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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Money Mike

  • SonicClash Handicaps the 2009 Grammy Awards: Viva La Coldplay!!

    radioheadWas 2008 a mediocre year for rock music? Judging from the nominees in Grammy’s rock categories, it’s pretty easy to think so. Almost no new artists are represented here. Even the alternative category is filled with veterans. Also, what’s up with the continued absence of a Female Rock vocal category. There are still quite a few rockin’ chicks out there. I’m surprised women’s groups haven’t protested this oversight!

    Anyway, here are the categories…

    Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: “Gravity” (John Mayer), “I Saw Her Standing There” (Paul McCartney), “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” (Bruce Springsteen), “Rise” (Eddie Vedder),”Hidden Path” (Neil Young)

    Will Win: Springsteen

    Should Win: Can’t argue with The Boss

    Mayer and McCartney are pretty much spaceholders-nominated for live performances of old songs. While it would be nice to see Eddie Vedder pick up a Grammy for his haunting “Into the Wild” soundtrack, this one goes to Springsteen, whose profile is higher than it’s been in years.

    Best Rock Performance, Duo or Group: “Rock ‘n Roll Train” (AC/DC), “Violet Hill” (Coldplay), “Long Road Out of Eden” (The Eagles), “Sex on Fire” (Kings of Leon), “House of Cards” (Radiohead)

    Will Win: Coldplay

    Should Win: Kings of Leon

    I feel a Coldplay sweep coming on. The Eagles’ appearance in this category is laughable, and while it’s cool to see AC/DC nominated for a Grammy (for the FIRST time), they probably won’t win (now watch them turn around and give the award to AC/DC). I say this award (and most of the others in this category) goes on Chris Martin’s mantelpiece, although “Sex on Fire” is one of the best songs of the year, regardless of genre.

    Best Hard Rock Performance: “Inside the Fire” (Disturbed), “Visions” (Judas Priest), “Wax Simulacra” (Mars Volta), “Saints of Los Angeles” (Motley Crue), “Lords of Salem” (Rob Zombie)

    Will Win: Disturbed

    Should Win: ???

    Rob Zombie’s automatically excluded, because his entry is a live performance. Every once in a while, the Grammy folks like to prove that they’re cool, which means that they’ll bypass old-school faves Judas Priest and Motley Crue and give the award to relative newcomers Disturbed.

    Best Metal Performance: “Heroes of Our Time” (Dragonforce), “Nostradamus” (Judas Priest), “My Apocalypse” (Metallica), “Under My Thumb” (Ministry), “Psychosocial” (Slipknot)

    Will Win: Metallica

    Should Win: Dragonforce

    Oh, come on. Any metal Grammy category that includes Metallica has already been decided. The four-headed behemoth will trounce the competition. However, Dragonforce deserves some props for delivering metal that takes it all the way back to 1983, albeit with superior instrumental prowess.

    Best Rock Song: “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” (Bruce Springsteen), “House of Cards” (Radiohead), “I Will Possess Your Heart” (Death Cab for Cutie), “Sex on Fire” (Kings of Leon), “Violet Hill” (Coldplay)

    Will Win: Coldplay

    Should Win: Death Cab for Cutie or Kings of Leon

    Remember I said something about a Coldplay sweep? It will continue in this category. The Springsteen track is too old, Radiohead will win the alternative category (see below), and KOL and Death Cab are still relatively new artists. However, DC4C’s Ben Gibbard deserves this award just for writing the creepiest stalker song of the year.


    Best Rock Album: “Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends” (Coldplay), “Rock ‘n Roll Jesus” (Kid Rock), “Only by the Night” (Kings of Leon), “Death Magnetic” (Metallica), “Consolers of the Lonely” (The Raconteurs)

    Will Win: Coldplay

    Should Win: Kings of Leon

    In this category, the biggest seller usually wins, but in this case, the biggest seller is Kid Rock. Ain’t nobody givin’ Kid Rock a Grammy award. Metallica has an outside chance, but Coldplay’s picking up steam and will most likely snatch this one up too. How’d The Raconteurs end up here? Does anyone even remember that they released an album last year?

    Best Alternative Performance: “Modern Guilt” (Beck), “Narrow Stairs” (Death Cab for Cutie), “The Odd Couple” (Gnarls Barkley), “Evil Urges” (My Morning Jacket), “In Rainbows” (Radiohead)

    Will Win: Radiohead

    Should Win: Any of these is worthy.

    Five nominees, five excellent albums, all of which are Grammy worthy. However, Radiohead’s got the nomination in the major category (Album of the Year), so they’ll take the prize, and thank goodness that Coldplay wasn’t nominated here!!

  • The Sunday Seven 2/1/08: Make Sure You’re Sure

    Congrats to the Steelers for winning what was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory. That Springsteen guy wasn’t bad either. Let’s throw the iPod on shuffle and see if any Boss comes up:

    01: The Grand Finale by The D.O.C. feat. NWA (1989): A car crash ruined what The D.O.C.’s once promising career, shattering his vocal cords and turning his booming baritone into a rasp. While the Doc has gone on to success as a ghostwriter for the Death Row camp (and one of a laundry list of Erykah Badu baby daddies), his debut No One Can Do it Better remains one of the best debuts in hip-hop history. Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E all join The D.O.C. on this track, a classic all-time posse cut…over a live band, to boot!

    02: Make Sure You’re Sure by Stevie Wonder (1991): Can someone tell Stevie that he needs to do a standards album? This jazzy piano ballad is one of the highlights of the “Jungle Fever” soundtrack. Considering Stevie’s personal release schedule, though, it’s unlikely we’ll see any new music from him until 2016. I love me some Spike Lee, but I have never seen “Jungle Fever” (although considering my own personal dating tastes, maybe I should). I’ll rent it someday.

    03: The Happy Song (Dum Dum) by Otis Redding (ca. 1966): It’s hard to believe Otis Redding was only 27 when he died, not because he made so much music in his few short years as a musician, but because he SOUNDED so much older. The man had the soul of someone 10 if not 20 years older, as evidenced by the fact that he sings the shit out of a song that’s pretty inconsequential lyrically like this one.

    04: Daddy Called Me Niga ‘Cause I Liked to Rhyme by Young Black Teenagers (1990): YBT, contrary to their name, consisted of five white kids. Discovered and produced by The Bomb Squad, they released two pretty decent albums. The subject matter of this song is apparent from the title. Strangely, there wasn’t much of an outcry in the media when these guys came out. Can you imagine the ruckus this would cause if it were released now? Talk about progression (yes, I’m being sarcastic). Most of the YBT returned to civilian life after their 15 minutes were up, but their DJ, Skribble, wound up becoming a fixture on MTV for a while, and his latest mix CD debuted in the Top 20 on the Billboard charts earlier this year.

    There’s no video for “Daddy…”, but if you want some YBT flavor, here’s a video for you. This was the jam back in ’93.


    05: Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals (1989): This good-natured Motown rip was a huge hit in 1989. Two things I always wondered about FYC: 1) what planet did Roland Gift come from? (he looked like a bloody alien) and 2) how come their huge album “The Raw & the Cooked” (which contains this song) never got followed up? Such are the mysteries of the music world. Anyone remember the skit from “In Living Color” called “Old Train”, where one of the Wayanses as Don Cornelius mangles the name “Fine Young Cannibals”? Finally, did Barry Gibb ever call Roland Gift and tell him he wanted his voice back?

    06: She Needs My Love by The-Dream (2007): Some producers are better off not making their own records. I’m still on the fence about The-Dream, who’s written and produced songs for Usher, Mary J. Blige, Britney, Celine Dion and Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, among others. Dream’s no great singing talent, but the 80s-tastic production (similar to modern-day Timbaland) redeems this and many of the songs on his album “Love/Hate”. This song would be just as good as an instrumental.

    07: Sleep All Day by Jason Mraz (2003): Mr. A-Z’s a little too precious for my tastes sometimes, but this remains one of my favorites from him, maybe because sleeping all day is one of my favorite things to do. This song is actually the perfect soundtrack for a mid-afternoon summer nap. I can picture the hammock now…

    As usual, I’m taking submissions from anyone who would like to participate in a Sunday Seven someday (say that five times fast). Enjoy your week!!

  • Chart Chat 2/1/09: Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah & More!!

    kellyIt’s been a while since we’ve done one of these: enough for the usually slow-moving charts to change appreciably, thank goodness. Anyway, here’s the latest action on the singles and albums chart, with the charts (as usual) used courtesy of the good folks at Billboard magazine.

    Top 20 Albums:
    1) “Fearless” Taylor Swift
    2) “I Am…Sasha Fierce” Beyonce
    3) “Dark Horse” Nickelback
    4) “808s & Heartbreak” Kanye West
    5) “Twilight Soundtrack” Various Artists
    6) “A Different Me” Keyshia Cole
    7) “Circus” Britney Spears
    8) “Intuition” Jamie Foxx
    9) “Notorious Soundtrack” Various Artists
    10) “The Ballads” Mariah Carey
    11) “Now That’s What I Call Music 29” Various Artists
    12) “Noble Beast” Andrew Bird
    13) “Merriweather Post Pavillion” Animal Collective
    14) “David Cook” David Cook
    15) “Funhouse” P!nk
    16) “Blood Bank (EP)” Bon Iver
    17) “Freedom” Akon
    18) “Paper Trail” T.I.
    19) “Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack” Various Artists
    20) “The Fame” Lady GaGa

    Top 20 Singles

    1) “My Life Would Suck Without You” Kelly Clarkson
    2) “Just Dance” Lady GaGa feat. Colby O’ Donis
    3) “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” Beyonce
    4) “Heartless” Kanye West
    5) “Love Story” Taylor Swift
    6) “Gives You Hell” The All-American Rejects
    7) “Live Your Life” T.I. feat. Rihanna
    8) “You Found Me” The Fray
    9) “Circus” Britney Spears
    10) “I’m Yours” Jason Mraz
    11) “I Hate This Part” The Pussycat Dolls
    12) “Let it Rock” Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne
    13) “Hot ‘n Cold” Katy Perry
    14) “Dead & Gone” T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake
    15) “Womanizer” Britney Spears
    16) “Sober” P!nk
    17) “Untouched” The Veronicas
    18) “Whatever You Like” T.I.
    19) “Mad” Ne-Yo
    20) “Gotta Be Somebody” Nickelback

    *First thing I notice is that the amount of artists who repeat themselves on the singles chart has decreased significantly. Only T.I. (three songs) and Britney Spears (two songs) have more than one song in the Top 20.

    *Taylor Swift spends a seventh consecutive week at the summit of the Albums chart, the longest run in quite a few years (I think the last album to spend that much time at the top was Usher’s “Confessions”). Springsteen’s debut next week will end that run, but either way that’s Pretty impressive.

    *Check out Andrew Bird, Animal Collective and Bon Iver in the Top 20…making a great showing for indie music and artists.

    *Kelly Clarkson zooms to the top with “My Life Would Suck Without You”. Jumping from 97-1, it’s the largest move to the top in history. It’s also Kelly’s first #1 single since her debut, “A Moment Like This”. It also means Clive Davis is in an office somewhere, smiling smugly.

    *Who are The Veronicas?

    *Well, I was right in assuming that they were an all-female band. Let’s hear it for educated guesses. They’re not very good, though.

    *Mariah makes an impressive showing at #10 with a collection of older ballads. Only one track on this compilation dates from this decade, proving in the light of the blah chart showing of “E=MC2” that folks still love Mariah, they just love her more when she’s making good music.

    *Err…I got nothing left. Enjoy the charts,the videos,and the Super Bowl! No titties this year!!