Album review...

I've never done one of these before, but seeing that there's so many new albums out for this Christmas season, I thought I'd round up a couple of albums and pass my judgement on them. See if you agree with any of these.

Ok, where shall we start? How about SuBo?

Susan Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed A Dream, has been charting very well in the UK (and apparently, the US, too). The frumpy lady, who claimed to have never been kissed before, went on Britain's Got Talent, emerging as an Ugly Duckling with a beautiful voice that melts hearts. Now that she has an album, we get to hear more of that voice. Before I get all fanboy-ish with this review, I will say (to prove some objectivity in this review) - yes, the songs are all covers, and you probably won't want to listen to some of the tunes after Christmas, because yes, there's some Christmas songs in there. But heck. She's got great (not perfect, but great) vocals, and I think she's brilliant and likeable. She scores 3/10 for creativity (her rendition of Wild Horses - that's something), but overall, it's an 8.5/10.

Must Download: Wild Horses / I Dreamed A Dream / How Great Thou Art / Daydream Believer

Next, Lady Gaga, the crazy musical genius. For the sake of this review, I will review Fame Monster in 2 parts - The EP (CD1), and the album (i.e.: The Fame, CD2).

Fame Monster: 8 tracks. As many of you probably guessed by now, I'm a big fan of the electronica genre (think Owl City). So you'd expect me to love Lady Gaga, right? Well, yes and no. I have this bad habit of judging songs by their first 10 seconds, and that's the litmus test Gaga songs often fail. But to be fair, her latest EP isn't all bad. If you see my Last.fm weekly charts, you'd see that "Telephone" is in joint number 2. Many people also like Bad Romance. Aside from these two songs, I think the other songs are marginally above average, which = "Just OK". Not terrible. Just so-so. So I give this EP 6.5/10.

Must Download: Telephone / Bad Romance / Monster

The Fame: 16 tracks. Admittedly late, considering this album was out last year. But because this album is stuck inside "The Fame Monster", whether you like it or not, I have to review it. I'll make this quick. It's Gaga. And you probably have the album already if you like her. 8/10

Combines weighted score: 6.5*8 + 8*16 / (8+16) = 7.5/10

Next up: John Mayer, with Battle Studies. I was just tweeting @thejellyhunter (formerly @ryanleee) about this album - I don't love it, I don't like it, it's not growing on me, even though it's John C. Mayer. Why? Well, I've been thinking about it, and I think the answer can only be summed up in 2 words - it's dull. And I mean that in a "dull and not entertaining" sense. I mean, I loved Continuum, mainly because a few tracks were likeable - Heart Of Life, Waiting On The World To Change, Stop This Train, etc. - you listen to those, and you'll want to shake your head to the beats. If only he would stop tweeting and make his songs more impactful. And what the heck was Taylor Swift doing with John Mayer, singing only 2 lines? If she's in a studio with John Mayer, I expect more from Swift than just "Can't Stop Loving You, Can't Stop Loving You" and a suppressed, almost inaudible alto line. (The lyrics are great, though, if that's any consolation). 6.5/10

Must Download: Heartbreak Warfare / Who Says / Half Of My Heart / War Of My Life

Moving on: Norah Jones, with The Fall. Just as you forgot about her, she's back with a new album. It deviates from what you'd call Jazz, but that's fine by me. The music paints a picture in your head, and that's good. This one's growing on me. And as a "Welcome back" present, Jones gets an 8.5/10.

Must Download: Chasing Pirates / Young Blood / Tell Yer Mama

One last album - Queen. I talked about this before - It's a "Best Of" from one of those bands that probably earn millions in royalties each year. Buy! 9/10.

k. That's all for now. Got some tests to prepare for. More reviews to come!

Decibel-o-meter.

This is probably the coolest App that I've foind so far for the iPhone.

It's "Decibel", a Decibel-o-meter app for the iPhone, and well, it works as its name suggests - it picks up sound using the in-built mic of the iPhone (works best on 3G/3GS, also on iPod touch 3G with a mic on the earphone) and it tells you the volume of the sound it captures in decibels (dB).

Go check it out!

Ambitious but rubbish, indeed.

For all the Top Gear (and car, especially electric car) fans out there, this one's for you.

In Episode 2 of their latest Season (Season 14), which aired last Sunday, the trio built an electric car that was meant to compete against other electric cars out there - Chevrolet Volt, Tesla Roadster, G-Wiz, etc.

They asked an 'annonymous' driver to send the car to the Autocar magazine to review the car that they have built.

The result?

Read on this link:

http://dl.haymarket.streamuk.com/autocar/top-gear/top-gear-topgear-test.pdf

It's ambitious, but ... trust me. Read the review.

BBC Children In Need Medley

A song for the BBC Children In Need fundraising campaign. You'd probably never seen so many cartoon/kids characters in one single music video.

Music to watch out for...

Been looking through the iTunes Music Store, and boy, do we have lots of new albums on the UK iTunes Album Chart this week.

Ok, first thing I want to talk about is, well, probably not available outside the UK (aww...). It's a Parody Album by BBC Radio 1 Morning Show DJ, Chris Moyles. The name of the album? I just said it. It's The Parody Album. It's a compilation of parodies that this morning show DJ recorded. Not much I can say, except you know this is going to be weird, like those Don & Drew show podcasts. Out Monday 23rd Nov on iTunes UK.

Next, still speaking about the UK, remember the Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle? Well, she's back with a vengeance this Christmas with an album of her own, entitled "I Dreamed A Dream". Before you laugh her off as an eccentric like William Hung, look back at those YouTube clips. Now, imagine a studio-quality recording of her singing Amazing Grace or Silent Night. I admit, most people will notice flaws in her vibrato parts, but otherwise, she's a Scottish angel. This album is one to look out for this Christmas. Out Monday 23rd Nov

Moving on, while we're on the topic of stocking-stuffers for Christmas, we have 2 'Best-of's that were just released. For those who like Queen (who doesn't?), they just released their "Absolute Greatest" album! If you're more into Snow Patrol, they also have a 2-disc 'best-of', called "Up To Now".

There's also been some Jazzy artistes releasing albums recently. There's Norah Jones with "The Fall", and Jamie Cullum with "The Pursuit". Realise both album names start with 'The', followed by a noun? Can't be a coincidence, can it? Norah's album was released on 17 Nov, Jamie's on 9 Nov.

Oh, John Mayer. He's got a new album out, too. "Battle Studies".

And how about that Lady Gaga EP, "The Fame Monster"? Features the single 'Bad Romance', along with other new Gaga tracks, and her last album, "The Fame".

That's just a sample of what new stuff I saw on iTunes that might be popular this pre-Christmas season. Look out for them, possibly in a future music chart from me!