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  • First Look: Ciara & Justin’s “Love Sex Magic”

    Ciara’s “Fantasy Ride” is one of those albums that was SUPPOSED to come out ages ago, but her record company just hasn’t found a song that caught fire. Enter Justin Timberlake, and voila, not only does Ciara have another hit on her hands, but the album’s finally been given a firm May release date. The song’s called “Love Sex Magic”, and the video is below.

    A lot of folks hate on JT, but I’m not mad at the dude at all. Although he’s obviously not as talented as HE thinks he is, the fact of the matter is that he was behind one of the few 50 Cent songs I like (“Ayo Technology”), finally turned me around to appreciating T.I. (“Dead & Gone”), and was behind most of the good stuff on Madonna’s last album. Hell, I wouldn’t even be caught near a Ciara record if not for this song. While I still won’t buy the album, this is definitely worth the 99 cents (or $1.29 now that their prices are being raised) on iTunes.

    As for the video, well, damn. All I have to say is that if Ciara moves like that, she should be in the circus.

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #29: Pump Up The Valium

    THEM's classic single, "Gloria"

    THEM  “Gloria” b/w “Baby, Please Don’t Go” (Parrot Records #9727,  1964-65)

    I’m pressed for time, so this installment will have to be brief, but this record doesn’t need a whole lot of words anyway.  We are gathered here today, my friends, to celebrate one of the hands-down greatest, purest rock ‘n’ roll singles of all time:  “Gloria” (also known as “G-L-O-R-I-A!”) by early-’60’s Irish rockers Them.  Written by the band’s singer, a then-unknown young upstart named Van Morrison, this track was actually the B-side of this release, but my Parrot pressing (whether it’s original or not I’m unsure) doesn’t make that distinction.  No matter, let’s just rock.

    Play GLORIA by THEM

    The single hit the Top 100 in ’64 and again in ’65, but it was Chicago garage-rock group The Shadows Of Knight who would bring it into the Top 10 in April of ’66.  Since then it’s become the quintessential rock classic, covered by everyone in the universe.  Learn to play the E, D & A chords on the guitar, and you can cover it too.

    Play BABY, PLEASE DON\’T GO by THEM

    The B-side, which is really the A-side, is Them’s blistering take on Joe Williams’ blues classic, “Baby, Please Don’t Go.”  Also revered as a rock staple and also covered zillions of times, always using Them’s arrangement.  B’cause, as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke — don’t fix it.

    Them released a handful of great singles and albums, and had a couple brilliant Top 40 hits stateside with “Here Comes The Night” and “Mystic Eyes.”  After Morrison left to pursue a solo career in ’66, the band attempted to soldier on without him, to no avail.  And, as everyone knows, Van Morrison’s solo career never amounted to much.

    NEXT WEEK: Ho ho!  Ha-haa!  He-hee!

  • New Release(s) of the Week 3/31/09: Prince

    princeWhen Prince left Warner Brothers back in ’96, one major sticking point was that his then label refused to allow him to release music at the pace he wanted to. Among the many issues Prince had was the fact that his magnum opus, 1987’s “Sign O’ the Times”, was whittled down from 3 discs to a more consumer-palatable 2. Prince finally got his 3-disc set upon his release from Warner with ’96’s “Emancipation”, which, while not bad for a 3-CD set, you can find for five bucks used at most retailers these days.

    After slowing down his release schedule slightly, Prince has returned with yet another three-disc set: “Mplsound”, “Lotusflower” and “Elixir” are all being released as one package tomorrow. The catch? This set will only be sold at Target stores and via target.com. Prince is following the model set by AC/DC and The Eagles (successfully) and Christina Aguilera and Guns ‘n Roses (not so successfully). We’ll see if the Purple One still has what it takes. Judging from public response to his performances on Leno last week, I think it would be foolish to count the little man out.

    A few other things to look out for this week:

    Keith Urban “Defying Gravity”- A new album from Mr. Nicole Kidman and the first set he’s recorded since completing rehab a couple years back. The Aussie country star should wind up with the week’s biggest-selling debut.

    Bow Wow “New Jack City Pt. 2”- He’s not been Lil’ for some time now, and Bow Wow has, quiet as kept, been one of hip-hop’s most consistent sellers over the past decade or so. I wonder if he’s writing his own lyrics yet, or if Jermaine Dupri’s still hiring ghostwriters for him. I won’t discuss the stupid title for fear that our own GG might jump through the screen and strangle me.

    UGK “UGK for Life”- This should wrap things up for the Houston-based hip-hoppers, seeing as 1/2 of the group, Pimp C, passed away a year and a half ago, sadly following their biggest commercial success with “International Player’s Anthem”. This album features a bevy of guests paying tribute, from MCs like Too $hort and Eightball & MJG to smooth soul singers like Raheem DeVaughn.

    Gavin DeGraw “Free”-The piano man returns barely a year after his last album with a stripped-down, raw set of original tunes and covers.

    Flo-Rida “R.O.O.T.S.”- So I was watching MTV the other day and Flo-Rida was announcing videos, and he saw fit to explain his name as “Florida” broken up into “2 syllables”. Hey genius, both “Florida” and “Flo-Rida” have three syllables. Someone send dude back to 5th grade. Anyway, this guy’s had the #1 single in the country (“Right Round”) for something like 6 weeks now, so someone’s gonna buy this, right?

    Get your complete list of this week’s releases right here.