2012 has been quite a year for music. Alternative darlings broke out in a big way, taking over most of the radio. Giant albums from returning artists gave us critics something to lavish over throughout the year. 2012 was also the year that Youtube became a major player, helping push viral artists like Carly Rae Jepsen and Psy to the forefronts of the American subconcious. Without further ado, here is HST’s favorites of the year. [Read more...]
HST…Best Music of 2012
01/01/2013 by 3 Comments
Music Review: Bruno Mars’ ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’
12/10/2012 by Leave a Comment
Bruno Mars and myself have never really clicked before Unorthodox Jukebox. His freshman album Doo-Wops and Hooligans was full of pop friendly radio songs that would be suited more for Radio Disney than anything else. Add on to that his unyielding love songs, Hooligans was an eye-rolling affair I really just wanted to end. But two years has past, and Bruno is in a different place in his career – even if it is a more refined room he’s placed himself in. [Read more...]
Music Review: Ke$ha’s ‘Warrior’
12/03/2012 by Leave a Comment
Ke$ha is something that I would call “outside of my comfort zone.” Her speak-talk style of singing and dance beats got on my nerves when she first debuted with “Tik Tok” in 2009, and every song after that just felt forced and unapologetically mundane. And then she did a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and REALLY impressed me. But that was then, and Warrior is now. [Read more...]
Music Review: Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic’
11/20/2012 by Leave a Comment
Doesn’t seem like too long ago when pop star Rihanna bursted onto the scene with her infectious first single “Pon De Replay” in 2005. Since then, she has been turning heads both as an artist and a media headline, with the infamous relationship with Chris Brown overshadowing her most recent albums. Now, her seventh studio album Unapologetic is out, and all the drama following it doesn’t help, hurt, or destroy it at all. We do, however, get an okay pop album. [Read more...]
Music Review: Green Day’s ‘¡Dos!’
11/11/2012 by Leave a Comment
To say I was disappointed with Green Day’s first album in their numerical trilogy ¡Uno! is an understatement. In fact, after a month of sitting on this album, hoping that something in me would help change my thoughts on it. It didn’t happen; it just made the album worse. So going into ¡Dos!, you could say I was incredibly skeptical on what would come out of this album. [Read more...]
Music Review: The Greatest Video Game Music 2
11/07/2012 by 1 Comment
Music and video games have gone hand-in-hand for years. Whenever there’s a good game, there’s always a brilliant score to back it up. It can be just a small yet noticeable chime (Final Fantasy), to a minimalistic score that just hides in the background, making itself known whenever it wants to (Bioshock). Music helps set the moods to the games we play, helping suck our subconscious into the realms we explore. And the London Philharmonic Orchestra are at it again with another collection of beautifully played, well produced video game music for all to enjoy. [Read more...]
Album Review: Kendrick Lamar’s ‘good kid, m.A.A.d. city’
10/30/2012 by Leave a Comment
What does a good movie have to do to engage you as a viewer? Contain a good plot? Some character development along the way? Maybe even some comedic moments sprinkled on top? Now, what makes a good rap album? Some bragadocious rhymes? Rapping about what everyone else in the game raps about? Although sometimes Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar dips his pen into the “good rap album” section of this intro, it seems like he went ahead and penned the next great hood drama, entitled good kid, m.A.A.d. city. [Read more...]
Review of Sad Robot’s ’1.0′
10/29/2012 by Leave a Comment
I almost feel tricked by L.A. trio Sad Robot. Towards the beginning of the television season, the band was featured during a commercial for Season 8 of Bones. The song they played was “Hold On,” a soft, almost acoustic ballad helping prep the emotional return to one of the main characters. The song in question makes the bands latest outing, 1.0, but sounds nothing like it does in the commercial. In fact, the song sets up for a rather loud and noisy bit of blues rock. [Read more...]
Review of P.O.S’ ‘We Don’t Even Live Here’
10/21/2012 by Leave a Comment
2012 has, at best, been a mediocre year for hip-hop. There have only been a couple of albums and mixtapes this year that have actually impressed me (those being Brother Ali’s newest album and that Heems’ mixtape he dropped earlier this year), and the rest has kind of been tossed to the wayside. Even that G.O.O.D. Music compilation was just okay. That’s why I’m excited for Autumn, however, as the biggest hip-hop albums are slated to come out, and why not start with Minnesota’s P.O.S’s newest outing, ‘We Don’t Even Live Here.‘ [Read more...]
Music Review: Death Grips’ ‘No Love Deep Web’
10/02/2012 by Leave a Comment
It’s been quite a year for hip hop trio Death Grips. Their debut album (not mixtape) The Money Store dropped earlier this year, and even though the album kept the obscure, almost threatening, style of music, they recieved a fair bit of positive attention. Even sites like NPR, who stereotypically wouldn’t even touch an album like this, gave it its props. And now, with a bigger audience, released this mixtape – under their own terms. [Read more...]
Music Review: Muse’s ‘The 2nd Law’
09/29/2012 by Leave a Comment
Six albums in, English trio Muse can pretty much do anything they want. If they want to make a futuristic opera, they can. If they want to make an arena rock album mixed with a laser light show, they can. If they want to make a rock album mixed with the blistering sounds of dubstep, they can. But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. Take, for instance, Muse’s latest album The 2nd Law, which tries to stray out in the realms of electronic music while remaining relatively close to a typical Muse sound. [Read more...]
Music Review: Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Part I’
09/26/2012 by Leave a Comment
When Lupe Fiasco came out with the title of this album, I thought of three things. One: the original Food and Liquor was amazing, and putting the title on this album SHOULD force him to elevate his game to that level once more. And Two: how much balls does he have to call this The Great American Rap Album, especially when he called the President of the United States a terrorist. Third: this has got to be better that Lasers, the electronic heavy mess he put out last year. [Read more...]
Review of Green Day’s ‘¡Uno!’
09/22/2012 by Leave a Comment
Where do you begin with a band like Green Day? They’re one of the most successful punk bands in the past twenty years, releasing critically acclaimed album after album since 1990. The also can subsequently piss off a decent part of their fan base, with accusations of “selling out” getting thrown all over the place. Personally, I have nothing against Green Day – besides putting out 21st Century Breakdown a couple of years ago. So what does a band who’s an already extensive library? Start a trio of albums that will come out in the next six months, that’s what. And that’s what brings us to part one – entitled ¡Uno!. [Read more...]
Review of The Killers’ ‘Battle Born’
09/16/2012 by Leave a Comment
It’s been eight years since the Vegas-based quartet The Killers came out with their debut album, Hot Fuss. Since them, I’ve fallen in and out of favor with them with every release. Sam’s Town was a step backwards sonically, and Day And Age‘s use of electronics was just too much for me. And then there was vocalist Brandon Flowers solo album, which I found rather refreshing – and completely underrated. But now the guys are back with Battle Born, their long awaited fourth studio album. And although I had problems the last time The Killers did such a production heavy outing, Battle Born is that on a grander, more cohesive scale. [Read more...]
Review of Ben Folds Five’s ‘The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind’
09/15/2012 by 1 Comment
Seventeen years ago, a trio of musicians delivered their debut, self-titled album. Of course, this should end with “and the rest is history,” but that’s not the case with Ben Folds Five. Instead, Ben Folds, Robert Sledge, and Darren Jessee made a couple more albums, then ended their collective careers together, splitting off and doing their respective side projects – and one incredibly successful solo career. Seventeen years later, the trio is back with The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind, and its a rather successful trip down memory lane not without some hiccups along the way. [Read more...]
