Random Notes

Posted by John on September 14, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, upcoming. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

– It looks like Lady GaGa’s label has finally decided to properly work her to Top 40 Radio, as the single is now officially being worked this week. Bad move on their part…they had great momentum after her “So You Think You Can Dance” appearance, so why the delay? Probably because the album is dropping next month. Well, at least they can console themselves with a #8 debut in Canada last month, and a #12 debut in Australia this month. That makes it all okay, right?

[BTW…the infamous track 8 that’s changing from territory to territory will be “Starstruck” in the U.S., featuring Flo Rida. Say it isn’t so, LG! And what about the NKOTB duet? You’d think she would be able to include that as well.]

– New releases this week feature Ne-Yo (yes…the profile is coming in the next 24 hours), Darius Rucker (of Hootie fame) and sixth-place Idol contestant Kristy Lee Cook with their country music debuts, a cool EP of remixed Cure singles leading up to their new full-length, and Marc Broussard, who is opening for Sara Bareilles at the Denver show I’m seeing next month. There’s even a duet with Sara called “Why Should She Wait”. However, the most notable release, at least from a cover stand point, is Nelly. I think he’s going for the gay porn look with the cover of his new CD, “Brass Knuckles”. Damn, Nelly…you signed as an exclusive to a porn studio yet?

– I’d like to think that Reuters and Billboard checked out my piece on modern R&B a few weeks ago, but I have a feeling they may have done some of their own work. Either way, it’s good to see an acknowledgment of how R&B is becoming a mainstream influence for the first time in a long time. I will say, however, that some people would argue that what we’re calling R&B is really just a more soulful pop sound, and I don’t know that I would argue with that. But as long as the artists still identify with R&B, and R&B stations are playing them, then who am I to argue?

Also check out a quick article about UK artists crossing over. It’s great that folks like Natasha and Leona can make the jump, but remember that there are dozens of non-starters for every one that makes it. (Liberty X, I’m looking at all five of you!)

Reviewin’ the Block

Posted by John on September 11, 2008
Posted in: reviews. Tagged: . 2 Comments

I remember working at a radio station back in 1987, and coming across a 45 from a new group called New Kids on the Block called “Please Don’t Go Girl”. Despite a lame name, the song actually was intriguing to me, and I kept an eye on it. A couple of months later, the song went Top 10, and a phenomenon was begun. More than twenty years later, are we looking at a revived frenzy for these five guys from Boston? I wouldn’t put money on it, but the odds are much better now than they were a few months ago.

“The Block”, which is a pretty clever way to rebrand yourself if you’re an aging boy band, opens with “Click Click Click”, one of my favorite pop songs of the year so far, and it hasn’t even been released as a single. Handclap percussion and Close Encounters-style synths bubble with a slick, subdued, and sexy vocal (almost a carbon copy of Nasri’s) that becomes as modern a single as NKOTB has ever released. Follow that with the Ne-Yo duet “Single”, the Lady GaGa duet on “Big Girl Now”, and their first top 40 hit in 16 years “Summertime”, and you have what shapes up to be a surprisingly legit CD from a band that was dead and buried at the start of 2008. The key here is the production. The boys can sing, and finally laid the lip-synch charges to rest a long time ago, but their musical choices were suspect at best. Now that they control their own destiny, they can be as grown as they wanna be, and they do that on tracks like “Grown Man”, “Dirty Dancing” and “Sexify My Love”. Highlights include “Full Service”, which surprisingly works with New Edition along for the ride, and “One Song”, despite the vocoder.

The Kids aren’t meant to change the world…they’re designed to cruise along with on a sunny day with the windows. If that’s your benchmark, they hit it with no effort.
The Block – B

Freakin’ Genius

Posted by John on September 10, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, youtube. Tagged: . 2 Comments

So I broke down today and initiated the Genius on my shiny new iTunes 8.0. After checking out a few write-ups, including a pretty descriptive one on how to confuse it, I went ahead and ran it. The initial load took about a half hour to go through all of my music, and then I gave it a try. After a few tries, I feel comfortable in recommending it. While iTunes has always had genres, you sometimes want to play one type of music or artist within a genre, and the Genius has a much better grasp on it than just plaiying everything. After selecting a Jill Scott song, the Genius grabbed other music by Maxwell, Me’shell Ndege’ocello, and Keyshia Cole. I’ll keep playing it, but so far, I declare it a success.

Speaking of Ms Scott, she’s on tour overseas at the moment. Having experienced several of her shows, I know she tends to…communicate with the crowd. I hadn’t seen this form of communication before, but with crowds being the way they’ve been lately at shows, I ain’t hatin’ on her for it…

Talkin’ Trash

Posted by John on September 9, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, upcoming. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

– Everyone’s talking about how irrelevant the VMA’s have become, and I guess my response is “what took you so long?” But there HAVE been moments on the VMA’s over the years that stand out. Madonna writhing on the stage, Diana Ross feeling up Lil’ Kim, Howard Stern attempting to mainstream Fartman…it’s all happened there. But in the grand scheme of the music, which is supposedly something they care about, they lost any cred a long time ago by NOT PLAYING IT. So thanks, MTV, for relegating music to a Friday night show for new music, and the unwatchable TRL. I’ll stick with VH1 Classic over some of the crap you’re showing these days.

– Beyonce announced today that she is hitting the industry with both barrels blazing, releasing “If I Were a Boy” and “Single Ladies” to radio in early October. Whether these songs will be released to different radio formats wasn’t mentioned in the press release, but it’s an interesting strategy. Her as-of-now untitled follow-up to 2006’s “B’day” is slated to drop November 18, which arrives just in time for the holidays. I’m sure this pleases the suits at Columbia, but I’m wondering what happened to “Beautiful Nightmare”. No full track listing has been released yet, so it remains to be seen whether this jam ends up on the final or not.

This should be an interesting record to watch, as a lot of Beyonce’s contemporaries have fallen flat on their faces after promising starts. After fast starts in their first weeks, heavy hitters like Mariah, Madonna and Usher haven’t been able to sustain any consistent sales on their newest CD’s, and none of them are likely to regain any momentum this late in the cycle. Between B and Kanye, it may turn out to be a bright holiday for retailers.

– Just got a little reminder from a work-related newsletter that the Janet Jackson tour hits Detroit the day I drive out of Michigan for Colorado, which leads me to wonder if this tour is actually generating interest. I really haven’t seen a lot of buzz on it, but they do keep adding shows. Although I don’t know if the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY (outside of Syracuse, my hometown) really counts as a big addition…

– Several reviews coming up in the next week, including The Game, NKOTB, and Little Jackie.

I Can Do What She Can’t Do

Posted by John on September 5, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry. Tagged: , . 7 Comments

Interesting article over on Billboard this week about how Janet Jackson is starting her “Rock With U” tour, even with her label deal in jeopardy at Island Def Jam. It really brings up some interesting questions about how an artist like Janet positions herself in the music marketplace going forward, with the model changing almost daily.

First off, let me clarify my biases. While many of my contemporaries have been riding on the Madonna and Mariah bandwagons since the 80s and 90s, Janet has always been my girl. Even with her insistence on turning every record into “Sexy Time”, I still find her very relevant. She does bring an interesting perspective to her music, and she definitely knows how to hop on pop trend. The problem she’s run into on the last few CDs is that she’s been behind the pop curve, instead of leading it. Whether it’s losing some confidence in her instincts, or just trying to play it safe, I believe that’s where she’s gone wrong…

…which is why the whole Discipline fiasco is so frustrating to me. This one jumped AHEAD of the curve in some respects, or at the very least, was running parallel to current trends. The synths on “Luv”, the percolating beat that drives “Rock With U”, and the futuristic, vocoder-ish “Feedback”…on paper it should be a winner, and yet it didn’t connect.

In watching it all go down, I think there are two issues here. First off, I blame radio for not hopping on an obvious hit with “Feedback”. When Discipline was released, the individual sales of “Feedback” sent the track racing back up the Hot 100, showing that there was some demand for this track in the marketplace. The song started to move back up some playlists a bit, but the scattered response to the track had already doomed any impact that the song would make on the charts. With one failure under her belt, the album had “flop” written all over it, and the second singles (“Rock With U” for pop, “Luv” for R&B) became non-starters.

Flash forward a couple of months later, and Janet made comments that reveal culprit number two. Janet talked about not knowing what was going on with her label, and that fans would probably not get a third single off the record. For a label releasing the first album of an established artist, it really seems like internal forces put the brakes on promotion a bit prematurely. Granted, Janet’s not going to sell records like she did in the early 90s, but there’s got to be some effort there. The record was her best-reviewed work in years, and (once again noting my bias) it definitely deserved a better promotion than it got. If anything, the promotion Janet got should make Kylie Minogue fans feel better about how her record was promoted. Not that I’m justifying it.

So how does Janet take a career that’s clearly on the decline and at least minimize the damage, if not reverse it? First off, she needs to do everything under the sun to fill every seat at every show of this tour. You’ll notice that she’s playing more second-tier cities this time around (NYC JUST was added to the itinerary a week ago or so). That will show that she still has the fan base to support her career going forward. Next, when IDJ releases her from contractual obligations (and you KNOW they will), Janet needs to negotiate a contract where the label invests in the promotion first, and she gets paid on the results. Seriously…is the girl hurtin’ for money? This has to be an “I give, you give” type of scenario. Plan B would be for her to attempt a Prince-like alternative for distributing new music, and finding ways to tie in releases, tours and merchandise into a self-perpetuating circle that will keep her fans happy long-term.

There. Problem solved. I’ll just sit here now wait for her handlers to come pick me up in the limo. While I’m waiting, though…any other ideas for what Janet needs to do from here?

How R&B Got Its Groove Back

Posted by John on September 1, 2008
Posted in: commentary, songs. Tagged: , , , , , . 5 Comments

Remember when R&B didn’t have to have “hip-hop” in front of it to be a hit?
Remember when R&B was something you could dance to instead of “groove” to?
Remember when R&B was fun?
Me too. And it’s back, y’all.

There is a palpable sea change going on in R&B, and it’s long overdue. R&B really got stagnant for a while, where it was the exception rather than the rule to cross over. It has gone from providing a compliment to the hottest rap tracks, to creating beats and melodies that will be sampled by rappers 20 years from now to acknowledge the classics that they are. While we listen, it is evolving at a fast and furious pace, catching a moment in time where people are hungry for something new. Those folks who aren’t stuck in tradition are heeding that demand, and the public seems to be eating it up.

-Case in point…Ne-Yo. You’ll get that feature article I promised soon enough, but this was pressing in my mind. Ne-Yo is single-handedly helping R&B get its groove back. And he’s not only doing it on his own records. Sure, “Closer” is a modern classic, and “Miss Independent” is already racing up the R&B chart, but take a look at last week’s #10 record from Jennifer Hudson, “Spotlight”. Who wrote that? Ne-Yo. Not so long ago, an anthem like that was either hip-hop inflected (like a Mary J. joint with Missy on the backup), or it was a quiet storm standard. Instead, Ne-Yo infuses the track with a more upbeat, melodic approach that helps it stand up to Hudson’s brilliant delivery, while still staying away from club banger territory. On top of that, it also lends itself perfectly to remixes (check the Moto Blanco Club Mix if you have any questions).

-Robin Thicke recently dropped some “Magic” on the R&B charts. Have y’all checked this out? Brilliant, I tell ya. For a guy who came to prominence on “Lost Without U”, one of the finest ballads of the 21st century so far, this is a great change of pace, and proves he’s listening to the direction that music is moving. The disco-era strings, Earth, Wind and Fire-inspired horns, and a deceptively sparse beat all come together to create their own form of magic. On top of that, Thicke’s delivery just simmers over that potent combination. [For an extra treat, check out the remix with Mary J. Blige, who he will be touring with this fall.]

-I’ve already raved a bit about it, but Solange’s “Sandcastle Disco” should not be slept on. It’s a grower, not a shower, but when you give it a chance, you’ll hear a summer theme that is light years away from some of the cookie cutter tracks Beyonce pads her records with. I will drop it, but she deserves to be mentioned here. [Chris Brown probably does, too, but it’s everywhere at the moment, and doesn’t need the additional promotion.]

-Out of all of the examples I can provide, none is as surprising as John Legend’s “Green Light” with Andre 3000. This track comes out of nowhere on some jangling synth riffs, an epileptic beat in the 140 BPM range, and a guest rap that actually belongs on the track, rather than one that is pasted in well after the track is deemed finished. I don’t know if this is John’s true direction, or if some of Kanye’s diverse influence is rubbing off, but it’s definitely hot.

Reviewin’ the Field

Posted by John on August 30, 2008
Posted in: reviews. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

As promised, here is my first batch of CD reviews for your perusal. Trust me when I say that titles will be all over the place. My taste in music runs from pure pop to R&B, hip-hop, country, dance, alternative, and even fringe stuff like bluegrass. No matter where my musical taste goes, though, there always seems to be a pop sensibility to the music I like, so that’s where my pop music definition lies. “If I like it, it must be pop.”

– Amy Grant, “Lead Me On: 20th Anniversary Edition” – Amy’s liberation from her old label Word has so far been an interesting transition to Sparrow. Because of her status (and a smart contract negotiation), all of her masters have followed her to Sparrow, and they are taking advantage of that by re-releasing older material while waiting for new music to be recorded. Back in 2007, Sparrow said that they would be remastering her older music as they re-release it, but I don’t see any trace of that on this reissue and the booklet says that this was remastered by Bob Ludwig. In addition, there are some cool acoustic and live versions of the music that really helped bridge Amy’s crossover from strictly Christian pop to a more mainstream audience.

The original music definitely withstands the test of time, and is among my all-time favorite albums. While there are very blatant Christian themes floating throughout the record, even folks who aren’t explicitly Christian can find some common themes about finding your way and your place in the world. To a 19-year-old dealing with so many personal struggles at the time of this record’s release, it was a revelation. None of the impact of this record has diminished in my mind over the last 20 years. The live tracks capture that excitement, and you can feel her deep enthusiasm for the then-new material. Makes me wish I’d been able to see her live back then.

What doesn’t work as well, though, are the acoustic recordings. That earnest, longing vibe that Amy imbued every song with in her youth gives way to a more mellow, longing tone, as if she wishes she were back in those days, and some of the impact of the originals is lost. Having said that, they are beautiful recordings, and if I didn’t have the originals to compare them to, I think I would be raving about them. But as a whole, I’m not sure that the extra material is worth the new version without remastered versions of the original to make it worth your while.
Original – A+; New Material – B

– Lady Gaga, “The Fame” – I have friends and acquaintances that have already annointed this record the Album of the Year, but I’m not quite there. As dance/pop records go, this is definitely high quality, but I am just not feeling the magnitude of the praise just yet. Lady G (aka Stefani Germanotta) cites 70s and 80s influences, including David Bowie, and that’s apparent in her music.

My issue is that sometimes when the influence is easy to hear, it’s distracting from artist’s true vision and message, because utilizing someone else’s influence will automatically jade your opinion if you’re familiar with the source material. And herein lies my problem…I can hear the David Bowie, the Madonna, and the new wave influences. A song like “I Like It Rough”, which doesn’t exactly have heavy-duty lyrical content, sounds like a lighter version of something that Terri Nunn would have sung back in the heyday of Berlin’s run on the charts. If you’re going to lean on your influences that heavily, you have to really step up and make it shine even brighter than the original source.

Don’t get me wrong…there are some amazing tracks here. “Just Dance” set the stage for this record’s release perfectly, “Love Game” is nasty pop at its finest (“Let’s have some fun/this beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”), and the shuffling beat of “Again Again” does exactly what other tracks on this album fail to do; bring something new to the table. It’s a great first effort, and I hope she gets a chance to record a second album, but she’s only partway up the mountain so far. [FYI…this is the Canadian release of the CD. From what I’ve read, the US release (due late October) will have at least one different track. Why they are waiting on the release, I have no clue.]
The Fame – B-

– Solange, “Sol-Angel and The Hadley St. Dreams” – Remember what I was saying about bringing something new to the table? Solange gets it. Say what you want to say about the Knowles clan, but they’ve got some impressively impeccable taste in music. Take “Dancing in the Dark” (not The Boss)…Herb Alpert horns, xylophones, and melodies that are reminiscent of the Motown sound, and yet her arrangement and delivery bring it right up to date.

Throughout this CD, you hear a very clear R&B influence, but the directions that Solange takes it are impressive for a 22-year-old woman. That’s not to say someone younger isn’t capable of this, but I think she has paid attention to her influences not only in a stylistic way, but has also noted the FEELING that goes along with those influences. Sometimes her sister has runs in a song for show, but not really for depth. Solange’s delivery matches each and every song, not distracting from the mood or the environment that she’s attempting to set up. There’s no fear on this record, just joy. “I Decided” is one such piece of joy, soaring with melodies reminiscent of Martha and the Vandellas, but with one toe firmly on the 21st century firmament. Current single “Sandcastle Disco” is brilliant in several ways, but probably the most important way to me is that there is nothing else like it on the radio like it, which may mean that it never gets played on the radio. The video debuted at #4 on TRL this week, though, so hopefully that’s a good start.

If I have any qualms about the CD, it’s that some of the songs hit a little too close to Beyonce territory. “Valentine’s Day” sounds like an extra track from the “B-Day” sessions, but you’ve got to cut her a little slack, since she’s actually written songs for Beyonce (“Get Me Bodied” comes to mind). That’s a minor complaint, though. If I was pressed to start picking CDs for my Best Of list this year, “Sol-Angel” would be on that short list.
Sol-Angel – A

The Power of a Song

Posted by John on August 27, 2008
Posted in: commentary, songs. Tagged: . 5 Comments

I am constantly blown away by just how much impact a melody or a lyric can have on a person at just the right moment in time.  No matter how many times it happens to me, in some ways, it feels like the first time because of the strength of the impact.  Whether it’s in the car driving along, or sitting on the couch at home, just doing some mindless task, it sneaks up on you, and you’re helpless to it’s impact.

Case in point…Sara Bareilles’s “Gravity”.  When I first heard the song a few months ago, I took it as being a song about trying to escape the tractor beam of a failed relationship.  No matter what you do to escape the pull of the other person, “something always brings me back to you.”  While I didn’t have a personal connection to the lyric at that moment, I’ve been there in the past, and I felt an immediate connection to the song.

Tonight, the song took on new meaning.  Rather than a lover who is toxic, the subject became sadness, or depression.  “You hold me without touch./You keep me without chains.”  I love the fact that as you grow, so can how you interpret the same text, the same melody, or the same conversation with new eyes, new ears, and new explanations.  It’s probably safe to assume that if your perspective DIDN’T change, you’re not living life to it’s fullest.

So here’s your question for the evening…what song really touches you, and why?

Keep Your Kisser Shut

Posted by John on August 26, 2008
Posted in: commentary, interview. Tagged: . 2 Comments

From YRB Magazine (and with a h/t to Uh Like That!), here are the latest words of wisdom from the musical chameleon herself, Katy Perry…

“I’m not here to be a role model personality. I’m here to be in the business of f**king rock and roll. Being in the business of rock and roll means having an attitude, being sexy, being edgy and being unapologetic unless I do something wrong…I look up to people like Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Freddie Mercury and Cyndi Lauper. I want to have that same type of appeal. If people want a role model, they can have Miley Cyrus.”

Damn…where do I begin?  First off, let’s talk about the business that Katy thinks she’s in.  I am going to make this confession once, and only once, that Katy Perry came up with one of the most infectious pop songs of the past few years.  The hook is irresistible, and whether or not you credit her or Max Martin, she delivers the goods.  I would actually own the record if I could stand the girl’s personality.  But “I Kissed a Girl” is POP music, Katy.

Second, does she really think that she’s doing something that Cyndi Lauper or Joan Jett would be proud of?  Two of the four artists she lists are gay, and yet her way of paying respect is to release a kiss-off record to an ex called “Ur So Gay”, which opens with a wish for the ex to hang himself with a scarf from H&M.  Classy, indeed, and very respectful of those who preceded her.

Finally, although I know it’s a cheap shot, let’s talk about the past recordings of Miss Katy Hudson.  Beliefnet, which I actually have a decent amount of respect for, have highlighted questions about her past musical direction, as well as her family’s reaction to her success.  This really smells more like a calculated move to distance herself from her past while finding success in a new arena, but at the end of the day, only Katy knows.  Here’s hoping she gets her shizz together, because selling your soul for a hit can only fill so many holes in your life for so long, and after a while, it makes more than it fills.  The aftereffects aren’t all that fun to clean up.

Coming Soon…

Posted by John on August 25, 2008
Posted in: upcoming. Tagged: . 1 Comment

On the horizon for this week…reviews of new releases from Solange, Lada GaGa and Amy Grant, as well as a new weekly feature, “Pop Music Notables”, which will premiere with a profile on Ne-Yo.  You’ll also get any breaking music news and nuggets as I come across them, so make sure y’all come back soon, ya’hear?

And now, a gratuitous photo of Shayne Ward losing at strip poker…