30 in 30 Club, You’re Invited

I’m going to listen to and review 30 albums, nearly all of them new releases, over the next 30 days. Each Tuesday will feature a new release from that day. I’ll warn you in advance, the selections are quite varied, this will be a challenge for someone that considers themselves only to be a fan [...]

Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown [56/100]

Preface: I’m listening to the new Kings of Leon album with a few preconceived notions. Mainly, I dislike the stuff they put on the radio, like, a lot. I found it insincere, sexist and generally not to my palate at all (too much pop in my rock). That said, I’ve heard plenty of bands that [...]

N.E.R.D. – Nothing [86/100]

Notes: “Party People (feat. T.I.)” is a solid opening with a sound more reminiscent of The Neptunes than N.E.R.D., though the sound that keeps coming to mind is The Chemical Brothers, or maybe Q-Tip. No accusations here, just a comparison, but Pharrell does admire both and he’s talented enough I’ll consider it a hat-tip. “Hypnotize [...]

Ray Charles – Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters [78/100]

Released yesterday, this album is a set of 10 never-before-heard songs that cover the whole range of the Genius’s abilities, from country-western to blues to funk. It was a bit of a sentimental rollercoaster to listen to, but I enjoyed it very much. Below are my notes and scores for the album. Notes: Sound quality [...]

Winter Is For Writing

Most of you know I thrive on projects. The more ambitious, the more I toss and turn over it, the better. Sometimes I remember projects with more fondness than I honestly had for them at the time. Writing projects can be like that, but I remind myself that this could just be important practice, training [...]

Five Finger Death Punch – War Is The Answer

This sophomore offering from Five Finger Death Punch features the same line-up as the sound that gave you The Way of the Fist, which provided “The Bleeding” and “Never Enough”, the two songs that propelled them into regular airplay on rock stations.   If you’ve been in your local Best Buy recently, you may have heard [...]

How Music is Graded (My 100-point scale.)

Tone/Overall Sound: 20 pts How do the instruments interact with each other, and how is the end result aesthetically? This also includes vocal qualities, though not lyrics (covered under Theme). Melody/Harmony: 20 pts Does the artist display technical prowess by utilizing melody and/or harmony effectively? Rhythm/Syncopation: 20 pts Does the rhythm of the piece contribute [...]