I'm Taking Off!
I finally have my Nick CD!!!
Since I never post in this thing (except for yesterday, haha), quick back story. I ordered the deluxe edition of I'm Taking Off from Japan for $50 last week because the song "I'm Taking Off" is so epically addicting, I decided I couldn't wait any longer for the physical CD, and it was worth it to me to pay a little more to get the one with the DVD and get it earlier than the autographed version on his fan club (which was also expensive and would have been shipped later).
The album came out Wednesday, and that's when the site said it would be delivered, too, but we had a massive blizzard here in the Midwest Tuesday and Wednesday, so the roads were terrible, and everything was shut down. I wasn't at all surprised that it was delayed; I don't think ANY mail was delivered here on Wednesday. I was hoping it would come Thursday or Friday. I kept checking my tracking info on this Japanese site, and for three days, it didn't change; it just said it had left Tokyo early on February 2nd, which was still the 1st here. I started to think maybe Godzilla was bringing it and had gotten distracted destroying a city or battling Mothra or something.
Then, FINALLY, the tracking info updated yesterday morning to show that it had made it through customs in Chicago. That explains the delay, since Chicago's a mess from the storm, too. I didn't think it would come straight there, but it did. I'm only three hours south of Chicago, so I was really hoping it would be delivered yesterday, but no such luck.
I checked my tracking info again first thing this morning, and it still hadn't changed, so I was disappointed. Then there was a knock at the door, and it was the postal guy, but I was still lying around in bed writing with my hot pink penguin pajamas on and my hair a mess and my teeth not brushed, so I didn't answer the door. Usually they just leave it there or if it's big or heavy, they'll sometimes take it to the leasing office at my apartment community. So when the guy left, I went to the door... no package. So I went out to my mailbox, and he had left the slip there saying where to pick it up. It said to pick it up at the post office, not the leasing office... on MONDAY!
I was like, "Oh HELL no!" I know the post office is closed on Sunday, but it's open on Saturdays until noon. This was eleven-thirty. So I threw on some clothes, pulled my hair back, brushed my teeth, and drove to the post office to hopefully either pick it up or wait for the carrier to get back with it. I am the kind of person who normally does not leave the house without makeup on and my hair done, so I was pretty desperate to venture out looking like total shit. I got to the post office, and the woman at the counter said all the carriers were still out. I asked if they would be back before they closed, and she said no. She must have seen the light of hope leave my eyes, because then she looked at my slip and said, "This looks like my supervisor's handwriting. He should be back around 12:30. If you come back and knock on the door, he'll let you sign for it there."
So I went back home, used the hour to shower and fix myself up, and then went back at 12:30. I had to knock and knock, but finally the door opened, and it was the same woman. She was like, "You're in luck; I'm still here." And she had my package!! I was sooo happy!! Thank you so much, post office lady, for making my whole weekend!!!
Godzilla may suck (just kidding - Godzilla could never suck, even if snowstorms confuse and upset him), but the US Postal System rocks my world!
So... my review!
First of all, I love the look of the album. The cover is hot, the back cover is even HOTTER, and the pics inside are gorgeous too. The Japanese special edition came with this weird plastic folder with his face on it that is really hot, too, as well as a big sticker of the album cover. Random, but I'll take it! (I just don't know what to do with either one yet. LOL) I love that it has a lyrics book with lyrics in Japanese and English as well. The lyrics aren't all correct, and they don't include my favorite stanza of "Burning Up" ("The way you shake, shake, shake, shake that ass; it makes me wanna come, come, come get it fast. You got me thinking, 'damn... I wanna take you back home with me'..."), but still cool.
Now for the songs! Much like Never Gone, I'd already heard 2/3 of this album through leaks. Because that happened with Never Gone, I had sworn off leaks for most of the wait for Unbreakable, and I was REALLY good for This Is Us. I love the experience of listening to an album for the first time when I have the actual CD and can hear every song the way it's meant to be heard. But I was thinking this album would be like AJ's, where I'd have to settle for a burned copy of it for awhile until I could get a copy at a reasonable price in the States. I got AJ's for $13 off Amazon a couple months after it had been released, but I had a burned copy that was fine until then. I really had no intention of paying out the ass to order this thing from Japan until I heard "I'm Taking Off."
So anyway... of the 2/3 I'd heard, the only songs I really loved and listened to enough on repeat to completely memorize were "I'm Taking Off" and "Burning Up." All the other songs were just sort of okay or not good enough quality leaks to really want to listen to a lot. Now that I've heard the whole thing, I love most of it, like the rest, and only openly hate one song, "Special," which remains, as Julilly put it, "short bus special." LOL
"Burning Up" is such a club song, and I normally don't like songs like that, but maybe it's just cause it's Nick, singing "shake, shake, shake, shake that ass," but I have always LOVED this song. I first heard it on New Year's Day, and it has given me a reason to shake, shake, shake, shake my ass through all the crap 2011 has brought so far. I'm so THRILLED to finally have a high-quality version of it!
"Not the Other Guy" I was addicted to for awhile last fall or whenever it leaked. Also a great song! It's a little generic, but it's got a great driving tempo, and it's catchy as hell. I've spent many a drive to school belting out that song at the top of my lungs.
"So Far Away" is also a little generic and not a "wow!" song for me at all, but it's pleasant enough. It's the kind of song I'll listen to when it comes around on the album, and maybe it'll grow on me as I get more familiar with it.
"Addicted" I liked a lot when I heard the leak, but I heard it the same day as I heard "I'm Taking Off," and ITO is so epic that I just never listened to Addicted as much because of it. I was glad to get this one in HQ, too, and it sounds great on the album! I think it's clever, lyrically, and catchy, musically. It's probably in my top 5 on this album.
"Special" sucks. It sounds like bad 90s r&b, and Nick sounds like whiny 90s Nick, too. I hate it.
"Falling Down," I LOVE!!! I think this is the one that Rose told me Nick had said he wrote about his family. That made me sad as I was listening to it, until I got to the part where he sings, "I can't sleep, I can't dream, 'cause your scent's still here on the pillows in my bed." ??? Really? Which of your crazy family members have been sleeping in your bed, Nick? No matter who it's really about, it's a GREAT song! This was the first song on the album I had never heard before that I was like, "Wow! This is really good!" Go Nick!
"Just One Kiss"... is another generic, yet pleasant song, and it sounds good on the album. But is it just me, or does Nick sound like he has a lisp on this one? I know he doesn't have a lisp, but I noticed it one time in the part at the beginning that goes "If this is our stop, the end of the road..." and I can't let it go. It made the song a lot more entertaining, but also kinda ruined it for me, cause I sat with my little lyric book in my lap and sang along to the whole thing with a giant lisp and cracked myself up. I do that with "This Is Us," too, but not because it actually sounds like that, just because I think it's funny. I love "This Is Us," but I think this song is screwed for me; I'll never be able to take it seriously LOL.
"Great Divide" is... yet another generic, yet sort of pleasant song. I don't dislike it, but I don't really like it either. It's sort of annoying to listen to. I thought maybe that was just the leak being crappy quality, but no... I think it's just the song LOL. It's not bad, just not good either.
"Nothing Left to Lose" is, lyrically, the most honest song on the album, the one that made me go, "Yep... I can definitely see Nick writing that." (Well, ITO too, but for different reasons LOL.) I love the lyrics, and I like the song too, though the decision to play E, E, E, E, E, E... over and over again on the keyboard's oboe setting throughout the song maybe wasn't the best one. Other than that bit of obnoxiousness, it's a good song.
"Falling in Love With Again" is a song that I never really listened to much as a leak, even though I've had it on my computer for awhile, but I LOVE it on the album! It was a nice surprise to listen to it all the way through and go, "You know, this is actually a pretty good song!"
"I'm Taking Off," is, of course, freaking EPIC! I knew it was going to be tough to beat, and it's still for sure the best song on the album. I like that, though; the title track should be the best song, and even if it doesn't have the same meaning as the album title, it's SO Nick. I've been listening to this song on repeat in my car for weeks and working out to it, too. It is, like, TRIPLE rainbow epic.
"Jewel in Our Hearts" I was told sounds like an anime theme song... and even though I've never watched an anime, I can hear it LOL. It does sound like the theme song to a cheesy 80s children's show. I kinda dig it LOL. It's really corny and full of WTF? but it's a cute song, and Nick sounds good singing it, even if it doesn't fit him at all LOL. I like it quite a bit.
So all in all, I LOVE at least half the album and like all the rest... except for Special. But hell, that already makes it better than TIU, and I'm so proud of Nick for co-writing the whole thing. I absolutely loved his note inside; it almost teared me up. He has grown so much and come so far over the past few years, and it really shows in this album, like it does in real life. He should be proud!
Since I never post in this thing (except for yesterday, haha), quick back story. I ordered the deluxe edition of I'm Taking Off from Japan for $50 last week because the song "I'm Taking Off" is so epically addicting, I decided I couldn't wait any longer for the physical CD, and it was worth it to me to pay a little more to get the one with the DVD and get it earlier than the autographed version on his fan club (which was also expensive and would have been shipped later).
The album came out Wednesday, and that's when the site said it would be delivered, too, but we had a massive blizzard here in the Midwest Tuesday and Wednesday, so the roads were terrible, and everything was shut down. I wasn't at all surprised that it was delayed; I don't think ANY mail was delivered here on Wednesday. I was hoping it would come Thursday or Friday. I kept checking my tracking info on this Japanese site, and for three days, it didn't change; it just said it had left Tokyo early on February 2nd, which was still the 1st here. I started to think maybe Godzilla was bringing it and had gotten distracted destroying a city or battling Mothra or something.
Then, FINALLY, the tracking info updated yesterday morning to show that it had made it through customs in Chicago. That explains the delay, since Chicago's a mess from the storm, too. I didn't think it would come straight there, but it did. I'm only three hours south of Chicago, so I was really hoping it would be delivered yesterday, but no such luck.
I checked my tracking info again first thing this morning, and it still hadn't changed, so I was disappointed. Then there was a knock at the door, and it was the postal guy, but I was still lying around in bed writing with my hot pink penguin pajamas on and my hair a mess and my teeth not brushed, so I didn't answer the door. Usually they just leave it there or if it's big or heavy, they'll sometimes take it to the leasing office at my apartment community. So when the guy left, I went to the door... no package. So I went out to my mailbox, and he had left the slip there saying where to pick it up. It said to pick it up at the post office, not the leasing office... on MONDAY!
I was like, "Oh HELL no!" I know the post office is closed on Sunday, but it's open on Saturdays until noon. This was eleven-thirty. So I threw on some clothes, pulled my hair back, brushed my teeth, and drove to the post office to hopefully either pick it up or wait for the carrier to get back with it. I am the kind of person who normally does not leave the house without makeup on and my hair done, so I was pretty desperate to venture out looking like total shit. I got to the post office, and the woman at the counter said all the carriers were still out. I asked if they would be back before they closed, and she said no. She must have seen the light of hope leave my eyes, because then she looked at my slip and said, "This looks like my supervisor's handwriting. He should be back around 12:30. If you come back and knock on the door, he'll let you sign for it there."
So I went back home, used the hour to shower and fix myself up, and then went back at 12:30. I had to knock and knock, but finally the door opened, and it was the same woman. She was like, "You're in luck; I'm still here." And she had my package!! I was sooo happy!! Thank you so much, post office lady, for making my whole weekend!!!
Godzilla may suck (just kidding - Godzilla could never suck, even if snowstorms confuse and upset him), but the US Postal System rocks my world!
So... my review!
First of all, I love the look of the album. The cover is hot, the back cover is even HOTTER, and the pics inside are gorgeous too. The Japanese special edition came with this weird plastic folder with his face on it that is really hot, too, as well as a big sticker of the album cover. Random, but I'll take it! (I just don't know what to do with either one yet. LOL) I love that it has a lyrics book with lyrics in Japanese and English as well. The lyrics aren't all correct, and they don't include my favorite stanza of "Burning Up" ("The way you shake, shake, shake, shake that ass; it makes me wanna come, come, come get it fast. You got me thinking, 'damn... I wanna take you back home with me'..."), but still cool.
Now for the songs! Much like Never Gone, I'd already heard 2/3 of this album through leaks. Because that happened with Never Gone, I had sworn off leaks for most of the wait for Unbreakable, and I was REALLY good for This Is Us. I love the experience of listening to an album for the first time when I have the actual CD and can hear every song the way it's meant to be heard. But I was thinking this album would be like AJ's, where I'd have to settle for a burned copy of it for awhile until I could get a copy at a reasonable price in the States. I got AJ's for $13 off Amazon a couple months after it had been released, but I had a burned copy that was fine until then. I really had no intention of paying out the ass to order this thing from Japan until I heard "I'm Taking Off."
So anyway... of the 2/3 I'd heard, the only songs I really loved and listened to enough on repeat to completely memorize were "I'm Taking Off" and "Burning Up." All the other songs were just sort of okay or not good enough quality leaks to really want to listen to a lot. Now that I've heard the whole thing, I love most of it, like the rest, and only openly hate one song, "Special," which remains, as Julilly put it, "short bus special." LOL
"Burning Up" is such a club song, and I normally don't like songs like that, but maybe it's just cause it's Nick, singing "shake, shake, shake, shake that ass," but I have always LOVED this song. I first heard it on New Year's Day, and it has given me a reason to shake, shake, shake, shake my ass through all the crap 2011 has brought so far. I'm so THRILLED to finally have a high-quality version of it!
"Not the Other Guy" I was addicted to for awhile last fall or whenever it leaked. Also a great song! It's a little generic, but it's got a great driving tempo, and it's catchy as hell. I've spent many a drive to school belting out that song at the top of my lungs.
"So Far Away" is also a little generic and not a "wow!" song for me at all, but it's pleasant enough. It's the kind of song I'll listen to when it comes around on the album, and maybe it'll grow on me as I get more familiar with it.
"Addicted" I liked a lot when I heard the leak, but I heard it the same day as I heard "I'm Taking Off," and ITO is so epic that I just never listened to Addicted as much because of it. I was glad to get this one in HQ, too, and it sounds great on the album! I think it's clever, lyrically, and catchy, musically. It's probably in my top 5 on this album.
"Special" sucks. It sounds like bad 90s r&b, and Nick sounds like whiny 90s Nick, too. I hate it.
"Falling Down," I LOVE!!! I think this is the one that Rose told me Nick had said he wrote about his family. That made me sad as I was listening to it, until I got to the part where he sings, "I can't sleep, I can't dream, 'cause your scent's still here on the pillows in my bed." ??? Really? Which of your crazy family members have been sleeping in your bed, Nick? No matter who it's really about, it's a GREAT song! This was the first song on the album I had never heard before that I was like, "Wow! This is really good!" Go Nick!
"Just One Kiss"... is another generic, yet pleasant song, and it sounds good on the album. But is it just me, or does Nick sound like he has a lisp on this one? I know he doesn't have a lisp, but I noticed it one time in the part at the beginning that goes "If this is our stop, the end of the road..." and I can't let it go. It made the song a lot more entertaining, but also kinda ruined it for me, cause I sat with my little lyric book in my lap and sang along to the whole thing with a giant lisp and cracked myself up. I do that with "This Is Us," too, but not because it actually sounds like that, just because I think it's funny. I love "This Is Us," but I think this song is screwed for me; I'll never be able to take it seriously LOL.
"Great Divide" is... yet another generic, yet sort of pleasant song. I don't dislike it, but I don't really like it either. It's sort of annoying to listen to. I thought maybe that was just the leak being crappy quality, but no... I think it's just the song LOL. It's not bad, just not good either.
"Nothing Left to Lose" is, lyrically, the most honest song on the album, the one that made me go, "Yep... I can definitely see Nick writing that." (Well, ITO too, but for different reasons LOL.) I love the lyrics, and I like the song too, though the decision to play E, E, E, E, E, E... over and over again on the keyboard's oboe setting throughout the song maybe wasn't the best one. Other than that bit of obnoxiousness, it's a good song.
"Falling in Love With Again" is a song that I never really listened to much as a leak, even though I've had it on my computer for awhile, but I LOVE it on the album! It was a nice surprise to listen to it all the way through and go, "You know, this is actually a pretty good song!"
"I'm Taking Off," is, of course, freaking EPIC! I knew it was going to be tough to beat, and it's still for sure the best song on the album. I like that, though; the title track should be the best song, and even if it doesn't have the same meaning as the album title, it's SO Nick. I've been listening to this song on repeat in my car for weeks and working out to it, too. It is, like, TRIPLE rainbow epic.
"Jewel in Our Hearts" I was told sounds like an anime theme song... and even though I've never watched an anime, I can hear it LOL. It does sound like the theme song to a cheesy 80s children's show. I kinda dig it LOL. It's really corny and full of WTF? but it's a cute song, and Nick sounds good singing it, even if it doesn't fit him at all LOL. I like it quite a bit.
So all in all, I LOVE at least half the album and like all the rest... except for Special. But hell, that already makes it better than TIU, and I'm so proud of Nick for co-writing the whole thing. I absolutely loved his note inside; it almost teared me up. He has grown so much and come so far over the past few years, and it really shows in this album, like it does in real life. He should be proud!