Music Review

[cornerofmadness]

Because I'm really enjoying a2zmom 's music reviews and because I'm doing them for The Daily Pulp I decided to add them here when I rounded up enough of them. So I'll be doing this for all the new-to-me music since to do my whole collection would drive me over the edge.

 

Gretchen Wilson=s  Here for the Party  made its way into the collection for two reasons, I liked some of the cuts from the almost ridiculous amount of air time its received and secondly, because Columbia House had the dual disc CD/DVD on sale cheaper than the CD alone (though, word of caution, the cd states that it doesn=t conform to CD specifications and therefore won=t play on all players. This is becoming an annoyance to me finding CD=s and DVD=s and wondering will they play because once you open them, they=re yours...

 

The first four cuts have had huge commercial success and for good reason. <I> Here for the Party </I> is as fun as it sounds, even if it is a bit of female empowerment through using our bodies to rule men, dancing and drinking. For the BtVS fans, this could be a Faith theme song. <I> Redneck Woman </I>, the first release from the album is also just a fun cut. There are a lot of women who can relate to living their Christmas lights up all year round, who love country music and would rather save their money and buy Wal-Mart over Victoria Secret. <I> Homewrecker </I> is in that same redneck vein and of the four commercial releases it=s the weakest but then again a cat fight in lyrics doesn=t appeal to me.
 
<I> When I think About Cheatin= </I> is the most old-fashioned country song of the commercial releases and one of the most old fashioned on the album. It=s a good song and an even better video. There is a rift in country music about the amount of rock/pop getting into it. I=m not a purist. I like the hybrid music. In fact I like it better than pure country. My two favorite tracks, the aforementioned <I> Here for the Party </I> and <I> Redneck Woman </I> are much more hybrid than pure. The rest of the album is more pure country (and as of this writing not yet released commercially) I do really like almost all of them, <I> Chariot </I> being an exception. <I> The Bed </I> features Big & Rich who need to be seen to be honestly experienced (just saw them on Leno with a country singing rapper, there is just something odd about seeing a young African-American in cowboy boots and hat which says something about the ingrainedness of cultural stereotypes)
 
On the whole, this is an enjoyable album. You have fun upbeat songs, thoughtful ones about love and relationships. I haven=t flipped over the dvd part of it yet but I=ve seen the videos it includes and they=re also fun and I=ll be honest interviews don=t often interest me so I=m not running to see it.
 

 

Great Big Sea=s  Something Beautiful  had a very nice write up in Columbia House=s catalogue and I=ll admit I was sucked in hoping for some good Celtic music. The band gives thanks for the opportunity to bring the songs and stories of Newfoundland around the world. Okay, >new world= Celtic could be interesting.
Some of it was. Some was just...there. Maybe a few more listens would make me warm to it more. It=s not a bad cd but it=s also not a standout. It puts me in mind of the Corrs only less endearing. In fact one cut sounds like the instrumentals were lifted straight from a Corrs= song, but that=s probably the >Celtic= part. The voices are good, the playing good but very little stands out to me.
 

In all it=s a little rock, a little folk, a little Celtic and a little traditional and maybe that=s the problem. It=s not enough of one thing. However there are a couple of songs that were very enjoyable. <I> Something Beautiful </I> and <I> Summer </I> both relationship songs are the stand outs on this album. <I> Let It Go </I> is also quite good. It does include <I> John Barbour </it> a Newfoundland version of a Childe Ballad <I> Willie O=Winsbury </It>, one of the oldest English language ballad=s. Unfortunately it didn=t capture my imagination. And that=s another falling down here, too many of the songs sound just a little too much alike. This didn=t make me want to run out and sample more of their work and glad that it was one of my club freebies

 

 

Simple Plan’s  No Pads, No Helmets…just balls  would have prolly more appeal to someone who is neither my age nor sex. This is what I’d call “angry boy” music (there’s probably a real term for it but I don’t know what that is.) This is very much teen oriented music with cuts like I’m Just a kid, One Day, Perfect and  Grow Up  You can take this cd, wring it out and bottle teen-angst.

 

My problem with it isn’t the angsty lyrics. Some of them are very good. It’s the whiny quality of some of the cuts or the angry screaming stuff that buries the lyrics under forced emotion. (Again I’m betting if I were a 16 year old boy this would not bother me in the least and I’d be cranking it up). The cd isn’t bad so much as it’s not really for me.
 
However, the more commercial songs on it (well commercial where I’m at maybe it was even more commercial than I know on stations that aren’t alt. Rock) <I> One Day </I> is upbeat in rhythm even if it is whining about what the boy will do once he’s out from under daddy’s shadow, but who hasn’t felt like that at that age? Even more poignant is the song that introduced me to the band, <I> Perfect </I>. This cut is very sad in that it sees father and son pulling apart so much so that the boy feels he’ll never be close to his dad again and it hurts. I think this is something all too many of us can relate to.
 
For me, Simple Plan’s <I> No Pads, No Helmets…just balls </I> won’t be on the regular rotation of music in my player but if will be there whenever I need to channel angry boy for my writing.