Radio Waves

So OFF! Magazine wanted me to do a couple of CD reviews. Since I'm such a big music fan, I jumped at the opportunity. I'll be reviewing two different albums, "Everyday" by Dave Matthews Band and "L.D. 50" by Mudvayne. Basically I go from one extreme to another.

The Dave Matthews Band is back with a brand new offering, "Everyday." Personally, I'm not the biggest Dave Matthews fan. I can say I own their "Under The Table And Dreaming" album and "Crash."

"Everyday" is the first Dave Matthews Band album I've listened to all the way through. When I listened to it I was in the perfect mood. It's more of a mellow sounding album. I was in a mellow sounds mood that afternoon. I guess that's why I hardly listen to Dave -- I'm not usually in the mood for his kind of sound. Yes, I am a headbanger. Anyway, out of all the bands out there in the rock genre, The Dave Matthews Band has one of the most unique sounds, and they continue that sound with "Everyday."

The thing I enjoyed the most about this album was the catchy guitar riffs. They make you feel good. The lyrics are great too. Overall, I give "Everyday" 2 1/2 stars (out of a 5-star scale.) I'd like to thank Jason Parker for letting me borrow this album, by the way he's a big fan -- 4 1/2 stars for "Everyday" from Parker. He says he likes it because the band sticks to its roots. So in closing, pure Dave Matthews Band fans will love his latest CD, his not-so big fans may not.

Mudvayne, one of the newest groups on the heavy metal front, is here with a sound that is unfortunately similar to bands of their genre. I think it's a bad sign when you can easily compare one band to another, but I'll do it anyway. Mudvayne is a mixture of Slipknot, Tool and Static-X. "L.D. 50" by Mudvayne contains 17 tracks. Some of which are just a bunch of electronic noise which I think we could do without. The album has good energy, and lead singer, Kud, has a good vocal range. When not screaming at the top of his lungs, he sounds pretty good.

The one thing I dislike the most about "L.D. 50" is there are too many cookie monster vocals. I don't mind the screaming vocals that much, but when they dominate a song it becomes too much for me to handle. Another thing that kind of bugs me about Mudvayne is that the band uses face paint and dresses in weird costumes. I think their music is good enough to where they don't need a gimmick. Overall, I'm a sucker for Mudvayne because of the good melodic sound and the catchy hooks. "L.D. 50" gets 3 stars from me. So if you're a fan of the harder sound, give Mudvayne a chance. I own their album, and I'm pretty glad I purchased it.

Finally, here are the Top 20 albums in the country according to Billboard:

20) "TP-2.Com" -R.Kelly

19) "Lovers Rock" -Sade

18) "Who Is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Volume 1" -Jill Scott

17) "O-Brother, Where Art Thou?" Soundtrack

16) "Country Grammar" -Nelly

15) "Chocolate Starfish & The Hotdog Flavored Water" -Limp Bizkit

14) "Human Clay" -Creed

13) "It Was All A Dream" -Dream

12) "Grammy Nominees 2001" -Various Artists

11) "All That You Can't Leave Behind" -U2

10) "Back For The First Time" -Ludacris

9) "The Gift Of Game" -Crazy Town

8) "Rule 3:36" -Ja Rule

7) "Greatest Hits" -Lenny Kravitz

6) "J.Lo" -Jennifer Lopez

5) "Save The Last Dance" Soundtrack

4) "No Angel" -Dido

3) "1" -The Beatles

2) "WWF The Music Volume 5"

1) "Hotshot" -Shaggy