The Latest in Singles

Flo Rida F/ Timbaland - Elevator



Flo Rida sure does love the ladies. I'm all for guys making strictly dance cuts to get the floor filled, and so far he's 2-for-2, but for all his massive success, I just wish the guy had a little more personality in his songs. I really can't tell the difference between him and a hundred other guys. The production saves the day once again, but barely. Rating: 6


Girls Aloud - Can't Speak French



Enjoy this while it lasts. There will come a time when Girls Aloud isn't the greatest singles group in the world and we're left to deal with someone far less exciting. They've covered a multitude of genres through their short career and this time up, they've given us a delicious slice of pop-funk. Relish the moment, people. Rating: 9

Ten On Tuesdays: Ten Movie Characters I'd Like To Meet In Real Life

Mary Poppins from Mary Poppins, played by Julie Andrews
Being around someone who's practically perfect in every way could make you feel a bit inferior at times, but her cheery disposition would brighten even the gloomiest day. The woman makes drawings come to life and has an out of this world vocal range. She's automatically on the guest list for any party that I'm throwing.

Amélie Poulain from Amélie, played by Audrey Tautou
Has there ever been a sweeter character in cinema who was also bright and this fully rounded as a protagnoist? Her presence makes me smile all the time because her heart never fails to be in the right place. Ideal for riding bikes together along the lakefront.

My Personal Kelis Retrospective

Jive just released a Kelis career retrospective, titled The Hits, this past Tuesday. They did an okay job, but I think there are some key songs missing. For starters, I'd get rid of "Got Your Money". It's an important track in Kelis' career since it was her first major appearance, but she's only on the hook. I guess it makes sense if you're trying to move units, but it probably won't make any new fans. Here is what my tracklist would look like.

1. Caught Out There
2. Young Fresh N' New
3. Trick Me
4. Good Stuff
5. Get Along With You
6. Suspended
7. Millionaire
8. Help Me (w/ Timo Maas)
9. Bossy
10. Blindfold Me
11. Milkshake
12. Rolling Through The Hood
13. Daddy
14. Perfect Day
15. I Don't Think So
16. Flash Back
17. Lil' Star
18. In The Morning

Wow. After compiling that, there's still some stuff I'd like to see on there. Kelis is awesome. Even if this thing is probably over 80 minutes.

Ten Years Gone: Madonna - Ray Of Light

This entry will be the first in what I hope will become a regular thing on this blog. I'm going to take a look back at certain albums and movies on their 10 year anniverseray and examine the impact they've made. First up is Madonna's Ray of Light.

So why Madonna as the first entry? Well, after looking at the list of '98 albums and films that I enjoyed, Ray of Light's release date was the earliest and I want these entries to coincide with their respective 10 year anniversaries.

So you still might have the question: Why Madonna?

Ray of Light is a very special album in the catalogue of one the world's most beloved pop icons. Madonna's work has always been provocative and ever-changing, but never before had she let us this deep into her personal life. A lot of Madonna songs have a narrative that could be ambigiuosly biographical ("Papa Don't Preach", "Secret"), but there is no confusion that Madonna herself is the subject for most of Ray of Light.

Stephen "Static" Garrett 1974-2008

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.6456/title.producer-songwriter-static-passes-away

Deaths like these are usually the hardest to take when the person is so young and it comes unexpectedly. I really feel for Garrett's family and the folks at Blackground, who had to deal with another tragic event with Aaliyah back in 2001. One look at Stephen "Static" Garrett's songwriting credits and there is no doubt that he left behind an impressive body of work which stands up there with some of the best the modern R&B era has seen. Here are some highlights.


Ginuwine - "Pony" (1996)



"Pony" is one of those songs that appear to be amazingly raunchy on the surface, but is clever in its wordplay. There is a fine line between sexy and silly when dealing with songs about about sex. They either make you giggle or want to gyrate your hips. For a song that uses a pony as a metaphor, it's lasciviousness is pretty powerful.


Aaliyah - "Are You That Somebody?" (1998)



The thing I love about this song that probably gets overlooked a lot is the speaker's desire to not give it up so easy. Even back in 1998, radio was still not a place for patience. "Are You That Somebody?" was so refreshing at the time because you had a young lady saying, "Hey, I dig you, but you gotta show me some respect first," which is a message that I've always found admirable.

Van Hunt - Popular

As some of you may have heard, Van Hunt has been dropped from Blue Note/EMI. This does not come as much of a surprise since EMI was one of the latest of the Big Four to have massive layoffs and his previous two albums, Van Hunt and On The Jungle Floor, failed to garner much attention. In such hit-starved times, Mr. Hunt would eventually be the odd man out. The news of his departure from Blue Note came only several weeks before his third LP, Popular, was to drop, leaving the album's release date in limbo.

I can't say how much of a shame it is since Popular is one of the finest albums I have heard in this young year. Building on the wild and daring attitude of On The Jungle Floor, Popular continues in the same boundless vein with a collection of dark and sexy songs sure to please his fans.

Van Hunt's kinkier side has been hinted at in a few songs and the sound of his compositions have never lacked sex appeal, but he has become more explicit in his thoughts. Before, Hunt simply replied "Yeah" three times to a woman who asked him "If I take you home, will you still respect me in the morning?"

American Idol Shocker: Songs That Don't Suck

I have not tried to hide the fact that I'm an American Idol fan. I think it has always made for fantastic television and once the competition starts, it's hard not to get addicted. Now, I'm also a music fan, and sometimes good music and American Idol don't neccessarily go together. Some contestants have gone on to release decent albums (Fantasia, Carrie Underwood) and only one, in my opinion, has had a legitimately good recording career (Kelly Clarkson). But every now and then, you'll hear a song from a former contestant that's surprisingly solid and repeat-worthy. After the first season only yielded one star, a song from an Idol runner-up comes pre-packaged with low expectations. It's expected for the winner to have at least one strong song, but whenever the runner-ups release something good, it's always a shock.

When Ad Execs Show Hip Taste #1

I love how over the past decade, the songs in commercials have become incredibly chic and hip. I'm not the kind of person that will decry the use of a song in a commercial just because I view it as selling out (a term that gets thrown around too loosely nowadays). I actually welcome it as long as it makes sense artistically and the commercial doesn't overly bastardize the theme of the song. A lot of my favorite artists don't get mainstream attention, but that doesn't mean that I don't think people should know about a good unknown song.

While The Chemical Brothers aren't neccessarily obscure, it's not often that the casual music listener will come across one of their album tracks. "Dream On" is the closer to their last great album, 1999's Surrender, and it provides the soundtrack to the latest monster.com commercial. Good deal, Monster!




To buy Surrender from Amazon, click here

Live Blogging the 2008 Grammys

Okay, I got in the house a little later than I expected, but I recorded the first 10 minutes, so I will get back to them at the end of the night

7:19 First off, great to see Morris Day & The Time onstage again. Along with Rihanna nonetheless! Singing "Umbrella" over "Jungle Love" and then seguing into "Don't Stop The Music". If there is a better moment tonight, this will already be better than last year's ceremonies.

Also, for those wondering whether Amy Winehouse would take home one of the big 4 categories, I think her win for Best Pop Vocal Album at least secures Best New Artist and/or Record Of The Year.

7:25 I love The Beatles and all, but didn't we just have a Beatles tribute on the Grammys a few years ago? Hopefully they do a better job this time around. Oddly enough, Pharrell Williams on drums was the only thing that made sense.

7:29 Okay, they've somehow made the tribute from a few years back look like a stroke of genius. This whole Cirque du Soleil thing just doesn't translate well at an awards ceremony, even though I'm sure it would be amazing live. The best thing about this I guess is that there are probably some kids out there who were listening to "A Day In The Life" and had their mind blown.

Alice & Janelle

This entry is particularly exciting for me because I have been in love with these two songs for some time. I know that I say that a lot on this blog, but I am always very sincere whenever I say something like that. This entry is also exciting because I think it will be enjoyable for some of my readers who may not exactly listen to R&B.

Alice Smith and Janelle Monáe are two of R&B's brightest young talents, but describing their sound as just R&B is still a stretch. Alice Smith's debut, For Lovers, Dreamers & Me, is full of melodies better suited for pop and rock, but Smith's bluesy delivery makes her overall sound hard to classify. Monáe's music goes beyond what is considered modern R&B and is reminiscent of the experimental territory covered by Kelis' first two albums and Gnarls Barkley.

Plastic Constellations - Stay That Way

The band responsible for my 3rd favorite album of 2006 is getting ready to release a new album. If I had to do my anticipated albums list today, The Plastic Constellations' We Appreciate You, which is being released in April, would place somewhere in my top ten. They've quickly become one of my current fave bands with the release of their previous two albums, 2004's Mazatlan and Crusades. Their sound combines the festive shout-along style of anthem rock with aggresive but melodic pop metal riffs. That's pretty much the formula for everyone of their songs, but it's still very distinct when compared to other bands. "Stay That Way" doesn't stray too far from the recipe and if you dig this, you'll probably dig their entire catalogue.

Plastic Constellations - "Stay That Way"

HBE's Most Anticipated '08 Album Releases

It's a brand new year, which means a brand new slate of albums. Based on confirmed dates, rumors and a whole lot of wishful thinking, this is what I'm looking forward to most in 2008.


1. Portishead-Untitled
The trip hop outfit from Bristol have been laying low for a decade and any sign of new music comes as a welcome surprise. Their only two studio albums, Dummy and Portishead are defining albums of the 90's, so it will be interesting to see if their new output will be as fresh.

2. Los Campesinos!-Hold On Now, Youngster...
Judging from the first couple of singles and a recently posted video of them in the studio, Los Campesinos! stands to release one of the best debuts of the year, and also one of the giddiest albums of the year. If it sounds anything like the hyperactive joy of "You! Me! Dancing!", count me in.

3. Van Hunt-Popular
There's not exactly a guarantee that this album will be released since it is currently without a home after Hunt's exit from Blue Note, but the year is young, so there's hope. For that reason alone, I can't put it at #1 since its future is uncertain. But based solely on the leaps and bounds he made from the relatively safe debut to 2006's funky and wild On The Jungle Floor, this album could never see a release date and I would anticipate it forever.

4. Ladytron-Untitled
Ladytron is another group who has shown improvement with each album, and it's not as if their first one was a slouch to begin with. Their latest album, Witching Hour, saw the synth pop quartet take their sound to a darker place, but nonetheless still enriching. Another great album and I would gladly put Ladytron amongst indie's current elite.

5. Nas-Nigger
If the album had been named anything else, I might not be anticipating this as much. Nas has still managed to release solid albums, but he set the bar too high early in his career. As soon as I heard the title of the album and who was recording it, I knew that I had to listen to immediately. Nas is one of the most socially aware mainstream artists that we have right now in any genre and him dedicating an entire album to race relations has no doubt sparked a creative fire in him. He is one of the few relevant elder statesmen of hip hop and the commentary that he might provide on this album could result in a career-defining effort for him.

6. Erykah Badu-Nu AmErykah
While Worldwide Underground was enjoyable in some spots and went gold, I can't consider it a successor to Mama's Gun. Despite its long running time, that release is still considered an EP and never really felt like a proper follow-up with its loose jammy vibe. Nu AmErykah will be two discs and looks to be more cohesive.

7. Franz Ferdinand-Untitled
One word: Xenomania. The teen-pop production collective is responsible for hits by Girls Aloud, Sugababes and Cher, to name a few and the news that they would be producing some tracks for the upcoming Franz album raised a few eyebrows. It elicited nothing but glee from me. Xenomania's productions are as adventurous as anything you're likely to hear in pop or anywhere else, which I think complements Franz Ferdinand just fine. Franz Ferdinand have always had catchy hooks while Xenomania's work has always retained a bit of edge. The pairing should be more natural than that of The Mooney Suzuki and The Matrix.

8. Madonna-Untitled
Four out the last five Madonna albums are arguable classics. American Life is the only stinker she's had in a while, but she rebounded with the amazing Confession On A Dancefloor. She's built up a lot of goodwill, so even though a few of the early leaked tracks with Pharrell did not prove promising, you can't really count out Madonna.

9. The Avalanches-Untitled
Their last album, Since I Left You, is one of the best debuts of the decade and is still talked about to this day. Judging from the carefully constructed use of samples on their first album, it's no surprise that a follow-up would take nearly seven years to arrive. They have kept busy in recent years with solid remixes for The Concretes and Belle & Sebastian, so there's little worry on my end about whether they can deliver another quality album.

10. Al Green-Untitled
The big news here is that Al Green is hooking up with ?uestlove and The Roots in the studio. I say it's about time that the Reverend hooked up with some young blood to bring some life into his recording career. His last two albums on Blue Note had some decent moments, but proved ultimately forgettable in the long run. ?uestlove feels like the perfect person to helm an Al Green record. His knowledge and appreciation of classic soul will no doubt bring out shades of the Al Green that we all first fell in love with it, and he's well on his way judging from some of the leaked studio jams.

11. Estelle-Shine
Estelle's debut, The 18th Day, delivered an engaging mix of soulful beats and conscious rhymes, but her recent excellent single, "American Boy", with Kanye West suggests a happier approach. If the album does turn out to have less rapping than its predecessor, I can only hope that the quality of the songs will remain as strong.

12. N.E.R.D.-untitled album
Recent pictures from the BBC blog show N.E.R.D. in the studio with Spymob, which is a great sign, seeing as how their tight sound is part of what made the live version of In Search Of... a success. Their rhythmic punch was sorely missed on 2004's Fly Or Die and Pharrell alone in the studio has not turned out to be a good thing so far (see In My Mind).

13. The Game-LAX
The Game is such a student of hip hop history that it's hard to believe that he could ever release a duff album. He's so self-consciously aware of the ingredients that while he may not deliver anything surprising, it will still be worth spending money on. The initiative to make a classic will be even higher if this turns out to be his last album as he has been claiming recently.

14. Pas/Cal-I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura
One of the most underrated indie pop acts in America will finally release a full-length album. After a few years of delivering fantastic EPs, the name Pas/Cal could finally be on the lips of music lovers across the nation.

15. Paula Campbell-I Am Paula Campbell
This Baltimore R&B songstress has been kicking around on Columbia for a few years, but it appears that she may actually be close to releasing her major label debut. The songs posted on her MySpace suggest a pretty solid and refreshing debut.


And the rest...

David Banner-The Greatest Story Ever Told
Be Your Own Pet-Get Awkward
Big Boi-untitled
Mariah Carey-That Chick
Cherish-The Truth
Dengue Fever-Venus On Earth
Dr. Dre-Detox
Eminem-King Mathers
Goldfrapp-Seventh Tree
The Like-untitled
Lil' Mama-Voice Of The Young People
Lil' Wayne-Tha Carter III
Ludacris-Theater Of The Mind
M83-Saturdays=Youth
Man Man-Rabbit Hats
Missy Elliott-untitled
Teedra Moses-The Young Lioness
Murs-Murs For President
No Doubt-untitled
Q-Tip-The Renaissance
Rakim-The Seventh Seal
Rick Ross-Trilla
The Roots-Rising Down
Santogold-untitled
Slim Thug-Boss Of All Bosses
Sons and Daughters-The Gift
Stereolab-untitled
The Streets-untitled
Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
What Made Milwaukee Famous-What Doesn't Kill Us
Yo Majesty-untitled

It's been a retro kind of week

Candie Payne is one of my current obsessions right now. She's a UK singer with a penchant for hazy 60's spy music and lounge pop and also has family members in The Zutons and The Stands. Her sound is very cinematic and remniscent of early Portishead in certain spots, but it always has a melodic dazzle to it. "By Tomorrow" still has the essence of the 60's , but its go-go rush and psychedelic pop leanings are more rocking than anything on I Wish I Could Have Loved You More.

Candie Payne - "By Tomorrow"


I've also been listening to some tracks from Broadcast's 2003 album Haha Sound, which is just as retro as well. It also has some 60's sparkle to it, but it has more in common with The Velvet Underground and French pop. I almost forgot how much I loved "Before We Begin", but I'm glad to say that my love affair with it has been rekindled. It's probably one of the most accessible songs you'll find in Broadcast's catalogue and as good a place to start if you've never taken a chance on the group. And obviously, if you enjoy Stereolab, you'll enjoy the album as a whole as well.

Broadcast - "Before We Begin"

To buy Candie Payne's I Wish I Could Have Loved You More (import) from Amazon, click here

To buy Broadcast's Haha Sound from Insound, click here