Review: Blake Lewis - "Heartbreak On Vinyl"

I gotta feeling (woo hoo) that the back half of 2009 is gonna be good one for electronic music. From the electro-washed singles from The Black Eyed Peas' latest to a revamped The Fame Monster from our Lady of perpetual Gaga and recent singles from Cascade and David Guetta making a dent at radio, this is the year the dancefloor takes over the world. And Blake Lewis's sophomore project on famed dance label Tommy Boy records is primed to add to the frenzy.

Heartbreak On Vinyl continues a fine trend on titling started by Kanye (808s & Heartbreaks) and continued by Brooke White (High Hopes & Heartbreaks) but it's the music that has me excited. The title track opens the disc with a bang, a distinctly '80s throwback ala Pet Shop Boys with a hot beat and keyboard tones. Following that is "Binary Love" a more futuristic robot pop song with a heavy electronic sound. Lead single "Sad Song" sounds a lot like Blake's previous album Audio Day Dream, one of the few songs that have that distinction. This is more grown-up techno, featuring more risque lyrics and more club-ready beats that that prior American Idol-sanctioned release.

From the S&M themed "Love Or Torture (Please Don't Stop)" to the ode to dirty dancing "Freak" this is the Blake that fans knew was hiding behind the 19 Entertainment white wash. And it's not just the lyrics that have matured, the sound is very hip-hop meets techno with a little of the beatboxing that earned him his Idol fanbase. But not all is nasty freaky dancefloor getdowns, "The Point" is a beautifully chilled out ballad with acoustic guitars and a male choir that intermingles with the electronic sounds. And I really enjoyed way Blake incorporates musical talk into a lot of the lyrics. For a muso like me, it's really cool.

If you enjoy fresh techno sounds, this is the second best album of the year.

Ten Days Of Idol Insanity: The Fifteen Best Songs By Idol Alumni

After the ticker-tape falls and a schlocky ballad is sung by a tearful winner, Idol contestants and winners alike must now do the hard work of making an album, promoting that album and trying not to get dropped from their label. Some do it better than others. For example, these lovely songs:

15: "Crush [Sonic Ether Club Mix]" - David Archuleta
The original version of this song is pretty sappy, I get a little creeped out when kids sing about crushes like they are the real deal. But the club mix is pretty sweet, and the chorus is catchy as fuck.

14: "Bar-Ba-sol" - David Cook
While the majority of David's major label debut is mid tempo lite-alternative rock of the Lifehouse variety, this shredder is a growly bit of southern-fried grit. The hardest rocker from Idol, at least until Adam makes his album.

13: "Invisible" - Clay Aiken
This is trashy pre-fab pop at it's creepiest. From Measure Of A Man comes a tale of stalking, sung with the bubbly voice of the geekiest kid to grace the Idol stage. I dare you not to sing along. (It's impossible.)

12: "Through The Fire" - Melinda Doolittle
It's just a Walmart exclusive track from season six's second runner up's old-school R&B disc Coming Back To You, but this Chaka Khan cover is exactly what Mindy Doo does best. A more gospel inflection takes the pop hit to church.

11: "What About Now" - Daughtry
Chris Daughtry may have only made fourth place in season five, but he has a bigger career with his own band's self-titled debut than any other contestant that season. This slow-burning inspirational rock number is exactly why.

10: "Love Story" - Katherine McPhee
In this brassy beat-heavy homage to 1960s-era pop, the season five runner-up tries to make the JoJo-aping "Over It" not her only hit from her self-titled album. It didn't work, and I'm still stumped as to why. It's a tale as old as time - boy and girl are friends, become more.

9: "Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood
What happens when a petite blonde from Oklahoma is cheated on? C'mon, you know the words: she "dug her key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive, carved my name into her leather seats... maybe next time he'll think before he cheats" and made a nation of girls n gays run out to by Some Hearts.

8: "I Ran [Radio Edit]" - Darude feat Blake Lewis
About the same time he was being dropped from his label after the painfully underrated Audio Day Dream tanked, season six's resident beat-boxer hooked up with techno/house mastermind Darude for a couple of tracks. Among those were an AIDS charity single and this brilliant reworking of the Flock Of Seagulls.

7: "No Air" - Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown
This song, from season 6 winner Jordin's self-titled disc and featuring a pre-Rihanna-beatdown Brown, is epic. The number of Runs Per Minute is Whitney-level and the lyrics are ridiculously over dramatic. Just the way I like it.

6: "Because Of You" - Kelly Clarkson
When I first heard this song, from Kelly's breakthrough sophomore work Breakaway, I could understand every word, every emotion. I knew exactly what kind of relationship Kelly had with her mother, because I had the same one. This used to be the soundtrack to my own (therapy-filled) journey to my own wholeness.

5: "And I Am Telling You" - Jennifer Hudson
J.Hud deservedly won an Oscar for her brilliant work in Dreamgirls, and her performance of this song and "I Am Changing" on the soundtrack reveals why. The emotional connection and completely organic performance are astonishing, she is Effie.

4: "Permanent" - David Cook
The seventh season winner brings tears to my eyes with a painfully intimate tunes written for his terminally ill brother and included on his self-titled CD. I danced with my little sister to this song at her wedding, it's a beautiful statement of familial love.

3: "Irvine" - Kelly Clarkson
In this intimate acoustic ballad that closed her artistic statement My December, the original Idol winner cries out to the Divine as she contemplates fading completely. Bonus points for the hidden track that follows, a sassy bar tune about Chivas.

2: "Praying For Time" - Carrie Underwood
For the charity special Idol Gives Back 2, season four winner Carrie performed this George Micheal cover, which was even more emotionally wrenching than her cover of "I'll Stand By You" for the original Idol Gives Back. I still pull it up on the ol' iPod when I need to get inspired to give.

1: "Since U Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson
The massive second single from Breakaway may be a predictable choice, I know. But when you combine a chick who can sing her face off with any song and the power chords of Swedish pop masterminds Dr Luke and Max Martin, what else can you expect but perfection? Even after being remixed, covered, inserted into Girl Talk jams and otherwise played to death, "Since U Been Gone" is what every Idol contestant dream of when they stand before the judges and belt.

Beatboxing & Idol Fans Rejoice: Two New Blake Lewis Tracks!

I've gone through some stuff with Blake Lewis since his time on American Idol. I was in love with him and his edgy fashion sense, beatboxing skills and brave reimaginings of the songs he performed. His funky lead single, "Break Anotha" landed in my top 25 for 2007, and "You Give Love A Bad Name" was the first American Idol performance I ever downloaded. His album Audio Day Dream was a very chill collection of electropop, which I'm sure is why it did not produce any hits. After what appeared to be a homophobic remark in Blender magazine, I decided I wasn't interested in following his career anymore. But after a pleasant interview with out blogger Raj at Electroqueer I gave in and started putting his songs on my playlists again.

Now Blake has a track produced by Darude on Dance 4 Life, a techno album benefiting AIDS and HIV charities. Not exactly a homophobic move, methinks. The track features a little bit of his beatboxing and a lot of brilliant European style techno. This may be the beginning of a rise in Blake Lewis's profile in the electronic field. Listen to "Selfless" below.



But wait! There's more Darude-produced goodness available! Besides the charity album, Blake and Darude have also released a single. It's a cover of Flock Of Seagulls 1982 hit "I Ran (So Far Away)" and it's fantastic! Probably better than "Selfless" or anything off of Audio Day Dream with it's heavy sound and a driving pulse. No crazy hairdo required to love it, though. Listen to the radio edit here. Or download the full single, with 5 remixes and a full length edit from the iTunes.

New Video - "Blake Lewis Is Shitting In My Bathroom"

I'd heard rumblings of this comedy sketch on Blake's MySpace, but now that's it's finally here, I'm less than amused. The biggest chuckle comes from the title, the actual sketch involves stiff acting, random "funny" gags that make no sense in the context of the story and a bizarre gay couple that are merely introduced as Gay Man and Other Gay Man. Really stupid, but you can watch:

Funny Videos Funny Cartoons More Video Clips

Five Songs On Shuffle, Volume 19

This is the nineteenth installments of my weekly blog entry series "5 Songs On Shuffle." I’ll put my iTunes on shuffle and blog about the first five songs that play.

"Just Friends" - Amy Winehouse Back To Black
This ska flavored throwback track from Amy's otherwise brilliant Back to Black album is one of the weaker songs on the disc. But it's still got a good sound and the usual confessional lyrics.

"Break Anotha" - Blake Lewis Audio Day Dream
My future boyfriend and American Idol runner up Blake Lewis didn't actually want to record this song, the first single from his debut album. It doesn't fit well in with rest of the album, this track is a funky, brassy Maroon 5 rip off and the other songs are mostly airy electro-pop. Still a great white funk track.

"La Tortura" - Shakira feat Alejandro Sanz Fijacion Oral Vol 1
Just because it's not in English doesn't mean Americans ignored this hot Latin dance track. Perfect hipshaking music, even if I have no idea what the lyrics mean.

"Night Owl" - Carly Simon The Best Of Carly Simon
My theme song! OK, not really, but whenever I hear it I think back to the days when I used to stay up 'til the wee hours of the morning. Beyond that, it's kind of a silly song.

"No Pause" - Girl Talk Feed The Animals
This is actually one of my favorite tracks from the mash-up master's latest, starting with Missy Elliot's "Work It" layered over Nu Shooz "I Can't Wait" and ending with Eminiem's rap from "Shake That" over Yael Naim's gentle piano from the Mac Air ad.

Five Songs On Shuffle Vol. 7

Here is the seventh installment of my weekly blog entry series "5 Songs On Shuffle." I’ll put my iTunes on shuffle and blog about the first five songs that play.

"Believe" - Cher Believe
OK, let break it down. Gay men love Cher, it's just a fact of life. I don't love every Cher song, but who can resist dancing to this club track? Funny story behind how I got this CD. My sister Rachel babysat for my cousin's son when this CD came out. My cousin had gotten this CD and didn't like it I guess, since she gave it to Rachel as a bonus. Rachel must've played it way too much while at my cousin's house, cause one day I was playing it and my cousin came running out and just very angrily turned it off, she had heard it way too much. I think I then stole it from Rachel, but she's really not a Cher kind of person she may have just given it to me.

"I'm Into Something Good" - Earl-Jean One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Groups Lost & Found [Disc Two]
This boxed set of rare singles, minor hits and flops alike, from the hey-day of girl group fever is awesome. For a pop fan, these are the cream of the crop, songs that are hooky, full of harmonies and sing-along choruses, but not overplayed. Plus, it features rare tracks by stars like Dolly Parton, Cher, Twiggy, The Supremes, The Ronnettes and complete unknowns alike. And the packaging is delicious, it's a black and white hatbox, with each CD in a case that looks like a makeup compact and an almost 200 page liner note book designed like a vintage diary. This is the original version of the Herman's Hermits hit, sung by the lead singer of the Cookies. Just bouncy pop fun, like I love.

"Getting Into You" - Relient K Two Lefts Don't Make A Right... But Three Do
I always describe Relient K as a "the Ohio snark-punk-poppers," but this is not a snarky song. It's a sweet description of love between God and man, and man for his fellow man. Relient K is the only band to have three full albums on my iPod at all times. Definitely my favorite emo band.
"Know My Name" Blake Lewis feat. Lupe Fiasco Audio Day Dream
Supposedly written about Natalie Portman, this tale of celeb crushes is one of the many stand outs on American Idol runner up Blake Lewis's debut album. And while I still am miffed over his possibly homophobic comment in Blender, this album is a hot electropop collection. And after his interview over at Electroqueer, I'm thinking I may have misjudged Blake. Of course, his hotness may just be clouding my judgement, I'd love a slice of his moist delicious Cake. (AI shippers know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)

"Filthy/Gorgeous" - Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters
My iPod is a British gay club kid, it is official. I've only done seven of these Five Songs On Shuffle blogs, and this is the third track to pop up from the Scissor Sisters' debut album. This is tied with "Tits On the Radio" for my favorite track, I do love some really dirty pop music. Electronica with a bouncy vibe, and the lyrics are, well, filthy and gorgeous.