Linkin Park "BURN IT DOWN" Track Review

As many of you may already know, Linkin Park released their new single on April 16th titled "Burn It Down". It's the first single from their upcoming studio album "Living Things",due out June 26th. 


You guys know if you read my BLOG POST that I had mixed feelings about Linkin Park's last LP "A Thousand Suns", mostly due to its inconsistency in pacing, and the fact that almost half of the tracks were instrumental or else had long instrumental parts, such as intros and outros. 


"Burn It Down" takes the heavy electronic aspect that was found on ATS, while mixing it with the vocal style and lyrics found on Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Honestly, its my favorite song, and in the top 5 for 2012 so far. I don't know why I like it so much, probably mostly the rap from Mike and Chester's vocal performance. In my opinion, the band is at their best when Mike and Chester are backing each other up on vocals and trading off verses. The electronic aspect sounds awesome, the only thing I would change about the track is the lack of guitar. I would love to hear some hard guitars mixed in with the electronics, some screaming from Chester, and maybe even some turntable action. Then we'd be talking perfection, just like on Meteora. 


What does everyone else think of the song? I will be reviewing both Meteora and Hybrid Theory soon on Youtube.com/AlbumReviewTV along with the new album "Living Things" of course. Thanks for reading.


Song rating: 4.75/5

Hoodie Allen - "All American" (ALBUM REVIEW)

Hey guys,I haven't done a review on my blog in a little while,so here we go!

Hoodie Allen, aka Steven Markowitz, (yeah,he was raised Jewish), is undeniably growing his credibility and popularity as a hip hop artist. Hoodie has released 3 mixtapes, and 2 EP's so far as an unsigned artist. And the EP I'm reviewing today (which could have been released as a full length in my opinion) is his best work to date. 

On this EP, Hoodie decided to stop using borrowed beats and samples, and created his own beats from scratch with his producer.The former Google employee pulls out all the bells and whistles on this album, with production and lyricism. The rhymes are smart and witty, and his singing skills are showcased on the EP as well. The reason Hoodie is a gamechanger is because he doesn't rap and sing about what everyone else does constantly. Sure, he could probably right 50 songs about smoking weed,partying,and banging every girl because he's famous, but he doesn't. He writes tracks about things that actually happen in real life, things that most people go through.

His music is easily accessible, fun at times, and honest. Like I said, the smart lyrics are what really drew me into Hoodie's music. That,and his use of piano and keyboard in alot of his songs. The chorus on "No Faith In Brooklyn" and "High Again" are truly incredible.Plus there's alot of nicely inserted pop culture references in the songs (such as mentions of Lana Del Rey, Kourtney Kardashian, and an allusion to Mac Miller)

Ok,so what are the best tracks on the album? (I know that's what your thinking,don't lie) I heard the EP's single "No Interruption" first, and to this day it still amazes me when I hear it. Its the best song of 2012 so far in my opinion. The lyrics are truly amazing, and the production and booming bass simply add to the wonderful spirit of this track, which is truly the best on the album. So many lyrics from that track I want to quote,but I'll stop myself. Other favorites are "No Faith In Brooklyn", "Eighteen Cool", "Lucky Man", and "Top of the World".

But honestly,you need to listen to the whole EP to get the full feeling that Hoodie is sending out. Please guys,check this out,some of his mextapes are available for free! I'll even put a link to download "Leap Year" for free at the bottom of this post.

I love this EP guys,and this is coming from a guy who isn't a big fan of rap or hip-hop. Hoodie Allen has made me realize that this genre can still have credibility, when it comes to lyrics. What do you guys think? Heard it? Like it? Let me know. I'll be doing a video review on YouTube.com/AlbumReviewTV very soon, stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

Overall Rating: 4.9/5

-Jon

Link to download Leap Year Free: http://youtu.be/-mKejQ4oNAI (Click the link in the video description and the download will start)