Music Reviews.

Since I’ve found myself offering book and movie reviews lately, I thought I’d throw some music reviews in there every now and then. This is what I’ve been listening to over the last couple of weeks. Some good. Some not so good.

Game Theory (The Roots): C-
This isn’t as great as I thought it would be. It really was my first extended listening of The Roots. And after hearing so much praise for them I was expecting something great. I got something that was a little below average. I mean it’s certainly better than traditional rap. But I was expecting more of a Fugee’s reggae sound. It felt like choppy, disconnected rap. Anyway, it’s not bad. But if I’m going to take the time to listen to rap . . . it needs to be better than “not bad”.

The Guest (Phantom Planet): B
Excellent album. Good stuff. You should listen to it. It takes me back to high school which consisted heavily of the beach and Weezer. It’s not as good as any of Weezer’s stuff, but there is still a nice sound that is happy, but not over the top happy. It doesn’t feel fake. Just solid summer-esque music.

Muddy & The Wolf (Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf): A-
I really don’t know why I don’t listen to the blues more. Every time I listen, it’s a great experience. I think it’s because I just forget about it. I don’t know. But Muddy Waters is my favorite. I was listening to XM on the way back from Destin about a month ago and they were doing a Muddy Waters tribute hour. So I came home and downloaded a few albums. This is my favorite. Every time I hear the blues or Kenny Wayne Shepherd . . . it just makes me think about growing up in the South. Hot, muggy nights. Mosquitoes. Moss in the trees. Screen porches. Lighting bugs. Lemonade. Those are the days. And unless you’ve grown up along the coast with one of those nights I don’t think you can fully appreciate the blues.

The Reminder (Feist): A+
This is a beautiful album. I enjoyed her second one (haven’t heard the first album). But it pales in comparison to The Reminder. Which if I’m honest, hasn’t even come out yet. So if you want to download it illegally go ahead. If you’re a purist and law abider then wait until May 1st. But this album is so incredibly good. My only fear is that it is going to blow up and become the “pop” soundtrack of the summer ending up on every episode of Grey’s Anatomy and on the radio every time you turn it on. Which is what has happened to Damien Rice, Regina Spektor, Rilo Kiley, The Fray, Gomez, & Metric to name a few. Nonetheless . . . The Reminder is 10x’s better than any of those which is saying a lot considering I love Damien and Regina. This is just a beautiful album. Every track.

[tags]The Roots, Game Theory, Phantom Planet, The Guest, Music Reviews, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, The Reminder, Feist[/tags]