Category: News

Please join me as we bow our heads and say goodbye to a group gone before their time. Not since The Beatles broke up in 1970 has the music world been more affected by a band’s split. Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

The Pussycat Dolls are no more.

Of course I’m being sarcastic.

The completely anonymous chicks who danced behind Nicole Scherzinger have decided to bounce. I’m not quite sure why, seeing as they have the cushiest music biz job not held down by the third guy from N.E.R.D.

Let’s face facts here, Nicole was the face of the group, and allegedly she sang not only lead vocals but ALL vocals on the overwhelming majority of the two albums PCD put out. So who cares where the other hoes go? Just find four random chicks, put them behind Nicole and still call them the Pussycat Dolls. No one will know the difference.

If this causes a problem for anyone, it’s the PCD’s label Interscope and its’ president, Jimmy Iovine. A couple years back, the label tried desperately to break Nicole as a solo artist (which, if successful, would have probably deaded the PCD right there). Three or four singles were released, none of which made an impact, and the album’s release was shelved. Apparently, the PCD brand was more recognizable than Nicole’s name (don’t you think they could have gotten homegirl to change her name? It’s almost as unpronounceable and unwieldy as mine!!). However, in the grand scheme of things, their ship may have already sailed away. According to Soundscan, the group’s first album, 2005’s “PCD” sold 2.9 million copies (I would assume that whatever percentage of that album was purchased by members of the male persuasion wound up with the cover being used as masturbation material). The follow up, last year’s “Doll Domination”, has sold 374,000 copies, or about 15% of what their previous album sold. Yikes.

So, assuming anyone out there actually cares about this: you heard it here, the Pussycat Dolls are no more. How will the music industry recover from this loss?

As someone who is not a fan of the basic-element hip-hop that has been clogging radio airwaves and video channels for the best part of the past fifteen years, I gotta say Lupe Fiasco is a breath of fresh air. ANYONE who’s not one-dimensional is a breath of fresh air. The Chicago MC can definitely spit-as inconsistent (and way too long) as his last album, “The Cool” was, Lupe remains an engaging listen and I was very happy when the album went Gold. Maybe there’s a spot in the mainstream for intelligent hip-hop after all.

Anyway, the Grammy-winning artist has been spouting off in the media about potential retirement for some time now. As is generally the case with musicians who announce retirement, he’s full of shit. He’s backed off of the threats lately, and has returned to bless us with a new mixtape called “Enemy of the State”. You can pretty much download it anywhere (I would imagine most of you readers are more savvy about shit like that than I am).

What’s exciting me even more than the mixtape is Lupe’s website. Ostensibly promoting his forthcoming album “Lasers”, it also announces a mission statement of sorts. Seeing things like this makes me proud to be a hip-hop fan. I will definitely be checking for this release in the new year.

For the past few years, British pop icon George Michael has been spending more time getting arrested and falling asleep at the wheel than he has making music. His last album, “Patience” came out five years ago, and failed to recapture the talent that made albums like “Faith” and the incredibly underrated “Listen Without Prejudice” so great.

“December Song” appears to be a one-off holiday track from George. The animated video is quite imaginative, giving us the flavor of those holiday specials from yesteryear. That said, though, the song itself is boring as hell. George’s music has lost much of its’ pep in recent years and the fact remains that he hasn’t put out a consistently good record since 1996!! 1996!!! (repeated for emphasis) It’s definitely no “Last Christmas”. That’s for sure.

Anyhow, check out “December Song” and let us know what you think.