George Strait - 22 More Hits

MCA Nashville

George Strait is undeniably one of the best in country music today. He hasn't succumbed to the rise in the mid 90's of arena-country. Instead, he does now what he's done for the past 25 years: straightforward country, in the best ways possible. He doesn't try to do something new, doesn't try to push boundaries. Strait gives the world the stripped down and precision accuracy of real country, sung by a real countryman.
50 Number Ones, his album of only number 1's, became multi-platinum quickly after its release. The reason for another greatest hits album, he claims, is not to make more money or cash in on the diehards. Rather, he did it for himself, and the fans as a present: many of his and his fan's favorites never made it to #1. He wanted to compile more of his favorites, this time under half the quantity. Songs on here include "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls'", "If You're Thinking You Want A Stranger (There's One Coming Home)", and "Amarillo By Morning" are just a few of his best that are included on this collection. This is also in support of his next tour, happening in January.
********Shelton's Single Of The Week: "Overnight Success"********

Pegi Young - Pegi Young

Vapor/Warner Bros.

Pegi Young has quite an interesting perspective to her music. This is her first release and first recordings, though has been writing music since she was 19, long before she met her celebrity husband and accompanying musician Neil Young. This collection is her favorite and most relevant songs she wrote, and the ones that stuck the best throughout the years. So while she isn't a teenager anymore, she still keeps a bit of youthful aura to her lyrics and style. She reflects on her adventures, reminiscing about how silly her problems of the time were.
You can most certainly hear her husband's influence on this record, but it would be really unfair to say she's following in his footsteps. It stands on its own (the Editor just walked in, jaw dropped, demanding to know who this was) and sounds like nothing more than someone who was a fan. I was hesitant to even name her husband on here, taking away from her spotlight, which she most certainly deserves.
Young plays a blend of folk that seemed to whittle away and die in the last decade. One part folk, one part rock and roll, a slice of soul and, well, not enough lap-steel. That is my only complaint for this album. Her song writing is irresistibly good, really showing her as an artist, rather than her band, who are nothing more than accompanying musicians. It's nice to see something new, something that should and hopefully will get big.

Nine Inch Nails - Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D

Halo/Interscope/Universal

It seems that I hear more about this band less for the music that they produce, and more for what they do. By "they" I mean Trent Reznor. Reznor has spoken up on many issues in the past, including music piracy, and pulled quite an interesting stunt by making a song available for download for Apple Garageband. Fans could take the song and mix it themselves, just like Reznor himself did. Think of it like a much larger scale Eazy-Bake Oven, but instead of little kids it's everyone who will never go into the studio and instead of not-so-appetizing baked goods its an industrial-electronic mega-file.
NIN out did themselves with this release. A CD and DVD-rom combo, each containing different content. Let's start with the CD, because it's much easier to explain. Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D is a remix album of their last release, Year Zero. More electronic than its predecessors, it made it perfect to be given to other electronic and not-so electronic artists to toy with, right? For the most part yes: Ladytron's rendition of "The Beginning Of The End" is almost as good as the original, and "Meet Your Master" was remixed by The Faint, which turns into a really awesome mix of The Faint, Intelligent Dance Music, and Reznor. The less impressive points? Saul Williams doing "Guns By Computer". I love Williams, so don't take this as a personal attack on him. It's just that hip-hop and other forms of music shouldn't really happen, unless your name is "Aerosmith" or "Run DMC".
The second disc is much less conventional. It is a data DVD with the intent of expanding Reznor's earlier remix project. It contains all of the tracks on Year Zero in Garageband format, WAV files for every track of the album separated by instrument, and a demo version of Ableton: the program Reznor uses to write most of NIN's material.
I can't decide if this was a little too ostentatious or not. It's stretching the boundaries, which is interesting. Maybe it's because I live in the studio a few times a year, but it seems a little much. A bit novel, maybe. Even if it is, it is good to see artists pushing the boundaries of formats, and not being controlling over their artistic work. Silly or not, this is still awesome to see, and better to hear.

Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies

Ambush Reality/Tiny Evil/Interscope

At first, I thought this was going to be the new Shakira album. Then I saw it was actually "Shikari" and guessed it might have been a best of album from the much under-appreciated Dutch hardcore band. Then I put it in the record and my mind was blown. Genre crossing is a dangerous game, my friends. It doesn't always work, and rarely amount to something good. Rap-metal is a great example of blends not working. Techno and hardcore have been successfully mixed in the past, with Refused's mind blowing Shape of Punk To Come, which is undeniably one of the best punk albums ever recorded.
Instead of blending them, Enter Shikari slops together a mixture of drum & bass dance loops with uninteresting metalcore, complete with heavy chuggy, dissonant minor chords, and the required singing-with-no-singing-ability breakdowns in every song. To top all this off, they all look like they are 14 years old. Funny thing is, I guiltily kind of like this. I'm open about my soft spot for bad electronics and effect pedals, and this definitely falls into that category.
They carry quite a bit of influence from late 90's metal-emo ala Thursday, with a bit more of the Equal Vision records signature song styles. Honestly, I think they would be one of the most boring bands in existence without the electronics. But with it, they have the appeal of a dance band and of a metal band in one, making them accessible to about half of the people from each genre. They won "Worst Band of 2007" in Total Guitar magazine, which is a little cruel, but still understandable. This is for those with a taste for soulless, mind-numbing metalcore that is simultaneously catchy and different.

Cy Curnin - The Returning Sun

Squirrels Eat Nuts/Great Folks

The Fixx were really awesome. Cy Curnin, front man, is not many notches below. His debut solo album, The Returning Sun, is his first album in a long time, and doesn't disappoint. I think the best way to describe this is The Fixx with a much more personal feel to both the lyrics and songs.
This isn't a singer-songwriter album by any means. Rather, it is Curnin, playing his own music on his own reflections. He's said in interviews that the reason for this is because this album was more personal, having recently gone through his second divorce. "The band is a club of gentlemen who don't need to hear me prattling on about my insecurities" he's said. Luckily, it seemed to have worked.
Next interesting piece on Cy Curnin: for his 50th birthday, his intentions are to do something daring. No, it isn't trying to cover "Bat Out Of Hell III" from beginning to end. He's climbing Mt. Everest...and playing a concert up there. That is right folks: Guinness Book of Records potential here for the highest altitude musical performance in history. Sounds like a great 50th birthday to me.
You can most certainly hear in The Returning Sun how much he had to do with The Fixx, which I have already said. The music is very 80's alternative rock: focusing heavily on reverbed guitars, full voice singing, and a little bit of electronics. Lyrically, this is amazing. My favorite track on the album, "Remember Me When I'm Gone," has some of my favorite lyrics of the night: "Remember me when I'm gone. Remember my breathing. Remember my lies. Remember my wings. Remember my swan song. Remember me when I'm gone. I would have loved to die in your arms". He is considering, after his trip to one of the highest elevations on Earth, going out on a European and American tour. Go. Seriously.

Against Me! - New Wave

Sire/Warner Bros.

Oh Against Me! I was hoping by this point they would go away, making my heartache subside to a dull pain rather than jabbing knives to my side. But alas, they still aren't stopping, aren't getting any better than Reinventing Axl Rose, and are writing less and less relevant and passionate lyrics. Yes, I am one of those kids who this band meant something to for years, started being an apologist when Eternal Cowboy was released, and gave up after Searching For A Former Clarity. It really does feel like an ex-relationship that won't go away, no matter how hard I tell myself I'm better off without them.
New Wave, a record that is fairly raw for the company they keep, takes more influence from that mid-era of Springsteen that was just mediocre than Born To Run. It is a rock album, up and down. For that, it isn't too bad: kind of hard hitting, fairly angsty, and changes enough between tracks that it isn't a monotonous mush of repetition.
Tracks like "Stop" take the name of the album seriously: an actual modern-day new wave ballad, talking about the soullessness of mainstream music. But I really don't feel I can do much of an unbiased job with this album. It may be amoral to compare bands to other bands, such as talking about how The Smiths had nothing on The Cure for reason X, Y, and Z.
But you can't escape your past, no matter how hard we all wish we could. This may be a different band, with almost half of the members replaced from that first full-length; but they kept the name, so it is the same band. I know people, families, friends, and bands change as they get older, but this is like watching someone with so much passion for life and for their friends slowly become that corporate pig that you used to sit around and joke about while drinking the cheapest beer: the only kind you two could afford.
On top of all of this, I want to address how unbelievably uncomfortable I am by the title of their first single, "White People For Peace". I don't know what to make of it, and no way I can justify it. It is a straight up racist exclamation of privileged individuals talking about politics they will never have to think about. This may be most of us, but at least we can acknowledge this, talk about it, and not label a song about it. I want the band whose sharp chords cut like a knife, not weak halfhearted politics that couldn't get through melted butter.

Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol. 1 (The Complete Abashiri Concert - November 22, 1981)

(Double CD) Widow's Taste

For those of you out of the loop in the jazz world, Art Pepper is one of the most incredible saxophone players who've ever lived. I remember seeing his records in my grandfather's collection (another professional saxophonist) and listening to it, and being completely blown away. This is really the style of jazz that strikes me the most.
Maybe it's the generation I've grown up in, all injecting noises far too loud for human consumption directly into our ear drums, but fast and loud is the type of jazz that hits me the most. A little bit of atonality at points is nice, and having multiple instruments competing for the spotlight only moves me more. This is exactly that: beautiful, beautiful jazz. It's the sort of thing where we can actually hear the musicians enjoying themselves while playing. I don't know how it works, maybe through certain accents and timing, but you can physically feel the emotions coming through the airwaves.
This was recorded in Japan, on one of Pepper's last tours before his untimely end. This show in particular may have been, as his wife puts it "the only time in his life Art was able to declare he was happy when he wasn't loaded". You can even hear on a track him declare "That was one of the nicest things that I think I've played in my life". At the end of the short essay in the CD booklet is an apology, which only makes me fall deeper in love: "I apologize for for [sic] the break in "For Freddie" (we had to turn the tape over) and the mild tape hiss on this recording. We can't get rid of all of it without damaging the music. And the music is what counts - Laurie Pepper". Honestly, the fact that they will deal with a little lower end in quality, perhaps loose some sales, to preserve this almost brings me to tears. Needless to say, this is one of the best thing I've heard in a long, long time.

Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette - The Bluegrass Elvises, Volume One

American Roots

No matter if you were born in the 40's or the 90's, or any time in between, you know Elvis in one way or another. No one can escape the pink Cadillac, the pompadour, or the hip-shaking tunes stolen by white people. Elvis is everywhere. Las Vegas has impersonators, there was that awful movie 3000 Miles To Graceland, and rockabilly is making a comeback. So why not a bluegrass album of Elvis songs? What does anyone have to loose?
Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette, two longtime friends, decided on this project mere weeks before the studio session, recording with as little production as possible, trying to imitate the feel of the original Presley recordings from half a century ago.
They managed to take 12 of Presley's best and make them sound, while incredibly different from the originals, songs that could stand up on their own. My biggest fear with this was a stylized butchering job of some of the most classic songs of the twentieth century, but they managed to pull it off. "All Shook Up" is golden, lightning fast, and incorporates some phenomenal banjo playing. While they retain some elements of rockabilly at time ("Blue Suede Shoes"), they make it work for them rather than against them, adding a great mandolin solo over it to take off the awkwardness of genre-bending. This is incredibly fun to listen to, and surprisingly, diverse enough to listen to the entire album without skipping a track.

Jude Johnstone - Blue Light

BoJak/Redeye

Jude Johnstone is great. She changed her approach a bit from previous albums (Coming Of Age and On A Good Day), using a much more straightforward lounge jazz atmosphere. The music is pretty much from the books, and not anything that wouldn't be playing in the steamy jazz club scene of Hollywood movies.
It doesn't win me over for originality. It wins me over because it really is just good. It sounds good, it feels good, and hell, it's something I can relax to. After the holidays, that really is what we all need a bit more of: relaxing, away from our dysfunctional families.

John C. Reilly - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story

Columbia/Sony BMG

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is the movie brought to you by John C. Reilly, co-star of Talladega Night and countless other movies in that vein. Anchorman is still one of my favorite movies, and I have this one on my list of new releases to see, along with Juno. Walk Hard is a satirical parody of movies Ray, Walk The Line, and any other movie made to tell the story of a dysfunctional musician (as if there was one who wasn't...). The basis of the movie is multitalented singer Dewey Cox, musical legend between the 50s and the 90s, with his fake wife Darlene whose relationship is way too perfect for a celebrity.
The soundtrack is John Reilly's spoof parodies of songs of the decade they take place in. Opening track "Walk Hard" is a very obvious Johnny Cash theft, and "Royal Jelly" is a really embarrassing impression of Bob Dylan. Every song here follows that sort of theme, and most are actually funny, especially without seeing the movie. Not funny because it's witty, which it is. Funny because the songs are really well written, most certainly could be the music from the original musician, with satirically ridiculous lyrics and singing on top of it. The soundtrack convinced me to see this movie.

Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris

Rekords/Interscope/Universal

I think anything that is influenced by Black Sabbath has no choice but to be good. Stoner-alternative rock favorites Queens Of The Stone Age only reinforces this idea for me. Every album they create makes me remember why I love head banging so much. Honestly. The in-your-face approach to rock and roll is the way it should have always been. And heavy. Lets not forget what a good 3 or 4 extra layers of guitar will do for a song.
Nothing competes with a song that is so layered in reverb and harmonies that it flows more like river. A homogenized mixture, if you will. Singer Josh Homme stylistically references Kurt Cobain over and over on Era Vulgaris, with the melodramatic and soulless mumbling, during both quite melodic parts and heavy rhythm driven intervals. All this seem to culminate into a perfect blend of grunge, stoner, and garage rock that really has made this band get better each and every album. I'm sad to hear that former Death From Above 1979 bassist Jesse Keeler wasn't on this album, but then again, you can't have a legendary rock musician on every album, can you?

Barbara Sfraga & Center Search Quest - Timelessness Frozen in Time

SyncTimiCity

Barbara Sfraga, front woman of jazz quintet Center Search Quest, has the voice of an angel. The sort of voice that the leading lady in a musical supposedly has, but we all know better than to believe that the voice exists in real life. But somehow, she has it.
The Center Search Quest are an incredibly talented group of individuals as well: saxophonist Allen Won blends his upper register solo's with Sfraga's similarly pitched voice, playing off of each other from beginning to end. Every track here is an original, and while playing different sects of jazz per track ("Cool Water" is a hot jazz swing piece, followed by "Tell Me", which is more of a smooth jazz ballad), they all carry a certain style to them. A taste of World Jazz as they call it, this seems to be where the world of jazz is going.

Warface - Insanity Of The Obsessed

Deathquake

Warface plays deathmetal, straight forward. The recording is a little bit weak for the genre, with really poorly mixed drum triggers and one layer of guitar all the way through. It is fairly technical, which is a plus, and incorporates quite an adequate amount of pitch harmonics. The vocals are impressively low: they are no Cannibal Corpse, but definitely impressively low. Lower than I can do.
They have a female guitar player, which is great to see. It's so rare that women are involved in metal, and doing something other than singing or playing keyboards, or used as a sex symbol to sell records. It's awesome to see women not only involved, but a driving force for the band. If you take a look at the lyrics, it's pretty obvious they hate God, which is awesome. Half the songs are either about killing Christians, hating christians, or the horrors of war. Which makes sense, given the name.

Tech N9ne Collabos - Misery Loves Kompany

Strange

Tech N9ne has been consistently putting out records for 9 years, which is quite an accomplishment for a hip-hop artist with no real hits or consistent airplay. The self-proclaimed Juggalo, with his new crew, gives up Misery Loves Kompany, his first non-solo album.
While he hasn't done a full album of collaborations before, he has collaborated in the past with a list of acts that is mind blowing (Kottonmouth Kings, ICP, 2-Pac, E-40, etc). He crosses between underground gangster rap and nu-metal-rap with ease, not really having to reinvent himself between albums, which he gets credit for. And to be honest, his flow is incredibly solid for using almost strictly fast beats.
Unfortunately, he is a bit on the ridiculous side: anyone who identifies with Juggalo Nation can't be fully taken seriously, since clowns have never really been that intimidating, minus Heath Ledger as Joker in the new Batman movie, and possibly John Wayne Gacy. Besides that, not intimidating. Lyrically, he is similarly unimpressive: talking about typical gangster-rap topics with no real creativity or originality. Maybe it's just not for me.

Dave Gross - Take The Gamble

VizzTone/SwingNation/Redeye

Take the Gamble is a high-end produced rockabilly/blues album. That's really what it is. It uses really well written songs with impressive guitar lines, great vocal melodies, and everything is crystal clear. The actual impressive part, which everyone is talking about, is his age.
Dave Gross, world class blues guitarist, holder of one of the most solid new voices I've heard in a while, is only 22 years old. At 22, he has critics with jaws dropped, producers rushing to him, and Blues Music Award's "Best New Artist".
His first record, You Don't Love Me, was recorded at 19. It was also impressive, but nothing like this. This sounds like it should have been done by someone with a lifetime of experience (which, every musician here besides Gross is). I can only see great things from this man in the future.

Sterling Harrison - South Of The Snooty Fox

HackTone/Rhino/ADA

I had never heard of Sterling Harrison before I got this record placed in my hand. Unfortunately, it was months too late: Harrison was diagnosed with cancer at the end of this recording, and passed away shortly thereafter. It's a shame, because this could only make for one hell of a live show.
This is pure requiem for the days when soul had soul, was played with soul, and could do no wrong besides intense misogyny and heteronormativity. Besides that, there is nothing better than a solid soul album, except maybe a solid soul performance. Harrison boasts to be one of the best live performers that have ever lived, and I would believe it: the only thing I can imagine while listening to this is Little Richard reincarnate.
His vocal inflections portrays an atmosphere of pure sexual energy. Not only that, but his band is phenomenal. Each song is, arguably, as good if not better than the original. He took Tom Wait's "The House Where Nobody Lives," and turned it into a soft serenade. You can hear the original, but buried so deep that it would only take someone looking for it to see it. This is a great record.

Shark Island - Gathering Of The Faithful

Manifest

Gathering Of The Faithful has a cute little story behind it. So Shark Island, a 80's style hair-metal band, released one album in 1990, entitled Law Of The Order. They immediately attracted a cult following, all of which determined to see them every week at Sunset Strip's Gazzari bar. This is the same bar where Van Halen and Motley Crue served as the house-band, if that explains the type of place this is. So, after no more releases and over 15 years, Manifest records owner Robert Marshall approached them to do another album. Marshall was a diehard from back in the day, and was desperate for another dose. So, after not being in the studio for over a decade, Shark Island went in and recorded Gathering Of The Faithful, which, if any of the fan reviews count for anything, is the perfect follow up.
Opening track "Blue Skies" is an acoustic ballad with an upbeat feel, which sets the tone for this album. It gets harder, with more guitar solos, but continues being upbeat and lyrically hook-packed. The band follows in the footsteps of their Gazzari predecessors Van Halen and Motley Crue, serving music that belonged in the 80's, but still remains interesting for a handful of bar-hoppers stuck in the time period. The packaging is really beautiful, with an embossed logo on both the sleeve and cover of the CD.

Various Artists - Gypsy Groove

Putumayo

In my eyes, Putumayo can do no wrong. I know I say it every single issue, but this label is so good. Honestly, if you listen to anything on here, ever, go check out any Putumayo release. Their sounds are not only unique, beautiful, and have more heart than almost anyone you will ever meet, but it also sounds so goddamned good it hurts.
Gypsy Groove honestly pushes boundaries for me. I've always wanted to get into Roma (the most appropriate term for gypsy) music. Bands who have Roma influence have always struck a chord with me, and the fact that I grew up around klezmer makes this even more interesting to me. I now get to see where it all came from: where the songs that haunt my childhood got there origins from. The Roma were the people of the Indus Valley, whom left over 1,000 years ago and made their way to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and beyond. So now for describing this. There isn't a sentence that will account for everything on here. It is so diverse, so different, that it can only be taken up in descriptions of every song. We have Roma hip-hop by Gipsy.cz, gypsy infused klezmer from the Amsterdam Klezmer band, a slightly dub-influenced Balkan Beat box, a band named Anselmo which is one part Ozomotli, one part Roma, and one part spacey 80's new wave. We have Luminescent Orchestrii, which are self described as "gypsy tango". This is just a few of the mind-blowing pieces on this release. By far one of the best things this year.
********Shelton's Second Single Of The Week: Luminescent Orchestrii "Amari Szi, Amari"********
***So Nice, Gotta Do It Up Twice (Created by the Original NYC DJ, Jocko, 1955)***

Christopher Denny - Age Old Hunger

00:02:59/Atlantic/Warner Bros.

So when you first hear this, it takes a few seconds to really comprehend it, and figure out exactly what is going on. The backing band for Denny is a really well put together gospel/soul/country/indie band. I realize that doesn't describe it well, but that's the best I can really do as far as genres. It isn't over the top, it isn't chunky switching between parts, and there isn't a song on here that doesn't really fit with the rest. The haunting organ tone really brings life into every song, working strongly as a backbone for all of this.
Now, for the Christopher Denny's voice, which is, much like the band, something you can't really explain. No, seriously. You cannot explain this. His voice is strained and fairly high pitched, and really shaky sounding. Not shaky out of fear, but rather as portrayal of emotion: it feels like Denny is consistently on the verge of tears throughout this entire recording. It is as if he could become a bawling fit of emotion at any moment, and is holding it all back.
The 23 year old phenomenon really packs a punch on Age Old Hunger. It is much more stripped down than most of the music being put out today: relying directly on instruments and writing rather than studio tools to improve tone or timing. Christopher Denny has done very little touring at this point, and, if he ever does leave his home town of Little Rock, I strongly suggest checking him (and this record) out.

The Automatic Automatic - Not Accepted Anywhere

Columbia/Sony BMG

Welsh hipster-dance band The Automatic Automatic are simultaneously new sounding and typical. You listen to it, and you can hear where they fit in and where they don't. You know who they have played with and who they probably haven't, and what records they probably listen to on repeat. But with all this, I cannot think of a band that they really sound like. And I guess that's the trick: to fit a genre so well that no one else really can do what you are doing. That's what Automatic Automatic has going on.
Not Accepted Anywhere relies heavily on two strong elements: electronic noisy keyboards and catchy sing-a-long choruses. Lets start with the first one. The keyboards really separate this band from the others. It makes their feel less of a dancey rock band and more along the line of a pissed off pop band. It is simultaneously menacing and uplifting, which really is what sets this band apart.
Singer Rob Hawkins also drives The Automatic Automatic with cheesey, yet painfully addicting hooks. "What's that coming over the hill is it a monster? Is it a monster?" is a prime example. You hear it, sort of laugh at how simple it is, but then find yourself singing along. You don't particularly want to sing along, but there is no choice in the matter. Also, I can't help but talk about the backing vocals. I'm sure they get endless amounts of criticism for it, but its the sort of thing that is so painfully annoying for me that they come full circle to be awesome. They don't really fit with the rest of it, and come at sort of strange moments. But they are so atonal and piercingly obnoxious that it works. That's a good way to sum up this band: sort of annoying, silly, but you can't help but really enjoy it.

The Hives - The Black & White Album

Octone/A&M

I'm going to do a completely honest review for this album. I have never liked The Hives. At points in history, I've actually declared that I couldn't stand them. I saw them for the first time opening up for The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Everyone at the time, seeing both bands playing back to back, were more than convinced that The Hives were a less good version of the masters of rock and roll revivalism.
Later, The Hives got their hit; I was annoyed that "Capitalism Stole My Virginity" went nowhere, and I went on with my life. I got this record, took a look at it, and put it in for humors sake. I now am frantically looking through my friends record collections, looking for their old albums to see if I either misjudged them, or if they finally made one of the best rock albums of my lifetime. I don't think their old stuff is very good still, but this makes Veni Vidi Vicious look like a bunch of bad garage band recordings written by middle schoolers who just picked up their instruments.
The Black & White Album is The Hives finally perfecting what they tried so hard to do and falling short. Every single track on here reeks of egos and rock star lifestyles. This could be their answer to Andrew W.K.'s first album. Driving bass, a drum beat that really doesn't change at all, and vocals and lyrics that are so addictive, and so fun, that you could actually put this record on and a party will automatically flock to your living room. No joke. Tracks like "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." incorporate a laughable attempt at funk or soul, I can't really tell. Maybe a DEVO rip off. It's ridiculous, but still infectious. "A Stroll Through Hive Manor" is an actual soul ballad, consisting of organ and programmed drums. Then, we have songs like "Return The Favour," which is back to their signature style of silly rock-punk, snotty and, well, party.
The Hives finally went all out and it really worked this time. The story for the album name, according to guitarist Nicholaus Arson: "If The Beatles could make a 'White Album' and Metallica could make a 'Black Album', there was only one band who could make a record twice as good as those two combined. And as far as sales go, The Beatles' 'White Album' sold 11 million copies while Metallica's 'Black Album' has sold well over 16 million copies. The logic is indisputable: The Hives 'The Black & White Album' will go on to sell 176 million copies...'. Uh huh. I bet guys. But, if they keep turning up records like this, I don't care if they claim they have Jesus writing all of the music for them.

You were lost and got lucky,
came upon the shore,
found you were conquering America,
Spoke of peace,
Waged a war,
while you were conquering America.

There was land to take, and people to kill
While you were conquering America.
You saved yourself, and did God's will,
While you were conquering America.

The ghost of Columbus haunts this world,
You're still conquering America.
The meek won't survive, inherit the earth,
Cause you're still conquering America

hmmmm

Found bodies to serve, submit and degrade,
while you were conquering America.
Made of soldiers and junkies, prisoners and slaves,
while you were conquering America.

America, America, America

Your hands are at my throat,
my back's against the wall,
cause you're still conquering America.
We are Sick, and tired, hungry and poor,
cause you're still conquering America.

America, America, America,

You bomb the very ground,
you feed your own babies,
you're still conquering America
Your sons and your daughters,
May never sing your praises,
while you were conquering America.

America, America, America

Unseal your eyes,
see the distant shore,
while you were conquering America,
Take your rockets to the moon,
Try to find a new world,
And you're still conquering America.

America, America, America

The ghost of Columbus, haunts this world,
You're still conquering America,
You're still conquering America,
You're still conquering America

Editors Note: This not only goes out to all the millions of American Indians, African Americans, and Latin brothers and sisters we killed during our conquest of America. Now we are kicking people out of their homes due to the "forclosure" crisis.

Political Article: Tasers DonÕt Reduce Shootings, Despite Police and PoliticiansÕ Claims By: The Canadian Press Back To Top Despite claims by politicians and some police officers that Tasers would save lives by preventing shootings, the devices that are being used by a growing number of police forces were never meant as an alternative to guns, experts say. Statistics obtained by the Canadian Press bear out that idea, showing that in some of the cities that have recently adopted Tasers, the number of police shootings has remained fairly consistent and low, while Tasers are being used exponentially more often. In Winnipeg, for example, police shootings of suspects are rare. There was one in 2003, and none in 2004. In 2006, the Winnipeg Police Service fired guns on suspects twice. They also started using Tasers in September of that year, firing them at individuals 37 times before the year was out. ÒTasers are not meant to replace firearms,Ó Cst. Adam Cheadle, the serviceÕs use of force co-ordinator, said in a recent interview. ÒThe Taser is on the same playing field as a baton or [pepper] spray.Ó In Calgary, there was only one officer-involved shooting in 2003 - two years before Tasers were introduced - and none in 2007. So far this year, Calgary police have ÒdeployedÓ (a term that includes any incident where the machine is unholstered and its laser is activated, even if it ends up not being fired) their Tasers 133 times. In Montreal, police were involved in three shooting incidents in 2003, before they had Tasers. They also used their firearms three times last year, while firing Tasers 28 times. Numbers in many other jurisdictions are hard to come by. The RCMP, whose members have fired Tasers more than 3,000 times since 2001, said it doesnÕt keep track of how often firearms are used across the country. Police spokespersons in Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax were unable to provide comparable statistics on Taser and gun usage. ÔAnother use-of-force toolÕ The numbers that have been released counter the idea promoted by some politicians and police officials in the early 2000s, when the stun guns were being introduced, that officers would be able to use Tasers instead of their guns and that could save lives. When the RCMP unveiled plans to equip its Alberta detachments with Tasers in 2002, Sgt. Steve Gleboff told reporters Òwhat weÕre trying to do is eliminate the necessity to shoot somebody.Ó Two years later, when controversy erupted over Taser usage in Ontario, then Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said the devices were a better alternative to firearms. Even the man currently probing the RCMPÕs use of Tasers, Paul Kennedy, head of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, told a police oversight convention last year that being hit by a Taser was better than being hit by a bullet. That expectation was wrong, according to the man who trains Calgary police officers to use Tasers. "Use of force experts across Canada right now, weÕre kind of shaking our heads going, ÔHow did we give the impression to the lay public or the media that Tasers were ever supposed to be a replacement for lethal force?ÕÓ said Staff Sgt. Chris Butler. ÒThey were another use-of-force tool in the same regard as the baton, the O.C. spray. Just another tool.Ó Reduce injuries, compared to batons or spray While Tasers may not reduce the number of police shootings, Butler said they have succeeded in reducing the number of injuries that can result from an officer having to use a baton or pepper spray on a suspect, or wrestle with him. ÒIn 99.7 per cent of Taser uses, there are no injuries. When you compare that to a baton use, the statistical likelihood of injuries from a Taser deployment are much less.Ó The growing use of Tasers was highlighted in an interim report by the RCMP complaints commissioner last week, which said Taser use Òhas expanded to include subduing resistant subjects who do not pose a threat of grievous bodily harm or death and on whom the use of lethal force would not be an option.Ó In response, the Mounties issued new guidelines limiting Taser use to situations where Òa subject is displaying combative behaviours or is being actively resistant.Ó Eighteen people in Canada have died in recent years after being hit by a Taser, although the company that manufactures the weapons stresses they have never been directly blamed for a death.

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