I was going to do a basic Video Notable entry, but I have so many to share that it has turned into a video jamboree.
– I know that this is primarily lipsync, but Robyn’s recent performance of “Fembots” this week is a joy to watch no matter how live it is.
Now, if Robyn is looking to outsource a video for “Fembot”, she absolutely has to check out Popmuse’s version starring his daughter Lily. Cute overload at its most fierce.
– Jay-Z closed the night at Coachella last night, and instead of bringing out Mr Hudson for a duet on “Young Forever”, he brought out his wife Beyonce, who never met a chorus she could twist.
From a strict vocal perspective, she was spot on, but between the key change and her phrasing, I felt a big disconnect from the performance. Jay was on point, even with only a partial voice, but that should have been a massive sing-along. How do you sing along with someone who is doing a bit of improv? I know I’ve given my raves about the studio recording of “Young Forever” before, but sometimes you shouldn’t mess with a winning formula.
– Toni Braxton got her money’s worth out of the video shoot with Director Bille Woodruff, as it appears she made one for “Hands Tied” at the same time that she made “Make My Heart“. Some may be put off by the less than blockbuster budget, but I think Toni’s done alright with what I am sure is only a fraction of the budget she’s used to having. “Hands” actually has a good look and feel to it, whereas some of the graphics used in “Make” looked a little cheap.
Remember that live performance of Toni Braxton’s “Make My Heart” on the Wendy Williams Showthat I posted a month ago? Well, someone at her label must have decided that video bars across the nation needed a clip of their own. Atlantic Records ponies up for a second Toni vid in advance of her label debut Pulse coming out on May 4th, and while it’s not exactly high-budget, it is fun to watch. Check out Toni throwing down in a warehouse dance-off in a sheer bodysuit.
Amazon is previewing a different track off of Pulse every week up until the release date, and this week’s track causes me just a little bit of concern. It’s very Beyonce circa “Get Me Bodied”. While I prefer Toni’s voice to Beyonce’s more often than not, I am nervous that Toni spends too much time chasing the trends like Janet has been lately instead of focusing on quality material that transcends the sound of the moment. Having said that, it’s tough to complain about an album cut when you’ve got something as fresh as “Make My Heart” out in the marketplace.
– I have said in the past that I think Jason DeRulo’s “In My Head” would be a killer track live, and Jason showed and proved last night on American Idol‘s results show. It’s sad that the only reason I pay attention to Idol these days is for the guest appearances. Given how Usher’s “O.M.G.” and Diddy’s “Hello Good Morning” vaulted into the Hot 100 last week, there is a good chance that DeRulo will also make a big move next week, since it has more airplay than either of those tracks. As of right now, Jason is at #6 on iTunes’s Top Downloads, which will probably translate to a jump into the Top 3, but probably not #1.
– I let out a small gasp when I read that punk visionary Malcolm McLaren passed away today from cancer. Even if you don’t know WHO Malcolm is, you at least have a sense that he was an important figure in the music industry in his time. While most folks know him as the man behind the rise of the Sex Pistols in the late 70s, my first contact was his early 80s experimentation with hip-hop on “Buffalo Gals” and “Double Dutch”. I have no doubt that my love of hip-hop comes from Malcolm taking a raw American musical genre and interpreting it in a way that made it much more accessible to the masses. How many people can say that they had an influential hand in two musical genres during their lifetime?
– Speaking of shocking, you MUST check out the interview over at DontStopThePop with a Swedish producer. No name is ever given, but who cares? Accusations of payoffs, favoritism and manipulation have always been considered a given to some degree here in the States as far back as the Payola scandal, but to hear the accusation surface about Sweden’s pop perfection industry just seems sacrilegious. If nothing else, it is a riveting interview to try and figure out who is gutsy enough to put the accusations out there.
– Remember what I said about ukeleles last week? In a sign that it is already overused, Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy (didn’t he used to be Travis?) debuts at #92 on the Hot 100 with “Billionaire”. Any good thought I had of tiny guitar flew out the window as the track started. Shark, meet ukelele.
Debunking the “Janet Jackson’s career is over” mantra that some people have been reciting recently, here is the new video for “Nothing”, which is from the Why Did I Get Married Too soundtrack. The song has grown on me a lot, but in more successful times this would have only been an album cut. Now, it’s sad to say that Janet has to utilize whatever opportunity she can get to be out in the mainstream. I still think that Discipline was highly underrated, but after releasing a string of sub-par albums, can you blame the public for being jaded?
The video is actually a pretty classy affair, and Janet looks beautiful. Check it out below, and let me know what you think.
– Ton of traffic coming through the blog for the review of Tino Coury’s “Diary”, so it’s probably safe to say that this track actually has some buzz going on. Tino premiered the video for “Diary” over on Yahoo! Music yesterday, so make sure you check it out. For those of you who liked the promo pic in the first post, you probably won’t be disappointed by the video. Tino’s website isn’t fully functional at this point, but you can get signed up for the mailing list or link to fan pages there.
– Folks are talking about the Christina Aguilera single “Not Myself Tonight”, and it’s not all good. While the single is not a dog by any means, it sure doesn’t add anything to the conversation about Christina’s sound maturing. In fact, the beat sounds a lot like Chris Brown’s “Forever”, and the vocals have a Britney-style quality to them in spots. No surprise on the beats, as they share the same producer in Polow da Don, but we just expect more from Christina than to follow the trends. Here’s the track if you haven’t heard it yet…and let’s hope that future releases show the evolution that everyone seems primed for.
– Train is back at #1 on iTunes with “Hey Soul Sister”, which got me thinking about what makes a hit record. Is it a ukelele? Train uses it, and Train’s producer also utilized it on Jason Mraz’s ubiquitous “I’m Yours” in 2008. Even Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” became a minor hit after it was used in several commercials in the mid-2000s. Maybe Mariah should consider a ukelele-based CD, now that her remix CD Angels Advocate has been scrapped. Anyway, here’s a good reason to post Iz’s version of “Somewhere”. If this doesn’t put you in a good mood, I don’t know what will.
Life is a highway, life sucks, choose life, live your life. So many people speak about the quality of life, the length (and brevity) of life, and the pitfalls of life, but what do we really do about it? That’s the eternal question, and until there is a definitive handbook on life, we will all wonder, as will future generations. So why am I waxing philosophical on a music blog? Because as questions are asked in our everyday lives, those same questions are also asked in lyrical musings. As I was enjoying an enjoyable and partially productive Sunday afternoon, Sam Sparro’s “Still Hungry” came up on shuffle. For those not familiar, “Still” is a hidden track on Sam’s self-titled debut, and it reveals a more subtle R&B influence than what is funked up and electrocuted on most of the record. Rather than a full production, Sam goes with an acoustic feel and a jazzy keyboard as his only accompaniment. If you haven’t heard it before, I strongly suggest you listen.
Well I enjoyed all the food on my plate
And believe me when I say it taste great
But I’m still hungry
Besides reigniting my desire to hear new music from Sam, it also made me think about my life, and where it’s going right now. I am making a lot of decisions about my life’s direction at the moment, and some of it has to do with whether or not I am making the most of what I have in front of me. That is a pretty cryptic comment, but we all do this at some point. Life is good, things could be so much worse, and yet we want more. I want more. Not possessions or money in the bank (although the money helps, doesn’t it?), but experience and fulfillment. So here’s what I’ve got: a good job, a wonderful partner, amazing family and friends, an incredible mountain range that I wake up and fall asleep to every day, and the wonders of the world closer than any other generation has ever had them. Life is good, indeed.
So the next song that popped up was by the Indigo Girls, which then reminded me of “Galileo”. While I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation, I am unable to discount it, either. How does one explain deja vu, memories of events that never occurred, and feelings that we have been somewhere, knowing that it just isn’t the case?
How long till my soul gets it right
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
King of night vision king of insight
For those of you who have never heard the Girls live, you must. End of discussion. Listen to the crowd singing along…there is an amazing connection with the crowd at every Indigo Girls show that gives me chills just thinking about it right now. But this song in particular resonates, and I wonder if it is because it is a well-crafted and hooky pop song, or because of the subject matter. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Who knows. From my perspective, anything that makes us think about our existence and where we are going is not a bad thing at all.
So what happens when we do get to the end, and does it even matter? Once again, the magic iTunes answers, in the form of “Everything Must Change”, recorded by Oleta Adams. My first taste of Oleta’s remarkable voice came on the Tears for Fears album The Seeds of Love, where she stole the show on “Woman In Chains”. Oleta had three hits from Circle of One, including the top 10 classic “Get Here”. However, the show-stealer on the album for me was “Everything Must Change”, which was originally recorded by Quincy Jones and Bernard Ighner in the ’70s.
The young become the old
And mysteries do unfold
Cause that’s the way of time
Nothing and no one goes unchanged
It seems almost cliched to do so, but I want to wrap up with a quote from the quotable and infamous Ferris Bueller. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Amen to that. And now I’ve got some living to do.
I am fortunate that people sometimes think that this blog would be a good place to introduce new music, as most of the music I write about is already established in some form. I am glad to pass on my feedback, but in most cases I take a pass on writing about it because music really needs to resonate with me on some level to warrant a post. That’s why the email I received about up-and-coming artist Tino Coury’s new song “Diary” was such a surprise.
“I read your diary
And it said that you weren’t in love with me
And yeah, baby, I wish that I didn’t see
That you fell in love with him”
So right off the top, this song is radio-ready. It fits what’s hot at the moment, and the similarity to last week’s #1 from Taio Cruz hit me straight away. However, the lyrics go deeper than your typical pop song, and Tino gets points for one of the best lines I’ve heard in a while: “My heart is bleeding/Paper cut from reading/Page one”. The pain of discovering the woman you love is in love with someone else is clear, which puts it above a lot of other songs where the hook comes first and the lyrics are just there for filler.
I do have one complaint about the bridge, where the lyrics get a little harsh (although they’re edited for the radio mix). Having said that, there’s plenty of that on the radio right now, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Tino’s got a sound and an image that definitely can translate into the mainstream, with an assist from Alex Cantrall, the man behind JoJo’s “Leave (Get Out)”. While we keep having conversations about whether a boy band can be viable in this environment, maybe a solo artist with a similar sound is the way to go. But don’t mistake Tino for the face of a producer behind the scenes, as he composes his own music as well as performs. If you want to see the guy in action, check him out in this short clip:
“Diary” going for radio play now, with the single available for purchase in May, and a full-length release later this year. You can check out the video here.
It’s been an interesting week where I really haven’t had anything musically inspire me, but then DavidCookOfficial.com posted a new tune by the Cookster called “You and I” that he performed at the Morongo Casino in California over the weekend. While it’s not a studio version, the song definitely shows promise, even though his vocals sound a bit rough in a couple of spots. Sign of things to come? You decide…
David recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly and said that he expects his new album to come out mid-2010. Click through to check out the full interview, including him name-checking Max Martin and Ryan Tedder for wishlist collaborators.
I saw this pop up earlier today, but Bill over at about.com gets props for sharing the new Janet track “Heartbeat Love”. A similar version of this song called “Not My Love” surfaced about a month ago, but that version was credited to Pitbull with Janet listed as “featured”. It’s pretty cool to hear the evolution of a song through these leaks, although I am sure that wasn’t producer Darkchild’s plan. Anyway, here’s the version that leaked last month. Notice the prominent Pitbull rap:
And then here’s the verison that came out today. Not a ton of difference, but you can hear some shifting around in how things are pieced together, with some elements showing up in different spots.
I’m not sure what I am more shocked at…that Paloma got a fourth single released in the form of “Upside Down”, that said single is not “Stargazer”, or that she would willingly appear in a video for this single where there is next to no budget whatsoever. I have loved the visual aspects of her first few videos, but this one just falls flat. However, any Paloma Faith single is a good thing, so let’s be glad that the record label is still behind her.
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