shorty sketches - music update

Ok, here's what I've been listening to over the weekend.

"Unbreakable" Backstreet Boys - never much of a fan, but enjoyed this is a very poppy way. Let's face it, these guys and their brothers & sisters are the Archies of the new millenium. It's all fun stuff, good vocals and lyrics about what you'd expect (as long as you don't expect Dylan), but ultimately disposable.

"Long Road Out of Eden" the Eagles - wow, a lot of music - these guys have been really saving up! A few tracks that made a impression on me were "Somebody" with an absolutely evil vocal by Glenn Frey, "No More Walks In the Woods" recounting a nightmare that Thoreau might've had, a Long Run era rocker called "Fast Company" that is lean and mean, a cool socio-political rant from Henley in "Frail Grasp of the Big Picture," and a bittersweet ender in "It's Your World Now" reminding us about living life in such a way to leave the next ones up a solid foundation on which to rise higher than we did. Now, that's not to say the rest of the album is filler, but those are just the ones that pop to the surface after one and a half listens. There's a lot of good space in the music and they've taken some time with the craft of both the songwriting and the musicianship. And good Lord, those voices! May have to change the name of those other kids to the Backseat Boys, 'cause the Eagles reclaimed the driver's seat.

"Blackout" Britney Spears - this was the hardest thing to listen to. No, I don't need a rant from Chris whatever her name was, but I think it's just sad. It's pretty soulless, with a buzz (literally) that just deadens your brain after three tracks. Perhaps that's it, after listening to this over and over, you're deadened - just like Britney. Yeesh.


Regarding last week's discs, I'm still listening to Robert P + Alison K and seeing some buzz online about it being the record of the year. Certainly worthy. When I was in Borders yesterday it was #2, with Springsteen's Magic at #1. Woo-hoo!