music-and-concert-reviews-you-wont-see-anywhere-else
Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman”: Miss Independent, Meet Mr. Sensitivity
In just a few short years, Shaffer Smith (known to most of us as Ne-Yo) has become one of pop/R&B’s most respected songwriters. Since breaking through with Mario’s “Let Me Love You”, the Vegas native has penned songs for acts like Beyonce (“Irreplaceable”), Rihanna (“Unfaithful), Usher, Mary J. Blige and Celine Dion, to name just a few. Unlike most of today’s pop acts, Ne-Yo brings a classicist’s touch to his songwriting. He actually writes stories instead of a few chants wrapped around a hook. Take some of the slang out and he could have been writing in the Sixties or Seventies.
The man has since pursued a second career as an artist in his own right, with two hit albums under his belt. As a singer and performer, Ne-Yo, like just about every other young male artist in pop & R&B, owes much to Michael Jackson. His high tenor can be compared favorably to “Off the Wall” and “Thriller”-era MJ, and his dance moves are nothing if not Jacksonesque.
Unfortunately, Ne-Yo’s albums have been a mixed bag so far. While 2006’s In My Own Words was a solid effort that hinted at greatness, 2007’s Because of You was a well-written but somewhat boring follow-up. After that, I wasn’t sure if Ne-Yo had a great album in him…until now.
Ne-Yo. Photo by Robin Wong.
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Gym Class Heroes Earn a Passing Grade with “The Quilt”
Gym Class Heroes
Here’s an easy way to get me to notice your band (coincidentally, it’s also a good way to score a hit single): make a catchy single that references yet another catchy single. It’s how I became acquainted with the rock/rap group Gym Class Heroes. Their first hit single, “Cupid’s Chokehold”, not only sampled Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America”, but featured the recognizable voice of Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. They followed it up by repeating the exact same formula: “Clothes Off!!” also boasted a chorus by stump and a large chunk of Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off”. As opposed to outright samples, these new songs were built on the choruses of those moldy oldies, and the gambit worked-at least for me. I found myself in possession of GCH’s breakthrough album As Cruel as School Children, and actually found it enjoyable in a mindless fun sort of way.
Fast-forward a year and a half later. GCH lead singer Travis McCoy is something of a star, the band boasts a Gold album, and they’re back with their follow up, The Quilt. This album has a much more pronounced hip-hop influence than its’ predecessor, with guest appearances from the likes of Busta Rhymes and production from beatsmiths Cool & Dre. Nevertheless, McCoy has more charm and variation in subject matter than the average commercial emcee, so it’s not what you would consider the typical hip-hop album in 2008. It also boasts more than its’ share of influences from other genres-featuring bits of emo-ish rock, ska, and plain old pop.
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The (Old) Boys of Summer
I had a disturbing realization last month. Disturbing, at least, from the point of view of a guy whose entire adolescent self-identity was wrapped up in the idea that he was ahead of the curve in all things pop music, that he could tell you with metronomic precision the Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at any given moment (at a time when the Top 10 actually changed from week to week – and not just due to the latest event single). At the end of the summer, I’m looking back on the music I’ve purchased and listened to this year, and I’m finding that a disproportionate number of my favorite records of 2008 are by old farts.
Willie Nelson. Photo by Kjell Ove Hattrem.
Now, I realize that as most people settle into their adulthoods and are faced with the imminent onset of middle age – dear god, I can already smell the despair-laced liquor and cigarette smoke at the hall of my 20 year high school reunion – with growing debt loads, and growing children with growing attitude problems, it’s perfectly natural for a guy to reassess his priorities away from discovering the hottest new pop thing. No offense, Katy Perry, but it’s perfectly natural, and even admirable, for a guy like me to spend his Sunday night watching an inspirational Disney movie on DVD with his kids and dogs rather than sequestering himself in his basement tracking the hit parade according to Seacrest. And as we settle into our cosy adulthoods, it’s perfectly natural to fall back on the favorites and golden oldies (like “Rock the Casbah”!) we grew up with.
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