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Pop Rock Nation

Category: People

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

  • New Music: Christina Aguilera’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better”

    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.
    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.

    It’s been said a million times, but out of the whole influx of teenage girl singers that arrived on the scene, Christina Aguilera was obviously the one blessed with the talent. Her albums haven’t always been easy listens, but there have been some great spots within them. Her work with DJ Premier on 2006’s “Back to Basics” was excellent,and it seemed that those great pipes would work fantastically with hip-hop production.

    Maybe I should cut her some slack because of the whole new mommy thing, but I was a little distressed by what I saw on the VMAs from her last night. Not only did her outfit look like it belonged on the set of Janet Jackson’s lame-ass “Feedback” video, but the song she performed sounded like a Britney castoff with better (OK, much better) vocals…which weren’t live, by the way. I decided to check out the studio version of the song (which will be on Xtina’s upcoming Greatest Hits album…apparently only available at Target and Target.com…way to piss retail off Christina), and…well, it’s not as bad as I thought it was the first time. It’s a bouncy, electro-influenced tune, way different from anything she’s released prior, and fits right in with what’s going on at radio these days. Maybe the not-explosive sales of “Back to Basics” (about 1.6 mil, which is not too shabby) scared Christina and her people enough that they played it safe this time around? Either way, if we’re going to get “commercial and radio friendly”, at least the girl can sing, right?

    I love the chorus…”sometimes I’m a super bitch!!”…at least she gets it, right?

  • Lessons To Be Learned:Why We’re Sweet On Gabriella Cilmi

    When a good friend of mine came back from a trip to the UK in addition to hearing him tell stories of the places he visited, since we’re kind of  music nerds, most of of what I yearned to hear about was the music he encountered across the pond.  He immediately let me know about this song he couldn’t escape when he was on vacation.  “This chick is very YOU” he told me.  I guess the constant exposure to the song left him with some gaps in his memory as all he could tell me at the time was the name of the song, “Sweet About Me”.  I quickly scribbled it down on a piece of paper and slipped it in my pocket–excited to get home and solve this musical mystery.

    About a day later I found that piece of paper on my desk and went to the first place I figured would get me instant restults–YouTube.  Seconds later I find Gabriella Cilmi making her way around the room checking in on some ex-loves caught in a cargo net, tied to a chair, dangling upside from the ceiling, and taped to the floor (among other places and punishments).  She slinks around the room reminding singing the chorus, “Sweet about me, nothing’s sweet about me…”
    (more…)

  • New Music: Fall Out Boy’s “I Don’t Care”

    Yet another dirty little secret that might cause you to question my musical taste: I love Fall Out Boy. I think what snared me first was their videos-these guys obviously don’t take themselves too seriously. Pete Wentz is a very likable character, and Patrick Stump can legitimately carry a tune. They’ve sort of transcended the whole “emo” tag and are a damn fine pop/rock group. Can you hum any Panic! at the Disco tunes? Probably not, but you can sing the fuck out of just about every FOB song.

    They’re releasing a new album called “Folie a Deux” in November, and the rumor is that it’s going to be a “political” album.This scares me. A lot. However, the album’s first single, “I Don’t Care”, is so good that it almost allays my fears about the rest of the album. They threw in everything but the kitchen sink here: stabbing synths, a bone-crunching guitar riff (that sounds like some other song that’s right on the tip of my tongue and will frustrate me to no end until I figure out what song it is), and you’ve gotta love any song with the gang-style chanted choruses. Talk about anthemic.

    Check the song out and let us know what you think, while you ponder whether the two guys in Fall Out Boy who aren’t Pete Wentz or Patrick Stump care about the fact that no one knows or cares who the hell they are.