Blogcritics

The Final Breakdown: Favorites of 2007

Tom Johnson — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:19:24 EST

Better late than never - my picks of stuff I really liked a lot in 2007.
What a strange year. Unlike most years, when I find myself all over the place musically, this year found me focused on a small collection of albums that repeatedly drifted into my ears. I'm not like this - I'm not one of those people that sits back and says, "What a crappy year for music this has been," but when I look back on 2007 for truly...

The Breakdown: Dave Douglas

Tom Johnson — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:53:09 EST

One this week, folks. One. But it's a GOOD one.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, Black Friday has come and gone, the stupidly named "Cyber Monday" has come and gone . . . and now we're left with those last few, dry weeks before Christmas where the labels don't even feel like shoving out box-sets, best-ofs and live albums. No, what we'll get now is stuff the big labels...

The Breakdown: Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails, Opeth, U2

Tom Johnson — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:44:25 EST

I know: why am I even bothering to talk about anything other than Zep and U2?
One last big blast of what the industry hopes are massive, can't-miss releases before the shopping season begins - it's pretty obvious looking at the list this week. It's all greatest hits and weird repackagings the likes of which we would never see any other time of the year. However, it's also the day that brings two of the...

The Breakdown: The Beatles, Blackfield, The Who

Tom Johnson — Tue, 6 Nov 2007 13:39:20 EST

It's a Breakdown first this week. What could it be?
No CDs. That's right - a first - absolutely no CDs are highlighted this week. It's all about music DVDs this time around.The Beatles - Help! DVD: The Fab Four's follow-up to A Hard Day's Night doesn't come easy for fans this time. Where Night simply came in one format - two-disc DVD - Help! is out in two versions that are...

The Breakdown: Ryan Adams, Fripp/Eno, Tony Levin, Plant/Krauss, Ween

Tom Johnson — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:43:04 EDT

A couple of slashes mark an eclectic week of music.
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Follow the Lights: While reports are that Adams appears to be slipping back into the bad behavior that has marred his live performances before going into rehab, he at least turned out a fantastic album earlier this year with Easy Tiger. Follow the Lights follows that up as a seven song EP with two brand new songs...

The Breakdown: Jimi Hendrix, Keith Jarrett, Tom Petty, REM

Tom Johnson — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:46:11 EDT

It looks quiet this week, but there are still a few dangerous items for your budget.
Not a huge week here, but that's kind of a relief, isn't it? And yet, still enough to sap your wallet of quite a bit of dough anyway. That's the life of a music addict.Keith Jarrett - My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux: I think there's an annual requirement that Keith Jarrett must issue some kind of musical good. There are only a handful of years...

The Breakdown: ELP, Jesu, Bob Mould, Robert Pollard, Robert Wyatt

Tom Johnson — Tue, 9 Oct 2007 03:09:07 EDT

It's a week of Bobs.
It's a week of Bobs, apparently. Roberts Mould, Pollard, and Wyatt all have new releases (in one case, two) along with a mixed bag of genres that should keep most well-settled heads spinning.Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery Deluxe/Remaster: The music of this prog-rock classic is legendary and seemingly timeless. Who doesn't...

The Breakdown: Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Megadeth, Prong

Tom Johnson — Tue, 2 Oct 2007 02:21:54 EDT

Order the new Radiohead now, or pick up one of the other boxes out this week - among other things.
You've got a whole week before that new Radiohead album, In Rainbows (be sure and refresh that page to gain entry to the site), is available to either shell out next to nothing (you decide!) or splurge on the $82 "disc box" of the latter which has two 12" records of the music, a CD of the album-proper, and an additional CD of...

The Breakdown: Dethklok, Foo Fighters, Jose Gonzalez, Iron and Wine, Manu Katche, matt pond PA, Pat Metheny, Pearl Jam

Tom Johnson — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:17:44 EDT

Which is a priority for YOU?
It gets harder and harder as the weeks count down to Christmas to determine what is a priority release and what can wait. Something has to wait, as there are simply too many great things popping up to hold off on for the next couple months. Here's my selection of difficult choices this week:Dethklok - Dethalbum: Admit it, you're a little...

The Breakdown: Across the Universe, John Coltrane, Counting Crows, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, U2, Eddie Vedder

Tom Johnson — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:16:09 EDT

More budget-breaking releases, but I have a couple tips to save you at least a little money, if not sanity.
Our wallets and credit cards sure are getting a workout lately, aren't they? Yet another astounding heavy release week - prepare to see a lot of these kinds of weeks for the next couple of months. I'm not complaining, however. Are you?Across the Universe - Original Soundtrack: The music of the Beatles' catalog of the late 60s is used to...