3 Minutes, 49 Seconds

After two listens to their new album, Monkey Business , I was ready to give Black Eyed Peas a black eyed review. After breaking through with their 2003 album Elephunk , the Peas seemed to have let the success corrupt their music. The follow-up seemed mindless, and even worse, boring. But then something strange happened on my third listen. I was a little bit charmed by some of the songs. What is a reviewer to do when he feels so conflicted? I decided to break the album's tracks into three categories to better articulate my feelings: 1) The Songs I Like Pump It is a fun party tune set to the surf guitar and horns of Dick Dale. You've heard this song in Best Buy commercials. Don't Phunk With My Heart is the first single, and it does its job just fine, though I could live without the Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam lift from I Wonder If I Take You Home , especially since Kylie Minogue did it better on her last album. Don't Lie is a less-exciting sequel to Shut Up , from El...

Is emo over? Did someone forget to notify me? I only ask because I swear the other day I read the words "post-emo" somewhere. I thought we were still in the midst of it. Aren't bands like Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and My Chemical Romance still making waves? Isn't the Warped Tour still making the rounds?! Then again, Promise Ring, Blink-182, and The Get-Up Kids have all called it quits. Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter. Emo is probably the first pop music movement that no actual band would admit to being a part of. And that's a shame, because it's a good, non-trendy sound: harmony, keyboards, fast guitars, emotional lyrics. In fact those exact same words could be used to describe power pop, or the new new wave movement. You could also use it to describe Motion City Soundtrack. And no matter what category you want to place it in, their second album is a corker! Produced by Blink-182 singer/bassist Mark Hoppus, Commit This To Memory finds the mi...

I was born 28 years ago on this day! And in the way time works, that day was also a Saturday. I'd like to thank my mom and dad, especially my mom! In celebration I present my Top 10 Favorite Birthday Songs : 10. Neil Diamond - Desiree (I know that in no way is this song about a birthday. It's really about Neil losing his virginity: "The time was right / The night was long". But the second verse begins, "Then came the 4th of June.") 9. 50 Cent - In Da Club (Okay, also not technically a birthday song. But since this was released, how can we get through a birthday without mentioning shorties, Bacardi, and not giving a fuck?) 8. Lesley Gore - It's My Party (Speaking of not giving a fuck: "I'll cry if I want to".) 7. Alice In Wonderland Soundtrack - The Unbirthday Song (A classic! I had this on a vinyl album of Disney's best movie songs and always asked my mom for unbirthday presents after listening to it). 6. Blur - Birthday (Droning Brit...