taylor swift

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Kanye’s Sorry

Posted by John on September 8, 2010
Posted in: commentary, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

Just prior to taking off for the mountains this past weekend, word was breaking that Kanye West had posted an apology to Taylor Swift via Twitter. Since I’ve spoken about this in the past, my initial instinct was to just let it blow over. However, it seems folks are still talking about how this was handled. My friend Will posted about the apology, and had some questions about the validity of the apology, as well as the artistic merits of Kanye. His post struck a chord with me for a couple of reasons.

I’ll start off by saying that I thought what Kanye did was tacky and completely uncalled for, and that he has shown both arrogance and immaturity in his personal appearances over the past five years. (I got into this a bit last year) Having said that, I think it’s fair to stick to the facts here and say that Kanye does sample music and lyrics that other artists have created, but what he does beyond those samples is pretty brilliant. Writing lyrics for a rap record is a genuine talent, and there is a reason that other artists come to Kanye to produce their records. If it was simply a matter of sampling someone else’s records, there are many others who can do that and do it well.

As for the samples themselves, many of them are not actual samples, but interpolations of the original. The original version of what Kanye interpolated from Lauryn Hill for “All Falls Down” was actually a live performance for her MTV Unplugged. The Daft Punk sample was much more direct, but what he did with it was simply brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that Daft Punk actually performed live on TV with him on the Grammys. They had never performed live on TV prior to that, and on top of that, they even come out and complimented Kanye on expanding the sound from the original. When folks as innovative as Daft Punk can recognize what Kanye does, it seems like he’s moved beyond hired gun and into artist territory.

I hope this doesn’t come off as a full-on defense of Kanye, because it’s not meant to be. Kanye needs to do a lot more than just tweet an apology, and a pile of epic beats and lyrics won’t erase a long trail of bad behavior. He’s going to have to show and prove, and that will mean letting his actions represent the words that he uses. However, his personal actions cannot take away the brilliance of the music he has released, although they sure can taint it. A track like “Can’t Tell Me Nothin'” takes on new meaning when you put it into the context of the past year.

They say I talk with so much emphasis,
Oh, they’re so sensitive.
Don’t ever fix your lips like collagen
Say something were you gone end up apologising.

Random Notes – 02-05-10

Posted by John on February 5, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

– There are moments where I love Twitter, and there are times where it annoys me immensely, like when you get suckered by a phony account for a celebrity you want to follow. Here is one of those times where I love it:

@shayneTward: FINISHEDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So maybe we WILL see a new Shayne Ward album this year. I want this to be massive, but I don’t know that he can get a fair shake while under the Syco umbrella. If Shayne can’t get on a charity record being produced by his management company, how much of a priority can he be? It would have been a great way to get his name out to other territories, setting him up for an international push. Oh, and the pic? Another one of those times where Twitter wins…Shayne posted it a couple of weeks ago.

– To those who feel that the attacks on Taylor Swift regarding her Grammy performance are too harsh, I say “whatever”. Seriously, why is this sparking such passion? Didn’t you all get your passionate defense time in with the whole VMA controversy, which seriously got out of hand in itself? You would have sworn that Kanye jumped up on stage and physically violated her from some of the reactions. Here’s the deal…if you have your heart set on chart domination, and you put yourself out there, people are going to react. It might not be objective, and it might not be polite, but it is fair. And for her record label president to go on the offense and trash American Idols in the process is very telling. Why couldn’t he just say “she had the biggest-selling album of 2009, so why shouldn’t she win Album of the Year?” End of story.

– How awesome is it that K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” is at #11 on the Canadian Top 40 airplay chart right now? Any exposure that K’Naan can get is well-deserved (as I know Mel will attest to), but to have this song adopted for the World Cup will take his music to places that would have otherwise not heard it. I saw him perform this live last summer opening for Jason Mraz, and it was the highlight of his set. Okay, America…get on board!

Random Notes – 02-01-10

Posted by John on February 1, 2010
Posted in: awards, concerts, music industry, news. Tagged: , , , , , . 12 Comments

– So maybe we DO get to see the JLS vs Taio Cruz throwdown after all! JLS are supposedly going to get the full-court press here in the States, although I think it’s a little dubious. Press releases last week touted that “influential” top 40 station WXSS in Milwaukee is getting calls for the track. Well, Milwaukee isn’t exactly an “influential” market, and right now the song is #44 in their rotation, so someone is grasping pretty deep. I just don’t see “Everybody” breaking them big, and I SURE don’t see “One Shot” doing the job either. Take “Beat Again”, add in a cameo from Pitbull or Flo Rida, and redo the video, and I think that might be their one shot (pun intended).

– One song that WILL continue to climb the charts is Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”, which is currently sitting at #1 on the iTunes singles chart. They peaked at #5 back in November after the CMA Awards, but with another surge in sales, along with still high country airplay and rapidly growing airplay at both Top 40 and Adult Top 40, you may see Lady A achieve an even higher peak. Stay tuned…my review of Need You Now will be posted tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

– After checking out the review on Paul’s blog, I am hooked on Matt Morris. One thing I didn’t realize until I dug a little deeper is that he’s from Denver! He’s got a great webpage up and running, and in the videos section, you can even see him show up at Twist & Shout Records here to drop of his CD when it was released in mid-January.

Matt has announced that he will be playing a concert at the Bluebird Theater here in Denver, and I already have my tickets. His opening acts are listed as John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, but I read that there might be some unannounced guests. Considering that Matt is signed to Justin Timberlake’s new Tennman Records, certain educated guesses could be made, no? Or since he lives in Denver, home of the Fray, 3OH!3, and the Flobots, maybe a more local surprise gues would be in order. Either way, I’m looking forward to hearing how his music translates live.

– So I didn’t do too badly on the predictions for the Grammys, but I had a couple of big misses, primarily on Album of the Year. While I was flying during the telecast, I saw Taylor Swift’s performance with Stevie Nicks, and based on that alone, Taylor should never receive another major nomination outside of the Country category. It has become very clear over the last year that Taylor just cannot handle live performances with a paper-thin voice.

The Good and Bad of 2008

Posted by John on December 21, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, year-end. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

gaga-micSo pop music in 2008 was a mixed bag of trends. Every time you thought that something good was in the air, another annoying development would pop up. Here’s a brief list of some trends that drove me batty or gave me a glimmer of hope over the past 12 months.

Good: The Viral Spread of Music – All it takes is a teenage boy dancing to Beyonce to make a hit, right? 2008 reinforce the idea that the Internet can sometimes do what record company promotions departments fail to do: make a record a hit. No other record this year proves that more than “Just Dance”. The blogosphere kept that record alive much longer than any record company could ever hope to, and when the record company had their setup in place, the track took off like fireworks up the Pop chart.

T SwiftBad: Flooding the Market with Singles – Taylor Swift, I’m coming for you, and I’m packing a CD case and a restraining order. iTunes had so much luck with the Jonas Brothers in advancing tracks to their fans prior to the full-length release of “A Little Bit Longer” that the formula was rolled out for the likes of Fall Out Boy, Kanye West, and Ms Swift. By the time “Fearless” was released in November, six of her singles had debuted in the top 20 of the Hot 100, breaking the Jonas Brothers’ record of five debuts in one calendar year.

So what’s my beef? Well, I always talk about pop trends occurring in a more organic way. I enjoy watching the charts as a superstar releases THAT CD, and starts releasing singles. Each top 40, or top 20, or top 10 brings that artist closer to pop chart history, and the chart dork in me revels in that. The purist in me has huge issues with a label releasing a song a week from a CD that folks obviously want. By the time the full-length comes out, it’s only a few dollars more for the consumer to buy with iTunes’ “Complete My Album” program. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t all of the “singles” purchased be converted to the full-length, and their chart points taken away? Easier said than done…most of Taylor’s pre-release singles only lasted on the chart for one week, and were long gone by the time the CD debuted, making the reversal of points impossible. The label gets the press as each single is released, and then converts those into full-length sales on the day of release.

[NB – I realize that I’m the guy that rails against the status quo of the industry, and how folks need to think outside of the box in order to save the business. But come on…something stinks here, and it’s not just some of Taylor’s music.]

L Lewis RunGood: The Quick Release of Hot Singles – Case in point, the new Leona Lewis single for “Run”, which is already up on iTunes, despite it being pretty clear that the record label here was going for at least one more single off the original US version of “Spirit”. Record companies have the flexibility to throw things up for public consumption with little lead time, and the consumer wins when that occurs. Think back to American Idol, and the demand for live versions of hot performances. By the following evening, those fans could have a professional-grade recording on their iPod, and I think everyone wins in that equation…

Bad: The Controlled Release of Hot Singles – …unless the record companies get greedy. My first post this year dealt with Kid Rock’s initial decision not to release any of his music digitally, and how that lead to copycat versions of “All Summer Long” getting as high as the top 20 on the Hot 100 and top 5 on iTunes. Estelle’s record company attempted to sell full-length CDs by yanking “American Boy” from iTunes, but the copycats struck again, and the CD treaded water the following week on the Billboard 200.

PSBGood: Pet Shop Boys Get Respect – If I had mentioned Girls Aloud and Pet Shop Boys working together six months ago, most of you would have laughed yourselves into epileptic fits. Flash forward to November ’08, and the one track on the new GA CD getting universal respect is “The Loving Kind”, co-written by…the Pet Shop Boys. Add to that their work with the Killers on this year’s Christmas track, and their recognition for Outstanding Contribution to Music in February from the Brit Awards, and you have what’s shaping up to be a banner year for PSB. Now, if we could just get another hit record out of them here in the States.

ti twinsBad: Too Much of Too Few – What do these names have in common: T.I., Beyonce, T-Pain, Britney Spears, Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. Why, all of these folks had multiple top 10 hits at the same time during some point of 2008. While it’s great to maximize your promotional investment with concurrent singles focused on different demographics (Beyonce, that’s got your weave strands all over it), is it really healthy in the long run? I mean, remember when an album with six singles meant a two-year run on the Billboard 200? Now, six singles come out before the album is released (see Taylor Swift, above). On top of that, you add in all of the incestuous team-ups and collaborations, and it makes for a pretty boring chart. For example, at #26 this week is Ludacris co-starring T-Pain, and at #27 is T-Pain and Ludacris. Do I really need to go further with this?

I know there are other trends, but these are a few that came to my mind. What were you all loving or loathing?

Chart Notables – 11/28/08

Posted by John on November 28, 2008
Posted in: charts, music industry, new releases, singles. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

– As expected, Beyonce debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with “I Am…Sasha Fierce”. What wasn’t necessarily expected, though, was the ascent of “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), which blasted to #2 ahead of “If I Were A Boy” at 3. “Single” hadn’t been available digitally until last week, but once it was, it sold over 200,000 units, debuting at #1 on the Top Digital Sales. For anyone who believes that the video as an art form and a promotional tool is dead, I ask that you reconsider that conclusion. Between the original, all of the online tributes and parodies, and the hilarious send-up on “Saturday Night Live”, that video earned every single penny that they put into it.

– Right behind Beyonce on the Top 200 are a pair of pop/rock debuts from Nickleback at 2 and American Idol David Cook at 3. While both looked to be neck and neck early on, Nickleback took the decisive lead in the end, with first single “Gotta Be Somebody” at #19 on the Hot 100. While “Light On” has some good momentum at radio, the sales on the single have dried up, dragging it down to #91 this week. Cook does have a couple of nice distinctions to celebrate this week. His full-length garnered the most sales for a debut digital release since Soundscan started tracking sales, and tops the Top Digital Albums chart.

Other than a lot of Christmas records floating around, there really aren’t a lot of exciting things going on with the Album chart, other than a debut from Il Divo at #5. The scary thing about this week’s chart is that total sales are a whopping 32% down from last year. While that sounds like gloom and doom, just remember that Thanksgiving is as late this year as it can be, throwing off retail calendars and basically creating one less week of shopping than usual. This week’s mega releases are going to have to do some serious work, but I just don’t see the recovery with these titles. Kanye is expected to come in around 500K, followed by Guns N Roses with 300K, and Ludacris & the Killers clocking in over 200K. Folks, this is not a good sign.

200px-ladygagajustdance– Back on the Hot 100, T.I. continues his domination with Dragostea Din Tei “Live Your Life” at #1, but “Whatever You Like” continues its slow descent at #4, and Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” drops back one spot to #5. Lady GaGa continues her quest for a cheeseburger world domination by jumping up another 9 spots to land at #7, joining label boss Akon in the Top 10 for the first time. What I want to know is, if Cherrytree can get GaGa into the top 10, why can’t they get Robyn? Am I missing something? [BTW, did anyone else hear about the Lady passing out at a club show in Seattle? A friend of a friend was there, and said it was pretty crazy.]

The Fray pick up top debut this week at #28 with “You Found Me”, which should continue to do well after its placement during the American Music Awards on Sunday. The full-length is out in early February in multiple formats, including a Deluxe Edition currently up for pre-orders on their website that will also get you early access to their club tour in January. Interesting twist on the marketing…as part of the purchase, you will also receive digital access to live tracks recorded during the club tour that you may end up on if you go. These are some smart boys, I tell ya. Cities on the club tour are Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. (And yes, I’ve already pre-ordered my copy.)

TSwift Love StoryStrong moves this week include Ludacris and T-Pain’s “One More Drink”, which I heard today and didn’t hate, climbing from 54-38, Rihanna’s “Rehab” leaping 61-34, a 71-58 jump for 50 Cent’s “Get Up”, and a strong 80-61 leap for Usher’s “Trading Places”. [I caught this a couple of weeks ago, and meant to post it, but notice that Fitty’s CD is not among the top sellers this week, due to him blinking tweaking the new record that caused it to be pushed into 2009. Can you say “Kanye”?] One last record to watch is Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”, which may re-enter the Top 10 next week, based on some big moves at radio this week.

Chart Notable – 11/20/08

Posted by John on November 20, 2008
Posted in: charts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

beyonce– No change at the top of the Hot 100 this week, with T.I. still holding the one-two punch of “Live Your Life” and “Whatever You Like”. The big change right behind it is Beyonce, who jumps back up to #3 with “If I Were A Boy”, picking up Greatest Sales Gainer honors. Between its natural growth this week, the release of “I Am…”, which should spur more sales next week, and “Whatever” beginning to descend the airplay charts, Sasha’s pretty likely to end T.I.’s monopoly next week.

Katy Perry slips down one spot to #4, but remains bulleted, primarily due to “Hot N Cold” knocking off P!nk, who rounds out the Hot 100 at #5, to take #1 on the Pop chart. Is that a Celebrity Death Match we’d all love to see, if for nothing other than to say “bring me the head of Katy Perry”, and then it actually HAPPENS? The other move within the top 10 is Kanye’s “Love Lockdown”, which re-enters at #9.

axl-rose– Further down the Hot 100, it’s an active week for debuts, with album cuts from Taylor Swift and Nickleback mingling with legitimate singles by Keith Urban and Guns N Roses (in at #34). Yes, I said Guns N Roses. “Chinese Democracy” marks GNR’s first appearance on the Hot 100 in 14 years, when their cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” appeared on the “Interview with a Vampire” soundtrack. It also becomes their highest-charting single since “November Rain” hit #3 in 1991. Big movers include Carrie Underwood’s “Just a Dream”, up from 43 to 29, and T-Pain Featuring Ludacris with “Chopped ‘N’ Skrewed”, taking a huge leap from 62 to 39.

smiths– Over on the Billboard 200, there are plenty of debuts in the Top 20 to report. Taylor Swift leads the pack with “Fearless”, selling over 592,000 units to grab the biggest-selling week for a country release so far this week. David Archuleta comes in at #2, selling a pretty impressive 188,00 units, followed by Now 29 at #3, T-Pain at #4, a strong debut for Enya’s holiday collection at #8, and a #13 start for Seal’s “Soul”, which I honestly wouldn’t have predicted. Goes to show that any artist with a decent voice can release a collection of standards and make some moolah (see Rod Stewart, Barry Mannilow, Donny Osmond, Pat Boone, etc). Further down the chart, the Smiths make their 1st appearance on the album chart since ’92 with “The Sound of the Smiths”. Check out Chart Rigger for all the details on that stellar collection.

Random Notes – 11/11/08

Posted by John on November 11, 2008
Posted in: music industry, new releases, news, upcoming, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

Enya Winter– 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.

il-divo– 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!”

DCook People david-cook.org– 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.