Granted, this is only my third season of even watching one episode, but damn if this isn’t the sorriest crop of contestants I’ve ever seen in my life! Was I spoiled by Season 5? ‘Cause damn, I’d take McPhee, Bennett, Daughtry, Yamin and Taylor over any of this year’s final three.
David Cook is bland beyond milquetoast, David Archuleta is a pretty-singing cipher, and Syesha is in a bit over her head.
Moreso than the blandness of the finalists, though, this season’s episodes have had the slightly sour air of a fix. The product placement is amazingly obvious, and this episode seemed as much of an advertisement for Switchfoot and Diane Warren as it was anything else. (Is it me, or does it seem amazingly obvious that Cook has won this competition?-or at least that the judges are pulling ridiculously strongly for him?). This just feels a little preordained for me, and it makes me feel more than a little uncomfortable. Not like I should care at all, but still…
Sorry, folks. Last week’s set of releases was so crappy that I just couldn’t bring myself to post. Consider yourselves lucky. You avoided a hearty round of Clay Aiken and Chris Sligh jokes (yep, both former “American Idol” contestants released albums last week).
Thankfully, this week’s set of releases is much better. Here’s what’s on tap:
Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs : It’s kind of hard for me to explain what Death Cab sounds like. Think really strong indie pop with great songwriting. Ben Gibbard is an expressive vocalist, even though he won’t make anyone’s great singers list. Long story short, these guys deserve the hype. I found them with their last album, “Plans”, and if you’re not familiar with these folks, you should start now.
http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/splash/
(yes, the video is 8 minutes long. You’ll get over it.)
Duffy “Rockferry”: It’s not difficult to explain what Duffy sounds like. Think Amy Winehouse. That is all. Amidst the wave of British female singers that have crashed our shores in Amy’s wake, Duffy is the one who has been compared to Wino the most-minus the whole drug addiction thing. Kinda sounds to me like a whitewashed copy, but I’ll be checking the album out anyway.
Jason Mraz “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things”: Remember Jason Mraz? In the wake of John Mayer, Mraz was the smart-alecky, Boradway kid version of Mr. “Your Body is a Wonderland”. His second album, “Mr. A-Z” overdid it on the pretentiousness, which had already reached fever pitch by that time (remember when he popped up at the Gramy nomination ceremony only to receive ZERO nominations? There were a lot of happy people there). Anyway, everyone deserves a second chance, and this release (which has been preceded by a couple of EPs) might find Mraz dialing down the obnoxiousness a little bit. OK, I just took a look at the website. So, maybe not.
Keith Sweat “Just Me”: It’s been twenty years and Keith Sweat still ain’t too proud to beg. The master of R&B begging is back after a six-year absence, and he’s changed absolutely nothing. Sweat may be approaching 50, but the grooves are still smoove, and Mr. Sweat is still whining and begging for you to love him down, baby!! Keyshia Cole guests.
http://www.thesweathotel.com/
Foxy Brown “Brooklyn’s Don Diva”: I say Li’l Kim, Remy Ma and Foxy should have linked up behind bars and put together a group or something. At any rate, with two of the three out of the clink, that won’t happen, so Foxy’s long-delayed fourth album finally arrives (this album has been pushed back so many times that she’s served her entire term since it’s initial release date). If you don’t buy this album, she might throw a BlackBerry or some hair glue at you. Watch out.
(apparently, Foxy doesn’t have a website)
Most of this week’s releases similarly come from the “Where The Hell Have YOU Been?” category. Remember Filter? They’re back with an album. How about Ashlee Simpson’s former boyfriend Ryan Cabrera? He’s back with a skeevy new look (and now is dating one of Lisa Marie Presley’s kids) and an independently-released album. And if you’re hankering for some of that mid-Eighties pop/rock flavor, you might want to check out Bryan Adams’ new album, cleverly titled “11”. Hint, it’s his 11th album.
OH!! Speaking of long vacations, the New Kids on the Block return with their first group release in fourteen years. “Summertime” is available for purchase at iTunes and all the other major subscription/pay-download services. Hangin’ tough!!
Happy shopping, folks.
And here’s the full list…
http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm
Happy once de Mayo, ladies and gentlemen!! Let’s travel into the land of the Top 20 singles and albums, courtesy of Billboard Magazine!!
Top 20 Albums:
1) “Hard Candy” Madonna
2) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
3) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
4) “Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
5) “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” Def Leppard
6) “Rising Down” The Roots
7) “Third” Portishead
8) “Mudcrutch” Mudcrutch
9) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 27” Various Artists
10) “Greatest Hits-Limited Edition” Tim McGraw
11) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
12) “Nine Lives” Steve Winwood
13) “Juno Soundtrack” Various Artists
14) “Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack” Various Artists
15) “This Kind of Love” Carly Simon
16) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
17) “Flight of the Concords Soundtrack”Flight of the Concords
18) “Troubadour” George Strait
19) “Coco” Colbie Caillat
20) “The Best of Both Worlds Concert” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus
Top 20 Singles:
1) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
2) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat Static Major
3) “No Air” Chris Brown & Jordin Sparks
4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
5) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. & Yung Berg
6) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
7) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
8) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
9) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
10) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
11) “Damaged” Danity Kane
12) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
13) “Say” John Mayer
14) “See You Again” Miley Cyrus
15) “Forever” Chris Brown
16) “With You” Chris Brown
17) “Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
18) “Don’t Stop the Music” Rihanna
19) “Bust it Baby” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
20) “Realize” Colbie Caillat
*Colbie Caillat might be the most befuddling music purchase I’ve made in the past year. I guess it was one of those “let me see what the fuss is all about” purchases, and the fact is, she’s the most boring, white bread girl with an acoustic guitar in the history of music. She makes Jack Johnson (who I love, by the way) sound like freakin’ Mastodon by comparison.
*Hmmm…so I thought Plies was going to be a one-hit wonder. Thanks to Ne-Yo, “Bust it Baby” becomes his second hit. Too bad I can’t even remember what the first one was.
*Record industry folks, take a look at this stat. Of this week,s Top 20 singles, only five are by artists who have been around for 10 years or more (Li’l Wayne, Usher, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Ray J.). It also might be worth noting that of those five, Wayne, Usher and Ray J, are all under 30. Now, check out the album chart, where of the 16 albums that are not soundtracks or compilations, 10 of the artists/bands have been around for 10 years or more (and yes, I’m counting Mudcrutch, Tom Petty’s latest side project). Of the 6 remaining artists, all except Miley Cyrus are considered more “adult”-type artists. That should provide the world’s simplest reasoning for the fact that kids are buying singles (possibly because they can’t *afford* albums…hello??) and adults are buying albums. Can it get any more simple?
*Usher finds himself in the bizarre position of having the same song on the Top 100 twice…sort of. “Love in This Club Part II”, which features Beyonce, is hanging out at #51. I don’t think the Billboard folks have explained yet why the two songs aren’t combined on the chart, assuming “Part II” is just a remix of “Part I”. Even if the songs sound completely different…the two versions of J. Lo’s “I’m Real” were completely different and they charted together.
*Is Lyfe Jennings, who debuts in the Top 5 for the second consecutive time, becoming the 21st century Gerald LeVert…a consistently-selling R&B crooner that mainstream radio and media COMPLETELY ignores?
*On their Def Jam swan song, The Roots tie “Things Fall Apart” with the highest debut of their career, at #6 (granted, with about half the sales, but still…)
*”Idol”‘s ratings might be declining, but it’s influence is still strong. A performance of “Pocketful of Sunshine” moves Natasha Bedingfield into the Top 10 for the second time (following the ridiculously overplayed “Unwritten”), and the album also takes a huge jump. Meanwhile, Neil Diamond, who mentored the contestants in the same episode, is poised to score his first #1 album EVER next week, with “Idol” runner-up Gay…uh, Clay Aiken trailing at #2. In non-“Idol” debuts, look for big singles chart splashes from Rihanna and Coldplay’s new songs.
…why do I feel like i should now be saying “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars”? Damn you, Casey Kasem!!
