What I'm Listening to Today: 1/12/04

8:15 A.M. - "At Last" - Cyndi Lauper - I've been wanting to hear this CD now since it came out last year. This is not the usual "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" material. I'd classify it as Lauper's attempt to be Sinatra-ish. It seems many artists these days are resorting to this as a final Hurrah, or means of making that last buck before their age gets the better of them. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's not who that artist is. For example, take a look at Rod Stewart's most recent attempt with his "Great American Songbook." By the way, I'm on song #2, "Walk on By," and I'm not impressed yet with this Lauper album. Hope it gets better. I'm on song #3 now, "Stay," and I really must say I hate it when artists do someone else's song, especially if that song was overplayed and popular the first time around. Song #4, "La Vie en Rose," YAWN, terrible choice for early Monday morning listening. I really hate giving a bad review on a Cyndi Lauper album because I'm a big fan of her "Twelve Deady Cyns" and "Sisters of Avalon" albums, proof that she should have stuck to her usual style. Why do artists do this to themselves??? I do like the background rhthym in "If you Go Away." One song is not going to be enough for me to want to buy this album, though. Thank goodness it's a library loan. "Makin' Whoopie" is deserving of a brownie point because it features Tony Bennett alongside Lauper. I won't go into the rest of the songs in detail but I will go ahead and tell you that I didn't really feel anything while listening to this album. It's uninspiring and emotionless.

9:25 A.M. - "Homegenic" - Bjork - This childlike voice certainly is a strange one. I loved Bjork in high school and was obsessed with her "Human Nature" song. Her voice still sounds as young as it did in the early 90's. Song #1, "Hunting," has managed to grab my interesting, something which is necessary to keep me tuned into the rest of the album. It has a very futurist feel to it. Her synthesized voice is certainly captivating and unusual. "Bachelorette" is more than deserving of my affection. It's a brilliant song with synthesized percussion, and Bjork's voice is as mesmerizing as usual. I usually judge an album on its ability to transport me into another place or time. This album does that without any doubt. I'm in a space ship, illuminated by the light of the stars or a bright planet as I glance out a window into the space that surrounds me. "All is Full of Love" is also found on the "Stigmata" soundtrack, and I like the soundtrack mix better, but it's still nice to have on this album. This album makes the cut.

10:45 A.M. - "Paint the Sky With Stars" - Enya - I have all of Enya's non-complilation type albums, although sadly a few are on cassette tapes, so it is a pleasure to have a CD where some of my favorite songs are all in the same place. I usually won't buy a greatest-hits type collection if I already have all or most of the artist's albums, but when a lot of it is on those pesky cassette tapes a greatest-hits comes in handy. Oh "Caribbean Blue" is so gorgeous! My favoraite Enya song; has been since I first discovered Enya as an early high-schooler. I have just now heard an Enya song I've never heard before on this album. "Only If," is very refreshing for someone who's heard about all the Enya there is to hear. Now I wonder if there are other pieces I'm missing. Speaking of which, the title track, "Paint the Sky With Stars" is one I've never heard before. I love surprises like this!