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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: The Black Keys

  • GG’s Look Back At 2010

    I can’t let Paul do all the work right? If you haven’t been following, Paul has put together an exhausting list of his top 100 songs of 2010. You can read his latest, which is Part Nine.

    My lists aren’t going to be exhaustive at all. In fact, they’ll be at most, five long.

    I loved looking back through my iTunes collection and remember all the stuff that I (and my kids) bought in 2010.

    Most Fun Album Of 2010

    3. Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot… The Son Of Chico Dusty
    You know where artists are really killing it these days? Video games. Big Boi’s Shutterbug is all over the new NBA 2K video game and whenever it comes on, my kids and I start nodding our heads while getting ready to play some cyber hoops. Most of the new album is that fun. It’s video game fun.

    2. Bruno Mars: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
    I had this one on my radar from day one, but I was a bit apprehensive at listening to an entire album of his work. While it’s not going to grab you and make you think, it’s very charming and engaging. The dude just gets how to write music that people enjoy listening to. That’s the entire game right there.

    1. B.o.B.: B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray
    I asked at least two people what they thought about this one before hitting that purchase button on iTunes. It became the most played record in my collection for 2010. Airplanes, part 2 with Eminem, Nothin’ On You, Magic, Past My Shades, and Don’t Let Me Fall would’ve all been on any kind of favorite songs of the year list had I considered to make one.

    Most Disappointing Album Of The Year

    3. Maroon 5: Hands All Over
    I’ve wondered if these guys would turn into a modern version of Huey Lewis & The News. I’d be totally fine with that. But there’s something missing. Like a wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Huey seemed to be in on the joke, while Adam Levine seems to take this stuff way too seriously. There are some fun songs on this album, but not enough.

    2. Christina Aguilera: Bionic
    I’m not quite sure what she was trying to do here. It’s kind of messy and all over the place. But I’ll give her a mulligan. She’s recently had a child and then divorced her husband, all while trying to do the music and movies thing. She’s quite ambitious, but not entirely bionic enough to succeed thus far based on this album and Burlesque feedback.

    1. Usher: Raymond Vs. Raymond
    Just when you thought this dude was growing up, he took a bad left turn somewhere at “Bieber Avenue”. Some of his little buddy Justin’s songs were more mature than the filth that sludges around this album. The guy is in his 30s now, has babies, and is whoring himself out all over this album. I guess that’s what happens to artists who panic when they start to lose the teeny bopper audience.

    Most Overrated Album Of The Year

    1. Eminem: Recovery
    There’s really only one album that fits the bill for me. Kanye’s new album is overrated to an extent and I’ll explain that in a bit, and I never fully got into Drake’s album even though it was well received, but this is the only album I bought all year long where I felt that the praise wasn’t all deserved. To be fair, this is Eminem’s best work in years. But in no way should he get free passes at this point in his career. For all the folks who say he’s back, I say that he’s still the same dude, but just with better direction this time.

    Favorite Songs Of The Year

    3. Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour): Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge, & Rihanna
    This song fell under the radar because of how early it came out in 2010, but also because it’s basically a song for charity. But it’s excellent. I’m not sure there was more star power on any song in 2010. But with that star power came an understanding about how to make it about the song and the purpose, which is why I think it works so well. Never before (at least to my ears) have Jay-Z and Bono been so understated.

    2. The Other Side: Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, and B.o.B.
    It’s the very last track on Mars’ debut album, and it also very well might be the best track on the album. Shame on me for not having purchased Cee Lo’s new album, but I was put off by his gimmicky single. But here you have three artists who brought it in 2010, working together to create a jam and a half.

    1. Enrique Iglesias featuring Pit Bull: I Like It
    Ok, I was just seeing who was paying attention. Here’s the real number 1.

    1. One In A Million: Ne-Yo
    The biggest heap of praise I can give this song is that it’s the best Michael Jackson-like song that I’ve heard from the recent batch of artists who owe their entire careers to MJ. It’s just too bad that Ne-Yo’s current album couldn’t bring the same fire as this.

    Favorite Albums Of The Year

    5. El DeBarge: Second Chance
    This came out late in the year, but if you want to hear straight up R&B the way they used to do it in the old days, this is where you go. There are a couple of guest rappers on it, including 50 Cent who is also featured on Michael Jackson’s posthumous work, but they don’t ruin it. El’s album is the R&B album of the year.

    (By the way, what does that say about 50’s career that two of his most memorable 2010 moments are bad verses on albums of artists who were hot like fire in the 80s?)

    4. The Black Keys: Brothers
    My man Big Money Mike hipped me to these guys, but it wasn’t until I read an article about Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney and their semi-dysfunctional relationship in Rolling Stone, did I decide to dig in. And I’m glad I did. Their music isn’t poppy enough for me to throw on for a long drive with the kids, but if you throw on your headphones and get lost in it, they’ll take you on quite the journey.

    3. B.o.B.: B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray
    I think I’ve already said enough about this dude. Maybe I should run his PR.

    2. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    Here’s where I’m going to get flack. I’m a Kanye fan. I’ve been with him from day one. His new album is pretty darn brilliant. But I think people are overlooking what he says because of how fantastic it sounds. The guy’s rhyme game is definitely improving. And when you hang out with Jay-Z, it should improve simply by osmosis right? What I don’t get about this album is that he’s talking about slapping and hurting women consciously and we’re giving him the ok to do it. I think dude definitely has major issues and needs to grow up.

    I get that it’s an act and that he’s playing a character, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

    All of that being said, it’s now my second favorite album of his, even with the issues I have with it. Late Registration will still get more play time on my iPod, but this will definitely have a long life. I get amped up every time I hear So Appalled.

    1. The Roots: How I Got Over
    The Roots are the most consistently good act in music. They were able to juggle their new gig of being Jimmy Fallon’s house band with creating new music that stayed true to their roots, which I think is the point. Maybe their new album should’ve been titled Bionic.

    Thanks for reading and have a happy, and safe start to 2011.

  • Boys Will Be Boys, and Men… Will Be Boys in Three Awesome New Videos

    Three terrific new videos by just-barely-under-the-radar artists center around men doing what men do best: being boys. Approaching the similar subject matter from three distinct points of view, from the simply fun and nostalgic, to the tragic-comic-pathetic, to the reflective and hopeful, they’re all individually great in their own right. But taken together, it seems that Philadelphia alt-hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang, indie blues duo The Black Keys, and slam poet Sage Francis have inadvertently created a coming of age suite that John Hughes would have loved.

    Already an international Top 10 hit, Chiddy Bang‘s debut single “The Opposite of Adults” (built around a sample of MGMT’s “Kids”) celebrates the carefree life of a kid – basketball, skateboarding, ogling girls at the playground – with rapper Chiddy (Chidera Anamege) promising (with apologies to Mommy) never to grow up. The video attaches cardboard cut-out looking adult faces to live action adolescent bodies as the duo relives all the various awesomenesses of their childhoods. Such as opening a box of cereal to find the prize (A Chiddy Bang 7″? Swwwweeet!).

    Chiddy Bang “The Opposite of Adults”

    The song may not be explicitly about childhood, but the video to the Black Keys‘s latest single, the Danger Mouse produced “Tighten Up” from their latest album Brothers, has to be one of the greatest videos about a lust triangle among the monkey bars. Singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney sit on a park bench watching as their sons (who, we learn in a hilarious exchange of dialogue before the song starts, may not be the best of pals anyway) compete for the attentions of an elementary school hottie. But their efforts to be the responsible, intervening grown-ups go horribly, horribly wrong.

    The Black Keys “Tighten Up”

    “It was the best of times. It was the end of times.” In this incredible new video from his latest album Li(f)e, Sage Francis sits among an array of chairs suggestive of a school classroom – only with a wooden coffin where the teacher’s desk might be. Taking a look inside, Francis finds a trove of snapshots and artifacts, and reflects variously on religion, media, and technology before drifting back to memories of his adolescence. His first crush. Discovering his passion for words. Discovering hip-hop. Contemplating suicide, and contemplating the things he wants from life. Contemplating the apocalyptic paranoia that is being a teenager, and contemplating the wisdom he’ll pass down to his children’s children if he’s lucky enough to live long enough to meet them.

    As the classroom chairs around him fill up, he’s both teacher and student in what Prince once called “this thing called life”. His verses are loaded with richly specific details – like the love note written in code and wrapped up in ten layers of Scotch tape, but deposited in the wrong locker – and poignantly self-deprecating punchlines. The video has a familial intimacy to it that culminates in a sweet little moment between Sage Francis and the kid who plays the young Sage Francis. It’s the kind of song and video that makes me want to write a deeply personal thank you note to the artist. (Thank you, Sage Francis.)

    Sage Francis “The Best of Times”

  • "Chinese Democracy", "Detox" And More: New Releases 4/1/08

    Haha…April Fools!!

    (yeah, OK, that was lame)

    So, no, you won’t be getting the new Guns ‘n Roses or Dr. Dre albums today (or anytime soon, I don’t think). However, this particular April Fool’s Day brings forth a plethora of new music releases. Here are a couple of things you might be interested in checking out.

    R.E.M. “Accelerate”: Simply put, R.E.M. are the greatest American rock band of the past quarter-century. Albums like “Murmur”, “Document” and “Automatic for the People” are almost universally regarded as classics. However, the band lost the plot when drummer Bill Berry exited in 1997, after being stricken with a brain aneurysm while on stage. While the remaining three members of the band (vocalist Michael Stipe, bassist Mike Mills and guitarist Peter Buck) have soldiered on, the music has suffered and the band, to me, anyway, is a shell of what it once was. “Accelerate” is rumored to be the band’s return to a harder-rocking style. Will it be as good as their last “rocking” effort, 1994’s “Monster”? I’ll let you guys find out. I’m probably gonna pass.

    http://www.remhq.com

    Moby “Last Night”: In 1999, Moby’s “Play” was the little album that could. Despite a lack of radio play and traditional promotion, the album went on to sell 2 million copies via the then unique practice of licensing almost every one of the album’s tracks to a TV show, movie or commercial. Moby’s not equalled that level of success since, but he’s continued to put out interesting music since, and he’s also one of pop music’s most unique personalities. “Last Night” allegedly harkens back to a more club-friendly sound, an acknowledgment of Moby’s early days as a cutting-edge techno/electronic artist.

    http://www.moby.com

    Van Morrison “Keep It Simple”: It’s been 40 years since Van Morrison exploded onto the scene with the band Them and the hit “Gloria”, and at this point, you know what to expect from the man widely considered one of the greatest blue-eyed soul singers and one of the greatest songwriters in history. A mix of folk and traditional Irish flavorings, a touch of blues, a pinch of jazz and a whole lot of that still inimitable voice. While none of his recent work has exactly been “Moondance”, any artist would be hard-pressed to top that classic, and Van remains one of the few artists of his era who is still worth listening to.

    http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk

    Kylie Minogue “X”: British pop tart Kylie Minogue returns with her first album of new material since fighting and beating a breast cancer diagnosis in 2005. While she is practically royalty in her home country, she’s only been intermittently successful here in the States, and with American customers currently preferring their British singers of the soulful variety (Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis), it’s hard to tell whether this album will mark a commercial comeback for Kylie. An eclectic lineup of guest performers on this album includes Boy George, The Scissor Sisters, and former BLACKstreet member/ace producer Teddy Riley.

    http://www.kylie.com

    George Michael “Twenty Five”: Despite being released in the U.K. nearly two years ago, this double-CD hits compilation by George Michael is only being released in the States now. Of course, with a double-CD compilation by George already on the market, many folks would say this is a bit unnecessary, but hold up a second. “Twenty-Five” is the first album to compile all of George’s hits with Wham! (like this classic: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hksil-KkebQ) in addition to his solo smashes. In addition, it contains his hit duet with Mary J. Blige, “As”, which scored big on R&B radio a decade ago but Mary’s label refused it’s official release in the States. Add in a couple of new tracks, George’s upcoming summer tour (his first in the U.S. since 1991) and his ubiquity via the TV show “Eli Stone”, and this might be one to watch.

    http://www.georgemichael.com

    My pick of the week is “Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State”. Matthew is a singer/songwriter, originally from Pennsylvania but currently based in Nashville. To my ears, he sounds like Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” meets Ray LaMontagne. His music is almost painfully intimate (I mean that in a good way) and beautifully sung and performed. I had the pleasure of witnessing an intimate acoustic performance by him and I was completely blown away. Give this album a shot. You will not be disappointed.

    http://www.matthewryanonline.com

    And for this week’s “Huh”? Factor:
    Remember Donna Lewis? No? How about that song “I Love You Always Forever”? NOW do you remember? Well, she’s BACK (and I don’t remember anyone inviting her). For those interested, she’s got an album out today.

    Also hitting stores today: A new set from The Black Keys (intriguingly produced by Gnarls Barkley’s Danger Mouse), former “American Idol” finalist Josh Gracin (the country-singing dude from season 2 who was in the military), a new set from country music mainstay George Strait (who seems to release albums every 9 months, and all of them sell like hotcakes), a Dream Theater 2-CD best of, and “Shine a Light”, the soundtrack to the new Rolling Stones documentary, which was notably directed by Martin Scorcese. Look at the way Mick’s wrinkles were filmed! Such Clarity!

    Happy shopping!!