13. Justin Timberlake: Justified (2002)

Justified, on the other hand, has been winning over new fans for a year now. Taking a step away from his successful 5-member boy band, JT hired Timbaland and The Neptunes to help him become the new Michael Jackson. And damn if it doesn't almost work! Songs like Last Night and Rock Your Body effectively capture that King Of Pop spirit and Like Nothing Else even sounds like a MJ ballad.

Before I go on, I must admit that the version I have of Justified is different. I ripped the songs before giving the CD away, and arranged and edited them when I burned it. Here's my tracklisting:
1. Seniorita
2. Like I Love You
3. Let's Take A Ride
4. Cry Me A River
5. Still On My Brain
6. Last Night
7. Like Nothing Else
8. (Oh No) What You Got
9. Never Again
10. Rock Your Body
11. Take It From Here

Anyway, on the getting personal tip, there are a few songs here that seem aimed at Britney...Never Again and Still On My Brain are both addressed toward a lover who has betrayed our poor hero. But the showstopper is Cry Me A River, an amazing song which gets better with every listen. Supposedly, it encapsulates what happened between Justin and Britney...she cheated and he couldn't forgive her. Listening to it with that in mind makes it even more enjoyable!

So the question remains, which is preferable: the pop artist who keeps it superficial, or the one who bares her soul? Is pop music more about impulse or thought? If it's the former, than Britney is the ultimate pop star, but if it's the latter, Justin shines brighter.

Justified Rating : B+
Justified Fave Song: Take It From Here

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REO Speedwagon: R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971)

REO Speedwagon got its start in the late 1960s on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. The band grew out of a friendship between a students Neal Doughty (piano/keyboard) and Alan Gratzer (drums). Joining up with a couple of other musicians, they took the name R.E.O. Speedwagon. It wasn't long before they started getting gigs at parties and bars, doing covers of the hits of the day. The band cycled through several players in its first three years, with Gratzer and Doughty as the only constants. One-by-one they added the members that would form the first "official" lineup: singer Terry Luttrell in early 1968, bassist Gregg Philbin later that summer, and guitarist Gary Richrath at the end of 1970. Richrath was a native of Peoria, 90 miles northwest of Champaign, and had essentially stalked the band until they let him join. It was a good move, as he not only an accomplished guitarist, but also a songwriter. With Richrath the band ascended to the n

12 by Matthew Sweet (2002 - 2021)

Sometimes a huge part of an artist's career has not been summarized. Case in point... Matthew Sweet has a couple of compliations out there, but neither of them cover the past couple of decades, a span that has seen him release 8 albums of original material and 3 albums of covers. I followed Sweet's career religiously early on, with my ardor gradually diminishing after the magnificant one-two punch of In Reverse (1999) and The Thorns (2003) That's not to say he hasn't produced some great work since then, it's just that it requires bit of effort to pick out the gems. Here's my college try: (Two of these albums are not available on streaming servies, so here's a slightly modified version of the playlist on YouTube .) 1. "I Can't Remember" ( The Thorns , 2003) The Thorns was a rootsy, close-harmony early-aughts version of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, featuring Shawn Mullins (of "Lullaby" fame) and Pete Droge (of "If You Don't Lov

2022: The Album

Since 2003 I've made a mix of some of my favorite songs of the calendar year. Here's the cover art and track listing for the 2022 edition. 1. BODEGA - "Pillar on the Bridge of You" 2. Harry Styles - "Late Night Talking" 3. Vicious Vicious - "Evolution" 4. Hot Freaks - "Lovely" 5. Carly Rae Jepsen - "The Loneliest Time" 6. Tears for Fears - "End of Night" 7. Spoon - "Wild" 8. Death Cab for Cutie - "Here to Forever" 9. Citrine and GUKKO - "Feel Better" 10. Rhett Miller - "Fascination" 11. Broken Bells - "Fade Away" 12. Leah Marlene - "Flowers" 13. Robbie Williams - "The World and Her Mother" 14. Jimmy Eat World - "Something Loud" (acoustic version) 15. Sloan - "Dream It All Over Again" If you have Amazon Unlimited, you can listen at this link .

3 Minutes, 49 Seconds

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