New Releases...
Justin Bieber - Believe
Review: People
Haters gonna hate. But I am not a hater. I like Justin Bieber. I mean as much as a 33 year old woman can like Justin Bieber (I don't feel so creepy saying that now that I know he's 18 - I just Googled). Most of those haters are so far out of the demographic the Biebs is going after, that they just seem like old farts that don't get it...much like our parents and their parents before them and their parents before them, felt about grunge, rock n roll and Elvis. Well, more specifically his hips.
Truth of the matter is, Justin Bieber is an adorable kid. He has a genuinely good voice. A couple dance moves. And has made more money in the last few years than I will likely see in my lifetime. But you can't hate him for getting paid. Compare him to Frankie Avalon or Fabian in the 50s-60s. Davy Jones or David Cassidy in the 70s. Rick Springfield or New Kids On The Block in the 80s. And of course N'Sync or The Backstreet Boys in the 90s. Every generation has seen them, the Teen Idol. Whether you liked them or not is of no consequence. They will always be apart of music because there will always be young, teenage girls looking for their first crush. Jonathan Knight, from NKOTB, for example was to be my future husband 20 years ago. Turns out it wasn't meant to be. At the time, he was 10 years my senior. Yet sadly, that wasn't the only thing keeping us apart, he's gay, but I digress...
Believe is catchy. Great dance songs, "All Around The World," "Take You." Great ballads, "Catching Feelings," "Fall." Listening to this album is kinda like how I feel about watching Basketball Wives. I know I shouldn't like it, but for some reason I just can't not like it. It's entertaining. Something to do that doesn't require indepth analysis or understanding in order to enjoy it. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and listen to something that doesn't need thought. I don't need to find the deeper meaning of lyrics like, "Your love is like a roller coaster The way that you take my breath away..." because I know what he means, I know how he feels even if it's not entirely in the same context.
Though Believe will not likely find its way into my daily/weekly rotation, it is a good album I have no problem admitting to liking even to the most snobbish of music listeners. Besides, don't you just want music to make you feel like a kid sometimes?! I think a little Bieber Fever is just what the doctor ordered...
Tracks: All Around The World, Fall, Thought of You, One Love
Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania
Review link: Consequence of Sound
In a shit storm of pre-album-release verbal diarrhea, Corgan unleashed, telling NME magazine he would, "Piss all over Radiohead," which went over real well for me, as you can imagine. Calling former bandmate and drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, a liar and, saving best for last, calling another former bandmate and guitarist, James Iha, "a piece of shit." Real nice Billy. I think there may be a direct correlation between musicians that have slept with Jessica Simpson and their tourettes like outbursts revealing douchey sides of said musicians' personality. Someone needs to study this...
I wasn't sure if I could provide an objective opinion about Oceania. After the first listen I sort of turned up my nose and thought failure would serve Corgan and his gigantic ego right for being such an asshole, but I think I found something in the second listen that reminded me of the old Smashing Pumpkins. But...It kinda pisses me off he chose to abandon former Pumpkins only to replace those Pumpkins with people who could sound exactly like those other Pumpkins. Yikes, that confused even me. Regardless, it doesn't surprise me that his ego couldn't survive in a band where Chamberlin and Iha did. Though the NEW Smashing Pumpkins doesn't sound like the old Smashing Pumpkins, it sounds close enough to listen to without hating. I think at this point I can still dislike Corgan without disliking the band as a whole, though I have to say...it's pretty damn hard.
Tracks: The Chimera, Inkless
Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Drive of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
Review link: MTV
Sweet Jesus, that is one long, obscure album title. Is it possible Fiona Apple was a Williamsburg Hipster before the hipsters moved to Williamsburg? Possible.
I listened to Tidal every day of my life the year it came out in 1996. I loved her soulful voice. I loved that, as a singer myself with a raspy alto voice, I could actually sing along with all her songs. The songs seemed to be about me, about my life, about my relationships. I connected to that album moreso than any other in that phase of my life. It makes me a little curious, though, why I never picked up the next album which was released three years later. You'd think I would have connected to the artist enough to seek out anything released by that artist, but alas I did not. I can honestly say, listening to The Idler Wheel (I'm shortening it, for fuck's sake...) today is the first Fiona Apple I've heard since the year of my Tidal obsession. But then after the first listening, I remembered why. How can one person be SO melancholy ALL THE TIME?! Apple has got to be one of the most tortured souls in music.
That being said. I am not a fan of this album, though like any album it has its redeeming qualities. I would not buy this album. I will likely not listen to this album after the completion of this review, unless of course my heart gets broken and then my guess would be it jumps to the top of my rotation...
Tracks: Every Single Night, Werewolf, Periphery
For a complete list of new releases, please visit All Music - New Releases
NEWS!!
1. Fascinating article posted by NPR intern Emily White: NPR And the equally fascinating reply by Cracker/Camper Von Beethoven founder/guitarist, David Lowery: The Trichordist
2. Bobby Brown Married in Hawaii - yikes...: USA Today
3. Spotify Updates Radio Function, Takes on Pandora: LA Times Blog
