Well, close enough anyway; one of them has two T’s, and other one only one in his name. But that doesn’t really matter.
I have been in a rock mood lately, and I was lucky enough to stumble on two great CDs that I had to share with you; after all, I like sharing music when it’s good. I encourage everyone else to do the same. I know I appreciate finding new music, and definitely appreciate hearing about it from others as well. Now, onto the music.
The first CD, Nothing Left To Lose, is the second CD by Mat Kearney (obviously the one with only one T).
I discovered him by randomly seeing his video for the song “Nothing Left To Lose”, and I loved the song enough to snag the CD. And after a few listens, I can say that I am in love with it. I love his voice, because it is soft and sweet to the ears; all the while maintaining a worn, harder undertone. He sounds a lot (vocally, that is) like a mix between Chris Martin from Coldplay, and Adam Duritz from The Counting Crows; but has a little bit of that hip-hop funk Jason Mraz likes to throw down (without the cockiness). His sound is sort of light pop-rock, but sometimes has an interesting blend of folk sounds with some hip-hop beats and rap-lite singing. The whole CD is definitely a good listen, and is one that I find myself craving a lot lately. A few of the songs are so infectious, I find myself waking up with them in my head. With the initial praise aside, I must say that the more hip-hop oriented songs were harder for me to get into, but after listening to this CD over and over for a few days now (I told you I loved it), I am digging the whole disc, start to finish. I was hooked on “Nothing Left To Lose”, and have been reeled into the rest, because, well, the CD is damn good start to finish. It also doesn’t hurt, that when I listen to his beautiful voice, I have a mental image of his beautiful face, and I just imagine that he is singing to me (*swoon*). All hail the hotness that is Mat Kearney; beautiful face, beautiful voice, and a great singer/songwriter to boot. I will have to see him when he comes to Atlanta, for sure. I am also going to have to pick up his first, more independent CD, because if this is his sophomore effort, who knows what gems may be on that one. I hope he gains more momentum, and gets a lot more attention, because unlike many artists today, he actually deserves it; and this CD deserves the full six out of six stars (
). Standouts: Nothing Left to Lose, Undeniable (this will get stuck in your head!!!), In The Middle, and the beautiful, What’s a Boy To Do (probably my favorite).
Another CD that I have been spinning lately, is the new disc by Matt Wertz, titled Everything In Between. 
Since I reviewed the other Mat’s CD, I will start by saying that this Matt’s sound is a little like Mat Kearney’s sound, but without the hip-hop stuff. Also he definitely has more of a Mark Broussard quality to his music, as it is pretty upbeat, somewhat jazzy-poppy-rock (and even a pinch of country), and fun to listen to. He definitely uses more of a jazzy-rock influence to his stuff, and manages to create a mature pop-rock vibe with his stuff. There is a lot of guitar, mandolin, organ, and other great sounds on th CD, and his voice is extremely pleasant to listen to. For whatever reason, he really reminds me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on exactly who it is… I would say that he is probably a little bit Bebo Norman, Stephan Jenkins (of Third Eye Blind), and maybe a little bit of a less emphatic Gavin DeGraw; but not necessarily all of those things rolled into one. Either way, I love the slight raspyness of his voice, which really makes for some great songs on this disc. It is a little bit more rock-y than the other Mat, and definitely more pop, but that isn’t a negative thing at all. The whole CD is a good listen, and I like the ballads just as much as I like the upbeat stuff. Interestingly enough, I checked him out on allmusic.com, and he lists Jars of Clay as one of his influences, and he even started out by touring with them, doing Young Life concerts and whatnot. I find this extremely interesting, to say the least, because Jars have always been one of my favorite bands. Even though he got his start at religious concerts, I don’t think that he is a Christian singer, as he really doesn’t say anything about religion in any of his songs on this record, and, he doesn’t say one way or another on his website. Well, not that his religiousness really matters to me at all, I just thought the close connection to one of my favorite bands was definitely interesting. Overall, I liked this CD right from the first listen, and while I definitely like every song, for whatever reason, I’m going to give it a five out of six stars (
); but not because there is anything about it I don’t like, it is mainly because there are CDs that I love, and this one falls just shy of that love. Either way, no need to split hairs, because it’s definitely good, and I am glad I discovered it. Standouts: I Will Not Take My Love, With You Tonight, Capitol City, and Carolina.
Katharine McPhee’s self titled album came out this week, and based off of two songs I had heard already, I was definitely curious to hear this one. I know a lot of people are fans of American Idol, and I know just as many are against the whole show “creating” music, but if there is one thing it can do, is find a great singer. Now, what happens to that singer varies… they can get good material and go with it, or they can fizzle and go nowhere. And it’s clear that it can be hit or miss, as the winner Taylor’s CD isn’t doing to well, as it is steadily falling (almost) off the charts, but fellow contestant Daughtry’s CD is in the top 10. So where does that leave us with the runner up from last year? Well, over all, her CD isn’t what I was expecting from her. Sure, there’s a fair number of ballads and whatnot, stuff that you would expect from am American Idol, but she really branched out with her interpretation of pop. There are several danceable tracks, and even some more edgy/hip-hop sounding stuff; much of it using the current Nelly Furtado/Fergie formula, but making it better, well, at least better than anything Fergie did. While I don’t think the CD is flawless, as there are a few songs I could just do without, it is definitely well produced, and quite enjoyable. If you liked her on the show, and you like pop, I recommend the CD, because she has a great voice, and they even picked a few surprises for her to sing; as well as a few good surprises. Stand outs for me include: Over It, Love Story, Open Toes, Each Other, and Ordinary World (which sounds a lot like it should have been/could have been a Delta Goodrem song). I would say that this is probably akin to a JoJo or Christina Aguilera type of pop, with some Delta Goodrem gems thrown in, so if that is your bag, pick this up! i’m glad I did! I would give it somewhere between four and five stars, but since I don’t do half marks, I will just give it the benefit of the doubt and round it up to a 5 
Now, the next CD I want to talk about is pure sugary syrup poured into the shape of a CD, and hardened. I am talking about the debut disc from the Lebanese Brit known simply as MIKA. Basically, I heard a lot of buzz about MIKA’s upcoming album (released sometime in Feb) from the uber-pop blogs, and that much attention certainly made me sit up and take notice. And boy I am glad I did. Let me put it this way, MIKA is equivalent to taking the Scissor Sisters, The Jackson Five, and Elton John, mixing them together, while having Freddie Mercury sing the vocals. The result is super catchy sort of kitschy songs that are definitely feel good, and hearken a sound used by groups in the feel good pop business, like the Monkees. This is dance-rock-pop that is just as happy-go-lucky sappy as it gets. He definitely has a sound that isn’t too mainstream here in the states, but my guess, is that he will do quite well everywhere else. There are a few tracks that are more down to earth, and slightly more “serious” but the feeling of the CD stays pretty consistent throughout; this is a great pop album. If you are in a bad mood, I would put this one in and you would definitely be smiling in no time. Stand outs for me include: Grace Kelly (probably one of the catchiest songs EVER), Lollipop, Love Today (which sounds like a Scissor Sisters track, which, many of them do), Relax Take It Easy, Billy Brown (gay content! which makes me wonder about MIKA), Big Girls (You Are Beautiful) (which is definitely the “follow-up” to Fat Bottom Girls by Queen, if there ever was one), and Any Other World. Overall, this is just a fun CD to listen to, and I definitely recommend it. Too bad it’s an import… Oh well. I enjoyed this so much, and do every time I listen to it, that this one definitely deserves the full six out of six stars 
Today’s movie review is for the new Jennifer Garner movie, Catch and Release. She hasn’t been in anything lately, and when I heard she was in this, I had to run out and see it. You see, she is my favorite actress, after all. Now, I didn’t read much about the movie, and I am honestly glad I didn’t. It has gotten rotten reviews, and most of the focus has been on the strange vehicle for this romantic comedy. It starts with a funeral, and it is pretty dark for the first part of the film, and then quickly, it shifts gears to become the romantic comedy it was destined to be. While there are a ton of surprises in this film, the story is pretty sincere, and goes places that not many “feel good, chick flicks” tend to go. They really explore what would happen if you lost a lover, and found out some not-so-sweet things about them after their death. It also looks at who you can count on, and who you should watch out for. Overall, I really liked the film, and I think I will have to see it again to truly appreciate it; mainly due to the surprises I vaguely mentioned. There was a lot of laugh out loud humor in the movie, and I thought that Jennifer Garner really carried the movie (not to say the others in the movie weren’t great). The only problem comes from how quickly people seemed to move on, or change, but considering that it was a 2 hour glimpse into the fictitious lives of characters, it is forgivable. Suspend a little bit of your belief about how relationships “should” work, and you should be okay. Only because of the quirks I asked you to suspend when watching it yourself, I give this 4 out of 6 stars 
; it was still a pretty good movie. 
Today’s last review focuses on our most recent video game purchase for the Wii. After our friend John brought over his copy of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, I was convinced that we needed it for our own collection of games. Not because of the main game, of course, which is actually quite stupid; but for the mini games. This one boasts 50 different mini games, ranging from bowling, to darts, to ring toss, and so on. You can fly a bird, you can drive hover carts, and you can even slingshot monkey balls at balloons. Some of the games are pretty stupid and simplistic, but many of the ones I mentioned have been played over and over at my house. This is definitely a title to have when people are coming over… just make sure you have enough Wii-motes AND nun-chucks… some of the games require both; and some of those games are quite fun! Overall, I would give this game a 5 out of 6 stars