That Beatles song? I went back to the anthology album and while it is good, the Weeklings really made it their own. Once you get past that, everything here is good. This is as strong a list of songs as you will get this year. Ps I was thisclose to including the Bala Billy Joel cover… I mean thiclose
Ain’t Nothing You Can Do – Bobby “Blue” Bland – I am so used to the Van Morrison cover, I was caught on just how close Van stayed to the original. Bland sounds great here, he wails himself out on the chorus plus it has the simplicity of a received truth – A+
This residency has been winding its way every Thursday since the beginning of the year, and who knows when it ends, so this is an absolute must see. It will give the duo the time and space they need to expand songs that will live and breath through expansion and improvisation
Can we really go from Barack Obama’s wide ranging taste in popular music to Ted Cruz’s proto-extremist country music views. I mean, I love country music as well but not because of 9-11 -that is asinine. There were only two real musical responses to 9-11, one was Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising
This ain’t like any other award because it ain’t an award. This is just recordings to be preserved for all time, the recorded sounds that together might make up an aural history of the world, or, at least, as governed here, the Western World. Or at the very least “Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.”
Congrats abound: Mark and Bruno? 12th week at the top of the charts. Flo Rida? Back in the charts for the first time in two years and is it me or doesn’t this sound a lot like Lil Jon? Not that I have any complaints, the song works perfectly well for me.
I read the Modest Mouse interview in Rolling Stone and found Isaac brock much more interesting in person than he is on record where he is a but on the dodgy side. And I say that well aware that the man is a danger to himself and everyone else. Eight years between albums, eh? Personally, I go back to No One Is First, And You’re next when I wanna get my quirk on.
Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs Wooly Bully – The classic garage rocker everybody started their career with a flipped out Mexican holy surf guitar… just about immortal by now, that lick can ride anywhere – A
Where would the Beatles be without Brian Epstein? The Stones without Andrew Loog Oldham, or Elvis Presley without the Colonel? Artists need managers, and there have been some as big as the stars themselves… for better, Malcolm Mclaren, or for worse, Allen Klein, they are all the fifth Beatle.
I saw the Drifters a coupla years ago, whoever was with them then, with the Drifters at least there was always a lot of singers coming and going ( around 60 by my reckoning) but they didn’t go within a million miles of their 70s hits. Still, more than a number in your little black book,go on Amazon to check em out, the 70s Drifters isn’t on Itunes or Spotify.
St. Jude – Florence + The Machine – Ever since seeing a lousy set at Radio City, Florence Welch sure felt like a lost cause but this full bloodied ballad feels like a return to form; a gorgeous, powerful song that should make its way up the charts with ease – A
Brand New Car – Action Bronson – Somebody is ivesting serious bucks on this guy. Warners in the rest of the world, Atlantic in the US and the result is a pricey Billy Joel sample… luckily, Bronson makes excellent use of it, rapping right through the hook. Mark Ronson produced – B+
I missed this 82 year old Gospel blues man from (where else) Mississippi debut album last year but this more secular take on the blues is ridiculous. Full throttle, hardcore with tons of guitar, all filthy dirty, and a man who sounds his age and that is perfect for the blues. Listen to Welch yelp on “I Don’t Know Her Name” and stand back in awe. from the Delta to your house, this is a great set and a must hear – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A
“Go Out” a goodie with a very catchy chorus and a singalong attitude even if it doesn’t entirely lend itself and “There Are Too Many Of Us”a dreary somewhere in the middle of it all slog through overpopulation and now here is # 3, which exists somewhere in the middle.
I have gone back to Pimp-Butterfly over and over again and I am stuck respecting it more in theory than enjoying it in practise. I really don’t like feeling OBLIGED to like something that is leaving me more bemused than amused.
The bottom of the barrel was Monday evening. No “L” train to Brooklyn, a good 90 minute trip to the club, the doors are at 8pm, opening act, figure it is over 11p to 1130p and then what? If I get home by one it will be a miracle ad then not just work but work and the new releases tomorrow.
“Look Away” Chicago – Wow, this is terrible. You know how time improves a song, makes you feel like a nostalgia or maybe just a smile of pleasure for times gone by. This overblown horrorshow rock and soul ballad does nothing of the sort. It is worse than you remember – C-
With a handful of early releases, here is some before the early review reviews, two are retreads three are new reviews, all are pretty good without changing the world.
Morrison sounds great as he sings everything from Irish lullabies to the purest of blues, with soul, pop and everything else there as well; no longer young, he never really sounded all that young any way and now he sounds timeless. Morrison recently decried the state of rhythm and blues (no rhythm, no blues was his assessment) and here you hear wh
This setlist might have problems selling Arenas in the US (forget stadiums). Where is “Madness” for one obvious question? And while there best live moment is here “Stockholm Syndrome”, it assumes too much on the audience. What is “Agitated” doing here?
: I’ve listened to the new Kendrick a lot and I am getting a handle on it but it reminds me of the recent D’Angelo album… shouldn’t this stuff not feel like homework? Like hard work? Like a slog, waiting for the songs to reveal themselves. And I guess they do slowly, “Wesley’s Theory”, “i” and “u”, the undeniable “The Blacker The Berry” but again, would I have spent this much time wthout the hype? Well, yes for “The Blacker The Berry”…
St. John’s first trip to the dance since 2011 and they are one and done. Beaten senseless by the 8th seed San Diego State on the NCAA tournament and why? Because the only big guy they had Chris Obekpa was suspended for marijuana. That was a terribly depressing game, these kids were good players were they wer getting out rebounded, they didn’t have a chance.
An uneventful week on the singles charts, James Bay is this years Hozier, Sam Smith is this years Sam Smith, but what else? Nothing. All quiet in the UK!
Words – Skylar Gray – Just her name makes you think Skylar must be more than this piano balladeer but no, “Love The Way You Lie” and that appears to be it. This is a terrible song, an overblown bore – C-
If it works from the edges, if it is clearly bewildered, if it could only send her away and if true love, or at least true hope, is so difficult to cling to, these are flaws in life not song.Perhaps at her age, it is wrong to search out a new thesis, her failure here is in laying one out, in a confessional that doesn’t know where it’s at
I’ve been listening to the Laura Marling album all week and it is excellent, if not as great as her 2013 effort, Courtney is well hyped but a little samey for my tastes… Earl Sweatshirt? He would be my choice for most anticipated of the year except… VAN MORRISON… If there are any more songs as great as “Irish Heartbeat” or “Some Peace Of Mind”, it will be immediately one of the top ten albums of 2015
Having seen her husband at MSG last year, I am even more excited to see the terrific crazy ex-girlfriend herself, the platinum country gal, and the personality to burn face of the modern side of country Miranda Lambert. Saturday night… it should be one of the concerts of the year.
“Too Many Of Us” suggests Blur are taking the oh no Hong Kong concept of smaller everything to logical extremes with this ode to over population, though, heaven knows, the West has done its parts to keep down the population over the past fifty years. So why is this brick lecturing us, on the awful song?
This masterful folklore (think John Wayne’s “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” for one) reached its apotheosis with this catchy pop soft rock and I for one remember seeing Neil Young’s MSG gig in the middle of Operation Desert Storm with the stage strewn with Yellow Ribbons. It isn’t as good as “Candida” – A
I have been thinking hard about the new Laura Marling album, Short Movie, getting ready to review the Tuesday release, and also getting ready for the Monday concert at Warsaw. I’ve had it in heavy rotation and then began dipping into Laura’s earlier albums.
“I’ll Be There” and “Back In The Old School” are simply first rate and the reason is the same precise reason “Get Lucky” was so great, Rodgers, rhythm master guitar is sublime on both tracks, on “I’ll Be There” it is so huge it powers the entire track, on “Old School” the horns do more than merely back it up and if Bernard Edwards, through no fault of Niles, is not along, and Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin, and Norma Jean Wright., who would have been a huge addition to these songs
The median age of people who live there is 30 years of age, and that explains why Austin is the # 1 market for live concerts, according to Eventbrite (the place I bought my Governors Ball tickets, I might add) as reported by Hypebot…
GIRLPOOL! GIRLPOOL! Definitely the album of choice going into Spring. Though a new Florence Welch, a new Chris Stamey produced by Mitch Easter no less, Shelby Lynn (hope it is half as good as her sisters new album), Mumford And Sons, Best Coast, Ringo, Paul Weller, Brian Wilson… should be a fun season.
Julie Andrews on Kelly & Mike? That should be a love fest right? 5SoS, though q rerun so, in fact, no Brandon Flowers? The best thing you can say about his first solo album is it was better than last Killers albums, my friend Susan Whitall’s stomping ground, “Detroit Free Press editorial page editor Stephen Henderson” on Tavis Smiley. I am going with the Mavericks for Talk Show Guest of the week.
Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow – This is not the one, you will find the one elsewhere on this list, but this is a future for house music, just heavy beats and an addictive hook to take you out. It is all compulsory propulsion out of mind – B+
This speculative fiction is interesting without being enlightening about either the Queen or the Prime Ministers. And to make matters worse, “The Audience” is a lousy play. Oh, it is a fun two hours, for sure, it is just a bad play. It has no arc, it has no crest, it spins its wheels for two hours and then ends.
The EP is kinda exciting in this temperate rock and roll moment: the band seem always on the verge of total collapse, they sound ;ike you just after you’re second Xanax, third line of coke and a double expresso in a bottle of red bull: somewhere between dizzy and dead right. “Handswaps” is a waking nightmare of a song!
During the tour, Crosby will be performing selections from his latest album 2014’s Croz, and his 1971 solo debut, If I Could Only Remember My Name, as well as songs from his bands CSN, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Byrds.
The Weeklings go back to the very beginning with this Beatle cover, and Allison Moorer makes her point and then some, “u” is the best song on the newbie and Evans The Death survives another day. One thing: it is the rare week where you can’t find ten really great songs.
I prefer Dylan to Nathan, I’ve seen both bands a few times and Wavves can edge Cloud Nothings live but Dylan is a great songwriter and I think the synergy here might well be remarkable. Both of these guys are young, so keep your fingers crossed
When Doves Cry – Prince – This is where Prince mixed his blackness and his whiteness in equal measure and evolved his persona into a rock star manque with too much pain on his bands, if not indeed, too many women on his hand – A
“Have you ever been to Rochester Hills, Michigan?I just didn’t want to go back. I can’t be around basic, provincial-thinking people.I Just thought everyone was an idiot.”
Entropy – Grimes And Bleachers – This is where Grimes makes her move back on the charts as a mainstream popstar with help from Jack Antonoff, making both popsters better on this bubblegum downer of immense proportions – A-
If you add up the top three albums in unit sales you get around 350K, which means none of these albums are coming close to putting the charts on fire. Also, where is Kelly Clarkson and Brandi Carlile? Really? One week and out? Finally, “Empire”? Reaches 15 million viewers per episode, which means 1% of their audience bought (not bought, “equivalent album units”) the album. Terrif.
Congrats to New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap, his “Trap Queen” more songs and money and, also, his gal, which is kinda new! Also, the man only has one eye… here is the story: “I tell everybody it’s nothing, because it’s really nothing to me. What happened is, when I was little I had gotten into a little accident and it gave me congenital glaucoma in both of my eyes. The doctor saved one, I was blessed to still have my vision. That’s it. That’s the story.”
Cry – Johnny Ray – if ever a man sounded like his voice, a heart wrenching, tear stained throb for the proto-teen idol early precursor to Elvis and rock and roll. This song had the bobby soxers in an uproar like Roy Orbison would never exist – A
That’s Azealia Banks, a great rapper, maybe the best woman rapper out there, she goes where Nicki Minaj didn’t quite get, talking to Playboy Magazine, where she posed nude in the April. And where we nicked these pictures.
If Broudy was going after Taylor Swift maybe you think, wow, brave move but Bieber is the poster boy for being hated on.while feeling sorry for Justin is a bit beyond my pay level, there is a real human being underneath all that hating. In the end, Bieber is the boy it is cool to bully. And it isn’t fun any more.
We are Paul with new loves, John during break ups, Ringo over lunch with college pals, George when hungover, John in righteous indignation, Paul in loving sublimation, Paul when we are loving our kids, Ringo when we’re playing with them and John when we are reprimanding them.
Not that I wish him dead of course, he is a really nice guy, but because his haunting vocals and song constructions, his beautiful damaged persona, his ghost of Jeff Buckley (not to mention Roy Orbison) personality would be so very much more popular if he was indeed a ghost.
