Archives

All posts for the month March, 2009

Where You Been?

Posted by John on March 27, 2009
Posted in: new releases, personal, videos, youtube. Tagged: . 3 Comments

Hey folks…sorry for the delay absence. Between work, school, and life in general, I haven’t been inspired (or mentally equipped) to post the past week. I’m hoping lightning strikes this weekend, as I can’t just rely on Video Notable entries to tide me over. We got hit with a foot and a half of snow yesterday, and so things aren’t boring here by a long shot. But life is okay…just hectic. I seem to be in a perior of reprioritizing at the moment, which isn’t really a new thing, but rather a resurfacing of issues that have been lingering for the past six months.

As always, it seems that music comes along that really fits my mood at the moment, and at the moment, it’s the Indigo Girls CD that came out on Tuesday. Excellent effort that I will have more to say about in the next couple of days. Here’s a live performance of “Sugar Tongue” at Criminal Records in Atlanta this week:

Video Notables – Ciara

Posted by John on March 19, 2009
Posted in: videos, youtube. 4 Comments

A preview of Ciara’s “Love Sex Magic” popped up on the web tonight (h/t to Mr. Ali), and I’m hoping this is a gag. This video makes the “If You Seek Amy” video look like “Thriller”. The track is cool, but wow. Why even bother with a video? And no trace of Justin, either. Verdict, please?

Good and Bad

Posted by John on March 15, 2009
Posted in: charts, commentary, concerts, new releases, upcoming. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

ting03Good – The Ting Tings appear to be getting that long-promised breakthrough, as “That’s Not My Name” breaks into the pop radio Top 40 (#39 at the moment). “Shut Up and Let Me Go” also made the Top 40, although just barely. Let’s hope “Name” has a little more momentum to make it happen. If all goes well, I will be seeing them live at the beginning of April here in Denver.

Bad – The slow start of The Script breaking in the U.S. How this group has so far been ignored is beyond me. You would think that this was custom-made for American consumption. The physical release of the CD is this Tuesday, but it was released months ago on iTunes. I blame the industry for this (along with anything else that goes wrong).

Good – Neko Case’s “Middle Cyclone” debuts at #3 on the Billboard Top Albums chart. Srsly?

Bad – The Neko Case CD only sold 44,000 units to land at #3. Srsly?

Good – Kelly Clarkson’s CD “All I Ever Wanted” appears ready to debut at #1, with sales around 200,000 units.

Bad – “My December”, which was considered a failure, sold 291,000 units when it debuted.

depeche_mode_soundsGood – I’m looking forward to upcoming new releases from the Pet Shop Boys (just pre-ordered the double disc at CD-Wow), Depeche Mode (released on the same day in the U.S. as PSB), and Lady Sovereign.

–Bad – Sadly, there is also new music on the horizon from Kid Rock and John Rich. (More on John Rich tomorrow)

David Cook Comes Back

Posted by John on March 13, 2009
Posted in: concerts, new releases, singles, videos, youtube. Tagged: . 4 Comments

It’s a pretty good time to be David Cook right now. His debut self-titled CD passed the 1 million sold mark this week, less than four months after release, he’s in the middle of his first headlining tour, and the video for single #2 is in the can. Following in the footsteps of Beyonce (okay, not really), he’s releasing “Bar-Ba-Sol” to rock radio, and “Come Back To Me” to pop radio. Excellent move, and not one I figured on. When I saw that his tour was called the Declaration tour, I figured the next single would be “Declaration”, but “Come Back To Me” was one of several gems I discovered on the CD, and makes perfect sense as a follow-up to “Light On”. David’s current tour of the eastern half of the U.S. rolls on through April, and there are already dates booked at fairs and festivals through the summer. Just none in Colorado…

That’s My Jam

Posted by John on March 10, 2009
Posted in: singles, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

I could talk about the new Kelly Clarkson CD (pretty good), the FINALLY released Chris Cornell CD (maybe later this week), or another new Chris Richardson track from MySpace (not too shabby), but none of that is really inspiring me this morning. So as a warm-up (it’s 28 and snowing here today), here are a few tracks that I’m jamming to at the moment:

Pet Shop Boys “Did You See Me Coming?”

It’s as if the heavens opened up and sent a chorus of Neil Tennant angels down to Earth to serenade us. The song was released on Sunday as part of a PSB hits collection in England (thanks to Paul for the heads up), and I just can’t get enough. For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, the new CD is available to hear at 7Digital.

Jesse McCartney “How Do You Sleep”

I missed this one on my first trip through the CD, but the reissue of Departure includes a new version with Ludacris that’s blasting up the pop radio charts. I don’t mind the Ludacris rap, but at the heart of the song is a killer hook that I hear at random times during the day.

Neko Case “This Tornado Loves You”

Neko first came into my view when her music was used on “Big Love”, but I didn’t really get it at the time. Trust me, I get it now. “Middle Cyclone” is a brilliant CD, and “Tornado” is a big highlight of the record. (Yes, there’s a bit of a weather theme here) I’ve also found myself listening to the half hour of tree frogs at the end of the CD several times in the last week. Apparently, tree frogs encourage concentration when studying. Go figure!

What’s Shayne Ward Doing?

Posted by John on March 7, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 11 Comments

In a time of crisis, isn’t it comforting to know that there are still things out there to live for? As an example: shaynerodesjpgShayne Ward, who we last saw in a re-enactment of the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” video, is hard at work on his third disc, with a summer target for release. While I recognize that I’m just a small blog on the huge superhighway of the Internet, could it be possible that Shayne read that last entry, and felt the need to make changes in his life (and diet)?

I’m training hard and believe me it’s hard work when you’ve got an instructor, ha he’s putting me through my paces, but it’ll all be worth it trust me.

Shayne, Shayne, Shayne. Don’t go changin’, to try and please us. You never let us down before. We blame all of the missteps in promoting “Breathless” on Simon Cowell and the record label. How else do you explain single-worthy songs like “Tangled Up” and “You Make Me Wish” never seeing the light of day, let alone the magic of half-naked scenarios for Shayne to make videos of. Interesting note in the January blog entry, though…there’s talk of a duet. Hmmm…wonder who his management team might think it’s a good idea for Shayne to duet with. Possibly another X-Factor winner who has already achieved success in the elusive American market? Only time will tell.

colby_odonis_grammysSpeaking of duet partners riding coattails, can we talk about Colby O’Donis (or Adonis, as D’luv refers to him) for a moment? Talk about one of the luckiest guys on the face of the planet. Just 20 years old, and he already has 3 top 20 hits, including co-star billing with Akon and Lady GaGa, and a Grammy Nomination for “Just Dance” to boot. He’s only had one hit on his own (“What You Got”, which hit #14 on the Billboard Hot 100), but his handlers are hoping that a remix of “Let You Go” will fly at radio to keep the track record intact (check it out here). It sounds a LOT like “Let Me Love You” by Mario, but I’m not sure that this has hit written all over it, even though I like it. What do you all think?

Enough

Posted by John on March 6, 2009
Posted in: american idol, commentary, personal. Tagged: . 4 Comments

Um, Idol spoilers. Just saying.

The title refers to what I was thinking as I watched the end of the “wild” card episode of American Idol last night, which was only wild because the folks involved with the show watched a completely different show than I did. According to the show I was watching, eight contestants were brought back to sing for their Idol careers, and would be judged accordingly. The producers, however, saw an episode where the performances were merely a formality, and no matter what happened, the remaining three four contestants were already determined.

I told someone this morning that I feel like I’m in mourning right now, and that sounds all melodramatic, but I can’t deny it. I’ve invested seven years into this guilty pleasure, and there’s a sense of betrayal that the powers that be don’t trust the American public to make the right decision. Sad thing is, I was actually in favor of the revamp, thinking that the judges would bring an objective eye to a few of the Top 12 13 contestants, but after seeing horrible performances by folks that made it through, and stellar performances not being rewarded, that’s an impossibility now.

I’m quickly moving away from TV as a whole, which many would argue isn’t a bad thing, but the sad part of this shift is that I lose one more watercooler topic that folks at work and friends can bond over. Granted, we can sit here online and cackle amongst ourselves about the latest U2 faux pas, but it sure doesn’t hurt to have some connection to the outside world apart from the news, which really doesn’t do much to uplift. I probably will watch Idol from time to time if I’m home and it’s on, but other than that, I will leave the hand-wringing and visionary predictions to others. Just stick a fork in me…I’m done.

I Spoke Too Soon

Posted by John on March 2, 2009
Posted in: music industry, personal. Tagged: . 7 Comments

Leave it to Billboard to be the bearer of MORE bad news…

virgin-denverThe planned closures of the Virgin Megastores in Times Square and Union Square in New York City and the Market Street store in San Francisco are the beginning of the final wind-down of the Virgin Entertainment Group North America. Over the next few months, the company also plans to shutter its other three stores in Orlando, Fla., Denver and Los Angeles, with the company expected to be liquidated sometime this summer.

I’m feeling like Cousin Oliver at the moment, but it was just a matter of time. Turns out that there was a little more effort to save the chain than folks might be giving them credit for…

But the company was also working on improving its concept for a smaller space. With CD sales sliding, “I tried my hardest to come up with a new model, and we were making a lot of headway with it before the holidays,” says (CEO Simon) Wright. But, the “economy is so bad; it’s all about batten down the hatches.”

I think I’m going to be spending a LOT of time in that store once the discounts get to 40% or so. This also creates another rough situation for Denver, as that’s a huge space to fill down on the 16th Street Mall. I wonder if Virgin has a tenant lined up for this space like they did in Times Square? Only time will tell…

Vince Clark Strikes Again!

Posted by John on March 2, 2009
Posted in: new releases, singles. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

vince-clarke1Okay, someone woke Vince up and decided that he needed to be a bit more visible in the industry. Besides the Erasure hits package and last year’s Yaz(oo) tour, Vince recently took on remixing duties for the Saturdays’ vastly improved remix of “Issues”, and now another remix has surfaced for Franz Ferdinand’s “No You Girls”, which I talked about last week. The single drops officially on April 6th in the UK, but I don’t have US release info. I’ve heard the single, and it’s pretty cool how it takes the FF vocals, and makes them sound just like they would have fit into the mid-80s.