album reviews
Reviews of albums old and new from iconic artists and up and coming musicians alike.
Deliberating the Go-Go’s Vacation on its 35th Anniversary
After a six-week run atop Billboard’s 200 album chart with the multi-platinum debut album Beauty and the Beat, all-girl rock group the Go-Go’s hurriedly released the follow-up sophomore effort, Vacation. Echoes of previous singles “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed” could still be heard across radio airwaves when “Vacation” became the band’s third hit single in the summer of ’82. The bubbly title track was the first-ever cassette single and was accompanied by its vivid and playful music video, which revealed the band members hamming it up while pretending to be highly skilled water skiers.
By Eric Allen9 years ago in Beat
Review of Meek Mill's 'Wins And Losses'
Although he's dropped music in between projects, Wins and Losses is Meek Mill's first studio album in two years since his last 2015 Dreams Worth More Than Money. That album did very well, extremely well - debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.
By Sadé Sanchez9 years ago in Beat
#OverloadMondays: Visuals, Projects, News - Oh My!
I know I've been down and out the past few weeks - blame Hov for that - I missed some releases that came out, but the series is back. Tomorrow I'll be covering the Billboard updates on last week's release of Tyler the Creator's Flower Boy and Meek Mill's Wins and Losses. Both albums are amazing and are reported to be neck and neck with sales projections. Well, we'll see how they'll do.
By Sadé Sanchez9 years ago in Beat
Unpacking Jay Z's '4:44'
I'll admit I was both excited and nervous to write this review. I've given quick verbal reviews for people who've asked but it’s been hard for me to sit down and write. For me, it’s overwhelming. Not only is this Jay-Z’s 13th album, but there’s just so much to unpack. The album covers literally (yeah, I’m from Jersey) everything. I can’t mess this up, but I put my nerves to the side and decided to do it. I had to formally review the album, how can I not? So I lived with the album, more so than any other project.
By Sadé Sanchez9 years ago in Beat
The Sex Pistols — A Cheap Holiday in Other People's Misery
A bullet of AURAL TERRORISM. The sound of ANGER and DISILLUSIONMENT. A HAND GRENADE thrown at the MUSIC ESTABLISHMENT. Wait a second. This is just bad rock ‘n’ roll. You lied to me through the medium of canon.
By Sam Flintlock9 years ago in Beat
Worst Rock Albums of All Time. Top Story - July 2017.
Music is an art genre that is very "hit or miss," and nothing proves this better than the music career of legendary artists in the rock industry. Most of the time, when we think of major bands, we think of the great songs they've performed.
By Rowan Marley9 years ago in Beat
Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding used to be one of my two “current” artists. (For those who don’t know, I generally only get really into two bands or artists at once. It used to be Ellie Goulding and Rise Against in my mid teenage years.) That’s because Ellie used to be a good artist. Actually, she might still be a good artist, but she seems to want to hide her talent.
By Daniel Triumph9 years ago in Beat
Why You Need to Listen to GL
Growing up, 80s music was played religiously at home. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy it too much during my younger years. However, towards my later teen years, I really began to realise how crucial this era was for music as a whole. A favourite artist of mine is Paul Hardcastle, who dominated the 80s with tracks such as "19" and "Rainforest." He is the one who made me realise what good music was. The way he could manipulate the synth sound was second to none.
By Duane Louis9 years ago in Beat
Kanye West 'Graduation' Review
Opening Opinion: 9.5 My hype for this album was very high. It’s kind of a hard feeling to describe. I had heard enough singles from the album to know that it was dope. However what wasn’t apparent to me is this going to be his best album, or not. Graduation certainly lives up to that hype….and it’s my favorite rap album ever.
By Matthew Sullivan9 years ago in Beat
Dry the River and Faith
Dry the River was a short lived band. I have yet to run into anyone who knows them, which is disappointing considering just how perfect their album "Shallow Bed" is. I discovered this album a few years ago, however, initially only ever listened to the acoustic version. Finally transitioned to the non-acoustic, and this album as a whole has changed my life.
By Cherith Brook9 years ago in Beat
Kids and Young Adults of the 90s Are Seeing a Musical Rebirth
Those of us who lived our teenage years or young adult years in the 90s have been in a musical drought for quite some time. If your experience has been anything like my own, then in recent years you’ve often complained about the lack of “real music” on the radio these days. Many of us have gotten so tired of mumble rap and one hit R&B wonders, that we’ve retreated into our collective musical shells resorting to coveted playlists of the music we miss so much. What happened to the art of the slow jam, slow dancing in the basement of somebody’s house party under low light? Where did all of the music go that made you want to “Fight The Power” and take it to “the man,” or made it okay for men to tell women that “I’ll Always Love You” without it being called “simpin” or being “thirsty”? If you’re tired of all of the “b*tch,” “ho,” “thot,” and “trick” music, tired of the “popping bottles,” “counting money,” “driving a [insert ridiculously expensive car here]” type of music, then I have some absolutely great news for you. REAL MUSIC IS BACK BABY! If you didn’t already know, these artists have either dropped new music or have promised new music is on the way, YOU GONE LEARN TODAY!
By Kya Cooper9 years ago in Beat
