Everyone's got an opinion on it...

Just take me to the stupid CD reviews and leave me alone!

Most people will tell you that they think I have no taste in music because my tastes are so varied. Well, to them, I say "you're all stupid", storm off to my mp3 and CD collection, and know that I am right and they are wrong. Seriously, I'm working on a music CD collection of over 400 CDs (maybe not a lot to some, but quite a few to most) and my mp3 collection has been handpicked and grown to almost 1800 songs. And I'm not one of those who just burns a whole album yet only really likes one or two of the songs <cough-Robbie-cough>. I guess here I'll state my most favorites in music, at the time. They do tend to change, waver in and out and around, etc. I'll try also to put up some 'reviews' of CDs I have recently acquired or think noteworthy enough to put some effort into talking about.

My Music Vitals:
Desired mp3 burning/management software: MusicMatch Jukebox
I have the Plus version of this and it is great. It comes in shareware as well, although if you pay for the full version, you get much faster CD burning rates and there are some other features I really don't take advantage of, yet, with my piddly dial up connection.
My Audio setup at home: A Yamaha RX V800 Receiver that can crank out the tunes and movies (with the right speakers)! Also, I've got my trusty Pioneer CD/Cassette player that has 200W total output - very nice when you just want to hurt some eardrums. You can actually cool down with the air being blown out of the speakers when it's really loud. I love it, and it's lasted me since my UCLA days at Casa Ophir. Now that's dependable!

Favorites in Music:
Favorite Artists: Madonna, Michael Jackson (his music - the man is a mess though), Missy Elliott
Favorite Groups: The Offspring, ABBA, En Vogue, Garbage
Favorite Albums: So Addictive (Missy Elliott), Mechanical Animals (Marilyn Manson), Music (Madonna)
Favorite Songs: I Don't Like the Drugs, But the Drugs Like Me (Marilyn Manson), Can't Get You Out of My Head (Kylie Minogue), Impressive Instant (Madonna), The Train (Quad City DJs), Waterloo (ABBA), 4 My People (Missy Elliott), Who Is It (Michael Jackson)

If anyone out there is able to come up with their own favorites, don't hesitate to send them to me. I'd be glad to put them up if you're brave enough to endure the opinions of others.

Some of my recent acquisitions:

Madonna - American Life: I was very prepared to hate this album upon getting it. I had heard, but not read, some reviews by the big reviewers that this album was trite and stupid and completely devoid of any talent. Well, to hell with these guys. I listened to the album once, and wasn't particularly struck by any of it, besides the title track and Die Another Day. But then I listened to it again, and this album f***in rocks! I don't know what the hell the liner art has to do with anything on the album (it's nowhere near an anti-war album), but the songs are almost ALL completely good to listen to. I'll admit that I would and still do skip songs on both "Music" and "Ray of Light", but honestly, most of these songs on American Life are completely listenable, and they definitely have some themes in them that I can relate to right now. I would have to say that "Love Profusion" and "Nobody Knows" are great listens, as well as the awesome "Die Another Day". "Hollywood" can definitely be jammed to while driving in SoCal. Great, great album. Don't be a hater!

Missy Elliott - Under Construction: This is the shiznit! No seriously, THIS IS THE SHIZNIT. I love this album. As with her previous album, Miss E...So Addictive, the songs on the CD don't let up. The radio single, Work It, is a blast, but my favorite songs on the disc are Gossip Folks ("I heard she eats one cracker a day..") and then Slide, which must subliminally tell you to crank your stereo up. The other songs are still mad dope, but the three I list above will really make you shake yo' ass. Missy may have lost some weight, but she didn't lose her skills. So, log off of the Internet and go buy this damn thing. What are you waiting for? - HB, 12 Jan 02

Madonna - Die Another Day CD single: I just got this in the mail from Amazon.com. I must say I am hooked on this song now. Total techno and club music, but it's a blast. I am not even sure what the hell Madonna is singing about (is she deciding not to kill herself? is she just singing a James Bond theme song? You decide), but this cd single has a great bunch of remixes of the song, all good. I am sure if you go to any club, you'd hear these mixes. Anyways, a good listen.

ABBA - The Definitive Collection (2 discs): I don't care if you are going to give me grief over this - but ABBA rules. I didn't have my copy of ABBA gold out here with me in the Azores, and after going to see Mamma Mia! in London, I knew I had to get a copy of something, in addition to the soundtrack which I also picked up. I found this on Amazon.com and it had most of the songs that were in the play that weren't in ABBA gold. Sweet! So for those who aren't ashamed to say they enjoyed ABBA, I highly recommend this. Now don't go get the videos though - my friend Byron has those, and they may actually cause you to stare hypnotically at the TV, as they are just that bad. Oy vay. Stick to just the music - these 2 CDs have every single ABBA released and you won't be able to stop singing along for the most part. Waterloo rules!

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions: The couple (Eric & Sheri) I met in London recommended this album to me, based on us hearing it at the Ten Bells pub after the Jack the Ripper walk. The one song I definitely remember hearing in the pub is "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing", which is an awesome song. As Sheri claimed, the whole album when listened to is a great journey and a very 'groove'-y way to spend 40 minutes or so. A definite recommend. Other songs noteable on the album are "Living For the City" and "He's Misstra Know It All", but all songs are great listens. And I thought Stevie Wonder was only the "I Just Called to Say I Love You" guy.

Shoot me an email if you have any comments!