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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US Top 10 Singles, Week Of March 3rd, 2012

Of the top 5 songs, 4 are anti-man and one was released in 1992. I don’t REALLY care except they are awful songs except for the one released in 1992. I hope Katy isn’t gonna go all Adele on us after her dreamboat turned out to be a footnote.

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MFT 2-24-12

In anticipation of seeing her tomorrow, I went back to vintage Bjork. Better than the Sugarcubes. Better than her swan at the Oscars. Definitely better than the Bjork I’m gonna see tomorrow, this is a near perfect art-pop moment. She was great on stage as well.

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MFT 2-23-12

The magic of the blues, certainly the magic of the blues the way Johnson played it, was its intimate timelessness. Johnson met the devil on the crossroad and then he went back to Chicago, and ever since then we’ve made that trip with him.

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"The Vow" Reviewed (More Or Less)

At the end of the movie there is a picture of the real couple. Not only in the real couple much better looking than these Hollywood puppets, but they make sense of the entire movie as they smile with their two kids. You understand instinctively how the man won his wife back

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Davy Jones And The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

the entire act was a series of distractions. When I saw David Cassidy at BB King’s he at least attempted to come to terms with his past, Davy completely ignored it. C’mon, he is one of the greatest stars of the 1960s. Why does he act as though he is a has been comic?

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MFT 2-22-12

I like this band a lot but there is at least one reason they don’t break pop and that’s because they don’t write pop. The song breaks here are constantly disrupting the flow of the song: it’s like they’re attentionally perpendicular.

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"The Bodyguard" Reviewed (More Or Less)

Whitney is incredible. Her eyes are slits, as though she is Asian, except they seem to be so narrow because her cheeks are puffy and it gives her a dreamy, sexy, just out of bed and ready to get back in post-coital glow for much of the movie

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Singles Going Steady, Week Of February 13th, 2012

If B was keeping to his child of Babyface, r&b sound and not looking for Usher or ever Songz for production simulation, his 7th album would be a better thing. The sons are often pretty good, but the production is average hip hop and they are weighted down by dance jams. “Amnesia” is great. Grade: B

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Ellie Goulding And Skrillex Dating!!!!

It’s a really cool new romance and they get along perfectly.They’re really good together. Everybody thinks it’s awesome. Both of them are so talented. It’s a great Los Angeles romance for her now that she hasn’t been in London.”

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MFT 2-21-12

O’Connor’s canon deserves serious study, on album after album is spotted dark and lovely songs like this one. The acoustic Dublin version is the keeper though the London session is nearly its equal. Sinead takes Song Of Solomn 1: 5 and builds a romantic meditation around it -completelly timeless

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Pick Concerts, Week Of February 20th, 2012

How great is Sinead O’Connor live? So great, I once saw Van Morrison have problems following her on Randall’s Island. She is so great, I once saw her play one homage to Jah after another at the Beacon and still kill. Sinead is at the Highline on Friday and is as close to a must see as is possible

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MFT 2-20-12

The thing with Davy is he is truly a song and dance man, coming from English Dancehall (and a horse jokey!), by the age of 16 he was on Broadway singing this song and vying for a Tony. That is one reason his live shows are so bizarre, the Monkees were the anomalies.

rock nyc

Grohl Gets One Right?

there is something so needy about Grohl. He keeps bending over backwards to prove he’s a regular guy when he isn’t. And all his albums are nothing much. Including, Wasting Light, which I am listening to now

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MFT 2-19-12

Precursor to Destiney’s Child, not to mention TLC, this three piece covered Curtis Mayfield’s masterpiece and turned it into a three piece harmony sugar rush.A joy from a very good band.

rock nyc

MFT 2-18-12

Rufus Wainwright – From his most New York City, not to mention his best, album, Rufus peers across to the other side of the country and overhwlemed with choice… decides to stay in bed. Classic.

rock nyc

A Pretty Good Year For Rock And Roll… So Far

new releases by Van Halen, the Fall, Fucked Up and Heartless Bastards, Screaming Females, Cloud Nothings might not be enough to say 2012 is gonna be a better year than 2011 in the long run, it is definitely enough to say IT MAY WELL BE A BETTER YEAR FOR ROCK AND ROLL IN THE LONG RUN!.

rock nyc

MFT 2-17-12

A weirdo blues guy releases a pretty good album and this is my pick of a letter. He sounds like a new Van Morrisson, singing between a flute -no, really, and stretching out a strong lick to the breaking point.

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Blur For US Tour?

He already admitted earlier this year that he plans to take Blur on a US tour. It would certainly make sense, right? He already did the UK and Blur had one huge hit here (you can hear it at Sports Stadiums to this day: “Song 2”) and even if they didn’t were a big big cult band here

rock nyc

MFT 2-16-12

A helluva long preamble to get to the heart of the matter, Babs and Armstrong’s love fest. It all sounds just wonderful -if you watch the movie, that minute makes it worth your while. Barbra sounds genuinely pleased to be singing with her equal, almost giggling. And wait till you hear how Armstrong scats on lap!

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