Where Quantity Is Job No.1 - Propaghandi

Advantages: Hugely influential, years ahead of their time, wonderful melodys
Disadvantages: none

...this album for almost 20 years now in various formats having worn through 1 LP and I still find it as fresh and invigorating as ever. It is exact and precise yet still brings out emotion and human frailty. One of the most common arguments about not liking them is that they are too cold, too precise, not emotional. To which I reply, nonsense. Some of the phrases - as disembodied and seemingly random as Thom Yorke will recreate many years later - will have you repeating them without realising. “FBI and Scotland Yard/Interpol and Deutsche Bank” anyone? No? Then try the pocket calculator that plays a little melody every time you press a special key! Who says they don’t have a sense of humour? How about a song where the vocals are just repeating number counts anything from 1 up to 8 in different languages – inspired... Read review

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Advantages: Quality songs, they picked up from where Enema of the State finished (literally)
Disadvantages: The cardboard cover and the album's a little short

...Take off your pants and jacket is another superb album from Mark, Tom & Travis. It perhaps isn't as good as Enema of the State (the previous studio album), but it is still definitely worth spending the money and adding it to your collection. Again, it is a little short, it only runs for 46 minutes, but they appear to have gone for quality and not quantity. There are 13 songs on the album with two bonus tracks (one of which is very funny, although you DEFINITELY wouldn't want children to hear!) The album starts with "Anthem 2", and those who own a copy of Enema of the State will know that that album finishes with "Anthem", so as I said in the advantages, they quite literally start where EotS finished. This is the complete track listing, 1. Anthem Part Two (3 mins 48) 2. Online Songs (2 mins 25) 3. First Date (2 mins 51) 4. Happy... Read review

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Advantages: Disposable, enjoyable dance-pop for the masses
Disadvantages: Nothing new in either the music or lyrics, homogenised at times and occasionally too plagiaristic for comfort

..., and on J Lo, she gets rather more of that than she did on the first album. Whether any of it is actually original or particularly durable is open to question, but it's an odds-on certainty that this record will sell in huge quantities over the next 8 or 9 months. Kicking off with the recent UK #1 single Love Don't Cost A Thing, J Lo makes it quite clear where the intentions lay this time around. Suspiciously reminiscent of Aaliyah's "Try Again", itself a monster hit last summer, the track is very much of the moment with its scattergun vocal refrains and bouncy electro-lite rhythms. I'm Real is less plagiaristic, and would make a great single...all breezy melody and winning attitude. The techno touches and "Hey DJ, play that song"-style lyrics (see: Madonna's Music) of both Play and Dance flaunt their thinly-veiled influences, but they are also... Read review

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