Free Rock Band DLC Tracks

Check The Full Rules Here: http://www.rockband.com/news/pepsi

I'll break it down:

Buy any Pepsi products, starting today apparently, that have a screw-on Lid (no Cans) and you can get free Rock Band DLC tracks. Not a bad deal for getting something to drink and some songs. Let's just hope they're not only giving away certain songs, like i-Carly full albums or (God Forbid) Guns N' Roses' "Shackler's Revenge." I will investigate later today and get back to you peeps.

David Archuleta - David Archuleta (2008)

David Archuleta - David Archuleta (2008).

Maybe it's the generic album cover. Or the whole American Idol thing. If you really think about it, the whole AI phenomenon is 2 for 8 of their "winners" in terms of not just chart success but overall contribution to music. David Archuleta wasn't the winner of Season 7 of the hit karaoke show, but being the runner-up still means you get an album release to some modest success, and when you're a teen/adult/soccer mom heartthrob like our boy David A. here, then you get a little bit more than the average runner-up.

But I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about the album, right? But everything about it I can practically describe to you without even listening to it. Everything about it screams generic Wal-Mart Greatest Hits crap. A lazy album cover and a track list that could be put on random on an iPod and make no real difference to how the album sounds all say that it's just a cash cow (I know! I'm shocked too!). The songs that are here are pretty horrible. Power-pop single? Check. Slow ballad? Check. Talent? Well, that's debatable.

"Touch My Hand" sums up the album pretty much. "Can't Let The Music Stop/Until I Touch Your Hand/Because if I Do it will all be over and I'll never get the chance again" is the type of 7th grade notebook poetry we're talking about here. Any good singer can elevate such banal lame lyrics to something perhaps a bit more exciting (David doesn't really have the chops), but who should bother? None of this really needs to be put on record in the first place. It's a waste of plastic, and if you digitally downloaded the album then it's a waste of silicon on your hard drive before you delete it.

Most of the songs here are slow ballads, but besides the fact that they're boring like no other, David's voice really doesn't make them work (and isn't that the reason he progressed so far on the show?). His voice has been auto-tuned to death on most of them or overproduced it's impossible to really judge how talented the guy is, but it lacks any real color to it. It has a raspy loungey-sound to it, but only in the most mediocre sense possible. It comes as if little D.A. doesn't really care about the lyrics he's been handed (probably doesn't) and I doubt the real listeners of this album care either (probably don't). The sway-bots on the show may wave their arms as he mugs through ballad #2 "Barriers" or single "Crush," but outside of that safe home it's hard to find any real songs here.

David A. likes to spend his time either pondering why his love is no longer with him or what he can do to keep his love there, or why love is so hard in the first place (see every damn song on this album). The album is well-made in the sense that everything sounds fine and doesn't sound awful, but does mediocrity and boredom relate to a better rating? The album isn't worth the plastic it's printed on.

I could really detail how horrible the rest of the album is, but lets just let the lyrics speak for themselves: "But It's Harder To Hold on to your Hands/Than the Hands of time, I need a Hand, girl" ("My Hands"). "Tell Me Why you're so hard to forget/Don't remind me, I'm not over it" ("A Little To Not Over You"). "Some days are cold but together/One day we'll both change the weather/And it gets better" ("Don't Let Go"). I swear the guy says "hold on" in almost every song. When he isn't singing such trite lyrics he's filling the song with his useless and empty "Whooo's" and making one-syllable words into 9-syllable ones.

The only song that even comes close to having any kind of real identity to it is "Your Eyes Don't Lie." Bear in mind we're just comparing one pile of crap with a smaller pile of crap that doesn't stink as bad, but in an album full of simplistic boring similar-sounding songs, "Your Eyes Don't Lie" has a whistle to it that actually inhabit the very cheesiness that little Davey is doing everywhere on the whole album that it becomes competent in its own right. There's not much in store for little David past this flash-in-the-pan, so he can enjoy the moment while it's there, but I'm sure in a few more seasons of American Idol the runner-up from nowheresville, USA will be hard to worth remembering.

Standout Track: "Your Eyes Don't Lie."
Overall Rating: 0.8

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)

I have to admit I was late on the CYHSY bandwagon when they first came out. I didn't like "In This Home On Ice" on first listen, didn't really get what the big deal was about and just thought of them as a Modest Mouse/Built To Spill knock-off band with their notable off-key singing and crunchy guitar. I think it's still right to be reluctant to jump on any bandwagon for a band right away (how apt), but in this case I was definitely wrong for their debut album (their follow-up we'll get to later).

It's almost the most-perfect summer album that ever came out if anyone knew when it really came out. The buzz surrounding the band's climb is almost more exciting to look at than the album itself (we'll focus on the album here). On its own, the hype is justified in such a swinging debut, Alec Ounsworth's very discernible vocals being the star of the show, but I would go one step further in taking notice of Tyler's Sargent's backing bass throughout the album. Really listen for it "Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)" or "Details of The War" (Really, just listen to any of them) and you'll really hear something that is usually just mixed under power chords or the identifiable organ for this band. Those are both important here too, but those odd little bass lines add what could have been fine songs on their own into something quite more fuller, richer, a better palette for the ears. Whatever romantic comparison you like.

The lyrics may be the standout of the album. "Details of the War" is a drunken ballad to one who has seen too much of war firsthand, or the beauty of "Is This Love?" that is so damn simple Brock and Martsch wish they wrote the song. I especially like the playfulness of "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," not just for the organ buzz that opens the song, but how Alec interprets the band's lyrics into such a grand song that could fill any stadium, detailing shooting down bumble bees with a shotgun. It's fun details that might otherwise go unnoticed. The real stride of the album comes in the middle "Skin," through "Heavy Metal" and up to "Gimmie Some Salt." This medley of hits in ways are the bulk of the album and there isn't a dim song in the bunch, all intimately poppy and catchy in their own odd and unique ways. CYHSY won't be burning up the Top 40 anytime soon, but you're damned if you don't know these songs. Closer "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood" is good too. Add that to the medley I just mentioned.

It's a combination of all these member's unique addition to the band to make one full kaleidoscope of sounds to create a really good album. Hard to describe exactly what they sound like besides the fact that the lead singer "sings weird," but their distinct sound of harps, harmonicas and, yes, Alec's voice, all gather to create one hell of an album. Dig it already.

Standout Track: "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth"
Overall Rating: 8.8/10

The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

I hate to borrow a line from Monty Python, especially such an overdone one, but it definitely applies to this album. And now for something completely different, The B-52's debut self-titled album (what's with bands self-titling their debut albums?) is a cosmic journey through the 80's sonic masterminds that are the B-52's. Don't be fooled by the album's 1979 release date, this has 80's written all over it and I mean that as a good thing.

Fred Schneider's recognizable (and often-imitated) vocals begin the album with somewhat dated "Planet Claire." The band's crunchy guitar makes a strong impression here that will be one of their recurring motifs, about a girl who just seems like she's from another planet (I hear dat!). Despite what has now become some outdated references, very Bowie-ian singings of being from Mars, it works well and establishes everything right away. Follow-up song "52 Girls" showcases Kate Pierson's singing style, and is probably the most punk the album ever will get (or the band for that matter).

Some of the songs have a nice free-form to them, a call and response if you will, that I'm already assuming the band is going to lose down the line. What may sound like runoff from the 1960's flower power generation of music actually works here, providing a nice counterpoint to the more pop songs on the album, the ones that will gain more replay value on consecutive listens, more layers and moods than the more simple songs (See "Dance This Mess Around,""Hero Worship," etc.). One can definitely tell where modern female-lead rock bands get their influences from (I'm looking at you Karen O.), but just a lot of modern bands in general. The sound is easily-imitated, to the point that it's the very reason why The B-52's have gone away, but on their debut the cheesiness of it actually gives it more personality, like a time capsule from another era. "6060-842" might be eclipsed only by "837-5309" for becoming a memorable telephone number titled song, whatever the hell that genre is, but the song just falls apart here and doesn't really flow well with the rest of the album and may be the only true misstep on the whole album. Closer and cover "Downtown" actually works well to the band's sound, not only sounding like an apt cover for the band but their interpretation is fun in almost a karaoke-way but just sidesteps the comparison to becoming their own unique take on the song through more of the screaming ironically and stripped-down version of the song than just replicating the melody.

Then there's the immortal "Rock Lobster." I'm biased right away. My earliest memories of this song are one of my co-workers from Taco Bell playing it all the freakin' time when closing, I think he either had this album or some mix B-52's, but either way I've heard it a thousand times. And yet in the context of the album it actually works quite well. The bubblegum pop of the song hasn't caused it to age much, but instead has become an icon on the album, the synonymous B-52's track (lets not count "Love Shack" and save the trouble). I enjoy how Schneider takes the main line of the song and makes it go from a statement ("Rock Lobster!") and turns it into a panicky fear ("Rock Lobster?!"). It's a fun song. There, I said it. You win Richard.

Standout Track: "Dance This Mess Around"
Final Score: 8.0/10

Akron/Family - Akron/Family (2005)

Akron/Family - Akron/Family

Imagine something like Iron & Wine. Or for the older ones out there, maybe Johnny Cash even. Just take it as a starting point. Then lets add some Grateful Dead or something. Just bear with me. Then twist that around into a 3-piece and even add something more like even a little Flaming Lips. I think that kind of comes close to what Akron/Family is. In a general sense, that is, their sound is completely unique to their own style and it comes through on their 2005 self-titled debut. One can hear the band finding their voice as the album progresses and becoming more comfortable with their experimental-folk roots, creating beautiful melodies that may just be a little too tried-and-true if they stuck to a generic formula and instead add some life to the genre through some interesting experimentation.

Singer Seth Olinsky sets the tone on opening track "Before And Again," as his soothing hums are backed up by a simple guitar melody and a steady collection of computer beeps and boops, joined by strings and finally gathering in totally new melody (think Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour"-era album) and collection of sounds. They set the pattern very quickly of singing one line and repeating it over and over again throughout the track, joined by more members of the band and driven behind different melodies and riffs until there is a new meaning that comes out of said line. It doesn't falsely extend the songs by any means, but instead makes them more deliberate, more to the point, focusing on that exact line and extracting the meaning from it that by the time it's been repeated for the fourth time it's gained new meaning from the arrangement.

Centerpiece of the album is the 8-minute ballad "Italy," as Seth sings in a traditional folksy-manner "I am waiting under the sunlight/I am waiting for my time to come" to be joined by what sounds like a full-backing band, although it's really just fellow members Miles Seaton & Dana Janssen. "When Is time Going to Change?/I'm ready" he declares as an experimental stutter of instruments backs up his statement, it's a great interpretation of one simple line that the music carries the tone. Only to be joined moments later by the clatter of various objects of chairs creaking and glass being hit. The odd combination of objects used to create the joint beat that ensues not only creates something new and very Beck-ian, but still retains roots to their folk-family pasts (Hey! That's why Family is in the name!).

The album continues at a familiar pace, a slow ballad followed by a quicker number, but each song is able to combine a group atmosphere to each one, even the slower ones just on guitar still give the impression of a group much bigger than 3 putting together such a communal sound. "I'll Be on The Water" flows at a simple pace to sing of love compared to a lightning bolt in the chest, or how he quietly questions "The Power I Afford You/Is the one I wish I had over you" on "Afford," the slower songs are met by jarring noises that create not just bookends in the midst of the songs but also punctuate the point being made. Relationships have never sounded so beautiful and so dangerous at the same time.

A lot of Akron/Family's songs deal with these concepts, very simple relationships broken down into the basic elements that we all go through at one point or another and have to deal with. These typical themes are confronted in an untypical format, the ticks and tocks heard throughout each song giving a new meaning to the new yet old situations we've been through. "Shoes" relates freedom to simple Velcro of a shoe and couldn't be more beautiful, culminating in a sing-along chant that finds humor even in the saddest of circumstances. "You Float Away/And Find Yourself Laughing/Into Thin Air."

This isn't to give the impression that the album is perfect. A step in the right direction, but far from it. It's more of a centerpiece for what is to come from Akron/Family, the band finding its voice and figuring out exactly how to combine keyboard strings with experimental loops and folksy guitar. "Soron Boy" falters in its staggering melody, and the interlude the precedes it is practically unnecessary with no real driving force behind it. "Franny/You're Human" has a coda that adds little to the song that is part of it, giving the impression that sometimes even Akron/Family like to get lost in their own loose melodies and experimentations with the sounds. Not every experiment works so well, but enough do that one doesn't even regard them as that and accepts them as part of the melody.

Akron/Family is an album that's best suited for those lazy days when not much can get done (or for those that like getting high), but really is an album that can be dual under different circumstances. If one is in love at the time they can listen to it as a proclamation of the wonders and beauty that comes with being in love, but if one is heartbroken then it will be a damnation to the relationship of the pains and struggle that comes with one. A powerful emotion to get across on what sounds like such a simple debut album.

Standout Track: "Italy."
Final Score: 8.2/10

One last note

One last thing I realized while trying to start this yesterday. Whatever band I'm reviewing I need to start with their first album and go in chronological order, thus to learn how they grow as a band and not on an album-by-album basis, in that way I learn more about how the band has grown and if they're just repeating themselves. Okay, first one coming up in a little bit here!

That's it! I'm gonna do it! Really!!11

All right people, all fans that are actually left out there. I'm doing this thing again, for reals this time, no joke gonna follow through whether I like it or not. I continue to postpone doing this, and with good excuses seeing as school was destroying all aspects of life and busy with other things, but now that things have died down I have no good excuse to not do this project again. A little less than a year later I'm finally getting around to it. Sigh.

I actually view this as a good thing because I think I've found a way to make this more entertaining and keep it manageable. I'm starting from the ground-up yet again, although not much has been done, and am going to try this one more time. Here is my idea for how this will work:

• 1 album reviewed every day. This also means I have to LISTEN to the album, not from memory. Even though I've listened to Beatles' Revolver a thousand times I need to do it again to get a fresh perspective on this.
• I'm going to go through the list alphabetically, but differently. By this I mean I'm going to review a band that starts with an A, review one of their ablums, then do a band that starts with B, and so on through the alphabet. This keeps me in line and also forces me to listen to stuff that I normally wouldn't, while at the same time gives a lot of variety so I'm not stuck listening to all of the Aerosmith and AC/DC all at once. That got old fast.
• Every week I get to pick my own album to review on my own for getting through the other ones. Like a reward. So ever 6 letters I get through I choose my own album of my own picking.
• I'll keep the scoring system because it's simple and keeps things in line, and a standout track as well for fun. I wish there was a better grading system but this will just have to do.
• I plan on doing a weekly podcast for this as well. Really! Figuring out the format for doing that now and I'm going to need to get the ball rolling again on this first, but once I've gotten into a groove it will start.

With all that being said, my promise to you all, all 3 of you, that I will do this this time. This is it for reals. Last time school kept getting in the way, but once I get into a system of doing this and don't have school to get in the way I should have no excuse. So lets do it for reals this time and I thank people in advance for their patience and hope they enjoy what happens, and as always feedback of any form is always appreciated.