Album Review: "All In Good Time" by Barenaked Ladies

"All In Good Time" is Barenaked Ladies' 11th studio album, released March 30th, 2010. This is the first released without co-founder Steven Page, who parted ways with the band on February 24th, 2009.

In the front cover of "All In Good Time", BNL take on a more serious approach.

This album has a wide range of style and variation. It is much heavier than their past albums, and is also more mainstream. The songs are all much more serious than a lot of their past records, but they still haven't lost their sense of humor in songs such as "Four Seconds".

Here is a song-by-song review:
1. You Run Away (5/5): Great song clearly written about Steve's Pages departure. The emotion in Ed's voice is beautiful, and the song builds up into an outburst.

2. Summertime (5/5): Another great song. It is extremely catchy with a nice groove to it. Great guitar riffs, too.

3. Another Heartbreak (4/5): First of the three songs on the album sung by Kevin. It is very catchy, and is surprisingly on the heavy side for a Kevin song. The bridge is very reminiscent of Semisonic's hit 90's song, "Closing Time".

4. Four Seconds (5/5): This song is overall crazy and unique. This song returns to Ed's famous rap-based vocals, and the overall BNL humor. The lyrics are hilarious, and Ed prevailed to rhyme "Orange" four times.

5. On The Lookout (4/5): The first of two Jim songs on the album. While this song is not one of my favorites, Jim's voice sounds great.

6. Ordinary (5/5): No doubt, one of my favorites on the record. Ed's voice sounds amazing. He has so much drive and power behind the chorus.

7. I Have Learned (5/5): Another one of my favorites. This is just Ed's complete outburst at Steve. It is catchy, but at the same time it is a very angry song, which you can hear in Ed's voice. Very heavy, too.

8. Every Subway Car (5/5): A very rock/alternative-type song. I love Kev's synthesizer pattern in this, and it has a strong chorus and bridge.

9. Jerome (4/5): Kev's second song on the album. It is a great song, but it is a bit out of place between two heavy Ed songs. It is a mellow song with some cool sound effects. It's a shame they don't play this one live more.

10. How Long (5/5): Another awesome angry rocker!  While it is another angry Ed song, it's not directly pointed at Steve. I think it's just about the anger and pressure of everything that happened that year. Simple, yet catchy chorus. Great verses.

11. Golden Boy (5/5): Okay, this one IS pointed directly at Steve. It basically talks about how Steve changed, and how he cried about it. Similar idea as "You Run Away", but in an angrier, more detailed way.

12. I Saw It (5/5): This is Jim's second song on the album, and it is a beautiful song. His voice sounds amazing, and it is an honest song about how he was bullied as a kid.

13. The Love We're In (5/5): A beautiful song sung by Ed. It is about the plane crash Ed was in, and how lucky he is to be here with his wife and family.

14. Watching The Northern Lights (3/5): This one is my least favorite song on the album. It isn't a bad song, but it seems to mellow and slow for my liking. It is a good way to end it, though.

Overall, I give this album a 10/10 rating. It is an amazing album, and Ed's vocals really shine here. Although appearing more serious, BNL still have their humor and this is by far one of their strongest efforts.

"OH SLANG IS SO COOL!" No, I don't think so.

Slang has pretty much been around since the beginning of time. It is just using words and expressions that aren't considered proper language.

Some current slang terms include, "Phat", "Dawg", "Nasty", and "Dope".

There are some slang words I don't mind, but some others just get on my nerves. Ones such as "Peace" (meaning bye), or "Sick" (meaning cool) don't bother me. Other ones, such as "Dope" (meaning cool) or "Mad" (meaning very) just piss me off, to be blunt.

To me personally, slang seems pointless. Why can't people just use proper English instead of making up their own punk-sounding words? It's not like they're easier to say. The slang terms have no less syllables, so what's the point? To try and sound "cool"? Oh whoops, sorry. I said "cool". You don't know what that means. It means "dope". Wait, oh it's the other way around! Not like anyone would even realize that.

It makes you look like a punk. Like someone who doesn't even know proper English. Anyone can speak words that aren't real. The thing is, people say these words all the time like they are real words. I don't even think  they realize they aren't real words.