A Different Space

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Bob Holroyd is one of those musicians you hear without knowing it. He spends a lot of his time producing library albums, and generic music used for commercials, films, and industrial presentations. He writes to a nonspecific mood and other people put it to imagery. Every couple of years he surfaces with an engaging ambient album, and A Different Space is his latest. It finds him taking a techno-tribal turn, using lots of global instrumental and vocal samples from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and putting it on top of propulsive dance grooves à la Deep Forest. Then he tosses in live players like trumpeter Kevin Robinson doing a Hugh Masekela-style solo on "Drumming Up a Storm" or Dirk Campbell weaving in uilleann pipes and ney flute. It's all been done by Deep Forest, Loop Guru, Banco De Gaia and others, and Holroyd adds little to the form, but there's no denying the slick, sonically rich landscapes he creates. But like his library music it has the feel of formula. In fact, the more he gets away from his loops, such as "Dark Waters" (with its live guitar, percussions, and bass), the more lively and "authentic" his music gets. --John Diliberto

Tracks:

Drumming Up A Storm
Journeyman
A Promise To Return
Passing Through
Dark Waters
African Drug (Original Tribal Mix)
Balance
Something Understood
Open
The Sheer Weight Of Memory
Adrift In Kerala
Earthwatching
A Different Space

Amazon.com

Bob Holroyd is one of those musicians you hear without knowing it. He spends a lot of his time producing library albums, and generic music used for commercials, films, and industrial presentations. He writes to a nonspecific mood and other people put it to imagery. Every couple of years he surfaces with an engaging ambient album, and A Different Space is his latest. It finds him taking a techno-tribal turn, using lots of global instrumental and vocal samples from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and putting it on top of propulsive dance grooves à la Deep Forest. Then he tosses in live players like trumpeter Kevin Robinson doing a Hugh Masekela-style solo on "Drumming Up a Storm" or Dirk Campbell weaving in uilleann pipes and ney flute. It's all been done by Deep Forest, Loop Guru, Banco De Gaia and others, and Holroyd adds little to the form, but there's no denying the slick, sonically rich landscapes he creates. But like his library music it has the feel of formula. In fact, the more he gets away from his loops, such as "Dark Waters" (with its live guitar, percussions, and bass), the more lively and "authentic" his music gets. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Steve Hillage Expansion.......2003-09-09

I mention Hillage is this review because that is how I found out about Bob Holroyd. I personally am not a big fan of the Top Hat heavy trans-beat. You won't find much of that on this record.

What you do find are many layered synthetic wonders, innertwined with acoustic sounds, which feature beats; but are not completely beat driven. The moods created here are not too dark either (just is case you don't like dark ambient!). Bob is a talented synth artists with a solid command on his ethnic influences. The pieces on this record have an intricacy with them that is NOT overwhelming or inaccessable! Great spin!

Electronic world music?.......2002-10-10

Bob Holroyd has crafted an outstanding CD that combines the influences of world music (influences that sound like they come from all over the globe!) with the nuanaces and subtleties available in electronic music. The rhythms and percussion really stand out in nearly every track, and they're remarkably different on every track. The first track and "African Drug" are African-influenced fast-moving fly-bys, while "Adrift in Kerala" and "Something Understood" are more Asian trance. "Earthwatching", my favorite, is unlike everything else on the CD - mysterious and purely electronic. The vocals on the CD are sparse yet effective, and each track will grab you in its own way. A great CD!

Simply amazing.......2001-08-05

You know the type of album. The type that is really great the first tim eyou put it in. The type that upon further listen gets better and better, till you can't live with out it. Thats the special treat Bob Holroyd has delvered here today. I am a fan of Six degree's yet I see this and the Two Banco De Gaia albums they released as the only "perfect" albums they have released yet. If your a fan of Banco De Gaia you should definitly pick this up next. Holroyd goes back in forth between some really great up beat world inspired tracks with some crazy drum work. Into some truly emotional filled Ambient tracks that are simply beautiful. The mixed tempo of this album seems to be this only valid complain I have seen, But I don't buy into these "rules" that an album must somehow follow tempo restrictions. A Wonderful album such as this breaks the rules and delvers great music regardless.

Can't stop listening to this one.......2000-08-31

Well, Six Degrees records strikes again!! How do they find these talented people? This CD has great musical integrety while making a lot of use of synthesizers and dubs. The World vocal crossover stylings on a couple of the pieces contrast very well with the dream spaces evoked in others. There is never a dull moment wandering through this landscape. Some of the pieces have been played on Hearts of Space, while others would be more suited for a trance outing. All are excellent. Go for it.

Better than the movie!.......2000-08-06

Bob Holroyd is a creator of atmosphere and texture; his music has a cinematic quality that takes you to some very exotic places. If you've got a little time, and have nowhere to go, play this on headphones, or in a quiet room.

Tracks:

Space Overdrive (Single Edit)
An Infinite Summer
Space Overdrive (Virtual Sever Mix)
Vega Velocity (XP8 Remix)
Space Overdrive (Extended Mix)
Navigation (Delobbo Remix)
Navigation (Sequencia Remix)

Album Description

Italy's danceable synthpop / futurepop act Syrian made a noticeable splash with their debut album "De-Synchronized". With "Space Overdrive" they present a hint of what's to come next, featuring several version of two songs from the band's second album "Kosmonauta", plus a new version of the song "Vega Velocity" from their first album, and a CD-Rom video for the song "She Is the Dark". With seven pounding mixes and the bonus video, it's a single not to be missed.

Customer Reviews:

10 STARS.......2004-03-22

This is one of the best bands to come out in a while!! They have such a clean perfect sound. I stumbled upon them and decided to try them out and now I can't wait for more. When you hear it for the first time you'll be in love.

Average customer rating:

Never judge a book by its cover.
This is a very dark passage to a place that only Lane can so

Lost Caverns of Thera
Brannan Lane
Manufacturer: World Circle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hypnotic Drift
Deep Unknown

ASIN: B00004Z515
Release Date: 2000-09-19

Tracks:

The Mouth
Cavern I - Black Air
Black Air - Part II
Cavern II - Ancient Art
Death from Above
Cavern III - Atlantis?
Sea In The Dark
Cavern IV - Lost Souls
Unknown Origins
Cavern V - Circle of Darkness
Circle of Darkness - Part II
Into the Light

Product Description

Genre: dark ambient soundscapes The volcanic island of Thera or Thira, also known as Santorini, is located in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Asia Minor. Once inside the mouth, it opens up into a large room with four passages leading in different directions. There is a constant sound of water droplets, and beautiful colored stalactites and stalagmites line the ceiling, walls, and floors. Great artifacts were found, like animal bones of unknown origins, ancient art work and maybe a gateway to the lost city of Atlantis. ...and you thought Buck Rogers discovered Atlantis. Lane s music can be heard on DATELINE NBC, SPIKE TV, UNIVISION, SONY PLAY STATION, as well as outstanding syndicated radio shows like "STAR'S END", "MUSICAL STARSTREAMS", "E-MUSIC", "ECHEOS and the #2 most popular Contemporary Music program on NPR (National Public Radio) "MUSIC FROM THE HEARTS OF SPACE". Brannan Lane is an international recording artist with 20 plus CDs to his credit in ambient, new age and world music fields.

Customer Reviews:

Never judge a book by its cover........2002-07-21

Never judge a book by its cover - a true lesson when it came to giving serious consideration to reviewing this disc. The cover design is just plain busy and unnecessarily gothic, giving away too much before you get to experience the real treasures held inside! OK, that aside, I am pleased to have given this one a
comprehensive spin. Nashville's own Brannan Lane couldn't be further from the Grand Ole Opry on the mesmerizing Cavern 1 - Black Air. Multiple dark ambient layers are richly drenched in a continuous flow of multi-tracked fountains. Thera (a volcanic island also known as Santorini), as stated on the cd jacket, is the Greek word for fear, and realizing its somber embrace is Lane's task on this hour long player. We hear angelic swirls, deep tonal gongs reverberating and building with percussive resonance. Having been heard on the radio broadcast show
Music from the Hearts of Space, this sound sculptor seems rightly fitted for the task of creating atmosphere. If this were a film soundtrack we see 20 story high cavernous and icy hollows and are surrounded by mystical enchanted haunted kingdoms. This disc renders the listener passive and encircled by its space.
Cavern II - Ancient Art continues to build on the growing cinematic harmonies building an arsenal of sound. Spirits rise up high and converge in a twisting iridescence on the short and effective Death from Above. Bodies of water drip, spill and flood throughout this adventure, at times quite stimulating, at other times menacing. Sea In The Dark is like a winding vessel reminiscent of surveying an imaginary alter-world, Atlantis perhaps? The illusions run deep here. Lane's ability to capture stimulant and visionary atmosphere comes from his work in multiple genres, from Caribbean to Country, from Trance to Blues.
Some may say this provocative composer may be reaching too far. I can only hope he opts for creating more work in this mode. There are a lot of repetitive sound themes over the generous hour here, but Lane brings us into a trance-like state and then Into the Light. On this final track it is as though we have
channeled to the other side of a virtual landscape. We have been released from the mysterious magnetic pull and sail away with a galaxy of wildlife. This, my first exposure, to an artist with a dozen or so recordings in his name, was certainly worth the trip!
-- TJ Norris

This is a very dark passage to a place that only Lane can so.......2001-02-02

"Yo! Hello down there! Do ya need any more rope? Hey! You okay? Hey!"

They each run towards the edge of the freshly discovered Theran Abyss, echoing its horrid silence, staring silently as the rope is pulled back up. Their friend is not there - the rope is a shredded mass of frayed ends. What they hear in the depths of the blackness beneath them is an indescribable miasma of gurglings and moans. A blast of methane-heavy winds suddenly creates an intense vortex around them. Vertigo overwhelms them in the midst of their confusion and panic. They become a tangled mass of flailing limbs, scrabbling for a grip on the slippery cave floor. All light has vanished and in the coldest of any darkness they have ever known, their screams mingle as one nauseating cry - they are unheard in the vast pit.

Well that was fun! Yeah, Lane's soundtrack work, ambient feartrack, and noir places of dripping wet slime inspired me. Lane points out that "Thera" is the Greek word for fear - and such is the effect of his ambient art. This is that darkness of Robert Rich and old Lustmord. It is the crushing, smothering, paranoia and asphyxiating soundtunnels of the hopelessly claustrophobic. This is deep wetness, thick darkness, endless wanderings of places one needs to stay away from lest ye dieth amongst yon hellspawned ruins of things accursed and best forgotten. Drip, drip, drip, echoey essences, and horrific howlings of draconian behemoths aneath, greet your ears.

Lane has crafted an extended meander beneath and within ancient caverns of nigh unto the Underworld's entry. You can hear the headwaters of river Styx and sense that nagging guilt that ye are in trespass of abodes of the charnel legions. Only dead and blind things be permitted to wander these regions. "What is your pleasure? The price ye ask? Yer soul, yer mind, and that VISA card - thou fool!"

This is a very dark passage to a place that only Lane can so deftly create. This may really bother some listeners as it gets right next to "the fear complex" in the psyche. This is not music, not "a walk in the park" ambience - this is fear, this is a prelude to doom. If it were not for Lane releasing us in the final track, "Into the Light", one wanders if this might not be one of the most completely dank and dark releases I have experienced in year 2000. Lane - market this stuff to movie producers! It's great - spooked even me. ~ John W. Patterson

Space Age Electro Pop 2 - The New Wave of the New Century
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Space Age Electro Pop 2 - The New Wave of the New Century
Various Artists
Manufacturer: A Different Drum
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Space Age Electro Pop - The New Wave of the New Century

ASIN: B0009UKVHI
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Tracks:

Space Overdrive (Syrian)
Twin Sun (Cosmic Ally)
Sleepless / V2.0 (Raindancer)
Abort (Cosmicity)
Feel Free / Stitch Mix (Somegirl)
XRV (The Dignity of Labour)
Cherry (System22)
C Squared (Alien#Six13)
Half Life / Second Half (Neuroactive)
Standing Still in Time / Extended Version (Neuropa)
Limelight (Rename)
Superhero (Wideband Network)
Like an Alien (The Nine)
Understanding (Nevarakka)
Rapture (Voice Industrie)

Product Description

This fun compilation features a diverse collection of electronic pop sounds, ranging from old-school synthpop to modern, edgy synthpop, to trance, to new wave, to futurepop, to nu-electro. For those who are exploring the many sounds of what we call "synthpop", this is an excellent primer. Thematically, the collection follows a futuristic, almost sci-fi flavor. The "Space Age Electro Pop" CD's are very popular at sci-fi and anime conventions, where people snap it up for the visual design and party sound.

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Shadow Dancing
Various Artists
Manufacturer: A Different Drum
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Shadow Dancing - 2nd Movement

ASIN: B00005A3HO
Release Date: 2001-02-06

Tracks:

Without Pride - Bee-Sting Mix (Perfidious Words)
Embarrased - Long Version (Active Media Disease)
That's What I Want - Velvet Mix (Intact)
Partially Unbroken (A New January)
She's There - Mantra Mix (Persona)
Tears and Roses (A Covenant of Thorns)
Mother is Calling (Page of Quire)
The Stuff of Magick (New Clear Sky)
In My Dreams (Distorted Reality)
Sky (Attic Base)
I Live My Life (Sea of Sin)

Tracks:

Feignedly-song and dance (Condition One)
Bed of Nails (Joy Machine)
Silent Room (Voice Industrie)
Polygone (Wave In Head)
Slip (Zeta)
Xenophobic (Nasa)
Sound of Tears (Monolithic)
We'll Go On (Project David)
Touch the Sky (Title)
Liquid Love (Colony 5)
Waiting Till Dawn (The Mourning After)

Album Description

Though this collection features many new comers and lesser-known bands in the synthpop scene, every song is one that shouldn't be missed. This highly praised compilation throws the spotlight on some hidden treasures of the melancholy synthpop moods that work on and off the dance floor, best played when the lights are dim...

Customer Reviews:

.......2001-03-05

Todd Durrant, of A Different Drum, has once again put together a really cool compilation. This double CD focuses on the songs a dj might play after the crowds have thinned and only the most dedicated "shadow dance" to the beats. Included is a fresh mix of slammin' club tracks as well as some melodic slower tunes. There should be something here to please everyone, from fans of synth-pop, to goth, to darkwave. With 21 tracks, it's a bargain. It's also a good way to discover new bands.

Track list (*=my favorites): Disk 1: "Without Pride (bee-sting Mix)"-Perfidious Words**/"Embarrassed (Long Version)"-[Active] Media Disease**/"That's What I Want (Velvet Mix)"-Intact*/"Partially Unbroken"-A New January*/"She's There (Mantra Mix)"-Persona/"Tears and Roses"-A Covenant of Thorns*/"Mother Is Calling"-Page Of Quire*/"The Stuff of Magick"-New Clear Sky*/"In My Dreams"-Distorted Reality/"Sky"-Attic Base**/"I Live My Life"-Sea of Sin**

Tracks:

Orbit (Wideband Network)
Innerspaceman (Neuroactive)
Digital Delays (Cosmicity)
Listen to the Stars (Echo Image)
Lifeline (Neuropa)
She Is the Dark - Radio Edit (Syrian)
DisReal (Alien#Six13)
Supernova - System22 Mix (The Echoing Green)
In Thrall - Remix Edit (B! Machine)
A New Frontier (Moulin Noir)
Emotional Machines (Wave In Head)
Hyperspace (Virtual Server)
Somewhere Nowhere (System22)
Electric Venus - Liquid Sound Mix (Count to Infinity)
Incoming (Blue October)

Album Description

This compilation is an introduction to the many styles and sounds of synthpop, nu-electro, and electronic pop music in general, with a focus on futuristic and sci-fi themes.

Since synthpop's birth in the late 70's and early 80's, it has often been thought of as "futuristic", using the electronic bleeps and pulses, then later computer programing and samplers, to create pop music that breaks the typical boundaries of rock-n-roll or other more mainstream genres.

This collection puts together songs that span from synthpop's lost underground of the mid 1990's to the recent explosion of new bands and great new songs that is fueling new interest in synthpop (even if it's called by different names, like "electroclash", "nu-electro", "tech-pop", etc.). Any fan of great catchy pop songs with a lot of creativity and personality will enjoy hearing this collection. If you're a fan of sci-fi, a computer geek, an anime fan, a late-night club addict, or whatever, you may find that this is a music genre that can appeal directly to your tastes.

Customer Reviews:

Not Really what I expected.......2007-04-05

In my opinion, this album is more dance than new wave, and is not
really what I expected from the description.

I enjoy songs where a catchy beat, and creative synth work enhance
good vocals and meaningful lyrics.

The tracks on this cd are exactly the opposite. In most cases an overabundance of great synth work is being wasted on lame lyrics and average vocals.

If you are interested in hearing a demo of every possible sound that
you can get out of a synthesizer, and are more into night club dance music, then you might really enjoy this collection.

music to sleep by.......2006-06-13

if slumber is what you crave, then grab this album with your shakingly sleep deprived mitts and take a much needed trip to the domain of morpheus. it works so well that i almost passed out driving on the NJTP in the middle of the afternoon.
i found it stale an unimaginative.
i really love the synthpop sound from depechemode to kraftwerk. after hearing this collection, i thought that maybe the sound was dead and that i was just trying to relive an age past.
then i discovered FREEZEPOP and BIS. buy those and know that synthpop lives on with as much or more life than ever.

NEW BLOOD OF ELECTRO : KEEP IT UP!!.......2005-08-31

NEW BORN OF ELECTRO GROUP LIKE FATHER KRAFTWER,DEPECHE MODE,ERASURE AND LIAISONS DANGEREUSES,CAMOUFLAGE..DEVISION..FRONT 242..INFORMATION SOCIETY..DFA..C.C.C.P>>>>>>>UNITED STATE OF EUROPE..
ANYTHING BOX..

SPACE AGE ELECTRO POP.......2003-04-27

Another winner of a compilation from Todd at A Different Drum. I have never failed to find new music to get into with one of ADD's compilation and this one is no exception.

All tracks are keepers but I am most partial to the Neuropa, B! Machine, Moulin Noir and Blue October tracks. Good for dancing, driving, hanging out or riding on the train.

Tracks:

Space Divider - Radioactive Mix
Space Divider - Slow Mix
Neuromegamix 2004
Space Divider - Original Mix

Album Description

The song "Space Divider" has been a fan favorite by Neuroactive for many years, dating back to the band's "Phonic Trace" album. However, the song was never released as a single. Now, in 2004, it is re-recorded with the original vocalist and released in completely new versions on this collectable single which includes an immaculate megamix of Neuroactive songs that span the band's history.

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More than a Flock Of Seagulls Cover

Space Age Love Song
Count to Infinity
Manufacturer: A Different Drum
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000544DM
Release Date: 2000-12-01

Tracks:

Space Age Love Song
Space Age Love Song (Club Mix)
Abducted (Insanal Probe Mix)
Abducted (Scully Blinded Me With Science Mix)
Electric Venus (Liquid Sound Mix)
Space Age Love Song (Extended Version)
Transformations

Album Description

This single features great club versions of the classic new wave hit "Space Age Love Song" by A Flock of Seagulls, as interpreted by Count to Infinity. This single also features remixes of other tracks that original appear on Count to Infinity's debut album, "Once is Not Enough".

Customer Reviews:

More than a Flock Of Seagulls Cover.......2003-02-26

NY synthpop cause celebre' Count To Infinity is best known for this cover version of the new wave classic. But his talent as a musician shines through in his 'own' tracks, combining trance and house elements with a breathy vocal style. I would say start with the cover, chances are you will like what he's done with the song, and from there, get his excellent newest album 'exploding plastic inevitable'.

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Intriguing Voice
check it out
Morphine Enduced
Under A Different Sky
i want my money back

Under a Different Sky
Via Tania
Manufacturer: Chocolate Industries
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00008OM5T
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Tracks:

I Dream Again
Boltanski
Lighting and Thunder
In the Distance
Rising
In the Deep
Moonlight and Chaos
True
Reprise (Little Moods)
This Earth

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing Voice.......2005-12-31

I first heard this album in a used record store that I have since come to rely upon for introducing me to artists that I would never hear of otherwise. When I walked in that day, I thought they were playing Tori Amos at first, then it sounded like Bjork, and then it changed again to something even more distinct. I couldn't stand it, so I went to the counter and asked, "Who the hell IS this??" I was really caught by her voice, because it recalls several of the female singers I find most interesting, so I had to buy the album.

I haven't been disapointed with it. The other reviewers are right to point out that the whole album has a melancholy lullaby feel to it; however, I find new subtleties distinguishing each of the tracks every time I listen. It's a great rainy-day stay-inside-and-look-at-old-pictures album. Worth the money, so check it out!

check it out.......2004-04-21

Tania May-Bowers has been around for a while. She has been known to hang out with Prefuse 73 and El-P. Her too cool music recalls the chill-out sounds of Morcheeba and Massive Attack. This record takes all the hip elements of techno and hiphop and brings it to the people. "Lightning & Thunder" is probably the best track here. Anything Prefuse 73 does is very interesting. Prefuse is the hippest cat around. Maybe Via Tania can do more pop music in the future? Some of the songs seem like sketches of good ideas. When you get to the song "True" towards the end, you wonder why Tania doesn't do more stuff like this.

Morphine Enduced.......2003-11-01

Caution: Under a Different Sky may cause drowsiness.

Listening to the new full-length album by Via Tania is much like needing a well-deserved nap. You don't want to go to sleep, but your body is telling you otherwise. The dreamlike nature of Under a Different Sky is led by the sultry singing style of Tania May-Bowers. Although her singing can sometimes come across as passive, it can also be very genuine and satisfying. Imagine Martina Topley-Bird (back-up vocalists for Tricky) and Macy Gray singing you sophisticated, yet depressive, lullabies about love and loss. With no sign of a good beat anywhere, and a BPM number of about 20, Under a Different Sky promises to set a strong sedative mood upon its listener.

With a long list of supporting musicians, including Scott Herren, Doug McCombs, and Howe Gelb, you can pretty much guess that Tania has selected a good staff to support her efforts here. Surprisingly enough, some are hits while others are less than appealing. The opening track, "I Dream Again," is produced by Scott Herren, and is actually one of the less engaging tracks on the album. The beginning of the song begins with the staple glitched beats and keyboards that made Herren's Savath & Savalas albums what they are. The samples slowly start to fade and allow the album to get to the point it's strongly aching to make. "Lightning and Thunder" and "The Rising" show a stronger and more confident approach, if only for a couple songs. "In the Deep" inevitably begs comparison to early Massive Attack, or even less clinical Portishead.

Under a Different Sky may not be everyone's cup of tea. The overall pace of the album tends to drag since most of the songs are strongly familiar in style. However, if you're one who likes melancholy and loss in your music, you're in for a pretty fun ride. There is plenty of sadness and despair here to share with your entire family. For those of you who are curious about Via Tania because the album is on Chocolate Industries, take note that this is not your run-of-the-mill hip-hop release that we've come to know them for.

Under A Different Sky.......2003-08-18

If this is the first full length record from Via Tania, I can only be excited as to what the future holds.
This record took me a few listens to get to know but once it I did, it took a firm hold and only gets better and better.
There is a mix of genres and some heartbreaking singing styles, but I think this girl has roots in indierock and isnt all about being Chocolate Industries' Ashanti or whatever they say in reviews.There have been weirder comparisons than that even, but we should just see this as a completely new and unique songwriter on the block and sink into the record like it knowingly wills us to.

i want my money back.......2003-05-24

this chick sings all weird and out of tune and the music is extremely mopey.