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  • Sound Dialogue – R&B In 2008

    Before these last two months, I had only purchased two albums that would qualify as R&B music, which is my favorite genre. Those albums were the up and down Day26 release and Usher’s latest, which is good, though a bit underwhelming. However, with the release of Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq, and the newly released Evolver from John Legend, R&B is on fire right now. Money Mike and I discussed R&B music in the year 2008 in our latest Sound Dialogue.

    GG: What was going on in the early parts of 2008 with R&B music? I’m sure there were a few releases that I missed, but nothing even tempted me to make a purchase. Are there any underdog R&B stories of 2008 that I missed, or was it just a weak first 7 months for R&B?

    MM: You and I have sort of different tastes when it comes to R&B. There’s a very specific sound you like, which is the male groups and the male solo artists with a less alternative kind of sound. I like that stuff too, so maybe I should just say that we have similar tastes, but there are some artists I dig that you probably wouldn’t go for. There were a couple of sleepers in the early part of the year. Raheem Devaughn’s album was good, as was Van Hunt’s. But as far as contemporary R&B, things were looking bad until last month.

    GG: I guess that’s how I should’ve stated it. Contemporary R&B. Conventional R&B. Whatever you want to call it. But I want to ask you something related. Why hasn’t there been much in the world of female R&B? Or is that another genre that I’m missing out on?

    (more…)

  • Infatueighties #72: New Order’s “True Faith”

    For the longest time, I thought this song was sung by Depeche Mode. Don’t look at me funny. I’m sure there were times you couldn’t tell DM and New Order apart, either.

    Forming from the ashes of Joy Division after Ian Curtis hanged himself, New Order’s music was a little more on the commercial dance/pop side, with only slightly less dour lyrics. I’m sure lines like “I used to think that the day would never come/I’d see delight in the shade of the morning sun” attracted the producers of the movie “Bright Lights, Big City” (you know, it’s the one where Michael J. Fox plays a drug addict…what? you don’t remember?) enough that it wound up on the soundtrack. The song itself perfectly captures the rush as well as the comedown that many drug addicts experience (not that I would know, I’m scared to death to ever use coke. Remember, I came up in the age of Len Bias).

    Despite New Order’s near-legendary status as a band, “Faith” was one of only two Top 40 hits the band had (“Regret” was the second, six years later…no, “Bizarre Love Triangle” never hit the Top 40). Enjoy the video…and don’t do the coke, kiddies. It’s bad for you.

    …and no, I don’t know why the people in the video are slapping one another, either.

  • Chart Chat: Singles Version: 10/30/08

    01-Whatever You Like (T.I.)
    02-Live Your Life (T.I. feat. Rihanna)
    T.I. continues to commandeer the top spots of the singles chart, fending off a serious challenge from Beyonce (see below). “Whatever You Like” is the first song to return to #1 on three separate occasions since Chic’s “Le Freak” 30 years ago. Induct Chic into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, y’all!!

    03-If I Were a Boy (Beyonce)
    Beyonce jumps 66-3 with “If I Were a Boy”, the first single from her upcoming “I Am…Sasha Fierce” (God, it kills me to type that out). By reaching this position, Beyonce has already outperformed the first single from her last album, “B-Day”. “Deja Vu” (remember that?) peaked at #10.

    04-So What (Pink)
    05-Womanizer (Britney Spears)
    06-Hot N Cold (Katy Perry)
    07-Let it Rock (Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil’ Wayne)
    08-Miss Independent (Ne-Yo)
    “Miss Independent” is Ne-Yo’s first EVER #1 single on the R&B charts, coming after he scored three #2 singles. Hard to believe, given Ne-Yo’s dominance over the R&B scene these past three years, but true!

    09-Disturbia (Rihanna)
    I’m still trying to get over the fact that Ne-Yo said Rihanna has a big head. Isn’t that a little like Michael Jackson saying “Damn, you’re pale!!”

    10-I’m Yours (Jason Mraz)
    Mr. A-Z returns to the Top Ten with what is now by far the biggest hit of his career. Guess now that cold weather’s approaching, people need to feel a little more of that summer magic.

    11-Can’t Believe It (T-Pain feat. Lil’ Wayne)
    12-Love Lockdown (Kanye West)
    13-Better in Time (Leona Lewis)
    14-Right Now (Na Na Na) (Akon)
    15-Love Story (Taylor Swift)
    16-Mrs. Officer (Lil’ Wayne)
    17-Paper Planes (M.I.A.)
    Is it me, or is “Paper Planes” one of the ODDEST songs to ever hit the Top 20? Also, doesn’t M.I.A. remind you a little bit of Neneh Cherry? Do you even REMEMBER Neneh Cherry?

    18-Closer (Ne-Yo)
    19-Gotta Be Somebody (Nickelback)
    20-Crush (David Archuleta)
    OK-I give, I give. I liked David Cook more this past season, but Archuleta’s new song has grown on me to the point where it now blows everything Cook’s put out so far out of the water. Damn generic pop songs, why do you torture me so??