White Stripes - Elephant

Phew...thinking about it today, the first time I heard the White Stripes was on Last Night with Conan O'Brien a long time ago. I remember thinking they had a pretty unique style compared to other artists at the time. I think that still pretty much holds true, as they might blend styles - their sound is still a little different compared to what else is out there today. I can't portray myself as a big time Stripes guy - but I do like to throw them on every so often. I really have to be in a certain mood to enjoy them to the fullest. You can never get tired of 'Seven Nation Army' though, because that song is just outstanding. I feel like they put out an energy into their albums that is almost unmatched by other punk-ish style artists. They remind me of The Strokes from that standpoint. If you have never heard these guys, give it a go. I think you'll be interested in what they've got going on. Even if you don't rush out to pick up their records - you can at least respect the music they're making. I'd put myself in that boat. At the very least, check out the samples and see if it's something that peaks your interest. I think you might be surprised. Enjoy your Monday!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Seven Nation Army
2. Black Math
3. There's No Home For You Here
4. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
5. In The Cold, Cold, Night
6. I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart
7. You've Got Her In Your Pocket
8. Ball And Biscuit
9. Hardest Button To Button, The
10. Little Acorns
11. Hypnotize
12. Air Near My Fingers, The
13. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine
14. Well It's True That We Love One Another

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks
1. Seven Nation Army
2. Hypnotize
3. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole

It's techno Monday here at the B Side, and today features The Chemical Brothers. Last week they announced they'll be putting out another album sometime in 2010. This was the first Chem Bros record I heard, and it came out back in 1997. I've only listened to one other record by them and they actually have quite a discography. Some of their stuff is just so groovy you have to move to it - other stuff is just so odd you kind of scratch your head listening to it. They are by no means my favorite dance group, but sometimes they cure the techno hangover. After hearing some of their other stuff in bits and pieces, it's possible that this might end up being my favorite work of theirs, but who knows. I'll be certain to give it all a shot someday. Do check out the Top 3 tracks, as they'll get you out of your seat and moving. I know I'm going to rock this out all day, and by the time I look at the clock again - it'll be lunch! Enjoy!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Block Rockin' Beats
2. Dig Your Own Hole
3. Elektrobank
4. Piku
5. Setting Sun
6. It Doesn't Matter
7. Don't Stop The Rock
8. Get Up On It Like This
9. Lost In The K-Hole
10. Where Do I Begin
11. Private Psychedelic Reel

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Block Rockin' Beats
2. Private Psychedelic Reel
3. Get Up On It Like This

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation 101

From Aqualung to Young Jeezy - that could be my new slogan for the blog. Not only is it close to spanning the alphabet, but it's such a change of music pace - which I'm all about. This is another record I bought in 2005, same as S&B. I picked this up as pretty much an impulse buy when I was at Target one day. I had a bunch of errands to run and I didn't have any cd's with me in the car. Since I pretty much loathe the radio (as most of you know), I had to pick up something. I think I'd heard 1, maybe 2 tracks from this album. I had only heard Jeezy one other time, which was on a Trick Daddy track from his Thug Matrimony record. I remembered thinking this guy could blow up, but boy did I underestimate him. I tossed this record in, and I never put it down to this day. One of the best hip hop records of all time start to finish. He's put out 2 more albums since TM101, and will soon be releasing TM103 this year. I'm sure you've heard a couple singles from this, but those probably are the less solid songs here. The ones I like most never saw any real radio play. If you at all enjoy rap, you'll honestly love this album. Even if you're not a hip hop fan, I think you'll groove to a couple tracks on here. Who knows, you may even get up and shake ya groove thang!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Thug Motivation 101
2. Standing Ovation
3. Gangsta Music
4. Let's Get It/Sky's the Limit
5. And Then What
6. Go Crazy
7. Last of a Dying Breed
8. My Hood
9. Bottom of the Map
10. Get Ya Mind Right
11. Trap Star
12. Bang
13. Don't Get Caught
14. Soul Survivor
15. Trap or Die
16. Tear It Up
17. That's How Ya Feel
18. Talk to Em
19. Air Forces (Bonus Track)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Thug Motivation 101
2. Go Crazy
3. Standing Ovation

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars

Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful

Happy Easter B Side fans!! I figured I'd introduce first something a little slower that everyone in the family can enjoy. I'm sure many of you were introduced to Aqualung via Brighter Than Sunshine back in 2005. However, most of you probably didn't run out to check out the rest of it either. This is where I swoop in and tell you, CHECK THIS OUT!! This is really a great record. I was a little leery that this would end up being too popish and I wouldn't like it, but man I was wrong. Aqualung did a show with The Fray back in 2006, Aqualung totally stole the show from the headlining Fray. He has put out 3 albums since this one, and for some reason I haven't gotten to any of them yet. Shame on me, as I'm sure they're all very solid. If any of them are half as good as S&B, I'll be more than satisfied. Check this out today while you're eating delicious chocolate bunnies - you won't be disappointed!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)
2. Falling Out of Love
3. Good Times Gonna Come
4. Brighter Than Sunshine
5. Breaking My Heart
6. Tongue-Tied
7. Left Behind
8. You Turn Me Round
9. If I Fall
10. Easier to Lie
11. Extra Ordinary Thing
12. Another Little Hole

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Strange & Beautiful
2. Brighter Than Sunshine
3. Good Times Gonna Come

FINAL RATING:
4.25 out of 5 stars

The Offspring - Smash

Okay, okay, okay...so I have to come clean before I even start. The truth is, this could be one of the worst records ever made - I'd still love it because this was the FIRST cd I ever owned. My parents spent a lot of money on a really nice cd player in the late 80's. It had great sound, and a great set of commercial headphones to go with it. I picked this album up, and everyday after school I'd sit with the phones on and groove to it. I really love this record. Start to finish I feel like it's impossible to put down. I have not enjoyed any of their albums after Smash, Ixnay was alright but the rest were just too hard to listen to. Everyone has heard 'Esteem' and 'Come Out and Play', but this whole thing is really good. It's also another cd to listen to it track by track with no shuffle. I'm not sure if they intended the arrangement to be so good or not, but it really worked. I might give you a top 3 without the two super popular tracks just so you listen to everything here. That might be tough though, those are both really good songs. The bottom line is, if you already have this record - listen to it today. You will coast to the weekend if you toss this on. If you're unfamiliar with this record and all you know is Original Prankster, get this one. You won't be disappointed! After all, music soothes even the savage beast.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Time to Relax
2. Nitro (Youth Energy)
3. Bad Habit
4. Gotta Get Away
5. Genocide
6. Something to Believe In
7. Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)
8. Self Esteem
9. It'll Be a Long Time
10. Killboy Powerhead
11. What Happened to You?
12. So Alone
13. Not the One
14. Smash

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Smash
2. Self Esteem
3. Not The One

FINAL RATING:
4.5 out of 5 stars

Taylor Swift - Fearless

TGIF!! Today, Friday yields a country review from The B Side. Today's ear candy is Taylor Swift. I find myself running through this record as recommended by one of my followers. As stated in the previous blog entry, recommending tuneage is much appreciated. I always look forward to sampling new music. Anyway moving on to Fearless, this has some ups and downs for me. It has much less of a country feel to it than a 'mood' type feel. I really enjoy that type of music. Check out my Blue Merle review from a few months ago, and some of the music sounds very similar to that. There are a couple poppish tracks, but those aren't the worst in the world. Much of the background is an acoustic guitar and simple vocals which I absolutely love. There is no denying that she has a really good voice. Those are all the good things. A couple bad things, a lot of the songs sound similar. That isn't always a bad thing, as I equate that to Green Day's 'Dookie' where every track could have been the exact same, but it was amazing. This one, they tend to run together for me a little in a dull sort of way. It could have just been my mindset at the time though. I'm going to give this another couple chances, as I think it has potential. What I'd really like to see is Taylor Swift collabo with a really good rock band or even a rapper. I could really see Swift on a Kanye West (well if they ever make up) record or the next Jay album. All in all, it surpassed my expectations - and I'll have to check out her other album sometime.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Fearless
2. Fifteen
3. Love Story
4. Hey Stephen
5. White Horse
6. You Belong With Me
7. Breathe - with Colbie Caillat
8. Tell Me Why
9. You're Not Sorry
10. Way I Loved You, The
11. Forever & Always
12. Best Day, The
13. Change

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. You're Not Sorry
2. Change
3. You Belong With Me

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

B Side Fans - How Am I Doing?

Happy Thurssday Blog Fans!

I decided I'm going to take a day off today, and just have a small post about the blog. A lot of you are coming back on a semi regular basis - and to all those people I really appreciate your time! I'm wondering what I can do to make your visits better? I'd love to see more comments on reviews, but I understand that can be time consuming and signing in can be a bear for some people. How can I make your experience better?

I've got a couple ideas in the hopper...I want to make the 'Song Of The Moment Archive' not on this page, but in a separate link that you can click on if you want to check out single songs. I was also thinking about having a way everyone who visits could vote for songs and have a B Side Top 100 list or something like that. I know that many of you want interaction, but don't necessarily want your name and ID attached to what you put on the blog. I could also make the ability to have anonymous comments - but I've always enjoyed responding to people. If that's stopping some folks from sharing, I'll happily do that. I really have to thank JenInTosa for helping me out with tossing some Country albums my way, and I'd love to hear more! From everybody! Send me your favorite artist, or record and I'll get it on the blog!

Let me know if there is anything I can do to make your viewing better and I promise, I'll do my best to get it done.

Thank you very much for your support!

The B Side