I’ve been listening to the Black Lips station on Pandora Radio for the past 30/40 minutes and what a play-list! Sometimes Pandora can be hit or miss, but today this station has been clutch:
1. Black Lips – “Buried Alive”
2. The Hives – “Hate to Say I Told You So”
3. Kings of Leon – “King of the Rodeo”
4. Deerhunter – “Heatherwood”
5. Black Lips – “Old Man”
6. Babyshambles – “Pipedown”
7. The Ponys – “Harakiri”
8. Deerhunter – “Never Stops
9. The Ramones – “53rd and 3rd”
10. Black Lips – “Stone Cold”
11. The Undertones – “Nine Times out of Ten”
12. Deerhunter – “Cover Me (Slowly)”
“I think we’re good-bad, not evil. A lot of club owners say they don’t like us, but deep down, I think they do. We like to create an atmosphere of chaos at our shows. I really hate going to shows where people just stand around and don’t do anything — you could do that at home with a video. If you come to see the Black Lips, we’re really going to do everything we can to put on a show. And if we’re going to break stuff or go nuts, we’re all really careful not to damage the club’s equipment. We do get into some trouble, but it’s never too much trouble. I think a lot of the stories people are hearing about us are blown way out of proportion.”
Comments: If you are looking to chill out and listen to some music, pop this on. If you are looking to dance like a hound or excessively head bob or pogo, you might want to pass. For what this album is worth, it’s a great listening experience. Sit back and enjoy. It’s not one of the best album’s I’ve heard in 2010 because it only offers an “in-the-now” sense of urgency. Perhaps on a rainy day or after breaking up with your girlfriend this works. The first five songs are excellently engineered and produced and are seemingly artistically flawless. After a set of three tracks (6-8) that are a little weaker than the previous five, The National step up their game with “Conversation 16.”
Rapper: B.o.B – Bobby Ray Release: 4/2010 Label: Atlantic
1. “Don’t Let Me Fall” – B+ 2. “Nothin’ On You” – B+ 3. “Past My Shades” – C
4. “Airplanes” – D+
5. “Bet I” – C- 6. “Ghost in the Machine” – B 7. “The Kids” – A- 8. “Magic” – A- 9. “Fame” – A- 10. “Lovelier Than You” – B 11. “5th Dimension” – B-
12. “Airplanes Part 2” – B
Comments: “Don’t Let Me Fall” starts off slow, but improves as the song drags on. The chorus is cool. If you’ve listened to any modern hip-hop or pop station, I’m sure you’ve heard “Nothin’ On You.” It’s a “summer song” to me, despite its debut in November 2009. It’s finely organized with an enjoyable background lullaby, even if the chorus is a bit sub-par. “Past My Shades”…come on! Steer clear from “alternative rock” Bobby Ray. It’s not your thing. “The Kids” is a hip-hop sample of “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” by Vampire Weekend. I dig. “Always in detention for the lack of attention/ you can call it deficit” tells me we got a bad kid up in here. “Magic” is repetitive and frankly fun (not the chorus), but it’s more like “Rivers Cuomo time,” showing Bobby Ray taking cue from Black Eyed Peas’ style. The second verse of “Fame” flows so well. It may be the best verse on this album. I mean, of course, lyrically it’s infantile and just plain dumb, but realistic to some degree. “Everyone can’t be O to the B” … right? “Airplanes Part 2” has me convinced that it’s an improvement over “Part 1.” What if Eminem wasn’t famous? Don’t we all wonder? Or maybe that thought has never crossed anyone’s mind until this song came about. When Bobby Ray raps before Eminem, the song loses cred. I mean, how does Bobby Ray know fame? He’s a relative unknown even in the hip-hop world. “He’s gonna have a hard time explaining to Haley and Lainey these foodstamps and this WIC shit ’cause he never risked shit. He hoped and he wished it, but it didn’t fall in lap,” raps Eminem on his verse. Highlight of the song. “Lovelier” has Bobby Ray on acoustic guitar and he proves to be all right in that regard.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 