Hilary Duff - Hilary Duff

Released: September 2004

Purchased: My mom got it for me shortly after its release (I'd guess October). I still remember getting out of school and going to the car to see it on the seat, and being so excited to listen to it when I got home. I hammered it very nearly as hard as Metamorphosis - tween/teen me was really into Hilary despite her being so uncool.

Playthrough:

Fly was a big song for me in middle school, as I started to be alienated from my classmates (and as my depression flared up again, though I didn't know at the time that was what it was). It's pleasant, but basically a Kara DioGuardi-by-the-numbers song. Not very inspired, and a little faceless.

Do You Want Me is sort of absurd with its syncopation, and it comes across as Hilary trying to be a safer version of Avril and not really succeeding. Not terrible, though.

Weird wasn't one of my favorites then, and it's even less so now. It's noisy.

I also didn't like Hide Away, but it's one of the better songs on the album to me now. Her vocals are weak in spots, though.

I still don't understand what compelled Hilary and Haylie to write a song called Mr. James Dean, but it's very enjoyable despite the bad vocals in the chorus. Very slightly like Roxette. Ariana could NEVER.

Underneath This Smile is where the vocals really get bad, and it's not much of a tune.

Dangerous to Know has a sort of sinister beauty, even though its lyrics don't make a lot of sense.

Who's That Girl is still a gem. Her vocals are thin, but the emotion actually seems genuine, unlike much of the album. Just checked Wikipedia, and it was co-written by Andreas Carlsson, just as I suspected.

Shine is pretty shit.

I Am is still that bop. Apparently it was written by Diane Warren, which surprises me given how basic the lyrics are, but it does have her melodic touch.

The Getaway is awfully good. I remember being happy it was included on Most Wanted even though it wasn't a single. It has some of the better lyrics on the album.

Cry is probably the worst song of Hilary's career. Absolutely no melody.

I loved Haters at the time, but it hasn't aged well at all. Her vocal inflection on "it all goes on behind closed doors" is great, though, and I loved scandalizing my mom with that lyric.

Rock This World is obviously out of a second-rate teen movie (which I've still never seen), but goddamn if it's not one of the album highlights. I think because even though it goes against Hilary's sparkly-spunky-shiny ethos and is totally unconvincing as a transition to Avrilness, it obviously has some real energy behind the recording.

I've included Someone's Watching Over Me in several playlists over the years. Totally should've been a single worldwide, not just in Australia - it's gorgeous. Maybe her best "ballad" (midtempo) to date.

The download I have is sourced from iTunes, which has a very different mix of Jericho than what's on the CD. It's 3:53 as opposed to 3:59 and has a cold intro, as opposed to the one I know, which has a longer intro with a guitar lick that sounds like the State Farm Insurance jingle. (CD mix / iTunes mix) This mix is way too harsh-sounding to me; I still like the one I knew, though. Her vocals aren't up to snuff, but it's a good pop ditty.

The Last Song is a very pseudo-deep closer, but it's good for what it is.

Final verdict: This is not nearly as good as I remember it being, which is really kind of sad. I did always like Metamorphosis better, but I remember jamming out to this one too. It could have been a five-song EP and the world wouldn't really have lost anything.

Highlight: Someone's Watching Over Me

[comment on March 2, 2015: Looking back at my Hilary review (to copy and paste it for my next post), I have to wonder what exactly I was on. Ariana could never what? Why would I of all people have cared about Hilary being uncool? And just how did I know Andreas Carlsson wrote Who's That Girl? Whatever, me.]

Mylène Farmer - Innamoramento

Released: 1999

Purchased: On SwapaCD, three or four years ago, I don't even fuckin' know anymore

Playthrough:

L'amour naissant - Absolutely gorgeous. I don't even have the words to describe it. I remember having to keep myself from listening to it too much when I got the album because I knew if I did, it'd lose its magic. One of Mylène's best ever vocal performances.

L'âme-stram-gram - Not one of her best singles, but she's got so many incredible singles that's not saying a lot. It's okay, but it comes across as filler to me (which is funny for a single).

Pas le temps de vivre - Elevator music, but again, really beautiful. It's easy to get lost in it, even though I barely remember it once it ends.

Dessine-moi un mouton - The album's big rock track. Definitely deserved to be a single in its own right, not off the live album.

Je te rends ton amour - Pas le temps de vivre, partie deux. But with a little twist melodically. It has the slightly off-kilter feeling of a lot of her earlier songs.

Méfie-toi - Also should've been a single. The closest the album gets to pure pop, but with a little undercurrent of anger.

Innamoramento - More elevator music. This one always irritates me because the chorus gets stuck in my head, but I can't remember quite how it goes.

Optimistique-moi - The spacey dance song, essentially this album's Dégénération. And creepy oedipal lyrics, just as we've all come to expect from Mylène.

Serais-tu là? - Has a very Cyndi Lauper-ish melody, but could do with being more memorable.

Consentement - Not much of a song.

Et si viellir m'était conté? - Er, likewise. I think I might've tuned out the album at this point, because I don't really remember any of the last three songs. I had to look them all up on iTunes and play the samples back.

Souviens-toi du jour... - Now, THIS one. I somehow completely forgot how incredible this song is. Vocals right up near the level of L'amour naissant, a beautiful melody, and perhaps the best production on the entire album. I remember listening to it on repeat for literally hours - it sends chills up my spine sometimes.

Mylenium - Basically a bonus track. It's just ambient electronic music and Mylène singing the word "innamoramento" over and over.

Verdict: I like this one a lot more than that review might lead you to believe, maybe because I do just tune it out when it gets boring (it's nice background music), or maybe just because its highlights are so incredible they outweigh the problem spots. It's been compared a lot to Ray of Light, which is appropriate in some ways, but I think it's more melodic and therefore more enjoyable, though it's also less electronic and more rock-oriented than Ray of Light. It's one of only two Mylène albums I can listen to from start to end without skipping anything (the other being its immediate predecessor, Anamorphosée), and unfortunately, at this point I can't see her topping it, since I haven't been too impressed by Bleu Noir and Monkey Me. This is one of those that I want to say every PJer should have. 9/10.

Standout: It's really close between L'amour naissant and Souviens-toi du jour, but I guess I ultimately have to go with the latter, not necessarily because I like it better, just because it's more accessible.

Kate Bush - The Red Shoes

Released: 1995

Purchased: Stole it from my dad a couple years ago.

Playthrough:

Rubberband Girl is Kate doing fun pop, which is unusual, so I love it just for that. It's a catchy, sing-along song; I just wish it didn't have the damn saxophone.

And So Is Love is typical Kate Bush - haunting, gorgeous ballad that works really well for winter.

Eat the Music is another fun pop song, and I don't understand why it came dead last in the singles rate. Now granted, the lyrics don't make a lot of sense - I saw someone on here say that they're about oral sex, and Wikipedia says they're "about opening up in relationships to reveal who we really are inside," but I don't know how well either of those interpretations holds up (especially the latter). I don't really care, though. It's not as though I Love It makes a lot of sense, but it's still a solid pop tune. Same goes here.

Moments of Pleasure is maybe my favorite Kate song. Definitely top three with Running Up That Hill and Sat in Your Lap. It's absolutely beautiful musically, mostly with lyrics to match. It sounds so dreamlike.

The Song of Solomon is basically filler, but it's still very pleasant. "Don't want your bullshit, just want your sexuality" is a classic Kate line.

Lily sounds more like Never for Ever-/The Dreaming-era Kate than probably anything else here, and though I'm not very fond of either of those albums, I do really like it. The chorus is oddly infectious.

The Red Shoes' lyrics don't really make sense without the plot of The Line, The Cross, and the Curve, but it's a fun little ditty nonetheless.

Top of the City comes off as a lesser Moments of Pleasure. It doesn't reach me in quite the same way, but it's similarly calming and wintry. It would be a really nice song to fall asleep to (no, no, no shade).

Constellation of the Heart feels, lyrically, like where Kate was trying to head with the whole damn album. Not something I'd choose to listen to, though.

Big Stripey Lie is the worst thing on the album. It's noise.

Why Should I Love You? is pretty fillery, but no less enjoyable for it. P'Nut probably stans for it.

You're the One is a fairly straightforward love song, which is unusual for Kate. Too bad it's boring.

Verdict: It's far from perfect, but it definitely doesn't deserve its poor reputation; I like it more than any of Kate's other albums. It would make a really good starting point for getting into Kate, given that it's more exoteric than most of her material. It's just too bad it falls apart at the end. 7/10.

Standout: Moments of Pleasure

Cyndi Lauper - Sisters of Avalon

Went back to a couple lost '90s releases by two underrated grrls today.



Released: 1997 according to Amazon, though I would have sworn it was 1996

Purchased: I'm thinking four, maybe five years ago? From Amazon's WarehouseDeals subsidiary, if I recall correctly.

Playthrough:

The title track is one of Cyndi's best "big pop songs," along with Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Money Changes Everything. Her moans on the verses are everything.

The Ballad of Cleo and Joe is a little hard to listen to at first because it's so beat-heavy, but not in a Steps four-on-the-floor kind of way. It's hard to explain. It just has a strong, uneven rhythm that's a little unsettling. Once I got a minute or so into it though, it clicked. The lyrics are apparently meant to be about a drag queen, but they could just as easily be about a transwoman or a non-binary person experimenting with their gender identity and expression, so it's close to my heart in that way.

Fall Into Your Dreams is also difficult to listen to, and doesn't really offer anything the way Cleo and Joe does.

You Don't Know is another of my favorite Cyndi songs. It's a big slice of True Blue-/Kiss-type pure pop but with pointed lyrics. There's just so much to love about it - the brilliantly subtle key change; its use of my favorite lyrical trick, using a word twice with different meanings ("Left suppresses right, right suppresses left, so what's left, and what's right?"). Should've been huge, but I guess the "bullshit" lyric probably put a damper on it.

Love to Hate is filler. I don't even have anything more to say about it.

Hot Gets a Little Cold is also pretty fillery, but it's really pretty.

Unhook the Stars is essentially a lesser Hat Full of Stars album track. Pleasant and passable, but nothing special.

Searching is very '90s house. Not altogether a good thing.

Say a Prayer is, dare I say, the worst song on the album. What's a melody, precious?

Mother is also somewhat lacking in the melody department, but it holds together better. It's okay.

Fearless was my original favorite. I love the lyrics, and though the production again renders it a little hard to play, I think the dulcimer adds that something to it.

Brimstone and Fire is about ... bisexuality? I think? It's a story song about meeting a woman and developing a relationship with her. The chorus is lax, but the verses are nice, aside from the occasional bad lyric ("I make spaghetti, she brings cake / I make spaghetti with tomato sauce because that's all I can make"... seriously?!).

Verdict: Far from Cyndi's best work, though it has a few gems. I think it's just way too of-its-time, and not straightforward enough for me, tunewise. 5/10.

Standout: You Don't Know

The Corrs - Borrowed Heaven

Gave this a spin today after Time Enough for Tears was randomly stuck in my head:



Released: 2004

Purchase: Got the Australian version in 2009 or 2010 at a used music shop in Ann Arbor. It was $8 as I recall - not too cheap at the price, but since Miracle was otherwise only available by buying the entire Dreams album on iTunes, and I already had that on CD (and hadn't discovered illegal downloading yet), I went for it.

Playthrough:

Summer Sunshine... what can I even say about Summer Sunshine? Most pop acts can only dream of having a song as outstanding as Runaway or Breathless, so it's really impressive that they actually managed to top both of those. To me, this is unquestionably the best song of their entire career, and one of the best songs (if not the best song) of the 21st century. It still hits me as hard as the first time I heard it. That moment after the middle-8 where Sharon sings "the HEEEEAAAAATTTT" and then the guitars come crashing back in does things to me. (The Fernando Garibay mix is amazing as well, by the way.)

I always associate Angel with the time it came on in the grocery store, and you best believe I was shaking my ass up and down that first aid aisle at 11:30pm. The lyrics puzzled me for a long time, not helped by the video where they perform it at a wedding. I thought for a while that it was about a friend moving away, but now I think I've finally figured out that it's about their mother's death.

Hideaway is where the album starts to step away from the polished Europop of Talk on Corners and In Blue. It's much more American folk-rock, but it really works.

Long Night is even more countryish. Lyrically, it's basically a more downbeat Super Trouper, and it has Andrea's best vocals on the album. Absolutely absurd single choice, but a great album track.

Goodbye was vastly improved by its later remix for the Dreams compilation, but this version is good too. It's just a bit odd to have the hand-clappy campfire sound with the sad lyrics. Sharon's demo is the best version of all, though.

Time Enough for Tears is sort of boring after those five great tracks - the chorus is very nice, but I could not sing a note of the verses, despite the dozens of times I've played this album.

Humdrum, lyrically, sounds like the kind of thing Tracey Ullman would've sung, not very Corrs-like at all, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. And the lyrics are strangely relatable.

Even If is another countryish one - sounds very Faith Hill. It's still a big pop stormer, though. Would've been a very good single in the place of Long Night.

Borrowed Heaven has maybe my favorite lyrics of any Corrs song. "All beauty, all fade away... borrowed." It's really effective in context. Could've done with a real final chorus rather than the Ladysmith Black Mambazo bit, but it's still a favorite.

Confidence for Quiet just sounds like a lesser version of Even If, but Even If is good enough that that's okay.

Baby Be Brave is nice and catchy, but again, I barely remember those verses.

Silver Strand is an instrumental but nonetheless sticks with me, and is enjoyable enough for me to play all the way through. Can't say that about most instrumentals.

Miracle is as sappy as you'd expect it to be (it's about a new child) but nice nevertheless.

Verdict: I hesitate to say it's The Corrs' best album, because it really doesn't have a lot in common with In Blue, let alone Talk on Corners or Forgiven Not Forgotten, but honestly? It is. My complaints above are relatively small, and I'm only making them because they're noticeable up against songs as flawless (WE ***FLAWLESS) as Summer Sunshine, Angel, the title track, and Long Night. Even Time Enough for Tears, the only filler on the album, would be among the better songs on a good many other albums. Literally a 10/10 album.

Standout: WHAT DO YOU THINK

Amy Grant - Heart in Motion

Released: 1991

Purchase: Originally checked it out from my school library in eighth grade (so, 2007?). I bought a copy used at FYE a year or two later, and got the remastered version on interlibrary loan earlier this year.

Playthrough: Good for Me is such a standout - one of Amy's best ever tracks. I'm glad she rediscovered it a few years ago and started playing it live again, but her newer performances make it a little too tame - it's just pop perfection on record.

Baby Baby is, obviously, bubblegum pop paradise. It's so effortlessly joyful, much like Kylie's best moments.

I could say the same about Every Heartbeat. Sixpence None the Richer's slower version is gorgeous, but Amy's is just wall-to-wall euphoria.

That's What Love Is For is really pretty, and has some of her more powerful lyrics. I do vastly prefer the single mix, though.

I used to love Ask Me, but it hits too close to home for me to enjoy it since two of my best friends are sexual assault survivors. But it's very well-written and even better produced.

Galileo is one of my all-time favorite Amy songs. SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SINGLE. The lyrics are so romantic, and the melody is lush.

I didn't use to like You're Not Alone for some reason, but I do now. It's got a very driving beat - sort of sounds like if Unguarded-era Amy got her hands on Donna Summer's Another Time and Place album.

Hats is ... nice. The lyrics tend to fall a little flat when you consider that it's pretty much Amy's version of She Works Hard for the Money, and the melody needs work. The worst thing is the production, though - I hate the background singers going "HATS!" But it's not awful by any means.

I Will Remember You is okay, but a little nothingy. The opening riff is way better than the rest of the song put together. Sarah MacLachlan's I Will Remember You is better (and I don't much like Sarah MacLachan).

How Can We See That Far feels like it's trying to be the sequel to Stay for Awhile (one of her best singles), but again, it's just lacking in substance.

Hope Set High is the worst song on the album. Boring, boring, boring. And not great vocals, either.

Verdict: This is still probably Amy's best album, even though it kind of falls apart after You're Not Alone. It's very pleasantly '90s - I wish Paula or PWL-/Deconstruction-era Kylie had made an album this consistent. Actually, if you bring up the quality by lopping off Hats and Hope Set High, it could almost play as the '90s equivalent of True Blue. It has that same pure pop sound. 8/10.

Standout: Every Heartbeat

Various - Elmopalooza!

Released: 1998

First Thoughts: Surprisingly, I don't really remember much beyond "Mambo I, I, I" (always my favorite) and "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend."

Purchase: I was six when this came out, you can't seriously expect me to remember where it came from. It was probably Target, though, as that's where I got most of my music at the time (and by "where I got" I mean "where my mom got" obviously). I'm 90% sure that's where I got the video. I had (have?) it on cassette, and just borrowed the CD from the library today to rip.

Playthrough:

Gloria Estefan - Mambo I, I, I - Still amazing, and genuinely one of Gloria's best songs. It ought to have been made longer, though. I love it for exposing me to Gloria, who I now adore.

En Vogue - I Want a Monster to Be My Friend - Probably the best production on the album, but I miss Zoe's "yeah yeah!" from the mix on the video. Great vocals, though, of course.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Zig Zag Dance - I actually like this more than I was expecting to. I think it was my least favorite as a child, but it has its charm. And the Count saying, "Now you know why they call them The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: count them, one mighty, two mighty, ah-ah!" has always been one of my favorite lines in the entire special.

Rosie O'Donnell - Nearly Missed - Rosie is obviously not a singer, though she actually has some pretty good vocal moments when she's in a higher register (this is true on her Christmas CDs as well, now that I think about it). But this is super catchy, even more than "Mambo I, I, I." It's just a shame that the soundtrack version is essentially a remix that inserts dialogue into the video version and has a slightly different backing track. A straight copy, extended with a new verse instead of awkwardly cut-up dialogue, would've been better.

The Fugees - Just Happy to Be Me - The chorus is nice enough, but the raps are awful to be honest. They could've done this very well if they'd kept the original structure and lyrics. "I'm in my PJ's drinking OJ" is just ridiculous.

Shawn Colvin - I Don't Want to Live on the Moon - This is surprisingly one of the standouts for me. I actually love her voice; I should check out some of her stuff. It probably helps that this is one of the very few songs on the album that are actually familiar and weren't just performed in one episode in the '70s or whatnot, but the arrangement is lovely too.

Steven Tyler - I Love Trash - I used to love this, and all I can say is that I'm glad I've grown the fuck up. It IS trash. Too bad.

Jimmy Buffett - Caribbean Amphibian - Not very remarkable, but perfectly #unjoyabul.

Céline Dion - Happy to Meet You - Nice enough, but pretty bland. But it's never been one of my favorite Street songs anyway.

Kenny Loggins - One Small Voice - One of the weaker tracks, but still better than Happy to Meet You (let alone I Love Trash). Again, just kind of bland.

Elmo and the Kids - Songs - Not a patch on the video version with Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier, and the adult Sesame Street cast. Typical Elmo fare.

Verdict: Could've done with a few donks on it, but it's pretty good, and remarkably diverse, for a children's album. Gloria, En Vogue, Shawn, and Kenny all have lovely voices, and for the most part it's very well produced. 8/10.

Standout: Mambo I, I, I and Nearly Missed.

A*Teens - The ABBA Generation

Released: 1999 (GOD I'M OLD)

First Thoughts: I loved this album long before I knew a thing about ABBA. Together with Mamma Mia! The Movie, it's to credit for my ABBA standom.

Purchase: Don't even know anymore. 2001 or 2002, I think.

Playthrough: Mamma Mia was almost always my favorite, and it's easy to see why. It's like a goddamn party in my head when I listen to this song. The only bad thing about it is that it's a shame that they reached their pinnacle with their very first single, but considering that their output afterward was still amazing, that's not that bad.

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! is also great, though I think the radio mix is better. Certainly a worthy adaptation, and probably better than the original.

Super Trouper is still a jam. The original is one of my favorite ABBA songs, and I love this version as well. It took me years (and hearing the Meryl Streep version) to understand the line "The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive," though - the most sense I could ever make out of Marie singing "I'm still alive" was "and Sir Lyden."

One of Us is probably the least convincing song on here. It just doesn't suit the dancey production as well as the others, and the retention of the intro makes it sound very odd since the rest of the song basically sounds like a HiNRG mix of an Erasure song. It's not bad or anything - not AT ALL - it's just an 8/10 on an album of 10/10's.

Voulez-Vous is really faithful to the original, but updated to match the standards of the time. It's probably the closest they got to perfectly mimicking "the music of ABBA today," to use their tagline from the Mamma Mia single.

SOS is really interesting, because it takes a midtempo and turns it into a huge dance track - and unlike One of Us, it works fantastically well.

Dancing Queen has never been one of my favorite ABBA songs, not because the song itself is bad, but there's something about the original that I just don't like - the vocals, the instrumentation, the production... I'm not sure. But I like almost every cover of it (and ABBA's own live version). This one, though, is my second-favorite, behind only Sixpence None the Richer's version (which is INCREDIBLE). The video was really fun too, even for a 10-year-old who had never heard of The Breakfast Club.

Take a Chance on Me is one of the two most clubby tracks on here, and it's probably a large part of why I'm so fond of dance music today (as is the album as a whole, to be honest). I love the original - maybe my favorite ABBA uptempo, maybe second behind Waterloo - but this is incredibly good.

Lay All Your Love on Me is the other, and again I think it exceeds the original, largely because I'm not fond of the vocals nor the disco production on the ABBA version.

The Name of the Game is another one where I don't like the original but love the covers, though in this case I can't even rank them (A*Teens, Irma, Amanda Seyfried) because they're all so great. The A*Teens version is chillingly beautiful and has some of the best vocal arrangements on the album.

Our Last Summer is a great album closer. Although they manage the impressive feat of mangling French worse than Girls Aloud on "Je ne parle pas français" ("Eh-full Tower" hurts my ears every time I hear it), it sounds so bright, and perfectly bittersweet. My favorite version of the song, for sure.

Knowing Me, Knowing You is the Japanese bonus track, but it really deserved to be on the standard album. It's my favorite ABBA song (at the moment), and though they don't match the original, they really do it justice. Marie's vocals on it are really nice.

Verdict: Still one of the best albums I own. I don't know why I don't play it every single week, but when I do remember it, I hammer it, and I think that's a good indication of how amazing it is. 10/10.

Standout: The whole goddamn album, let's be real.

Bananarama - Viva Bananarama

Released: 2009 (hard to believe it's almost five years old!)

First Thoughts: One of my two favorite albums by one of my favorite groups. I haven't listened to this in too long.

Purchase: From Amazon.com, more than a year after the release, and it was still pricey (around $17 after shipping, I think).

Playthrough: Love Comes is a monster. I remember bopping to it in the car, and it is still very bop-worthy.

Love Don't Live Here is also great. It's too bad they flopped so hard.

Rapture continues the streak. I don't know the original, but I sampled it on iTunes, and this blows it away.

I also love Seventeen. It has a slightly Gothic sound to it, I think.

Twisting is a let-down after those first four, but it's far from bad, just can't reach those heights.

Tell Me Tomorrow is the first real disappointment. There's a good song in there, but the production is all wrong, somehow.

The Runner returns them to the quality of the first few songs.

Extraordinary is a bit grating, but also very catchy. The "I need someone very extra-ordinary" hook would be great in a Kesha song.

Dum Dum Boy is right up there with Love Comes. Anthemic, driving - it sounds more like the Drama album than anything else here, but that's hardly a bad thing since Drama is one of my all-time favorite albums.

S-S-Single Bed is sort of kitschy, or at least campy, but I like it anyway.

We've Got the Night doesn't deserve to be the album closer. Second-worst thing here after Tell Me Tomorrow.

Verdict: With some distance, I can see that this really isn't as good as Drama, and probably not as good as Wow, but it is very good, definitely better than the majority of Bananaralbums. 9/10.

Standout: Love Comes (presented here in the somewhat superior radio mix - the Wideboys A-Mix is my favorite, though)

A*Teens - Teen Spirit

Released: 2001

First Thoughts: It's been a few months since I last listened to this, I think, which is A FEW MONTHS TOO GODDAMN LONG. Shame on me.

Purchase: I asked my parents to get it for me one day at Meijer. I'd been hearing Upside Down on Radio Disney but never knew who it was by till I walked past the music section there, and the TVs were playing the video with the A*Teens logo beneath. I was elated! It was my first "grown-up" CD, too.

Playthrough: I kind of went off Upside Down for a while, probably due to overexposure, but I understand now why I was so attached to it. It's a monster!

To the Music is slightly annoying, but I still like it.

Halfway Around the World is my current favorite. It's catchy and fun, and I like the classical-soundin' cues under the middle 8.

Firefly was my favorite at one time, and I remember being really happy that it was Marie's favorite off the album since she was my favorite member at the time. It is a gorgeous tune, kind of Alison Moyet-ish, and the production is great.

Sugar Rush is actually a little grating to me now. It has a great melody, but it needs ... something. I'm not sure what. A little more punch.

Rockin' is great. Maybe the most anthemic song on here.

I hated Around the Corner of Your Eye for a long time, but now I adore it. Sara's vocals are awful, but the melody is absolutely gorgeous.

Slammin' Kinda Love is fun, I guess. I don't like it as much as I think I used to. It's a 7/10, but that's the lowest I'd rate any of the songs so far.

All My Love is the only real filler on here, and the only track I regularly skip. As I said before, the only reason I think anything at all of it is that Shirley Clamp does background vocals, and I can't even identify her in the mix. It's not a bad song, just doesn't have anything going for it. I would much rather have had Heartbreak Lullaby or Don't Even Know Your Name on the album, or even Can't Stop the Pop.

For All That I Am is kind of the archetype of great Swedish pop songs for me. Swooping melodies, key change... Very very good.

That's What (It's All About) is sort of fillery too, come to think of it. It's pretty basic, but I enjoy it.

Morning Light is another one that I don't love like I used to, but I still like it well enough. I think the vocals just needed some work.

Back for More was my favorite for a long time, and I might have to take back what I said earlier - it may very well have surpassed Halfway Around the World to become my favorite again. I listened to it about five times in a row yesterday in the car, and I was disappointed when I got home because I was only about a third of the way through that fifth play.

Verdict: This is still one of my favorite albums ever, which is a huge accomplishment. It says a lot about the quality level that five of the thirteen songs have been my favorite at one time or another (Upside Down, Halfway, Firefly, For All That I Am, and Back for More). It blows my mind that it's even better than The ABBA Generation, which itself is incredible. I still wait in breathless anticipation of an A*Teens reunion.

Standout: Practically the entire album except for All My Love. Also, B-side/reissue bonus track Don't Even Know Your Name:

Erasure - Nightbird

Released: 2005

First Thoughts: Hmm. I listened to this a few times after I got it, but I barely remember it now, aside from the gorgeous Here I Go Impossible Again. Probably the Erasure album I play the least (of the ones I have).

Purchase: Off SwapaCD. Don't remember when I got it exactly, but I think it was the first proper Erasure album I got, though I had Abba-esque and Pop! Actually, I might have had Cowboy and Crackers International, too. Not sure.

Playthrough: No Doubt is a bore.

Here I Go Impossible Again is one of my favorite Erasure songs, though. The chorus is just beautiful.

Let's Take One More Rocket to the Moon is unremarkable. So is Breathe - can't believe it was a single.

I'll Be There is a little better. It's still not regular Erasure quality, but at least my finger's not itching over the "next" button.

Because Our Love Is Real is maybe the most boring one so far, which is an accomplishment, frankly.

Don't Say You Love Me is the third-best song so far, which would be a compliment on most Erasure albums, but here it just means it's not even as good as I'll Be There but at least it's not shit.

All This Time Still Falling Out of Love sounds like a B-side. I Broke It All in Two does nothing for me. Sweet Surrender and I Bet You're Mad at Me are just okay.

Verdict: Wow, I really don't know why I've bothered keeping this when I've gotten rid of some other Erasure CDs that aren't even this bad. Adding it to my mental list of stuff to take to FYE...

Standout: The only truly good song on the album, Here I Go Impossible Again.

Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor

Released: 2005

First Thoughts: This could be really good or really bad. I don't really remember what I thought about most of these songs, aside from hating "Isaac." It's never been among my favorite Madonna albums, so you'll probably all hate me since I think most people on here worship it.

Purchase: A couple years ago at FYE, about halfway through my trek through Madonna's discography.

Playthrough: Hung Up is more fun than I remembered it being. I knew it was good, but it's actually really great.

Get Together is also way better than I remember. I've always liked it, but listening to it now, it's fucking IMMENSE! Maybe this album is finally clicking for me?

Sorry isn't doing that much for me. It's a bit of a jam and - I'm probably going to say this a lot in this thread - good driving music, but it doesn't scream "I AM A GREAT SONG AND YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO ME OVER AND OVER" like the first two do. Well, I guess Hung Up doesn't really do that either, but it comes closer.

Future Lovers is okay. It's not a choon, but the "in the evidence of its brilliance" bit gets stuck in my head once in a while, and it's good fun.

I Love New York! DIS MY JAM! I actually forgot this was on the album, or I wouldn't have been so fearful of not liking it when I started. The first (and only) time I've been to New York, I listened to this as we went over the George Washington Bridge, so that's what I always think of now when I hear it. But on its own merits, it's one of my favorites from the album, if not the favorite. It's kind of stupid, but I love it anyway. It's a bop. And "If you don't like my attitude, then you can eff off! / Just go to Texas, isn't that where they golf?" is one of my favorite Madonna lyrics. So shady. (Would've been better if she actually said "fuck," though. "Eff" just sounds out of place.)

Let It Will Be is a little nothingy, but it has a good beat.

Forbidden Love is nice enough, but I don't recognize it at all, so I probably won't remember it after this play-through, either. The most boring song on the album so far for sure, but not a bad one for that. Most of the time, I've been paying attention to the synth line from Jump running throughout the song and waiting for the transition to that. My God, this song drags on, doesn't it? Seems way longer than just over four minutes!

Okay, finally I'm on to Jump. This is the most Madonna-ish song on the album in my opinion - sounds kind of like a cross between Keep It Together and Lucky Star, and I'd rank it between those two in quality level (Lucky Star being the best, obviously). It sounds like it belongs on a movie soundtrack, so I'm surprised that, according to Wikipedia, it hasn't been used in anything but an episode of Ugly Betty. (Which reminds me, I've got the first two seasons of Ugly Betty on DVD and I really, really need to watch them, but that's beside the point.) Jump is a good song, but actually not as good as I remembered it being, the opposite of almost everything else thus far. It's making me subconsciously tap my toes, though!

How High is a bit shit, isn't it?

Isaac. Oh my fucking God. One of the most irritating Madonna songs ever.

Push is all right but awfully basic. Definitely sounds like a generic Stuart Price track.

Like It or Not is really cool. Reminds me of Kylie's Slow somehow, but much slower (ha) and, frankly, way, way better. It just kind of slinks along. I only started appreciating it after Madge quoted it while giving Anderson Cooper a GLAAD award, but I should have done so earlier.

Verdict: I still don't think this is the great Madonna album, as so many people seem to, but I think better of it now than before I began. Mostly the lesson I take from it is that I've vastly underrated Get Together.

Standout: No surprises here, "Get Together"!

Anastacia - Freak of Nature

Released: 2001 (2002 in the US, which is the version I have)

(keeping that line from my Living Proof write-up because it's exactly right for this album as well, which is a little weird)

First Thoughts: Oh, God. Not really looking forward to this. I know it has a couple great songs, but I remember it as mostly being boring. Actually, I'm not sure why I still have it, since I got her greatest hits. I got rid of Not That Kind, so maybe I kept this because it's better and I've just forgotten?

Purchase: Another one from SwapaCD. Think I got it in a deal with Kylie's "Slow" on CD single and something else. I thought I was getting the collector's edition, but it was just the regular US release.

Playthrough: I'm on One Day in Your Life as I type this, and I've already forgotten what the first three songs (Freak of Nature, Paid My Dues, and Overdue Goodbye) sound like, so that's not a good sign for them.

You'll Never Be Alone is amazing, though. I'd like to see one of today's big pop girls turn out a power ballad like this. That's not shade, I'd genuinely like to, because at least some of them (okay, at least one of them - Gaga) could. It's maybe my favorite Anastacia song. Just gorgeous Céline-like realness.

One Day in Your Life is one of the other two competitors for my favorite Anastacia song (the third and final one being I'm Outta Love). It's a pure pop choon that reminds me a lot of the A*Teens/Jump5/Myra kind of teen-pop I listened to in elementary and middle school.

How Come the World Won't Stop is pleasant but doesn't really grab me. It'd be nice to drive to, or to have on while I was cleaning or doing laundry or something. I think that's a good characterization of those first three songs, too.

I Thought I Told You That is okay but boring (apt description of the whole album apart from You'll Never Be Alone and One Day in Your Life). It sounds like Anastacia trying to be an edgier Mariah, and it doesn't really work.

I don't have Why'd You Lie to Me on the album on my iPod, I assume because I pulled it off when I got Not That Kind so as not to have a duplicate. Based on what I remember of it, it's one of my least favorite Anastacia singles, but it is frustratingly hooky - I can't tell you how many times I've walked around campus and "Why'd you lie to me, good-for-nothing type of brother?" started running through my head. I've always wondered if the line was originally going to be "good-for-nothing motherfucker" and she changed it to avoid getting an explicit slug or something, since that scans perfectly with "type of brother" and makes much more sense.

Don'tcha Wanna is borderline ridiculous and not at all amazing.

Secrets is pretty boring. It sounds like a KM94-era Kylie album track with a little bit of Anita Baker, except not nearly as good as that sounds like it would be. Her vocals are really great, but the song just does nothing for me.

Don't Stop (Doin' It) is like How Come the World Won't Stop (nice driving/cleaning song but no more) except it's even more boring.

My first thought as I Dreamed You opened was "THANK GOD ANOTHER BALLAD MAYBE IT'LL BE DECENT." Anastacia is pretty damn good at ballads, now that I think of it - not just You'll Never Be Alone, but I Belong to You, and I guess Pieces of a Dream sort of counts as a ballad. I Dreamed You is nowhere near those three, and it turns out to be more midtempo than ballad, but it's certainly more interesting (and better) than the vast majority of this album.

The reprise of Overdue Goodbye sort of serves to remind me what the actual song sounded like, but it's unnecessary.

Verdict: My fears were confirmed. Aside from those two standouts, there's nothing on this album that merits another listen, I don't think, aside from possibly "I Dreamed You." I'll probably send this to Goodwill or FYE in my next culling of my collection. 4/10 or so.

Standout: "You'll Never Be Alone"

Cher - Living Proof

Released: 2001 (2002 in the US, which is the version I have)

First Thoughts: What a way to start off! This is my favorite Cher album, and one of my favorites of all. I went to see her on tour (WHICH WAS AMAZING) a couple weeks ago, and this was the first album I played on my way down, so it's not like I've forgotten it at all. I was actually disappointed that she didn't do anything off the album when she did both her songs from Burlesque and bloody "Walking in Memphis." I mean, I like "Walking in Memphis," but why the hell did she do that instead of "Song for the Lonely" or "Alive Again"? But I digress.

Purchase: From SwapaCD, two Decembers ago, just as I was getting into Cher. I think this was her second album that I got, after The Very Best of Cher. Maybe third, after It's a Man's World. I've JUST NOW discovered thanks to Wikipedia that I apparently have the Walmart reissue that has the radio edits of "Song for the Lonely" and "A Different Kind of Love Song" instead of their album edits. Might have to get a copy of the original version, since apparently I've never heard those album edits.

Playthrough: Song for the Lonely continues to slay my life. I think I like it even better than Believe. It's just so anthemic and powerful. It doesn't have the personal meaning for me that, say, You Haven't Seen the Last of Me has, but I have teared up a couple times listening to it in my darker hours.

A Different Kind of Love Song is criminally underrated. I associate it with Madeleine L'Engle's book A Ring of Endless Light as I was reading that at the time I got the album and it fits in with the uplifting and vaguely pagan lyrics ("there is some kind of light that flows through everything").

Alive Again is great. I'd say it's this album's version of Strong Enough, but I like it A LOT better than Strong Enough. Not as good as the first two, but still pretty damned good.

The Music's No Good Without You is probably the weakest song on here (not counting You Take It All, which isn't on the US version, thank God). It just feels kind of empty and trend-chasing. Nice enough melody, but the production needs to either be beefier or completely different (it would work well as a sunny Kirsty MacColl-type tune with piano and guitar and some synths) It's still a 6/10 or so, which is better than around half of the Believe album, mind you. Nonetheless it's the first track I'm skipping before it ends to get to the rest of the album, which is way better.

Rain Rain is the definition of "good album track." It's filler, but it's still enjoyable. And it gets stuck in my head whenever it rains, even more than Ace of Base's similarly themed and far catchier Everytime It Rains. Real Love - same thing, but not as catchy.

Love So High is kind of fillery as well, but her vocals elevate it a little.

Body to Body, Heart to Heart is fun. I'm surprised Cher hasn't done more Latin-themed songs; they'd suit her well.

Love Is a Lonely Place Without You, Shania-length title aside, is more filler, but it has a certain euphoria to it, which is funny given the lyrics.

Love One Another is where things get really exciting again. I can't understand how this wasn't a worldwide club smash - it's not very radio-friendly, but it's so anthemic. You know what I'd like to hear, actually? I'd like to hear Kesha cover this. That would be kind of fantastic.

When You Walk Away is the best thing on the goddamn album, which is saying a lot (this review is making it sound like I like the album a lot less than I do). Would never have guessed it's a Diane Warren song, but - God, what a tune. It should have been a single, and it should have been a huge hit. It's just classic Cher sing-along material on a par with If I Could Turn Back Time and Believe.

When the Money's Gone is a fantastic closer. My biggest complaint is that I hate its structure - the chorus isn't very exciting, and the first verse is more subdued than the rest of the song, so I only get to experience the best bit ("When the money's gone, no more caviar, will ya eat fast food in a beat-up car?") once. The "money, money, money's gone" hook is fun, though.

Verdict: This has definitely been a grower for me. I loved a few of the songs (Song for the Lonely, A Different Kind of Love Song, When the Money's Gone) right away, but it took a few plays for the rest to stick with me. That said, it's unseated the US version of It's a Man's World as my favorite Cher album - no mean feat. 8.5/10.

Standouts: "Song for the Lonely" and "When You Walk Away"