Yesterday, VH1 premiered the new video from boyband-turned-manband New Kids On The Block. "Summertime" is a decent summery R&B/pop jam, with a little throwback vibe, but very modern. Not the greatest pop single of the year by any stretch, but I wouldn't turn off the radio if it came on. Plus, it's more fun than a lot of the slow stuff the Backstreet Boys have been releasing of late. I'm a little young to have been a fan the first time around, but this song gets me interested in the reunion. The video is pretty hot, though! Who knew the New Kids would still be buff? The dance moves are a little cheesy, but I wouldn't want them breaking a hip anyway. Watch:
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Random New Songs!
Here is a round up of some new singles that caught my ear:
Violent Femmes - "Crazy"
After Gnarls Barkley covered the Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" it only seems right they should return the favor with the most covered song of 2006: "Crazy" Hey, if it's good enough for Nelly Furtado... The full song isn't available yet, but you here a scant minute of the track at the MySpace. The description on the page fits, in my opinion: "like a Morricone-style dirge recorded by The Mamas and The Papas" Listen and judge for yourself, and either get it on iTunes or buy the limited edition vinyl on June 24th. (Sweet vinyl action, yes!)
Doe Deere - "One Touch"
Thanks to the techno music blog Electroqueer (link to the right, yo!) I've been turned onto NYC based disco diva Doe Deere and her eighties-style dance music. "One Touch" topped the EQ chart for a month, and little wonder: it sounds like every eighties pop song ever, which from me is a Ron Jeremy sized compliment. Plus, you can download the hotness for free on her MySpace, which you should totes do! Do it now, I'll wait. OK, you're back. I know! Sooooo good, right?
Sam Sparro - "Black & Gold"
I can thank both EQ again and Towleroad (again, link to the right) for hooking a brother up with some more smooth dance house fun, courtesy of American boy Sam Sparro. He has a following in the UK, but he should be heating up US gay clubs, too. It's nothing original, just synthy pop with a sing a long chorus. It's finally available on US iTunes, go download it! Or just watch the video...
Jai Rodrieguez - "Broken"
OK, enough gushing from me, there has to be something sucky coming out, right? Correct! Queer Eye's Jai is trying out a singing career, and I don't approve. The singing is passable, but it has a "Do I Make You Proud?" vibe, and only American Idol contestants can get away with that level of lyrical schmaltz. Stick to your day job, whatever the hell that was.
Metro Station - "Shake It"
Aww, Miley Cyrus's big bro wants to sing too! But wait, his band's track is a fierce emotronic HelloGoodbye rip off? Sign me up!
And finally, just a huge Congratulations to David Cook, for having 11 songs debut in the Hot 100! He beat out Miley Cyrus's six debuts, and it's the first time the same artist has had that many tracks in the Hot 100 since The Beatles had 14 during the heyday of Beatlemania. Looks like Cookie fever is spreading! Of course, whining boomers had to complain that it's not the same, but seriously, let the boy have his moment in the sun! Stay tuned for my rant on that later this week...
Violent Femmes - "Crazy"
After Gnarls Barkley covered the Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" it only seems right they should return the favor with the most covered song of 2006: "Crazy" Hey, if it's good enough for Nelly Furtado... The full song isn't available yet, but you here a scant minute of the track at the MySpace. The description on the page fits, in my opinion: "like a Morricone-style dirge recorded by The Mamas and The Papas" Listen and judge for yourself, and either get it on iTunes or buy the limited edition vinyl on June 24th. (Sweet vinyl action, yes!)
Doe Deere - "One Touch"
Thanks to the techno music blog Electroqueer (link to the right, yo!) I've been turned onto NYC based disco diva Doe Deere and her eighties-style dance music. "One Touch" topped the EQ chart for a month, and little wonder: it sounds like every eighties pop song ever, which from me is a Ron Jeremy sized compliment. Plus, you can download the hotness for free on her MySpace, which you should totes do! Do it now, I'll wait. OK, you're back. I know! Sooooo good, right?
Sam Sparro - "Black & Gold"
I can thank both EQ again and Towleroad (again, link to the right) for hooking a brother up with some more smooth dance house fun, courtesy of American boy Sam Sparro. He has a following in the UK, but he should be heating up US gay clubs, too. It's nothing original, just synthy pop with a sing a long chorus. It's finally available on US iTunes, go download it! Or just watch the video...
Jai Rodrieguez - "Broken"
OK, enough gushing from me, there has to be something sucky coming out, right? Correct! Queer Eye's Jai is trying out a singing career, and I don't approve. The singing is passable, but it has a "Do I Make You Proud?" vibe, and only American Idol contestants can get away with that level of lyrical schmaltz. Stick to your day job, whatever the hell that was.
Metro Station - "Shake It"
Aww, Miley Cyrus's big bro wants to sing too! But wait, his band's track is a fierce emotronic HelloGoodbye rip off? Sign me up!
And finally, just a huge Congratulations to David Cook, for having 11 songs debut in the Hot 100! He beat out Miley Cyrus's six debuts, and it's the first time the same artist has had that many tracks in the Hot 100 since The Beatles had 14 during the heyday of Beatlemania. Looks like Cookie fever is spreading! Of course, whining boomers had to complain that it's not the same, but seriously, let the boy have his moment in the sun! Stay tuned for my rant on that later this week...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I'll Be Missing You: Michael Ausiello
TV Guide's premeire scoop-master, Michael Ausiello, is leaving the television mag for Entertainment Weekly, per TVGuide.com. I was one of his devoted Ausholes, and hope his snarky breed of TV reporting and scooping will continue at his new gig. Here's hoping for a new column full of Snapple, Smurfs and Mariska Hargitay and Keri Russell stalkings sightings. Here is is his last [sniff] Ausiello Report Vodcast:
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Five Songs On Shuffle, Vol. 13
This is the thirteenth 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.
"Love Needs A Holiday" - Reba McEntire Reba #1's
One of the new tracks on Reba's double disc hits collection, "Love Needs A Holiday" tells of a couple who do what they can to keep love alive, like taking a vacation. I bought this CD for Rachel for Christmas a couple years ago. She loves Reba, even though she's a pretty hard core rock fan. But, really, how can you hate on a legendary redhead like her?
"High Of 75" - Relient K Mmhmm
This is an album track from the Canton, Ohio band's mainstream breakthrough, Mmhmm. Really catchy pop-punk, like most of this band's output. I love them!
"XR2" - M.I.A. Kala
I love the Baltimore club beat on this track, and the line "some people think we're stupid, but we're not" cracks me up. Not the best track from my favorite album of last year, but seriously cool anyway.
"B-A-B-Y" - Carla Thomas Something To Believe In
This soulful love song is from a CD I bought at a thrift store about six years ago, a compilation of African-American music with African art in the liner notes. The CD introduced me to the brilliant work of Nina Simone, and also includes great songs from Curtis Mayfield, Erma Franklin and Billie Holiday.
"Love Is A Battlefield" - Pat Benatar Greatest Hits
One of the best songs of the eighties, from one of the best rock vocalists ever. You can't hear this song without wanting to dance and sing into a hairbrush. That chorus! That vocal range! Those fierce shoulder shakes in the video! Clearly a classic.
"Love Needs A Holiday" - Reba McEntire Reba #1's
One of the new tracks on Reba's double disc hits collection, "Love Needs A Holiday" tells of a couple who do what they can to keep love alive, like taking a vacation. I bought this CD for Rachel for Christmas a couple years ago. She loves Reba, even though she's a pretty hard core rock fan. But, really, how can you hate on a legendary redhead like her?
"High Of 75" - Relient K Mmhmm
This is an album track from the Canton, Ohio band's mainstream breakthrough, Mmhmm. Really catchy pop-punk, like most of this band's output. I love them!
"XR2" - M.I.A. Kala
I love the Baltimore club beat on this track, and the line "some people think we're stupid, but we're not" cracks me up. Not the best track from my favorite album of last year, but seriously cool anyway.
"B-A-B-Y" - Carla Thomas Something To Believe In
This soulful love song is from a CD I bought at a thrift store about six years ago, a compilation of African-American music with African art in the liner notes. The CD introduced me to the brilliant work of Nina Simone, and also includes great songs from Curtis Mayfield, Erma Franklin and Billie Holiday.
"Love Is A Battlefield" - Pat Benatar Greatest Hits
One of the best songs of the eighties, from one of the best rock vocalists ever. You can't hear this song without wanting to dance and sing into a hairbrush. That chorus! That vocal range! Those fierce shoulder shakes in the video! Clearly a classic.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Music News: M.I.A. To Wed, New J.Hud, Prince v. Radiohead
Music news outlets are reporting that brilliant Sri Lankan rapper/singer/designer M.I.A. is engaged to Benjamin Brewer of The Exit, and son of Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Brewer Jr. She previously had a long-term relationship with her producer/collaborator Diplo. My best wishes to Maya and Benjamin!
She's an Oscar-winner for Dreamgirls and co-stars in the new Sex And The City movie, so you may be forgiven for forgetting that Jennifer Hudson is a singer, too. The American Idol cast-off's debut CD drops this fall, the first single will be available to download on iTunes next week. The single, "Spotlight" is available for a listen here. It has an Alicia Keys vibe, but a little slicker. Very bouncy mid-tempo pop with an R&B edge, I think it should do well at Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop radio, I don't know if it will be the mainstream Top 40 radio hit our girl deserves. I've listened to it several times now, I really enjoy it.
You may recall I posted the video of Prince covering Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella on Pictures & Conversations a few months ago. It was an amazing and sexy cover, not unlike his version of Foo Fighters' "Best of You" at the Super Bowl. Little did I know it would be yanked from YouTube following threatened legal action from the Purple One. Several media outlets have reported Radiohead were not pleased, they can't even see the footage themselves. Personally, I know that Prince has the right to take the videos down, but it is kind of a dick move, especially since the songwriters haven't objected. Nobody is making money off of the videos, and you would think he'd like to keep his profile as a master musician up, since his albums keep tanking. Rude!
She's an Oscar-winner for Dreamgirls and co-stars in the new Sex And The City movie, so you may be forgiven for forgetting that Jennifer Hudson is a singer, too. The American Idol cast-off's debut CD drops this fall, the first single will be available to download on iTunes next week. The single, "Spotlight" is available for a listen here. It has an Alicia Keys vibe, but a little slicker. Very bouncy mid-tempo pop with an R&B edge, I think it should do well at Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop radio, I don't know if it will be the mainstream Top 40 radio hit our girl deserves. I've listened to it several times now, I really enjoy it.
You may recall I posted the video of Prince covering Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella on Pictures & Conversations a few months ago. It was an amazing and sexy cover, not unlike his version of Foo Fighters' "Best of You" at the Super Bowl. Little did I know it would be yanked from YouTube following threatened legal action from the Purple One. Several media outlets have reported Radiohead were not pleased, they can't even see the footage themselves. Personally, I know that Prince has the right to take the videos down, but it is kind of a dick move, especially since the songwriters haven't objected. Nobody is making money off of the videos, and you would think he'd like to keep his profile as a master musician up, since his albums keep tanking. Rude!
Fierce New Madonna Video - "Give It 2 Me"
So our lady of perpetual hotness had a hip-hop makeover courtesy of Timbaland and Timberlake with her first single off of Hard Candy. Now it's the Neptunes turn, and instead of thugging out the Material Girl, they give her a jittery Euro-club beat and let her "get stupid" on "Give It 2 Me" a dance floor ready track that should get booties bouncing in clubs both gay and urban. The video is pretty straight forward, it opens similar to the "Hung Up" video, with Madonna in a dance rehearsal studio getting her groove on in some killer black patent leather heels. It's more of a series of glamour shots than a plot-driven clip, Pharell pops in to drag a pink bag around, don't ask why. But Madonna keeps looking hotter, how does that work? Watch:
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Betwixt The Covers: The Mixtape
Mixwit.com is a fierce website brought to my attention a while ago on the Pop Candy blog, which is a must-read blog for pop culture junkies like me. You can create a digital mixtape, which can then be posted on a blog like this one, (or on your MySpace or Facebook or personal website) I finally had time to sit down and make a mixtape of cover songs that I love, and add a spicy title: Betwixt The Covers.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
Some of these are naughty hip-hop songs covered in a more earnest style, like Jill Sobule's folksy take on Nelly's "Hot In Herre" or Alanis's emo-piano version of Black Eyed Peas ode to T&A, "My Humps." Others find the emotional connection in a fluffy pop song and twist it's heartbreaking core, like Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen does to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late."
Some are just brilliant takes on brilliant songs, like k. d. lang's masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's modern standard "Hallelujah" or the way Petra Haden recreates Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (guitar solos and all) using only her voice. Mary J Blige proves that you just need to add a soulful black lady to any song to improve it, just look at her version of "One" by U2. The most beautiful nonsense song of modern times, "Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams gets a shimmery pop sheen from Irish group The Corrs. Bryan Adams' "Heaven" was remade into a dance floor anthem a few years ago by DJ Sammy, but the Candlelight Remix is a stunning piano ballad version that will bring a tear to your eyes.
Other's just switch up the gender vocals without disturbing the gender pronouns, like the Artic Monkey's drumtastic reading of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or the Of Montreal version of M.I.A.'s cover of "Jimmy" from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer. It's often just straight up fun, like Britney Spear's "Toxic" covered by Mark Ronson, with a filthy rap from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, which defies description.
I could have done a mixtape of just David Cook's brilliant covers from American Idol, like "Little Sparrow" and "Billie Jean", but I already did that for three people this week. Instead I'm just including the cover that could have been a radio hit by Goo Goo Dolls or Lifehouse, his take on Mariah Carey's torchy stalker anthem "Always Be My Baby"
And what cover collection would be complete without Rihanna's "Umbrella"? I went with the version that conveyed the most emotion, by Manic Street Preachers, but you can find covers by Marie Digby, Tegan & Sara, Plain White T's, My Chemical Romance and Mandy Moore elsewhere online.
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