2 posts tagged “pop_lite”
Borders, Music = Life Rating=$$
[Support the Artists]
How I Got This CD: Freebie demo from my Bordersverse Daze
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
Well, here's another example of the Penny CD and what corporations consider a "good" music mix, this time courtesy of Borders and BMG, thus proving why individual consumers are much, much better at this sort of thing.
Of course, since individual consumers aren't actually using the mixes as a marketing tool beyond, "Check this cool artist I've included...think you could throw some love their way," it's probably no big shock.
Like with Blue2002, in the previous post, I'm going to offer this whole CD for download. The reason is simple: It's out of print, it was meant to be passed around (or thrown away), and it is supposed to be a big ol' marketing thing.
Anyway, a lot of this is soft pop, and judging by the choice artists on this CD, it seems to be geared to the older Gen Xers and the younger Baby Boomers. If that's the case, then why does this CD bore the tits off me? What's really mystifying is that I like most of these tracks as individual tunes, but listening them to back-to-back really rubs my ears the wrong way. Looking at the track listing, it should be a good mix, and yet...it's just not.
I know a good mix when I hear it and this...is not a good mix. I wish I could be more specific about where it misses the boat, but I can't. No matter how hard I try.
In either case, it's terrific background music if you're plugging away at work, but if you're looking to get the heart pumping and the body moving, this one is a snoozer.
[Support the Artists]
How I Got This CD: Freebie demo from my Bordersverse Daze
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
Well, here's another example of the Penny CD and what corporations consider a "good" music mix, this time courtesy of Borders and BMG, thus proving why individual consumers are much, much better at this sort of thing.
Of course, since individual consumers aren't actually using the mixes as a marketing tool beyond, "Check this cool artist I've included...think you could throw some love their way," it's probably no big shock.
Like with Blue2002, in the previous post, I'm going to offer this whole CD for download. The reason is simple: It's out of print, it was meant to be passed around (or thrown away), and it is supposed to be a big ol' marketing thing.
Anyway, a lot of this is soft pop, and judging by the choice artists on this CD, it seems to be geared to the older Gen Xers and the younger Baby Boomers. If that's the case, then why does this CD bore the tits off me? What's really mystifying is that I like most of these tracks as individual tunes, but listening them to back-to-back really rubs my ears the wrong way. Looking at the track listing, it should be a good mix, and yet...it's just not.
I know a good mix when I hear it and this...is not a good mix. I wish I could be more specific about where it misses the boat, but I can't. No matter how hard I try.
In either case, it's terrific background music if you're plugging away at work, but if you're looking to get the heart pumping and the body moving, this one is a snoozer.
Binocular, Binocular Rating=$$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Free demo from my Bordersverse daze
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
The name of the artist (singular) is, in fact, Binocular. It's not the name of a band, it's the professional name of a person. It's kind of like how Madonna is Madonna, Cher is Cher, and Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. While Binocular is engaging in a time-honored tradition, I believe his choice of name may have been unwise. For example:
If that isn't amusing enough, this demo CD has some pretty amusing meta data. To be fair, it isn't the first time the meta data on demo has cracked me up when I've seen it displayed through iTunes because it seemed so ironically fitting. The source of amusement this time? When I put Binocular's self-titled CD (and only full-length CD according to AllMusic), iTunes informed me that the genre of this work was "unclassifiable."
Yeah. That sounds about right.
Not really sure what Binocular was going for here. Pop? Soft rock? Soft-alt? Singer-songwriter? Future theme song of a WB or UPN (precursors of the CW Network, born September 18, 2006) show? (Oh! Wait! I see that the first track, 'You,' was actually used during the first season of WB's Smallville.)
This CD did yield one minor hint for Binocular, 'Deep,' which did get some radio play even though...well, let's just say it's not the best song on this thoroughly mediocre CD. I seem to recall hearing it on radio stations that advertised themselves as the "home of workplace hits" or "your pop variety at-work station" if that's any help.
The album isn't bad, although it took me two plays to determine if I liked it or was merely "meh" about it. I've decided that I "liked it/meh" (yes, I know, that was very helpful), but I wouldn't recommend buying this one new unless you really, really, really like the sample tracks I've provided here. I suspect that this one will be tough to find in a used CD store anyway (far as I can tell, this CD was not big chart-topper and it came out in 2001), so if you're going for the used option some patience might be required.
Or, you could always go to Amazon and pick it up for a little over $2 plus shipping.
I suppose the reason why I'm being flippant about this CD and the undeniably talented Binocular (he did play all the instruments and did all the vocals) is because every online review I came across while trying to dig up more information about this artist was so gushing that I'm tempted to think that every word had been written by his mother. Sorry. I keep forgetting. This is the Internet age. I mean his mother's sockpuppets.
I'll be honest: I found the music to be pleasant enough ear candy. The lyrics struck me as clever at times, but anvilly at others. I'm pretty sure that Binocular's voice isn't the result of ProTools. If nothing else, Binocular is a talented musician and lyricist, but might consider letting stronger voices perform his tunes so those clever lyrics can have the showcase they deserve.
But ground-breaking? The Next Big Thing? The New Poet of American Pop? Ummmmm, make that a no.
Overall, the CD is a decent addition to my collection, especially since I got it for F-R-E-E. Other people might consider getting a used a copy. But new? Assuming you can even find it, it's not worth the money.
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Free demo from my Bordersverse daze
Note: To stream the sample tracks, click on the thumbnail image in this post.
The name of the artist (singular) is, in fact, Binocular. It's not the name of a band, it's the professional name of a person. It's kind of like how Madonna is Madonna, Cher is Cher, and Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. While Binocular is engaging in a time-honored tradition, I believe his choice of name may have been unwise. For example:
If that isn't amusing enough, this demo CD has some pretty amusing meta data. To be fair, it isn't the first time the meta data on demo has cracked me up when I've seen it displayed through iTunes because it seemed so ironically fitting. The source of amusement this time? When I put Binocular's self-titled CD (and only full-length CD according to AllMusic), iTunes informed me that the genre of this work was "unclassifiable."
Yeah. That sounds about right.
Not really sure what Binocular was going for here. Pop? Soft rock? Soft-alt? Singer-songwriter? Future theme song of a WB or UPN (precursors of the CW Network, born September 18, 2006) show? (Oh! Wait! I see that the first track, 'You,' was actually used during the first season of WB's Smallville.)
This CD did yield one minor hint for Binocular, 'Deep,' which did get some radio play even though...well, let's just say it's not the best song on this thoroughly mediocre CD. I seem to recall hearing it on radio stations that advertised themselves as the "home of workplace hits" or "your pop variety at-work station" if that's any help.
The album isn't bad, although it took me two plays to determine if I liked it or was merely "meh" about it. I've decided that I "liked it/meh" (yes, I know, that was very helpful), but I wouldn't recommend buying this one new unless you really, really, really like the sample tracks I've provided here. I suspect that this one will be tough to find in a used CD store anyway (far as I can tell, this CD was not big chart-topper and it came out in 2001), so if you're going for the used option some patience might be required.
Or, you could always go to Amazon and pick it up for a little over $2 plus shipping.
I suppose the reason why I'm being flippant about this CD and the undeniably talented Binocular (he did play all the instruments and did all the vocals) is because every online review I came across while trying to dig up more information about this artist was so gushing that I'm tempted to think that every word had been written by his mother. Sorry. I keep forgetting. This is the Internet age. I mean his mother's sockpuppets.
I'll be honest: I found the music to be pleasant enough ear candy. The lyrics struck me as clever at times, but anvilly at others. I'm pretty sure that Binocular's voice isn't the result of ProTools. If nothing else, Binocular is a talented musician and lyricist, but might consider letting stronger voices perform his tunes so those clever lyrics can have the showcase they deserve.
But ground-breaking? The Next Big Thing? The New Poet of American Pop? Ummmmm, make that a no.
Overall, the CD is a decent addition to my collection, especially since I got it for F-R-E-E. Other people might consider getting a used a copy. But new? Assuming you can even find it, it's not worth the money.
