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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

all-about-musicians-and-the-people-who-help-them-make-music

  • Infatueighties: #76: Super Freak

    Rick James’ autobiography, “Memoirs of a Superfreak”, isn’t exactly an award-winning piece of writing. However, it gives you an idea of how much the title of “super freak” actually fit Rick. Somewhat shamefully, those freaky antics (immortalized in the legendary Dave Chappelle skit) have obscured the fact that Rick made some pretty good music.

    “Super Freak” is one of those near perfect fusions of rock and funk. While Rick (if he was still here) would say that Prince got much of his style from Rick (the two toured together in 1980), the fact is a) how the hell could Prince have followed Rick when their debuts came out the same year? (1978) and b) doesn’t “Super Freak” sound somewhat reminiscent of Prince’s “When You Were Mine”, which came out a year before “Super Freak” (and would have placed pretty high on this chart if I included tracks that were never commercially released as single A-sides)? Then again, Prince never had The Temptations sing background on his biggest hit. Either way, this song’s hard to knock. If the B-52’s met Parliament/Funkadelic, the result would have been “Super Freak”.

    I love the way Yahoo! Music follows “Super Freak” with “Trapped in the Closet”. Ladies & gentlemen, it’s the Sick Fucks of R&B playlist!!

  • Win A Copy Of The New James (Not Jim) Morrison CD!!

    With all the attention being paid to the female Brit soul artists like Duffy, Estelle, Adele and Amy Winehouse, we’ve forgotten that the folks across the pond have a rich history of male blue-eyed soul singers. From Boy George and George Michael to Paul Young and Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, there’s a long list of English guys who’ve got tons of soul.

    Add James Morrison to that list. He’s huge in his homeland, but barely made a ripple with his debut album “Undiscovered”. He’s aiming to correct that with his sophomore effort, “Songs for You, Truths for Me”. With self-penned songs and only one guest appearance (courtesy of Nelly Furtado), Morrison is aiming for critical as well as commercial success. And he’s tons better than James Blunt.

    Anyhow, we’ve got a copy of “Songs for You…” to give away so you can check Mr. Morrison out for yourself. All you have to do is answer this relatively simple question:

    Earlier this year, James appeared as a guest artist on the latest album by another successful singer-songwriter who shares his initials, J.M. Who is that singer? Send responses to musicpublisher@consumerhelpweb.com by Sunday 10/27 and a winner will be chosen at random. Of course, MHW and CHW employees and their immediate families are not eligible.

  • Single Life (Short Version): G’N R & Eminem

    Two of the most anticipated singles of the past couple of years have hit radio waves over the past few days. What’s the verdict?

    Guns ‘n Roses Chinese Democracy:

    A day that many of us thought would never come is fast approaching: “Chinese Democracy” hits stores on November 23rd, after a fifteen-year wait between Guns ‘n Roses albums. Although G’N R are stiffing retail by making this album available at only Best Buy stores, there’s no doubt that fans will beg, borrow and steal if they can to get their hands on this release.

    The first single is the title track, and…it’s not bad!! Axl is in full snarl mode, the guitar (played by whom, I dunno) is G’NR-like, and my only qualm is that the song has no chorus. Even the band’s most aggressive stuff (like “You Could Be Mine”) had a singable quality to it, and this song is fairly deficient when it comes to pure ear candy. Nevertheless, the fans will eat it up, and Axl can rest easy and make us wait another fifteen years to put out an album.

    …and am I on crack or does the beginning of the song remind you a little bit of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness?

    Chinese Democracy – Guns N Roses

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