Live- Heaven (WWW): Simple, but compelling, driving punchy bare-essentials rock song.
The Black Keys- Set You Free (WWW): Enjoyable yet messy White Stripes-esque rock.
The Black Label Society- Stillborn (WWWW): Great, catchy punchy industrial-metal featuring another great solo from Zakk Wylde.
Terri Clark- Three Mississippi (WWWW): Catchy but deep country song that has Clark leaving her dysfunctional family.
The Clipse f/Roscoe P. Coldchain & Ab-Liva- Cot D**n (WWW): Very personal and somewhat deep rap song about struggling on the streets.
Rosco P. Coldchain- Delinquent (W): Really, really stupid gangsta rap song that pledges his "street prowess". Sigh.
Contractor- Affection (W): Yet another reggae "classic" about sex featuring the "great" line "every woman needs love and affection/And she got it in an upright erection". *smacks head in shame*.
Death By Stereo- Wasted Words (W): Couldn’t have picked better titles, because listening to this puerile, stupid and clichéd punk-rock junk IS wasted words AND death by stereo, especially considering the moronic yelling.
Deftones- Minerva (W): Do they ever quit? All these years and all this crap…you’d think they’d get the message, right? Not exactly, if their new material shows anything. This song comes out as yet another boring and generic rock song that’s awfully repetitive, one that’s been way too many times before and not one I’ll be embracing any time soon.
Fantasy- Again (WWW): Yeah, it’s a little dated, but it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable euro-pop/disco track.
Feeder- Come Back Around (WWWW): The band with a simple but good name strike with a great punchy, driving and straight-up rock song. Only good times with this one.
Fleetwood Mac- Peacekeeper (WWW): They may be old physically, but here they don’t sound a day over 20. The guitars still sizzle, Stevie Nicks’ voice is still endearing and the band’s again up to their enjoyable alt/pop tricks. In this one, the band tackle peace, and do so with an enjoyable hook (Nicks playing around with her voice at the end of the chorus) and a mellow-country-esque sound. Another winner from them.
Billy Gilman- I Am/Shades Of Life (WWWW): Just in time for summer, we get a great uplifting song about the joys of life. This young voice has many years left.
Goldfrapp- Train (WWW): Not that compelling, but it’s an interesting lounge-esque goth-tronica track.
Grandaddy- Now It’s On (W): Boring, generic emo-pop/rock.
Hitman Sammy Sam- Stepdaddy (WWW): Pretty fun old-school party-rap song that pokes fun at being a step father.
Buddy Klein- Nothing To Lose (WWW): Teaches 50 Cent- and name drops him (and Eminem too) how to PROPERLY do a bragging gangsta rap song.
The Libertines- Up The Bracket (WWW): Enjoyable cheeky punk-ish rock.
Lonestar- I’m Already There (Message From Us) (WWW): It’s a bit contrived, but these country veterans still ring out a great song that answers loved ones from afar.
Takashi Matsumoto- Koi-Uta (WWWW): With Japanese influences, this rock instrumental comes out as a beautiful and entrancing experience. Good work.
Monica f/Missy Elliott- So Gone (W): Like me after the track. Featuring R&B’s worst female singer (Monica) and one of rap’s worst rappers, period (Missy), the pair do the expect and cook up a clichéd stinker about Monica’s choice to break-up with her man. Sigh.
New Found Glory- Understatement (W): With a stupid up-tempo punk-ish rock musical backdrop and whiny, clichéd and even stupider lyrics, it’d be an "understatement" to call this one bad.
Ozma- Bad Dogs (W): Very generic and poorly organized. Solos come after both choruses and there really only seems to be one verse, with none of it ever gelling.
Rainer Maria- Ears Ring (W): Starts promising, but the punchy repetitive simplicity of this rock track eventually gets tiring.
Relient K- Chapstick, Chapped Lips And Things Like Chemistry (W): Really stupid New Found Glory-ish pop-rock song that’s about the singer’s fights with his girlfriend. *another sigh*.
Sticky Fingaz- Can’t Call It (W): Horribly clichéd sex raps ruin a good beat.
Suburban Legends- High Fives (W): Really stupid ska song about having fun that’s too similar to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Sunday Driver- Forever Again (W): Personal lyrics lost in a boring, generic rock sound.
T.I.- 24’s (W): You’ve heard this bling-bling song before, in all of it’s 1,324,543,772,352,745,323,689,333,221,883,332,990 versions.
Tiga- Hot In Herre (WWW): Similar to Nelly’s version, but without Nelly’s moronic vocals and a much more elaborate beat…well done.
Shania Twain- Forever And For Always (WWW): Well, Shania always has at least one winner on her albums, and this one’s the one. It’s a joyful in love song that’s aided greatly by the mellow, country-esque backdrop. Question: why can’t she do more of these songs and less of her crap?
Phil Vassar- This Is God (WWWWW): Great, mellow but driving country song that has Vassar role-playing God and asking "why are you people (that would be us) hurting yourselves?" Excellent job.
Butch Walker- Sober (WWW): Good song. Memorable hook and a great mellow alt/rock sound, with this great line: "sooner or later we got to stop this elevator"…I can’t get enough of that rhyme.
Kelly Willis- Don’t Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim (W): Wants to be Dolly Parton, but comes out a horribly dry, dull and boring country-folk song.
Zarina- Habibi (W): Please…Mary Zilba worked once. It won’t work again.
-DG