I didn’t update the blog at all last week, Sorry. You know I go back and forth about if I really want to continue this blog, and last week I was definitely not feeling it. It has been incredibly busy for me this week at work, but I decided to do this while I have a short little breather. First off, here is what probably would have made the list last week. I downloaded Sia‘s album “1000 Forms of Fear” and completely fell in love with it, and was pretty much obsessed with it the whole week which would explain her dominance. Other than Sia, enjoy the rest of the list. Oh and apparently LADIES ROCK because this entire list is comprised of womenz!
10. Rihanna “Roc Me Out”
I got back into my Rihanna Playlist a bit last week (she’s a great remedy for a busy work day), and yeah this is an underrated song with hella swag that is so much fun to sing (“real hush-a boy don’t you speak it”).
9. Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball”
Good song.
8. Alicia Keys featuring John Mayer “Lesson Learned”
This song like, ALWAYS breaks my heart. I feel her pain. This is really an excellent song. So a little back story, because Alicia is well represented on this countdown as well. Remember that post about Artists who should release “Greatest Hits” albums, well I’m trying to decide if I want to do a bigger project with that – but I started out by making the tracklistings and testing them out. I started with Alicia, and I must say, the playlist I made is EX-CE-LLENT!!!! I added this song, though it wasn’t a single, because I think it’s one of those album cuts that most people really enjoy and it shows more diversity to her.
7. Miley Cyrus featuring Britney Spears “SMS (Bangerz)”
Ionlike the Britney part, but this song is ridiculously cute.
6. Rihanna featuring Eminem “Numb”
I LOVELOVELOVELOVE this song, never get tired of it, so obviously when I broke out that Rihanna playlist this was on repeat for a minute.
5. Alicia Keys “You Don’t Know My Name”
This is probably (well not probably, it IS) my favorite Alicia song. I love that Kanye track, it’s so smooth and has that rock to it. And the “milk and cream” part always makes me smile. Classic.
4. Alicia Keys “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart”
I’m telling you guys, my Alicia Playlist is off the hook, and I tend to always get really excited when this song comes on. It might actually become one of my Top favorites by her.
3. Sia “Big Girls Cry”
Let’s just say the next 3 songs are tied, because I love Sia’s album so much. THIS song is actually the one that made me say “hey, this might actually be a really cool album”. I love the way Sia plays with her voice and phrasing, so that it’s almost very mumble-y but she still has a really strong voice and the emotions she puts on these songs is always on point and appropriate for the songs.
2. Sia featuring The Weeknd and Diplo “Elastic Heart”
Wow! The production on this track KILLS. The lyrics KILL. And this might be the only instance where The Weeknd was singing and his falsetto “voice” didn’t annoy the shit out of me. GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT SONG!
1. Sia “Chandelier”
It’s funny, because I feel like this song has been out for a minute. I remember seeing people post it on Facebook but I never listened. I like Sia and everything, but I just wasn’t ready to join a Sia-bandwagon. PLUS, unless it’s one of my favorite artists, I prefer to listen to the whole album instead of isolated singles. This song is nothing short of amazing, and definitely deserving of the hit status it’s received.
I’ll be honest, I’m not in the best mood right now and was almost not going to do this post. But hey, I still have over an hour before my class starts and I already promised I would post it… so, this might be a little condensed and not really what I wanted to share, but I’ll try my best.
Basically, my New York journey lasted for about 5 and a half months. I had lots of fun there, lots of frustration, met really amazing people. Even though I had moments of pure irritation, I truly did feel I fit in there as opposed to my Bay Area home. And I also felt like I was growing into the person I’ve always wanted to be.
But enough about all of that, let’s talk about the Music. I’m a music fiend, so the music I listened to and heard while there shaped my NYC Soundtrack. There are certain songs that now whenever I hear them, it always reminds me of a moment in New York.
So here is a chronicle of some of those songs and albums that now have a permanent New York stamp on them.
Jessie J “Wild”
The line “am i asleep, no i’m alive” was one that stuck with me the first day I was in NYC, walking around in Times Square and in disbelief that I actually made it and was there.
Britney Spears “Work Bitch”
I guess this song was a Billboard flop? Who cares, this song is the shit! And I would have never guessed it was a flop because when I finally did start going OUT this was very popular among DJ’s and drunks alike.
Ikona Pop & Charlie XCX “I Love It”
Speaking of going out, I swear it seemed like every time I entered a bar or club (well, the ones that played Pop music) this song was playing. I can’t stand the song, but whenever I hear it I’ll think of that.
Kendrick Lamar “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”
I think once I switched from tourist to job-seeker, this song helped out a lot.
Tamar Braxton ‘”Love & War” – Album
And yeah, my very confusing trips on the Subway were almost always accompanied with HER. This album was released only a few weeks before I left for New York so it was still new, but familiar enough so I could zone the fuck out and mime her amazing vocals and great songs. This album was actually the most played my entire trip to NYC … until of course Beyonce came back around, but we’ll get to that later.
Lorde “Royals”
I think Ikona Pop’s song was fading out at the same time this song was blowing up. I have a slight tolerance for this song NOW, but gawd I hated it when it was getting popular and of course all those bars were playing the hell out of this. Actually the night me and my FullBlast buddy went out to Industry I caught a pretty decent drag queen singing (and I mean actually Singing) this song.
Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake “Holy Grail”
Another song I HATE, but this was popular among the cars rolling past. I really cannot get over Timberlake’s screech fest on this song and still hate it, but it will always remind me of New York now.
Drake “Nothing Was the Same” – Album
Drake’s third album was released maybe a week after I arrived to New York. I wasn’t instantly loving it, but apparently NYC was. “Hold On, We’re Going Home” gave the Urban clubs LIFE nearly every time I went. And I would always hear random songs bleeding out of people’s cars (I guess this album replaced Jay-Z’s that year). One fun memory though, One night (had to be sometime in November) me and my girl -friend were out late hella drunk and we went to Boxer’s HK (one of our favorite spots) and it was empty so I guess the bartender or whoever put on the Drake album and me and my friend were acting mad crazy to “Worst Behaviour”. I should also say towards the end of the trip, I was really connecting with “Connect” (ha! see what I did there)
Eminem & Rihanna “Monster”
I remember getting an email that this song was out, and I just immediately went to iTunes and downloaded. I was suffering a real Rihanna drought and had to have it. I remember the night I did, I was in Brooklyn maybe my first week living there (I moved there late October) and I walked up and down the blocks with this song on repeat.
K Michelle “Rebellious Soul” – Album
Okay, so K. Michelle did an interview on The Skorpion Show. I liked K before hand, but I was struck by her comments on Tamar (or Ta-Muppet)’s album. Of course the girls were at odds at the time so she wasn’t going to say anything glowing about it, but it just made me interested in finally checking out her album. I’m glad I did because it definitely became a favorite.
James Blake – ALL
James Blake was my first and only New York City concert. I was really excited because I obviously love his music, and I was interested in checking out the NYC concert crowds. So I was getting ready by listening to him almost obsessively. I remember my night walks in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn vibing to his tunes. If I was going to pull one song, it would have to be “To The Last”.
Justin Timberlake “You Got It On”
Just dope, love this song.
J. Cole & TLC “Crooked Smile”
Remember when that TLC movie happened, well this (as well as the TLC Playlist I had to make) was because of that. I recall several mornings waiting for that 4, 5 or 6 to my Upper East Side job with this song on repeat.
Lady GaGa & R. Kelly “Do What U Want”
This song was surprisingly popular in NYC. The energy you would feel when it was played was high, like everybody was HERE for GaGa and the just released “ARTPOP” album. Another favorite song that accompanied me on my late night Brooklyn walks.
fun. “Some Nights” – Album
I honestly don’t know what spurred on my need to purchase this album, but I swear to you THIS album was such a big help for me throughout the last few months of being in NYC. By November I was getting extremely frustrated by not having a full time job, by my living situation at the time, by lots of things, and this album seemed to speak to me in several different songs. “All Alright” was my fave, “Some Nights”, “Stars” and a bunch of songs had lines in there that I related to and felt like “well hey, I’m not alone in this feeling”. I think “Why Am I The One” was especially funny because I was moving from Brooklyn to Washington Heights (my third time moving in three months) and “why am I the one, always packing up my stuff” perfectly fit my mood at the time. Bottom line, this album was my NYC album bar none.
So, I have an hour left in class and I won’t have time to finish this. As of now, I’m officially making this Part 1 and Part 2 should be up sometime tomorrow. And I’ll add YouTube clips and more pics and all that as well. The only reason I’m posting this now is because I promised it. It’s already Wednesday in New York and only a few hours left in Tuesday here… but, eh, whatever!
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the amazing Neptunes
I don’t think any Neptunes or Pharrell Williams Blog Special would be complete without counting down the amazing and infectious productions of The Neptunes. On a personal note, starting around 2001 I became a massive fan of the work of Chad Hugo and Pharrell and their danceably catchy tracks that took over the radio shortly after I discovered them via Kelis’ debut album “Kaleidoscope”. Not only did I burn several Neptunes CD’s, but my desk at work was filled with pics of the duo. I was probably their biggest fans, so I’m well versed in their production history and feel more than worthy of putting together a ranking of their best.
So here are my Top 45 tracks produced by Chad and Pharrell, and you might be surprised what made the cut and what didn’t. I know I was.
Enjoy this as #PharrellPhriday comes to a close. And like the Top 25 Kanye West Production post I did a few years ago, I decided not to include any of the Pharrell solo songs or N.E.R.D. outputs and only ranked songs they did for other artists. Off the top of my head though, of the Pharrell solo songs I would probably only put “That Girl” and “Number One” from his debut, “Lost Queen” from his latest album, and “Frontin'”, the hit single from The Neptunes’ “The Clones” compilation album. And “She Wants to Move” from N.E.R.D.’s second album because it is one of my all time favorite songs period.
Okay enough with the introduction, here is the list!
45. Kelis “Shooting Stars”
A sweet sweet track on the underrated and unreleased (in the US) second album from Neptunes protegee Kelis. It’s a lovely slow jam book-ended with a great outro, overall just a very pleasing listen that will make you smile and sing along.
44. Beyonce “Blow”
Timbaland is responsible for the “Cherry” portion of this song, but the majority is thanks to The Neptunes including that funky funky bassline and the disco meets funk meets club sound of this killer track.
43. Jay-Z “Lalala”
There’s not much to say here, this is just one of those typically HOT Neptunes tracks that just make you want to get out of your seat and shake some thangs!
42. Ludacris “Money Maker”
I give this song credit because it was a huge hit and because it is a slightly different sound than we were used to getting from the duo. It’s definitely catchy, it’s definitely danceable, but it’s also a little more dark and dense. And it’s a grower, because I didn’t instantly like it but now I love it.
41. Mystikal “Danger (Been So Long)”
40. SWV “Use Your Heart”
I always thought this was one of SWV’s best songs, but I didn’t know it was done by The Neptunes until I got fully into them years and years after the fact. This was one of their first big time productions and it’s pretty amazing still.
39. Madonna “Give It 2 Me”
It’s just a decent, uptempo club track… but then… “Get Stupid Get Stupid Get Stupid Go Crazy” comes on and #LIFE is given.
38. Busta Rhymes “Light Your Ass on Fire”
37. N.O.R.E. “Nothin”
This was a huge club hit in it’s day, the kind of club banger that made the clubs explode and had everyone singing along. The Neptunes effect.
36. Jay-Z “I Just Wanna Love You (Give It 2 Me)”
35. Justin Timberlake “Rock Your Body”
We know now that this song was originally meant for Michael Jackson but the KING passed on it and Timberlake ran with it. Justin owns this disco-fied “Off the Wall”- inspired track and it’s still a favorite.
34. Kelis “Flashback”
Talk about catchy!! This song by Kelis will have you singing “Yeah Yeah!!” and dancing for your life.
33. Mystikal “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall)”
Do I really need to explain why this makes the list!? It’s so incredibly funky and soulful and fun. That’s it. That’s all. Enjoy!
32. Jay-Z “Change Clothes”
This one is actually pretty simple of a production, but I swear when it gets to the “Sexy Sexy… Ah-Ha” part I go AWF!!!
31. Beyonce “Work It Out”
King Bey’s official first solo single was a FUNKED up work out for the “Austin Powers in Goldmember” soundtrack where Beyonce channeled Tina Turner and James Brown while yellin’ for Chad to “blow ya horn nah!”
30. 702 “I Still Love You”
Underrated song from a basically unheard album. It’s still one of the best slow-jam productions with the heavy bass and airy effects. Please check it out.
29. Mase “Lookin’ At Me”
Another early Neptunes hit, and one that was so weird and different sounding for the time that it probably was a bit of a breakthrough for them.
28. Clipse “When the Last Time”
27. Beenie Man “Girls Dem Sugar”
A sexy dancehall classic, one of their best in the genre and the most recognizable and catchy.
26. Beyonce “Green Light”
“Give it to Mama!” This song is funky, uptempo, fierce and undeniably catchy. An excellent song in general.
25. Usher “U Don’t Have to Call”
24. Madonna “Incredible”
This song lives up to it’s title. It’s just unique and fresh and bold. Check it out.
23. T.I. “Whats Yo Name”
I absolutely love this slow burning track from before T.I. was THE T.I. he has become today. It’s just a good vibe song.
22. Diddy “Diddy”
FUN FUN FUN infectious song that cannot be denied. Get Up and Dance, you know you want to.
21. Kelis “Milkshake”
Pretty much a Pop classic at this point, Kelis’ hugest hit and one of the most fun and silly songs matched with a grimey uptempo dance track that balances out to be one of their most memorable songs. (And honestly, this is a pre-cursor to silly songs like “My Humps” that invaded radio. “Milkshake” is a bit of a trend-setter)
20. Jay-Z “I Know”
I love this song simply because the production is so strange and different. Never would have guessed that The Neptunes would attempt a track like this, and make it so perfect for Jay to flow on top of.
19. Gwen Stefani “Hollaback Girl”
Another very silly and fun song that is insanely catchy and infectious. Those hard drums and keyboard effects make it at fun and an intensely hard track at the same time. It’s just BANANAS!!
18. Roscoe P. Coldchain “Hot”
This stark and simple track was an instant favorite from “The Clones” album, and shows the genius of The Neptunes. Those keyboard effects throughout are so subtly placed that it makes this a perfect groove.
17. Robin Thicke “Blurred Lines”
“Hey Hey Hey!” Everybody loves this song, and we know why, so there’s no reason to explain why it was the song of 2013. Let’s not even talk about the lawsuit, sure it feels inspired by a classic Marvin Gaye song but that is the beauty of The Neptunes. They are known for taking familiar sounds and taking them into the new millennium, so who cares as long as people are dancing and singing along right!?
16. Nelly “Hot N Herre”
This song owned the summer of 2002, and it’s clear why. The catchy hooks, the soulful dance groove, and the old meets new feel of it makes it a true classic.
15. Britney Spears “I’m A Slave 4 U”
Yeah this might be a shameless rip off of Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl”, but Chad and Pharrell took something classic and made it their own. This really is an Epic production and the perfect song to take Britney out of the teeny-bop sound she was known for and making her slightly more adult. This brought britney into the clubs and for that it’s a classic.
14. Jay-Z “Excuse Me Miss”
Though The Neptunes are famous for making us want to dance, they also have a host of great slow-burners and this is clearly one of their best. The weird effects don’t take away from the laid back groove of this sexy and somewhat comical track.
13. Snoop Dogg “Beautiful”
12. Fabolous “Young’n (Holla Back)”
11. Snoop Dogg “Let’s Get Blown”
I have always loved this track because of how mellow and chill it is, while still managing to give us a solid rhythm to dance to. At this point it’s clear that The Neptunes and Snoop have amazing chemistry together and produce some amazing tracks.
10. Clipse “Mr. Me Too”
This wasn’t a huge hit, but I remember when me and my friend came across it we couldn’t get enough. The song has an amazingly smooth chill vibe that makes you want to nod your head while… well, let’s not incriminate ourselves. An amazing track.
9. Busta Rhymes “What It Is”
Yet again, I’m saying the same things over and over. Let’s just say it again, this Busta track not only has amazing production but it’s incredibly catchy and I dare any one to try to listen to this song and not want to dance.
8. Justin Timberlake “Like I Love You”
Timberlake’s debut solo single was pretty much perfection. It has a harder edged dance sound than he was used to singing on top of, and that outro portion was just insane and really this made him the star he is today. Thanks Neptunes.
7. Clipse “Grindin'”
Classic track, incredibly simple but as infectious and detailed as any of the bigger tracks Neptunes have provided. Not much else to say about this masterpiece except that it’s Epic by being Simple.
6. Ludacris “Southern Hospitality”
5. Mystikal “Shake Ya Ass”
This is honestly the song that made The Neptunes the most sought out production team they are. When this song dropped and killed radio, everybody started running to them for beats. It’s what they do best, that soulful old meets new now that is so catchy and makes everybody want to dance. This was their breakthrough, so I guess we need to thank the long forgotten Mystikal for making this the hit it was.
4. Britney Spears “Boys”
“Slave” was the bigger hit, but to me this was the one that was the hottest of the two Britney/Neptunes collaborations of 2001. It’s so incredibly funky and it feels like Britney connected with this track and the lyrics more. (Yes, it’s also a bit of a rip off of Mary Jane Girls’ “Boys”, but again The Neptunes managed to make it their own.)
3. Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Got Your Money”
2. Snoop Dogg “It Blows My Mind”
When I decided to do this list, this was the first song that came to mind. It’s just another simple production with those strange unique effects and a catchy hook. Not many people probably even know about this song from “The Clones” but it’s always been a favorite and always blows MY mind.
1. Snoop Dogg “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
YES, we are finally here. #1, and it’s another Snoop track but I feel this deserves the top spot for a variety of reasons. Mainly it has everything we’ve been talking about so far. It’s an amazing track, it’s catchy as hell and it was a HUGE hit. It’s one of those songs that will always be remembered. A timeless, fun, catchy, danceable, classic. Enough said.
So there you have it. Clearly this is debatable, but it’s also clearly what I feel are the best. And like I said before, I’m well versed in The Neptunes’ work so I come with a little bit of credibility. And that’s #PharrellPhriday which turned into more of a #PharrellWeekend but oh well. I hope you all enjoyed the posts and leave some comments either way.
Honestly, 2011 was a pretty horrible year for Mainstream and Top 40 music. The bar is terribly low for a Pop hit these days, and even performance wise there’s nothing really exciting about the goings on of this year. So it’s a little difficult to try and make it seem exciting when it really was just BASIC on the whole. Adele slayed pretty much all year, and she was one of the only exciting things to happen to the industry this year. The under performing of Britney Spears and Beyoncé signaled a change in the winds, where formerly unstoppable Pop stars were being out peaked and out sold by the likes of LMFAO and Pitbull. Speaking of, Beyoncé may or may not be pregnant (*laugh). Katy Perry and Rihanna got closer to breaking chart records of Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Nicki Minaj got her biggest hit from her Pop-iest song and Foo Fighters put in a bid as the last great rock band of the 90’s. Other than all of that, and a few hot-mess feuds and shady comments, not much else happened this year that’s really worth reporting.
So here’s my take on the year, try to enjoy! And let’s hope 2012 kicks 2011’s Basic Ass!!
>
Artists Of The Year,
5. Kanye West
Coming off the critical praise of 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, West took a seat instead of his usual loud-mouthed antics. He took a seat in the studio though with Jay-Z, and towards the end of the Summer released the Epic collaboration album “Watch The Throne”. So let’s raise our glass to Kanye shutting up long enough to keep the focus on his talent, which ended in him leading the Grammy nominations and co-headlining a sold out tour.
4. Lady GaGa
While the media excitement for GaGa trailed off towards the end of the year, Mother Monster still had a triumphant year overall. She clocked over a million sales of her third (or second) album “Born This Way” after record breaking sales of the first single of the same name. She was ever present on television, including an HBO concert and a network Holiday special that got healthy ratings. Most importantly, she made some risky single choices that worked in exposing a different and versatile side to her as an artist.
3. Pitbull
This might be a surprising choice, but Pitbull was every where this year. He’s been very consistent ever since his debut in the early 2000’s, but this year he almost became a household name. He had a Huge #1 hit with “Give Me Everything” and his feature work with Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Shakira further helped his exposure. He ended up being invited to perform at nearly every big Award ceremony of the year, and translated his new found mainstream fame into endorsement deals. He may just be the flavor of the moment, but he definitely crossed over to a new level of fame in 2011. And as hard of a worker he has shown he is, he could potentially get bigger down the line.
2. Katy Perry
Miss “I Kissed a Girl” didn’t necessarily break out as the “It” girl of this year, but she made a lot of accomplishments and set herself up to possibly be a force in the industry. Still continuing a hit streak from her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” she collected two more #1 singles this year, tying Michael Jackson for the most #1’s from one album. She ended the year with a hosting spot on “Saturday Night Live” and a 7th Top 5 Hit. Hopefully she’s in the studio working on a follow-up, and we’ll see how long her star will shine.
1. Adele
No surprises here, for whatever reason the beginning of the year all the way till the end Adele was on everybody’s lips and on top of every chart. And she did this without compromising her sound. In the field of sexed up Pop chicks talking about nothing on their songs with auto-tuned vocals, Adele really was a shocking success being the polar opposite of all that. Her “21” album, steeped in R&B Jazz and Balladry, became the #1 selling album of the year and her two hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” used proper instrumentation and strong vocals to become huge hits as well. So proud of her, and if she can just get her nerves together for a tour she’ll be a Legend in no time.
>
Albums of the Year,
10. Chris Brown “F.A.M.E.”
Say what you will about Breezy, but “F.A.M.E.” showed off how truly talented he is. Not only does it cross genres from Pop to R&B to Hip Hop to Dance, but it’s all catchy and well-sung with some surprisingly great lyricism. A great step in the right direction, and a true testament to why he’s on top of the R&B heap these days.
9. tUnE-yArDs “w h o k i l l”
Crazy album, going from Folk sounds to Tribe Called Quest-like Hip Hop sounds and everything in between. This is something new and different and ultra experimental, but it works. It shows off the talents of Merrill Garbus, vocally and lyrically, and it gives listeners something totally fresh to counter-act all the same-sounding stuff released this year.
8. Beyoncé “4”
Like I said in my review of this album, it’s truly one from an artist that is so comfortable in her talents she can just do what she feels and not worry about fitting in. “4” is laid back R&B in a time when tempos must be high and lyrics must be repetitive, so in a way Bey took a risk but she really stayed in her zone and delivered a very solid and classic sounding album.
7. Adele “21”
Do I even need to go into detail about the album probably EVERYBODY has heard by now. Adele really goes back, with lots of early blues and soul inspired material, matched with a few funk tracks. The entire album is made to showcase the amazing voice of hers and why she’s one of the best singers in the game right now, and mission accomplished.
6. Frank Ocean “Nostalgia, Ultra”
This is a Mixtape, and I started not to include it. I couldn’t leave it off though because it was one of the most exciting and fresh pieces of music I’ve heard this year. From the out of the box concepts of the songs, to the pretty amazing and random samples he sings over, his knack for great lyricism and his love of singing. If you need to watch anybody that has major potential to blow up in 2012, than Frank is the one. “Nostalgia, Ultra” can be enjoyed by so many, even if it’s not what the masses are typically used to hearing.
5. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”
The mainstream-friendly Folk/Pop group delivered another set of very soothing, relaxing chill tracks that’s really true to the roots of the genre. A very natural continuation from their debut album, just elevated and with a much bigger sound. The stories clouded in very intelligent lyricism make it an album that can be enjoyed for decades, but it still somehow feels very now. And the harmonies and cascades of instrumentation is perfectly beautiful on every track. It truly deserves all the praise and hype it got, it’s definitely a go-to album if you need to relax.
4. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Unlike the rest of her Pop contemporaries, GaGa really tried hard on her third album to stand out from the pack. And she did in so many different ways with “Born This Way”, still catering to her Top 40 audience she manages to make little changes and explore different sounds. From Country, Industrial, House and Rock the album is clearly one of the most diverse of the year, yet the overall album works. And it’s not just the tracks, her attacking different vocal styles and writing some pretty impressive lyrics this go round “Born This Way” shows the artist behind the crazy outfits.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Watch the Throne”
The event album of the year, I almost didn’t believe it would ever come out but luckily it did. The album is Anthem after Anthem, it definitely caters to Kanye’s more energetic and humorous side. However mixed with Jay’s more serious verses, they both end up rubbing off on each other with Jay sounding like he’s having more fun and Kanye even waxing philosophical on some tracks. A great collaboration by two utter geniuses, how could it go wrong really?
2. Drake “Take Care”
Drake really is a surprising character in the industry. As much as you want to, you really can’t hate on what he brings to the table and it’s almost always unexpected and to the left of what you might have assumed. “Take Care” is a surprisingly deep and personal album at times, that transitions seamlessly from an Indie/R&B feel to a harder Hip Hop feel, and you don’t really notice because you are just captivated overall. His sophomore is just as good if not better than his very impressive debut, and this does show he has the chops to stay in the game for a long while.
1. James Blake “James Blake”
An album that takes a few listens to really appreciate, Indie self-produced “Dubstep Prince” (still don’t know why his music is classified as dub step but whatever) James Blake delivers a very minimalist album that even without many lyrics has such emotion and heart in the soundscapes he provides. It’s an album that plays well altogether and really stands out above anything else released this year, because it’s so non-conformist in almost every way. Tonally and emotionally it’s really an amazing album that shouldn’t be missed.
>
Singles of the Year,
15. Jessie J “Who You Are” You would think the “love yourself” inspirational ballads died with Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”, but UK star Jessie J makes a great bid for bringing them back. The lyrics match so well with the emotion and rawness of her vocals, it doesn’t feel like sap it feels much more personal.
14. Yuck “Rubber”
An eery, forever building ode to 90’s Alternative. With it’s strange and creepy instrumentation and slowly changing tempos, and the vocal delivery of Daniel Blumberg. It’s almost like a scary movie you can’t stop listening to until you get to the end.
13. Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Easily one of the best songs of Britney’s career, and apparently she owes it all to Ke$ha who wrote this incredibly addictive call to the dancefloor. It’s perfection in it’s intentional stupid-ness, and a perfect song to suit Britney’s (*cough) limitations. (And the remix is even better than the original)
12. Lady Antebellum “We Owned the Night”
A beautiful yet underrated single from the power trio of 2010. The song works on many levels with a cute storyline, beautiful harmonies and a relaxed track that gets some real country energy in parts.
11. Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger”
Surprisingly great Pop track, not very deep but do you really expect that from a Top 40 song? No! What you expect, and what you get here, is a nice dance tempo and an insanely catchy hook. Add Christina Aguilera’s power notes and you have one of the best Pop offerings of the year.
10. Jason Aldean “Dirt Road Anthem”
Aldean has had a great run in the country world, and this rap/country hybrid (later remixed with a verse from Ludacris) does a lot to gain unlikely fans. He goes from his southern rap to belting it out towards the end over a very simple backing sample.
9. Rihanna “S&M”
The MOST Fun Dance song released this year, there are several portions that are crazy addictive and Rihanna’s sexy but coy vocal delivery takes it to another level. Another reason why no one can touch Rihanna in the Dance/Pop field, she consistently delivers the most dance-ready (and most true to the classic House sound) tracks of all her contemporaries. (And for the record, I’m pretending that Britney remix never existed! *awful)
8. Cage the Elephant “Aberdeen”
A great rock track, with clear homages to a more alternative 90’s rock sound but adding the groups standard weird effects and instrumentation to make the song totally fresh. Addictive and creative, what more do you want.
7. Chris Brown “Look at Me Now”
This is a Chris Brown song, but most of the praise for this weird electro/Hip Hop winner goes to producer Diplo and featured rapper Busta Rhymes whose flawless and breathless flow made this The urban track of the year, and once again showed he’s still a relevant player.
6. Lady GaGa “Yoü and I”
Mother Monster delivered a Pop Anthem, an Industrial Dance track, and a ballad-like House-r this year but her Country/Pop/Rock rump “You and I” is clearly the most memorable and the one that shows what a great artist she is. A great storyline, a confident vocal and a track so hype and powerful you’ll be singing and clapping along in no time.
5. James Blake “The Wilhelm Scream”
This is the genius of James Blake, at first the song is really unassuming. A simple repetitive vocal over scant electronic backing, but if you listen you start to feel and appreciate the layers and how the song builds to a beautiful climax. His songs just creep up on you and force you to feel something.
4. Miguel “Sure Thing”
In case anyone thought R&B was dead Miguel came through with a beautiful and loving R&B track that Urban Radio has been lacking for years. The writing is exceptional, a love song without any contradictions or stipulations like the “I love you but I’m probably gonna cheat on you” type songs we’ve been forced to accept in the past few years. A great return to form for R&B.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Otis”
Like I said in my review of “Watch The Throne”, this hit single has a very complicated and technical use of the Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” sample. Everything else about the song feels so laid back and breezy in comparison, with two of the biggest Hip Hop Icons of the day genuinely having fun and not being try-hards with their second single. Epic song that’s downplayed to just being a fun record.
2. Adele Rolling in the Deep
Incredible vocals. Amazing (and LIVE) instrumentation. Killer lyrics. End.
1. Kanye West “All of the Lights”
One of Kanye’s most simple songs, in both production and verses. However the more you listen, the deeper it gets when you realize the story he’s trying to tell about the inner cities. And though the calvacade of featured artists are nice, they aren’t necessary. It’s a strong, powerful, energetic, catchy and flawless song.
>
Disappointments of the Year,
3. Rihanna “Talk That Talk”
I LOVE Rihanna, this won’t change anytime soon. And because of my love, I was really excited for her 6th album even if it was clear it would be a bit rushed with the busy year she had. Now, over a month after it’s been in stores, I tend to listen to her previous album “Loud” over this one. Too many un-done songs, which gives the bare minimum in song structure, almost like her label said “whatever you have now is fine we’ll just release it”. I feel like her label jipped us fans and gave us a half-ass outing for Holiday sales, when with just a month or three more it could have been a pretty great album.
2. The Strokes “Angles”
After waiting 5 years for a new album from the once great Garage Rock band, when it album finally came it was a bit of a dud. “Angles” was way too all over the place and not making any real statement of their growth as a band. Not a terrible album by any means, but definitely not worth the long wait. Hopefully there is a quick follow up to redeem themselves.
1. Britney Spears “Femme Fatale”
I don’t know why (maybe because her team kept Tweeting about it), but I expected this album to be a sign of growth for Miss Spears who has been stuck in Robot-Mode for almost 5 years now. Unfortunately, the album was yet another Dance/Pop heavy, heavily vocally altered singles album with virtually no real effort coming from the star. And even with hype about insane choreography and performance lessons, Spears continued to disappoint by doing the bare minimum performance wise this year. Signaling the fact that Britney will probably never get any better as an artist, thus the potential demise of her career. (Her fans are the most faithful of any stan base though, as long as they are easily impressed she’ll be fine)
>
Guilty Pleasures of the Year,
5. Big Sean “My Last”
This, for any other rapper, would have been pure filler. There’s nothing truly stand out about anything in the track, and the whole”we do it big out in public” concept is so annoying. Than the “a-a-a-all, a-a-a-all” hook pulls you in and you spontaneously start singing along.
4. Jennifer Lopez “On the Floor”
Could the lyrics get anymore elementary, or the track be anymore basic? I doubt it, but somehow the “La la la la”‘s and the overly repetitive “On the Floor”‘s were too catchy to deny.
3. LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”
Overproduced, Pointless, Stupid, Basic… yet after a few times being forced to hear it on the radio you kinda get used to it. I know for me, the first time I heard it “Noisy Garbage” came to mind, after about 4 listens I was actually anticipating hearing it. Shameful, but that’s the beauty of a Guilty Pleasure.
2. Rihanna “We Found Love”
I called this when I first reviewed the single, the song is basic in every sense of the word. Random lyrics, and a hook that seems to never end. Not even the production is anything all that noteworthy, as Rihanna has had much better Dance singles. However that hook, after about the millionth time, engraves itself in your brain and you go a little crazy for 3 minutes.
1. Pitbull “Give Me Everything”
Pitbull’s verses are rather weak, Nayer is like a non-factor, the track is almost a “paint-by-numbers” dance track… but who can deny Ne-Yo’s infectious and addictive hook. Overall, everything comes together pretty nicely and you just get in a zone when the track comes on.
>
Flops of the Year,
3. Kelly Rowland
Kelly’s solo problems have always been that she’s choked at the wrong opportunities. Her BET Award performance was all everybody could talk about, that was the time to hit us with a new single and video capitalizing on that exposure. But she waited until after her very decent album “Here I Am” had already flopped. And the supposedly “dance heavy” UK edition fared even worse, and that’s after all her “X-Factor” exposure. She seems to be stepping her performance game up, so there may be a chance next year.
2. (tie) Beyoncé, Britney Spears
How the mighty have fallen! Even though both divas posted respectable numbers in either album or single sales, 2011 showed that their time as relevant artists might be up.
Britney had major success on the singles charts, but her album sales took a steep dive given her track record. She truly became a singles artist this year, in the same realm as Ke$ha and LMFAO. And most of that is due to her consistently lazy performances, and refusal to do any interviews or press.
With Beyoncé, her album “4” posted good numbers but her single choices were disasters and … well, plain stupid. Her mistakes were clear, and she didn’t seem to take the hint (or maybe she didn’t care because of her pregnancy). She saves face with a few great live performances including the now iconic pregnancy reveal at the VMA’s, but now that she’s ditched her father as manager she’s totally accountable for this flop.
1. Joe Jonas
Poor Kid. He’s cute, he’s at least minimally talented, and you’d think with the success of The Jonas Brothers his solo career would make some kind of sales dent. Unfortunately, after hyping his first single for what felt like months it only peaked at #92 and the album “Fast Life” only managed to stay on the Billboard 200 for 2 weeks. I guess with Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber there was no spot left on the charts for another “teen heart throb”.
>
Music Videos of the Year,
5. Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls)”
Beyonce went as big as she could to try to salvage the poor first single choice of “Run the World (Girls)”. Hyenas, Lions, Task Forces, Exploding Cars, a Few Hundred Backing Dancers. She threw the kitchen sink in there too, but luckily it’s saving grace is the dancing. She incorporates different styles and attacks, the type of big dance video Janet or Michael Jackson would do.
4. Jason Aldean “Tatoos On This Town”
They could have went a totally different way with this song, but they gave us the tear-jerker storyline. And it actually really works in a beautiful way with the lyrics of the song.
3. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Enter the crazy world of Mother Monster, where there’s no judgement and… blah blah blah. GaGa is known for being a bit pretentious, but overall this video came off visually very different from most Pop videos. And it’s always nice to see GaGa drop the seriousness and have fun, which she does towards the end.
2. P!nk “Fuckin Perfect”
Speaking of GaGa, P!nk this year proved you don’t have to make an 11 minute video to tell a compelling and emotional story that unfolds in surprising and beautiful ways. Really one of the most heart wrenching and inspiring videos of the year.
1. Rihanna “We Found Love”
This video is one that didn’t try too hard, but did an amazing job of bringing alot of depth and rawness to the basic song and it’s lyrics. In very quick glimpses yo almost see the entire length of a destructive relationship, the highs and lows, and with the flawless editing job it really does get surprisingly real, but still a beautifully shot video.
>
Award Show Performances of the Year,
3. Bruno Mars “Valerie”
Bruno finally showed he has the chops to deserve his spot at the top right now. His 2010 Grammy performance showed a performer who truly loved music, but his vocals were a bit off. At this VMA tribute to Amy Winehouse, he really makes the song his own and is almost perfect vocally. His energy, and clear love for performance and singing really shined.
2. Beyoncé “Love on Top”
(this clip is mirrored, so it looks a little weird. sorry)
Bey pulled out all the stops for her Billboard Award performance, but this simple VMA routine was the one that got everybody talking. She’s known as a great performer, so she doesn’t have to do much to impress. And her flawless vocals before her reveal already clinched this as another great one in her long list of live performances. It’s the pregnancy reveal, and the reaction of the crowds, that made this what it is though.
1. Mumford and Sons “The Cave”
This is the kind of performance I love to see, where the group is ecstastic to be performing and you get a true sense that they really love what they are doing. Mumford and Sons delivered an un-jaded, energetic, and technically perfect Grammy performance this year. It helped “The Cave” become a major player on the charts as well as their debut album “Sigh No More”.
>
So, what have we learned this year. It’s actually a little hard to say because it was so crazy and unpredictable. You never really knew what song would hit, what promotional opportunity would help sales. Random circumstances like YouTube videos ended up helping singles more than “American Idol” appearances (case in point Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” aided by Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift videos). The industry continued to get majorly shaky, but it seemed whatever Radio was backing would determine who would shine.
Which brings up a weird issue with Adele being so huge, it was kind of funny to hear one of her songs (like the piano ballad “Someone Like You”) on pop radio than right after hearing Cobra Starship or LMFAO dance trash single. You’d think radio might take the hint that people are ready for talented vocalists and great song structure. Obviously they didn’t, but they need to realize that a little diversity never killed anybody.
And I have a few remarks for two of Radio’s biggest stars Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. They both get the Step Your Game Up Award, because both are talented in their own ways. Bruno is a great performer and a good writer when he wants to be. It’s just the songs he’s been putting out are very below the bar and elementary, when he’s capable of putting out some classic and creative stuff. And Katy really needs to take her exposure and step out of the “Pop Top 40” realm a bit and get a little deeper. “Teenage Dream” actually does offer some depth and artistry (“Circle the Drain” “Pearl”), so she needs to let the world hear a different edge to her.
My I Don’t Get It Award goes to Foster the People and Florence and the Machine. “Pumped Up Kicks” was a huge single this year, but to me it just sounds like a horribly distorted MGMT rip-off with a forced catchy hook. It’s not just that they took their sound and tried to process it through a Mainstream filter, but it doesn’t even sound good and it’s surprising that it fit into the Mainstream machine at all. With Florence, I just can’t get into her voice long enough to hear an entire song, but she’s hyped as this amazing vocalist somehow. I just don’t get it.
The Have a Seat Award goes to Rihanna, and we know I love her by now. She is just over-working herself, and I need for her to be healthy and ready because she’s clearly being run to the ground. I already talked about her latest album, but her performances went from a major high earlier this year to a drastic and saddening low at the Jingle Ball in December. Six months of not working wouldn’t kill her, but Three more months of her pace might actually do it.
I WAS gonna Go In on Nicki Minaj. With touring with Britney, the success of “Super Bass”, and her recent David Guetta collaboration has become more of a Pop sensation than a Hip Hop Star. I won’t though because I’m hoping “Roman’s Reloaded” will make me love her again. And that’s pretty much all I have for this year, which like I said was pretty boring but some good things came out of it I guess.
In my earlier post, I knocked Britney Spears‘ “Tribute” at the upcoming MTV VMA’s. Truth be told, even though on her recordings she’s basically a robot, Spears has actually contributed some great videos in her career. Deserving of full on praise, I’m not sure, but check out some of her best moments in Music Video.
10. “Baby… One More Time”
Easily her most iconic video, and it was her first. The Catholic school girl outfit became a big deal for all the pervs out there with a teenage girl fantasy, and it established Britney early on as the girl who played virginal but (purposely?) exudes sex appeal.
9. “Radar”
A simple video, but the storyline matches up with her life perfectly (is the guy attending the horses K-Fed? The song is definitely about him) and she looks the most flawless she’s been in the past few years.
8. “If You Seek Amy”
The accompanying music video for this very tongue-in-cheek song, comes off very dark and edgy. Yet in the end it’s still fun, and it actually delivers a great message. What you see in the media is NOT what goes on behind closed doors.
7. “My Prerogative”
Sexy! Sexy! Sexy! Spears has always tried to push the Sex button in her videos, but in this one she comes off so naturally sexy without even trying hard. Maybe because at the time she was so in love (lust?), it just translates so well to the screen.
6. “Circus”
Britney’s entire “Blackout” era showed Britney “barely-there”, even when she was dancing she had a bit of a blank look in her eyes. This was really the first video in years that showed Britney present, energetic and looking like she was actually having fun. I also love the editing here.
5. “I’m A Slave 4 U”
This hot and sweaty dance number is one of her most famous videos, and rightfully so. Though it doesn’t dominate the video, this is some of her best choreography and the staging of it all is so well done and sexy.
4. “Me Against The Music”
(Odd! The Video is totally gone from YouTube!?)
You might have expected a collaboration with Queen of Pop Madonna to be a little more epic, this is a FUN video but the major selling point is that Britney is going IN on the choreography. This is probably the hardest Britney has ever danced and for that major applause is due.
3. “Stronger”
An early video, and one of the first to really impress me. Because most of it is just her by herself, she gets to show off some great moves and Joseph Kahn’s weird CGI elements set the video over the top.
2. “Every Time”
A big change from form, this video was quite controversial at the time for the “did she or didn’t she” suicide at the end. The video wins because it shows a great story, one that was eerily similar to Britney’s own life at the time. And she looked amazing as well.
1. “Toxic”
This video is the culmination of everything Britney is famous for. It’s non-stop fun, it’s oozing sex, and it shows her looking hot in different styles. This is a video you’d have to be a true stick in the mud to NOT enjoy.
Yesterday, somebody (a GaGa stan no doubt) posted Billboard’s list of Top Videos of this Decade and “Bad Romance” was #1. I don’t disagree with that video having a high placing, it is a knockout video, but #1 I’m not too sure. Looking at the rest of the list it’s obvious this was a poll where fans were going to do anything to get their favorites on the list. If you look at the Top voted Music Videos of the 80’s and 90’s, it’s made even more clear because some of those videos that are leading the list don’t even belong in a Top 100.
Let’s just break it down really quick. I’ll show what Billboard readers voted into their Top 10 for each decade, and I want to share some snubs and other videos that are amazing but might not have been seen by too many people enough to make this popularity contest.
The 10 Best ’00s Music Videos
1. Lady GaGa “Bad Romance”
2. Britney Spears “Toxic”
3. Panic! At The Disco “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”
4. Michael Jackson “You Rock My World”
5. Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
6. Rihanna “Disturbia”
7. Eminem “The Real Slim Shady”
8. Katy Perry “Firework”
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Californication”
10. Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On”
Agreed: “Bad Romance”, “Toxic”, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”, “Californication”
>Clearly a listing of all the popular acts of the past decade, but in most cases I feel they picked the wrong videos. Yes, “Bad Romance” “Toxic” and “Single Ladies” are of the best videos from each of those artists, however “Disturbia” “Firework” “Californication” and “Get Ur Freak On” don’t hold up as highly when compared to videos from those unique video artists.
Disagreed: “You Rock My World”, “Disturbia”, “Firework”
>See above, Rihanna has had better videos (and “Disturbia” was really just a Nine Inch Nails rip off), Katy has too even though her best wouldn’t qualify her for the Top 10 IMO. And Michael really wouldn’t have been on this list if not for his death, the “You Rock My World” video was forgotten nearly as soon as it was released in 2001.
Snubbed: Christina Aguilera “Dirrty”, Destiny’s Child “Lose My Breath”, Fatboy Slim “Praise You”, Feist “1234”, Jay-Z “On To The Next One”, Linkin Park “Faint”, Ludacris “Rollout (My Business)”, Madonna “Don’t Tell Me”, Madonna “Music”, Kylie Minogue “Come Into My World”, Missy Elliott “Work It”, OK Go “Here It Goes Again”, Red Hot Chili Peppers “Can’t Stop”, Red Hot Chili Peppers “The Zephyr Song”, Rihanna “Umbrella”, Britney Spears “Every Time”, Justin Timberlake “Cry Me A River”, Kanye West “Heartless”
MY snubbed FAVORITES
1. OutKast “Hey Ya!”
2. The White Stripes “The Hardest Button To Button”
3. Beyonce “Crazy In Love”
4. Coldplay “Life In Technicolor ii”
5. Kanye West “Love Lockdown”
The 10 Best ’90s Music Videos
1. Britney Spears “…Baby One More time”
2. Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson “Scream”
3. Madonna “Vogue”
4. Korn “Freak on a Leash”
5. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
6. Eminem “My Name Is”
7. Missy Elliott “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”
8. TLC “Waterfalls”
9. Guns N Roses “November Rain”
10. Jamiroquai “Virtual Insanity”
Agreed: “Scream”, “Freak on a Leash”, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”, “November Rain”, “Virtual Insanity”
>This 90’s list is much better, most of these videos listed were both impactful, unique and insanely popular. Jamiroquai’s breakthrough moment in “Virtual Insanity” still amazes years later, while Guns N Roses epic mini-movie of a video “November Rain” was an MTV favorite at the time but it still holds up even when the group is nowhere to be found.
Disagreed: “…Baby One More Time”
>There’s just absolutely no way Britney’s debut video should be anywhere near the best of the 90’s, since that was really the best decade for Music Videos. So many other inventive, revolutionary and creative videos were released and far superior to Britney’s Tween-aimed High School video, but this just goes to show that the Brit Bots don’t play when they have the opportunity.
Snubbed: Paula Abdul “Coldhearted”, Paula Abdul “Opposites Attract”, Beastie Boys “Sabotage”, Bjork “Bachelorette”, Blind Melon “No Rain”, En Vogue “Free Your Mind”, Foo Fighters “Learn To Fly”, Janet Jackson “Got Til It’s Gone”, Janet Jackson “If”, Michael Jackson “Remember the Time”, Jennifer Lopez “Waiting For Tonight”, Madonna “Bad Girl”, Madonna “Take a Bow”, Alanis Morissette “Ironic”, Pearl Jam “Jeremy”, Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give It Away”, The Rolling Stones “Love is Strong”, Weezer “Buddy Holly”
MY snubbed FAVORITES
1. Nine Inch Nails “Closer”
2. Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
3. Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Give It Away”
4. Daft Punk “Around the World”
5. Madonna “Justify My Love”
The 10 Best ’80s Music Videos
1. Michael Jackson “Thirller”
2. Madonna “Like A Prayer”
3. Cyndia Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
4. A-ha “Take on Me”
5. Prince & The Revolution “When Doves Cry”
6. Peter Gabriel “Sledgehammer”
7. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf”
8. Run DMC and Aerosmith “Walk This Way”
9. The Police “Every Breathe You Take”
10. Janet Jackson “Rhythm Nation”
Agreed: “Thriller”, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, “Take On Me”, “Sledgehammer”, “Walk This Way”, “Rhythm Nation”
>With not as high of a volume of videos released, and even far fewer videos that stood out so choosing the best in this decade was relatively easy. Of course the iconic and game changing “Thriller” would be number one, and of course popular 80’s acts Duran Duran, The Police, Madonna and Cyndia Lauper would find themselves included.
Disagreed: “When Doves Cry”
Snubbed: Beastie Boys “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”, Cyndi Lauper “She Bop”, Dire Straits “Money for Nothing”, Genesis “Land Of Confusion”, Herbie Hancock “Rock It”, Janet Jackson “Nasty”, Michael Jackson “Beat It”, Madonna “Papa Don’t Preach”, Lionel Richie “All Night Long”, Warrant “Cherry Pie”
MY snubbed FAVORITES
1. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers “Don’t Come Around Here No More”
2. Michael Jackson “Smooth Criminal”
3. The Cars “You Might Think”
4. Robert Palmer “Addicted To Love”
5. Pat Benatar “Love is a Battlefield”
I KNOW that as soon as I post this, I’m gonna think “Oh Crap, how could I forget such and such!” but the fact that those stuck out in my head is good. I just hope maybe I can expose people to some videos they might not have ever heard of.
In the end, Billboard should have titled this the top 10 FAVORITE music videos, because to really pull a list of the BEST videos of the past 30 years would take a big panel of critics and artists and most likely a huge debate. I’d be interested to see what they came up with, but this will do for now.
Hate is a strong word, but at this point there might be some truth to this statement. Released in theaters today is “Friends with Benefits”, now the 11th film featuring Justin Timberlake. The same guy who over the past 5 years has been a “Saturday Night Live” favorite, an Emmy award winner and short-lived MTV Reality show producer. But does anybody remember when this guy used to be considered a SINGER!?
It’s been almost 5 years since Timberlake released his second solo album “FutureSexLoveSound”, and from the looks of things it doesn’t seem like he’s at all interested in creating a third album for his massive fan base in the music industry. Instead he seems to be focusing on lame films. “Friends with Benefits” for example is a lazy romantic comedy that is clearly a retread of two recent films (Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher’s “No Strings Attached” released earlier this year, as well as Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal’s 2010 Dramedy “Love and Other Drugs”). If Timberlake and Mila Kunis’ film is any different than the other two, there’s really no indication of that in the trailers.So really what’s the point in making it!?
Which is the start of a slew of questions for the former N Sync’er, who exhibited such great taste in his music career but so far is making some horrible moves in the movies. His film decisions have almost been all bad. He lucked up attaching himself to Craig Brewer’s “Black Snake Moan” and David Fincher’s Oscar winner “The Social Network”, but he was clearly the worst performance in both of those movies. The rest of his film roles have been cliche, or just over done. And mostly all of them have been box office flops, especially the ones where he had a lead role or a big supporting part. Which is why it’s curious why after so many failed attempts, Hollywood keeps hiring him. And why he doesn’t realize this and return to the studio and make some music.
In the years since his last mega selling album he has barely even talked about working on new material. When Ellen Degeneres asked him point blank on her show he said something along the lines of he can’t do two things at once. So “Yogi Bear” and “Bad Teacher” are more important than pleasing the fans that made him famous apparently. And there are lots of fans in waiting, myself included. He had two pretty excellent Pop albums on his own and since than he’s barely sang a word. To his credit in 2008 he helped Madonna score another hit with “4 Minutes”, and in 2009 he helped Ciara hit the Top 10 with “Love Sex Magic”. Also in 2009, him and production team The Y’s were behind two album cuts for Leona Lewis and Rihanna, and the aforementioned Ciara single. Those sporadic appearances may tide over some fans, but it’s really not enough to show he’s still into music, and he’s done nothing musically since early 2010.
His last stint as a musician was on the Haiti Benefit special in 2010, his rendition of “Hallejulah” was the biggest selling performance of that event. And that event had big names like Shakira, Madonna, U2, Jay-Z, and Beyonce. His ability to score a hit from a one-off performance shows that his fans are still there waiting for him and ready to support him. So why can’t he take the hint? And if that’s not a good enough sign to return to music, he can also look at the industry and his peers to realize it’s of great importance to get back on the radio soon. Christina Aguilera took a 4 year break in between albums and it was one of the things that hurt her 2010 “Bionic” album. And the recent lukewarm success of former girlfriend Britney Spears and former duet partner Beyonce proves that his generation of superstars is fading next to the new crop of stars.
For a while, it seemed Timberlake’s lane in the industry was un-threatened, now he has some major competition to his throne of Pop King of the New Millennium. For one there’s a new Justin in town that goes by Bieber, although he is more of a star to the younger generation and Timberlake’s fan base is a little too old to (admit to) listen to Bieber. Still time goes quickly, and Bieber has some talent to back up his hype, so if he waits too long Bieber might have matured enough to get older fan bases.
Bruno Mars is really the toughest competition for Timberlake though, because it seems he can’t lose these days. Every one of his singles from “Doo Wops and Hooligans” has been a Top 5 success with pretty massive sales figures, and Bruno fulfills that “nice guy with swag” image Timberlake had. Bruno has also become an industry darling, scoring multiple Grammy nominations and being invited to perform nearly everywhere. And even other artists are rushing to Bruno to write and produce hits for them, so he’s well respected in the industry and liked by the masses.
It will be interesting to see if Timberlake stops reading scripts and starts writing new songs, but the clock is really ticking. This break is just giving other artists time to give him more competition and after a while he’ll just become a “failed movie star” and people won’t even remember he used to have a great music career.
On Pop Icon Britney Spears‘ seventh album “Femme Fatale“, yet again Ms. Spears delivers a perfectly fine Pop/Dance album. And yet again her voice is heavily vocoded and autotuned, and sometimes drowned out by the slick production, and yet again Britney doesn’t show that she contributes much to her music at all. On this album Britney takes the “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” approach and basically delivers “Blackout” part 2, and even if I expected more I can’t fault her for staying safe and in her own lane. Hopes and expectations aside, “Femme Fatale” is a perfectly passable Dance album. There are actually a few exciting moments that stand above alot of the Pop offerings in the past few years.The album opener “Till The World Ends” is the stuff of Dancefloor legend, with the call out and response “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oooh” hook, to the bass thumping production of Dr. Luke and Max Martin I’d be really surprised if this didn’t become an international anthem. “How I Roll” finds Britney in a more relaxed confident space, over a really refreshing and unique track by Bloodshy and Avant (there’s a Robyn vibe on the track, but Britney does manage to make it her own). And “Inside Out”, a sort of dubstep ballad, is a standout on the album with Britney’s voice being more in the forefront, with pretty clever lyrics as well.
The rest runs the spectrum of slightly above average Dance singles like “Trip to Your Heart”, which takes a slightly experimental production take on EuroDance, as well as “Seal it With a Kiss” and “Criminal” which show more diversity with their more Pop/Urban leanings. And than there’s the terribly average Dance tracks like “(Drop Dead) Beautiful” “I Wanna Go” “Trouble for Me” and “Gasoline” which all are fun, but sound a little dated and like re-treads of stuff we’ve already heard. In the end you just wish that Britney had stretched herself a little further and took a few more risks, this could have been a masterpiece compared to her other work. Instead it just falls in line with the rest of her catalgoue with only quick glimpses of any growth. The album is still better than a lot of the Dance-Pop material over the years, and she’s more or less established herself as the Queen of the Dancefloor, since that’s what we should always expect from her in the future apparently.
Here’s just a blast from the past, the couple of months in 2008 I started my MySpace blog!
May 25, 2008 – Sunday
08 Album Reviews
Current mood: high Category: Music
I got Usher “Here I Stand” today and was going to write a little review. And I figured since i have the time (i’m at work, but theres no research work to do and no calls coming in) i’ll go ahead and talk about some of the good cd’s that have been released this year.
Gnarls Barkley, “The Odd Couple” – definitley a cooled down/melancholy-ish version of their first album but it has some great StandOut tracks that rival “Crazy” or “Smiley Faces”. My favorites are “Charity Case”, “Whatever”, “Would be Killer”, “Going on” and the first single “Run”. The tracks, by Danger Mouse, are just hella moody and than Cee-lo brings the perfect lyrical and vocal arrangements to match the tracks. I would imagine it would be hard to write to some of the tracks so i give Mr. Green all the props.
The Divas: Janet, “Discipline“/Madonna, “Hard Candy“/Mariah, “E=MC2”
Mariah Carey definitely wins this race by a mile. Madonna’s “Hard Candy” is very — Different, and i do give her credit for trying something new. i HATE the first single with Timberlake, so my expectations were very Low for this album (because “4 Minutes” and the other leaked track “Candy Shop” sounded like re-treads of Nelly Furtado/Gwen Stefani tracks). I think Pharrell is the real star of this album though, his production on “Incredible” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Va6eBb2osrs) “Heartbeat” and “Give it 2 Me” are damn-near Amazing. These tracks renew my faith in the Neptunes (who had been slowly dying up until Jay-Z’s “I Know”). It’s a true DANCE album, and at least she sticks to that concept. Janet’s “Discipline” on the other hand starts out really good. Than, it slips into a completley different album and vibe. And than towards the end it sounds like she just tacked on some unreleased stuff from years ago (“What Ur Name” and “The 1” seriously sound like they were recorded and mixed and mastered and shelved in 2004). I think the problem is that it’s too long, she should have shaved some fillers out of the mix. Still “2Nite” “LUV” “Greatest X” and “Rock With U” are still Standouts and worth listening to over and over. And ofcourse the first single “Feedback” still has heat.
But, Mariah. I think “E=MC2” is her best album. It’s an album that has No-Filler. Every song has something about it that makes you want to come back. The album has been out almost 2 months, and it seems like i have a new favorite song every week. “Side Effects” “OOC” “For the Record” “Cruise Control” and “Migrate” ofcourse is undeniable thanks to that undeniably addictive every-Man T-Pain. Mariah took her time and put together a truly Solid Album.
The Roots, “Rising Down”
I’m not a big fan of the Roots. I own two of their albums but don’t really listen to them all that much. So ofcourse i wasn’t expecting to even Care about a new Roots album. I saw the video for “Rising Up” on BET and loved it so i was like, what the hell i’ll download it. This cd is shockingly good to me, i like every song. It’s like every song has this intensity on it that you can’t deny (“Get Busy” “The Show” “I will not apologize” for example) and every song has some pretty important lyrics that are definitley refreshing to hear. They even have some ready made Radio-friendly tracks, however i guess it’s sad because i doubt i’ll hear “Singing Man” or “Rising Up” on the radio over something like “Get Silly”. This is definitley my biggest surprise of 2008.
I take that back. Panic at the Disco, “Pretty.Odd” is oddly good. I mean it has this whole oldie Beatle early 60’s rock type vibe to it and i wasn’t expecting that from the people who sang about a bride being a “Whore” on their last album. So i guess i was surprised to listen to it and find it… Pleasant Lol! I dont know, it’s not one of my Favorite albums of the year at all — but it’s a nice album that i may end up getting into more as the year progresses.
Danity Kane, “Welcome to the Dollhouse“/Day26, “Day26”
I was definitley wrapped up in the Making the Band series when i was into these two albums. Now that the season has worn off, i realize these two albums aren’t really as great as i thought they were at first. Danity Kane’s is alright , standouts being “Sucka for Love” and “Xtasy”. Most of the album though sounds like a Rihanna/Britney/Pussycat Dolls wannabe-electro-pop-r&b/light sound so the songs may not be Terrible, but end up being pretty forgettable. Day26’s sounds more like a Jagged Edge/Jodeci/112 compilation. I like most of the songs, but again… they are pretty forgettable. I gravitate more towards the uptempos “I’m the Reason” “Im my Bed”. and “Co-Star” is a REALLY great song (vocally) which shld be a single. I give them credit for putting together a pretty solid cd for their first time… but neither of those two albums will even really be remembered at the end of the year.
Usher, “Here I Stand”
So — the album i had the highest expectations for. And yeah, okay… Usher pretty much delivers. He MIGHT have the same problem as Janet though with maybe too many songs. However, i just downloaded it today so it still needs time to truly grow on me. That being said, there are already a number of stand-outs that i see myself looking stupid in the car singing along to. “Whats Your Name” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=yuiImpkZ4k8) with Will.i.am is HOT!!! “Trading Places” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ovm-VWS0VgI) or “Before I met you” should definitley be the third or fourth single. “This aint sex” “His mistakes” and “Apetite” are other instant standouts. The rest is pretty okay, there’s only one song i really dont like. I will say that Vocally, he definitley is miles ahead of the Timberlakes and Chris Browns and NeYo’s. All in all, after only having the cd for a few hours I really like it though. I’ll definitley buy it on the 27th.
I cant remember right now any other cd’s i may have downloaded, but those are definitley the top ones of the year. I’m eagerly anticipating a few of the upcoming releases though. N.E.R.D. (6/10) is probably the Most anticipated right now, Weezer (6/3), Lil Wayne (6/10), Coldplay (6/17), Ne-Yo (8/5), Nas (7/1), Sean Paul, Busta Rhymes are some of the ones dropping in the summer that i can think of.
so signing off — The Drums, The Drums, The Drums, The Drums…
(The Ting Tings “Great DJ”)
EDIT: I forgot about Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu, “New Amerykah, Part One”
The reason i probably forgot to mention this, is because it’s my biggest let-down of the year so far. I Love Love Erykah, but it took me Years to get into her last album “Worldwide Underground” and i feel like this album will have to have the same fate. I do like a few of the songs already, first single “Honey” and “That Hump” definitely speaks to me and cheers me up. Other songs are pretty good (oh yeah “Hip Hop The Healer” is pretty awesome) but i haven’t listened to that full cd in so long i dont even remember a title. I will say that the “Honey” video is probably my favorite music video i’ve seen in Years. It reminds me of being little and looking through my mom’s/aunts/uncles record collections =)
N*e*R*D, Coldplay, Weezer, WeezY & The BET Awards – Reviews
Current mood: optimistic Category: Music
New reviews.
So June is officially over, about 5 hours ago, and I didn’t post any reviews of the new music i’ve gotten this past month. So let’s just go ahead and do that Now!
First of all, the last blog i said that Usher’s “Here I Stand” may grow on me. Well unfortunately it hasn’t. I barely listen to it anymore. It’s such a run of the mill R&B album and for Usher that’s a No-No. So i’m pretty much over Usher in the 08. And did you see his BET Award performance?? He was so tired, he was lipsynching and we hasn’t Hitting his moves. Really disapointing.
Anyhow onto the June reviews.
N*e*R*D,Seeing Sounds
Nerd’s first album was pretty awesome. It dealt with concepts you didn’t really hear, and the mixing of Rock/Alternative/HipHop was genius at the time and really refreshing. Their second album was a more polished album sonically, however it didn’t have as many solid tracks. Seeing Sounds is completely different from both two albums. I have yet to determine what exactly the albums main message is… what i can assume is a message of “DO YOU!” but i could be wrong. All of that aside, it’s a really good album. The production this time is CRAZY! The group still plays with Rock and Alternative and mixing it with pop, but this album also introduces more of an Electronica vibe and some Drum and Bass thrown in the mix. The concepts of the songs are pretty out there, but some are really relateable. All in all, I’d give this the stamp of approval. “Windows” “Spaz” “You know What” and “Sooner or Later” are my favorites (along with the UK only bonus cut “Lazer Gunz”- which is the first song you hear when you log on to my page).
Coldplay,Viva la Vida or Death and all his Friends
Okay here’s the deal. I thought “XY” was an amazing album. However i read somewhere that the critics didn’t agree with me. Now i’m reading really great reviews of This album and I don’t know if i agree. The album is cool. I really really like the song “Lost!” and a few others. However, it’s not really a memorable album thus far for me. I know that i enjoyed a majority of it because most of the album is still on my iPod. But there is nothing like “Talk” or “Square One” on this album. It’s very mellow. Chris sounds good though, and the band does do some awesome musical arrangements. I just wish i could remember more than 4 song titles.
Weezer,Weezer aka The Red Album
“Heart Songs”. That’s the reason to get this CD. It’s an awesome song just about their musical influences growing up. The first time i heard it, it sounded just like a normal love song, with a great track that i instantly loved. When i listened to the lyrics i fell in love with the song even more. Aside from that song, the first half of this album is good. The second half kind of ventures off into terrain that’s a bit less adventurous, more predictable and unoriginal. “Everybody get Dangerous” “Trouble maker” and “Pork and Beans” are the only other real standouts. Not that great. Not that bad.
Lil Wayne,Tha Carter III
So he’s the greatest rapper alive eh??
Well this album isn’t bad. I must admit though that i can’t listen to it all the way through. It’s like he’ll have some nice cuts like “Mr. Carter” “Dr. Carter” “Shoot me Down”, and than have two or three less than thrilling tracks afterwards. A pretty uneven album, that actually sounds like he had been saving tracks for the past two years and just put them on this album. Making it sound like more of a compilation album than an actual album. BUT, i can’t fault him. That’s the way of Hip Hop these days. I wish’d he would have done something like “Hip hop is dead” or “American Gangster” where all the songs have a vibe about them. Maybe in the future. For right now this is a pretty solid Hip Hop album (which pretty much sticks to the Hip Hop album Norm) with a number of filler tracks. By the way i also like “Got Money” “Let the beat build” ofcourse “Lollipop” and “A Milli” and i actually like the one with Babyface “Comfortable”.
Now let’s talk about the BET Awards.
I THINK?? they gave out some awards?? I’m pretty sure. But we all know that the BET Awards (and any other Music award show for that matter) is about the Performances. I already told you all what i thought of tired ass Usher (I really think this was not the right time for him to come back out/ i think he’s dealing with his own personal issues and is just not invested in the music thing right now… i could be wrong). It was funny thought because I’m sure Chris Brown and Ne-Yo were super nervous thinking they couldn’t top him. But they did. Chris Brown did a Slower set which surprised me. He started with “With you” and than into “Take you down”, where Ciara came out and did some nasty/naughty dance moves with Breezy. The only bad thing about his performance was … it was too short! Since about 2006, me and my friend had said that a Chris Brown/Ciara dance off type thing would be the Dopest thing ever. And yes when they got into their danceOff part they Killed. But it just didn’t last long enough.
Ne-Yo, in my opinion, KILLED IT. He’s not the best dancer (and i noticed that on second viewing) but he knew better than to do some difficult ass choreography because he still had to actually sing Live. When he did hit his moves, he Hit them. And i think the best thing, it seemed like he was trying to pull off this “Year of the Gentleman” persona… and being able to hold onto that character while dancing and singing and hitting your marks and working the stage… to a House song… is most likely pretty difficult and he pulled it off. Standing Ovation! I cant wait to hear what his album is gonna be like.
Alicia Keys seemed like she was the highlight of the night to most people i talked to. She basically did her own “Teenage Love Affair” with three backup dancer/singers. Like a girl group right? Than she broke it down and started singing “Weak” and everybody was like WTF. And than SWV came out and finished the song with her, than EnVogue came and sang “Hold On” with her. And than TLC or TC came out and did “Waterfalls”. It was definitley nice to see all these chicks that used to love back in Jr. High again. Nice performance Ms. Keys.
Another person I was REALLY glad to see again was Maxwell. His performance was My personal favorite of the night. He was the third performer in a Al Green Tribute. Jill Scott did her thing with “Still in love”, Anthony Hamilton sounded so much like Mr. Green on “Tired of being alone” but Maxwell killed it with “Simply Beautiful”. And one thing i do have to say about the BET awards, i LOVE when they do the tributes. Because when the actual Tributee is on stage doing their thing, you see in the audience all the different generations of performers from different styles singing along.
Who else performed? Well TPain did a mix of all his “featured on” hits with Rick Ross and FloRida and all the gaggles of rappers that were on that “Im so Hood” remix. TPain came BACK out during Lil Waynes closing performance. These performances were good and all, but not worth writing about. Nothing else was really worth writing about. But i do have to put Keyshia Cole on blast. She sounded terrible. And, okay maybe i’ll rephrase. Her voice in itself wasn’t bad. But she does not know how to use her voice , Live. She really needs to work on that.
But the 08 BET Awards was pretty okay. Better than last year.
July 21, 2008 – Monday
Nas… ” ” better known as “Nigger”
Current mood: melancholy Category: Music
THE most anticipated album of 2008 did not disapoint.
Nas’ past few albums have been like Textbooks to me. An album that talks in many ways about one issue. So, much like a textbook, i really need to study the material and than come up with an overall feeling for said Textbook. Therefore my final review for this album is still Pending.
I’ll say now that it IS a great album, it did NOT disapoint. And current standouts are “America” “N.I.G.G.E.R.” “Y’all my Niggas” and “Black President”. Every song is great though. Support this man… maaan!
September 15, 2008 – Monday
Janet Live! and Ne-Yo – Reviews
Current mood: breezy Category: Music
I finally went to a concert!!!! So i missed the major concert i wanted to see this year and that was the Glow in the Dark tour. I also missed Mary J and JayZ, Coldplay, Musiq Soulchild, and Alicia keys. I missed the Killers last year and just barely was able to see Beyonce. So with work sucking at the maximum capacity for the last two weeks, i just needed to let off some steam and get drunk and get loud. So me and my friend Aleta finally decided to go to the Janet Jackson show. A couple of cool things happened though, we didn’t have to pay for parking AND i only bought $40 tickets… but i think the show just wasn’t selling, so people that worked at the arena were running around Giving people seats in the lower sections… so basically i paid $40 for $120 tickets. AWESOME!!! How often does that happen? Never! At least not for me.
The show… yeah i guess it was cool. Lol! No i had fun. I think just the fact that Janet was onstage for 2.5 Hours singing pretty much ALL of her hits. In fact i think she did ALL of her hit singles, and a few album tracks from the new album and some verry verry old songs… and songs that don’t belong in the Oldies but ‘Good’ies category. It was a fun show for the fact that she kept it moving. I’m not gonna get too negative on her, there are a few things that i have small gripes with. They are very minor though, so it didn’t take away from the whole experience.
So i had fun, and it made me kinda miss concerts!! Hopefully 09 will be a better year for me. Kanye GO ON TOUR AGAIN NEXT YEAR PLEASE!!!!
And now my album review.
Ne-Yo “Year of the Gentleman”
When “Closer” came out around April of this year, Ne-yo’s album shot to the top of my most anticipated albums of the year… and I dont even really like dude. The album was supposed to drop in june originally, than it got pushed back to August, and now it’s being released this Tuesday the 16th. In the months it’s taken to actually be released, I did seriously lose a little interest. And the followup single “Miss Independent” is good, but it wasn’t as hot or different as “Closer”.
Anyway the album leaked, and even though it’s not quite what I expected it’s still easily the best album by an R&B Dude to come out this year (Take that Usher!)
The album is really alot more laidback than I expected. In fact I expected a totally different sound from the interviews he was giving talking about the album, that it would be really different, how he’s tired of R&B, how Patrick Stump of FallOutBoy was supposed to collaborate on a track. And when i listened to the album, the first thing i thought was What Happened. It’s a total R&B album, nothing else… “Closer” is the only thing on the album that seperates itself from Ne-Yo’s sound from his previous two albums.
What I’ll give Ne-Yo credit for is his songwriting and the ability to make some catchy hooks. Easily one of the top songs on the album, “Why Does She Stay” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH8rKj6VYi0 is a good example. It’s just really refreshing to hear lyrics like:
I step outside of myself
To see how much she loves me
And all the things that i should do for her that i just dont…
just dont…
And i realize
She’s so much better than me
Im so unworthy of her
Why does she stay ?
Which is quite a change from the “I cheated on her, now i dont understand why she doesn’t trust me” or the “I’m so much better than your current dude, you need to drop him and get with me” type of songs that come from most R&B Dudes (Take that Usher!)
Life is long
There will be pain but life goes on
With everyday a brand new song
But if you rather stay at home
Let me do you a favor
I’ll ask the sun to shine away from you today so you can cry
(if that’s what you want)
I’ll ask the clouds to bring the rain for you today so you can cry .
Bottom line, this 12 track album has Several potential hits… and even if he didn’t go outside of his box as much as i expected (and that was probably more due to his label and those politics than him) he still delivered.
September 28, 2008 – Sunday
Saadiq, The Way I See It – Review
Current mood: annoyed Category: Music
It must really suck to have your very first solo album be a Masterpeice. Where do you go from there?? Usually down. It happened to Lauryn Hill, and unfortunatley it looks like it’s happened to Raphael Saadiq. 2002’s “Instant Vintage” was easily the most refreshingly soulful album released that year, if not the whole decade. And his just released third solo album shows that even though this man is still obviously a genius, he seems to be having a hard time matching the artistic success of his first outing.
Not to say that “The Way I See It” is a bad album. It’s a step above decent. It’s a throwback to the 60’s and 70’s Motown sound. And the inspirations behind a couple of the songs are painfully obvious. The album definitley stays true to that sound, and the songs end up sounding like they literally could be put on a Motown hit album and fit perfectly. And, that might be a bit of the problem with the album. You’ve got Amy Winehouse, Duffy, and even Solange Knowles (i know right) using the 60’s throwback style but the difference is that they also add contemporary elements to make it something new. Saadiq didn’t add any up to date elements to make the songs pop a little more, but maybe he didn’t want to.
Having said that, the song “Oh Girl” is easily the best song on the album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0qJ_V66n8Q It’s actually a little more “DooWop” than the rest of the album, the fact that the production is so raw and the lyrical and melody are so simple. Much like “Still Ray” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoyaITkdLA0 from “Instant Vintage”, a simple song all around that makes such a powerful memorable classic. Some other high points on “The way i see it” are “Calling”, which is also a simple slow burner, the first single “Love that girl”, and “Never Give You Up” which features the Legend Stevie Wonder.
Outside of that, it’s a decent album to have on but it’s nothing that i’m running to my iPod to listen to. Though, like i say alot, it might grow on me. His second solo cd “Ray Ray” i seriously only listened to it once when it was released in 2004, and just last year I started to listen and it really grew on me. So maybe in 2011 or something I’ll fully appreciate this album. For right now, it’s Aaiiight! =)
October 5, 2008 – Sunday
TI, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, PCD, NKOTB, Jason Mraz, Britney, Killers … Week in Music
Current mood: anxious Category: Music
It’s dead at work, so time to Blog.
So this week was a bit of an exciting week for music, at least for me. There were two highly anticipated album releases this past Tuesday in the form of T.I.’s 6th album “Paper Trail” and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson’s self titled debut album. Some news on Beyonce’s upcoming third solo album, and single releases from Pop Queens Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Ciara and The Killers also released their first singles from their upcoming Fall releases.
So where to start?
Britney vs Christina. The late 90’s Pop Tarts are back, and practically going head to head this Fall. Ofcourse Christina Aguilera’s album coming November 7th is just a Greatest Hits (“Keeps Gettin’ Better — A Decade of Hits”), and Britney’s “Circus” due November 23rd is a full fledged studio album which is supposed to be her “ComeBack” (even though her last album was released a little over a year ago, but whatever!). However their first singles are being released just a few weeks apart from each other, and oddly enough they sound almost exactly the same. Christina’s “Keeps Getting Better” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsnOdf3_8jc) was debuted officially at the recent MTV VMA’s during an lipsynched, Lady Gaga inspired performance. And just like the lackluster performance, the song is very boring. Coming from Christina Aguilera, this single is a true disapointment. For an artist who has always prided herself on going against the grain of the Pop scene and doing her own thing, this song sounds like every other song on Dance/Pop radio these days. It sounds like Britney Spears (specifically Britney’s “Blackout” album cut “Radar” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3wvPts-Z8w) and the mere fact that the song sounds like Anybody other than Christina warrants a pretty low rating. Britney’s new single “Womanizer” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_bu4N5qacU) isn’t much better, it’s a dance/pop/electronic upbeat song that is very similar to pretty much all of Britney’s post-KFed recordings. It’s a fun, upbeat song though. You can definitley dance to it. And even though I personally Hate the hook on the song, it’s damn catchy and something as repetitive as that is only going to help the song gain popularity.
Beyonce. Ms. Destiny’s Child or Mrs. Jay-Z or Miss Sasha is also planning a Fall release (scheduled for November 18th) with an as yet untitled album. Unlike Britney and Xtina, Beyonce has not released hardly ANY info. She is slated to premiere Two new singles on Tuesday October 7th, and it’s pretty surprising in this Digital Day and Age that neither of these singles have leaked online yet. Not even a snippet has leaked. It’s quite impressive that she was able to withold it from leaking, and a smart move as well. However on different blogs and message boards there is information that has been gathered to keep us Stans happy while we wait. An official statement from Beyonce’s camp has the two song titles as “If I Were a Boy” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”. The former is being pushed to Pop radio, and is written and produced by Toby Gad who is behind Fergie’s monster hit of last year “Big Girls Dont Cry”. There was a demo of this song released a few weeks ago, it’s sung by the cowriter of the song but it’s allegedly alot different than the final version Beyonce recorded and wrote additional lyrics to. Give it a listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpWHml42_Rg . The other single is produced by Tricky and written by The-Dream who have basically appeared on every R&B and Pop album released since their massive hit “Umbrella” last year. No other info was given out on this song besides the facts that the song is upbeat, the video is done and the dancing in said video is supposedly “On Point”. Additionally, like i said before there is no album title yet but a few things have been passed around online. The first official report had the album titled “Virtuoso Intellect” which was quickly followed by “Virtuoso Effect”. Than a few weeks ago on one of the boards, someone very trusted that allegedly works really close to Beyonce said the album title would be “sumthin u hear her say all the time”. A few days later, it was reported somewhere that “Empowerment” was the title. All this mystery! I think that’s good, there’s no mystery left with albums these days.
Jennifer Hudson. She stole all the spotlight from Beyonce during the promotions for her Oscar winning role in “Dreamgirls”, but apparently the spotlight might not shine too long on Hudson’s music career. Her self titled debut album came out September 30th to some Very underwhelming reviews from some of her die hard fans. I personally haven’t listened to the album yet so i’m just reporting what i read, which was that the self titled debut is nothing but a hodgepodge of different styles and that it doesn’t work too well. I may just download it this weekend and post another review if i feel it’s worthy. I do know that she needs to release a follow up single, because “Spotlight” the albums first single, died Months ago.
By the way, i did download The Pussycat Dolls second album “Doll Domination” last week. And surprise surprise, it doesn’t totally suck. A Very predictable pop album for sure, but they are a predictable pop group so you can’t expect much else. Only about half of the album is worth listening to. Top songs being “Halo” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jf9moh09so) “Hate this Part” “Elevator” ‘Happily Never After” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqWL1C2Etik) “Magic” and a song that is really stupid but i just can’t get enough of “Bottle Pop”. Everything else is really Average, not terrible but not memorable at all. And while we are on predictable pop groups, New Kids on the Block delivered a reunion album a few weeks (months?) ago, and aided by their recent VH1 Behind the Music special (and my B urging me to listen to it) I checked out some of the songs. I didn’t like many of the songs, they aren’t bad… but those dudes are out of it. I don’t totally remember New Kids from the 90’s, i wasn’t that into them just maybe two or three songs here and there, but it seems like Jordan and Joey are the only ones who can actually sing and the others just kind of phone in their vocals. Still “Click Click Click” is a really good song, and i can’t get “Twisted” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pScuRQjqRoo) out of my head for the life of me.
Keeping in the vibe of Average albums, I have to talk about Jason Mraz. I think “We Sing.We Dance.We Steal Things” is now his third studio album, and with “Im Yours” being such a great single, i felt a little compelled to listen to the whole thing. The problem, Jason Mraz is obviously a talented guy. He has a great talent for coming up with creative melodies and he seems to have some great musical influences, and the problem is that either he or his label don’t know which influence they want to copy from the most. There are some really awful songs on this album, for instance “Butterfly” which is him obviously trying to be Jamiroquai with terrible results. Honestly there are really only two singles you need to hear, the first single “I’m Yours” and his duet with Colbie Caillat “Lucky”. While you get those online, get “The Remedy” from his first album in 2002. This is the song that made me take a first notice at this guy. I think he has potential to be a huge artist, but unfortunatley this album isn’t really going to take him there.
That finally brings us to T.I., whose 6th album “Paper Trail” dropped the same day as Jennifer Hudsons. And it’s evident that T.I. is going to anihalate her on the charts come Thursday, and you know what… he kind of deserves to. This album is still Typical Hip Hop. Pretty much the same concepts, the same producers, the same type of songs. However T.I. is one of the dudes who actually has talent so him alone sets this album apart from Every Other Hip Hop album. Funny that it sounds so much like his other albums though, at certain points during listening to the album I thought “T.I.’s the Jagged Edge of Hip Hop”, meaning those R&B dudes tend to release the exact same album year after year. However i love Jagged Edge, and yeah i love T.I., so it ends up working in his case. Best songs include ofcourse “Swagga Like Us” with Jayz Kanye and Weezy, “Ready for Whatever”, “My Life Your Entertainment” with Usher, “Live your Life” with Rihanna, “I’m Illy”, “Porno Star”. All the rest of it is good though, and ofcourse this will probably end up growing on me in the coming months, there is already enough to get me to want to actually listen to the album more than once.
Oh, last but not least… The Killers have a new single out. It’s called “Human” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvVOoCKjonY) and it’s produced by Stuart Price who i f’ing LOVE. He’s one of those Euro Electronic artists, he has a bunch of electronic groups that he heads and he also produces and remixes under various aliases. He actually contributed a hit remix to “Mr Brightside” under the alias Jacques Lu Cont. Anyway i love that guy, and i love the Killers so i obviously love the song. I really can’t wait for the album “Day and Age” which is supposed to drop November 11th. They also have a show in San Francisco on October 21st. Who Wants to Go With Me???
Additonally, there have been some shake ups with other Fall releases…
Keri Hilson’s “In this world” has been moved from October 7th to November 4th. And TPain’s “Thr33 Ringz” moves from September 30th to November 11th.
October 14, 2008 – Tuesday
New Videos
Current mood: chipper Category: Music
Beyonce’s back!! Nobody should be surprised that I’m excited, but i think people will be surprised how awesome her two new videos are. Ofcourse “If I were a boy” as a single and video completely Shit on “Single Ladies”, but they are both good efforts.
If I were a Boy is a cinematic, movie styled music video with a bit of a Power struggle/role reversal plot going on. Its just really well done, and the video fits the song perfectly. The twist ending seals the deal and makes it that much more powerful. And there’s all kinds of Hotness in the video as well.
Single ladies is really simple. Its just her and two girls dancing on a plain set. The lighting and the cinematography on this video Amaze me and are really the stars in the video. The choreography is simple, but has some interesting moves in there and really sexy. And beyonce’s legs… OMY! The song is still kind of boring to me though.
So Common released “Unviersal mind control” earlier in the summer, so i’m not sure why he’s just now getting around to releasing a video for the single. Frankly he should have chosen a new single to make a video to. But anyhow, the video is kinda cool… i like the Pharrell robot. but Common is looking a little long in the tooth these days, so it kinda feels like it’s not … hmm… Age Appropriate. This should have been Lupe’s video.
Ciara also premiered a new video this month, and while the video is insanely futurstic and original. The song in my opinion doesn’t match. And i really like the song. But the sound is very urban, very “driving down Mission with the bass bumping” and the video needed something a little more Futuristic, Electronic sounding. Ciara is still the best dancer out there right now, and this video at least proves that.
Last, and pretty much LEAST (lol) is Britney Spears’ “Womanizer”. Okay i have to admit the video is kinda cute. It reminds me ALOT of one of her other classic videos, “Toxic”, it almost follows the concept exactly. Britney looks really good though, i mean not only is her body back on point, but even her face. It’s not all puffy, and she actually has life in her eyes. All in all this video is pretty good I can’t lie. It’s entertaining, never boring, and visually appealing, and it did the job a video is sometimes supposed to do and it makes the song a little more bearable. It’s just a little predictable for Britney, it seems like she does the same stuff over and over. But i think i’ve already made that complaint.
P!nk, T-Pain, John Legend, Ray Lamontagne, and Fall Out Boy … Week in Music
Current mood: irritated Category: Music
I love my iPod, i mean i would probably literally bust out in tears if anything bad were ever to happen to it. (That being said, i really need a new one) I’m starting to love my iTunes just as much because it really is one of the only places I check out regularly that keeps me up to date on whats new. I hate the radio, and there are hardly ever any music videos on music video channels, I watch stuff on youtube but that’s really only when i’m specifically searching for an artist or if somebody on a message board links the video. Other than that, I would be a lot more out of the loop if it weren’t for iTunes. For instance, this Tuesday I go on there to check out “What’s New” “What’s Hot” and notice some dude named Ray Lamontagne is sitting at the top of the iTune album chart. I clicked on some of the samples from his album, and the voice made me download it. The album “Gossip In the Grain” is not necessarily the type of album i would normally listen to, it’s very folk/blues/rock and very mellow love songs. However a great voice will make you pay attention to things you normally wouldn’t, and this guy has a really awesome unique voice. It’s perfectly suited for rock with it’s raspiness, but it also has a deep soul to it that is somewhat close to Temptations’ David Ruffin or Sam Cooke. Still, for me there aren’t many stand outs on the album, it’s a nice alternative option for me when i’m bored with Overproduced Pop tracks (and believe it or not, that Does happen from time to time).
I also found two new Fall Out Boy singles. Actually I downloaded “I Dont Care” a few weeks ago, and it’s a cool song, kind of typical Fall Out Boy song. This week they released a follow up in the form of “What a Catch, Donnie” and this song is really … pretty… amazing. And speaking of Voices, I definitley think Patrick Stump has the Best Male Voice out there today, at least in the commercial mainstream Pop world. He just knows How to sing and How to perfectly compliment the song with his voice and vice versa, and he nails this song which is somewhat of a ballad for them. (The best part of the song actually is towards the end, they incorporate some of their older hits into the closing melody… Nice!)
Staying in the Rock for the Pop Charts frame of mind, Pink‘s 5th album “Funhouse” will be released in stores October 28th and although i got it online already, it would actually be worth the purchase. I’ve always loved Pink, and even though her last four albums have all been more Rocked Out Pop than the R&B of her first album, each album always takes a slightly different direction. The 4th album “I’m Not Dead”, for instance, was way more of a Fun Popped up Rock album while the one before that “Try This” (which btw was criminally underrated, check out “Save My Life” and “Waiting for Love”) was alot darker deeper and moodier than anything she released before. Unfortunatley, or maybe Fortunatley for some, “Funhouse” is more of a mash up of both of those albums. There are an awful lot of slower songs, surprising given the albums title. Those slower songs do happen to be the best off the album, the second single “Sober”, the albums closer “Glitter in the Air” and the should-be single “I Dont Believe You”. All of these tracks show off her awesome voice, which apparently has grown quite a bit in the last 2 years. These slower tracks also showcase some great songwriting which is rare in the current Pop scene. I must say that this album was Obviously inspired by her divorce and she talks about it Alot in a huge number of the songs on this album. There are a few upbeats on this album, nothing as fun as “U + Ur Hand” or “Cuz I Can” or even this albums first single “So What”. “It’s your fault” “Ave Mary A” and “Bad Influence” are the best of the more uptempo half of the album. Overall, Pink always delivers even if she didn’t really do anything all that Risky with this album.
Let’s get back to how great iTunes is for a second. I notice they’ve been doing this thing for certain artists where they release a different song every week or so as a “Countdown” to the album release. They did it for T.I. leading up to “Paper Trail”‘s release, and it seems like they are doing it for both T-Pain and John Legend who have albums releasing within the month. Now John Legend’s last album “Once again” was one of my favorites, and the First single he dropped on iTunes, “Green Light”, is one of the best of this year. Featuring Andre 3000, it’s an uptempo club banger booty/bass track which is a departure for Legend’s slowed down R&B style he normally goes for. And the music video fits perfectly. He followed that up with a ballad “If You’re Out There”, and yeah it’s one of those Inspirational anthems and i’m not a big fan of those but the lyrics are on point. I just never feel the need to want to hear it. I downloaded the other two singles he’s dropped “No Other Love” featuring Estelle and “Everybody Knows” — but haven’t gotten around to listening to them.
T-Pain, Teddy Pain, Nappy Booi-o-e!, Teddy Pinned-her-ass-Down, whatever you wanna call him. I know ALOT of people say they are sick of him and his vocoder, but i’ve never gotten tired of him. In fact every single thing he touches i seem to like… if only for his verse or hook on the song. He has a talent for melodies and hooks, and the singles released so far from his upcoming 3rd album “Thr33 Ringz” are all proof of his obvious hit making skills. By now i think everybody’s heard “Can’t Believe it” featuring Lil Wayne, which is some what of a slow jam/love song, took me a minute to get into this song but it’s definitley solid. “Silver and Gold” is actually Not available on iTunes and Won’t make the final cut of the album, but check it out… it’s just a fun Dranking song in the vein of “Bartender” and “Buy U a drank”. I guess there was some “controversy” with Kirk Franklin in regards to this song, apparently Franklin also has a Gospel song titled “Silver and Gold” and he was Upset that T-Pain used the same title to sing about liquor (“Drinkin both kindsa Patron’s/ I done mixed up Silver and Gold” as opposed to “I’d rather have Jesus/ than Silver and Gold”). I’m curious if this is the reason the song isn’t included on the albums tracklist, if so that’s weak, i mean it’s only a TITLE!! Not the first time two artists have shared the same song title and the songs have been drastically different.
Anyhow, he released “Chopped ‘N Skrewed” featuring Ludacris last week and this week “Freeze” featuring Chris Brown. Now I do like both of these songs, but these might be evidence that T-Pain may just be dipping in the hitmaking. They just sound very similar to his other songs… “Chopped ‘N Skrewed” actually sounds like a Chopped and Screwed version of “Silver and Gold” but Ludacris does contribute a nice verse that’s worth checking out. And “Freeze” kind of reminds me of that one song he did with Lil Mama “Shawty get Loose”, it’s a nice dance song and it has a cool hook but i don’t really see it going anywhere.
And lastly, I heard probably the 2nd Worst Song of 2008. Here is actually my rankings for the Worst songs this year…
1. Vanessa Hudgens, Sneakernight — I dont even want to waste much time talking about this CRAP, I’ll just say I’ve learned to Mute the commercials when I’m watching Nickelodeon (this song is played on her EckoRed commercial that they seem to play every 10 seconds on Nick!)
2. Pleasure P, Did you Wrong — Heard this song today and WOW it’s Terrible! Dude can’t sing (AT ALL), the concept is played the Fk out, and the lyrics are just plain stupid and lazy, example:
I ain’t tryna waste your time
And, I ain’t tryna waste my time
There ain’t no need to waste no time
’cause we done put in too much time
I ain’t tryna waste your time
I ain’t tryna waste my time
Ain’t no need to waste no time
’cause we done put in too much time
TERRIBLE!!
3. Ashanti, Good Good — So at least she put out a decent music video behind this Mess. However this is Ashanti stooping to the lowest common denominator… Come up with a stupid repetitive hook and not even worry about anything else and i’ll get a hit. Wrong! I think this song may have finally put that nail in the coffin that is her Career.
Alright, until next week…
November 2, 2008 – Sunday
John Legend “Evolver” – Review
Current mood: energetic Category: Music
I wish I wasn’t so lazy. I intended to include my review of John Legend‘s new album “Evolver” in my updated Week in Music blog last Monday. I was lazy, so I didn’t. And I’ve been putting off for a few days (I had a test this week so studying kind of took up my time), all the while knowing I was going to write a Glowing review of the album because it is really that good.
Firstly, I’ll just say that I haven’t been a Huge fan of Legend. I didn’t really like his debut album “Get Lifted” all that much, and wasn’t really even excited when his follow up was released in 2006. Eventually (thanks to Starbucks) I bought the second album “Once Again” and it became one of my top plays of 2007. And a pattern I can sense with John Legend that I hope he continues is that he keeps all the songs on one album in the same Vibe and they seem to all be connected. Much like some of the greats have done in the past. “Evolver” isn’t a Legendary or even Amazing album, but because everything flows so well into each other I think this is probably one of the best ALBUMS of the year. And by ALBUM i mean something that was put together to be appreciated on the whole and not just a Compilation type album (Janet, Usher). The Vibe… To me, being that I’m so damn old (LoL) is very early 90’s. Makes sense, the pop charts have been dominated by 80’s inspired music the past 5 years… the natural transition would be to bite off music of the 90’s. Except on “Evolver” there are subtle hints of the 90’s under pretty contemporary production, like the PM Dawn inspired harmony tacked on the end of “Everybody knows”, the SWV sample on “It’s Over”, and even the lyrical content of “Quickly” is very reminiscent of A/C Phil Collins. Again, just subtle hints so the music on the whole does sound really Fresh and original. And there are some classic songs on here, the music industry is so unpredictable these days so i’m not sure if “Everybody Knows” or “This Time” will get the success on Pop radio that it deserves. They are both Classic ballads that rival Richard Marx, Bryan Adams and Michael Jackson in the 90’s, with very relatable lyrics and slick production. The whole album is solid, there’s not one song I hate or would even skip past (okay maybe “If You’re Out There” which is more along the lines of a Gloria Estefan power ballad for the Olympics or in this case a Democratic Campaign — GO OBAMA!!) but some definite stand outs for me are “I Love To, Love” (reminds me of “Show Me” from the last album… but sweeter) “Cross the Line” (Love the production on this) and “It’s Over” (Kanye kinda kills it, again!).
All in all, it’s definitley John Legend’s Best, but on top of that it hopefully showcases what we can expect from him in the future, solid ALBUMS and not just singles.
November 11, 2008 – Tuesday
Beyoncé “I Am…” – Review
Current mood: okay Category: Music
No matter what anybody says, Beyoncé is definitley the closest thing we’ve seen to a Living Legend in a long time. And it’s not even because she’s the Best vocalist, or the best dancer. It’s not because her songs are groundbreaking or even original or innovative. It’s basically because she’s so well rounded a artist/performer/celebrity. She combines her talents with her image and she’s just one of the best total packages out there.
That being said, in anyone’s music career the Third album is (in my opinion) the MOST important album, Especially for someone as huge as she is. And it shows on “I Am…”, her third album in stores on November 18th, that Beyoncé understood the importance and took her time. The album is split into two discs, and the first “I Am… Beyoncé” is Amazing. It’s obvious she was going for a more mainstream Pop vibe with this side, and even though it’s a pretty calculated move the songs are instant classics. First single “If I were a Boy” is a perfect taste of what you’ll get on the album. That song is almost a bit of a Rock/Pop anthem which fits well into the Top40 Sound of today, but obviously has inspiration from an 80’s Adult Contemporary sound, this song reminds me of the 80’s pop duo Heart, while “Smash into You” and “Satellites” (two amazingly great songs) have a bit of a Genesis/U2 vibe to them while still staying contemporary. The excellent production value and the writing on this half of the album almost overshadow Beyoncé, but only Almost. Like on the second single “Halo“, an excellent peice of lyricism (Thanks to Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic and writer and producer of Leona Lewis‘ “Bleeding Love”) and a great track, but Ms. B’s vocals are so strong she makes you feel the power in the words…
I swore I’d never fall again
but this don’t even feel like falling
gravity can’t begin
to pull me back to the ground again.
And now that brings us to the second disc, one “I Am… Sasha Fierce”. This is supposed to be the upbeat “sassy” side of Beyoncé. It’s really her Stage persona, but if we’re being honest Sasha Fierce peaked on the last album “B’Day” (in the studio that is, Sasha Fierce still KILLS Everybody on stage!!) . The vocals were so strong and the lyrics were so attitude filled, unlike alot of the stuff on this rather disapointing side of this new album. I guess there is some sass on this side, just laid over some pretty boring tracks. “Ego” is supposed to be released as a single and it’s a nice track with a nice hook but the lyrics need some work. (Although i do tolerate most of the song to hear her cuss Finally…
Ego so big
you must admit
I got every reason to feel
like I’m That Bitch.
Yeah B, you are)
However it seems like she got real lazy on this half of the disc. The creative vocal workouts are gone, the interesting lyrics are gone, even the tracks on here are underwhelming. They almost feel like she didn’t really put much thought or effort into alot of these songs. I mean listen to the first Urban single “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)” without seeing the awesome video it’s just “Get Me Bodied” part two. And i won’t even get into “Diva”, her female answer to “A Milli” (i’ma a Diva i’ma i’ma a Diva. Diva is the female version of a hustla) which could have been pretty good but the song definitley lacks something. Alot actually.
There are some really great standouts on this half though. “Hello” is a sweet upbeat love song about Jay. Very addictive hook and just a great total production, vocals included. And “Radio” is a bit of Change for her style, it’s a Europop club track and she brings a real Urban vocal style to it. This album seems to be intended to cross her over into a true International star and this would do huge in other countries. As well as “Sweet Dreams”, which most of us Stans were playing all year when we thought it was titled “Beautiful Nitemare”. Another club offering that will do big on the other side of the pond.
All in all, Beyoncé went to work. At least on reforming her image as a International Pop Star with huge classic anthems. However she took so many steps forward on the first half of this album, and so many steps back on the bottom half. Anyhow, we’ll see you on Tour Ms. Sasha.
On a side note, Jim Jonsin is doing his thing this year. I’m glad he got a chance to show his diversity on this and former DC3er Michelle Williams’ albums. For me Jim Jonsin is THE producer to watch for next year. And one of my favorite producers Mr. Bangladesh who has been floating under the radar for Years (but finally has some major exposure this year because of “A Milli”) also came to work. Although “Diva” does sound almost exactly like “A Milli” (and also Kelis‘ “Aww Shit!!“) his production of “Video Phone” is f’ing awesome
November 30, 2008 – Sunday
Kanye, Killers, TPain & Britney Spears
Current mood: happy Category: Music
I am So Late.
Being Unemployed now, I wanted to really start trying to do weekly blogs. Maybe bi-weekly. And I meant to post this Blog about two weeks ago… but have just been really lazy. That being said, I want to get this out for Monday… because Monday is going to be my Official New Blog date.
So now that that’s all cleared up, here we go…
Firstly, the album I’ve been Dying to write about… Yeezy’s new one. Now the song “Amazing” is the best way to describe both Kanye Wests 4th album just released November 25th “808s and Heartbreak“, and Kanye west himself.
I’m a monster I’m a maven I know this world is changin’
Never gave in Never gave up I’m the only thing I’m afraid of
No matter what You’ll never take that from me My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It’s amazin’ So amazin’
Speaking about the artist first, he’s definitely drives in his own lane and always has. He has always gone slightly left from everybody else in both Hip Hop and just Music in general, especially on his Second album “Late registration”, but still making his stuff mainstream enough for it not to be ignored on the charts. With this album though, he seems to be driving on an entirely different Highway than everybody else. And some of the creative calls he made on this album truly (imo) present him as a genuine Artists, the likes of which we haven’t seen probably in a decade. For instance, the longer than 3 minute instrumental looping at the end of album opener “Say You Will” track, or the minimal lyrics on the also Amazing “Street Lights”. The tracks in themselves also take music to new grounds. He seems to have cultivated a Perfect blend of real late 90’s Electronica, Hip Hop and Mainstream Pop classics, and normally trying to hybrid too many styles ends up a mess and this works seamlessly. Because he’s a genius. One complaint about the album is that he seems to be talking about the same thing on every song. However that complaint also sort of proves what a great artist he is, this album was obviously motivated by his emotions at the time and a way to vent to get over the Heartbreak. And not only lyrically, but vocally (and yes he does sing most of the songs… but not in the way where he’s trying to become the next John Legend. More of just a melodic way to get his lyrics across) you can feel the pain, like when he screams “I won’t EVER Love again… Never again” on the albums BEST track “Coldest Winter” you really really feel it. This is truly my album of the Year. Kanye has Yet to disapoint.
However, Britney disapoints me all the time. She had a trio of live televised performances within the past few days… and let’s just say she’s no longer the Dynamic Live Performer fans Claimed her to be. Which is truly disapointing because before those performances I did get to listen to her new (now 6th album) “Circus” being released Tuesday and I don’t hate it. Her last album “Blackout” released in the midst of her “Crazy Bitch” phase, was Fun but very One-Note and Britney was barely there. Her vocals were totally vocoded and there was just no life behind the lyrics. “Circus” fortunately does bring her voice more to the forefront, and while there are an awful lot of “Blackout”-like Dance cuts, on the whole is alot more diverse and somewhat similar to her Best album 2002’s “In the Zone”. The standout cut on this album is “Unusual You” which may just be the best song she’s ever recorded. It really is a beautiful song, lyrically production wise and her vocals do really set the song off. The next really great track is the Addicting Max Martin production “If U Seek Amy”, which suceeds in being that Guilty Pleasure song that actually eclipses Katy Perry’s trio of addictive singles put out this year. And it’s such a “naughty” little hook that’s so much fun to sing a long to…
All of the girls and All of the boys are begging to If U Seek Amy
(get it? If U Seek Amy… F U C K ME)
… The album actually shows a little progression in Britney’s stifled career and is actually a pretty good (stay clear of “Kill the Lights” and “My Baby” – but Do check out “Out from Under”) listen. She just needs to work round the clock on delivering an Awesome performance one of these days or this album is gonna tank Hard!
I was also surprised that T-Pain‘s third album “Thr33 Ringz” didn’t completely suck. It’s really just a Fun, Funny album. You dont really expect anything of much substance from a dude who could deliver such a hilarious lyric like…
One, two, three, four Get the hell up out my door Five, six, seven, eight I don’t need your sex, I’ll masturbate
… but a line like that is really Fun to sing and he has alot of stuff like that on here. I think what he was trying to accomplish was pulling off a great Album instead of just another vehicle for a few singles to be plucked from. He does try to get diverse on us, with the truly Hardcore Hip Hop (Karaoke with Dj Khaled) and some straight up R&B (Reality Show with Musiq Soulchild and Raheem Devaughn). He even tries (and fails in my opinion) to do a bit of a Message song with Mary J Blige, Diddy and Akon in the form of “Change”. He doesn’t totally fail with this album, none of the songs are Unbearable, but he’s showing that he’s a bit more than just the Auto Tune dude. All that being said, this album basically comes down to 5 great songs. The singles “Cant believe it” with Lil Wayne, “Chopped and Skrewed” with Ludacris and three great album cuts “Blowing up” with Ciara “It aint me” with an amazing verse from T.I. and “Therapy” with Kanye. I think you can get away with just those 5.
And while we were speaking, kind of, about Disapointments I have to say The Killers have (at this moment) disapointed me. Their third proper album “Day and Age” was released the same day as Kanye. And maybe being so blown away by that album set my expectations higher for the Killers. I mean, they are my favourite Rock/Alternative group for the past few years and add that they hooked up with one of my Favourite EuroDance producers Stuart Price I expected to listen to what I assumed would be the Greatest album of the Year. However, when i first listened to it, i felt like i was listening to some weird 80’s compilation. I heard a bit of Paul Simon, Huey Lewis, Hall and Oates and even Madonna in there. I’ve only listened to the album once since than, and it did sound better the second time around so maybe i should just save the Definitive review for a few weeks and see where how much, if at all, it has grown on me. “Neon Tiger” and “Goodnight, Travel Well” are pretty Great songs though as are the two singles “Spaceman” and “Human”.
December 3, 2008 – Wednesday
Grammy Predictions
Current mood: optimistic Category: Music
The Grammy nominations will be announced Tonight. They are making a big Television special out of the nominees, seems pretty lame to me, but the Grammy nominations actually do excite me. This year should be really surprising. I’ve actually been listening to older music this year so I’ve been somewhat out of the loop of today’s music (besides it generally sucks so bad can you blame me). I mean I’ve JUST discovered a couple of acts (keep reading) that had their buzz brewing since the Beginning of the year. So obviously if i made some predictions I’d probably be all wrong, but I do have some Hopes for nominees … artists and songs that i think actually Deserve nominations. So here we go.
I had this feeling in the summer when M.I.A.‘s “Paper Planes” song became so Huge in the US, that they might actually put this up for Record of the Year. And not only because the song is amazing, also because M.I.A. has been getting a Huge critical reception since her 2005 debut album “Arular” and she has yet to be nominated for a Grammy or any other American award for that matter. The Grammy committee loves to Look like they are young, fresh, and worldly and that’s M.I.A. and that’s Paper Planes. On top of that, she actually was set to Retire this year (which she has since retracted thanks to this song). She’s not a new artist but she’s a critical and media favorite who attained that commercial success this year and Grammy’s tend to award that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got a couple of nominations. They’ll either put her in Urban/Alternative Performace or Dance recording. They might actually put her up for Hip Hop Performance Female which would be Smart because she would have virtually NO competition.
I’m just gonna say Rihanna needs to win Dance recording for “Disturbia“. However, the dance category is probably going to be filled up with MGMT, Lady Gaga, Ting Tings, Madonna, Janet. Plus they generally tend to have a bunch of respected House DJ’s and Electro heads in this category as opposed to pop stars. They’ll probably put her up for R&B Song and R&B Vocal Female for “Take a Bow“.
Jason Mraz should be nominated and Win Pop Vocal, Male for “I’m Yours“. And I’m guessing Sara Bareilles (“Love Song“) and Colbie Callait (“Bubbly“) will be in the running for Pop Vocal Female. However the obvious Winner in that category is going to be Leona Lewis who I predict will be a Grammy favorite this year. I see her getting this award for “Bleeding Love“. And she’ll definitley be in the running for New Artist which i was sure she would win a few months ago but she’s going to have to fend off other Critical favorites Adele, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Ray Lamontagne and Estelle. By the way, put money on Adele for “Chasing Pavement” in that Pop Vocal Female category.
I really can’t call who I think will be the lead nominees or even the Album of the Year category. Last year, (when the Grammy telecast turned into “The Amy Winehouse Show” – still mad at that.) the nominees almost mirrored the Billboard top Albums and Singles, giving the impression that Grammy voters only voted for stuff that they heard on Top 40 Radio, and this year might just be the same. Having said that, Coldplay would probably get the most nods. Their album “Viva La Vida” got some of the best reviews this year and sold through the roof. Plus the Grammy’s already LOVE Coldplay, this could be the year when they truly become U2. I’d definitley put money on them for Album of the Year and since they are favorites one of their songs (don’t ask me which) should be in Record and Song of the Year as well. Also if we’re looking at chart dominance you might even see Lil Wayne up for Album of the Year for “Tha Carter III”, if not he’s definitley going to sweep practically All of the Hip Hop categories (Rap Album, Rap Song, Rap Solo, Rap Solo Male, Rap Performance Duo or Group, Rap/Sung Collab, ) and I don’t see why he wouldn’t Win all of those awards to be honest.
If we’re looking critically, you might see Vampire Weekend, Portishead, The Black Keys, The Racounters, Ray Lamontagne, Robyn and MGMT in the mix in the big 4 categories. I would also count in Raphael Saadiq, Beck, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, Gnarls Barkley, Panic at the Disco, Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole, and even Katy Perry for a nod or two.
So, let’s see how well I do.
December 9, 2008 – Tuesday
Grammy Noms, Brandy, Common, Akon … Week in Music
Current mood: impatient Category: Music
Yeah Yeah Yeah, it’s Tuesday. I was supposed to post this yesterday… but whatever, nobody reads my blog. So just one day late isn’t going to kill… Anybody.
Now let’s first talk about how Awesome I am, and how good I was at predicting the Grammy nominations. Lil Wayne actually came out the leader in nominations with 8, and I really can’t say I’m surprised. His album sold through the roof this year, and Grammy’s just couldn’t ignore him. What’s even more awesome, is he was nominated for every single thing I predicted last week:
Also if we’re looking at chart dominance you might even see Lil Wayne
up for Album of the Year for “Tha Carter III”, if not he’s definitley
going to sweep practically All of the Hip Hop categories (Rap Album,
Rap Song, Rap Solo, Rap Solo Male, Rap Performance Duo or Group,
Rap/Sung Collab, ) and I don’t see why he wouldn’t Win all of those
awards to be honest.
7 of his nominations came straight from the Rap categories (Rap Album, Rap Solo for “A Milli”, Rap Performance Duo or Group twice for “Mr. Carter” and “Swagga Like Us”, Rap/Sung Collab for “Got Money” and Rap Song twice for “Lollipop” and “Swagga Like Us”) his eighth nomination came for Album of the Year. So I did pretty good there. Coldplay trailed Weezy with 7 nominations, and as you can see I was pretty spot on with those predictions as well:
Coldplay would probably get the
most nods. Their album “Viva La Vida” got some of the best reviews this
year and sold through the roof. Plus the Grammy’s already LOVE
Coldplay, this could be the year when they truly become U2. I’d
definitley put money on them for Album of the Year and since they are
favorites one of their songs (don’t ask me which) should be in Record
and Song of the Year as well.
They are up for Album of the Year, as well as Record and Song of the Year plus Pop Performance Duo or Groupfor “Viva la Vida”, Rock Song and Rock Performance Duo or Group for “Violet Hill”, and Rock Album.
Outside of the lead nominees I definitley called a few other nominations… “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. for Record of the Year. Adele and Sara Bareilles for Pop Vocal Female (additionally Adele surprised me and got Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her song). Jason Mraz competing in Pop Vocal Male for “I’m Yours” (also nominated for Song of the Year). Rihanna‘s “Disturbia” up for Dance Recording, and Leona Lewis for Pop Vocal Female for “Bleeding Love” (also nominated for Record of the Year).
Which leads us to my biggest surprises or Snubs of the year. The most glaring snub was Leona Lewis in the New Artist category. I mean seriously… The Jonas Brothers and Jazmine Sullivan over her? The-Dream not getting ANY nominations for his superior “Love/Hate” album and singles (while J. Holiday – whose only hit “Bed” was written by The-Dream – is up for Contemporary R&B Album of the Year? Did anybody even listen to that album?). And i’m not entirely surprised by the snubs of Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, but given this years nominees they should have found themselves in at least two or three categories (especially Janet, who should have been up for Dance Recording with “Rock With You” or “Feedback”). I was really surprised that MGMT or Vampire Weekend weren’t mentioned at all.
And I guess I should talk about the welcome surprises. Ne-Yo , Album of the Year? Again, I felt like The-Dream and even Raphael Saadiq‘s albums were better but I was proud to see Ne-Yo up there. Keyshia Cole stormed through the R&B categories with “Heaven Sent” and I really believe she should win, that was one of the Few TRUE R&B Singles out this year. I was really happy to see Robyn up for Dance/Electronic Album as well as Beck and Gnarls Barkley competing for Alternative Album. Also Very happy to see the producer of both of those albums (as well as the Snubbed Black Keys) Danger Mouse up for Producer of the Year (He should win it).
In a couple of weeks I’ll post my predictions for Winners and see how I do. The awards will be telecast sometime in early February (really close to my Birthday… hint hint)
On to some new releases that might (but probably won’t) be up for Next Years Grammy nominations. Released last Tuesday was Akon‘s now third album “Freedom” and it’s set to debut in the top 5 albums this week. And if you’re a fan of the albums first single “Right Now (Na Na Na)” than you’ll most likely dig this album on the whole. Akon is a pretty talented producer and writer (I mean if you can put a song together that’s good enough to not be totally irritated by his voice than he’s doing Something right) but this album isn’t anything revoultionary. It’s actually a bit dated in certain respects, if this album came out last year I would have liked it alot better. It just relies a little too much on the electro-pop sound that’s been inundating the radio for the past two years, although songs like “Keep You Much Longer” and “Beautiful”, which features Colby O’Donis and Kardinal Offishall, are a little above average and do fit into that sound really well. Akon does try to diversify this album a bit, which makes the album not a total dud. The albums follow up singles “I’m So Paid” and “Holla Holla” are standouts, as are “Against the Grain” (featuring Ray Lavender — Nice Voice) and “Be With You“. The rest, well I have to admit that I kept thinking “when is this song going to be Over” a few times. For Akon though this is his most solid album to date. And it’s alot better than I expected.
Meanwhile, Brandy‘s 5th album “Human” hits stores today, and it’s a little weaker than I expected. I have always given Brandy praise for getting better with each album. However “Human” isn’t better than her previous (damn near Masterpeice) “Afrodisiac”, while that album was alot more mature and real, this album seems to cater to a Younger Poppier crowd with some pretty generic lyrics and concepts. I mean her answer to the World’s problems is to “Warm it Up (With Love)”, she talks about how her man is the “Definition of Love”, and the title track she sings “I’m only Human, Forgive me… I’m only Human, Love me”. None of those songs are awful, but given all that Brandy has been through since the release of the last album, you’d think she’d sing something a little more personal and heartfelt instead of Any-Artist-Pop-Songs. There are some moments of genius on this album though and they mostly come in the form of ballads along the line of her past hits “Have You Ever” and “He Is”. The albums second single “Long Distance” (which also suffers from very generic lyrics “You know right now I can’t be home, but I’m coming home soon”) just sounds like an instant Classic, and even better is “True” which wins on all levels (Lyrics, Production, Vocals) and even that song gets eclipsed by the “Acapella” of “Something’s Missing” which is a very fresh and original arrangement. Vocally, Brandy has always been very underrated and her voice has just grown leaps and bounds with every album. And on top of the growth, she’s a very creative vocalist and that is one of the things that is clearly displayed on this album. I would recommend the album though, even though it’s pretty Generic, there is alot on here that most people will relate to and again Brandy came to work vocally on this album. However, if you go to the store to buy this album and you don’t have “Afrodisiac” or the 3rd album “Full Moon”, do yourself a favor and pick both of them up.
Finally, also being released today, is Common‘s “Universal Mind Control”. The album was initially supposed to be released this summer under the title “Invincible Summer”. Than news came that Common only intended to do an EP for that title and put together a full album due in November. Knowing that, I can understand some of the inconsistency on this album. Even with that one complaint, this really is one of the better albums this year. Firstly, I have to say that I’m loving the fact that Pharrell is back, he really impressed me earlier this year with the stuff he did for Madonna’s album and now on Common’s album (which he produced 7 of the 10 tracks) he gives you a taste of why we loved the Neptunes in the first place (the club banger “Sex 4 Suga”, the laid back old school “Announcement”) and a taste of where he’s headed (the albums best track “What A World” featuring Chester French). A producer by the name of Mr DJ takes the reigns for the remaining 3 tracks and from the sounds of it (“Make My Day” featuring Cee-Lo, and “Everywhere” featuring Martina Topley-Bird which are two of the more superior tracks) he might be here to stay. Aside from the production, Common does bring something to this album (which yeah, it could have been just as good if it was all instrumental). Common commented on the album earlier this year and said that it was supposed to be a bit of a throwback dance Hip Hop album and he does bring very old school 80’s Rap flows very nicely to the very futuristic tracks, which are best displayed on the aforementioned “Make my Day”, which has him telling a Story in the same vein as Slick Rick and “What a World”. I’d definitley recommend this album, it’s not the classic that his last album “Finding Forever” was (which if you don’t have it, Buy it… Excellent Kanye and Will.I.Am productions), but at least it’s different and in this late stage of Common’s career it’s good to see he’s getting a little more Fearless with his music.
December 25, 2008 – Thursday
Best of 2008
Current mood: drunk Category: Music
Merry Christmas to all my adoring fans.
Right!
Anyhow I have my lists of best albums and singles of 2008, and I meant to write a blurb about each album/song. However, it’s Christmas and I’m at my Grandma’s house and I guess I should enjoy the Holiday instead of blogging unnecessarily. I just thought I should post something… it’s been about three weeks since my DSL at home was shut off and I’ve missed some entries… so here is the most important entry of the year.
So I’ll just list my favorites now, and maybe one day at the library I’ll fill in my critiques about each ranking.
Top 15 Albums.
1. Modern Guilt, Beck
2. Paper Trail, T.I.
3. Robyn, Robyn
4. 808’s and Heartbreak, Kanye West
5. The Odd Couple, The Odd Couple
6. E=MC2, Mariah Carey
7. Oracular Spectacular, MGMT
8. Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
9. Evolver, John Legend
10. I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyonce
11. Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo
12. Universal Mind Control, Common
13. Not 4 Sale, Kardinal Offishall
14. Untitled, Nas
15. Shine, Estelle
Top 25 Singles.
1. Disturbia, Rihanna
2. Paper Planes, M.I.A.
3. Gamma Ray, Beck
4. Feedback, Janet Jackson
5. A Milli, Lil Wayne
6. Closer, Ne-Yo
7. I Luv Your Girl, The-Dream
8. With Every Heartbeat, Robyn
9. I’m Yours, Jason Mraz
10. Touch my Body, Mariah Carey
11. Great DJ, The Ting Tings
12. Let It Rock, Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne
13. American Boy, Estelle featuring Kanye West
14. Heaven Sent, Keyshia Cole
15. Heart Songs, Weezer
16. The Youth, MGMT
17. If I Were a Boy, Beyonce
18. Swagga Like Us, T.I. featuring Jay Z, Kanye West & Lil Wayne
19. No Air, Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown
20. Dangerous, Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon
21. Love Lockdown, Kanye West
22. Don’t Touch Me (Throw Da Water On Em), Busta Rhymes
23. I Don’t Care, Fall Out Boy
24. Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom) [Remix], N.E.R.D. featuring Kanye West, Clipse & Lupe Fiasco
>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”
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.
high
optimistic
melancholy
breezy
annoyed
anxious
chipper
irritated
okay
