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Pop Rock Nation

Category: Releases

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  • New Music: Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire”

    I’ll admit, I didn’t jump onto the Kings of Leon train until last year. Promotional copies of “Youth & Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak” landed on my desk and were played once and then filed away. Articles screaming their praises in the rock press were glanced at, thumbed through and discarded.

    Then I happened to hear “Because of the Times” as I was shopping in a record store. Holy shit, did that album sound good. It wasn’t jammy, noodly swamp-rock, but these dudes had a little bit of a kick to them. If you have a really good sound system, listen to a song like “On Call” and have your mind blown. The groove alone will get ya even without vocals, and once I obtained a copy of the entire album, I was officially a member of the KOL fan club.

    3/4 of Kings of Leon: Matthew Followill (left), Caleb Followill (right) and Nathan Followill (drums). Photo by Corentin Lamy.

    “Sex on Fire” is the first single from their upcoming fourth album, “Only by the Night” and damn it, does this song smoke. The video’s appreciably weird as well, and the Followill guys (three brothers and a a cousin, for those who are uninitiated) are continuing their metamorphosis from greasy, long-haired bearded dudes to guys who have every right to be singing a song entitled “Sex on Fire” (actually, I’m waiting for diehard fans to start grumbling about how they sold out by cutting their hair). Their legion of fans has grown with each album, now’s the time to make sure Kings of Leon get their propers as one of the best young American bands out right now.

    Sex On Fire – Kings Of Leon

  • New Music In Stores & Online 9/9/08: Gym Class Heroes, LL Cool J, Metallica (Sort of) and More!!!

    If last week was a teaser, we’re full-bore into release mania this week!! Lots and lots of stuff coming out. Here’s the rundown:

    Gym Class Heroes: “The Quilt”:

    Gym Class Heroes' new album, "The Quilt", is in stores today.

    I got laughed at for liking Gym Class Heroes at a function last night, so out of spite I’m listing them first. GCH snared me in a very simple way-by sampling two cheese classics-Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America” and Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”-for their first two hit singles (“Cupid’s Chokehold” & “Clothes Off!!”. Actually, it’s partially because of GCH that I got into Fall Out Boy, who signed GCH to their label, and whose lead singer, Patrick Stump, sings the chorus on each of the two singles. While I’m not really feeling the first single “Cookie Jar”, and lead singer Travis McCoy lost major cool points by dating Katy Perry, I’m anticipating hearing the rest of this album, which features guest appearances by Brit soul singer Estelle, Busta Rhymes, and my man Daryl Hall.

    (more…)

  • 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?