Mumford & Sons Review: Babel

Mumford & Sons

Babel

So I listened to Mumford & Sons’ new album Babel last night. Then I put their first album on just to verify my initial analysis which is that they are extremely similar, only to find I was wrong. They are not only extremely similar, they are the exact same album. I know the fans out there will not heed this warning, but trust me on this, if you’ve heard the first album, you’ve heard the second as well. Almost track for track, you could break this album down into twelve songs filled with a clutter of quickly strummed and openly-tuned guitars, banjos, and a thumping kick drum that sound exactly like the last twelve songs filled with quickly strummed and openly-tuned guitars, banjos, and a thumping kick drum of the last album. If you think that last sentence was redundant you should listen to Babel. Or watch The Hangover 2. Or watch any two Michael Bay movies.

Madonna’s Halftime Show Review

It’s fair to say that there are plenty of overrated things in the entertainment industry. HBO’s Entourage, Michael Bay, the entire clan of Kardashians (not just Kim), and essentially everything in the vein of “Hollywood life” or “Los Angeles culture” all lead the pack in worthless assets to the industry that should make people cringe, and maybe even throw-up in their mouth a little bit. Close behind all of these resides a special spot for the worthlessness of the Super Bowl halftime show. Don’t get me wrong, I love football, and the Super Bowl itself, and all the fun and hype that come along with it. But over the years, the halftime shows have just become a chore to watch. In fact there are really only two non-nudity involved halftime shows that have really ever stood out to me, and last nights performance was actually one of them.

The Big Pink Review: Future This

The Big Pink
Future This

The Big Pink got pretty lucky with the success of their first album A Brief History of Love. For the most part, the album was a boring cluster of filler tracks. The hit single “Dominos” was a huge tent-pole track for the album. Slipping in at the 3-spot, it almost made the first two tracks much more worth-while to listen to. Beginning at track 4, the album began sliding back downhill, and began feeling worthless to continue by the time you made it to the title track. Sonically the album was huge. And to be honest, they did a great job mixing electronica into their pop-rock sound.

Wilco Review Royale: The Whole Love

Wilco
The Whole Love

Over the years I have made an affirmative effort to try to get into certain bands or albums that my friends have raved about.  These efforts have been met with varying degrees of success.  While inorganically force-feeding myself a certain album or band is not the ideal way to begin to enjoy a band, I have learned that it sometimes leads to rewarding results.  Due to my efforts, I fell in love with early Kings of Leon (which has led to crippling disappointment in their more recent work). I also have been able to enjoy a fair amount of Radiohead (when Thom Yorke’s voice is not sodomizing a track).