When someone mentions "music", I'm sure that people have different thoughts. I'm sure some people think of rock, with heavy guitars and booming drums. Others may think of a rap-style bass line. Others may think along an instrumental/classic line.

Others may not focus on the "sound" of the music at all. Some may focus on the message behind it. Some may focus on the lyrics.

All in all... what do you think makes music "good"? Is it the way the instruments come together, and the overall sound? Do the instruments have to be played at a superb level? (Take guitars, for example. Does faster playing really mean better?) Do the lyrics make the music? Is it all about the message within?

For me, the overall sound really makes the music what it is. A lot of the bands I listen to have lyrics that are hard to understand (a lot of the singers are from Finland or Norway), but I listen to them because of the instrumental goodness.

I am also a huge fan of movie scores. These have no lyrics at all, having been designed to go behind dialogue and action.

Another band I listen to is one from Germany - Rammstein. Now this band doesn't sing in english at ALL. Every one of their songs is in German (well, they made one in English, and it is by far their worst song). So I can't understand most of it, and the music itself is fairly simple. Yet it all comes together to produce music that I happen to enjoy.

So what makes it good? Let's hear it!

With all these newfangled MP3 players that have come out recently, it's hard to decide which one is the best one to pick. Do you want an iPod? Shuffle, Mini, or Nano? Or do you not want an iPod at all? Perhaps a Creative Zen? Or perhaps one of the seemingly hundreds of other types that are floating around there, buried under the avalanche of iPod fans?

I'm not a fan of iPods.

I got an iPod last year. It worked awesomely... until it fell off my desk. Then it stopped working, and made all sorts of clicking sounds. I sent it in to be fixed. They did it for free, since it was still under warranty. Then, one day, it just... stopped.... working. For no reason at all. It would just flash a little picture of an exclamation point and a file folder, and then shut off. I sent it in again, but it wasn't under warranty, so it cost me about $30. Now, it's not working again. The battery runs out after like 15 minutes, it randomly freezes in mid-song or when I try to switch songs, and every now and then, for no reason at all, it decides that it would be fun to delete all the songs I have on it. I went on Apple's website to see how much it would cost to send it in and have it repaired (again).... $272. TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO DOLLARS.

So now, I've got one of those Creative Zen Sleeks (the one I linked to above, 20 GB). It's everything the iPod was, without the tendency to randomly break. The buttons are a bit more touchy than the iPod's were, but other than that, I have no complaints.

So... what do all y'all use, and why? What makes it better than the rest?

Hey there everyone! This is the "Music Notes" section, and I'm Brad, the Blog Monitor, for said section.

This is real simple - if it has anything to do with music, send it in! Rock, Roll, Oldies, 50's, 60,'s, techno, dance, new age, alternative, pop, punk, easy listening, metal, power metal, 80's cheese metal, instrumental, classical, movie soundtracks (you get bonus points with me if you mention that one), new album releases/reviews, old album reviews, upcoming concert previews, concert reviews/stories, news stories involving bands, whatever! All of it is more than welcome.

All that I ask... is that we not get any "WOW THIS BAND IS AWESOME!!!!" or "OMG THIS BAND IS TEH SUCK!!!!" threads. If you've got a problem with a certain band and you'd like to make it known, at least make your post somewhat intelligent and well-thought out. We don't need to get into any of those "flame wars" that I've seen in so many other places.

So just remember that most people have different musical tastes than yourself, and be mindful of that, and we should have an easy time.

I look forward to reading everything you send in!

Good bye... and happy listening!

I'd never heard of this band until just yesterday, as I was searching around for something new to listen to. I tend to be a fan of Power Metal (there are a few bands I can't stand - Sonata Arctica, or Within Temptation, for example), but most of it I find rather enjoyable. When I first found this band, I figured that it would just be another stereotypical Power Metal album, with lightning-fast guitars and high, squeaky vocals.

I've never been so glad to be wrong.

The opening track, "March of Mephisto" opens with a kind of march-sounding beat, complete with a background voice, from the singer (I assume) from Dimmu Borgir. The guitars, as I was pleased to find, aren't fast and somewhat uncoordinated, but rather slow. Not too slow, but slow enough. The vocals for this song - and, indeed, all the songs on this album - are wonderful. No more are the vocals reminiscent of a 13-year-old. They are very slow and melodic, and, I think, fit very well with the music.

Some of the songs do have faster guitar playing in them, but all in all, I wish that more bands sounded more like Kamelot.

This album has everything. "Normal" songs (March of Mephisto, The Haunting (Somewhere In Time), and Soul Society), faster, more upbeat songs (When The Lights Are Down, The Black Halo, and Nothing Ever Dies), and slow, ballad-like songs (Abandoned, This Pain, and Serenade), and even a few "intermission" tracks, featuring latin chanting. Alltogether a very nice listen, for those of you who enjoy either Power Metal, or just Rock/Alt. Rock in general. If you do, I highly recommend you give "The Black Halo" a listen. And if you aren't... do it anyways. You might surprise yourself.