Fall 2009 Craidio Music Awards
Updated with Workout Ratings. Should you put it on your power mix at the gym? Based on rhythm not speed.
Looking for something new to prepare you for the busy days ahead before the holidays? Here’s my list of picks from the past month or so. Not all of these are new songs, just some of my most spun on the iPod. Since I don’t hang out at the finer music establishments often, there are some embarrassingly lame picks on here. And if you end up downloading any of these songs, those will be the ones you get first. And in secret.
Worth the price (* * * stars)
The Almost – Hands (preview)
Workout Rating: * * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (preview)
Workout Rating: * * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Thrice – In Exile (preview)
Workout Rating: * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
From Autumn to Ashes – Autumns Monologue (preview)
Workout Rating: * out of 4 stars
Tegan and Sara – Two songs “Hell” and “Arrow” (preview)
Workout Rating: * * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Honorable Mention (* * 1/2 stars)
Anya Marina – Whatever You Like (cover song)
Workout Rating: * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Anya Marina – All the Same to Me
Workout Rating: * * * out of 4 stars
One Republic – Secrets
Workout Rating: * * * out of 4 stars
Matt & Kim – Daylight (preview)
Workout Rating: * * * * out of 4 stars
Snow Patrol – Just Say Yes
Workout Rating: * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Owl City – Fireflies
Workout Rating: * * * out of 4 stars
Poetry of the Deed – The Road
Workout Rating: * * out of 4 stars
Good Workout Songs
Since I have been pretending to be concerned that the gym is a hotbed of swine flu, good “workout songs” is code for songs that I roll the windows up on when I’m driving through town.
Jason Derulo – What You Say / They sampled one of my favorite songs by Imogen Heap and at first I was puzzled and disturbed. But much like watching a Hot Pocket cook, I quickly was enthralled and couldn’t wait for a second serving.
Workout Rating: * * * out of 4 stars
Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
Workout Rating: * * * * out of 4 stars
Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA / Maybe it’s just nostalgia for the more mature days of music gone by that was her father’s Achy Breaky Heart, but even after this song is over I find myself humming “And the Miley Song was on…and the Miley Song was on.” And the next thing I know I’m moving my hips like “Yeah.”
Workout Rating: * * * 1/2 out of 4 stars
Lady GaGa – Paparazzi / No Ms. GaGa, I’m your biggest fan. Please don’t call the cops.
Workout Rating: * * * out of 4 stars
Britney Spears – 3 / A lot about Britney Spears embarrasses me. My high school romance with her (she to this day is not aware of it), the stupid lyrics of this not so subtly crude song, her personal life, and the fact that this is the only song on my playlist that – like its namesake – makes me turn up the subwoofer in my car to “3.”
Workout Rating: * * * * out of 4 stars
Weezer “Raditude” Review
Released November 2, 2009
My Review:
It’s notoriously hard to review Weezer albums. Especially for me, a late-comer to the original Weezer phenomenon. I enjoyed their tunes growing up on the radio, but didn’t hear the entire Blue album until I was near college. It was quite a stunning piece of work, and one of my top 10 favorites probably of all time. I never got into Pinkerton, but I really enjoyed the Green album. Each album after the first was quite different, and none as good as Blue to me. They started going downhill the past few years, but I thought the Red album recently was a recovery.
So I enjoyed the single “I Want You To (see video below) and nabbed the recent Raditude release. I have to admit I cannot exactly tell what they were trying to do here. As always with Weezer, they balance a fine line between satire and actually being what they’re making fun of.
However, there are quite a few catchy tunes, but none on par with any of my previous favorites. The defining song of the album is “Can’t Stop Partying” which features pop star Lil’ Wayne. It’s relatively catchy, and obviously a parody of some kind, but it’s not clever enough to figure out the point. So it fails as both in the end, similar to the album.The bonus track on iTunes “Story of My Life” is probably the closest thing to Weezer of old as you’ll get.
Weezer, whose lyrics were once much less tongue in cheek and captured the raw emotion of growing up..never seemed to be able to catch the raw emotion of actually being grown up. Perhaps they have been describing what life is like in stardom, but that’s a far place from the “Garage.” And maybe that’s the point, and perhaps I just don’t get it. Either way, it’s an album that will get a few spins in the car, at the gym, and working on projects..but will quickly fade away. You’ll like what you hear, but won’t learn any new insights, and sometimes cringe at the lyrics.
Not their worst effort, but for a band that can do more, in a sense it is. It sounds as if you’ve heard all these songs before..but not on a good album. The Blue album still rolls through the playlist from time to time, but in ten years I don’t imagine any of these songs will still be playing for me, and they definitely won’t help me remember anything similar to real life. And I guess that’s always what I want Weezer to do. I’ve got enough pop songs on my iTunes and I don’t need anyone to tell me how shallow they are, just write something better.
and a half out of 5 stars
Best Songs – I’m Your Daddy, (If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To, Can’t Stop Partying, The Story of My Life (Bonus Track).
Other Reviews on the Net:
411 Mania (2.5 rating – Very Bad) the same riffs we’ve heard a thousand times before, the same cliche lyrics we’ve heard a thousand times before, and a bunch of hooks that don’t stick with the listener past the first couple of listens.
Pop Matters (1 out of 10 stars) Raditude is not art. It’s not a serious rock album nor is it a collection disposably fun songs. No, Raditude is product. Coldly calculated, joyless product that is designed to be sold, not to be enjoyed. As a Weezer album, it is nothing short of a profound disappointment.
Spin (3 out of 5 stars) Old-school Weezer fans won’t like it, and neither will blog-rock acolytes. But that’s the point. Raditude is the murderous revenge of the middlebrow.
