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"