November 2008 - Muzikal Mafia

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Muzikal Mafia - November 2008

Ludacris-Theater Of Mind Album Review

November 26th 2008 02:06

Release date: November 24, 2008

Genre: Hip hop

Length: 60:16

Label: Disturbing Tha Peace, Def Jam

Ludacris is one of the most underrated lyricist in the rap game and he knows it. That's why Luda doesn't give a chance to the mic on this album – he simply kills it without any pity. One of the most underated lyricism in the rap game. Theater Of The Mind, his sixth studio album, is one of his best yet with guests featurings such as T.I., T-Pain, The Game, Lil' Wayne, Nas, Jay-Z, and much more. It also doesn't disappoint with the beats with great names behind the board such as Don Cannon, DJ Toomp, Swizz Beatz, DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, etc. Almost every song has a different producer attached to it, making every track different.

The album starts with a two-minute Intro.produced by The Runners. Ludacris starts with a fast-spitting track, really tight and really good.

The third single, Undisputed (featuring Lloyd Mayweather), comes up next. This track really shows Ludacris' skills. When you hear the song, it seems like Luda is fighting the song. He shows his rage, but it's well controlled. The beat is simply magnificent.

Undisputed Music Video

Wish You Would (featuring T.I.) is the second single of the album. Some people say this is the song that truly killed the beef between T.I. and Luda. The song hits hard like it's supposed to, the beat was produced by DJ Toomp.

One More Drink (featuring T-Pain) is the club song for the ladies to chill to. Every album needs a banger for the ladies since it brings in more listeners.

The fifth song is Call Up The Homies featuring The Game and Willie Northpole. This song is the type of banger that you can listen to non-stop.

Southern Gangsta (featuring Rick Ross, Playaz Circle and Ving Rhames) is another banger but not as intense as Call Up The Homies. With a title like this, you'd think it would be the South's banger of year, but no, it's just an ordinary song.

Everybody Hates Chris featuring Chris Rock is next. Again, the beat is a nice banger, and Luda doesn't disappoint with the lyrics. There's a good hook which consists of Luda saying "Say f*** you Luda, F*** you Luda" multiple times.

The first single, What Them Girls Like features Chris Brown and Sean Garrett. It's a good choice because the hook was well sung by Chris Brown, and the beat's claps are really great. The beat was really nice with a switch.Chris hard signing and Sean slowly signing.

What Them Girls Like Music Video

The ninth track, Nasty Girl, features Plies. This wasn't a really great song, just plain simple, nothing crazy.

Contagious features Jamie Foxx and is probably one of the worst songs of the album. It's an agonisingly slow song which becomes more and more boring as it goes on.

Last Of A Dying Breed features Lil Wayne. The way they chopped up their sample was really nice. In my opinion, Luda was much better then Wayne on this song. But this track gets annoying if you listen to it too many times.

MVP, produced by the legendary DJ Premier, is a freaking great track though it's not one of his best. Still, Luda just eats this beat up. With Premier's scratches on the chorus, this song doesn't disappoint.

I Do It For Hip Hop (featuring Nas & Jay-Z) has a smooth beat that's perfect for lyricists though the snare was a bit too high for the beat. This is the kind of song that can save hip hop. Nas did a great job on this song, but Jay-Z's voice didn't go well with the beat.

The final track of the record is Do The Right Thang, featuring Common and Spike Lee, and produced by the infamous 9th Wonder. This song is nice but tends to get boring if you listen to it for too long. Compared to other tracks, it's quite ordinary.

So, did the album made the cut? For me, it's a yes. Once again, Ludacris doesn't disappoint. The choices for the singles were perfect, but that doesn't change anything because most of the album was leaked a month before its release. I give it a 8/10, not a 9 because some songs were not worth putting on it. This is definitely in my list of 2008's best albums.

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Posted By: Alain - Category: Rap / Hip Hop

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Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 29 Review

November 24th 2008 05:39

Release date: November 11, 2008

Genre: Pop

Label: Universal

I remember back in my early teenage years, I used to buy the Now That's What I Call Music! series. I hadn't yet discovered the joys of music downloading, and this was a perfect way to have all the chart-topping songs in one place. How the times have changed. I originally wanted to post this review two weeks ago but the pop overdose in this album made me put off this review several times. I just couldn't listen to all these songs in one go. It was way too sugary for me. So, without further ado, here's my review of the 29th edition of the Now! series.

Pop singer Pink gets the first track of the compilation with So What, the first single of her fifth album, Funhouse. The song hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Top 100, making it her first number-one single in the United States. So What isn't that impressive. The juvenile lyrics don't bring any appeal the over-twenty crowd (at least that's what I think). The chorus is the only thing that's close to being good, but the lyrics there are still awful.

Pink - So What (HQ)
Uploaded by wonderful-life1989

Katy Perry follows Pink with Hot N Cold, the second single of her sophomore album, One Of The Boys. Although the song has a singalong chorus, it isn't a great track. Its success in the charts really feels like a follow-up to "I Kissed A Girl." What I mean is, I don't think Hot N Cold would have been as big if "I Kissed A Girl" hadn't succeeded before it.

Katy Perry - Hot N Cold (New) [HQ]
Uploaded by Le-Tour-2Lor

The ever-annoying When I Grow Up from the Pussycat Dolls comes in third. Released as the lead single of their sophomore album, Doll Domination, it's perfect for tween girls, major headache for the rest of us.

THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS - WHEN I GROW UP
Uploaded by The-Pussycat-Dolls

The compilation continues the dance-pop theme with Rihanna's Disturbia which was written by another artist on this compilation, Chris Brown. The song is the third single of Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad Reloaded album, its upbeat tempo reminded me of Kylie Minogue's “Can't Get You Out Of My Head.”

Rihanna - Disturbia
Uploaded by Rihanna

Ne-Yo's Closer comes up next. The track is the first single of his third album, Year Of The Gentleman. It's the first decent song of this record - a smooth dance pop track; not really my style, but I have to find some positives here. But now I'm wondering if it's the video that I really liked rather than the song on its own.

Ne-Yo - Closer
Uploaded by Ne-Yo

R&B sensation Chris Brown follows Ne-Yo with his huge hit titled Forever, the fifth single from his second album, Exclusive. Chris' voice is heavily manipulated with the auto-tune effect here, and the background beat/loop is eerily similar to Justin Timberlake's “SexyBack.”

Chris Brown - Forever
Uploaded by Little_LuLu86

Kardinal Offishall's Dangerous featuring Akon is the seventh track of the compilation and the first single of Kardinal's Not 4 Sale album. This song got some heavy rotation during the summer, becoming the season's unofficial anthem here in Canada. Everywhere you went, you could hear it out of someone's car radio. It has an infectious chorus that will probably stick in your head whether you like it or not. But then, that's usually the case with songs featuring Akon.

Kardinal Offishall feat Akon - Dangerous
Uploaded by davechopsuey

Next up is T.I.'s Whatever You Like. The song was released as the first single for his sixth album Paper Trail (which we reviewed HERE). It seems like ever since T.I. did "My Love" with Justin Timberlake, he figured out there was more money in shallow sugar-filled pop/R&B songs for the ladies and dove right in it. Whatever You Like is a great example of this transformation.

T.I. - Whatever You Like
Uploaded by PeteRock

The rap continues with Got Money from Lil' Wayne featuring T-Pain. The latter's name brings only one thing to mind – auto-tune. As for Lil' Wayne, I really don't like his voice when he raps. He sounds like his lungs are full of blood or something. Got Money is the third single of Lil' Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (reviewed HERE).

Lil Wayne - Got Money
Uploaded by lil-wayne-official

New Zealand's own Savage makes an appearance with the infamous Soulja Boy Tell 'Em on a song called Swing. The version on the compilation is actually a remix of Savage's original song which served as the lead single for his debut album, Moonshine. The original version can be heard during the club scene in the movie Knocked Up. As for the remix, it's quite decent with a nice simple beat... until Soulja Boy comes along and wrecks it.

Put On by Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West is the eleventh track of this CD. The song is the first single of Jeezy's third album, The Recession (reviewed HERE). This song is the prime example of how the use of the auto-tune effect has spread into the music industry like a disease. When Kanye West goes ahead and uses it during his verse, you know that this has gone too far.

Young Jeezy- put on for my city (ft. Kanye West)
Uploaded by BlackAndree

Newcomer Yun Berg continues that trend with his fourth single, The Business (featuring Casha), taken from his debut album Look What You Made Me. The song isn't properly balanced in my mind because Yun's rapping flow is way too fast for the beat and fits only at certain points during the song.

Yung Berg- The Business (Ft. Casha)
Uploaded by youngkingz12

A compilation of chart-topping hits wouldn't be complete without the presence of an American Idol or two. Sixth season winner Jordin Sparks fills that gap with One Step At A Time, the third single of her eponymous debut album. The song reminds me of the bubblegum pop era when Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera, and Jessica Simpson all had a considerable following.

Jordin Sparks - One Step at a Time
Uploaded by nicobou67

Even the Brits get some music time here with Leona Lewis' Better In Time, the second single of her debut album, Spirit. It's a nice piano-driven song which sounds somewhat upbeat thanks to the drum machine.

LEONA LEWIS - BETTER IN TIME (VIDEO)
Uploaded by AcerBen

Rock music finally gets its chance to shine with American band Boys Like Girls. Thunder is the third single from their eponymous debut album. It's a decent rock ballad which sounds like a mix between one-hit wonder band The Calling (remember “Wherever You Will Go?”) and Yellowcard.

Saving Abel's Addicted confirms the trend of rock band catering more and more to the casual/teenage girls crowd. This is bubblegum pop music disguised under edgy-looking dudes who play as a band. Addicted is Saving Abel's debut single. I think it's safe to say that they'll get as much respect as Simple Plan if their sound stays like that.

ADDICTED By Saving Abel
Uploaded by dannik11

A second Idol contestant gets a song on this compilation – Chris Daughtry and his band (called Daughtry) with the seventh single of their debut album, a song called What About Now. The track is pure adult contemporary rock, a great song (which should come as no surprise since it was written by Ben Moody, the mastermind behind Evanescence's “My Immortal,” one of my favorite songs). The Backstreet Boys took this sound when they came back in 2005.

Daughtry - What About Now
Uploaded by Stella78

Matt Nathanson slows things down to a crawl with Come On Get Higher, the second single of his sixth studio album, Some Mad Hope. It's a nice slow song with an acoustic guitar. It reminded me of John Mayer's debut album.

Come On Get Higher Video

Finally, Now! 29 concludes with two country songs, Don't Think I Don't Think About It by Darius Rucker, and I Still Miss You by Keith Anderson. I was surprised to see some real country songs in a pop music compilation. Don't Think I Don't Think About It is the first single of Darius Rucker's second solo album, Learn To Live. It's a guitar-driven song that's way better lyrically than the pop stuff at the beginning of this compilation. I Still Miss You is the second single from Keith Anderson's second album entitled C'mon! Unlike Rucker's song, I Still Miss You is a piano-driven song, but it's also better than all the pop stuff.

Don't Think I Don't Think About It Video

In the end, this issue of the Now! series gets a 2.5/5 from me. It gets better towards the end, hence the .5 but I definitely don't recommend buying it unless you're making a collection or something. You only have to turn on the radio to hear most of these songs, and you can easily download those that are good.

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Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: Pop

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Various Artists - Twilight Soundtrack Review

November 17th 2008 23:21

Release date: November 4, 2008

Genre: Alternative Rock, Punk Rock, Soundtrack

Length: 45:30

Label: Chop Shop / Atlantic Records

I'm going out of my comfort zone this week with something a little bit different – a movie soundtrack. Twilight is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Don't ask me why though, I don't really understand why there's such a big hype for another romantic-fantasy flick – Underworld and Blood & Chocolate both had the same premise with Underworld being the only one of the three not based on a novel. Twilight's soundtrack debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in its first week.

The soundtrack starts with Supermassive Black Hole, the first single from Muse's fourth album, Black Holes And Revelations. It sounded familiar to my ears, like a song out of a commercial or something. Musically, it sounded like a slow version of industrial rock band Celldweller. It's a pretty good track.

Supermassive Black Hole Video

Decode is one of two Paramore tracks on this soundtrack. Released as the first single for Twilight, it's an average track that isn't really memorable.

Decode Video

Electronic duo The Black Ghosts bring some dark flow to the soundtrack with Full Moon. The singing is like a distant echo, and the drum machine brings some kick to the song.

The fourth track is Leave Out All The Rest by rock band Linkin Park. It is the fifth and final single out of their third album, Minutes To Midnight. There's nice continuation here between this track and Full Moon because the drum pattern is almost the same albeit a bit slower on Leave Out All The Rest.

Leave Out All The Rest Video

Spotlight (Twilight Mix) by Mute Math sounds like 70s rock. Its psychedelic flow makes a nice transition to the next track titled Go All The Way (Into The Twilight) – by Perry Farrell – which has a sound a little more on the techno side. Go All The Way is also the soundtrack's second single.

Tremble For My Beloved by Collective Soul is another average track but its lyrics go really well with movie, so it's a nice inclusion.

I Caught Myself is the second song from Paramore. It's much more better than Decode thanks to Hayley Williams' singing which brings a bit of life to the melody.

Eyes On Fire by Blue Foundation, Never Think by Robert Pattinson, and Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine are all guitar-driven songs. Eyes On Fire reminded of Beck's work on Modern Guilt while Never Think is a simple track with only an acoustic guitar accompanying the singer. Finally, Flightless Bird, American Mouth sounds like old-school rock.

Twilight's soundtrack concludes with Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell, a beautiful melody with a piano along with an orchestra. It's more of a score than a song. In fact it's also included on the Twilight Score CD. It feels a bit out of place with all those electronic rock/folk rock tracks.

So, the soundtrack isn't extraordinary, just average. But then again, I'm usually more into movie scores than soundtracks. Twilight's soundtrack is a 3.25/5 for me. The tracks I would recommend are Supermassive Black Hole, Full Moon, Leave Out All The Rest, Eyes On Fire, and Bella's Lullaby.

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