A ticket to nothingness

Many many moons ago, when I was young, and you were even younger [Timmy Mallet said that all the time], Grandmaster Swiss ran a CD Shuffleathon, where the good people of blogsville could exchange compilation CDs of their favourite music with eachother. It was like Secret Santa... but better. All the good boys and girls promptly sent off their CDs, and then wrote reviews of the ones that they in turn had received.

One little boy, we'll call him Adem for the sake of the story, had grown lazy and this was his sin, for he did not write his review, and this made the Grandmaster Swiss very angry! Adem had intended to write the review, for he had normally been a good little boy, he had listened to the CD many times, and liked many of the songs, but when he tried to write, there was a blankness in his head, his digits went numb, and it seemed that he would never be able to write another thing again. The days past, the weeks past, and the moon got older, and yet no review would come.

He went looking for answers, and yet only got more questions, and so he went to Uncle Burt who told him "sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything." And so Adem got lost, down and down he went, further and further he went, until he could not see the blogosphere anymore.

One day, a monday it was, young Adem returned from his trip into nothingness. Many people asked him where he had been, what he had seen, and yet Adem could not answer these questions, and when all was quiet he said "I have a review". Grandmaster Swiss was happy and so was Mother Spins, and they declared that all would be forgiven, for Adem was now one of the good boys.

Spins' Retrospective - with 2 bonus tracks

1. Angie Baby / Helen Reddy
2. Big Shot / Billy Joel
3. Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Queen
4. Stand And Deliver / Adam & The Ants
5. Bad Reputation / Joan Jett
6. Let's Go Crazy / Prince
7. Closer To Fine / Indigo Girls
8. I'll Take Your Man (Quicksilver Re-Edit) / Salt-N-Pepa
9. Send Me On My Way / Rusted Root
10. La Grippe / Squirrel Nut Zippers
11. By Myself / Linkin Park
12. Spun / Flipsyde
13. Joker & The Thief / Wolfmother
14. Tear You Apart / She Wants Revenge

I get the feeling that Spins' thought I didn't like her CD as I hadn't posted my review, but this is not the truth. I just haven't had the motivation to write and for this I apologise as I am normally a very prompt person and hate it when others do not do as they promise, leaving others waiting.

I still don't really feel like blogging and so I am forcing this out and the review may be a little short and sweet. And so without FURTHER delay ....[drumroll].....

1. I'd never heard of Helen Reddy, but apparently she has sold more than 15 million albums and 10 million singles! She has a good voice, and the song is pretty mellow, but it's not really my cup of tea.sorry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Reddy

2. I like Billy Joel, and yet I'd never heard of this song, probably because I've been too busy singing along to Uptown Girl. Another reason is that I am an 80s child and this song peaked in 1979. I like it and it's given me another view on Bill [that's what I call him]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel

3. Everybody loves Queen, and can probably sing along to most of the songs. You can't go wrong with 'em. Maybe not one of my favourites but still a goody. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_band

4. Winner!!! I love this. Viva la dandy!

5. Joan Jett? You gotta love the illiteration. This is something different for me but it is raw, and somehow is both 80s and punk. I think she could beat me in a fight. Good though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Jett

6. This is tres 80s and I love it. I think Spins is onto a winner with the 80s tunes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_musician

7. Accoustic guitar!! Bonus! Good voices on the Indigo Girls, and good lyrics too, and a good song. Good stuff. I'll have to listen to a few more of their tracks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_Girls

8. Salt-N-Pepa always seem to be something of a joke to me, but I guess that goes for the vast majority of 80s rappers with their 'immacualte' dress sense! Yet again another song I hadn't heard of, which is probably because I spent too much time talking about sex [pun]. A bit boring and monotonous. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt-n-Pepa

9. I like this. Something David Byrne about it. Very good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusted_Root

10. Strange... but good...I'm not too sure if it will become a favourite but I could imagine being drunk and singing along to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_Nut_Zippers

11. I love Linkin Park, especially the way the vocals can at one time be screaming and the next providing a soulful melody. Sometimes we all need to get a little angry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkin_park

12. These are a weird one to pin down with hip-rock/pop/latino vibes. It's a little too pop for me but not too bad though. Maybe I'm being a little harsh on them.

Is that the end???

No. It seems Spin has been taking liberties and included 2 bonus tracks on her CD!!! I'll let her off though because I've taken ages t odo this review.

13. Wolfmother!! I've heard quite a bit of hype about them, and they are going back to the rocky metal era. I like this but hope they are not too cliched. Good band name though... It literally reeks of Spinal Tap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfmother

14. Another new band to me.. is it me or are they a bit Human League sounding?? Not really for me, but they could have potential. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Wants_Revenge

So that's the 'review' done. I know it's a bit flimsy, but I know that Spin will be putting her own interpretations of the the songs on her blog so I'd recommend popping over there for something a little more in depth.

Laters.

p.s. I'll be discussing the future of The Big Blog in my next post....don't hold your breath!