I have a Winamp playlist of albums to consider for review, and it contains 42 hours of music.
I keep forgetting I’m only considering them for review — I don’t actually have to write about them. But there comes a point when you’ve listened to something enough times to develop an opinion about it. They’re not thorough listens, but they leave enough of an impression.
So how about a challenge? Post opinions about albums for which I don’t wish to write reviews? It’s the anti-review review. If that makes any sense.
Let’s take care of the bottom line, first — Hanadairo is a welcome return from Hajime Chitose, and it’s an album just as good as the first two she released at the turn of the decade.
That said, the creative contribution of Ueda Gen is sorely missed (at least by me.)
Ueda was the main songwriting contributor on Hainumikaze and Nomad Soul. He crafted that other-worldly mix of traditional music and pop that suited Hajime’s singular voice, mixing in dub and other musical styles while doing so.
As a result, Hajime set herself further apart from pop stars chirping over a techno beat. The music was appealing and just this side of bizarre.
On Hanadairo, Ueda contributes only three songs. The rest of the album is handled by an army of other writers, and the resulting album leans more to a mainstream pop sound.
It takes a long time for the charms of Hatakeyama Miyuki’s third studio album of original music, Reflection, to reveal themselves.
A very, very long time.
In other words, this album is pretty boring.
Hatakeyama has a beautiful croon. When she sings really strong material, it’s some of the most moving performances ever recorded. When the material isn’t up to par, her voice is the only reason to keep listening.
The pre-release single, "Ai ni Melody", hinted Hatakeyama was paired with some promisingly strong material. Reflection, unfortunately, reveals all that strong material was squandered on the single.
Don’t read this review expecting Morrissey punditry.
I’m probably one of the few aging hipsters who never listened to the Smiths during his formative years, so I’m pretty new to canon of Steven Patrick M.
That said, I actually like Ringleader of the Tormentors.
Even without knowing Morrissey’s previous work — I’ve only ever listened to The Queen Is Dead, and that was just five months ago — it’s pretty clear a forcefulness and clarity drives the album.
I’ll review these albums in fuller detail later. I know I’m stealing my own thunder, but I’m still pre-occupied with Eponymous 4. I haven’t really been listening to other people’s music much.
Love Psychedelico, Live Psychedelico Wow. These songs sound so much better live, it makes me wonder why their studio work doesn’t capture that same energy.
Hajime Chitose, Hanadairo I’m glad she’s back, but where Ueda Gen?
Utada Hikaru, Ultra BLUE This is the album her career has been building up to …
Bleach, Migi mo Hidari mo Shihaisuru wa Kyoo mo Niku wo Kui YODARE wo Tarasu Not the hookfest of the self-titled album, but still every explosive performance you’ve come to expect from three girls from Okinawa.
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Fan Club I’m not a member.
I’ve gone on record a number of times with my terrible presumption about rock music by gay musicians. Simply put, lesbians have all the good rock bands.
The gay male stereotype is rooted in fabulousness, and the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Elton John and the gay contingent of Scissor Sisters are nothing if not fabulous.
So the nitty-gritty of rock ‘n’ roll is best handled by lesbians — the Butchies, Le Tigre, portions of Sleater-Kinney and Luscious Jackson. The most visible gay male rockers are the guys in Pansy Division, but some of their stuff gets perilously close to the Dead Milkmen.
Thank diety for Ex-Boyfriends. The 2/3-gay trio gets tagged as emo, but these guys rock hard, and their songwriting is biting and smart.
Being called the "boy Tori Amos" is not an endorsement in my book.
I haven’t yet figured out the generational cut-off date that separates Kate Bush fans from Tori Amos fans, but I’m guessing it’s somewhere close to my birthyear, 1972. I am squarely a Kate Bush fan, and I easily dismiss Tori Amos as a cheap knock-off.
So while being compared to Amos gets immediate demerits from my perspective, I can’t actually say I’ve listened to her thoroughly. (Just enough to go running back to Kate.) That ignorance works in Sacha Sacket’s favor.
I don’t think I’m going to be objective with this review.
Dylan Rice was listed in the Advocate’s Top 10 Indie Artists of 2005, and when I went to his official web site, I immediately thought, "Wow. He’s cute." Then I played an MP3 sample of his music, and I thought, "Wow. He can sing.". Then I downloaded his debut album Wandering Eyes from eMusic, and I thought, "Wow. He can write."
Champion of Japanese pop and ’80s college rock catalog that Musicwhore.org is, this site is not above exploring the upper echelons of the music industry charts.
I will always have a place in my heart for Janet Jackson, no matter how her wardrobe malfunctions. But Madonna, darling, the leotard …
And while I may head for the ACO and Utada Hikaru portions of my playlist first, there’s room enough for these so-called urban artístes.