I’ll be honest, I’m not in the best mood right now and was almost not going to do this post. But hey, I still have over an hour before my class starts and I already promised I would post it… so, this might be a little condensed and not really what I wanted to share, but I’ll try my best.
Basically, my New York journey lasted for about 5 and a half months. I had lots of fun there, lots of frustration, met really amazing people. Even though I had moments of pure irritation, I truly did feel I fit in there as opposed to my Bay Area home. And I also felt like I was growing into the person I’ve always wanted to be.
But enough about all of that, let’s talk about the Music. I’m a music fiend, so the music I listened to and heard while there shaped my NYC Soundtrack. There are certain songs that now whenever I hear them, it always reminds me of a moment in New York.
So here is a chronicle of some of those songs and albums that now have a permanent New York stamp on them.
Jessie J “Wild”
The line “am i asleep, no i’m alive” was one that stuck with me the first day I was in NYC, walking around in Times Square and in disbelief that I actually made it and was there.
Britney Spears “Work Bitch”
I guess this song was a Billboard flop? Who cares, this song is the shit! And I would have never guessed it was a flop because when I finally did start going OUT this was very popular among DJ’s and drunks alike.
Ikona Pop & Charlie XCX “I Love It”
Speaking of going out, I swear it seemed like every time I entered a bar or club (well, the ones that played Pop music) this song was playing. I can’t stand the song, but whenever I hear it I’ll think of that.
Kendrick Lamar “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”
I think once I switched from tourist to job-seeker, this song helped out a lot.
Tamar Braxton ‘”Love & War” – Album
And yeah, my very confusing trips on the Subway were almost always accompanied with HER. This album was released only a few weeks before I left for New York so it was still new, but familiar enough so I could zone the fuck out and mime her amazing vocals and great songs. This album was actually the most played my entire trip to NYC … until of course Beyonce came back around, but we’ll get to that later.
Lorde “Royals”
I think Ikona Pop’s song was fading out at the same time this song was blowing up. I have a slight tolerance for this song NOW, but gawd I hated it when it was getting popular and of course all those bars were playing the hell out of this. Actually the night me and my FullBlast buddy went out to Industry I caught a pretty decent drag queen singing (and I mean actually Singing) this song.
Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake “Holy Grail”
Another song I HATE, but this was popular among the cars rolling past. I really cannot get over Timberlake’s screech fest on this song and still hate it, but it will always remind me of New York now.
Drake “Nothing Was the Same” – Album
Drake’s third album was released maybe a week after I arrived to New York. I wasn’t instantly loving it, but apparently NYC was. “Hold On, We’re Going Home” gave the Urban clubs LIFE nearly every time I went. And I would always hear random songs bleeding out of people’s cars (I guess this album replaced Jay-Z’s that year). One fun memory though, One night (had to be sometime in November) me and my girl -friend were out late hella drunk and we went to Boxer’s HK (one of our favorite spots) and it was empty so I guess the bartender or whoever put on the Drake album and me and my friend were acting mad crazy to “Worst Behaviour”. I should also say towards the end of the trip, I was really connecting with “Connect” (ha! see what I did there)
Eminem & Rihanna “Monster”
I remember getting an email that this song was out, and I just immediately went to iTunes and downloaded. I was suffering a real Rihanna drought and had to have it. I remember the night I did, I was in Brooklyn maybe my first week living there (I moved there late October) and I walked up and down the blocks with this song on repeat.
K Michelle “Rebellious Soul” – Album
Okay, so K. Michelle did an interview on The Skorpion Show. I liked K before hand, but I was struck by her comments on Tamar (or Ta-Muppet)’s album. Of course the girls were at odds at the time so she wasn’t going to say anything glowing about it, but it just made me interested in finally checking out her album. I’m glad I did because it definitely became a favorite.
James Blake – ALL
James Blake was my first and only New York City concert. I was really excited because I obviously love his music, and I was interested in checking out the NYC concert crowds. So I was getting ready by listening to him almost obsessively. I remember my night walks in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn vibing to his tunes. If I was going to pull one song, it would have to be “To The Last”.
Justin Timberlake “You Got It On”
Just dope, love this song.
J. Cole & TLC “Crooked Smile”
Remember when that TLC movie happened, well this (as well as the TLC Playlist I had to make) was because of that. I recall several mornings waiting for that 4, 5 or 6 to my Upper East Side job with this song on repeat.
Lady GaGa & R. Kelly “Do What U Want”
This song was surprisingly popular in NYC. The energy you would feel when it was played was high, like everybody was HERE for GaGa and the just released “ARTPOP” album. Another favorite song that accompanied me on my late night Brooklyn walks.
fun. “Some Nights” – Album
I honestly don’t know what spurred on my need to purchase this album, but I swear to you THIS album was such a big help for me throughout the last few months of being in NYC. By November I was getting extremely frustrated by not having a full time job, by my living situation at the time, by lots of things, and this album seemed to speak to me in several different songs. “All Alright” was my fave, “Some Nights”, “Stars” and a bunch of songs had lines in there that I related to and felt like “well hey, I’m not alone in this feeling”. I think “Why Am I The One” was especially funny because I was moving from Brooklyn to Washington Heights (my third time moving in three months) and “why am I the one, always packing up my stuff” perfectly fit my mood at the time. Bottom line, this album was my NYC album bar none.
So, I have an hour left in class and I won’t have time to finish this. As of now, I’m officially making this Part 1 and Part 2 should be up sometime tomorrow. And I’ll add YouTube clips and more pics and all that as well. The only reason I’m posting this now is because I promised it. It’s already Wednesday in New York and only a few hours left in Tuesday here… but, eh, whatever!
I had this crazy Timberlake kick the last few days, this morning I was hella into this one. It’s a cute song, but I love the slowed down second part where he’s like “I almost forgot, who-oo-ooo you are!”
9. Jhene Aiko featuring Ab-Soul “WTH”
This Jhene girl and her “Sail Out” EP are steadily growing on me. This song is cute and mellow like most of the EP, but mainly what I love is the acronym… “Way Too High”.
8. The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
The other day at work, I had this odd craving to hear this song. I was humming it, than just started singing it out loud and I just ended up having to go to YouTube and play it out! Great song, and hilarious video.
7. Janelle Monae featuring Miguel “Prime Time”
There is no end to how Awesome this song is. So mellow and sexy, with great lyrics and harmonies and all that. There is also no end to how underrated and under-appreciated Miss Monae is, which is a shame, but it doesn’t really matter that the masses sleep on her… us non-idiots know she rocks!
6. James Blake “Overgrown”
I had a variety of Music fixes this week. It started with Jhene Aiko, later in the week it was Timberlake, and for MOST of the week I was in a real James Blake zone. He’s just awesome, and this particular song reminds me of the weeks leading up to me seeing him perform Live in New York City.
5. The Drums “Money”
Speaking of New York City, there are a lot of songs that remind me of my short stay there (blog post will be coming probably next month) and this awesome-ly peppy song is one of them. I really really love this and was seriously addicted to it for a while, and I think I’m about to relapse.
4. James Blake “Our Love Comes Back”
Might have been my favorite James song this week.
3. Miguel “Use Me”
Today, a new Music fix began and his name is Miguel. This dude is also amazing, such a great writer, and this song is just so good that I almost always replay it at least 3 times before moving on to the next track.
This song starts, and it sounds like it’s gonna be this cornball ass pop track. The lyrics make me laugh though because I relate so hard. “If I had it my way, I’d roll out of bed say, 2:30 mid day, Hit the blunt then hit you up to come over to my place. You show up right away, We make love and then we fuck, and then you give me my space.” < YES! All of that!
1. Justin Timberlake “Spaceship Coupe”
I have never liked this song, the scratchy falsetto used to always get on my nerves where I couldn’t listen. But for whatever reason (maybe I’m feeling some kinda way if you know what I mean) I was addicted to it. It’s a little retarded still, but it’s a relaxing kinda of groove that’s actually fun to sing along with.
It’s no secret that my enthusiasm for the Grammys and other award shows has waned over the last few years. Nominees have been either very predictable or very unworthy, and instead of trying to make sense of it all I try to just ignore them. This Friday, the nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy’s were announced and it seems like the academy is trying to turn things around. I have to admit that while scrolling through the list, I caught myself smiling and very proud of the nominees (even some of the snubs). This year seems to be a really great mix of artists with actual talent who deserve the extra Grammy shine, instead of the Academy favoring the biggest selling artists of the year just because they’re popular. Mainly, and selfishly I’m sure, what made me smile the most was that I was seeing some of my favorite music of the year up for big awards, which normally doesn’t happen.
So instead of going through the full list of nominees, let’s start with the ones that genuinely made me smile.
Kendrick Lamar is up for 7 Grammy’s including Album of the Year and New Artist
Daft Punk and Kendrick Lamar for Album of the Year.
“Random Access Memories” was easily one of my favorite albums of the year. I expected Daft Punk’s huge hit single “Get Lucky” to get lots of Grammy love, but didn’t expect the album to be in the Top category. Even though it is truly deserving, Grammy’s tend to relegate Electronic music to their own specific category, so I was pleased to see the album being appreciated among the rest of the great artists.
I was happy to see Kendrick Lamar up for Album of the Year category simply because I think he’s awesome. There hasn’t been a Hip Hop Album from a new, fresh, young artist like Kendrick up for this Top award in a long time, so it was nice to see and he’s definitely the one who deserves to break that pattern.
(Kendrick Lamar photo by Ben Miller, http://www.benmillerphoto.com)
James Blake, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran for New Artist.
Grammy’s never seem to get this category right. James Blake and Ed Sheeran are nowhere near NEW artists as Blake released his second full length album this year, and Sheeran’s “+” album has been available since 2011, and he was nominated for Song of the Year last year. The weird criteria for this category is confusing, but they are both great artists and very deserving of their nominations. And again, I just like Kendrick and he has a great shot at actually winning this prize.
The Snubbing of Justin Timberlake.
It was expected that Justin Timberlake would lead the list of nominees this year, he had the best selling album through most of the year, and is a Grammy darling. He racked up 7 total, which is great, but he didn’t find himself in any of the Top categories. His first album not to be nominated for Album of the Year. While it’s surprising, I personally feel like the snubbing is “Justified” so to speak. “The 20/20 Experience” album was hardly anything groundbreaking, and even though plenty of undeserving Albums have been nominated in this category, I’m glad at least this one didn’t get through. I feel this is the Grammy’s trending away from giving nominations to the popular, top-selling hits and being more critical about the actual material.
“The Next Day“, David Bowie’s first album in 10 years, was great in that it was current but also paid tribute to the amazing career he has had. Many are complaining that the Rock categories are filled up with too many “older” acts, but I feel that both of Bowie’s nominations for Rock Album and Rock Performance are well deserved, even if he’s probably not going to win.
Tame Impala grab their first Grammy nomination for Alternative Album
Tame Impala and Vampire Weekend for Alternative Album
“Lonerism” is an amazing album, but Tame Impala are one of those groups that I think may be TOO underground to get the attention of Grammy voters. Luckily that’s not the case this year as the group get their very first Grammy nomination for Alternative Album. When I saw their name I actually did a double take before I smiled, they probably have little chance of winning but I’m happy to see them being recognized for a great piece of work.
I was also happy to see Vampire Weekend in this category, specifically because I felt “Modern Vampires of the City” should have been up for Album of the Year and I thought they might have been ignored altogether. This one nomination is fine, and knowing they have a good chance of winning it is ever better, but I feel they got snubbed in some of the bigger categories. If not Album of the Year, than “Diane Young”, one of the most fun and clever songs of the year, should have gotten Record of Song of the year.
Tamar Braxton, one of my favorite albums of 2013 earned 3 Grammy nominations
Tamar Braxton‘s Triple nominations.
It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a #Tamartian, and I’ve been loving Tamar’s “Love and War” album since it came out. I was hoping she would be a sure thing for Contemporary R&B Album, but you can never be too sure. When I saw that she grabbed three nominations in the R&B categories I was ecstatic. Braxton is up for R&B Performance and R&B Song for “Love and War” and Contemporary R&B Album (which I personally think she should win, but who knows how that will play out).
Fantasia, Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliott for R&B Song
“Without Me“, the track from Fantasia’s nominated album “Side Effects of You“, was such a banger when I first heard it, I thought it was destined to be a massive urban hit. Months later with a peak of only #26 on the R&B chart I feared the song was totally ignored, so I was glad to see this collaboration with Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott up for an award.
(Side Note: How did “Pusher Lover Girl” by Justin Timberlake get into this race?)
Kanye West‘s “Yeezus” for Rap Album
Scrolling through the nominee list I was surprised when I didn’t see Kanye West listed much, so I was happy to see him get at least Rap Album (he’s also up for Rap Performance for “New Slaves”). He’s been nominated and won in this category for every single album he’s put out. He might not win, but it’s nice to see his most daring and risky album wasn’t ignored or under-appreciated because of his other antics.
Pharrell, a front runner for Producer of the Year
Pharrell Williams for Producer of the Year.
This nomination was a bit of a no-brainer, Pharrell was responsible for two of the biggest hits this year and regained a lot of relevancy as an in-demand producer. We just have to think back to the early 2000’s when The Neptunes were making hit after hit and were continually ignored by the Grammys. Those past snubs worried me about his chances this year, but sure enough he was there and set to win this trophy.
Capital Cities “Safe and Sound” for best Music Video.
I just recently saw the “Safe and Sound” video a few weeks ago at a bar, and it sort of blew my mind. The video is a time traveling, upbeat, fun, visually engaging video with lots of dancing that makes you laugh and makes your jaw drop. I’m very happy to see it in it’s deserved place as one of the best videos of the year.
Overall, I don’t have that many complaints which is a refreshing feeling around Grammy time. I would have loved to see Alt-J, Solange, Beach House or K Michelle among others nominated, but I wasn’t really expecting it. I was surprised that Janelle Monae and Phoenix didn’t get any nominations at all. I also thought very highly of The Strokes‘ latest album, but it, like all of their previous work, was ignored.
In the end, this years’ nominees have somewhat restored my faith in the Grammy system, and I may even do a Prediction blog post as the awards come closer. I’m most happy that my musical favorites are being recognized this year, so maybe I DO know what I’m talking about.
Most of my readers know from my glowing reviews of his output that I love Electronic/Soul Star James Blake. And when I found out he was on tour (and the ticket prices were affordable) I couldn’t wait to get a taste of what he could deliver live. I caught the second of two New York shows and I have to say, while he seemed very nonchalant and humble during his performance he still managed to Own it and rock the crowd the entire night.
Blake is clearly not trying to be a dynamic performer or even a charismatic celebrity, he just comes on stage to play the music that he loves. He walked out on stage like he was just walking to his local grocery store, and there was very minimal interaction with the crowd or any sort of stage presence. However the point was to stand up and enjoy his music live. I was a little curious how his very electronic based music would translate on stage, and I was actually surprised to see he had a drummer and guitarist accompanying him, but it all made for a very satisfying music experience.
The media-proclaimed “Prince of Dubstep” opened the show with “I Never Learnt To Share” where he displayed some Live vocal layering techniques. The rest of the show he mainly performed the tracks from his debut album and his recent “Overgrown” album (which has grown on me substantially), with a few of his more obscure songs from his independently released EP’s. His material is mostly lower tempo, but with amazing musical details that came through very vividly in the small setting of Terminal 5. The set was overall groovy, and the crowd swayed and waved with the beat. At one point, while he was performing “Voyeur” he really turned it up, with an extended keyboard groove section he managed to make the song almost a club synth stomper. That was the stand out performance for me just because he made something new out of a song I already loved (and my damn iPhone wouldn’t allow me to record that portion of the show which irked my nerves).
The entire show was definitely satisfactory, and I lost it on some of my favorite songs like “To the Last”, “Digital Lion” (his drummer was amazing during his solo on this song), “Limit to Your Love”, “The Wilhelm Scream” and “Life Round Here”. Honestly there wasn’t a boring moment in the show, but I most enjoyed seeing James really get into the groove at his keyboard, rocking his head up and down and really enjoying the moment.
As a minor complaint or criticism, it seemed like at certain points Blake and company would lose the melody of certain songs and it would take just a minute for them to get back on track. Also, his singing was definitely good, but I almost expected that soul that’s found on his recordings to elevate live. It didn’t really, although his vocals were passable there were moments of audible straining and just not quite hitting the notes like they should have been hit.
Overall, we’re not asking him to be the next Marvin Gaye and we don’t expect him to be the next Usher performance wise either. We fans respect him for the minimal productions and the fact that he’s just a normal guy doing what he loves. And after seeing him live, I do have more respect for him for maintaining who he is as an artist and not compromising to become anything bigger or flashier.
Check out this video I uploaded to YouTube. It’s not the entire concert, like I said before my iPhone camera was being a pain and near the end of the show it just wouldn’t record. However I decided to piece together the videos I did have, so what you will see are snippets of some of my favorite songs.
2013 has definitely been an INTERESTING year so far for music. Let’s not even talk about what’s going on at Radio, but the album releases this year have displayed a wide range of talents, older and younger stars, and Indie stars hitting it big. There was a big lack of Superstar releases, so it was easy to escape the Top 40 Mainstream grid and dive into a very diverse pool of music.
Here is my take on the year thus far, and instead of doing the traditional Top 10 lists, I’m gonna break down my favorite and least favorite albums in Three groups. The Disappointing, The Decent and The Best. I have to admit though, I haven’t been keeping up with ALL the 2013 releases. There was a time this year (like three weeks ago lol) when I was obsessed with George Michael and especially his Grammy winning “Faith” album. And even currently I’m on a Mariah Carey kick, so this list might be a little scant. Rhye, J Cole, A$AP Rocky and Chrisette Michelle are just a few of the artists I NEED to check out. And I will, but for now here’s my 6 months report.
The Disappointing
Timberlake “The 20/20 Experience”
At the top of this list, for me, is Justin Timberlake‘s “The 20/20 Experience” (1 of 2, because of course he has to bleed his fans dry of all their money), and simply because I had the highest expectations for it. If you go back to my “First Impression” review you’ll see I rated the album way too high with a 8.5. Ever since that first listen, I find myself really bored with the album which has him lyrically talking about the same old things (love, dancing, love and dancing again), his vocals are solid but not really impressive or surprising. And the overall production just feels dated, add the fact that the extended length of the songs in general are worthless. “Mirrors” and “Don’t Hold the Wall” are the two songs whose second halves are amazing and save the dullness of the first halves. For the most part though, these long songs just slow the album down. Still digging that “Strawberry Bubblegum” though.
“Out of My League” is one of my favorite recent radio singles, it’s so fun and catchy but it set my expectations for Fitz and the Tantrums‘ “More Than Just a Dream” way too high. The album doesn’t live up to that single for a variety of reasons. For one, “Dream” feels a little bit like a failed attempt at ripping off Human League, with it’s male/female vocals and 80’s feel. The most disappointing thing is the fact that the album rarely ever matches the Fun, Pep, and POP of “League”, you have the duo taking themselves way too seriously vocally and lyrically on a majority of the album. If they had lightened up it could have been pretty good, unfortunately it is what it is.
Toro Y Moi released “Anything in Return”, and while I wasn’t expecting much from the album, it didn’t leave any impression on me at all. Unlike his previous album ” Underneath The Pine” which I enjoyed despite the thin-ness of Toro’s singing voice. This one was just a little TOO laid back, and while it was pleasant, it was totally forgettable.
Kelly Rowland “Talk a Good Game”
The problem with Kelly Rowland‘s 4th album “Talk a Good Game” is that it sounds like a regular Contemporary R&B Album. There are some excellent stand outs including “Red Wine” (possibly her best song ever), “I Remember” and “Kisses Down Low”, but the overall feeling of the album is that it’s a Producers album and not a album that shines a light on the talents and uniqueness of the artist.
The Decent
Unlike Kelly Rowland (who guests on stand out track “Without Me“),Fantasiawas able to make an R&B album and not lose who she is as an artist. “Side Effects of Me” is diverse, in that it goes from Contemporary R&B to Traditional R&B to Pop and Funk, and a lot of the material is top notch. Great writing, amazing vocals, perfect production, this album has it all. Unfortunately it’s not all that consistent, as I generally skip maybe every other track when listening. Still, there is enough here to at least make it one of the better R&B albums of the year.
Yes, I’m sure everybody shared a joke or two about Snoop Dogg changing his name to Snoop Lion for his Reggae/Dancehall inspired album “Reincarnated”. I personally thought the transition made sense, and I was actually surprised that I enjoyed the album as much as I did. And HELLA surprised that his track with Miley Cyrus, “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks“, was my ultimate favorite. The problem, Snoop doesn’t have a voice that’s ready for Reggae. He’s a little too laid back vocally on some tracks where he needs to channel the hype-ness of Beenie Man. And he doesn’t have that natural patois to smoothen out other tracks. The great thing, he has lots of collaborators who take the focus off of him. And at the end of the day, with the help of Diplo, there are some undeniable grooves that make you forget about the corniness that sometimes encounters the album.
Even though I’m a huge Diplo fan, and even though Major Lazer‘s last full length album “Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazer’s Do” gave me so much life, I have to say their second album “Free the Universe” was disappointing. What makes it decent is the fact that you are gonna get exactly what you got on “Guns”, which is fun and infectious Dancehall/Reggae grooves. This album definitely makes a person wanna get up and dance, but there are some cons about the album. The mixing of very Electronic vibes doesn’t always mesh well, and just overall it feels like a continuation of “Guns” instead of it’s own thing. “Get Free” is still one of the best songs I’ve heard, and tracks like “Jet Blue Jet” “Mashup The Dance” and “You’re No Good” are definitely worthy of the price of the album.
James Blake “Overgrown”
James Blake had my #1 album of 2011, and I can’t lie “Overgrown” is a very nice album. While it’s very much true to the same vibe of his debut, this album actually does take Blake into new terrain. It’s even more moody, and some of the production techniques like the sampling and the guest rappers add something new. He’s still got that soul in his voice, and the tracks are very exciting and engrossing. Good album, just not the Greatness I know Blake is capable of. Maybe next time.
I have to be completely honest with you guys when talking about Baths‘ album “Obsidian”, I actually JUST listened to it this week. However, just from one or two listens I really have to say the album totally got my attention and managed to be a break out album from all of the stuff I’ve listened to this year. Like James Blake, Baths seems to be a very unique artist as the album has this weird electronic/pop/ambient/organic mix up that is hard to compare to any other artist (okay, MAYBE Alt-J). It’s in The Decent group now, but I can imagine after several listens I’ll fall in love.
I LOVED (x20) Local Natives‘ debut album “Gorilla Manor“, and was so excited for the follow up “Hummingbird” . My initial impression was that the album was too similar to the debut, but that debut was so strong, with it’s beautifully orchestrated instrumentation, compelling melodies and great writing, that being similar wasn’t as much of a bad thing. And honestly, as the year progresses I do find myself coming back to certain tracks and I CAN play the album all the way through without much skipping. I just wish it was more of an elevated sound for them, wishing they’d pushed themselves further artistically.
In regards to the Cold War Kids, I LOVE their song “Miracle Mile” and was excited to hear what their album “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts” would sound like. The album is definitely decent (hence, why it’s in the Decent group) with some nice, drum-heavy, tracks and a handful of really good songs. The problem, for me, is the lead singers voice which at times is very grating. His strain-y falsetto just turns me off on a lot of the tracks and detracts from the potential of the album, however I’d still recommend it because some of you have a higher tolerance for screechy/whiney vocals.
Another radio single I fell in love with recently was “Sweater Weather” from The Neighbourhood. There’s something about the laid back vibe and the cadence of the lead vocalist that just felt so great together, and had me anticipating a potentially great album from the group. “I Love You.” is a good album, but you are basically going to get what you got from “Sweater Weather”. It does have some really good songs on there, but the only problem is that altogether the songs seem to muddle together. I think the fact that most of the songs share that same sort of Dark, laid back vibe makes it hard to differentiate. Still worth checking out though.
Phoenix “Bankrupt!”
It’s hard to say what my problem is with Phoenix‘s “Bankrupt!“. It’s a far cry from their previous album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” which I found to be a bit of a masterpiece, but this new album isn’t bad. It’s just slightly dull in comparison to their last effort. And the lukewarm response I had when I heard this albums first single “Entertainment” is the way I feel about the album on the whole, It’s very much a decent album but it just lacks something that is hard to put my finger on. Maybe I just need to listen to it more, but overall the album was one of my most anticipated and quickly became one I rarely listen to.
“The Next Day” by David Bowie, his first album in nearly Ten years. Yes, as I said in my review earlier in the year, the album is really good. It’s good in the fact that it feels like a throwback to his entire Discography. It really is a good album with some really great, fun, emotional songs. I just have to admit that over the year I haven’t felt the need to go back to it often.
The Best
Only slightly disappointed with Kanye West‘s 6th solo album “Yeezus”, which overall I do think is great and another perfect addition to his catalog. The thing that disappointed me was that it is similar to his older stuff. Not so much production wise because on “Yeezus” Kanye goes a lot darker, a lot more punk-ish, and a lot more experimental. Lyrically though, he’s not talking about anything we haven’t heard him talk about before. The race problem in America, problems with the black community, problems with women, and so on and so on. West is more aggressive in his delivery, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve been there with him. Overall though, it’s another great risk taking album.
Atlas Genius “When It Was Now”
I became an Atlas Genius fan the very first time I heard their hit “Trojans“. It’s an amazingly catchy alterna-song that deserves (imo) to be a much bigger hit, and I was very happy when I listened to “When It Was Now”, their debut album, because my expectations were basically met. The album is very diverse, it has it’s fun moments, it has it’s moments of great artistry. Let’s be real though, the duo isn’t afraid to do something light, as this album isn’t really all that Hard-Rocking and a lot more Pop leaning. It’s just a great album whose songs attach themselves to your brain. I was happy not to be let down, and hope they continue to grow as their career continues.
It has to be hard for Jay-Z at this point, on his 12th solo album “Magna Carta… Holy Grail”, you would imagine it’s starting to get difficult for the Hip Hop Legend to come up with new and interesting things to rap about. So, maybe on this album he just didn’t worry about it, but cultivated some of the best tracks he could get his hands on. The beauty of this album is the throwback feel of it, the tone of the tracks takes you back to 1998 when Jay was releasing his “In My Lifetime” trilogy. Working with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland recalls that soundscape of late-90’s Hip Hop and the production overall is Excellent here. He’s still ONE OF the Greatest Rappers Alive, and he manages to hold his own, but the overall “old school” feel of the entire album makes it a winner.
After “Angles“, The Strokes‘ previous album, I was a little put off by the group. That album had it’s gems, but they were far and few between as they were definitely trying to escape the Garage Rock Band sound they are so good at. “Comedown Machine” really surprised me, because for the most part, every song is a winner here. The Strokes keep the experimentation going on this album, but they also manage to balance new sounds with what makes them a great Rock band. The album shows diversity, and a willingness to try new things (like Casablanca’s falsetto) and there’s hardly any complaints I have about the album, which I listen to quite frequently.
The most surprising album for me this year came from Vampire Weekend, a group that I enjoy, but a group that I really wasn’t expecting much from. “Diane Young” hit radio and I instantly loved it, and I was really pleased to find that their 3rd album “Modern Vampires of the City” matched that song and beyond. The song is upbeat, catchy, glitchy and fun and there are several cuts on this album that have a similar quality. The greatest thing about this outing is it seems the band stepped out of their comfort zone a bit, playing with electronic effects and amping their style up with intensity and humor. It’s always great to me when a group can grow without growing out of their original sound. Bravo Vampires, Bravo! Great Album.
Daft Punk “Random Access Memories”
And that leaves Daft Punk‘s “Random Access Memories“. This isn’t a list that ordered from worst to best, BUT I will say that this album is the one I was most impressed with on first listen, and the album that I keep going back to, discovering new favorite songs every time I do. The album is familiar to the Daft Punk sound, but with all the features from Pharrell, to Paul Williams to Julian Casablanca and with the insane live instrumentation and the soulful sexy Disco vibe permeating through the album, it’s just a very cohesive, very enjoyable album with lots of diversity. In a career that’s well over 10 years, it’s great to find a duo that steps their game up and making what might be one of their best albums yet.
So there you have it. Let’s see what these next few months bring.
Some time at the end of 2011, I thought a good blog idea would be to give my two cents on the careers of some of the acts in the music industry.
Who am I to give advice??
Well true, I’m a literal nobody in the industry … but as a fan and Industry follower for a good portion of my life, I think I could offer some sound options to some struggling celebs. They won’t (or it’s highly likely that they won’t) read this, so what’s the harm right?
Beyoncé dropped her first baby, so what's next!?
I was going to start with Christina Aguilera (have a rough draft all ready, so that post should come shortly), but I think it’s fitting to start this off with brand new mommy Beyoncé. This past Saturday she gave birth to baby girl Blue Ivy Carter after one of the most confusing and controversial celebrity pregnancies ever. And since said pregnancy nearly ruined the promotion of her latest album “4”, I just have a few suggestions for the next album whenever it may come.
In her interview with Katie Couric, Mrs. Carter said she might take a few years off, but knowing Bey she’ll probably be ready for another big era by Summer 2013. Whenever it is, it will be highly anticipated and expectations will be really high.
If “4” had been a major success (keep the same album sales, but have at least one huge hit single like she’s used to), the logical next step would be a full transition into film. She was already on deck for Clint Eastwood’s take on Hollywood standard “A Star Is Born”, but as Beyoncé told Couric that project has been post-poned until she’s ready. However, because “4” generated no hit singles, and minimal mainstream exposure, it would be better for her to come back with another album before becoming a full-time actress.
So, what should she do?
Let’s first talk the mistakes of her last album.
There’s really nothing wrong with the material on “4”, in fact if certain singles were released it might have given the album the hit single it was lacking. Aside from big hits on the HOT 100, the most important thing that was lacking from the album was something New! There were few examples of something fresh, “Countdown” is one , the beautiful “I Miss You” another and the flawless “End of Time”. They were all different in production, but utilized things Beyoncé is famous for (especially in “End of Time” matching a slightly off-kilter track with her staccato vocals, live instrumentation, multiple hooks, and strong melodies). Everything else on “4” felt like the music she grew up with, thus nothing really innovative.
With the next album, one of two directions would work and both directions would be taking her out of her element a bit. She’s had a solid discography, but the bulk of most of her albums have been pretty safe (save for her most daring work to date “B’Day”). Since she has now become more of an Albums artist as opposed to a Singles artist she really needs to start putting more risk and more daring-ness into her albums. It’s what she needs if she wants to be seen as a Legend.
One of the two extremes is to do something extremely loud and aggressive, which is what I thought “4” would be like given the early news that she was working with Noise Pop duo Sleigh Bells and the All-Around-Weird-Sounds of producer Diplo.
Diplo, looking all cute!
“Run The World (Girls)” was a mess, and that’s mostly due to the fact that a huge chunk of the song was a sample of an already existing and fairly popular song (“Pon De Floor” by Major Lazer— I also blame the verses which came off like rambling random-ness). The sample was Beyoncé again playing it safe, but if she were to go this route again she needs to force the producers to come up with something totally fresh for her.
(I could hear her on some Crazy dance/electro/dancehall mash-ups like Spank Rock‘s “No. 1 Hit“, Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line“, Robyn‘s “Dancehall Queen” or Sleigh Bells’ “Tell Em” “Run the Heart” or “Kids” — mixing her genius vocal prowess to soften the sound a bit)
If that’s too extreme for a whole album, than the opposite would be to still stay in a bit of a Indie zone but just a very minimalist one. I just downloaded James Blake‘s new EP, and the title track “Love What Happened Here” strangely screams for Beyoncé’s soulful chops to fill it out. All three songs on the EP are great for a new Beyoncé style, very different tonally but also very soulful. And James Blake made her Top 10 list of the year, so she obviously is a fan and I could see them coming up with some really fresh stuff. Almost in the vein of “I Miss You” which is almost an Indie-Electro-Ballad and it’s the best off “4”. James Blake, Tom Krell of How To Dress Well, Active Child or even The Weeknd could match her up with some very moody material to shine on.
Active Child's chill R&B sound would be a good look for Blue's mommy!
Whatever direction she takes her next album, us fans just don’t want the same old from her. “4” was a “Dangerously in Love” sequel, and unfortunately I get the feeling that Beyoncé will continue in that tradition from now on. Even though fans were satisfied with the album, it’s too early for her to get stuck in the Adult Contemporary R&B mode when she has all of her 40’s and beyond to do that.
Stans want Sasha Fierce back!
We are ready to be excited again by her music, like when she released “B’Day”. She needs to make a return to that Sasha Fierce mode, full of attitude and sass before little Blue Ivy and her subsequent siblings take it all out of her.
Honestly, 2011 was a pretty horrible year for Mainstream and Top 40 music. The bar is terribly low for a Pop hit these days, and even performance wise there’s nothing really exciting about the goings on of this year. So it’s a little difficult to try and make it seem exciting when it really was just BASIC on the whole. Adele slayed pretty much all year, and she was one of the only exciting things to happen to the industry this year. The under performing of Britney Spears and Beyoncé signaled a change in the winds, where formerly unstoppable Pop stars were being out peaked and out sold by the likes of LMFAO and Pitbull. Speaking of, Beyoncé may or may not be pregnant (*laugh). Katy Perry and Rihanna got closer to breaking chart records of Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Nicki Minaj got her biggest hit from her Pop-iest song and Foo Fighters put in a bid as the last great rock band of the 90’s. Other than all of that, and a few hot-mess feuds and shady comments, not much else happened this year that’s really worth reporting.
So here’s my take on the year, try to enjoy! And let’s hope 2012 kicks 2011’s Basic Ass!!
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Artists Of The Year,
5. Kanye West
Coming off the critical praise of 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, West took a seat instead of his usual loud-mouthed antics. He took a seat in the studio though with Jay-Z, and towards the end of the Summer released the Epic collaboration album “Watch The Throne”. So let’s raise our glass to Kanye shutting up long enough to keep the focus on his talent, which ended in him leading the Grammy nominations and co-headlining a sold out tour.
4. Lady GaGa
While the media excitement for GaGa trailed off towards the end of the year, Mother Monster still had a triumphant year overall. She clocked over a million sales of her third (or second) album “Born This Way” after record breaking sales of the first single of the same name. She was ever present on television, including an HBO concert and a network Holiday special that got healthy ratings. Most importantly, she made some risky single choices that worked in exposing a different and versatile side to her as an artist.
3. Pitbull
This might be a surprising choice, but Pitbull was every where this year. He’s been very consistent ever since his debut in the early 2000’s, but this year he almost became a household name. He had a Huge #1 hit with “Give Me Everything” and his feature work with Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Shakira further helped his exposure. He ended up being invited to perform at nearly every big Award ceremony of the year, and translated his new found mainstream fame into endorsement deals. He may just be the flavor of the moment, but he definitely crossed over to a new level of fame in 2011. And as hard of a worker he has shown he is, he could potentially get bigger down the line.
2. Katy Perry
Miss “I Kissed a Girl” didn’t necessarily break out as the “It” girl of this year, but she made a lot of accomplishments and set herself up to possibly be a force in the industry. Still continuing a hit streak from her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” she collected two more #1 singles this year, tying Michael Jackson for the most #1’s from one album. She ended the year with a hosting spot on “Saturday Night Live” and a 7th Top 5 Hit. Hopefully she’s in the studio working on a follow-up, and we’ll see how long her star will shine.
1. Adele
No surprises here, for whatever reason the beginning of the year all the way till the end Adele was on everybody’s lips and on top of every chart. And she did this without compromising her sound. In the field of sexed up Pop chicks talking about nothing on their songs with auto-tuned vocals, Adele really was a shocking success being the polar opposite of all that. Her “21” album, steeped in R&B Jazz and Balladry, became the #1 selling album of the year and her two hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” used proper instrumentation and strong vocals to become huge hits as well. So proud of her, and if she can just get her nerves together for a tour she’ll be a Legend in no time.
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Albums of the Year,
10. Chris Brown “F.A.M.E.”
Say what you will about Breezy, but “F.A.M.E.” showed off how truly talented he is. Not only does it cross genres from Pop to R&B to Hip Hop to Dance, but it’s all catchy and well-sung with some surprisingly great lyricism. A great step in the right direction, and a true testament to why he’s on top of the R&B heap these days.
9. tUnE-yArDs “w h o k i l l”
Crazy album, going from Folk sounds to Tribe Called Quest-like Hip Hop sounds and everything in between. This is something new and different and ultra experimental, but it works. It shows off the talents of Merrill Garbus, vocally and lyrically, and it gives listeners something totally fresh to counter-act all the same-sounding stuff released this year.
8. Beyoncé “4”
Like I said in my review of this album, it’s truly one from an artist that is so comfortable in her talents she can just do what she feels and not worry about fitting in. “4” is laid back R&B in a time when tempos must be high and lyrics must be repetitive, so in a way Bey took a risk but she really stayed in her zone and delivered a very solid and classic sounding album.
7. Adele “21”
Do I even need to go into detail about the album probably EVERYBODY has heard by now. Adele really goes back, with lots of early blues and soul inspired material, matched with a few funk tracks. The entire album is made to showcase the amazing voice of hers and why she’s one of the best singers in the game right now, and mission accomplished.
6. Frank Ocean “Nostalgia, Ultra”
This is a Mixtape, and I started not to include it. I couldn’t leave it off though because it was one of the most exciting and fresh pieces of music I’ve heard this year. From the out of the box concepts of the songs, to the pretty amazing and random samples he sings over, his knack for great lyricism and his love of singing. If you need to watch anybody that has major potential to blow up in 2012, than Frank is the one. “Nostalgia, Ultra” can be enjoyed by so many, even if it’s not what the masses are typically used to hearing.
5. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”
The mainstream-friendly Folk/Pop group delivered another set of very soothing, relaxing chill tracks that’s really true to the roots of the genre. A very natural continuation from their debut album, just elevated and with a much bigger sound. The stories clouded in very intelligent lyricism make it an album that can be enjoyed for decades, but it still somehow feels very now. And the harmonies and cascades of instrumentation is perfectly beautiful on every track. It truly deserves all the praise and hype it got, it’s definitely a go-to album if you need to relax.
4. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Unlike the rest of her Pop contemporaries, GaGa really tried hard on her third album to stand out from the pack. And she did in so many different ways with “Born This Way”, still catering to her Top 40 audience she manages to make little changes and explore different sounds. From Country, Industrial, House and Rock the album is clearly one of the most diverse of the year, yet the overall album works. And it’s not just the tracks, her attacking different vocal styles and writing some pretty impressive lyrics this go round “Born This Way” shows the artist behind the crazy outfits.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Watch the Throne”
The event album of the year, I almost didn’t believe it would ever come out but luckily it did. The album is Anthem after Anthem, it definitely caters to Kanye’s more energetic and humorous side. However mixed with Jay’s more serious verses, they both end up rubbing off on each other with Jay sounding like he’s having more fun and Kanye even waxing philosophical on some tracks. A great collaboration by two utter geniuses, how could it go wrong really?
2. Drake “Take Care”
Drake really is a surprising character in the industry. As much as you want to, you really can’t hate on what he brings to the table and it’s almost always unexpected and to the left of what you might have assumed. “Take Care” is a surprisingly deep and personal album at times, that transitions seamlessly from an Indie/R&B feel to a harder Hip Hop feel, and you don’t really notice because you are just captivated overall. His sophomore is just as good if not better than his very impressive debut, and this does show he has the chops to stay in the game for a long while.
1. James Blake “James Blake”
An album that takes a few listens to really appreciate, Indie self-produced “Dubstep Prince” (still don’t know why his music is classified as dub step but whatever) James Blake delivers a very minimalist album that even without many lyrics has such emotion and heart in the soundscapes he provides. It’s an album that plays well altogether and really stands out above anything else released this year, because it’s so non-conformist in almost every way. Tonally and emotionally it’s really an amazing album that shouldn’t be missed.
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Singles of the Year,
15. Jessie J “Who You Are” You would think the “love yourself” inspirational ballads died with Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”, but UK star Jessie J makes a great bid for bringing them back. The lyrics match so well with the emotion and rawness of her vocals, it doesn’t feel like sap it feels much more personal.
14. Yuck “Rubber”
An eery, forever building ode to 90’s Alternative. With it’s strange and creepy instrumentation and slowly changing tempos, and the vocal delivery of Daniel Blumberg. It’s almost like a scary movie you can’t stop listening to until you get to the end.
13. Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Easily one of the best songs of Britney’s career, and apparently she owes it all to Ke$ha who wrote this incredibly addictive call to the dancefloor. It’s perfection in it’s intentional stupid-ness, and a perfect song to suit Britney’s (*cough) limitations. (And the remix is even better than the original)
12. Lady Antebellum “We Owned the Night”
A beautiful yet underrated single from the power trio of 2010. The song works on many levels with a cute storyline, beautiful harmonies and a relaxed track that gets some real country energy in parts.
11. Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger”
Surprisingly great Pop track, not very deep but do you really expect that from a Top 40 song? No! What you expect, and what you get here, is a nice dance tempo and an insanely catchy hook. Add Christina Aguilera’s power notes and you have one of the best Pop offerings of the year.
10. Jason Aldean “Dirt Road Anthem”
Aldean has had a great run in the country world, and this rap/country hybrid (later remixed with a verse from Ludacris) does a lot to gain unlikely fans. He goes from his southern rap to belting it out towards the end over a very simple backing sample.
9. Rihanna “S&M”
The MOST Fun Dance song released this year, there are several portions that are crazy addictive and Rihanna’s sexy but coy vocal delivery takes it to another level. Another reason why no one can touch Rihanna in the Dance/Pop field, she consistently delivers the most dance-ready (and most true to the classic House sound) tracks of all her contemporaries. (And for the record, I’m pretending that Britney remix never existed! *awful)
8. Cage the Elephant “Aberdeen”
A great rock track, with clear homages to a more alternative 90’s rock sound but adding the groups standard weird effects and instrumentation to make the song totally fresh. Addictive and creative, what more do you want.
7. Chris Brown “Look at Me Now”
This is a Chris Brown song, but most of the praise for this weird electro/Hip Hop winner goes to producer Diplo and featured rapper Busta Rhymes whose flawless and breathless flow made this The urban track of the year, and once again showed he’s still a relevant player.
6. Lady GaGa “Yoü and I”
Mother Monster delivered a Pop Anthem, an Industrial Dance track, and a ballad-like House-r this year but her Country/Pop/Rock rump “You and I” is clearly the most memorable and the one that shows what a great artist she is. A great storyline, a confident vocal and a track so hype and powerful you’ll be singing and clapping along in no time.
5. James Blake “The Wilhelm Scream”
This is the genius of James Blake, at first the song is really unassuming. A simple repetitive vocal over scant electronic backing, but if you listen you start to feel and appreciate the layers and how the song builds to a beautiful climax. His songs just creep up on you and force you to feel something.
4. Miguel “Sure Thing”
In case anyone thought R&B was dead Miguel came through with a beautiful and loving R&B track that Urban Radio has been lacking for years. The writing is exceptional, a love song without any contradictions or stipulations like the “I love you but I’m probably gonna cheat on you” type songs we’ve been forced to accept in the past few years. A great return to form for R&B.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Otis”
Like I said in my review of “Watch The Throne”, this hit single has a very complicated and technical use of the Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” sample. Everything else about the song feels so laid back and breezy in comparison, with two of the biggest Hip Hop Icons of the day genuinely having fun and not being try-hards with their second single. Epic song that’s downplayed to just being a fun record.
2. Adele Rolling in the Deep
Incredible vocals. Amazing (and LIVE) instrumentation. Killer lyrics. End.
1. Kanye West “All of the Lights”
One of Kanye’s most simple songs, in both production and verses. However the more you listen, the deeper it gets when you realize the story he’s trying to tell about the inner cities. And though the calvacade of featured artists are nice, they aren’t necessary. It’s a strong, powerful, energetic, catchy and flawless song.
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Disappointments of the Year,
3. Rihanna “Talk That Talk”
I LOVE Rihanna, this won’t change anytime soon. And because of my love, I was really excited for her 6th album even if it was clear it would be a bit rushed with the busy year she had. Now, over a month after it’s been in stores, I tend to listen to her previous album “Loud” over this one. Too many un-done songs, which gives the bare minimum in song structure, almost like her label said “whatever you have now is fine we’ll just release it”. I feel like her label jipped us fans and gave us a half-ass outing for Holiday sales, when with just a month or three more it could have been a pretty great album.
2. The Strokes “Angles”
After waiting 5 years for a new album from the once great Garage Rock band, when it album finally came it was a bit of a dud. “Angles” was way too all over the place and not making any real statement of their growth as a band. Not a terrible album by any means, but definitely not worth the long wait. Hopefully there is a quick follow up to redeem themselves.
1. Britney Spears “Femme Fatale”
I don’t know why (maybe because her team kept Tweeting about it), but I expected this album to be a sign of growth for Miss Spears who has been stuck in Robot-Mode for almost 5 years now. Unfortunately, the album was yet another Dance/Pop heavy, heavily vocally altered singles album with virtually no real effort coming from the star. And even with hype about insane choreography and performance lessons, Spears continued to disappoint by doing the bare minimum performance wise this year. Signaling the fact that Britney will probably never get any better as an artist, thus the potential demise of her career. (Her fans are the most faithful of any stan base though, as long as they are easily impressed she’ll be fine)
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Guilty Pleasures of the Year,
5. Big Sean “My Last”
This, for any other rapper, would have been pure filler. There’s nothing truly stand out about anything in the track, and the whole”we do it big out in public” concept is so annoying. Than the “a-a-a-all, a-a-a-all” hook pulls you in and you spontaneously start singing along.
4. Jennifer Lopez “On the Floor”
Could the lyrics get anymore elementary, or the track be anymore basic? I doubt it, but somehow the “La la la la”‘s and the overly repetitive “On the Floor”‘s were too catchy to deny.
3. LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”
Overproduced, Pointless, Stupid, Basic… yet after a few times being forced to hear it on the radio you kinda get used to it. I know for me, the first time I heard it “Noisy Garbage” came to mind, after about 4 listens I was actually anticipating hearing it. Shameful, but that’s the beauty of a Guilty Pleasure.
2. Rihanna “We Found Love”
I called this when I first reviewed the single, the song is basic in every sense of the word. Random lyrics, and a hook that seems to never end. Not even the production is anything all that noteworthy, as Rihanna has had much better Dance singles. However that hook, after about the millionth time, engraves itself in your brain and you go a little crazy for 3 minutes.
1. Pitbull “Give Me Everything”
Pitbull’s verses are rather weak, Nayer is like a non-factor, the track is almost a “paint-by-numbers” dance track… but who can deny Ne-Yo’s infectious and addictive hook. Overall, everything comes together pretty nicely and you just get in a zone when the track comes on.
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Flops of the Year,
3. Kelly Rowland
Kelly’s solo problems have always been that she’s choked at the wrong opportunities. Her BET Award performance was all everybody could talk about, that was the time to hit us with a new single and video capitalizing on that exposure. But she waited until after her very decent album “Here I Am” had already flopped. And the supposedly “dance heavy” UK edition fared even worse, and that’s after all her “X-Factor” exposure. She seems to be stepping her performance game up, so there may be a chance next year.
2. (tie) Beyoncé, Britney Spears
How the mighty have fallen! Even though both divas posted respectable numbers in either album or single sales, 2011 showed that their time as relevant artists might be up.
Britney had major success on the singles charts, but her album sales took a steep dive given her track record. She truly became a singles artist this year, in the same realm as Ke$ha and LMFAO. And most of that is due to her consistently lazy performances, and refusal to do any interviews or press.
With Beyoncé, her album “4” posted good numbers but her single choices were disasters and … well, plain stupid. Her mistakes were clear, and she didn’t seem to take the hint (or maybe she didn’t care because of her pregnancy). She saves face with a few great live performances including the now iconic pregnancy reveal at the VMA’s, but now that she’s ditched her father as manager she’s totally accountable for this flop.
1. Joe Jonas
Poor Kid. He’s cute, he’s at least minimally talented, and you’d think with the success of The Jonas Brothers his solo career would make some kind of sales dent. Unfortunately, after hyping his first single for what felt like months it only peaked at #92 and the album “Fast Life” only managed to stay on the Billboard 200 for 2 weeks. I guess with Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber there was no spot left on the charts for another “teen heart throb”.
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Music Videos of the Year,
5. Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls)”
Beyonce went as big as she could to try to salvage the poor first single choice of “Run the World (Girls)”. Hyenas, Lions, Task Forces, Exploding Cars, a Few Hundred Backing Dancers. She threw the kitchen sink in there too, but luckily it’s saving grace is the dancing. She incorporates different styles and attacks, the type of big dance video Janet or Michael Jackson would do.
4. Jason Aldean “Tatoos On This Town”
They could have went a totally different way with this song, but they gave us the tear-jerker storyline. And it actually really works in a beautiful way with the lyrics of the song.
3. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Enter the crazy world of Mother Monster, where there’s no judgement and… blah blah blah. GaGa is known for being a bit pretentious, but overall this video came off visually very different from most Pop videos. And it’s always nice to see GaGa drop the seriousness and have fun, which she does towards the end.
2. P!nk “Fuckin Perfect”
Speaking of GaGa, P!nk this year proved you don’t have to make an 11 minute video to tell a compelling and emotional story that unfolds in surprising and beautiful ways. Really one of the most heart wrenching and inspiring videos of the year.
1. Rihanna “We Found Love”
This video is one that didn’t try too hard, but did an amazing job of bringing alot of depth and rawness to the basic song and it’s lyrics. In very quick glimpses yo almost see the entire length of a destructive relationship, the highs and lows, and with the flawless editing job it really does get surprisingly real, but still a beautifully shot video.
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Award Show Performances of the Year,
3. Bruno Mars “Valerie”
Bruno finally showed he has the chops to deserve his spot at the top right now. His 2010 Grammy performance showed a performer who truly loved music, but his vocals were a bit off. At this VMA tribute to Amy Winehouse, he really makes the song his own and is almost perfect vocally. His energy, and clear love for performance and singing really shined.
2. Beyoncé “Love on Top”
(this clip is mirrored, so it looks a little weird. sorry)
Bey pulled out all the stops for her Billboard Award performance, but this simple VMA routine was the one that got everybody talking. She’s known as a great performer, so she doesn’t have to do much to impress. And her flawless vocals before her reveal already clinched this as another great one in her long list of live performances. It’s the pregnancy reveal, and the reaction of the crowds, that made this what it is though.
1. Mumford and Sons “The Cave”
This is the kind of performance I love to see, where the group is ecstastic to be performing and you get a true sense that they really love what they are doing. Mumford and Sons delivered an un-jaded, energetic, and technically perfect Grammy performance this year. It helped “The Cave” become a major player on the charts as well as their debut album “Sigh No More”.
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So, what have we learned this year. It’s actually a little hard to say because it was so crazy and unpredictable. You never really knew what song would hit, what promotional opportunity would help sales. Random circumstances like YouTube videos ended up helping singles more than “American Idol” appearances (case in point Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” aided by Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift videos). The industry continued to get majorly shaky, but it seemed whatever Radio was backing would determine who would shine.
Which brings up a weird issue with Adele being so huge, it was kind of funny to hear one of her songs (like the piano ballad “Someone Like You”) on pop radio than right after hearing Cobra Starship or LMFAO dance trash single. You’d think radio might take the hint that people are ready for talented vocalists and great song structure. Obviously they didn’t, but they need to realize that a little diversity never killed anybody.
And I have a few remarks for two of Radio’s biggest stars Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. They both get the Step Your Game Up Award, because both are talented in their own ways. Bruno is a great performer and a good writer when he wants to be. It’s just the songs he’s been putting out are very below the bar and elementary, when he’s capable of putting out some classic and creative stuff. And Katy really needs to take her exposure and step out of the “Pop Top 40” realm a bit and get a little deeper. “Teenage Dream” actually does offer some depth and artistry (“Circle the Drain” “Pearl”), so she needs to let the world hear a different edge to her.
My I Don’t Get It Award goes to Foster the People and Florence and the Machine. “Pumped Up Kicks” was a huge single this year, but to me it just sounds like a horribly distorted MGMT rip-off with a forced catchy hook. It’s not just that they took their sound and tried to process it through a Mainstream filter, but it doesn’t even sound good and it’s surprising that it fit into the Mainstream machine at all. With Florence, I just can’t get into her voice long enough to hear an entire song, but she’s hyped as this amazing vocalist somehow. I just don’t get it.
The Have a Seat Award goes to Rihanna, and we know I love her by now. She is just over-working herself, and I need for her to be healthy and ready because she’s clearly being run to the ground. I already talked about her latest album, but her performances went from a major high earlier this year to a drastic and saddening low at the Jingle Ball in December. Six months of not working wouldn’t kill her, but Three more months of her pace might actually do it.
I WAS gonna Go In on Nicki Minaj. With touring with Britney, the success of “Super Bass”, and her recent David Guetta collaboration has become more of a Pop sensation than a Hip Hop Star. I won’t though because I’m hoping “Roman’s Reloaded” will make me love her again. And that’s pretty much all I have for this year, which like I said was pretty boring but some good things came out of it I guess.
2011 is nearing it’s end, and as I prepare my “Year In Music” post I decided I wanted to make a special post to talk about my year long venture into the world of the Indies. It’s actually been longer than a year that I’ve been lightly searching through the Indie lands for new music and something a bit inspiring, this year I got more serious about it.
Last year, there were a bunch of Indie artists that I happened to hear about and fell in love with, only to later realize that while I was thinking they were New Artists, a bunch of them had a slew of Albums, Mixtapes and EP’s out already. Sick of always being so behind the curve, I was determined to keep an edge on the Indie scene and try to discover more artists on the cusp of exposure (and not when the Hipsters are already deeming them sell-outs or posers… I want to be able to call them that myself *laugh)
As far as finding new music, I use a bunch of different outlets. The most helpful have been the internet radio site LastFm whose recommendations work really well. Also popular online music site Pitchfork has a frequent number of updates and samples of music they deem worthy, and they are quite diverse in the type of music they put up. HipsterRunOff is also very helpful, although a lot of the posts are very cynical they do expose under the radar artists. And than Metacritic, just to give me an idea of what the critics are raving about. Aside from those main ones, I occasionally will check the more mainstream publications like Rolling Stone, Spin and Entertainment Weekly and occasionally they are helpful (but generally, they are as behind as me and once an artist hits their pages I normally have already heard of the act).
Honestly though, I didn’t do that great a job in my search. As the year is over, and I’m reading a bunch of other “Best of 2011” lists I see that I really didn’t even scratch the surface of the Indie scene. Of course I did find some great music, there’s a number of acts I still didn’t even listen to. And even some of the highly praised acts I read about didn’t impress me much when I listened to previews and samples of their work. If in 90 seconds I wasn’t in love with the music or at least intrigued, I moved on.
What I was left with were sounds, voices and tones that were right up my alley. And since my tastes are diverse, the Indie acts I discovered were very broad and diverse themselves. Some of the artists, like a James Blake or Jamie xx, are very forward thinking, throwing tradition out the window and making something new with their sound. And than there are some acts, like Twin Shadow or How to Dress Well, that pay respect to a sound of the past but put a slightly new spin on things.
Some acts even stick to a basic blueprint of the melodic and conceptual song structure of the mainstream, but take it to crazy new levels. Like Local Natives and Cage the Elephant (pictured to your left), who make very catchy music but make it a little more edgy and unique with surprising vocal techniques or just random instrumentation that you wouldn’t think would fit but pleasantly does just that.
So over the past year, I’ve grabbed maybe 10 or 15 really great albums with fresh new sounds that work for me. But even than, there are some drawbacks to the Indie world. Even within those albums there are complaints.
Two of the biggest issues for me are as follows, for one there are times when a number of Indie groups become indistinguishable from each other. I blame it partially on some of these groups being around the same age thus having very similar influences. But I know groups like The Morning Benders and Beach House deliver nice music but if I heard them on the radio I wouldn’t know which is which (read my review of both acts latest releases here). They both have that very melancholy ambient sound with nasally vocals. There’s also a lot of Indie Electronic groups that make good music but generally do sound in the same vein.
And outside of the same sounding groups, certain artists have very limited sounds their full albums come off as same-sounding as well. Which, brings to mind another issue that sometimes an artists EP is miles better than an full LP because they can’t create a full albums worth of great tracks, only 5 or 8 tracks. I wrote about this earlier when it came to MillionYoung (pictured to your right) whose EP “Be So True” made such a better statement than his LP “Replicants” (read the review here) which was a little too redundant. And it seems this is the same issue with Beach Fossils who I recently downloaded. The tracks from their recent EP seem to flow better than the whole of their full album (but I haven’t given them proper listening time so I’ll shut up)
The other main issue with the Indie groups is their vocals. I was raised and still prefer most times R&B and Pop, so vocal technique is something I listen for. A stellar voice isn’t necessary, just the feeling that the artist enjoys singing and tries to do unique things with their voice is important, and you don’t get a lot of that in the Indie scene. Not only is there very little flair vocally, but I’d venture to say that MOST of the Indie lead singers are very whiny and nasally sounding, and some just straight up mumble their lyrics. Which actually makes the lyrics and concepts of songs hard to comprehend. This isn’t always an issue, if their backing music is strong enough you can ignore it.
Bottom Line, I’ve listened to so much this year I’ve become used to it. And really if it all flows well together, that’s the most important part. All the other short comings can be overlooked if the overall vibe and tone of the art is pleasant.
So in my year long search, these are some of the gems… the top artists that I personally feel expressed themselves the best and gave listeners something new and enjoyable.
Local Natives, the Southern California based group gave me possibly my favorite discovery of the year in their debut “Gorilla Manor” (read review here). They sound like a typical garage band, but softer somehow. They go crazy with different types of instruments and arrangements but melody seems to be key with them. And their lead singer Kelcey Ayer is also quite impressive, not the strongest voice but he’s not afraid to belt it out. They deliver some really great music, and deserve to be paid attention to by the main stream. I think of everybody I’ve listened to, if they blow up they won’t have to depart too far from their style.
TuneYards, Merrill Garbus is just uber-experimental. Her sound, found on her sophomore album “whokill” (review here), is a weird mash-up of Hip Hop, Folk, Pop, Jazz and even Electronica and Jazz at times. She’s also a great storyteller who uses her voice in very different and off-kilter ways. Her sound really pops and is exciting to the ears, in both it’s standing out and being completely fresh, and in the subtle homages she gives to the music that inspired her.
How to Dress Well, talk about lo-fi and muddle vocals and the debut album “Love Remains” from Tom Krell is a good example (again, follow the link for review here). And while that would normally turn listeners off, his use of harmonies and melodies is so reminiscent of 90’s R&B. Yet the overall sound is something totally different altogether, it’s very unique and forward thinking, and I think as a producer Krell can go pretty far in possibly changing the landscape of R&B and Pop.
Sleigh Bells, the only case in Noise Pop that I’ve heard so far that’s actually bearable. This Brooklyn duo does a great job of going full on “11” with the volume on their debut album “Treats” (review!) and adding various elements to their tracks to make it pop louder than anything you’ve ever heard. Still they keep a sensibility about it, the track lengths aren’t over long, and they manage to have really catchy lyrics on top of their sounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hooked up with someone in the mainstream world and created a radio hit or three. (and Beyonce, PLEASE release the track you did with them somehow! would love to hear it)
Dirty Projectors, even though I stumbled upon them last year they really are the most forward thinking out of the box artists I’ve heard in a long while. Their 7th official album “Bitte Orca” really blew my mind (as you can read in the review here), it’s folk-electronic-r&b and anything else you might want to throw in there. The beat patterns and song structures are so off, but they work so well. They are truly modern day geniuses in giving us something totally fresh… and looks like mainstream acts are already taking notice. They released a collaboration album with Bjork this year.
Toro Y Moi, his album “Underneath the Pine” isn’t great (you know the deal, here!) but the overall vibe is just one I love. The tone of the album and it’s track are a great mix of 70’s Disco/Funk sounds with “chillwave”-y and very subtle electronic futuristic type feelings. He may not be cut out vocally to play with the big boys, but his vision should translate well in producing for others.
So there you have it, my trip through the Indies. Overall a great trip, and it really did give me a different perspective of the mainstream music world. The execs just really don’t know what they are doing anymore, and the mainstream crowds seem to be so easily impressed. The great thing about the Indies, is you can find everything you want in a song, artist or album… you just have to search pretty hard. I didn’t do a great search, but there’s always next year right.
If you follow my blog, you should know that I’m usually really gung-ho and totally excited about each years Grammy Nominations. Generally I make about 4 posts a year when Grammy time comes around. This year is really different. I didn’t even do a nomination prediction write up this year, mainly because I’ve been venturing further away from the mainstream acts so I knew my personal picks wouldn’t be considered. However if I would have written a predictions post, I probably would have named all the big Top 40 artists this year as the Grammy’s have been trending towards awarding big sellers over critical favorites. And had I done that, I don’t think I would have been too far off.
The Grammy nominations were announced last night, and I’m not really surprised or shocked, I’m not even upset, I’m really just indifferent. The Grammy’s have really turned into a new Billboard Awards, nearly every big hit single and top selling album is up for awards — over more deserving well-reviewed but slightly under the radar acts. Which of course is no surprise and no different than the past two or three years, leaving little excitement about the list of nominees this year.
We all knew that Adele would be a top nominee, and she delivers with 6 nominations (she’ll easily win 5 of those 6). Though she’s not the top nominee as Kanye West scores that prize with 7 nominations. Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars are also up for 6 awards. Other obvious acts like Lil Wayne, Radiohead, Rihanna, Mumford & Sons and Nicki Minaj compete in multiple categories. Nearly everybody who made any kind of impression on the charts this year shows up with a random nomination or two.
Like I said before, I’m really indifferent about this years crop of nominees. I honestly could care less, but I did have some major gripes even though me griping won’t change anything. The biggest “WTF?” starts at the very beginning, Album of the Year. Adele is going to win, no doubt so it doesn’t really matter, but there’s no way Kanye should have been left out of this race with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. It was the best reviewed album of last year, and it’s singles garnered Kanye 3 of his 7 nods.
And another big omission, Bon Iver‘s self titled album. I’ve still not heard it, but it was a big critical success earlier this year, and his track “Holocen” made it in Song and Record of the Year. So why not Album of the Year? Seems like Rihanna’s “Loud” and Bruno Mars’ totally inferior album “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” took the spots that deservedly belonged to Kanye and Iver.
Other than that category, there’s nothing too upsetting really just a few weird things. Like why is Cee-Lo Green up for Pop Vocal Album for “The Lady Killer”, which is rooted in 60’s and 70’s Soul sounds (well, if you think about it Amy Winehouse was up for POP for her R&B album “Back to Black” back in 2007). Still, the Grammy’s are always a little off and weird here and there (just look at some of my posts about previous years).
As far as snubs, there are a lot. And it’s mainly due to the Grammy’s cutting out a number of it’s categories and consolidating Male and Female categories. Some of the biggest snubs of this year were Fleet Foxes garnering just one nod for their critically acclaimed “Helplessness Blues”, Beyonce for her album “4” which only garnered 1 nomination, Rock groups Cage The Elephant and Yuck (but Foster the People get multiple nominations?), Indie-Electro rising star James Blake, R&B Divas Jill Scott and Jennifer Hudson, as well as deserving R&B guys Miguel, Frank Ocean and Musiq Soulchild.
In the Country category, which I generally wouldn’t have any business speaking about but I’ve become a bit of a Country Music Channel nut for the past few months. Where is “Remind Me”, the duet by two Grammy darlings Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood? And last years big winners Lady Antebellum settle for one nomination this year for Country Album, no love for their singles “Just a Kiss” and “We Owned the Night”. And just one other complaint, Lupe Fiasco‘s Modest Mouse rip off “The Show Goes On” up for so many Rap categories? I Just Can’t!!
So that’s that! Hopefully this list of nominees will at least make for an interesting Award ceremony, otherwise this is probably the first Grammy’s in years that I just won’t care about. So much so, that this will probably be my only post about it until the actual winners are announced. So here are my predictions in some of the major categories.
Album of the Year
Adele “21”
Bruno Mars “Doo-Wops and Hooligans”
Foo Fighters “Wasting Light”
Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Rihanna “Loud”
will win: No Brainer, ADELE! (and just to save myself from carpal tunnel, I’m gonna copy and paste that from here on out because I expect to use it a lot)
should win: Adele, even though I feel like GaGa’s was the most adventurous album of the 5.
Record of the Year
Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
Bon Iver “Holocene”
Bruno Mars “Grenade”
Katy Perry “Firework”
Mumford & Sons “The Cave”
will win: No Brainer, ADELE!
should win: Adele, yet Katy’s anthem is tough competition.
Song of the Year
Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
Bon Iver “Holocene”
Bruno Mars “Grenade”
Kanye West “All of the Lights”
Mumford & Sons “The Cave”
will win: No Brainer, ADELE!
should win: Adele, however Kanye’s track was epic and should be his consolation for that Album of the Year snub.
New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
will win: Bon Iver or The Band Perry, can’t decide right now. They both have the best chances, with The Band Perry slightly edging him out.
should win: Bon Iver, he’s obviously not NEW but he’s made a name for himself with a very un-mainstream sound and that should be commended
>Sorry for all these breaks, you know sometimes just LIFE gets in the way (life and laziness LOL!!) but I have a to-do list of a couple albums I need to get through so this will be the first of a few new blog posts so get ready! This first post will be about The Growers, two albums that didn’t immediately blow me away but have since shown their worth.
Two Indie favorites of this year James Blake and Toro Y Moi have been sitting in my iTunes for a few months, and while initially I had lukewarm feelings about both albums they have really grown on me and showed that subtlety can be a stand out.
is a really relaxing chill album with heavy disco, R&B and funk inspiration. The albums first single “Still Sound” is the best example for his sound, a late 70’s track that Chaka Khan could have easily wailed over, while “New Beat” could have been an Evelyn “Champagne” King disco stomper. The album isn’t devoted to disco though, Toro manages to merge the lush instrumentation of the 70’s with the chilled out electronic sound of today and with great effect especially on the album closer “Elise”. The problem with the album however is Toro’s vocal chops, when you hear these songs that could easily be taken on by powerhouse singers it sounds a little off when he comes on the tracks with his very limited vocal ability. In fact some of the better tracks on the album have little to no vocals, leaving the listener to wonder how much more effective the album would have been as a straight instrumental album. The vocals are definitely in the vain of the Indie scene he is a part of where they seem to have no care about things like tone and pitch when singing. And as mentioned before this isn’t just a typical 70’s throwback album so the off-kilter overall production makes sense after a few listens. All in all the album is a great groovy listen and shows promise, if not for his singing definitley for his production which would match nicely with some of the top artists of the day (Christina Aguilera needs to swoop him up quick, his sound and her voice would match up perfectly).
James Blake‘s self titled debut came earlier this year, and he’s almost the opposite of Toro Y Moi. Blake possesses a really strong, husky and soulful voice but on this album he uses it on top of some very low-key and chilled electronic tracks. Critics have considered him a Dubstep artist which confused me as nothing on this album is traditionally Dubstep, maybe more Dub than Step since most of the album is very moody and calm with electro-effects playing subtly in the background. Rarely ever using more than 10 words for a full song, the songs swell and build up to pretty amazing climaxes. Upon first listen, the songs might seem dull or too weird, but on repeated listens you can appreciate the nuances Blake uses as a producer. “I Never Learnt To Share” and “I Mind” are great examples, very simple stuff but with the correct headphones or speaker system you can feel the love and patience he put into every electro-tweek and keyboard sequence. And even with a majority of the tracks being very ambient and experimental, there are a few tracks that could actually work on radio like first single “Limit To Your Love” and “The Wilhelm Scream” which are both a lot less stark than the rest of the album and show off both his voice and his production skills.