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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

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

  • First Look: “Soldier of Love” by Sade

    Sade’s new album is running neck and neck with the new one from Vampire Weekend (out tomorrow) as my most anticipated album of 1st quarter 2010. Sade always brings the goods, and after a ten-year gap between albums, let’s just say we’re salivating for new work from the British band.

    A month or so ago, I premiered their new song “Soldier of Love”, and now the video has premiered. This is certainly the first Sade video I can remember with choreography, but the video fits in with the militaristic metaphors strewn throughout the song. Also worth noting is the fact that Sade (the woman) looks as good as she did twenty-five years ago!

    Anyway, check out the video and let us know what you think.

  • First Listen: “You Run Away” by Barenaked Ladies

    If you’re a Barenaked Ladies fan, you were probably a little taken aback when co-lead singer/songwriter Steven Page took off last year, leaving the band after two decades. Minus possibly the band’s most distinctive member, what would the band possibly sound like?

    Well, guess what folks: here’s your answer. BNL has released “You Run Away”, the first single from their new album “All in Good Time”. “Run”‘s a midtempo pop-rock track that takes a more straightforward, serious tack than the band’s more popular fare. Ed Robertson, while not the powerhouse vocalist Page is, carries the song reasonably well. I’m not TOTALLY sold on it yet, but I will admit that it has a certain hooky charm. I’ll be looking forward to the album’s release to see if the band can get over the inconsistency that’s plagued their music for the past decade or so.

  • Elvis 75: Fight the Power?

    “Elvis…was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me, you see, straight out racist the sucker was, simple and plain…”

    If you mention the words “Elvis Presley” to me, that will probably be the first thing to come to my mind (#2-Michael Jackson married his daughter), for better or for worse. Granted, I don’t *believe* Elvis was a racist, and even Chuck D. has backed off of that statement. It just kinda underlines how much of a non-event Elvis is when it comes to my musical knowledge.

    Which is not to understate the impact the man had on popular music. One thing that always irritates me is when someone tries to downplay an artist’s impact on popular culture just because they’re not a fan of said artist (or, like me, are pretty indifferent towards said artist). Whether he started rock ‘n roll or not is irrelevant (and at this point, we all know he didn’t), but the fact is that he was the major conduit towards bringing rock ‘n roll to a mass audience, and he deserves major acknowledgment for that. Besides, the guy could carry a tune and was definitely a showman with few equals. Even restrained, the guy was something to see, as evidenced by the clip below.

    Happy birthday Elvis.