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  • First Spin 2/24/09: Jonas Brothers, Chris Isaak & More!!

    jonasI must say, it’s a bit difficult to drum up the enthusiasm to put this column together when there isn’t a damn thing coming out that I’m interested in. For as long as I’ve been buying music as an adult and following release dates, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this far into a year while buying so little music. Even worse, I’m strangely ambivalent about most of the music that I’ve bought. Weird, huh?

    Anyway, here’s what’s out today:

    B-Real “Smoke & Mirrors”– I think I wrote something a while back about unnecessary solo albums, and here’s yet another one. Do we really need an entire album of B-Real and that VOICE without the respite that Sen Dog’s angry barks provide? Does anyone really care that B-Real has an album out? Has anyone given half a fuck about anything Cypress Hill has recorded in a decade? Talk about flaming out. 2 good albums and then they went straight down shit street.

    Chris Isaak “Mr. Lucky”-I like Chris Isaak. He doesn’t take the being a star thing too seriously, he’s got an appealing voice and he’s quite attractive. That said, I own nothing by Chris Isaak save for a greatest hits compilation. I don’t really feel like I’m missing anything either. Anyhow, Chris has a new TV show premiering which is proably quite good, so he’s hitting us from both angles. Go, synergy!

    Jonas Brothers “Music from the 3-D Concert Experience”– Labels don’t seem to learn when it comes to teen groups. To wit: NKOTB-studio albums, Christmas album, remix album. Hanson-studio album, “early years” release, Christmas album, live album. The result in both cases? People stopped caring. Anyway, the Jonases, fresh from being embarrassed on the Grammys by Adele and embarrassing themselves with Stevie Wonder, are releasing their very first live album, something like six months after their last studio album came out. How long till the bubble bursts? Cue teenage girls going crazy.

    K’naan “Troubadour”– I don’t know much about this guy, other than some great reviews I’ve seen. Considering how little else is out, I might give this one a shot. Looks like he’s working the same alt-rap vibe that fellow Canuck MC k-os does, and the guest list (Adam Levine, Mos Def, Damien Marley) is pretty stellar for an artist unknown in the US. This might be worth it for the right price.

    Van Morrison “Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl”-Yup, it’s Van the Man, performing the songs from one of his best-known and most-loved albums forty years after the fact. Albums like this are so unnecessary. I’d rather just listen to the original.

    Elsewhere, there seems to be at least one release from every genre imaginable. If you’re a hip-hopper, you might want to check out Joe Budden’s long-awaited “Padded Room”, his first studio release in something like seven or eight years. Blues rockers will take to JJ Cale’s “Roll On”, while you’ll get more of a straight-ahead blues sound with Shemekia Copeland’s “Never Going Back”. Metalheads will go for the new Lamb of God and Hatebreed releases, while Prince fans (like me) will dig on Wendy & Lisa’s new one, called “White Flags of Winter Chimneys”, which I believe is only available digitally (meaning that I won’t buy it).

    On the reissue tip, Stax is re-releasing some of Isaac Hayes’ classic work, including the seminal “Black Moses” album. Erasure is summarizing their career with a 40-song Best of, reggae superstar Elephant Man has his first hits comp arriving in stores, and in the category of albums no one asked for: there are best-ofs arriving from Bloodhound Gang and Insane Clown Posse.

    Get the full list of releases here.

  • First Look: NKOTB’s 2 in the Morning

    nkot

    For the fourth video off of The Block, the New Kids have decided to go the ballad route. While 2 in the Morning isn’t necessarily the ballad I would have gone with, it’s still a nice change of place after three uptempo singles. If radio gives this one a chance, I think it has the capability to be a decent-sized hit, although the amount of Auto-Tune used on this song (not to mention the rest of the album) is really fucking annoying.

    Anyway, the video follows the song’s lyrics pretty literally, and it’s a cute little love/hate story. What’s up with four of the five New Kids sporting that gelled-up in the middle faux-hawk though? Anyway, let us know what you think of the video…

  • A Few Words in Defense of…Nickelback

    by Pat Johnson
    I know I’m supposed to hate Nickelback, but…I just can’t.

    Before I go on I should mention that I have not downloaded a single Nickelback song ever.  They are completely absent on my iPod.  I have never seen them in concert, and I probably never will.

    I am well aware of the disdain people have for Nickelback.  I know of the many popular Facebook groups denouncing their existence.  Hell, when I’m in a conversation with someone about their hatred for this group, I don’t even defend them.

    But I can’t hate Nickelback, and that’s because of one thing.  When I’m in the car listening to the radio, or one of their songs comes across my XM receiver, I do one thing: I fucking wail.

    That’s right, I admit it, I am a car singing man that will rock out to Nickelback.  I’ll belt out the chorus, I’ll hum along to the verses, or sing the wrong words.  And for a few short minutes I’ll bob my head to Chad Kroeger’s strained vocals as he sings about…something.

    I’m not sure where this association comes from.  Perhaps it’s because Kroeger doesn’t really have that good of a singing voice, thus it’s easier to sing along with.  Maybe it’s because his refrains have an annoying ability to get stuck in your head.  Or maybe it’s because a small part of me actually likes them  –  dear god, could that be true?

    I know what’s going through your head: Nickelback sucks.  But I can’t hate them.  I remember on 9/11 when we needed to get away from the news and there, on MTV, was the video for “How You Remind Me” playing over and over, and I remember singing along with friends because we were able to do something than watch the horrible images of the day.

    I just can’t hate a band whose last 4 albums have sold almost 17 million copies, here in this age of illegally downloading music.

    I know some hatred could come from being overplayed on the radio, but hey, crazy me thought that you were played on the radio because you were popular, not because you sucked.

    So there you have it.  I won’t buy your music Nickelback.  I won’t go to your concerts.  I won’t even defend you in a conversation where people put you down.  But don’t worry.  You’ll always have me in my car singing along to whatever song of yours comes on the radio.