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  • New Music In Stores & Online 7/1/08: G-Unit, John Mayer, Vanessa Hudgens & More

    John Mayer's new release Where The Light IsThe 4th of July weekend seems like the perfect time to release new music. You figure that folks planning the long weekend and heading out to the beach or a barbecue will want to take some tunes along for the ride, right? Well, how come there isn’t anything good coming out this week? Sheesh.

    Here are some highlights (relatively speaking, that is):

    John Mayer “Where The Light Is”: For whatever reason, Mayer is taking some guff for having released so many live albums in a relatively short time. This is his third officially-sanctioned concert release in 7 years (although the John Mayer Trio album was almost completely new material). Of course, those same people won’t mention the fact that Pearl Jam had put out about 500 live albums before their 10 year anniversary. Anyway, I’ve seen Mayer live once and, as much as I love the guy (as explained in yesterday’s post), he was good if not great. Although the guitar at his shows is a little more showy, his records don’t sound a hell of a lot different from his records, and his stage patter can border on smarmy/obnoxious. Anyhow, when a live album from someone whose already put out a pair of live albums in less than a decade is your top choice this week, you know you’re in trouble. This is also available on DVD.

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  • Monday Message: John Mayer’s “Say”

    I was going to write something about how much I enjoy John Mayer’s music even though the whole starlet-dating thing rubs me the wrong way. Then I was gonna write something about how happy I am that all the folks who cracked on me for liking him ate crow when “Continuum” came out. So then I decided to write something about how he always seems to express himself lyrically the exact way I would if I was, like, a talented writer. I figured I’d also add something about how even the songs of his that pander the most-“Your Body is a Wonderland”, “Daughters”-turn out to have something that makes me like them despite themselves.

    Then I decided to screw all of that and just post this video because this song has been running in constant loop in my head all morning. The saying “leave it all out on the field” can be applied to just about any facet of life, and I’ve been thinking a lot about life and motivation and desire and honesty and all sorts of other things that this song (in my head, anyway) addresses. At any rate, enjoy, and thanks John.

  • Number One Hits From Hell: “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)”

    This week, “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry knocked Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” out of the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, thus becoming the 1,000th Number One single of the rock era. As the majority of music buyers (I didn’t say music *lovers* mind you, but music buyers) view music as a song-by-song medium, having a #1 single is a pretty big deal, so to have been one of those 1,000 songs means that, for better or for worse, your song has struck a chord with someone.

    However, that’s not to say that the folks that put songs at the top of the charts always exhibit good taste. Of course, some of the most iconic songs in music history have made it all the way to the apex of Billboard’s charts- a look at the amount of chart-toppers by Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, to name a few, bears that theory out. But there are a pretty good amount of legendary artists who have never hit the top of the singles charts. Bruce Springsteen has never had a #1. Neither has James Brown. Or Led Zeppelin. Or The Who. Luther Vandross? Nope. The Clash? Elvis Costello? Run-DMC? Public Enemy? The Beastie Boys? 3 top ten singles between them.

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