NMT 5/5 -5/19 Long post but worth the read!

Sorry for the delay, but I am back with 3 weeks worth of music in 1 post. It may appear long, but I assure you it is worth it (some really cool stuff on this post) Before we begin, which do you prefer, the links opening up to youtube or the links which open up the itunes page of the respective song? I have a little of both in this one, but i'd appreciate some feedback as to what you would rather have moving forward. Thanks and enjoy!

5/5/08

Well, if the theme of the previous week was how big the men of R&B stepped up, this one should be how the women fell short. With the album releases of both Chrisette Michelle (modern throw back voice and style) and Ciara (Lil Jon dubbed “Princess of Crunk ‘n B”) I had high hopes for this week, unfortunately I was let down, we all were…

• Chrisette Michelle – Epiphany – Michelle’s throw back sound to Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, etc…was refreshing and welcoming on her debut album, but the second time around, she takes a more modern approach which clashes with her unique voice. The result? If anything Michelle comes across as slightly annoying on most of the tracks (not what she was aiming for I’m sure). I understand the move to more contemporary sounding music (low ablum sales the first time around/not being pigeon-holed into a specific type of sound) but Epiphany is a step backwards in my opinion. This multiple Grammy winner is talented enough to get a listen, so here are the 2 songs worth checking out…
o All I Ever Think About
o Playin Our Song

• Ciara – Fantasy Ride – The past couple of years must have been hard for Ciara, watching Rihanna sky-rocket to the top of the charts not once, twice, but multiple times, leaving Ciara clutching to those good old Goodies days. Can’t we all just 1,2 step again? Well, it is time for Ciara to reclaim the title of the R&B/pop charts with her follow up to The Evolution (a weak sophomore effort with too much ambition and not enough hits). What is her game plan? A 3 part concept album titled Fantasy Ride made up of: 1) Crunk ‘n B, 2) Dance tracks, and 3) Slow Jams (i.e. Promise). Well, the 3 part thing got scrapped and after many delays Fantasy Ride was finally released with one set of songs comprised of all 3 styles. Once again, conceptually doing too much, and failing to execute on the most important piece: MAKE GOOD SONGS! The first single is a perfect example of what happens when nobody tells Justin Timberlake "no". Love Sex Magic? Sounds like a bad Vegas show, and turns out to be an even worse song. The most frustrating part lies in the fact that unlike Rihanna, Ciara happens to be one of the best dancers in the business, capable of taking a great song and turning it into an even better visual performance (vocals not so much). Fantasy Ride fails on almost all levels, with the exception of one portion…Her slow jams. The slow creeping, grimy, running tracks backed by some deep boom, boom-kats are where she shines here. Sadly there are only a few…Highlights:
o Like a Surgeon
o Tell Me What Your Name Is

• Elliot Yamin – Can’t Keep On Lovin You – American Idol alum Elliot Yamin released his sophomore album this week and let me tell you he’s no Mcphee. Haha, seriously though he has a great voice, but this track is the only real stand out for me. Most of the cd sounds the same.

• Ra Ra Riot – A really good mellow band releases some remixes pulling back on the violins and instruments, and adding some synth and electronic influences; all in all, these should catch your attention in a good way. These links will bring up the itunes store only open if you have itunes!
o Run My Mouth (RAC Mix)
o Ghosts Under Rocks (Passion Pit Mix)


5/12/08


• Parachute – Losing Sleep – Not gonna go into a ton of detail on these guys, but I believe this is their debut album, and it is definitely a solid one. Here are a few of my favorites from the 30 second samples, but all in all this cd sounds good from front to back. A quazi Fray sound, catchy piano/guitar driven with vocal hints of Fall out Boy/Panic @ the Disco (at times) (maybe) (just listen).
o She is Love*
o Under Control
o She (for Liz)

• Cam’Ron – Crime Pays – What can I say this guy didn’t turn in the dude who stole his car cuz he’s not a snitch. Who hasn’t been there? New cd out, these songs are good...why? great music and sampling, you'll see...(tell anybody otherwise and you’re a snitch, nobody likes a snitch)
o Never Ever
o Silky (no homo)
o Spend the Night

• Jordin Sparks - Battlefield – Written and produced by Ryan Tedder (One Repulic) – doesn’t this guy have anything better to do than write songs for EVERY American Idol? I guess this song is catchy? I’m not a huge fan, but it’s a solid effort.

THE NEXT FEW ARTISTS ARE MY FAVORITE OF THIS 3 WEEK POST - LiSTEN UP!

• Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – A very cool band that has slipped between the cracks of my musical knowledge for far too long. Who knew French guys could make such good music? Great melodies blending a bunch of genres, into a seemingly effortless cool end product that could both fit into any ipod commercial, or any hipster’s budget mp3 player (because apple has become so obtuse).
o Lizstomania
o 1901
o Girlfriend

• Bloc Party – Intimacy Remixed – My favorite band of all time re-releasing their latest album Intimacy – but this time it’s wiki-wiki-remixed…2nd time the Bloc has released an entire remix of an album by various DJ’s and groups. Genius. I could praise them for pages and pages, but I’ll spare you. Here are the best ones from Intimacy Remixed. Listen to them and then GO CHECK OUT ALL OF THEIR OTHER MATERIAL!!
o Biko (Mogwai Remix)
o Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)
o Talons (Phones RIP Remix)
o Letter to my Son (Gold Panda Remix)

• Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad (ft. Leighton Meester) – Cool song from a somewhat “hit or miss” group. If you like Metro Station (Shake It) you should enjoy this.


5/19/09


• Passion Pit – Manners – Every now and again the itunes featured music provides me with a group or artist that stops me in my tracks and leaves me love drunk of its humps. Passion Pit is one of those groups. There are similarities here to MGMT, but where MGMT has a few great songs and the rest are just too weird, Passion Pit’s Manners has more than a few hits, in fact I’ve yet to hear a miss. This is the music I dance to alone when everyone else goes to work. So time for you to put down your calculators and get your collective groove on. You know you want to!
o The Reeling
o Little Secrets
o Moth’s Wings

As Heard on Grey’s Anatomy…Or should have been

• Matt Kearney – City of Black and White – The songs on Kearney’s new cd may sound alike one track to the next, almost every song on here has something special, whether it be a great melody, a catchy hook, bulding orchestra, etc…If you like one, you will most likely enjoy the entire cd.
o Closer to Love
o Never be Ready

• Kate Voegele - Who You Are Without Me - Talented young singer/songwriter comparable to a Vanessa Carlton or Michele Branch. New cd out, I like this song.

• Ingrid Michaelson - Turn to Stone – Michaelson comes through with yet another heart-wrenching piano driven ballad, so moving, so powerful, so utterly emotive (give me a second, talk amongst yourselves) that yes my friends, it was featured in this years’ Grey’s Anatomy Finale. While I don’t watch the show, the minute I looked it up on youtube, the posts and comments made it evident that women everywhere were balling and largely in part to this song.

• The Paradiso Girls - Patron Tequila – Why this song wasn’t featured on Grey’s Anatomy after Michaelson's Turn to Stone I will never know. But it is so incredibly touching and poetic. Life suddenly makes sense now. Just listen and you will understand. Peace unto you all, I leave you with this…

“Hey girl where’s your drink?
We goin’ all get real drunk tonight
Hey girl I got puff, we can all get **** up tonight
And by the end of the night I’ma have u drunk and throwing up
And by the end of the night I’ma have you so **** up”

• Lil Wayne ft. Young Money - Every Girl –

“For free suites Id give Paris Hilton all-nighters
in about 3 years, holla at me Miley Cyrus
I dont discriminate, no not at all
kit kat a midget if that ass soft I break her off
I exchange V cards with the retards
and get behind the Christian like DR cuz he are
Mack Mizzo
baby
cuz he are Mack Mizzo
baby

Now, I am not one to make huge statements, but I feel pretty confident when I say that I think we just hit an all time societal low with those lyrics.



LASTLY

This was brought to my attention by an anonymous source that would like to be credited with the find under the name "Princess Sofia" you know who you are, bless you for this...

Bjork - Triumph of a Heart

no wonder Iceland's economy has hit rock bottom...Cat's are taking over all of their jobs!

PEACE!

NMT 4/28/09 - Ginuwine, Maxwell, Barcelona and more...

Hey party people, looks to be that time of the week again, you know, the time when I finally get my act together and update this thing. The good news is I have about 40 songs on my need to purchase list, which means I have a lot to talk about. The bad news is I will have $40 less in a day or so. But enough small talk, lets dive right in shall we?

ATTENTION R&B FANS!

You’ll be happy to see the new releases/finds I’ve made in the last couple weeks. R&B is a genre that, lets face it, has been plagued by poor lyrics, wannabes, lack of originality, etc…BUT there is hope, regardless of what style of R&B you like you should find at least one of these worth your time…

• Ginuwine – Last Chance – Ginuwine has returned! Finally he’s back on a hot track that highlights Ginuwine’s solid vocals. Plus lyrics like: “If I only got one shot to win you, then call me Jordan 4th quarter in ‘92” and “From a boy to a man like Barrack and his plan” Word.

• Trey Songz – I Need a Girl – This is a very current sounding R&B song. Not 100% positive but I would place a pretty good bet Neyo was behind this one; the song is draped with his styling and arrangements. The chorus is where I Need a Girl it truly shines… “I need a guuuuuurrrrlll” When you hear a song once, and you can already sing the hook and even add your own runs (we all know what I’m talking about here) you know it’s a hit!

• Mario – Breakup (ft. Gucci Mane) – Well what do we have here…Experimental is the best way to explain this for me. The tempo and general vibe this song exudes is one of a kind. The barely there music, along with the beat dropping out completely at times, may leave some of you scratching your heads BUT when you hear this song a time or 2 later, you will know why this song has got me so excited…

• Maxwell – Pretty Wings – What can I say, this is Maxwell doing what he does best. This song takes us to the poetic, softer side of R&B. Man is this song smooth, he sure knows where he fits in this genre. The chimes on this song are such a subtle yet CRAZY touch, taking this song to the top of my current favorites for sure. Any Maxwell fan will love this one, and if you’ve never heard of him you should also check out This Woman’s Work (and thank me later!)

• Living Legends – After Hours (Extended Euro Mix) – So this song is neither new, nor is it completely R&B, more of a neo-soul blend of hip-hop and jazz. Regardless, I just heard it recently and needed to showcase it. Caution, you must be this cool to ride this ride. But lucky for me, the carnies moderating such rules are too busy smokin the reefer to crack down. The sax makes you relax like a pair of linen slacks. If that made no sense I apologize, just listen to the song…

Songs to get blisters to in the club…

• Kid Cudi – Day N’ Night (Crookers Remix) – Yea we’ve all heard it, but hear it after a few drinks and no shoes and I guarantee you’ll be serving people on the dance floor left and right…

• Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow – To keep it simple, the B.E.P. are so 2000 and late, but this song is definitely 3000 and 8.

Songs proving white people get crunk too…

• MGMT – Indie Rokkers – not new, but new to me. Older song of theirs with a less polished sound, making it cooler than a polar bears toe nails.
• Open Happiness (Butch Walker original Coke Mix) – Coca-Cola sponsored song featuring the following artists: Cee-Lo Green, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Brendon Urie from Panic at the Disco, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes and Janelle Monae. Enjoy…
• Young Love – Fall Out Boy esque dance pop rock. Pretty good stuff
o Unafraid
o The picture

Alternative Time...

• Barcelona – Absolutes - Seattle based indie/new wave/pop group with a sound comparable to the likes of The Fray, Coldplay, etc… just a little less grandiouse sounding (which I think is a good thing here) A few noteworthy tracks:
o Falling Out of Trees
o It’s About Time

• The Books – Smells Like Content – Suuuuch a random song, that some people would love, others would accuse it of trying to be too deep and profound, while others would simply puff puff pass. I think it is really cool, and I like the video that goes along with it here. What do YOU think?

IT's MILEY!! No wait, I mean...IT'S HEIDI!

And last but certainly not least, what would a NMT post be without a hint of humor? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Heidi Montag’s brand new attempt at music. I must say, she’s stepping up her game on this one...Does anyone else think she’d working with the Kids Bop production dream team? Or is she really that err… “Talented”? Happy Friday

• Heidi Montag – Your Love Found Me – Wherever I Am