Batson's Blog

It's almost impossible to find Jennifer Nettles without a smile on her face, but on her new album, That Girl , she turns the happiness down a notch. When I first heard that Nettles was coming out with a solo album, I fully expected to hear a bunch of pop-infused country jams. Well that theory was totally off base. There aren’t very many pop songs on this album – not in the way “Like Sugar” was. What That Girl does have is emotion. It’s dripping with emotion. It’s reflective and covers a range of topics, but most songs have roots in love. Songs that may be generic for other singers end up being impressive pieces of work when Nettles gets involved. The writing on That Girl probably isn’t as amazing as some of Sugarland’s best work, but they’re still better than your typical pop song. Falling Jennifer Nettles starts off this album with a light, nice, country sound that features the impressive range of her powerful vocals. Just like some of the greats in the music in...

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. ...

If you've talked to someone at work this week, watched a news program or spent any amount of time on the Internet, then you know that Beyonce released a surprise album last week -- titled BEYONCÉ . It was called a "visual album" because of the fact that she released 17 videos along with the 14 songs -- all at once on iTunes. Without any buildup or promotion at all, Beyonce's album went to number one. Talk about a marketing plan that worked to perfection! While I've never been the biggest fan of Beyonce (I liked a few of her Destiny's Child songs and enjoyed listening to "Crazy In Love," but I wouldn't call myself a fan), I was impressed with the way she released the album and thought I'd check it out. I've seen a lot of people tweeting about it being flawless and mentioning that Beyonce showed a lot of growth on this album. After listening to it, I can't say I agree. More often than not, the album is boring, plain and has ve...