3. May 2010 by Samldanach.

Have you ever heard of Delain? Neither have I. I think this is one of the albums iTunes Genius recommended to Sonya. I am decidedly not upset by this. I’m not exactly sure what in Sonya’s tastes Genius twigged to, but it has recommended a series of singers like this.

Delain has a sound that I associate with Evanescence. Female singer with a strong yet somehow ethereal voice. Strong, hard rock backing her up. I get the sense of Celtic and goth influences, but I certainly wouldn’t put it in either category. There probably is a category for it, and I just don’t know what the name is. Ah, according to the reviewers on Amazon, it is called “Symphonic Metal.” Which is apparently either an outgrowth of goth, or a subgenre. I don’t get music categories as a rule, so I will take their word for it.

I really, really like this album. I think I may have to look for more of this symphonic metal stuff.

“Control the Storm” is an excellent track. It features a male voice doing a duet with the lead singer. Something about the composition, or perhaps just the male voice itself, really puts me in mind of the Jekyll and Hyde soundtrack. It is one of those songs that makes me want to create a PC around it.

I also like “Start Swimming,” though I have a niggling suspicion it might not hold up to multiple listenings. There are just a bunch of good sounds mixed together in it, and a good strong push of energy running through it. It’s a great “pump me up” track.

“Nothing Left” also has a modern Broadway feeling, like “Control the Storm.” Though, actually, I feel more like this would be a feature track on Buffy or something of the like. Great, strong emotion in there. And just some darn good music.

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3. May 2010 by Samldanach.

I don’t like Guns n Roses. I am now prepared to be burned as a heretic.

Honestly, though, GnR doesn’t really do it for me. OK, yeah, I rock out to “Welcome to the Jungle,” and whistle along to “Patience.” And, no one can deny the power of Slash’s guitar solos, especially on “November Rain.” But, as a rule, I don’t like it.

Appetite for Destruction is not a bad album. I’m sure that if you like GnR, it’s probably even a good album. Though, personally, I see it as a pretty generic hair metal album. That could easily be Motley Crue or even Great White. Again, not bad. But, pretty thoroughly forgettable.

There are a couple exceptions to that evaluation. “Mr. Brownstone” is pretty classic GnR, and really highlights their particular sound. I have to admit that, objectively, it’s probably a pretty good song. Axl does a great job with the vocals, really demonstrating his range. But, the general tone and subject of the song makes my buttons twitch. I can’t help but feel that it promotes heroin use, even as it purportedly shows the bad side of it.

Then, of course, there’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” I have a love-hate relationship with this song. I actually really like a lot of the guitar work on the song. And, it has serious nostalgia value. But, if I stop to think about it, it annoys the heck out of me. It is not one of the better songs for Axl’s voice, and it really grates on me. I will frequently find myself cranking the song up when it comes on the radio, only to stop and wonder why by the time it gets to the end of the song. It’s like one of those songs that you like, but gets easily overplayed. Except that it gets overplayed before you even finish hearing it the first time. Or maybe it just stays overplayed, and I never go long enough between hearing it to get it out of my system.

“You’re Crazy” is a good, strong, hair metal song. I could easily have seen it on the Heavy Metal soundtrack. It’s not spectacular, but it is good.

Otherwise, the album ranges from “nah” all the way up to “meh.”

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3. May 2010 by Samldanach.

Just the single “Don’t Do Me Like That.”

I really like this song. Tom Petty’s stuff tends to be a bit hit or miss for me. Some of it is way too drugged out and mellow. Some of it is incomprehensible. Some of it rocks on toast. This song is close to that last category.

The song seems, to me, to have a lot of ’50’s rockabilly influence. Actual rockabilly tends to leave me cold, oddly enough. Because the stuff influenced by rockabilly tends to really groove me the right way. “Don’t Do Me Like That” does me like that. It’s just a happy, bouncy song.

Yeah, I don’t really listen to the lyrics. That would spoil the mood, I think.

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28. April 2010 by Samldanach.

I like Annie Lennox. I don’t love her. Specifically, she is a bit too diva-tastic for me. And, most of her songs do not bear up to repeated listening (I got so, so sick of “Walking on Broken Glass” when it first came out). Which is one of the reasons the iPod totally rocks. When she comes up in shuffle, I am extremely pleased. However, I don’t have to choose between listening to her over and over or moving my lazy butt to change the CD.

As a collection of some of her greatest stuff, this album, obviously, rocks on toast. When your greatest hits album fails to rock on toast, you have some severe issues. Probably delusions too. Lennox may have delusions and issues, but she also has a fantastic voice.

Let’s hit some highlights, shall we?

“Walking on Broken Glass” - OK, despite my above complaint, I actually like this song. But, I have to be in the right mood for it. If it comes on the radio at the wrong time, it makes me twitch. Maybe I have Clear Channel induced PTSD? I dunno. Anyway, you probably know this song. My analysis here would be wasted.

“Why” - IMHO, one of Lennox’ most beautiful songs. She can make an entire chorus out of that one word. The verses have a nice bell-like quality to them that I also really like. Does anyone else hear the bell quality? Or is this like Giada’s lemony basil thing? (I should probably explain that question. But I won’t. Unless you ask nicely.)

“No More ‘I Love You’s” - Aside from being one of her most difficult titles to punctuate, this is also a quirky song. Much like “Broken Glass,” I sometimes like it. I want to delve into it and find out what’s going on beneath the surface. But, when I get there, I just find a different surface. The song isn’t about what the song is about. But I can’t figure out what it is about. If you find out, could you tell me?

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” - Right up there with “Why” for beauty. I actually didn’t know that this was Lennox until I listened to this album for the first time. It’s one of the few songs I can listen to several times before I get tired of it.

“Into the West” - This is the song from the end of Lord of the Rings. I seem to recall there being some vague nerdrage about it at the time? Or maybe nerdvana? Maybe both, with a battle for the fate of Middle Earth in the balance? Whatever. I think it’s a good song, that fits the elves. I don’t think it’s a great song. Meh.

“Everybody Hurts” - This one took me completely by surprise. This is a cover of the R.E.M. hit, and a duet with Alicia Keys. Amazingly enough, it starts as a fairly faithful cover, and very well done. It ends up becoming a soul song with the two of them going off into what sounds like extemporaneous riffs. It is good? Yes? Yes. But, it is a strange take on the original material.

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28. April 2010 by Samldanach.

I don’t, as a rule, particularly care for the Italian tenors. As I mentioned in my Clannad review, I generally need to be able to understand the lyrics (and my Italian isn’t anywhere near that good yet). My in-laws are big fans of Bocelli, though, and several other tenors. I don’t recall if this album was a gift, or if it was one that Sonya got to satisfy her occasional taste for the style.

That said, I have to give the man his due. He can sing. For my money, I still prefer Josh Groban. There’s something about Bocelli where he sounds like he’s pushing the sound too much. That’s a lot like nit-picking da Vinci for using too many dark colors. But, it’s still a nit. And, in this case, one that keeps him out of first place.

I don’t have any particular tracks on this album to call out, either for the good or the bad. In this case, it isn’t so much that they blend together. It’s just that they all hit the same button. Technically amazing. Italian operatic style. No idea what the lyrics are. At that point, while one may be different from the other, I can’t draw any helpful distinctions between them.

(And, so that the record is 100% complete and faithful, I must admit that I actually skipped this album and the other tenors when I was listening to my entire iPod the first time through. I will now hang my head in shame.)

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28. April 2010 by Samldanach.

As much as this might surprise you, this is Enya’s Christmas album. Well, Christmas and a general celebration of winter.

Like most Enya albums, this one is very soft and very melodic.  It really wasn’t a good choice to listen to while trying to get work done.    She has a beautiful voice, though, and I love listening to her when I don’t need much in the way of energy.

The album happens to contain my second favorite Christmas carol, “O Come O Come Emmanuel.”  She does a really wonderful job with it, which surprised me a bit.  It really calls for a deeper, richer than voice than she is known for.  It wasn’t the best version I’ve heard, but it was very nice.

Nice.  Yes, that’s a good word.  The album is nice.  It speaks to you of all the lovely and treasured things of the Yuletide season, without distressing you with any of the nasty unpleasant bits of the cold and the wet.

If you happen to really like Enya, or really like unusual Christmas music, I would very much recommend this album.  If you don’t, then I don’t think it has anything in particular to draw you in.  There are other Enya albums (such as her breakthrough hit Watermark) that are better introductions to her style.  There are also better albums of Celtic Christmas music.  (And trust me, we have a few of those.)

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28. April 2010 by Samldanach.

Like many people of my age and social class, this album included my first exposure to Metallica outside of cheap ripped t-shirts worn by guys that I didn’t exactly want to emulate. That exposure, of course, was the brilliant video for “One” on MTV. I wasn’t even that enamored of the song, but the video was so compelling. If we have any readers here who missed it, go look around YouTube. It’s probably out there, despite Lars’ keen interest in copyright.

Metallica’s self-titled “black” album is one of my favorite albums of all time. But, I also really feel that they peaked with it. I’m not crazy about Master of Puppets. I’m also not crazy about Load (or ReLoad). This album manages to convey some of the promise of the black album, but is still just a bit too raw around the edges to perfectly click for me.

Despite the fact that “One” is the signature track of the album, I actually prefer the title track. Some great guitar work, and the signature Metallica punch on the chorus. “Harvester of Sorrow” is also very solid, foreshadowing tracks such as “Unforgiven.” “To Live is To Die” is great to listen to, but isn’t exactly typical Metallica. It sounds like they were experimenting a bit. The song works, but I think they decided the style was a bit outside their wheelhouse. (Because I can totally see James Hetfield talking about his wheelhouse.)

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28. April 2010 by Samldanach.

So, I signed up for an Amazon Affiliate account today.  That means that if you, gentle reader, click on the embedded Amazon links in the iPod posts, I earn credits.  If you buy the stuff you click on, I earn more credits.  If I earn enough credits, one day I can become a real boy!  Um, wait, no.  I think I was reading the wrong bit there.  Ah, if I earn enough credits, I can eventually buy more stuff from Amazon for myself.  Giggity.  (How is it that I frequently end up quoting TV shows I’ve never even seen?)

But, there you have it.  I have, in one swell foop, both monetized this blog and improved the utility of these posts.

Oh, look, it’s my wishlist!

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27. April 2010 by Samldanach.

Ah, I love Clannad.  My favorite album is Legend, because that is how I discovered them.  I need to get more Clannad.  Looking at their Wikipedia page, I only have a small fraction of their albums.  That’s very probably a damned shame, if not an outright crime.

Sorry.  I happened to be on tech support with Ireland today, in between listening to Clannad.  It seems to be affecting my speech.

Given that my first love is Legend, it’s no wonder that my favorite track is “Theme from Harry’s Game.”  It’s a very similar sound.

Of course, given that so much of their stuff is in Gaelic, it’s very hard for me to sing along to.  Or to really reference.  It’s odd that I usually really don’t like music where I can’t understand the lyrics.  But Gaelic music doesn’t provoke that response in me.  No idea why.  Pretty much the only other music I’ve listened to that I don’t care that I don’t know what the lyrics are saying is Rammstein.  Is there a connection?  Hmm, doubtful…

When it comes to singing along,  “Why Worry?” is my favorite.  It’s a beautiful song, with a nice message (not quite as simple as the title would suggest).

Who am I kidding?  I love it all.  the whole album.  Perhaps my only complaint is that I have trouble putting Clannad on repeat and just letting it go.  After a while, I get tired of it.  The bits and pieces that are so different from American pop music, the very bits and pieces that I love it for, start to irritate rather than inspire.  I don’t know, maybe it just doesn’t match my biorhythms or something.  Or maybe that’s one of those signs that we can always date, but can never marry…

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27. April 2010 by Samldanach.

This is the original.  Not the Lenny Kravitz travesty.

This is also just the single.  Well, two versions of the single.  One is the original, and the second is digitally remastered.  You know, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard an original and a remastered back-to-back like that.  While I wouldn’t be able to pick out which was which if I only heard one, hearing them together points out some startling differences.  This digital remastering thing just might catch on!

I do like this song.  It’s not one of my favorites.  Most of the ’70’s rock is just not my “groove.”  I’m also not sure I’m crazy about what it’s actually saying.  It paints all American women as gold-digging groupies (and possibly crazy).  Or at least says that’s typical of them.  Obviously, I’m going to disagree with that assertion.  But, are the finer points of stating “in my experience, the American women I’ve encountered as a rock star are remarkably more likely to be gold-digging groupies, though I’m quite sure most of you are simply lovely in other settings” really worth calling out in a rock song?  Make your point, make it viscerally, and, necessarily, make it simply.  Hair-splitting is best left as interview fodder.

This is a fantastic song to sing along, to, though.  It’s especially a great driving song.  Great beat, simple lyrics, evocative emotions.  It has all the necessary components to, as they say, rock.  Possibly even rock out.  With your rooster out?  Something like that.

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