• K'naan – Troubadour -There is quite a bit of hype surrounding this guy and his break into the mainstream. Knaan, formerly of Somalia, living in Toronto now (by way of NYC) is basically a combination of Wycleff and Will I Am (The former is hit and miss but all around cool, the latter is on my top 5 list of famous people I’d most love to punch in the face...) I was hoping for something good, sadly the hype did not deliver. For me personally, the Will I Am similarities are just too strong, as I read somewhere, Troubadour is like a Will I Am version of the Slumdog Millionare soundtrack which is spot on. There are a couple of noteworthy tracks though…
o Bang Bang (ft. Adam Levine) – *also free single of the week* Adam Levine sings a catchy radio friendly hook that I could see people enjoying
o If Rap Gets Jealous – More of a rock sound, the definite standout for me…
• Slumdog Millionare Soundtrack – If you haven’t seen this movie, GO SEE IT. It won’t change your life, but I’ve yet to meet someone who hasn’t liked it. The 2 best features of the film in my opinion are the location and the music. The songs take the movie to an entirely different level which is evident from the first scene which features “O…Saya” One of the best parts of the entire movie…
o O…Saya – Drum driven loud powerful song featuring a rap verse by the freshest of 3rd world funk M.I.A. I felt like I was in an IMAX theatre when this song plays in the movie. Not sure if it took the Oscar for best song, but it should have.
o Latika’s Theme – Slow and instrumental (I think- I’ve fallen asleep to it twice going to bed…In a GOOD way) really beautiful, again perfect in the movie. There is also a version with English words called ‘Dreams on Fire” but I think this comes off cheesy (in a Titanic sort of way), I’d really suggest Latika’s Theme version.
o Jai Ho – Everyone talks about it, a great song. When A.R. Rahman sings the drawn out “Jai Hoooo” it sounds a little Bollywood, but hey it’s 2009. (no idea what that means)
• War child- Heroes vol 1- A cast of largely European artists pay tribute to children of war torn countries by covering some classic euro songs. Most are pretty weird, but there are some standouts for sure…Frogive me if these are old favorites of yours being slaughtered but as I wasn’t too familiar to any of them here are my favorites:
o The Hold Steady
“Atlantic City” – This Bruce Springsteen cover is chills worthy, the simple voice over piano is so good, then it busts out into a full blown band, sax and all. The guys voice is really gritty and cool, there is a section where they sing “maybe everything that dies…” 4 times straight with no music, which seems oddly long and misplaced, but worth it overall for sure.
o Lily Allen
Straight to Hell – originally sung by the clash, (sampled by M.I.A. in Paper Planes) more polished and produced, and overall lighter than the original but very laid back, and the vocals are crisp and layered nicely. It has a cool vibe that Lily Allen can pull off (Tanner that’s for you)
o Elbow
Running to Stand Still – Cover of U2’s song, really stripped down and really well done. I’m sure many of you know the original, which I didn’t but I like their version a lot. Again, very slow lullaby type song.
• Green River Ordinance
o Out of My Hands - This group Green River Ordinance has worked with 3 producers who collectively have writing credits on multiple major rock/pop commercial successes, so this is gonna be good right? Wrong, sort of…The entire album is radio friendly, but every song would be better in the hands of another group or artist. But in GRO’s hands, every song sounds the same, and even the best melodies are forgettable. If I heard one song on the radio alone, it may stand out. But all together there’s no standout. The lead singer must really like Rob Thomas cuz he tries badly to sound like him at times, but not as good. Check it out tho, I want to like it but I just can’t, but maybe just maybe, you can.
• Jonas Brothers Live
o Yes, I sampled it. See what I do for you?? Bottom line, these kids suck and I feel bad for parents who have to sit through these concerts, hopefully beer is sold. That out of the way, Chelsea Handler played a clip of them being interviewed by Barbawa Wawa and one of them described their lead singer as having a real “Mick Jagger” vibe to him! Wow… Chelsea went on to say, “Just so you know, a true rock band’s fans don’t wear 3D glasses to see in 3D, they drop acid.” Amen.
• Britney Spears “Circus Remixes” – none as good as the original but just in case…
o Villains Remix – Speeds it up, more club friendly. But ruins the best part music change at “When I put on a show…”
o Diplo Remix – cool drum beat added
o Tom Neville’s Ringleader Remix – The only remix which takes the song in a new direction
• Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
o I Want Something That I Want – So weird, this song is a re-release of an acoustic duet, now as a pop version. The original is much better, check out Grace Potter & Bethany Joy Galeotti. Listen to both and you decide.
o Acoustic duet version here
• Twista
o Wetter – Classic Twista, slightly raunchy slow jam, jam packed with as many words as humanly possible. I think the SNSJ (Sunday Night Slow Jams) aficionados will appreciate this one…(cough*Trav*cough)
•Macy Gray- I slapped A Bitch
Dear Macy,
Too soon.
Sincerely,
Rihanna
THROW BACK SONGS OF THE WEEK
• Mase - All I Ever Wanted
• Bone Thugs - Ghetto Cowboy
o I heard the 1st on the radio yesterday, just remembered the 2nd after “1st of the Month” played, and man do I miss these songs. Used to have both, but lost them in the great ipod fiasco of ’06. itunes doesn’t have either. I hope you do, if not check them out online.
Hope you enjoyed, I think this layout is MUCH better. I wish I could just post the itunes 30 sec clips, but until I figure out how to do that, youtube will suffice!
Night..
DWMWY
Cody
