Reviews Supplemental

19 Aug 2015: DLC
Week 22: Breaking Benjamin (done)
Week 23: Today's first review
Week 24: Blink-182 (done)
Week 25: Today's second review

19 Aug 2015: Third Eye Blind/"Third Eye Blind" (1997)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-ideas-for.html

Third Eye Blind are a much better band than I'd given them credit for previously. I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would.

19 Aug 2015: OK Go/"OK Go" (2002)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/boxing-day-by-rip.html

Spoiler:

don't bother replying

I think you guys need to appreciate what I just did yesterday. I planned out my reviews so I will be completely done with the GH series on the seventeenth of September.
THIS MEANS
My single day off before the next stupid project will be on the best day.

20 Aug 2015: DLC
Week 26: Today's first review
Week 27: Motley Crue (done), The Go-Gos (done), Night Ranger (done)
Week 28: Lynyrd Skynyrd (done)
Week 29: Fall Out Boy (done)
Week 30: The All-American Rejects (no), a "literally who" (no), and today's second review

20 Aug 2015: Flogging Molly/"Float" (2008)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-by-julio-bros.html

I think this band would be better with someone else on vocals. This guy is very close to "nasally". Maybe that's not the word I'm looking for, but he's got a quality to his voice that I find kind of distracting.

20 Aug 2015: Blur/"Leisure" (1991)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-destruction.html

The first track is SO ANNOYING
HOLY SHIT

Bang could have been a good song if it had been sung by, like, anyone else. This guy's voice is so flat and monotone, which really makes his accent sound annoying as fuck. Same goes for There's No Other Way and Fool and Come Together and
They should have just waited and given these songs to Oasis.


I have been wrong about many generalisations of bands I've made after hearing one of their songs in Guitar Hero or Rock Band or whatever.
I can happily say that I was not wrong about Blur. They are terrible. There is absolutely no reason to listen to them over Oasis or Supergrass.

Everyone on RYM compares this album to Pablo Honey, but there are many things wrong with that statement.
1: Radiohead are great, Blur are terrible
2: Pablo Honey is great, Leisure is terrible
3: Why doesn't anyone like Pablo Honey anyway I mean it might not be their BEST album but it's still super-good with a lot of cool songs like Anyone Can Play Guitar and How do You? and Lurgee and You and Blow Out
4: I mean I gave Pablo Honey a 5/5 I really love that album because it's really good I mean it may not be as ambitious as Kid A or OK Computer but that's not really a bad thing is it I mean sometimes it's nice to just listen to something simple and nice
5: Pablo Honey: 5/5
6: Leisure: 0/5
7: Night and day really

12 Aug 2015: DLC
Week 31: Today's first review
Week 32: Black Sabbath (done)
Week 33: Foreigner (done), Lynyrd Skynyrd (done), The Steve Miller Band (done)
Week 34: Two "literally who"s and today's second review

12 Aug 2015: Phoenix/"Alphabetical" (2004)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-best-part-of.html

21 Aug 2015: Snow Patrol/"Eyes Open" (2006)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-common-sense.html

The album had a good thing going until the guest lady on track eight. She is so fucking annoying, holy shit.

The whole thing really trails off at the end. I'm kind of disappointed.

Today is the last day of SNAE. Tomorrow is whatever (I already know what it will be), then we're onto everyone's favourite, Band Hero.

22 Aug 2015: DLC
Week 35: Aerosmith (done)
Week 36: Flash in the pan pop bullshit (no)
Week 37: Stone Temple Pilots (done)
Week 38: Steve Ouimette doing a shitload of national anthems (non-album)
Week 39: Alice Cooper (done)
Week 40: Today's first review
Week 41: Maroon 5 (done), Owl City (no), and Lady Gaga (no)
Week 42: Queen (done)
Week 43: Avenged Sevenfold (done)
Week 44: Today's second review
Week 45: Shinedown (done)
Week 46: The Used (no)
Week 47: Sum 41 (done)
Week 48: Weezer (done)
Week 49: Megadeth (done)
Week 50: A "literally who" (no)
Week 51: Godsmack (done), Papa Roach (done), Faith No More (done), Limp Bizkit (no), Marilyn Manson (no), and a "literally who" (no)

22 Aug 2015: All-Time Low/"So Wrong, It's Right" (2007)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/very-christmas-christmas-by-holy-shit.html

About as generic as 2007-ass punk rock can get. Buy the t-shirt at Hot Topic.
But, hey. If you're going to listen to a generic Hot Topic band, it might as well be this one. It's probably the best one.


Remembering Sunday introduces a chick. Now, contrary to what you're thinking, the chick isn't bad on her own. It's just that the way she and the regular dude sing different lyrics over eachother is really bad + cheesy.

22 Aug 2015: Disturbed/"Indestructible" (2008)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-german-women.html

droppin plates on yo ass
When this album came out, three of its songs were immediately DLC for Rock Band. Guitar Hero had to wait over a year for the privilege.

I don't know how they do it, but Disturbed songs all sound so similar. It's really strange how their songs can all be very distinctly and unmistakably Disturbed, yet all sound exactly the same as eachother.

WAIT
THIS SONG IS INSIDE THE FIRE?
I LEGITIMATELY THOUGHT THIS WAS STRICKEN
You know, the one that goes
da dum
da-da-da-da dum
da-da-da da-da-da-da da da-da da-da da dum

Further reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66gSvNeqevg

23 Aug 2015: The Jeff Beck Group/"Beck-Ola" (1969)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-bramble-patch.html

So, Girl from Mill Valley is pretty pointless, isn't it? I expected self-indulgent instrumentals from Jeff Beck, not the piano guy.
This weird slow jam Jailhouse Rock is really strange, and not in a good way. The piano solo sounds really bad. If they'd just played the entire thing straight, it would have been great. As it sits, it's a bad cover of a great song.

In Plynth, Rod Stewart is too low in the mix. Beck's parts just drown him out.
Then we get to the final track, where it's Beck's turn to have his instrumental. Better than Girl from Mill Valley, at least.


I think the biggest problem here is that Nicky Hopkins guy. His piano-playing is poor in a few songs, and he gets a ridiculously pointless instrumental that adds nothing to the album. Its pointlessness cannot be overstated.
Turn Rod up a bit in the mix and get a new piano man, and you've got an album.


I read that their first album was a "seminal work of heavy metal" (per Wikipedia), though, so I'll probably do that one when I'm done with Band Hero.

23 Aug 2015: Billy Joel/"An Innocent Man"
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-fishnet-by.html

This is an interesting album in concept. Each song is an homage to artists from when Billy Joel was a teenager, plus Bob Marley. I don't know.

The first track is an homage to James Brown, but therein lies the problem. James Brown's biggest strength was his voice, which was absolutely amazing. I'm not saying Billy Joel doesn't have a great voice, but it's completely different from Brown's.
It's not a bad song (it's pretty good actually), but it's hard to get James Brown out of it without reading it.

Spoiler:

To be honest, if I hadn't known, I wouldn't have called the title track an homage to anything. It's not much different from what people think of when they think of Billy Joel songs.
The Longest Time is an absolute classic. One of the best songs. I don't need to qualify that with "of all the times" or "that I've heard". If we are talking about songs, it is one of the best ones.

The whole "Beethoven" thing was worth it for This Night alone.
Tell Her About It is pretty clearly Motown. I'm not the biggest Motown guy, but I've always liked this song a lot.

Uptown Girl is just a good time. You can call it overplayed or whatever the fuck, but it's just a fun song.
I wasn't too sold on Careless Talk at the start, but from around the midpoint onward, I realised how great of a salesman it was.

Christie Lee is an homage to Little Richard. I've never been a fan of Little Richard, so I can't say this song suffers like Easy Money did. I can always appreciate a saxophone.
Leave a Tender Moment Alone is another song where I wouldn't have had a second thought if it were on a "regular" Billy Joel album.

Keeping the Faith closes the album, and is an homage to Bob Marley. The instruments sound like it, but Billy Joel's voice is a bit too distinctively un-Bob Marley. I honestly think this song would have been better as a rock song than a reggae song. Just call it a Rod Stewart tribute or whatever.


This album is kind of strange. With a lot of albums I've listened to, the best tracks bookend the album. Hell, that's what I would do.
However, this album is bookended by the two worst tracks. But the thing is, even though they are easily the worst tracks here, they're still strong enough to keep you listening at the front end, and have you looking back and thinking "that was great" at the back end.
This is without a doubt Billy Joel's best album. Making the entire thing full of musical homages worked beautifully for him, and I'm really satisfied with the end product.

It's not often that I give an album a 5/5 right away. In this wave of reviews, I've done it for exactly eight albums. Four of those were live albums from some of my favourites (T.Rex, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Lynyrd Skynyrd).
The other four were Tupelo Honey, Young Americans, By Request Only, and now An Innocent Man.

In the last wave of reviews, three albums absolutely wowed me from the word "go". Begin Here, Aim and Ignite, and Swing lo Magellan were all absolutely brilliant albums that I was completely on-board with from the start.
Tupelo Honey and By Request Only were just incredibly believable. I knew that Van Morrison and Ken believed what they were saying, and it got my attention.
Young Americans was funky and had some great moments. Even if there was a Godawful cover of Across the Universe, I absolutely loved everything else.

Yes, I'd heard all three of the best songs on An Innocent Man beforehand dozens and dozens of times, but the entire album is great as a package. Billy Joel made me believe that this sort of music was important to him, and actually made me believe this album was created for the love of the art rather than the love of the dollar. It's an absolutely brilliant tribute to music, and I wish more artists would try something like this.

Shame, I really really like Nicky Hopkins (piano guy). First knew I was listening to him when he played with Jefferson Airplane at their woodstock performance and really liked his style. Don't remember what it's called, like Barrel-rocking or something? anyway, lots of chords played quickly and very few single notes, ragtime-y rhythms and stuff.

I think Girl From Mill Valley is a nice & sweet instrumental, but it doesn't really fit on the album and it needs some sort of punch at the end.

Hopkin's Piano solo on Jailhouse Rock is my highlight of the album Granted, I've hardly listened to the original, so this has become my standard by which I judge other jailhouse rocks. Similar to Janis Joplin's Summertime. It's weird how the first time you hear a song, it becomes your own original and everything else becomes a cover. Gotta break out of this mindset

The drumming on the album is also really nice, and Stewart kills it all the time. Jeff Beck definitely takes a back seat on most songs. It's interesting that the group is named after him but he's hardly featured.

I really wish the final song had just finished out rather than having that stupid hard edit just when the song is about to explode.


Also, The Longest Time has always been my favorite Billy Joel song. What a tune.

I thought the piano solo was bad entirely because of the tone. It sounded really strange and out of place.
I do agree about your mindset on covers, though. It's just a shame that most of mine are Wavegroup covers
Or The Beatles, I suppose.

Rod Stewart's vocals weren't bad at all; I just wish they were louder in the mix.


24 Aug 2015: Band Hero
If I do this whole game, it will kill me. I'm going to be suffering enough with the "selections" I've made.
Arranged by career venue in the order you actually play them, per Wikipedia.

24 Aug 2015: Venue One
Albums I've already reviewed:
OK Go/"Oh No" (2005)
David Bowie/"Let's Dance" (1983)

24 Aug 2015: The Turtles/"Happy Together" (1967)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-goodbyes-by.html

I think the drummer might be just a bit too talented for this band. I liked his fills a lot, especially toward the end of She'd Rather be with Me.
Happy Together itself is a great song. It's just a shame that it's the only one of those on this album.

The final track is some strange bullshit where the singer sounds like he's trying to sing opera, and he's not good at it.

24 Aug 2015: Evanescence/"Fallen" (2003)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/yeah-yeah-yeah-by-oh-boy.html

Featuring everyone's favourite, Wake Me Up Inside (Can't Wake Up).
That song would be just whatever if not for the rapper. The rapper makes it hilarious. He really needed to be on every single track here.

Really just an inferior version of Lacuna Coil. This band would be considered the most generic rock band in history if not for the fact that a girl is singing. That automatically makes them famous. I smell a rock and roll hall of fame induction!
The album itself drags on for far too long and I just want it to end. Most of the tracks here seem much too melodramatic.

25 Aug 2015: Venue Two
Albums I've already reviewed:
The Go-Gos/"Beauty and the Beat" (1981)
The Jackson Five/"ABC" (1970)

25 Aug 2015: The Bravery/"The Sun and the Moon" (2007)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/gettin-well-by-syque.html

MUSICALLY DIVERSE

01: Filler intro track
02: U2 song (circa All That You Can't Leave Behind)
03: The Strokes song (circa First Impressions of Earth)
04: Franz Ferdinand song (uptempo)
05: The Bravery song (bad)
06: The Killers song
07: Franz Ferdinand song (downtempo)
08: OK Go song (the you are gone you are gone you are gone bit is ripped from The Explosion's Here I Am)
09: Locksley song (the beginning wants to be Semi-Charmed Life, however)
10: Any given band you would have heard on a pop and/or rock station in 2005/6/7
11: Franz Ferdinand song if Bono were on lead vocals
12: About as boring and generic as you can get

Of course, the "bad" before each statement is implied.

If you're just going to rip off whatever and make generic rock music, you NEED a gimmick. My favourite of this kind of band is Yellowcard, since they had the foresight to do something cool and different and use violins.
MCR don't count because they're O.G. as fuck (they also tended to lean more into the "punk rock" side of the scale, which is nice)

25 Aug 2015: Marvin Gaye/"In the Groove" (1968)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-space-race-by.html

get into the groove
boy you've got to prove
your love to me

I hated What's Going On. I found it boring at times, preachy at others; boring AND preachy at most times.
This album is not that, thankfully.

Putting I Heard it Through the Grapevine in the middle of side one was an interesting choice. Probably a poor one.

re:that sweet album cover
thanks doc

BONUS REVIEW: Queens of the Stone Age/"Songs for the Deaf" (2002) REVISITED
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/life-is-great-by-sucking.html

I need a saga

Songs for the Deaf is a concept album, where the theme is driving around California and tuning into different radio stations. Between tracks, there are DJ intros and suchlike. The opening line of this review is by far the most memorable line they provided.
This is a problem when you want to just listen to a song, because you have to sit through DJ banter to get to it. It's nice when you're listening to the full album, however.
A deluxe edition where you get the "concept album" version on one disc and just the songs on the second would be great.

This album features what I consider the "classic" line-up of the band. Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Dave Grohl, and the other guy. Dave Grohl only played on this album (and isn't, like, an actual member of the band), which is a shame, since he's, like, Dave Grohl. Screaming Trees guy apparently also does lead vocals on a few songs here.
I actually just learned that Josh Homme was actually one of three lead vocalists on this album. I mean, I probably should have known, but this was my first QOTSA album, so I just assumed he was able to do it all. It actually explains Lullabies and Era Vulgaris.
Now that I know it's different people, I can pretty easily tell them apart, however.

If you read the Could be Better entry, there is a track 00 listed. It's some pregap shit that's just "hey look at what we can do".
The album proper begins with Millionaire. This song is the reason I am revisiting this album, this saga. When I first got this album, I didn't enjoy this song because of the screaming vocals (Nick Oliveri's finest hour, I'd say). However, I've grown to really, really like this song recently, so I felt it was worth coming back.

Second is No One Knows, from GH1 and RB3. It was the first of the band's songs I heard, and I'm glad because it's easily in the top three. One of the best guitar parts of its decade for sure.
On its own, I suppose First it Giveth isn't the most interesting song in the world, but I really, really like that acoustic guitar after the chorus.

Now that I know Homme didn't do lead vocals for every track, Song for the Dead (not to be confused with Song for the Deaf; that's later) makes a lot more sense. I like the guitar solo here, but I think the song could do with being a minute or two shorter.
The Sky is Fallin' would be absolutely great if it weren't five-and-a-half minutes long (plus radio outro). It never really goes anywhere that you haven't heard in the first couple of minutes.

Six Shooter is the second (and final) of the screamy songs. It's not as good as Millionaire, but it's a pretty fun time.
Hanging Tree opens with a pretty sweet riff. That's about all I have to say about it. Unlike Song for the Dead (also sung by Screaming Trees guy), this song doesn't overstay its welcome even slightly.

Next is Go with the Flow, which was in RB1. Even though I played RB1 A LOT, I always forget how cool this song is. This is one of those songs that immediately brings RB1 to mind (much like No One Knows brings GH1 to mind), and that just makes me like the song even more.
I have always and will always say that the most important songs in a rhythm game are the ones you hadn't heard beforehand. They're the ones you hear and immediately think of the game in question. That's the reason I haven't listened to any of the new RB4 tracks. I want to associate them with RB4 the way I associate this song with RB1.

Gonna Leave You is next, with Oliveri on vocals for a third time. This time, however, he is not screaming. His harmonies with Homme are really, truly great.
Do it Again (not a Steely Dan cover) is close to achieving the same feel, the same swagger that No One Knows had, but it comes up short. I think it needed just a little more time in the oven (a more distinct guitar riff would do wonders). I like that it's only three minutes long, however.

After that is God is on the Radio, which should have extended the guitar solo, and either ended on a power chord or (I can't believe I'm saying this) faded out during the solo. I hate how it fades out after the guitar solo, then fades back in before a second guitar solo.
I'm well-known for hating fade-outs, but the absolute worst thing is when a song fades out then fades back in. Fuck that shit. NO WAIT The WORST thing is when a song has a false ending THEN fades out. Fuck you, Dave Grohl.

Another Love Song is the final track with Oliveri on lead vocals. He gives a better performance than on Gonna Leave You, and Homme's backing vocals really add another dimension to the song. I like how they kind of blend with the guitar a bit. This song also features some of Grohl's best drumming on the album, I think.
Song for the Deaf is pretty much a perfect finale to the whole thing, I'd say. It's dark-sounding, but it doesn't go overboard. I love Oliveri's bass part here. I wish it were just a bit louder in the mix. HOWEVER, it is definitely one of those songs that works best in context. There's also a reprise of the best song from the last album, Feel Good Hit of the Summer. Great finale, bro.

Except, aw shit, that's not the finale, motherfucker. Mosquito Song is the real ending to the album. On some versions, it's a hidden track. On others, it's just track fourteen. Mosquito Song has always been one of my favourite acoustic tracks. It's so great that they named their next album after a line from it. The piano false ending and then the strings coming in is just 10/10, then that flamenco guitar? Could not be better.

You know, the first time I listened to this, I didn't get it. I knew it had good songs, but I didn't get it. This is one of those albums that is greater than the sum of its parts. Even if you don't like The Sky is Fallin' or God is on the Radio or whatever, who cares? This is what all concept albums should strive to be. It's the Sgt. Pepper of the twenty-first century, and Mosquito Song is its A Day in the Life.
Okay, that might have been going a bit overboard, but you get what I mean.



TOP TRAX:
1: No One Knows
2: Millionaire
3: Mosquito Song
4: Another Love Song
5: Go with the Flow
6: Song for the Deaf

BOOTLEG REVIEW: Queens of the Stone Age/"Demos for the Deaf" (2001)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/06/find-object-by-g-men.html

Looking through RYM, I found this release. It's nothing but demos and alternate versions of songs from Songs for the Deaf.
Why is this exciting, you ask? Well, a few of the things here REALLY stuck out to me.

The first track is just Millionaire with a worse mix. You know, whatever.
With a title like "No One Knows (Orchestral Arrangement)", I was expecting a bit more, um, orchestra. It just kind of comes in during the "I realise you're mine; indeed a fool am I" bit, and it's really jarring. Then the way the orchestra replaces the guitar solo just seems awkward and forced. The worst part is that it just continues into the "heaven smiles above me" bit as if nothing happened. THEN after the final guitar chord, there is a single piano chord for absolutely no reason.

When I saw the title "First it Giveth (Slower Rough Version)", I was, like, "oh great just what we needed". But, really, it kind of is. I don't know what happened, but the very slight decrease in tempo (or maybe the mixing) makes this version actually better.
Hangin' Tree sounds a bit more intense here, which I think might be an improvement. The guitar parts are certainly more distinct.

Go with the Flow is still sweet. Not much more to say there.
Do it Again is still sweet. Not much more to say there.

God is on the Radio has the instruments a lot quieter than the final version. It gives the song a bit of a different sound, but it's still one of the lowlights of the album. Fuck the false ending/fade-out/fade-in/fade-out again.
The tone on the backing vocals of this version of Another Love Song doesn't mesh as well with Oliveri's lead.

It's kind of weird hearing instrumental versions of songs clearly meant to have vocals. Instrumental for the Deaf is pretty neat, though, since you can hear all the different guitar lines clearly without any distractions.
Just like on the album itself, this demo ends with Mosquito Song. Homme's vocals are actually audible during the outro, which I actually don't like. The flamenco guitar is also lower in the mix, which doesn't suit it, since that's what makes the entire thing.



The thing here is that No One Knows arrangement. It's just so like "why" and "what the fuck" and also "why the fuck". Not in a good or funny way, either.

26 Aug 2015: Venue Three
Albums I've already reviewed:
Everclear/"Sparkle and Fade" (1995)
Joan Jett/"Bad Reputation" (1980)

26 Aug 2015: Spice Girls/"Spice" (1996)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/happy-life-by-guys-who-make-watches-for.html

This album features both of their songs I know, Wannabe and Two Become One.
I was a child in the '90s, but I kind of missed the boat on Spice Girls. My earliest musical memories are of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. And Britney Spears, I suppose.

Wannabe is one of the pop classics of the '90s. It's a 10/10 in every single way.
NEVERMIND I KNOW THIS SONG TOO
Say You'll be There is pretty standard fare for late '90s pop groups, but the girls definitely pull it off.

The 1/2/3 opening punch of Wannabe, Say You'll be There, and Two Become One is one of the best of the '90s. Backstreet's Back kind of dwarfs it, but I'm not reviewing their albums right now, so we'll talk about them later.
And if we're being really specific, Nirvana will always hold the top spot, for reasons we are all well aware of.


If I were teaching an album-building class, Last Time Lover would definitely be used as an example of a filler track. It's so textbook, if they'd written one.
Mama is a bit, uh, sappy. I don't think it fits within the context of the album, really. Two Become One is about straight-up boning, then a couple tracks later we're talking about how much we love our mothers. This is also the longest song on the album for some reason.

If You Can't Dance is absolutely horrible.

This album starts off strong, but really peters out in the second half. Shame.

26 Aug 2015: Tonic/"Lemon Parade" (1996)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-not-that-great-of-deal-anyway-by.html

BONUS REVIEW: Jack White/"Lazaretto" (2014) REVISITED
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-hazmat-suit.html

original review:

Last year's Lazaretto was the first album Jack White put out that I have called "bad".
Its title track was confirmed for RB4 a while ago, so I've decided to give it a second chance.

The first track is great until the vocals come in. The "lordy lord" bit is especially bad. This song would make a great instrumental, because it might just be Jack's best guitarwork since Icky Thump.
The title track's vocals are a bit close to rapping, which I think I found off-putting upon first listen. Really, though, the whole song is very Jack White, and I don't get why I wasn't a fan.

When Temporary Ground started, I thought "why didn't I like this? this is pretty good, kind of like something from Get Behind Me Satan". Then the chick came in and I remembered. Jack White can't harmonise, or at least not with this chick. I don't like the chick's voice to begin with, then they both start singing and their voices don't blend at all.
Would You Fight for My Love would be A LOT better if not for the "haunting" backing vocals. The forced grandiosity makes the song seem really pretentious.

According to my first review, High Ball Stepper was the worst track on the album, with a rating of "completely awful". I agree with my assessment. It's probably the most annoying instrumental I've ever heard.
I said in the last review that Three Women was something Jack White would record thirty years into his career, but that title obviously belongs to Just One Drink, and also Alone in My Home.

Entitlement is pretty much a worse version of I'm Lonely.
The opening vocal rhythm of That Black Bat Licorice reminds me of Seven Nation Army. That's not good. The rest is pretty much a worse version of the title track.

Jack White can't pull off the line "I think I found the culprit". Ian Gillan probably could, since he managed "I've got the evidence". The backing vocals here are annoying, as well.
"Who is the who telling who what to do" is still one of the absolute worst lines I've ever heard in any song ever.



All right, this album is still bad. Really bad, for the most part. Glad I got that one out of the way.

27 Aug 2015: Venues Four and Five
Albums I've already reviewed:
Devo/"Freedom of Choice" (1980)

Styx/"Kilroy Was Here" (1983)
Poison/"Open Up and Say... Ahh" (1988)
Yellowcard/"Ocean Avenue" (2003)
Maroon 5/"Songs About Jane" (2002)
Fall Out Boy/"From Under the Cork Tree" (2005)

27 Aug 2015: Ben Harper/"Burn to Shine" (1999)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/finding-life-worth-living-by-goats.html

Track four is eight minutes long for no good reason.
Track seven has some really bad beatboxing.

Overall, this is a very boring album. Nice.

27 Aug 2015: Pat Benatar/"Live from Earth" (1983)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-filler-review.html

The thing about this album is that it's eight live tracks followed by two new studio tracks. One of these studio tracks was the gigantic hit, Love is a Battlefield.
If I'm being honest, I'm not sure how I feel about that strategy. I guess this is close enough to a greatest hits release that no one else would care, really.

The slight increase in speed really helps Hit Me with Your Best Shot.
I really like the big rock ending on Heartbreaker. It would have been a great way to end the album, BUT

Was the cheesy spoken intro on Love is a Battlefield always there? This album should have come with a warning for lactose intolerant people.
Love is a Battlefield is two or three minutes too long. It doesn't feel like it goes anywhere, and just treads the same water for five minutes. It's a classic or whatever, but Benatar has much, much better songs.

This album would have been a 4/5 if it had been just the live part. The studio tracks take off half a star.



But whatever. I'd like to set forth a second rule of music.
Rule one is as follows:
If an artist has a song with the words "Long" "Way" "from" and "Home" in that order in the title, it is their best song.
Examples: Whitesnake, Foreigner, Bran & Friends

Rule two is as follows:
If an artist has a song called "Heartbreaker", it is their best song.
Examples: Pat Benatar, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones

Today is the last day of Band Hero's setlist. My day off, however, isn't until Sunday. You'll see why tomorrow.

28 Aug 2015: The rest of it
Albums I've already reviewed:
Three Doors Down/"Away from the Sun" (2002)
Big Country/"The Crossing" (1983)
Cheap Trick/"At Budokan" (1978)
Katrina and the Waves/"Walking on Sunshine" (1983)



Carl Douglas/"Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs" (1974)
Duran Duran/"Rio" (1982)

K.T. Tunstall/"Eye to the Telescope" (2004)
Papa Roach/"Metamorphosis" (2009)

The Kooks/"Inside In/Inside Out" (2006)

Don McLean/"American Pie" (1971)

28 Aug 2015: Finger Eleven/"Them vs. You vs. Me" (2007)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2015/08/julio-and-case-of-missing-end-of-world.html

Paralyser was a pretty big hit back in '07/'08. It's actually a very good song, and does what it sets out to do very well, both musically and financially.
The mix here on Spotify doesn't sound as full as it does in-game or over the radio. Needs more bass, dog

The rest of the album lacks as much punch as Paralyser. I find it really disappointing when you listen to an album based on the strength of a single and find that the rest of the album is pretty much nothing like the single.

28 Aug 2015: Counting Crows/"Recovering the Satellites" (1996)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/living-it-up-without-care-in-by-men-of.html

After years of being a fan of The Black Crowes, it's hard to type "Crows" without trying to correct myself.


Some bands have a song or two that's supposed to be grand and meaningful and the whole thing builds and is treated like it's the most important song that ever happened. Usually, there is only one of these on an album.
However, this band treated every single song like that. It's kind of annoying.

On any other album, I'm Not Sleeping would have been an absolutely brilliant closer. Here, it's track four and every single track is exactly the same.
I mean, the "rain rain go away" bit is BRILLIANT. Like, the song itself would be a 10/10 if not for the fact that it's track four and every other song is treated with the same importance.

This guy's singing style (treating every word like it's the most important word he's ever said) gets REALLY annoying.

29 Aug 2015: The Nintendo DS version
Oh, yes. While I haven't done GH: On Tour itself yet, Band Hero DS can be seen as the fourth iteration of the subseries. I believe a grand total of zero people played this version.
America and Europe got different versions of this game, but I'm not going to bother distinguishing them. I can barely bring myself to list out the albums.

29 Aug 2015: All of it
Albums I've already reviewed:
Avril Lavigne/"The Best Damn Thing" (2007)
Blink-182/"Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" (2001)
Blur/"Blur" (1997)
Coldplay/"Parachutes" (2000)
Duran Duran/"Rio" (1982)
Eagles of Death Metal/"Heart On" (2008)
Editors/"The Back Room" (2005)
Evanescence/"The Open Door" (2006)
Fall Out Boy/"Infinity on High" (2007)
Foo Fighters/"The Colour and the Shape" (1997)
Gorillaz/"Demon Days" (2005)
Kaiser Chiefs/"Employment" (2005)
Kasabian/"Kasabian" (2004)
Kings of Leon/"Only by the Night" (2008)
K.T. Tunstall/"Eye to the Telescope" (2004)
Lacuna Coil/"Karmacode" (2006)
The Last Shadow Puppets/"The Age of the Understatement" (2008)
Lenny Kravitz/"5" (1998)
Maroon 5/"Songs About Jane" (2002)
Queen/"The Game" (1980)
Queens of the Stone Age/"Songs for the Deaf" (2002)
Spin Doctors/"Pocket Full of Kryptonite" (1991)
Sum 41/"All Filler, No Killer" (2001)
The Killers/"Day and Age" (2008)
The Presidents of the United States of America/"The Presidents of the United States of America" (1995)
The Rolling Stones/"Aftermath" (1966)
The Vines/"Highly Evolved" (2002)
Vampire Weekend/"Vampire Weekend" (2008)
Weezer/"The Red Album" (2008)

29 Aug 2015: Sublime/"Robbin' the Hood" (1994)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2010/07/oh-boy-oh-boy-for-by-boys-for.html

A few years ago, I reviewed Sublime's self-titled. I absolutely love three of the songs on it (What I Got, Santeria, and Seed), but I found the rest to be just filler, apart from maybe Under My Voodoo and the What I Got reprise. Though, if this goes well, I might revisit the album and see if I was actually right.
Robbin' the Hood has a grand total of twenty-three tracks for some fucking reason.


There is A LOT of filler here, but it was apparently intentional. Listen, I don't fucking know. This album is around half an hour too long, but it was designed that way. Heroin's one hell of a drug, I suppose.

I Saw Red has a guest appearance by Gwen Stefani. Unlike usual, her voice actually works on this song.
Lincoln Highway Dub is pretty much a Santeria pre-write. It would eventually turn into a great song.