Alternative Rock music reviews

I officially became a Goo fan when I was 12 and got their CD "Dizzy Up the Girl". I stil remember the moment, driving down 141 with my dad to get a frosty. Johnny's single "I'm Still Here" came on and I told my dad I loved the song. He looked surprised and excited. "That's the Goo Goo Dolls!" My dad was a GGD fanatic and was always talking about them. He started describing all of their other hit singles to me and it turns out I loved them all, I just never knew they were by the same band. That summer we saw them in concert twice.

The second CD I got was A Boy Named Goo, a gift from my dad. I listened to it once, maybe twice and decided I didn't like it. That was when I was 12, my favorite song was "Iris", and I couldn't stand Robby. I'm 16 now and believe that CD may be their best yet. They started off as a goofy punk band with songs like "Up Yours": very immature, bad lyrics, bad music. With each album they've released, they've become more and more mainstream. Their cover single "Give A Little Bit" may be the most mainstream song I've ever heard, period. As much as I dislike grunge punk stuff, I hate really mainstream stuff. This album and A Boy Named Goo are perfectly in between. They've still got the hard guitar, but they've matured and become more serious. Well, Johnny has. That's why I don't hate Robby anymore. In their most recent albums, he offers a hard-rock break from Johnny's mainstream cheesy ballads.

My two favorite Goo songs are "Flat Top" and "On the Lie". "On the Lie" can be found on this album and "Flat Top" on A Boy Named Goo. For any real fan of GGD who appreciates them better than I did when I was twelve, these two albums are must haves.

p.s. I meant to give them 5 stars but it won't let me change my rating now.

This album is a pure power pop masterpiece. Written when the Goo Goo Dolls were virtual unknowns and didn't worry about a "follow-up" single or album. A great leap in songcraft from Jed and Hold Me Up.
I recall first hearing this in 1993 the day it arrived in the mail at college radio station where I worked and wondered how long it would take for these guys to explode. A little over two years later they dropped a Boy Named Goo and the single "Name" just exploded.
The rest is an unfortunate history. Concerned with their place in the music world, the Dolls attempted to catch the fire of "Name"s success and feed us radio-friendly, cross over tracks like "Iris" and "Baby's Black Balloon". Bummer.

SCW is a great mix of songs that these guys wrote for themselves and their fans. Not the A&R guy.

Trading off on lead vocals over the first half of the album tracks, Johnny and Robby set a nice tone for each song. Johnny is the lover and Robby is the fighter. Kinda reminds me of Paul and Gene of Kiss(Sorry).

Standout tracks include...forget it, they're all very strong, if a little repetative by the time you get to "So Far Away". But who listens to complete albums in one sitting anymore? My advice: Listen to 1-7 the first day. Put the CD away. Listen to 8-14 on day two.

Buy this CD if you enjoy well written Pop Rock (Weezer, Green Day, etc). Doubtful you will be disappointed.

First off, I will bluntly say it: I love this album. I bought it in backtrack to get to know some of the Goos' older ablums before their new one was released and was far from disappointed. It is one of my favorite albums of all time. Don't get me wrong, I like their newer albums, too, but I really love this one.

Something about this album just makes me so happy. The music is well played and written and just...wow. I love it. And now, for a few reviews of some of the songs on there.

Fallin' Down is a great way to start off the album. It really gets you into it instantly, with a catchy hooky ("Do you know, where you want to go") and great music all around.

Lucky Star is a song I always enjoy listening to. I always find it interesting to hear Robby, the bass player's, voice because none of his songs make it to the radio. It's almost as if someone's singing you a secret the mainstream hasn't heard. The song wasn't what I thought it would be from my first impression of the title, but I'm quite fond of it now.

Cuz You're Gone is amazing. I love this song. I can just listen to it over and over again. It makes me just ecstatic. There's this one line in it I just adore that sends chills up my back every time I hear it ("Cuz you know that you're so beautiful and so untouchable"). It ends beautifully ("Yeah you're gone and I wish you'd come back"), also.

Girl Right Next To Me is awesome. I can't really describe what I like about it, I guess you'd just have to hear it for yourself to understand.

We Are The Normal is an amazing song. I love how it starts off musically, with soft string instruments for about 30 seconds then out into a full-out guitar rock. The lyrics are wonderful and true and make you think about your place in the world. Just absolutely great.

Stop The World is a good enough song just for the chorus, which is incredibly sweet:
"'Cause I could stop the world, 'cause I loved you
I could stop the world, and I don't want to
I could stop the world, and I won't
'Cause it ain't enough"
I mean, really, what's better than that?

So Far Away is a great closing song, and the Goo Goo Dolls seem to have a talent with this: all of their albums that I've heard (5), they seem to fill that particular place with the best song to fit there. It just fades out so wonderfully. I love it.

By now, you're probably sick of reading all this, but listen to me, this is an excellent album. I cannot stop listening to it, it's wonderful. And something about listening to a lesser-known album is just refreshing and calming. I definitely reccomend this. There is not a single bad song on here.

A lot of people think that Unwritten Law step aside from their "Punk Image" with Elva, but for me this is the album that they kind of broke away from that. That's not to say that is a bad thing. With this CD Unwritten Law cut the strings off and freed themselves from all the "punk rules" to make an AWSOME album. Even though in my heart of hearts I still believe Unwritten Law to be a punk band. It's just with this cd they've evolved BIG TIME! While it does have a lot of punk in it, it also has a lot of metal, New Metal, and the song Lonesome kind of sounds Funk to me, but when all this is rolled together it just makes for some really good Rock N Roll. I can't say that this is their best album because you would have to go a long way to beat Blue Room, but if this album isn't better than Blue Room it's sure as hell is right up there with it. There is such a wide ranch of songs on this cd, and it proves what a talented band Unwritten Law is. You've got everything on this cd, from songs like Cailin (which is a love rock song) to songs like Teenage Suicide (which is a really fast pop punk song). This album was sort of their "transition" album. Which is why I guess it's a self-titled album. And I think the reason they did this was because they didn't want to sound like EVERY other punk band out there that sounds or tries to sound like Green Day's Dookie. A lot of people call Unwritten Law sellouts but to me there is nothing less punk than putting rules on it, but who cares about labels? Personally I don't think Unwritten Law can make a bad album (even though I would say Elva is my least favorite, but I still liked it) but there is just something really special about this album that I can't just put into words. I can honestly say this is one of my fifteen favorite albums of all time. What else can I say other than this is an amazing album from an amazing band, and if you call Unwritten Law "sellouts" then you have one of two problems: You don't know how to think for yourself or you just suck.

This album was the first I bought by these guys and it has proved to be the best. I have since bought Elva, Oz Factor, and Blue room. Blue Room is too garage sounding for my taste. Oz Factor I really enjoy(it kind of has a Green Day sound to it), Elva is good but seems to have too many similar sounding riffs to the songs. This ST album has all the creative elements that make an excellent disk. The songs I really dig are Harmonic, Teenage Suicide, Cailin, Lonesome, and Coffin Text. If you enjoy some upbeat music with some changes of tempo here and there this is the album for you.

Anyone that plays alot of extreme sports games would probably know Unwritten Law if they heard them. One of their most famous songs is one of my favorites, "California Sky". The songs are similar, yet different enough. The slow-paced "Cailin" is also one of my favorites, and I love the hidden track that plays after "Genocide", "418" (it starts at 4:18 into "Genocide"). It is a very catchy, odd song.

Unwritten Law's best cd has to be their self-titled. It has a totally new sound than their older albums, and I would recomend this album before their newest album. All the songs fit together very well, although towards the end they get a little weaker, except for their last two tracks, which are as good as their first songs. A great cd that you don't get tired of, I would recomend this to anyone who listens to Pennywise, Millencolin, or Blink-182.

If Iggy Pop helped, as he has claimed, "to wipe out the 60s," Bob Mould, Grant Hart and Greg Norton then helped to bring it back. That is, this band managed to expand upon the musical/emotional/cathartic possibilities in high speed hardcore by drawing upon 60s (and 70s) psychedelic and hard rock influences. For instance, elsewhere, the band cover such iconic 60s performers as Donovan (Sunshine Superman) and the Byrds (Eight Miles High).

Here, such influences abound. For example, Dreams Reoccurring's psychedelic guitar freak out is followed by the absolute hardcore pounding of the great Indecision Time. Hare Krishna - based on the street chant by the well known western Hindu cult - then combines the hardcore, the psychedelic, and the religious even; just listen to Mould's crazy and unbelievable guitar playing on it. And then, a few cuts later, the song Pride. You can practically envision the band levitating off the floor of the recording studio, and it demands that you turn the volume way up, and maybe blow out a window or two to your house, till your neighbors come over, screaming at you to TURN DOWN THE NOISE. And this you cannot do, as you are caught up in a Husker Du trance. Such is the power of this 1984 masterpiece.

This then was the record that made me a huge fan of this group, and I will always be convienced that this remains one of rock's classic recordings by one of its all time greatest bands. I have mixed feelings about the idea of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but given that it exists to enshrine the greats of rock history, I predict that one day Husker Du will be enshrined there, and deservedly so.

Current day punk bands, I challenge you all to do anything half as raw and intense as this, I absolutely challenge you!

I bought this when it came out in the 80's and was blown away. Why was no one else listening to this? Why wasn't this being played on the radio? Why was everyone else listening to Poison, Motley Crue and the endless parade of hair bands and not Zen Arcade?
To this day, this remains one of those recordings that will always stand the test of time. Mould, Hart and Norton put this out in almost one take and blew away whoever was listening in the music industry(unfortunately not many). Total power from the opening track "Something I Learned Today" to the final mind bending second of "Reoccuring Dreams." Nothing in between disappoints, with standout tracks in Grant Hart's "Pink Turns to Blue" and the legendary "Turn on the News", to Bob Mould's gut wrenching vocals in "Chartered Trips" and "Indecision Time."
"Never talking to You Again" remains a classic, and seeing that Mould and Hart have barely been on speaking terms since the breakup of Husker Du several years after Zen Arcade, was quite prophetic.
1984 is a long time ago, but Zen Arcade sounds just as good as it did when it was released. Pure emotion, excellant songwriting, and some of the most ferocious and disturbing guitar that has ever been recorded has earned this record an esteemed place in rock and roll history.
Husker Du was one of the greatest bands of all time. Their music remains crucial and influenced a string of less talented, but commercially successful, bands in the 90's. To truly appreciate Zen Arcade play the whole CD through, play it loud and feel the power and emotion in what can only be described as a "sonic masterpiece."

Its kind of hard to explain. IN 1984 there was a division. A division between the bands on the radio and the bands touring the country. A division that lead lots of kids to give up on mainstream music and try to be in bands outside the mainstream- damn the consequences. Husker Du along side bands like the minutemen, Black Flag, Flesheaters, DOA, Avengers, Dead Kennedys, and many many more- it became apparent that these overlooked bands we better musicians then the top 40 of the day. Not only could they play there instuments better compare such works as "dancing on the ceiling" (same time period) to "Turn on the news". Which is more relevant now? Someone else mentioned "Our band could be your life" the book-read it now you'll understand. But back then no one sounded like this. Not punk, not heavy metal this was something new. Yes i do admit it, this does sound a bit dated. Still it is required listening to those who would understand the punk/hardcore of the 80's or the 90's the years that "punk broke".

This CD is a fine blend of nice vocals and fine insturmental work. "The Christians and The Pagans" is my favorite holiday song about tolerance and healing and restoring family ties.

I often tell my husband that if I ended up stranded on a deserted island with only one CD, this would be my choice. Each song tells a story with incredible lyrics and intoxicating melodies. Dar Williams is a musical genius!

My daughter introduced me to Dar Williams in the latter 1990s and the "Mortal City" album was my first exposure to her striking music. I enjoyed it immensely and have been a fan ever since. Her folk/pop/rock sound is sophisticated and pleasant. Her songwriting, moreover, is poignant and moving and by far the contribution of Dar Williams that I value most. Sometimes her songs are amusing and sometimes they are moving and sometimes they are both at the same time. The best example of this on "Mortal City" is "The Christians and the Pagans." It tells the story of Pagan relatives visiting for Christmas and how the "Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table/Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able/And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said/Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses." Great stuff! A later line sums it up thusly, "now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning."

Equally enjoyable is "The Pointless, Yet Poignant, Crisis of a Co-Ed," which tells the story of an ill-fated college love affair between Dar Williams and a leader of a hemp liberation group. She confides, that they got so stoned at their meetings that it made it hard to discuss glaucoma. Ultimately she is betrayed by her boyfriend "in the arms of a student against the treacherous use of fur." Hilarious!

But by far my favorite song on this album is "Southern California Wants to Be Western New York." About a week after I first heard this album I had to make a business trip to western New York and I felt like the words of the song became real before my eyes. I thought I was seeing that "part of the country with a land that gently creaks and thuds,/Where the heavy snows make the faucets leak in bathrooms with free-standing tubs./They're in houses that are haunted, with the kids who lie awake and think about/All the generations past who used to use that dripping sink." I'm sure that I ate in Dar's prototypical "diner where the coffee tastes like diesel fuel." But the most evocative image in this song is Dar Williams's line about "lusting after a SUNY student with mousy brown hair who is/Taking out the compost, making coffee in long underwear."

There are many other great songs on this album, including the title cut. I'm less enamored with sentimental ballads such as "This was Pompeii" and "February" than with the faster, more humorous songs, but all are engaging. Enjoy!

I really enjoy listening to the Cowboy Junkies...if you like them, you'll like this CD too.

This is a wonderful record. Its moody and moving. There is great spacing in the production meaning there are lots of places in the mix to hear all of the subtle things going on, it is not over produced. It was recorded live meaning everyone played at once with just an overhead mike. It is record with great soul and feel. all of the songs have their own signature to them even if you have heard them before by other artists.

Cowboy Junkies might not be one of my ten most favorite bands, but this is easily one of my ten favorite albums. I'm a big fan of their others as well, but this one is as perfect as it is consistent. "The Trinity Session" is such a mood setter. I remember seeing the video for "Sweet Jane" on Mtv (yes Mtv), and since that day in 1988 I have listened to this album at least monthly. It's a record you just put on and feel, a record you simply stare out the window with, and an excellent record to fall asleep to. "Misguided Angel" and "Blue Moon Revisited (song for Elvis) were also minor hits, but every other track is as pleasing. One of their collections would also be a good choice, but there's a reason I have "The Trinity Session" on CD, cassette, and vinyl.

I remember this album being greeted to much fanfare when it was released. It even earned a four-star review in Rolling Stone magazine. At the time, it sounded innovative, with all the synth bells and whistles. Thirteen years later, I don't find it to be the PSB masterpiece everyone assumes it is.

Can You Forgive Her, the opening track and first single, fails due to the clash between the narrative lyrics and the heavy synth sound. The song tries to tell a story, but you can't focus on it due to that unfurling wave of pulsating synth. For those old enough to remember, the version they played on the radio was far different, with very (sic) different lyrics.

The next two songs, I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing and Liberation are effervescent, but Neil sings in a higher register, and his naturally nasal sound becomes tinny and bothersome. Honestly, Liberation could have been sung by Kermit the Frog, for all that we know.

There are three stokes of genius on this album. After bouncing up and down during the first third, PSB come back to earth to deliver Dreaming of the Queen. A unique take on the issue of AIDS, this song became a sort of eulogy for Lady Di, who unexpectly was killed in a car crash just four short years later. Of course, Neil and Chris could not have forshadowed her untimely death, but I'm sure the irony has not been lost upon them.

The next gem, The Theatre, succeeds where Can You Forgive Her? fails. The song opens with a flood of synth sound, pulls back for the verse, and comes back for the biting chorus. The Theatre is nothing short of cinematic- I envision a homeless man staring at a poster of a musical, imagining himself onstage, before being snapped back to reality by disdainful theatergoers exiting the building. It's a real shame that a video was not make for the song, although it's probably for the best, since all of the Very videos were experiments in computer graphics.

Finally, Go West is a godsend. It transforms a rather campy song into a bona fide anthem, replete with a brilliant male chorus. Furthermore, it is the pinnacle of the PSB synth sound.

These flashes of brilliance come with some dreadful exercises in excess. What was the reason for the generic arcade hook in Young Offender? To Speak is a Sin, well, is a sin, because a potentially good song is ruined by the lyrics. I've seen enough flaming queens sitting or standing at the bar to want to hear about them in a song.

Say what you will, but Behavior is a far better album, consistently good from start to finish.

When I say pop, I don't mean the packaged bubble gum on the radio today in the form of the Pussycat Dolls or Gwen Stefani, but finely crafted songs designed to appeal to a wide audience. The great thing is, is that the Boys retain intelligence and respectability despite such an obvious attempt to create hits, as they usually seem to do. These are brilliant songs, no question, and virtually every song could have been a hit. The caveat with this disc is that it is hopelessly dated, which is not good if you're trying to appeal to a wide populous programmed to buy the 'new thing'. Don't let the computerized beeps and bops turn you off, as there is a wide array of genius hooks, clever and thought-provoking lyrics, and lush sonic soundscapes to please any true music-lovers ear. It is just completely tragic that mindless songs like 'Don't Cha' get all the hype in North America, while the Pet Shop Boys are ignored.

Dance-pop is a genre that tends to be laughed at by most people, and rightfully so. It's one of those genres that's definitely a guilty pleasure and not for everyone. However, it exists and many people seem to love it, so it's only fair that I check it out myself. So what's so great about "Very"? Several things: Every track is dancy, fun, and clever - the lyrics are also surprisingly good whenthey really shouldn't be. This is essentially dance music, but probably only for, well...I guess the only way I know how to say it is girls or gay men. For those with an open-mind, however, one will notice just how good this really is. The production is simply wonderful in every song - it's unique and recognizably Pet Shop Boys. Every song is pretty complex and interesting to listen to individually. Neil Tennant has an odd voice, yet he somehow manages to be very likable - I certainly think he fits the music well. The album tends to run out of steam by the end, but you won't really mind I think. All of these reasons, it's uniquness in the dance world and the extremely catchy and accessible tune "Can You Forgive Her" earn this a "5". This is basically just for dance-pop enthusiasts, but those with an open-mind should be able to appreciate it to. Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
everything except "Go West"

I remember this album being greeted to much fanfare when it was released. It even earned a four-star review in Rolling Stone magazine. At the time, it sounded innovative, with all the synth bells and whistles. Thirteen years later, I don't find it to be the PSB masterpiece everyone assumes it is.

Can You Forgive Her, the opening track and first single, fails due to the clash between the narrative lyrics and the heavy synth sound. The song tries to tell a story, but you can't focus on it due to that unfurling wave of pulsating synth. For those old enough to remember, the version they played on the radio was far different, with very (sic) different lyrics.

The next two songs, I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing and Liberation are effervescent, but Neil sings in a higher register, and his naturally nasal sound becomes tinny and bothersome. Honestly, Liberation could have been sung by Kermit the Frog, for all that we know.

There are three stokes of genius on this album. After bouncing up and down during the first third, PSB come back to earth to deliver Dreaming of the Queen. A unique take on the issue of AIDS, this song became a sort of eulogy for Lady Di, who unexpectly was killed in a car crash just four short years later. Of course, Neil and Chris could not have forshadowed her untimely death, but I'm sure the irony has not been lost upon them.

The next gem, The Theatre, succeeds where Can You Forgive Her? fails. The song opens with a flood of synth sound, pulls back for the verse, and comes back for the biting chorus. The Theatre is nothing short of cinematic- I envision a homeless man staring at a poster of a musical, imagining himself onstage, before being snapped back to reality by disdainful theatergoers exiting the building. It's a real shame that a video was not make for the song, although it's probably for the best, since all of the Very videos were experiments in computer graphics.

Finally, Go West is a godsend. It transforms a rather campy song into a bona fide anthem, replete with a brilliant male chorus. Furthermore, it is the pinnacle of the PSB synth sound.

These flashes of brilliance come with some dreadful exercises in excess. What was the reason for the generic arcade hook in Young Offender? To Speak is a Sin, well, is a sin, because a potentially good song is ruined by the lyrics. I've seen enough flaming queens sitting or standing at the bar to want to hear about them in a song.

Say what you will, but Behavior is a far better album, consistently good from start to finish.

When I say pop, I don't mean the packaged bubble gum on the radio today in the form of the Pussycat Dolls or Gwen Stefani, but finely crafted songs designed to appeal to a wide audience. The great thing is, is that the Boys retain intelligence and respectability despite such an obvious attempt to create hits, as they usually seem to do. These are brilliant songs, no question, and virtually every song could have been a hit. The caveat with this disc is that it is hopelessly dated, which is not good if you're trying to appeal to a wide populous programmed to buy the 'new thing'. Don't let the computerized beeps and bops turn you off, as there is a wide array of genius hooks, clever and thought-provoking lyrics, and lush sonic soundscapes to please any true music-lovers ear. It is just completely tragic that mindless songs like 'Don't Cha' get all the hype in North America, while the Pet Shop Boys are ignored.

Dance-pop is a genre that tends to be laughed at by most people, and rightfully so. It's one of those genres that's definitely a guilty pleasure and not for everyone. However, it exists and many people seem to love it, so it's only fair that I check it out myself. So what's so great about "Very"? Several things: Every track is dancy, fun, and clever - the lyrics are also surprisingly good whenthey really shouldn't be. This is essentially dance music, but probably only for, well...I guess the only way I know how to say it is girls or gay men. For those with an open-mind, however, one will notice just how good this really is. The production is simply wonderful in every song - it's unique and recognizably Pet Shop Boys. Every song is pretty complex and interesting to listen to individually. Neil Tennant has an odd voice, yet he somehow manages to be very likable - I certainly think he fits the music well. The album tends to run out of steam by the end, but you won't really mind I think. All of these reasons, it's uniquness in the dance world and the extremely catchy and accessible tune "Can You Forgive Her" earn this a "5". This is basically just for dance-pop enthusiasts, but those with an open-mind should be able to appreciate it to. Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
everything except "Go West"

Ok, I've heard all of this band's horrid stuff, and I cannot believe someone ever signed them or allowed them into a studio to defile it! They need to be stopped!!

this girl has said in recent reviews to save your money on real music. like what? american girl is obviously a mainstream whore, only liking what her friends like. she is not worthy of life on earth, let alone breathing our air. ive even seen her once. she is fat and repulsive.

I recently got this cd and I have been listening to it ALOT. I love all of Chad's guitaring, Jess' drumming, and Deron's voice. The cd seems to flow and they have fantastic beats and lyrics. I definitely reccomend this cd to you if you're a CKY fan or not. If you have an appreciation for rock, you'll definitely like this.

We are all pretty familiar with the concept of over-acting. You know, like Al Pacino in Scarface. But is it possible to "over-sing." I think it is, and I'd argue Ani does it in every single song she's ever written. "eaaarggAh! OhheeeeOO!, UyayayayayEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Probably it does the trick if you're PMSing real bad, but as a dude I have a little trouble relating. For a while I thought she had bad lyrics. But then I tried just reading them straight up and realized hey they are totally decent, it's just the vocals that make them tough to stomach. Shakespeare would probably be bad if you said, "the-e-e-ea-a-a- quAAliteee-e-e-e-eEEEEEE of mer cy is not STRAYEEEYYAAAYYEEEAYYEEEAAAAAAnedahugooooh!...." That said, even though they aren't bad perse, they are sort of annoying. I don't like coffee houses, or people who frequent them. Which seems to be sort of the Ani universe. On the other hand, if you like to get an expresso before catching the subway downtown to catch the Innercity Radical Anarchocommunist Existential Collective's screening of their latest short film about transgender intellectual insurgents in the world of independent media publishing in Seattle, where you'll meet a group of girls wearing different colored socks and quirky glasses, and at least one radical photographer named Jeremy, with whom you plan to go backpacking this weekend on a scenic trail where you'll write obsessively about yourself in a journal, all the while missing the amazing plants and animals because you don't know anything about nature except that you hate corporations who want to destroy it, and you're too busy journalling about the flaky dudes you sleep with, plus your parents were hippies and you're exactly like them and not original at all, you'll probably totally dig the vibe here.
On to the positives, Ani is a great guitarist. I dig her style, and wish she was a little more guitar-based and less vocal based, because this is really where she stands out in the singer-songwriter genre. She doesn't just lay down some simple chords, she works the strings, and she has skills. Actually, if she stopped singing, and got someone else to sing while she wrote the music, I think she'd probably be great.

Also, she should get someone else to produce these albums. You have to turn all her albums way up to hear anything but her voice.

If you like her voice though, this would probably be a 5 star album.

I don't know, maybe it's me but I get a little "activism-for-the-sake-of-activism" from this album... Or maybe "shock-value-for-the-sake-of-shock-value"... But that doesn't stop it from being good most of the time.

Unique and fantastic things she does with a guitar.

That is not what i do....

Ani's songs get you thinking about things differently. She's not afraid to tell the other half of it and give you a new perspective.

I love the guitar the lyrics the voice. Ani Rocks.

If you appreciate originality and absolutely hate finding a CD that is 90% filler that should have been left in the recording studio, then do NOT buy this cd. I was incredibly disappointed. I was slogging through this thing for about the fifth time, trying desperately to gain some sort of appreciation for it, and I realized I was rolling my eyes every few minutes-- the lyrics are that bad. There are absolutely a couple of tracks that I enjoy, but ultimately all they do is emphasize that this really isn't an album's worth of music.

My apologies for my strong language in the title but it erks me when music "experts" try to "fix" songs and albums. This is one of the reasons this album sort of disappeared into obscurity. Nonetheless, "5:30..." is a fantastic album because Lennon Murphy's presence is so overpowering. I give this album 4 stars because of three 5-star songs ("Couldn't Breathe," "My Beautiful," and "5:30 Saturday Morning") otherwise I would have had to give it 3 stars. The other songs are good but there is a manufactured feel to them. "5:30..." is the best song on the album because its just Lennon & the piano, no chance for manufacturing here! "My Beautiful" is a great song even though Lennon herself wasn't happy with it. She even remakes it on a future album but, personally, the remake isn't as good. "Couldn't Breathe" is a wonderfully powerful and dynamic song.

Lennon Murphy has shot way up to the top of my personal hit list. I love the hard-driving songs, the touching melodies, the thought-provoking lyrics and the whole package. Solid collection of alternative hard rock classics and slower, heart-touching ballads. Just raw talent in all aspects of her music. She really opens herself up for the world to see in her lyrics helping you to feel her inner rage, emptiness and soul searching. I also saw her open up for "Heart" last year and man she is a great live performer who really knows how to rock the stage.

I am so ready for the next album. Waiting anxiously.