She Wolf – Shakira – Around about here, Shakira seemed seeped in the possibility of being a major pop artists as well as a pop star, but it all became too much and she imploded. This song is a pop art stroke she couldn’t ever follow up – A
The Latin artist will be the last hurrah of the World Cup Soccer Tournament in Brazil on July 13th. The disappointments have been huge this year with both England and America bombing out too early. Shit happens, life goes on but for a few weeks seemed that this was the number one topic at the water cooler.
Yeah, no one is shocked that Pharrell is back at # 2 but what is shocking is how much it has sold: 29,000 copies. If all you are selling here is 29K maybe it isn’t really anything very much. Record sales appear to be coming to an end while the new musical equations are more like a polularity than a sales contest.
This isn’t even a popularity contest. Book ended by two perennials, the 8 in the middle will be gone by next week. So let me take a moment to mention how much I enjoy MCR greatest hits? Alright? On to next week.
Heart Is A Drum – Beck – Elegant folk ambient mood music includes the sweetest melody he has written in many years and a mix of string instruments that has some of the airiness of Laurel Canyon in its DNA and the rhythm of life flowing through it – A
Baby Ride Easy – Johnny And Jane Carter Cash – So now we know where Dave Edmunds and Carlene Carter heard it, Johnny and June covering the song for one Billy Sherrill back in the 80s. Not bad, and the fiddle break is more than that, but Dave and Carlene jumped for joy all the way through their version – B+
A later generations Sly Stone releases a full set from circa Brown Sugar, twenty years after its expiration date and it is still better than just about anything else you might consider funk. There is no way to overstate the case for this album and if we are never getting another album and if he can’t release the Radio City Music Hall gig from 2000, this will do very nicely. ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A
I am excited for the new Hold Steady and always to hear from Barry Manilow. From what I’ve heard of Shakira I can’t claim to be thrilled at the concept of her newbie but I could be wrong. Yokyo Police Club? Sure, let’s rock. And to top it off Grieves all important sophomore effort and a great lost Johnny Cash album.
There is nothing less erotic than these two in a bed an I swear I tried to find some sort of arousal factor in their performance but instead it looked like posing for a photo shoot rather than an actual entanglement.
Me And Liza – Rufus Wainwright – “Famous till the day that we die….” After tributing her Mama, Rufus, on this Out Of The Game outtake, sings a pure pop Rufus style kiss to the legend; the song is a standard MOR sound which I kinda hope he grows out of – B+
Talking Backwards – Real Estate – A consistently disappointing band who are so soft on the sides everything seems to slop over, come up with a killer melody and a tight arrangement ; it is like REM without the mushy lyrics – A
