Mudvayne - The New Game

Epic/Sony BMG

The winning question of the day: does adding "gaming" to the concept of "nu-metal" make it worse or better? Did making the newest Mudvayne album a murder mystery add anything at all?

Well, the music hasn't gotten much better: the same...vein... of nu-metal with few to no interesting riffs, lyrics, or song structure. Mostly just a bunch of dudes playing dude music. This is the sort of sound that a bunch of nerdy white boys kill themselves over. The same bunch of nerdy white boys who would probably be playing D&D and would greatly appreciate an RPG mixed with nu-metal. The answer to the initial question, then, is: yes, this was a good idea. It saves all of their fans a few bucks on going out and buying the rule book to their next game.

Ray J - All I Feel

Deja34/KO/Koch/Epic/Sony BMG

More mainstream hip-hop with a lot of ridiculous effects that is blurring the lines between what is hip-hop and pop music. That kind of depresses me, but unfortunately sometimes the music turns out pretty good.

Ray J isn't all that bad: weird vocal effects along the lines of a vocoder, poppy beats with slight gangster rap edges, and a vocal melody that could either have been lifted from Boys 2 Men or Aguilera. His voice is, despite the vocoder, pretty good, and his melodies, while a little weird, work for him. Over all, this is a good album.

Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006

Legacy/Columbia/Sony BMG

Light-years ahead of his time (and ours), Bob Dylan was perhaps one of the most influential voices in music. Creating his own style, smashing all the rules, and giving a whole new idea to the "personality" behind music, Dylan's influence is unwavering.

With literally millions of recordings under his belt and so few actually released, Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 is only a piece of these unreleased recordings: this is the 8th in the series. Some of them are alternative versions, some were never released, and yes, a few covers thrown in, this is for every fan to love. Not really as good as the rest of his work; this is still Dylan: this is still phenomenal.

***Shelton's Single Of The Week: "Most Of The Time"***

Kate Buckell & The Folks - Self-Titled

Self-Released

Buckell & The Folks play Irish-esq folk music, with a certain singer/songwriter feel. Heavy use of alternative instruments (flute, strings, and what I think may be mandolin at times) makes their Irish accents more apparent, which in my opinion is a good thing. Certainly interesting and enjoyable, this is for any of those into the coffee-shop folk crowd.

Volcano Suns - The Bright Orange Years

Merge

So this is one of those rare-gems that we get in at JSI Top 21: Volcano Suns, one of the follow up bands to indie-rock pioneers Mission of Burma. Taking on the, well, almost perfect sounds of Husker Du and The Hated, Volcano Suns are not quite post-punk or indie rock, or even rock and roll, but somewhere in-between it all. Lo-fi recording, amazing songs, lots of the same drum beat, and, honestly, some of the best vocals ever, this is an album that just about everyone needs to get.

Stacie Rose - Shotgun Daisy

Enchanted

The brand of female singer/songwriter folk like Cat Power, or anyone a bit poppier than that, is the niche that Stacie Rose has made in her music. Lyrics seem to be that of mainstream pop, but the music changes that feel: it is far too dynamic and interesting.

Sometimes heavily distorted guitars, sometimes heavier pop echos, even a few pieces of electronics thrown in, this is something new. At moments it gets a bit too bland, but for the most part it all stands up to its own weight.

Various Artists - The Motown Collection

Time Life/Universal

Time Life just keeps doing what it does best with this hits collection. This album compiles standout tracks from across the Motown catalogue and provides a stellar document of early '70s funk and soul. None of these songs are new or exclusive to this release, but they are certainly timeless, and the CD is worth it for the convenience of having all of these songs together.

Motown created a sound with these songs, and jumpstarted the careers of countless legendary musicians. Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Jackson 5; they're all here. These songs are mandatory listening, so if you aren't familiar, now's the time.

***LATE BUT GREAT***
***Shelton's Second Single Of The Week: "Marvin Gaye: Stubborn Kind Of Fellow"***

Psychic Ills - Mirror Eye

The Social Registry

I passionately hate psych-rock. A lot. I think Psychic Ills may be given a bad wrap by that label. This is far too noisy and awkward to be psych-rock. Lots of strange effects on top of weird guitar playing and a grim haze casted over everything in the form of massive amounts of reverb, Mirror Eye is a drug trip taken out of context: just weird but interesting.

Long, drawn out sounds, and a decent amount of dynamics, this could be the album for you. That is, if you can stand 11 minute songs that have very few changes, and, must love weed or LSD.

Norma Jean - Vs. The Anti Mother

Solid State/EMI

More chugging than a frat party and song-names that 90% of the population would find, at best, puzzling, Norma Jean are back again. Possibly more intense than their previous attempts, Vs. The Anti Mother (which I can only hope is a play on Seaguy's supervillian Anti Dad) collects their previous genre's of christian metalcore, slight innuendos of sass-rock, and the heavyness of past metal outfits ala Zao, and turns it into something more conformed to their own identity than a replication of previous attempts at hardcore.

With the new emphasis on three guitar players (which, speaking from personal experience, is always a great idea in metal) adds more depth and texture than ever before, while production remains crystal clear and intense. The name should be a household one in the metalcore scene, so you should already own this.

Paul Van Dyk - Hands On In Between

Mute

By far and large one of the best European DJ's at the moment, Paul Van Dyk has mastered the art of techno. Incredibly innovative beats, creative structures, and more bounce than a six year old with ADHD, Hands On In Between's sometimes dreamy soundscapes and intense rave-themes have created an album so full and well developed that the envelope of Djing as we know it is readily adapting for a more high-stakes playing field.

Dyk took his previous release (In Between), and added more flair, more originality, and yes, more synthesized drums. With some amazing cameo's (members of both the Pussycat Dolls and Talking Heads among others), Hands On In Between is Van Dyk's best work to date.

Various Artists - James 'Yank' Rachell: A Tribute to the Legendary Blues Mandolin Man

Yanksville

Old blues is, honestly, the genre that defined "soul". Emotion and politics all wrapped in one, blues made music what it is today. James Yank Rachell, defining what it meant to have mandolin in blues, was a prodigy. Unbelievable musicianship, not to mention even better writing skills and an amazing voice, Rachell mastered his skill to perfection.

This tribute album is a benefit for his granddaughter, Sheena (occasional bass player for her grandfather), who is suffering from a rare lung disease. Buy this album for two great causes: helping to pay her medical expenses and spreading good music in the world.

Fake Problems - It's Great To Be Alive

SideOneDummy

Against Me meets Flogging Molly, perhaps. It's Great To Be Alive may not be the best album ever written, but it gets points for style. It's punk while still being pop. It manages something original, which I personally am not super into, is something that tons of people will love.

Heartfelt songs, catchy melodies, and interesting progressions, Fake Problems have the potential to come into their own someday and become something that I will be super into. Until then, I can just commend them on creating a new formula.

Buena Vista Social Club - At Carnegie Hall

World Circuit/Nonesuch/Warner Bros.

The top selling "world-music" album of all time, Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall is a stellar piece of work. A music collective, the Social Club's Latin-jazz fusion is original in style and feel, but keeping traditional progressions and sounds around enough to make sure conservative listeners don't get lost in it all. Beautiful songs, a whole lot of music, and not a single negative about it; this album is a solid piece of history.

EDITOR''S NOTE: Cuba si, yanquino. Viva Fidel!

Thom Schuyler - Prayer of a Desperate Man

Self-Released

Schuyler has been performing and writing for years, and he isn't about to stop now. He is just writing better and better songs. Prayer of a Desperate Man is a country album that is honest and straightforward, the way country music should really be.

Using the formula that I love (focusing almost entirely on the vocals and guitar, with everything else as background), he manages to get his songs across without distractions of production. For any country music listener.

Various Artists - Music From The Motion Picture Cadillac Records

Music World/Columbia/Sony BMG

This is seriously a week for some classy music. Usually soundtracks bore the hell out of me: nothing interesting about them, maybe a good song or two at most, and god forbid there's a song that was in the actual movie; it usually is a butchered rendition of some classic song.

The Cadillac Records soundtrack, on the other hand, does completely unbutchered renditions of classic songs: entirely unbutchered classic blues songs. Performed by contemporaries (Jeff Wright, Beyonce, Mos Def, and a few others), the soundtrack takes songs like "Once In A Lifetime", or "I'm A Man", and lets present day musicians with talent perform the tracks as originals, and it works out AMAZINGLY. The movie itself is about the record label these tracks came from, so, if they come close to the caliber of these songs, we have another winner.

Big Shanty - Sold Out...

King Mojo/Select-O-Hits

Big Shanty's put a little swing in his blues for Sold Out, but still doesn't really make it up to par. His vocal delivery, while at times endearing, usually comes across embarrassing. Lots of cheesy guitar wailing, and really silly programmed drums, and not even the swing elements can save this.

Blackmore's Night - Secret Voyage

Mistrel Hall/Steamhammer/SPV

This is actually beyond belief. One of the lead dudes from Deep Purple, playing in a Ren. Fair themed Euro-folk where they wear costumes, and occasionally sing about what might as well be Lord Of The Rings, I can't take this as serious.

There are a few huge solo's behind all of the nonsense, which almost works. Blackmore's Night is kind of awesome from its sheer embarrassing existence, but aside from that I can't say that I enjoyed this.

Maroon 5 - Call And Response: The Remix Album

A&M/Octone/UMG

This band is a really hard dilemma for myself. On one hand, the band plays a white soul; white soul itself being a paradox since white soul has no emotion to it. On the other hand, this band is really, really good.

They manage to make a genre of music that borders on embarrassing because of it's lack of anything real so unbelievably well done that it is hard to completely hate it. Call And Response is a remix album, comprising of remixes of their better songs. They don't change all that much from the originals, just a bit more over the top with weird sounds mixed in, and a few DJ shout-outs.

Novalima - Coba Coba

Cumbancha

Collective band Novalima are considered an "Afro-Peruvian" band with electronics. It sounds a lot like Afro-Cuban upbeat jazz with looped electronics behind all of it.

It comes across incredibly dynamic and engaging, giving it an almost hip-hop esq feel for just a moment and then coming all the way back to Afro-Peruvian. Lots of interesting sounds thrown in there, endless catchy vocal loops, and yeah, this is another stellar album.

Roy Clark - Timeless: The Classsic Concert Performances

Varese Sarabande/Fontana

As Elvis became at the end of his career, Roy Clark was a performer almost as much as he was a country musician. He was a personality for hire: an entertainer. And he was great at it.

And his music wasn't bad either. It was, in actuality, huge music: over the top horn sections and choirs, kind of cheesy-but-totally acceptable transitions, and a variety of styles (country, country rock, country jazz and blues), Clark didn't miss a beat. The Classic Concert Performances, also, are right on: tight playing, Clark at his peak, and, really, his best songs.

Enya - And Winter Came

Reprise/Warner Bros.

I realize that people love Enya, and yeah, I can't lie and say I didn't enjoy a few of the singles that she let loose. But, unfortunately, I can't say much about this album that is all that nice, aside from she is mindblowingly talented.

It's all Christmas music. And, being a Jew on Christmas, for all intents and purposes, is the definition of misery. Sorry, I just can't even listen to this. If you like Christmas and Enya, I couldn't see anything wrong with this.

Artist: Randy Newman
Song: A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country

Political Article:

Barack Be Good By: Paul Kurgman (recent winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics)