Turkey Shoot 2007
The Annual Sound Opinions Turkey Shoot: Jim and Greg celebrate Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way—by taking out this year's biggest turkeys. Tune in to hear 2007's musical disappointments be put out of their misery, and ours.
As I Am Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys has a record out this week that's poised to be #1. Keys has been groomed by Clive Davis in the old school star-making machine, and has become one of the biggest recording artists of this decade. Jim has never been overly impressed by Keys' style which is part polished R&B, part gritty hip hop. But, As I Am is so campy and over the top, that he found himself enjoying the record...even the John Mayer duet. Like a bag of candy, Jim knows it's not good for him, but he gives the record a Buy It. Greg wants to like Keys a lot more; she's obviously got real talent. But, he thinks her lyrics are nothing but a string of clichés. He also wishes she wasn't so bogged down by the over-production. He gives As I Am a Trash It.
Turkey Shoot 2007
Every Thanksgiving Jim and Greg celebrate by breaking out the double barrel and taking out the year's biggest musical "turkeys" in a Turkey Shoot. These aren't just flops or bad records, but albums Jim and Greg had high hopes for that turned out to be disappointments. Here are this year's birds:
Jim
- The Stooges, The Weirdness (Listen to the original review)
- Feist, The Reminder (Listen to the original review)
- Bjork, Volta (Listen to the original review)
Greg
- Timbaland, Shock Value (Listen to the original review)
- The Good, the Bad and the Queen, The Good, the Bad and the Queen (Listen to the original review)
- Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight (Listen to the original review)
Listeners’ Picks
- Brendan: Kanye West, Graduation (Listen to the review)
- John: Interpol, Our Love to Admire
The Black and White Album The Hives
The second album up for review this week is The Black and White Album by Swedish rockers The Hives. The band had a hit in 2000 with "Hate to Say I Told You So," but have yet to really break through to mainstream audiences (despite obvious attempts by their record company). This album is a change of pace for the garage rockers and has more soul than listeners heard previously. They even teamed up with hip hop producer Pharrell Williams for a couple of tracks. The result works for Greg, though he wishes they'd edited down the number of tracks. Jim agrees that the merging of sounds is really successful. They have a credible groove. Both Jim and Greg give The Black and White Album a Buy It.
Jim
Jim plays one of the greatest songs of all time. Enough said.
Featured Songs
- Alicia Keys, "No One," As I Am, J Records, 2007
- Alicia Keys, "Teenage Love Affair," As I Am, J Records, 2007
- Alicia Keys, "Lesson Learned," As I Am, J Records, 2007
- The Ohio Players, "Jive Turkey," Gold, Mercury, 1976
- Timbaland, "2 Man Show," Shock Value, Interscope, 2007
- The Stooges, "Mexican Guys," The Weirdness, Virgin, 2007
- Morrissey, "Disappointed," Viva Hate, His Master's Voice, 1988
- The Good, the Bad and the Queen, "Three Changes," The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Parlophone, 2007
- Feist, "1234," The Reminder, Polydor, 2007
- Kanye West, "Can't Tell Me Nothing," Graduation, Roc-A-Fella, 2007
- Interpol, "The Lighthouse," Our Love to Admire, Capitol, 2007
- Rilo Kiley, "Dreamworld," Under the Blacklight, Warner Bros., 2007
- Bjork, "Earth Intruders," Volta, Atlantic, 2007
- Moby, "Wild Little Sisters," The BioShock EP, Take-Two Interactive, 2007
- The Hives, "Tick Tick Boom," The Black and White Album, A&M Octone, 2007
- The Hives, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.," The Black and White Album, A&M Octone, 2007
- My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow," Loveless, Creation, 1991
- The Andrews Sisters, "The Telephone Song," Music Lessons with the Andrews Sisters, Sepia, 2003
- Joy Division, "Transmission," Atmosphere, n/a, 1980
- The Eagles, "Hotel California," Hotel California, Asylum, 1976
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