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“Orange County: The Soundtrack” Various
Artists Columbia Records
There’s absolutely nothing exciting about the soundtrack
for “Orange County,” a mediocre collection of pop punk
songs that have already been overplayed. Leading off the CD is one
of the Offspring’s worst songs, “Defy You.”
Following that the album sticks to more mainstream safe bets like
Social Distortion (with the old favorite “Story of My
Life”), Foo Fighters and Lit are both on the list. As the
album progresses, the listener is subjected to
“Butterfly” by Crazytown. The bad taste exhibited by
inclusion of this song alone is enough to knock the album down half
a paw. The Pete Yorn and Brian Wilson songs provide more
understated but completely unmemorable moments. In fact the album
as a whole is forgettable, and, with nothing new to add to the mix,
has no reason to exist.
Mary Williams Â
“Josh Groban” Josh Groban Warner Bros.
Records Inc.
Remember the high school reject who took Ally McBeal to his
prom, who blew everyone away, despite his awkward pubescent
character? His personality is loveable, and his voice is utterly
magnificent. Now available on a more accessible, permanent medium,
his voice is captured beautifully on his first album, self-titled,
“Josh Groban.” His album shows his maturity in
classical tone and expression without being annoyingly operatic.
Perhaps his voice is a bit more appreciated because of his
personality and story that carry over from his appearance in Ally
McBeal. His Italian songs, like “Alla luce del sole”
and “Gira con me,” closely resemble the brilliance of
Andrea Bocelli, though at 20 years old, Grogan clearly lacks
Bocelli’s experience. Groban actually had to replace the
latter talent for the 1999 Grammy Awards ceremony, singing
“The Prayer” with Celine Dion. The duet is included as
the last selection on his album, with Charlotte Church accompanying
him. Grogan also often resembles Alejandro Fernandez in his Spanish
song, “Alejate.” However, he only resembles all the
best in these two artists, and his uniqueness of clarity and
sweetness in tone will be the qualities that sell his album.
Sophia Whang Â
“Stop” 34 Satellite Hideaway
Records
Get a guitar and play four chords, and hopefully they’ll
all play together and out will pop another rock band. Such is the
case with 34 Satellite. After listening to the band’s
sophomore album, aptly titled “Stop,” the listener
can’t help but agree. Following in the footsteps of every
recent formulistic bands, such as Vertical Horizon and Train, 34
Satellite provides an ensemble of semi-catchy poopy, er, poppy,
guitar-based songs. A drum set, bass guitar, relatively upbeat
track list and the occasional depressing acoustic tune make
“Stop” pretty similar to other contemporary rock
albums. The album isn’t terrible ““ it just leaves a bad
taste in your mouth, the same taste you get when you buy an album
and realize you’ve made a drastic mistake. “Stop”
isn’t a good album. Don’t go out and buy it,
don’t rent it, don’t even borrow it. It is the Carson
Daly of CDs ““ completely average and mediocre in every
way.
Kenny Chang Â
“Lord of the Rings” Composed by Howard Shore
Reprise Records
If you loved the movie and can’t wait to see it 20 more
times, then the soundtrack is a must-buy. Otherwise, it hardly
represents a good film score or even good music in general. The
music certainly evokes the atmosphere of the film ““ it
remains static and monotonous. Fantastic chords go nowhere, and it
drags in places where complexity and texture are both welcome and
necessary. The Celtic theme sounds as if it were lifted from the
scores to “Titanic” and “Braveheart.”
Originality could have helped differentiate Shore from the much
better music he borrows from. The greatest redeeming value of the
album is Enya’s contribution. Whereas Shore’s music
sounds forced, Enya’s easily fits into the fantasy/new age
style that she helped bring to the mainstream. Come Oscar time, I
wouldn’t be surprised if Enya walked away with the statue,
while Shore only receives his token nomination.
Howard Ho