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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

music-news-from-breakups-to-the-lastest-buzz

  • Not Necessarily The News – DMB, Prince and (of course) Kanye

    What Would You Say?: If DMB Went Back To Work:
    After a four-year absence from the studio and the loss of saxophonist Leroi Moore, the Dave Matthews Band are soldiering on with a new album and tour. The album is scheduled for release on 4/14, with the tour kicking off in New York on the same day. This new album is produced by Rob Cavallo, who manned the boards for Green Day’s massive “American Idiot” album (speaking of which, where the hell are those guys??). As a veteran of DMB shows numbering into the double digits, I am looking forward to both a new album and tour from these guys. See? I can write something without being smarmy!!

    Photograph by Penner.

    What Will Wendy & Lisa Say?
    In the “I Love His Music, But The Guy’s a Douchebag” department, Prince allegedly revealed himself as a homophobe by saying “God came to Earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out”. Of course, Prince (who, in case you haven’t heard, has been a Jehovah’s Witness for the past several years)’s people denied that he made the statement, but the New Yorker, the magazine in which the statement was published, is standing by the quote. Talk about sticking your foot in your mouth, especially when you’re an artist who has traded in on gay imagery and tons of gay fans for years. I wonder how a cuban heel tastes in your mouth, Mr. Nelson?

    Mr West: Lip Synching?
    So, according to this news clip, the message boards are abuzz, wondering if Kanye lip-synched his “Saturday Night Live”. Folks, find a place somewhere that has the clips of his performance and you tell me if he’s lip-synching, because if I was miming, I’d have made sure the vocals I was miming to sounded a hell of a lot better than Kanye’s did on Saturday night. Kanye fairly obviously used a background singer to hit the high notes he would have otherwise muffed, and the Auto-Tune was in full effect, but anyone with half an ear can tell the dude wasn’t lip synching.

  • Are Changes In Store For American Idol?

    According to Billboard.com, changes might be in store for American Idol’s 8th season. If adding a fourth judge (Kara DioGuardi) wasn’t enough, here are the other rumored changes that are supposed to be announced later on Monday along with my thoughts underneath. (Feel free to add your thoughts below in the comments section.)

    Less audition shows and more Hollywood shows.
    To me, this is a strong move as I don’t usually pay attention to the goofy audition shows. However, I do know people who only watch the audition shows and lose interest once they move to Hollywood.

    Instead of the top 24, there will be a top 36.
    I’m not so sure this is as strong of a move. Usually, there are questionable selections in the top 24 and it’s not all that hard to whittle down. You can tell the difference and rarely am I ever surprised with more than one or two that make the final twelve. I wonder if they’re opening it up because they think they’ve missed on a few in the past?

    The wild card round will return.
    I always loved this idea. There have been some good choices by the judges and some bad ones as well (Carmen Rasmussen anyone?). But it adds a sense of unpredictability to the selections. It also gives the judges a bit of power to put someone back on that America gets wrong.

    “Idol Gives Back” will be every other year.
    I’m not necessarily a fan of that particular show, but I always thought the idea behind it was great and showed that while American Idol is usually all about American Idol, it can also be about giving back. I think it’s a mistake, but then again, maybe they think they need to focus on the core show this year.

    What does everyone else think? The show is very long in the tooth, but it still delivers the ratings. Are these changes good for the longevity of the show?

    Photo by meagan383 and shared via creative commons.

  • They Put Me In The Mix – JSlow 6: A New Beginning

    JSlow 6 means one thing for me. It means the birth of my first son Brian. The year was 1999. This was also the first JSlow that wasn’t recorded on audio tape. My wife at the time bought me a CD recorder.

    But back to Brian for a second. As I reflect back to when he was born, it really seems fantasy-like. It’s like he was born, and now he’s 9 years old. Where did all the time go? We have a pretty special relationship and he always knows how to put me in the right mood. I hope I do the same for him.

    Who knew Lark Voorhies was in this video?

    JSlow 6: A New Beginning (circa late 1999)

    1. Crazy Over You – 112
    2. One Day You’ll Be Mine – Usher
    3. My Love Is Your Live – Whitney Houston
    4. Silly Man – Tony Rich
    5. Don’t Rush (Take Love Slowly) – K-Ci & JoJo
    6. Right Here Waiting – Monica featuring 112
    7. These Are The Times – Dru Hill
    8. If You’re An Angel – Tony Rich
    9. Angel – Sarah McLachlan
    10. Ex Factor – Lauryn Hill
    11. When A Woman’s Fed Up – R. Kelly
    12. Never Say Never – Brandy
    13. Show Me The Way To Your Heart – Brian McKnight
    14. Ribbon In The Sky – Stevie Wonder
    15. Half On A Baby – R. Kelly
    16. To Zion – Lauryn Hill

    It’s funny looking back at these tapes and seeing what I was listening to back then. I’m not sure that I’ve listened to Monica’s version of Right Here Waiting in years. And that might’ve been the last Whitney Houston song that I liked.

    • Two Tony Rich songs? Dude was talented, but still, two Tony Rich songs?
    • Usher would go on to cut at least 10 slow jams that were better than this one.
    • That Sarah McLachlan song threw me for a loop. I forgot I had some SM on my slow jam tapes.
    • Man, when do the R. Kelly songs end on my tapes?
    • But at least I found a way to add some more Stevie.
    • Look at your career they said, Lauryn baby use your head, but instead I chose to use my heart.

      To Zion – Lauryn Hill (Featuring Carlos Santana)

    The next JSlow was a Jodecidal JSlow.

    Previous JSlows
    Jam Slow
    JSlo 3
    JSlow 4
    JS5 (JSlow 5)