Lady Gaga - Born This Way 7.5/10
Neal Morse - Testimony 8/10
Neal Morse - Testimony 2 8.5/10
Neal Morse - ? 9/10

Devil Makes Three - Devil Makes Three 7/10

I like it. But it is not outstanding or anything.

My Morning Jacket - Circuital: 7/10

Wish they would come out with something as awesome as Z again...

The Weeknd - House of Balloons: 7/10

Normally hate any kind of R&B, but the production on this is awesome and there are a few really great "cuts". Highlights: High For This, House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls

The Postal Service - Give Up 6.5/10
Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge 8/10

Com Truise - Galactic Melt 8.5/10

This is hot

Kuniko Kato - Plays Reich 10/10

It is rare if I give an album 10/10. Actually I don't think I have given a 10/10 ever on here. She is a percussionist and on the album performs a number of pieces composed by Steve Reich, which she has arranged for steel pans, vibraphone and marimba. Fantastic.

Richard and Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver 8/10

Santana - Abraxas 8/10

Kyung-Wha Chung - Brahms Violin Sonatas 7/10

I didn't feel it as much as her other albums.

Adele "21" - 10 out of 10
I got this album for my girlfriend and ended up falling in love with the entire thing. I typically like smoky soulful voices when it comes to females and jazz/pop. However, her voice is intoxicating and very "big". I don't know if she wrote these songs but I absolutely hope she did. Rolling In The Deep, Tables Turning & Someone Like You are my favorites but every song has merit and a catchy hook. Very well done album. Very surprised.


Paul Simon "So Beautiful Or So What" - 7 out of 10
A lot of typical Simon fare going on in this album. Multiple tracks with African beats similar to everything he has done for the last 20 years. However, all the tracks are good, especially the inspired opening track and the gorgeous Love Is Eternal Sacred Light. It is not a step in a new direction but the tracks are put together well. This is a good "easy listening" album for a fella at work like myself. Would I listen to this in depth at home? Nah. It's too standard Simon to care that much.

I saw that Adele on The Graham Norton Show, and she seemed quite a nice lass. Actually had a personality, which the same can't be said for that Nicole Scherzinger or whatever. Great voice. Tempted to try her stuff out.


Anyways,

Santana - Santana 3 8/10

Junior Boys - It's all True. I'll always have a bit of a bias for these guys and Caribou because they are the only Hamilton Ontario artists with any real indie cred. But this is a good album, maybe not a masterpiece like their first two but still a solid album of cool electropop for depressed people. 8/10

John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Pretty incredible, didn't expect to like this as much as I am, especially as I didn't really love his other stuff, he really perfected his sound here. 9/10

Cut Copy - Zonoscope: 8/10

Really didn't like this much at all for a long time, but finally got around to giving it a legit chance and listened to it all the way through a few times. It's definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. No song is really that great, but the album all flows together pretty damn well and its just light and catchy all the way through.

It's got a cheese-ball factor that turned me off at first but now I think its a bit more endearing. I think the fact that the weather has finally gotten nice in Portland made a big difference too, great for driving around with the windows down.

Albums:

Radiohead - King of Limbs: 9/10
Bad Meets Evil - Hell: The Sequel: 7/10

Singles / Tracks:

Methodic Doubt Music - Half the Man (Methodic Catalog Sessions, Vol. 1): 9/10 (This theme was used for X-Men: First Class' trailer)

Goldspot - Clap Clap (And the Elephant is Dancing): 9/10

Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning (Wasting Light): 7/10

Bon Iver - Bon Iver 8/10
TOKiMINOSTA - Creature Dreams 9/10
Battles - Gloss Drop 8/10
Best Coast - iTunes Session 6/10
Cults - Cults 9/10

Dunno feel like I've listened to more albums than this but whatever

Richard and Linda Thompson - I want to see the bright lights tonight 8.5/10

Randy Newman - Harps & Angels - 6/10

Weird album. Lots of talky songs but some very interesting work and stories. He has a very unique voice and style...he is def. an individual.

Limp Bizkit Gold Cobra - 7/10.

Loses steam with the last few tracks but my faves: Shark Attack (aka Break Stuff 2.0), Get A Life, Douche Bag, Loser, Gold Cobra, that's it.

I bet Fred Durst named his songs after headlines his name was attached to over the years: Douche Bag, Get a Life, Loser...is there one called washed up?

Hole - Pretty on the Inside 7/10

NIN - The Fragile 8.5/10

Cara Dillon - Sweet Liberty 4.5/10
Compared to her most recent album, Hill of Thieves, I've found this album rather lacking. Maybe it is too "poppy" for me when I was looking for a more folkie sound, but there is definitely something missing, which originally drew me to try her stuff out. Maybe the record will grow on me, but for now, blah.

Devon Sproule - Keep your silver shined 8/10

30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars 9/10

Fantastic album. The only reason it didn't get a 10 was due to the lack of single material. Just got stoned and listened to this for 4 days straight. Best time ever.

Trampled by Turtles - Duluth 8/10
Page Frances - Hello, Dear Wind 5/10
Megadeth - The System has Failed 7.5/10

Is Gold Cobra worth purchasing?

Also

James Blake - James Blake : 8/10

The College Dropout - Kanye West : 9/10

In Rainbows - Radiohead : 9/10 (Didn't listen to it entirely)

Turtleneck and Chain - The Lonely Island : 8/10 (Massive boner for "Threw it on the ground")

Feel Good Inc (Single) - Gorillaz : 8/10

I've been listening to Joni Mitchell's "Clouds" album all day. It is a good 9/10 for me at the mo.

Can't believe there are honestly people out there who still listen to Limp Bizkit.

I'm content with Gold Cobra. It's the 90's in 2011. Just think about it coming out back then and it would've been sick as shit, especially with Shark Attack continuing Break Stuff. The album may suck in today's standards but I mean just change the release date on your iTunes from 2011 to 98 or some shit like that and it'll make more sense to you. Not their best album, but I'm not gonna knock on it.

Eminem - Recovery- 7/10

Particularly love 'On Fire' and 'Talkin 2 myself', album could be alot better though. Oh and going through changes is decent.

Pretty sure it sucked in the 1990s too

I meant to buy the Three Dollar Bill Yall$ album the other day, but accidentally bought the Three Doors Down album instead.

Zomby - Dedication 9/10
TV Girl - TV Girl EP 7/10 (one ridiculously amazing track tho)

Washed Out - Within and Without 8.5/10

This is really fucking good. Not a huge fan of the EP (except Feel It All Around obviously), but this is fucking awesome.

Dragonette - Fixin to Thrill 7/10

Had heard Dragonette on various remixes, so I decided to check them out. They almost have a The Sounds feel to them, but a little more raw.

David Bowie - Lodger 6.5/10

It doesn't touch the other two "Berlin Trilogy" records.

Hot Club of Cowtown - Wishful Thinking 6.9/10

I love it musically, but the original songs are kinda weak lyrically, which annoys me. I definitly want to check more of their stuff out, but the older records that have less original material on them. They are better musicians and interpreters than songwriters, though I don't particularly care for their cover of Tom Waits' "Long Way Home."

The Black Keys - Brothers- 7.5/10

Only found out about these guys today due to a random search for new music(well, new to me).First 9 songs are great but falls off abit imo towards the end. Glad to have listened to it.

Check out the rest of their library. Will blow you away. Brothers is just the 'result' of their progression. Their other sounds are tantalizing.

Cheers for that, i have all their albums available so will do that sometime soon.

Journey - Departure 8/10
Ultravox - Vienna 8/10
Ultravox - Rage in Eden 7/10

Honestly....Theory of a Deadman "The Truth Is...."

I'd give it about a 4/10. I'm a HUGE TOAD fan and have been since they came out, but this shit sucks. It's like a pop cd honestly.....makes sense now that I know Kara DioGuardi from american idol helped write a bunch of it.

Best song is probably "Gentleman" or "Drag me to hell"

Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer 8.5/10
Molly Nilsson - These Things Take Time 8/10
The Horrors - Skying 7/10
Hoop Dreams - XCPR 5/10
Phil Selway - Running Blind 4/10
Clams Casino - Rainforest 7/10
Ceremony - Not Tonight 6/10

Watch the Throne - 9/10

Just disgustingly good.

NIN - Downward Spiral 8/10
Bob Dylan - Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 8.5/10
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town 7.5/10
Ray Charles - The Genius of... 7.5/10
Lambchop - Nixon 5.5/10