Day 75: Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley

I really love Rod Stewart's voice. It is so unique. The raspy growl type quality makes him enjoyable to listen to. Having said that I didn't enjoy listening to this album. I was pretty much bored through the whole thing. I'm not sure if it is the style of music which it is or if it is the song writing itself, to give hime credit most the songs are written by other people, I checked. I just didn't connect with any of them. None of them had that "wow" factor that makes you want to listen to it over and over.
I know Rod has had a huge career, but if all his other albums are like this one, I'm not sure how. 1/5

SotD B.o.B - The Kids

SotD Soundgarden - Rusty Cage

Day 74: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture & Morality

OMD is another great 80s band. Unlike other 80s bands though, they are a little more abstract than others. Their earlier albums, like this one, are a lot more electronic, relying on synthesizers and drum machines, but still making awesome music. Sometimes their lyrics are a little obscure but even that is made enjoyable by the lead singers voice. Their music really has stood the test of time and after over 10 years they released a new CD last year which is really good, maybe even one of their best. 5/5

Day 73: Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

The key to appreciating Joy Division is knowing the back story to the band. Unknown Pleasures is the debut album from the band, released in 1979. The band itself was formed in 1976 and was short lived. Ian Curtis, the bands lead singer, had a history of illness including epilepsy. Because of the seizures that he experienced he suffered from a lot of depression, that ended in 1980 when he committed suicide by hanging himself in his kitchen. It was shortly after the release of their second album, Closer, was released and right before embarking on their first American tour.
Like I said, to appreciate Joy Division it is essential to know the back story, so that when you listen to the songs you aren't just listening to songs. You are listening to the lyrics of a person struggling with some very deep, dark, serious personal issues. The songs take on new mean in this context. You can imagine the pain and depression that Ian was going through. Especially on the second album, many of the songs were probably written by him, with the knowledge that he would be ending his life at some point in the future.
Both albums are dark, but they are also brilliant. Each song is filled with emotion. His voice is haunting and draws you in. Ultimately you can't help but feel the songs. 5/5

SotD The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene

Day 72: John Martyn - One World

There was a lot wrong with this album in my opinion. First I didn't really get what it was that he was trying to do with it. it seemed like it was all over the place style-wise. At times it had a reggae feel to it, other times it was R&B, other times it was psychedelic 60s music and other times it was just plain odd. Secondly, this dude can not sing. I'm sorry but he sounds like he just finished hacking up a lung. Like he has had throat surgery. His voice is all raspy but not in a good way, like Joe Cocker raspy. It was just painful to listen to. 1/5

The only song on the album that I sort of enjoyed, and before posting this video I never would have guess that he was white.

SotD Happy Anniversary

Today is my 20th anniversary. It seems almost impossible that it has been 20 years already. We have had some rough times but mostly they have been really good. We have had changes, challenges and successes, no more so than our 4 awesome kids. For today's songs I have 2. The first is kind of our song from when we first met and the second is a song that just seems to fit.
Happy Anniversary. Here is to, at least, 20 more. Love you.

Day 71: ZZ Top - Eliminator

I'm not a huge fan of the boys of ZZ Top, but I do enjoy some of the songs that they have put out over the years. What this band does have going for it though is two things. One, they make good old rock and roll, and Eliminator is a perfect example of that. It is track after track of basic, cut to the bones rock. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just infectious tunes that make you want to rock out. Secondly, these guys have the corner on cool. The long beards, that they apparently haven't cut since they were teens, the sunglasses, the fuzzy rotating guitars, the cool cars and the girls, these guys got it all, and it's a good thing cause they ain't good looking and they aren't the best singers in the world.
I had already heard the hits from the album, "Legs", "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Sharp Dressed Man" but had never listened to the rest of the album. It was about what I expected. Most of the songs sounded similar and followed the same basic rock formula, but that's all I needed out of the album. It was just fun to crank it up and rock out. 4/5

SotD Blue October - The Chills

New video just released. Just had to share it :)

Day 70: The Beatles - Rubber Soul

What can I possible say about The Beatles that hasn't already been said a million times in the last 50 years? More importantly what can I say about The Beatles that isn't going to get me in trouble. Do I think that they were an extremely influential band? Of course they were, probably the most influential band of all time.
Do I also think that they are extremely overrated? Yes I do. In my opinion a good portion of their songs are really pretty amateurish compared to today's standards. Their very basic simple cord arrangements pair with drug induced lyrics that sometimes leave you scratching your head. However, that doesn't mean that they aren't catchy songs, and their simple nature is part of their charm. Part of my issue, I'm sure, is the fact that I wasn't alive when these guys were tearing up the charts, so I don't really understand how original and new their music was at the time.
Of course I have heard a ton of Beatles songs and do have a few favorites. Amazingly enough a couple of them happened to be on Rubber Soul, though I had no idea. Norweigan Wood and Michelle I have liked for a long time and I would say are probably in my top 5 Beatles songs. The album also had 5 or 6 other songs that are immediately recognizable and another 5 or 6 I had never heard before.
I'm not a fan of The Beatles, I openly admit it. I do however understand how important they were to getting music to where it is today, and for that alone they deserve the praise they get. 4/5

SotD Spoons - Romantic Traffic

Day 69: The Killers - Hot Fuss

For a band that only released their first album 6 years ago, The Killers have been consistently producing some really great music. Hot Fuss was released in 2004 and is the 1st of the Killers 3 albums so far, and I have to say that I have really come to love this band. Hot Fuss is a really great album, full of some really strong songs. Lyrically they are cutting edge. Musically, their style is very refreshing and Brandon Flowers has one of the best voices I have heard in a long time. He has amazing range and tone. I would most definitely recommend this, and their follow-up albums to anyone who hasn't yet heard them. These guys, I hope, are going to keep making "Killer" music for a long time to come. 5/5

BTW I keep a kind of a running list, in my mind, of bands that I would love to see in concert, and these guys are most definitely on it.

SotD Tricky - Evolution Revolution Love

SotD Faith No More - Easy

Day 68: Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

When Linkin Park came along with their glorious rap/metal fusion I was really impressed. I loved this album from the second I heard it since it was so different than anything anyone else was doing. The hard hitting combination of  metal, record scratching, drum beats, screaming and rapping was just so good. Full of energy and songs of anger, lost love, betrayal this album really keeps you energized the whole way through. The singing/rapping combination of Chester Beddington and Mike Shinoda really works well as they play off each other on almost every track.

Linkin Park kind of looses their way a couple of albums later but with the release of their most recent CD "A Thousand Suns" they have seemed to have started to find themselves again. On another note, Mike Shinoda, the rapper in the band, has a side project and CD that is really good. check out Fort Minor if you get the chance. 5/5

Day 67: Green Day - Dookie

I am a big fan of the older Green Day, not so much the newer stuff. In fact I only have 3 Green day albums, this one, Insomniac and Nimrod. To me those are the albums when they were doing something really exciting. Each track is a 3 minute, or less, burst of energy. Quick and to the point. True to the punk rock format, Green Day were the masters of the genre. Now I'm not going to be one of those people that claims they sold-out. I understand that, in most cases, artists are making music because that's what they love to do, but they also want to make money doing it, and I'm o.k with that. To me though, when Green Day went totally commercial and hit conscious is when they lost appeal to me. I know they still have millions of fans and are selling millions of albums, but if you want to listen to some really great punk rock, listen to their older albums and you can't go wrong. 5/5

SotD Blue October - A Quiet Mind

Today I made/finalized a big decision that I had been wrestling with. One that is going to hopefully define the rest of my life, well my career/work life anyways. For that I need to post my favorite Blue October song and perhaps even my favorite song. This decision has given me a quiet mind. Finally.

New Music: Daniel DD Wassef - Someone Out There ...

So, last week my wife was flying up to visit a friend and she got to talking to the guy next to her. Turns out that he is a music artist that has just recently put out a CD. She of course tells him that I am writing this blog so he gives her a CD to give to me to have a listen to and review.
I've listened to it a few times now and I can say there were a few things that I liked about it and a few things I think could be better. First the likes. 1: The CD doesn't offer any credits at all so I have to assume that he is responsible for all the lyrics and music, which were both pretty good. Lyrically they were well written and didn't ever come across as thrown together or sloppy. Musically, if it was all written by and mixed by him it was really good. Some of the music was very well arranged and the addition of piano to some of the tracks was excellent. 2: This guy has a really good voice for a rapper (most rappers are tone deaf and can't sing worth crap). On a couple of the tracks he sings and I would say that his voice is as good as some of the R & B singers currently popular. In fact, since rap isn't really my thing, I'd like to hear an R & B album by this guy.
The major complaint that I have about the album is that at times he reverts to all of the stereotypes of the rap genre. I understand that rappers rap about the things they know about, their life experiences, I just wish that new rappers would break away from the songs about smoking weed, track 9 "Sixteen Ounces", and treating women like Ho's. People that love rap probably want to hear it, but for myself it turns me off of the genre. I also wish rappers didn't feel like they have to use profanity in their raps. To me it makes them seem less intelligent. Rap about whatever it is you want to rap about without throwing in the F word for emphasis or using a swear because you can't find a word that rhymes. For example, track 1 from the CD, "I'm a writer" is really good but I was put off by the swearing that seems unnecessary.  I use to love Eminem, but now every song of his is like a profanity onslaught, and I feel like other rappers feel they have to rap that way because of it. Be better than that.  
Overall this CD did have some good songs on it. "Music for the Dead" I really like and was probably my favorite. The Title track "Someone out There" is also really good and showcases his vocals more. If you like rap I would say that this album is a good investment for 6 or 7 of the songs that are really good, and I think this guy is probably going to have a pretty good career. 3.5/5

 BTW DD, if you happen to see this lets chat :)

Day 66: Pet Shop Boys - Actually

The Pet Shop Boys are another 80's band that I love. I'm not sure that I have a favorite album of theirs but this album definitely has a lot of my favorite Pet Shop Boys songs on it. Songs like "Heart", "Shopping", "It's a Sin" and "Hit Music". What I really do love about these guys is that, unlike some of my other favorite 80s bands, Depeche Mode, The Cure and New Order, PSB is all about making albums of Pop driven, Fun, Dance club oriented hit songs. I mean, some of their songs are serious in nature but primarily they want you to have fun when you listen to their music, and that's never a bad thing. 5/5

Sotd Tea Party - The Messenger

Holidays

Back from holidays and ready to start back into listening to the list. Check back tomorrow for a review of the Pets Shop Boys album "Actually", a review of a CD I got of an upcoming rap artist I got and a review of some new albums by Incubus and The Parlotones and back to the song of the day feature.

Day 65: Pixies - Doolittle

After a listen through of Doolittle, I wasn't blow away but I liked it enough to hope that there is maybe another Pixies album on the list that I will get to listen to. A couple of the songs stood out from the rest as pretty dang good. "Here comes Your Man" is really catching and uplifting and of course "wave of mutilation" is the one Pixies song I already had on my Ipod, although it is the slower version of the song used in the movie Pump up the Volume. It is one of those songs that, when it pops up on my Ipod, I am really happy to hear it. One of those songs that I can't shut off once its playing.
A lot of the songs, when you listen to the lyrics, have religious overtones and deal with some darker subjects like death, making me wonder what their other albums are like. If you are a fan of the alt-rock/grunge style of music this album is right up your alley. 4/5

SotD The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go

summer holidays

Things have been soooo busy the last two weeks with the 4th and having family visit etc. and now this coming week we are going out of town. It has really been cutting into my music time :( I am going to try and get the pixies album and maybe one more listened to before I leave but no promises. If I don't them I will be back to reviewing one a day on the 18th. Maybe a couple new album reviews too :)

SotD Underworld - Fever

Day 64: Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold as Love

I have never listened to a Hendrix album all the way through. Like most people, I would imagine, I have heard the "hit" songs, Purple Haze, All Along the watchtower, but never liked them enough to want to hear more. After listening to it this album I'm not sure what all the hype is about. He is definitely an amazing guitar player, maybe one of the best, and for a lot of people that is enough. some of the songs were decent but again the style of music, psychedelic rock, just isn't my style.
It is also very strange to me that for a guy that only released 3 albums in a 2 year period before his death that such a huge legacy could be built. Sure he played a lot of live shows and had some unfinished recordings that could be released after his death, but from what I have seen most of his posthumous albums are just re-hashed re-designed forms of other albums, but they sell so I guess who am I to say whats good marketing.
Overall I would say that these albums are important for what they gave to future rock. I could really hear the influence Hendrix had on other artists. I can hear some of his style, especially in artists like Lenny Kravitz, and Prince. For that I would say they are essential albums. 3/5

SotD Nitzer Ebb - Rope

Day 63: KISS - Destroyer

I think that I can probably recite the lyrics to this album in my sleep. I first heard it when it originally came out, 1976. I was 6 years old and loved it from the first note of Detroit Rock City. This album was my first introduction to Rock, my first introduction to music really. It just blew me away. It was so energized, so alive. It really got into my soul and moved me. A friend of mine, Greg, and I would spend hours using make-up to paint our faces, cutting out guitars from cardboard and lip syncing to this album, the reason I know the lyrics so well. These guys were our idols.
Is this the best rock album ever produced? I'm not sure. Some would say yes, some would argue for others. To me though it was my introduction into the world of music, and for that it ranks up there pretty damn high. 5/5

SotD Stabilo Boss - Everybody

SotD HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Here are some of my favorite Canadian videos :) Sorry there are so many, I couldn't pick just one.