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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Rihanna

  • First Look: Jay-Z’s “Run This Town”

    Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3” is only a few short weeks away from release. Will it be an artistry-affirming masterpiece like the first “Blueprint” was? Or will it be an overambitious, ego-driven mess like “Blueprint 2”? Two singles in, I’m not so sure of the answer.

    Joined by proteges Kanye West and Rihanna (whose presence almost automatically predicts chart success), “Run This Town” is one of Jay’s most commercial efforts to date. The song itself? It’s okay. Rihanna’s chorus (though catchy) is way too long, and Hov continues to rate lower and lower on the lyrical achievement scale with each passing album. I actually like Kanye’s verse better than either of Jay’s. The post-apocalyptic video is an obviously big-budget production designed to win a ton of MTV Video Music Awards, but it’s hard to tell what’s really going on in the clip. It looks good, but what kind of statement is Jay trying to make?

    I’m pretty undecided on both the song and video, and even though I’ll be one of the first folks at the record store to cop “Blueprint 3”, I’ll admit that neither of the songs or videos released thus far give me confidence that Jay is anything other than content to rest on his laurels. Thanks to pitchfork.com.

  • The Top 100 Songs of the ’00s, #95: “S.O.S.”

    rihanna

    It’s amazing what producers and songwriters can do to a blank slate. Rihanna’s debut single, “Pon de Replay”, might get my vote as one of the most annoying songs of this past decade. I remember sneering at the TV every time the video came on VH-1’s top 20. However, just one year later, the Barbadian beauty was well on her way to becoming arguably the best singles artist of the decade (she’s the #2 artist on this list, with three songs on the survey). The song thatsent her on her way was this propulsive, sexy jam. Goosed along by a very prominent sample of ’80s classic “Tainted Love” (by Soft Cell), Rihanna channeled her thin voice into an attitudinal, erotic moan that was good enough to make us forget that we were (at the time) listening to a teenager. The song’s flirty, fun vibe took it to the top of the charts, becoming the first of Rihanna’s five chart-toppers this decade, and established her as one of the preeminent female pop singers of her generation.

    So suck it, “Pon de Replay”. “S.O.S.” marked the beginning of pop superstar Rihanna as we now know her, and for that, we as pop music listenerds (that was a typo, but I left it in, it kinda fits) should be quite appreciative.

  • More to Music Players Than iPods

    LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 06: Attorney Mark Ger...
    Good rule. If you're in court, don't bring a music player and don't ask the judge to listen to Jordin Sparks. Image by Getty Images via Daylife

    One of the coolest sites catering to all music fans doesn’t have downloads.

    There are no pictures of Beyonce flashing leg, Justin flashing a grin or Janet flashing, well, having a wardrobe malfunction.

    Really useful site, Musicplayer.me covers the convergence of music and the Internet, which has nothing to do with browsers sometimes. If you didn’t know that, you will after reading one of the reviewers take apart a Twitter application or Firefox plugin synchronizing last.fm.

    The site’s management gets the tech vibe, which is nice, but really gets the music vibe too. “It’s not our policy to discourage their [the site’s reviewing team] sometimes acerbic or snarky opinions towards particular products or companies.”

    How cool is that?  That attitude is the same one Money Mike, Double G, David Middleton and the other Sonic Clash writers bring when they jump into a track, or take apart the music news or charts or just keep banging on Chris Brown for being a big dummy who deserves some county lockup time.  And if that’s too snarky for you, remember who chose the photos for the front of the site, including Ms. Rihanna in all her umbrella glory.  (AP reported today that she is looking to get back the jewelry she was wearing as they drove to the Grammys that night.    All $1.4 million worth.  Yowch!)

    Even an old dog like me learned how I could listen to Disturbia when I’m at the office and it’s still not on my iPod.  Do you know what a Tumblelog is?   Me neither until I read the site’s review on how to listen to a new music stream with a concept like Disturbia at the start  and turn a mix tape experience into an art form like nothing Pandora ever considered.

    Musicplayer.me is definitely worth a drive by.  There is far more to mobile music than iTunes and Rhapsody, but they’ll tell you all about that.

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