Linkin Park's Living Things

At this point, Linkin Park has become almost legendary to certain people, namely people who loved their first two albums. Their third album, while still distinctly Linkin Park, was a departure from their traditional sound. Their fourth album, A Thousand Suns, released in 2010, was a drastic departure from the sound on any of their first three albums. Labeled a “concept album,” A Thousand Suns actually alienated a lot of those fans who had created legends of Linkin Park and their original sound in the early 2000s. Their fifth album, set to drop on Tuesday, has been labeled by some as the band’s “return to its roots” (iTunes Notes, 2012). I disagree. What follows is my track-by-track review of Linkin Park’s fifth album, Living Things.

The album starts with a song called “Lost in the Echo,” which itself starts with a very electronic sound that I would call a mix of modern disco (think: Lady Gaga) and dubstep. The verse has no guitar in it; instead, Mike Shinoda’s rapping is backed by two keyboard parts and sometimes an overdriven bass. Chester Bennington sings on the chorus, which is kind of catchy, and has some guitar, but it’s very mechanized in sound, as if the guitar itself was put through a synthesizer. The scream into the bridge doesn’t work with this sound. This song floats between okay and good.

I have a question for Linkin Park. Did you guys really think that no one would notice that “In My Remains” and “Burn It Down” are instrumentally the same exact song!? Okay, sorry, they’re about as different instrumentally as “Under Pressure” and “Ice, Ice Baby”... The vocals are very different in the two songs, and I actually really like “In My Remains.” Bennington’s vocals, besides sounding fantastic, actually fit well with this instrumentation. “Burn It Down” is a different story. As much as I love basketball, TNT cannot convince me to like this song. The verse is performed well by Bennington, but the rest of the song is so generic that I can’t help but feel nothing while listening to it. I absolutely cannot understand the decision to put these two songs back to back, as they sound way too similar for that to be okay.

I can’t help but think of Avril Lavigne when “Lies Greed Misery” starts, because the beginning of this song sounds way too much like “What the Hell.” That riff continues during the chorus, which is just Bennington rapping in a sort of scream. This song is fairly worthless, with the exception of the badass bridge, where guitarist Brad Delson lets loose for twenty four seconds under Bennington’s screamed vocals (actually a highlight on the album).

With “I’ll Be Gone,” I finally get comfortable with this album. This is a fantastic song. It’s fairly simple in its structure and chord progression, but it benefits from a strong, genuine performance from Bennington.

I love “Castle of Glass.” The structure is very predictable, but at this point, that’s probably a good thing for Linkin Park. Shinoda’s singing is haunting to start the song, and then Bennington joins him in unison for a little bit before starting to sing harmony against him. This is a great driving song.

“Victimized,” the seventh track here, is the heaviest song Linkin Park has ever written. This is another strange choice in sequencing, because “Castle of Glass” and “Roads Untraveled” are relatively mellow (especially “Roads Untraveled”). The verse is pretty cool, with Shinoda singing, but that’s the end of that. The chorus and what happens after is just crap. The backing instrumentation to Shinoda’s rap section is literally just noise. This song may grow on me like Avenged Sevenfold’s “God Hates Us,” but I doubt it, as that song has guitar parts that are actually worth something.

The next track, “Roads Untraveled,” has this weird chime type instrument playing throughout the song. And it’s terrible. The song would be infinitely better without the chime going for nearly four minutes. Shinoda and Bennington harmonize very well in the chorus of this song and the “whoa”s that come after (though I’m pretty sure that’s just Bennington layered over himself). The chimes take a short break for a stripped down chorus near the end of the song, but they’re right back at it for the ending. I would love this song if not for the chimes.

“Skin to Bone” is a very interesting song. The melody kind of reminds me of a nursery rhyme, but it’s performed well enough that I forget it against the almost-dubstep instrumentation. I would prefer the super repetitive quasi-dubstep sound to be gone from this song, but it doesn’t kill me.

The next song, “Until It Breaks,” is the “Nobody’s Listening” of this album. It just sounds weird. Shinoda seems to think that he’s Jamaican on this song, and the backing instrumentation can barely be called that until Bennington’s vocals come in over the piano. The strings in the chorus are a nice touch, but the chorus and verse don’t mesh very well with each other. The highlight of this song is easily at about 2:15 when guitarist Brad Delson sings for the first time on a Linkin Park album. This part of the song was something that he wrote at home and brought to the band four months before they wrote “Until It Breaks,” and during the recording process of the song, they realized that that fit best as the ending to that song. In my opinion, it pretty much saves the song.

Like their first two albums, the second to last song here, “Tinfoil,” is an instrumental song. Unlike their first two albums, this song is basically an elongated intro to the final track, “Powerless.” “Powerless” is a song that is exactly opposite of that which its name would suggest, thanks to another strong, genuine performance by Bennington. The mechanized instrumentation can get tiresome at times over the course of the song (particularly the percussive elements of it), but overall, “Powerless” is a beautiful song that was a good choice as the album closer.

______________________________
______________________________

I listened to this album something like ten times so that I would know exactly what to say, and after having done that, my biggest problem with it is that I had to listen to it something like ten times so that I would know exactly what to say. This album, while certainly better than A Thousand Suns, and though it has its standout tracks, does not stand out in Linkin Park’s catalog.

It’s hard to like this album because Chester Bennington really doesn’t have the kind of voice that goes well with the more electronic orchestration of their music. He has a very distinctly rock style of singing when he gets to his higher register, and he either is unable to or chooses not to use a smoother tone that would fit better with the instrumentation on this album. In contrast, I love the parts on this album when Mike Shinoda sings. His voice fits in very well with the different arrangements. However, if you replace all the singing on this album with the same melody and lyrics, performed by John Legend or Usher, this could very easily be a hip hop album.

Linkin Park’s first two albums were full of songs backed by very inventive and creative, metal-influenced guitar riffs that have been mostly absent on the three albums since then. This album has so little guitar on it that Brad Delson had to ask to sing on one of the tracks so that he could still feel like he was important to the band¹. Songs like “Papercut,” “One Step Closer,” “Hit the Floor,” and “Figure.09” are great examples of this inventiveness that basically made a generation of rock-listeners fall in love with this band. While it’s great for them that they’re experimenting and having fun with it, at this point, I feel like fans are losing faith in the idea that Linkin Park can create an album that they can enjoy from start to finish.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

¹That’s not actually why he sings, I’m making a point.

Living Things is available in two formats.

Standard Edition: the 12 track album as a compact disc, an instant mp3 download of "Burn It Down," a high quality digital download of the full album on its street date, early access to tickets for the Honda Civic Tour in North America, and a subscription to Living Things Remixed (you will receive one new remix per month for the next 8 months).

Digital Edition: the 12 track album as high-quality mp3 downloads on its street date, an instant mp3 download of "Burn It Down," early access to tickets for the Honda Civic Tour in North America, and a subscription to Living Things Remixed (you will receive one new remix per month for the next 8 months).

To buy Living Things, visit http://livingthings.linkinpark.com/

Smashing Pumpkins' Oceania

History lesson (for you younger kids): Smashing Pumpkins used to be this awesome rock group in the 90s that played awesome rock songs you couldn’t help rocking out and singing to (look up “Zero,” “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” and “Cherub Rock”). They also had crossover hits in amazing songs like “1979,” “Disarm,” and “Tonight, Tonight.”

[I’m not kidding, if you’re not familiar with this band,
look up every one of those songs right now.]

Somewhere along the way, that changed. Most would say it was after Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995). Some would say they had potential in their first comeback with 2007’s Zeitgeist, which boasted the singles “Tarantula” and “That’s the Way (My Love Is).” But then, all of a sudden, Billy Corgan again found himself the only member of the band, as Jimmy Chamberlin had left. Corgan had previously stated that he didn’t want to keep playing if Jimmy wasn’t going to be a part of it.

Too bad.

In 2009, Smashing Pumpkins found new life with the addition of then-19 year old drummer Mike Byrne. They started writing and recording a 44 song concept album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, to be released one song at a time, for free, over the internet. Over the course of the first ten songs from this Goliath of a project, the new Pumpkins added a full time guitarist and bass player to their lineup. Their new release, Oceania, is a part of that ongoing concept album. What follows is my track-by-track review of the new album, which comes out tomorrow, June 19^th.

The opening track, “Quasar,” starts off sounding like the beginning of Incubus’s “Vitamin,” but soon finds its own sound with swooping wall-o-sound guitars reminiscent of old Smashing Pumpkins. And then of course, Corgan’s unique voice comes across, singing over the crazy guitar parts. This is the Smashing Pumpkins. They’re back. The opening sequence is just so good. The opening of this song makes it the perfect choice to open the album.

“Panopticon” starts almost without warning, as it sounds like it could be a continuation of “Quasar”—except that it’s a better song. The section that comes right after the first chorus is absolutely beautiful as the guitars duel the bass in perfect harmony.

“The Celestials” was immediately my favorite song on this album. It starts with just an acoustic guitar and vocals for the first verses and the first chorus, then he gets a few lines into the second verse and introduces an electric guitar (sans distortion) and the bass, and they sound so incredible with the vocals. They don’t disappoint me for a second on this song.

The next song, “Violet Rays,” starts off sounding like it belongs on the TRON: Legacy soundtrack, until guitar comes in and Corgan starts singing. The normal Pumpkins sounding parts of the song are blended so well with the sections that sound like they could have come from a Daft Punk album. Overall, this is a very good mellow track.

“My Love is Winter,” comes next, at track five. I like this track, but I wouldn’t be picking it to be a single if I were in charge, especially if I want people to remember the Smashing Pumpkins at their rocking best.

Track six, “One Diamond, One Heart,” without Billy Corgan’s highly recognizable voice, would not be recognizable as a Smashing Pumpkins song. That’s not to say this is a bad thing. This is a love song. The chorus is handled very well, instrumentally, and Corgan sounds sincere (as always).

“Pinwheels” starts off like an advertisement for UPS. I can hear the guy talking over it while drawing on his whiteboard. (“Alright! International shipping. Your products are on a plane…”) Then the song completely shifts gears into an acoustic section with Billy singing about the sun and the moon. Then there’s a verse over violins and guitars and keyboards. When they go back into the acoustic chorus, there are layered backing vocals, performed by a woman, and executed beautifully.

The title track follows, and is a staggering nine minutes long. It seems to have several movements and is very experimental in structure. It has a very long instrumental section that’s really spacey and pretty cool to listen to.

“Pale Horse” is another slower, softer song. Normally this song would be a great change of pace in the middle of a fairly heavy Pumpkins album. But it comes after like five other mellow/soft songs, so I’m not really feeling it in sequence.

Finally back to an uptempo song! “The Chimera” is an exciting, upbeat song, with a great, driving guitar riff to combat Corgan’s creative vocals. This is a very enjoyable song.

“Glissandra” commanded my attention at its start. Corgan cleverly turns a technical musical term (glissando) into a woman’s name in this song. I say it’s clever because his guitar performs many glissandos throughout the song, using a slide. This is a wonderful marriage of music and lyrics.

The penultimate track, “Inkless,” has an almost traditional feel to it for the Pumpkins. It has a sawing guitar as its base sound, which was prominent on earlier Pumpkins’ work.

“Wildflower” is a great song. There aren’t any drums in it, but it doesn’t really need them. It’s primarily strings and synth sounds backing the vocals in this beautiful (beautifully simple?) song.

______________________________
______________________________

A lot of the lyrics on this album are about the sky, whether it’s the night sky or the day sky, which helps convince you that this is, indeed, a chapter of the concept album that the Smashing Pumpkins are working on. It’s nice to hear Billy Corgan letting loose vocally on this album. There seems to have been a hesitance in his voice on their other albums—like he wasn’t able to sing as well as he would have liked—and now he’s come into his own as a singer. While I would still love to see the Smashing Pumpkins live, this album did nothing to add to or subtract from that. While I enjoyed several tracks on this album, I wouldn’t call this a “return-to-form” for the Smashing Pumpkins. And while I would say this is a must-listen album (if only for its historical value), I wouldn’t call it a must-have album. I think that this is a solid release for a band—just not necessarily for the legendary Smashing Pumpkins. Please share your thoughts below!

Oceania is available in four formats.
CD Digipack + Digital Download: the 13 track album as a compact disc, plus a digital download of the full album the day of its release.
Vinyl Double LP + Digital Download: the 13 track album on vinyl, plus a digital download of the full album the day of its release.
Digital Download – Standard Definition: a standard definition digital download of the 13 track album the day of its release.
Digital Download – High Definition: a high definition digital download of the 13 track album the day of its release.

To buy Oceania, visit http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/oceania/purchase/

Motion City Soundtrack's Go

Okay, so the bad news about Motion City Soundtrack’s new album is that their best song is still “My Favorite Accident.” The good news is they’ve released their best album since Commit This to Memory. Too many times on Even If It Kills Me and My Dinosaur Life (though admittedly, much more frequently on Even If It Kills Me), the band had this sickness (and I listened through those two albums again to make sure I still felt this way about them) of coming up with an amazing sounding verse or a super catchy chorus and pairing it with a chorus that lacks punch or a verse I can’t bear to listen to because it’s so lame. That is gone on Go. And I’ll admit that several of the songs had the potential to be that way, but it seems as though they were able to get past that. What follows is my track-by-track analysis of Motion City Soundtrack’s Go:

The album’s opener, “Circuits and Wires,” was a song that almost didn’t make it onto the album. Written during the time of My Dinosaur Life, this song is better than nearly any song that actually made it onto that album. It has a great energy to it and already shows that it beats the curse from Even If It Kills Me [henceforth referred to as the “Kills-Me Curse”] of not being able to piece together a good chorus with a good verse. This song was the right choice for an opening track, as it gets the listener involved early in the excitement of the album.

The lead single from the album, “True Romance” starts off with the chorus, performed with just vocals and an acoustic guitar, before going into a verse reminiscent of the way “Everything is Alright” (off of Commit This to Memory) is constructed. “True Romance” is handled well instrumentally by the band. If the refrain’s vocals were performed over a less interesting and engaging arrangement, this song could have fallen prey to the Kills-Me Curse too. I do have to say that they should have gone with bigger instrumentation in the refrain following the bridge though. The bridge sets it up so well for it, but instead they go into the normal refrain.

The lyrics to the third track, “Son of a Gun,” are nothing special, but the band makes the song sound really good with the way the instrumentation blends with the vocals (melody and harmony). For a softer song, MCS nails this one. The opening really reminds me of Okkervil River.

I was so happy when I heard “Timelines,” the second single off of this album, because it was this track that made me feel like they’d broken the Kills-Me Curse. The layered vocals work again in their favor on this track. The song starts out with such great energy. I’m glad it was chosen as a single.

Track five, “Everyone Must Die,” is the ballad of the album. If you are an avid MCS fan who listened to this album from start to finish, you’d be surprised that “Son of a Gun” wasn’t the ballad of the album until you heard this song. It’s quite beautiful, and they use a real strings section, which the band members were particularly excited about.

“The Coma Kid” has an interesting idea in its lyrics. It’s a fairly simple song in structure (same chords throughout), but they put enough variance in the way they play it not to bore the listener, which is extremely important.

Motion City Soundtrack is experimenting with time signatures! The verse of track seven is in seven, and it works fantastically. The lyrics to the song are about this creature called a boxelder that, as a group, infest a tree because they need the tree to live, but in doing that, they kill the tree. Justin Pierre, the lead singer, likened this to a relationship, and that’s where he got the idea for the song. Interesting imagery. I don’t really need the “HEY, BOXELDER, TAKE ME WITH YOU” at the end, but oh well.

“The Worst Is Yet to Come” is a great song. The verse is so bare it just oozes emotion, and the chorus is executed so well instrumentally and vocally. One of the more up-tempo songs on the album, Motion City Sountrack succeeds in making a song that would be fun to drive to.

The next track, “Bad Idea,” was originally intended for Commit This to Memory, which is, as you know by now, the last album of theirs that I liked. They’ve said that they never felt like they could get this song right, but have revisited it for each album since. They finally reworked the instrumentation for it, and got it to work. I wish they’d only taken the time to do that with almost everything else they released between Commit and Go [end rant].

“Happy Anniversary” is probably my favorite song on the album right now, as it’s just a downright incredible performance. Justin Pierre has said that he kept breaking down every time he tried to sing it during recording, because it was so emotional for him. (Side note: I totally got goosebumps from it just now). I’d say that this song is a stronger, more grown up version of “Autographs and Apologies” from I Am the Movie.

Having been ready for “Happy Anniversary” to close the album (à la “Hold Me Down”), I was pleasantly surprised to hear “Floating Down the River.” This song rocks. “Caught beneath the weight of it all” is such a beautifully performed line, and the band made a good decision in letting that line happen nearly every time without any backing instrumentation.

______________________________

______________________________


Overall, Motion City Soundtrack’s fifth album, Go, is a much softer album than that which fans of the band are used to. There is a lot of acoustic or non-distorted electric guitar on this album, and it works really well for the songs they’ve written, which are slower-paced anyway. Personally, I felt like most of the music of Even If It Kills Me sucked, and most of the lyrics of My Dinosaur Life sucked, so this album was a welcome effort from a band that I absolutely loved in the middle of the 2000s. Whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear from you! Just post a comment below.

Go is available in three formats.
Standard Edition: the 11 track album as a compact disc.
Digital Edition: a high-quality mp3 download with three bonus tracks (“Bottom Feeder,” “Give Up/Give In,” and “Alcohol Eyes”)
Vinyl Edition: the 11 track album on vinyl.

To buy Go, visit http://www.bluecollardistro.com/motioncitysoundtrack/

Metric's Synthetica

While most American audiences may know Metric as the band from the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim Versus the World¹, they’ve actually been releasing music steadily since 2003. Emily Haines of Metric has said that Synthetica “is about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It's about what is real vs. what is artificial." In the follow-up to 2009’s Fantasies, Haines and co. look deep within themselves while still expanding on the sound that made Fantasies a success. Read on for my track-by-track analysis of their new album, Synthetica, coming out Tuesday.

The album starts with a synthesizer behind Emily Haines’ haunting vocals, singing about how she’s “just as f---ed up as they say.” About two minutes in, the rest of the band starts playing. They managed to keep the song just haunting enough, while also making it kind of catchy. Overall, this song is the perfect choice to open the album, as it has the energy it needs to catch the attention of the listener, and it just plain sounds like the start of something big.

The next track is the first single from the album, “Youth Without Youth.” To be honest, when I first heard this song, I didn’t think it was anything special. To be fair, the first time I heard it, I was in a foul mood and I was listening on sub-par speakers. I really love this song. It has a dance-groove feel to the instrumentation, and Haines snarls the verse in such a way that you can’t help but bounce your head along with this song that, if it had to be described in one word, would be described as “cool.”

“Speed the Collapse” comes next. This song was the second song available to listen from the album. I can see this song used as the background of a chase scene on horses in like a modern western. I don’t know why, that’s just how it feels to me. It’s like Muse meets Paramore meets Metric's last album Fantasies.

“Breathing Underwater” is easily my favorite on the album. It starts off beautifully, as the bass and guitar mesh over a drum beat very cleverly constructed by Joules Scott-Key not to overpower the delicate sound. Every time Emily Haines sings, “Is this my life?” to start the chorus, I have to start bobbing my head, at least. James Shaw’s guitar riff to exit the chorus is, while repetitive, a perfect fit for the song—especially how it sounds over the crazy keyboard part that is difficult to hear without headphones. The song also builds really well, as some instrumental part gets added or expanded upon with each pass. I also love the imagery presented in the chorus: “Is this my life? Am I breathing underwater?”

The fifth track, “Dreams So Real,” is only two and a half minutes long, and the most of that is just a synth sawing single notes with Haines singing over it. It works, mainly because Metric has, as a band, worked on perfecting that style, but the song is not one of my favorites on the album.

The song that follows, however, I find very intriguing. The verse is so weird that I’ve heard the song like at least twenty times and I can’t decide whether or not I like it. But the chorus is so awesome. Emily’s falsetto is at its best in the chorus as she sings about how she’ll cover up all the things the subject seems to want to keep secret. It’s a fairly simple song that works mainly because none of them try to overdo it and turn it into something it’s not. I love at the end when they layer the bridge vocals with the chorus vocals.

“The Void” starts out with noises that make you think the song is going to be some sort of trance music. The noises are never heard again, which I think is weird, but it works for the beginning. The chorus vocals are done in a call and response style, and it’s great, mainly because it’s done over very strong instrumentation, including a straight up superb bass line by Joshua Winstead. I love the line in the chorus “All night, sing along with the band and you’re losing your voice”

The title track comes next, and it’s just an awesome alternative rock song. Haines snarls the verse here again over driving instrumentation. The transitions from verse to chorus and back are so simple, and so effective. This is a great song, and the album deserves to be named after it.

“Clone” sounds to me like a song No Doubt would have released that nobody ever heard on the radio. The lyrics sound like a memory of a theme park, perhaps something one of her parents told her once. It’s a slower song, and a strange choice to follow “Synthetica.” It’s an okay track that I might have left for a B-side.

The next track, “The Wanderlust,” features vocals from Lou Reed on the chorus. I was surprised when I heard it at first, as Metric is not known to have vocalists other than Emily Haines performing any lead vocals on their tracks. It almost sounds like a song by the band that did “Barbie Girl” (Aqua) or the band that did “Love Shack” (the B-52s), although with more talent.

“Nothing But Time” makes sure the album closes just as hauntingly as it starts. With a repetitive base synth part that is built upon as the song goes on, the song gets deeper into its trance. For such a simple song, it’s way too addictive to be written off with other songs of equal simplicity. This song closes the album right.

______________________________
______________________________

To wrap it up, I love this album. Metric’s Synthetica is a work of art. It’s fantastic from start to finish. The “dull” moments can only be called dull in comparison to the standouts on the album. I was worried I wouldn’t like this album. I wasn’t crazy about anything of Metric’s before their breakout Fantasies, and I was worried they’d revert. But they just grew. This album is big for them. I can see Metric breaking out in a big way in the future. I’m seriously looking forward to their next album. Let me know what YOU think! Comment below.

¹ They did not perform the song in the movie, but they wrote it and it was re-recorded with the actress Brie Larson singing for the scene in the film.

Synthetica is available in three formats.

Standard Edition: the 11 track album as a compact disc + high quality digital download on release date, single “Youth Without Youth” immediately, and 5 bonus Reflections tracks.
[Note: this version has all of the booklet text printed backwards and includes a small mirror for reading it]

Digital Edition: the 11 track album as high quality mp3 files.

Vinyl Edition: the 11 track album on white vinyl discs + high quality digital download on release date, single “Youth Without Youth” immediately, and 5 bonus Reflections tracks.

To buy Synthetica, visit http://ilovemetric.com/store/

Weezer's Raditude

While this picture may not be recent (it's from their 2002 music video for "Keep Fishin'" off of their incredibly underrated album Maladroit), it certainly shows the fun-loving musicians that make up Weezer. Their most recent album, Raditude, dropped Tuesday (November 3rd), less than a year and a half after its predecessor, their third untitled album. First of all, what the hell kind of name is Raditude!? Well it basically means "awesomeness" or "epicality" or any other made up noun form of a word synonimical to badassery. And it was coined by none other than Rainn Wilson. The following is a track-by-track summary of Weezer's new album.

The first track, "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," while it should be named "(If You're Wondering If This Song Title Could Get Any Longer) I Dare You To," is the first single, and is in a very different style than previous Weezer songs. I've never before thought of describing a Weezer song as "catchy." Now I can. "I Want You To" is an infectious, fast-paced pop-rock song which was the perfect choice for the lead single. Watch out for the four-part (at least) harmony in the bridge.

"I'm Your Daddy" is track #2, and single #2. While I'm definitely not a fan of sequencing an album by singles, it works here. What's notable about this song is that this is where it really becomes evident how much Rivers Cuomo loves the word "ain't." Sure, he's said it in every album he's ever released, but in this song he sings it four times every chorus. This song also is notable for Weezer's experimentation with synthesizers. Look out for the bridge playout (2 synth parts, no guitars or bass)

With "The Girl Got Hot," Weezer continues to provide humor in the form of harmless pop/rock songs about questionable or surprising motifs.

Oh, hey Lil' Wayne. Wait what!? Okay, time for a story. This song ("Can't Stop Partying") was written a while ago (pre-Red Album), and was included on Cuomo's second Alone home recordings album. He wrote it with Jermaine Dupri, and was initially an incredibly depressing song performed by Cuomo and his acoustic guitar (with faint keys and drums). It was real. The narrator expressed his depression and sang sincerely about his problems (albeit with an ironic flair). In this version, however, the instrumentation was changed to be similar to that of a hip-hop song (there are three people playing synth parts in the live version), possibly for irony's sake... I think that the original version on the acoustic guitar is better, for connection and sincerity's sake, but I can see the appeal of this version.

For track 5, "Put Me Back Together," Cuomo collaborated with Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects. It's a really well done alt-rock song and an overall successful collaboration, in my opinion. It doesn't necessarily sound just like AAR, but it's clearly not a typical Weezer song. This song also revisits some of the lyrical themes that were so present in Weezer's earlier work (the idea that the narrator will never be enough for anyone).

"Trippin' Down the Freeway" starts right in with an awesome vocal melody / guitar riff combination. The lyrics are fairly nonsensical, as he talks about Shirley Appleby (who...?) and Kevin Green (some dude this girl apparently went out with). He does however create clever enumeration within the choruses, as he first sings about '08 and '09, then about '09 and "oh-ten," followed by "oh-ten and oh-eleven" (who knew what to call those anyway?) and rhymes 3 different ways of saying "forever" with that. All in all, another reliable performance of theirs.

Okay, let's start this one by talking about the Indian rock fusion that occurs in "Love is the Answer". You might think it's gimmicky or lame, or whatever. Think about it this way... remember the Beatles? They started incorporating elements of Indian music into their songs, and I'm sure initially people thought they were crazy... but it was in the midst of Beatlemania, so those people who were already fans just ate it up, and those who weren't took some drugs and then decided it was awesome. The reason this song may not work in general is that as a standalone song (without the Indian stuff), it's just a very average pop song with an incredibly clichéed message. Don't believe me? Listen to Sugar Ray's version. Released first, and featuring Rivers Cuomo, this should have been a good indicator that this song should either have been abandoned (as it was in 2005 when determining a tracklisting for Make Believe) or drastically changed. Hence the Indian stuff. Despite all of this, I still think that the elements of Indian music implemented and the use of a featured vocalist singing in Hindi is innovative and cool.

Sadly, I have to say that "Let It All Hang Out" is a poor attempt at recapturing the sound and feel of 2002's Maladroit. That album draws strong metal influences while still being alternative rock, and it is very obviously the most underrated album of Weezer's. "Let It All Hang Out" is a much poppier version of the kind of song you would find on Maladroit. A very simply written song, it comes off as fairly boring and repetitive, and it doesn't live up to what we've come to expect from Weezer.

"In the Mall" makes up for it. Written by drummer Patrick Wilson, "In the Mall" is a face pounding rock song with strong instrumentals and harmonies. Sure, the lyrics don't really make that much sense, but the last time Weezer tried to make sense resulted in an album that was never released. Also, look out for the guitar solo (one of the few on this album).

The standard edition album closer, "I Don't Want to Let You Go" was the perfect choice as a closer as far as sequencing is concerned. This song is a finale song. Reminiscent of "The Angel and the One" in mood, Raditude's closer is faster-paced. Both songs, however, are extremely emotionally charged. Previously released on Cuomo's Alone II (like "Can't Stop Partying"), "I Don't Want to Let You Go" was a good choice from the back catalogue. There really isn't much to say about this song other than that. I love this song. If you become disenchanted with the second half of the album (which is understandable), don't dismiss this song.

______________________________
______________________________

On a whole, I love this album. I'm slightly biased because Weezer is one of my top 10 favorite bands of all time, but I also know what I'm talking about because of it. This album is very different from previous Weezer albums, mainly in its inception. Hot off of their historic Hootenanny Tour (to which fans were encouraged to bring instruments and play along), it seems the band enjoys playing music with people besides themselves. This is the first time that people who weren't members of Weezer have contributed to the writing of tracks that end up on a Weezer album. Before 2008's Weezer, the band had never even had anyone else sing lead on a song. Raditude features Lil Wayne. "Trippin' Down the Freeway" and "I Don't Want to Let You Go" are the only songs solely written by Cuomo. Of the Weezer catalog pre-Raditude, nearly every song boasts that credit. One could speculate that this is the reason that Weezer's seventh album came out a mere 17 months after their sixth, but then how could we explain Maladroit's release exactly one year after 2001's Weezer? My guess is Weezer is just awesome and does whatever the heck they want. They said after the Red Album came out that they were feeling super productive and would probably head back into the studio soon to lay down some more new material, but then they said they weren't going to anymore. But then they did. Weezer is branching out and experimenting with collaboration, and it seems to be working to their benefit. Another interesting twist that has resulted from this album is their live show. Patrick Wilson has moved from drums to guitar/keyboards, and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Guns and Roses, The Offspring) has taken over drum duties for apparently 90% of their show (and the recordings of "I'm Your Daddy," "The Girl Got Hot," and "Let It All Hang Out"), but will not officially join the band, as Wilson continues to be Weezer's permanent drummer and can be seen on the drums in the music video for "...I Want You To" even though he doesn't play the drums when they play the song live.

Raditude is available in seven formats.
Standard Edition: the 10 track album as a compact disc or as an mp3 download.
Deluxe Edition: the complete 10 track album, and the four bonus tracks ("Get Me Some," "Run Over By a Truck," "The Prettiest Girl in the Whole World," and "The Underdogs") as a set of two compact discs or as an mp3 download.
iTunes Pass: the complete 10 track album, the four bonus tracks from the deluxe edition, and several other bonus tracks and videos (originally released one per week leading up to the album's release) not available anywhere else.
Standard CD + Blue Snuggie: If you haven't heard, Weezer is the first band to have their own Snuggie. This version includes the complete 10 track album and your very own Weezer Snuggie.

Just the Facts Edition: the Raditude Deluxe Edition CD and a 144 page photo book of exclusive live and studio photos (includes an immediate download of digital photos as well)
"Snuggie Flashback" Package: the Raditude Deluxe Edition CD, the photo book, an exclusive tie-dye Weezer Snuggie, and a black T-shirt featuring Sidney the Dog (from the cover).
"...But Not the Kitchen Sink" Package: the Raditude Deluxe Edition CD, the Red Album Deluxe Edition Vinyl, the photo book, the exclusive tie-dye print Weezer Snuggie, the exclusive Raditude T-shirt, and a limited Raditude cover art print (each of which is hand-numbered).

To buy Raditude, visit http://www.weezer.com/raditude/.

Be sure to view Weezer's most recent performance for Sessions@AOL with guests Sara Bareilles, Kenny G, and Chamillionaire.

Taking Back Sunday's New Again

The New York rockers of Taking Back Sunday have finally released their newest effort, New Again, on June 2nd. Having since lost (and replaced) an integral member of the group, vocalist and guitarist Fred Mascherino, the bandmates are trying to prove they can still rock without him. With the addition of Matthew Fazzi, Taking Back Sunday's sound is altered from that which fans are most familiar. Absent from this release is one of the things that made prior Taking Back Sunday albums so distinctive in sound--dual lead singers. This album still has its fair share of backing vocals, but the lines do not combat each other as they used to. What follows is a track-by-track summary of the album.


New Again starts off with its title track. With a pounding bass riff, mildly syncopated drums, and lyrics that are reminiscent of the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the first impression of this album is that they've still got it. The chorus loudly states that they're sure they can recover from the loss of Mascherino ("I am, I'm ready to be new again"), the "again" referring to the fact that they recovered from the loss of John Nolan and Shaun Cooper after their first album. While there are echoed vocals in this song during the chorus, the producer or mixer of the album has it sounding more like an echo than a battling second vocalist.

The next song on the album is the single, "Sink Into Me." At first listen, I was confused and I didn't necessarily like it... but it intrigued me. The first thing you hear is drums and people shouting "HEY." Normally you find people shouting "HEY" in stupid pop songs (see: Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" [do not take this as a bashing of Avril Lavigne, I just hate that song]). Then the guitar comes in. It's a syncopated riff, which makes it interesting, and then the bass is pounding a clear chord progression under it. I like the lyrics. a lot. This is one of those songs you can scream into your mirror or as you're driving down the street. Well-chosen as the first single. About half-way through this song, I got to thinking that I wouldn't have allowed the "hey"s had I been in the band, and then they get to the bridge. During the bridge, the guitarist (probably Eddie Reyes) palmmutes the chord progression as Adam Lazzara sings softly a bridge and the backup vocalists whisper "hey" into the microphones. It's a really cool bit of dynamics, and a very cool addition to the song.

"Lonely, Lonely" is a typical Taking Back Sunday song with Lazzara handling both sections of the dual leads as he repeats the word "lonely" almost more times than necessary. The backing vocals in the chorus, as unintelligible the lyrics are (possibly "she said", are really cool. They sound like possibly 3 part harmony behind Lazzara's lead, which makes me question how they'd manage to play this song live. He throws a characteristic scream in it as well. This is definitely a song that TBS fans will enjoy.

The chorus of the following track, "Summer Man," sounds like something that would come out of an album by The Academy Is..., but not a Taking Back Sunday album. It has a happy sound with sad lyrics. Lazzara sings about how he doubts he'll see this person again now that the summer is over... and that's the whole song.

Matthew Fazzi plays a guitar fill in "Swing" that sounds like the fill that his predecessor Mascherino used in "Error: Operator" from 2006's Louder Now. The lyrics are also reminiscent of "Set Phasers to Stun" off of 2004's Where You Want to Be.

"Where My Mouth Is" also sounds like a song by The Academy Is... off of their most recent album Fast Times at Barrington High, but only during the verse. The chorus is an impressively good sounding combination of the change from a soft sound to a power ballad sound in the instrumentation and Lazzara's passionate vocals singing about how he "had it all, sittin on top of the world, but [he] threw it away, just to prove that [he] could." For the first part of the bridge, Lazzara continues to lament this time accompanied by an acoustic guitar chord progression, and then the rest of the band comes in. This song mainly succeeds thanks to Lazzara's talent to sound passionate and genuine about his lyrics.

The verse to "Cut Me Up Jenny" uses syncopation again (like the single) to similar effect. The melody works beautifully as a complement to the syncopated rhythm of the other instruments. In the pre-chorus, Lazzara screams "cut me up Jenny" as a lead in to the chorus. The chorus fits perfectly well with the rest of the song.

After a carefully concealed time signature of 7/4 in its intro, "Catholic Knees" moves into the more typical 4/4 time. This further shows innovation from the guys in Taking Back Sunday. Moving on to the prechorus ("Everything was moving so fast"), they go back into the 7/4 time. As a songwriter and musician, I can attest that writing in 7/4 is no easy task. The attempt at capturing the dual vocals style in this song isn't nearly as strong as in the past, showing that Matthew Fazzi may have been brought in more to fill the lead guitar void than the (rather larger) void once filled by Fred Mascherino and John Nolan on vocals. Lazzara, however, turns in another reliable performance.

In "Capital M-E," TBS apparently discusses their feelings on Fred Mascherino's departure from the band and replies to some of the things he's said since he left. This isn't the first time they've done this. On 2002's Tell All Your Friends, TBS released a song called "There's No 'I' in Team," in which John Nolan and Adam Lazzara responded to Brand New's "Seventy Times 7" in a fight about John Nolan hooking up with Jesse Lacey (the singer of Brand New)'s girlfriend. It's a bit of a juvenile thing to do, but you write what you feel, right? I guess that makes this sincere. An interesting thing to note about this song is that the backing vocals and lead vocals are both handled by Lazzara.

"Carpathia" is a straight up rock song. Starting out with an emotional Lazzara and swiftly strummed (and promptly silenced) guitar chords, track 10 has a distinct feel of strong emotions lyrically reminiscent of a science fiction movie ("I don't worry half as much as I did when I was an experiment, your resident tourniquet"). Kudos to Lazzara for another convincing emotional performance. This song is notable for Matt Rubano's bass line. In the chorus, he plays a cool melody that beautifully complements the vocal melody, and after the first chorus, he plays a solo(!).

I seem to be repeating myself a lot with this, but Adam Lazzara perfectly conveys his emotions in this song. The album closer, "Everything Must Go," is about his breakup with former fiancée Chauntelle DuPree (of Eisley). The lyrics reminisce about moving in with her, and the instrumentation has the perfect feel to match the lyrics.

______________________________

______________________________

Overall, I enjoy New Again. It's not as good as Louder Now, but it's a different type of album for them. Adam Lazzara continues to prove himself a reliable and dynamic frontman, Matthew Fazzi seems to have eased into his new role (I say eased because I don't yet feel that he's become 100% comfortable with his position from a creative standpoint), and the rest of the band does a solid job providing the music behind (and sometimes in front of) the vocals.

Louder Now is available in five formats.
Standard Edition: the complete 11 track album as a compact disc or digital download.
iTunes Edition: the complete 11 track album as a digital download, the bonus track "Long Time Comin'," and the music video for the single "Sink Into Me."
Vinyl Edition: the complete 11 track album on vinyl.
Limited Edition: the complete 11 track album as a compact disc, and a DVD containing footage of the making of the album.

Special Edition: the complete 11 track album as a compact disc, 2 B-Sides ("Didn't See That Coming" and "Catholic Knees (26th St. Shakedown)"), a DVD containing footage of the making of the album and track-by-track commentary from the band, an autographed lyrics booklet, a small model car with decals, an air freshener, three dice, a key-shaped 2GB USB storage drive, a replica drivers license of one of the band members, and an exclusive New Again t-shirt.

To buy New Again (and other music by Taking Back Sunday), visit http://www.takingbacksunday.com/shop/Music.

311's Uplifter

Uplifter, the latest effort from Nebraskan reggae-funk rock band 311 will be released tomorrow, June 2nd. I had the privilege of listening to this album early, and I must say, this album is really good. The following is a track-by-track summary of the album.


It kicks off with the single, "Hey You," which was, in my opinion, incorrectly chosen as the first single. Don't get me wrong, I like the track, but it's not the obvious single. My brother put it perfectly, I think, when he said, "It doesn't match." The parts of the song don't go together. When they try to go from the heavier parts to the softer parts and back they sound like they had to try too hard to make it work, more successfully sounding like a mash-up of two completely different songs than like a radio-worthy single.

The next track, "It's Alright," took 7.5 seconds to completely draw my attention (seriously, 7.5 seconds). The verse is put together so beautifully that it makes me think of it as one of the most successful attempts at a reggae/rock fusion ever. Nick Hexum's and Tim Mahoney's guitar parts beautifully complement each other. Going into the chorus, S.A. Martinez's harmonies couldn't work better. After the second chorus, 311 continues to surprise me with their versatility as they turn the song minor for a split second, then lead into a slap bass solo by P-Nut. Just when you think that couldn't sound tighter, Hexum starts singing on top of it, followed by the layered vocals provided by Martinez.

Track 3 ("Mix It Up") is a heavier track than the preceding two. The lyrics get slightly monotonous, with the chorus talking about the "sum of all the parts when you add it all up" and the prechorus describing how Hexum was "never really good at math." All in all, this song seems like a less good version of their self-titled album's "All Mixed Up" (which appears as track 3 on their greatest hits album).

"Golden Sunlight," track 4, starts out with an almost asian sounding riff. Despite the overdrive on the guitars, this song is almost Zen in nature, and Hexum's voice helps that with its smooth timbre. Martinez's chorus sounds almost like a power ballad, while still being relaxing. For the bridge, 311 reverts to their typical sound of heavy laden guitar riffs over a pounding, strong rhythm section as Martinez sings a melody that brings the reggae feel to their songs. Overall, they are really successful in bridging the differing styles of each part of this song.

I didn't expect to like "India Ink," because it's track 5 of a 311 record. I have both their Greatest Hits and 2005's Don't Tread On Me, and both of the tracks on those albums that I do not care for are track 5. This song starts out with one of the coolest faux metal riffs I've heard. Hexum's voice comes in singing in reggae style, and the thing that makes it sooo awesome is the atypical low harmony provided by who I can only assume must be Martinez. The chorus then is something you'd expect to hear from a 311 hit: semi-repetitive lyrics, whoas, and harmony throughout. They go into a guitar solo after the second chorus that is reminiscent of The Beatles' "Across the Universe," if only because it is on that Indian instrument George Harrison was fond of playing. The bridge then involves Mahoney using an experimentally ambient sounding guitar effect while Hexum pounds a faux-metal riff and sings against his own rhythm, leading to a "this is the breakdown" feel.

"Daisy Cutter" starts off with just a palm muted electric guitar and Hexum's voice. Every time I hear the lead-in to the chorus of this song, I think they're going to go elsewhere musically, and I think that in that sense, they made an unfortunate decision in their songwriting. I feel like the chorus of this song is lacking comparatively. I also noticed that they refer to a "beautiful disaster," which is the name of a song of theirs off of their '97 release, Transistor. I'm not sure if they were making a reference to that song or if they ran out of oxymorons in writing their songs. The bridge is really cool though, but mainly because it includes a surprising 3 note stop-time section.

"Too Much Too Fast" starts in 3/4 time (peculiarly different for 311), and then moves into 4/4 for the rest of the song. The verse has a very cool sound to it, with a standard (enough) drum riff backing an almost stop-time guitar riff that eventually moves into a riff using the idea of triplets but only hitting the first and last beats of each one. There's a short break during which Mahoney plays a riff on top of Hexum's short strums on every beat, and Hexum sings a beautiful melody followed by a recurring riff. After the short break, they go into another verse. The prechorus utilizes that 3/4 riff from the intro, and then the first time you hear the chorus, it just has an uplifting, fun feel. This song has many instrumental mini-breaks that just sound awesome. The one flaw is that every instrumental mini-break leaves you craving for a guitar solo. Mahoney manages to slip one in during the last chorus as Hexum croons "oohs" over Martinez's solid "too much too fast" lyric.

"Never Ending Summer" starts out with a bit that makes me want to immediately change it. After the almost unintelligible spoken word by a currently unknown man, I expect it to have a certain traditional rap feel (most likely in the vocals). After a few seconds, my assumptions appear to be partly correct, as distorted growling vocals "sing" the band name over and over again. After that, though it sounds like a normal 311 song--a heavy-ish rock riff with reggae inspired vocals. The chorus has really awesome harmonies and is led into and out of perfectly. The bridge comes in with just drums and bass and makes me feel like this unknown guest is going to start rapping... and then he doesn't. Instead, Tim Mahoney comes in with a SCREAMING guitar solo that just melts your face off. Starting and ending with complete silence, the band succeeds in creating undeniable awesomeness in their creation of this guitar solo.

From the song title alone, you would expect "Two Drops in the Ocean" to be a mellow song with either a reggae feel or a pop song. In this case, it is the former. After the first verse, they go into a part during which the bass and guitar playfully duel, and makes you feel like laying in the grass lazily at a park. Unfortunately, the chord progression in the chorus is borderline mediocre. Fortunately, the chorus doesn't last long. The guitar solo, while not face-melting, reprises the idea of sounding so beautiful that it makes you want to lay in soft grass somewhere lazily listening to it.

The ominous first few chords of "Something Out of Nothing" makes you feel like this song is for sure going to be something. This is one of a very few songs on the album where Martinez sings the first verse, and his voice seems to work better for the riff than Hexum's would. The chorus is a letdown from the awesomeness of the verse, but after the first chorus and before the second verse, Mahoney has another wailing guitar solo, albeit a short one (more of a fill, really), that excites the listener for the rest of the song. Sure enough, after the second chorus, Mahoney plays with his wah pedal a bit more, tearing the listener apart with the riff that works so well for the faux-metal riff the rest of the band is playing. The outtro is surprisingly cool as it follows the chorus.

"Jackpot" reverts to the old 311, when Hexum and Martinez typically tone-rapped over heavy guitar riffs. It's one of those songs you lip-synch loudly in your room in front of your mirror. Yes, I did just suggest that you could lip-synch something loudly. Its downfall, if you can call it that, is that it must be listened to loudly. Oh and it ends on a really strange chord.

"My Heart Sings," simply put, is an amazing closing track. Mahoney revisits the guitar effect he used in the fan-beloved "Amber" and in "Champagne" (both from 2001's From Chaos), and yet manages to make it yet again sound original and distinct of the other two. After the riffs using that effect, there is acoustic guitar predominantly used in the verse, followed by mixed electric and acoustic instrumentation in the prechorus and chorus.


BONUS TRACKS
"I Like the Way" features Hexum singing followed by Martinez rapping, followed by Hexum singing, followed by Martinez singing really high. It almost makes me envy Martinez for how high he can sing. During that part, the guitars hit a chord and then slide down, which makes for a mildly interesting sound. The guitar riff/fill after the verse almost sounds synthesized. After the second verse, Hexum and Martinez take turns talking, followed by a bridge during which Hexum sings over a very impressive bass riff by P-Nut. Overall, this is a weird song, and I understand why it isn't included on the final cut of the regular edition of the album.

"Get Down" starts out as a mellow track that will lull anyone into a daydream (HINT: you may want to skip this one if you're driving). Hexum's voice croons you to sleep until the second part of the verse, during which he almost tone-raps over distorted guitars. After the chorus bit, Martinez takes a verse and then Hexum takes over for the prechorus and chorus. It ends on a guitar solo that sounds more like an outtro riff than a soloI don't quite understand why this track didn't make the cut for the regular version of the album, but I guess they had to have something to draw people to buy the deluxe edition.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

On a whole, I fully enjoyed this album. 311 continues to prove to me that this reggae-funk rock fusion can work without being ska, and they do it so naturally it makes a guy wonder how this sound could have come out of Omaha, Nebraska. Nick Hexum and S.A. Martinez, the two lead singers of the band, seem to still be in their prime, as far as the quality of their voices are concerned. Tim Mahoney and Nick Hexum have gotten even better at complementing each other on their guitar parts. P-Nut and Chad Sexton (who I have not yet mentioned), continue to provide the other members with a rhythm section that, plainly, kicks ass. P-Nut has always impressed me with the facility with which he plays his instrument, and the bass lines he plays are almost always unexpected, but fit magically, and Sexton tends to consistently come up with the perfect drum riff to fit what the other musicians are playing, and to add another element to the reggae feel of their songs.



Uplifter is available in four formats, each with a digital and a physical form.
Standard Edition: the 12 track album as a compact disc or as an mp3 download.
Deluxe Edition: the complete 12 track album, the 2 bonus tracks mentioned above, a collectible vinyl sticker, and a DVD including behind the scenes footage, interviews, and live performances from 311 Day '08 (also available in digital format as the 14 mp3s and the video file, but does not include vinyl sticker).
Double-Vinyl Edition: the complete 12 track album on two 12" special etched vinyl discs in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Super-Deluxe Edition: the complete 12 track album in physical form with the two bonus tracks mentioned above and the DVD, a 12x12 Uplifter lithograph poster, the double-vinyl album, and downloadable versions of the album (with bonus tracks) & documentary film on release date.


To buy Uplifter, visit http://311.skyroo.com/se/view/music/index.html.