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All posts for the year 2009

Random Notes – 6/1/09

Posted by John on June 1, 2009
Posted in: music industry, new releases, news, singles, videos, youtube. 11 Comments

It’s been a busy week or so for me…classes back in session, projects galore with work, Memorial Day weekend, crazy weather. Life’s never boring around these parts, it seems. And after a brief lull in the music biz, things are definitely looking up there, too.

little%20bootsJustice_bandcee-lo3– Just got word today that Little Boots has been signed to the newly-reactivated Elektra imprint here in the U.S., along with Justice and Cee-Lo. That’s a triple-bill I would love to see in concert…can we work on a kick-off concert?

I have great memories of Elektra…Keith Sweat, Anita Baker, 10,000 Maniacs, Tracy Chapman, The Cure, Simply Red, and Howard Jones, just to name a few. The Eagles were their tentpole, but it’s a label with a rich history. Hopefully they do the legacy proud with the new start.

– Got tickets to see David Cook live next month here in Denver, and I’m glad to see that the tour rolls on and on. It’s a good sign that he’s been touring non-stop since March, and the dates just keep on coming. In the meantime, he has two songs currently on the Hot 100, and his debut single “Time of My Life” was just retired to the recurrents list at Adult Contemporary radio a year after its release.

Daniel Boys– A current obsession of mine at the moment is Daniel Boys, who a few of you might know from his duet with John Barrowman on “I Know Him So Well”. Those of you in the UK into musical-based reality shows will know him from “Any Dream Will Do”, where he placed fifth overall. Daniel is about to return to the West End in the male lead of “Avenue Q”, the same day that his debut CD comes out in the UK. The CD is a mix of pop covers and songs from musicals, and while I think the quality is a bit inconsistent, overall I do enjoy it. You can get an autographed copy here.

– It’s about that time where you figure out what your jam of the summer is, right? For me, it’s a toss-up between V Factory’s “Love Struck”, which seems to have died at pop radio, and “I Know You Want Me” from Mr 305 himself, Pitbull. It’s in the Hot 100 top 10 right now mainly based on sales, but Pop radio is quickly catching up with the popularity, and this track might actually have a shot at hitting #1. The video just hit the ‘net last week, and while it’s not really my style, I’ll leave it to your judgement.

She’s a Rich Girl

Posted by John on May 28, 2009
Posted in: singles, videos, youtube. 5 Comments

So I know all of you are out there, waiting for the new Destiny’s Child record, right? You’re not? Well, then I guess you wouldn’t be interested in the new girl group from Jive Records called Rich Girl.

Insane just how much they’re biting on DC’s style, isn’t it? One big difference between the two groups is that all four ladies sing on “He Ain’t Wit Me Now”. The svengali behind this group is Rich Harrison, who you’ll know from records by Beyonce, Kelly, and Destiny’s Child, as well as Mary J. Blige, Pussycat Dolls, and Toni Braxton. One listen to this track, and you’ll hear the influence. Two or three listens, and you’ll actually start getting into it. Despite the beginning of the song, which bites freely off “B’Day”-era Beyonce, the track is catchy and stands a decent chance of R&B chart success. Don’t know if I see this one translating onto the Pop chart, but it’s a good start.

You Worry About the Wrong Things

Posted by John on May 27, 2009
Posted in: singles, videos, youtube. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

The official Kanye West video appeared on the ‘nets today, and it’s slightly different than the original. For starters, Rihanna doesn’t seem as disturbed in this cut, playing up more of a model angle. There isn’t as much of the car simulation, and Kanye isn’t in nearly as much of the video, although there’s more of him at the beginning. Overall, it’s not as disturbing as I thought the first one is, but as ww_adh commented, this single is pretty much over here in the States.

Video Notables – Saturdays

Posted by John on May 26, 2009
Posted in: videos, youtube. 6 Comments

Add another video to my “If It Makes It To the U.S., It’s Gonna Get a Re-do” department. The Saturdays come back with single #4 from their debut, and while it’s arguably the best song on the disc, it’s definitely not their finest moment on video. Don’t get me wrong…the ladies look GOOD, but if the budget got to a four-digit figure, they must have spent most of it on catering. Thoughts?

You Took Something Perfect

Posted by John on May 25, 2009
Posted in: singles, videos, youtube. Tagged: . 7 Comments

D. Merriweather LoveSo Daniel Merriweather’s got a second hit this weekend as a solo artist with “Red”, which is a precursor to his full-length Love & War, due June 1st. I’m pleased to see this, and also a bit surprised. “Change” came in at #8, and given all of the hype that had surrounded the guy, it was seen by some as a bit of a disappointment. As ww_adh noted today, it’s rare when a new singer’s second single posts growth over the first. Having said that, the Saturdays come to mind, as each of their successive singles have had a higher peak, and their profile continues to grow. At this point, they’ve had more Top 10 hits off of their debut than Girls Aloud had off their current CD. But I digress.

I was in an Apple Store the other day, and “Stop Me”, the track Daniel sang for Mark Ronson, came on the sound system. One of the “geniuses” behind the counter stopped dead in his tracks and said he’d heard the song once before, and had to know who sang it. Being the dork I am, I rattled off the details, and the fact that the singer was about to release his debut in England. They all moved away from me there at the counter, but not before they all got into the track. I’m hoping that Love & War does well enough elsewhere that it gets a proper release here in the US (rumor has it that it will be released). The CD doesn’t sound like a game-changer, but it’s a solid debut effort, and highlights like “Red” show much promise.

There’s something about Daniel’s voice that pulls you in and lets your own experience breathe in the space between the lyrics. Even on a track like “Change”, which is a bit formulaic, his delivery allows you to forget multiple weaknesses within the song structure or production. Probably one of my strongest associations with Daniel is a blog post from adem with an e, who was dealing with a personal, painful situation, and found that “Stop Me” fit the mood perfectly. Once again, here is the power of a song; holding associations, and helping release pent-up emotions that we may not have even known were buried.

A Little Timeout Might Do You Good

Posted by John on May 21, 2009
Posted in: news, videos, youtube. 8 Comments

Kanye’s video for “Paranoid” is already complete and awaiting an official release, but I’ve actually already seen it, thanks to a bootleg video taken at an industry event. LA Reid even introduced the clip. If I have to pick a word to describe it, that would be memorable, for no other reason than the occasionally disturbing inclusion of Rihanna as the main character. Don’t get me wrong…from a production standpoint, it pushes Kanye’s visual aesthetic on nicely. But given Rihanna’s recent history, it’s just a bit unsettling. Check it out for yourselves…any thoughts? (No guarantees on how long this clip will be up for)

Give Me the Chance To Get It Right

Posted by John on May 20, 2009
Posted in: new releases, personal, singles, travel, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 6 Comments

MVE Notting HillIt’s funny how different groups of friends will ask about different aspects of the London trip. Work folks tend to ask about monuments and sights, family asks about the quality of the trip and whether I enjoyed it, and blogger friends ask about what I bought at the record shops.

Following XO‘s lead, I headed out to Notting Hill on Wednesday to do a little shopping and check out some of the used bins. Two hours later, and I hadn’t even begun to make a dent in Music and Video Exchange’s selection, but I definitely found some good stuff. Friends in London asked what I did with my Wednesday, and I could tell they were disappointed by my answer, but I haven’t had a bin dive like that in a LONG time, and I really enjoyed it.

Hoosiers CDWhile it wasn’t my plan when I went in, I ended up finding CDs for other friends that I was going to give as souvenirs, instead of shot glasses or thimbles. One friend who is a huge ABBA fan is getting an Agnetha CD and a pre-success ABBA CD (“Ring Ring”). Another friend from Indiana will be receiving a Hoosiers CD. Those of you in the US should understand the joke; for those outside of the US, Indiana’s population is referred to as Hoosiers.

I didn’t really buy all that much for myself, and that was a little disappointing. Turns out I actually have a lot of what I want in terms of UK music, and if you don’t know what you don’t know on the remaining stuff, it is tough to find revelations in the bin. One CD that I did find and am thoroughly enjoying is the first Mr Hudson and the Library CD, A Tale of Two Cities. In listening to this, I understand what Kanye sees in Mr Hudson. In fact, while listening to “Picture of You”, I heard definite shades of John Legend in the delivery. This one will be in rotation for a bit.

So listening to A Tale of Two Cities got me thinking about the new Mr Hudson music that is supposed to be coming any time now. Turns out, it might be a bit closer than I thought. According to Kanye’s label blog, the video for “Supernova” was shot at the end of April, and the full-length is coming August 3rd. In addition, Mr Hudson is touring the UK starting this week. While a lot of my trip was brilliant, the fact that I didn’t get to see one show while in London was a little disappointing.

I thought I found an official version of the video, but it got yanked. Besides, XO should get to present the videos, as he’s the reason I found Mr Hudson in the first place. To hold you over, here is the audio clip of “Supernova”, which I think stands a decent chance of becoming a hit.

London Roundup

Posted by John on May 17, 2009
Posted in: personal, songs, travel, videos, youtube. 12 Comments

DSCN0084I was thinking that me trying to stay away from blogging for a whole week would be difficult, given how music-centric this trip was going to be, but I stayed busy enough that it wasn’t an issue. There will be several posts upcoming that were inspired by the trip, but here are some quick thoughts and observations.

– Much thanks to everyone who made suggestions about where to go and what to do while there. Special recognition goes to XO for pointing out Video and Music Exchange, where I found a lot of good stuff, including souvenirs for friends at home. Record shops ended up being a bit part of the trip.

– Speaking of record shops, I got to spend Wednesday afternoon with Paul, talking music and other assorted topics. Great to meet someone in person and find that they are just as cool in real life as they are online. For some reason, I didn’t even think to take a picture until after the fact.

– Good Lord…is Star Pilots really going to be a hit? Because I heard that track A LOT!

– I have been fully won over to “Number One” and “Tiny Dancer”. In the end, resistance was futile.

– “Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer” sounds amazing on the radio. If there is any pop god in the world, they need to ensure that this is a proper hit.

– In a small souvenir shop in Sluis, Netherlands, I heard Lily Allen’s “Fuck You” uncensored on a local radio station. Instantly I loved the Netherlands.

– Much disappointment in the fact that several releases I would have bought (Gary Go, Daniel Merriweather) weren’t coming out until well after my departure.

Crashin’ the “Party”

Posted by John on May 6, 2009
Posted in: concerts, new releases, news, upcoming. Tagged: , . 5 Comments

per_gessle2Quick Per Gessle/Roxette update. Per, who performed in London last night, has announced that “Party Crasher” will see the light of day in the UK on June 15th. In an interesting development, the record won’t be released on EMI, but instead will be distributed by Sony. No sign of the record on Sony’s website yet, nor whether “Silly Really” will be released as a single prior to the full-length.

The news that might be bigger for many of you is that Roxette will be performing live together tonight in Amsterdam. Rumor has it that Marie has been declared healthy and ready to tour, and they will do so later this year, making up dates that the band had to cancel way back in 2002. Talk about devotion, eh?