According to published reports, Michael Jackson is holding a press conference on Thursday during which he will announce a multi-night residency at London’s O2 arena. The King of Pop’s last tour was in 1995, and his last live performance appearance was in 2006 at the World Music Awards. Personally, I hope Michael brings his act home to the U.S., not only because his American fans deserve it, but because I don ‘t want to have to travel all the way to London to see my favorite entertainer. And you’d better believe that I’m considering it.
The bubble might be bursting a little quicker than expected for The Jonas Brothers. Following their somewhat embarrassing performance at February’s Grammy Awards ceremony, the JoBros saw their much ballyhooed concert movie come in second place at the box office behind Madea Goes to Jail. While it’s $17 million gross is nothing to sneeze at, it’s roughly half of what prognosticators were initially predicting the film would do. The soundtrack album is expected to debut this week, also with a number that’s below expectations. Hmmm…I think a JoBro might have to get arrested soon.
Speaking of teen idols, Justin Timberlake inaugurated Jimmy Fallon’s new talk show, and continued his run as one of the most engaging and entertaining talk show/variety show guests in recent memory. Check out a clip of his interview below, before NBC removes it. Excellent jobs impersonating John Mayer & Michael McDonald, with the help of the awesome band, The Roots.
Every couple of years, along comes a mega-successful pop/rock band that has catchy tunes but no discernible identity at all…think Matchbox 20 before Rob Thomas developed a personality. The most recent example of this phenomenon would have to be The Fray. On the back of two mega-successful singles, the Denver-based quartet’s debut album, How to Save a Life, came out of nowhere to sell nearly three million copies. This happened despite the fact that the band had nothing to market themselves with except for their songs-no gimmicks, no outspoken members, no hot lead singer for the chicks to fawn over. Nope, The Fray were the brown paper bag of pop/rock groups…
…and now they’re back for round 2. Their self-titled sophomore effort follows the template set by their debut. Midtempo piano-based tunes with a bit of a rock edge, angsty lyrics, and hooks that are incredily catchy and easy to sing along with are the order of the day. You’ll hear these songs coming out of radio stations and advertising TV shows for some time to come.
First single You Found Me is cut from the same cloth as the band’s earlier hits like Over My Head (Cable Car) and How to Save a Life, only with a stronger guitar sound. The piano isn’t as front and center, and The Fray sounds like an actual band instead of a showcase for tortured lead singer Isaac Slade. Never Say Never will definitely be a future single, with the refrain of “don’t let me go” giving the song a lighter-waving vibe as well as an immediate hook. Absolute is another winner, with a pretty falsetto chorus, while Ungodly Hour is a more spare, almost Tori Amos-like piano ballad. Slade’s fragile higher register is a good fit for this brittle song.
The Fray trips up on account of its’ anonymity. It’s taken me three weeks of listening in order to be able to differentiate songs. Even though the album is incredibly compact (10 songs, 43 minutes), there are 3 or 4 tracks that don’t have anything to separate themselves from the pack. They’re pleasant enough to listen to, but there’s nothing unique about them, and they’re not hooky enough to stand out. Then there’s the issue of Slade’s vocals. While his voice (which occasionally sounds like it’s about to crack) definitely packs an emotional wallop, there’s only so much angst you can take. I also remember reading a review of this album that noted the fact that Slade’s vocals are often garbled. Glad to know I’m not the only person that notices that.
There’s not a lot of experimentation to be found on The Fray, which I guess is a good and a bad thing. Good because they know what they do best, and bad because the songs have a definite similarity to one another-especially because they fall under two tempos-slow and slower. It’s actually nice to hear the band stretch out a little on the album’s final two songs. We Build Then We Break has an anthemic, thundering U2 vibe, while Happiness brings in a gospel choir for emphasis.
At the end of the day, if you dug How to Save a Life (which was a reasonably enjoyable record), you’ll dig this album. The Fray doesn’t exactly have anything exciting going for it, but it’s dependable, radio-friendly pop, sort of like the love child of Coldplay and 3 Doors Down. Much like the band’s debut, there are a couple of standout songs as well as a couple of completely generic ones, and while I recommend it with reservations, I still think it’s a worthy addition to a pop/rock fan’s music collection.
After the Chris Brown and Rihanna situation went down before the Grammys, I decided to stay away from making fun of the music news. That situation was way too real.
But, there’s other stuff to joke about now.
50 Cent Gets Pushed Back Again
The original release date for 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct was in early February. Obviously, that time has passed. And now, 50 Cent is getting pushed back again. The reason? Well, because Dr. Dre’s heavy hitter, Eminem’s album is coming out first.
Right now I’m on the train and the Em choo-choo car goes first.
You have to admit, that’s probably the right move. But let’s hope 50’s album doesn’t “self destruct” before it ever comes out.
DMX DMX Loses A Food Fight
Can you feel bad for Earl “DMX” Simmons these days? Highly unlikely. Already serving a 90-day sentence, DMX allegedly threw a tray of food at a detention officer. According to the story, DMX didn’t want to eat his nutra-loaf and decided to try and take another meal that wasn’t his. When called on it, he supposedly threw the tray of food at the officer. It’s possible that this episode can add more time to his stay.
Uncle L Gets Another Shot At TV
And here I thought when it came to television, he’d only be known as Marion Hill in In The House. That show is very memorable, but mostly because the fine Maia Campbell was in it. It looks like Uncle L, the future of the funk, is going to be on NCIS: Legend, which is a spin-off of the show NCIS, which is a show that I’ve never seen. Good for LL because maybe it will keep him away from the mic. Exit 13 was no-kay.
Before I leave you, I can’t believe the kid who did one of the worst renditions of Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror that I’ve ever heard made it to the final 12 of American Idol. Yep, I’ll be back when we get down to the final 12 to break it down.
According to published reports, Michael Jackson is holding a press conference on Thursday during which he will announce a multi-night residency at London’s O2 arena. The King of Pop’s last tour was in 1995, and his last live performance appearance was in 2006 at the World Music Awards. Personally, I hope Michael brings his act home to the U.S., not only because his American fans deserve it, but because I don ‘t want to have to travel all the way to London to see my favorite entertainer. And you’d better believe that I’m considering it.
