If you do or do not know, CD’s will no longer be produced by the end of 2012.

I don’t really want to digress into that topic, although it is the title for this post, because I have a plentiful amount of opinions in regards to it. But I will for just a moment…

CD’s have projected the music industry into the multi-billion dollar empire it is today. Even though the internet has taken music and propelled it into something larger and more empirical than it ever has been, you cannot say that CD’s did not bring music to the point it’s at currently.

Ultimately the death of the Compact Disc will be a tragic loss to all music lovers, unless you do not appreciate anything else but the internet and downloading. 

In other music news, Lulu was released this past week. If you had not heard about this joke of an album, let me be the first to tell you. Metallica and Lou Reed have decided to collaborate and create a…rock album of sorts? Yes. I’m tempted to get it and review it, but then again I’m not in the mood to poison my ears if it is unnecessary and avoidable. 

In other news, my all-time favorite band Guns N Roses was nominated this past week for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. What an honor. The debate now is who would show up to receive the award… Slash I choose you! 

But in terms of myself and non-stop musical adventures, lately I’ve been indulging in the White Stripes more than usual. Icky Thump will always be an important album to me; it allowed me to give more Modern Rock a chance— back in 2008. I think you can see how that worked out…

Nonetheless, my favorite song from the album will always be 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues. If you’ve never heard the song, then you will be graced with a multitude of different sounds that set a tone for individuality, which Jack White never fails to embody. The song goes from loud to quiet, obnoxious to soulful, but never once does it lose a sense of melody. I highly recommend the song and album if you’ve never heard it- the album itself is definitely a memorable mixture of some Jack and Meg White masterpieces.

I’ve also been harping on Pearl Jam lately. I just got Vs. (1994) and I liked it a lot more than I did Ten (1991). Vs. has a way more Post-Grunge feel to it than Ten does, which is completely understandable. Not to say I don’t like Grunge as much as I do Post-Grunge, (I’d choose the nitty-gritty, loud, original Seattle sound any day over it’s ‘Post’ sound counterpart) it’s just that Ten is a little more rough than Vs., therefore I’d prefer to listen to Vs. due to its including of acoustic sounds.  I don’t want to say I have a favorite song from the album yet because I’m still feeling it out, but the ever-so-popular Yellow Ledbetter has been on repeat lately… if that means anything.

Overall I recommend both of these albums, and if any of my followers take a look at Lulu, please shoot me a message and let me know how it is. I’m dying to know! 

Happy listening! 

I hate feeling like a hypocrite, but I am going to swallow my pride right now and admit to something I absolutely never thought would happen.

I listened to all of Ten (1991) by Pearl Jam. 

What. The. Fuck. 

Let me explain my situation and maybe you will understand why this happened. So I was thinking about how I really liked the soundtrack to the film, Into the Wild. Given, since Eddie Vedder did all of the music for the film, in my mind I was left with two choices:

1. Listen to the Into the Wild soundtrack, allow myself to get into 21st century Eddie Vedder, become a fan of middle aged men singing folk music when they shouldn’t be, and allow my music taste to be completely shifted forever.

or…

2. Listen to Ten, hear Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Mike McCready play what is said to be their best compilation of music, and mildly enjoy Eddie Vedder as I take in everything else from the album.

I obviously chose the latter. I stick by my decision, and I could say that I am somewhat happy to admit that I actually liked the album to some degree.

Ten is a classic. If you ask anyone who grew up in the early-mid 90’s, they will tell you that Ten defined rock music as they knew it when they were young. It’s undeniable when you listen to the album how perfectly concocted it is. Pearl Jam lives up to their title as one of the best rock bands of all time, and I’m content with saying I finally gave them the chance they deserved.

The only reason I never listened to them was because of the stigma surrounding Eddie Vedder. And I can’t deny it, something about him I still don’t like. His voice is not that pleasing. He is no Chris Cornell, no Layne Staley, but he is someone different and I have chosen to appreciate him…mildly.

Nonetheless, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Mike McCready are musical phenomenons whom I’ve always found to be incredibly talented. Mother Love Bone’s only album Apple (1990) is to this day, one of my most favorite albums of all time. Temple of the Dog’s self titled album (released in 1990 as well) makes it on that list too, and without the trio, those albums would not be possible. Thus, I felt since my musical taste and maturity has definitely taken more shape over the past 5 years, it was time to finally appease myself in the band I said I never would.

I can’t help but mention though how this album reminds me of Core (1992). People have always said that Stone Temple Pilots are ‘wannabe grunge’, and I have always ignored that claim on account of the fact I do not agree in the slightest for a multitude of reasons I do not feel like explaining at this present time. Nonetheless there are undertones within Core that remind me of Ten, most definitely. 

Statements made about who was ‘real grunge’ and who was ‘fake grunge’ are only valid when speaking about who sold out and who didn’t. But that’s just my opinion. Furthermore, it is still interesting how many bands in the early 90’s had vocalists with similar abilities, strong guitarists, and a alternative feel so impacting that people like myself are still heavily indulging in their music today. 

Personally, the song I enjoyed the most from Ten was Garden. I had to repeat the song three times before I decided to conclude my time with the album for the night. 

I’m looking forward to investigating Pearl Jam a little more, but carefully and timidly. I don’t want to dive into a pool if I can’t swim too well…right?

This weekend I plan to get another album, Toothbrush (2002) by Dr. Dog, per recommendation.

Wish me luck, reader.