Batson's Blog

2013 ended too quick! I didn't get the chance to finish up my 'best of 2013' lists. Today I'll tackle the best albums of 2013 and tomorrow it'll be the top movies of 2013. I didn't get the chance to listen to every album that was released in their entirety, but I did get the chance to check out the 13 of them that were listed below. 13. BEYONCÉ by Beyonce Sorry Beyonce fans, but BEYONCÉ didn't do it for me. While many praised the album for being groundbreaking, I struggled to maintain any interest in it. Overall it was boring. The theme of almost every song was about sex. There wasn't much variety when it came to the music either. Beyonce has a nice voice, which was showcased on a handful of songs on BEYONCÉ, but most of the songs consisted of her trying (and failing) her hand at rapping, singing breathily the way Britney Spears would or simply speaking. Maybe that's new ground for Beyonce, but it's hardly groundbreaking. ...

It's 2014, but I'm not done looking back on 2013 yet, so let's take a look at the top 40 songs that were played on the radio this year. I was tempted to put songs like “Blurred Lines” or “Royals” on this list because of the fact that they were so successful, but this list isn’t about commercial success or radio play. It's simply my favorite 40 singles of 2013. 40. Come and Get It Artist: Selena Gomez Release date: April 7, 2013 Album: Stars Dance Peak position on Billboard's Hot 100: 6 Selena Gomez proved that she's nowhere near as annoying as her ex-boyfriend, Justin Bieber. While her songs aren't as good as someone like Pink or Kelly Clarkson, Gomez may just end up being a decent pop singer yet. 39. Feel This Moment Artist: Pitbull (featuring Christina Aguilera) Release date: March 15, 2013 Album: Global Warming Peak position on Billboard’s Hot 100: 8 This song, while not Pitbull's best, was a nice collaboration between the two po...

Lets start out with the awesome news that I read recently: Daughtry is coming out with a new album -- Baptized – on November 19. I’m very excited about that since Break The Spell is, by far, the most played album on my iTunes. The lead single for that album is different than Daughtry’s last go around, which had a very rock n’ roll vibe to it. “Waiting for Superman” is more mellow, but still seems like something you’d expect from Daughtry. It's about a woman waiting for her Superman to come along and love her. I'm not sure what inspired the Superman-themed song (or why they didn't release this before the Man of Steel movie was released), but it's a stellar song. I read that the band was hoping to do a more radio-friendly album this time around, steering away from the hard rock they utilized on Break The Spell . Wikipedia’s page on Baptized says the band changed directions with this album, “hoping to fit into the radio generation at the moment.” Apparently...