What Do Christian Rock, Trance and K-Pop have in Common?

#56

Switchfoot - Fading West

The album opens with Love Alone Is Worth The Fight. A song that is not bad enough to skip. The second track begins with a lone voice and interesting rhythm. Who We Are is a crisp, uplifting pop ballad. Don't let the counting fool you, this song is in 4/4.

When We Come Alive is a little bit Third Eye Blind and A little bit Imagine Dragons. I stayed with this one until Say It Like You Mean It which kicks in with a truly refreshing groove and production. I would have preferred to hear a whole track that sounded more like the intro to The World You Want rather than the meditative pop anthem that followed.

Ba55 really breaks out and makes the wait worth it with more of that really nice grimy production. A smooth, pulsing intro slowly builds to an emotional vocal and instrumental climax without breaking the bubble. From there, the whole thing kind of limps through the next few songs, finally reaching Back To The Beginning Again which carries the listener through with a familiar 90's power pop sound. There is a lot of derivative pop melodies and production on this record but overall I got the feeling that Switchfoot was trying to push past a personal, artistic boundary. The best songs sound genuine and fought for. The worst sound like Justin Bieber songs done in a slightly gruffer sounding voice.

#55

Markus Shulz - Scream 2

Trance Music. Yes. A Trance album made the chart. Don't ask me how. If you can't handle the stereotypical synths and changes that come with this kind of music, then don't even bother. However, I listened to quite a few of these types of albums and this one has a depth that few dare to cover. There is an emotional and cinematic quality to these tracks that is belied by the boom-chick-boom-chick club production. If you like Trance or don't mind it, Scream 2 is worth your time.

#54

Girl's Generation - Mister, Mister

One of the biggest surprises of this whole thing was finding out that I actually enjoy Korean Girl-Bands. Not in a sarcastic, ironic kind of away either. I actually get an authentic endorphin hit from this music. Weird, I know. Let this be an example of my extreme honesty in this project.

The title track, Mister Mister starts off with a hard hitting distorted bass groove that really got my attention. The singing is superb and the modulations at the end of the song give me goosebumps.

While some of the production sounds a little like R&B covered in cheese, there are quite a few redeeming qualities. The Beach Boys sounding intro to Wait A Minute that transitions into a kik-driven pop tune with a wonderful melody and delicious hooks. The only weak track is the penultimate Back Hug which is balanced out by the extremely well arranged Soul. 

I am curious as to whether and readers of this blog who do not listen to this kind of music will also find themselves falling in love it as well.

Listen to Mister Mister and Soul on Youtube

This is the not the only Korean Girl Band on the chart, either. Stay tuned!

The Top 59 Albums of the First Quarter of 2014

During the 2014 calendar year I embarked on a journey of discovery. I attempted to listen to every record released as according to Wikipedia. Chronologically. Yes, this was as impossible as it sounds. I did manage to make it through the first quarter (Jan - March).

I listened to every song on every album long enough to give it a chance. If I couldn't take it, I would skip through every song looking for something unexpected or interesting and would give that a chance if I found it.

The only way I allowed myself to skip a record was if I couldn't listen to it on Spotify or Youtube. I listened to each album only once and kept a running chart, adding and removing albums on instinct and moving them up and down dynamically while listening.

Once an album was over, it's position was fragile. Albums that had tracks which I found myself drawn back to maintained their positions easier. Epic wars were fought over these chart positions.

In the end, only 59 remain on the chart and this marks the beginning of a series of mostly short blog posts naming the chart positions along with a few thoughts. There was a lot of music I didn't get to. But of what I heard, this is what I liked and why I liked it.

#59

Lea Michele - Louder

I didn't have many notes on this other than I didn't really like it. But there was some subtle pull back to this album that kept it from falling off the chart and eventually I changed my mind. Cannonball starts the album with too much sugar, but there is a hint of Ace of Bass that makes me smile. My wife thinks she sings well and I agree. It turns out, she made her broadway debut at the age of 8 and is a cast member for Glee. So, she can sing. 

While it is hard to hear her pure voice through the production, there is massive depth here. I admit a guilty pleasure of liking a certain hesitation of beat and use of bass/high-freq that comes with the dubstep influenced turn-arounds in On My Way. 

Burn with You begins with a stripped down vocal, but eventually turns into bass drops and furious high-hats and the premise of the song seems vacant halfway through.

Then comes Battlefield, a song to save a record. If you listen to nothing else from this release, do yourself a favor.

Listen on Spotify or Youtube

Ultimately, I was turned off the heavy pop arrangements, but hints of Martin Sexton in the intro of Cue The Rain and Adele like hooks peppered throughout contributed to keeping this on the chart. I find myself looking forward to her next release.


#58

Mya - With Love

This is sex music. It sounds so kitsch as to be immediately forgotten. But the changes are there and so is the voice. This is the other woman singing with Christina Aguilera and Lil' Kim on Lady Marmalade.

#57

The Pixies - EP2

Beginning with the balls out Blue Eyed Hexe, which makes me hungry for the pixies to do an AC/DC cover album, this EP, released without fanfare, delivers the goods. So the Pixies are making music again? I hope so. After the high energy of the intro, Magdelena calls back to the muffled, garage-born, shoe-gazing feel. Greens and Blues is a long sleepy jam, like a slowed down Descendants track. Towards the end you can hear some of the influence that Dave Grohl has honed to perfection. Snakes coasts EP2 into a snarky/poppy ending, The way the chorus pops into existence is jarring perfection.

The whole experience clocks in under 15:00 and if you like this sort of thing, you probably already know about it. But if you haven't heard it, it's available on Youtube and the commenters there have a much more nuanced criticism then I could ever hope to articulate.

Listen on Youtube