Album A Day (x2)

So the rebooted Album A Day project stumbled out of the gate a bit, as yesterday came up blank. Luckily today had no serious plans in mind, so plenty of time to double up. First, the album that would have been posted yesterday; Panic! At The Disco's debut A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.

Panic! At The Disco's debut record dropped around the same time Fall Out Boy saw their highest point of success to date. The two bands always seem to be lumped together, creating an unfair deal for Panic. The Las Vegas quintet are less blatantly pop or punk than FOB, and are more like a cabaret group that just happened to have a few punkish songs. might be remembered as one of the albums that made dance-rock cool, at least in the indie circles. I love the band's new direction on the Beatles homage Pretty, Odd., despite the universe's lukewarm reaction to its less-hooky, orchestral feel. If you're tired of Pete Wentz and want something intelligent and catchy, go through your archives and give this another spin.

Today (1/3/09): Gavin DeGraw - Chariot

My usual problem with singer-songwriters is the fact that they are easily the most formulaic genre in music right now, moreso than rap and moreso than country. It's usually breaks down to a guy with a cottony smooth voice and an acoustic guitar who's had his share of heartbreak and needs to sing about it for his own personal therapy's sake. Chariot was Gavin DeGraw's attempt to break that up. Yeah, there's still some schmaltzy tracks on this one ("More Than Anyone"), but it's buried amongst the charming rejection of "Nice To Meet You (Anyway)" and the brilliant party song "Chemical Party", saying nothing of the title track. Unfortunately DeGraw walked away from that on his 2008 follow-up, but Chariot still stands out as a wonderful solo debut from a time when John Mayer and his contemporaries were churning out the same coffeehouse-friendly dreck.

Back tomorrow and in the future with consistent postings.

==TJ==

Panic at the Disco go to Boot Camp With Sgt. Pepper

Panic at the Disco (now with 100% less !) are back with Pretty. Odd., their follow-up to 2005's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, which went from being an underground favorite to Top 40 radio fodder. After a great deal of anticipation, the album found its way to the internet, a few short days before its release tomorrow.

Listening to the album, the first words that come to mind are "self aware". Panic (and this album) are both well aware of the response that A Fever You Can't Sweat Out got, and the fact that releasing a sophomore album that was essentially A Fever You STILL Can't Sweat Out would never have succeeded. So Panic gets the message and returns with an album that alludes to the over-the-top, cabaret style of Fever, but never actually takes on that sound. Panic opens the album with "We're So Starving", one of the best introductory not-really-a-song tracks I've heard in awhile. The track is essentially a wink and a nod to the listener, saying "Yeah, this is still us, but..."

The album then continues with lead single "Nine in the Afternoon", a bright, happy track that sets the mood for the rest of the album. Song after song, you get hit with jangly guitars, wandering lyrics and melodies, and a simple, subdued beat in the background. Also prevalent on nearly every track is a previously unheard-of brass section keeping the sound nice and big in lieu of the normal pop-punk stylings of old. Gone are the Pete Wentz-worshiping song titles. In its place are much more thoughtful, albeit still just left of center titles like "She's A Handsome Woman" and "The Piano knows something I Don't Know". That brings up another aspect of the new Panic: they're out of the Fueled By Ramen shadow that acted as a sort of stigma in the past. They're still on FBR imprint Decaydance, but they've outgrown the baby-FOB comparisons.

One more word belongs in the same sentence when describing Pretty. Odd.; "Beatles". Beatles influence is all over this album. "We're So Starving" and "Nine in the Afternoon" have Sgt. Pepper written on their foreheads, and "Do You Know What I'm Seeing" sounds so much like "Norwegian Wood", it's almost uncanny. Other bands have listed The Beatles as an influence on the album, but no one to my knowledge has ever been able to pull it off with the success that Panic at the Disco have. Some would call it pretentious Lennon-worship, but in reality its just smart playing and utterly brilliant songwriting.

When Panic! at the Disco dropped the ! earlier this year, many (myself included) scoffed and suggested it was a feeble attempt at begging to be taken seriously. Memo to self and others; we were wrong. It wasn't just a feeble beg, it was a statement, saying the same thing the opening track said "Yeah, this is still us, but..."

Ruling on the Field: 8/10
Highlight Reel: Nine in the Afternoon, Pas de Cheval
Pretty. Odd. on iTunes

==TJ==

Friday Night Goodies (Sort Of)

(So I'm a dumbass and posted this entry last night and botched the links to the songs. In the interest of getting picked up the Hype Machine, I deleted the entry and am reposting now with the actual links)

Once again, not much of note on the Top 40. "No One" is still at #1, beyond my comprehension, "Clumsy", "Low", and "Tattoo" are still nipping at its heels, but not doing enough, and the only new songs aren't terribly exciting (except for the new Daughtry song). Perhaps better luck next week.

I have to confess, I may have committed a nearly indefensible sin. I brought "He Said She Said" by Ashley Tisdale onto my hard drive. At the time I did it this didn't seem awful, just another example of my off-the-wall fascination with pop music. It wasn't till nearly a week later that I realized that Ashley Tisdale was cast member in High School Musical. I thus enabled Disney's sorry excuse for a record label AND annoying 12-year-olds everywhere. The file is still on my hard drive, but everytime I listen to it, I play something infinitely better both before and after it as penance. In the interest of not parading around this transgression, I will NOT post the song.

Earlier this week Panic At The Disco (they dropped the exclamation point from their name, perhaps The Disco has restored some order? Is it now just a mild concern?) released the first single from their new album Pretty.Odd. Regardless of the absurd punctuation in the album title, lead single "Nine in the Afternoon" is actually a pretty cool song. Panic has chilled out a bit, and the blatant Fall Out Boy worship is gone, but that carnival-esque style that set them apart in the first place is still present. At first listen it doesn't pack the same punch that anything on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out did, but regardless, it still commands a listen. Pretty.Odd. drops March 25th, and is available (along with "Nine in the Afternoon") on iTunes.

Panic at the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon [iTunes]

I've only scratched the surface of the 300+ songs I mentioned in the last post, but I'm already finding things I like and things that need work. For the record, with a few exceptions, Eric Clapton was better in a band than he ever was solo. I also truly like the Gin Blossoms, even though I've only heard a couple of songs.


That's it for now. Back later this weekend with reviews and stuff.

Currently Listening: John Mayer - The Heart Of Life [iTunes]
(listening to this album...my reaction coming this weekend)

==TJ==

When Will the Madness Stop?

First, there was Alanis Morrisette and her piano ballad rendition of "My Humps". Then we caught wind of Chris Cornell giving "Billie Jean" the Soundgarden treatment. And now Whudahexup has released a new track from Panic! At the Disco...which just so happens to be a cover of Nelly Furtado's "Maneater". I don't know what's behind all this, but I'm going on record with my request to hear someone do a rocked up cover of "Smack That". Can we get someone on this already please?

Panic! At the Disco - Maneater (Nelly Furtado Cover) (Courtesy of Whudahexup)

==TJ==