Have you ever waited for an album to come out, and you just knew it was going to be stellar, and then it doesn’t quite measure up to the hype? Yeah…me too. So it is with a bit of hesitation that I declare that the new David Cook CD due out next week doesn’t fully hit the spot. Now, having said that, “Light On” didn’t thrill me upon first listen, but it is now on my most played, so maybe that’s what will happen here. And there are some great tracks right off the bat…”Lie”, “Life on the Moon”, “A Daily Anthem”, and “Permanent” all show the promise of the Rocker Idol. Here’s hoping that by the time the full-length is available for my purchase that I’m good with the remainder of the CD. In the meantime, here’s the full-length video for “Light On”.
upcoming
– If it’s Tuesday, it must be new releases, right? Today’s batch includes Taylor Swift (only $3.99 at Amazon), David Archuleta, Tracy Chapman, Seal, T-Pain, David Foster, and Deborah Cox. The cavalcade of reissues and re-releases include discs by the Smiths, New Order, Enrique Iglesias, Hilary Duff, Genesis and Abba. However, I predict a dark horse this week that may make a big splash is the new holiday release from Enya. I can’t think of an artist that is more appropriate for Christmas music than her. I’m not saying it’ll be GOOD, I’m just saying it makes sense.
– Looking ahead to next week, an interesting match-up appears. I doubt I have to remind regular readers that David Cook’s CD, but competing for your 19 Entertainment dollars will also be Il Divo, Simon Cowell’s Opera Boys. For most Idols, I would say this isn’t a big deal, but I think these two acts probably share a little more audience then Mr Cook would like to admit. “But they’re BOTH dreamy!”
– In other David Cook news, he has an AOL Sessions that will premiere on November 21st, he’s playing the Red Carpet party prior to the American Music Awards on the 23rd, and he’s currently appearing in ads for Sketchers (which I believe every Idol winner has done following their win). On the retail tip, we know so far that there are bonus tracks on the iTunes (“My Last Request”) and Wal-Mart (“Breathe Again”) versions. And finally, in the Continual Pimping Department (an artform we admire GREATLY around the PMN water cooler), Entertainment Weekly unleashes yet another feature on Mr. Cook. The cool thing about this feature is that it gets into the whole “how do I rock when the housewives/cougars made me what I am?” dilemma. My favorite quote (you KNEW there would be one):
”I do take music seriously. But I don’t take myself all that seriously. I’m kind of a goober from the Midwest who hit the lottery.”
– Despite the King of Fizz not giving them their proper due (I blame him personally for “Boyfriend” not going to #1), “What Is Happening” will get a physical release on November 24th. It looks like they will be releasing some sassy remixes (including a techno Ultrabeat remix), so here’s hoping that might help get them back into the UK Top 10. The Feist-ish video couldn’t hurt, either…
For some amusing Alphabeat visuals, check out the BBC Chart Blog’s latest addition to their “How To Destroy…” series.
– On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you that have supported me over the past few months. This started off as a little experiment and hobby, but has really turned into a passion. I set a goal a few weeks ago to do a post a day for a month, and so far, so good on that. Due to a search engine find, the blog has exploded in the page view department, with over 1,000 views in the past two days. It’s a little humbling when folks you read and admire compliment your work, but I am grateful for any and all feedback. Thanks for your support…while it’s cool to document this for myself, it’s even better to have a dialogue with voices other than the ones in my head.
I’ve mentioned my music retail roots before, and while I can’t imagine ever going back to managing record stores (they’re already on the Endangered Species list), I miss aspects of it. It was cool to experience some of the insider dealings about how the retail aspect of the music industry works, but some business practices really never made much sense to me. For example, Tuesdays are new release days in North America. Why?
I did some digging, and came across this article, which confirmed reasons I’d heard in the past. Allow me to cut to the chase:
Albums used to be released on Tuesdays to take advantage of two factors. The first is that music industry magazines used to come out on Monday thus creating a buzz that consumers would act on the next day. Also according to one source radio stations used to change playlists on Tuesday so while new music was being heard on the radio you could also go to the store and buy the album.
I won’t go off on a rant, but let’s just say that retailers (and labels) need to sell as many records as possible these days. Why would you put new releases in your Sunday adverts, which are designed to bring in business, but tell customers “sorry, you can’t have the Kanye until TUESDAY”? Well, it looks like someone might be coming to their senses on this. Universal Music has announced that they will release blockbuster CDs from the Killers, Ludacris, and Kanye a day early to maximize sales before Thanksgiving and “Black Friday”. Instead of Tuesday the 25th, they’ll hit on Monday the 24th, keeping up with Best Buy’s move to release Guns N Roses’s “Chinese Democracy on the 23rd. Folks, you’ve just seen the first nail in the coffin of Tuesday releases, especially if these four CDs do well. No crystal ball, here…just a guy with a hunch.
[Side note…as I was typing this entry up, “On the Radio” by Martine McCutchen came on my iTunes. While I know that “Radio” is a “signature” Donna Summer song, there is something infectious about this version. Just thought I’d share.]
So the American Idol juggernaut is preparing to kick into overdrive, fueled by two high-profile releases and the impending Season 8 premiere in January. Here are some details to hold you over…
– Master Archuleta releases his debut album on Tuesday (Monday in the UK), and I have a feeling it’s going to be a big one. I’ve heard several tracks off of the album on AOL, and it’s REALLY good. “Touch My Hand” is a really catchy pop song, “A Little Too Not Over You” could easily be a single, “Don’t Let Go” has a Jon McLaughlin vibe to it, and “Your Eyes Don’t Lie” has a cool “futuristic blues” vibe to it. [BTW…”Not Over You” was co-written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil of High School Musical fame, not to mention “C’est La Vie” for you 80s buffs.]
There are throwaway tracks that try to ape current trends like “Barriers” and “My Hands”, and “Desperate” could have been cool, but David gets lost in the production. It’s the simple stuff where he really excels, though. “To Be With You” is just David, a piano, and backing vocals by future Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, and it’s gorgeous in its simplicity. “You Can” is a mid-tempo acoustic ballad that looks to be Archie’s true strength. No song on the record proves this more than “Angels”. I am about to spout pure blasphemy here, but David A’s version of this Robbie Williams classic is AS GOOD as the original, but for different reasons. While Robbie’s version has a beautiful darkness that is lush and deep, David’s soars with a purity that gives the song a completely different spin. Debate it all you want, and maybe time won’t be so kind to this new version, but for the moment, I stand by my proclamation.
– Following a week later is David Cook, who anyone who reads this blog should know about by now. Entertainment Weekly has an interview with David where they talk about the new record, the obsessive fans online (don’t look at me like that), the show, and where he goes from here. My favorite quote from the article:
I still feel like that awkward musician; I think I always will. That’s a huge component of me staying kind of humbled and grounded about the whole thing: I get the flimsiness of it. I get that it could all go away. I mean, fame is fleeting….But I’m at peace. I’ve got guys that I’m playing with that I love to death, and I’m playing music that I think we all really get into, and as long as we’ve got that and a place to play, I’m good.
– The monster known as Idol returns on January 13th with the usual month or so of auditions. If you’re looking for a taste, check ’em out here. They’ve also got a little intro vid on new judge Kara DioGuardi for your perusal here. All I can say is, here go my Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the next six months.
– In an attempt to capitalize on the surging popularity of Jason Mraz’s International hit “I’m Yours”, a Expanded Edition of “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” is being released on November 18th. Besides the original disc, there will be a second audio disc that contains the songs from the three EPs released prior to “We Sing”. Disc three includes a concert recorded at the Highline Ballroom this year, a documentary, and a preview of Jason’s photo book “A Thousand Things”. You can pre-order the set from Amazon.com.
– Speaking of Amazon, today’s MP3 Deal of the Day is the newly-released soundtrack to the movie “Twilight”. The disc features tracks from Paramore, Linkin Park, Muse, and Collective Soul, among others. Does $3.99 sound like a deal to you? Then head on over and pick it up! And while you’re over there, check out some of the free tracks they’ve got available, including the brand-new track from Travis entitled “J. Smith“. (Their new full-length “Ode to J. Smith” is out today) You’ll also find free tracks from the likes of the Weepies, Liam Finn, and PMN favorite Toby Lightman.
– While we’ve got buying on the brain, here’s a little tip for all of you Staters who covet the music of the Motherland. The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and U.K. pound has moderated greatly in the past few weeks. One dollar = .625 pound today, after having been as low as .50 just a couple of months ago. So get your musical purchases on for the holidays. [PMN would LOVE a Limited Edition “The Circus” CD with a Hardback Book included. Or the new Rhydian disc. I’m just sayin’…]
– Other new releases this week include Hinder, Brad Paisley, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Boccelli, Q-Tip, the domestic release of The Script (on both Amazon and iTunes for $7.99), and well beyond 15 minutes Eamon (it’s even on a major label…go figure!).
– One last note…it’s almost impossible to ignore, but today is the most important election of my lifetime here in teh U.S. of A. We have a chance to really make a difference, not only in our own cities and states, but in the world as we know it. At this point, the result is out of our hands, but here’s hoping a lot of positive energy and prayers and wishes go a long way. I don’t normally go for the hokey anthem, but I truly love the John Legend track “If You’re Out There”, written for a day like today. The whole CD is outstanding, but this is truly a high point.
Came across some live versions of five songs from “Day and Age” today. Check ’em out here if you can’t help yourself. Long story short, they’re great. Part new wave, part po-mo, part punk, all Killers. Highlight for me was “Neon Tiger”, which I heard shades of Duran Duran, Sex Pistols, and the Cure in. Check ’em out for yourself, and let me know what you think.
– The Killers have announced a full-fledged tour for 2009, starting right here in Denver on January 17th. From the list of dates, it looks like they are playing some mid-sized venues. I suppose when you’re trying to gauge the support for a tour before a new album is released, you have to hedge your bets a bit (Kelly Clarkson’s ill-fated first attempt at a tour supporting “My October” comes to mind). There are only 14 dates scheduled at the moment, but here’s hoping that they’ll have the support built in to add more dates and increase the size of venues that they can visit.
– Condolences go out to Jennifer Hudson, who has already lost her mother and brother, on the apparent murder of her nephew Julian. Details continue to trickle out of Chicago, but the current speculation is that the prime suspect is William Balfour, who is the ex of Julian’s mom, Julia. Julia is also Jennifer’s sister. Here’s to a quick resolution of what has to be a painful situation that I can’t even begin to imagine.
– I think it’s safe to say that the holiday music season has kicked off, with some powerhouse releases coming out tomorrow. Besides P!nk, keep an eye out for new discs from John Legend (which I feel like I’ve heard from all of the “singles” that have been released), Ryan Adams, Snow Patrol, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts (Greatest Hits), The Cure, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, the Quantum of Solace soundtrack, and (finally) the U.S. version of Lady GaGa’s “The Fame”. You U.K. pop fans should also be trembling in anticipation over the release of The Saturdays’ debut release “Chasing Lights”. (I feel like I’m being chased by “Chasing” these days!) I am listening to the Saturdays as I type this, and I am just blown away. Review to come, but wow. Talk about exceeding expectations!
– Gotta love this report that Madonna’s in meltdown mode over her divorce from Guy Ritchie. Among the more interesting details is that she’s had her assistant gather up any possessions that she may have received from Guy so that she can bury them. There goes the Mistress’s reputation for being a cool customer if this is true! No wonder she’s been taking shots of liquor onstage! (Dan? Yuri? Anything to add?)
One of the more humorous websites that I visit on occasion is prince.org. Not because of His Royal Purpleness, but because of the forum members and their diverse taste. I came across this post which documented some white boy beef:
“I’ve never been on the cover of VIBE, but I don’t think that that is a good thing to really point out. It’s like damn, who are you to say that you deserve the cover? That’s kind of pompous to me. Just fall back and do what you do and don’t complain. You’ve been blessed.”
– Jon B on Robin Thicke’s complaint for not making the VIBE cover.“Listen man, you have your career and I have mine. If it came down to a battle situation, where we were piano to piano, vocals to vocals, and he really wanted to test skills on some wild competitive type of stuff we could make it happen.” – Jon B on a battle with Thicke.
“I paved the way for a lot of white artists now that don’t have to deal with the stigma of being a white artist. I don’t think that people would be as open for non-African American artists like that if it I didn’t take a lot of the slack for them.” – Jon B on originally holding it down for white Soul artists.
Now THAT is some funny stuff. For those of you not familiar with Jon B, he’s a pretty talented R&B singer from the late 90s/early 00s who got his start under Babyface’s guidance. They actually did a record together called “Someone To Love”, and you couldn’t even tell their voices apart at times on that record. Jon went on to have 6 R&B and 3 Pop Top 40 hits, and even scored 2 Top 40 hits in the U.K. with “They Don’t Know” and “Don’t Talk”. He’s been out of the spotlight for a few years, but has a new album coming out on Tuesday called “Helpless Romantic”. First single “Ooh So Sexy” with Paul Wall recently debuted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks.
I won’t lie…I’ve always thought that Jon’s image was a bit contrived. He plays the urban card a little too hard sometimes, and I’ve often wondered if it hurt the way he was perceived, or how seriously he was taken. Then again, that was 10 years ago. Robin Thicke has been able to do his thing, and there is NO question that he’s a white boy. Coming from another soulful white boy, I can say that.
Although he’s probably going for some publicity here, Jon brings up a good point. Robin’s really only had one “hit” album under his belt, with “The Evolution of Robin Thicke”. The new record, “Something Else”, has done alright, but it remains to be seen whether it will have the longevity of “Evolution”. So based on one arguably amazing CD, does he really deserve the cover of an industry standard like VIBE? Hard to say, but once you get pegged with the “arrogant” tag, it’s tough to get rid of it.
I debated whether this was worth a whole entry, and then I came across a clip of a new song from another white boy that many of you might might be interested in, so that gave me some extra incentive. The leak from Mr Timberlake is called “Magic”, and I think it’s safe to say that this won’t be an actual single, with Mr Thicke having had a #1 R&B hit with a song of the same title just a couple of months ago. I suppose it gives you a taste of what he’s working on, though. That, and it’s also another good reason to post a picture of Shayne Ward, who is in the process of selling his soul to the devil to take over Justin’s musical career.
With all my talk about David Cook, I’ve left out mentioning the other David from this season of American Idol. Master Archuleta will be releasing his debut CD on November 11th, and the set should do well, based on the initial success of “Crush”. The song seems to be losing a little bit of momentum on the pop charts, but it’s definitely given the full-length a good head start, compared to other Idols that have preceded him.
Take, for example, Blake Lewis, who came in second in the previous season. “Break Anotha” was a hot song, but it just didn’t catch on, and never even made it to the Hot 100. “ADD” (Audio Day Dream) debuted at #10, and then plummeted off the chart. To date, it’s sold less than 350,000 copies, and BShorty was released from his contract with Arista back in June.
So what can we expect from Archie’s CD? Well, according to unconfirmed sources, here’s the scoop…
OK folks, this is it, David’s unofficial (but pretty sure) new album tracklist. I can’t guarantee the order is correct, but the songs are all supposed to be 100% confirmed…
1 Crush
2 My Hands
3 Touch My Hand
4 Barriers – (No Doubt meets Bob Marley)
5 A Little Too Not Over You
6 Your Eyes Don’t Lie – not sure how to describe (Bonnie Raitt meets country/folk)
7 You Can = Ballad (acoustic guitar) very beautiful melody and lyric, very “david”
8 Running – Midi Mafia – R&B/Pop/Kinda jazzy, Very Cool!!
9 Don’t Let Go – U2 meets the Fray style – pop/alternative (David co-wrote with JC from NSync)
10 Desperate – Big mature sounding power ballad – Desmond Child (Bon Jovi hit songwriter)
11 To Be With You – Ballad #2 (piano) Pretty love ballad
12 Angels – new version – Ballad #3 (David on piano)
13 Works for Me – Bonus Track (Walmart only) – organic bluesy pop – David co-write with Daniel Bedingfield
Okay…Cook gets Cathy Dennis, and Archie gets Daniel Bedingfield. Is Daniel supposed to be a consolation because they couldn’t work it out with him dueting with Natasha? Actually, the coupling makes a lot of sense, with them both having a mild Contemporary Christian vibe going on. The other writing credit appears to be with JC Chasez from NSync, who is just glad to be allowed near a recording studio these days. For a kid who said he’d never written songs prior to the show, that’s not a bad start. Let’s just see how long it takes his Svengali dad to eff everything up.
And if you thought I could let the post go by without some David Cook info, you were wrong. Oh, so very wrong. David will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live November 1st, which is really primo, considering it will be the last SNL before the election. Rumor has it that Sen. Obama may show up on that episode. In addition, iTunes will start pre-orders for the CD this week, but it’s already available at Amazon, where it’s currently #7 almost a month before its release. Archie’s is currently #33, which still isn’t too shabby.
I haven’t talked about David Cook in about 2 weeks (other than to…vent?), so it’s about time for some DC news. First off, Cook picked up a #17 debut last week on the Hot 100 with “Light On”, which has been growing on me quite a bit. The record went to radio last week, so we’ll see how it does, as it’s dropped down to #66 on iTunes at the moment. It’s an interesting strategy to go to retail so soon without building a buzz, but you’ve got to figure the folks at 19 may have a little bit of experience at breaking a new artist.
More importantly, David’s CD comes out November 18th, and they have released a track listing. From ew.com:
Mastering on his self-titled album was completed in New York earlier this week, with Cook personally overseeing the finishing touches on 12 tracks, 11 of which he wrote or cowrote. Other songwriters who made the cut: Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik, Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida (who’s credited on four songs), Cathy Dennis (of Britney Spears “Toxic” fame), and, of course, Chris Cornell, who wrote the single “Light On.”
Okay…Rzeznik, check. Our Lady Peace, check. Cathy Dennis…WTF? Seriously? Okay. Just breathe, John. David Cook co-wrote with Cathy Dennis. Nothing to see here. Go on about your business.
Can you tell I’m a fan? The Dennis/Cook collaboration really sounds intriguing, so I’m eager to hear what comes out of it. It says a lot about 19’s confidence in him that he actually co-wrote 11 of the 12 tracks on the CD. Now let’s see him get out there and sell it!
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