Selena Gomez & The Scene - When The Sun Goes Down

I've actually never listened to this album the whole way through. At least I don't think I have. I find that odd since it contains some of my favorite tracks ever released by Selena. I'm hoping to find some other songs of the same quality for her final album with The Scene.

Track #1, Love You Like A Love Song: For some reason I kept thinking this was on A Year Without Rain. I was very confused when I started to do that post & this wasn't on the track list. I associate this album with songs like Hit The Lights which are more mainstream dance pop while this sounds like a continuation of Naturally and A Year Without Rain. That's a good thing though. Undoubtedly the best single of her career, I really feel like this song helped to bring her to some public attention for her music. 5/5

Track #2, Bang Bang Bang: It's crazy how great this style works for Selena. I don't know what the heck she is thinking going in the direction that she is with her new single. She can do whatever the heck she wants, but gosh she has such a winning formula with the dance pop stuff. I find the song pretty lyrically immature, but the music of the song saves it. It's probably closer to synthpop than electropop or dance pop. Stylistically, it's close to Love You Like A Love Song which made it an ideal candidate to be a pre-release single. 4.5/5.

Track #3, Who Says: So a funny story about this song. A friend of mine didn't like Selena at all. Like she would mention it whenever she saw her on TV. About a year or so after this came out, she sent me a message about it and how she liked it. Coming into the present, she really likes Selena's music. I've always found that amusing lol. For me, it's not one of my favorites from her. It's okay, I'm just not that into pure pop/pop rock songs anymore. The content of the song is good though. 3.5/5.

Track #4, We Own The Night (ft. Pixie Lott): As a fan of Pixie Lott's music, I had been very excited to hear their collaboration when I saw the tracklist. The song is unfortunately such a let down. It's more pop rock (which is closer to Pixie's style at the time) and it sounds strange coming right after Love Song & Bang. Beyond that, the chorus goes nowhere. It's so flat and lifeless. Pixie's vocals in the song are pointless as well because you can barely hear her in anything over Selena's vocals. 3/5.

Track #5, Hit The Lights: Even though I love her Stars Dance album, this is my absolute favorite Selena song. There really isn't anything super special about it that makes it stand out. It's just a standard dance pop song like everything that you could hear on the radio from like 2010-2012. It just hits me in a way that none of her other songs do. 5/5.

Track #6, Whiplash: Another of my favorite Selena songs. It sounds so much like something Britney would do, but unlike the track before that sounds like Katy, this works. It's like if Toxic was done for Blackout instead of earlier. I swear this is what Toxic would have sounded closer to. Should've been a single. 5/5.

Track #7, When The Sun Goes Down: I had big expectations for this song because the title reminded me a lot of Stars Dance which is one of my favorite songs by her. I don't know what possessed me to think I could be excited over a song by a title. I don't really care for this song. This is something Katy Perry should have done and doesn't suit Selena at all. 3/5.

Track #8, My Dilemma: I guess there had to be a Disney-esque track on the album didn't there (I don't count Who Says as Disney-esque since most pop stars were on that whole "love yourself" train a few years ago.) I don't hate Disney music, in fact quite the opposite, it's just weird when the singles of an album are trying to say "I'm trying to be mature!" but then there's songs on the album that sound like Kiss & Tell. Even though this song doesn't mesh with the album concept well, I like it. It's a catchy tune. 4/5.

Track #9, That's More Like It: Ah. Perhaps I spoke too soon with track #7. This is way more Kiss & Tell. In fact, My Dilemma is much more mature than this. The "make my dinner, bring it to me" line is so cringy. Yikes...spoke too soon again. The bridge is even worse. 3/5.

Track #10, Outlaw: The verses of this song are so promising. They are along the lines of Hit the Lights & Whiplash. Unfortunately, the chorus and bridge fall so flat in comparison. They're just absolutely lifeless. 3.5/5.

Track #11, Middle Of Nowhere: The most disappointing thing about this album is that in a lot of the songs, the verses are so good but the choruses just fall flat or change style too much. This song is just another example of that. It's verses are like a tamer Whiplash, yet the chorus is Kiss & Tell. It's disappointing. 3.5/5.

Track #12, Dices: The Spanish version of Who Says.

I really don't care a whole lot for this album. The songs I like from it are fantastic, but the album as a whole is very average. I was expecting more due to my love for some of the songs on the album. 4/5.

Music Discovery Mondays (July 20, 2015)

Welcome to my new section here! Music Discovery Mondays. These are going to be posts much like my Song Recommendation posts. Unlike those which focus on new releases, the music discovery posts aim to highlight some older songs that I feel either haven't gotten much recognition or I feel haven't been spread enough. This could be anything from indie groups to popular groups' album songs or B-sides. These posts are limited to three songs each week of any genre and may or may not actually be uploaded on a Monday lol. With my schedule being busy, I can't guarantee that these will always be posted on Mondays. I'm really hoping that I'll at least be able to do one per week. I hope you find something new to enjoy & even if you don't, have fun exploring! :)

Song #1: Kiss Me Kiss Me - Coco Decoru

Diving straight into indie idol territory with this first entry. Coco Decoru debuted as a four member group in 2013. The group currently has three members: Kurea Nishihara (who has announced her graduation), Ruka Yoshioka, and Yumi Fujii. Kiss Me Kiss Me is their first and currently only single to date and was released in June of 2014. The song's style is electropop.

Coco Decoru Official Site

Song #2: Whiplash - FEMM

I knew as soon as I thought up this series that I wanted to feature something by FEMM. I believe they actually have been getting some recognition, but posting about them here can only help that lol. FEMM stands for Far East Mention Mannequins and they began in summer of 2013. Their concept is that they are mannequins that were brought to life by FEMM Agency Syndicate. From what I've seen, the girls seem very dedicated to the concept. They actually have an interactive website where you can sign up to be an "agent" and earn mentions to help improve your rank on the site. If you're looking for an electropop group with a unique and interactive concept, FEMM is certainly for you.

FEMM Official Site

Song #3: AngeLip - Hajimete no Kimochi

Honestly, I know nothing about this group. I discovered this song from a poster on H!O and there wasn't any info about them with it. The best I can find is their official blog which looks like it opened at the very end of 2014. From the video and the banner, they appear to be a 7 member group. I don't even think they have any CD singles out yet. I don't know what the rest of their songs are like to pinpoint a particular style they trend towards, but this song in particular reminds me a lot of a Eurodance & Jpop mixture.

AngeLip Official Blog

Enjoy these selections and please look forward to next week for new songs!

Selena Gomez & The Scene - A Year Without Rain

From the time that it was announced that Selena was going to have a "band" instead of just going solo I knew that she would definitely end up going solo. The whole band thing was pretty silly...especially because she was practically solo anyway. It was a gimmick to have her do something different from Miley & Demi I believe. This release is her ("their") second album.

Track #1, Round & Round: This song is probably my least favorite lead single of hers (sans her new one which I find awful actually). It feels kind of a step back from Naturally and is more childish to me. The dance pop direction definitely fits her though. Her first album's style never really worked for her. 4/5.

Track #2, A Year Without Rain: The type of music that this song is describes my ideal Selena music perfectly. For a newer song of hers that gives off the same feel it would be Stars Dance. The pulsing beat in the background is so nice. Since she's not the best singer, the music really helps to mask that. And that also brings up what I dislike about the song. Her, uh, adlibbing I guess you could call it, is extremely annoying. Her voice is not meant for it and the music doesn't help sadly. 4/5.

Track #3, Rock God: Whatever happened to Rock Mafia? They made some great tracks. I haven't heard anything produced by them in a while. This is such a great track and has so much attitude. A surprisingly rebellious track on a Disney star's album (as she was still very much Disney at this point). 5/5.

Track #4, Off The Chain: This song will remain one of Selena's best ever. How it wasn't a single I will never now. It's a lot like Naturally except with a more danceable beat. I'd love another song like this. 5/5

Track #5, Summer's Not Hot: It certainly does not sound like Selena in the beginning of this song. This song really sounds more like something Demi would put out that Selena. The only thing that makes it more Selena is that it has a dance pop beat instead of being more straight pop. It's also a very Disney Channel song. There's nothing wrong with that, it just belongs more on her first album than this one. 3.5/5.

Track #6, Intuition (ft. Eric Bellinger): I have no idea who the feature is. I haven't heard his name anywhere. I'm guessing he must be part of another Hollywood Records group or something. It's just a really random feature that adds male vocals to a song that would have been perfectly fine without it. The song itself really fits perfectly on this album. It's a good mix of the more dance direction the album was taking with the more Disney pop of the first album. It works where Summer's Not Hot doesn't, by not alienating the fan base from the old album and having a new direction to appeal to more people. 4/5.

Track #7, Spotlight: Yeah the lyrics of this song aren't very good and the spoken bridge can be a little annoying, but this is probably my favorite song of the album. It's got a quality to it that makes it extremely catchy. I really can't describe it. I just think it's great. 5/5.

Track #8, Ghost Of You: I guess all albums just have to have a ballad don't they? What I appreciate about this song is her vocals and the production. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I don't believe Selena can sing well at all. She does sounds quite good here. Sure it's been through a lot of studio filters and computer programs, but it sounds really nice with the minimal production compared to some of the other more dancey songs. 4/5.

Track #9, Sick Of You: This song sounds right off of her first album. It's not a bad thing in this case at all. Even though it's more pop rock instead of dancey, it works really well on this album. It's somewhat more mature than other songs on her first album and doesn't sound much like the Disney pop rock stuff. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Kelly Clarkson. 4.5/5.

Track #10, Live Like There's No Tomorrow: This album's over already? Wow it feels so short. It's too bad the album doesn't end on a high note. This song doesn't fit the album at all, which makes sense because it was a song for some movie she did. Even though it's my least favorite song of the album, I don't mind that it's here. It makes sense to put a promotional song like this on the album. It also sounds a lot like Jason Derulo's Marry Me....well, I guess his song would sound like this since this came earlier. I want to sing "will you marry me" at the chorus so much. 3/5.

The album is a step up from her first one. It's not so amazing as to blow the average listener away, but it's a nice album from a girl who was still very much a Disney artist at the time. 4/5.

SDN48 - Yuuwaku no Garter

I finally have all of the songs SDN ever released! I kept holding off on buying this because stage albums are kind of expensive and I was waiting for a cheaper used copy to surface on ebay or Amazon. I had never listened to any of the songs from this stage before receiving the CD so I was expecting songs much like their singles. I was kind of right.

Track #1, Overture: The overtures still annoy the crap out of me, but it's a, uh, interesting change from the normal I guess.

Track #2, Saturday Night Party: I think it's interesting how the overture kind of flows into this song. I don't know of another 48G stage that does that. As for the song, it really doesn't sound like what you think of when you think SDN. It just sounds like a standard AKB stage track. I guess it makes sense that they would have stage songs like this because they had members transitioning from AKB and fans doing the same. But for me, it's just an average 48G stage track. 3.5/5.

Track #3, Never!: This song is slightly more like the SDN of the singles. It sounds like your typical teenage idol group song with the constant "Never Give Up!" chant & the cheerleader sounding vocals. What gives it the SDN flavor is the verses, they have a very slight Latin tinge. 3/5.

Track #4, Black Boy: Here's where the songs finally begin to be what I view SDN as. Although it has a funky spin on SDN's style, it still has too much of a typical 48G track feel to it. Despite this, the song is really catchy and one of my favorites of the stage. 4.5/5.

Track #5, Yuuwaku no Garter: This is my favorite song of the entire stage. It reminds me so much of early Britney Spears. Like a mix of her music from Oops I Did It Again & Britney. I love it. The 48s need to release another song like this. I also need to look up the producer. Good chance that he/she has done other great stuff. 5/5.

Track #6, I'm Sure: This song is also among the better ones from the stage. It has a MM Platinum era mixed with early AKB feel. My only gripe about the song is the one main singer who sounds so young and it's weird. I'm unsure if that is her actual voice or if she was just trying to do the cutesy singing. 4/5.

Track #7, All In: I like the 80s vibe of the song. It gives it a unique flavor from the rest of the stage up to this point. The song does feel like it drags on too long, even though it's only 3:40 in length. 3.5/5.

Track #8, Jajauma Lady: This could have fit perfectly on the single with Mino Monta. It's the first song of the stage that I can envision being on one of their single releases. It has that upbeat classy yet sultry feel that the Mino Monta single has. 4/5.

Track #9, Ganbariina: I have such mixed feelings about this song. It has that slight Latin tinge to it like many other SDN songs, but everything else sounds like a AKB reject. I really don't know what to think about it except that it may have fit better on an AKB stage instead of SDN's. 3.5/5.

Track #10, Futsuu no Anata: This song certainly sounds right out of the 1980s. Usually I like this kind of throwback stuff, but I don't care for this song at all. It suffers from not going anywhere. The song feels like it keeps the same pace throughout the whole thing. There's no change from verse to chorus and it's just monotonous. 3/5.

Track #11, Best By: I'm not too fond of this song either. The end of this stage as a whole is pretty underwhelming. This song is better than Futsuu just because of the guitar solo in the bridge. It gives the song some much needed life. 3.5/5.

Track #12, Aisareru Tame ni: Well, I guess the ballad song had to pop up somewhere. However, this isn't a snoozefest like most 48G ballads. The vocals are what distinguish this song from others. The girls of SDN really had a lot of talent. 3.5/5.

Track #13, Kodoku na Runner: Review Here

Track #14, Touhikou: This is such a good song to follow Kodoku na Runner. It's similar to Kodoku in style. This song certainly songs like an SDN track and I'd love to here something like this from 48G today. 5/5.

Track #15, Vampire Keikaku: For a song with vampire in the title, I was expecting something more along the lines of a dark pulsing EDM track. This is not that. This is the more funky side of SDN. I don't feel like this is a very satisfying conclusion to the stage. I feel like this should be switched with either Ganbariina for a light ending or Kodoku for a powerful ending. This seems like a song that should have been in the middle of the stage. 3.5/5.

Honestly, I was expecting a lot more out of SDN48's only stage. It's really a mixed bag. I was hoping for more songs like Kodoku or Gagaga, but there really isn't on this stage. It's not a bad stage at all, in fact, other than AKB's 6th stage I'd say it's my favorite of all of 48Gs stages. My expectations were just too high. 4/5.

Song Recommendations (July 5, 2015 Edition)

As I'm struggling to stay awake at 11:30 at night, I decide to do one of these instead of going to sleep. I'm smart lol.

Dianna Sweet - Fire Girl

After playing the teaser over and over, I was so excited to see this on my subscriptions this morning. First song from them that I've really loved.

Nine Muses - Hurt Locker

Their releases since Gun were all meh to me, but this really steps it up.

Wassup - Shut Up U

I've disliked the vast majority of K-pop for the last couple years & yet I find myself liking Wassup?! Ok then.

Wassup - Stupid Liar

See above

Up Up Girls - (Kari) wa Kaesuze Be Your Soul

Recently got their third album & I can't stop listening to this.

Enjoy!

W - Ai no Imi wo Oshiete!

I'm actually really excited to do a post on this one. This is my favorite W single.

The title track of the single is Ai no Imi wo Oshiete! To me, this song defines W. The style of the song is what I view W in my head. The cutesy high pitched vocals with super catchy electro-80s-ish music. I wouldn't mind if H!P would do a couple singles like this nowadays. I adore the EDM direction, but this would be just as good. For those who might not have listened to some of the older groups before, a newer song that I'd compare this to would be S/mileage's Uchouten Love. Both in musical style and overall feel. In fact, the girls sound so much like Yuuka Maeda in that song in this song (er...well I guess Yuuka would sound like them since this came first xD). It might sound funny, but my absolute favorite part of the song is at the very end where it's like a Tsunku solo xD. I love it so much. I'd say that the music video is one of the better ones from this era of H!P. It doesn't look horrifically tacky like a lot of H!P's older videos. Even if the outfits are hideous. Seriously. What is up with that material? It reminds me of tissue paper. 5/5.

The B-side for this single is Jinx. This song could have easily been a single too. It's like a mix of the Sexy Snow B-side from Robo Kiss & Ai no Imi itself. Is it weird that my favorite part of both songs are the Tsunku "solos"? He just made H!P so unique. 5/5.

There's really not much else to say on this release. Both songs are incredibly strong. This release is easily top 10 of my favorite H!P releases of all time. 5/5.

W - Miss Love Tantei

W's final single. It's still so sad how W ended. Especially because it seems like the catalyst for Ai's life spiraling downward. Regardless of the past and what people think of her, I really hope that she can surround herself with a good support structure for her & her daughter's sake. Whenever I hear something about her I just want to fly to Japan & give her a hug & tell her everything will be okay. I hope that the last piece of news I've heard is for the best and she and her daughter can get away and start working towards a better life.

The title track for the single is Miss Love Tantei. I had never really cared for this song before I really got into W. It had a different sound to it than other H!P songs and I couldn't figure out why it was so different. Found out after I got the CD & ripped it to iTunes that it wasn't produced by Tsunku so that was why it sounded so different to me. Now, I really love the song. Sure it's different that other H!P tracks, but that's what makes it unique. I've heard people say that this song sounds a lot like Tatu's Not Gonna Get Us. I don't quite get the comparison. Besides the "whispered" filtered vocal parts, I don't hear similarities. This song makes me wonder if this is the musical direction that W was going to go in or not. The music video is cute. I can't quite figure out if they're competing with each other to find the diamond or if one of them stole it or if they suspect each other or what. The outfits make the video though. One of H!P's very best single outfits. 5/5

The B-side to this single is Friendship. I think this was composed by the same people that did Miss Love Tantei....at least that's what iTunes says. It sounds like it. This single has a really western production style. I like this song, but it's not as good as Miss Love Tantei. The thing that brings the song down is that awkward rapped bridge. It's so cheesy sounding...even for W. 4/5.

I wouldn't call Miss Love Tantei their best single (realistically it wouldn't be in my top 5, yes that does make it last.), but it represents a style shift for the group and possible indication for the musical direction they were going to take. It's just too bad we never got to see how that was to develop. 4/5.