>2011 Grammys Update!

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Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, Aretha Franklin, Avett Brothers, Award Show Review, B.o.B., Black Keys, Bruno Mars, Cee-Lo Green, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, Danger Mouse, Dr. Dre, Drake, Eminem, Esperanza Spalding, Florence & The Machine, Florence and The Machine, Florence Welch, Grammys, Herbie Hancock, India.Arie, Jaden Smith, Janelle Monae, Jay-Z, Jeff Beck, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Konono No 1, Lady Antebellum, Lady GaGa, Martina McBride, Mick Jagger, Miranda Lambert, Mumford & Sons, Mumford and Sons, Oumou Sangare, p!nk, pink, Raphael Saadiq, rihanna, Seal, Skylar Grey, Solomon Burke, Swizz Beatz, The Black Keys, The Roots, Usher, Yolanda Adams

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What a night! The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards presented this past Sunday was actually quite entertaining, and even if it was less about handing out awards and more about performances it worked a lot better than telecasts of the past. There were some surprising high points, and some over-hyped low points but overall it was a great night for music. As far as the winners, I actually predicted a good amount of the major winners so let’s go through that now.

Even though I predicted Eminem would win (as did most people, who seem very surprised that he only got 2 wins of 10 nominations) Album of the Year, my “should win” choice Arcade Fire took home Grammy gold. And I couldn’t be more happy because of what I wrote about them possibly winning “It would be nice if the Grammy’s showed they could be ahead of the curve for once, awarding an Indie act would do that. Arcade Fire have continued to be one of the most critically acclaimed act of the Indie scene, which is quickly beginning to surface on the mainstream.”

For Record and Song of the Year I was on point with my guess that Lady Antebellum‘s “Need You Now” would sweep. “It’s really a great, simple, catchy and relatable song. It would deserve any prize it got.”

I accurately predicted both Pop Vocal Performance prizes based off Grammy voters favoritism, with Bruno Mars winning the Male prize “With 6 nominations already, it seems the Grammy voters are falling for Bruno Mars fast, so he’ll probably get this one.” and Lady GaGa winning the Female one “The Grammy voters are obviously in love with Lady GaGa so she’ll probably take it, and why not, her vocals on “Bad Romance” were some of the high points of the song.“. I was also correct with Lady GaGa’s other win for Pop Vocal Album.

One Pop category I was floored that I was incorrect in predicting. I would have bet money that Lady GaGa and Beyonce would have won Pop Collaboration for “Telephone”, but I didn’t trust my first mind when looking at the nominees. I was going to mention the calvalcade of stars that won for Herbie Hancock‘s “Imagine”, he had the help of  Jeff Beck, Pink, Seal, India.Arie as well as Konono No 1, & Oumou Sangare. A remake of a classic Beatles song with previous Grammy winners, what was I thinking not mentioning this, it’s obviously a Grammy winner just on paper.

Though it was an easy call, I got R&B Album correct which went to John Legend and The Roots for “Wake Up!” “However individually John Legend and The Roots have won a few Grammys already, teaming up looks like a winning idea.” Another easy call came from the Rap Album which went to Eminem “Eminem definitely, even though his was the lesser album of them all, with his track record there’s no way he  could lose this one this year.”

Surprisingly I got a few of the Rap categories wrong, but I was so pleased that I was correct in guessing Jay-Z and Alicia Keys‘ “Empire State of Mind” would triumph in Rap/Sung Collaboration, they also won Rap Song which made me very happy because of this comment I made “this future classic instantly captured the hearts of people in every city and became Jay’s biggest hit and first #1 single.” Still I was off with Rap Solo Performance, awarded to Eminem’s “Not Afraid”. Nicki Minaj didn’t get Grammy gold as I predicted for Rap Duo or Group Performance, Jay-Z also grabbed that one for “On To The Next One” (which… I mean I’m happy he won, but Swizz Beatz hype-man status on the song doesn’t seem to qualify for Group performance to me).

Even though Arcade Fire won the Album of the Year prize, that didn’t translate to any wins in their category of Alternative Album which surprisingly went to The Black Keys, the duo also won for Rock Performance Duo or Group. Both of those awards I predicted Arcade Fire would win, but I did say if Kings of Leon didn’t win the latter award it “would leave the race open to the Black Keys, Arcade Fire and Muse… The Black Keys’ song was an underground and commercial favorite“.

I think everybody was shocked at Esperanza Spalding winning for Best New Artist, I was happy to see her name since I’ve been somewhat familiar with her for the past year or so. I was surprised she was even nominated, and I was sure the prize would go to Mumford & Sons. I figured Drake or Justin Bieber were the back up winners but I never though Esperanza, a little-known Jazz artist, would pull the upset. I’m really happy she did though, I like hard-working artists who aren’t in the mainstream picking up top prizes.

Overall, I felt like most of the winners were well-deserved. As I mentioned before Arcade Fire winning the top prize of Album of the Year looks good for the Grammy’s, showing you don’t have to have massive album sales or media attention to win awards. I think the winner I was most happy with was Danger Mouse finally winning Producer of the Year. His output the previous year wasn’t as high a volume as the other nominees, but obviously voters recognize his genius.

I was also really pleased with the telecast. In typical award fashion, it went a little over-long, but overall some really great and diverse performances took place. Going into the show, the most buzzed about performances were that of Mick Jagger taking the Grammy stage for the first time to tribute Solomon Burke , Barbara Streisand‘s (pretty boring) performance of “Evergreen” and ofcourse Lady GaGa’s performance, debuting her new record-breaking single “Born This Way”.

Though she sounded great and showed loads of energy during the performance, her red carpet entrance in an Egg was actually more exciting, creative and unique. Katy Perry did an impressive job doing “Not Like The Movies” and “Teenage Dream”. She’s not known for her voice, but she sounded great during both numbers and even her stage presence took a step up. Rihanna and Drake’s performance of “What’s My Name?” was a little unnecessary (she wasn’t nominated for the song) but she’s showing some improvement in her live performances, and she danced alot which isn’t typically what she’s famous for on stage.

Arcade Fire’s second performance, “Ready to Start”, was much better than their first seizure inducing rendition of “Month of May”. Lady Antebellum, Muse, Avett Brothers and Miranda Lambert were all passable. Justin Bieber’s performance was a little over the top and when Jaden Smith joined him it felt like The Kid’s Choice Awards and not the most respected Music awards show, and Usher should just lipsync any future performance of “OMG” because with the choreography it’s obvious he can’t sing at the same time. And when Eminem, Rihanna, Adam Levine and Dr. Dre all took the stage, it was newcomer Skylar Grey who stole the performance by just singing the hook of Dre’s new hit “I Need a Doctor”.

And ofcourse there was the mess of a Aretha Franklin tribute with chronic over-singers Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson, along with Yolanda Adams, Martina McBride and Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. You kind of knew what to expect here, but I think the biggest problem was the ladies voices were not compatible at all. And Florence Welch and Martina McBride really seemed out of place, not great, but somehow better than the Michael Jackson tribute last year which was just painfully boring.

Here are my Top 5 performances of the evening.

1. Mumford & Sons “The Cave”. They were just the first part of a trio of performances followed by The Avett Brothers and Legend Bob Dylan. However their short time on the stage was easily the most exciting during the whole show. They sounded great, the song was good, their band was in perfect sync with each other. The best thing about it was they, moreso than any other performer, actually seemed really excited to be performing there. You could feel so much love coming from their performance.

2. B.o.B., Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae “Nothin’ On You/Grenade/Cold War”. The newbies of the evening really showed why they deserved to be there. B.o.B. started with a beautifully stripped down version of “Nothin’ on You” with Bruno and Janelle providing wonderful backing harmonies. Bruno Mars was full of confidence with his Doo-Wop version of his recent hit “Grenade”. Though he was pitchy towards the end, overall his performance showed great promise. And with “Cold War” Janelle Monae rocked the house, hopefully that performance will get her the exposure she deserves.

3. Cee-Lo Green “Forget You”. Not exactly sure why Gwyneth Paltrow was chosen as his duet partner here, but his whole performance was just a great show. His over the top feathered outfit, the Muppet band and the Muppet back up singers and their choreographed steps. And even though I’m still perplexed, Gwyneth sounded really good just lacking in stage presence.

4. Mick Jagger “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”. Hard to believe, but this is his first ever Grammy performance, and he chose to use his debut appearance to tribute one of his inspirations Solomon Burke. If you’re a Stones fan you realize they started out all those years ago playing the early Blues and Rock and Roll sounds they loved and he seemed like a little kid on stage just enjoying singing probably one of his all time favorite songs. I didn’t quite understand why he kept pushing Raphael Saadiq around on stage (was he mad he was trying to hog some spotlight, or is this some kind of Blues thing I just don’t get), but it was an impressive performance.

5. Katy Perry “Not Like the Movies/Teenage Dream”. This is a performance that won’t really be remembered, as it wasn’t anything too groundbreaking or new. She just sounded great, she stepped up her game a lot for The Grammys. And the wedding footage is also adorable.

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>2011 Grammy Nominations — Winner Predictions!

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Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, B.o.B., beatles, beyonce, Black Keys, Broken Bells, Bruno Mars, Danger Mouse, Dr. Luke, Drake, Elton John, Eminem, Fantasia, Glee, Grammy Predictions, Grammys, Jay-Z, John Legend, John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Lady Antebellum, Lady GaGa, Leon Russell, Ludacris, Maroon 5, Michael Buble, Michael Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Mumford & Sons, Mumford and Sons, Muse, Neil Young, Nicki Minaj, Norah Jones, Paul McCartney, RedOne, rihanna, The Beatles, The Black Keys, The Roots, The Smeezingtons, Train

>This Sunday night, The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place. And who’s going to emerge the big winner is anybody’s guess. In fact, the nominees are spread so evenly there might not be any clear winner  — Although I’m looking at Eminem and Lady Antebellum to come out on top.

What we do know right now is who’s performing, and with Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand & Bob Dylan taking the stage, it looks like the history of Popular Music might be a focal point. Still there are those current acts to look forward to, Lady GaGa who is set to perform her newest single live for the first time. Rihanna and Drake are set to perform together, as well as Eminem and Dr. Dre and of course Justin Bieber will be there for the little girls watching.  And get your ears ready for the Over-Sing-Fest of Jennifer Hudson and Christina Aguilera doing an Aretha Franklin tribute. We can probably expect minimal mentions of the late Teena Marie, and a bunch of overrated artists performing their overrated songs.

As I do every year, I’m gonna take a stab at predicting these quite odd Grammy’s. (I’m late!)

Record of the Year.
B.o.B. & Bruno Mars, Nothin’ on You
Eminem & Rihanna, Love the Way You Lie
Cee-Lo Green, F**k You
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, Empire State of Mind
Lady Antebellum, Need You Now

Looks like the domestic abuse anthem is the favorite, so that’s one for Eminem. He will probably pick up alot of awards Grammy night, and this song was really popular. However in a race dominated by Hip Hop acts, Lady Antebellum also has a really great shot at picking this one up, and their song was also a pretty big hit for a Country group. It’s a toss up, but I think Lady Antebellum might just come out on top here.

Will Win: Lady Antebellum.
Should Win: Jay-Z. Empire State of Mind instantly captured the hearts of people in every city and became Jay’s biggest hit and first #1 single. He won’t have many chances to win for this song, but this future classic deserves to get a Top 4 Honor.

Album of the Year.
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
Eminem, Recovery
Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
Lady GaGa, The Fame Monster
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

A slightly better race than last year, save for the GaGa EP being nominated. The ones I think should be taken off the list are probably the ones that have the biggest shot. Lady GaGa and Eminem. Still, Arcade Fire and Lady Antebellum have an equally good chance. The only drawback with Arcade Fire is that Indie acts hardly ever win this award. Country acts rarely do either, but Taylor Swift pulled the surprise win last year. It’s really between Eminem and Lady Antebellum, and Eminem is the one who’s been in the industry the longest so he might get the “legend” win here.

Will Win: Eminem
Should Win: Arcade Fire. It would be nice if the Grammy’s showed they could be ahead of the curve for once, awarding an Indie act would do that. Arcade Fire have continued to be one of the most critically acclaimed act of the Indie scene, which is quickly beginning to surface on the mainstream.

Song of the Year.
Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs, Beg Steal or Borrow
Cee-Lo Green, F**k You
Miranda Lambert, The House That Built Me
Eminem & Rihanna, Love the Way You Lie
Lady Antebellum, Need You Now

This is a race between the country songs, with both Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum coming out in front. Both of their nominated songs are lyrically deserving of the title, however Lady Antebellum probably has the edge because the message in “Need You Now” is more universal, and the song is also a little more Pop-leaning. If the two country acts cancel each other out, Eminem might get yet another win.

Will Win: Lady Antebellum.
Should: Lady Antebellum. It’s really a great, simple, catchy and relateable song. It would deserve any prize it got.

New Artist.
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence and the Machine
Mumford and Sons
Esperanza Spalding

Drake might seem like the favorite here, but this race will probably result in a big surprise. And I feel like Mumford & Sons will take the trophy. It was a surprise this 4 piece band was even nominated, but along with a critically hailed album and the buzz from their live shows, they might just take the crown. Drake and Bieber are fall backs if not enough voters know who Mumford & Sons are. Still I feel they might pull the upset here.

Will Win: Mumford & Sons.
Should Win: Drake.

Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Sara Bareilles, King of Anything
Beyonce, Halo (live)
Norah Jones, Chasing Pirates
Lady GaGa, Bad Romance
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

The Grammy voters are obviously in love with Lady GaGa so she’ll probably take it, and why not, her vocals on “Bad Romance” were some of the high points of the song. This could be an interesting race though because Norah Jones is another Grammy favorite, and Katy Perry has a good chance of being the winning underdog.GaGa and her song were staples of last year though so she should probably get it.

Will Win: Lady GaGa.
Should Win: Lady GaGa.


Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Michael Buble, Haven’t Met You Yet
Michael Jackson, This Is It
Adam Lambert, Whataya Want From Me
Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are
John Mayer, Half of My Heart

With 6 nominations already, it seems the Grammy voters are falling for Bruno Mars fast, so he’ll probably get this one. Even though Adam Lambert is the one that truly deserves it. Michael Jackson might get the sympathy votes however, but who knew “This is It” was even a song. John Mayer has also been a Grammy favorite in the past, but that was before the serial-celeb dating and questionable public comments. Michael Buble had a hit with “Haven’t Met You Yet”, and since he’s up against Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow in the other category he’s nominated for, he might get this one. This is actually a hard race to predict.

Will: Bruno Mars.
Should: Adam Lambert.

Group Pop Vocal Performance.
Glee Cast, Don’t Stop Believin’
Maroon 5, Misery
Paramore, The Only Exception
Sade, Babyfather
Train, Hey, Soul Sister (live)

Will the love for the TV show “Glee” translate over to the Grammy’s? It looks like highly possible. The biggest competition comes from Train with their huge hit single “Hey, Soul Sister”, and maybe since it’s actual music insiders voting they’ll go with the well respected band as opposed to the manufactured television show cast.

Will: Glee Cast.
Should: Maroon 5.

Pop Vocal Collaboration.
B.o.B., Hayley Williams & Eminem, Airplanes Part II
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare, Imagine
Elton John & Leon Russell, If It Wasn’t for Bad
Lady GaGa & Beyonce, Telephone
Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg, California Gurls

Seems like GaGa and Beyonce are the favorites in this race, there is a question mark though. You have Elton John there with Leon Russell, and since Katy might not grab too many of the awards she’s up for she might take this one. Also the Eminem connection might help B.o.B. Still, Lady GaGa and Beyonce are obvious Grammy favorites so I think this win is a bit of a sure thing.

Will: Lady GaGa & Beyonce.
Should: Lady GaGa & Beyonce.

Pop Vocal Album.
Justin Bieber, My World 2.0
Susan Boyle, I Dreamed a Dream
Lady GaGa, The Fame Monster
John Mayer, Battle Studies
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

Even though it’s only 8 tracks it’s up for Lady GaGa is up frikkin ALBUM OF THE YEAR!! It’s gotta win this one if they thought highly enough to nominate it for the top prize. Slight competition may come from John Mayer and Katy Perry, but Lady GaGa is on fire and I don’t think either of them have enough power to take her down here.

Will Win.: Lady GaGa.
Should Win: Katy Perry.

Solo Rock Performance.
Eric Clapton, Run Back to Your Side
John Mayer, Crossroads
Paul McCartney, Helter Skelter
Robert Plant, Silver Rider
Neil Young, Angry World

This is the battle of the old fogeys versus John Mayer. All the four guys are legends, so Mayer can basically kiss his chances goodbye. The two favorites being Neil Young and Paul McCartney. With Beatle mania happening again this year, and this performance coming from the nationally televised concert special, McCartney has a good chance of taking it. Still Neil Young is the only nominee here (besides Mayer) nominated for his entire album this year. If he doesn’t win this one, he’ll take Rock Album. Which will than leave it open for Paul.

Will: Paul McCartney.
Should: Paul McCartney.

Group Rock Performance.
Arcade Fire, Ready To Start
Jeff Beck & Joss Stone, I Put a Spell on You
The Black Keys, Tighten Up
Kings of Leon, Radioactive
Muse, Resistance

Kings of Leon had the best vocal of the nominated song, and they should win. Doing so great last year might hurt them this year. Which would leave the race open to the Black Keys, Arcade Fire and Muse. Muse had the biggest hit single with their nominated single, The Black Keys’ song was an underground and commercial favorite, and Arcade Fire seems to be the Grammy favorite of the three. I think Muse’s hit-factor might give them this win.

Will Win: Muse.
Should Win: Kings of Leon.

Alternative Album.
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
Band of Horses, Infinite Arms
The Black Keys, Brothers
Broken Bells, Broken Bells
Vampire Weekend, Contra

This one obviously goes to Arcade Fire, who have won this award with every previous album. Now that they are also up for the big Album prize, it’s a no-brainer they will take this one again.

Will Win: Arcade Fire.
Should Win: Broken Bells.

R&B Album.
Raheem DeVaughn, The Love & War Masterpiece
Fantasia, Back to Me
Jaheim, Another Round
John Legend & The Roots, Wake Up!
Monica, Still Standing

Another very easy race, John Legend & The Roots pulled together an organic and instantly classic album by paying homage to the songs and album of R&B’s greatest era. Slight competition comes from the sympathy vote which might go to Fantasia. However individually John Legend and The Roots have won a few Grammys already, teaming up looks like a winning idea.

Will Win: John Legend & The Roots.
Should Win: John Legend & The Roots.

Solo Rap Performance.
Drake, Over
Eminem, Not Afraid
Ludacris, How Low
T.I., I’m Back
Kanye West, Power

Eminem may just sweep all the Rap categories, but I don’t think after such a critically acclaimed album on their brain that the Grammy voters will skip a chance to give Kanye an award this year. Drake also has a chance here, but I think it’s definitely between Em and Kanye. And since Eminem has so many chances to win this year, Kanye will probably get it.

Will Win: Kanye West.
Should Win: Kanye West.

Duo or Group Rap Performance.
Big Boi, Bosko, Cutty & Mouche, Shutterbug
Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz, Fancy
Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz, On To the Next One
Ludacris & Nicki Minaj, My Chick Bad
Young Jeezy & Plies, Lose My Mind

Ludacris has the best shot because voters are going to want to give Nicki Minaj her first Grammy this year, this is the only category she’s up for tonight and the competition here isn’t that difficult to beat.

Will Win: Ludcaris & Nicki Minaj.
Should Win: Ludacris & Nicki Minaj.

Rap/Sung Collaboration.
B.o.B. & Bruno Mars, Nothin’ On You
Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall, Deuces
Eminem & Rihanna, Love the Way You Lie
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, Empire State of Mind
John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common, Wake Up Everybody

Empire State of Mind and Love the Way You Lie look like the favorites here, both big hit singles from very popular Hip Hop acts. Don’t count out the John Legend & Roots collaboration here who might just pull the upset. These Rap categories are hard to call, because with so many top names nominated who knows if the voters will go Eminem for everything or if they want to diversify their picks.

Will Win: Jay-Z & Alicia Keys. Ultimately I think this may be the one award they give Jay.
Should Win: Jay-Z & Alicia Keys. It deserves every award it’s nominated for.

Rap Album.
B.o.B., The Adventures of Bobby Ray
Drake, Thank Me Later
Eminem, Recovery
Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3
The Roots, How I Got Over

Eminem definitely, even though his was the lesser album of them all, with his track record there’s no way he  could lose this one this year.

Will Win: Eminem.
Should Win: Jay-Z. His best album in years, which helped him get the biggest hit singles of his career. It’s just sad to think he might walk home empty handed.

Producer of the Year.
Rob Cavallo
Danger Mouse
Dr. Luke
RedOne
The Smeezingtons

RedOne or Dr. Luke might sadly take this award simply for their volume of work this year, and it won’t be about quality at all. (And why haven’t Stargate been nominated here?). Danger Mouse deserves it, but his albums weren’t as high-profile as those of the aforementioned producers. The Smeezingtons, relatively new, produced some of the top nominated songs this year, so they are the underdogs, and I’d much rather see them win. But it’s gonna be either Dr. Luke or RedOne, with the latter being the favorite for their GaGa connection.

Will Win: RedOne.
Should Win: Danger Mouse.

Okay there you have it, I’m so sorry I’m so late. I think as I’m about to post this nominees are being announced. Forgive any sloppiness and the lack of visuals, I was racing to finish this.

Enjoy!

>Discography Review: Prince (1978-1982)

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1999, 1999 Review, Album Review, controversy, Controversy Review, Dirty Mind, Dirty Mind Review, Discography Review, For You, For You Review, prince, Prince 1999, Prince 1999 Review, Prince Album Review, Prince Controversy, Prince Controversy Review, Prince Dirty Mind, Prince Dirty Mind Review, Prince Discography Review, Prince For You, Prince For You Review, Prince Review

>I want to introduce something that I’ve been meaning to start since I began this blog. I listen to a lot of older music to get perspective on the music industry and music itself, and I thought it would be fun to do a Discography Review of different artists that I’m into, or learning more about. To start, I want to talk about an artist I’m well-versed in, Prince. I come from a family of Prince fans, and I was born in the 80’s so he was an ever present artist throughout my whole life. Thus the reasoning for him topping my All Time Favorite Artists list. When I was in my early 20’s I sort of re-discovered the genius and timeless-ness of his music, especially in his early work which is what this post is mainly about. His first 5  years in the industry and what he managed to do in the span of just 5 albums.

Prince’s debut album “For You” from 1978 has always been regarded as the lesser early Prince album, so I really never heard it, until this weekend. Thanks Youtube! The album shows quick glimpses of the magnitude of music knowledge he possesses, but really only scratched the surface. Largely coming off as a radio accessible Disco/Funk/R&B album, it works as just that. He sings about love throughout, over both uptempo numbers and slower styled ballads, however it’s still not the typical album of that era. The extended Funk of “Just as Long as We’re Together”, and the sexy Disco/R&B hit “Soft and Wet” show there is definitely enough on the album to keep you entertained and dancing. Even the more laid back R&B and acoustic bits like “Crazy You” and “Baby” are nice calming moments in between the uptempo. He closes out with a bit more of a Rock edge on “I’m Yours” to show some of the versatility that would emerge later in his career. And like all of his following albums, he wrote produced and arranged everything on here, giving a hint of the musical genius he has. Not a great album, or anywhere near his best, the album is a fun time capsule of the popular styling of black music at the time. And a modest beginning to an amazing career.

Rating: 3 Stars
Best: In Love, Soft and Wet, Just as Long as We’re Together

“Prince“, released in 1979, follows the same general pattern as the debut, just slightly amped up.Still singing largely about love, and still a commercially acceptable album, he does experiment with his musical arrangements and his vocals to make this effort a little stronger than the previous. This album is heavy on the R&B/Disco/Funk sound but takes more risks here and there as opposed to his debut, like the extended synth play on the hit single “I Wanna Be Your Lover” or the seamless mix of R&B and Rock on “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”. Lyrically he gets more flirtatious as well with “Sexy Dancer” his extended Disco ode to strippers. Even this albums ballads are a step up from the previous, with “Still Waiting” and “It’s Gonna Be Lonely” being really beautiful and well-written. This still isn’t the Prince that the world has come to love, but it’s definitely an improvement.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Best: I Wanna Be Your Lover, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, Sexy Dancer

In 1980, Prince switched up his whole style and that’s both music and image wise. No longer the perfectly coiffed hippie child, he transformed his style into a grungy sex-thing. And the music on the accompanying album “Dirty Mind” is the perfect match. From his gritty vocals, to the distorted and sometimes washed-out sounding production, this third album is definitely meant to feel more Underground and rebellious than his previous two albums. The entire vibe of the album makes the listener feel like they are having a night hanging out with the Underground Minneapolis Music scene. A group of people with no racial or sexual boundaries who’s only goal is “being free” as he sings on the Funk cut “Uptown”. The most groundbreaking thing about the album is that Prince totally blurs the genre line here, incorporating not only R&B and Funk but also relying heavily on Rock and Punk influences. The sounds are all mixed into one on nearly all the tracks starting with the title track. Freedom and no judgment is a big theme here, but also different sexual perversions get most of the attention. He talks about both incest and prostitution on the salacious Punk number “Sister”, and orally pleasing a soon to be married woman on the Funky “Head”. His lyrics on this album get even more clever as he talks about the woman who “let all my friends come over and eat” on the Classic “When You Were Mine”, talking about a cheating and not very discreet girlfriend (“you didn’t have the decency to change the sheets”). “Dirty Mind” is easily the most cohesive album by Prince thus far and the riskiest as well. The risk paid off though because it showed the music world his versatility in production and his playfulness in songwriting and vocals. Easily one of his all-time best.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Best: Dirty Mind, When You Were Mine, Uptown

Following with the theme of a world of freedom and no judgment talked about in “Dirty Mind”, Prince gets a little more political on 1981’s “Controversy“. He makes a call for a “new breed” to erase stereotypes and racial and sexual boundaries on the stellar club cut “Sexuality” and when he’s not asking this “new breed” to “stand up, organize”, he’s addressing the than powers that be in the quick Punk-ish song “Ronnie Talk to Russia” and talking specifically about social concerns on the haunting “Annie Christian”. Still Prince knows how to have fun, and that’s evidenced in the Pop-y “Private Joy” and his sexual libido is still present on the cleverly flirty “Jack U Off” and the slow burner “Do Me Baby” which is the first in a long line of Bedroom anthems. The sound is a little more polished on this outing, but still mixes all types of genres and shows his early work playing with his drum machine that would come to define his sound later in his career.

Rating: 4 Stars
Best: Controversy, Private Joy, Jack U Off

Prince had shown us his versatility on his previous albums, but the musical genius and forward-thinker he was is on full display on his 1982 double album “1999“, which was his first universally acclaimed opus and the catalyst to his mainstream crossover. And this all came from him being at his riskiest and most experimental time, probably the riskiest of his entire career. This album is a true culmination of all the great things that were displayed on his first 4 albums, but elevated even higher. His great songwriting, his production skills, his vocal play, all of these things are at their best here. Even the vibe and concept of the album is strongly felt, it is set in a world that’s nearing it’s end, and the tone of the music, lyrics and vocal delivery is very frantic like he’s attempting to get out so many thoughts and emotions in the fastest time available. The album deals with a variety of topics, from liberation on “1999” “D.M.S.R.” and the lush “Free”, to heartbreak on “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” and the classic hit single “Little Red Corvette”.
These are all laid over very futuristic New Wave inspired beats courtesy of the aforementioned drum machine that he utilizes throughout the album. Though that’s not to say that he ditches his traditional instruments, as there are plenty of great guitar solos and musicianship displayed aside from the electronics. Lyrically and Vocally Prince pushes himself further than ever before, the devastation of seeing “pictures of the jockeys that were there before me” on “Little Red Corvette” is felt as well as the agony on “Something in the Water” that results in him screeching out of emotion near the end. Some might argue that the album is a little over long, but in my opinion that is not the case as nothing on the album would really constitute as filler. And the thing that makes this his first true Classic Album is that 29 years later, each and every song could be played alongside any current hit and still sound futuristic and groundbreaking. This album has truly stood the test of time and is my personal favorite of his.

Rating: 5 Stars
Best: Little Red Corvette, Something in the Water (Does Not Compute), Lady Cab Driver

>2011 Grammy Nominations — Reaction!

Tags

Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, B.o.B., beyonce, Big Boi, Black Keys, Broken Bells, Bruno Mars, Cee-Lo Green, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, Drake, Eminem, Erykah Badu, Fantasia, Gorillaz, Grammys, Hayley Williams, Janelle Monae, Jay-Z, Jeezy, John Legend, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kelis, Kelly Rowland, Lady Antebellum, Lady GaGa, LCD Soundsystem, Ludacris, Maroon 5, Monica, Neon Trees, Nicki Minaj, Paramore, Ray Lamontagne, rihanna, Robyn, Sade, The Black Keys, The Roots, Toni Braxton, Train, Trey Songz, Vampire Weekend, Young Jeezy

>Now, you may not know that I posted my Grammy PredictionBlog literally 45 minutes before the nominations were announced. I was on Twitter and Grammy.com’s Live blog getting the announcements of who was nominated and who was snubbed. The reaction I had when the full list of nominations was finally available on the Grammy website was WTF!? Literally.

I’m not mad, not even all that surprised, just a little confused. Like last year, when GaGa, Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift were up for Album of the Year it  just felt like the Grammy voters were choosing the most popular and best selling artists. This year with the Big 4 including a diverse group of artists like Cee-Lo Green, Ray Lamontagne, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars it’s not clear what the Grammy voters were thinking. I’ll pick the nominees apart in another post, but let’s first talk about how I was pretty spot on predicting which artists would be nominated, just not too spot on with the actual categories they’d be nominated for.

Of course Eminem was the King of nominations scoring 11. He got the Album, Single and Record of the Year nods I predicted and 6 of his nominations are in the Hip Hop category (competing against himself in two of those categories) which I also predicted. The remaining two nods are for Short Form Music Video for “Love the Way You Lie” (really???) and for his feature work in “Airplanes Part II” by B.o.B. Unfortunately he is really the only Hip Hop artist to dominate the Big 4 categories this year, so that goes against my earlier prediction that Drake, Jay-Z and the aforementioned B.o.B. would be big contenders. Jay-Z only nabbed a Record of the Year nomination for his “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys, same story for B.o.B. who finds himself in the same category with “Nothing On You” with Bruno Mars. And Drake’s only Big 4 nomination comes in the form of Best New Artist, in fact, despite having one of the best albums of the year Drake is only up for 4 total awards.

Lady GaGa ended up being a nominations leader again this year, and given the artists that were snubbed for Album of the Year (Jay-Z, Drake, Robyn, Sade, Rihanna, Janelle Monáe) it’s really upsetting that her 8 track EP “The Fame Monster” is actually up for that category. That undeserved nomination brings this years total to 6 nominations, though she missed out on Song and Record of the Year “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and oddly enough “Dance in the Dark” are up for multiple nominations. Katy Perry also ended up doing better than I thought, as she did grab a nomination for Album of the Year even when I said it probably wouldn’t happen. Her “Teenage Dream” album helped to score her 4 nominations, not in the Song of the Year or Record of the Year category, but I was correct about the title track nabbing Pop Vocal Performance and “California Gurls” up for Pop Collaboration.

Country group Lady Antebellum also did well for themselves as I predicted.  They pulled 6 total nominations, 3 coming from the Big 4 categories Album of the Year, Record and Song of the Year for “Need You Now”, all of which I accurately predicted. Of the most nominated acts this year, the only one who surprised me was Bruno Mars who is also competing in 6 categories. His debut album “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” missed the cut-off for this year, but his singles feature work and writing made him a leading competitor. Another big surprise, the song he wrote for Cee-Lo Green “F**k You” (or “Forget You” the censored, radio friendly version) is up for both Song and Record of the Year.

And since I’m giving my honest reactions, maybe that song didn’t deserve it’s nods. It’s a fun song, but it didn’t make too many waves on the charts so I’m really surprised it’s up for such high honors.

Arcade Fire did score a nod for Album of the Year as I predicted for “The Suburbs”, but weren’t nominee leaders this year with only two other nominations. Another big surprise is the virtual snubbing of Sade, who only scored two nominations Pop Vocal, Group (“Babyfather”) and R&B Vocal, Group (“Soldier of Love”). Maybe it’s because their album was released so early in the year, voters forgot about them, but it was really a shock to see them only in two categories (however, looking back, they’ve never been nominee leaders, generally only getting one nomination per album).

Most of the other acts I mentioned as shoe-in’s in my Nominee Prediction post were named. Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, Ludacris, Gorillaz, Young Jeezy, Nicki Minaj, Train and Janelle Monae are all up for at least one award.

And even some picks from my “For Your Consideration” portion are up. Very pleased by the nominations for Broken Bells, Robyn, Maroon 5, Big Boi, and Adam Lambert. And I was very pleased to see John Legend and The Roots‘ collaboration album “Wake Up” nominated in 5 categories, but the homage to the old school of R&B isn’t really a surprising choice.

Which leads to what I think are the biggest snubs. Actually, most of the artists I wanted to be nominated got at least one. However I feel a lot of them were shortchanged in categories they were more deserving of. For instance, Jay-Z and Drake should have definitely been up for Album of the Year. Katy Perry, who maybe got more than she deserves as far as nominations, should have gotten more love for her excellent pop Single “Teenage Dream”. And even though I personally like “Nothin on You” more than “Airplanes” by B.O.B., I feel like the latter is way more Grammy friendly and a great convergence of Hip Hop meets Rock with Hayley Williams on board.

Rihanna scored 4 nominations, 3 coming from Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” (the other for Dance Single “Only Girl (In the World)”) but to see zero nominations for her superior “Rated R” album, and none for her deliciously pop single “Rude Boy” is surprising. Another great Pop single that was snubbed was Neon Trees‘ “Animal”, which should have at least been up for Pop Vocal, Group if not more.

I also feel that Christina Aguilera should have been up for something, if only Pop Vocal, Female for her second single “You Lost Me” over Beyoncé‘s live rendition of “Halo” (which she won Pop Vocal, Female for last year).

Two terrible omissions came in the R&B category where Fantasia and Monica‘s subpar albums are nominated instead of Erykah Badu‘s “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)” and Toni Braxton‘s “Pulse”. And while Janelle Monáe scored two nominations, she was probably the biggest snub in the New Artist category (Justin Bieber got nominated over her).  I’m also really surprised that Trey Songz is not up for anything this year, and especially not for his addictive single with Nicki Minaj (who also I was surprised only scored one nomination after more than a dozen collaborations the past year) “Bottoms Up”.

And finally in the Dance categories, which is relegated to two categories (Dance Recording and Electronic/Dance Album) and only 10 spots, Kelly Rowland should have definitely knocked one of them out for Dance Recording with probably the best true Dance single of 2010 “Commander”, while Kelis switched up her whole style on the stellar Dance album “Flesh Tone”. Also it was very strange to not see one of the most critically acclaimed Electronic albums LCD Soundsystem‘s “This is Happening” not up for anything.

So those are my very overdue reactions, and sometime next week (before my Birthday on Thursday) I’ll post my Predictions for Winners as the Grammy’s are just 9 days away.

>OverDue Revue! M83 "Saturdays = Youth"

Tags

Album Review, m83, M83 Review, M83 Saturdays=Youth, M83 Saturdays=Youth Review, OverDue Revue, Saturdays=Youth Review, saturdaysyouth

>Here’s something new, there are loads of albums that I end up downloading that are years old so I have felt posting a review would be pointless. But hey, why not give my readers an overview of everything I listen to and not just the new stuff. So I’m gonna start my “Overdue Revue” section and start it off with M83.

M83 is a French Electronic group headed by Anthony Gonzalez, and “Saturdays = Youth” is their 5th album released in 2008. I’m not exactly sure how I was turned on to this album (I think maybe just scrolling through iTunes), but I’m really glad I found it. The album overall is one of the best tributes to 80’s Pop and New Wave sounds, the group M83 are known as a “shoegazing” or “nu-gaze” group, and this style of distorted vocals and reverb effects is best evidenced on M83’s first four albums which are largely instrumentals. They are great background music, but the light and moody sounds all kind of blended into each other. On “Saturdays = Youth” there is a bigger focus on the vocals and making “single” ready songs, which works much better as an album. While songs like “You, Appearing” “Coleurs” and “Highway of Endless Dreams” are reminiscent of the tracks on their previous albums, songs like “Skin of the Night” and “We Own The Sky” (two great stand outs) are a more subtle transition into a new style, with vocals added to very ambient electronic sounds — almost sounding like an Electronica version of Enya.

Than there are songs like “Kim and Jessie” “Graveyard Girl” and “Up!” that are undeniably catchy, and rival some of the best New Wave Pop cuts of the 80’s, reminding the listener of acts like Human League, Tears for Fears and a lighter styled Depeche Mode. However the album still retains it’s own uniqueness even in paying homage to that decade. The  songs have a lot more emotion in the production by Ken Thomas than even those 80’s songs, thus succeeding in paying tribute to the vibe of that era while still bringing something new and not sounding like a lazy copy cat of the sound.

The album overall is a great listen, there are the moody songs mixed in with the more uptempo tracks, but it all feels like very complicated yet natural production.

Rating: 4 Stars
Best: “Kim and Jessie” “You, Appearing” “We Own The Sky”