Another Shameless Plug

Posted by John on October 22, 2008
Posted in: plug, reviews. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

Once again, I’m shilling for someone where I won’t see any benefit, but Amazon.com has a pretty amazing deal going on with their MP3 store. In an attempt to promote the business, they’ve been coming up with some amazing deals on full-length CDs. Recent deals included the new releases from Keane and Pussycat Dolls for only $2.99, and the Fergie CD for only $0.99. Yeah, I know…that’s about right on the value of Fergie, but you catch the drift.

Today’s deal is the deluxe version of Dusty Springfield’s “Dusty in Memphis” for only $6.99. They also have a LOT of free downloads, instead of the one or two that iTunes offers up every week. You do have to install an interface for the downloads, but that was pretty painless, and purchases there have been very easy. Overall, though, to get current music for less than $10 AND not have to worry about them being DRM tracks, Amazon is worth trying out.

“Chasing” Exposure

Posted by John on October 21, 2008
Posted in: personal, reviews. Tagged: , . 5 Comments

Sunday I mentioned that David Cook would be on Saturday Night Live on November 1st, and how that could be a big boost to the release of his self-titled debut CD. While an appearance on SNL doesn’t necessarily guarantee sales, it’s been known to happen. Back when I was a record store manager, it wasn’t unusual for customers to come in the following Monday saying “I don’t remember their name, but they were on Saturday Night Live this week, and I can’t get their songs out of my head.” Even repeats of the shows that featured up-and-coming artists would generate interest.

Case in point…Adele. Talk about a lucky girl! SNL gets its highest ratings in 14 years, and Adele gets a #1 record at iTunes. Look for a HUGE jump on the Billboard album chart this week. I wouldn’t be surprised if more radio stations don’t start adding “Chasing Pavements” or “Cold Shoulder” in the next week as well. Part of the beauty of the digital age is that the consumers can make their voices heard immediately, rather than the next business day.

For those of you not up on Adele, shame on you! This is a record that I picked up in February, and that’s never been fully out of rotation since. “Chasing Pavements”, “Hometown Glory”, “Make You Feel My Love”…the record just has an amazing depth for a 19-year-old who is soulful well beyond her years. The fact that she hasn’t broken through doesn’t surprise me, as I have become used to this type of disappointment over the years. The injustice of Five Star not becoming massive in the U.S.! “China In Your Hands” not a hit! Liberty X can’t cross over! The British carnage along the U.S. highway of success fills two landfills.

Interestingly enough, Adele came out recently and conceded that the chances of “Chasing” making it big in America appeared to have been reduced, thanks to an online prankster. Seems someone has taken to posting on websites like Urban Dictionary that “pavements” means “buttocks”, and that “chasing pavements” means that you’re after some…buttocks. Says Adele:

“Because of that some radio stations in the States wouldn’t play it. The guy wrote it on the Urban Dictionary website, which I’ve used for years and ‘chasing pavements’ was never on there as a slang term before.”

Honestly, if someone had come up with this translation without Adele suffering consequences, I would think it was pretty clever. All I can feel at the moment is disappointment, but hopefully this “breakthrough” on Saturday will help overcome that issue and give Adele the success she deserves. Having said that, Adele probably has a good reason for failure to have some consolation:

“I don’t like flying. I hate it, and I don’t want to start taking Valium, so I’m not going to get over there much.”

Adele’s CD is on sale at iTunes and Amazon. Pick it up here or here.

So Much To Say

Posted by John on October 20, 2008
Posted in: concerts. Tagged: . 3 Comments

Back from the Sara Bareilles show, and it was amazing. So much good stuff to talk about, so I’ll probably do it in three parts over the next day or so. Most of the pics won’t do it justice, but I got a couple…maybe. Catch up with y’all tomorrow!

There’s Another David?

Posted by John on October 19, 2008
Posted in: music industry, upcoming. Tagged: , . 8 Comments

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.

What I’m Diggin’

Posted by John on October 19, 2008
Posted in: reviews, singles, songs. Tagged: , , , , , . 6 Comments

Pop music is rocking my world big-time at the moment. There really is a lot of good, innovative, groovy music out at the moment that it’s hard to pick standouts. But I’ma try, a’ight?

– Will Young, “Let It Go” (CD) – In contention for album of the year, I can’t get enough of this. I don’t remember the last time I had a CD where four songs on the record were five stars, but this is the one. “Changes” is just a lush, classy track, “Let It Go” does a great job to capture the melancholy that some men feel from time to time, and “Won’t Look Down” has a soaring pop chorus with an optimistic tone that you can’t resist, even if you try. My highlight, though, is “Love”. For those of you who remember back to the golden age of sophisticated Brit pop in the late 80s, you’ll remember a group called Swing Out Sister. “Love” hits all the right notes in tribute to SOS, and it was so unexpected, that I can just listen to it over and over. Can someone see what they can do about giving Swing Out Sister another chance here in the US? They’re still together, and they’re big in Japan. Literally.

– Craig David, “Insomnia” (single) – Yeah, yeah, I know. “Disturbia”, “Forever”, “Tattoo”, “Closer”…it’s like a bastard cousin of all those recent jams. Honestly? I don’t care. Craig hasn’t had a track that resonated as well with his voice as “Insomnia” does since his first record. While it seems like he just released an album a couple of months ago, this track is from his upcoming Greatest Hits compilation, produced by Jim Beanz of the Timbaland camp. Who knows what his record company’s plan for him in the US is, but if the Pop Gods have even a remote amount of reason and justice in mind, they’ll give this record a shot. It’s a hit in the making.

– Ne-Yo, “Nobody” (album cut) – In a marketplace where CDs debut high, only to sink like a stone in the following weeks, “Year of the Gentleman” is really showing some legs, and cuts like “Nobody” have to be helping the cause. This song doesn’t feel like a rip-off as much as it does a tribute to “Off the Wall”-era Michael Jackson. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but in the “heir to the King of Pop” contest, Ne-Yo is miles ahead of the competition. Folks like Usher and Chris Brown have attempted to make runs at it, but they just don’t have the credentials to pull off the triple threat of singer, dancer AND songwriter. Ne-Yo does all of that, plus he’s got a movie coming out that he’s starring in and producing. Not too shabby!

– Keane, “Perfect Symmetry” (CD) – This record continues to inspire me, although a little bit of the shine has worn off for the moment. I think I played it out a bit too much, but who’s counting, right? Some of my favorites are “Again and Again”, “Pretend That You’re Alone”, “Spiralling”, “Perfect Symmetry”, and “The Lovers are Losing”. If you can find it, I highly recommend the Japanese bonus track “My Shadow”. It’s one of those piano-and-vocal-driven tracks that Keane do so well.

– David Cook, “Light On” (single) – I’m going to take some abuse here, but this song has really grown on me. The chorus has that power pop vibe that I really enjoy, and I’m kind of feeling the perky, upbeat theme. Maybe my recent Chris Cornell encounter is helping fuel my increased love of the track, as he wrote the song. It’s the only track that Cook didn’t have a hand in writing, but I think given the current pop marketplace, it’s a good starting place. Most added at Hot AC radio last week, and the full-length comes out the week before Thanksgiving.

What are you all diggin’ at the moment?

Make Me Wanna “Scream”

Posted by John on October 18, 2008
Posted in: concerts, reviews. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

Ah…big city living. How I have missed you so. During my 14 months in Lansing, I only saw one concert (Annie Lennox), and I had to drive to Detroit to see that one. Now that I’ve been back less than 3 weeks, I’ve already got a show under my belt, with at least 2 more coming up in the next 2 weeks. If nothing else, this should give me something to write about.

Last night’s show was one that I wouldn’t have necessarily paid to see, but I’m glad it worked out to see it. Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden and Audioslave, has a new CD coming out that was fully produced by Timbaland and J-Roc. Entitled “Scream”, the record’s release date is now up in the air, but looks like January. It’s being billed as something undefinable, but let’s be honest. It’s definitely Timbaland, whether there’s a screaming guitar or a lush line of synths involved. I kept an open mind, and went into the show with no preconceived notions of what to expect. Good thing I did…

The show started out late. Like almost 10 PM late. Now, it was originally scheduled to go on at 9, but still, this wasn’t at a club, this was at a formal concert theater, so I wasn’t prepared for the nightclub attitude. DJ Freestyle Steve, personal DJ for Timbaland, worked the crowd, and he was a great hype man. Everyone was caught up in the vibe, and I didn’t see anyone that wasn’t into it. Good way to start off the night.

From there, it gets a bit uneven. Tim’s band came out and got set up, and then Timbaland emerged. This setting really seemed to work well with him. The Ogden only holds a couple thousand folks, and the show was sold out, so it really had a high energy with a bit of an intimate vibe.

The set consisted of the expected tracks from “Shock Value”, along with tracks with other artists and a few album cuts I wouldn’t have expected. “Oh Timbaland”, “Promiscuous”, “Bounce”, “Apologize”, “Release”, “Throw It On Me”, “Sexyback”, “The Way I Are”…he covered all of the expected bases, but it was a bit awkward at times. Since he utilizes other artists for all of the singing (and a good chunk of the rapping), there were times that he was standing there, grooving while the backing track with the vocals was playing. However, when he was engaged, he was REALLY engaged. The way he took “Release”, and broke it down instrument by instrument was really cool, and showed a bit of his production skill. That helped make up for his excessive talking in between tracks, which got a bit annoying after a while.

In a little bit of a Timbaland exclusive, he announced “Shock Value, Vol. 2” will release on February 14th. As a sampler, they played “Talk That Sh*t”, which the Interwebs say T-Pain is on, but man, it sure sounded like Lil Wayne on that track.

So we’re pushing up on 11, and the set ends, and the crew takes a half hour to change things over, so it’s LATE. Maybe I’m old, but my back was killing me from standing for almost 3 hours at that point. There was no way I was leaving my first concert back in Denver early, so I just hung in there, and Chris finally made it out around 11:20. Had I done research, I would have known that he was going to play the album from start to finish, but I didn’t, which I’m glad for. Sonically, this is definitely a project to hear live. I’ve gone and listened to some of the tracks that have been released as singles on iTunes, and they pale a bit to the live experience.

As a whole, I enjoyed it. There were a few things that bothered me a bit, but I don’t think they are major. Chris appears to have picked up Tim’s habit of grunting and saying “yeah” at the beginning of tracks. He did that on at least three tracks that I remember. Since I haven’t heard the CD with a track listing in front of me, and the track listing hasn’t been released yet, I can’t fully ID all of the songs, but I will say that some of this DOES sound a bit innovative, but much of it sounds like “Shock Value”. “Scream” might as well be the sequel to “Apologize”, but something like “Part of Me” has potential. Chris seemed to get lost in the mix at times last night, but when he was at full energy, he was awesome. “Watch Out” live had a futuristic Offspring sound to it, while the closing “Two Drink Minimum” even got a bit bluesy and sultry.

All in all, a fun show, even with the little nuisances included. Impressively, the crowd was very much into both sets, which helped. I feared that they would lose some enthusiasm after Timbaland finished, but that didn’t happen. If nothing else, I will be checking out the final version of “Scream” when it is finally released.

An Ode to Last.fm

Posted by John on October 17, 2008
Posted in: commentary, personal. Tagged: . 4 Comments

It’s tough keeping up with pop music these days. Okay, I said it. There are so many websites and so many blogs and so many forums that you just wonder how you’ll ever fully be “in the know”. On top of that, you read a lot of stuff online where you wonder what their “angle” is, because sometimes it’s pretty obvious that you’re reading a PR release instead of a genuine review of someone.

Having said all of that, there are ways of finding out what “real” folks are grooving to, and my favorite is Last.fm. (“Pop Music Notes is not in any way receiving any compensation or recognition for this endorsement”) They’ve come a long way in the past two years, and I consider them to be a top-notch service that allows me to keep up with friends and their tunes, check out new stuff through recommendations, engage in dialogue on artists and their music, and even blog. Prior to this blog’s inception, all of my American Idol posts were listed there, and the discussions would get a bit heated at times. Sad, yes, but still interesting.

I’m probably preaching to the choir with many of you, and some of you are already friends with me on there. If you’re not, feel free to add me. It would be great to keep up with what everyone else is digging. And in case you’re wondering, here’s what I’m listening to today:

WhereImGoing's Profile Page

Cookin’ Up An Album

Posted by John on October 15, 2008
Posted in: upcoming. Tagged: . 6 Comments

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!

Random Notes – 10/15/08

Posted by John on October 15, 2008
Posted in: music industry, upcoming. Tagged: , , , , , , . 5 Comments

– As predicted, “Womanizer” sprints from #96 to #1, giving her the longest jump up the Hot 100 in history. It may be hard for her to repeat next week, though, given how iTunes, due to a “glitch”, dropped “Womanizer” from its site on Tuesday. The track has been re-upped, but the damage may have already been done for next week’s chart. In other Britney news, she’s going on tour next Spring, and she had a Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate yesterday.

– PMN faves the Indigo Girls have a new CD ready to go sometime in the near future in two formats: with a full band, and just the two of them acoustic. Since they were dropped from Hollywood Records last year (“a real blessing”, says Amy Ray), the duo can pursue any option they want, but plan to stay independent for the foreseeable future. They do have their own label, so they know what they’re doing. BTW, Amy’s solo tour kicks off next week in Nashville.

– Nutty rocker Justin Hawkins, formerly of the Darkness, is out with a new group called Hot Leg. They’ll have a single out next week, and a CD out in January. After having heard his contribution for Eurovision, I’m surprised they let him record anything. The world will look up, yawn, and then go back to filing their nails.

– New releases this week include Keane, Keane and Keane. Does anything else matter? Well, there’s also a lot of Christmas crap getting released, along with Ray Montagne, Kenny Chesney, Ingrid Michaelson, Nikka Costa, and (’cause they need the money) Sixpence None the Richer. Speaking of Christmas, it’s like that for hip-hop fans, with new singles from Fitty, Ludacris, and T-Pain. Other singles of note include more Taylor Swift, John Legend and Fall Out Boy, as well as a pretty cool cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Seal.

Somebody’s Gonna Steal You Away

Posted by John on October 14, 2008
Posted in: music industry. Tagged: , . 3 Comments

If you need one more reason to wonder why record companies are so out of touch with reality, you don’t need to look any further than the case of Tim McGraw. Billboard reported today that Tim actually denounced the release of his “Greatest Hits, Volume 3”, and with good reason. Straight from the horse’s mouth…

“I am saddened and disappointed that my label chose to put out another hits album instead of new music,” McGraw said in a statement. “I’ve only had one studio album since my last hits package. It has to be just as confusing to the fans as it is to me. I had no involvement in the creation or presentation of this record. Sure I love the songs and I don’t want to take anything away from all the creative people who were a part of making those records. But the whole concept is an embarrassment to me as an artist.

“In the spirit of an election year, I would simply say to my fans ‘I’m Tim McGraw and I don’t approve their message,'” McGraw concluded.

You’ve got to wonder what Curb Records is thinking. This guy has carried that label on his back for years, and while they have other artists that do alright, no one’s had the consistent hit power that McGraw has shown over the past 15 years. While they’re not exactly destitute, Curb’s next biggest star is Leann Rimes, who is making some great music, but sure isn’t setting the charts on fire recently. Take a look at the roster to see just how fortunate they should be to have Tim McGraw around.

The craziest part of this to me is that McGraw actually has new material, and wanted to release it before Christmas. That would make most labels squeal like pigs at a trough, but apparently Curb felt another Greatest Hit collection, featuring music that goes all the way back into the 90s, would be a better seller. However, it looks like they will probably lose McGraw AND a lot of record sales this Christmas. It’s not like he and Faith need the money at this point, having staged the highest-grossing country tour of all time back in ’06 (a show that I felt was sadly lacking). I smell a Live Nation deal coming on for Tim.