OK, I know, I’m a day late. What can I say, I’ve been busy. well anyway, I have a great blog planned for you today. Featuring several bands, OLD and new, even bands from 97(’s). I don’t BLAME you if you find IT strange. But ON that subject, the GRAVITY of the situation is just too much for me. Much like an episode of the SIMPSON’s, the reviews may be BITTERSWEET, but the WORLD will be a better place for it. I know these reviews are CATNIP for some, but for those who don’t love them, I have put some DYNAMITE in these reviews. So don’t get RED with anger, because it will only make the situation worse. Have fun!
Ashlee Simpson – Bittersweet World – 3 of 4 – Cool…it’s really easy to just scoff at Ashlee Simpson, without even giving it a chance, but this record (and its pedigree) made me take another look. Enlisting the help from Kenna on quite a few tracks makes this album different and interesting. More of that non-existent 80’s sound that made his album such an anomaly in today’s music scene.
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – Catnip Dynamite – 3.5 of 4 – Jellyfish is one of my favorite bands. This being one half of the songwriters definitely gives this the credibility, and is, for the most part, very interesting and fun. There’s not quite the sharpness of Jellyfish, but on its own, it stands up very well.
Weezer – The Red Album – 3 of 4 – Weezer is a band that is always good, but often inconsistent from album to album, song to song. So there are some really great songs on here, but a few that make you say “What are they thinking?” But it’s great that they are able to mix it up from time to time, I’ll give them that.
Gavin Degraw – Gavin Degraw – 3 of 4 – I really liked Gavin’s first album, and it really opened me up to some more similar sounding bands, and at this point, Gavin is among those types of artists, but does not neccessarily stand out for me. This album seems to be a bit of rehashing of the first album, with nothing jumping out at me on first listen.
Old 97’s – Blame It On Gravity – 3.5 of 4 – Excellent! I was a little scared that this band would just go defunct, I am glad to say they still got it. If they can keep delivering albums of this quality for a long time, it will be great. There are some great songs on here, and they are even experimenting with new style and sound changes, while maintaining their unique sound.
I just love Ashlee Simpson! But I guess she is using Simpson Wendtz as her last name now? Guess that’s her real name. Maybe she wants to differentiate herself from her sis? Now she got pregnant and engaged! What a spicy life she lives! Poor girl’s gotten a bad wrap and this doesn’t help.