web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Blog

  • Not Necessarily The News: R. Kelly, Nick Jonas and the Grammys

    Here’s what’s going on in the music world this week.

    *R. Kelly is writing his autobiography with the help of celebrity biographer David Ritz, who collaborated with Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin on their biographies-Aretha’s was an autiobiography and Marvin’s was released posthumously. This is wrong on so many levels. First off, do you honestly think Kells is going to tell the truth about his life? Is he going to admit to marrying Aaliyah? I don’t see this going well at all, simply because if he was to write a true autobiography, he would be up shit creek legally. Secondly, I just don’t find the guy interesting-today’s artists don’t really have the backstory that a lot of the legends have, and Kells is not exactly a creative genius, so even from a songwriter’s or musician’s standpoint, what would there be to say? Finally, isn’t this cat illiterate? How can a dude that can’t read write a book?

    Nick Jonas (I’ll admit that I have no idea which of the Jonas Brothers he is…I would imagine he’s the lead singer) has formed a new group called The Administration. This band has three former members of Prince’s New Power Generation-Sonny T., Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella. I can’t find the news article anymore, but, Jonas alleges that the songs have a strong Prince influence. I call shenanigans. Those of you who watched the Grammy nomination special last week saw Nick & The Administration perform (unless you took the opportunity to take a bathroom break) and the song they played sounded nothing like Prince. It sounded like a Hanson B-side. My take on it? Those NPG guys need some serious cash, and Nick Jonas is seriously deluded. It’ll be interesting to see how this album does, since the last Jonas Brothers album performed below expectations.

    Finally, in some Grammy news: Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” (actually not a bad song for what it is) was pulled from the category it was nominated for (Best Song from a Motion Picture) because it wasn’t specifically written for the film it was featured in (“The Hannah Montana Movie”). Those Grammy folks sure are weird. You can make three albums and get nominated for Best New Artist, but if you write a song, somehow get it placed in a movie, you can’t get nominated for Best Song from a Movie? huh?

    Miley’s beef with the Grammys may not be as big as Rick Ross’s. The gargantuan Florida rapper apparently is pissed off about being overlooked for Best Rap Album at the Grammys and addressed it in a mixtape remix of Beyonce’s “Video Phone”. OK-first of all, let’s look at the rappers that were nominated: Eminem, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Common and Flo-Rida. All of those artists (obviously excluding Flo-Rida) can rap circles around Rick Ross. Em and Common might have made shitty albums, but at least they have skills. Ross can’t rap AND his music sucks! I guess, though, if they put Flo-Rida in a category and omitted me, I’d be pretty pissed too. Because who would want to be left out of something in favor of Flo-Rida???

  • First Listen: Billy Corgan’s “A Song for a Son”

    I’ll admit. Billy Corgan gets on my nerves.

    First, there was the fact that he just seemed like an obnoxious prima donna. Granted, “Siamese Dream” and “Mellon Collie” are classics, but Billy just came across as kind of an egotistical whiner-especially after firing D’arcy and James Iha and kind of outing them as not contributing very much to the Pumpkins sound. I was just weirded out by the fact that he fires the whole band and then rehires the unreliable heroin-addict drummer?

    The last Pumpkins album was a moderate commercial success, although I gotta say that I was lukewarm on the album and VERY disappointed when I saw them live a couple months later. Now, Billy is promising to release 44 new songs over the period of 3 years free over the internet. I have to laugh, because Billy’s complaining about the state of the industry is kinda hypocritical given the fact that his ability to give away 44 free songs on the internet is largely due to the promotional machine that the music industry provides. It’s easy for him to make that statement because he doesn’t have to worry about making money.

    Anyhow, this is about Billy’s new song “Song for a Son”. I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I like it way more than I initially thought I would.It’s a typical grandiose rocker, with traces of peak-era Elton John and Queen. His voice seems to have gotten less grating over time as well, which is a good thing. As Billy has reformed the Pumpkins with a COMPLETELY new lineup (and is now allegedly dating Jessica Simpson…shudder…), I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the months to come.

    Get “A Song for a Son” here.

  • First Listen: “Soldier of Love” by Sade

    Sade is one of those artists (excuse me, BANDS) whose legend and mystery grows with each album. Folks who listened to good pop and R&B may have taken them for granted back in the day, but their extended absences from the music scene (and the fact that they just don’t make music like they used to anymore) have ultimately resulted in people appreciating them a lot more. Sade’s last album, 2000’s “Lovers Rock” went multi-platinum and won a couple of Grammys. It had been eight years since their last album. Now we’ve had to wait NINE (almost ten) years between follow-ups, and a new album is FINALLY scheduled for release in 2010.

    The first single, “Soldier of Love” was released to radio and the web earlier this week. While I think it’s impossible for Sade to come out with anything that doesn’t sound sultry, this has a more aggressive musical vibe than most of their earlier material, no doubt goosed along by the “soldier”/military motif. I like it (although I think you could probably shave a minute or two off of the instrumental coda). It’s not total “OMIGOD SADE IMINLOVE!!!”, but I’m no less excited for the new album.

    First Maxwell, now Sade. Can a new D’Angelo record be next?