The Academy Is... - Santi

Bio
The Academy Is... is a band from the midwest and this is their sophomore album with their main members being William Beckett and Michael Carden.

Overall
On my first listen to the album, i wasn't exactly too happy. i thought it wasn't their best stuff. i felt like they were struggling to find a way to present themselves. but after another listen, i figured that they were doing this on purpose. that this weird funky experimental way of music was their way of expressing themselves and another direction that they were happy with. and after realizing that, i noticed that the music came together really well. the album has grown on me really quickly after a second listen, i began to appreciate it. it's not as catchy as their first album but it is a great album to listen to.

Instrumental
The Butcher is pretty nice in this one. they have a new guitarist he seems to be pretty decent. i think what made this album different from their first album was the vox. they took a different approach i think. it sounds compressed? it doesn't sound like a raw singing voice that i was accustomed to in their first album. his voice seems to be altered alot. sometimes its the raw voice, sometimes its really compressed or sometimes it feels like they but on some weird airy effect on it. the band is complete. you cant complain about the band. this is a band that knows what they are doing. but no one is a SUPERSTAR. i guess.

Recording & Studio Magic
as i said before, most of the studio magic seems to be on the beckett's voice. recording is done well and the sound is very well produced. cept in one song, bulls in brooklyn. im not sure if the drums are suppose to sound like that in the beginning... its just seems like blown out speakers that they used on that portion. but im gonna assume they did it on purpose cuz it happens in the intro drum beat of that song.

Live Potential
personally, i was never sure how this band was live... so i went on youtube to look for any live footage. there wasn't much on youtube, which i found suspicious. but i did find a few and they knew how to make the crowd go wild. with just seeing that, i think they'd be a band worth watching once but maybe not again... they aint no jimmy eat world or anything but i think they are worth a concert or two.

In Retrospect
im happy with this album. kinda like the way incubus evolved from their first album to their current album, its only the beginning for the academy is and their evolution is going to fuel them to be better and better.

Album Info
Released – March 27, 2007
Number of Songs – 11
Album Length - ~40 Minutes
Singles – We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands
Recommended Songs – Same Blood, Sleeping With Giants, Neighbors, You Might Have Noticed
www.theacademyis.com

Ratings
Lyrics – 8
Melody – 8
Instrumentally – 8.5
Recording – 8.5
Studio Magic – 6
Originality – 9
Live Potential – 8.5
Overall - 8.5
WJOD - 8.5

Explanation of the Ratings
Rating is from 1-10. 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest.
Overall is NOT an average of the other ratings.
This is similar to grading system. A 7 is a C. etc.
WJOD = worth dl/jacking off danny.

Mute Math - Typical

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b13rc6DY74A



Mute Math is a band from florida i believe.

i have never heard of them until i was at a tech blog site and they showed this video on their site.

the reason why the music video was on the site was cuz the band learned how to play the song backwards on their instruments and the lead singer learned to sing/mouth the words of the song backwards. and then they recorded their song backwards and reversed the video to make it normal.

people have done this before. Coldplay did it with scientists i believe and jack johnson did one too.

but the difference is that this video was shot with on one take (thats mute math's claim) and the lead singer doesnt seem awkward singing backwards.

the video seems to be a ok go music video. the usual one camera in a room video. cept backwards. the video is fun to watch.

i believe someone on american idol this season sang this song. i think it was the fat white guy.

i also found that someone took the video and reversed it. meaning they did the reverse of the reverse making it the original version. the original video seems so boring and wierd. making it the reverse makes it soo much more interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7lB0WAt_HM

Incubus - Dig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hME7uyoNseo



incubus did a thing where they had some video clips of them performing and allowed fans of incubus to make a music video with the clips. you can add your own things etc etc. there were tons of results and at the end the grand winner was chosen.

the video above was the winner. the video is very cinematic, professional. the girl is beautiful and fit the music well. however i thought it was too cliche. they have scenes of the girl and boy happy, them fighting, and then the girl packing and leaving. honestly i didnt find it too creative.

the video editing though was interesting. using different tones for the video as well as the whole light balance thing. that i thought was impressive.

the video below was the runner up and i personally think this one should have won it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9l17XR74Ts



the director uses the original art from the album booklet where the picture is just the wierd faced girl digging into a big head. i felt like the the video had more meaning and made me understand what the directors point of view was. sweeet...

The Academy Is... - We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzUoGD1G6LU



i kinda really getting tired of calling things cliche... i think i should make another word up...

so yea thats what i think about the video. the only thing slightly clever is how he calls someone from another reference from another video. but thats is. and if this is the best song on their coming album... i dunno how this album is gonna be. their freshie album was def a rocker. i hope for the best on this one.

Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHf_vYZzQ8



the video has its moments. but i think its kinda cliche. i mean the monkeys are cute. especially when going wild on the drums. i hate how the video was paid off by TAG. too comercial. bad move on FOB's part.

i hate how they always compare themselves to panic at the disco! fall out boy is better than PATD! especially in the live category. i dunno how a band could be so bad live...

the song is a good song. i would say its the second best song on the album.

the story line takes too much away from the song. but i guess the things i do like about the fueled by ramen is the synergy. yea they mention PATD! but they also sorta hint on The Academy is newest video. you guy should def be able to spot it if you watch both videos back to back.

Vanessa Hudgens - Say Ok featuring Zac Efron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV230lOijvA



Vanessa hudgens is the girl from high school musical. i have never watched it or anything. but i guess the show was really popular for high school kids and pre-teeners. i think she's 17 years old. she's def a cutie. good potential to be the next big hit if she plays the right cards and knows when to fold unlike certain celebrities...

the song is catchy i guess for a high school chick. but i think the disney channel logo might turn off the rebel slutty girl thing. Zac efron i think was a costar on the high school musical thing. im not even sure who he is. i guess i dont care.

the video is ehhhh. i mean good thing i like bowling. and brunettes. the video is only worth to watch to get a feel and taste for hudgens. seems like a sweetheart but who knows. she may have a britney inside her....