My Top 10 Songs of the Week! : MYFAVORITES

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311, Active Child, Big Rube, Black Keys, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, Michael Jackson, OutKast, R. Kelly, Rock City, Santigold, The Black Keys, The White Stripes, Top 10 Songs, Top 10 Songs of the Week, White Stripes, Wild Nothing

It’s back!!

My week in music!? Well, I didn’t say this before but I was forced to buy a new PC recently. I’m happy with it, but it wiped out all my play counts and ratings on iTunes so I have been listening to random chunks of my collection to rate and fun stuff like that. Anyway I hit a R. Kelly chunk, and haven’t really moved on until this morning. Other than that, just randomness as you’ll see below.

10. Wild Nothing “Drifter”
I’m very lukewarm about Wild Nothing’s album “Gemini”, but this song is one of the clear stand outs. Who knows what they are saying but it’s a very calming and nicely layered track.

9. 311 “Amber”
My ultimate chill song, funny because I actually just discovered this in the past two years. So glad I did because it puts me in such a nice calm mode — like I’m sitting on the beach with a Corona just enjoying the scene.

8. Active Child “Johnny Belinda”
I LOVE Active Child’s album “You Are All I See”, but this week this song really stood out to me for some reason. It’s standard for the type of sound he delivers on that album, very relaxed and electro’d out. Hmmm, seems like I was really in a calm chill mood this week (wonder if it’ll be drastically different next week… #StayTuned)

7. R. Kelly “Real Talk”
THE most ghetto, nonsensical sh*t you ever heard, but probably the funniest sh*t you ever heard on an R&B album… and I LOVE IT!! Who can help but bust out laughing at Kells BELT OUT a line like “… Bitch I wish you would burn my Mutha-Fucking clothes”. Why he never wrote a full musical movie or play is beyond me.

6. The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
A ‘Black Keys vs. White Stripes’ argument came up on IMDB this week, and someone linked the video to this song. The video is HIGH-larious, and the song is pretty kick ass (I Finally listened to the album “El Camino”, and this is a favorite but not even the best, which is a really great thing).

5. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army”
Of course, my vote in that argument was for The White Stripes. I do love their first four albums, and this is easily one of my favorites by them… I think more than anything just the instrumentation makes this track.

4. Santigold “Disparate Youth”
I’m so late, I know this song was released like a month ago but I just heard it this week. And it’s awesome because it’s Santigold working that Dancehall/Alternative/Electro/Indie vibe that I really dig, and only they can deliver. Can’t wait for the new album “Master of my Make Believe” in May.

3. Michael Jackson “Off The Wall”
Got hit with a MJ spell earlier this week, and THIS my friends is one of his best songs ever. From his best album ever. (read my “classic album review” here)

2. R. Kelly feat. Rock City “Crazy Night”
This song from Kells’ 2009 “Untitled” album actually started my R. Kelly fixation this week, it’s just a track that you can’t help but shake some thangs to, and so catchy.

1. OutKast feat. Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu & Big Rube “Liberation”
“Aquemini” is probably my favorite Hip Hop Album of All-Time… and this inspirational, very moving and very relaxing closing (well, it should have been) cut is truly a gem that every body needs to hear. And I SO relate, as I’m sure everybody can “can’t worry ’bout, what a nigga think, now that’s Liberation, and baby I WANT IT!”

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My Top 10 Songs of the Week! : MYFAVORITES

Tags

Amerie, Amy Winehouse, Billy Idol, Chris Brown, Drake, Fleet Foxes, LL Cool J, m83, Mark Ronson, Mashonda, Michael Jackson, prince, Swizz Beatz, Talking Heads, Tamia, The Police, The Weeknd, Tina Turner, Top 10 Songs, Top 10 Songs of the Week, Violent Femmes, Whitney Houston

Interesting (quasi-embarrassing) tidbit about me ; when I was in Junior High I started to make my own Top 10 Music Charts. Who really knows why, but I started one day in my 7th grade Math class just ranking my favorite current songs. And from than it took a life of it’s own… and I consistently updated my chart every week until I was 20 when I finally got a bit of a social life and had to let it go.

Now, 12 years later, I’m bringing it back!! Of course things have changed, instead of this being a list of my favorite Current songs… it will just be a ranking of songs that stood out to me during the week. Whether it be new current singles, or songs I loved growing up that I’ve just re-discovered, or older songs that I never knew about. Anything could make this list, and I’m going to try to update it every week with a brand new set of 10 to keep it exciting.

10. Swizz Beatz Feat. LL Cool J & Mashonda “Ghetto Love”
I pulled out a CD I burned in 2002. This song was one I totally forgot about, while it’s not amazing it’s a nice relaxing song that I always dug.

9. The Police “Hole in My Life”
Simply for this line : “Be a happy man, I try the best I can, Or maybe I’m just looking for too much”

8. Whitney Houston “My Name is Not Susan”
Whitney could tackle ballads, house records, pop songs and soulful R&B. But this track, one of my favorites at the time, showed she could also attack the early 90’s New-Jack-Swing stuff and own it.

7. Tina Turner “Whole Lotta Love”
A few months ago I listened to Tina’s second official solo album “Acid Queen” for the first time, it’s pretty amazing and this remake of a Led Zeppelin classic is sexual, soulful and just perfection.

6. Talking Heads “Mind”
I can’t seem to get over early Talking Heads, and this funky laid back track became one of my favorites this week out of nowhere.

5. Michael Jackson “Stranger in Moscow”
Such a beautiful and underrated single from the King of Pop.

4. Fleet Foxes “Blue Ridge Mountains”
I listen to the Foxes whenever I want to chill and zone out, and this song is always the stand out from their debut album.

3. Chris Brown “Turn Up the Music”
With the recent release of two Breezy/RiRi remix collabs being hyped, I ended up downloading the original version of this song that I had never heard. Yeah the lyrics are basic, but it’s fun and the track is pretty insane.

2. Drake Feat. The Weeknd “Crew love
Easily one of my least favorite tracks from Take Care at first, it has really grown on me. It’s mainly the track which is very simple but deep at the same time (make sense?)

1. Prince “Let’s Pretend We’re Married”
Recently re-visited what I consider one of my favorite albums of all time (maybe the #1) “1999”. This track, that I have always loved but wasn’t necessarily a favorite, really grabbed me this week.
(can’t figure out how to embed right now, i’ll come back later and fix it)
let-pretend-we-re-married-1zno5_2ifa7_.html

#Confession…
I started to post this last Friday, but got busy with work and didn’t finish it. so here’s the list from last week…

1. The Police “Invisible Sun”
2. Tamia “Officially Missing You”
3. Billy Idol “Dancing With Myself”
4. Talking Heads “Cities”
5. Amerie “1 Thing”
6. Mark Ronson Feat. Amy Winehouse “Valerie”
7. Whitney Houston “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay”
8. M83 “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire”
9. TLC “Creep”
10. Violent Femmes “Gone Daddy Gone”

(I’m gonna post this, but I think YouTube is acting kind of crazy right now so the videos might not work… I’ll re-edit when they get themselves together!!)

Top 10 MTV VMA Performances : MYFAVORITES

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Alicia Keys, beyonce, Diddy, IMO, Jamiroquai, Janet Jackson, Kanye West, Madonna, Michael Jackson, MTV VMA, MTV VMA Best Performances, Red Hot Chili Peppers, RHCP

The MTV VMA‘s are airing this weekend (more on that later), and the list of performers this year are surprisingly un-impressive. And there are a few things that will happen at the Awards that I don’t agree with and thus I won’t be watching.

However, the VMA’s have given us music lovers some very memorable and iconic performances in it’s 27 years of broadcasting. Here are my personal favorites of all-time, the ones that have been the most memorable after all these years.

10. Kanye West“Runaway” (2010)

Seems like Kanye is always performing to redeem himself after a controversy the year before. His debut of “Love Lockdown” at 2008’s ceremony came after he went on a tirade in 2007 for not winning Video of the Year. This performance came after the Taylor Swift incident in 2009. The lyrical content (“i always find something wrong, you been putting up with my shit for way too long.” “let’s have a toast to the assholes”) worked because of the controversy, but the great thing about this performance is his use of the space. It’s very artistic in it’s simplicity, and the shocking red he wears in front of the mostly white backdrop also works so well in a really strange way.

9. Janet Jackson“That’s The Way Love Goes/If” (1993)

Her 1993 Album “janet.” brought out the sexy side of Ms. Jackson If Ya Nasty and it was only appropriate for her to bring that sexiness out on stage. And she definitely brought it with this mini-medley of her two huge MTV hits that year. Her choreography was on point, going from sexy to high energy and intricacy. And if she was lipping, well she did a clever job because the vocals aren’t exactly like the album recordings, so props for that. Easily one of her best performances, and one that most Pop chicks should study.

8. Alicia Keys“No One/Freedom” (2007)

Britney got all the attention that year for her ultimate-hot-mess of a performance of “Gimme More”, but Alicia emerged as the true artist that year and she gave one of her best live performances. She debuted the monster hit single “No One, and it was obviously a song at the time she was really into because it’s clear she put her heart into the performance. Than she switched things up and did a short cover of George Michael’s classic “Freedom 90”, and it felt like a big party. One of the few performances where Alicia seemed to be genuinely having fun.

7. Jamiroquai“Virtual Insanity” (1997)

Jay Kay and crew hit MTV big time with their video “Virtual Insanity” (which ended up taking home best Video of the Year), the video was such a hit because people wondered what effect was used to get his sort of “treadmill” room to operate. And the best thing about this performance is he (tried at least) brought that effect to life. In his music, you can tell he’s a soulful cat who commits 110% to every line he sings and when he performs it’s the same, and evident in this clip. He’s just so entertaining to watch.

6. Beyonce“Baby Boy/Crazy In Love” (2003)

For her debut VMA performance (belive it or not, Destiny’s Child never had proper VMA stage time), Bey pulled out all the tricks. From being lowered upside down from the ceiling, to the Rockette style “uh-oh”dance, this performance was wall to wall energy. And she sang live and danced her heart out, she was really trying to impress on her first time and it’s safe to say she did (from the looks of that Standing O).

5. Diddy“Bad Boy For Life/ I Need A Girl/ Pass The Courvoisier” (2002)

Talk about everything but the kitchen sink. Diddy spent a lot of time and money on this extravagant performance in 2002. He had just come off a summer of hits from his Remix album and this was a good medley of a few of those club bangers. He brought out Usher, Pharrell, Busta Rhymes and Ginuwine… as well as a troupe of dancers, weird acrobatics, explosions, glass shattering and pretty much every thing you can think of that would fit on the stage safely. Still, without the bells and whistles this was a really impressive performance from him. His dancing was on point (well), and it was just a good time on stage in general. We can look past his obvious lipping right!?

4. Madonna“Like A Virgin” (1984)

This is probably the most memorable performance of the VMA’s of All-Time for several reasons. This was the first annual presentation of the awards, and one of the first times Madonna did a big performance of her uber-hit “Like a Virgin”. No, it really isn’t the most impressive work from an artist on the stage, but the shock value of this sexually charged “bride” rolling around on the ground was actually quite taboo at the time. It became a bit of a controversy, and this might be what started Madonna’s envelope-pushing.

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers“Give It Away” (1991)

For me personally, this is one that sticks out when I think of great VMA performances but maybe not to other people. The Peppers performed their big MTV hit “Give It Away”, and in true to Rock Star form they decided to break the rules.Well, I’m sure these people were hand selected but this was the first time (and I think only time since) that I’ve seen a band and their fans on stage together rocking out to a song. It’s just the type of energy you’d expect from the young MTV, you watched it and wanted to be on the stage with them. And Flea rocking out in his tightie-whities has become sort of an iconic image (remember their appearance on “The Simpsons”!)

2. Madonna“Vogue” (1990)

Madonna is literally the Queen and King of MTV at this point, so it figures she’d have more than one performance on this list. In 1990, this was her second year in a row performing, and this was coming off one of the biggest most successful years in her career. This performance was highly anticipated, and people just didn’t know what she was gonna do, but knew she’d do something crazy. The result is a very well executed 18th Century inspired performance of her hit “Vogue”. Though she was lipping, the performance is one of the most entertaining and engaging performances. And only Madonna could do something like this and make it work.

1. Michael Jackson Tribute Performance (2009)

The Grammy’s did a tribute, BET Awards had a tribute two years in a row, and pretty much EVERY Award show that year had a Tribute to King of Pop Michael Jackson after his surprising death. The MTV VMA’s were the only ones who really got it right, and rightfully so. MTV and Michael Jackson basically made each other, so they would know the appropriate way to tribute his talents. Mainly focusing on dance, many a famous choreographer (including Wade Robson, Tyce Diorio and Laurie Ann Gibson) donned Iconic MJ wear and tore the place up with their moves.

The icing on the cake was sister Janet Jackson coming out to the surprise of everyone and killed it. A really loving tribute, and it really did show why he was such an Icon and such an Influence to the whole MTV generation.

>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!

>Year In Music, 2009!!

Tags

50 Cent, Adam Lambert, Adam Samberg, Akon, Animal Collective, beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Cassie, Charles Hamilton, Chester French, Chris Brown, Chris Cornell, ciara, David Guetta, Drake, Green Day, Jamie Foxx, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Jeremih, John Legend, Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Kanye West, Ke$ha, Kelly Clarkson, Keri Hilson, Kid Cudi, Lady GaGa, Leona Lewis, Lil Wayne, LMFAO, Lonely Island, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Mario, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, Mos Def, Mstrkrft, Ne-Yo, New Boyz, NeYo, Phoenix, R. Kelly, rihanna, Shakira, T-Pain, The Black Eyed Peas, The Jonas Brothers, The Lonely Island, The-Dream, thedream, Tiffany Evans, Top Albums of 2009, Top Artists of 2009, Top Singles of 2009, TPain, U2, Usher, Wale, Weezer, Whitney Houston, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Year In Music, Year In Music 2009

>I don’t really know how to sum up the Year in Music of 2009. If you went off the Billboard charts, this was a truly awful year for music. Formulaic, Generic, Dance hybrids with insanely annoying but catchy hooks were seemingly all you needed to hit #1 this year. On a good note, all the music released this year wasn’t awful. There were a few underrated gems, and a few deserved successes, so here is a quick recap of the best and worst of these past 12 months.

*Artist of the Year*

1. Michael Jackson

Typically, if an artist is able to move TWO MILLION units in one week, completely dominate the iTunes album singles and video charts, and open up a movie that grosses $200 million — they would undoubtedly become everyone’s Artist of the Year. Unfortunately it took Michael Jackson passing away for him to achieve all of this since June of this year. However A lot of the younger generation, who grew up around the time his star was being trampled on by the media, were able to appreciate his music really for the first time and sort of got to re-discover him as a new artist.

2. Beyonce
3. Lady GaGa

*Biggest Flop of the Year, or the Try again next time award*:
Awarded to the artist who this year had a less than successful run on the charts, but the talent and the drive is still there enough for us to not underestimate them in the long run. Even the greatest have flops, so chin up and come back harder next time. You can do it.

1. Ciara
2. Leona Lewis
3. Jordin Sparks

*New Artist of the Year*

1. Lady GaGa

Lady GaGa might officially have been the new artist of last year since her debut “The Fame” was released in October 2008. However, 2009 is when Lady GaGa pretty much conquered the world and made a name for herself. Though the material on her album might not be the most inventive, she more than made up for that with some truly amazing performances. She did the New Artist thing right, she made sure she made headlines with her outlandish fashions. She had people talking about her before they even saw her perform, and that’s when she always managed to live up to the hype and deliver pretty flawless, and surprisingly strong singing and always some sort of arty-gimmick to keep viewers eyes on her at all times. She ended the year releasing a strong set of dance songs on an EP called “The Fame Monster” that showed some growth. A very strong year for GaGa, let’s see where she goes from here.

2. Drake
3. Kid Cudi

*Guilty Pleasure of the Year*:
Those songs that you KNOW are terrible from the first time you hear them, but for some reason — most likely due to radio saturation — you can’t escape the song and before you know it, you’re humming the melodies uncontrollably and sooner or later that awful song you made fun of at first is on your iPod and inching closer and closer to your Most Played.

1. Lady GaGa “Poker Face”
2. The Jonas Brothers “Tonight”
3. Jeremih “Birthday Sex”
4. The Lonely Island feat. T-Pain “I’m on a Boat”
5. Miley Cyrus “Party in the USA”

*Top 10 Albums of the Year*

1. Jay Z“The Blueprint 3”
2. Rihanna “Rated R”
3. Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
4. Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion”
5. Mariah Carey“Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel”
6. Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “It’s Blitz!”
7. Mos Def“The Ecstatic”
8. Black Eyed Peas“The E.N.D.”
9. Chris Cornell“Scream”
10. The-Dream “Love vs Money”

*Worst single of the Year*

1. 50 Cent “Baby By Me”
2. U2 “Get on your Boots”
3. Usher “Papers”

*Best and/or Dumbest Dance Craze of the Year*

1. The Ricky Bobby, “Do the Ricky Bobby” by B-Hamp
2. The Stanky Legg, “Stanky Legg” by GS Boyz
3. The Jerk, “You’re a Jerk” by New Boyz

*Best Comeback of the Year*

1. Britney Spears

Britney takes this crown, because her comeback was more true to what the term was originally intended to mean. She really made a true return to form. True, a return to form means more lips-ynching and mediocre dancing while being sexy. That’s what has gotten her this far, and it’s not hard to do. However anybody who has a TV, a computer, a radio, or access to any tabloid magazine knows that Britney’s chaotic story in 2007 after her divorce. She tried to, or more like Forced by her label, save her image with the album “Blackout” which was a surprisingly hot album. The problem was that she was completely whacked out, either psychologically and physically drained or on drugs and was obviously just not into it. With her late 2008 release “Circus” and it’s video she’s great, looking fresh and toned, attacking the (again mediocre) choreography, but the best was that she seemed “Present”. The album was actually above par, and very late in her US tour she delivered some knock out performances (of course still lip-synching). I don’t think she has much longer before time catches up with her body forever, and apparently she’s ready to release another album in 2010 and keep the streak going.

2. Kelly Clarkson

Kelly didn’t have any apparent drug or psychological problems to comeback from, but she did have a very nasty and public dispute with her label and label head Clive Davis over her last album “My December”. That album tanked, and Kelly was seriously in a critical situation with her career. She came back this year though, and with a huge record breaking #1 “My Life Would Suck Without You”. Her album sold decently, but another hurdle of massive weight gain (maybe that’s a little mean, I should say rapid weight gain) almost stopped her career dead in it’s tracks. However the Ryan Tedder production “Already Gone”, that she openly did not want as a single, is still doing really well on the singles charts and at the end of the year she’s garnered a Grammy nomination.

3. Whitney Houston

It seems like people have already forgot about Whitney’s big comeback, almost 6 years in the making. Grammy voters sure did. About 6 months ago, everybody was predicting Whitney would have one of the strongest comebacks in music history, and was sure to grab multiple music trophies just for coming back strong. The main problem was that she didn’t comeback strong, even though her “people” did a fantastic job of trying to fool everyone. Her album “I Look to You” was passable, if a little boring and ultimately forgettable. Her live performances were another story, though her voice has come along way since her last comeback in 2002, she literally can’t hold a note. And no amount of backup singers or extremely loud backing vocal tracks can hide it. That, and the Oprah interview that really didn’t show her in a flattering light. Though her album did sell pretty well, there are seemingly no plans for any follow up singles or anything else. This might be a wrap for Whitney.

*Artist that most needs to just Give it up this Year*: The greats are great forever, unless they don’t realize that they’re not the #1 stars they used to be and keep releasing material in hopes of dominating the music world, when in reality their mainstream relevance has been gone. These three artists still seem to think they can regain (and in one case achieve) Popular success, and they seriously need a wake up call before it’s too late.

1. Janet Jackson

Janet seems to be very likable in the mainstream, but the problem is nobody is buying her albums. 2008’s “Discipline” completely flopped, and the album before that “20 Y.O.” didn’t fair any better. She hasn’t had a #1 single since 2001’s “All For You”, and hasn’t managed even a Top 10 single since the second single from that album was released. And here she is in 2009, getting major sympathy points from the death of her brother. Has a highly publicized network television interview where they debut her new video “Make Me”, yet the song has made ZERO dents in the chart. Just give it up Janet. “Why Did I Get Married Too” is set to be released in early 2010, and that might just be her new medium to attack, Acting. I think it’s time to step away from the studio because, hell she doesn’t even have a contract right now.

2. Mario

Mario has never been The One! He’s never had any real stretch of time as the reigning R&B singer. When he first came out, he was basically the younger Usher with braids. He had a hit, but this was during one of Usher’s several dominant periods of R&B. When Mario’s second album was released, he managed to score a big hit out of “Let Me Love You”, but somehow that songs writer Ne-Yo ended up eclipsing him. 2007’s “Go!” was a great album for Mario, but than he had both Ne-Yo and pre-battery charge Chris Brown owning him on the charts. And now, when he probably thought it was safe to release his 4th album “D.N.A.”, Trey Songz is completely owning him as the new young R&B Heartthrob. So, Mario, Sorry! Your time has passed. Give it up.

3. Jennifer Lopez

Honestly. Even though you’re “Louboutins” single is actually kind of cute and catchy, people stopped caring about you years ago. Focus on acting (re-train yourself, take some classes) and please stay out the studio.

*Top 10 Singles of the Year*

1. David Guetta feat. Akon “Sexy Bitch”
2. Animal Collective “My Girls”
3. Mstrkrft feat. John Legend “Heartbreaker”
4. Kid Cudi“Day n Nite”
5. Green Day“Know Your Enemy”
6. Lady GaGa “Bad Romance”
7. Jay-Z feat. Kanye West and Rihanna “Run this Town”
8. Maxwell “Pretty Wings”
9. Beyonce “Sweet Dreams”
10. Keri Hilson with NeYo and Kanye West “Knock You Down”

*Awards Ceremony of the Year that sucked the Least*

1. MTV VMA’s … Yeah, that’s it.

MTV got back to when the VMA’s were actually good. They had a killer roster of performers who turned in some really great highlights. Taylor Swift performing in a subway, GaGa dying, Pink singing while doing acrobatics from the ceiling, JayZ and Alicia getting ambushed by Lil mama, and Beyonce’s hundreds upon millions dancers. And, back to form, the VMA’s delivered a water cooler topic in Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to declare “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time”. Staged? Well, I have my theories, but the important thing is it was a great moment that will stand against the other great moments of the VMA’s.

*Most Unnecessary Collaboration of the Year*

1. Wale and Lady GaGa “Chillin”

There’s actually nothing wrong with the song, but it was so obviously intended for M.I.A. and not Lady GaGa (who actually does make the song). I guess it was a smart decision since GaGa was so hot at the moment, but the collaboration doesn’t make sense given how both artists are from completely different worlds in genre, fan base and personality.

2. 50 Cent and NeYo “Baby By Me”

I just hate this song so much, and really upset that after releasing an album titled “Year of the Gentleman” NeYo would participate in a song with such a vile message.

3. Shakira and Lil Wayne “Give it up to Me”

Good song, but Lil Wayne really wasn’t needed and he contributes nothing. It almost sounds like one of those mixtape mash ups of one of his mix tape verses. This is the song where I, personally, officially got tired of the Weezy verse.

*Best Impersonation of another Artistof the Year*

1. Lady Gaga as Madonna on “The Fame Monster”

Bravo! GaGa has been getting Madonna comparisons since “Poker Face”, but never has she got the essence of Madonna until her “The Fame Monster” EP was released. “Alejandro” plays like a soft mash of “Cherish” and “La Isla Bonita”. And when she gets to name calling famous screen sirens and art Icons on “Dance in the Dark” (“Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia” “Liberace” “Kubrick”) it becomes obvious that the mockery is intended. (?) Never the less, she did a great job.

2. Chester French as Weezer on “Love the Future”

If you imagine that Weezer recorded an album produced by the Neptunes in 2002, it would sound pretty much exactly like Chester French’s debut “Love the Future”. Except that it would have been 10 times better.

*Most likey to become a One Hit Wonder of the Year*

1. New Boyz “You’re a Jerk”
2. Ke$ha “Tik Tok”
3. LMFAO “I’m in Miami Bitch”

*Best Collaboration of the Year*

1. R. Kelly and Keri Hilson(or R. Keri Baby!) “Number One”
2. Jay Z, Kanye West and Rihanna “Run This Town”
3. Keri Hilson, NeYo and Kanye West “Knock You Down”

*Cheesiest Album cover of the Year*

1. Adam Lambert (tie) Chris Brown

*Most Underrated Album of the Year*

1. Ciara“Fantasy Ride”
2. Shakira“She Wolf”
3. Akon “Freedom”

*Best DanceFloor Song of the Year*

1. Lady GaGa “Bad Romance”
2. David Guetta feat. Akon “Sexy Bitch”
3. LMFAO “I’m in Miami Bitch”

*Most Underrated Single of the Year*

1. Jordin Sparks “Battlefield”
2. Charles Hamilton “Brooklyn Girls”
3. Mary J. Blige and Drake“The One”

*YouTube LOL Moment of the Year*

1. Britney Spears and the “crazed” fan.

It’s not even that this kid managed to get past security and actually get face to face with Britney and dance with her that’s funny. It’s Britney’s reaction, and how long it takes her to get back to dancing and lip-synching.

*Most needed STFU of the Year*: Alot of artists are best when they aren’t speaking (ahem, Beyonce), and these are the three artists this year that should have refrained from any interviews because it did them more damage than good.

1. Chris Brown

Doing one Larry King Interview was fine. Even though it came nearly 7 months After the well-known “Incident” in February involving Brown and than-girlfriend Rihanna (we all know the story). The interview is understandable, just to clear the air and protect his image. Unfortunately, Brown sounded pretty damn moronic during the interview. He was totally evasive about the incident itself, and sounded like he was recycling the same 5 “I was wrong! Please forgive me” sound-bites he had most likely been rehearsing for weeks. Bad interview, but it gets worst. After Rihanna did a much more respectable and revealing interview with Dianne Sawyer, Chris Brown did yet ANOTHER interview where again he revealed nothing and again was playing himself as the victim. Please Chris Brown! STFU!!! Both of you should have just let it go, nobody really cared 7 months after the fact, but Chris made it worst for himself by talking too damn much.

2. Tiffany Evans

Her tweets about Rihanna and the devils in the music industry wasn’t necessary. And when Rihanna calls her out for it, Evans tweets “at least I can sing”. Yeah, you do have a good set of pipes, but the problem is nobody wants to hear you sing. Most people don’t even know you. Rihanna is worldwide. Don’t be mad? Get some people behind you that will make things happen for you. And it doesn’t have to be the devil. While your assembling that team… STFU!!

3. Keri Hilson (tie) Whitney Houston

Keri, and not just because she dissed Beyonce in a remix to her “Turnin me On” single (“yo vision cloudy if you think that you the best, she can sing, she can dance, but need to move to the left. she need to go have some babies, she need to sit down, she fading.”), its really the fact that she went on radio and said A) she didn’t want to record it B) she said it wasn’t about anybody in particular. STFU!!
Whitney, because on Oprah she said plenty of times she didn’t smoke crack. Oprah: “so you laced marijuana with cocaine” Whitney: “Yes Rock Cocaine”. colossal FAIL!!! Whitney STFU!!

From *Hottest to Weakest Producer of the Year*

1. Ryan Tedder. This guy started out the year in high demand. He had monster success in 2008 with Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”, and coming into 2009 he had the epic “Halo” by Beyonce. Shortly after that, it seems he had peaked. Kelly Clarkson famously called Tedder out for giving her almost an exact replica of “Halo” in her own “Already Gone”. By the time the end of the year rolled around and I’m sure he was expecting to repeat the success of “Bleeding Love” with Leona’s “Happy”, but being that it sounded just the same as pretty much all his other tracks it tanked on the charts and effectively ended his reign as the “IT” Producer of the moment.

*Leaked (!?) Nude Pics of the Year*:

1. Rihanna

Just when things couldn’t get worst. She just got beat up by her boyfriend, terrorized by the paparazzi and tabloids, and lost a cosmetics contract. Than some very sexy nude pics, obviously taken with and by than boyfriend Chris Brown. Though many question the pics that show her frontal view, most people were on Rihanna overload at that point so nobody really cared much and they were soon forgotten.

2. Jamie Foxx

The funny thing when male celebrities pictures leak, they always have to come up with a statement about it. Either declaring they are fake and that they’d never do anything like that, or admit that the pictures are them, but try to spin it so they don’t seem like a big pervert. Jamie Foxx didn’t do any of that. He or his team just made sure they were removed before it got to millions of viewers, which is something that surprisingly alot of those other guys don’t make the effort to do.

3. Cassie

For the amount of times nude pictures have leaked of a celebrity, Cassie gets the crown this year. Although she’s not much of a celebrity.

>Top 25 All-Time Favourite Artists (14-11)

>Without purposely ranking them like this, this next seems to be a celebration of of artists who were a major part of a incredible groups, but also were able to emerge and have incredible solo careers as well.

11. No Doubt & Gwen Stefani

In the late 90’s No Doubt had their big breakthrough in the now classic album “Tragic Kingdom”. The Orange County based ska/pop/rock group exploded on MTV and have since stayed a constant staple on U.S. Pop radio. Their big hits like “Underneath it All” “Just a Girl” “Spiderwebs” and their timeless classic “Don’t Speak” can be heard daily on Pop, Alternative and Rock stations. The bands work was incredible, but it wasn’t just the music that made America fall in love with the group. Their front woman Gwen Stefani can take a lot of the credit for making the group so marketable, a gorgeous, smart, fun and stylish blonde. And much respect for Stefani who decided to make a fun Pop Dance album in 2004 while the group was on hiatus which became a huge success, leading to a second album and two national solo tours. She has now said she is done with the solo thing and the group is back in the studio hoping to deliver some incredible new music (crossing our fingers) together in 2010.

myTop 3 Favourite Gwen Stefani/No Doubt albums: 1. Rock Steady (2001), 2. Tragic Kingdom (1995), 3. Love Angel Music Baby (2004)

12. Janet Jackson/ Michael Jackson & Jackson 5 (tie)

May he rest in peace, all of the various and never ending specials about Michael Jackson can’t really describe the impact he had on the 80’s. And I imagine the same can be said about the impact of the Jackson 5 in the 70’s. I just remember seeing his concerts on TV and all the people who had to be wheeled out on stretchers because they were so overwhelmed with the guy. And I also remember how whenever Michael Jackson had a new video coming out… All the family would gather around and watch it like it was the Oscars or something. I remember all the 80’s Douchebags with one glove or the “Beat It” jacket. And than I remember how quickly everybody turned on poor MJ when a scandal hit. However, before the possible pedophilia was exposed he already created a great catalogue of music for himself. And let’s not forget the scandal can’t erase the fact that he’s still regarded as The best Music Video artist ever. And his death this past summer is somewhat bittersweet. We lost a legend, but now people appreciate his legacy a lot more and his groundbreaking music.

By the time that the scandal hit, it was already time for Miss Jackson to take over as the most popular Jackson. Janet, while sort of a puppet, is a performance artist point blank. And you can criticize her minimal vocal skills, or alleged Co-writing skills, or her plastic personality, or that she has a pattern of blatantly lying to the media. One thing you can’t talk bad about is her on stage. Compared to concerts by her brother, I won’t hesitate in saying she’s a way better performer than he is. And probably one of the best performers of the past 30 years. It’s no secret that she often lipsyncs, but she Attacks the stage like nobody’s business. And (up until the last two albums) she was a very consistent album artist… you were almost guaranteed an excellent album if her name was attached.

myTop 3 Favourite Janet Jackson albums: 1. The Velvet Rope (1997), 2. Rhythm Nation (1989), 3. Control (1986)

myTop 3 Favourite Michael Jackson albums: 1. Off the Wall (1979), 2. Thriller (1982), 3. HIStory (1995)

13. Beyoncé & Destiny’s Child

I’m not going to go on and on about Beyoncé (because I could… easily), what I will say is I didn’t think an artist like her was possible anymore. So accustomed to having a female artist who could either Dance and entertain but couldn’t sing and wouldn’t sing live. Or the powerhouse singers whose performances consisted mainly of dramatic gowns and alot of standing. In comes Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child. It wasn’t until maybe 2001 where the true artist in Knowles truly started to emerge and on her debut solo album she easily shot to the top of the list in the industry. And incredibly gifted vocalist, who also is an incredible performer who sings Live (in stiletto heels no less) and engages the crowd. And she continually, in all areas, improves album after album. A True Legend in the making. Okay that’s all I’m going to say =)

myTop 3 Beyoncé/Destiny’s Child albums: 1. B’Day (2006), 2. The Writings on the Wall (1999), 3. Destiny Fulfilled (2004)

14. Raphael Saaqiq & Tony! Toni! Toné!

Saadiq is one of the most underrated Geniuses out there today. Beginning with the New-Jack swingers Tony! Toni! Toné! of the early 90’s. They were never the majorly successful mainstream group, or flavor of the moment either. They did provide a consistent string of solid and truly soulful hit singles, creating new sounds all with clear influences from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s and using live instrumentation. At the top of this decade Saadiq formed the short lived Lucy Pearl with En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammed. Though they only had one album, it was as flawless earthy and soulful as previous Tony! Toni! Toné! albums. His first solo album “Instant Vintage” is one of my all time favorites and his productions for other artists (Badu, Joss Stone, Dangelo, Whitney, Total) include a lot of my all time favorite songs.

myTop 3 Favourite Raphael Saadiq/Tony! Toni! Toné! albums: 1. Instant Vintage (2002), 2. Lucy Pearl (2000), 3. Sons of Soul (1993)

>Classic Album Review: Michael Jackson "Off the Wall"

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Album Review, Classic Album Review, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson Off The Wall, Michael Jackson Off The Wall Review, Michael Jackson Review, Off The Wall, Off The Wall Review

>Another Great One has left us. Yes, Michael Jackson shocked the world when he died this past Thursday. The great thing is that radio and video stations have been playing his classic music non stop since the news spread. And if you look on iTunes, his videos singles and albums are dominating the chart. Which is definitley a great thing because after about 2 decades of him being the “Weird” pop star with more legal battles than charting singles, the younger generation didn’t really know how talented he was and how deserving of the “King of Pop” title he actually was.

Now the younger generation will get a chance to appreciate his music without being inundated with stories of the negative aspects of Jackson’s life, and I just wanted to recommend to any kids reading this my personal favourite MJ album. That would be without a doubt “Off The Wall” his 1979 Disco/R&B opus that really re-introduced him to the world as a full grown Star, this was his first success as an adult without Jackson 5.

This is without a doubt one of his best (and possibly the best of all time) party albums ever recorded. Produced by Michael and his mentor Quincy Jones, this album is a great time capsule, mixing the popular sounds of the time with major Disco influence coupled with Funk and classic R&B. This album includes some of his most familiar hits including the laid back dance groove of “Rock With You” and the more uptempo funked up Disco of “Dont Stop Til You Get Enough“. And those start the album off, it continues with more Disco/Funk songs that rival those hits. “Workin Day and Night”, the title track (which Mariah Carey sampled a bit from on her recent album), “Burn this Disco Out” (although this sounds like a bit of filler on this album, it would probably surpass plenty of the more popular Disco hits). Possibly my favourite song from the album is “Get on the Floor“.

Not only did Jones do a knockout job on the production end, mixing all these styles masterfully into a perfect Pop and R&B hybrid, but it shouldn’t go without saying that Vocally Michael was in a very confident zone during the recording. He sounds amazing on the aforementioned songs, and when the album is slowed down temporarily his emotions are felt through his voice on somber tracks like “She’s Out of my Life” and “I Can’t Help It“. “Girlfriend” (written by Beatle Paul McCartney) is a midtempo track that’s a perfect example of his skills, matching the smooth nature of the production with a very confident smooth vocal styling.

His follow up 3 years later would make him the Star he was in the 80’s, and justify his King of Pop title. And while “Thriller” is another excellent album in his catalogue, “Off the Wall” I think is a perfect Starter album for anyone wanting to know more about Michael’s history. And this album is probably the Most R&B he had ever been in his career. Excellent album. Just a Perfect start to what would be a rollercoaster of a career.

>Award Show Review: BET Awards 09

>

I’m like, really behind as you can tell. The BET Awards were on Sunday and it’s now Tuesday morning. Not only haven’t I blogged about the awards yet, but I have some work to do because I need to post a Classic Album Review for Michael Jackson, there are a few new albums I need to review and I have to give you the new set of 6 Artists on my Top 25 All Time Artists list. And I want to have it all done by Thursday night (when I leave for Atlanta for the weekend).

So here we go.

The BET Awards 09 was the first televised award ceremony since the unexpected death of Michael Jackson. And although I feel like it’s more than appropriate for BET to celebrate him, being that a good 90% of the artists in the building owe so much to Jackson and the fact that BET have been long time supporters of all the Jacksons even when the other video networks betrayed him. And I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, they had less than three days to re-arrange the format of the show to make it a fitting and respectful tribute to the Legend.

For the most part, they did a great job. Jamie Foxx was the host and he did a pretty excellent job, his opening monologue included a hilariously funny attempt at Moonwalking and throughout the show he celebrated his love for Jackson and reminded the audience why he was so important.

There were a few performances of Jackson’s hits by current artists. Ciara performed “Heal the World”, Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo dueted at the end on “I’ll Be There”, but Ne-Yo provided the best performance (imo) with “Lady in my Life”. Ne-Yo connected with the song on an emotional level, and his vocals were the best I ever heard them. Aside from those handful of performances, and testimonies from stars in the audience on how Michael influenced them, there wasn’t much else as far as a tribute to MJ. Michael’s sister Janet Jackson came out to a standing ovation toward the end to speak for the family and thank the fans for their support.

The rest of the show was pretty typical Award show stuff.

I’m pretty sure Beyoncé won the most with two awards, Ne-Yo won, Weezy won, T.I. and Rihanna won, Lebron James won, Taraji P. Henson won. But this was not an awards show where awards were actually important. In fact, because of the last minute changes the awards alot of the categories were combined and the nominations weren’t announced. Just the winners.

Performance wise, it was pretty boring to tell you the truth.

Jamie Foxx did a terribly auto-tuned live rendition of his monster hit “Blame It”. It’s sad when T-Pain outsings you live, and you have no sense of stage presence or choreography. His performance was a bit of a mess, but still fun enough to appropriatley get the crowd on their feet.

Keri Hilson performed an uptempo medley of her two hits “Turnin Me On” and “Knock You Down” (without Ne-Yo or Kanye). She tried. She really tried. However seems like she missed a few rehearsals, or she was just super nervous. She looked awkward trying to sing live and do the little bit of choreography she was expected to do, though she still wasn’t terrible. She pulled it together enough for me not to laugh at her.

Soulja Boy Tell Em (like is that his full name? I thought it was just Soulja Boy) got the crowd all singing along to his hit(?) “Turn my Swag On”, which I hadn’t heard before and is actually a pretty catchy tune. He, like most rappers, didn’t do much performance wise. Just kind of walked back and forth on the stage. It was the crowd that made his performance a winner with Taraji, Keri and Lebron dancing and singing along.

Jay-Z introduced his new single “D.O.A. Death of Auto-Tune” to a live audience and pretty much slayed it. You could tell our boy Jigga was more than happy to be back on stage. Meanwhile his wife slowed it down (and put a bunch to sleep, I have to be honest) with her beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria” where she incorporated Sarah McLachlan‘s “Angel” and went opera on us with the original Spanish version of “Maria”. She sounded amazing, but I think everybody was expecting Sasha Fierce to come out.

Speaking of sounding Excellent, Keyshia Cole sang her duet with Monica “Trust”. They both looked great, and Keyshia made a vast improvement over her mess of a performance last year. However Monica stole ALL Ms. Cole’s shine. She sounded excellent, and like Jigga, was so excited to be back on stage. She’d be smart to release an album real soon.

Maxwell came out and performed his new single “Pretty Wings”, a beautiful song sung beautifully but just like Beyoncé Keyshia and Monica, great vocals don’t always make for the most memorable performances.

Drake and Lil Wayne‘s performance was memorable for the wrong reasons. First of all Drake was sitting down the whole time. It wasn’t until the after show that I realized he was injured and couldn’t move around. So he gets a pass, although I didn’t understand why he didn’t Sing the sung parts of his hit “Best I Ever Had”, but whatever. The most bothersome thing about the perfomance is when Lil Wayne came out with his crew to perform “We Like Her”. With all the terribly disgusting and vile comments they made within the song about Women and Sex I was really bothered with the fact they brought out about 5 or 6 under age girls (like 10-12) to stand around and dance to the song. What was he thinking?

Ofcourse there was the annual tribute, this time to The O’Jays. I can’t for the life of me figure out why they’d pull Tevin Campbell out to perform for them, but they did. Than Trey Songz, Tyrese and Johnny Gill came and sang a trio of the O’Jays hits as “The Young O’Jays”. They sounded good, but I have to say Trey Songz impressed me the most. He has great vocal talent. With the right material he’d be bigger than Chris Brown without a doubt.

I can’t think of anything else to say about the show. Masterfully MC’d by Jamie Foxx, and pretty solid performances. I think overall I may just be getting bored of Award shows. However this was a good effort overall for the network. And I think they succeeded in giving Michael a great tribute.