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CD reviews (May – June 2009)



LILY ALLEN: It’s Not Me, It’s You

Reviewed by Gabe Andreen, 16, Pilgrim School

Lily Allen’s second CD, It’s Not Me, It’s You, is good, but I enjoyed her first one a lot more. The sound is more cohesive on her new one, but I wish Allen had kept some of her style-jumping.

On her first album, Alright, Still, one song would be ska and the next would be pop. It’s Not Me, It’s You has some of that variety, but it is less crazy and eventually every song started sounding the same.

It’s Not Me, It’s You keeps the playful and sometimes shocking lyrics of Alright, Still. One of my favorite songs is “F*** You.” In the song, Allen tells off a racist ex: “You’re just some racist who can’t tie my laces … You say you think we need to go to war … It’s people like you that need to get slew/ No one wants your opinion.”

Others songs I like are “Back to the Start,” which spoke to me about fighting with my brother, and “The Fear” because it reminded me not to be obsessed with self-image.

I think a lot of pop music can be boring and meaningless, but I connected to Allen’s first album because of its songs about how much of a jerk your ex is, how they try to get back with you and what great people your friends are. But on the new album the lyrics became repetitive (most of the songs are about relationships that never worked out). I always skip the last four songs (there are 12 total) because of the repetitiveness.

Even though I liked It’s Not Me, It’s You I miss the more adventurous Allen from Alright, Still.




ANGEL Y KHRIZ: Showtime

Reviewed by Fiona Hansen, 16, Marlborough School

Some people think reggaeton is monotonous because every song has a “Dem Bow” beat, a synthesized bass beat that pounds through the songs. However, in Showtime by Angel y Khriz every song is unique and has its own style and rhythm. Yet they’re all unified by that driving reggaeton beat that adds Latin flavor to every minute of this CD.

Showtime has great dance tracks like “Muévela,” which was in a club scene in the movie Fast & Furious and has a strong, pumping club beat. Angel y Khriz combine reggaeton beats with bomba, salsa, hip-hop, and in “Quiere Más,” merengue. “Quiere Más” (She Wants More) is my favorite song to jog to because the speed and variety make me want to never stop running.

There are also slow, romantic songs like “No Me Conoces,” meaning “You Don’t Know Me,” which is a really sweet song about a girl the guy knows only in his dreams. Fortunately, even if you don’t understand Spanish, the emotion in the songs is so strong that it’s not necessary to know exactly what the words mean to understand what they’re saying. Some of the lyrics make it seem like Angel y Khriz, like many reggaeton singers, are a little perverted and girl-obsessed, but the energy, passion and intensity is the part I enjoy.

I think this is a great album for people who have never listened to reggaeton because it incorporates so many styles of Latin music. Angel Guzmán and Christian Colón are a relatively new reggaeton duo. Some of their songs can be heard on Latino 96.3 FM, but they’re less famous than more American-influenced artists like Pitbull and Daddy Yankee.



VARIOUS ARTISTS: Twilight Movie Soundtrack

Reviewed by Patricia Chavarria,
17, Cesar Chavez HS (Compton)

If you’re like me and thought the movie Twilight was disappointing because it was nothing like the book, I understand. But I absolutely LOVE the soundtrack and I think you would too.

The music creates a dark and vampire-ish vibe. Songs like “Decode” by Paramore make me feel as if I’m in the Twilight world. The lyrics “What kind of man that you are/ If you’re man at all/ Well, I will figure this one out/ On my own/ I’m screaming I love you so/ But my thoughts you can’t decode” are so vivid that I love playing this song when I’m reading the Twilight books.

A great song for you girls in love with Robert Pattinson (Edward) is “Never Think,” which he wrote. It’s one of those soft-melody love songs played with an acoustic guitar. Be careful when you hear Pattinson sing “Once I put my coat on/ I’m coming out of this all wrong/ She’s standing outside holding me/ She’s saying oh please/ I’m in love/ I’m in love,” because you could get lost in his romantic voice. Listen at your own risk.

The only song I didn’t like was “Eyes On Fire” by Blue Foundation. Even when watching the movie, the song didn’t seem to belong. It’s hard to understand what the woman is saying because she sings in a low then high pitch. And the drums have a marching band sound.

So regardless of whether you liked the movie, I would definitely recommend the soundtrack, which even has “Bella’s Lullaby,” the song that Edward wrote to Bella, performed by singer Carter Burwell.