Showing posts with label U2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U2. Show all posts

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Breaking Down the 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s


Some say we will look back at the 00’s as the decade when the full length album died, and for the most part they will be right. Sure albums will never go away as long as there are people stupid enough to plop down ten dollars for an album with only a good song or two. But the album as an event has long passed. In this instant gratification day and age, we just want to get to the three minutes of musical joy instead of having to spend a whole album digesting an album. I cannot remember one album I sat around with a bunch of friends last decade dissecting it with friends like I did back in the ninties (granted this may be an age thing).

So my list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s is less about a cohesive album (which there were very few of in the 00’s) than just a collection of twelve good to great songs. I’m sure there can be griping of albums I left out, but when compiling a list of albums for consideration, I only included albums I actual spent money on (or had someone else buy for me, with the obvious exception of two albums on the list), and when it comes down to it, if I didn’t even bother to drop ten dollars (or even less at discount prices), it is not something worthy of my list anyway. Here is how my list broke down by the numbers.

Artists with Multiple Albums
Dave Matthews (Band) – 5
Jack Johnson – 4
John Mayer (Trio) – 4
Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) - 4
Alicia Keys – 3
Coldplay – 3
Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) – 3
Kanye West – 3
Michelle Branch (The Wreckers) – 3
The Roots – 3
U2 - 3

Albums by Year
2000 – 6
2001 – 12
2002 – 11
2003 – 8
2004 – 9
2005 – 12
2006 – 8
2007 – 10
2008 – 14
2009 – 10

Albums by Genre
Rock - 19
Rap - 15
Alternative – 14
Pop - 13
Adult Contemporary – 11
RnB - 9
Folk - 8
Country - 5
Blues - 3
Hard Rock - 3

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Lyrics Quiz: Beautiful Day


If you are a World Cup fan, you have undoubtedly been inundated with U2 music lately and I thought I would take one of their most summer (which starts up next week officially) ready song through the Genius feature in iTunes and here are twenty-five songs it gave back to me for Beautiful Day. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section or e-mail me. If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the lyric quiz:


1. I was lost, I was lost, crossed lines I shouldn’t have crossed. I was lost, oh, yeah.
2. Let’s go and see the stars, the Milky Way, or even Mars. Well it could just be ours.  (Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz; guessed by Rebekah)
3. Sunday all the lights in London shine and the sky is fading red to blue. And I’m kicking through the autumn leaves and wondering where it is you might be going to.
4. Andy are you goofing on Elvis (Hey baby)? Are we losing touch? (Man On the Moon - R.E.M.; guessed by Rebekah)
5. Step outside the summertime’s in bloom. Stand up beside the fireplace. Take that look from off your face.
6. And when the worrying starts to hurt. And the world feels like graves of dirt.
7. Boy, one day you’ll be a man. Oh girl, he’ll help you understand.

8. Her friends are so jealous. You know how bad girls get. Sometimes it’s not so easy to be the teacher’s pet. (Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police; guessed by Rebekah)
9. I don’t want to call my friends; they might wake me from this dream. And I leave this bed, risk forgetting all that’s been.
10. She parks her car outside my house, takes her clothes off. Says she’s close to understanding Jesus. (Round Here - Counting Crows; guessed by Rebekah)
11. Driving in on this highway. All these cars and up on the sidewalk, people in all directions. No words exchanged; no time to exchange them. (Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Rebekah)
12. So slide over here and give me a moment. Your moves are so raw.
13. Steak Knife. Caro Shark. Con Job. Boot Cut.

14. Heaven holds a place for those who pray. Hey hey hey. (Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel; guessed by Rebekah)
15. Do they know wher we go when we’re grey and old? Cause I have been told that salvation lets their wings unfold.
16. I sank into Eden with you alone in the Church by and by. I’ll read to you here, save your eyes. (I Alone - Live; guessed by Rebekah)
17. How many train wrecks do we need to see before we lose touch of? We thought this was low, well; it's bad, getting worse.
18. The embers never fade in your city by the lake, the place where you were born.
19. This is what you get; this is what you get when you mess with us.
20. You are the bearer of unconditional things. You held your breath an the door for me. Thanks for your patience.

21. You Catholic girls start much too late. But sooner or later it comes down to fate. I might as wel be the one. (Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel; guessed by Rebekah)
22. You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls. And you won’t give up the search for the ghosts in the halls. (Building a Mystery - Sarah McLachlan; guessed by Rebekah)
23. I’m coming down, the world turned over. Angels fall without you there.
24. Hey, don't let it go to waste. I love it but, I hate that taste. Weight keeping me down.
25. This is a call to the colorblind, this is an IOU. I’m stranded behind the horizon line.


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Feed Your iPod vol. XLII: The Wanderer


Johnny Cash released his final album earlier this week (I assume) but due to my Olympic obsession I haven’t gotten around to give it a listen yet. So I thought I would highlight a song by Cash that some may have missed. The Wanderer is an odd song. Stuck at the end of U2’s eurotrash album Zooropa yet sung by the country icon who had been trolling in obscurity for most of the previous decade (the song was recorded a year before Cash hooked up with Rick Rubin that resurrected his career). And yet it all worked.

The Wanderer – U2 featuring Johnny Cash U2 - Zooropa - The Wanderer



Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Breaking Down the Best Songs of the Year


At the end of every year since 1996, I have gathered up my favorite songs from that year for a countdown of my favorite. I was interested in seeing who were the artist that appeared most on those list over the past decade and here are the top 25 (well since there was a tie there are actually 31). I counted any song of which they were listed as a featured artist, not just when they were the lead artist. Also keep in mind this list has nothing to do with my upcoming Greatest Songs of the 00’s which I promise to release before the next decade ends. I also included a list of the number 1’s of the past twelve years as well as Mr. Irrelevant (the song that was last that year).  For the full list for the past five years, click the Best Songs label at the bottom of the post.

1. Kanye West - 25

2. Alicia Keys – 15

John Mayer – 15 (Solo, 14 and John Mayer Trio, 1)

4. U2 - 14

5. Jay-Z - 13

6. Carrie Underwood – 11

Coldplay – 11

8. Nelly Furtado – 10

9. Beyoncé – 9 (Solo, 6 and Destiny’s Child, 3)

Dave Matthews – 9 (solo, 1 and Dave Matthews Band, 8)

Eminem – 9

The Killers – 9

Michelle Branch – 9 (solo, 6 and The Wreckers, 3)

Nas – 9

Ryan Adams – 9

Snoop Dogg – 9

Snow Patrol – 9

3 Doors Down - 9

19. Christina Aguilera – 8

Jack Johnson – 8

Jack White - 8 (The Raconteurs, 2 and The White Stripes, 6)

Lily Allen – 8

Maroon 5 – 8

Santana - 8

25. Common – 7

Death Cab for Cutie – 7

Jimmy Eat World – 7

Rihanna – 7

The Roots – 7

Taylor Swift – 7

Weezer - 7


Most Top Ten Songs

7 - John Mayer

Kanye West

4 - Michelle Branch (solo, 2 and The Wreckers, 2)

Santana

3 - Coldplay

David Gray

Death Cab for Cutie

Jay-Z

The Killers

Ryan Adams

U2


Shortest Song: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes (1:50)

Longest Song: I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie (8:36)

Longest Break Between Charting: 10 Years (Ben Harper, Steal My Kisses in 2000; Fly One Time in 2009)

Number One Songs by Year

2000: Maria, Maria – Santana featuring the Product G&B

2001: Everywhere – Michelle Branch

2002: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes

2003: The Seed (2.0) – The Roots featuring Cody ChestnuTT

2004: All Falls Down – Kanye West

2005: Landed – Ben Folds

2006: Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

2007: Drivin’ Me Wild – Common featuring Lily Allen

2008: I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

2009: Use Somebody – Kings of Leon


Mr. Irrelevant

2000: The Bad Touch – The Bloodhound Gang

2001: Standing Still – Jewel

2002: Friends and Family – Trik Turner

2003: Make Me a Song – Kiley Dean

2004: Some Girls – Rachel Stevens

2005: Give a Little Bit – Goo Goo Dolls

2006: Lithium – Evanescence

2007: This Ain’t a Scene, it’s an Arms Race – Fall Out Boy

2008: Stuck to You – Nikka Costa

2009: Let’s Take a Walk – Raphael Saadiq

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The 25 Best Albums of 2009


If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store (or click on the album cover) where you can order them there:


Bible Belt1. Bible Belt – Diane Birch
Love Makes the Price Good Enough to Wanna Pay

2. Tell ‘em What Your Name Is! – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Where My Horns At, Are You with Me?

3. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
If You're Loved by Some One You're Never Rejected

Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!4. Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King – Dave Matthews Band
Somebody's Broken Heart Become Your Favorite Song

5. The Fall – Norah Jones
My Mind's Racing from Chasing Pirates

6. Troubadour – K’Naan
I Take Rappers on a Field Trip any Day

I and Love and You7. Amanda Leigh – Mandy Moore
Those Calendar Girls Ain't got Nothing on Me

8. No Line on the Horizon - U2
Let Me in the Sound

9. Kamaal the Abstract – Q-Tip
And Introduce You All to a New Sound to Pound

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King10. Love, Save the Empty – Erin McCarley
You Hold Your Head up to the Sky; You Say What Kind of Blue Are You

11. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
When Something's Lost, I Wanna Fight to Get it Back Again

12. Kate Earl – Kate Earl
The Music Within Makes Me Whole and a World I Built on My Own

The Fall13. LOtUSFLOW3R/MPLSoUND - Prince
Not Reviewed

14. Draw the Line – David Gray
Everyday Is a New Version Of

15. Battle Studies – John Mayer
It's Been a Long Time Since Twenty-Two

16. White Lies for Dark Times – Ben Harper and the Relentless7
The Very Thing that Drives You Can Drive You Insane

Troubadour17. Far – Regina Spektor
It Was so Easy and the Words Were so Sweet

18. The Element of Freedom – Alicia Keys
I Don't Want to Come Down, Hope My Wings Don't Fail Me Now

19. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
This Ain't for iTunes, This Ain't for Sing-a-Longs

Amanda Leigh CD (includes 2 Exclusive Songs)20. Ben Folds Presents: University a Capella!
If There Is a God He Is Laughing at Us and Our Football Team

21. A Little Happiness – Aimee Allen
I'm Dancing with My Records On

22. It’s Not You, it’s Me – Lily Allen
I am a Weapon of Massive Consupmtion

No Line On The Horizon23. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
You Know What's Worth Fighting For When it's not Worth Dieing For

24. Relapse – Eminem
You Think That's Bad You Should Hear the Rest of My Album

25. Play On – Carrie Underwood
Gives You Feeling You Don't Want to Fight

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas Just Isn't Christmas Without...


They say Christmas is the most wonderful time of year and it is hard to argue with them (aside from the freezing temperatures) and that is thanks in part to the soundtrack of the season because you really have to try to make a horrible Christmas song especially if you pick from the ten songs below which is just not Christmas if I don’t hear these songs multiple times. I have also listed the definitive versions of the song if you are downloading them for yourself:


1. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Definitive version: U2)


2. O Holy Night (Definitive version - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)



3. Santa Clause Is Coming to Town (Definitive version: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)


4. Christmas in Hollis (definitive version: Run-DMC)
5. All I Want for Christmas Is You (Definitive version Mariah Carey)
6. The Christmas Song (definitive version: Nat King Cole)
7. Silent Night (Definitive version - Boyz II Men)
8. Children Go Where I Send Thee (definite version: Natalie Merchant)
9. Let it Snow! Let it Snow Let it Snow! (Definitive version: Harry Connick Jr.)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Definitive version: Coldplay and Conan O’Brien)

Honorable Mention: Do They Know it’s Christmas because Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Bono telling me to “Thank God tonight it’s them instead of you.”

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Feed Your iPod the CD vol. II


Feed Your iPod was created to highlight songs that may not have been hits, or even released as singles, but deserve a much bigger audience. And now I have posted enough for a second CD. Of course Feed Your iPod is just a catchy title and any of these can be for any mp3 devise, just your computer and now you can make a CD out of them as the first set comes in at 78:57. You can even help create volume three by emailing me (or use the comment section) song suggestions and a short description on way everyone should have it on their iPod for me to post. Click the links below to be taken to iTunes or the Amazon MP3 widet at the bottom where you can sample the songs or use the label function to scroll through what I had to say about these songs when I originally posted about them and full song previews.

1. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – John Mayer

2. Two Wrongs – Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz

3. Breakdown – Handsome Boy Modeling School

4. Like a Feather – Nikka Costa

5. Fireflies – Rhett Miller Featuring Rachael Yamagata

6. I Got Mine – The Black Keys

7. Bold as Love – Jimi Hendrix Experience

8. ‘Til I Get Over You – Michelle Branch

9. If God Would Send His Angels – U2

10. Hitchhiker Joe – Rugburns

11. Summertime – D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

12. On the Radio – Regina Spektor

13. Summer in the City – The Lovin’ Spoonful

14. Broken Hearted – Eric Clapton

15. Mass Appeal – Gang Starr

16. We’re Going to Be Friends – The White Stripes

17. Follow the Leader – Eric B. and Rakim

18. Regulate – Warren G featuring Nate Dogg

19. Spin the Bottle – The Juliana Hatfield 3



Thursday, December 03, 2009

We on Award Tour: 2010 Grammy Awards Nominations


Last year’s Grammy Nomination special was a good watch if not overblown with most performances paying tributes to past winners. This year was as lame as lame gets with no nod to the past except Maxwell’s excellent tribute to Michael Jackson. The Black Eyed Peas sucked massively. Sugarland was bland. And who cares about Nick Jonas and the Association? He and his brothers have only been nominated once and his new band as never played live ever. It would have been fine for the Kids Choice Awards, but not something associated with the Grammy’s. Oh and I would call the LL Cool J opening embarrassing, but this is coming from a guy who stars on an NCIS spin-off, nothing gets less credible than that.

And of course there were the award nominations which may have been the worst collection of artists ever assembled for a Grammy telecast. When they read Song of the Year, if it weren’t for the inclusion of Maxwell, I would have thought it was a VMA nomination. And Record of the Year was even worse because it was the same nominees with the Black Eyed Peas switched out for Maxwell. Best New Artist was conspicuously absent from the show, but I understood why when I saw the actual nominees. Below are some of the major categories and my thoughts (for all 109 categories, including one that has Michael J. Fox, Richard Dreyfuss, Jimmy Carter and Carrie Fisher battling it out, head over to Grammy.com):

Record of the Year
Halo - Beyonce
I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Who Will Win: Halo
Who Should Win: Use Somebody

I have a feeling (no crappy song reference intended) that Beyonce is going to go home with more than a few Grammy’s this year (she leads the nominations with ten; but keep in mind there are an absurd amount of R&B categories), they have loved her in the past and with the amount of nominations she garnered, they still do. So what is the dude who wrote the song basically reproduced the same song for Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis. Of course, keep in mind the Joe Satriani stealing Viva la Vida won this award last year. Hopefully Use Somebody wins because it was truly the best song of the last twelve months.


Album of the Year
I Am...Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
The E.N.D. - The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame - Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King - Dave Matthews Band
Fearless - Taylor Swift

Who Will Win: I Am...Sasha Fierce
Who Should Win: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Remember the good old days when the Grammy’s were considered too old, when Herbie Hancock was beating out Kanye West, Amy Winehouse (or as Ringo Starr says, Amy White House) and Foo Fighters? Now they look like as if MTV were doing the nominations. With any luck everyone else splits the youth vote and the Dave Matthews Band. But then again, the Grammy’s didn’t even bother to put LeRoi Moore in the In Memoriam section last year so I won’t hold my breath.


Best Rock Album
Black Ice - AC/DC
Live From Madison Square Garden - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
21st Century Breakdown - Green Day
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King - Dave Matthews Band
No Line on the Horizon - U2

Who Will Win: No Line on the Horizon
Who Should Win: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Conventional wisdom would say that since the Dave Matthews Band was nominated over U2 for Album of the Year they would beat them here, but I wouldn’t be surprised that people vote for U2 here since they weren’t nominated for the big one. Keep in mind U2 nor Green Day, who both have won the award recently, were not nominated for Record of the Year, but Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas were. Really, when was the last U2 record not nominated for that award?


Song of the Year
Poker Face - Lady Gaga & RedOne
Pretty Wings - Hod David & Musze (Maxwell)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Thaddis Harrell, Beyonce Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart
Use Somebody - Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon)
You Belong With Me - Liz Rose & Taylor Swift

Who Will Win: Pretty Wings
Who Should Win: Use Somebody

Keep in mind that this is a songwriting award. Poker Face was nominated for a songwriting award. Just let that soak in for a moment. I should be taking this time to laugh at Single Ladies being nominated for a songwriting award, but Poker Face is an even bigger joke to be nominated for a songwriting award.


Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Wilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Who Will Win: Who Knows
Who Should Win: Who Cares

Now I understand why this category wasn’t announced live. And to think, one of these artist can pick up an award previously won by Milli Vanilli. And so what if Silversun Pickups released their second album this year or that Keri Hilson (note that the misspelling of her name was a cut and paste, not my mistake) was been in the biz since 2001.


Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
We Weren't Born to Follow - Bon Jovi
Never Say Never - The Fray
Sara Smile - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Kids – MGMT

Who Will Win: I Gotta Feeling
Who Should Win: Sara Smile

Yes, that was a song from 1975 being nominated, that is just how bad music was this year.


Best Rap Album
Universal Mind Control - Common
Relapse – Eminem
R.O.O.T.S. - Flo Rida
The Ecstatic - Mos Def
The Renaissance - Q-Tip

Who Will Win: Relapse
Who Should Win: The Renaissance

I doubt he wins, but it is nice to see Q-Tip nominate. Hopefully he does go on another Award Tour. Too bad Kamaal the Abstract didn’t get one too.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I Want My Music Television vol. LVIII


There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Make Her Say – Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West and Common



Lady Gaga may be everything that is wrong with music these days, but I cannot get enough of this Kid Cudi track which flips the otherwise unlistenable Poker Face just by saying “I” before it. And it is nice to hear Kanye West back to rapping. Hopefully he got his auto-tune singing out of system and never does that again.


I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight - U2



If I am not mistaken, this is the first video U2 has ever made that didn’t actually feature the band. The closest being All I Want Is You that just had a quick cameo by Bono and the boys walking around the beach. Even their last foray into animation, Love Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me even had animated version of the band.


Strawberry Swing – Coldplay



Also getting into the animation realm is Coldplay in the stop-animation form. But Chris Martin does get featured as a superhero battling a, um, giant squirrel. The band thought so much of the video you may even see it when you head out to your local movie theater in front of the feature film you go to see.


On Vacation – Aimee Allen



While talking about her cover of Sublime’s Santeria (see Toss Up: Brooke White vs. Aimee Allen), I mentioned you download a song of Aimee Allen for free over at Amazon MP3, and here is the video for On Vacation complete with a whistling lobster. Because music videos could use more whistling lobsters these days.



Wednesday, May 06, 2009

I Want My Music Television vol. LI


There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Magnificent – U2



I have no clue what the white sheet were supposed to symbolize or what was with all the gratuitous close up smoky Arab dude, but at least the new U2 video looks cool.


You Belong with Me – Taylor Swift



I had a very She’s All That vibe from this video. Or was it Whatever it Takes? Maybe Get Over It? All those early ’00 teen movies all blend together. Then Evil Taylor Swift conspicuously looks like Jodi Lyn O’Keefe who I think was the ex-girlfriend in all of them. And I think I may take Evil Taylor over the good version.


The Best Days – Taylor Swift



And here is another video from Swift for all the mothers out there on the eve of Mother’s day.


3 A.M. – Eminem


I am not going to embed the new Eminem video because it is creepy in an early Marilyn Manson video kind of was but with more blood. Eminem always likes to walk up to the line of controversy, but with 3 A.M. he jumps right over the line and is just shocking for the sake of shock. Click the link above to watch the video in its entirety on YouTube at your own digression.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Let Me in the Sound


No Line on the Horizon - U2

Pop is universally recognized as the worst album in the U2 catalogue. The album was a little too polished and they thought they would be tongue in check with their Village People homage for the first Discothèque but the whole world just never got the joke. Even the accompanying tour when over like a lemon; literally as the band descended onto the stage in the oversized fruit that was more Vegas than arena rock.

The thing about Pop is that it still better than ninety percent of music ever made. If God Would Send His Angels hits the emotional chord the band is known for., Please is a heart wrenching plea, Staring at the Sun is right up there with anything on Achtung Baby. And if you don’t take it too seriously, Discothèque is the most danceable, fun song from a band not known for those traits.

With that said, No Line on the Horizon is not a bad album compared to other music that has been released this decade; it is just not a good U2 album. Part of that is for a band that is constantly reinventing themselves, we have heard some of these songs before. First single Get on Your Boots sounds like the first single from their last album, Vertigo, but with The Edge making his guitar more fuzzy (and a funkier baseline from Adam Clayton) and really sticks out like a sore thumb at number six on the track list. While Magnificent sounds like a couple of songs of off How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

Then when the band tries something new, like on organ, French horn mix of Unknown Caller, it just doesn’t work with the weird chanting chorus. But I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t go Crazy Tonight is one of those absurd idea the band comes up with that actually works when they actually law it down. Stand Up Comedy will be the early stand out live song on their upcoming tour. And Cedars Of Lebanon continues their streak of quasi-religious songs closing out their albums and ends up being one of the album’s best as it is a haunting end to the album especially the last two lines Bono sings. But the rest of the album really misses that emotional investment that every other U2 album has.

Of course this being U2, they do know how to iron out songs on the road with songs like The Fly and Origin of the Species, as well as most of Pop, not the best studio of songs, end up get better in front of live audiences. So hopefully by the end of their upcoming tour, some of these tracks from No Line on the Horizon would make for killer live album additions.

Song to Download – Stand Up Comedy

No Line on the Horizon gets a Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE] on my Terror Alert Scale.




U2 on iTunes


Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Feed Your iPod vol. XXVIII: If God Will Send His Angels


Next Tuesday sees the release of the new U2 album No Line on the Horizon (I should have a review up by at least Thursday of that week) and one of my favorite songs from the group that never was a big hit was What If God Will His Angels. I guess that happens with songs that have overtly religious song. The song was off the equally ignored Pop album. It may have been the worst U2 album, but bad U2 is still ninety percent better than any music that has ever been released.

If God Will Send His Angels – U2 U2 - Pop - If God Will Send His Angels



Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I Want My Music Television vol. XLIII


There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.

Get on Your Boots - U2



A fairly boring video with just the members of U2 playing in front of a green screen with just random stuff happening behind them like a more psychedelic iPod commercial. Hopefully the song isn’t n indication for what No Line on the Horizon is going to be as the song is just a weaker version of Vertigo. Luckily U2 tend to release some of the weakest songs of an album as the first single and Get on Your Boots may rival Discoteque in its absurdity.


White Horse - Taylor Swift



Oh snap! It was the friend that he was cheating with. Okay, it wasn’t that surprising. And Taylor Swift may want to sticking to videos with no dialogue.


Falling Down - Oasis



So is this video suggesting that a member of Oasis once hooked up with a member of the royal family? Does Vegas have any odds up?


Gravity - Sara Bareillies



This new Sara Bareilles video reminds me a more colorful version of Fiona Apple’s Never Is a Promise video in the look and sound which is a good thing in my book.