The Top 5 Albums of 2007 (from an emo girl's point-of-view)

So there are only four days left in the year, and it's time for a re-cap of awesomeness in 2007 as we say goodbye.

5. Crisis - Alexisonfire
AOF is a required taste, but if you do have the required taste, then you love the fast-paced amp-burning screamo likes of it.
Download this: "This Could Be Anywhere in the World"

4. The Best Damn Thing - Avril Lavigne
Little Avril certainly has grown since life was so complicated. This is her first studio album with a parental advisory on it - as it should, singing of songs about Limoncello - but hey, maybe this will get the annoying eight-year-olds out of the concert arenas.
Download this: "Hot"

3. Infinity on High - Fall Out Boy
Since this album was leaked out onto the Internet oh-so long ago, it isn't too new to the fans that heard it before the February release date. However, I was one of the people that didn't hear it until I bought it. Therefore, the punk-rock-emo beats of this album deserve two thumbs up for the amazing improvement since their 2005 effort, From Under the Cork Tree.
Download this: "Thriller"

2. Even If It Kills Me - Motion City Soundtrack
For fans of MCS, it was no surprise that they were not able to supass the popularity of their 2005 song, "Everything is Alright", but the current singles "This is For Real" and "Broken Heart" are doin' alright. Even If It Kills Me is an excellent emo sucess story.
Download this: "This is for Real"

1. Riot! - Paramore
Paramore is the newer, sleeker, younger Avril. And even though we placed her a little lower on the list, we still love them both. Riot! is a pop-punk-emo celebration of.. everything. Love, loss, rebirth, teen bitchyness, pessimism, and all of those wrapped together.
Download this: "Crushcrushcrush"

CD Review

Artist: Hedley
Title: Famous Last Words
Label: Universal

Jacob Hoggard has come a long way since his third-place Canadian Idol publicity boost.

The band's first self-titled 2005 release put the band into the spotlight as opposed to just Hoggard and bandmates, with singles such as "On My Own", "Trip", "321", and "Gunnin'".

But now, they break away from that shell. The new album brings a slightly edgier sound, but still appealing. The tone has been tuned to possibly the bandmates' influences' sounds. Believe it or not, it's possible that both parents and their children (forgive me for using that terrible word) can listen to it together, and both agree it is good music.

Download This: "She's So Sorry"

MULTIPLE CD Reviews

Artist: Paramore
Title: RIOT!
Label: Fueled By Ramen

From the review that J-14 magazine gives it, the album is a collection of songs where "lead singer Hayley Williams puts up her dukes, ready to win any boy-snagging battles."

Unless that review was based on the first single, "Misery Business", that review was completely wrong.

RIOT! is an album full of spunk from the 22 and under pop-rock quartet, with nine tracks of upbeat, dance-around-the-room-until-you-drop songs, and two ballads. Drummer Zac Farro was recently commented by Bruce Springsteen drummer/Conan O'Brien bandleader Max Weinberg about his skills, and it shows on this album. Vocalist Hayley Williams notes on her thank-you's that she "won't sing with anyone else playing drums".
After quiet controversy between bandmates, original bassist Jeremy Davis is back, and just in time. (Shortly before the band released their first album, All We Know Is Falling, Davis quit the band. Williams then wrote "All We Know" for him, and he came back.)
Guitarist/scream-ist (as performed on the last track of AWKIF), and brother to drummer Zac, Josh Farro is still pulling our relentless riffs to be one of the top iron string players in the FBR family.
Download This: "Misery Business"
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Artist: Taking Back Sunday
Title: Louder Now
Label: Warner Bros.

If you've never been a fan of TBS, a good time to start is now.

The five-piece band has toured with artists both big and small, including Ten Second Epic and My Chemical Romance. And for the record, lead singer Adam Lazzara bleached his hair way before Gerard Way did his Black Parade stint.
The string-breaking guitar solos and scream-worthy combination of blending all of the instruments, not only together, but from one track to another. TBS gives rock/punk/alternative/emo a new name, and it's a good one.
Download This: "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)"

Analysis: Screamo Music

Most people that like it and listen to it are under 18. Are the "emo" teens the ones to thank for the huge success of the new wave of vocals?

Screamo can be handled in healthy doses, when balanced out with regular singing. Take Alexisonfire, for an example. And then, it can be non-stop throats, such as The Bled. It all depends on how much anger you have in your life. Lots of screaming is good for the soul, it helps describe all your stress and just get it out.

It can also be more tasteful if it's just on the edge of screaming, such as Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out". Or if you can understand what they're saying, as opposed to just random lines of shrieks. (Like Alexisonfire's "Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints".)

Believe it or not, there is such thing as a song with screaming in it, but isn't necessarily a "screamo song". Two examples are My Chem's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and Paramore's "My Heart". To be a screamo song, it has to have at least one chorus and verse entirely in throats.

Screamo is approaching even in indie bands, such as The Alibi and Cookson Hills, two bands I discovered while attending the Ten Second Epic concert (which kicked major ass, by the way).

While screaming in songs is popular, the emo dream has been crushed by alternative/punk rock stars such as Gerard Way, labeling the brand "f--king garbage", and Pete Wentz - the creator of the emo trademark "guyliner" - dating washed-out pop stars like Ashlee Simpson.

So for all of you 40-somethings that keep telling your kids to "turn that damn music down!", don't worry. Rock 'n roll is just a phase.

Transformation/Under Construction

"Without struggle cannot be any goodness."

- Tyson Ritter

LLTBP is soon going to be an all-music blog. So all (or most) of the posts will be articles, re-posts, CD reviews, videos, or lists all to do with songs or musicians. Meaning that I will not be posting on the blog for a couple of days/weeks until the blog is completely prepared.

So please enjoy the randomness while you can. If you like the randomness, please check up on my LiveJournal. It's mostly graphic posts, but I ocassionally post things like rants, thoughts, quotes, etc, etc. Quick reminder that my LJ is friends-only, so you must add me as a friend through your LJ account before you can view all of my journal.

peace.

MySpace Bulletin: Why Canadians Rule

This is a re-post from a truly awesome MySpace bulletin.
So, what do Canadians have to be proud of, eh?
1. Smarties
2. Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp
3. The size of our footballs fields and one less down
4. Baseball is Canadian
5. Lacrosse is Canadian
6. Hockey is Canadian
7. Basketball is Canadian
8. Apple pie is Canadian
9. Mr. Dress-up kicks Mr. Rogers
10. Tim Hortons kicks Dunkin' Donuts (that's for damn sure!)
11. In the war of 1812, started by America, Canadians pushed the Americans back... past their 'White House'. Then we burned it... and most of Washington, under the command of George Cockburn who was insane and hammered all the time. We got bored because they ran away, so we came home and partied... Go figure…
12. Canada has the largest French population that never surrendered to Germany.
13. We have the largest English population that never ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone. Anywhere. EVER.
14. Our civil war was fought in a bar and it lasted a little over an hour.
15. The only person who was arrested in our civil war was an American mercenary, who slept in and missed the whole thing... but showed up just in time to get caught.
16. We knew plaid was cool far before Seattle caught on.
7. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the worlds oldest company.
18. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes.
19. We still know what to do with all the parts of a buffalo.
20. We invented ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone and short wave radios that save countless lives each year.
21. We ALL have frozen our tongues to something metal and lived to tell about it.
22. A Canadian invented Superman.
23. We have coloured money.
24. Our beer advertisements kick.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY!
25. The handles on our beer cases are big enough to fit your hands with mitts on. OOOoohhhhh Canada!

Umbrella

I hate the Rihanna version.
But when Gerard Way does it, it's pure gold.
Download it on my website, under "the music in me".
Right here.