Category: reviews with a 3 of 5 rating

video review : Everest

video review : Everest

“Why do we do this to ourselves,” a Mount Everest climber asks another, “It’s crazy.” Though all they really get for reaching the highest peak on Earth is the satisfaction of knowing they did it, that last bit isn’t necessarily true. It could just be stupid. It seems, if they’re not on secret suicide missions, it has to be either one or the other. When you reach the so-called Death Zone, you’re guaranteed to start dying from lack of oxygen. Even with a full “O” mask, you could just as easily fall or freeze to death.

Everest is based on the true story of several climbers getting caught in a deadly blizzard, but you’d be better off watching one of the many documentaries covering the 1996 disaster. This fictionalized version never gets far off the ground. There’s a poignant phone scene near the end, but nothing in the storytelling invokes much compassion for the cast of foolish or crazy characters. So much for suspense. Consistently hearing them breathe and grunt as they climb only adds to the annoyance.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Poverty And Prosperity ( EP ) … E-40

audio review : Poverty And Prosperity ( EP ) ... E-40

This is E-40’s first EP in over 20 years and that’s a bit of a relief. He’s been putting out a ridiculous amount of songs lately. His newest sets; Revenue Retrievin, The Block Brochure and Sharp On All 4 Corners, the latter of which is to be continued, include 202 full-length songs between them; not counting two albums with Too Short and all the aforementioned bonus tracks. So Poverty And Prosperity, featuring a mere seven songs, is, at least, an easy listen. Less isn’t more; that phrase never really made sense to me; but when it comes to sets of songs, it is often better.

Unfortunately for long-time fans like myself, E-40 is still stuck in what, at this point, seems like a never-ending rut. Forget the hackneyed hooks. Mr Flamboyant, The Mail Man, has gotten a lot less so with age. Compare this EP to the other two. When’s the last time E-40’s went off on a Hoe? He’s wiser than ever and his nostalgic flashbacks remain charming, yes, but his flashy personality has been humbled to the point of vapidity and his Christian sentiments, which used to come as a tolerable underlining, has become overwhelming. This is essentially gospel rap.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Unbreakable ( album ) … Janet Jackson

audio review : Unbreakable ( album ) ... Janet Jackson

Dammn Baby. You made me wait seven years for this?

I was liking every Janet Jackson album until Discipline. This new one, entitled Unbreakable as if her brother Michael didn’t already use that comeback concept, is worse. Janet Jackson is back with producers Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis and I’m delighted; she should’ve never abandoned them; but even their glossy craftsmanship can’t transform a mediocre song into a good one. Black Eagle, for example, sounds gorgeous when it takes off, but it doesn’t do so until pass the halfway point. By then it’s too late. Elsewhere the album is a surprisingly disappointing affair.

Janet Jackson has long since had a talent for vocal melodies. “Soon you’ll be having fun,” she teased on All For You; her best song on one of her best albums; and it was a joyous experience. Then, while the rest of the world focused on her tit; that whole Superbowl thing being blown ridiculously out of proportion is a prime example of why I hate “PC” America; I was jamming to the Damita Jo project, her other best album. I like 20 YO too, but she seems to have lost her knack between then and now. These choruses; Gon Be Alright sounds like a reject from Jill’s Scott newest album; lack oomph.

Broken Hearts Heal is about Michael Jackson. Unlike LaToya, I’ve never heard Janet badmouth him and she supported him during his criminal trial, so the sentiment seems genuine, but the dedication isn’t anything special. Jimmy and Terry do a splendid job with the music, as usual. It’s the vocals, again with the chorus, that disappoints. Is It Scary, a Jimmy and Terry song by Michael Jackson, is a masterpiece. Nothing here comes close. Even Scream is better than this stuff. Invincible, Michael’s worst album, which also begins with a weak song entitled Unbreakable, is better than Unbreakable.

That means the album title isn’t true. From the sound of it, Janet is indeed breaking. Not bad; I don’t hear anything terrible here; but bad enough to need a fix. If it isn’t being reunited with arguably the best duo producers in pop music history, I don’t know what it could be. Though some songs are suspiciously short, there’s only one interlude and she’s not talking on it, so she’s wised up in that regard. Her harmonies still sound incredible. She’s older, but her girly voice is still there. Even the vibe of the album sounds like classic Janet Jackson. The songs simply don’t hold up.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015
 

Amazon Customer :

Preach!

TVonDVD :

You read my mind … totally agree..

audio review : Burnitup ( song ) … Janet Jackson ( featuring Missy Elliott )

Damn. I know Janet is a VIP and everything, but why’d she have to bring Missy? The rapper’s annoying vocals add almost nothing of value to this song; another dance club anthem. Janet Jackson has many. This isn’t one of her best.

The beat, led by what may as well be the first second of Vanity’s Nasty Girl looped, is “hot” enough; it’s just that the song itself isn’t anything special. It sounds more like a Discipline reject than vintage Janet Jackson.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Unbreakable ( album ) … Janet Jackson

video review : Grizzly Man

video review : Grizzly Man

The helicopter pilot sent to haul away the remains of Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend after they were eaten alive by a bear suggests that Treadwell was a retard who got what he deserved. Perhaps that’s true. If he wasn’t suicidal, and it doesn’t seem he was, he had to be either stupid or crazy on some level to do what he did for so long. Not to mention his eccentric personality. Imagine Andy Dick camping out at Katmai National Park, talking to and interacting with wild grizzly bears as if they were harmless pets; no gun or anything to protect himself if one decides to attack. He loves those bears, he repeatedly insists, and lucky for us he was thoughtful enough to capture his antics on video.

It’s only fitting that someone made a documentary about him, but Werner Herzog wasn’t the right man for the job. Instead of an objective presentation, he inserts his own opinions, which portray Timothy Treadwell as someone to be admired. The worst part is when Herzog shows himself listening to the final minutes of Treadwell’s life; an audio tape of him and girlfriend Amie Huguenard struggling against the bear who ate them; without letting us hear any of it. Instead he starts to cry and tells the woman playing it that it should be destroyed. What an idiot. People like him shouldn’t be making documentaries. This one would be better if it were a lot shorter and stuck to the facts.

my rating : 3 of 5

2005

audio review : Unbreakable ( song ) … Janet Jackson

This “love” ode, a dedication from Janet to fans and friends, sounds like it’s going to be another banger until the chorus comes in and ruins everything. It’s not awful, but it sounds like it belongs on another song. The contrast is jarring enough to make what the title suggests should be something special a bit of a mess.

Michael Jackson made the same mistake on his last album, which also begins with a song entitled Unbreakable. Both are disappointments from artists capable of so much better, but Janet’s has better music. In a battle of the beats, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, or either one, beats Rodney Jerkins just about every time.

my rating : 3 of 5

audio review : Unbreakable ( album ) … Janet Jackson

audio review : Deeply Rooted ( album ) … Scarface

audio review : Deeply Rooted ( album ) ... Scarface

Scarface claimed Emeritus would be his final album. Even at the time, I thought it was bullshit. A lot of rappers claim to retire only to return to the game. Scarface isn’t the first and probably won’t be the last. Still, while I would’ve much preferred a Geto Boys reunion, it’s good to hear him back.

When not in menace mode, shooting death threats at snitches and “crackers”, which makes him as racist as the racists he stands against, his lyrics can be poignant. The best songs include God, Keep It Movin and two others I can’t factor in because they’re only included as Best Buy bonus tracks.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Woman ( album ) … Jill Scott

audio review : Woman ( album ) ... Jill Scott

You wouldn’t know by looking at the cover picture; a heavily-edited photo of her face in makeup and fake eyelashes; but Jill Scott is, apparently, a woman. I’m not sure why that matters, except for the fact that this album, as most from the soul music genre, is enveloped around the concept of romance. Almost every track touches on those kinds of relationships. Even the first song has the singer getting Prepared for a future beau. The presumption is that she’s heterosexual, or at least bisexual, and I guess that’s where her gender comes into play.

There are more notable songs. Jahraymecofasola is sweet, even if its title isn’t, and Say Thank You sounds like a relic from the 1970s. It’s no coincedence these songs are produced by Andre Harris. He’s a wonderful musician. Jill Scott can be a wonderful singer, but she’s not consistent. It’s not her voice but the melodies they carry that aren’t always up to par, especially during the chorus where it counts. The Lighthouse falsettos are annoying. The Aaron Pearce songs are bombastic. Cruisin, a nice summer breezer, deserves a better hook.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : The Foundation ( album ) … Geto Boys

audio review : The Foundation ( album ) ... Geto Boys

These days, a new Geto Boys album from Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill is more of a rarity than you might think. It never happens without Scarface, the apparent leader, but the three members don’t always get along, so every other album since the group said they Can’t Be Stopped in 1991 had outsiders taking the place of either Willie D or Bushwick Bill. That makes this Foundation their first new album in almost a decade.

Not a lot has changed since then. “It’s the return of the murderer, maniac, madman,” Scarface announces, in one of the grimiest voices in the world of popular rap, while Willie D grabs a knife to “stab your ass in the leg and the chest and the back and mouth”, respectively. Yep, they’re still violent, and still crazy, after all these years. Bushwick Bill exposes his dick in a club full of strangers and idolizes a plastic horror movie doll… still.

As fascinating as their psychopathic antics can be, they might be at their collective best when revealing their softer sides. I Tried, possibly their best song, takes us on an introspective trip down the bumps in the road of Memory Lane, where even Bushwick seems to care as he overcomes thoughts of suicide for the sake of his babies. The music is jazzy, soulful and delicate; a peaceful rarity on an album otherwise ready for war.

War And Peace was supposed to be the title, as J Prince suggests on the prelude, before they changed it for whatever reason. Names aside, it’s an album that could’ve been better if it had a better ending. Leaving listeners with a random Bushwick Bill song about the Dirty Bitch he holds a heart full of hatred for was an awful artistic decision. Even given the lazy “Outro” that follows, the album seems awkward and incomplete because of it.

my rating : 3 of 5

2005

the Reflections Elegant Black-And-White Mirror from Kate Aspen

the Reflections Elegant Black-And-White Mirror from Kate Aspen

This Reflections mirror is designed and marketed as a gift for weddings and the like. It comes in a bowed organza bag with a For You message attached. The casing folds out to reveal that there’s actually a bottom mirror and a (smaller) top one.

There’s also a third reflector on the casing’s shiny silver bottom, but that one is incidental. The casing’s black top is decorated with a damask pattern, which is too fancy for my liking; I’d much prefer plain black; but it’s a functional design overall.

my rating : 3 of 5

audio review : Compton ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : Compton ( album ) ... Dr Dre

Detox seemed like a sure thing near the end of 2010 when, after producing every song on Relapse; one of Eminem’s best two albums; Dr Dre released what was supposed to be its first single; a glossy party banger entitled Kush, featuring Snoop Dogg. It was a good start. But instead of finally putting the album out, he followed with one of his worst, albeit one of his most popular, songs; I Need A Doctor; and fell back into relative obscurity. It was an odd move rarely heard of in the world of popular music. Albums are pushed back, but almost never canceled after their first singles are released. The world was used to waiting though, for an album rumored and teased so ridiculously long that it was becoming a rap legend. Will fans ever get that Chronic epilogue? Dr Dre suggested not as he spoke about it in the past tense during a recent radio interview. “I didn’t like it,” he said, “It wasn’t good.”

That suggests he likes this album and thinks it’s good. It’s what Detox was originally supposed to be; a Dr Dre album with all-new songs. It sounds like all-new songs, but it doesn’t sound like a Dr Dre album, which, considering the sonic differences between the two Chronics, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What’s disappointing are the songs themselves. If we’re comparing them to what came several years before, they simply can’t compare. There’s no fun here. Humor is pushed aside for solemn thug poetry. The club is passed by for a Compton street corner, but where are the drugs and the hoes? Worst of all is the lack of catchy hooks to sing along with. Where’s Devin? Who are all these dudes? Where’s DJ Yella? “Where Ren at?” Kendrick Lamar is overrated. This sounds like one of his albums. Eminem was the best rapper by far in 2001. Why can’t he go back to rapping like that in every verse?

This isn’t Detox; I have to keep telling myself that; but it doesn’t have to be. It just has to be good. Dr Dre apparently thinks it is. I disagree. There’s nothing for me to latch onto here. The first song sounds surprisingly like the typical trap music of today. Dre didn’t used to follow. He used to innovate. Not that he made most of these beats (himself) anyway. The man is 50 years old. Perhaps I should give him a break, but why? He’s still making songs, so I can still critique them. “I ain’t heard nothing that I can consider classic,” he says of other rappers’ songs, but, even with a team of ghostwriters and ghostproducers on hand, I’m having a hard time hearing anything I can even consider good here. Even the beats, the best parts of the album, leave a lot to be desired. I’m not from Compton, so you might say it just isn’t meant for me, but I like both Chronic albums and never smoked weed. Go figure.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015
 

MCA :

Preach on, this album was so disappointing. I’m upset because we all deserve better.

R. J. Werner :

Amen!

DST :

I’m glad someone said it. After checking out the movie “Straight Outta Of Compton” and listening to the old albums, we were hype to listened to new music from Dre after all these years. The first time my friends & I heard “Compton”, we thought Dre broke into Kanye West’s studio and stole his instrumental tracks. Man what a huge let down. I hope someone will find those “Detox” tracks & released a bootleg version of it so we can judge if Detox was bad or was Dre just being his worst critic.

audio review : Blood ( album ) … Lianne La Havas

audio review : Blood ( album ) ... Lianne La Havas

If the title is meant to hint at something bad, fans need not fear. It’s only the sophomore jinx Lianne La Havas has been stricken with. Not that her first album is good. That one does, however, have three or four stand-out songs sprinkled in among the snoozers. This new Blood set has a harder time pumping them out.

The soundscape is, again, vintage in nature. Havas makes deep soul music that could’ve just as well come from long before she was born. It’s her vocal melodies, essentially the songs themselves, that disappoint. Midnight and Tokyo are mild highlights, but What You Don’t Do is dumb and most of the others are bland.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015