Alternative Rock music reviews

This is a must-listen. You may not like it, but it is certainly worthy of the praise it gets. I personally don't think it's the "best album ever" but I do think it's better than 95% of music. Even if their songs are a bit simplistic, every song is very very catchy (in a good way).

Sample these tracks above to see just how great this album is: Knowledge, Sound System, Jaded, The Crowd, Unity, One of These Days, Gonna Find You, Bad Town, Aritificial Life, Room Without A Window, Junkies Running Dry, Yelling In My Ear, I Got No.

Energy is, without a doubt, one of the greatest ska/punk albums of all time. Released in 1991, this album shows so much raw emotion. This single album influenced so many well-known bands that you here these days, such as Green Day, Sum 41, and NOFX. Operation Ivy sang about controversial issues such as the East Bay, police, and violence. Every time you listen, you can here the urgent plea of Operation Ivy begging us to unite.

One of the reasons this album is a classic is its musicianship. Simple, yet perfectly arranged guitars from Tim Armstrong (credited as Lint), excellent drumming courtesy of Dave Mello, brilliant bass from Matt Freeman (credited as Matt McCall) and raw, passionate vocals from Jesse Michaels. To some, Energy may be poorly recorded. This is true, but it shows the passion of the band.

Although short-lived, Operation Ivy left a huge mark on modern music as we see it today. This excerpt from "Journey to the End of the East Bay" recorded by Rancid (formed by Tim and Matt after Operation Ivy) tells the story through their perspective. "Started in '87 ended in '89, you got a garage or an amp, we'll play anytime. It was just the four of us, yea the core of us, too much attention unavoidably destroyed us. Four kids on tour three thousand miles in a four door car not knowing what was going. Years it would turn out like this. Hell, no no premonition could have seen for."

THis is such a great CD, 27 amazing songs that will fill anyones needs. Every song is worth listening to. The singing is executed perfectly with such speed and rythym. I wish I couldve seen these guys live, I bet it would have been full of ENERGY, haha indeed.
Fav songs: Here We Go Again, Hoboken, Room Without a Window, Vulnerabilty.
The lyrics are great, very relateable. Buy this CD if you like fast paced punk music with a passion.

Contrary to another review on this page, if you are a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, you are going to love this set. Although I am quite a big Pumpkins fan, I think even non-hardcore fans will like it. Wheather you like the sorrowful splendor of Adore, the more up-beat feeling of Siamese Dream, or just the pure beauty of Mellon Collie, you're going to love this set because it has it all. There's even a bit of almost heavy metal-ness in the song 'Pastichio Medley' which is just 25 minutes of guitar riffs piled into one track. I know how bad that sounds now, but think of it like this: the riffs are like those catchy openings of songs like 'Today', 'Thirty-Three', and 'Here Is No Why', and they sound surprisingly good end-to-end.

The tracks on this set still have that famous Smashing Pumpkins feel to them; I don't find them any less enjoyable than the songs on Mellon Collie or Adore. In fact, a lot of my favorite songs are on here. There's such a great variety: there are beautiful covers songs of The Carrs and The Cure, songs featuring mainly D'arcy and James on vocals, angry songs, sad songs, happy songs....oh, I could go on and on. I have to point out that D'arcy's voice is absolutely amazing on 'Dreaming', as is James's on 'The Boy'. Listen to the samples; I think you'll like what you hear.

And then there's the cost factor. I actually bought mine here on Amazon for $40. It was not new, but was still in mint condition. Listen to the song samples, and if you like them and you can find it for a reasonable price, just go for it. Believe me, you will not regret it. This is truely a beautiful piece of art that I am very passionate about, and I hope you fall in love with it as much as I have.

Smashing Pumpkins......enough said!! NOW BUY EVERYTHING SMASHING PUMPKINS!!! you will NOT regret it!

Okay, first off, yes this is for hardcore Pumpkin fans. But then again, if you're NOT a dihard Pumpkin fan, what are you doing here?

You've heard it all before, blah blah, this is just really a compilation of B-Sides. B-sides not meaning poorly-written songs, just very quickly recorded.

So, that leaves them with a very raw, unfinished and unpolished sound. I personally love the feel you get out of it. I can imagine some people absolutely hating it.

Many people consider The Aeroplane Flies High five singles from Mellon Collie. This is sort of true... Really, averaging around six tracks per CD they're more like EP's than singles. Also, for instance, with Tonight Tonight there were two versions of the single, each with different tracks. The Aeroplane Flies High combines all the tracks together.

One person's review, I believe, complains saying that there are too many CD's and they could have easily fit them all on two cd's instead of five. Now, that's totally true, but there's something MAJOR that makes this box-set really all worth it. Each EP is true to their A-Side. For instance, with Zero all the B-sides are all hard-rock tracks, like "God" and "Mouths of Babes", with 33 you get more quiet subdued tracks like "The Last Song" and "The Bells". This means each EP sounds very well done, rather than just a jumble of tracks everywhere.

It's important to know that if you're ever going to consider buying this you REALLY need to like Billy's voice. Since these weren't given much time Billy didn't bother re-recording parts where he sounds exceptionally awefull. Of course, for me, since for whatever reason I love Billy's horrible whiney voice, it's a treat.

The biggest problem you'll have is not really deciding on whether you'll get it, or even getting the money for it, it's reall all dependant on HOW you'll get it. I reccomend either here, eBay, or Half.com. You'll HAVE to buy it used, so be careful you get all the CD's and everything's in good condition. If you're lucky, you can land a price around $40, if you're unlucky, expect around $70. So, plan around those two numbers.

One could not fathom a darker, bleaker, disturbing, haunting, clouded, doomed album than "Pornography". The opening song, "One Hundred Years" immediately captures the listener and sends them on their way to the catacombs of darkness. As soon as this song starts, I picture a large manor on the top of a hill with a spiral staircase in the very center of the main room and a gray faced dressed in a black tuxedo carrying a tray of stale food, slowly making his way down the staircase with his head staring straight ahead, never looking down, yet somehow remaining perfectly balanced. The man continues his plight, down and down he goes, down and down. He never will make it the the main room above the staircase again. He will try and possibly even get his feet to the second stair from the top, but he will remain trapped in that spiral staircase for eternity.

I have to stop there, because the imagery gets much worse, nearly unbearable. The thoughts and images that form in my mind are far too morbid. They are colder than an ice woven knife sliding down the vein of a warm wrist. If you aren't ready to endure something comparable to what I have described then be wary of purchasing this album. If you believe you are ready, then you are in for an experience like none you have ever had before.

"Pornography" is my second favorite album of all time. In case you were wondering, my favorite album of all time is "Disintegration".

This album is so incredible by every use of its sensual elements within each and every song track. With its unique beat and lyrics, it's everything you would expect from the always pleasing Robert Smith of the Cure. The complex and entrancing approaches will get you in a state of euphoria in which 8 tracks won't seem like enough and you'll find yourself setting your cd player on repeat as you beg for more.

Never has there been an album that one can so easily describe as sounding sinister. You don't have to listen carefully to find this album deeply disturbing. And of course music that can affect a person's pysche this much is masterful and appears rarely. This is my second favorite Cure album after Disintegration but it's really a photo-finish. And I don't even like the title track. But the rest is so strong it doesn't matter. Lyrically, it's another masterpiece of course. Musically, I just love the drums. And everything together just speaks the tone of bleakness and despair.

Best Songs: The Figurehead, A Strange Day, Siamese Twins.
Least Favorite: Pornography, Hanging Garden

i havent actually listened to every single song on this album but from what i have heard, j,lc is fantastic. I love "Not Today" with the most beautiful na-nas I have heard in a while. Cathedrals is sad and perfect, Body parts is good and b-13 is also good.
great cd, you should buy! (like i will ;) )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this album. Having only heard the song "Cathedrals," I decided to take a chance and buy the entire album.
It wasn't a mistake.

The album begins with the -almost- screaming "Not Today," segues into the symphonic "Violent Dreams," which turns into a tongue-in-cheek pop culture jab called "Come Out Clean."
And that's the first three tracks.
Other seemingly out-of-place jems here include the lush "Cathedrals" and the almost beat poetry-esque "Habit."

The whole album has a very "mix tape" kind of feel to it: eclectic and polished all at once.
Personally, I find this is the best of Jump, Little Children's albums. While their "sound" is constantly changing (and becoming more polished and produced-sounding), this is JLC at their most experimental and varied.

Also, I have to say this as a cellist: thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful string work on this album, JLC.

Jump Little Children's style is shown to be fun, and energetic as well as extremely emotional and visceral on this album. The genres (although they do stay true to their unique classically trained/rock sound) switch constantly on this album--between spoken word songs ("body parts" and "habit" which have intriguing sultry vocals), Straight up rock ("Not Today"and "My guitar"), high spirited pop ("Come out clean"), touching and hurt guitar strumming ("close your eyes" and "B13"), and of course the extremely beautiful song "cathedrals" which shows off JLC's training in classical music and takes you on an emotional journey. This album shows that JLC is extremely versatile, and has a nice cross section of what they'd written up to this point. Their music is intelligent, complex, and deeply felt, however they do not accomplish what they do on later albums ("vertigo" and "Between the Dim and the dark") which is a sense of continuity throughout the album. However I would not let this stop you if you are considering buying this album! It is beautiful and extremely easy to get into. Enjoy!

You've got to get this one. Usually cover songs are not that great when sung by other artists, but Annie does all the songs here much justice...great versions of even greater songs. I simply love Whiter Shade of Pale. Annie's got such a soulfully smooth vocal, you just can't help but be hooked from the first song. This one'll be a classic for a long time.

Hello my people. Metamorpho is back to review worthy music for you. If you've been paying attention to this continuing saga, the Dylan review totally depleted all my resources and I had no choice but to check into rehab. I was there too long and madness started to set in. My guides finally showed up to get me out of that place. After detoxing me with vegetable juice and figs, I am ready, once again, to tackle the important business of reflection.
This time out, we have the illustrious Annie Lennox and her excellent offering "Diva". Slim, sleek, mannequin-like, powerful waif Annie. I fell in love with her in the Eurythmics, but with this solo outing she extended her considerable talent into spatial, ethereal musical excursions of soul and introspection. Delving into a compositional pastiche of the spiritual, human angst and yearning. She extends her vision with many colours, like an artist's palette. The pictures she paints here are very considerable indeed.
My buddhist friend Mealy (from California) spoke with me many times over the phone when this was released. He'd be gardening, riding a bicycle, driving his car, at the beach - doing whatever and always telling me he's listening to "Diva". Well people, Metamorpho, although he has a soft spot for humanity in general, could take only so much of this. I had to get it to find out what was so special. And my reaction? It was "Ahhhhh... so this is what he's talking about". I was charmed and totally taken with it. Just as he was.
We begin with a song of considerable impact. "Why" begins with a mournful organ, perfectly matching the vocals and subject matter. It is about a break-up and Annie sings with the voice of one who has been stripped of all defenses and has nothing left. The pain and desperation have been given heart-breaking clarity. It is one of the most incredible songs she has ever done.
The next song extends this theme, except "Walking On Broken Glass", with it's precise, jaunty orchestration underscores the hope within, that, indeed Annie just might get her lover back if they both can move past the pain.
Next up is "Precious" with it's funky, dramatic joy. Annie finds someone who can truly get her out of her prior depression. An uplift for sure. "Legend in My Living Room" has allusions to the Euryhmics as she croons "Have Mercy, Have Mercy On Me". Here, we can peer into her humanity and the price she has paid in emotion, just by living life. She crowns herself the "Queen of Doom". A difficult title that self-honesty brings.
"Cold" is a slow croon revealing how she, at times, feels like a ghost and unworthy to a lover. A great line here, "Dying is easy it's living that scares me to death". Pure genius. Your Metamorpho has felt this way many times. I bet alot of you out there have also. The world can be a very horrible place to face on a day to day basis.
Next up is one of Metamorpho's favorite uplifting and spiritual songs. "Money Can't Buy It" finds the groove and picks you up because the message is so clear. Money, drugs, sex cannot buy happiness. Love is the only way to go. It is such a powerful and clear message. Metamorpho is still astounded that many don't get the news and continue to make things unpleasant for all you right-minded seers out there. Maybe one day. "Little Bird" is a jaunty tune that conveys the need to fly. Annie wants to, but first must deal with fear and lack of confidence.
"Primitive" is an ethereal dirge that portrays the calm after the storm. A stanza worth noting, and dedicated to Mealy who has passed beyond to the joyous heavens:
"For time will catch us with both hands
to blow away like grains of sand
Ashes to ashes rust to dust
This is what becomes of us.."
Diva then starts it's slow descent into healing, "Stay By Me" and "The Gift" slow down into beautiful, sometimes melancholy, conclusions about how we all feel in relationships. Love is a rollercoaster, capable of giving you the highest joys and lowest miseries. In the end, after all the trials, Annie yearns for a clensing, to go out in the rain. She knows this is essential in order to start again, new and refreshed.
"Keep Young and Beautiful" is an old tune. Think I heard it in an old film but just cannot remember. It is ironic that she closes with this because in all these songs she goes so deep to examine her own soul and throws this old tune in as a lark. If you want to be loved, keep young and beautiful. Annie knows, tongue in cheek, that love is far more complex than that.
For people who think, and love good music, this is a fine choice. I recommend this highly!
Finally, this review is dedicated to my friend Mealy. Your steadfast, loyal friendship over the years has no equal in Metamorpho's mind. As you study to be a full-fledged Guide, know that I appreciate the many musical gifts you gave to me over the years - and especially Annie Lennox's "Diva".
May you all delight in your own special musical environments. After this - I may have to go in rehab again. But, it's worth it. Til next time......Love and Elevation of Spirit to All - Your own -Metamorpho

this Cd was great music sounded really terrific!!!!






Sincerely
TS,Mo

This album fundamentally redefined how I listen to music.

The year was 2000 or so, and my musical taste at the time consisted of Wierd Al and whatever heavy rock I could get my hands on. I panned horns and other non-guitar instruments as being boring and passe. I was a little idiot.

And then my friend excitedly sent me an MP3 of a song called Every New Day. I didn't get around to listening to it for a few days, but when I did, I couldn't stop listening. I raced over to Napster and downloaded as much of this band as I could get my hands on. Later I bought this album, along with everything else they produced. Today I listen to music from all different genres, with all sorts of instruments, and it's all Five Iron Frenzy's fault.

THe music is lyrically smart and catchy, and all the players play their parts very well. If I have a complaint, it's that you can't hear Jeff The Girl's sax very much. She blends in too much with the Trombone and Trumpet. I would recommend this album for anyone at all.

Never heard of these guys till 3 days ago, but I had been sung O Canada nearly every night my friend and I attened our hockey games. She finally found the CD and let me borrow it. And man O Canada is AWESOME!

Not only is their music amazing but the lyrics are great, funny when they need to be and just catchy enough to get even not Chrisitian rock band fans into the music.

Love this band already, and can't get O Canada out of my heads (my Canadaian hockey player friends are gonna hate me.... THANKS FIF)

There is no doubt, Every New Day is my favorite song ever written. It has been for the last 4 years, and I expect it will always hold that special place in my heart. Of course, that isn't the only good song on that CD. In fact, this CD probly contains more of my favorite songs than any other 2 CDs. Some of their best! You'll love it!

...this album is terrible compaired to Playmate of the year and Mfzb. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about "waste of mind" blows when compaired to the later two. Maybe its the fact that every other verse, bridge and chorus is either boring, hard to sit thru or both? Maybe its the fact that this album has little to no pop-punk influence, making it an experimental nightmare? Or maybe its that "waste of mind" is just plain not as good as the others. whatever it may be, I know one thing for sure, this album pretty much sucks all the way thru, and was a huge waste of 11.99 plus tax.

High Points: Waste of mind, Big Shot

Low Points: 1-12 (except 5 and 8)

Rock Bottom: Fly Daze and Bootylicious

If you're thinking about getting waste of mind because you liked the other two, BEWARE, this album is nothing like them. If you're just starting out with zeebrahead, get Mfzb (their best) or Playmate of the year (a close second) instead and call it a day. This album is NOT POP-PUNK, its boring...

What can I say I love Zebrahead. From the moment I heard Playmate of the Year by chance, because I was downloading a bunch of obscure punk band songs from the internet, I fell in love with this great experimental band's sound. The Funk/Jazz/Reggae influence just adds so much maturity and diversity to the punk/rock basis of this band. The CD harbors the only song ever made by Zebrahead that I don't love, and that is Fly Daze, but it still makes me chuckle so I don't hate it.

Everything about this CD is great. The fast paced, rap infused Check, the funky, jazzed out solos in The Real Me, Feal This Way, and Someday, and the fast-paced, fun Punk sounds of Get Back and Walk Away, which is also reggae inspired. And honestly I enjoy the solos the aforementioned songs as much as I like Freebird (Although, they obviously aren't the same caliber). And if you don't know what Freebird is you need to listen to some classic rock its by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In a period inundated with rap-rock outfits like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, etc., Waste of Mind still stands out as a shining example of musical ingenuity and originality. The kicker: it was released in 1998, and still feels fresh. Fusing pop melodies, powerful yet intricate guitar riffs, reggae and hip-hop rhythms, and gripping rap vocals, the album never repeats itself and covers a wide range of styles. Try "Someday," "The Real Me," or "Feel This Way" for a few examples of what Zebrahead has to offer, and avoid if possible any preconceptions you may have developed from their later albums. Waste of Mind remains one of the few rap-rock albums in my collection, because it is convincing and legitimate in a genre laden with redundancy and imitation.

Some people are just crazy...There sure are a lot of reviews on here that don't say anything about the quality of the music and not much else, except self-decieving BS. To skip the BS..here is the straight scoop: Modest mouse is a pretty cool band. Some songs sound like flat-out noise and some are really harmonic, especially on other albums like building nothing. Its a good cd not life-changing (as no album is). If you like the style and similar bands, you'll like the album. In a couple years, who knows maybe you'll still like it and throw it in every now and again.
If you are looking for something to mope to in a depressive, self-pitying, stupor or would just like to pretend there is more there than just music, the jibberish and other lyrics will give you plenty to...keep you busy...if sitting on a couch and smoking pot or however you mope, can be considered busy. Some people should just go get a job or go back to school, unless you can trick people into thinking your a genius and can get past the rapture of record companies. Pretty good CD.

..But I love it! It has its weak moments.... Some of the songs can drag on for a long time, and sometimes Isaac's voice isn't up to scratch, but an album doesn't have to perfect to be enjoyed; if you want perfect, I would recommend Red Hot Chili Peppers or something, cause their production is more or less perfect. I, on the other hand, enjoy this album because it ISN'T perfect, because it has it's flaws! One thing I should say about this album is that the tracks skip between such a wide variety of music; it isn't obvious genres but MM seem to be able to gather many different styles together to create sometimes truly original sounds.

My favourite thing about this album has to be the repetitive (but not boring) tracks, like "Convinient Parking" and "Long Distance Drunk", also the female voice is nice in the latter.

My least favourite track isn't actually any of them, it's just the fact that "Truckers Atlas" goes on for too long.

I would reccomend this album over "Good News" because it gives what I think a true representation of Modest Mouse.

Brilliant!

Longesome Crowded West just somehow works. Everyone should have a listen! Polar Opposites is my favorite song of all time.

It's really not that great. When you listen to all the hype that surrounds this from all over, it seems like an avant-garde classic or some piece of absolute genius, but in reality it's just ok. It's not terrible, especially if you like crazy circus music or whatever, but it's just nothing special. And I'm not saying it's bad because it's wierd or out there because I listen to much wierder and crazier music than this (Buckethead, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, etc.) and part of the reason I got this was because it was produced by John Zorn, whose album, Naked City, I highly recomend instead of this, because this is similar to it in a trying-to-be-but-not-quite-as-good sort of way. Give it a listen and get it if you like it, but don't get due to the hype, it's overated.

This album was so far ahead of it's time, it's crazy!
If you don't own a copy of this album, what have you been doing for the past 15 years???

Writing a review for this album is nearly impossible. So, I'm just going to say that this album takes musical psychosis and extreme diversity to whole new heights. Nearly every style of music you can think of is seamlessly wound together into a dizzying collage of sound, and Mike Patton's inhumanly versatile voice never fails to keep up. This album is as dark and disturbing as it is wacky and fun. It's intimidating, uncompromising, and frightening...and you'll love every minute of it.

Definitely check this out. That is, if you're not afraid...

It does not matter for me what people say about Watermark. The Celts is still Enya's masterpiece.

I see the reviews from some that they really seem to hate this cd. That is really to bad. I love it. But I'm the type that likes to have soft beautiful music play low while I work. I have not found any of her work that I don't like. I like my rock and roll but there is a time and place for that music too.

I ordered online via Amazon.com; used One Click for easy and fast check out. CD arrived within five working days.