Let It Rock: Something Old, Something New, Something Blue

By Sues

My sister is getting married and I’ve had weddings on the brain, so this week I’m dedicating this review to her and doin’ the something old, something new, and something blue routine. It doesn’t just apply to brides, you know. I didn’t borrow any of my music this week (I’m not good at giving back), so I had to leave that one out.

Anyways, obviously Whitney Houston is the something old. I’m not saying the woman is old (hell, she looks good for her age!), but she has been around the block a few times. These United States are my something new, and I couldn’t be more excited about that. And the Drive-By Truckers are my something blue, since I love them to death, but listening to their album made me feel a little bit blue.

And I guess all of that means I’ll one day be marrying music.
Considering the guys I’ve dated in the past, that is fine by me:

Whitney Houston- I Look to You

Oh hey, Whitney Houston. You’re back. Have I mentioned I’m excited? Like, jump out of my pants and do a little dance around my bedroom, excited? Well, I was. And I have to admit that you let me down just a little bit. I don’t really know why I expected you to be the exact woman you were before, but what happened to those vocal cords? OK, so maybe I’m being a little bit dramatic, but I really do miss hearing Whitney’s true crooning. I always said if I were to audition for American Idol, I would sing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” to which my friends and family burst out laughing. Because I would definitely make the show…the horrible audition part of the show.

Nope, I’m just not a fabulous singer. But I do think I could actually sing some of Whitney’s new stuff from I Look to You, because her voice just isn’t getting up there. So many of the songs on her new album play off of Whitney’s horrible marriage (to the awful Bobby Brown), which I think is a good thing. Pain brings awesome music. And Whitney’s lyrics are as powerful as ever, especially in songs like “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” But I want her to start screaming and showing her real power. I am a big fan of the first song on the album, “Million Dollar Bill” because it reminds me a bit of the old Whitney (the song sounds totally 80s-ish) and her voice actually gets up there a bit. And it’s fun. I really do like the title track, but again, it leaves something lacking. Whitney also duets with Akon on an interesting track. It’s cute, but probably won’t become a hit, like most Akon collaborations do. Sadness. I guess love lets you down sometimes.

These United States- Everything Touches Everything

I had heard of These United States before this week, but I knew absolutely nothing about them and had never heard a lick of their music. I had no clue what they would sound like when I was getting ready to listen to Everything Touches Everything. But you know what? I enjoy them immensely. They’re really hard to describe, but it’s basically pretty mellow music with great lyrics and the occasional dance-ability. One of my very favorite songs on the album is “Secret Door.” While it’s a pretty mellow song, the lyrics are absolutely outstanding and definitely prove to me what amazing songwriters These Unite States are. “I am going to start the morning out/Throwing out the day before/I am going to let the morning in/The whole thing pouring in/And what is more…I am the captain of this ship/For what it was/And what it is and what it shackles/Or it leaves behind that shore/I am my executioner/But death is not the final word/And my life is not some secret door…I will push you if you push me.”

Another one of my faves is “Will It Ever” because of its sorta country vibe. And “Conquests and Consequences” is such a different sound, I find myself listening to it over and over. Every once in a while I’m surprised by a band I never really knew existed and this time it’s These United States. Now I have a feeling I’ll have a hard time remembering when they weren’t a part of my life! But then again, maybe I’m just in the honeymoon faze.

Drive-By Truckers- The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities

I consider the Drive-By Truckers to be one of my all time favorite bands. As in, they are majorly awesome. I have about a million of their songs on constant rotation on my iPod, but it never seems to be enough. So, although, I’d absolutely love for them to come out with something really brand new, I take what I can get. And that’s The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities. It’s basically all their previously recorded material that they ended up not using. You might think this wouldn’t be as good as their published music, but when you look at DBT’s albums, you see how much of a storyline they have and why there might be some actually really good stuff that just wasn’t able to be included.

The album starts off  with “George Jones Talkin’ Cell Phone Blues” and just exemplifies what the Drive-By Truckers are to me. It has a little bit of modern behavior mixed with some old school dirty South. Right away I can see why they didn’t want these perfectly amazing songs to go to waste. I have to say I was way overly psyched to hear Jason Isbell on this album (I still haven’t gotten over him leaving the band) and am now pretty obsessed with “When the Well Runs Dry.” And “TVA” too. These are definitely my favorite tracks on the album, because they sound amazing, yes, but also probably because I’m feeling a bit of nostalgia too. But now I think I’ve relapsed into my Jason Isbell pain, which probably isn’t very healthy.