Joe Rogan comes out swinging on Shiny Happy Jihad, his first stand-up CD in seven years, with a lot of different material that ranges from Osama bin Laden coming straight from a Stan Lee comic book to why would you put a sexually repressed priest into a little, dark room and listen to sinners sex stories, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy and/or become grossly offended.

The CD starts off rather slow, and its delayed release leaves some of the obvious Fear Factor jokes gasping for air since the show was canceled last year and the CD was only released in March 2007, leaving the source material out of sight, out of mind for most people. And judging by the final season’s ratings, many who purchased the CD even last year, should it have been released, would have been asking, “That show’s still on?”;

Rogan takes ample time to warm up and get into the meat of his material, that dealing with the Middle East and how the war (ripe material for anyone in the industry) has affected us at home and the observations of how things are so different half way around the world. He does raise some very funny points about how we are still not able to capture the super-villain like bin Laden and how he would win the war (of which is very amusing).

While the CD induced very little belly laughs, it did score a fair amount of chuckles throughout its brisk runtime. The routine actually ends four tracks early, leaving the final four featuring Rogan taking unscripted questions from the audience. This is where the comedian really shines by being able to keep up with his fans and also stay consistently funny by cracking jokes and impressions on the fly.

Joe Rogan has caused some controversy of late in accusing other comedians like Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook of stealing material, but that doesn’t come to light anywhere on the disc (due to its 2006 recording date), and the disc is certainly not for the easy offended, but there’s a quality comedy act here, and while it won’t knock you back, its an enjoyable experience.

Christopher Titus is one of the most intense comics alive. Just hearing him perform stand up gets you pumped and ready to give the whole world the middle finger, and The Fifth Anniversary End of The World Tour is no exception. Titus again delivers on the angry, intelligent humor that makes him one of the best comedians to listen to.

In Tour, Titus covers subject matter ranging from kids and birth to the September 11^th attacks to a British Batman to dealing with his father’s death. But an important underlying theme is this “End of the World”; notion. He talks a lot about bringing his daughter into the world a month before one of the most devastating things to happen to America and how it will affect her growing up. Granted he does this in a way that will have you on the floor laughing, but that’s how his comedy works. Titus has never been a person who pulls any punches. He will talk about anything and everything, and somehow turn the most serious and depressing situations into the most hilarious thing you’ve ever heard.

The two disc set is definitely worth the listen, and more than once. He talks about so many different subjects that every time you go back through the tracks you pick up on something you missed the first time. It’s no wonder that his tour has sold out all over the country, and it’s another testament to FOX’s missteps in cancelling good quality shows.

The success of Weird Al in the record industry is fully seen with his 2006 release of Straight Outta Lynwood which features some of the best Al songs since Bad Hair Day and its collection of hits. The album is, for the most part, the most solid experience we’ve seen in years and this all comes to a head with the albums first single “White and Nerdy“; which screamed up considerable buzz for both Al and the album showing the world that he’s still got it.

While it takes time to usually issue an album of parodies, so the dated tracks like “Canadian Idiot“; spoofing Green Day’s title track from their Grammy-award winning album can be excused for being a bit late to the scene, but the content in the songs makes up for their tardiness. The thought of launching a pre-emptive strike against our neighbors to the north should put a smile on any American’s face.

After some problems with licensing of the initial single “Your Pitiful“; the release of the CD was pushed back to omit the song (which was subsequently only released online). Several of the songs popped up before the CD’s release in addition to the aforementioned single. “Weasel Stomping Day“; was shown on Robot Chicken as a music video, which is subsequently included on the second disc of the CD/DVD set. The “We Are the World“;-inspired “Don’t Download This Song“; puts Al’s tongue firmly in cheek and calls out to all the P2P downloaders around the world to not download the freely released MP3 from weirdal.com.

With the standard mix of original content and parodies, Straight Outta Lynwood makes up a careful balance, and nearly every song has something to offer the listen and entice them back for a second listen. The only weak point of the original material is the second track “Pancreas“; which is an ode to the digestive organ in the body. “I’ll Sue Ya’“;, while an original track, is clearly influenced by the abusive cords and lyrics of the newly reassembled Rage Against the Machine. The song really comes into its own with the provided video which makes the lyrics stand out as visuals course across the screen.

The main stand out on the album is the 11-minute “Trapped in the Drive Thru“; parodying R. Kelly’s similarly titled “Trapped in the Closet“;, which takes us through one couples journey to just get something to eat and what the lack of onions can do to a man.

Lynwood offers the listener six animated videos at the time of purchase for “Don’t Download this Song,”; “I’ll Sue Ya,”; “Virus Alert,”; “Close But No Cigar,”; “Pancreas,”; and “Weasel Stomping Day.”; Each video is animated by a different artists with the likes of Seth Green & Matt Senreich (Robot Chicken), John K (Ren and Stimpy), and Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton. The DVD also includes karaoke versions of each of the album’s songs and a Dolby 5.1 mix of all the songs for your listening enjoyment.

In the end Lynwood is Al’s biggest commercial hit thus far in his long and illustrious career and it couldn’t have come at a better time. With so much material just ripe for the parody treatment, one can only hope that services like MySpace, allowing the artist to better connect with their fans, only fuels the fire more and we’re treated to more songs in the shortest amount of time possible.

A strong, impressive voice and excellent songwriting skills are what Christine Evans has and each one of these wealthy perks propels her sophomore album, Push. This 16-year-old singer/songwriter successfully broke through the indie barrier in her native Canada with her debut album Take Me Home in 2004 with help from 11-time number one hit producer Tom Hall.

Differing from fellow Canadian artist Avril Lavigne, Evans doesn’t necessarily produce catchy, throw away pop songs geared for massive radio play, as Lavigne’s hits have done in the past. This isn’t to say, however, that several of her songs do not stand out as very radio friendly cuts which show off the appealing choruses while still preserving the songwriting that she’s known for.

Many of Evans’ songs focus on the deeper, more emotional issues of loneliness, lost love, and perseverance with the album’s title track, “Push,”; being one of the only ones which could be considered upbeat but still focusing on a troubled relationship. On “Believe“; she sings “I cant’ hide, I can’t weep / I can’t make you be with me / I could fight, but could I win / I can’t make your heart give in”;.

The general theme of the songs transfer from her first release but the album doesn’t go down the emo track of self loathing. It is surprising, however, to see such a serious album from such a young artist in a world of pop princesses cranking out hit after hit while simultaneously attempting to land on every tabloid ever written.

In the two years since the release of Take Me Home Christine and her voice seem to have matured greatly with a slightly different sound but much more commanding over the already impressive debut and accompanying instrumentation backing her up.

The only thing inhibiting Christine is a more broad commercial release of her work in America where her CDs go for upwards of $30 online at popular sites like Amazon.com due to their import status. However, discs can be had for more reasonable prices at www.cdbaby.com, www.futureshop.ca, and directly through www.christine-evans.com. Regardless of business matters, those looking for solid songwriting and a genuine musical act need not look any further, regardless of the country.

Papa Roach’s fourth release is proof positive that the band has not only put the pseudo-rap/rock days behind them, but firmly established them as a relevant rock act with the energy, song writing talents, and singing chops to be one of the premiere mainstream rock bands in the United States. The Paramour Sessions, named after the Paramour Mansion, builds upon the excellent Getting Away with Murder and continues the bands tradition of releasing better and better albums with each release.

The three times platinum Infest, the band’s breakout debut, and its radio-ready single “Last Resort“; solidified the band in the mainstream, but its hokey rapping and decidedly generic tracks didn’t lend themselves to anything more than cookie cutter rock bands attempting to step into the shoes of success created by Korn in the blending of rock and metal with rap.

The Paramour Sessions takes the new-found sound of the group, thankfully devoid of rapping from lead singer Jacoby Shaddix, and blends it with the angst influenced lyrics of the band’s sophomore release lovehatetragedy.

The album’s breakout hit “…to be loved“; is a welcome glimpse into what the rest of the CD offers with catchy riffs that further exemplify the band’s strive to become a more focused rock act. The album is the most lyrical collection that the band has put out with much more focused songs and the ability to flex some musical muscle seems to certainly suit the band.

A lot of early fans of Papa Roach have been increasingly outspoken about the new course of the band, for better or worse, but as a fan of music The Paramour Sessions is by far the strongest collection of tracks the band has released thus far in their career and the entire disc holds a top place on my iTunes collection in several playlists.

The disc is a worthy purchase of any fan of the band that hasn’t been turned off by the shift in musical style as well as any fan of hard rock in what could very well be one of the best and most solid rock releases of 2006.

Most bands would wait until they release three or four albums and then they make a remix CD, but that’s not the case with Linkin Park who released one after a year after their multi-platinum debut, Hybrid Theory, and once again they bring us the finest of the crop.

While Reanimation has remixes of all of the songs from Hybrid Theory, it also includes new songs and remixes, plus some short phone calls (“Chali“;, “Riff Raff“;, “Stef“;), and an opening and a very short interlude called “NTR/MSSION.“;

My favorite song has to be the remix of “One Step Closer“;, it is now over five minutes long, and begins slowly and quietly and at the becomes a bit louder and at the end gets back to the original song’s sound, it also features Jonathan Davis, the vocalist of the band KoRn.

The remix of “Points of Authority“; is excellent, it is even better than the original, and it has a new electronic and techno sound. “X-Ecutioner Style“; is a mixture of elements from both the original “One Step Closer“; and “Forgotten“; with a lot of mixing and featuring the rapper Black Thought. The remix of “Forgotten“; is a cool song that was originally heavy and loud, but here it became slower and darker with a lot of hip-hop elements in it and featuring Chali 2na.

“The In the End“; remix is a hip-hop song that fails to live up to the Hybrid Theory version, but the teaming of Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington and Motion Man made this song fun to both who like rock and rap.

There are also remixes of “High Voltage“; and “My December“; that were originally released on the Japanese Hybrid Theory CD. “High Voltage“; became now faster and better, and features both Pharoahe Monch and DJ Babu, while “My December“; is still the same quiet song but with faster music and lovely voice of Kelli Ali.

Most people would call Reanimation a rap remix album of Hybrid Theory, but I disagree, even though the CD is more rap-oriented, it still has plenty of screaming and hard guitar riffs, making it an alternative metal album. If you liked Hybrid Theory, I can’t see any convincing reason on why you won’t like Reanimation.

Hardcore hip-hop mixed with heavy metal and strong electronic music, if this sounds crazy, get ready to be blown away, Linkin Park is here and they are heavily armed with Hybrid Theory (which was the band’s first name), one of the best rap/rock albums in years.

The CD begins with “Papercut“, my third favorite track on the album, it’s kind of fast with a lot of rapping in it before vocalist Chester Bennington begins singing ‘The sun/goes down‘ at the end. My second favorite is “One Step Closer” (the band’s breakout single) which is a lot louder than “Papercut“, it’s cool hearing Mike Shinoda and Chester screaming at each other ‘Everything you say to me/takes me one step closer to the edge/and I’m about to break‘, but the main reason that I liked this song must be because of the lyrics, especially when Chester screams ‘Shut up when I’m talking to you‘.

And now for my number one song: “Points of Authority“, which is about people who think that they can control other people. I also liked Shinoda’s rap intro and the instrumental part at the end.

Of course there are other excellent tracks on this album, such as “In The End“, which is a combination of Shinoda’s rapping skills and Chester’s low and loud vocals, making this song something all rock fans should listen to.

Another great thing about this album is the angry lyrics and vocals, for example, the beginning of “Forgotten” and ‘Go away go/try to take the best of me‘ in “A Place For My Head“. But sometimes there are no vocals, you ask why, so that they can make “Cure For The Itch” a song made by Joseph Hahn’s DJ-ing skills and his knowledge of turntables, making this a quiet and special song in an album full of strong guitar riffs and angry vocals.

However, this album is too short, and although this hardly affects its quality, with an amazing and wonderful CD like this people would like to hear a bit it more. Still, making fewer tracks means that Linkin Park can focus more on how well their album will sound instead of how long they can make it.

Finally, I’d like to say that Linkin park not only made us a great album, but also one that would be a bit hard to top, so if you want to hear something different from the usual rock music you always hear then you positively must have Hybrid Theory.

What would happen if Linkin Park, who are at the top of their genre, teamed up with rap giant Jay-Z to make an album? The answer would be Collision Course. And now that the album is finally here, the other question should be: Is it worth it? Well I’m going to try to answer that.

The album, which consists of six tracks, begins with “Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You,”; which is a nice track, the two songs work great with each other, and it begins with MC Mike Shinoda and vocalist Chester Bennington singing and then Jay-Z rapping, and at the end an exchange of rapping and screaming between Mike and Chester.

The next song, “Big Pimpin’/Papercut,”; is the worst track on the album; LP’s “Papercut“; and “Jay’s Big Pimpin’“; just don’t blend in with each other. Also, Chester doesn’t sing in this song, and it seems that Brad Delson (the guitarist) and Phoenix (the bassist) are absent too, making this song awfully mixed, it’s like cooking eggs with apples, seriously.

The third track is “Jigga What/Faint“; which is surprisingly a decent song; it begins slowly with Jay’s “Jigga What“; and then bursts to life with LP’s “Faint“;. It’s really cool hearing Jay-Z rapping over “Faint“;, which is one of Linkin Park’s fastest songs.

Tracks four and five, which are “Numb/Encore“; and “Izzo/In The End“; are just lame, it’s sad because “Numb“; and “In The End“; were essential listening for rock fans, and the same goes to “Encore“; for rap fans. These two songs also suffer from the same problems that made “Big Pimpin’/Papercut“; such a bad song, I mean, come on, they’ve already messed one song, did they have to mess another two.

The sixth and last track is “Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer,”; which not only is it the best song on the whole CD, but it also seems that the three songs which make it were meant to be together. Its fun hearing Shinoda and Jay-Z rapping the lyrics of “99 Problems“; over the music of “Points of Authority“; and “One Step Closer“; before Chester begins screaming Shut up and Everything you say to me. It’s only sad that the other tracks couldn’t have been like this.

In the end, I’d like to say that I wouldn’t recommend this disc to anyone but the hardcore fans who are into BOTH ARTISTS, but even so, there will be some disappointments (I am a huge Linkin Park fan and after hearing this CD I was left feeling shallow). Also, I’d like to point out that all of the songs on this album are not better than the originals, and they have nothing new to give us at all.