NSA- One Good Laugh At A Time

I gotta change from my usual "Arial Narrow" to "Arial Rounded" 'cause this is a funny lookin' font. I bought NSA on Friday as opposed to the Tuesday everybody else did, but what the hell. Here's a lil' review from the "ex-non fan's" perspective. My opinion is subject to change at anytime, though.

Track #1: "Bye Bye Bye"

I've heard it, you've heard it, hell, we've all heard it. They're back and angrier than ever. Remember at the 1999 VMA's when Chris Rock said right after the Backstreet Boys' performance of "Larger Than Life", "Whew! They got tougher! Look at 'em! They need to change their name to C.W.A. Crackers With Attitudes!" My response as of right now? Wrong group, Mr. Rock. This song was good, though. I mean, any song that is categorized as pop but gets played at a hip-hop club with a reggae beat behind it has to be. Ya heard me?

Track #2: "It's Gonna Be Me"

Yes! My favorite song on the whole freakin' CD! Woo hoo! I am sooo happy they put this song at the beginning. The beboppin', the piano notes, the beats… I'm feelin' it. My favorite part of the song is the chorus, though. You can hear JC really loudly, and I love it. His voice is beautiful. What else can I say about this? It's off the chain, baby! The notes JC hits in this song are PERFECT. **Fanning myself** Whew! It's gettin' hot in here! I can totally see someone singing this in a talent show and winning. Still, I coulda done without Justin's flat, "It's gonna be me's", though.

Track #3: "Space Cowboy"

My next favorite song. Trust me people, it was a close second. The beat of this song screams, "Club! Play me in a club! And then, breakdance!" Oh boy. It's so good that my best friend Isabella and I made up a breakdance/giddy up routine to this. The beat is so strong and fast, you can't help but nod ya head. The melody is off the chain, and the chorus bangs, naa mean? The whole techno feel to it was decent, too. I coulda done without Left Eye's rap (which in my opinion was WACK AS HELL), but I liked it 'cause they made the background beats match what she was sayin'. Plus, I don't know if y'all heard it, but if you listen closely, you can hear the "Pac-Man" melody in the background. LOL Are y'all sure Timbaland had nothin' to do with the production of this song? "Giddy Up Pt. 2" was good… real good.

Track #4: "Just Got Paid"

A remake… New Jack Swing… an era I wish I could friggin' forget. Why? 'Cause it was during that era that non-escapable dances like "The Roger Rabbit" and "The Cabbage Patch" were born. Now, no matter how stupid it looks, people MUST do those dances for a cheap laugh. *sigh* The rap Justin and JC (or Chris, I don't know) did wasn’t as bad as I though it'd be. The song is still dumb to me. One question: That voice in the background that is repeating EVERYTHING they sing… is that Lance? This song is almost tolerable. ALMOST. Justin: "I'm broke…" Then where'd the new Beemer come from? I probably would have enjoyed the "Hey JC, can I borrow five dollars?" better.

Track #5: "It Makes Me Ill"

Ugghh! Yuck! Dear golly (golly… LOL, I'm learning to keep my cursing at a minimum) I hate this song. First off, Justin's voice is starting to annoy me. BUT (and this is a big BUT), I like the little laugh he does after "'Cause I'm glad that I met him"… Cute. Something annoys me about hearin' them say, "I hate on him" and "Don't wanna be a hater". I also liked JC's "Uhn" during the second verse. BUT… (and this is a really big BUT) Justin's "We done done it again… MMMissaayyy…" along with his girlish scream totally killed this song, I mean annihilated it. But this song seems to be sickeningly growing on me, like fungus or something. I'll probably like it next week sadly.

Track #6: "This I Promise You"

Thank you 'NSync for this savior of a song after something as horrible as "It Makes Me Ill". Thank you! For this song, I am FOREVER GRATEFUL. Justin sounds beautiful on this song. I was sick of hearin' it, 'cause they seemingly ALWAYS sang it, but I love it on the CD. The melody is wonderful and proves that their voices are a million times better than the Backstreet Boys'. I don't care what critics say, this song in itself is better than "I Want It That Way". JC sounds vocally superb, as usual. The harmonies are angelic, and I wanna SEE a video for this. This is the type of song I wanna just slow dance off of forever.

Track #7: "No Strings Attached"

I hated this song at first, but I really love it now. I wanna just get up and dance around when I hear it. "Even the good guys get burned…" I love that. I'm actually almost speechless. This song is REALLY good. I'm listening to it now, and I'm impressed. I'm liking it more as I listen. Hmmm… this has never happened before. Anyways, it's a good damn song. **Side note: I wanna see Justin naked… like right now. I'm picturing him half naked and I wanna see the rest of him. I'm such a perv and I don't know why.

Track #8: "Digital Get Down"

Ummm… wow. I like the chorus. LOL Cyber sex and phone sex… I canNOT relate. I never understood the concept of either anyway. To me, actions speak louder than words. But I'm off the subject. I like those periodical whip sounds in the song. They're always after they sing, "Digital digital get down". LMAO I also thought it was cool how they made their voices sound robotic and digitalized. (Is "digitalized" even a word? I dunno.) I now officially wanna molest JC after hearing this song. He's begging me to, you guys. **By the way, who is that in the background chanting, "Baby baby we can do all that we want… we gettin' nasty nasty…" etc. Is that Joey? Figures.

Track #9: "Bringin' Da Noise"

NOOOO!!!! 'NSync, after a song like "Digital Getdown", how dare you give me this corny ass song? This song is to NSA as "I Need Love" was to the first CD. It's just there to be there. Ya know, to prevent the album from being too good. It's kinda reminiscent of "Here We Go". It's tolerable when you're listening to it, yet not listening to it. Like, if you have a report to type and you zone out while this is on, you don't wanna pick up a screwdriver and stab yourself in the neck with it. Final question: WHO THE HELL IS THAT IN THE BACKGROUND HOLLERING OUT ALL THAT GIBBERISH?!? "Yeah! Bring in the noise! Raise the roof! Gimme a woof!" Dumb ass. Betcha it's either JC or Chris.

Track #10: "That's When I'll Stop Loving You"

I love this song. It sounds like something Devante Swing of Jodeci would have written if he was in one of his "lost love" moods. Just listen to the lyrics: "When winter comes in summer, when there's no more forever, when lies become the truth." Damn, that's deep. That's somethin' my poetic self would say in a letter. Justin sounds good… JC sounds beautiful. Can't help it, y'all. Justin has a damn good voice, but JC has a God given talent. The kid sounds like an angel when he sings. I could listen to him sing all day. He's the only one I give permission to sing a Jodeci ballad. Man, who wrote this melody? The guitar riff during the breakdown? Magnifique. Geez, "when this world doesn't turn anymore; when the stars all decide to stop shining", that's when I'll stop loving this song. That was cheesy, I know, but it fits.

Track #11: "I'll Be Good For You"

This melody and tempo reminds me of a song I've heard. I can't put my finger on it, but when I do, I'll let ya know… wait… I think I know what it is. Just give me a quick second to put on another CD… I'm listening to it right now. I knew it! It's a bit reminiscent of 112's "Nevermind", which can be found on their sophomore album, "Room 112". I'm not saying they sound alike, 'cause they don't. I'm just saying that you could sing the lyrics to 112's song to this one. This is an alright song, though. I really gotta listen to this song some more to like it. As this song plays, I can imagine a tropical setting and them singing under a waterfall. LOL Man, I hope they don't do a video for this song. The tropical setting would totally be the video.

Track #12: "I Thought She Knew"

One word, two syllables: Superb. Justin sounded great, as did JC, but the voice I flipped over was Joey's. People try to sleep on Joey's skills, but this kid can sing. And really well. Their harmonies brought us back to the original 'NSync and reminded us that even though they're branching out into newer sounds, it's still LansteN, ChriS, JoeY, JustiN, and J. C. They sound great a capella, and everytime I hear it, I just say, "Backstreet Boys, eat your heart out". Seriously, 'NSync has made so many songs that set them apart from BSB that I still can't believe people say the two groups are identical.

Added Bonus: "If Only Through Heaven's Eyes"

I wish they had put this track on the album. THIS was the song that set them apart from BSB for good. You could only see 'NSync singing this song. It was beautifully written and beautifully sung. If anyone sang this other than 'Nsync, then it would be an injustice to the song. Their vocal harmonies were at optimum performance, and you could tell they felt this song. Thanks for doing the song, guys. It will forever give me good memories.

All in all, I just wanna say, "Good job on the sophomore album, 'NSync." It was great overall. Keep up the good work.