Pretty. Odd.

I'm a huge fan of The Beatles, first off. I love everything from their beginnings to Let It Be. I've got shirts, cds, posters, etc. I love em! Unfortunately, they broke up after recording Abbey Road, and there's definitely some songs that we've yet to hear from those sessions. Well, luckily, Panic! At The Disco's sophomore effort brings that to us.

I've known Panic! about as long as I've known Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and the like; a good five or six years. I've only recently bothered REALLY listening to Panic! however, as before I'd only heard a few songs here and there. I picked up their latest album Vices & Virtues, and this one here, Pretty. Odd. So with that being said, let's jump right into this one.

Well to start with, this is no ordinary record. The title Pretty. Odd. is as captivating a title as can be, bringing the question "Why the punctuation?". Well, I quite like it. The cd itself is pretty, and odd, and the title captures that perfectly. The album starts out with a nice intro leading right into the single Nine in The Afternoon. This one is a bit more pop-fodder but nice nonetheless. From that moment on, it's an amalgamation of practically all The Beatles had to offer. Yes, I am serious. Each song on this cd is just bursting at the seams with the feel of John and Paul's writing, instrumentation, all of it. You can't help but think that some of these tracks were actual writing by the Beatles themselves, and we're just hearing them through Panic! at The Disco. I'm not sure how these guys did it, but they perfectly captured the Abbey Road sound, right down to the crunchy guitar sound found in most Beatles songs in the right channel. They've got a nice 70s' production sound to this record, and it was even mixed and partially done in Abbey Road studios, where the orchestration was recorded. All of these things make for a nice, calm, fun album complete with Fab 4 harmony sounding choruses, clever guitar work, and amazing vocals. If you like The Beatles, I really recommend you check this one out. **1/2

Tron: Legacy

I acquired this one back when it first released, and only just listened to it not once, but twice the other day. Created from within the master minds of the French house duo Daft Punk, a soaring blend of synths and strings become a musical idea that which I'd never conceived in my mind let alone a working idea. After hearing just the first two tracks, I had become hooked on its sound. From Derezzed, to Sea of Simulation, there's something here to be enjoyed by everyone. It's no surprise that they could create something as perfect as this, given their background. Every piece of music here gives you a certain feeling; dramatic, light, soft, etc. Everything going on in this soundtrack blends perfectly with the visuals from the film, which is a given considering the movie was made around the soundtrack as opposed to the normal way. Well, there's really nothing more I can say to express my love for this. In conclusion, if you get this, download it from a torrent site that provides all 31 tracks, as they are meant to be heard as one. Otherwise you will be stuck buying at least four different versions to get each track. My final score? **** of ****.