No Music, No Life*

Today I spent a delightful afternoon listening to music at Tower Records. They have listening stations all over the store that let you listen to as much or as little of an album as you want. Some highlights:

Sergio Mendes/Timeless
I currently have one song by Sergio Mendes in my music library and while I certainly like it, I had no idea about how beautiful and interesting his music is. I caught an aural glimpse when I started playing the first track, Mas Que Nada. Unfortunately the Black Eyed Peas starting making noise - ahem, singing. They're a pretty mediocre musical group; fun, at best. They weren't particularly worse than usual but their style didn't particularly complement Sergio Mendes, or vice versa. It sounded like two different events going on, like the Black Eyed Peas were out having fun or messing around on the microphone while Sergio Mendes is playing in the background. It doesn't sound bad, but it doesn't sound good. Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas produced almost every single track on the album, which is too bad. There were a couple of successful collaborations: Berimbau/Consolacao featuring Stevie Wonder, and Timeless, featuring India.Arie. I actually did enjoy listening to this album, but Will.i.am's vocals are featured on at least half of the tracks, which is 50% too many.

Jennifer Lopez/Coma Ama Una Mujer
At first I was wary of Jennifer Lopez's first 'all-Spanish' album. I've found that with artists who speak two languages, they often sound better in the one they originally recorded in. Take Shakira - she sounds waaaay better in Spanish. In English she sings with a pop sound, but in Spanish she is a true rock musician. Or Christina Aguilera - technically the only songs I've heard her sing in Spanish are translations of some of her well-known English songs but given the fact that that seems to be a practice she has discarded, I can't imagine her Spanish album did well either. But back to J. Lo. From what I heard at Tower, this is a good album. She has a strong voice that is actually better accompanied by true guitar music, and not repetitive dancebeat tracks. Que Hiciste is the first single and it's made a pretty strong impression on me. So here's one artist who has actually done better venturing into new language territory.

Timbaland/Shock Value
The first song on the album opens with a sample of Nina Simone's famous track, Sinnerman. I was just like whoa - what is he going to do with this? At first I was unsure about the smash-up that is Oh, Timbaland, but I like it. It's creative, and I love hearing snippets of Nina Simone's strong distinctive voice pop up on a Timbaland based track. The album is really contemporary and he collaborates with his usual buddies - Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, etc, but he also covers new ground working with the Killers, Fall Out Boy, and Elton John. I enjoyed the Killers and Fall Out Boy tracks - their own musical style was apparent, but not in a competitive way; this is the difference between a producer like Timbaland and a producer like Will.i.am. Basically Timbaland knows what he's doing. And one more thing - the track with Elton John BLEW me out of the water. I didn't know what to expect because Elton John has many musical incarnations, but I was rockin out in the store. Foot tapping, head bobbing, body swaying; 2 Man Show is a smooth powerhouse. I didn't listen to every single song, but from what I heard the whole album is most excellent.

Christina Aguilera/Back to Basics
Christina is a vocal powerhouse. I find it unfortunate that in her early days she was often compared to Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and the like; but those days are over. This is a fun album; not the most vocally interesting, but it's important for fun music to also be quality. I've been wanting this album for quite some time so I don't have the first-time-listening perspective, and I don't think I learned anything new about Christina's talent or the albums nuances, but I can say that two really fun songs are Ain't No Other Man, and Candyman.

*Joss Stone*
I'm so excited for her latest album, Introducing Joss Stone, released on March 20th. I listened to snippits in iTunes. Sounds good!

*Gym Class Heroes*
Who are these people? They sound like the musical love child of MC Lars +Blink 182.

Want more musical recommendations? See Let Them Have Music.


*This is the slogan of which music store? Hint: I go there about once a week.