Week 4 – The Church of Rock and Roll

Really, I’ll never quite get used to new rock that sounds like it was made in the 70s. Eric Nally’s soaring voice (think Freddie Mercury-esque) takes us through 11 spiritually-charged (think organs and choirs) rock tracks, and leaves you feeling like you just took a long ride with the T-tops off. It’s downright refreshing to hear something that promises to be different, and then actually is. Make sure to check this out.

Standout Tracks:
2 – I Like It
3 – Holy Touch
10 – The Streets

Get the album on iTunes here.

You can check out a short promo video for the album on YouTube.

Week 3 – Real Art

Imagine someone with a voice and flow like Why?’s Yoni, spitting raps that sound like something out of Liam Lynch’s notebook or a Flight of the Conchords outtake… only weirder. MUCH weirder. I don’t think I’ve ever gushed like this, but I LOVE THIS ALBUM. Pick this album up immediately, and listen while reading Drew’s comic, “Toothpaste For Dinner.” GIVE DREW ALL YOUR MONEY.

Standout Tracks:
2 – White House
4 – Write Me A Check
15 – Fucked Up Cruise

Get the album on iTunes here.

You can follow Drew on Twitter, if you want. (He’s a pretty funny dude.): @DrewToothpaste

Week 2 – Lana Del Rey EP

Lana Del Rey has an insane amount of hype right now, but I just can’t buy into it. Listening through, there’s no denying her talent; her voice has amazing range, and at  times it feels like she’s channeling Stevie Nicks or Nancy Sinatra. However, it’s just missing… something. I wasn’t blown away, but it does make me curious to hear the full-length later this month; hopefully that will live up to the hype.

Standout Tracks:
1 – Video Games
4 – Off To The Races

Get the album on iTunes here.

Check out the video for “Video Games” here.

Week 1 – Irish Goodbye

The follow-up to 11:11 (one of my favorite hip-hop albums out there), Mac Lethal brings us an album that’s simultaneously more dark, confident and optimistic than any of his previous work. Not to say he’s left out all of the wisecrackin’ Mac that earned him his well-deserved popularity in the first place; it’s just used more precisely. It may actually surpass 11:11 as my favorite Mac Lethal album.

Standout Tracks:
5 – Black Rainbow
6 – Wooooo!!!!!!
12 – Jake + Olive

Get the album on iTunes here.

And if you feel like getting all misty-eyed, check out the heart-wrenching video for “Jake + Olive” here.

Holy shit, it’s 2012.

When in the living hell did that happen?

A TON has happened in the past year since my last post here. I’ve changed jobs, I’ve changed roommates, I’ve changed girlfriends, I’ve changed apartments. It’s absolutely insane the amount of things that can happen inside the span of just over 365 days.

Through all the changes, I haven’t stopped listening to new music. Seriously, how could I?

So the other night while busting my ass on an elliptical (the elliptical is actually the very place where I spawned the idea for this blog in the first place), I figured there was really no excuse. I needed to bring MYID back… and here I am.  Slightly different format, though. No more valiant attempts at getting in one album per day. I just don’t have the time (unless I take it away from something else.) So instead, I’ll be checking out one new album a week.

Notice, “new”. I’m going to try to make sure and get a review out on an album that came out the same week. (Or very close to it, at least.)

Cheers to 2012, and here’s to musical discovery!

10/15/09 – Ursa Major

I wasn’t expecting to like this at all.  My opinion of Third Eye Blind was not a pleasant one after hearing, “Do-do-do, do-d-do-doo!” thousands of times.  Ursa Major has lifted my opinion of 3EB in a big way, though.  I found myself liking every single track, which is pretty rare.  The album is great – if you’re in the mood for some good, well-written pop/rock, check this out.

10/14/09 – Dethalbum II

Brutal.  It’s an overused metal cliche… but isn’t everything about Metalocalypse?  This second album of music directly from and inspired by the series is pretty brutal, though.   Brenden Small amps up everything for this second go-round.   The vocals are a tad bit different this time – his Nathan Explosion is a little more snarly – and the songs in general are bigger.  Way fuller-sounding.  I’d go so far as “epic”.

10/13/09 – Daisy

My friend Mike was talking about Daisy, and his one-line review read, “It’s Brand New, so of course the new album sounds completely different.”  He’s kind of right, but kind of not.  For one, Jesse’s lyrics have gotten better over the years; but if you listen to the last three albums – the sound of “Daisy” really isn’t that far removed from the sound of “Deja”. It’s the same Brand New, only more raw and visceral.

10/12/09 – The Outsider

So I had heard the name DJ Shadow before, but I can’t for the life of me remember where.  I figured it was just another hip-hop mixtape-type release, and I was only a little right.  The Outsider spans a surprising number of genres in its relatively short length, and each different genre is insanely well-done.  Shadow definitely shows you that his production spans far and wide – it’s very impressive.

7/28/09 – Tinted Windows

When I heard “Kind of a Girl” – it gave me high hopes.  One would assume that getting together an amazing group of rock musicians (James Iha, Adam Schlesinger, Bun E. Carlos) and Taylor Hanson would produce some pretty amazing results, right?  Instead, it sounds like a serious attempt to fit as many pop stereotypes onto one album as possible.  I expected so much more.