1. Red – Taylor Swift When Swift writes a better song, style doesn't matter. When she misses, style doesn't help. This is a very, very busy song for such a small metaphor, and though the bridge lifts it up pretty high, the soaring synths are too manipulative. You wanna beg it to calm itself down. But if it fails as Paramore like big rock and roll song, it isn't the worst thing in the world. The repeat of the first line at the end? Pure Taylor – Grade: B
2. Losing You – Solange – In which Beyonce's kid sister continues her attempt to mix a Brooklyn Indie aesthetic to r&b, with excellent results. Around two years too late – Grade: A-
3. Born To Sing – Van Morrisson – When you are releasing an album a year for 20 years, your listeners will take the unevenness of the product as part of the cost of doing business. When you are releasing an album every four years… not so much – Grade: B
4. Diamonds – Rihanna – On the other hand, when Rihanna misses all you can do is cover your ears and hide under the bed – Grade: C-
5. Live While We're Young – One Direction – Yeah, they ripped off Mick Jones. So what? Everyone from David Bowie to Neon Trees have ripped off "Twist And Shout". The problem is the rest of the song – Grade: B-
6. Flower – Kylie Minogue – Look girl, put on a miniskirt and nail a disco beat – Grade: C-
7. Saratoga – The Soft Pack – Modern rock, you know not like Nickelback, the smart stuff – Grade: B+
8. Sweet Spot – Tift Merrit – She reminds me of Iris DeMent… except for the voice – Grade: B
9. Sweet 16 – Green Day – Very sweet song… wonder how Billie Joe is doing in rehab?
10. Everything's Gonna Be Undone – Band Of Horses – Could this be a big breakthrough album for the band? _Grade: B+