some and will come back to them (yeah, we'll see about that).
The Autumn Effect by 10 Years (2005)
I really love the overall sound of 10 Years. As a band, they sound unique to me. I don't feel that they had completely come into their sound yet when they made this album. I'm super into about half of it, and while I think the other half is really quite good, that half sounds very similar to me. They're really good at seeking out a melody that fits very well against the guitar-laden tracks. The songs that really grab me are the ones that combine memorable melodies with interesting guitar riffs. The rest of the album just doesn't seem to climb to that level. I feel like they had an idea of what they wanted their sound to be, but just perhaps they weren't experienced enough to enrich that sound so that each song really stood out.
This album gets a 4.0/5 on the Kim Scale.
So...about this new series. I feel like dishing out my thoughts on my entire CD library. Will I finish it? Hellllls no! Do you know how many CDs I have? But I'm in the mood to start this, so let's start a pool on how far I get before I get tired of it and give up, shall we? Put me down for...12.
Here's how it's gonna work:
First, these will not be reviews. If you've been paying any attention to my rantings, then you know I hate reviews and the fact that critics feel that their opinions matter. Rather, these will just be a brief summary of what I do or don't like on each album (so prepare to be very bored).
I'm going to rate each album on a scale of 0-5. Again, that's not a scale of how "good" the album is, but a scale of how much I like the album.
I'll still do my..."regular" posts. Just mingled in with this doomed series. And I'm mostly going in alphabetical order. I'm skipping some and will come back to them (yeah, we'll see about that).
The Autumn Effect by 10 Years (2005)
I really love the overall sound of 10 Years. As a band, they sound unique to me. I don't feel that they had completely come into their sound yet when they made this album. I'm super into about half of it, and while I think the other half is really quite good, that half sounds very similar to me. They're really good at seeking out a melody that fits very well against the guitar-laden tracks. The songs that really grab me are the ones that combine memorable melodies with interesting guitar riffs. The rest of the album just doesn't seem to climb to that level. I feel like they had an idea of what they wanted their sound to be, but just perhaps they weren't experienced enough to enrich that sound so that each song really stood out.
This album gets a 4.0/5 on the Kim Scale.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
50 Things...
When I was a kid, I scribbled into my journal my list of things to do before I die. Not exactly a new or novel idea. Every so often, I'd go back to it and update it. Not just with scratching off the things I've done, but fleshing it out a bit. I mean, the list can't stay the same as it was when I was 15, can it? Who knows what they want out of life when they're 15? Over the past couple of days, I've been obsessing over the list. I guess several things have me thinking about mortality lately, and how I need to up the ante a little. I turned 24 and realized that I've accomplished little in life. I'm definitely not where I thought I would be at 24. Plus, this year, everyone has been getting married. Pardon my cynicism, but really? I know you can still have adventures after marriage, trust me, I plan on having several, but there's still so much to do now without having to worry about the priority changes that come with marriage. Then lastly, the death of a friend has got me thinking about how you never know when you're going to run out of laters...
I've been trying to hammer it out into 50 Things, with very specific goals. Like, where the list used to say simple like things like "Go to Australia" or "Go to Germany," it nows says "Scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef" and "Have a beer at Oktoberfest." Instead of just "learn to play the piano," it now reads "accompany a student on piano."
So why am I talking about this on my music blog? Because there are a handful of music related items on this list, only one of which I've been able to scratch off thus far. And that's what I thought I would share with you today.
1. See Muse live. (check!)
2. See Silverchair live.
3. See 100 different bands live (since my first concert in 2008, I'm already at 23).
4. Go to a concert in another country.
5. Go to an entire music festival (I would have loved to have been at Bonnaroo this year, or even to get to go to the Forecastle Festival).
6. Get an album sleeve autographed (I have an autographed Flyleaf EP, but I didn't actually have them autograph it. Just bought a pre-signed copy at their show).
So that's that. I know that some people may see that and think, "Gee, with everything there is to do in the world, why not make it more extravagant?" My response is that 1) the rest of the list is more boundary pushing (for me), and 2) in case you haven't noticed, music is a bit of an obsession for me. I'm really excited about one day checking off all of those items (and the rest of the list, for that matter.)
I've been trying to hammer it out into 50 Things, with very specific goals. Like, where the list used to say simple like things like "Go to Australia" or "Go to Germany," it nows says "Scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef" and "Have a beer at Oktoberfest." Instead of just "learn to play the piano," it now reads "accompany a student on piano."
So why am I talking about this on my music blog? Because there are a handful of music related items on this list, only one of which I've been able to scratch off thus far. And that's what I thought I would share with you today.
1. See Muse live. (check!)
2. See Silverchair live.
3. See 100 different bands live (since my first concert in 2008, I'm already at 23).
4. Go to a concert in another country.
5. Go to an entire music festival (I would have loved to have been at Bonnaroo this year, or even to get to go to the Forecastle Festival).
6. Get an album sleeve autographed (I have an autographed Flyleaf EP, but I didn't actually have them autograph it. Just bought a pre-signed copy at their show).
So that's that. I know that some people may see that and think, "Gee, with everything there is to do in the world, why not make it more extravagant?" My response is that 1) the rest of the list is more boundary pushing (for me), and 2) in case you haven't noticed, music is a bit of an obsession for me. I'm really excited about one day checking off all of those items (and the rest of the list, for that matter.)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Kim Loves Live Music
So, my ticket to see Muse is en route, and I also officially bought a ticket to see Halestorm. Super-stoked about both. In case you haven't noticed, I love live music. I wish I could just drop everything and chase bands, even just throughout the region. Knoxville really is a pretty good location. We get some pretty decent shows here. Then, roughly three hours away in each direction, we have Atlanta, Nashville, Lexington, Louisville, and Asheville, all of which get some great shows. I would love to see every band that passes through that I even remotely like, and I would love to check out other acts that I haven't heard of. What stops me? Work and money. I don't make enough dough to go flitting about the region, and requesting the night off for those shows makes things even tighter. That just means I'll have to squeeze in everything I possibly can, right?
I went to a show Thursday. A free one! Blues Traveler, right here in Knoxville! It wasn't the most enjoyable experience though. Imagine all of Knoxville packed into one square downtown. There was absolutely no room to breathe, much less move. Don't get me wrong, I love being in the action, and I'll let my bubble get a little violated for a little rock action, but this was ridiculous. But still, now I've seen Blues Traveler, albeit not in the most ideal situation. They did an awesome cover of "Creep."
In other news, I've been investigating, trying to find other shows that I can go to. Here are some that I am really interested in:
June 24 - Psychostick in Cookeville, TN
July 17 - The Offspring & 311 in Atlanta, GA
July 23 - Shinedown, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, & 10 Years in Knoxville, TN
August 9 - Sick Puppies & Janus in Knoxville, TN
November 7 - 30 Seconds to Mars in Charlotte, NC
Realistically...Psychostick could totally happen. Tickets are only $10. Sick Puppies will definitely happen. Probably won't go to the Carnival of Madness on July 23rd. I love Chevelle and 10 Years, but I don't really have an interest in seeing the others. Plus, I've seen both of those bands before, and I've never seen either The Offspring or 311, so if I go to anything, I'll go for that one.
And let the record show, that I would kill to go to Bonnaroo or the Forecastle Festival, both of which have freakin' awesome lineups this year. Doing the whole music festival thing is on my list of things to do before I die. My bucket list, if you will. Someday...
No video today. I know, I know, but I just don't feel like it. Catch ya next time.
I went to a show Thursday. A free one! Blues Traveler, right here in Knoxville! It wasn't the most enjoyable experience though. Imagine all of Knoxville packed into one square downtown. There was absolutely no room to breathe, much less move. Don't get me wrong, I love being in the action, and I'll let my bubble get a little violated for a little rock action, but this was ridiculous. But still, now I've seen Blues Traveler, albeit not in the most ideal situation. They did an awesome cover of "Creep."
In other news, I've been investigating, trying to find other shows that I can go to. Here are some that I am really interested in:
June 24 - Psychostick in Cookeville, TN
July 17 - The Offspring & 311 in Atlanta, GA
July 23 - Shinedown, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, & 10 Years in Knoxville, TN
August 9 - Sick Puppies & Janus in Knoxville, TN
November 7 - 30 Seconds to Mars in Charlotte, NC
Realistically...Psychostick could totally happen. Tickets are only $10. Sick Puppies will definitely happen. Probably won't go to the Carnival of Madness on July 23rd. I love Chevelle and 10 Years, but I don't really have an interest in seeing the others. Plus, I've seen both of those bands before, and I've never seen either The Offspring or 311, so if I go to anything, I'll go for that one.
And let the record show, that I would kill to go to Bonnaroo or the Forecastle Festival, both of which have freakin' awesome lineups this year. Doing the whole music festival thing is on my list of things to do before I die. My bucket list, if you will. Someday...
No video today. I know, I know, but I just don't feel like it. Catch ya next time.
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