Single and Listening

I owe you two of these a month.  Should be getting one tomorrow, too.  Would like to spread them out more, but just been so busy, lately.Single and Listening

 Single and Listening

Single Reviews by Release Date

♪	♫	♫♪	♫♫	♫♫♪
all over the place	carries a tune	part of the chorus	featured soloist	conducting the choir

 I review 4 divas this time around. 

Paulina Rubio “Causa y Efecto” Released:  March 30, 2009
From Latest Release:  Gran City Pop ♫♪
For a song from an album called Gran City Pop, I’d expect more of a distinguishable pop sound.  Maybe this is what Spanish pop sounds like.  First listen, I wasn’t really feeling it.  Second listen, I can tell it’s a Paulina song.  Suits her style.  Third listen, I can see myself singing along, head-nodding to my right, and air-tapping my right foot over left.  A capable effort, but it doesn’t blow me away.

 Paula Abdul “I’m Just Here for the Music” Released:  May 5, 2009
From Forthcoming Release:  TBD ♫♫
Sounds like Britney pop when it’s done right.  Jay-Z has proclaimed the death of Auto-Tune, but this song was released before that proclamation.  Perhaps, this is a nice last breath on the dance floor.  I can see it burning up the clubs.  A simple and repetitive beat might be its only downfall.  For that reason it needs a layered and complicated remix to really funk things up.  But, overall, it seems to work.

Amerie “Why R U” Released:  June 15, 2009
From Forthcoming Release:  In Love & War ♫♫
Love the hip hopped-out intro.  Amerie exhibits some pipes providing some nice layers and colors.  The call-out chorus works and pays clever tribute to “1 Thing.”  Some nice elements that don’t quite find their way to fitting perfectly together, but work well enough.

Mariah Carey “Obsessed” Released:  June 16, 2009
From Forthcoming Release:  Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel ♫♪
Not bad, but I think MC is at a point in her career where the era makes the artist and the artist no longer makes the era ala’ Cher who had a disco hit and then 80s soft rock hits and then techno, etc.  Mariah may stay with the urban/R&B/pop genres more, though, as those are her areas.  A couple of lines of clever wordplay make it worthwhile and the spoken intro works.  It’s a grower; I’d play it more than once.  A slow burner, not spontaneous combustion.

 

MY TOP 10: Music Video Cameos — 6. Arsenio Hall “Straight Up”

I thought it would be fun to countdown MY TOP 10:   Music Video Cameos.  That is, music videos with cameos by non-musical personalities who are known for working in other areas of show biz.  My criteria were that:

1) the video be memorable, of course;
2) the featured personality not be another musical artist at the time (now if they became musical artists at a later point that’s another story; they’re still eligible);
3) the featured personality be known at the time (not be an unknown who became known later); and
4) the cameo be a worthwhile part in the video (not just a 2-second spot).

6. Arsenio Hall in Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”

I may have broken my own rule.  No, I think he’s in there more than 2 seconds.  Less is more in this case.  I wonder if people (especially the young’uns) still know who Arsenio Hall is or that Paula Abdul was once one of the hottest pop stars in the universe.  He’ s a comedian and had a successful late night talk show in the 1990s.  He may be most known for his role opposite buddy, Eddie Murphy, in Coming to America.

At the time, The Arsenio Hall Show, was the only place you could see urban musical acts on late night.  (What was my mamma doin’ lettin’ me watch late night TV during school nights, you ask.  Don’t ask me.  I do not know.)  Some hip hop and soul acts, such as Mariah Carey and TLC,  performed for the first time on national television on this show.  President Bill Clinton even made a stop and played his saxophone while on his 1992 campaign trail, which is viewed as a crucial moment on his path to the White House because he connected with young and minority voters.

Arsenio lounged on couches with his guests (not behind stuffy desks like the other hosts) and all the while kept it real and kept it funny.  Paula Adbul was one of his friends and he did her the favor of appearing in her video.  Goes to show that it really is all about who you know.  And at the time, Arsenio Hall was one of the ones to know.

 

Tuesday Tease

January 20, 2009

Happy Presidential Inauguration Day!

A popolio selection of today’s New Releases.

Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavilion (Audio CD)
Andrew Bird	Noble Beast
Calexico	Live from Austin, TX (DVD)
Mariah Carey	The Ballads
Cash Cash	Take It to the Floor
Dakota Suite	The End of Trying
Tony DeSare	Radio Show
Tiffany Giardina	No Average Angel
Sanjaya Malakar	Dancing to the Music in My Head (EP, Amazon Exclusive)
Matt & Kim	Grand
Robert Pollard	The Crawling Distance
Refugees	Unbound
Gin Wigmore	Extended Play (EP)

 

MY TOP 10: Madonna Videos — 8. “Cherish”

I originally posted this on my MySpace Page on October 18, 2006.  Since I’m pressed for time, still agree with my 2006 self, and like what I orginally wrote, I’ll present the orginal commentary for Number 8. 

Note:  “My All” by Mariah Carey was one of the last videos shot by Herb Ritts before he died.

8. “Cherish” from Like a Prayer Released:  August 1, 1989

“I always thought this was a beautifully shot video.  And I always liked the idea of the mer-men and mer-boy.  Not something you saw (or see) in other music videos.  And they don’t look corny; they look realistic and believable.

Not sure why the choice was made for the boy to be ethnic as all the mer-men appear to be white/European-looking.  I guess I always got the idea that Madonna conceived the child with one of them, but that must only be a fantasy in my mind.  Ha ha.

Anyway, it was shot by Herb Ritts, a fashion photographer who worked with Madonna a lot in the ’90s (I think he mostly worked in black and white).  He died of AIDS some years back.  He also shot Janet Jackson’s “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” and one for Mariah, too (the title escapes me at the moment).

Enjoy.”

 

 

Single and Listening

Single Reviews by Release Date

♪	♫	♫♪	♫♫	♫♫♪
all over the place	carries a tune	part of the chorus	featured soloist	conducting the choir

 

I’m am actually a fan of the following ladies,  Brandy, P!nk, and Christina Aguilera, believe it or not, but their latest releases have me underwhelmed.  I’ll let my reviews speak for themselves.  Am I being too harsh?

Brandy “Right Here (Departed)” Released: August 13, 2008
From Upcoming Release:  Human ♫

Not the strongest choice for a song kicking off a come-back, but not the lightest fair either.  Obviously, a tribute song for those who have passed, but is it meant to encompass a general “letting go” altogether, too?  Not a bad ditty for the subject matter with an okay sing-along quality.  Not sure if it’ll catch on.  In 1995, Mariah’s and Boyz II Men’s memoriam song, “One Sweet Day,” had mass appeal.  Maybe this will too.  It does bring to mind that Brandy has recently accidentally taken life and that makes one wonder if that’s part of what’s prompted this release.  Overall, not a memorable single, though it may be a grower.  Brandy’s recently leaked songs would have made stronger impacts.  Knowledge of her experiences the last few years and the title of her upcoming release, Human, are intriguing enough to wonder how those experiences will shape the lyrics and sound of the other songs and her growth as an artist.

P!nk “So What” Released: August 15, 2008  From Upcoming Release: Funhouse ♫♪*

Surprisingly, this single has peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  This song sounds like material from P!nk’s last album, I’m Not Dead.  Competent and catchy, the problem isn’t that it’s good, it’s that it’s not better.  It’s more of the same going nowhere new.  Name-checking L.A. Reid and Britney Spears in “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” which was part of a fresh sound from P!nk on Missundaztood, revealed her cleverness, insight, and vulnerability.   Satirizing young Hollywood “Stupid Girls” the last go around was deep and relevant commentary set to a catchy tune.  But name-checking her ex and Jessica Simpson becomes tired retread like the song itself.         

Christina Aguilera “Keeps Gettin’ Better” Released:  September 8, 2008
From Upcoming Release:  Keeps Gettin’ Better –  A Decade of Hits ♫ 

This is the first single from Baby Jane’s upcoming first greatest hits package.  Ms. A has been touting the futuristic, pop art, high fashion influence on her new stuff in the press lately, but this doesn’t sound edgy or forward-thinking at all.  Sounding like a P!nk left-over, this track makes me nostalgic for the nostalgia of Back to Basics.  She’s talked about a return to pop from the soul sound of the last album, but this pop song is missing the “snap,” “crackle,” and “pop”.  The electro blips don’t sound like something new, they sound like every other mainstream artist’s “futuristic” attempt since the dawn of Y2K.  The Super-Bitch and Super-Girl imagery is clever and that is in line with the bright colors of pop art.

*9/18/08 Update: Since this review P!nk’s single has taken the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.