Many people so far have either loved or hated Selena Gomez’s music career, whether in spite of or because of her association with Disney. However, there seem to be few who like her music because they actually like the music (see my older review of "Falling Down" for more on this http://bit.ly/4zHHvS ). But with the release of the Selena and the Scene’s premier album “Kiss and Tell”, I find it hard to not find at least one song to love unconditionally. Most of the songs are distinct in attitude, attack and content. The tracks talk about love, breakups, bullies, superficial people, and more! And the thing about these songs is that Selena spent over two years putting together the album, going through thousands of songs to choose 13 that best suited her and her style. Thus, it gives you a look into her mind and her past, while also being able to relate to you. The album features a song co-written by Selena (“I Won’t Apologize”), a new version of Selena’s “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” from the movie Another Cinderella Story, and a cover of FeFe Dobson’s “As A Blonde”. Most of the songs have this electro-pop vibe, with techno streams and bright colors popping into your mind as you listen. It has a very upbeat dance-wildly-and-sing-into-a-hairbrush-while-alone-in-your-room feeling to it. Not that I have actually done this...maybe. Other songs have rock beat, with fierce lyrics and aggressive vocals. The band even has a great love ballad on here! It’s hard to resist belting out some of the lyric: for the first week I would randomly sing “I don’t miss you at all (insert attempt at high note here)!” and “All the way 101%, touchdown!” while walking down the street or at school. But the frustration of constantly going back to these songs is worth it. Therefore, because it’s a lame excuse to not hear this album for fear of having great songs stuck in your head, all who have yet to check out STS’s “Kiss and Tell” should go and check it out. Period. The End.

Here is a fanvideo for STS's "Naturally"...it's pretty beast. It's from Hbtallen (Youtube).

Now it's time for Mayday Parade, baby, YAY!

When I first went through “Anywhere But Here”, I have to admit I hated every song, every minute and every second of the album. ‘This is NOT like their first album!’ I scolded (see my older spotlight on them for more on their old style http://bit.ly/3MVgpJ ). This album is so…different. BUT, because I know this is such a great band, and that they went through a lot of changes in the last year with getting a new lead singer and all, I figured this change was bound to happen. So I tried my best to embrace it. And I did. Fiercely. I have fiercely embraced this album. It is so great. After listening really hard, looking at the lyrics, I realized how similar these songs were to their older ones. I mean, there are the same biting lyrics and the same dramatic sound to a few of them, which is like duh, have you evey heard anything by Mayday before, what did you expect? With lyrics like “Promise me some dignity/If I were to stand and die here/'Cause my heart is somewhere else/It's a pain I've never felt” and titles like “If You Can’t Live Without Me, Why Aren’t You Dead Yet?”, I really couldn’t stay mad at Mayday Parade for changing their sound a bit, now could I? And it’s not even that, but the fact that all the songs have this distinct feeling to them. Every song has this different affect of me, and they have these lyrics which get me EVERYTIME. Whether it makes me smile, laugh, or feel like crying because it hits too close to home. That is everything an album should do to you, and so much more.