Andrew Vol. 1 - CM Review

This is a review of Andrew's first effort, or at least his first contribution to Drop(Box) Beats.  This is an eclectic mix of music, and I appreciate that a great deal.  At first listen, I was out of my mind excited because I've been on an all out search for more Patrick Sweany type artists that I could formulate a new long playlist to.  Andrew has hit the mark by including Roadkill Ghost Choir, Gary Clark Jr., The Blackwater Fever, Jack White, Wolfmother and Black Joe Lewis.  I'll be enlisting his help to make a truly awesome blues rock playlist.  Anybody else that thinks they can help are invited as well.

OK, back to the playlist review.  My favorite song was "Bitch, I love you" by Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears. Mainly because he has the raspy soulful voice that I love, and its a great song to boot.  I'm going to have to check out their other music, as I have a feeling I'll like them a lot. My other favorites on the disc were "Beggars Guild" and "Love Train".  Other notables include "Ellis Island" which sounds like an Irish folk song, and enjoyable one at that.  I also really enjoyed honeyhoney's cover of 1979, very nice addition.

I wasn't a huge fan of The National or Hanni El Khatib.  Although I'd be open to listening to more of their stuff, as they may have some other good material.  Thanks for contributing, and here's to hoping you upload some other fine playlists in the near future.

Top Five Favorite "new" albums?

When you can get paid to blog about your favorite music, it's a good day. With no students to tutor in math, I find myself spending a few hours on Facebook, buzzfeed, and iTunes. Luckily Charles and I started a discussion about music. It kept the minutes from dragging on and before I knew it, my shift was over and a new idea was born. Instead of keeping the musical genius to ourselves, we thought it would be best to share.

We were discussing great albums and how the digital era can be great, it also means that artists do not have to create great albums like they did in years past. We're talking Rumours great, Damn the Torpedos great, Dark Side of the Moon great! These are the albums that you can listen to from start to finish and you wouldn't even think about hitting next. Mumford & Sons Babel is one of the few in recent years that I would consider to be on that level and I'm including the deluxe version with the cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer." Their success is no surprise. Sigh No More is a good album with many great songs, but Babel is so good that while creating playlists for the dropbox, I had to limit the Mumford or it would have ended up a Mumford playlist with a few other songs tossed in. 

Obviously, most people won't argue that  Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and the "Classic Rock" era musicians made the best albums. This post is to start a discussion about what new albums are "I bought the whole album on iTunes and don't even think about the next button" good. 

Here are my favorites...
Mumford & Sons - Babel 
This choice is obvious. They are so talented and one of my favorite bands right now. 

Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
I could have picked Only by the Night. It's great and has their big hits, but I think this album is even better and I listened to it from start to finish two summers ago. Quite a few songs are still in my 25 most played. 

Adele - 21
Start to finish, Adele can sing. Every song is great. Teenage girls might want Taylor Swift singing their break-up songs, but everyone else wants to hear Adele. 

The Killers - Hot Fuss
The Killers were probably the first "new" band that I really loved. These songs were so good, I thought the band was English. 

Zac Brown Band - The Foundation
I know this is country, but it's more Folksy, timeless country and less hee-haw country. If you ignore the sic 'em on a chicken song and focus on the cover of Ray LaMontagne's "Jolene", it's amazing. I like to listen to this in the spring and summer with my Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker. 

Honorable mentions include

Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out

Here's hoping this discussion might get more participation. Looking forward to reading everyone's favorite albums. 

Langhorne Slim & the Law - CM Review

Thanks to Jerry Beres for contributing this fine album.  His voice kind of reminds me of Colin Meloy from The Decemberists.  The musicality is impressive and they incorporate a lot of different instruments and elements into each of their songs. The CD itself is interesting from beginning to end.

Best song honors goes to "The Way we Move."  Kind of made me want to pick another song when I figured out that its the title track, but I have to stay honest to my pick.  The other (2) songs that were hardly edged out were "Fire" and "Past Lives."  I probably would have picked "Fire" another day of the week, maybe if I was in a different mood. I love the laid back feel of the song and the overall positive vibe that it sends. I don't know if its just the title, but it kind of reminds me of "Fired" by Ben Folds.

I had never heard of this band, and I'm glad that Jerry exposed me to them. I guess he saw them live and picked up the album after that.  I like the fact that his voice is unique, and has some edginess to it.  I think that there is some "whine" in his voice, which I could best equate to Dave Matthews in terms of my personal taste.  Hope you all enjoy this album!

Jackie's Dad Has Awesome Taste in TUNES CM Review

I never thought these music reviews would include the titles, but I was mistaken.  I blame Diamond.  Anyway the name of this CD kind of sucks. First because the creator of the CD didn't pick the name, and second because Jackie is obviously brown nosing to her dad here.  Gag me.  That being said I'm glad for his contribution to this group, and look forward to his future contributions.  I'm still loving "Changing" by The Airborne Toxic Event which Jackie featured on her first CD.

I really enjoyed this CD, but found it to be the hardest playlist to review of the initial bunch.  I'm not exactly sure why, maybe I am burned out from listening to new music non-stop? I feel guilty because I enjoy the Mumford & Sons songs so much.  The other stand out here was "Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promises."  Some readers are probably shaking their heads because I have been told to listen and even been given Avett Bros songs before, but I never really gave them a fair shake. I'm ready now.

This is the first CD from Drop(Box) Beats where somebody featured (3) songs from the same artist, and I havn't been a huge fan.  Kill Hannah is the predominant artist on this CD, and I'm not blown away.  However, I do think they are talented musically. Maybe I am overly picky with my females...   I'd like to hear more from Local Natives, The Morning Benders and Surfer Blood.

Free Songs Found Idea

I have added a folder titled "Free Songs Found." These aren't songs I have listened too very much, or at all in a few cases. They are either iTunes "Song of the Week" or from Amazon or Starbucks. I think these are songs that have potential. The Lumineers "Ho Hey" is an example of one of the free songs I downloaded and now it's HUGE! My idea is that we can share our free songs here. Some of them might be big flops, but I think it would be interesting to see what happens to these songs and how many great songs start as free downloads.

Once you update the Free Songs Found folder, you can write a short post here or not. We can even do a super short review of these songs after giving them a few listens.

I've added Tegan and Sara's "Closer" from their newest CD. It was free on the Starbucks app. SCORE! I'm a big fan of the song and can't stop listening to it. There are a few I added that I haven't even listened to all the way through like "1904" and "Midnight on the Interstate" but who knows..... I like Cisco Adler with G. Love "You're a Fool" and Bruno Mars "If I Knew."

If most of these songs are huge flops, then I'll come up with a new idea!

Super CD 2 2004 - JH Review

Remember when I posted that Super CD 3 was my favorite? I take it back. This one is my new favorite Super CD. S3 was fun, but this one.. it's like FUN at Disney World. I can't take it out of my car CD player. I babysit every morning and take two kids to school. Instead of ever listening to crappy "kid music," I make them listen to what I like. Earlier this week, I was jammin' to S2 and I looked in my mirror and saw D dancing to The Redwalls "Colorful Revolution." My only choice was to turn it up and drive dance with him. He agreed that it was a great song. He also really like "Closer" because we kept dancing. And there's no other way to face a dreary Wednesday morning. The feel of this playlist is in my comments below, JAM-TASTIC! This is a playlist that doesn't have a bad song on it. 

Other than The Redwalls, I really liked the Freddy Jones stuff and the Virginia Coalition. Both were unfamiliar to me, but great songs. I also loved the Dispatch songs. Like most people I've heard The General, but I had not spent any time listening to any of their other songs. I am clearly missing out. 

If I had to pick a least favorite song, it would have been Howie Day's "Collide." I've heard it before and on a playlist this good, I "ain't got time for that." It is always a good sign of a playlist when the "worst" song is just the song you've already heard. Another point to note is while this is from 2004, the songs are timeless. If you find the Super CDs daunting, start here. You will not be disappointed! 

Phonetic Frontiers - JH Review

First of all, I love the name of the playlist. It sounds like it could be like an indie music label. Of the super CDs, I knew more artists on this playlist than the others, but had only heard Duffy's "Warwick Avenue." The overall feeling I get from this playlist is that it is a pretty good chill out mix. Unlike some of my own attempts, this playlist isn't put you to sleep chill, but a groovy, drink a beer and chat with friends. 

The Alabama Shakes song, "Hang Loose" is my clear favorite. I had previously downloaded their song "Hold On" as either iTunes Song of the Week or from Starbucks. I like it, but I had not given them much of a chance. I like this song better than "Hold On" and I want to hear more Alabama Shakes! 

I had not heard anything by Kimbra before, unless you count her amazing work on Gotye's big hit last year, "Somebody that I used to know." I'm not in love with the song, but it was something new and different from most new music. I liked the music in Hellogoodbye's "Betrayed by Bones" and the more I listen to it the more I like it. I strangely love what can only be described by laser noise in the background. It gives the song a fun, catchy sound. Also makes me want to watch Star Wars. Thanks for the share! 

Phoentic Frontiers - CM Review

First and foremost, Diamond definitely gets the award for the most creatively named CD/Playlist thus far.  I'll admit being a little jealous, and instantly feeling the need to crank up my wit the next time around.  However, its really the music that's important around these parts, and thankfully this CD isn't just a pretty face.  Two songs that stood out for me were Hellogoodbye's "Betrayed by bones" and Duffy's "Warwick Avenue." I gave top honors to Hellogoodbye because they are new to me.  I hadn't heard this great song from Duffy, but she can pretty much sing anything cause shes got a killer voice.  And let me tell you, I'm a sucker for a good voice.  Ray Lamontagne and James Morrison are my favorites at the current moment, but let me get back on topic.  The Raconteurs are listed as a band similar to The Black Keys so I had been attempting to listen to more of their stuff lately.  This song has a good sound, and they have a funky way of singing/rapping? Pickwick is well represented here with (3) songs.  I always love to poke fun when there are more than (2) songs from the same artist on a CD, but its actually nice to hear that the band is more than a one trick pony, which is the case for Pickwick.  Overall a solid new CD compilation that I will be continuing to listen to in the coming weeks.  Thanks Diamond for your contribution!

On a side note, this will be the first CD reviewed by (2) different people so far, so it will be uber interesting to see how our tastes contrast :)