June, '04 Update

Part of my memory has been erased! I've lost my red notebook in which I had thoughts and comments about the various artists I'd recently heard. I did, however, find a green notebook with other mini-reviews not-yet-posted.

Not Yet in the Collection

• John Lawry: (from Media Alert) Strong '80s sound, similar to DeGarmo and Key. Strong and pertinent message. Way too much keyboard. Years ago, at the Humane Society back in my home town, "Too many of this kind" was a label on a dog's cage. She was in line to be put to sleep. I got the dog as a teen and loved her. This label might fit John Lawry's music, too. I'm sure some people might really love it. I wish the style wasn't so dated. Also, lack of strong hooks makes all the songs sound the same. Track number nine, however, had some personality. [BOD 3]

• Kathy Troccoli: Countryish, slightly slurred vocals. MOR style. Pleasant enough vocals, but the musical style got quite old fast. Too much slow, ballady stuff with over-use of keyboard effects like violins and other strings. I made it all the way through the CD, so I can't give it a 1. [BOD 2]

• Nicole Nordemann: She really surprised me. I expected stuff like Kathy Troccoli, but got nice, lively light pop, with very pleasant vocals. [3]

• Identical Strangers: Undeniable rock, but with '80s harmonies and vocals. Slightly cliche in the lyrics. Relaxing, hum/sing-along style. Sometimes emotional vibrato, sometimes forced-sounding, and frequent harmonized vocals. [4] -because I don't like BOD 5s.

• Ultrabeat: Techno, with very little to distinguish the songs. The vocals were very clear and ethereal, with doubt-free lyrics. Each song got a 4 from me, but a whole CD can get a bit long. Note: This style of techno features an extremely fast beat. I couldn't help but wonder how this could possibly be sexually suggestive, as many rock-bashers claim. If it is, techno would have died out due it's sexually-stimulated fans all having heart-attacks. (Ok, I heard Ultrabeat around the time I wrote the reply articles to Ed the rock basher. I guess that mental image was out of line.)

• ian: electronic disco-ish stuff. Despite the disco flavor, it's quite catchy. The tracks on the CD rated about equally 3s and 4s.

From the Collection

• Scott Krippayne: Fairly stereotypical, but he's got some real jems mixed in with the mush. Most of the songs rated 2s and 3s, but there were also two 5s on the CD. I bought it for "I'm not cool"
  The copyright of the article June, '04 Update in Christian Rock is owned by Paul Landkamer. Permission to republish June, '04 Update in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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