Slideshow

Charts, Slideshow, US Top 10 Singles

US Top 10 Singles 6-14-15

Wiz is back on top, Tay is right behind and if you include “Uptown Funk” that is nearly every # 1 we’ve had this year. The songs here, I like some, I like some less, but they are all of a piece and it all starts with the drums. The drum sound here is uniform across every single song, including “Shut Up And Dance with me”. Looking at this, I am amaed by the duiversity… in 1967. This is all very similar.

Live, Slideshow

Girlpool At Amoeba, Tuesday June 2nd 2015

There’s something so artisanal and DIY in their attitude, they arrived with a school notebook in which they write their setlists as if they were entries for their common girl dairies. During the whole set, the two girls seemed so in phase with each other, having some funny and almost intimate chatting between the singing parts, and totally connecting during the songs, looking like two perfect accomplices

Recorded, Singles Going Steady, Slideshow

Singles Going Steady: New Singles Reviewed Week Of June 1st, 2015

Off the soundtrack to the movie “Southpaw”, this is a braggarts pleasure, nobody spits it and rhymes it for five minutes as well as Em, and this isn’t him in Ree duet pop mode, this is hot firing on all cylinders. “I am phenomenal with every ounce of my blood” he roars, as Eminem works for all its worth the boxing-rapper metaphor. Consider it “Eight Miles” by other means. DJ Khalil produced it – B+

Charts, Slideshow, US Top 10 Albums

US Top 10 Albums 6-14-15

I know I am in the minority but I prefer A$AP Rocky’s new one to Kendrick’s new one, not lyrically and not rapping, but sound and song it is a masterful piece of work. Try “Acid”, “Excuse Me” and “Jukebox Joints” and then go in deep. Otherwise, I know a “C+” doesn’t seem impressive, but in the world of CCM it is the equivalent of an “A”

News, Slideshow

What If Rock Stars Were The Days Of The Week?

If one more person comes up to me today and says “get a life Lababedi”, I’m gonna play the new Dawes album on their ass till they beg for forgiveness. I wanted a life and I got a life and heavy knows I was miserable, so instead of spending my life getting it, I shall spend my life doing completely ridiculous wastes of time like this: imagining what the days of the week would be if they were rock stars

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

Sepp Blatter stepped down as President of the Football Association FIFA amid allegations of huge corruption, kickbacks, bribery, you know, like Albany only for sports. Incidentally, if FIFA had given the US the next world cup instead of Qatar, I wouldn’t if the US would’ve pursued the corruption charges quite as vigorously?

News, Slideshow

Glastonbury 2015 Line Ups… Governors Ball On Steroids

it has been to rain a lot at Glastonbury and unlike our own Governors Ball, people camp out (yuck, right). Here are the performers and get ready to have you mind boggled. It is like Governors ball on steroids plus the Who!!!! And Suede and Kanye and FKA Twigs, Gregory Porter… It really is unreal, it dwarfs Coachella

News, Slideshow

on The Road With Billy Joel And On Billy Joel… Boulevard To be Named In His Honor

“a bill in the State Legislature to name a part of state Route 107 in the Long Island town Oyster Bay after Billy Joel passed in the Senate last week. The bill, which was sponsored by state Senator Jack Martins and Assemblyman Michael Montesano, proposes that the “stretch of South Broadway from East John Street to West Old Country Road” will be called ‘Billy Joel Boulevard’.”

Charts, Slideshow

10 Songs: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2015

Irony. Utility. Pretext – Algiers – A deep track off their very dramatic new album is, well, very dramatic, a soulful wail like Jim Morrison with a cold and thrashing swirls of dark snyths and whips, all leading to a Gospel denouement. Wild stuff from the deep South – B+

Live, Slideshow

JD McPherson At Amoeba, Monday June 1st 2015

JD McPherson gave a really great show to the Amoeba crowd, playing a set full of a vibrant energy deeply rooted in American music history. Despite his young age, McPherson transports his audience in an early-Elvis era, as his 50’s-inspired music sounds like a Sun Records throwback

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

While Richard Branson saw the space age as a cheap holiday for billionaires, Elon Musk, the inventor of Pay Pal, saw it as a way to cut itself right into the industrial complex with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Excited: How about the Air Force allowing Space X to bid on Air Force launch business. The price of a launce has been $160M, Elon says he can do it for $100M. Wow.

Live, Slideshow

JD McPherson At Amoeba, Monday June 1st 2015

JD McPherson gave a really great show to the Amoeba crowd, playing a set full of a vibrant energy deeply rooted in American music history. Despite his young age, McPherson transports his audience in an early-Elvis era, as his 50’s-inspired music sounds like a Sun Records throwback

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Monday, June 1st, 2015

Senator Rand Paul filibustered a delay on the revised Patriots act vote, thereby delaying it till Tuesday or Wednesday. I may not agree with much that either the Tea Party or the Kentuckian does, but institutionalized spying should be illegal without a warrant. Paul is running for President.

Live, Slideshow

Courtney Barnett At The Roxy, Saturday May 30th, Review

And after much more stage action and ‘Lance Jr’ (a song which certainly has a strong Nirvana vibe), I got this revelation, Courtney Barnett was totally channeling Kurt Cobain! She commanded the scene like a guy, sweeping the room with an impressive force, while being all over the place, unpredictable, creative and destructive

Charts, Slideshow, UK Top 10 Singles

UK Top 10 SIngles 6-7-15

this is the blandest of bland charts, there is nothing, not even the Tay remix, that isn’t product and not great product either. Maybe, MAYBE Lunchbox Lewis is the real thing, MAYBE Omi, but everything else here is way too manufactured even for a manufactured cult.

Charts, Slideshow, UK Top 10 Albums

UK Top 10 Albums 6-7-15

A$AP Rocky has been on heavy rotation all week and I see no reason to stop now, Will Young on the other hand is a painfully wimpy MOR singer who I have whole other levels of meh for. This is the fourth # 1, who won the very first season of the franchise that would be know as American Idol, the UK’s Pop Idol.

Charts, Slideshow

10 Songs: Sunday, May 30th, 2015

Tom’s Diner – Giorgio Moroder with Britney Spears – The Suzanne Vega track with a hook to die for is given a full blown disco work over, including a Moroder spoken interlude and a Britney heavily vocoded vocal. Terrific but the song was always a goodie – A-

Best Of 2015, Recorded, Slideshow

The Best Of 2015: Songs Through May 31st, 2015

There are at least four songs here that sound major to me, Jason Isbell and Titus Andronicus at the top of the list and A$AP Rocky and ZZ Ward not far behind, so if this doesn’t feel like big time pop moment month, it isn’t because of the best, it is because of everything else. Two of my favorite songs this year, by Daytripper and Charlie Funk, aint even out yet. For Daytripper, God knows when she’ll get around to it

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Sajak’s penultimate song last night was a cover of The Stranglers epic self portrait “(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)”, one of the tastiest licks you’ll hear. Meanwhile, Dawes fans are upset I gave their new album a “B”…. they don’t seem to understand how I can like the playing and the lyric but think the songs didn’t make it.

News, Slideshow

Bruce Springsteen’s Tribute To Pete Townshend

As I grew older, the Who’s music seemed to grow with me. The sexual frustration, the politics, identity. These things coursed through my veins with every concurring Who album. I always found myself there somewhere in their music. “The Seeker”; the seeker is the guy in “Born to Run.”

Live, Slideshow

Let’s Active: rock nyc Concert Picks Week of June 1st, 2015

OK, we all know where this is going so why fight it, right? Three days of love, peace and music in the Bronx, it is GOVERNORS BALL WEEK!!! fave: Kate Tempest, Noel Gallagher, Drake, Florence And The Machine, Bjork, Flying Lotus, Weird Al… and more. The only real disaster is Saturday evening, everything else, even Lana Del rey at the end of Sunday, should be fun on Randall’s Island.

controversy, News, Slideshow

Action Bronson’s Show Cancelled At NXNE Because Of A Petition

‘Then dig your shorty out cuz I geeked her up on molly/Have her eating dick, no need for seasoning/If seven dudes are in the room then she’s pleasing them/Like a trooper. Hit her in the pooper. Throw her in the shower/Then I take her out to Lupa I’m kinky, I’ll hit it even if it’s stinky/Put em in the shower, make the pussy brand new Ran through/Give ’em money what I can’t do Stuff her lunchbox & burn her with the candle.’

Charts, Slideshow

10 Songs: Saturday, May 30th, 2015

Something About You – Hayden James – Aussie producer is the purest of house, tinkering with tempo, slowing it down to a crawl on the bridge before readying a steady pounding mid-tempo sound. It goes deeper and deeper before free falling out -as far from dropping the bass as you can get – B

Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Saturday, May 30th, 2015

The dream is over, the Rangers lost in seven and all we can do now is wipe away our tears and thank the Lord we didn’t pony up $650 for a ticket to the game at MSG. Henrik Lundqvist is the Patrick Ewing of New York Hockey… time to go home. Just wait till next year.

Live, Slideshow

Will Butler At The Troubadour, Wednesday May 27th 2015, Review

I saw Will at the Troubadour last night, and it was a very pleasant show, laid back and filled with humor and energy, a very intimate one too, as I was standing as close as you can get, still mad at the strict policy of the Troubadour not allowing decent cameras inside (I never have this problem when I go to a show on the eastside) and imagining all the good shots I could have made of Will’s funny poses and comic moves.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Friday, May 29th, 2015

Superstition – Stevie Wonder – Stevie on things you don’t understand but all these years later, what the hell? “… ain’t the way”? Is that what you wanna tell me. Still, it sounds awful good – A

Recorded, Slideshow

Total True Groove Catalog Reviewed

Through the past three years, Tomas and his True Groove family have been releasing songs at a ridiculous clip, song after album after song and about to enter its third residency next week in less than year. Before things got completely out of hand, I though I’d work my way through the catalog and tell you what’s out there

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