try this: meat loaf (hang cool teddy bear) review

Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell is easily one of the greatest albums of all time. Jim Steinman, the songwriting genius who brought us so many of Meat's albums, has said that he stopped writing for him because his voice is gone. All I can say is that Meat is definitely hurting without Steinman, which is no surprise to anyone. Hang Cool Teddy Bear is Meat's fourth studio album without any Steinman tracks. The falling out of the duo also had to do with ongoing legal and financial disputes. On this album, Meat called Rob Cavallo to the table, the producer of Green Day's American Idiot and many other successful pop/rock albums. The problem is, Meat's sound has basically been chopped from an operatic experience into a radio-friendly pop mess. The 13 songs on Hang Cool Teddy Bear are supposed to be a wounded soldier's vision of his future lives. To supplement the album, the special edition includes some amazing (and some not so amazing) live renditions of some of his other songs.

The first track "Peace On Earth" is all over the place. Not gonna lie, it’s just not good. It already sounds under-produced. “Living On The Outside” seems to depend a lot on the backup singers. The effortless sound of Meat’s voice has slowly disappeared with age, but his vocals are still doable-- which isn’t shown on “Los Angeloser.” It has a hint of the humor Meat is known for on tracks like “Paradise,” except…there are turntable sound effects? Product placement mentions? Horrible speaking parts that belong in a rap song? A chord progression that sounds like it was done by a random pop producer (oh wait it was)? Meat! Where are the epic guitar solos and the rock opera passion? I’m starting to panic at this point. Oh, PS, this is the first single off the album. Why??? I get that you’re trying to make your music more mainstream-2010, but geez. Anyways...

“If I Can’t Have You” has MORE of the horrible speaking parts, which I’m still confused by. At least there is some semblance of a solo. It builds at the end with a little duet between Meat and a female vocalist; which, so far, is the highlight of the album. “If I can’t have you/I don’t wanna be me” just…pales in comparison to the words of Meat’s classic tracks. “Love Is Not Real” has a nice riff and some killer solos, but again, kinda weak vocals and lyrics. “Next time you stab me in the back/You’d better do it to my face.” Righttt. “Like A Rose” sounds like a Beastie Boys track, and seems to be about a groupie. “She’ll kick you when you’re low/And f--k you when she’s done/The bitch is like a rose” …wow. But hey, the chorus is catchy. It’s got a little Jack Black in there too, which is cool. “Song Of Madness” is a bit slower—still not a ballad. There hasn’t been one yet. Steve Vai is amazing on guitar, though. “Did You Ever Love Somebody” makes me wish that I didn’t just wish for a ballad. Yawn city. “California Isn’t Big Enough” is surprisingly good, but the lyrics are TMI, man. "Running Away From Me" and "Let's Be In Love" can be skipped without regret.

"If It Rains" seems to capture Meat pretty well, and it's a refreshing song at this point in the album. "Elvis in Vegas" is the one track that credits Desmond Child, and you can hear it from the very first piano note. He wrote a few great tracks on Bat Out Of Hell III. This song finally gets back to epic rock, and I really wish that good old Desmond would have helped out more on this album. They saved the best for last on this one.

This has all been pretty harsh, but it's only because I love Meat Loaf and want him to return to awesomeness. I love watching his old performances, with him sweating and singing wildly on stage. I would still love to see him sing live. But without Steinman's emotionally-driven songs, he just cannot fully shine. So Meat, please try to reconcile with Steinman (or at least Child) for one more album. There's got to be enough money somewhere to buy him. After all, you sold out to AT&T for that commercial a few years back..."Paradise By The GoPhone Light"? Brutal.

try this: melissa etheridge (fearless love) review

Melissa Etheridge knows what's up. She's got incredible songwriting skills and just rocks in general. The 90s was her heyday, releasing singles like "I Want To Come Over" "Come To My Window," and my personal favorite "I'm The Only One" (that opening guitar riff is sick). But the 48-year-old multiplatinum artist is 10 albums deep, and still not slowing down. Naturally, I was excited to hear some new material from her. She's simultaneously made media headlines with the recent news that she is separating from her partner, whom she married in 2003. Convenient timing for publicity's sake? Eh, whatever. Who doesn't do that nowadays?

"Fearless Love" is the first single off of the album of the same name. This is powerful stuff. Etheridge compliments her songs with her unique, semi-raspy voice, and the "I am what I am/I am what I am afraid of" already defines the album a minute into the song. Track one is quite an act to follow. Another single, "The Wanting of You," has a pleasant guitar riff that weaves through the song, and as the song builds, Etheridge's voice has never sounded better.

She slows it down a bit in "Company," a chill mid-tempo track about loneliness. I expected "Miss California" to be a semi-sarcastic track about the beauty queen's homophobic tendencies-- and it just might be. "Miss California/What did I do wrong?" Either way, the blues-heavy song is ridiculously awesome, and again shows off the depth of Etheridge's voice. "Drag Me Away" is probably about her bout with cancer: "Did you think that I would simply give them my last breath/Well honey you got me wrong/I'd never leave you for death." Good stuff.

"Indiana" is a country-sounding story that goes piano-heavy; it reminds me of something that Matchbox 20 would do. It's also a single, but probably my least favorite of them. "Nervous" is a fun blues jam. The chorus on "Heaven on Earth" is one of my favorites. "We Are The Ones" is about diversity, and refreshes the sound of the album with some hand drums and citar. "Only Love" is a slow, dreamy track. The sporadic bluesy-build on the bridge is pretty amazing. "To Be Loved" is a heart-wrenching power ballad that leads into the acoustic "Gently We Row," a beautiful folk finale.

This album just sounds great. It is produced and arranged tightly, and the guitar solos are flawless. Etheridge's voice has the same passion and intensity as it did back in the 90s. That's what I was most surprised about. I mean, Meat Loaf just doesn't sound the same now as he did back in the Bat Out Of Hell days. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like Etheridge's voice has gotten better with time. This chick is like the female Springsteen. And with lyrics like "I'm the only one who'd walk across a fire for you," how can you go wrong, really. So umm, hey Melissa, now that you're separated, call me? Haha, just kidding. Actually wait-- yeah. This album might just be that good...

coachella 2010: the recap

Last year, I only got a taste. This year, I wanted much more—and really had no choice after the promoter did away with single-day Coachella tickets. I bought my 3-day pass in January and anxiously awaited April 16. After missing out on a sold-out car camping ticket, we reserved a spot in an offsite place (Lake Cahuilla) and hit the road to Indio on Thursday night.

After hanging out with some of our neighbors, we got into our tents and got a few hours of sleep before heading to breakfast and getting some tailgating supplies. After a few beers, the sun was already boiling and we made the walk into the polo grounds. On Friday, we saw Sleigh Bells, Yeasayer, She & Him, Passion Pit, Them Crooked Vultures, LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, and Jay-Z. I wanted to get over to the Sahara to see Benny Benassi and deadmau5 but it just couldn’t happen. Sleigh Bells was pretty fun, although disturbingly loud. She & Him was really relaxing at the outdoor stage, and Zooey Deschanel was amazing. Passion Pit was one of my favorites as well. We moved in pretty close to the main stage for LCD Soundsystem, and they were ridiculous – although closing on “New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down” was a bit of a downer. Dancing to Vampire Weekend was tons of fun, but nothing compared to the energy of Jay-Z and surprise guest Beyonce. They closed out the first night with an impressive display and with almost every single he’s ever released. Beyonce killed the chorus on Jay’s “Forever Young” cover!

Day 2 was supposed to start out with RX Bandits, but we missed it while tailgating. I also missed Gossip because we went back to the car to tailgate some more! Saturday was the hottest day and also the day that I had to make the most lineup sacrifice – again, had to miss two Sahara tent acts (David Guetta and Kaskade), but it is what it is. We saw Girls who were pretty cool, but my day was chill until Coheed & Cambria. “Welcome Home” was definitely amazing, but they were a bit lacking live. Next up was Faith No More – Mike Patton’s band was reuniting for the festival after years of not playing together. Little did I know that this is the same guy in Lovage AND Handsome Boy Modeling School – who knew. Anyways they were great, but the crowd wasn’t into it. This wasn’t the case for Muse, who completely blew everybody away. They played more and talked less than a lot of bands, and their light show was out of control. We waited for Tiesto to come on next, and a load of ravers moved in around us. Tiesto stood alone amongst a giant screen display, smiling and spinning, and the energy was insane. The confetti and streamer bursts looked incredible against the lights in the sky, and the constant trance beats were how Saturday night came to an end.

Sunday I was bummed I missed Kevin Devine, but there you go. We chilled out to Owen Pallet and Deerhunter, hitting up the mist tent in between. Sunday’s sun felt the worst of all, and my legs were shot. Some of us found shade and just people watched for a little while. The $5 ice cream was the best I ever had. De La Soul put on an incredible show at the main stage, and the crowd was into it. Sunny Day Real Estate was kind of blah. Jonsi from Sigur Ros put on an amazing show, and the crowd got larger as people waited for Thom Yorke. For Phoenix, we didn’t see much because we went on a journey to the Sahara tent, but Thom Yorke really impressed me. The crowd was out of hand. His live take on his solo album The Eraser sounded much better than listening to the actual album. The sound was way more full, and his voice was dead on. We left Thom early to go get a good spot at the Gorillaz set. There were so many people. About halfway through we had to leave the crowd, but the rest of the night, we were ecstatic!

Coachella didn’t disappoint. As usual, there were mostly awesome people there, with only a few jerks or extremely strung out people. Our camping place was perfect. Jay-Z, She & Him, LCD Soundsystem, Muse, Tiesto, Jonsi, Thom Yorke, and Gorillaz were my favorites. Now, I guess I will return to reality and bask in the afterglow. Sigh. I already miss the constant sound of bass in my ears.

Here’s to COACHELLA 2011 and beyond.

try this: coheed and cambria (year of the black rainbow) review

The first song I heard by Coheed and Cambria was “Wake Up,” a slow, melancholy, acoustically driven ballad. You can imagine my surprise when I went to listen to their other stuff. I’m not a metal fan, but bands like C&C have pushed the boundaries of my musical tastes. I guess that’s why they’re classified as progressive rock. In a world full of Green Days and Weezers and Fall Out Boys (who are all great in their own right), it’s still refreshing to hear rock that goes a little harder and a little longer.

When I heard that C&C’s albums are all based on a comic book storyline written by frontman Claudio Sanchez, I was surprised that this boundary doesn’t limit the band to write only in one specific way. I haven’t read the books, but with C&C’s latest album Year of the Black Rainbow, Sanchez released a novel of the same name, which is the prequel to the stories. The stories are called The Amory Wars, and each C&C album released is actually a chapter in Sanchez’s science-fiction concept. As a result, the song lyrics are focused, yet not totally specific to the story. I think it’s insanely genius to have an idea so powerful that you need multiple creative outlets for it. I kinda want to read the stories so I can interpret the lyrics in a new way, guessing which character is which, and diving deeper into their inner monologues. Year of the Black Rainbow has been released just in time for their return to the desert music festival Coachella, which I will be at in 3 days. :)

An ominous intro leads into “The Broken,” a powerful first track and a great first song release. The next song “Guns of Summer” is a flurry of palm mutes and effect pedals that drown out the lyrics. It’s too much. I can’t even imagine what this drummer looks like playing on this one though. It’s crazy. The highlight of the album and the first single is “Here We Are Juggernaut.” (“This is not your playground/it’s my heart.”) On “Far,” Sanchez croons “No matter the distance/No matter how far.” Nope, that’s not a quote from a Backstreet Boys album. This one is a little slower and has a bit of an electronic beat. It gets kinda dull about halfway through, even though they toss in an arena-rockish solo. “This Shattered Symphony” has a ton of minor key madness that was a little offputting a first, but the song grew on me quickly. Not much else is worth mentioning until “The Black Rainbow,” a 7 minute finale that climaxes in wailing guitars, screams, and chaos. It abruptly ends, and fades out with an outro that’s as haunting as the intro.

While Year of the Black Rainbow isn’t exactly a step back from the sound of C&C, it isn’t a step forward. The album seems like it is lacking in production, at least compared to their previous albums. There is no standout track like “Welcome Home” to fully round out the epic-ness of the prequel, instead leaving it as a flat introduction to The Amory Wars saga, and the other C&C albums. Maybe the album just needs Sanchez’s novel to compliment it, but that’s a review for another day.