I downloaded this last night. It okay enough, I guess, but it made me kind of sad for some reason. They experimented with "St. Anger" and fans almost universally panned them, so this new album sounds like almost an attempt to imitate Metallica rather than just being Metallica. It's like they tried to recreate "Master of Puppets" and completely overlooked that fact that what made that album so awesome was its originality and uniqueness. Every song on the new album is about two or three minutes too long (average song length is like 7:30 minutes), and the overall theme of the album (um, death, I guess) is kind of stupid.

I dunno. I think they're just too old and too out of touch with the world -- these guys are all insanely rich -- to be relevant anymore. As Neil Young would ironically suggest, they're fading away when they probably should have burned out.

On the plus side, you can really hear the Thin Lizzy influence. Thin Lizzy rules.

After he absolutely killed last night on SNL, I'm thinking about doing something I swore I would never do: I'm thinking about getting the new Lil' Wayne album. Can someone talk me out of this please? Thanks a bunch.

Sorry, you're not the only one, so no help. I've heard Lil' Wayne described as "one of the few people in hip-hop who still has any original ideas."

Haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, but an interesting consensus is forming:

The music = Good

The production/mastering = AWFUL

Some are saying that the brewing backlash may be the A-Bomb that lands in the Loudness War's Hiroshima.

Wow. Good God. I just put it on in my car. The drums literally distort at low volume. There's a few rockin' riffs, but I'm good. No thanks.

Also still grooving on the old cut Lazy Eye

Just one of many songs you can rock out to on the new Rock Band.

The entire Carnavas album by SSPU is great...

I don't have volume at work -- Is that song off her first album or her latest? The first one was fucking awesome all the way through. The second one had its highs and lows.

This is off her latest, which was released last summer. The album is Kala.

I'll have to give it antoher listen. I seem to remember like XR2 and Paper Planes maybe? There werre a couple of really good songs on it but man oh man, Arular was a hard act to follow.

Also, I'm kind of digging The Felice Brothers self titled debut. Check out their MySpace page for a taste. The singer is Dylanesque which, based on some recent conversations here, means some people will hate him.

And who was it here that liked Vampire Weekend? Mike? If so, check out Ra Ra Riot. Their new album, The Rhumb Line sounds a little like Vampire Weekend only not quite as relentlessly upbeat. Their MySpace Page.

Heh -- Yeah, I've had Frankie's Gun in my head all morning.

Listened to a couple Urge Overkill albums yesterday for the first time in maybe a decade. Weird how they never caught on. Pumped out lots of hits, had a rockstar look, got a lot of exposure with Pulp Fiction... *shrug*

Also, thanks to you guys who recommended The Black Keys. They've really been growing on me, especially 10 A.M. Automatic.

Ive really been enjoying the new Kings of Leon CD.

Are the two earlier ones similar? If so, I'm in.

Recommend 'em?

Lush "Gala."

Thank God that the Rock Band people dug these gals back up, because they're awesome and their albums are impossible to find. "Gala" just made it onto iTunes. Still can't find "Spooky" though.



Listening to them scored you serious art school ass in college. Their collapse was almost blueprint 90s band: record company presses for a hit to capitalize of the novelty of their look, attention on lead singer fractures the band, and after a major tour their drummer kills himself. They have a greatest hits album, but don't get it. They stopped being good as soon as some industry exec told them to look up.