Mainstream Music
I call this the Mainstream page b/c I didn't really know what else to call it.
It's reserved for groups that are hugely popular, but are actually worth listening to. In this age of
sucky popular bands, ones who are genuinely talented are rare enough to merit being mentioned. So
I'm doing that here.
Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory
In my book, if you do something new or innovative, you deserve credit for it. Linkin Park did that.
You don't usually find a band who invents their own sound, but that's exactly what they did. They
took hard stuff and soft stuff and fused it together in a way that works surprisingly well. The lyrics
are depressing, hopeless and generally miserable, but if you can get past that, and stand the
screaming, it's actually a pretty good album.
$12.49 on Amazon
It's actually not on iTunes, so you'll just have to deal with it.
Matchbox 20: Yourself or Someone Like You
If it weren't for track #10 (Busted) this album would be on my Excellent list. Yes, it's just
a rock album, but it's strong. The melodies are catchy and singable, and it's just solid. I don't
really know what it is, but I like it. And I like it enough to put it on here.
$13.99 on Amazon
$9.99 on iTunes
Lifehouse: No Name Face
Picture the Matchbox 20 cd, (solid alternative rock)
but a lot darker. Not miserable dark like Linkin Park, but more
introspective and reflective. While Matchbox paints with bold markers, Lifehouse uses charcoal.
The end result might be a sketch of something happy, but it's still done in shades of gray.
$13.49 on Amazon
$6.99 on iTunes
John Mayer: Room For Squares
In my opinion, Mayer's new cd sucks (Heavier Things).
As does his live one (Any Give Thursday). But this one is worth listening to.
Decent guitar playing, decent songwriting. Nothing overly spectactular, but definitely
not too shabby either.
Why Georgia is a high quality song, as is 3x5 and Love Song for No One.
Upon rereading, this review
sounds pretty negative, but it isn't. It's a good album. It has to be to get on this page at all. I'm
just feeling uninspired so it isn't getting anything super special. Sorry, John.
$10.99Amazon
$12.87 on iTunes
U2: All That You Can't Leave Behind
Yes, I know that U2 has better cd's than this one, but it's the only one that I have. Plus it has
Beautiful day and New York on it, which are both awesome songs. U2 is another one of those groups
who have their own sound, and it's unique to the point that you can identify them as U2 within the first
10 seconds when a song comes on the radio. You can't go wrong with U2. If you don't know that, I
pity your un-musically-educated life.
$12.99 Amazon
$12.89 iTunes
Counting Crows: August and Everything After
A band with a good name, and an equally good sound. Solid but mellow, smokey and cool. As with
most mainstream artists, it's nothing majorly different, but it's just different enough to make you
want to listen to it. It's alternative rock, but it's good alternative rock.
$12.99 on Amazon
$9.99 on iTunes
Moby: Play
I'll admit it. I love techno. More specifically, I love trance. And this is not trance. But it's
good enough that I don't care. It's smooth and groovy. Groovy as in has groove.
Each track is a different feel, and he mixes spoken word/singing with the loops.
That makes it more electronica than genuine techno, but it isn't the hokey kind. To me, techno is
sound painting. They start with a basic beat, which is the canvas, then they start to add on
different colors, by means of different grooves and sounds. The resulting interplay between the
loops makes the art, in the same way that blobs of colors make a painting.
$12.99 from Amazon
$9.99 from iTunes
