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.

News

Classic Songs Added to The Grammy Hall Of Fame 2015

Here are the inductees for the Grammy Hall Of Fame and it is sure difficult (and a suckers game) to argue with any of them, though I’ll be happy to try but I’d have to really take a look at all the past songs inducted because, I mean, who thinks that’s Hank’s only tracK

Slideshow

Hear, My Friends: Rita X Wolf

Rita X Wolf is a writer, critic, art aficionado and my facebook friend who answered the call for five songs she was listening to right the moment I requested it. “I just attended a Gene Clark (70th birthday) Byrds (50th anniversary show) so…”

News

10 Songs: Saturday, December 19th, 2014

Naughty – The Musical Original Soundtrack – The shoulda been a contender off the Broadway Musical, has a nice rhythm stop and start till it reaches the bridge, which is lovely indeed. Unfortunately, kids sound like kids… axiom for the ages? “Sometimes you have to make a little mischief” – B+

Album Reviews, Slideshow

Sam Smith Goes Platinum

A huge problem that doesn’t dwarf Sam having sold a million copies (platinum!) of In The Lonely Hour, to go along with his (gasp) six grammy nominations. One of only three albums to reach the plateau in 2014, but what can he do with it if he can’t project it on stage?

Slideshow

The A+ List Christmas 2014

What I am claiming, about all three songs, is they are death songs. It dreams of something that doesn’t exist and then ties the dream to our death. Good? More. Brilliant because it is instant nostalgia, we are missing what we are hearing, and dreaming of it happening as it happens.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Friday, December 19th, 2014

Joe Steinhardt’s best song is a strange, very melodic song, sung spoke with a loner, alienated, white blues feel to it, and lyrics that seem to be in the process of discovering themselves, though the truth is they are well studied articulation of emotional inertia – A+

Album Reviews, Slideshow

Best Albums Of 2014 #17: Kate Tempest's "Everybody Down"

The sounds are deep, beautiful, haunting and rough, violent images and the stories are working class stories of horror and faith, “Everywhere is monsters. Tits out, wet-mouthed, heads back. Shouting and screaming just to prove they exist” is how the story of Becky opens, she meets a guy in bar, he goes off to a bad drug deal, she becomes a sex worker and the happy ending isn’t at all.

Slideshow, US Top 10 Singles

US Top 10 Singles 12-27-14

Wow, the last singles chart of the year is a great one one A+, four as, 5 B=s, this is the best chart since I satarted keeping track in 2009, every song here is a doozy and the top and the bottom are magnificent star turns. Both of Meghans hit home and the Ed Sheeran is his greatest moment ever. What a Christmas.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Thursday, December 18th, 2014

Steel And Feathers (Don’t Ever) – Nikki Jean – I don’t know how I ever missed this, it is better than the entire New Basement Tapes Band album combined, half completed, it didn’t make it onto “Shot Of Love” and Nikki polished it off in 2011 – A+

Be Here Now, Slideshow

Be Here Now: First Reviews Of New Albums, December 17th, 2014

The “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is one of the most glorious things you’ll hear this year and the entire three hour manifestation of jam meets Pink Floyd (live) is exceptionally great, channeling the late Richard Wright before the entire band and especially Haynes whose opening solo will ring on long after it’s over, blasts it to the edges. – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A

Movies, Slideshow

Chris Rock's "Top 5" Reviewed

Chris doesn’t believe his own concept, and definitely without the easy mix of memory, fantasy and future shock. there is something about it just almost not quite good enough, like the title riff on best five rappers, or like the hellbent on happening pseudo romance or even the entire alcoholism subtext.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Tuesday, December 16th, 2014

Comfort Ye My People – Choir Of King’s College – Handel’s Messiah is one of the great oratorios and the soloist here, singing the words of the King James Bible, is a beautiful tenor of hope and salvation. Belief, even faith, has little to do with this, you don’t have to believe the composition, you just have to listen – A+

Slideshow, UK Top 10 Albums

UK Top 10 Albums 12-20-14

Great list, nothing that makes me throw up and two A’s, and lots of B’s and of the two A’s, how great is the new AC/DC? In rock we trust indeed, this sounds like the sound of going home and wait for it, I bet they play MSG by the end of the summer.

Slideshow

UK Top 10 Singles, December 20th, 2014

I know it says Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson but let’s be clear here, what it is is James Brown being ripped off yet again, this time by the Little Richard of pop. In other news, I believe they finally decided where to bury the man though the fight over his estate is going on and on. Somebody should slip em a copy of Dicken’s “Bleak House”

Slideshow

10 Songs: Monday, December 15th, 2014

Sound Of Da Police – KRS One – Born again KRS, here handles a problem that has gone spiralling out of control but with a chorus so strong it sounds like a threat coming home to roar: “woot woot that’s the sound of the beat” – A+

Opinion, Slideshow

Top 5 Rappers

The top five of the title is a game in which the characters name the best five rappers of all time. Ridiculously, they only sneak Biggie in when obviously he is the greatest of all time. Still, I am happy they remebered KRS One even if I didn’t include him

Slideshow

10 Songs: Sunday,December 14th, 2014

Bleed Me Dry – Laura Marling – Jesus, that is a magnificent lick. Laura bases the not untypical self-portrait round it on this yet to be released song and she finger picks it and her fingers seem to dance along the strings. Brilliance – A

Lists, Slideshow

Only From My ITunes Playlist

If I download a CD, I can only hear it on the PC I downloaded it on with Spotify, but I can hear it anywhere with ITunes. Specifically, when I am listening to concerts I’ve recorded, demos I’ve been sent, like that, I can’t use Spotify.

Slideshow

The Importance Of Beats

Diddy and Drake crossed paths at Fontainebleau Hotel’s Liv club and in the parking lot, Diddy punched him, damaging Drake’s shoulder, and left him with a cool as fuck “Take care of your business”. And as long as guns aren’t being drawn a non-story right, rap star? Dog bites man

Slideshow

10 Songs: Saturday, December 13th, 2015

On the day after Marvin Gaye was murdered I was inconsolable, and LIVE AID did nothing at all to change it till prince presented the video of a new song, this song, and stopped the show -a masterpiece of beat and tempo, a herky jerk bass throbbing work the likes of which he never came close to again: this did what it should have, it matched his funk and pop sensibilities – A+

Slideshow

My Year In Music 2015 According To Spotify

Spotify, in their infinite wisdom, compiled a year in music for me based upon the 149,043 minutes I spent on the music streaming service, or 248 hours, or ten days non stop. It didn’t particularly surprise, though it did make me wonder if they interpreted hip hop under the spot genre.

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