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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Money Mike

  • Infatueighties #59: Maniac

    It’s easy to imagine the allure of a song called “Maniac” to a 7-year old terror like I was. What’s not as easy to imagine is why the song still brings a smile to my face twenty-six years later. Believe it or not, I’ve never seen “Flashdance” all the way through, so that can’t be it. The song just makes me happy. I play it when I work out and it peps me up (although I don’t think I have much in common with “a steel town girl on a Saturday night). Hey, did you know that Michael (or Mike, as he was known at the time) Sembello played guitar on some of my favorite records by Stevie Wonder and The Jacksons? Hard to imagine a song this synth-heavy coming from a noted session guitarist, but, such are the mysteries of life.

    Of course, the video features Jennifer Beals in all her “Flashdance”-ian glory.

    For my money, one of the best soundtrack songs of the decade.

  • Eminem’s “Crack a Bottle”: Is Slim Shady Back?

    There was a fleeting thought in my mind that maybe after four years off, Eminem could regain some of his former glory as one of the most talented and exciting rappers of our time. Well, if his new single, “Crack a Bottle”, is any indication, I won’t be holding my breath for a comeback from Slim Shady. Proving that he’s pretty much completely lost touch with who he was ten years ago, Em seems to be content to spit rhymes that sound great from a technical standpoint, but when you actually listen to what he’s saying, you’re like “THIS is what he’s rapping about?” A storyteller once on par with legends like Slick Rick, he’s become a parody of himself. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent recycling their typical cliche-ridden schtick doesn’t help, either. Nor does the lazy production and absolutely wack chorus. Actually, lazy is the best word to describe this whole travesty of a song. If this is the best Eminem has to offer, maybe he would have been better off had he retired like he was threatening to do after “Encore”.

  • Introducing…Jaydiohead!!

    i-am-guilty
    Jay-Z photo by Wikimedia user i-am-guilty.

    Mash-ups are nothing new. Hell, mash-ups featuring Jay-Z are nothing new, but if you’re a fan of the Jigga Man, you definitely want to check out “Jaydiohead”. DJ Minty Fresh Beats has grabbed a bunch of the best songs from latter-day Jay (“Black Album”, “Blueprint”, “American Gangster”) and mixed them with some of Radiohead’s greatest songs (from “OK Computer”, “Kid A” and “In Rainbows”) and the results are almost as good as when Danger Mouse mixed Jigga with The Beatles on “The Grey Album”. My favorite happens to be “Dirt off Your Shoulder” mixed with “Paranoid Android”. Who said Kanye was the only person that could sample Radiohead? (oops, The Roots did it too). Check Jaydiohead out at www.jaydiohead.com where you can download the album for free!