Marla’s audience, 24,000 people, was obviously on her mind, this song isn’t written to be spoken through by a large audience. This is written to grab em and keep em and it does, it will.
Away From The World – Dave Matthews Band – From James Brown rave ups to sonic freakouts to Willie Nelson quotes to songs called “The Riff” that can’t even live up to its name, and all with that reedy, horrible voice on top. The most overrated band in the world suck again – Grade: D
Isolation – Harry Nilsson – I saw Ian Hunter perform a lovely version of this song a couple of days ago, and Nilsson uses his mid-range effect and then plays up and down his range. The result is devastating – Grade: A
Yeah, Muse sound like U2 but they sound like GREAT U2. If U2 had written it I’d be raving about Bono’s return to form. Otherwise, the world belongs Amanda in a week where Taylor signifies but doesn’t qualify.
The Once And Future Carpenter – The Avett Brothers – I bet they suck live, but on record, well, the newbie crosses over to indie land, a sweetly undisturbed folkie indie harmony country type indie – Grade: B+
a very ordinary slice of electronic modern pop and it is too flimsy to emerge as a hit single. It is, in fact, a very boring track and if the album isn’t better than this we have a problem. Fortunately she has nothing much riding on it
“Where do the free in this place get down?” sounds like it might mean something and so what if it doesn’t, right? Who cares if it only sounds profoundly fun when it is really easy word up fun?
‘Oh my God, I guess she’s right.’ I just try to write music that connects with people’s conscience and make music for awake people rather than sleepwalkers
Taylor Swift has spent more weeks at the top of the country charts than any artist since Kenny Rogers not very country overblown ballad “Lady” And what is doubly impressive, Taylor hasn’t actually written a country song since 2009
Imagine Dragons, an indifferent indie band, are at # 1 because Interscope signed em. And LeCrae is a born again Christian rapper… so, you gotta think maybe Al Quiada should get in the game.
No Worries – Lil Wayne – After dismissing this out of hand yesterday, its complete eccentric sound caught my ear. Weezy can absolutely rhyme, and if he can’t quite sing, still, he is so unhinged here, it is more than a my Mach is bigger than usual, You gotta wonder who he is gonna sell it to – Grade: B+
As brutal as you’d expect, but her good nature disrupts the spastic enclave of sound: it is like Amanda is giving you a good whipping and putting balm on your wounds between strokes.
Nothing will ever be at the center of Mann’s ouerve, but nothing will disappoint either. Song for song, it is her best since Lost In Space, and if two songs were as great as “Charmer”
Tight” should be about four women having sex with anybody, DJs, rock stars, PR people, record label execs, their manager, anybody, who can help them in their career. I bet we don’t get it.
Doesn’t mean I won’t be at Roseland Saturday October 27th, though I won’t be coughing up the $500 plus for the VIP Ultra meet and greet.
The VMAs are worse today. They are kinda like Coney Island on a wet Sunday afternoon in late October. Everything looks the way it used to but the paint is faded and the rides are slower and no one is around
Advertising sponsored albums, kickstarter campaigns, free live recordings, paid live recordings, tee shirts, fanclubs, meet and greets with paid purchase, super box sets that include the earliest demos and commentary… everything is all over the place.
The xx – Chained – People like this band because they have a subtle palette of colors, it looks like shades of gray but the melodies are sprinkles of color. But I find them dull and this isn’t “Angels” – Grade: B
Look at the Post’s real estate and business sections: they work like an ongoing argument between editorial staff and readers on the nature of both. Music works as a part of a larger framework with no inner life and with even its biggest stars relegated to the sidelines.
In a sense, it is a child of “Candle In The Wind” but with the sentiment distilled… and without a great melody. Gaga’s problem appears to be an inability to write good songs any more. This one is really not that great and the rest of the album better be a big big improvement.
For a child the change from non-existent to 12 year old girl is huge. Plus the 24 time span, the daily dayness is long, but it is also relentless, it doesn’t stop for a second and it doesn’t stop for anything so while a day is long days are short.
Tickets go on sale September 21st, 2012 and Rihanna will be going forth May 4th, 2013 when she makes her only area performance. Only? Surely not… I would bet that she adds a couple of dates to that stand. May 4th will be a Saturday
Maybe it is like a Mom who lets go of her sons and in a shopping mall, turns round and he is gone never to be seen again. The mother is left to relive the moment only this time she doesn’t let go of his hand.
Chinese Rock – Sid Vicious – A bad, bad joke that was in the process of killing the tragi-comic figure, the personification of white trash in eather coat and hypodermic needles, stuck between Malcolm trying to remake him in the image of James Dean and Nancy Spungen trying to resurrect his career at Max’s with panties in hand. It all ended up in the Chelsea Hotel, and this song is the soundtrack. Ps: it is a terrible version… but a great song. – Grade: D+
Perhaps, finally we will have a computer generated voice of a generation who will outlive everyone forever… and we will go from “Oh well whatever nevermind” to “whatever”.
Hastled by security, hustled by overpriced clip joints, back of the crowd, end of the rope, abused and disabused. $500 for a weekend of humiliation? Only if Mistress Ellen lets me to lick her boots…
“Sometimes I would miss breakfast and when you’re on food stamps and lunch tickets, missing breakfast is not good for a kid. There’s a family of influences that dictate behavior. In the ghetto, there’s a liquor store, a cheque-cashing place and a motel. What that tells you psychologically is, get a cheque, cash it. Take a couple of steps. Buy some liquor and get drunk”
“There is some talk that we may end up doing another film, but again, that would be based on whether there’s another strong enough idea.”
So I guess tonight is Amanda’s official release party. Color me impressed. But the headline is Bobby of course, and DMX and th e Avett Brothers. This is a veritable who’s who of 2012. I am hoping for big thngs off xx and ZZ, though what I’ve heard of both makes me think I’m not getting em.
The President Is Out To Get Her – The Groucho Marxists – New Brunswick inner circle band re-release their Manifesto! for a post-Obama world and it sounds muscular harder hitting and ready for a sequel – Grade: B+
It might sell in the States with some money behind it, but probably not. In person, Iain (though I wish he’d change the spelling of his name) and James are funny, forthright, and pleasant company who answered every question till the lights were turned out on us.
But that doesn’t matter the way it might be if Taylor was singing about breaking up with Stephen or something. She is a big enough star in 2012 where her touch alone makes the loss, so private and so, yes, easy to empathize with, because also easy to ignore, something we can all share in.
stolen from a business column in New York Post and a weekly pick of big winners and losers in the music world every week! Oh, first runner up in the loser charts? Pandora who lost 17% of their stock value.
Amanda Palmer -now there’s a suitable case for treatment. her voice is ugly, her boobs are fine, she is a multi-everything end of the century time woman and she just made a coupla million bucks on Kickstarter, so, look, no way do we skip her at Webster Hall on Tuesday, even if the new single sucks and Who Killed is irritating
The Vaccines is vastly better then Two Door Down Cinema Club, and Mark Knopfler has a new release? I knew he was touring with Dylan but I didn’t realize there was some new product. Though the only shock is it hit the charts.
A good friend of mine swears Ne-Yo is the natural successor to Michael Jackson and he has the voice to at least be in the in the conversation. But his material is too middlebrow. If i have to spend the winter dodging Owl City I will not be happy.
. Groundhog Dog – Corin Tucker Band – According to this terrific little rocker, Corin took a break to have kids, came back, and found us all living the same day over and over. Apparently, women are still on their back and nothing changed. Except their are more women then men in college and in the workforce. The moral: great art trumps stupid politics – Grade: A
It is also a reminder that more than anything else, Jackson 5 were a collective hive of kids riding great songs up the charts with an effortless glee. And the rest is history
I guess the new Van Morrison is the calling card for the month. He hasn’t released new material in maybe 4 years and that is very long time for the man, Van released an album a year right through the 1990s. Otherwise, the new Amanda.. she raised @$2M for it?
Beams – Matthew Dear – It is as if the minimalist electronic whiz kid re-wrote “I Zimbra” 11 times in a row, a pretty great idea in theory. In practice, it isn’t 1979 and the sound has built in monotony problems. At its best, “Fighting Is Futile” Dear is clearly an enormously gifted songwriter making a spooky and lovely soundscape. The rest of the time, he is like his hero Eno’s ambience without the ambience or David Byrne when he had a rock esthetic without the rock esthetic. An incomplete sound – Grade: B
Manhattan – Cat Power – The two note engine that moves this terrific song ever onwards also works as a hook. Translation: a very well crafted song from a very good album – Grade: A
He was a professional lyricist and if you want to see how difficult that is, check out Costello laboring on “Toledo”. It isn’t easy and while it is an art it is equally an art and a business.
On stage, Gwen looks ridiculous. Just crazy hot with a stomach you can bounce dimes off, and the band is money: tight as hell.
I like Claire’s Diary a whole lot, and the guitar lick at the tail end is hotter than that, Bob Dylan I just know from streaming, maybe heard it twice but I am sure I am gonna be all over it next week. Muse? I’m in a state of shock, I swear…
One of Mayfield’s moments arrived from a world of pain near the end of his life, not just impossibly beautiful but Curtis was paralyzed from the neck down when he recorded this triumph. Hell, Aretha is just the cream on top. At the Grammy’s that year, Clapton said Mayfield should’ve have received it for best album. Next year he was gone – Grade: A+
By the time Madonna showed at 1015 I was already exhausted. By the time I left I was in a foul mood. I was worn out by her bad vibes, lack of singing, arrogance. What Madonna needs to do is cut the crap, get a band and tour theaters with a greatest hits package. She needs to grow old with some grace left
By giving him only one lady love it allows his girl fans to imagine having only one competitor, only one body to jump over, which makes him, ta-dah, more accessible.
it may be a must hear even if it is so solipsistic in its damaged sorrow, all you are getting is further insight into the strangeness that is Dylan. But it isn’t a classic because it sinks like the Titanic.
for Friday, October 19th I have a similar concept. Start with Mickey Dolenz at BB King’s then rush like hell nine blocks for New Order at Roseland. And no matter how hard I try, I don’t think I can fit Donovon in.
I don’t quite see how Taylor is # 2, given she has sold over a million and a half downloads in three weeks. Since the Billboard 200 includes Digital downlaods, I have no clue why TS isn’t still at # 1
