MadMan's CD Thread

[MadMan]

I've decided to post commentary and rate CDs that I listen to in 2008. Out of ****, as I've abandoned the letter grading system. Wahoo.



Man what a delightful piece of work this disc is. This was the first time I listened to Keane, and I was pleasantly surprised at what is a rock solid, well crafted pop album, overly joyous but never annoying. Even though I didn't think it was by any means great, when compared to some of the crap that passes for pop music these days this one shines through. *** 1/2

Favorite Song: Is It Any Wonder?




Aside from the fact that Bob Seger looks like a dirty redneck hippy on the cover of this disc that doesn't detract from the fact that he's highly underrated when it comes to song writing and even vocals despite not being knowning for playing instruments. If any of his other discs are half as good as this one I must hear more, for this album rocks and is packed full of stuff ranging from good to great. If you enjoy music in the style of George Thorogood or John Cougar Mellencamp this is right up your alley. ****

Favorite Song: Sunburst

[bac0n]

I'm curious as to why you found Under the Iron Sea to be "overly joyous", given the tone and subject matter of "Atlantic", "Nothing In My Way" and "A Bad Dream".

Still, it's a great album, and Tom Chaplin is a fantastic vocalist who made great strides with his craft since the previous one. Lets hope that that trend can continue.

[MadMan]

I'm curious as to why you found Under the Iron Sea to be "overly joyous", given the tone and subject matter of "Atlantic", "Nothing In My Way" and "A Bad Dream".

Still, it's a great album, and Tom Chaplin is a fantastic vocalist who made great strides with his craft since the previous one. Lets hope that that trend can continue.

Ah, maybe I was just zooming in primarily on Is It Any Wonder?, as you are correct that some of the album isn't exactly a brighting shine day in the sun. Does the band have any other albums? I like their sound and I want to hear more.




Before I gave this "Greatest Hits" disc a spin I had heard very little from the band previously. Surrender is a really awesome rock/pop piece and I Want You To Want Me is great; Dream Police is a sharp pop track inspired by 1984 and Ain't That A Shame is good stuff indeed. However after listening and hearing more of their work which was featured here I came to a realization that they're a cheesy ass 70s and 80s pop band, and not a particularly good one at that. With the exception of some tracks aside from the ones I mentioned the rest are either annoying or just plain bad. Which sucks because I wanted to like Cheap Trick, and while I may check out a few of their albums I'll trend more lightly, for if you don't like their more mainstream and popular stuff why the hell would you prefer more lesser known fare? **

Favorite Song: Surrender

[Lasse]

Does the band have any other albums? I like their sound and I want to hear more.

Yes, Hopes and Fears from 2004, which is very good. Bedshaped is a bloody amazing song. It almost makes me cry sometimes. :|

[MadMan]

Yes, Hopes and Fears from 2004, which is very good. Bedshaped is a bloody amazing song. It almost makes me cry sometimes. :|

Thanks dude. I'll keep that in mind.



Honestly I rented this because it was at my school's library and I wanted to be able to play some Bowie in my car for free. That said, this is a pretty solid "Greatest Hits" disc even though its missing the really amazing Life On Mars? and the super sweet Under Pressure. Oh well. A pretty good way for someone who's never listened to the man's music to be exposed to one of the best artists ever, and for those who are fans (I'm a causal fan) it would be worth owning if Best Of Bowie didn't exist. Well that and you can actually go out and buy his albums, of course. ***

Favorite Song: Space Oddity

PS: Okay Bowie lovers which album should I check out first? I must confess I’ve heard a good deal of Bowie’s work despite not having heard any of his albums yet.

[Velocipedist]

Keane are the worst example of mom pop ever

[Kurosawa Fan]

PS: Okay Bowie lovers which album should I check out first? I must confess I’ve heard a good deal of Bowie’s work despite not having heard any of his albums yet.

Hunky Dory is Bowie's best album as far as I'm concerned.

[Sven]

Hunky Dory is Bowie's best album as far as I'm concerned.

It's good, but Aladdin Sane, Scary Monsters, and Heroes are better.

[Velocipedist]

PS: Okay Bowie lovers which album should I check out first? I must confess I’ve heard a good deal of Bowie’s work despite not having heard any of his albums yet.

Low and Heroes.

[MadMan]

Keane are the worst example of mom pop ever

Mom pop? What the hell is that? Could you elaborate further?

Hunky Dory is Bowie's best album as far as I'm concerned.

I've heard of that one.

It's good, but Aladdin Sane, Scary Monsters, and Heroes are better.

I've heard of the last two.

Low and Heroes.

That's a new one to me.

Thanks for the recommendations guys

[Velocipedist]

Mom pop? What the hell is that? Could you elaborate further?

Hmm, Coldplay are sometimes called dad rock. By transition, Keane are mom pop.

[Kurosawa Fan]

It's good, but Aladdin Sane, Scary Monsters, and Heroes are better.

Aladdin Sane??? The second word in that title doesn't apply to you if you think that album is better than Hunky Dory. I'm stunned iosos. I've read some interesting opinions from you, but that one may have shocked me the most.

[Sven]

Aladdin Sane??? The second word in that title doesn't apply to you if you think that album is better than Hunky Dory. I'm stunned iosos. I've read some interesting opinions from you, but that one may have shocked me the most.

Are you saying... that you think... Aladdin Sane is... bad?

If so, this I cannot compute.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Are you saying... that you think... Aladdin Sane is... bad?

If so, this I cannot compute.

Not bad, but certainly not the pinnacle of his discography.

[Lasse]

PS: Okay Bowie lovers which album should I check out first? I must confess I’ve heard a good deal of Bowie’s work despite not having heard any of his albums yet.

Earthling from 1997, but I'm probably in the minority in thinking it's so good.

Three clips:
Little Wonder
Seven Years In Tibet
I'm Afraid of Americans

[MadMan]

Earthling from 1997, but I'm probably in the minority in thinking it's so good.

Three clips:
Little Wonder
Seven Years In Tibet
I'm Afraid of Americans

I'm Afraid of Americans is pretty awesome. The other two seemed really weird, even for David Bowie. I love the music video for "Americans" btw-it really taps into his fear of the US's overly violent and rather brutal nature. I'm sure there are those who would say he's being anti-USA, but I disagree. I'm afraid of Americans sometimes myself.

Hmm, Coldplay are sometimes called dad rock. By transition, Keane are mom pop.

Really? That's interesting. I didn't know those sort of categories existed. I'm not sure if Coldplay fits into "dad rock," and I'm still unsure of what "mom pop" really refers to. Does it mean its more female in nature then?

I enjoyed the debate that just transpired in this thread. I'll be tackling two more discs next (one is from Bob Dylan), but I'm only half way through the two disc album by Fountains of Wayne that I got. All of the CDs featured so far have been library rentals. I may review a few December 2007 purchases that I made though.

[Derek]

I know it's cliche, but my favorite album is still Ziggy Stardust, though the first 7 songs of Low are the height of his career. Of his major albums, I haven't heard Aladdin Sane (which I've always heard good things about until KF...) or Station to Station yet.

[Sven]

Not bad, but certainly not the pinnacle of his discography.

I recently did a top 100 albums of all-time and guess what I ended up being the album that I think is the greatest ever made? Syco can vouch.

Not only is it the pinnacle of his discography, but is, I think, just about the pinnacle of all albums recorded by a musician.

I've read some interesting opinions from you, but that one may have shocked me the most.

I liked Crash, dude. Come on.

And Low is great, but I'm rather tired of the Eno School of Music telling me that it's his best. Still, pretty great. Warszawa blows my mind every time.

[[ETM]]

Yes, Hopes and Fears from 2004, which is very good. Bedshaped is a bloody amazing song. It almost makes me cry sometimes. :|

I love Hopes and Fears. Somewhere only we know always gets to me on a personal level.

[DSNT]

Low is easily my favorite, but not the best starting point for Bowie. That'd be Ziggy or maybe Hunky Dory.

After Low, I like Aladdin Sane and The Man Who Sold the World the best.

[Acapelli]

Hunky Dory is Bowie's best album as far as I'm concerned.

I always try to be cool and say Low is my favorite, but it's actually Hunky Dory.

[krazed]

Ziggy and Low for me. Cliche as all hell, but it's true.

[MadMan]

Hey if I can spark this much discussion with one question I wonder what will go down after I review Highway 61 Revisited.




I must confess I haven't yet cemented my thoughts on this disc yet, mainly because its a two disc, and also because here Fountains of Wayne presents their unheard stuff, sort of a complete exposure to their "B sides" in a way. Well if this is their lesser known body of work I'd love to discover their actual albums, for here we've got some great stuff. Pop rock to the core, with a dash of witty irrelevance and a mix of youthful cheekiness and a good deal of too smart for their own good lyrics and style.
So yeah I've become a fan of a band most famous for the funny awesome guilty pleasure Stacy's Mom and the really cheerful and lyrically brilliant Mexican Wine. ****

Favorite Song: I'll get back to you on that later. Honestly I don't know which one it is. Goddamn man I'm hooked.

[bac0n]

Good choice. When it comes to Pop Rock, Fountains of Wayne are tough to beat. Bassist Adam Schlesinger has a side project, Ivy, which is also quite good.

[MadMan]

More journey through Bob Dylan's work continues. Since my school's library has four other albums of his (I grabbed another one so that leaves three actually) I foresee him being reviewed further on down the road here. Anyways....




After hearing his work from the 70s, 90s and 2000s it was interesting to get a taste of Dylan's efforts from the 60s. Through this album and others he pretty much established his creditionals as not only a creative, innovative artist but also one that managed to combine folk and country music with rock and roll, although the latter element is really somewhat muted in his work. To me this disc only goes to show how that he was a brilliant song writer and even a great guitarist, although I must admit I've always found his singing to be his weakest effort even if I enjoy his voice. Despite some lesser songs "Highway 61" is a rather fantastic, if at times sorrowful and angry, and solidifies me as a hardcore fan. ****

Favorite Song: Highway 61 Revisited-Yeah its a cliche choice, but seriously how the hell can you not love a song that begins with lyrics covering God telling Abraham to kill his son? The whole exchange that follows is just beyond amazing.