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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Pop Rock Nation

  • Nope, Nothing Came Out This Week, Either…

    Well, we’re only a week or so until Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson and Lenny Kravitz kick off with the first superstar releases of 2008. In the meantime, there are a handful of more niche-y kind of albums out this week.
    The Grammy Awards are a week from Sunday, and of course, every year there’s a compilation CD spotlighting the nominees. This year’s comp features Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Paul McCartney and just about everyone else noteworthy up for a gramophone. If you’re looking for a step-up from the average “Now That’s What I Call Music” compilation, this just might be up your alley.
    Shelby Lynne, who you might remember winning a Best New Artist Grammy in 2001 (despite having recorded for over a decade by that point) has an interesting new release out called “Just A Little Lovin’”. 9 of the 10 tracks are covers of songs that Dusty Springfield originally recorded, and although I don’t really have much use for Dusty, I am madly in love with Shelby (I even got to hug her once), and this album is now part of my collection.
    Joe Jackson (no, not Michael’s dad) has a new album out this week called “Rain”. The guy’s been around 30 years and still has the goods-I hear this album’s excellent (although the jury’s out on whether I’ll actually buy it). Joe is well-known for his eclecticism, jumping from power-pop to jazz to reggae at a whim, so if you’re the adventurous type, you might wanna check it out.
    Also, there’s a new set from the indefatigable (it must be the weed) Willie Nelson out, the sophomore set from hard rock upstarts Bullet For My Valentine, a 2-CD deluxe version of Beck‘s breakthrough “Odelay” (I call it his breakthrough because, seriously, how many of you thought he was a one-hit wonder after “Loser”?), a new Blind Boys of Alabama record (if you wanna get your spiritual on), a new Sarah Brightman record (if you wanna get your classical on), and the first Statewide release from Swedish pop singer Robyn in nearly a decade. You might remember her from hits like “Show Me Love”. She was one of the first artists to benefit from that Max Martin pop sound that ruled the late Nineties, and then Britney Spears went and stole her career. Well, she’s still big in Europe, and “The Rakamonie EP” marks the first time that global hits like “Konichiwa Bitches” are available on these shores.
    And I admit it. I wanted to say “Konichiwa Bitches”. So I’ll say it again.
    Happy shopping.

  • Hangin’ Tough…Again!!

    I am a child of the late Eighties and early Nineties. It’s when I became a teenager and really started to develop my musical taste. Somewhere in between getting caught up in the golden age of hip-hop and digging bands like R.E.M., Nirvana and Pearl Jam, I also developed a soft spot for the pop music of the day. So a perusal of my record collection will unveil names like C&C Music Factory, Rick Astley (I don’t care what you say…that boy could sing) and, yes, New Kids on the Block. I wasn’t a super-fan (trust me, I’d admit if I was), but I remember going to The Wiz on Fulton Street in Brooklyn and buying my copy of “Step By Step” (on cassette) the week it came out. I own (still) every album they put out on CD (except for the Christmas album, which I believe costs a small fortune nowadays). I even own several solo albums by Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre (and I owned the Danny Wood solo album at one point, which wasn’t that bad!).
    At any rate, this leads up to people.com’s report that NKOTB is reforming to tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Hangin’ Tough” (has it been that long? I’m…feeling…really…fucking…old). If you log on to nkotb.com, you’ll also hear what sounds like new music, which leads me to believe that a new album is either being worked on or it’s completed (which, truthfully, excites me way more than a tour does). Either way, for all you New Kids fans out there (and the response I’ve gotten from many of my friends leads me to believe that there are WAY more of you out there than you’re willing to readily admit), be prepared to relive your childhoods. NKOTB is back!!!
    (By the way, I just read that Danny Wood said on his MySpace page that there are no current plans for a reunion tour…although that is quite obviously new music on the group’s site. It could mean that the boys are staying mum, and it could mean that there will be a new album and/or a one-off performance…who knows?)
    I swear I have never seen this video before:
    Low-budget as hell.

  • Pazz & Jop: Before We OFFICIALLY Turn The Calendar Over To 2008

    Real quick, though: Interesting potential Grammy performance alert: The Time (of “Jungle Love” and “Purple Rain” film fame for those of you with no soul whatsoever) are reuniting on the Grammy ceremony and performing with Rihanna…which should be pretty goshdang interesting. Are Time members Jam & Lewis delivering a subtle shot to star pupil Janet Jackson for leaving them behind on her upcoming album (which I’ve heard is *very* good)?
    Anyway, what I originally started writing: many of you know the Village Voice as the bastion of the New York City liberal. I *used* to enjoy reading their music reviews (headed by the venerable if occasionally wrongheaded Robert Christgau). Every year, they have a who’s who of music critical intelligentsia vote on their favorite albums and singles of the year, and every year the results are…well, they’re kinda predictable.
    Not to say they’re wrong. Their picks are uniformly solid, although I gotta admit that I don’t *get* the whole big deal about LCD Soundsystem (who came away with the year’s best album in their poll). I also don’t get why everyone salivates over Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” (his album is better than Ghostface’s? And Lupe’s?-which also somehow wound up below Britney Spears-REALLY??) when it’s (to my ears) just as mediocre (in a dependable kinda way) as “Kingdom Come”. The list did, however, remind me that I need to get that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings record that I’ve walked past for the past four or five months every time I’ve gone into Virgin Megastore.
    Singles list? More of the same. Lots of indie-pop, lots of Winehouse (a little ironic in the Morissette sense that “Rehab” checks in at #1 on their singles poll just as Wino finally heads off to actual rehab!), lots of T-Pain (let’s face it, the guy was *inescapable*).
    I’d write more about the list, but frankly, I’m tired and the words are starting to run together.
    Check out the list and tell me what YOU think: