Let It Rock: Off Again, On Again

By Sues

This has been a crazy week.

Jay-Z came back! Scarlett Johansson came out with an album with Pete Yorn. (Hey, it’s gotta be better than The Hoff’s singing, right?) Oh, and Mason Jennings came out with something new..though everything he does is new to me.

The week is all very confusing; I feel like I’m going through a break up (with the Scarlett I used to know), getting back together again (with Jay-Z), and meeting someone new (Mason Jennings). That’s a lot of relationship changes to handle in one week!

Jay-Z- The Blueprint 3

I have to admit, I’m a pretty big Jay-Z fan. And I was basically crazy excited to hear that he wasn’t retiring and was in fact coming out with The Blueprint 3. I think Jay-Z lyrics are pretty amazing and I could listen to him and his words all day. In fact, sometimes I do. So, I love that I now have another entire album to listen to. And it’s also pretty awesome.

When I first heard “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye, I actually wasn’t really a fan of it. It just sounded so blah to me, even though I like all three as artists. But the more I heard the track, the more I started loving it. And I instantly loved “Empire State of Mind” and loved it even more so when Lil’ Mama hopped on stage during it at the VMAs. “Forever Young” with Mr. Hudson is just plain cute and fun to listen to! “Venus Vs. Mars” is a kind of a really dirty take on “Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus” and it makes me laugh. Some of the lyrics include, “Hov’s a Blackberry Bold/Shorty is a Sidekick/Used to have a man/I used to have a side chick/Shorty got wind, I had to blow the chick off…Shorty played the piano, me I played the white keys/Shorty from the south, oh I think she liked me…I’m on that red wine, shorty like whites/Same s–t, different toilet, we both get nice/Yeah Im from the apple which means I’m a Mac/She’s a PC, she lives in my lap.”

This is why I love Jay-Z; he’s both hardcore and totally ridiculous at the same time. He hasn’t changed too much over the years and that makes me pretty happy.

Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson- Break Up

I think it’s safe to say Scarlett Johansson has more haters than she does lovers. (Editor’s Note: I feel her pain.) And I can’t say I’m such a super huge fan of her myself. But I do love Pete Yorn so I was kind of curious why such a talented man was creating an album with a sometimes-not-very-liked actress. At first I thought, “wait, are Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson dating?” But then I remembered that the album is called Break Up and that Scarlett is married to hottie Ryan Reynolds. OK then, I still have no idea why they made this album together. But they did. And they actually did a really, really good job.

It reminds me a lot of She & Him. Of course I love the kind of upbeat track (for a break up album), “Relator.” I admit, I thought was “Realtor” for the longest time and was probably about selling the house they bought together, but it’s actually about not being able to relate to each other anymore. ”Shampoo” is definitely my favorite song on the album and is a bit more depressing. The lyrics can ring true for everyone going through a breakup, though: “Last thing I remember/Things were getting better/I’d go anywhere with you/Off to make another run of it/To pass the time we say goodbye/Here we are enclosed/Wake me up and ready to go/Oh the sun’s out tonight/Last thing I remember/Things were getting better.” This album can be listened whether you’re going through a breakup or not; either way, I have a feeling it will put you in a good mood!

Mason Jennings- Blood of Man

I was convinced I was already a fan of Mason Jennings. I just couldn’t remember what it was he sang. Then I scoured my entire music library and couldn’t find a trace of him anywhere. Um, OK. So, maybe I’ve just heard the name a million times and never bothered to listen to him? Shame on me! Because I’ve been listening to (and loving!) his new album, Blood of Man. It’s right up my alley and is kind of Southern-ish folky rock. Maybe a little bit like a cross between Ryan Adams and Elliott Smith. I’ve been listening to the album a lot and think it’s the perfect background music to absolutely anything you could be doing. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s only background music, but it is the kind of music that won’t distract you if you don’t want it to.

One of my favorites is “Sing Out.” It’s almost a little bit creepy, but in an awesome way. “Sing out/Sing for the wounded heart/Sing for the lives we lost/Sing out/Sing for the blood of man…” Eerie! I also really love the lyrics in “Tourist,” though on the whole the album isn’t full of the most brilliant lyrics. “Is who you are now who you want to be now/Or are you someone you don’t want to be?/Is what you wanted really what you wanted?/Or, is it nothing like you dreamed?/There’s a tourist in every heart that just wants to stay/Winter is comin’ and it’s time to go.” I’m glad I finally met Mason Jennings and I think he and I are going to be good friends from now on.