new direction

Hmm; I guess the production is a bit weak, but the melodies found on The Starting Line's Virgin Records' label debut DIRECTION are not anywhere near as bad as I made it out to be when shortly after first hearing it the day it came out (maybe it was the day after, I don't think I was able to get a ride THE VERY DAY it came out...).

It's actually a very good CD. As for repeated listening capability, it's better than Cartel's 2005 Militia Records album CHROMA, although for pure pleasure CHROMA is still top dog...I/you/we(?) just have to keep from overdoing it...but when there's so few CDs that are THAT GOOD, it's hard...

The CD actually gets better as it goes on, which is almost a comical statement, 'cause I heard SILYMI (2002) for the first time and LOVED it; I didn't get an opportunity to hear it again until years later (I was listening to it for free @ Hot Topic) and when I heard it again (on Rhapsody) I couldn't help but feel all the songs kinda ran together and it got insanely boring. See, that's what it FEELS like WHEN YOU ARE NOT REALLY listening to it. You can't listen to a punk-pop record as background music and expect it to have the effect of a Pink Floyd record. But then again, PF is atsmophere music, punk-pop is emotion music; so you won't get Pink Floyd chills (or whatever...) regardless of what you do, unless you just stay away from punk-pop...

of course, like all these punk-pop CDS of the last 5 years (with the exception of recent releases), it's super-cheap, even cheaper than it was when it first came out, with BestBuy selling it for $9.99 and my local Hastings Entertainment (and most likely other Hastings locations as well...they really are a chain, just not a big monster chain like WalMart...) for $8.99 (I felt like a total jacka** after finding it for a WHOLE DOLLAR cheaper and getting all excited about BestBuy's price; ESPECIALLY since I DID NOT enjoy it!!!).