Let it Rock: Same Thing, Different Album

I often ignore live and “best of”  albums. Even from artists I love. What’s the point, right? I have all their music already – how many different versions do I need? But this week I decided to live on the edge a little bit and listened to both a live album and a “best of” album.

And ZOMG, I’m so happy I did!

Both Jason Mraz’s new live album and Snow Patrol’s compilation rocked my socks off. Yes, I said “rocked my socks off.” And, yes,  I already knew most of the music, but there was something new and exciting and different about hearing it all on a different album, in a different order, in a new way. I just want to hoard every CD/song/version they’ve got.

And then there was the new Dashboard Confessional album. A totally new album. It wasn’t live and it wasn’t a “best of”, but it somehow all sounded the same. In a good way, of course. Dashboard back again with the same great sound.  And you know what? It just might be the “best of “Dashboard.

Jason Mraz- Beautiful Mess (Live on Earth)

Is it possible to get any better than Jason Mraz? He’s absolutely adorable in a totally hipster, but down-to-Earth type way. He has a beautiful voice and comes up with the world’s best lyrics. Um, and he has his own avocado farm. YES, I would die to date a boy with an avocado farm. But unfortunately, Jason is the only boy I know with an avocado farm and I don’t think I really have a chance with him. Anyway, the bottom line is that his music rocks my world. I’ve been to two of his concerts in the last year and both times I left saying, “That was the best show of my life!” His shows are amazing, spiritual experiences. So it seemed natural that I had to get his new live album, Beautiful Mess (Live on Earth). And the album was exactly like both of the shows I’ve been to. And I think this is a good thing. I got to re-create my concert experience, though I sometimes felt like I wanted Jason to mix things up a bit and show me something I hadn’t heard already.  But Jason does drop one of my favorite lines of his on the album: “Please don’t ever let your mind stop you from having a good time.” Those should be words to live by for all! Then Jason breaks into “The Dynamo of Volition,” which I just can’t help dancing along to. Jason also does a roaring rendition of Gloria Estefan’s “All Night Long” and you can’t help but love that. Of course, I’d much rather see Jason Mraz live than simply listen to his live album, but since that’s not always possible (he’s gotta tend to his avocados at some point), this album is a really good substitute.

Snow Patrol- Up To Now

Snow Patrol is another one of my all-time favorite bands. I’m constantly frustrated by people who are so in love with Snow Patrol’s Eyes Open and everything after (no doubt because of “Chasing Cars”), but claim their older stuff is just so “different.” No, no, Snow Patrol’s new stuff is different. Their old stuff? Is Snow Patrol. Not to say I don’t love Snow Patrol’s new stuff because I really do! But I also like seeing where they’ve come from. Yeah, you have to listen to their older stuff a time or two to really get into it, but I like that it’s not all so radio-ready. If you’re a bit iffy on the old Snow Patrol, Up To Now might be the perfect album for you. It’s a big compilation featuring 30 of Snow Patrol’s songs. Many of them are from the last two albums, but it also has some of their absolute bests from the older albums. Listen to “Run” and tell me you don’t love it. Listen to “Chocolate” and tell me you don’t like Snow Patrol’s old stuff. This album really is the best of Snow Patrol. The only song I really, really feel like it’s missing is “Make This Go On Forever,” because I think that song needs to be on every Snow Patrol album in existence (and, yes, it’s a newer song!).

There are also 3 previously unreleased songs on the album, which definitely make the album worth it even if you already own everything else. “Just Say Yes” starts off like a techno-y type of song but then it sounds so very Snow Patrol. And “Dark Roman Wine” is so beautiful, it almost made me cry. No joke. But if you purchase this album for no other reason, let it be for Snow Patrol’s cover of “Crazy in Love” from Beyonce and Jay-Z. Their rendition is absolutely amazing.

Dashboard Confessional- Alter the Ending

So, Dashboard Confessional actually released a new album; nothing live and nothing old. But they’re still like old friends to me and they always seem to sound exactly the same. New (amazing!) lyrics, same feeling. It seems like Dashboard has been around forever and though I always find I have to be in the right mood to listen to them, I’ve been finding that lately it’s rare for me to not be in that mood. Alter the Ending is actually a very solid album and one I’ll definitely find myself coming back to again and again. One of my favorite songs on the album is the title track because it has classic Dashboard lyrics: “I know that yesterday is gone and it won’t come back to me/But I miss it after all it never really lasts as long as we meant for it to be/There’ll be twists and turns, they’re pulling us and tearing to the seams/But I’ll meet you where we started once again, cause I miss you.” Beautiful!

Another favorite is “No News is Bad News” because I love the title and the lyrics: “But if you’re alone/Are you lonely?/Well you just don’t have to be lonely/Anymore.” The song actually feels incredibly upbeat in a sad sort of way. Yes, Dashboard Confessional is known for being emo, but this is almost a happy, delightful kind of emo. We wonder if that’s what they mean by altering the ending? Dashboard certainly hasn’t altered their sound, but if they want to alter the ending, that’s fine with me. Who knows, maybe I would even listen to the live version if one happened to come out.