Author name: Iman Lababedi

Slideshow

10 songs: Friday, September 1tth, 2015

The Old College Try – Garfunkel And Oates – This is a very good and very funny song about a girl in college experimenting in lesbianism and finding cunnilingus the point of thanks but yuck. “When I looked a vagina in the eye I beat an ungrateful but hasty retreat… funny stuff – B+

Be Here Now, Recorded, Slideshow

Be Here Now: New Album Reviews 9-11-15 – 9-17-15

If there is nothing as great as “Honolulu Blues” it is much much better than the last Hold Steady album. Craig is like Snoop Dogg, his voice is so distinctive that when the song isn’t rock solid, the voice overwhelms it. This is better than his last solo album. a tremendous run of great songs from one end to the other and what it misses in the top rung, it makes up for in the middle – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-

News, Slideshow

Chrissie Hynde Vs Pornographic Pop Stars

For one thing, if Miley Cyrus is pornographic, what on earth was Prince in 1979? And for another to claim the tragedy in Syria has ANYTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH, with discussing Chrissie’s statements regarding rape is pure asinine. If that is the case, why discussing anything? Why talk about music when a five year old child just died?

News, Slideshow

The Future Of Ticket Brokerage Is Here

It used to be that at least in New York City, everything you wanted to see sold out instantaneously, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. U2, Taylor Swift, Madonna, even The Weeknd, is not entirely sold out (The Weeknd has tickets available at Prudential and loads more in the secondary market).

Recorded, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Thursday, September 10th, 2015

Remember Sha Na Na? Sure you do, the old school rock and roll cover band who gave a spark of continuity to the Woodstock generation back in 1968. Dennis Greene was the black guy and a real talent, who appeared with the band in both Grease and Happy Days, before turning his back on the biz and becoming a Professor of Law (Harvard Grad, no less). Sadly he died earlier this week at the age of 66.

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Thursday, September 10th, 2015

You Make Me feel (Mighty Real) – Sylvester – The six minute twelve incher, not only does Sylvester’s voice simply soar, he also mutates a declaration of love till it is a declaration of dance, and presides over one of the greatest grooves ever recorded – A+

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Wednesday, September 9th, 2015

Knockin’ On Mine – Paul Westerberg – In retrospect, 12 Songs could stand as the final Replacements album, if anything it is even more professional than we were used to. This song is Paul at his best, the dodgy depressionalism getting burnt in the summer and wet in the rain – A

News, Slideshow

Miguel Performs In Families Living Room For Great Cause (See It Here)

“Make Room” is a non-profit organization that helps poor people pay their rent and with the current homeless problem in New York, it is even more worthwhile if anything. If the City or State really wanted to help the homeless, they’d give money directly to landlords to supplement rent for poor families. Just because you don’t see children on the street doesn’t mean there aren’t children on the street, they are just hidden from view.

Charts, Slideshow

US Top 10 Singles 9-19-15

Really, Justin Bieber’s first number one, with 375,000 downloads, also entered the charts at # 1. Though I can’t quite hear it, it is a soft focused romantic ballad -one Selena Gomez, he cried while singing it, though quite how many times you can whine about a break up, I don’t know. A huge success for Bieber, after three years of relentlessly bad publicity, two huge hits in a row. Who said there are no second acts?

News, Slideshow

Madonna’s Most Important Tour Ever Starts Wednesday

I’ve read good things about this tour, if she plays it straight, plays the hits plus choice cuts off rebel heart, if she gets on stage at 9pm and performs 120 minutes of great dance pop, word of mouth will instantaneously sell out the tour. But if she gives us more of MDMA, art pop self flagellation and audience hatred, forget it

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

People think it is the end of warm weather and while that is certainly a part of the summer season, more important is children being away from school for two months . Look at two months this way: it is something like 0.25% of my life and 2% of a ten year olds. Translation, summer last forever for children but is a blip on ours and since many of us (me) are working stiffs, we more observe than participate in summer. But we observe well.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

This is a perfect day for this day of the year, not an ending day but an instant nostalgia, a day where everything comes to a close and while it doesn’t aspire to death, it does aspire to an aching nostalgia. Morrison captures it perfectly, “when summer’s gone, where will we be?” The freest, warmest, youngest and most fun season – A+

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Monday, September 7th. 2015

Career Opportunities – The Clash – A masterpiece of agitprop dead endism that heralded a world where people in the UK would never have a job in their entire life. Meanwhile, bus driver? ambulance man? Opening Letterbox. And it never ever knock – A+

Charts, Slideshow

US Top 10 Albums 9-19-15

Meanwhile, except for “New Americana”, Halsey is way too manufactured to be taken seriously, but there is a huge difference between a manufactured popstar who is ignored and one who is a huge hit. Half white, half black, hip hop production on Americana songs and attitude with a soupcon of Lorde and a little more than that of Lana Del Rey… hey, apparently it worked, with 115,000 units (of which 97,000 are pure album sales), any other week it would be # 1.

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Sunday, September 6th, 2015

Crown – Jay Z – Years later, and I am beginning to think maybe I am underestimated Holy Grail. The problem with the album is it came out around the time of Yeezus and felt a little whatever in its shadow, but this song, with Travis Scott’s excellent hook, is actually pretty darn out there – B+

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Sunday, September 6th, 2015

Is this the year New York returns to grace after only the Rangers did any dame last year? It could be both the Mets and the Yanks get past the first round of the playoffs, maybe, just maybe we will be shocked by the Jets and the Giants, and finally I predict the Knicks have to improve over last year, But forget all that, the New York Liberty are in the playoffs!!! Isiah Thomas, possibly the most hated man in MSG history not named Dolan, baffles New York yet again.

Live, Slideshow

Let Active: rock nyc Concert Picks Week Of September 7th, 2015

The Kanye West find you first met on Yeezus (it is Scott who originally coined the phrase “New Slave”) and then cemented his reputation when he added his voice to Hova’s “Crown”. Now, a mixtape or two later, here comes the limelight. Travi$ debut album, the excellent Rodeo, was released on Friday and the Monday through Wednesday stand will stand as a CD release party at the tiny Gramercy Theatreseconds as a CD release party at the tiny Gramercy Theatre. The next time you see him in the city, Scott will be opening for The Weeknd at MSG, so get close when you can.

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Saturday, September 5th, 2015

Maggie I’ve Been Searching For Our Son – Craig Finn – Once every seven attempts, Finn nails it, this isn’t a masterpiece but it is a good song, nice riff he works well and a good lyric, better than most of the last Hold Steady and some of his first solo album – B+

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Saturday, August 5th, 2015

In sports, like rock and roll and unlike the blues, it gets late early, and so off goes Rafael Nadal who seemed like a man who could never lose at the US Open home early “3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by 32nd-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday night”. It just happens and happens and it is one of the things about watching sports because unlike rock and roll, when you can’t do it any more you get fired.

Recorded, Slideshow, Sneak Peak

Sneak Peaks: Upcoming Album Releases 9-11-15 – 9-17-15

Prince, who was great on GMA earlier this week, is a Tidal exclusive and while I certainly might pay ten bucks to own his new one, I won’t pay ten bucks to rent it for a month by subscribing (the real question is: will Hov and Bey make their next albums exclusives. I’d claim it is between Craig Finn and The Libertines, I was streaming some of the Finn album and it sounds like his last solo without the flat out masterpiece “Honolulu Blues”. So I guess I’ll go with the Popdose’s Ken Shane recommended The Libertines.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Friday, September 4th, 2015

Summer Wind – Frank Sinatra – This is a perfect end of summer, it feels like the sun going down in the sky and the moonlight shining much earlier than you could possibly want it to and the end of another season, less death and more aging -life passing irrevocably by – A+

Charts, Slideshow

UK Top 10 Albums: 9-4-15 – 9-10-15

The relentless hype surrounding Halsey is beginning to work against her, how long can Apple Play ram her down our throats (two weeks among new releases, why?) , and how long before her lack of traction becomes a problem. Or will she break? A story of modern pop.

Charts, Slideshow

UK Top 10 Singles 9-4-15 – 9-10-15

The definition of homogenized. Remember 1978 when the UK and the US charts couldn’t have been more different? That isn’t happening any more. This is as characterless as any chart on the planet, it is the aural equivalent of the the global economy, bereft of individuals of any sort, it just sits there.

Live, Slideshow

Kendrick Lamar To Barclay Center This October, 2015

That’s some line up this year, I only caught the last couple of songs of Future at Governors Ball earlier this year, but it was the one set I am sorry I couldn’t catch from the start, Meek Mill has a surprisingly strong album newly released, Jidenna is the guy with “Classic man” –the remix featuring Kendrick Lamar is killer as well.

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Thursday, June 3rd, 2015

Sure, I hate Tom Brady. Maybe I wouldn’t if he wasn’t the best QB in the business, and a smug dick to boot, but he is and he is and all he does his win. Last year, for instance. But when you’re a winner there is no need to be a cheater and doesn’t anybody believe for an instant the Patriots didn’t spy on other teams and steal their signals? And does anydody in the world believe Tom “Nobody touches my balls” Brady? Well, actually Judge Richard M. Berman just ruled that the NFL and bumbling dullard Roger Goodell had zero proof Brady had anything to do with the Deflategate and rescinded his four game suspension.

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

Hollywood Divorce – Outkast – Weezy is superb on the rap and the song is a jazzy beauty like the Outkast’s were the white Steely Dan: God Save Apple Play which came up with an excellent playlist: “Lil Wayne In The ’00s”… I wish I could share it – A

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: September 2nd, 2015

D.L. F – Sean Price – With Foul Monday, Rim & Royal Flush – The late great Price a Dope Loop Finder if ever there ones, brings together some friends, Royal Flush are particularly hot at the moment, and freestyles for three minutes, somewhat awesome stuff – A-

Movies, News, Slideshow

“We Are Your Friends” Reviewed

“We Are Your Friends” knows about as much about EDM as “Trainwreck” knows about being a freelance write. Nothing. And while some of the protools manipulation scenes are fun, and from time to time it gets at the pleasures of the bass, particular the behind Zac’s shot from behind DJ set at them it isn’t enough to sustain

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