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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Money Mike

  • 808s & Heartbreak: Kanye West’s Headphone Masterpiece

    This was not set up to be a good move. Kanye West had made three of the finest hip-hop records of the past half-decade. Despite limited lyrical skills, he used relatability, a way with a punchline, and strong production values to make three classic or near-classic albums.

    I think it was Neil Young who coined (or at least inspired) the term “going straight from the middle of the road into the ditch” to be used whenever an artist with commercial success makes a serious left turn away from the sound that brought them accolades-think Young going from folk-rock to experimental electro and rockabilly, or Prince going from Purple Rain to Around the World in a Day.

    For his fourth album, Kanye promised to shake things up. Kanye singing? Using Auto-Tune throughout the entire album? Either West was seriously on some other shit or he was hell-bent on completely obliterating his audience.

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  • Checking Out The Popdose 100: Their Favorite Singles of the Past 50 Years

    Popdose is one of my favorite music websites, and not just because I’m an occasional contributor. These guys and girls combine an exhaustive knowledge and love for music and pop culture with just the right amount of snark to create a destination for music lovers of all stripes.

    This week, they’ve unleashed their list of the best singles of the past 50 years. As most good lists should be, it’s all over the place stylistically, and there are certainly a handful of surprises in there (TWO Tears for Fears songs? REALLY??). As with all great music lists, you can discuss the inclusion or exclusion of certain songs until kingdom come.

    It also proves that great critical minds think alike, as 8 of the Top 10 songs wound up on my personal list-which I’ll probably share with you guys after I get my long-in-progress Infatueighties list completed.

  • New Music Files 11/24/08: Special Monday Edition

    I hope the music industry doesn’t use this week as a model going forward.

    Not only are there albums coming out this Tuesday, like normal, but there’s also a handful of albums coming out today (Monday), and one album that came out yesterday (Sunday)! All of this left me at a loss for when I was going to publish my column this week. Y’all can’t be doin’ that, record industry.

    Anyway, lots of big names this week. Here’s the line-up.

    Guns ‘n Roses Chinese Democracy: You’ve waited fourteen years. You thought it would never see the light of day in your lifetime. Hell, most of us never thought it would see the light of day in ANYONE’s lifetime. However, Axl Rose and his merry band of scabs have finally released Chinese Democracy. One of you guys will have to tell me whether it’s worth the wait. Unless I hear absolutely mind-blowing things, I’ll stick to my copy of Appetite for Destruction…although I must admit that I am intrigued. BTW, this album is only being released at Best Buy stores, bestbuy.com and iTunes.

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