Mastodon - Remission (2002)

Mastodon - Remission (2002)

It's easy to dismiss metal music as just being a loud noise-genre. It's known for being incredibly loud, heavy guitar licks, crazy drums rolls and the yelling singing. This is also the main reason why most metal is, in fact, loud noise. It's hard to tell one band from another, but it's also hard to figure out what the point the song is. Bands are just loud for the sake of being loud and don't really put much more into it than that. That's why when a good metal album comes along like Mastodon's debut, it gives one hope for the genre. That, yes, good metal can exist that isn't just noise.

To break down the album would almost be an insult to the album. That's not to say that there aren't any singles on the album. Far from it. The first two songs alone are some of the most memorable metal songs one will hear in some time. But the songs work better as a whole, one after another, building on the energy and power of the previous song to flow into the next one. Opener "Crusher Destroyer" is a powerful behemoth. What works so well about this song alone, and many of Mastodon's songs, is that it's such a well-constructed song. The guitar licks don't just show off the talents of both guitarists, they are so melodic and play off one another that they could practically go on any indie album or, daresay, classical album. They are pleasing to the ear not just because they sound so incredibly loud and cool, but because they are actually constructed and treated like real music, not noise.

The real star of the band is drummer Brann Dailor. Here is the most intense drumming one will hear in some time. His drumming ties all of the musician's talents together while also taking the main attention of the listener. The singing is good too, it matches the music well and is melodic in a metal sense too, but the drums always grab the attention of the listener. The fills are so intense and well-performed that it begs to be brought attention to, but Dailor isn't trying to detract from the rest of the music. He does the rare job that a drummer does by not just showing off and being incredibly talented, but ultimately adding to the message and emotion of the song as well. It's really something to be heard.

Mastodon's debut bodes well for things to come. It's a breath of fresh air to hear such a heavy album that not only stays true to many of metal's finest, but really adds to the genre in ways never thought possible. It does all of this while just being damn fun to listen to as well. Rock on!

Standout Track: "March of the Fire Ants."
Overall Rating: 8.7

Trivia Time:

* Mastodon: [mas-tuh-don] –noun

A massive, elephant-like mammal of the genus Mammut (Mastodon), that flourished worldwide from the Miocene through the Pleistocene epochs and, in North America, into recent times, having long, curved upper tusks and, in the male, short lower tusks.

* The last song on Mastodon's first 3 albums refers to Elephant Man. The one on this album is aptly titled "Elephant Man."

* Eric Saner was the original singer for the band but quit before this album was recorded. Troy Sanders is now the lead vocalist.

* Video Game Tony Hawk's Underground featured "Crusher Destroyer." Good thing, it was the best of that series.

* At the beginning of the album there is a small sample from the film Jurassic Park. Listen closely to hear the roar of the T-Rex, with Lex screaming out "Timmy!" as they get attacked in the tour car.

* Most of Mastodon's albums are considered concept albums, save for their first one. Sanders has stated that it's about fire, bust only loosely. This is obvious in song titles like "March of the Fire Ants," "Where Doth Behemoth Stride," and "Burning Man."

* Mastodon like their elements a lot. With the theme of fire in mind, thus began each album being about elements in some form. This album's cover features a horse being burned by nuclear holocaust, inspired by a dream that drummer Brann Dailor shared with artist Paul Romano who later created the art based on his dream.

* Guitarist Brent Hinds says he got his style of playing from learning the banjo originally. This results in fast hybrid picking, emulating the banjo style on guitar.

* Rhtyhm guitarist Bill Kelliher is an avid Star Wars enthusiast and father of 2. He named one son Harrison after Harrison Ford.

* Drummer Brann Dailor is obsessed with late guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne Randy Rhoads due to the fact that he was born on the day and month that Randy Rhoads died. His color scheme for his drums is similar to the color scheme Rhoads used on his guitar.

Justin Timberlake - Justified (2002)

Justin Timberlake - Justified (2002)

To his credit, Justin Timberlake tried something different for what he could have done. Heck, he even did something different for the sake of pop music in general. How many contemporary male R&B singers have the balls to sing "Gentleman, Good Night. Ladies, Good Morning" on their first song? What gives JT the personality to pull it off is all in delivery and likability. Girls want to be with him, guys want to be him. He's got chops all right.

That doesn't make up for a pretty mediocre album. Upon its release, his debut album was hailed as a great solo album from the guy from 'NSYNC, and by those standards it is a step in the right direction. But it also fails on many levels as well, lacking anything to really set him apart from many of the other crooners of the genre, let alone the ones he was trying desperately to set himself apart from. The album opens strong enough with "Like I Love You," a song that benefits tremendously from Clipse's mid-song guest rap. JT takes a spin on the typical structure of such a song and has the bravado to pull it off. He's off to a good enough start and it bodes well for him.

The feeling doesn't last. Most of the album is filled with too-long crooning and trite lyrics that make 98 degrees look like poets in comparison. The Neptunes produce most of the songs on the album and Timbaland guests produce on a few too, but the repetition sets in fast. Most of the songs are forgettable and frankly don't go anywhere at all. But the main thing that Timberlake has control of here are the lyrics. Let's take a look at "Take It From Here," one of the many love ballads from the album. With lines like "I Wanna Be Your Lake, And any problems you Have, I'll Wash Them Away" (Gag) and "Wanna be Your Broadway Show on Review" filling up the bulk of the song, it's clear that there isn't much creativity going on in the songwriting department. Having just listened to David Archuleta's album, it's obvious that these lyrics didn't work for him, and even with a talented enough guy like Timberlake he can't pull them off either. They just aren't meant for being pulled off at all.

Most of the songs are boring on their own and suffer from far too much crooning ("Nothin' Else" makes 2x1-1 Look classy), most of these songs are just too long. Everyone seems bored by the end of "Last Night," a chorus that repeats one too many times, and the bulk of the songs on the album suffer from that. The thing that JT has over everyone else is a recognizable style and a great voice. It isn't utilized here really at all, but his voice does show and is the only reason for listening to any of the songs on this album. He easily goes from his breezy falsetto to a laid-back talk-sing style, that not only makes him distinct in a land of imitators but also gives his music a much-needed addition.

There are songs where things work. "Last Night" may overstay its welcome, but the song is catchy enough that it works for the most part. But the real standouts on the album are the two main singles that broke the guy out, "Cry Me A River" & "Rock Your Body" respectively. "Rock Your Body" is the clear winner for the album. The beat is infectious and so instantly recognizable it joins the ranks of Usher's "Yeah!" as the club anthem of a generation, infectious and catchy as hell one can't help but admire the song. "Cry Me A River" works for the most part as a great ballad if it wasn't for Timabland's need to overproduce every damn song. The beat is too wall-of-noise to really match the music that Timberlake is singing, let alone the mood, that it becomes too much for the song and it stumbles, but for the most part the song works.

I feel it's best to look back at JT's debut as a preview of what's to come. He gets a lot of the crooning out of his system here to make room for the real talent that will show on his follow-up, but the bulk of this album is just too long and boring. The main singles are the real stand-outs here, and anyone else would kill for the songs, but if they weren't by this guy they probably wouldn't stand out nearly as much. Luckily the talent shows through in the future and there is still the best to come.

Standout Track: "Rock Your Body"
Overall Rating: 3.8

Fun Facts:

* McDonald's. Want to know the relation to JT? Fifth single supposedly from the album, titled "I'm Lovin' It," was released in 2003. The song doesn't appear on the album but was a leftover from the recording sessions. But it was sold to McDonald's and used in an advertising campaign, thus resulting in the annoying jingle we all know today.

* In the background of the music video for single "Like I Love You" is none other than backup dancer Kevin Federline, later on to become famous for relation to Britney Spears. And we all know JT and Britney used to date.

* Maxïmo Park also do a cover of "Like I Love You" on a compilation that covers 40 years at the BBC. The Dillinger Escape Plan also do it for their iTunes-only EP Plagiarism. And Basement Jaxx do a remix of it.

* More songs on the album and relation to other bands: The Rolling Stones performed the chorus of "Cry Me A River" several times during "Miss You" in 2003 with Timberlake. Check it out here. New Found Glory also covered it (Found here), Lostprophets, and The Frames.

* The beat for "Rock Your Body" was intended for Michael Jackson's comeback album "Invincible" but sold to Timberlake instead. Better move I'm sure. Also, this was the infamous song that was sung at the Superbowl when he says the line "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song" when he pulled off Janet Jackson's cloth. Let the controversy ensue. Makes one wonder if the line would have been "Better read The Raven by the end of this song."

* Vanessa Marquez, the singer on "Rock Your Body" and even more famously (although lesser known) is the jingle "I'm Lovin' It," has done little else. Did background vocals for Usher and Bow Wow and her contract expired and has since done little.

Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle (2002)

Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle (2002)

Having just listened to Horse Feather's album, I figured it would only be just to follow it up with what many consider to be at the forefront of the folk industry in the modern era. Sam Beam's efforts have given the genre a much-needed shot in the arm, not distinguishing countless other efforts over the past decades, but the genre was in need of some fresh blood. What Beam brings to the genre and music in general is a new approach to how music communicates with the listener. This isn't through simplicity, even though that's the main sound one may get from first listen to his debut album, and not through strange experimentation, but through a few advantages that Beam has to his arsenal.

At the forefront are his lyrics. They are beautiful and poetic at many times, but are also so simple in their premise that it baffles the listener. Take listen to what Beam focuses his attention on during his songs. It's hard to find a single song on here that doesn't have a recognizable line from it, but they are beautiful in almost all parts. Here's a few fun ones: "Grace is a gift for the fallen dear" ("An Angry Blade), "You're a poem of mystery" (Faded From The Winter), & "love is waiting and better days" ("Promise What You Will").

With the lyrics comes his attention to detail. Previously Beam taught film and it constantly comes up in interviews that there is some correlation between that and his music. Music and film already have such strong storytelling components between the two that, yes, that judgement is definitely true, but that doesn't mean the music George Lucas would record would be half as interesting. It's more personality than anything else and what Beam chooses to sing about, or more importantly how it' about. He focuses on small details and repeats lines constantly, building up suspense between such minute details like a bird stealing bread in different locations or a match being struck on a keyhole.

The music itself is complicated and concrete all at once. "An Angry Blade" has guitar hitting like rain on a window, striking at such precise moments that sound entirely different on another song on the same album "Muddy Hymnal." The album is mostly percussion-less often just Beam solo with a guitar being mixed on a 4-track, but he creates a White Stripes-like illusion of a much fuller band through such lack of instruments. The slide guitars weave in and out of songs and duel at some points ("Faded From The Winter" contains some great stuff) but also emphasize the music, not providing filler between verses but more of a path to the next portion of the song.

Another of Beam's driving forces is his voice. His melodic half-whisper is not only unique to music but creates a tone that is entirely his own. Throughout the album one gets the sensation that he is sharing something entirely intimate with the listener, something he has been pondering for months on end and is only now sharing with you through his song. It's easy to dismiss it as lazy or just bad in this American Idol karaoke age, but what Beam does is more impressive than most singers do. Listen to his voice on one of his early great "Upward Over the Mountain" and you can hear a voice being crafted in the song, a hesitation to sing it out as loud as possible but more to share a private coming-of-age moment in one's life.

The album's only downfalls are just a glimpse of what is to come. Iron & Wine have a great debut here that easily surpasses many bands that have come before and imitators that are to follow, but is does get caught up in its own genre a bit too much. Everything on here is incredibly interesting and not easy to skip, only suffering from just being so similar from some of the other ones that it's hard to distinguish one from the other. I don't mean this in a bad way, but only that some of the songs are repetitive in tone and message that it's easy to get lost on the album or, more likely, forget where you are. These are minor complaints on an overall great album, like a mindless complaint like "Revolver" needed more tracks."

Standout Track: "Upward Over The Mountain"
Overall Rating: 8.9

Some Trivia For "The Creek Drank The Cradle:"

* It's basically common knowledge that Beam taught Cinematography at the University of Miami before his music career took off. Some of his film credits, aside from music for "In Good Company," are hard to come by. Does anyone out there have a list of any films he's made or worked on?

* My good buddy (and Sam Beam aficionado Kyle) points out that Beam has directed all of his music videos up to "Boy With A Coin," so there's some of his work. I'm still interested in things outside of his music, though.

* One of the album's bonus tracks, correctly titled "Carissa's Weird," was available as a 7" vinyl single. Any correlation between that and the band of a similar mis-spelled name?

* The album has many great lines in it. One of my favorites is "We all assume the worst the best we can." Anyone else got any favorites?