Iman Lababedi

The Wanted are playing the Stones to One Direction’s the Beatles, except leather jacket does not a tough band make. And The Wanted sound more like Train.

Damned for all eternity as the coke fiend who beat on Fannie Mae, with a resume everything else gets overlooked. Like, for imstance, he discovered Fannie Mae. And like this piece of boogie was the harbinger to a sea change in popular music – Grade: A+

– Beth Ditto is probably the best disco singer of her generation, and if that’s enough, this is enough. But I am less keen on her songs, anonymous disco material, less synthetic than I am used to but not quite memorable enough. Exceptions to this rule abound and “Move In The Right Direction” -well, no need to wait for the remix there – Grade: B+

If I Was A Bell- Emily Loesser – Yup, Jean Simmons was lipsynching on the movie version of “Guys And Dolls”… as she should have bee. Emily Loesser,Fran’s kid, did a stellar job, especially on this sexual awakakening masterpiece – Grade: A

The House That Heaven Built – Japandriods – Hand clapping, footstamping, yelping hook, a raw rocker vocalist and a tune worthy of Superchunk – Grade: A

Words of affection so personal, a whispered conversation between the two: “listen to your Daddy’s song, making love is wrong…” The song is adrift in time, it is like a hug between a father and child, “We believe that we can’t be wrong” is such a proiose for a happy, endless childhood. It makes me miss something that never happened to me.

What a tremendously boring chart! What a supremely tedious, treading water bunch of songs. Individually, there are some good and some bad ones, but collectively I can’t keep my eyes open

Of the Three American Idol contestants I like, I like Lambert mosts, and this terrific dance album deserves its success. Meanwhile, how is beach house beating out Best Coast???

I Want U Back – Cher Lloyd – Yup, another English chick singer, former X Factory, dance pop phenom. But Cher is really cool, she looks loke a pixie, the thumping keyboards is a first rate hook, and she has a great come one, “Remember all the things that we did first?” Grade: B+

Outernationals bring their firebrand form of rock and roll tonight to Dominion at 428 Lafayette. They ht the stage at 10pm for the grand tour finale. “FROM TEXAS BORDER TOWNS THRU ARIZONA O’ODHAM LANDS TO SAN DIEGO, THE GULF COAST TO THE PACIFIC THEN BACK TO TEXAS TO PLAY WITH CALLE 13, THRU CHICAGO ALL THE WAY TO THE ROTTEN APPLE…’

Teenage Bass – Shit Robot – DFA’s resident real deal DJ takes, not a bass line, but a lick, and runs variations of it, in complementary keys, with drum patterns submerged and emered in different layers. For seven minutes – Grade: B+

A couple of years before Mick Jagger legitimized the Stones also ran on SNL, Hatfield beat him to it during a daytrotter session. Hatfield’s up and downs with touring all well documentated (by her in a memoir) but never before has “if I could stick a pen in my heart, spill it all over the stage…” seemed less histrionic: a glimpse into what it takes Juliana (and Mick) to get up and do it – Grade:A

I caught Sinead and Van Halen earlier this year. The VH reunion beat out the Beach Boys gigwise, so if you have tix and now aren’t going… well, it sucks to be you!

A little on the skimpy side but the keeper is Joey Ramone and the the extended Ram, one of McCartney’s best solo efforts with an astounding 23 songs, are keepers. Is Lupe throwing down tasters for a new album? Yeah, it’s been two years.

I’m Still The Same Person – Sister Crayon – How were they last night? I dunno yet, but if this is anything to go by they were a haunted buncha kids with a good chick singer, sound effects and keyboards aplenty in this Sacramento indie band – Grade: B+

They are like waking dreams of life on what might well be the best coast. It beats down on you what might be the endless summer, heat of the day till the night when the beach is closed and aging and longing and time in the only place moves slowly longingly away.

even if you have already seen all the funniest moments in his ode to totalitarian”The Dictator”, there are enough good yucks along the way to make it a pleasant killing of an hour and a bit. But if the coming attractions made you think you were in for something as great as “Borat” or “Bruno”, that ain’t gonna happen.

Now that the question is no longer when they graduate fom Rockwood to Mercury Lounge (Satuday at 7p), it is what will Darlingside, a mersmerizing mix of indie rock and strings, do now they’ve got there. Their 2010 EP is addictive and the new songs show no rust so I expect it will be excellent. Secret Ingrediient: the lead vocalist could lead Average White Band

Tulisa is yet another X Factored in star and Saturdays the sort of band that hasn’t cracked the States since Spice Girls and the top three songs should remain there through August.

I missed rock nyc’s Henry Sims turn as the “Cabaret” MC in the musical last week because a) I wasn’t invited and b) It was in Connecticut; so I have to make do with Cummings star making turn from the 1990s, where his preposperous ode to a chimpanzee takes a terrifying twist on the very last line, spat out with venom – Grade: A

In her debut album, MIA protegee Rte Rte makes exactly one mistep, and it stars Ethel Merman. Otherwise, this is as bright and shiny a rhythmic artifact as the album cover, with MIA on 3 tracks, Robyn on one, and Akon on a song of the year. This is how modern pop is done. Grade: A-

Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole – Martha Wainwright – So, without further ado, Martha takes her place besides her parents and big brother as major as major can be with this folkie slash and burn condemnation of her famous Daddy – Grade: A+

saw them last October opening for Screaming females and was suitably awed, and might go back in for another dip. Among other reasons, the Don Giovanni crew should be there and I am eagerly awaiting the debut Modern Hut album! I need inside dope!!!

This is what we’ve what we’ve been waiting forsince 2005? This crap? It is like being mugged by a wet noodle of sound, from the woman who perfected the nursery rhyme singsong with “Extraordinary machine”, a twee singalong until she goes all husky on us – Grade: B

of all the best seller charts in all the world, this best seller chart is the poppiest. This top 10’s idea of rock is Train, of hip hop is Flo Rida. And every single song is as catchy as catchy will ever get!

After White, Tank is the album to get The man looks like a Tank and has a pretty way with an r&b ballad and though he is buried alive in the usual production goop, the man has real talent.

A flat out masterpiece off her up coming album, stopped the show on Tuesday. Smashed, cascading piano notes beat on the hope disappointment choruses, while Regina gets her full fledged pop ballad on in the verses. This needs to break pop big time – Grade: A