Grammy Nominees to Smile About : IMO

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56th Annual Grammy Award Nominations, 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Alt-J, Beach House, Capital Cities, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Fantasia, Grammy Nominations, Grammy Nominations 2013, Grammy Nominees, Grammy Nominees 2013, Grammys, Jack White, James Blake, Janelle Monae, Justin Timberlake, K Michelle, Kanye West, Kelly Rowland, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliot, Pharrell Williams, Phoenix, Solange, Tamar Braxton, Tame Impala, The Strokes, Vampire Weekend

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.

Jack White‘s “I’m Shakin” for Rock Performance.

Just because I love this song. It rocks!

David Bowie‘s Double Nominations.

“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.

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Best (and Worst) Music of 2013…So Far : MYFAVORITES

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Alt-J, Animal Collective, Atlas Genius, Baths, Best Albums of 2013, Best Music 2013, Calvin Harris, Cold War Kids, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Fantasia, Fitz and the Tantrums, fun., James Blake, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Kelly Rowland, Local Natives, Major Lazer, Outasight, Phoenix, rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion, Solange, Tame Impala, The Neighbourhood, The Strokes, Toro Y Moi, Vampire Weekend, Worst Albums of 2013, Worst Music 2013

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“), Fantasia was 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.

Honorable Mentions and 2012 Albums I Still Bump!

Solange “True” EP

Alt-J “An Awesome Wave”

Kelly Clarkson “Greatest Hits: Chapter One”

Rihanna “Unapologetic”

Animal Collective “Centipede Hz”

Tame Impala “Lonerism”

Rihanna “Unapologetic”

Ed Sheeran “+”

Calvin Harris “18 Months”

Outasight “Nights Like These”

fun. “Some Nights”

>Grammy’s 2010, Update

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50 Cent, beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Brian Eno, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, David Byrne, Dr. Dre, Elton John, Eminem, Grammys, Jamie Foxx, Jason Mraz, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Lady GaGa, Maxwell, p!nk, Phoenix, pink, rihanna, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band

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Yeah, Yeah, I know.

The Grammy’s were Sunday night and I probably should have written something either Sunday night or Monday, I’ve been kind of busy at work and starting this Spring semester. And on top of that I unfortunately missed a good chunk of the telecast. When I finally actually remembered it was on, Jamie Foxx was performing. Having missed all of my favorite artists performances I watched the rest on Mute.

So what I’ll be doing here is just to Gloat on how close I was with my predictions and just talk about the wins.

First let’s talk about Me, (and by the way, i advertised the Mess out of my Grammy prediction blog on Twitter, and only one comment. I Love comments, so if you happen to be reading my blog now or in the future, don’t be afraid to leave a comment) of the 20 categories I ventured to make predictions on, I got 11 of them correct and only 8 wrong. I got a half point for the biggest surprise of the night Album of the Year, I said Dave Matthews Band “Will Win” (they didn’t) but I said Taylor Swift “Should Win” (she did).

Here’s a quick rundown of the predictions I got right:

New Artist – Zac Brown Band (Only because I don’t see any other act winning)
Female Pop Vocal Performance – Beyoncé “Halo” (A Heartfelt Emotional and Intense vocal on a really popular song)
Male Pop Vocal Performance – Jason Mraz “Make it Mine” (Sometimes Grammy’s give an artist an award one year because they lost the previous year. Mraz should have gotten Grammy gold for his now Record Breaking hit “I’m Yours” but went home empty handed. This award might be his redemption.)
Pop Vocal Album – Black Eyed Peas “The E.N.D.” (this may be their category)
Dance Recording – Lady GaGa “Poker Face” (If she only gets one award on Sunday, this will be it. It has her name written all over it.)

Rock Performance, Duo or Group – Kings of Leon “Use Somebody” (No Brainer. I talked them up for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, so there’s no reason they can’t take this.)
Female R&B Vocal Performance – Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (I don’t think Mrs. Carter has anything to worry about here.)
Male R&B Vocal Performance – Maxwell “Pretty Wings” (Another No Brainer... nobody else even comes close.)
R&B Album – Maxwell “Blacksummers’night” (His first album in 8 years, it debuts at #1 and has a #1 single. No way he won’t win.)
Contemporary R&B Album – Beyoncé “I Am… Sasha Fierce” (Although I consider this album a POP album, this should be the clear winner.)
Rap Album – Eminem “Relapse” (His album was a major disappointment, but in this race he’s the most popular and most successful name. So unfortunately this goes to him.)

and here’s what I got wrong:

Record of the Year – Kings of Leon “Use Somebody”(in my defense: Kings of Leon have a really great shot at winning both of these awards for “Use Somebody”)
Song of the Year – Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
Electronica/Dance Album – Lady GaGa “The Fame” (GaGa is their biggest competition)
Rock Song – Kings of Leon “Use Somebody”
Alternative Album – Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” (I was so extremely happy to see Phoenix and Yeah Yeah Yeah’s nominated in this category… Although I ranked Phoenix higher)
R&B Song – Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
Rap Solo Performance – Jay-Z “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Rap Song – Jay-Z “Run This Town” (Note: i picked Jay-Z for “Should Have Won” just the wrong song… I actually have no idea who is the favorite here. I could say Jay-Z cancels himself out, but “Run this Town” was a pretty big hit for him and he’s bound to win at least one award on Sunday)

Although I didn’t have a perfect score, I got more than half of my predictions right (but with a 57.5% average, I most certainly would have failed if this was a test) and I’m totally Not surprised by the actual wins. Well a few. Since I had predicted it, I wasn’t shocked by Taylor Swift’s Album of the Year win. Like I said she’s had a great run this past year, and she’s like America’s Sweetheart of the moment. And in the absence of any real Legendary artists, it was a pretty open race to begin with. I predicted Dave Matthews Band would take that award, but surprisingly enough they lost both of their two nominations for the album.

My predictions for Kings of Leon were pretty spot on though. I actually gave them Song of the Year and not Record of the Year, so I was a little backwards there. They triumphed over Lady GaGa for Record of the Year with “Use Somebody”, but Beyoncé took the Song of the Year prize. That actually surprised me, I honestly didn’t think the songs popularity would translate into a Songwriting award. However, Kings of Leon ended up winning three awards total and I predicted they’d win two of the three.

Jay-Z‘s wins were a little surprising to me. Well not his, Rihanna and Kanye West‘s win for Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Run This Town”, but his dominance in every rap category outside of Album (his “Blueprint3” missed the cut off date for nominations, expect it to be nominated next year). He snatched up Rap Solo Performance and Rap Song from newbies Drake and Kid Cudi, who I predicted would win. For Rap Album, I was actually hoping I wasn’t right but Eminem‘s mediocre album won anyway. (I will say that “Crack a Bottle”, featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre, which won for Rap Performance Duo or Group DID deserve the win it got)

I wanted to point out how happy I am that Phoenix won for Alternative Album. I was certain that award would go to Brian Eno and David Byrne because of their legendary status. I feared that Phoenix was still clinging to the “underground” crowd too much for the more mainstream Grammy voters to give them the prize. They managed to scoop up the very deserved trophy though. The only other win that I was really surprised by was the R&B Song race. Beyoncé triumphed over Maxwell in this category, and I personally don’t think it’s right. I said it over and over on the last blog post, “Pretty Wings” was almost the epitome of an R&B song whereas “Single Ladies” was more or less a catchy Club song. And I also disagree with the win for Short Form Video to Black Eyed Peas‘ “Boom Boom Pow”. I bought the video from iTunes, so it is a great video. Not better (in my opinion) than Coldplay‘s weird but hilarious “Life in Technicolor ii”.

So that’s the extent of my complaints about the winners. As I said before, I didn’t actually see the telecast but I did catch a few of the performances on Youtube. I watched Lady GaGa, prior to the ceremony it was announced that her and Elton John would perform together. She opened the show with “Poker Face” and than her and John sat at a double-sided piano, which was adorned with severed limbs, and belted out a mix of GaGa’s “Speechless” and John’s classic “Your Song”. A Good performance, not as groundbreaking or forward thinking as some of her previous outings but still one of the best of the night.

Upon hearing that Beyoncé broke the record for most wins by a female in a single night, I had to go onto her board and Gloat to all the haters. And on the boards people were talking, glowingly, about Pink’s performance. She performed “Glitter in the Air” from her nominated album “Funhouse”. The performance started off simple with her just walking and stripping on the stage, than she attached herself to a massive piece of cloth and started her now too familiar Trapeze act. Sure she did practically the same thing on the 09 VMA’s (and on her tour DVD from 2007), but it was slightly different in that she ended the performance with water dripping off of her. I was personally not impressed.

I also wasn’t very impressed with Beyoncé’s performance of “If I Were a Boy”. She sounded okay, but I just really don’t like the live arrangement of that song with Alanis Morrissette’s hit “You Oughta Know” attached. And the way she changed the lyrics to the first verse made the performance feel like a medley of three songs. Not her best, but still pretty solid I suppose.

And of course as I mentioned before I caught a glimpse of Jamie Foxx. His backing track was at a seriously loud volume to drown out his voice, the only way I could tell he was actually singing was due to some glitch with the sound system where you could faintly hear vocals coming from his mic randomly. He brought a bunch of other people on stage, but I muted his performance almost as soon as I turned it on. There were countless performances, but really GaGa, Beyoncé and Pink were the only ones I even cared to watch.

So until next year!

>Grammy 2010 Predictions!!

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>This Sunday, the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be telecast via CBS.

The biggest night in music, and as always I’m definitely interested to see who picks up one of those beloved trophies. The nominations came out at the end of 2009, and they were pretty odd. Grammy has steadily been trying to change their image over the past 10 years, so it’s become less about a critical success, or even just honoring established artists. It seems that the Grammy’s are more about who has sold the most and who is more popular overall. Hence the Album of the Year race, which (imo) is one of the weakest in Grammy history. There are also some very odd happenings in the races for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and New Artist. And certain artists seem to be misplaced, for instance Black Eyed Peas nominated for Pop Album and not Dance album. The nominations are very odd, but like I do every year I’m going to try to make sense of all the nominees and make some sound predictions and Hope that I can maintain my near-flawless record.

Album of the Year:

Beyoncé, I Am… Sasha Fierce
Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Lady GaGa, The Fame
Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
Taylor Swift, Fearless

There have been some very questionable Albums up for this award in recent history, but they always lose out to classic artists (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss last year, Herbie Hancock in 2008 and Ray Charles in 2005). This year, the only act you can consider Classic is Dave Matthews Band. And for that reason I think they will win. Though when I look at Metacritic, the album got a really average rating. The album was a #1 hit and managed to sell a million copies, but I’m not quite sure it’s their year. Black Eyed Peas and Lady GaGa are pretty much out of this race, and I would say the same about Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. These four acts and their music are too young and contemporary for older members to vote for them. However both Taylor and Beyoncé have a shot because they are both insanely popular and well-respected in the industry. This is a hard call, but…

Will Win: Dave Matthews Band. Classic and well -respected band. Enough said

Should Win: Taylor Swift. And I’ve not heard this album, but she writes her own songs and was a huge phenomenon this year and she’s only 17. Though what’s going to hurt her most in this category is the fact she’ll most likely sweep all the Country categories she’s up for.

Record of the Year:

Beyoncé, Halo
Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling
Kings of Leon, Use Somebody
Lady GaGa, Poker Face
Taylor Swift, You Belong with Me

Song of the Year:

Lady GaGa, Poker Face
Maxwell, Pretty Wings
Beyoncé, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Kings of Leon, Use Somebody
Taylor Swift, You Belong with Me

Even though I think it’s one of their worst songs, Kings of Leon have a really great shot at winning both of these awards for “Use Somebody”. They emerged as the Hot Rock Group of the year thanks to their far superior single “Sex of Fire” (and last years Grammy winner for best Rock Vocal, Duo or Group). “Use Somebody” became their first Top 5 US Hit, and completely assaulted Pop radio this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I wouldn’t even mind if they won both of these categories. They’ve been working hard and it took them their fourth album to successfully cross over to the mainstream.

However, “Poker Face” and “Single Ladies” were HUGE this past year. And this is where things get odd. Generally Record of the Year goes to the song that was most popular that year, and Song of the Year goes to the more critically lauded single. “Single Ladies” would have been a natural in the Record of the Year race, but it’s not there and lyrically, I don’t think the song was as critically acclaimed so it will probably lose the Song of the Year race. Which leaves “Poker Face”, nominated in both categories. This addictive hit basically put GaGa on the map, so for that reason I think it has a good shot at Record of the Year.

Record of the Year
Will Win: Lady GaGa. Insanely popular and catchy, a natural for the category.
Should Win: Black Eyed Peas. Guetta’s production and the Peas’ energetic delivery make this song a clear 10.

Song of the Year
Will Win: Kings of Leon. An inspirational A/C leaning Rock Ballad. Total Grammy bait.

Should Win: Maxwell. This is probably the best and most authentic R&B song in a long while, plus Maxwell’s gotta win something this year.

New Artist:

Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Also very odd. This category is always odd though. Like when Lauryn Hill was nominated and won in 1998, although she had previously won multiple Grammy’s as a member of Fugees. And this year we have Lady GaGa out of the running because she was nominated for a Grammy last year, but MGMT and Ting Tings who released their debuts in 2008 are up for new artists this year. And worst than that Silversun Pickups released their first album 4 years ago. Very Very odd, but I think this race comes down to Silversun Pickups and Zac Brown Band, the two acts I know the least about. I do know that the Zac Brown Band are the only country acts up for the award. In the past 10 years only one country act has won this award (Carrie Underwood in 2007), but this race is so wide open it might go to the most popular act and Zac Brown Band might be that act, with over a million in sales and a #1 Country single.

Will Win: Zac Brown Band. Only because I don’t see any other act winning.

Should Win: MGMT. “Oracular Spectacular” was one of the most talked about and critically acclaimed albums of that year. And more important than that, they brought a fresh new sound more so than anybody else nominated.

Female Pop Vocal Performance:

Adele, Hometown Glory
Beyoncé, Halo
Katy Perry, Hot N Cold
Pink, Sober
Taylor Swift, You Belong with Me

Off the top we can cancel out Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. Their nominated singles are no doubt fun, but not in the same league vocally as the rest. Pink has a good shot, but Beyoncé will probably take this one home.

Will Win: Beyoncé. A Heartfelt Emotional and Intense vocal on a really popular song.
Should Win: Adele. Because this song is one of the best vocal performances of the decade.

Male Pop Vocal Performance:

John Legend, This Time
Maxwell, Love You
Jason Mraz, Make it Mine
Seal, If You Don’t Know Me By Now
Stevie Wonder, All About the Love Again

Will Win: Jason Mraz. Sometimes Grammy’s give an artist an award one year because they lost the previous year. Mraz should have gotten Grammy gold for his now Record Breaking hit “I’m Yours” but went home empty handed. This award might be his redemption.
Should Win: John Legend. Just for an amazing song which is pretty much the definition of this category.

Pop Vocal Album:

Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Colbie Caillat, Breakthrough
Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted
The Fray, The Fray
Pink, Funhouse

Will Win: Black Eyed Peas or Colbie Caillat. Even though they were one of the nominee leaders, I don’t see Black Eyed Peas winning a bunch of awards this year. So this may be their category. Although Caillat is becoming a rising star in the pop world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulled the win on this one.
Should Win: Pink. Only because I consider “The E.N.D.” to be more of a Dance album, while “Funhouse” is a really good mix of different Pop sounds.

Dance Recording:

Black Eyed Peas, Boom Boom Pow
David Guetta and Kelly Rowland, When Love Takes Over
Lady GaGa, Poker Face
Madonna, Celebration
Britney Spears, Womanizer

Will Win: Lady GaGa. If she only gets one award on Sunday, this will be it. It has her name written all over it. Her only real competition is the equally successful “Boom Boom Pow”.
Should Win: Madonna. Since “Sexy Bitch” by Guetta and Akon isn’t in the running, this song is the only one with a straight up and genuine Dance sound. And it’s one of her best singles in years.

Electronic/Dance Album:

The Crystal Method, Divided by Night
David Guetta, One Love
Lady GaGa, The Fame
LMFAO, Party Rock
Pet Shop Boys, Yes

Will Win: Pet Shop Boys. Only because they are Classic artists, and classic artists in this specific genre too. GaGa is their biggest competition, but I think they have a really good chance here.
Should Win: David Guetta. For getting some really top name acts, and giving them some real dance music to sing over.

Rock Performance, Duo or Group:

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Can’t Find My Way Home
Coldplay, Life in Technicolor II
Green Day, 21 Guns
Kings of Leon, Use Somebody
U2, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight

Will Win: Kings of Leon. No Brainer. I talked them up for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, so there’s no reason they can’t take this.

Should Win: Green Day. Because I’m not going to give the award to a Live recording (Clapton and Winwood) or a Remix (Coldplay) or a song from an album that completely sucked (U2). And this song is another instant classic like their Record of the Year winning “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”.

Rock Song:

Pearl Jam, The Fixer
U2, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Green Day, 21 Guns
Kings of Leon, Use Somebody
Bruce Springsteen, Working on a Dream

Will Win: I would say Kings of Leon, but Bruce Springsteen has won this award Two years in a row (and Four times total) and it looks likely that he’ll win for a third.
Should Win: Green Day. See previous category.

Alternative Album:

David Byrne & Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Death Cab for Cutie, The Open Door
Depeche Mode, Sounds of the Universe
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz!

I was so extremely happy to see Phoenix and Yeah Yeah Yeah’s nominated in this category. They are two very worthy competitors (and my #3 and #6 Top Albums of 2009), but unfortunately I feel like they are going to lose out.

Will Win: David Byrne & Brian Eno. Simply because they really are the orchestrators of the Alternative (back than No-Wave and New Wave) sound. In fact, I’m 100% sure all of the acts nominated were heavily influenced by either Byrne or Eno at some point in their careers.
Should Win: Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Although I ranked Phoenix higher, I think “It’s Blitz” is closer to the Alternative sound, and the production value is Loud, Punk and Rock but also very polished.

Female R&B Vocal:

Beyoncé, Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)
Melanie Fiona, It Kills Me
Lalah Hathaway, That Was Then
Ledisi, Goin’ Thru Changes
Jazmine Sullivan, Lions Tigers and Bears

Will Win: No Brainer. Beyoncé. In fact it looks like they nominated lesser known acts and songs just so Beyoncé would have no problem winning this. Slight upset possibility with Melanie Fiona, but I don’t think Mrs. Carter has anything to worry about here.

Should Win: Beyoncé. “Whu-Uh oh, oh oh oh oh oh ooh, oh oh oh, Whu-Uh oh!” how can lyrics that great NOT win? =P

Male R&B Vocal:

Anthony Hamilton, The Point of it All
Maxwell, Pretty Wings
Musiq Soulchild, Sobeautiful
Pleasure P, Under
Charlie Wilson, There Goes My Baby

Will Win: Another No Brainer. Maxwell. And this seems to be the same case with Female R&B Vocal, nobody else even comes close.

Should Win: Maxwell. but Anthony Hamilton’s nominated song is just as flawless as Maxwell’s hit.

R&B Song:

Jamie Foxx, Blame It
Jazmine Sullivan, Lions Tigers and Bears
Maxwell, Pretty Wings
Beyoncé, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Pleasure P, Under

Will Win: Maxwell. Like I said before, this song is Pure and Classic R&B.

Should Win: Maxwell. For the very same reason.

R&B Album:

Anthony Hamilton, The Point of it All
India.Arie, Testimony: Vol. 2 Love & Politics
Ledisi, Turn Me Loose
Maxwell, Blacksummers’night
Charlie Wilson, Uncle Charlie

Will Win: Maxwell. His first album in 8 years, it debuts at #1 and has a #1 single. No way he won’t win.

Should Win: Anthony Hamilton. Maxwell’s album had 8 songs on it, Anthony Hamilton put together a FULL album with very few flaws.

Contemporary R&B Album:

Beyoncé, I Am… Sasha Fierce
Jamie Foxx, Intuition
Pleasure P, The Introduction of Marcus Cooper
Trey Songz, Ready
T-Pain, Thr33 Ringz

Now first I want to get on a little tangent. Where is The-Dream!? And in fact where was he last year when J. Holiday’s inferior album “Back of my ‘Lac” (even the title sucks) was nominated in place of The-Dream’s “Love/Hate”. Can’t cry over spilled milk, but than this year comes along and The-Dream’s “Love vs Money” is excluded, but under performing and nearly forgotten T-Pain and Pleasure P (WHO?) are nominated instead. I don’t understand what they are doing, but it might be similar to the Female R&B Vocal where they are just giving this award away to Beyoncé.

Will Win: Beyoncé. Although I consider this album a POP album, this should be the clear winner.

Should Win: Beyoncé. Sure go ahead and give it to her. The only albums that could upset are Trey Songz and Jamie Foxx, but I doubt many voters would pass her over for these two guys.

Rap Solo Performance:

Drake, Best I Ever Had
Eminem, Beautiful
Jay-Z, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
Kid Cudi, Day n Nite
Mos Def, Casa Bey

Will Win: Drake. That was clearly the most popular song of the 5, and the rap categories are always less about the quality and more about who has the most recognizable name and which song was most memorable.

Should Win: Mos Def or Kid Cudi. “Casa Bey” might be too short of a song, but Mos Def’s flow on the song definitely trumps everybody else nominated. Cudi because his hit “Day n Nite” was the most different, it didn’t sound like a typical Hip Hop/Rap song. In fact, Cudi might be next in line to win.

Rap Song:

Drake, Best I Ever Had
Kid Cudi, Day n Nite
T.I., Dead and Gone
Jay-Z, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
Jay-Z, Run this Town

Will Win: I actually have no idea who is the favorite here. I could say Jay-Z cancels himself out, but “Run this Town” was a pretty big hit for him and he’s bound to win at least one award on Sunday. Cudi and Drake also have great chances of winning this. I’m gonna just take a wild guess and say Kid Cudi “Day n Nite” will take the prize.

Should Win: Jay-Z, D.O.A. This single marked a true return to form for Jigga. It’s agressive and hectic, and he’s actually saying something worthwhile. However, Cudi also Should win (now that I think of it, why wasn’t he nominated for best New Artist??)

Rap Album:

Common, Universal Mind Control
Eminem, Relapse
Flo Rida, R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def, The Ecstatic
Q-Tip, The Renaissance

Just like I was very happy to see Phoenix and Yeah Yeah Yeahs up for Alternative Album, I was VERY happy to see Mos Def Q-Tip and Common up in this category. Unfortunately they won’t win. All of those very classic and very original Hip Hop albums didn’t make any noise sales wise, or even singles wise. I just pray that Flo Rida doesn’t come in and get the Popularity vote (I doubt he will, he hasn’t been very relevant since “Right Round” finally fell off the charts after an impressive run.

Will Win: Eminem. His album was a major disappointment, but in this race he’s the most popular and most successful name. So unfortunately this goes to him.

Should Win: Q-Tip. Common and Mos put together some fantastic albums, but Q-Tip is the one that had the clearer message and the most consistent sequencing of material.

Alright that’s it. There’s like, 22 Million categories but these are the ones I feel I’m more qualified to have an opinion on. Looking through the nominations I did see a bunch of stuff I need to actually listen to. Maybe if I can listen to everything by Sunday my predictions may change. I doubt it though, the quality doesn’t really matter at the Grammy’s. And that’s not really a bad thing I suppose, The Grammy’s do mean a lot. They just basically mean your peers respect you, maybe just for one album or just one song, but I’m certain it means a lot to artists who were inspired by Music Legends and their peers. To be inspired by them, and than being awarded by them has to be Awesome.

So watch the Grammy’s on Sunday. Among the performers are Bon Jovi, Maxwell, Pink, Green Day, Lady Antebellum, Beyoncé. Mary J Blige and Andrea Boccelli are going to duet (Whoa!). And the obligatory Michael Jackson tribute performance, which I read somewhere was going to be in 3D (probably a terrible rumor). Most importantly, watch to see how Awesome I am at predicting the winners!

>Year In Music, 2009!!

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>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.

>Album Reviews: Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Phoenix, The Crystal Method, The Living Things

Tags

Album Review, Back on My B.S., Back on My B.S. Review, Busta Rhymes, Busta Rhymes Back on My B.S., Busta Rhymes Back on My B.S. Review, Busta Rhymes Review, Crystal Method, Crystal Method Divided by Night, Crystal Method Divided by Night Review, Crystal Method Review, Divided by Night, Divided by Night Review, Eminem, Eminem Relapse, Eminem Relapse Review, Eminem Review, Habeas Corpus, Habeas Corpus Review, Living Things, Living Things Habeas Corpus, Living Things Habeas Corpus Review, Living Things Review, Phoenix, Phoenix Review, Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Review, Relapse, Relapse Review, The Crystal Method, The Crystal Method Divided by Night, The Crystal Method Divided by Night Review, The Crystal Method Review, The Living Thing Habeas Corpus, The Living Things, The Living Things Habeas Corpus Review, The Living Things Review, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Review

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“Guess Who’s Back, Back Again. Shady’s Back, Tell a Friend” Yes, just when no one was wondering where he was or when he was going to come back (if at all), Eminem releases his first album in almost 6 years “Relapse” (released officially today). He left us with the 2003 release “Encore”, which was pretty much officially dubbed his Worst album by fans and critics alike. Even though it really wasn’t all that bad. Shortly thereafter in 2005 he somewhat announced his retirement coinciding with the release of his first Greatest Hits album “Curtain Call”, though he did manage to make a few collabo’s where he “murdered” fellow rappers “on their own shit” (see “Touchdown” by T.I., or the “Lean Back remix” by Fat Joe). I guess the hardcore Em “Stans” have been anticipating this release for a while now. Me? Not so much. And having listened to “Relapse” (the rappers 6th studio album) I realize why. In 2000, “The Marshall Mathers LP” really impressed me. The genius lyricism and delivery of “Stan”, the intensity of “Kim”, the fun of “The Real Slim Shady”. It was pretty much a perfect album that truly displayed what made him so popular with his debut album. The 2002 follow up “The Eminem Show” was also a bonafied Hip Hop Classic and actually had Em being a little more creative. The problem with 2003’s “Encore” and now “Relapse”, is there is really no evolution with his music. There’s really nothing on this new album that truly stood out because it feels like we’ve heard it all before. From the albums intro I thought this might be a pretty interesting concept album, about a former addict trying to Avoid a relapse. Unfortunately what we get is Eminem talking about Pop celebrities, drugs, and his mom AGAIN. He hasn’t lost any of his skills in delivery or flow, which actually helps to save the album along with the Dr. Dre production, but I’m a little disappointed because I did expect more from him with this album. Again, this isn’t a bad album… I’d say “Hello” “Crack a Bottle” “Beautiful” and “Medicine Ball” are a few of the memorable tracks. He’s supposed to be releasing “Relapse 2” sometime next year, maybe he’ll dig deeper with that one.

A little less disappointing is Busta Rhymes‘ 8th album “Back on My B.S.” (set to be released May 19th). Last year with “Throw Da Water on Em” and “We Made It” on the charts, I was really amped up for Busta’s album. Not to mention the fact that 2006’s “The Big Bang” album was actually ALOT better than I expected. Unfortunatley a new album never came out last year, and those two songs are Absent from this album (“We Made It”, his collabo with Linkin Park, is going to be available on iTunes as a iTunes bonus track). Fortunatley he has great stuff to fill the voids. This album by no means is his best, there are some obvious duds (“Hustlers Anthem” with T-Pain sounds dated, “Don’t Believe Em” featuring Akon and T.I. copies way too much from T.I.’s own “Live Your Life”, and there are a few tracks that are just missing a great hook) but there are some seriously Great Moments on this album. The current single “Respect my Conglomerate” with Jadakiss and Weezy, “Shoot for the Moon”, “We Want In” (“if 2 dollars is getting made, We want in, If a stock is getting trade, We want in” — I can relate Lol). “Kill Dem” with Pharrell is easily one of the best songs with Busta riding the dancehall beat like a pro. Busta is one of the more underrated (imo) rappers alive, and on this album he shows that he can still be relevant (check out “World Go Round” with Estelle. A perfect mash up of Dance, Electronica and Hip Hop. Flo Rida WHO?), and he can still be creative and give us the unexpected.

Now on to something completely different, The Crystal Method released their latest “Divided by Night” this month. Basically there’s Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Armand Van Helden than the Prodigy or the Chemical Brothers, maybe Paul Oakenfold or Fatboy Slim… bottom line, The Crystal Method were never close to being my favourite electronic group. But, with all those other guys out of commission lately (although Basement Jaxx WILL be releasing a new album this year. YES!) I turned to this album to fill the Electronica void. And, now I know why these guys aren’t my favourite. This album is only 12 tracks and it’s a bit of a task to get through it all. A lot of the songs like the title track or “Slipstream” just seem to go on and on and on, with nothing really exciting enough to keep your attention. A good majority of it sounds like old Daft Punk, especially the title track which (imo) does a terribly uninspired job of copying “Robot Rock”. There are a few high points, “Falling Hard” with Meiko being one of the best. Also the single “Drown in the Now” featuring Matisyahu, “Blunts and Robots” featuring Peter Hook or “Black Rainbows” with Stefanie King Warfield. Still the overall feel for the album to me was “Been there. Done that. No need to listen again”

The same can be said for rock group The Living Things‘ album “Habeas Corpus“. When I heard “Let it Rain” on VH1, I was really excited to hear their full album. That track is actually one of the best produced, written and vocally performed songs I’ve heard in a while. At the very least of the year. On top of that it’s catchy enough to rival some of the Pop songs out. Actually, this album sounds more like a Pop album than Rock or Alternative. It’s like harder edged Max Martin productions, but I won’t take points away for that. What I will say is the album starts off with a huge bang in “Brass Knuckles” and keeps that momentum going through to a great potential chart topper “Oxygen”. However it hits a rough patch halfway through and the album kind of dies out after that. “Island in Your Heart” is a terrible attempt at hybridizing Rock and Country music, “Post Millennium Extinction” tries hard to Rock but just lacks something in the verses. The saving grace on the bottom half of the album is another potential hit “Shake Your Shimmy”, which has an insanely addictive hook. All in all, I do think this album has enough to justify repeated listens. Who knows, It might just grow on me.

Lastly is my biggest surprise of the week. The new album from a French Pop/Rock group Phoenix entitled “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix“ (the album hits stores in the US on May 26th, but is already available on iTunes). Now this shows how LATE I am. I’m listening to the album and loving it. Literally every minute of it, and I’m thinking I’m listening to a New group. I look on iTunes and this is the groups 4th album since 2000. I will have to listen to their prior albums to get some perspective on their music. For now, this is my favourite album of 2009. The production on this album is the main sell, this group is a weird mix of Electronica, Rock and Pop. And the backing music seems to combine the three sounds into a perfect harmony. The mostly instrumental “Love like a Sunset” is the albums peak. And it really is the best way to describe the style of the album. It’s almost as if Daft Punk remixed The Beatles mid-60’s “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” era music, with a little inspiration vocally and lyrically from The Killers. Other insta-classics are “Lasso” “Girlfriend” and “Fences”. Every song here is great though, and with only 10 tracks this album will easily get repeated plays.