his album is incredibly unique. There is nothing out there anything like Emilie Autumn. Her self-created genre, called “Victorian Industrial”, is a singular mixture of edgy industrial beats, classical violins and harpsichords, accompanied by Emilie’s equally vicious and pure vocal work.

Many of her songs were filled with clever references to historical figures and fictional characters. The subtle sexual innuendo and reference to Catherine Howard was greatly appreciated in the track “Marry Me”.

A lot of the tracks seemed to deal with her mentioned rape when she was 18 and I found many of those tracks to be the most powerful. This includes “Gothic Lolita”, “God Help Me”, “Let the Record Show”, and “I Want my Innocence Back”.

All that makes Emilie Autumn is wrapped up in this album. Victorian period, sexuality, rape, history, psychology, and a sharp tongue. I have far too many tracks I enjoy on thus album to possibly pick an ultimate favorite, but if I had to pick one it would most likely go to “Opheliac”.

And no offense to Emilie, but I found the song “Thank God I‘m Pretty” to be pretty hypocritical. The lyrics themselves were quite clever and her voice is lovely. But she of all people shouldn’t be discussing her audience not paying attention to her music and only to her body. No one is making her perform in lingerie. Just a thought. Still enjoyed the song though. My only complaint aside from that nitpicky detail is that at times she picks the strangest moments to change her vocal pitch and repeats certain lines of her lyrics too much. Sometimes they over-distort her voice with effects as well. I understand the industrial they’re going for, but there is a place for it.

Overall, Emilie Autumn has crafted a very unique genre with stimulating music and thoughtful, deliciously sarcastic lyrics. She is definitely one of my favorite artists.

There is simply too much to say about this album, so I’m keeping it short.

The sound alone, without the amazing lyrics, is a lot to take in. It is never boring. There is always some sort of auditory interest going on and a lot of unexpected beats added in. It keep you on your toes. As for the lyrics, I enjoyed the nilhistic themes. You could analyze them to death and they’d still be amazing. “Closer”, “Heresy”, and “I Do Not Once This” I particularly enjoyed.

I think this album is a new favorite for sure.

Oh, Linkin Park you giant ball of angst. I didn’t understand what made this album so wonderful. Their lyrics have always been rather angsty and angry, but that was when they were backed up by amazing beats and complex musical compositions. Now it’s incredibly simple, which isn’t always a bad thing, and because the lead’s singers vocals (as appealing as it is) and lyrics aren’t particularly original, they have made themselves sound like every other band with angsty lyrics.

Their political ventures were also a little odd. Though I agree with them, I really don’t want to listen to political preaching from Linkin Park.

I could barely get through the entire album. I was bored stiff.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this album more if I didn’t know what I was missing, but I do and I’m not happy about it. Thumbs down for sure.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Sun Witch. The cheesy tag line and back-cover synopsis made it seem like it was going to be an overwrought, ridiculous Fabio-esque romance novel. The only reason I purchased it on amazon was because of the outstanding reviews it received (I tend to be very particular about my romance novels). I was completely wrong.

Though the first few pages start out a bit slow as the author establishes the political unrest within Columbiayana, you’ll come to appreciate the history later. The first sexual encounter in the beginning of the book changed things up a bit. I did begin to fear that this would end up being one of those romance novels that insists on having sex on every other page. Again, I was pleasantly surprised.

After this first scene, which was written in a stellar fashion without all the typical flowery language, there are very few full sex scenes. There is no doubt that this entire novel is sensual, but it does not cross that line and venture into vulgarity.

Ultimately I found the characters to be lovable, the plot intriguing, and the writing satisfactory. It is a very quick read when it hooks you in, you won’t be able to put it down. I can’t wait to read The Moon Witch and The Star Witch. This is good quality fantasy romance that is actually complex and seems like it took more than five minutes to write.

All and all I could only think of one word that perfectly describes John Saul’s In the Dark of the Night: mediocre.

It was not gripping in the least. Unlike some of Saul’s other books it was not a page turner. There was some suspense near the end but it still left a lot to be desired. I could have cared less what happened to those teenagers. They were very shallow, high school kids who wanted to get laid on vacation. The old man and his rickety dog were perhaps the most interesting characters in the story, though they only appeared now and again.

I do not read Saul for his writing and with a badly carried out plot and characters with zero depth I quickly lost interest. It was not terrible, at least he kept up the pace to keep the string of events semi-interesting, but it was not what I expected from him. Sometimes surprises can be pleasant but in this case it took a negative turn.

John Saul had an intriguing idea that fell flat on its face. I’ll give him props for an interesting plot but that can not carry the weight of a thoroughly chilling story, which this was not. This novel has soured me on Saul for awhile but I will surely return for him later after the monotony of this book wears off.

I used this book to review for my AP Art History exam at the suggestion of a fellow student. It covers the basics of art history, but it’s certainly no replacement for the in-depth analysis of a textbook.

I loved this album! I expect nothing less from Tricky, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this album quite as much as I did. Everything about it seems well-thought out and rich with layers of unique instruments. There is nothing else like this out on the market.

The rhythm of “Overcome” is spellbinding. Martina’s soft vocals contrast with the strength of the back grounding beat. The effect is very distinct in a positive way.

“Black Steel” is an example of a highly repetitive song that works. The verse and the well-crafted vocal work on the part of Martina. Not to mention the Public Enemy concept is a fiery subject in the first place. This song has the ability to be provocative while still maintaining its likeability as a song.

“Hell is Round the Corner” is poetic in its languidness. The beat in the background is subtle and the lyrics are simply interesting to listen to, even if you aren’t analyzing them. It’s nice just to hear Tricky talk, his voice exudes this sense of urban poetry, like he has something to say and his lyrics make that delivery, meet that expectation.

Goldfrapp adds something new and interesting to the track “Pumpkin”. Her dreamy voice fits well in the world of Tricky and his breathtaking lyrics. The instrument (I‘m guessing it‘s a guitar, I‘m never quite sure) serving as a transfer between Goldfrapp and Tricky’s voices is unexpected, but fits in the song well.

“Aftermath” is a beautiful track with amazing lyrics. I always enjoy songs about couples more from Tricky because they are much more creative than the manufactured ballads that often come out of the music industry. Tricky’s are always raw, often dark, brewing with passion, and above all, realism.

“Abbaon Fat Tracks” is an interesting song about a prostitute that is nonchalant yet shocking in its blunt vulgarity. In that way the lyrics are very true to its speaker.

“Brand New, You‘re Retro” is the most interesting track audibly. The lyrics and more importantly the music itself is complex and multi-layered.

“Suffocated Love” shows Martina at her best vocally. In the other tracks she kind of talk-sings, but in this song she seems to actually use some lung capacity. Again, Martina and Tricky manage to make this track very sexy.

Frankly, I have zero complaints about this album. I loved it. It is interesting to listen to, the beats are amazing, the lyrics are thoughtful, and it is just all-around a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I recommend it to anyone.

Ciara will not be on my “top artists” any time soon, but I think its safe to say that she’s talented and has a very lovely voice. It’s more the style of her songs and the genre itself that makes me so nitpicky.

Admittedly, I enjoyed “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step” a great deal. They were probably my favorite songs on the entire album not for their lyrical quality, but for their awesome beats and potential to be amazing dance music. As far as foot-tap-ability, these two tracks would definitely be my favorites.

“Lookin‘at You” is incredibly catchy. That is about all there is to say about it.

“Next to You” allows its listener to enjoy Ciara’s voice in and of itself. The lyrics aren’t at all imposing. As a matter of fact, if Ciara’s voice was not so pleasant, this song would be incredibly boring.

“The Title” has an almost soulful tone that makes it stick out. It is perhaps one of the most classically likeable songs on the album, not to mention its kind of cute. Its worth listening to simply to the soul-esque intro to the song and surprising, but not random beat placement.

Unfortunately, I have more to say about the songs I disliked than the songs I enjoyed.

“Oh” was really insipid , even for a dance song. The lyrics are virtually nonsensical but are written in a way where they are barely interesting to listen to. Ludacris sounded very similar to Eminem, which was odd, but I like both Ludacris and Eminem so the rap part of the song worked for me. But other than that few seconds of rap, the song wasn’t really worth its four minute duration.

“Pick Up the Phone” was perhaps one of the most annoying songs overall. I have the phone ringing enough at my house, the last thing I want to hear that terrible noise in my music as well. Not to mention listening to a repetitive 4 minute song about a guy who won’t pick up the phone when his girlfriend calls isn’t exactly my cup of tea. You want to reach in the song and tell her to just stop calling the guy and being so pathetic. Not a good song, at all.

Perhaps the only track competing for most annoying is “Other Chicks”. The flow of the song seems off. That may just be a personal thing, but the excessive breathiness seems to have no place and overall there is just something about it that makes it rather irritating to listen to. Perhaps it is the way she seems to being going one direction with her voice then pulls in another direction suddenly. At least there are no phone noises in this track.

Though I liked “Goodies”, having it twice on the album with different people in it was a little unnecessary. The amount of featured artists on this album makes it seem like the producers thought Ciara couldn’t carry her own weight with her own voice, which is far from the truth.

Ciara’s music appeals to the rhythmic side of everyone. Her songs are catchy and incredibly dance-friendly. Are they the deepest songs in the world? Not really. It is very reflective of her young age and pertain a great deal to the superficial areas of a 19 year old‘s life. This album is not for lounging about and contemplating the lyrics, it’s for a good beat.

Overall, this album was enjoyable, but in a different way from her latest, “Back to Basics”. It is much more traditional, a little mixture of R&B/Pop songs. Though it may not be original it is still worth listening to. Some of the songs a good for actually sitting down and listen to, some for dancing, but most of them could do best as half-ignored background music.

By far I enjoyed “Fighter”, “Beautiful”, and “Walk Away” tracks the most. They were interesting to listen to, with well-written lyrics and good arrangements.

I do have a few complaints about “Stripped” however, one of them being the attempts to make this album very “personal” for Christina. For singer-songwriters this closeness with their music often comes naturally and is usually done so in a clever, interesting manner. Many of the songs that were laced with Christina’s “fuck you critics” attitude didn’t work. I am usually a fan of these types of songs, it’s a nice mixer-upper from the usual love and break up songs that litter the R&B/Pop genre, but the way they were written was, frankly, juvenile and a waste of Christina’s powerful voice. Her personal struggle with what appears to be the media and self-image sound whiney and sometimes even funny in this form. Especially the intro to the album, where she declared she was going to tell “her side of the story” in a mixture of media clips. Though it sounds cruel, in the manner in which the message was conveyed, I could really care less. It could have been worse, but it’s not my favorite note that this album hits.

“Make Over” seemed like it was from an entirely different album altogether. It maintains the “Me against the world” attitude “Stripped” seems to tout but the music and arrangement of the song itself seems very random against the rest of the album. I liked it, though I’m not exactly sure if it fits Christina’s voice. Among the R&B, here is a random, not-so-sure-what-genre-it-would-fit-into song.

The most uninteresting track on this album was, by far, “Love Me 4 Me”, a slow little song that has a sound that reminds me of that 90‘s girl‘s band Dream. The music itself would have been forgiven but the lyrics were ridiculously bland, only trumped by the massive amount of talking. Talking does not belong in songs 99% of the time and this was one of the 99%. A lot of the slow songs on this album were rather forgettable and manufactured.

Overall, as far as her music, it has definitely advanced, but “Stripped” seems to drop off after track six and pick up again in spots near the end of the ablum. I think this is a good album to listen to for personal grips and non-metal-worthy anger, but if you’re looking for a more mature version of sexiness and overall outlook (while maintaining Christina‘s powerful voice) look to her newest album “Back to Basics”.

his is a new, different kind of pop that shows that Christina Aguilera is not just a hot body with a powerful voice, but a woman with a true identity and creative motivation. She has gone through a great deal of transformation throughout her career, from teenage pop idol, to good-girl-gone-bad (which inspired Brittany Spears to adopt her white-trash version of Christina’s “Stripped” image), to this new vintage-inspired sex symbol. Though Christina may have felt she was growing up with her sex-inundated club hits, but I feel that signs of her true maturity show through in the two-disc “Back to Basics”.

All of these songs are sung with the spirit of an old Hollywood starlet, combined with Christina’s loud and undeniably powerful vocals. The new lyrical style she has adopted is much more clever than her previous songs, using subtle puns and wordplay that conveys sexual undertones subtly (true vintage style of course). Perhaps her most impacting slow song “Hurt” expresses pain in a way much different than that of other pop songs and is only made better with Chrstina‘s anguished voice. “Hurt”, “Candyman”, and “Nasty Naughty Boy” were my favorite tracks by far.

Christina is finally putting her energy and talent into something worth-while, rather than cheesy pre-teen pop songs or smutty club music. She is making worthwhile, unique music. Let’s just hope she continues in this promising direction