The 11 Best Songs By The Editors

My favorite new site has to be The Talkhouse, which made headlines this past week when Lou Reed reviewed Kanye West's new album, Yeezus.  The site has rock stars (mostly) reviewing mostly recent albums.  It's a fascinating alternative look at an album that's not through a critics eyes.  When a critic reviews an album, their intention is to pick it apart and examine its merits purposely for a public audience.  They have an agenda to entertain their audience as much as the album does.  That doesn't mean they're not fair, it just means the reviews aren't always necessarily unbiased.  Nor do they accurately convey the listening experience. When a rock star reviews an album, it comes from a completely personal space.  Musicians are influenced and affected by music in a different way.  Creating music is a personal experience.  It's exposing your heart and soul to the world.  The ability to relate to this can only be gained by experience.  When rock stars bring this experience to their reviews, their perspective is completely unique and unequivocal. Their review is more of a emotional response to the music than a dissection.  After reading some of the reviews, I can honestly say I prefer the rock stars' pov over a critic's review.  The rock stars relay how they feel when listening to the music.  That's what I want to know.  Critics review what went wrong, and that's not really helpful.  Music isn't about examination, it is about an emotional response... how am I ever supposed to know what an album sounds like when the critics are more invested in coming up with clever word play to describe a cymbal crash than revealing whether the music moved them or not?

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Editors:

1. An End Has A Start (An End Has A Start)
2. Papillon (In This Light And On This Evening)
3. Munich (The Back Room)
4. Bricks and Mortar (In This Light And On This Evening)
5. Fingers In the Factories (The Back Room)
6. Bones (An End Has A Start)
7. Alone (Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool)
8. Last Day (Record Store Day 2010)
9. Like Treasure (In This Light And On This Evening)
10. The Boxer (In This Light And On This Evening)
11. Orange Crush (Blood)

Buy The Editors new album, The Weight of Your Love...now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Lou Reed of the 70s

For fans of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music...his new collaboration album with metal giants, Metallica, might as well be its mainstream sequel.  Lulu seemed like a match made in Bosch's Garden of Delight, where the anticipation was far greater than the actual delivery. But we all knew it was going to be a Monster Truck demolition...we just weren't ready to admit it.  That said...is it that terrible?  It's not a rock record nor is it a pop record.  It's really an avant garde experimental album that is fighting the restraints of mainstream music.  It's admirable that they took these preconceived notions on head-on.  And there really is some of it that is rather listenable.  It's not going to rule the charts in a Justin Beiber like fashion (although don't be surprised if its first week sales are up there)...but who knows what kind of influence it will have years from now.  Metal Music Machine was hated when it first came out...now there are people out there who actually consider it groundbreaking and immensely influential.  With all its struggles and disconnect with the fans of both bands...it's still way better than the new Kelly Clarkson.

The 11 Best Songs By Lou Reed of the 70s:

1.  Perfect Day (Transformer)
2.  Walk on the Wild Side (Transformer)
3.  Follow the Leader (Rock N Roll Heart)
4.  Street Hassle (Street Hassle)
5.  Stupid Man (The Bells)
6.  Satellite of Love (Transformer)
7.  Coney Island Baby (Coney Island Baby)
8.  The Kids (Berlin)
9.  Banging On My Drum (Rock N Roll Heart)
10.  Berlin (Berlin)
11.  Walk and Talk It (Lou Reed)

Buy Lou Reed & Metallica's new supergroup album...Lulu!!