Album Review TV TOP 15 ALBUMS 2012

15. "Threads" - Now,Now
14. "Aloha Moon" - Magic Wands
13. "All American" - Hoodie Allen
12. "Southern Air" - Yellowcard"
11. "Some Nights" - Fun.
10. "The 2nd Law" - Muse
9. "TRE!" - Green Day
8. "Blunderbuss" - Jack White
7. "Days Go By" - The Offspring"
6. "The Midsummer Station" - Owl City
5. "DOS!" - Green Day
4. "El Camino" - The Black Keys
3. "UNO!" - Green Day
2. "Living Things" - Linkin Park
1. "Don't Panic" - All Time Low

Top 50 Songs of 2012 (Album Review TV)

1 For Baltimore - All Time Low
2 Anna Sun - Walk The Moon
3 Sixteen Saltines - Jack White
4 No Interruption - Hoodie Allen
5 Let Yourself Go - Green Day
6 Lost In The Echo - Linkin Park
7 Madness - Muse
8 Metropolis - Owl City 
9 Dirty Rotten Bastards - Green Day
10 Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
11 Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
12 Midnight City - M83
13 Burn It Down - Linkin Park
14 We Come Running - Youngblood Hawke
15 Comeback Kid - Sleigh Bells
16 Nuclear Family - Green Day
17 Thrift Shop - Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis
18 The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver - All Time Low
19 Greyhound - Swedish House Mafia
20 Thanks To You - All Time Low 
21 King For A Day - Pierce The Veil
22 Someday's Gone - The All American Rejects
23 Clique- Kanye West, Jay Z, Big Sean
24 Stray Heart - Green Day
25 Little Black Submarines - The Black Keys
26 Lies Greed Misery - Linkin Park
27 Blue Jeans - Lana Del Rey
28 Damage I've Done - Anarbor 
29 The Way It Was - The Killers
30 Some Nights - Fun.
31 Bangarang! - Skrillex (ft. Sirah)
32 Runaways - The Killers
33 Kids In The Street - The All American Rejects
34 Roads Untraveled - Linkin Park
35 Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean
36 Bonfire - Childish Gambino
37 Lisa Baby - Walk The Moon 
38 Filth Friends Unite - I See Stars
39 Amy - Green Day
40 Change - Churchill
41 Fire Fire - Flyleaf
42 Wasted Days - Cloud Nothings
43 Slim Pickens Does The Right Thing - The Offspring
44 Myth - Beach House 
45 I Come Alive - The Used
46 The Only Place - Best Coast
47 Expectations - Three Days Grace
48 The Loop Closes - How To Destroy Angels
49 Sweet Sour - Band of Skulls
50 The Revolution - For The Foxes

Muse "Madness" (TRACK REVIEW)

Before I start this track review, go give the song a listen. http://youtu.be/Mq9zhpBweDk There's the link. Ok,you listened? Great. Let's continue.

Muse is,or um,was,a progressive/symphonic rock band that is known for releasing critically acclaimed albums since their debut album "Showbiz". Each album has it's own unique style, and sounds different, but has always retained the signature Muse style, which includes soaring falsettos and vocals from lead singer Matt Bellamy. Their last album "Resistance" was definitely their most different to date, and my least favorite, but it at least still had songs that I could say, "yeah,this is Muse music for sure" to.

Muse released an album trailer back in June for the new album "The 2nd Law" which will be released October 2nd of this year. The song from the album "Survival" was the theme song of the 2012 London Olympics, and honestly, I found the song extremely annoying and ridiculous. The song from the album trailer "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" was released in full recently, along with a video for it. The song is mostly instrumental, with some of Bellamy's vocals soaring near the end of the song. The song starts off slow and symphonic with reports about the state of the world, but quickly breaks down into a dubstep sounding track, which I find to be absolutely absurd. Really? I thought to myself. The whole album better not sound like this,I continued.

But then we get to August 20th, the official release date for the next official single from the album "Madness". I excitedly click on the link to the lyric video on YouTube, my expectations clearly far too high for the song. Sadly,that is. The song starts off with a loop of Bellamy singing "M-m-m-m-mad" which annoyingly loops throughout most of the song. There's an electronic/dubstep sounding beat that repetitively plays in the background. I think to myself "where are the instruments? Clearly this band has musical talent and have proven that they can play the guitar, drums, and ESPECIALLY, the bass. Why are they putting out a slow paced song like this as a single?". And I'm still confused by this. Granted, I like the ending half of the song better than the first, but still, its only mildly entertaining to listen to. Bellamy's vocals sound nice at times, but at times, they lack energy and passion of previous releases. My favorite part of the track is undoubtedly the surprise guitar solo. Although short, its a catchy and nice addition to the single. And the harmonies are very rich and sound great at times.

Overall, I'm somewhat disappointed in the band's choices musically, and my hopes for "The 2nd Law" are up in the air. There's such a thing as growing and maturing musically in a good way, but then there's something called "trying to stay relevant" which causes the band to just sound generic.

3/5

-Jon