Black Keys - Brothers

First and foremost - my sincerest apologies to my fans. I haven't been posting on the weekends because viewership seems to really drop on Saturday and Sunday. I'm usually busy anyway and I figure if no one is reading, I might as well wait. Well, I didn't get to posting anything yesterday either, as I had a late night on Sunday and also had some crazy stuff come up yesterday. Well, thanks for understanding and BOOM!! New music Tuesday is back. Seems like forever ago now that I profiled the Black Keys as a great band you're not listening too. That statement stands true with the May 18th release of Brothers. It's another solid album from guys who don't seem to understand what bad music is. I fell in love with that dirty guitar and raw vocal from these guys since day one - and this record has a lot more than that. The album takes a little of a swirly trip at times and then seems like it's going spacey too. They added some resounding drum work with this also, and I love how that blends with some of the electronics they're using. Bottom line is, this didn't disappoint. It's hard for me to pick up a new record by a band that I love. I always feel like I'm going to end up disliking it because of my own incredibly high standards I have for groups. This one actually passed my expectations. For me to say that - it's a little surprising to my keyboard. I encourage and implore you to check these guys out. If you didn't at my request last time, do it now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars. Happy New Music Tuesday B Side!!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Everlasting Light
2. Next Girl
3. Tighten Up
4. Howlin' for You
5. She's Long Gone
6. Black Mud
7. Only One, The
8. Too Afraid to Love
9. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. Go Getter, The
12. I'm Not the One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. These Days
2. The Only One
3. Tighten Up

FINAL RATING:
4.25 out of 5 stars

Eminem - Relapse/Refill

After many years of not releasing any music, Eminem struck back with this Relapse piece, and then the Refill side a few months later. Being a pretty big Em guy, I was expecting big things from this. My stance is, as an artist if you're going to take years off and not keep your fans happy, then you do release an album finally, it better be really good. And this showed a ton of promise, since everyone knew it would be a double album and that he'd been writing and working in it for quite some time. At first listen of just Relapse, I was disappointed. It didn't seem to have that flashy Em style that we've all grown fond of. It grew on me as I kept going with it, and I find it okay if I toss it on today. The Refill side though - for the most part was just trash. 'Forever' is an outstanding song, but it was already released on Drake's record and was on some sports soundtrack. Putting it on Refill was pretty lame. 'Elevator' was the next biggest single, and it was simply one of those get his name out on the pop charts type songs. You know, similar to "Real Slim Shady' and those types of tracks. Not a big fan of those. I'm also done with him using that stupid voice. Fans will know what I'm talking about, and I'm not really sure how to explain it for those that aren't fans. He just gets this alternate ego type voice and it's annoying. He's due to drop another record this summer, and I'm hoping the voice is gone, and he goes back to murdering tracks like he did back in the day. Gosh, even like he did on 'Forever'. Even like he's been killing singles like Weezy's 'Drop The World' and BOB's 'Airplanes 2'. We still love ya Em, just bring back the real Slim Shady. Happy Friday!

RELAPSE TRACK LISTING:
1. Dr. West [Skit]
2. 3 A.M.
3. My Mom
4. Insane
5. Bagpipes From Baghdad
6. Hello
7. Tonya [Skit]
8. Same Song & Dance
9. We Made You
10. Medicine Ball
11. Paul [Skit]
12. Stay Wide Awake
13. Old Time's Sake
14. Must Be the Ganja
15. Mr. Mathers
16. Deja Vu
17. Beautiful
18. Crack a Bottle
19. Steve Berman [Skit]
20. Underground

REFILL TRACK LISTING:
1. Forever
2. Hell Breaks Loose
3. Buffalo Bill
4. Elevator
5. Taking My Ball
6. Music Box
7. Drop The Bomb On 'Em

Listen To Samples

Top 5 Tracks: (since it's a double album)
1. Forever
2. Beautiful
3. Underground
4. Stay Wide Awake
5. Old Time's Sake

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

The Fray - How To Save A Life

Ahh, The Fray. I would say they are a pretty good way to run through your Friday. I think I mentioned this before, but I was stunned and irritated when their show was nothing but teenage girls screaming about how hot the lead singer is. Maybe it's just me getting old and crotchety, but it really annoys me. I don't remember ever being that way going to shows when I was younger, plus - The Fray doesn't even seem to be that poppy that tweens would enjoy them. I guess if that's all you ever listened to was the title track, you may think that's the case. Truth is, I wanted to review this particular album because it's actually really good. I didn't really jive on the newer one thusfar, so I figured I'd pop on a golden oldie to start my day. Most of the tracks really are a 'mood' type genre. If you're in that rainy day mode, this cd will satisfy your hunger for methodical tuneage. I'm going to say most of the songs you've heard on the radio aren't the best on here, and they're not really a representation of how their music seems to be. The best I can say is check it out, you'll enjoy it. On a side note, I hated when they covered 'Heartless' by Kanye West. I mean, I get it that the song was ripe for covering and slowing down - but it was semi uncreative. The song was already very passionate and dark - so slowing it down and adding an acoustic guitar is a cop out for me. It's tougher to make a song like that work on a hip hop album. There was some guy who did a slow acoustic version of Kast's 'Hey Ya' a few years back, and that was visionary. Something like that, makes me lose respect. But this album is still good anyway, so groove through your Friday with it!

TRACK LISTING:
1. She Is
2. Over My Head (Cable Car)
3. How to Save a Life
4. All at Once
5. Fall Away
6. Heaven Forbid
7. Look After You
8. Hundred
9. Vienna
10. Dead Wrong
11. Little House
12. Trust Me

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Hundred
2. Heaven Forbid
3. Over My Head (Cable Car)

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Sublime - 40oz. To Freedom

Getting to an album requested by follower Janis, my headphones are once again brought to Sublime, and the 40oz record. You may recall I did their self titled work a month ago now, which was the final entry in their discography. This was the first entry, and I think it's somewhat clear they were still working to find their style here. Sublime isn't really my favorite band ever to begin with, but to me this record is substantially worse than the self titled one. The only reason I say that, it doesn't really have that guitar anthem like 'Pawn Shop' it doesn't have that incredible sing along track like 'What I Got' and it doesn't have that super awesome one like 'Santeria'. Don't get me wrong, I still think this is a good record, it's just not my favorite. Most of the songs are kind of silly and don't contain any substance. And for that reason, it's a pretty good jam record. If you're cleaning your house and want to put some background music on really loud, this would be good for that. As far as me sitting down and listen while working, there are a million other albums I'd put on first. It seems like this one has picked up popularity over time, as it was considered a flop initially, but has now sold over 2 Million copies in the US alone. It's a blend of a lot of styles, has some reggae, rock, alt rock, punk etc all mixed together. It's a little different, but kind of neat. If you've never picked this one up before - it's certainly worth checking out. I'd get to it after the Self Titled if I were you, but hey - it's your life. Happy Thursday B Siders!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Waiting For My Ruca
2. 40oz. To Freedom
3. Smoke Two Joints
4. We're Only Gonna Die For Our Arrogance
5. Don't Push
6. 5446 That's My Number / Ball And Chain
7. Badfish
8. Lets Go Get Stoned
9. New Thrash
10. Scarlet Begonias
11. Live at E's
12. D.J.S
13. Chica Me Tipo
14. Right Back
15. What Happened
16. New Song
17. Ebin
18. Date Rape
19. Hope
20. Krs-One
21. Rivers of Babylon
22. Thanks

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. KRS-One
2. Scarlet Begonias
3. Date Rape

FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars

Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin'

I have to apologize to my country fans out there again. I have about 5 or 6 requests for reviews to get to yet, but I had to sneak this one in. As some of you may know, I enjoy the weekly shenanigans of Peter Griffin and friends on the TV show 'Family Guy'. In case you're not familiar, when Peter gets into a jam, or wants a distraction, he turns to the camera and says, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty" - and then an actual performance made for TV is shown on the episode. What was more funny - there was an episode titled "The Juice Is Loose" and they aired the entire video for "I See The Want To In Your Eyes". I recall this specifically because it prompted the people who were watching with me to stop their conversation and say, "What the hell??? This is still going??"" Hilarious. Anyway, I figured - why not give Conway a shot on the B Side? One thing I have to say, his voice is mesmerizing. Since I have a problem with that monotone type of vocal, he changes pitch and shows some range in just about every song. I only chose this record because it has probably his most famous track ever, in Hello Darlin'. Most of his music sounds the same, which is really about the only negative I can come up with. Crazy enough, I'd probably listen to this in my free time. Weird huh? I was doing some reading on Mr. Twitty, and he did some covers that I'd like to hear someday. Those include: 'Slow Hand', 'Heartache Tonight' and 'The Rose' by The Pointer Sisters, The Eagles and Bette Midler respectively. I encourage everyone to go honky tonk today and try a little Twitty. It might brighten up your Thursday!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Rocky Top
2. I'll Get Over Losing You
3. Up Comes the Bottle (Down Goes the Man)
4. You and Your Sweet Love
5. Hello Darlin'
6. Rose
7. Reuben James
8. I Never Once Stopped Loving You
9. Will You Visit Me on Sunday
10. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
11. I'm So Used to Loving You

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Hello Darlin'
2. Reuben James
3. Up Comes The Bottle (Down Goes The Man)

FINAL RATING:
3.25 out of 5 stars

Metallica - Load

So this is I guess the second "sell-out" record by Metallica, since all the die hards thought they sold out with the Black Album. I've commented on how stupid that is before, but just in case you don't remember, that's stupid. The Black Album was awesome, regardless of how 'poppy' Enter Sandman was. Load came out 5 years later, and a lot of those fans refused to even listen to it. Rest assured B Side, I was not one of those people! I picked this up a couple weeks after the release and fell in love. One of my favorite records by Metallica. Looking through other review sites and getting others feedback, so many people think it's garbage. I'm curious if any of them really listened to this, or just passed judgment. C'mon, I find it hard to think anyone popped this in and became disgusted. There are a few really great tracks here. It's not up there in the conversation for best album of all time, but no Metallica albums are. They rely on a few really awesome hits and then settle into mediocrity for the other few tracks. That's the way it works for them. You don't even have to be a 'metal' fan to enjoy this record...since there are a couple tracks that slow it down and are just as good. Check out my Top 3 if you've never heard it before, I think you'll like what you hear. Then go out and pick this up, as you'll for sure enjoy it. To me, we need to reward artists for trying different things and reinventing the wheel sometimes. Prime example. Happy Hump Day B Side!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Ain't My Bitch
2. 2 X 4
3. House Jack Built, The
4. Until It Sleeps
5. King Nothing
6. Hero of the Day
7. Bleeding Me
8. Cure
9. Poor Twisted Me
10. Wasting My Hate
11. Mama Said
12. Thorn Within
13. Ronnie
14. Outlaw Torn, The

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Bleeding Me
2. King Nothing
3. Hero Of The Day

FINAL RATING:
4.25 out of 5 stars

Usher - Raymond v. Raymond

Nothing is blowing up the pop charts right now faster than Usher's March release, Raymond v. Raymond. I've heard at least 3 singles off this on popular radio airwaves already. That's actually quite crazy for a record only out for a month now. Usually they try to leak singles very slowly so you can promote the record over the course of time. This typically means the artist has another follow up coming out soon, but that does not seem to be the case. Not sure what his label is thinking, but I'd seriously expect sales to diminish once the singles stop coming out. That's just the way the business works. So, I've never been a big Usher fan. Other than the song "Yeah" (which come on, doesn't everybody like that song???), I don't care for his singles. I can safely say I've never analyzed a full Usher record before - but part of that is his style. He tries to be an R&B guy with a little mix of pop and hip hop...and I guess it never really worked for me. I didn't really know, but it sounds like he went through some heavy personal stuff while writing and making this album. A messy divorce mainly, which certainly comes through on a couple tracks. I guess I've never been a big fan of airing your dirty laundry in your music, unless you're telling the story. And this just seems to be complaining or whining almost. If you're an Usher fan, check it out...although I think you'll be disappointed. It must be selling well based on a couple singles, so we'll see how it's received 5 years from now.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Monstar
2. Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)
3. There Goes My Baby
4. Lil Freak
5. She Don't Know
6. OMG
7. Mars vs Venus
8. Pro Lover
9. Foolin' Around
10. Papers
11. So Many Girls
12. Guilty
13. Okay
14. Making Love (Into The Night)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Lil Freak
2. There Goes My Baby
3. Guilty

FINAL RATING:
1.5 out of 5 stars