CD reviews
Ozma, Guster, india.arie, Dave Matthews and Bond have been spinning in our writers’ CD players.
Ozma: Rock and Roll Part Three
By Sarah Peterson, 15, Flintridge Preparatory
If you ever needed a heartfelt album, minus the whiny clichés of many of popular rock groups, then Rock and Roll Part Three is the album for you. Often hailed as "sounding more like WeezerOzma plays with the kind of honesty and urgency in Weezer’s Pinkerton. However the pressure of being compared to such a renowned musical monument has not affected their originality.
The music is inundated with insistent percussions and synthesizer creations, but amidst the 11 fun-filled tracks there lies a gem, "Battlescars." When I had the divine opportunity to see Ozma at the Warped Tour, this was the best of their 30-minute set. I’d never seen a band so thoroughly swept into their performance.
Most of my friends are big fans, and would be the first to inform you that Ozma gives motion to emotion. Few people can listen without a smile. I listen to the album for enjoyment, and I feel certain that Ozma plays for the same reason. They have lived up to their potential, and hopefully will remain true to what they came out to do … rock.
than Weezer does,"
Guster: Lost and Gone Forever
By Carine Carmy, 15, Milken Community High School
One night when I was driving home from a friend’s, a car pulled up next to mine, blasting music. The pungent beat and the artist’s gentle voice stuck with me. Six months later I saw the movie Life as a House and nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard the songs "What You Wish For" and "Rainy Day." After the movie ended, I went straight to Tower, but it was unusually difficult to figure out which section I could find the CD. It is a blend of rock and alternative, infused with a definitive style that mingles a Beatles-like harmony with an African drumbeat. While it might seem like a group trying to do too many things at once, this is one band that knows the difference between noise and music. So if you like Bob Marley, Dave Matthews Band and the Beach Boys, you’ll definitely be bobbing your head to Guster‘s Lost and Gone Forever.
India.Arie: Acoustic Soul
By Brynn Holland, 17, Cleveland High School
"You have got to hear this," my friend said as he turned up the volume on his car radio on our way home from the beach, "Really listen to the words." I stopped my conversation and focused on the music. There were no screeching voices or offensive words, which I can honestly say I have had enough of in "popular" music today.
The song was "Video" off the first album by India.Arie, a solo singer whose music is acoustic R&B with a very nice beat. She sings about loving oneself regardless of what the media and society tells us to think of who we are. Females are constantly told that nothing about them can be perfect, but India.Arie’s song "Video" begs to differ. She sings about the beauty of "Brown Skin" and the meaning of a "Promise," two other titles of some of her fantastic songs.
Acoustic Soul is truly a MUST HAVE! If we all bought India.Arie’s CD and really listened to the words I believe that we would be taking a great leap towards making this world a better place for all of us, where we can love ourselves and others. Her second album, Voyage to India, is due for release this month.
The Dave Matthews Band: Crash
By Rissa Sison, 17, Alverno HS
The Dave Matthews Band is not your typical rock band that you constantly hear about on KROQ or KIIS. A few of their hit songs like "Crash" from their Crash CD, "Everyday" from their Everyday CD and "Satellite" from Under the Table and Dreaming
The Dave Matthews Band is more recognized as older people’s music. When I tell others that I’m a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band, they usually respond with, "Oh yeah, so is my dad." It doesn’t really matter to me, because the Dave Matthews Band is awesome and you should give them a shot.
Their most recent CD, Busted Stuff, was the number one selling album in late July.
Bond: Born
By Katrina Spencer, 17, Granada Hills HS
Lounging around one lazy day on my couch, I flipped through channels on my television. Suddenly a crescendo of wailing violins from one commercial made me sit up straight.
On the television were four beautiful young women who played orchestra music in different places. The commercial flashed from a desert, water and then to the jungle. The music got faster.
I eyed this foursome of sirens as though they were goddesses embodied here on Earth. I’d never heard classical music, typically old and gray, sound so revived and new. I knew I had to have this CD. Bond takes well-known classics and adds salsa rhythms, pop melodies and even folk song harmonies to liven them up.
The group is fairly new. They released their very first single "Victory" in September 2000 from their debut CD Born. The CD has 13 spicy tracks that are so diverse, they can be played as dance rhythms at parties, while studying or to serenade romantic moments.
You’ll be surprised when you first listen to the CD, because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Listening makes you feel sophisticated because of the classic music’s prestige. At the same time, it’s cultural, because it takes contributions from such a wide scope of styles.
If you like Bond, I suggest you try The Gipsy Kings or Beethoven.
