The 50 Albums Project.

[YI]

BOOO!! Actually, I'd probably go with a 4 or 5 for The Fray. There's some really, really good songs, but a lot of shite. But no mention of "Little House" which is a top notch song makes me sad. "Vienna" is great as well.

It's basically exactly the same as your average pop album. The singles are good and you occasionally find a couple of gems on there, but the rest is total filler.

Edited June 14, 2007 by YI

[ROC]

30. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium

Release Date: May 9, 2006

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are tailor-made rock history, and to their credit, their success hasn't slowed down where many of their past comrades have fallen. Unfortunately, they've seemed to do this by dulling their music further and further down until the old "Suck My Kiss" and "Give It Away" Peppers seem like a vague memory. And with the latest release, Stadium Arcadium, the Peppers continue down the trend of putting out way too much material for an album. Considering that By The Way and Californication both had a long string of dud tracks in between the awesome ones, it is perplexing to me that the Chilis felt a need to create more.

Now, that's not to say that the CD is bad, oh no. "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "Charlie" and charming tracks right off the gate as well as "Hump de Bump". However, the Jupiter side of SA is weak and uninteresting. Duds like "Slow Cheetah" and "Hey" are among Jupiter and only seem to get more derivative by the end of the disc. Thankfully, the Chilis make up partly for the meh experience of Jupiter with the CD's second disc Mars. All of it fits the laid-back approach that the modern Chilis really want to go for and that disc's effort works. "Desecration Smile", "21st Century", and "Tell Me Baby" especially stand out here. It

appears the Chilis are a lot better when they don't try to rock, but try to write good songs with simple chords. Maybe that's why the first disc falls terribly flat and the second disc is shining in comparison. Ultimately, it is a minor disappointment in a way, but it's not terribly bad.

Rating: 6/10

Must Haves: "Desecration Smile", "Animal Bar", "21st Century", "Tell Me Baby", "Snow (Hey Oh), "Hump de Bump"

[YI]

I agree, whole heartedly. If "Mars" had been released by itself, with maybe the addition of 3/4 tracks from "Jupiter" then it would have been an outstanding album. Hell, if Mars was released by itself it would have been an outstanding album. And from the albums release i've been saying that. I remember everyone being all on "Jupiter", and I was all about "Mars"...although for a short time I mistakenly got the albums mixed up due to me labelling them wrong in winamp.

[TheTruth]

What one's the first CD?

[YI]

What one's the first CD?

Edited June 18, 2007 by YI

[TheTruth]

Prefer Mars, only just though.

Just for fun, here's my shortened Stadium Arcadium. By the way, just listing the tracks I want, not the actual order.

1. Snow (Hey Oh)

2. Stadium Arcadium

3. Strip My Mind

4. Especially In Michigan

5. Animal Bar

6. Make You Feel Better

7. Readymade

8. Charlie

9. Hump De Bump

10. Storm In A Teacup

[ROC]

31. Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

Release Date: October 24, 2006

If ever there's a reason why younger and younger people shouldn't be embraced in the musical world, it is in the debut of country's youngest rising star, Taylor Swift. At a mere 15 years of age, Swift earned a record deal, and to her credit, she co-wrote all 11 songs on this debut CD. Unfortunately, there's a good reason why making a starry eyed "teen record" is usually shunned upon in artistic circles. The fact that all of her songs sound one step away from being on a Disney Channel soundtrack doesn't seem to help much, either.

"Tim McGraw", the CD's opener, is mostly a wandering love note that just runs into formulaic territory fast. "Picture to Burn" gets out a different side of Swift, the side that will go batshit crazy on you if you fuck with her. Unfortunately, it gets less and less interesting from there. "Tied Together With A Smile" is a decent attempt at a song attacking eating disorders, but it still fails. Unfortunately, it is the only really interesting number on the set. More importantly, if I wanted to hear about stories of silly love set to song, I'd just talk to myself while listening to a Bright Eyes record or something.

Rating: 2/10

Must Haves: Ehh...

[Pooker]

Why don't you just admit that you hate all of today's country?

[ROC]

Why don't you just admit that you hate all of today's country, which mostly is pop laced with a brief rock riff and formulaic lyrics?

Edited June 20, 2007 by Mr. Nic Offer

[livid]

Why don't you just admit that you hate all of today's country?

[ROC]

32. Musiq Soulchild - Luvanmusiq

Release Date: March 13, 2007

Musiq Soulchild is a grizzled vet of RnB in a strange way. Musiq broke big in the very early 2000s with albums like Aijuswanaseing and Juslisen, which while they had very silly names, they were high-selling RnB affairs and among other things, launched the hit single "Halfcrazy". Now, after Musiq faltered with mainstream crowds with Soulstar, he returns to a sound that at first reminds one of R. Kelly, but thankfully, Musiq has a more passionate voice and better-written tracks on this record than R.

The CD's opener "B.U.D.D.Y." sounds like a generic "I just wanna love you" type song, but it is a more clever song about a different kind of bond between a man and a woman (friendship). "Ms. Philadelphia" is a bit of a flat number but "Teachme" is sexy as all hell in the right ways. Other standouts like "Thequestions" and "Betterman" as well as "Takeyouthere", fit the sexy RnB bill. While the songs are solid, you have noticed I've said sexy a bit too much, right? That's mainly because it seems Musiq doesn't go into any other subject matter. In the past, yeah, it has benefited him (especially in the case of "Halfcrazy"), but it does run a bit too far even as the theme of the CD is about love.

Rating: 6/10

Must Haves: "Teachme", "Betterman", "Makeyouhappy", "B.U.D.D.Y."

And yes, all of those titles are written exactly as they are on the disc.)

[ROC]

33. Lloyd - Street Love

Release Date: March 13, 2007

So two or three RnB reviews in and things truly start blending together. Here, another stylish Usher clone whose label dug out enough cash to put Lil' Wayne on the lead single is unleashed in the second album from crooner Lloyd. (Not to be confused with the equally forgettable G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks.) So when all of these artists tend to blend together, what is there to look for? In this case, it would be production. Problem is that even the production falls into a been there state, especially on "You". "Killing Me" also lends itself to sounding a bit too much like Cassie's hit single "Me and U" for comfort. And for the love of all this is holy, fucking Young Joc (I don't give a crap if I spelled it right) makes an appearance on the annoyingly-titled "Get It Shawty".

However, it is not that this CD is horrible, it's just that's it's an hour in length of mostly airy material and forgettable fluff. Well, that, and Young Joc.

Rating: 3/10

Must Haves: Ehh, "Valentine" was alright.

And yes, I will try to lengthen (and shorten the amount of time to get to) my next review which will be probably the most divisive review I write in this series most likely, My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade.

[YI]

......if you say you like it I will cut your knob off when you sleep, and plug your anus with it.

[GoGo Yubari]

After which I will tie you up to a chair and force you to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special on an endless loop. This is a big decision, ROC, choose wisely.

[Rashid]

...You hate Black Parade (or MCR) that much? I'm not an MCR fan by any means (hell, I used to hate them a lot), but I found Black Parade pretty decent.

[ROC]

...You hate Black Parade (or MCR) that much? I'm not an MCR fan by any means (hell, I used to hate them a lot), but I found Black Parade pretty decent.

[YI]

...You hate Black Parade (or MCR) that much? I'm not an MCR fan by any means (hell, I used to hate them a lot), but I found Black Parade pretty decent.

Edited June 27, 2007 by YI

[GoGo Yubari]

I've only heard the title track of "Black Parade," admittedly, but it feels overwrought. Like they were trying to write a screamo Queen song, or something, or like they really wanted to make an important, anthemic song and just couldn't manage it.

[ROC]

34. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

Release Date: October 31, 2006

The current posterchilds of "emo" is Fall Out Boy. But coming in a close second is another group where discussion of the members' looks sadly seems to hover over the music, My Chemical Romance. The group bloomed after telling the world they weren't okay, then talking about some chick named Helena, then talking about ghosts of people. Then something else happened: They listened to The Wall a lot. And like Nine Inch Nails dig later in March of '07, they decided to go dig out a concept album...uhh...concept and roll with it for their third full-length to date, The Black Parade.

And from the on-set, there are some impressive theatric moments. "The End" hearkens to "In The Flesh" a lot, and it succeeds in that fashion. "Dead" also builds on that Wall-esque idea while building a catchy number out of the pieces. And I can't lie, those songs are rocking as all hell. Then the rest of the album comes and it feels like way too much of a soft effort in comparison. "This is How I Disappear" and "The Sharpest Lives" are pretty weak. "Welcome to the Black Parade" is a serviceable single, but something about it also seems a bit off. As for the rest, it's all intriguing but not necessarily interesting. The lyrics do all hold a story, but it feels too wannabe macabre. Like a teenager who just first hears about black and death and love and thinks it's the best thing ever to put to music. (I oughta know, we smell our own.) "Teenagers" is alright, until someone noted to me that it has almost the exact same bass line as Garth Brooks's "Friends in Low Places", which while that song was awesome...still kinda spoils "Teenagers". And ultimately, Black Parade just strikes me as eh, a few good tracks but not enough of them.

Rating: 5/10

Must Haves: "The End", "Dead", "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Mama"

And yes, I graded my most "divisive" review by giving it an exact down the middle grade. Sue me.

Edited June 28, 2007 by Mr. Nic Offer

[Ananas]

I think I'm still gonna have to check that album out, because even though I've hated every single released so far I've been told that the album is somehow really good on its own. <_