M.I.A.'s Clothing Line

I'm not sure who would want to dress exactly like Sri lankan rapper M.I.A. I heart her hip-hip with a world beat and punk attitude, and her duds are always eyecatching, but they sometimes cross the line between crazy-hot and fugly. But she has her own label, per Women's Wear Daily. It'll be bomber jackets, tee-shirts and leggings, so hopefully you can pick up some shit like this soon:

If you're lacking fundage to acquire this fierce threads, take a cue from M.I.A.'s video for "Paper Planes" and just [bang bang bang] and take the money!

Brooke White Has A Sense Of Humor

America loves someone who is willing to poke fun at themselves a little. Brooke White knows this and went on VH1's Best Week Ever to do a commercial for her new CD: "Brooke White Stops And Starts The Classics" Hilar!


BWE Sneak Peek: Brooke White Starts and Stops the Classics

Earworm Du Jour

Earworms are those songs that get stuck in your head, and you can't get rid of them no matter how hard you try. I've heard that you can get it unstuck if you sing "Michelle" by The Beatles, and it works sometimes. These are the earworms that were stuck in my head today:

Sometimes an earworm starts when you hear a song on the radio. This song played on FM 97 right before I went into work at noon, then proceeded to play in my head for the next four hours:

Other times the song occupies your mind without warning, without invitation. Those are the worst, especially when it's just a couple lines that get stuck. With this song, it was the first line of the second verse: "Here you come again, looking better than a body has a right to" And yes, it was the Carly Smithson version that was stuck, not the original. Isn't it strange how the brain works?

American Idol Recap - Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame Week

I didn't get American Idol taped last night, but I didn't spazz this time! I just hit the YouTube up for some vids, by 9:30 all the performances were posted. I only got to hear a couple of the judges comments, which is fine, so I missed Syesha crying and stuff like that. But I'm here for the tunage, so let's go!

Uh oh, David Cook is going first. The First Curse has taken out a few people this season, but I'm sure David Cook will be safe, I voted about thirty times for him. Because I love him, not because "Hungry Like The Wolf" was anything special. It sounded very similar to the Duran Duran original, and his vocals were OK, it really wasn't anything special. For his second song, he took on the Who's "Baba O'Riley" (aka the theme from CSI: NY) Again, the vocals weren't special and while he slowed the arrangement down to make it more "Cook-y" it's wasn't as hot as usual. But still kinda on fi-ya! Anna says it sucks balls, but so does Anna, so there you go!

Syesha Mercado did a great Tina Turner impression on "Proud Mary" but didn't bring much originality to it. The Ike & Tina version is so iconic, I'm glad she didn't try to "make it her own" or anything. Plus, it was pretty cool, so kudos to her! And while "A Change Is Gonna Come" was a little pageanty, it was solid. But did you see the girls all out and proud? It might not have been the appropriate song for cleavage baring, but damn, if you got it, flaunt it!

Jason Castro just needs to leave. "I Shot The Sheriff" was breathy, with god-awful vocals, no stage presence, just the worst I've seen all season. And he forgot the words to "Mr Tambourine Man" as well as sounding like a bad country singer. Go, Jason, go!

Nothing like taking a classic, soulful song like "Stand By Me" and totally whitening it out there, David Archuleta! He didn't connect with the song, despite what smoke the judges were blowing up his ass. It was not good, it was over sung and obnoxious. "Love Me Tender" was slightly better, but he's way too young and innocent looking to sing that kind of song. I didn't feel like he was singing it to someone he's in love with, which is what all good teen idols need to do.

Seriously, not a good week, y'all. Rather boring, and Jason Castro should leave, fo' sho'. Syesha may be in trouble, but probably not going anywhere.

Five Songs On Shuffle, Vol. 9

This is the ninth 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.

"Big Rock Candy Mountain" - Harry McClintock O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A vintage song about a hobo's paradise, from the Grammy winner for Album of the Year. The album is an amazing collection of Americana. Kind of silly.

"Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" - Madonna Hard Candy
Seriously, I just reviewed this album in my last post. Timbaland recreates the creepy/sexy score he perfected on Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" to highlight Madonna's tale of a possessed lover. One of the best tracks from the new Madonna album.

"Chips Ahoy!" - The Hold Steady This Is Next Volume 1
I'm not really a big fan of this indie-rock tune. I didn't even know I had it on my iPod. It's about horse racing and having a good time, but it seems overly noisy. "How am I supposed to know if you're high if you won't even dance" is crappy "cool" songwriting at it's worst.

"Good Life" - Kanye West feat T-Pain Graduation
Really, is this just an updated "Big Rock Candy Mountain"? Kanye bites a line from 50 Cent, brags (a lot!) and loves the girls that "ain't on TV cause they got more ass than the models." T-Pain vocodes his way through, as usual.

"Love Me Or Hate Me" - Lady Sovereign Public Warning
The biggest midget in the game thanks you for the love with the best sing-along chorus in rap for years: "Love me or hate me/it's still an obsession/Love me or hate me/That is the question/If you love me/Thank you/If you hate me/fuck you" She's just an average British lass with a potty mouth. "I can't dance and I really can't sing/I can only do one thing and that's be Lady Sovereign" And we love your for it...

Review: Madonna - "Hard Candy"

The queen of pop is steaming up the radio again with her club friendly new disc, Hard Candy. Madonna straddles the line between hip-hop and techno with euro-synths, driving beats courtesy of the Neptunes and Timbaland, a smattering of smutty lyrics and the occasional 70s-funk/disco bass lines.
Even if you ignore the monster lead single, "4 Minutes" which you definitely should not, there are plenty of booty-shakers on here, "Give It 2 Me" pulses like every gay club, "She's Not Me" features biting lyrics taking on all pretenders to Madges throne while upping the roller-disco ante with funktified bass that "Beat Goes On" picks up (with a half-hearted Kanye West cameo) and "Heartbeat" explains what the deal is: "You'll find me on the floor/working up a sweat/that's what music's for."
Let's not ignore the slow cuts, though. "Miles Away" brings to mind the unjustly ignored "Love Profusion" from American Life and "Devil Wouldn't Recognize" is Timbaland at his post-"Cry Me A River" best: creepy pianos, rain sound effects, abstract BGVs and a downbeat to die for. Some might criticize Tim for doing another "Cry Me A River" but it is one of the best pop songs of this decade, so why not?
But if even if the beats are on point, it's the lyrics that don't always work. "Candy Shop" could have had candy/sex double entendre that made us forget the 50 Cent track of the same name, but the dirtiest we get is "my sugar is raw" Don't even get me started on "Spanish Lessons" and "Dance 2Night" those lyrics are best forgotten, at least the beat on "Dance" makes up for it, "Spanish" could have been left off the album.
But, is this a classic Madonna album? No. It's a great club album, and if any cut-rate dance floor diva had made it I would be floored, but Madonna has done much better in the past. But as is, I'm just pleased. It's fresh, modern and funky, I can't hate.

Madonna Plays Guitar?

Last night the still-reigning queen of pop took the stage at Roseland in NYC for a MSN broadcast, being her usual Madonna self. Grinding on Justin Timberlake? Check! Debuting some super hot tracks from Hard Candy? Check! Playing guitar? Che- wait, what? Since when did the material girl handle an axe? Since now! She plays it on a hard rock remix of "Hung Up" in this clip. View the awesomeness below:

Oh, and I'll reveiwing her sweaty hot new disc this week, keep your eyes peeled...