Honestly, Marshall? No, we don’t. Not anymore, anyway.
Mr. Mathers has been sliding down the slippery slope of suck ever since peaking with “The Marshall Mathers LP”, which celebrates its’ 9th birthday in a month or so. Not to say Eminem has lost his gift of gab-he’s just been at a loss for interesting subject matter. The more of a star he became, the less righteous rage he could muster up. This is why his last studio album, “Encore” (which is nearly five years old now), struggled to stay afloat. For every righteously indignant masterpiece like “Mosh”, there were twice as many pee and poo jokes-things that might have been appropriate for Em’s daughter Hailie, but not for the hip-hop fans who’d anointed Slim Shady one of the best emcees of all time.
Those of you that thought a few years off might recharge Eminem’s creative batteries? Sorry, y’all. “We Need You” finds Eminem right where we left him. His flow is still ridiculous, but who told him to keep rhyming in that idiotic Triumph the Insult Comic Dog voice? Who told him that people still care about Jessica Simpson? (surely, he must read Billboard). Just like the first singles from each of his past three LPs (I say that since we don’t know where “Crack a Bottle” will end up), Eminem has gone ultra-pop and has resorted to cheap jokes to grab a hit, and the sad thing is, he still has a ton of fans who will eat this shit up. It’s sad.
You can check out this piece of hot garbage here on MTV.com.
Hey folks. If you remember a couple of weeks back, my buddy Pat posted a piece about why he kinda sorta digs Nickelback (and I second that emotion). Now, he’s back, defending the indefensible once again. While everyone can get behind Boston’s smash debut and its’ hit single “More Than a Feeling”, it’s a bit more difficult to come out in support of the band’s third album, “Third Stage”. For those of you having trouble remembering the album, it’s the one with “Amanda” on it. Unfortunately (for Pat, I guess), I can’t get behind this one, since I remember “Amanda” as being perhaps one of the worst power ballads of the decade. Ah well, we’ll always have “More Than a Feeling”. And hey, different strokes for different folks, right?
Take it away Pat…
One of the joys of the music website Pandora is not only the ability to listen to your favorite types of music, but the chance to discover, or in my case rediscover, songs that you’re not as familiar with.
In case you’re not a Pandora fan, the process is simple: type in the name of a band or singer, and the site will pull music from that genre into your own little commercial-free radio station. While you’ll usually hear music you’re familiar with, there’s a good chance you’re going to discover something new and exciting for your listening pleasure.
Such was the case when I decided to build a station around the band Boston. Any classic rock aficionado most likely has Boston’s hugely recognizable debut album, appropriately titled “Boston”, in their music collection. If you’re a big fan of the band, you most likely have their extremely successful follow-up, “Don’t Look Back”, in there as well, but that could be where your Boston tunes end. It would be a shame, because as I’ve discovered, Boston’s third album, titled “Third Stage”, belongs in there as well.
It’s easy to think why “Third Stage” wouldn’t sound recognizable. “Third Stage” was released in 1986, a whopping 8 years after “Don’t Look Back” and 10 after “Boston”. Many reasons plagued the long delayed album: band member changes, lawsuits, and record label shifts. But at the time when other 70s rock bands such as Heart and Fleetwood Mac were finding new success in the pop-power ballad movement of the time, Boston sounds as if it never missed a beat from its mid-70s success. It’s no surprise to learn that Boston founder Tom Scholz worked for years through all the difficulty the band was experiencing to produce this album.
And what an album it is. Starting off with the immediate Boston classic “Amanda†and following with another Boston staple, “Get Ready,†the album shows a continual growth and confidence from its earlier work. “The Launch†and “Cool the Engines†fire off a journey of looking ahead, not worrying about the difficulties that have plagued your past. They show their tender side with “To Be a Man†and “Can’tcha Say (You Believe in Me)†before closing out with “Hollyann,†a song that bookends the album with the opener “Amanda.†As “Amanda†seems to be all about looking forward, “Hollyann†is a quiet reflection of one’s past with that special someone.
It wasn’t until listening to “Third Stage” that I really felt sadness about lead singer Brad Delp’s suicide. While a success, this album didn’t achieve near the popularity of the band’s previous two. Regardless, even though it’s 23 years later, it is worth a listen.
Taylor Hicks by far received the most derision of any “American Idol†winner in the show’s existence. He wasn’t “youngâ€, he wasn’t “cuteâ€, he wasn’t “popâ€, and there was the whole screaming “Soul Patrol!†thing that rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. But I’ll put my musical reputation on the line and say that Taylor was the most musically sound “American Idol†winner in the show’s history. With years of singing in smoky bars and clubs behind him, Hicks personified a musician’s musician. Which also explains why he butted heads with the major-label suits who didn’t know what to do with him and wound up releasing the worst-selling debut album by an “American Idol†winner in history (although with a not-too-shabby shiny Platinum record, we shouldn’t cry for Taylor too much).
Despite the relative lack of success of Taylor’s debut, it was still the first album by any “Idol†contestant that I ever bought with my own money, and I enjoyed it a good bit. Hicks would have been right at home on the charts with Steve Winwood, James Ingram and (the singer he most resembles) Michael McDonald, on the charts back in 1986, and since that’s an era of music I’m particularly fond of, his music sounded just fine for me. However-it didn’t sound just fine for his label, and Taylor and the folks at 19 Management and RCA Records agreed to part ways.
So now Taylor Hicks is an indie artist, which is probably right where he wants to be, making the album he wants to make. That album, “The Distanceâ€, shouldn’t be much of a surprise to those who’ve been following the grey-haired crooner since his “Idol†days. The music is straight-ahead pop/rock, with no trendy bells and whistles. The production, helmed by British pop legend Simon Climie, is solid if a little too clean (and completely recorded on “live†instruments! Barely a synthesizer to be found!), and then there’s Taylor’s husky voice. While he’ll never be the soul singer he fancies himself, it’s fairly obvious that this man has the right set of influences and has listened to his share of Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles.
Ultimately, that’s “The Distanceâ€â€™s saving grace. Taylor takes boilerplate lyrics about topics like racism (the well-intentioned but kinda cheesy title track) and the media’s celebrity obsession (the cheeky rave-up “Keeping it Realâ€) and, by virtue of his delivery (which nevertheless skates around Michael Bolton aneurysm territory a couple of times) makes them listenable. However, don’t let another soul singer get within sniffing distance. Fellow Season 5 finalist Elliott Yamin shows up for a cover of 2009 Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Bobby Womack’s classic “Woman’s Gotta Have Itâ€, and his warm, Stevie-inflected delivery leaves no doubt as to who should have really won “Idol†that year.
In a time when we have previous “Idolâ€s tucking their tails between their legs and kissing corporate butt for a hit (hi, Kelly Clarkson. I’m talking to you), I’m backing Taylor Hicks just on principle. The kid (and I can afford to say “kid†because he’s younger than me) came in with a plan to get himself heard, accomplished it and then went back to doing what he loved best, only with a bit more fame to carry his name. Something tells me he wouldn’t have it any other way.
