Iman Lababedi

Founding Editor of Rock NYC. Iman Lababedi was a freelance rock critic in the 1980s, took a break of 20 years, and has been writing and editing the music blog rocknyc.live since 2009. He considers this to be in many ways a golden age for pop music and hopes you are enjoying it too.

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Listen Up: 9-16-12

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

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Listen Up: 9-15-12

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+

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Carly Rae Jepsen's "This Kiss" Reviewed

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

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Listen Up: 9-14-12

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+

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The Death Of The VMAs

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

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Where To Now For The Music Business

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.

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Listen Up 9-13-12

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

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Lady Gaga's "Princess D.I.E." Reviewed

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.

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A Famous Off Spring Mad At Dad

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.

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Must See: Rihanna In Brooklyn, May 2013

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

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Listen Up 9-12-12

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+

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Will I Am Sometimes Went Hungry As A Child

“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”

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Sneak Peaks Week Of September 10th, 2012

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.

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Listen Up: 9-11-12

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+

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The Inbetweeners Crack Wise AT Q&A

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.

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Active Viewin': Pick Concerts Week Of September 10th, 2012

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

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UK Top 10 Albums, September 15th, 2012

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.

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UK Top 10 Singles, September 15th, 2012

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.

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Listen Up: 9-10-12

. 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

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Singles Going Steady: New Music Reviews Week Of

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

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Listen Up: 9-9-12

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

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Listen Up 7-8-12

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+

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Bob Dylan's "Tempest' Reviewed

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.

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