1. You’re No Good – Frankie Rose and the Ones – Only becomes a Frankie Rose song at the end but does become a Frankie Rose song at the end.
2. Bermuda – Kisses – Loved the Guardian’s take on this Princeton singer plus chick: “Bernard Sumner jamming with Belle and Sebastian”. Funny guy, this Paul Lester. Reminds me of Princeton as well it might. And all these LA based last days of summer bands.
3. Gucci Time – Gucci Mane – Great slap down drums, great rhythm altogether. And I love Gucci’s tone always. But the flow isn’t as good as usual.
4. Skinny Genes – Eliza Doolittle – Since Lily is off making babies, somebody had to fill the void. Marina doesn’t have the material and Florence is too big for her boots. Eliza will do fine.
5. Flights Out – Fabolous – Has it been a year since his terrific Loso’s Way? These ain’t up to much.
6. Who Wants To Be Alone (Pillip D. remix) (feat Nelly Furtado) – Tiesto – I was not thrilled with Tiesto’s pop move last year and said so here. But this 9 minute remix is exactly what we want to hear: it is one of the most patience dance blowouts you’ll hear and particularly? What Pillip does to Nelly’s vocal is incredible: s/he samples two syllables and elongates it well past the breaking point. TRACK OF THE WEEK.
7. By Some Miracle – Philip Selway – If I didn’t know it was radiohead would I like this dreary emo wank? Maybe. But I wouldn’t like it very much.
8. Warrior – Disturbed – Sure it’s hardcore, but I am sure I am not the only person to draw a straight line between this and a Guetta productions drums and buzzed out guitars. This is a mash up just waiting to happen: tech and hardcore. It can’t be long.
9. Hey You – Heart – Pretty enough in a bland sort of way.
10. Losing My Mind/Not A Day Goes By – Vanessa Williams and Barbara Cook – When you listen to Sondheim you know why all right thinking people sneer at Andrew Lloyd Webber, but you also understand why our greatest living Broadway compose (by miles I might add) is so tricky to approach. The damn melody won’t stop twisting on the fucking violins.
11. Scissor Runner – Jenny And Johnny – Ho fucking hum. At least Rice takes the lead They sound like Rilo only not as good.
12. Front Porch Swing – Jamey Johnson – OK, I guess “In Color” was a fluke.
13. Swallow It – Brandon Flowers – Ugh. This one is kinda twerpy.
14. They’re Coming For Me – Madina Lake – As strong as hard rock gets… apparently they’ve grown up.