Album Of The Week: United States Of Horror by Ho99o9

I can’t believe that Halloween is tomorrow which means that Eddie’s 31 Days of Halloween officially comes to an end. So for the whole month of October, I wanted to keep things fresh with different artists and I thought we did a great job of that, but now it’s time to introduce some fresh blood to the blog. The group that I chose for today comes all the way from New Jersey and they have toured The US and Europe with the likes of Alice In Chains, Korn, Underoath, Prophets Of Rage, Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, The Dillinger Escape Plan, 3Teeth, and so many more. I am talking about Hardcore Hip Hop, Horrorcore, Trap Metal, geniuses Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror). The group is made up of theOGM, Eaddy, and Brandon Pertzborn who formed the group in 2012 who has cited DMX, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and White Zombie (Rob Zombie) as some of their influences when it comes to music. After one mixtape and two EP’s, the band would release their debut album United States Of Horror on May 5, 2017 via Deathkult Records. I discovered the group all thanks to Corey Taylor of Slipknot and his Halloween playlist as he included the group on the list among others. The album was listed at number 38 on Loud & Quiet’s Top 40 Albums of 2017 list while Kerrang! listed it at number 40 on their Kerrang!’s Albums of 2017 list.

1. U.S.H.- An intro track that is basically a little girl saying the groups version of the Pledge Of Allegiance. 4/5

2. War Is Hell– a techno like trap music that is all about how the group go against the grain and establishment and they are unapologetic about it. 4.5/5

3. Street Power– a track that mixes elements of Punk Rock along with the trap/hip hop sound and it works very well in this song all about the people taking the streets back. 4.5/5

4. Face Tatt– a track that would make The Prodigy with it’s Firestarter like sound and the songs is as chaotic as the lyrics are. 4/5

5. When Death Calls– an interlude or intro that is just weird with a woman I think saying the title of the track. 4/5

6. Bleed War– a bad ass track that has a little bit of Nu Metal feel to it with a little bit of an industrial/punk feel. I think the track is all about how politicians sell your soul for war. 5/5

7. Moneymachine– The track is very eerie in the beginning and it carries an element of that throughout the track with that electronic hip hop sound in this track about how money talks. 4/5

8. Splash– a horrorcore track at heart through and through in this song that is all about living it up and don’t worry about the other stuff. 4.5/5

9. Knuckle Up– another industrial rap/rock track that is one of my favorite tracks on this album cause it’s high energy and packs a hell of a punch in this pump up track. 5/5

10. Dekay-another industrial electronic punk track that I have no idea what he is saying in this track 4/5

11. Sub-Zer0– a punk rock track that showcases how different these guys can be if they want to and how broad their music horizons are. 5/5

12. Feels Like…– Another interlude on the record 4/5

13. City Rejects– Another punk rock song that kicks ass on the album that has a little of a Sex Pistols flair to it attitude wise. I think it’s a track about the underground scene. 4.5/5

14. Hydrolics-a trap song and all he wants is hydraulics on his ride. 4/5

15. New Jersey Devil-a Motorhead like punk song that all of a sudden slows down during the verse before it picks up again with some fury. I believe he’s talking about the streets of Jersey and how it can be war on the streets. There is this intense moment with some heavy drums and bass that kicks ass. 5/5

16. United States of Horror– The title track is more of a industrial rap/metal track in this track all about the bad boys rising up and taking over. 4.5/5

17. Blaqq Hole-The last track on the album and it starts off very weirdly almost like you are in a horror film. It’s more of a long outro that ends the album. 4/5

My Final Thoughts– These guys are super creative and I love how they mix so many styles that we already know work well with each other. I love the infusion of Industrial, Punk, Metal, Trap, Electronic, and so many more. They have since released two more EP’s, but I am definitely looking forward to a second album. Check out this album, I am giving it 4.4 stars out of 5 for a final grade.

Album Of The Week: amo by Bring Me The Horizon

Usually, I do not like to cover new albums until after the Monster Entertainment Awards, but I have been pretty pumped about an album that came out in early 2019. Bring Me The Horizon is an English rock band that is made up of Oliver Sykes (Vocals, Producer), Lee Malia (Guitars), Jordan Fish (programming, keyboards, backing vocals, producer), Matt Kean (Bass), Matt Nicholls (Drums) and on January 25, 2019  they released their sixth studio album amo. amo is a fry cry from previous releases as the album is very experimental and according to Sykes is a concept album about love, “amo is a love album that explores every aspect of that most powerful emotion. […] It deals with the good the bad and the ugly, and as a result we’ve created an album that’s more experimental, more varied, weird, and wonderful than anything we’ve done before.” According to several sources here are all the genres this album is described as having, “pop rock, electronic rock, electropop, synth-pop, EDM, alternative rock, electronica, hard rock, and pop, hip hop, and trap.” The album was a success for the guys with many comparing their evolution to that of U2’s and the band peaked at number one on the UK charts (it also went #1 in Scotland and Australia) while peaking at number 14 on the Us Billboard Top 200 Charts.

1. I Apologise If You Feel Something– The opening track on this album that is a journey into love and heartbreak. A very electro pop track that is really an intro for the album as he tells you to not be scared because love is all we have. 4/5

2. MANTRA-a hard rock/elctro rock song that Sykes says was inspired by a documentary he watched about controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. He says, “As I was watching it and trying to write lyrics at the same time, I was drawing these similarities to cults and love. Starting a relationship – especially a marriage – is like starting a cult, a small two-man cult, because you have to give yourself over completely to this person, you have to trust them, you have to love them unconditionally … so that’s where the thinking behind the song came from.” 5/5

3. Nihilist Blues– Jordan Fish talked about this Synth-pop/EDM inspired track saying, “This is an example of us really going for it on this record. It’s like this dark rave song or something—it’s absolutely mental, and it might be my favourite on the whole album. I’m sure people will hear it and go, “What the fuck?” but whatever. It’s very different in sound for us. We’re big fans of Grimes and she loved the song. She actually sent it back with all these added elements which we weren’t expecting, but she’s super-creative and she’d completely gone to town on it. That elevated the song to a whole new level. She’s someone we respect, and not really someone you’d expect to find working with a metal band. Or a rock band. Or whatever it is we are…” The track features Canadian singer Grimes as well.  5/5

4. In The Dark– This is personally one of my favorite tracks on the album that has more of that Synth-pop mixed a little bit with some electro-rock. The track talks about being left in the dark about things from your significant other even though they don’t care what happens to you. 5/5

5. Wonderful Life– a Nu-Metal styled track featuring Cradle Of Filth singer Dani Filth. Sykes talks about the lyrics saying, “The lyrics for ‘Wonderful Life’ were done freestyle in the studio. It’s stream of consciousness-type stuff about getting old and out of touch, being off tour and loving the mundane things in life, I guess because it’s so novel when your life is mainly spent on the road. Things like weekly shops and mowing your lawn are quite nice. People who spend most of their lives away from home can surely relate. I guess on top of that there’s this inner crisis I have of being a boring person but still having a desire to go wild inside me every now and again… But, yeah, all in all, it’s mostly word vomit… but also some of my favourite lyrics. The beginning is 100 percent legit and the irony was just too good, so we left it like that.” 5/5

6. Ouch-an electro-pop/EDM inspired track with his vocals completely changed as well to fit the tempo in this track about how his wife left him for another guy and while he could see it coming, he hoped that it wouldn’t have happened. 4.5/5

7. Medicine– While this Pop rock song may be about Oliver’s messy divorce, Fish has stated that, “It’s about people who are negative influences and how when they leave your life things get much better. It’s a mixture of the electronic and radio-friendly elements of our band, but it’s still got characteristics of some of the bigger songs we’ve done before. You’d need to ask Oli who exactly that’s about, but I can think of a few people it might be about.” 5/5

8. Sugar Honey Ice & Tea-an electro metal song is more like it when it describes this track which is the sixth single I believe off the album. I believe the track is all about we can be delirious when it comes to the way we look at what is exactly going on and who we deal with. 4.5/5

9. Why You Gotta Kick Me When I’m Down?– A hip Hop/trap/Synth-pop like track that is all about how society loves it when someone is struggling and int he dumps cause we love to kick them around. 4.5/5

10. Fresh Bruises– The song just repeats the lines Don’t you try to fuck with me,
Don’t you hide your love, but it’s an electro pop song. 4/5

11. Mother Tongue-a pop rock/dance pop track is the spritual successor to the track Drown according to Jordan Fish and has been described by Fish, “Vocal-wise it’s quite a big song. There’s a little bit of Portuguese in there, which is quite unusual. It’s kind of a big, anthemic song. It’s probably as close as we get to something like “Drown” on this album. It’s a love song, so it’s an emotional one.” The track is also believed to be dedicated to Oliver’s wife Alissa Salls. 5/5

12. Heavy Metal– rap rock styled track that features Rahzel of The Roots beatboxing on the track. The track could be about all the negative backlash the band faced for changing their style on the last record with people claiming that it wasn’t heavy metal, but he doesn’t care. 4.5/5

13. I Don’t Know What to Say– The last track on this experimental journey as the track features the Parallax Orchestra in the beginning along with some acoustic guitars. The track seems to be about no matter how painful the break up, he has had to accept it because that is life. In some parts it has a very Evanescence feel with the orchestral rock sound. 4.5/5

My Final Thoughts– I loved this album because I respect bands that need to grow because that is what life is all about. Is the album too pop? Sure, but what is the problem because this seems to be the natural progression for them. The album is also kind of what Linkin Park had done with their last record when they decided to just experiment and do what they wanted to and that was a great album as well.  I am giving the album 4.65 stars out of five for a final grade.

Rock Single Of The Week: Take What You Want by Post Malone Featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott

I know that this is going to be a highly contested entry due to the backlash the track is already getting online. The worst part about the backlash is not about how good or bad the actual song is, but due to the lack of knowledge on his fan base. I want to first start out by giving Post Malone a lot of credit for putting the Godfather of Heavy Metal Ozzy Osbourne on his track and while it’s not a new concept, it still deserves a lot of props. The song that I am referring to is the track Take What You Want which is featured on Post Malone’s newest album Hollywood’s Bleeding. The track not only features Ozzy Osbourne, but it also features one of hip hop’s hottest artists in Travis Scott as well. The track starts off with that semi-acoustic, clean channel guitar playing that is very similar to Ozzy’s Mama, I’m Coming Home, but it is definitely not. I meant more in the way the track starts, but Ozzy kicks off the song singing the chorus before Post Malone takes over with the verse and then it’s forward from there. The track itself is very catchy and Ozzy does an amazing job lending his vocals to the track. The one thing that I am wondering though is who is the guitar player at the end that shreds an amazing guitar solo because it sounds like Zakk Wylde’s playing. Anyways, I am sure we will find out soon enough who the guitar player is, but I do know that Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is playing drums on the track. I wanted to end this article by saying that even though most of his fans do not know who Ozzy is, this is a good opportunity for them to learn just who he is. So, check out the track below and enjoy.

Album Of The Week: Black Sunday by Cypress Hill

We are changing things up a bit here on Moshpits and Movies because not only are we a fan of metal and rock and the sub-genres in between, but we are a fan of old school 90’s hip hop and Gangsta Rap. I was watching a documentary on TV about the LA Riots of 1992 (Burn Motherf***er Burn!) and I was reminded of one of the coolest acts out of Southern California in Cypress Hill. Cypress Hill was made up of B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs and they were the first Latino American Hip Hop group to have a number one Rap album in history and they also recorded the highest soundscan for a rap group at the time as well. The album Black Sunday (which we are covering this week) debuted at number one on The Billboard Top 200 charts selling 261,000 copies in it’s first week with the help of crossover hit Insane In The Brain (was also a Top 20 track on the Billboard Hot 100) which attracted a rock audience. The album would eventually go triple platinum as it sold about 3.4 million records and I believe that is to date. The same week it debuted at number one, it did the same thing on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts as well.

1.I Wanna Get High– A pretty self explanatory track that samples Taxman by Little Junior Parker and Get Outta My Life Woman by The New Apocalypse. 5/5

2. I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That– The third single from the album that samples The Wizard by Black Sabbath for the basis of the track while mixing in Galaxy Around Olodumare by Alice Coltrane and Rainmaker by Harry Nilsson. The track always seemed like a statement from the group that they were here to stay and the wannabes will fade away. 5/5

3. Insane In The Brain– The song that launched the band into the mainstream world was actually a diss track aimed at Chubb Rock. DJ Muggs had produced House Of Pain’s Jump Around and he used as the basis of the track with some real obvious changes with tons of samples. 5/5

4. When the Shit Goes Down– A bluesy sample from DJ Muggs drives the song about being ready to go when the sh** goes down. 4/5

5. Lick A Shot– Epistrophy by Richard Davis and Sweat Pea by Tommy Roe help drive this Gangsta Rap track. 4/5

6. Cock The Hammer– A killer bass line drives the song with samples from Uri (The Wind) by Flora Purim and Blind Alley by The Emotions. The song is about being ready to go to battle and it touches a little upon how the Latinos in LA have just as many problems as others. 4/5

7. Lock Down– an interlude that samples Is It Because I’m Black by Syl Johnson. 4/5

8. 3 Lil’ Putos– A bunch of samples drive this bare bones drum driven track about life on the streets. 4/5

9. Legalize It– an intro track that samples Hallelujah, I Love Her So by Gene Chandler with a bunch of different sound clips of people giving the benefits of Marijuana. 4/5

10. Hits From The Bong– One of the most bad ass Cypress Hill songs that heavily samples Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield as the basis of the track. I think you can guess what this song is about. 5/5

11. What Go Around Come Around, Kid– Get Out of My Life Woman by Grassella Oliphant drives the track which is essentially about being careful because what goes around comes around. 4/5

12. A To The K– The track actually samples A to the K by Wild Style in another track about life on the streets. 4/5

13. Hand on the Glock– The track samples Oh, Pretty Woman by Albert King for the basis while every know and then they inject another sample in between like Midnight Theme by Manzel or You’re A Customer by EMPD. 4/5

14. Break ‘Em Off Some-The last track on the album that samples Money In The Pocket by Joe Zawinul as the basis of the track while interjecting samples from Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MC’s and Kool Is Back by Funk, Inc. 4.5/5

My Final Thoughts– One of the best albums from a hip hop/Rap group like Cypress Hill that at a point in time made it easy to like rap music because it was fresh, new, and it sounded dangerous. That is why I am giving Black Sunday which had an amazing cover to boot, 4.3 stars out of five for a final grade.

6TH Annual Monster Entertainment Awards: Voting Begins: The Music Side

It’s that time of the year, it’s award season which can only mean one thing and that the Sixth Annual Monster Entertainment Awards is here. We have the usual categories for you guys like Bad Ass Movie Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Horror Film Of The Year, but we also have some new ones for you guys this year. We have new categories like Netflix Show Of The Year, Metal Music Video Of The Year, Rock Music Video Of The Year, Metal Single Of The Year, and Rock Single Of The Year to name a few. This year is definitely going to be better than ever and once again we are also teaming up with Mr. X’s Punchout Blog where they have Male and Female Wrestler Of The Year as well as some new ones like Match Of The Year and many more. The beautiful part of these awards is that you the fans get to pick who you want to win each category as always and that is what is beautiful cause your voice will be heard and it won’t be hacked by Russians cause Archer is on the case. What we have for you right here is the music side of the awards so check out all the categories, vote wisely, and you have until January 29TH to do so.

Album Of The Week: License To Ill by Beastie Boys

There was some terrible news on the tele the other day about some people desecrating the Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York. While I am severely disappointed in humanity over that, I thought we would celebrate his life and work on the blog by covering the band’s debut album License To Ill for our album of the week this week. The Beasties Boys were made up of Adam “MCA” Yauch, Mike “Mike D” Diamond, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. The group would release License To Ill on November 15, 1986 and the album would literally skyrocket to the top of the charts as it peaked at Number One on The Billboard Charts and it was the first rap LP to top the charts. It’s also one of Columbia’s fastest selling debut records in history and it eventually sold over ten million records worldwide. After the death of Adam Yauch, the album re-entered the Billboard charts at number 18 and it reached number one on Billboard’s Catalog Albums chart.

1. Rhymin & Stealin– The track opens with the sample of Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks before the sample of Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf drives the song. 5/5

2. The New Style– The track features a cool guitar/drum sample and features one of the most famous lines in “Ummm Dropppp!”4.5/5

3. She’s Crafty– A very educational track on the kind of girls the group likes which sees the band sample The Ocean by Led Zeppelin. 5/5

4. Posse in Effect– a track that showcases the groups talents as MC’s in the business. They sample Catch a Groove by Juice, Pee-Wee’s Dance by Joeski Love, and Change the Beat (Female Version) by Beside. 4.5/5

5. Slow Ride– The track starts off with the band sampling Low Rider by War before it just goes with a hi hat beat during the verses. 4/5

6. Girls-a simple and great track that features a keyboard beat and they sing about Girls. 5/5

7. Fight For Your Right– an amazing track that was written as a parody to all the party songs on the scene like I Wanna Rock or even Smokin In The Boys Room. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the record. 5/5

8. No Sleep Till Brooklyn– A track that was a play on Motorhead’s No Sleep Till Hammersmith and features Kerry King of Slayer playing the guitar parts and solo. 5/5

9. Paul Revere– a track that was inspired by Run from Run-DMC where the music sounds like it’s being played in reverse. 4.5/5

10. Hold It Now, Hit It– The song contains a ton of samples in, but there have been lines from the track that have been sampled by Eric B & Rakim and even Eazy-E. 4/5

11. Brass Monkey– a track that is about a certain brand of alcohol that the group raps about in the track that samples Bring It Here by Wild Sugar. 5/5

12. Slow and Low– a track that samples 8th Wonder by the Sugarhill Gang and Flick Of The Switch by AC/DC. 4.5/5

13. Time To Get Ill– The last track on the album that samples a laundry list of groups ranging from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Steve Miller Band and even Kool & The Gang. 4.5/5

My Final Thoughts– This is definitely one of my all time favorite records, but the group would take the ultimate risk with their next album. They wanted to get away from what they called the frat party scene and they wanted to be serious rappers. They wanted to be respected for their craft and they would ultimately leave Def Jam after this record. Nevertheless this is a classic and that is why I am giving the album 4.8 stars out of five for a final grade.

Album Of The Week: Suicide Squad: The Album

Besides the Captain America: Civil War film, my other favorite superhero movie of the year was David Ayers take on the Suicide Squad. It’s the comic book film that is unlike any other because it features the Super-villains of DC Comics as the lead characters in a Dirty Dozen style film. To read the review of the film that I did for my 365 Movies In 365 Days Challenge blog, you can do so by going here. So one of the coolest features of the film is the soundtrack that comes attached to it that features artists like the Imagine Dragons, Twenty One Pilots, Rick Ross, Panic! At The Disco, Grace, Skylar Grey, War, and many more. The soundtrack was released on August 5 is a nice mix of what is relevant in Pop music, but there are versions of tracks on the soundtrack that were not featured in the actual film.

1. Purple Lamborghini by Rick Ross & Skrillex- a Dubstep/Hip Hop track that where you don’t actually mind the Transformers sound from Skrillex because it’s subtle. 4/5

2. Sucker For Pain by Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons(w/ Logic, Ty Dolla $ign & X Ambassadors)- This is by far my favorite song on the whole soundtrack. It was hard for me to imagine so many different talent on the same song that I even had to watch the music video to see where Logic was on the song. One of Lil Wayne’s best raps. 5/5

3. Heathens by Twenty One Pilots- My second favorite song on the whole soundtrack from the Alternative Hip Hop group with it’s very melancholic sound. 5/5

4. Standing In The Rain by Action Bronson, Mark Ronson & Dan Auerbach- My third favorite song on the album that I would best describe as like a western meets hip hop sound with blues/rock Dan Auerbach on the track. 5/5

5.  Gangsta by Kehlani- A cool R&B track from Kehlani where she talks about not wanting any regular dude, but a Gangsta. 4/5

6. Know Better by Kevin Gates- One of my least favorite tracks on the album from Hip Hop artist Kevin Gates 3/5

7. You Don’t Own Me by Grace Featuring G-Eazy- A very cool track on the album that has Grace singing the choruses to the classic Lesley Gore track while G-Eazy raps over it. 5/5

8. Without Me by Eminem- The classic Eminem track from The Eminem Show album about how the world needs Slim Shady which is true. 5/5

9. Wreak Havoc by Skylar Grey- Kind of a cool track with guns as parts of the beat while Skylar Grey lays it down. 4/5

10. Medieval Warfare by Grimes- The track starts off pretty cool with a cool guitar track before it goes techno pop on you. 4/5

11. Bohemian Rhapsody by Panic! At The Disco- Just to clarify to people, the version you hear in the film is Queen, but the cover is what was included on the soundtrack. Nobody has the range or ability that Freddie Mercury had, but I give them an A for effort. 4/5

12. Slippin’ Into Darkness by War- The classic soul/funk War track from their All Day Music album which was a different touch for the film. 4/5

13. Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival- The classic CCR anti-war track that is ironically put into a film about the government hiring criminals to fight. 5/5

14. I Started A Joke by ConfidentialMX- This another of my least favorite tracks on the album because the song’s pace is slowed down to a snails pace where it just overly dramatic.  2.5/5

My Final Thoughts– For the most part as I said this soundtrack is a perfect mix of pop, Hip Hop, Rock, and classic rock as well. They could have made a whole separate soundtrack on all the other songs that were in the film, but this is good enough. You should definitely check out the film and the soundtrack. I am going to give the album 4.2 stars out five for a final grade.

Album Of The Week: Everybody Wants Some!! Soundtrack

For this week’s Album Of The Week, we are doing something a little different than we usually do and we are choosing to cover a soundtrack. Just like our review of The Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack, we are tackling another film, but not from a comic book movie. If you know director Richard Linklater, then you know that soundtrack have always been a huge part of his films that they are almost another character. One of the most legendary of his works is the 1994 film Dazed And Confused which boasted an amazing soundtrack that featured a lot of legendary 70’s classic rock. However, today we are covering the soundtrack to his latest film Everybody Wants Some!! which is the unofficial sequel to Dazed And Confused. The soundtrack boasts an eclectic mix of music from the likes of Blondie, Van Halen, The Cars, Hot Chocolate, and so much more. The soundtrack was released on all formats back in April of this year which includes a Cassette release. If you want to see the review of the film which I did for my 365 movies in 365 days challenge blog, then click here.

1. My Sharona by The Knack- It was The Knacks debut single and a song that was very representative of where New Wave punk was at in 1979. The lyrics are about a relationship the singer had with a 17 year old named Sharona . 4/5

2. Heart Of Glass by Blondie- a classic track from the new wave band which touched upon disco after a suggestion from the albums producer in a track about lost love/ 4/5

3. Take Your Time (Do It Right) by S.O.S. Band- a straight up post-disco track with a funky bass line that was a huge hit for the S.O.S. Band in the US. A lot of bands and musicians like Rick James adopted this sound in the early 80’s. 4/5

4. Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar- An unbelievable rocker from Pat Benatar with that driving riff that instantly made this a hard rock classic. It also introduced us to the brilliance of Neil Giraldo. 5/5

5. Alternative Ulster by Stiff Little Fingers- One of my least favorite tracks ont he album from Northern Ireland punk rock band Stiff Little Fingers. 2/5

6. Every 1’s a Winner by Hot Chocolate- They’re a disco band, but this track has one of the funkiest riffs on the album and a funky bass line. 5/5

7. Everybody Wants Some!! by Van Halen- The hard rock classic from one of the best LA rock bands ever. You knew with a title for a film like Evetybody Wants Some!! that this was going to end up on here. 5/5

8. Let’s Get Serious by Jermaine Jackson- Jermaine should have gotten serious about his career as he attempted to have a career after The Jackson 5 with this disco track.  3/5

9.  Pop Muzik by M- M describes this interesting track saying, “I was looking to make a fusion of various styles which somehow would summarize the last 25 years of pop music. It was a deliberate point I was trying to make. Whereas rock and roll had created a generation gap, disco was bringing people together on an enormous scale. That’s why I really wanted to make a simple, bland statement, which was, ‘All we’re talking about basically (is) pop music.” 3/5

10. Because the Night by Patti Smith Group- One of my favorite tracks on the album that was originally written by Bruce Springsteen for an album of his, but he didn’t like his version. This song best represents where the 80’s scene would go (just look at Pat Benatar and so many others). 5/5

11. I Want You To Want Me (Live) by Cheap Trick- one of the best rock songs from rock and roll hall of famers Cheap Trick and this is the live version which helped sky rocket the band into the spotlight.Just listen to how amazing Robin Zander’s vocals are in this song. 5/5

12. Hand In Hand by Dire Straits- a cool ballad like track from Dire Straits on an album that showed the world that they had arrived. 4/5

13. Whip It by Devo- the new wave classic that is known world wide. It’s sadly the only song most people remember from them. 5/5

14. Romeo’s Tune by Steve Forbert- an cool pop track from folk singer Steve Forbert which was his biggest hit of his career. 4/5

15. Good Times Roll by The Cars- A quintessential mid-tempo rock song from the cool cats of Boston The Cars. A song that should be people’s motto more often these days. 5/5

16. Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang- A song that is often attributed to being the first Hip Hop song that was introduced to the world. They even tell you that they are rapping in the track. 5/5

My Final Thoughts– The soundtrack isn’t as amazing as the first one, but it was very eclectic in the mix of genres and different type of music in the film. It definitely helps the film and it fits well with the content. There are a couple of tracks on here that I didn’t really like and it reflect in what I gave them for a grade individually, but don’t let that deter you because it is a great soundtrack. I am going to give the soundtrack 4.1 stars out of five for a final grade.

Album Of The Week: Incredibad by The Lonely Island

For this week’s album of the week, I wanted to cover an album from a group that I love watching and listening to especially after I watched Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. If you haven’t guessed it, I am talking about The Lonely Island which is made up of Saturday Night Live alums Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. On February 10, 2009, the group released their debut record Incredibad which featured music they had previously featured as skits on Saturday Night Live plus new tracks. The album features collaborations with artists like Julian Casablancas, T-Pain, Natalie Portman, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, Justin Timberlake, and many more.  The album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Charts at number 13 selling 48,000 in it’s first week while it was also the eighth best selling rap album of 2009 selling 246,000 copies. It also peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Top Rap Albums charts as well. That isn’t bad for a comedy group at all, but it goes to show their popularity on SNL. The album was supposed to feature a song with Adam Levine, but they couldn’t get the clearance for the sample they used from the Aphex Twins. Taccone commented saying, “There were some sample-clearance issues. For that song I sampled…“Avril 14th,” and his publishing company [Chrysalis Music Publishing (ASCAP)] wouldn’t give us the rights. They cleared it for SNL. If we ever make a Best of SNL Shorts DVD, we can put it on there, it can be on repeats of SNL, but it wasn’t cleared for the album. [The company] asked for an outrageous amount of money.”

1. Who Said We’re Wack?– An intro track where the group questions who called them wack. 4/5

2. Santana DVX– a track that the guys talk about Champagne made by Carlos Santana that features E-40 on the track. 4/5

3. Jizz In My Pants– One of the funniest songs on the album about premature ejaculation. 5/5

4. I’m On A Boat– a track that features more profanity than other tracks as the band proclaims they are superior because there on a boat and the track features T-Pain.  5/5

5. Sax Man– Kind of a funky track about a saxophone player they call the Sax Man with Jack Black on the track. The funniest thing is that the Sax Man doesn’t really play his Sax whn Black calls for it.4/5

6. Lazy Sunday– Samberg and Chris Parnell deliver hardcore rap like deliveries on the track about the group wanting to see The Chronicles Of Narnia movie. 4/5

7. Normal Guy (Skit)– a kind of funny interlude with a guy who sounds like Mr. Bill 4/5

8. Boombox– This is one of my favorite tracks on the album featuring Julian Casablancas of The Strokes about a bunch of old people dancing to Samberg’s Boombox. 5/5

9. Shrooms (Skit)- Another skit on the record that sounds like a video game with everyone claiming they are on shrooms. 4/5

10. Like A Boss– This is the groups parody of Slim Thug’s track Like A Boss. 4.5/5

11. We Like Sportz– A track that kind of makes fun of guys who get together to watch sports instead of partying. 4/5

12. Dreamgirl– A track that is all about finding the one and only girl featuring Norah Jones. 4/5

13. Ras Trent– The bands reggae track on the album. Not a fav of mine 3/5

14. Dick In A Box– a funny track about how to give the perfect gift to your girlfriend which is a dick in a box. The track features Justin Timberlake. 5/5

15. The Old Saloon (Skit)– Just another skit that features Old wild west saloon music to a hip hop beat while they repeatedly remind you that they are in a saloon. 4/5

16. Punch You in the Jeans– a  very cool, calm, and collective beat to the track that’s all about punching someone in the jeans because they don’t like the guy’s jeans. 4/5

17. Space Olympics– a track about competing in the space Olympics despite all the problems with hosting an Olympics in space. 4/5

18. Natalie’s Rap– Another favorite of mine on the record that is a parody of Eazy-E’s No More Questions?. It’s a bad ass song that Natalie Portman gets pretty dirty in the track and she was definitely a good sport for doing it. 5/5

19. Incredibad– The title track is the final track on the album and it kicks off with some horns before we get some Beastie Boys style rap. Its basically a biography track for the group. 4/5

My Final Thoughts– These guys are this generations Weird Al Yankovic and even this generations This Is Spinal Tap. This was just the beginning for the trio and you should definitely start here and work your way up to Popstar. I am going to give the album four stars out of five for a final grade.

 

Soundtrack Saturday: Batdance by Prince

I usually never repeat an artist when it comes to Soundtrack Saturday only because I wanted to try and see how many different soundtracks and artists I could go without repeating. Today, I am going to make an exception because the world lost yet another talented musician and Icon in Prince. 2016 or at least the first quarter of it has to go down as one of the worst as far as losing icons is concerned. So for today’s soundtrack Saturday track, I am going to use a track from the Batman (1989) soundtrack that was recorded by Prince. The song I chose for today is the song Batdance which is one of the most famous tracks off the soundtrack. The track just showcased why Prince was such a genius and was so ahead of everyone at that time. Like David Bowie, Prince was also not afraid to experiment with his music and it’s evident with elements of Hip Hop mixed with his brand of pop/dance music and samples from the film. Not to mention, the incredible guitar solo during the opening moments of the track. Enjoy the track which is still iconic to this day and never forget him. R.I.P. Prince (1958-2016)