Can you say B-A-D...BAD!! BAD!! BAD!! In listening to the very first track, you’ll find that this group is often spelling their name for no apparent reason or maybe to ensure that they are not being forgotten by whomever is currently listening to their music. Interaction between the artist and the listener is always good once in a while but doing too much within a single album with not 10 or 15 tracks, but TWENTY-ONE tracks that resembles a sporadic mix of indie Hip-Hop with a splash of the “Beastie Boys”, can easily become very annoying.

Now “FELT”, otherwise known as Slug & MURS has actually been around for a bit, releasing albums that were specifically dedicated to actresses whom they thought they could easily sleep with such as Christina Ricci, Lisa Bonet, and Rosie Perez, but upon hearing FELT 3, which is specifically attributed to Rosie Perez, it is kind of difficult to distinguish what they are saying to or about Ms. Perez, let alone the audience..HELL they probably aren’t even talking about her at all!!

The sound of the music drowns out the majority of the lyrics, so the only way you could really tell what they’re saying is if you look up the lyrics and/or listen to the CD a numerous amount of times. In order to provide my readers with the most effective review possible, I had to do just that and I must say that personally, it was quite painful. After awhile, I did in fact find that the highlight of “FELT 3” is not the music & the lyrics combined, but what is expressed when separated. I actually found the beats alone to be pretty sweet and a few of the messages that were conveyed were somewhat deep. In track number 11, “Glory Burning”, there was a line that said, “God forbid you mix passion without thought cause then you're only askin' for the drama to start and the cycle never ends while we live in denial”, which turned out to be my favorite (NOT THE SONG, BUT THE LYRICS).

It’s so crazy because their sound somewhat resembles “Gym Class Heroes” (love em), the “Beastie Boys” whom I’ve previously mentioned and do not care for (sue me for not liking em), Linkin Park (love em), with the method of lyrical education that can be heard in artists such as “Lupe Fiasco” (love him) and “Common” (love him), YET this particular CD turned out to be pure flaming-hot, sweaty garbage!! I was without a doubt on the fence, back and forth about this album all week, but all-in-all I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t care enough for the CD and its composition on the basis that the lyrics and the music wasn't strong enough the carry the entire album on its own when combined. But hey maybe you will find it enjoyable, you know the saying, “to each is his or her own”, but you’ve been warned, listen at your own risk!

-Liah

Want to get FELT? Go Here.

FELT ME!

If you are a fan of artists such as U2, Eric Clapton, Elton John, and old Classic Rock favorite, Sting & The Police, then most likely you’ll find yourself in tune with this new up and coming Classic Rock Band, “MAR-KZ “.

Their self-titled debut album is one filled with the sounds of uniquely crafted musical compositions and lyrical messages surrounding themes of love, life, and courage that’ll be sure to get your head nodding and your feet tapping one way or the other.

My top 5 “must listen” songs for this CD would have to be track numbers 2 and 3, “Hey Now” and “The Runner”, along with track numbers 5, 7, and 9, “Heaven Take Me Home”, “Streets of Desire”, and “Tonight”. In my perspective, this album is the foreshadowing piece for many great things to come from this group, whether it is music production behind the scenes for other classic rock groups or their own breakthrough success into the world of mainstream music as front running artists.

With this album “MAR-KZ” has introduced themselves to the world as passionate artists, in addition to laying the groundwork for the rest of their career in such an eloquent and positive manner.

-Liah

Feelin Mar-Kz? Check out the band's site!

www.mar-kz.com

To listen their album...go here!!!

Listen, Dammit!

The Len Price 3 definitely have a distinctive sound. Their CD, Pictures, is like The Beatles and The Beach Boys merged into one poppy, rock-like sound. Despite a radio-friendly vibe, unfortunately their sound becomes less and less unique as all of their songs follow the same basic pattern.

The title track “Pictures” does offer some bit of variety as it does have a slight more rock appeal than the other songs. The lyrics are toe tapping and it could be played during sporting events and not be annoying, at least for the first fifty times. “If You Live Around Here” also does contribute some variety due to its darker tone and lyrics. It is less poppy than the other tracks and has more threatening lyrics. “Jack in the Greens” is also slower than the other tracks. That track is of particular note as it offers the listener a more intimate feeling as it is much calmer than the other tracks.

The rest of the tracks, while having commercial appeal, all sound as if they are the same song on repeat. The lyrics are fairly generic and the music contains mostly the same beat and the choruses seem as if they have the same beat. There is little to no variety, which makes listening to the CD all in a row a bore as opposed to a pleasurable experience. The rest of the songs are annoying and overused poppy ballads. The most annoying of these is “The Girl Who Became a Machine” which just repeats the title of the song in the chorus over and over again. Many of the other tracks are similarly bad and sound like bad Smash Mouth music.

My suggestion is to download “Jack in the Greens”, “If You Live Around Here”, and “If You Like It”, Pictures on iTunes. The other tracks you can skip and pick up when Smash Mouth does better versions.

-Justin

Want more Len Prince? Check em out via MySpace!

www.myspace.com/thelenprice3

Still not satisfied? Grab some of their tunes...

http://www.amazon.com/Len-Price-3/e/B001LHTP5M/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel

I’m still half of my prescription in for Relapse by Eminem which was released earlier this year.  Slim Shady decided to re-release his Relapse and give the fans an extra dose of tunes with Refill.  It’s only 7 tracks but the medicine dealt packs a pretty decent punch.

Now let’s go into the history books to look at details of my Shady medicine history. Relapse was given an A- earlier; it was a really good comeback album by Eminem.  Loved most of the tracks and yet even though he was recovering from his drug usage, he was still able to pull off his humor and great flow even without the use of them.  I think I only didn’t like about 2 songs personally, but the majority was a hit…hence the high grade.

With Refill, it’s a little different with this entry. It has the popular mainstreamer “Forever” which I guess is a positive…even though I heard about 567 times already (number of times heard on my iPod).  Anyway, “Hell Breaks Loose” is really the intro to the bonus freebies and it’s pretty good to hear Dr. Dre and Shady spit a few lines.

“Buffalo Bill” is somewhat similar to “Same Song & Dance” from Relapse. Not a bad track, kinda liked this one more than the other slightly.  “Elevator” definitely should be played when your stuck on one; great beat and Eminem’s creativity is shown here regarding a an elevator.  “Taking My Ball” is basically a remix of “Medicine Ball” from Relapse.  I liked it, didn’t love it, but it was alright even though I got the feeling I heard this before.

The best tracks in my opinion is “Music Box” and “Drop The Bomb On”.  Eminem just unleashed his fury and it turned out great on “Drop The Bomb On”; Made me feel like dropping a nuke after listening to it a few times in Modern Warfare 2.

Overall, the new tracks in Refill are nice but not worth buying as an album. I recommend actually buying Refill IF you’re buying the combo featuring Relapse with it.  This was a good preview for Shady fans that are waiting patiently for Relapse 2 to hit the shelves…nothing more, nothing less…this is just preview at best.

Final Grade: B-

Song Radar:

1)      “Drop The Bomb On”

2)      “Music Box”

3)      “Elevator”

Why Can't All Refills Be Like This?

WVCW...your medicine is waiting on Aisle 817.
http://www.wvcw.org

Get your medicine at: http://www.amazon.com/Relapse-Refill-Eminem/dp/B002XTBE8I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1261434866&sr=8-1

She started with fame and now has turned into a monster. Lady Gaga is back with her new album, The Fame Monster, which she focused on the darker sides of fame. Who would have thought the dark side would look and sound so phenomenal!!! The Fame Monster was already released a month earlier but Gaga thought it would be nice to give her fans a 2 CD pack which combines her new album with her awesome debut album, The Fame.

Looking at the newest addition of Gaga, I was very impressed at her new sound and musical maturity. Her biggest change can be seen in “So Happy I Could Die”; when I first listened to it, I was puzzled because it didn’t sound like the energetic, pop-crazed Gaga that I know and love. However, I was hearing a more emotional and darker version of Lady Gaga and I was amazed at how well she pulled it off! “Monster” was really good since it combines her energy with darkness in a very good blend of dance music. Other songs that stood out are “Bad Romance” and “Dance in the Dark”

Lady Gaga does have a collaboration with Beyonce called “Telephone”. Good song and is not a clone of their other collabo “Video Phone”. Two totally different songs, but I like “Telephone” better. The only real complaint that I have is that it’s only 8 tracks…kinda of short to be called an album in my opinion. But overall, this is great addition to the Lady Gaga library…no pokerface used. Go listen to this album, pronto!

Final Grade: A-

Song Radar:
1)” So Happy I Could Die”
2) “Telephone”
3) “Monster”
4) “Bad Romance”
5) “Dance In The Dark”

-Kazie

Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Fame-Monster-Deluxe-Lady-Gaga/dp/B002QGUFWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1260131834&sr=8-1