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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Money Mike

  • The 200-Word Review: Charlie Wilson’s “Uncle Charlie”

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    Former Gap Band lead singer Charlie Wilson scored big with his 2005 comeback album Charlie, Last Name Wilson, and after four years (and a bout with prostate cancer), he returns with a more club-oriented, contemporary sound on Uncle Charlie. Fans of the last album may be a little disappointed with the club beats and contemporary flourishes from a classic R&B artist, but Wilson’s signature voice is good enough to overcome the occasional sonic misstep.

    Among the uptempo jams, the almost Euro-dance Let it Out sticks out, with its’ galloping bassline lifted from Charlie’s 1982 Gap Band hit “Burn Rubber”, but the album really picks up steam with songs like the swaying ballad “There Goes My Baby”, the summery midtempo track “What You Do to Me” and the dramatic “Homeless”. The guest artists (Snoop, as well as an Auto-Tuned Jamie Foxx and T-Pain) are unobtrusive but also unnecessary.

    Uncle Charlie is proof positive that mediocre production and songwriting can be saved by superior vocals. While I would have liked content that was a little more mature, organic and age-appropriate, this album stands out as solid enough (in a ridiculously craptastic year for R&B so far) that I’m willing to give Wilson a pass.

  • The Top 100 Songs of the ’00s, #96: “The Eraser”

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    Back in ’93, who’d have thought that the guy who made “Creep” would turn out to be one of the most forward-thinking artists of the next decade and a half?

    Anyway, for my money, “The Eraser” brought Yorke back to accessibility after the art-rock freakout qualities of Radiohead’s “Amnesiac” and “Hail to the Thief”. Not to say it was necessarily pop friendly (nothing that comes out of the Radiohead camp is), but “Eraser” was certainly easier to listen to than anything his band had made since “Kid A”.

    The album’s title track is sort of druggy, sort of spooky. Yorke sings (well, actually, he kinda mumbles) in that pinched falsetto over a gurgling electronic beat garnished with piano. “The more you erase me/The more that I appear”…just sounds ominous in that “Every breath you take/I’ll be watching you” kinda way, the song has a little freak-out breakdown towards the end, and the result (like the rest of the album) is a slightly offbeat but quite enjoyable listening experience.

    Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams (as CRS or Child Rebel Soldier) heavily sampled “The Eraser” for “Us Placers”, which wasn’t released as a single. If it was, however, it would have placed on this list. So, let’s just throw that in as a bonus. Neither of the songs has an official video, but thanks to YouTube and some very creative minds, check out unofficial clips for both songs.

  • Chart Chat 5/27/09: Eminem, The Real American Idol?

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    In the biggest chart no-brainer of the year, Eminem debuts at #1 with “Relapse”, which scans 608,000 units in it’s first week. It’s by far the biggest debut week of the year, although it’s the slowest start for an Eminem studio album since “The Slim Shady LP” debuted in spring 1999. Granted, the music industry was in a much different place then. To put things into perspective, if the year was to end today, “Relapse” would be 2009’s #9 album with only 6 days of sales. Em should easily enjoy a second frame at #1 with no major releases out this week (although his partner in controversy Marilyn Manson should enjoy a Top 5 debut), although his reign will come to an end when the new Dave Matthews Band album comes out 6/2.

    Elsewhere on the albums charts, it’s a sea of debuts and “American Idol”-led jumps. The top 10 hosts 7 new albums. In addition to Eminem, there’s the latest hits collection from Kenny Chesney at #3, Method Man & Redman’s “Blackout 2” at #4, Dane Cook at #5, Busta Rhymes at #6, Tori Amos at #9 and newcomer Kate Voegele at #10.

    A little further down on the charts, a couple of collections by this year’s American Idol champ and runner-up debut, and to no one’s surprise, Adam Lambert’s collection (#33, 16K) outduels Kris Allen’s (#50, 10K), although it looks like Kris has the edge when it comes to individual tracks.

    The chart’s biggest gainers this week also relate back to the “Idol” finale. Rod Stewart’s “Definitive” collection is up nearly 400% to 10,000 units, landing at #52 on the chart after being off of it the previous week. You might remember that Rod the Bod performed a generally atrocious version of “Maggie May” on the show. David Cook also finds himself the beneficiary of some “Idol” goodwill. His self-titled debut is up 111% to land at #29 with 17K in sales.

    On the other side of the coin, it’s bad news for Cam’ron and Paul Wall, as both rappers slide over 60% in sales in their albums’ respective second weeks. Killa Cam drops from 3-35, while Paul Wall plummets from 15-64. Yikes, folks. Might hip-hop be the genre suffering the most from illegal downloading? Or are people just reacting quicker to bad music?