Laid by Oliver Heist is better
340507
I really like what Richard did here, He basically took the mystery method
and made it better. more smooth and flowing. But I got to tell you I don't
think the natural is my favorite, if you want some good pick up books. Id
recommend Either Laid By Oliver Heist, or Models by mark manson
2501309
I was disappointed with Oliver's Delirium series. The whole premise seemed like a very lame attempt at a dystopian novel. This short from Hana's point of view, however, was probably the best thing that came out of it. Hana is much more likeable than the main protagonist, and more relatable as far as her choices. She's more cohesive and understandable. Maybe Lauren Oliver should have chosen this character to carry the story.
1770240
Compared to their previous albums, Love & Logic is much more toned down and melancholy.  A very mellow vibe virtually from start to finish. I really like the album, but would give it more stars had it had at least a couple of songs that really explode. Very different mood and feel compared to Sirens or One Town Away.
4091220
I have read Invisible Murder and The Boy in the Suitcase. In my opinion, The Boy in the Suitcase was better. But part of my diminished enjoyment of the second book was knowing the author's formula... The structure is very similar in both books, from the order in which characters are introduced in the beginning, to which characters' ends are tied up at the end, and whose are not. It's not so much a "whodunnit" as a "why did they do it?"

The police investigation was more interesting in Invisible Murder. Soren is a major character, not just an annoying bureaucrat. Skou-Larssen is a more important character than his counterpart in The Boy in the Suitcase. So, yes, I would agree with other reviewers that this book is divided between a greater number of individual characters' plots/goals/investigations, what have you. It's not too complex to follow. But it is more complex than your average brain-candy mystery.

I found the ending of The Boy in the Suitcase to be more satisfying. I can imagine ordinary upper middle class Danes getting involved with the crime in The Boy in the Suitcase. The buyer/culprit's motives and plans in Invisible Murder are all but completely implausible, bordering on annoying and tiresome. On the whole, I thought that the subplot surrounding the buyer was ill-conceived. The middlemen were interesting and believable. The buyer was not.
204562
Yeh Lloyd Banks is on fire right now but this album is not as good as i thought but its still phat. Its Messed up how he only had 14 tracks on it but most of them r hot. U should defently get this album if u down with any kind of rap. Lloyd Bank$ is phat but his mixtapes r defently better.
265398
A good effort by Micheal Franti with some good songs but the "Yell Fire" is a much better album. IMO
A lot of the backing music has a inorganic feel to it which is a big difference from Yell Fire. This also explains why I don't get as strong an emotional response to this album.
4566711
I had mixed feelings when I went to buy this cd. I had a feel listens to it, they've kept the formula that they've used in creating Hybrid Theory, now they used the same formula to create Meteora. All the songs have the same structure: Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, final chorus. with a few exceptions. Here are the track descriptions:
1. Foreword - Typical opening to an album, i like the way it connects to the next song (-/10)
2. Don't Stay - Awesome opening song, very angst but manages without cussing, he talks about times where needs to be alone 10/10
3. Somewhere I Belong - The song that got me to buy this cd, it's also the first single, it features an interesting sample and a chorus that's really memorable, but it starts getting repetitive near the end of the song. Very good. 10/10
4. Lying From You - Another very angst song, with rapping in the verses with an authentic sample that sounds really chinese. The screaming in the chorus really tells you he's in pain, but there isn't any real melody in the chorus and guitar chords don't fit. Still a good song though. 9/10
5. Hit The Floor - This song fights you! Straight rapping and screaming in this one, the beat of the rhythm guitar plays against the beat of the drums, which make this song different from the other songs. It's gets repetitive near the end, not entirely to my liking. 8/10
6. Easier To Run - Wow, what a beautiful rock ballad, this song starts off with the chorus. This is a slow song, with a unique drum beat. Very beautiful verse, the chorus is good but it could be better though. My 2nd favorite song, and could be a potential single. 15/10
7. Faint - The heaviest and fastest song on the album, this is the second single. After you listen to it once, you'll be feeling:" what the hell has just happened?" It looks like as though they were trying to rush this song through, leaving you with a lasting impression of the song. 9/10
8. Figure. 09 - A slightly slower song than "Faint", but still angst. A suitable song for a fight scene, awesome rapping in the verses. But not memorable enough to reach excellence. 9/10
9. Breaking The Habit - Something very different for LP to do, reading the booklet inside the case, it took them 6 years to make this. And listening to it, it's really refined and brimming with Chester's soaring vocals. A really well-thought out chorus, very mellow and moving. 10/10
10. From The Inside - This song has just became the fourth(and possibly last) single. The verse and chorus just flat out rocks, screaming bridges as usual. But yet again, it gets repetive near the end. My 3rd favorite 10/10
11. Nobody's Listening - Just flat out rapping on this one, the guitar can only be heard the chorus, but barely. If you're into rap, this song is for you, it's very suitable for breakdancing parties. However, it just doesn't suit me. 7/10
12. Session - The "Cure For The Itch" of this album, only Mike and Joe were involved in the process of making this, very nice instrumental. 9/10
13. Numb - The best song on this album, the third single. Words can't explain how awesome this song is, very good conclusion to the whole album. And it's only LP that can create a song as good as this. My NUMBER ONE favorite song on the album. Intensely moving. 20/10
This album is for all you LP fans, get it if you haven't already. You will not be disappointed!
7377
Well, why did I pick Idelwild over Amplifed Heart? I like the lyrics  better. Lonesome For A Place, Apron Stings, Shadow On A  Harvest Moon,  Oxford Street, EBTG just didn't get any better than Idelwild. The last 2  EBTG's never got on the cd player more than a couple of times. Ben and  Tracy need to get back to where they were years ago.
3848810
What more? Better Carry - Liar Liar, Man on the Moon (check). Same idea, better visuals, better acting - Dark City (check). Better story, WYSIWWG (what you see is what we got) feeling - Brazil (check). Extremely overrated.
2101262
The 4th mixtape is not terrible, but it would rank pretty low when compared to his other solo albums and mix tapes.  Track 4 is complete garbage, and almost made me turn it off all together.  Who did you make that song for?  12 year old girls who like pop music?  a "thug" wouldnt make that song.  i don't like a lot of the guests, and krayzie is always trying to blow other people up on his albums.  24/7 grinder is amazing, however, and a few other tracks are worthwhile.
3567861
Out of the two albums released simultaneously, this is by far the superior one.  That's not saying much because there are both pretty bad.  Out of two albums, he's made about three good songs.  That's it.  This album, Sweat, is harder of the albums.  Suit is the softer, R&B influenced debacle.

Now, unlike all the Nelly haters out there, I really enjoyed Nelly's previous albums.  Country Grammer was an excellent album with Nelly's patented unique voice, creative fast paced beats, and great contributions by the rest of the St. Lunatics.  He fused hardcore music and beats to make catchy yet aggressive hip-hop.  I really thought it was a fluke album by a fluke artist until Nellyville came out.  That could possibly be the arguably be my favorite rap album of all time.  "Air Force Ones" has got one of the greatest singles of all times.

Well, Sweat is just a bad album.  The worst part of this album is that most of the songs sound just like every other song.  True story - some songs are so similar, I thought my car's CD player's forward song button broke because songs 7, 8, 9 sound so much alike.  This is by far a generic album that really shows a lack of effort or skill.

Here are the songs:

1) Heart of a Champion (2 out of 5) - Generic filler material with the exception that the chorus is based on the NBA on NBC's theme music - the one composed by John Tesh.

2) Na-Nana-Na (3 out of 5) - The most original song of the album.  Nelly really doesn't do much with the lyrics though.  The chorus is unique and complements the pseudo-trance beat.

3) Flap Your Wings (5 out of 5) - By far his best.  This is why it was the first single.  Typical great Nelly single that has consistently propelled him to the top.  Too bad this is the only song of this caliber on both albums.

4) American Dream - (1 out of 5) - Sort of laid back, but lyrically and rhythmly dull.  Sort of a bad clone of Nellyville's "Oh Nelly", "Dem Boyz", or Country Grammer's "Wrap Sumden", except much slower and weaker.

5) River Don't Runn - (1 out of 5) - Sound like the previous song, except with a touch of reggae, but just as dull.

6) Tilt Ya Head Back (0 out of 5) - Christina Aguilera?  Now this one ticks me off.  How can you rap about not getting respect from the hip hop establishment in your previous album, and then sing a duo with Miss Genie in a Bottle?  This reeks of a bad cross-marketing gimmick.

7) Grand Hang Out (3 out of 5) - Finally, a faster beat.  Still pretty slow with an annoying chorus.  Definitely reminiscent of Country Grammer's radio singles, though not as well.

8) Getcha Getcha (1 out of 5) - Pretty much the same beat as the previous song, just slower.  Sounds like number 4.  Nothing original.  Chorus is pretty ordinary.  Plain filler.

9) Another One (1 out of 5) - Sounds just like 4, 5, 8.  Couldn't bother to listen to this song longer than a few seconds.

10)  Spida Man (1 out of 5) - Just terrible.  Slow rap, slower beat, lyrics are boring.  Literally a song that can put you to sleep.

11)  Playa (1 out of 5) - A slow funk bass line with a terrible woman's voice (Missy Eliot?) singing chorus.  Pretty boring, lame, and forced.

12)  Down in Da Water  (1 out of 5) - Sounds just like 4, 5, 8, 9.  Seriously.  No kidding.  Have you ever met anyone who hated rap?  They say it all sounds the same.  After listening to this song, I can finally see there point of view.

13)  Boy - (2 out of 5) Guess what?  It sounds like tracks 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 with the exception of some techno beat dubbed on top of it.

This is the ultimate generic album.  Nelly has definitely lost his edge and creativity.
1457065
The Game is one of the more consistent rappers in the music biz to me.  He has some albums I wasn't happy I bought.  This ain't one of them.  This album is pretty raw. He did his thing on this one.
1582217
I've read too many NA with the similar premise, tattoo bad boy with a goodie rich girl. For example, Crash into You by Katie McGarry came into mind. That one had a more intricate plot.

Shaw had been a part of the Archer's family since she befriended Remy all those years ago, even after a tragedy that took away his life. Everyone thought she was Remy's girlfriend, but no one knew that she loves the twin brother, Rule since she first lay eyes on him.

Rule is the complete opposite to Remy. Rule is the wild card, the rule breaker, his body full of tattoos and piercing and his hair changes color more often than the traffic light. His parent resent him for Remy's death. He worked in a tattoo parlor as a successful tattoo artist and manwhoring his way all over the town.

What happened next is Rule started to see Shaw in different light and after one faithful night, they both decided to give their relationship a chance to grow.

Rule if this goes bad its gonna be so, so bad.
True, but if its good its going be so very, very good.

Shaw's unrequited love had finally pay off. Rule was her dream guy. The part that surprised me was how Rule tried to step up and wanted to be the perfect boyfriend, but things didn't end up as well as he hope for.

We have some ongoing drama with both their family and another involving Shaw's psychotic ex-boyfriend. The things that happened within Rule's family did intrigued me, but the revelation was almost too predictable. Shaw's family plotline was underwhelmed, beside feeling like pummeling both her parents, I don't there see any growth there. The psycho ex was a nuisance and an annoyance, but did create some drama towards the end.

Overall, the romance seemed average to me and the subplot was not a intriguing. I can't stop myself from comparing it to other NA books that I've already read. I know this was published way back in 2012, maybe if I read it during that time I would have felt differently. No doubt, this was a nice NA story without all the immature silly drama. I finished it in a day, so it was quite a worthwhile read.

P/s: the typo, missing words and grammar error was a tad too much. English was not my first language, but even I think the author definitely need someone to do a proofread.
3663551
Good story.  Built up the characters.  I enjoyed it, but I really liked some of his stand alone work better.
1817329
I was a fan of the first Felt CD (A Tribute to Christina Ricci). But I really didn't feel that it was up to par with Murs' and Slug's solo works. The first album was something I would give a 3-4 star rating, simply because it didn't shine like Murs' "The End Of The Beginning" or Atmosphere's "Seven's Travels". Murs and Slug are kings in underground hip-hop, and I wasn't about to dismiss an attempt at doing it better the second time (Felt: Vol. 2). I'm pleased to say that this time around, they did it much, much better. The beats brought forth by The Grouch on the first album were decent, but there was definitely a sense of unity that was missing. This time around, they opted for Ant to produce the album, which was a great call. It doesn't sound like two rappers and a producer throwing together some songs anymore. They actually sound like a complete group, composing a riveting and cohesive set of underground anthems. Ant's beats and rhythms really bring out the best in these two emcees, creating some truly infectious sets.

Bread and butter would be the best way to describe the attack by Murs and Slug. You'd be hard pressed to find a collaboration on the caliber of this album. As you know, Slug and Murs are longtime veterans in the underground. They have a history of working together dating back to the "Overcast" days, and this album is proof that their work has paid off. Best of all, this is a deeper look into the personas of Murs and Slug. You can feel the fun these two are having in the studio, which gives it a personal and infectious feel. These guys got the story rhymes down to an exact science. Like their solo efforts, the lyrics are fairly easy to follow (in comparison to artists like Aesop Rock), and they got a sweet old school flair that's intoxicatingly memorable. The first jam, "Employees of the Year" kicks it off right, with Slug spouting off lyrics like this one - "I'm not as young as I look girl, I'm old-school / Somewhere between Pro Tools and a gold tooth." "Your Mans and Them", the third cut, hits even harder. At this point, they are trading verses with boiling chemistry. Then comes a skit, "Lisa (Never Easty on My Nextel)" with Murs calling up his "L.A. pu**y", which is actually pretty entertaining for a skit. "Morris Day" has got to be one of my favorites on the album. Ant's production is chilling and beautiful here, with great lyrics to match. But my favorite track as of now is "Dirty Girl". This one has my favorite beat on the record, which is very reminiscent of the production on Atmosphere's "Modern Man's Hustle". They each share stories of how they fell in love at first sight with some "dirty" girls; one being an auto mechanic and the other being a short-order chef. "Early Mornin' Tony" is a fun tune, which features a sample from The Beastie Boys and an homage to Ice-T's "6 N' the Mornin'" (fitting for all the sex rhymes). "Breaker Down Like a Shotgun" features some ever-so-tight verses from both emcees. "Marvini Gaye" features one of Ant's most infectious beats. "Bonet (Cement Angels)" is very similar to the other interlude with Murs, which is also very humorous. The whole album solidly flies by without a single dud in the mix.

One could only complain about the lyrical content. For the most part, they rap about girls and sex. On paper, that might sound like some mainstream crap. But I assure you, it's not. You may not be that into the lyrics if your favorite hip-hop label is Anticon, or something else of the sort. But you know what to expect from Murs and Slug; no complicated metaphors, just hard-hitting lyrics about everyday life; the kind I have grown to love. Their style is simply impenetrable. I listen to a ton of underground hip-hop, and I've listened to this album about 15 times since it's release last Tuesday. Needless to say, it has completely exceeded my expectations.
3880730
I listened to this album on Spotify today for free and here's what I think. The slower songs are generally good and definitely are of higher quality than the faster-paced English-spoken tracks. While the upbeat songs generally have an empty, party mode vibe going on to them and not much else, the ballads slow things down and offer more to digest. Even though I don't understand many Spanish words, I still preferred the arrangements and especially the vocals where Enrique took his time to please and seduce your ears. "Heartbeat" is the best faster song here featuring a female singer and songs like "I Like It" with its unpleasant vocals and "Dirty Dancer" offer up something to dance to but seem more fillerish than anything. I bet it didn't take much time to record these tracks at all.

Overall, I'm not interested in buying this album. But with that said it doesn't make for a bad listen. The ballads make up more of the album and the speedier-tempoed songs take a backseat to them. I wouldn't mind hearing it again but not worthy of a purchase in my eyes. Buy the songs you like.

3.5 stars.
2418321
After reading some of the other opinions on NY's Finest I have to agree with the 3.5 stars that most are granting. This CD is by no means the return of NY to the top of the hip-hop food chain, but it is better that 90% of the garbage that is filling the airwaves today. That being said...People need to quit griping about Pete's rhyme skills. HE'S NOT AN MC! In fact, Pete should just write the hooks becuase that is what he's best at anyway. I feel like in his better days someone else was writing the rhymes anyway. Maybe Heavy D or CL hmmm.... Minus 1 full star just for the amount of time he spent on the mic.

The beats were good. Not his best by a long shot but Pete definitly makes you want him to go work on NAS, Talib or Mos Def's next record. The real prizes here go to "The Best Secret", "914", and "Questions". Overall I was satisfied there were maybe 2-3 lazy beats in the bunch.

My number one problem is that the title tends to lead me to believe that the rhymes of the guests MC's would somehow equal the production. Not entirely true.

- Jim Jones and anyone from Dipset outside of Juelz (on a good day) should not be admitted to a recording studio. All swag, no substance, all the time.

- Same for any Fu-Schnikin (did I spell that correct?)

- I love 914 but you need Jada in there too. It seems like something is always missing when only 2 of the Lox are on a track. (Like non-alcoholic beer)

- Now Flush, Red, Doo Wop and LOTUG did thier things. I don't really know what the complaints are about. Tru, Pete could have had more relevant MC's but I'll take a solid performance from cats that need a little burn over another Lil Wayne guest spot any day. Papoose has had better rhymes but it's not a total waste.

- Little Brother....good on the the track but not from NY. (Whats dat about?)

- Raekwon/Master Killa? I don't want to hear them on the worlds best beat.

Overall it was good to hear Pete on the turns and boards again. All we want is something to keep us from falling into the Matrix. Mission Accomplished!

Now if only Primo would do one of these...