Singles Report for 9/9: 88-Keys with Kanye, Chris Cornell, Queen + Paul Rodgers, TV on the Radio and More
88-Keys (feat. Kanye West) - "Stay Up! (Viagra)"
I'm not sure if the timing on the official release of this single from Hip-Hop/R&B producer 88-Keys is great or awful. On one hand, the Internets are ablaze with talk of Kanye's VMA performance and the surprise announcement of a December release date for his next album. On the other, this song has been available since Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape came out in May of 2007 and the Borat reference doesn't make "Stay Up!" seem even remotely fresh. Still, the beat, threaded with a fluttery flugel horn loop, is relaxed and Kanye is crassly funny, rather than earnestly pompous, which doesn't happen as often as it once did. The single is nice enough, but not groundbreaking. If this is the only new release featuring Kanye you find when you're searching for "Love Lockdown" this week, it won't satisfy you, but it might still be worth the buck to pick it up.
Recommended If You Like: Rhymefest, Common, envisioning Dave Chappelle as a rapper
Rating: 8/10 Little Blue Pills
Chris Cornell - "Ground Zero"
When a former grunge god collaborates with an increasingly creatively bereft Timbaland, then releases a song called "Ground Zero" two days before the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, he's basically daring critics to exercise bad taste and use disaster-themed puns in reviews. I'll resist, not because I've suddenly developed good judgment, but because this isn't 100% terrible. It's only around 65% terrible, which is better than anyone could've hoped. Surprisingly, "Ground Zero" shares a lot of sonic similarities with the last Gnarls Barkley record. That's cool and all, but it makes me want to play Rock Band with Cee-Lo and let him take the vocals on "Black Hole Sun" more than it makes me want to add "Ground Zero" to any playlists that might make it anywhere near my iPhone. The song may not be fantastic, but it does leave me curious to hear what else might make it on the album. I couldn't say that before I gave the single a spin.
Recommended If You Like: Gnarls Barkley, the Mark Ronson Versions record, dreaming about attending the Timbaland/Interscope School of Career Resurrection
Rating: 67/150 VHS copies of Hype
Queen + Paul Rodgers - "C-lebrity"
I wonder if Paul Rodgers is self-aware enough to realize how well the lyrics to this jab at vapid Hollywood culture and just-add-water celebrities like Heidi Montag suit his own current situation. "Got no idea/ what to do/ or why I'm here/ Wanna get my face/ on your TV/ I wanna be heard/ I want to be seen." Not to knock the success of Free or Bad Company, but I'm pretty sure Paul Rodgers would be neither on my TV, heard, nor seen if he weren't actively involved in tainting our memory of "Fat Bottomed Girls." I understand that it's a much more lucrative proposition to sell this under the banner of Queen, where they can more easily bilk convince fans to pay $100 to sit in the nosebleeds at their concerts or get the CD stocked at a big box store. If they billed this as a supergroup under a different name, you'd likely never hear about it until they were about to play your local county fair. Still, there's no sonic continuity between any Queen recordings and this, which means at least some fans will be upset. As it stands now, if you're careful, you'll probably be able to avoid this until it inevitably plays over the end credits of an episode of Entourage. I'd recommend doing that.
Recommended If You Like: Harnessing Freddie Mercury's grave-spinning as an alternate source of energy
Rating: 3/25 Ones Who've Bitten the Dust
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
Even though TV on the Radio's success was built largely on the back of hipsters, "Dancing Choose" makes it seem like the band has no problem biting the hand that feeds them. Taking into account how boring it is to hear people mope about the gentrification of Williamsburg or how awful those aforementioned hipsters are, it's nearly a miracle that this song is tolerable at all, let alone good. It's clever, catchy, and instantly replayable, which means the exact people they nail here are likely to Twitter about how much they love it. Whoever registers angryyoungmannequin.com to start an MP3 blog gets a prize and/or a punch in the nose. I'm not sure which yet.
Recommended If You Like: Saul Williams, Kenna, dancing to songs that are making fun of you
Rating: 47/55 Cobrasnake Photos
Robin Thicke - "The Sweetest Love"
There are plenty of reasons to not like Robin Thicke. There's the whole Vibe controversy where he allegedly/erroneously accused the magazine of not allowing white folks to front the magazine when he got denied the cover, or that he's Jason Seaver's son, or that he soul-cooed over the entirety of "A Fifth of Beethoven" while portraying a character I like to call "Bike Messenger Jesus" in his first video, or that he has thus far refused to title any of his albums Touch Me, I'm Thicke. These are all perfectly valid reasons to root against him, but I have been irrationally and unabashedly riding for him since before his first album's release got delayed. Therefore, there's no reason you should trust me when I say this is good. I will say, though, this piano ballad is better than any of the smoothed-out jams that made the latter half of The Evolution Of... seem to drag on too long.
Recommended If You Like: John Legend, Hall and Oates, dudes secure enough to use a blow dryer and a constant falsetto
Rating: decline to state
R. Kelly - "Skin"
I will be the first to admit R. Kelly is a demented genius and that he's at his best when he's at his most unhinged, but maybe it's better to release something closer to "U Saved Me" or even "Heaven I Need a Hug" than a sex jam after he used the power of magic (or very effective lawyers) to get himself acquitted from that child pornography case. Even if he hadn't splashed down in those murky legal waters and R. Kelly naughty talk didn't make people feel icky, this just doesn't stand up to even the weakest of his extensive catalog of hump anthems. It sounds like The-Dream's stab at creating a genre called "Horny Adult Contemporary." Not a good look.
Recommended If You Like: The-Dream, Trey Songz, songs that make you feel like you need to take a shower
Rating: 7/14 Shocking Acquittals
Brandy - "Right Here (Departed)"
Until I recently heard a clerk in a store put on Brandy's 2004 album, Afrodisiac, I hadn't thought much about Brandy in a while. I don't think I'm the only one who forgot about that record, but hearing it again reminded me that she has some good post "The Boy Is Mine" joints. She was also ahead of the curve by sampling Coldplay before Jay-Z or Kanye had Chris Martin on their records. Granted, fresh thoughts about how she didn't get a fair shake last time out may color my opinion here, but "Right Here" sounds like a hit. She takes a risk by including allusions to traffic accidents after making headlines for being involved in a fatal crash, but unlike R. Kelly, it seems like she's working out some feelings here and not just being ghoulish. I'd be willing to bet there will be an emotional performance of this song on an awards show within the next twelve months. It will probably involve fake stage rain.
Recommended If You Like: Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, teen stars who've matured into competent adults
Rating: 16/20 Dreams of Placing Weird Bets on Future Award Show Appearances
Jolie Holland - "Mexico City"
There isn't a lot of middle ground when it comes to Jolie Holland-- her voice is either the sound of angels or of Fran Drescher's laugh. You'll know instantly which camp you're in and it's futile to convince folks to jump from one side to the other. If you're familiar with her previous output, this sounds more streamlined and straightforward, which suits her fine, just not as well as the jazzier/bluesier arrangements on Escondida. If you're not familiar, listen to the 30 second sample and prepare yourself to fall in love or jam something sharp in your ears.
Recommended If You Like: Lucinda Williams, Andrew Bird, divisive artists
Rating: 49/60 Oddball Voices
Of Montreal - "Id Engager" b/w "Alter Eagle"
If you're new to the Of Montreal party, you're going to have to ask yourself, "Am I interested in nerdy disco with lyrics like, 'Ladies, I'm screaming up to you from the depths of this phallocentric tyranny?'" There's value in both their more recent work and their earlier, more childish and schizophrenic albums, but unless I'm specifically in the mood to listen to them, either flavor of Of Montreal can seem too precious. At this point, they're best taken in small doses and this single is likely all I'll need from their forthcoming Skeletal Lamping.
Recommended If You Like: Scissor Sisters, Fiery Furnaces, bands who might be interested in dancing, psychedelics and/or wizards
Rating: 638/1000 Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onions
-- Jeff Reguilon
snowlin on March 09, 2011 at 12:14 AM
http://sdgdfhiio.blogcu.com/
Docven on January 24, 2011 at 02:01 PM
Bin über Google hier auf diese Seite gestoßen, finde sie schön und interessant.
Liebe Grüße aus Abilene!
football customized jerseys on January 19, 2011 at 05:09 PM
Die schönen Moderationen und Informationen
sind echt super. Über einen Gegenbesuch würde
ich mich freuen.
Viele Grüße von Westerland
Volker on February 22, 2010 at 09:15 AM
Bin nur zufällig auf diese Seite gekommen,.
Die schönen Moderationen und Informationen
sind echt super. Über einen Gegenbesuch würde
ich mich freuen.
Viele Grüße von Westerland
henrybee on October 06, 2009 at 02:17 AM
Quite an interesting opinion, really glad that I have found this post.
http://healthnova.org
pollod on April 24, 2009 at 05:39 AM
I wait these albums. I think I can download it from rapidshare for finding using http://rapid4me.com - rapidshare search engine.