E-Type

Bo Martin Erik Eriksson, known as E-Type in the music world, is a somewhat creepy looking Swedish musician who released his first album in 1994 and is still going strong. His music is upbeat Eurodance, which logically is simply called dance when one actually is in Europe. Most of the songs are very clean sounding due to the bright instrumental sound and the clearly defined notes. They also sound rather epic and grand in a futuristic way because of the well chosen and used chord progressions as well as the powerful choruses, which have entrancing melodies and are sung by Nana Hedin, who is also from Sweden. Interestingly, essentially all of E-Type's vocal contributions to his songs are monotonous twanging in a rap sort of fashion that works sometimes but often just sounds weird. The only real problem I have with the music is that in general all the songs sound pretty much the same.

My favorite songs by E-Type:

• This Is the Way
• Olympia
• Africa
• Campione 2000 (The theme song for the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship that continues to be a popular soccer chant to this day)
• Dans La Fantasie
• If Heaven Were To Fall
• Russian Lullaby
  

“This Is the Way” stands apart from the others because of its heavy and powerful feel as well as the great vocals. I find the words rather inspiring, and the melody of the vocals fits the strength of the song. I especially like the subtle up-down-up-down sound of a plucky sort of instrument that follows along throughout key sections of the song, namely the chorus, which are followed up by a sighing “oh-oh-oh...” that really encapsulates the mythic quality of the composition. Overall the song feels rather timeless, as in that it doesn't have a specific time it belongs to, whether ancient times before humankind walked upon the ground or the extreme future when the Earth has dried up and withered away. It has always been playing and always will be playing.

You can listen to “This Is the Way” here.

You must remove the downloaded file from your computer within 24 hours. It is only a sample of a track which you can purchase on a CD. The author of this site cannot be held responsible for the misuse or copyright violation of this song as enforced by any given country's laws.

Chase This

Back in 2001, Jimmy Eat World released their biggest single of their career with "The Middle"; the underground Indie-rockers had never had a single crack the billboard top 200, and were all of a sudden getting heavy rotation on MTV. "The Middle" is Jimmy Eat World's most popular release to date, and their mainstream popularity has been down ever since its release. Make that is how they like it.

"The Middle" appeared on the album Bleed American. The follow up to this album, the 2004 release of Futures, was an absolute mess. While I myself have never considered J.E.W. (an awful acronym, I know) an emo band, it is hard to call them that, with titles of songs on including; "Work", "Kill", "Pain", and "Drugs or Me". When I heard about the release of Chase This Light, I was hoping that the band would move on from Futures. The first track off of Chase This Light gave me hope. "Big Casino" starts off with a fast guitar rift, and then starts to rock. It's a fun song, with references to the music industry, taking chances, and hopes of making it big, "i hope they draw my name from the lottery." "Big Casino" is not a J.E.W. original, but a leftover side project of lead singer Jim Adkins, titled Go Big Casino. While the first track gives promise, the rest of the album falls short.

After "Big Casino", the album returns to where Futures left off with "Let it Happen". The track is repetitive, drawn out, and downright boring. The third track, "Always Be", has an interesting start, with drum beats and snapping fingers, but doesn't do much beyond that. Throughout the album, there seems to be a theme of annoying, repeating background vocals. "Carry You" has a harmony similar to nails on a chalkboard, "Electable (Give It Up)" simply repeats "Uh-oh-Uh-oh" ad nausea, and "Here it Goes" does the same with an annoying "Hey, Hey, Hey!"

Despite all of this, there are a few tracks on the album worth mentioning. "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" is a sullen, down trodden track, but is also the most interesting one on the album. The track is similar to Danish rock group The Raveonettes. "Dizzy" and "Firefight" are both a return to the bands earlier days. Both of these tracks seem like could of appeared on the bands album Clarity.

While Chase This Light is not as terrible as Futures, it is not a return to its earlier days as Clarity or Bleed American. And maybe Jimmy Eat World will never return to those days of popularity.

Key Tracks:

• Big Casino
• Gotta Be Somebody's Blues
• Dizzy