Saturday Night Live is almost as old as I am! This is kind of crazy to even think about it, but on February 15th, the famous TV show will celebrate its 40th Anniversary with a crazy musical lineup: Paul McCartney, Kanye West – are these two becoming siamese twins these days? – Justin Timberlake, Paul Simon and Taylor Swift….
Rappers are still going strong even those I haven’t heard anything from for a long time, like Diddy ($60 million and $1.90 per second)! Beside this you have Calvin Harris ($66 million and $2.09 per second), Jay Z ($60 million and $1.90 per second), and Drake ($33 million and $1.05 per second)
What a difference seeing an entertainer like JT up close and personal! His dance moves, his expressions, I can see everything and the music … I can feel everything. It’s as though the bass and percussion are my life support, if left without the music my heart would stop beating.
Looks like the summer of the Ig to me and franly I am surprised that she is doing this well, though not shocked. Both “Fancy” and “Problems” are as good as modern dance mash Hip Hop gets and look as though they are settling in for a long stay at the top. As long as “Blurred Lines”? Maybe not though…
Can I pick em? No, not at all. I could’ve sworn both Coldplay and Michael Jackson were gonna bomb and bomb big and they both hit the charts in the first week. Avicii produced by the Coldplay song, I just assumed it was Eno!
Billboard doesn’t lie or at least money doesn’t lie and so even if your taste doesn’t coincide with the members of the zeitgeists, well here you have what the zeitgist is really like. Or was in 2013. I admire a lot of these names. And am happy to concede Timberlake as the artist of the year if not Katy Perry as best female artist.
Jackson could certainly suck, any time he mentioned children your skin began to crawl, but This Is It and Michael are not on the same planet as Invincible. The truth is the post-mortem MJ has sucked from beginning to end “Love Never Felt So Good” doesn’t help in the slightest.
That run from DJ Snake to the end is the best I’ve seen in months and months and months, all of it is good and Timberlake’s “Not A Bad Thing” is one of his greatest moments ever. As pure and as perfect a pop song as you will ever hear plus? It isn’t connected at the hips with a dog as it is on the album
“You know what? I am going to get serious for a minute. And I know we have to do this quickly because I know we don’t have a lot of time. That was actually my fifth step in AA at Betty Ford and someone, when I was moving, must have taken a photo of it so that’s a really personal thing.”
They both entered the public conscious around the same time and both have distinct personalities while remaining essentially unknown qualities. You never get to the bottom of these guys, all the charm is a layer of finesse to help maintain complete privacy, every action a modulated concern of career and counter career, every event a non event, every story a scolded subtraction.
Anytime Jahn Xavier brings together Charles Roth and Tom Curiano together as the Bowerytones for a night of music is a night not to be missed. The last time I saw them play was at this very venue and man did it kick hard, indeed, it was one of the best shows imaginable and I have hope
When you start off with Paul McCartney singing “Merry Little Christmas” you set yourself up for goals unheard of. Right down to the adorable snow.. and I DONT EVEN LIKE MCCARTNEY! The magic of Fallon just radiates.
But as if the North Star cleared the way a miracle happens at 30 Rock this December 21. A line up so perfect that for one day I will be sure to watch. Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon. These two should just tour together.
Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids take to the stage with Pusher Love Girl. The backdrop is white with shadows of JT and the band with streaming white lights – simple, sexy. What I love about Justin Timberlake – he is a contemporary artist with ‘real’ sophistication
The crowd was there to drink in his sex appeal and let it wash over them along with the amazing laser light show. This was not a teenybopper show, as the music and dancing practically dripped sexuality, and the audience was not a bunch of kids (except for the ones who were)
In 2013 JTstarted off great but derailed a little. Despite the weakness of too many tracks and parts of his live show, he did a pretty credible job. But when you are playing in these leagues pretty credible won’t cut it. JT? Great? Yes. Greatest? Nah, in hindsight that experience has passed him by.
Live on stage the man is a whole other thing. Whether at the Gov’s Ball or the Clapton Crossroads, or, indeed, opening for King’s Of Leon, which he will be doing early next year, GCJ is aiming for the highest reaches of rock God status.
Wicked Games – The Weeknd – The sound of modern r&b is a slo mo dub step droopiness that the youngsters seem to dig today, if it had a better melody maybe I’d agree that this production star is big time – C+
I think we can all agree that Jay- Z schooled Justin Timberlake in stadium rock at Yankee Stadium last summer BUT Arena rock? My bet is young Justin is gonna kill it at Izod Center on Saturday.
It’s 2:30A and I am wide awake. What I really want to do is go back to sleep but I know myself too well. I’ll lay here for an hour or so and not fall asleep until about 4A which typically would be okay but I really want to go to the gym and Spin at 5:30A
Early Days – Paul McCartney – The strange thing about this terrific song is how old Paul sounds, he sounds every inch his 70 plus years and the effect, as he reaches for a note out of his range, is less elegiac and more wearied – A
I am losing interest fast in Justin, not entirely, but really only one great song. Haim are a real bore and Alter Bridge (the guys who wrote the music for Creed – wow, that’s some kinda credentials) are hard pressed to be worse
This is Justin’s best song since, I dunno, “What Goes Round”? It doesn’t so much focus as diffuse the albums. The only long track that really worked was “Mirrors’ and the only other first tier track is this one.
Knockdown Dragout – Sammy Hagar – Along with Kid Rock and Joe Satriani, and I know it should suck but this thing is bursting at the seams with riffs and shout outs – B+
Not A Bad Thing – Justin Timberlake – The penultimate song of the entire 1 becomes 2 wedding double album is this equal to “Mirrors” in enterprise and superior in melody masterpiece – A
Unvarnished – Joan Jett And The Blackhearts – You know what you hope it sounds like? That’s exactly what it sounds like; glam rock, power rock, street anthem, soccer game top of the terrace at the top of your lungs singalonga – B+
This isn’t state of the art, Timberland is a little out of time for one thing, but it functions as a a 22 song dance suite with the occassional song jutting out. It has scope but not depth and I admire it and enjoy it.
More Than – Au Revoir Simone – This reminds me of all those indie pop bands with a touch more better living with electricity thrown into the mix. Sort of Pains of Being Pretty At Heart – B+
This is a swirl of modern blues, poppier than her earlier stuff? Well, certainly faster than we’re used to, the arrangement includes what sounds like a drum machine, and, wow, back up singers. Trixie has already left Four Corners in her review mirror – B+
