Some of my co-workers and I started sharing some of our favorite music. We’ve been doing it for a while, but now we’re actually reviewing them and sharing those reviews with one another. So here are the three albums that were suggested to me this week.
A note on how I rate things. One star means I don’t think it qualifies as music. Five stars mean I wish I wrote the thing. Most music for me is a three.
Haim – Days are Gone (2013)
This album was my coworker’s fourth favorite album of last year, which is an admirable feat considering the top three were basically flawless albums in his mind and it was one of his favorite overall years for music in a long time. But not for me. Continue reading →
Some of my co-workers and I started sharing some of our favorite music. We’ve been doing it for a while, but now we’re actually reviewing them and sharing those reviews with one another.
One of my coworkers participates in a contest every year called The 48-Hour Film Project. Essentially, you get a team of writers, actors, cinematographers, etc. together and at a designated time, the people running the contest give the team some parameters. The team then has 48 hours (hence the name) to write, shoot and edit a short film, which is then submitted at the end of those 48 hours. They hold a screening festival at some local theaters and the films are judged. Apparently it’s lots of fun. The point of me telling you all that is to explain why this week we all suggested some of our favorite soundtracks (at that one coworker’s suggestion). There was some debate if we were doing “official score” soundtracks or “music from the motion picture” soundtracks. Mostly, we just decided no “music inspired by the motion picture” soundtracks; the music actually had to be IN the movie.
I put a lot of thought into my suggestion.
Most of the soundtracks in my iTunes library are video game soundtracks, and many are from games I’ve never even played. There are some that are great, like Shadow of the Colossus (which is very atmospheric and good for when you have to do work and don’t want to concentrate too much on what you’re listening to) or Red Dead Redemption (which is great, but a lot of it is the same speed and in the same key, so potentially monotonous). I didn’t share them, but you should check them out.
There are others that I’d like to share, but might be too long for easy consumption. Two of my favourites are 3 hours and 10 hours long. So honorable mentions go out to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Disneyland has a great soundtrack, but like many of the video games, there’s just too much there to practically consume in a short amount of time. So another honorable mention goes to the sounds of Disneyland.
While I could have pull out my favorite tracks from those, I think that would be cheating.
Speaking of cheating, I thought things like Cirque du Soleil‘s Beatles Love would be off-limits, since it’s a show based on already existing songs. And I thought things like That Thing You Do, A Mighty Wind and other movies about music were just kind of cheap picks, but you should check them out.
There were quite a few “score”-type soundtracks, but I couldn’t decide which one to do, so I picked the only one I thought about sharing that was different.
First, here are the four soundtracks that were suggested to me this week. Continue reading →
Some of my co-workers and I started sharing some of our favorite music. We’ve been doing it for a while, but now we’re actually reviewing them and sharing those reviews with one another. So here are the four albums that were suggested to me this week.
A note on how I rate things. One star means I don’t think it qualifies as music. Five stars mean I wish I wrote the thing. Most music for me is a three.
Sting – The Soul Cages (1991)
Sting’s dad died in 1989, and this was him coming to terms with his father’s death. Apparently it’s a concept album that focuses on death, burial, and reconciliation.
I’ve always been a moderate Police/Sting fan, but even objectively this album was pretty darn good. There were two songs that really stood out to me as highlights. Continue reading →
Some of my co-workers and I started sharing some of our favorite music. We’ve been doing it for a while, but now we’re actually reviewing them and sharing those reviews with one another.
This week at work, we’re busy launching a website and writing a magazine, so we haven’t had as much time to listen and review much music. So I suggested we just pic a cover that we think is better than the original.
A note on how I rate things. One star means I don’t think it qualifies as music. Five stars mean I wish I wrote the thing. Most music for me is a three.
Poison’s cover of Loggins & Messina’s Your Mamma Don’t Dance.
My coworker said everything about this song rocks. It was a solid song when it came out “40+ years ago,” but the drums and screaming guitar, not to mention Brett Michaels’ vocals, take this song to a whole new level.
My brother introduced me to Poison when I was a freshman or maybe sophomore in high school. And I’m sure I never knew they covered this song (and I don’t think it’s even been 30 years since they did). But since it’s Poison, I knew exactly what I’m going to get and this song doesn’t disappoint. Continue reading →
Some of my co-workers and I started sharing some of our favorite music. We’ve been doing it for a while, but now we’re actually reviewing them and sharing those reviews with one another. So here are the five albums that were suggested to me this week.
A note on how I rate things. One star means I don’t think it qualifies as music. Five stars mean I wish I wrote the thing. Most music for me is a three.
Jamestown Revival – Utah (2014)
Before you listen to this album, check out this 10-minute video on how the album was made. It’ll also give you a taste of their music (as it’s featured in the background):
Haim – Days are Gone (2013)
Sting – The Soul Cages (1991)
Poison’s cover of Loggins & Messina’s Your Mamma Don’t Dance.
An American Audio-logue 