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Music from the Cube: What Am I Listening To Today?
Nothing makes me more sad than two bad CDs for my little reviews.
In looking ahead, however, tomorrow promises to be much, much better.
In the meantime, let's savage a couple of CDs, shall we? We will be making fun of an 80s music compilation CD and a dance club tune compilation CD. I promise I didn't throw the worst tracks up for MP3 downloading. They're actually the best tracks. Really.
*beams innocently*
Best of Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly Rating=$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Picked up for less than $1 at a used CD store.
This CD comes from the cheese-tastic end of late 80s pop music, which means it is a perfect representation of Kid Kelly's weekly radio show, Backtrax USA.
(Confession: I always prefered Barry Scott's Lost 45s weekly show, which at one time aired directly opposite Backtrax USA on Sunday nights in the Boston area.)
What makes this compilation truly unusual among compilations is that there isn't a single track on this CD that's rare or difficult to find, and yet it still manages to miss the boat as a representative sample of early- to mid-80s music. Most compilation CDs usually have at least one track that takes you by surprise because it's either not well-known or it came from somewhere other than the pop scene. Not so here. This collection is safe, safe, safe. It's so safe, that your brain will go numb. Then you'll fall asleep.
Save your pennies. There are better 80s music compilations out there with far more interesting track picks. I guarantee that if you've got an 80s music compilation anywhere in your collection, you've got every track on this CD already.
How can I sum up this CD in a single sentence?
This CD is exactly the kind of weak-ass K-Tel style compilation that you'd find in the collection of your friends with tragically bad taste in music.
(Please note: I make fun because I love. I dated one of these people all through college. It's no wonder we had a stormy relationship. While I was kicking it back the Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Dropkick Murphys, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, 10,000 Maniacs, The Church, The Smithereens, Yaz and so on, he was into...whatever Casey Kasem said was hot. I'm still bitter about the INXS concert he dragged me to. I should've known it was hopeless as soon as I saw his CD collection.)
Sample Song Downloads: I Want Candy — Bow Wow Wow, Wild Thing — Tone Loc, I Ran (So Far Away) — Flock of Seagulls
You can download all files from the project page by clicking here.
Best of Diva, Vol. 1: Female Vocal House Rating=$$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Freebie demo from my Bordersverse Daze.
I like dance music...when I'm at an actual dance club or doing cardio at the gym. Sitting in my cube while working? Not so much. Doing housework? More likely to throw on the Ramones to get the blood pumping. The CD is easily forgettable (in fact, I had forgotten that I had this until I put it in my CD wallet last night), and the dance tunes on it are completely disposable.
The only reason why this gets a rating that's as high as it does is because it reminds me of the days when I'd occassionally go to a gay/bi dance club with a co-worker and dance the night away. That's probably why the inclusion of "This Joy" (which is included below), which is so obviously a Gospel song that's been run through a sythesizer and sexed up for the dance club, amuses the hell out of me. Another amusing as hell track is the dance-remake of Garth Brooks's 'The Dance' (also included below) by Rockell.
Buy cheap and used if you're looking for halfway decent tunes to use in a workout/cardio mix or to slap into a Queer as Folk fan soundtrack. Otherwise, use the CD as a drinks coaster and satisfy yourself with the MP3s I've got here. Actually, I'll be honest: both 'Yes' by Amber and 'To Be Able to Love' by Jessica Folker are actually fairly decent tunes to have just for the sake of having them.
Sample Song Download: Yes — Amber, This Joy — Vanessa Mitchell, To Be Able to Love — Jessica Folker, The Dance — Rockell
You can download all files from the project page by clicking here.
***
To find previous thumbnail reviews, go to the Review Index.
***
Rating system:
None = Avoid at all cost. Worth cutting your ears off to avoid if someone threatens to play it for you. When faced with even the threat of its cellophane-wrapped presence, your best option is to RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
$= If you stumble across it for cheap in a used bin, it might, maybe, perhaps could be worth the buy, but only if you need a cheap coaster for your cold drinks or a cool-looking frisbee.
$$= You might want to give this CD/artist a try, but only if the sample track tickles your fancy. Don't bother buying this one new because the good tunes you'd get out of this one ain't worth that kind of money.
$$$ = Worth looking for on a casual basis and maybe even buying new, but no big rush.
$$$$ = Definitely worth having in the ol' CD collection and definitely worth buying new, but don't re-arrange your personal "must have" list to get your hands on it.
$$$$$ = Why haven't you bought this CD yet? Go. This is a "Want. Take. Have." situation because you so want this.
In looking ahead, however, tomorrow promises to be much, much better.
In the meantime, let's savage a couple of CDs, shall we? We will be making fun of an 80s music compilation CD and a dance club tune compilation CD. I promise I didn't throw the worst tracks up for MP3 downloading. They're actually the best tracks. Really.
*beams innocently*
Best of Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly Rating=$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Picked up for less than $1 at a used CD store.
This CD comes from the cheese-tastic end of late 80s pop music, which means it is a perfect representation of Kid Kelly's weekly radio show, Backtrax USA.
(Confession: I always prefered Barry Scott's Lost 45s weekly show, which at one time aired directly opposite Backtrax USA on Sunday nights in the Boston area.)
What makes this compilation truly unusual among compilations is that there isn't a single track on this CD that's rare or difficult to find, and yet it still manages to miss the boat as a representative sample of early- to mid-80s music. Most compilation CDs usually have at least one track that takes you by surprise because it's either not well-known or it came from somewhere other than the pop scene. Not so here. This collection is safe, safe, safe. It's so safe, that your brain will go numb. Then you'll fall asleep.
Save your pennies. There are better 80s music compilations out there with far more interesting track picks. I guarantee that if you've got an 80s music compilation anywhere in your collection, you've got every track on this CD already.
How can I sum up this CD in a single sentence?
This CD is exactly the kind of weak-ass K-Tel style compilation that you'd find in the collection of your friends with tragically bad taste in music.
(Please note: I make fun because I love. I dated one of these people all through college. It's no wonder we had a stormy relationship. While I was kicking it back the Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Dropkick Murphys, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, 10,000 Maniacs, The Church, The Smithereens, Yaz and so on, he was into...whatever Casey Kasem said was hot. I'm still bitter about the INXS concert he dragged me to. I should've known it was hopeless as soon as I saw his CD collection.)
Sample Song Downloads: I Want Candy — Bow Wow Wow, Wild Thing — Tone Loc, I Ran (So Far Away) — Flock of Seagulls
You can download all files from the project page by clicking here.
Best of Diva, Vol. 1: Female Vocal House Rating=$$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Freebie demo from my Bordersverse Daze.
I like dance music...when I'm at an actual dance club or doing cardio at the gym. Sitting in my cube while working? Not so much. Doing housework? More likely to throw on the Ramones to get the blood pumping. The CD is easily forgettable (in fact, I had forgotten that I had this until I put it in my CD wallet last night), and the dance tunes on it are completely disposable.
The only reason why this gets a rating that's as high as it does is because it reminds me of the days when I'd occassionally go to a gay/bi dance club with a co-worker and dance the night away. That's probably why the inclusion of "This Joy" (which is included below), which is so obviously a Gospel song that's been run through a sythesizer and sexed up for the dance club, amuses the hell out of me. Another amusing as hell track is the dance-remake of Garth Brooks's 'The Dance' (also included below) by Rockell.
Buy cheap and used if you're looking for halfway decent tunes to use in a workout/cardio mix or to slap into a Queer as Folk fan soundtrack. Otherwise, use the CD as a drinks coaster and satisfy yourself with the MP3s I've got here. Actually, I'll be honest: both 'Yes' by Amber and 'To Be Able to Love' by Jessica Folker are actually fairly decent tunes to have just for the sake of having them.
Sample Song Download: Yes — Amber, This Joy — Vanessa Mitchell, To Be Able to Love — Jessica Folker, The Dance — Rockell
You can download all files from the project page by clicking here.
To find previous thumbnail reviews, go to the Review Index.
Rating system:
None = Avoid at all cost. Worth cutting your ears off to avoid if someone threatens to play it for you. When faced with even the threat of its cellophane-wrapped presence, your best option is to RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
$= If you stumble across it for cheap in a used bin, it might, maybe, perhaps could be worth the buy, but only if you need a cheap coaster for your cold drinks or a cool-looking frisbee.
$$= You might want to give this CD/artist a try, but only if the sample track tickles your fancy. Don't bother buying this one new because the good tunes you'd get out of this one ain't worth that kind of money.
$$$ = Worth looking for on a casual basis and maybe even buying new, but no big rush.
$$$$ = Definitely worth having in the ol' CD collection and definitely worth buying new, but don't re-arrange your personal "must have" list to get your hands on it.
$$$$$ = Why haven't you bought this CD yet? Go. This is a "Want. Take. Have." situation because you so want this.
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I confess I liked INXS at the very same time I liked the Ramones. I still like INXS and the Ramones.
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