In addition to this fine site, I also occasionally write (but mostly comment) for a couple of other sites, one being my friend JayVee’s site, The Round Table. You can find it at theround-table.blogspot.com. This column was originally written for them. Enjoy!!
Believe it or not, 2008 has not been a bad year for music-unless you happen to be a superstar. Particularly a superstar diva. Janet Jackson, Madonna and Mariah Carey have all released fairly underwhelming albums over the first half of the year-with Janet’s the best of a very weak bunch. Hip-hop has also taken a bit of a leave of absence-unless you’re one of those folks who thinks “The Carter III†is a classic, there wasn’t much to gloat about if you were a rap fan for the first part of this year.
However, there have been some bright spots. Soul singers on the other side of the Atlantic continued their renaissance after Amy Winehouse set one hell of a standard (and you have to admit that “Back To Black†is a work of genius, no matter what you think of her personally) last year. In addition to the new Brit divas, a couple of vets returned after short absences with albums that rank among the best of their careers. And there’s still half a year to go.
No need for fancy introductions today, here’s this week’s Top 5 picks:
The Hold Steady- “Stay Positive”: Craig Finn looks like an investment banker, but his band The Hold Steady have taken their Springsteen-esque brand of anthemic, lyrical rock and become one of the best-loved American rock bands around. Following up 2006’s critically acclaimed “Boys & Girls in America”, “Stay Positive” looks to be the album where the sales catch up with the street cred.
http://www.theholdsteady.com/
Nas “Untitled”: I’m not one for publicity stunts, and the whole gambit behind this album leaves me a little leery about what the music actually sounds like. For those who need catching up, the new album from Queens rapper Nas was originally entitled “Nigger”, and a whole bunch of (very likely manufactured) hoopla resulted. Who cares what the album’s title is? Is the fucking music good? While teaser single “Be a Nigger Too” failed to move me (and was eventually removed from the album’s tracklist), I’m kinda digging this new song, “Hero”.
John Mellencamp “Life, Death, Love & Freedom”: The former John Cougar is now a Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer. Can you believe it? The troubadour returns after only about a year off, with an album that confronts aging and mortality in a way not dissimilar (although undoubtedly less sunny) than Paul McCartney’s “Memory Almost Full” from last year. Me? I’ll just crank up “Jack & Diane” again.
http://www.mellencamp.com/
David Banner “The Greatest Story Ever Told”: Last we heard from David Banner musically, he was shamelessly ripping The Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait (The Whisper Song)”. This new album allegedly finds the politically minded Mississippi rapper dumbing down for dollars a little bit-never a good thing. Guests include UGK, Chris Brown, and the ubiquitous triumverate of (let’s all say it together) Snoop Dogg, Akon & Li’l Wayne. Ugh.
http://www.david-banner.com/news.aspx
O.A.R. “All Sides”: Does anyone enjoy these guys’ music without firing up a giant doobie first? Just asking.
http://www.ofarevolution.com/
Also…there’s a live digital EP from Bruce Sringsteen & The E Street Band’s “Magic” tour, a new record from country singer Randy Travis, the debut from Season 6 “American Idol” finalist Ace Young, and for those of you lucky enough to be Australian, The Vines have a new record out!! ‘Memba them??
…and there’s also an album by a guy called Andy Yorke, who happens to be Thom Yorke of Radiohead’s brother. Why does this make me think of John Stamos’ brother singing “Lovin’ You” on an episode of “South Park”?
Get your full list of new releases here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm
So, I switched on the TV around noon today and flipped over to VH-1 Classic with the expectation that I’d catch some cheesy 80s video goodness. As it turned out, they were broadcasting a concert by some band that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place visually.Then the vocals kicked in and I realized I was watching a Journey concert.
Only the lead singer wasn’t Steve Perry. Although he certainly sounded like Steve Perry. I realize Perry’s been gone from the band for almost a decade, and I’d also heard the story of how Journey found their new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, through YouTube (God bless modern technology). What I didn’t realize was that if you closed your eyes and heard this guy sing, you’d swear you were listening to the real deal Perry, same big voice, same caterwauling, the whole bit. Check him out for yourself, the resemblance is uncanny. OK, it’s not so uncanny in this performance (he misses a couple of notes that Perry would have nailed), but he still sounds a hell of a lot like Perry. Just saying.
