NMT9/28/09 Kid Cudi, Whitney Houston, Katharine Mcphee and more!

HIP-HOP, HIP-HOP-ANONYMOUS

• Jay Z – The Blueprint III
o Empire State of Mind – What a great collaboration Jay Z and Alicia Keys, 2 of NYC’s finest coming together to celebrate New Jersey, simply beautiful…The music is cool, Keys’s knocks it out of the park on the chorus, “…These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you” especially on her last chorus where she harmonizes, they should have worked together long ago.
o A Star Is Born (ft. J Cole) – Tribute to all the famous rappers over the past couple decades, cool concept, good lyrics, great music. For me, this is the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” of the album.
o Young Forever (ft. Mr. Hudson) – remake of the 80’s classic

• Kid Cudi – Man On the Moon – Basically could have listed 8+ tracks below as my favorites, but I had to narrow it down to 5 for space sake (get it? Man on the Moon? Space?) ATTENTION HIP HOPPERS, guess what happens when you step outside the box and bring some originality to the plate, you (sometimes) KILL it! I applaud Kid Cudi for numerous reasons: being original, experimenting with different artists and genres, but mainly for making damn good music. MOTM is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise smoky scene, Mr. Solo Dolo is here to stay, bravo! Now buy the cd foo!
o Soundtrack 2 My Life
o Alive (Nightmare) ft. Ratatat
o Hyyerr (ft. Chip Tha Ripper) – nod to fellow Cleveland natives Bone Thugs
o Up Up & Away – My favorite
o Man On the Moon – My other favorite, explains it all

• Tyrese – Mayhem Take Me Away (Logan de Gaulle Remix) – Tyrese takes a break from making some of the best films of all time, ie. 2 Fast 2 Furious, to sing some techno sounding comic book related single. Random, but pretty good.

• Matt & Kim ft. De La Soul – Daylight (Troublemaker Remix) – Not as good as the original, but a good listen nevertheless

• Juvenile – Hands on You (ft. Pleasure P) – You can always count on Juve to come through with the smooth single, Pleasure P just adds to the fun

• Drake – Houstalantavegas – I can’t say enough about this song other than it is my current favorite song out right now. Those of you who know me know I LOVE the Boom, Boom-Kat…Now add some spacey vocals and a ton of paper thin layered synth and I am in heaven. SUUUCH a cool song. Also, check out this version Trav found with a random girl singing over it, sounds awesome too, she did a great job.

• Q-Tip – Do You Dig U? (ft. Gary Thomas & Kirk Rosenwinkel) – Sooo smooth, Q Tip knows how to make a great laid back groove. Do you dig Do You Dig U? I sure do

R&B Time

• Whitney Houston – I Look to You - What happens when you take arguably the greatest singer of her era and feed her buckets of crack? Kiss my ASS! Bobbbaaay! Well that aside, Whitney Houston’s big comeback has finally arrived. There are 3 things I think you should know about her new cd I Look To You: 1) Her vocals have drastically worsened, 2) Her vocal phrasing and interpretation is still strong, 3) With the help of some great producers she’s created a few solid songs. Check them out…
o Million Dollar Bill – Written and produced by Alicia Keys, a throwback to 70’s soul train
o Nothin But Love – Really catchy chorus
o Like I Never Left – Akon lends his talents on this laid back track
o I Didn’t Know my Own Strength – The emotional slow jam

• Leona Lewis – Happy

• Mario – Thinkin’ About You – Another cool song from Mario, makes me excited to go out, it has that chills factor like Chris Brown’s Forever, just a bit slower. Solid back to back singles from Mario, his upcoming cd could be big news.

• Alicia Keys – Doesn’t Mean Anything – Another great song from Alicia Keys. Simple piano melody over a driving drum beat; this song builds and builds into something pretty awesome. I prefer this first single to her last, No One, but due to the repetition here, I can't say it's her very best. (She’s a victim of her own standards when it comes to my critique) Her cd comes out early 2010 and it should be nothing less than spectacular.


IN A GREY’S ANATOMY WORLD

• Matt Pond PA – Five – Great instrumental track, extremely relaxing. Can't find a clip, but sample on itunes!

• Sondre Lerche – Good Luck – Great melody on this mostly mellow track.

• A Fine Frenzy – Bomb in a Birdcage – a.k.a. Alison Sudol, A fine young singer/songwriter with a very airy sound to her songs. Reminiscent of Florence + the Machine. I think Happier is my favorite here
o New Heights
o Blow Away
o Happier
o Swan Song

• Nikki & Rich – Cat & Mouse – Cool 50’s doo-wop sound here, kinda like Duffy or Amy Winehouse, but with a bit more funk.

• Vedera – A World Apart – Think of the Fray with a female frontman. Sounds a little like Sixpence None the Richer, but I like this song.

• Katharine McPhee – Say Goodbye – Amazing vocals on this slow, stripped 2nd single off her upcoming cd Unbroken. I won’t say too much here, you simply should listen for yourself. The link is to her myspace where Say Goodbye is streaming, just click play


“RAVE” REVIEWS

• Tiesto – Excuse the creepy album art!
o Feel It In My Bones (ft. Tegan & Sara) - Tegan and Sara bring their cool harmonies over a dance track this time around
o Kaleidoscope (ft. Jonsi) – may build slow with layers of synth, but at 5:24 it takes off

• Basement Jaxx – Scars – Funky as ever, bringing something new to your music library
o Feelings Gone (ft. Sam Sparro) – awesome video
o My Turn (ft. Lightspeed Champion)
o Stay Close (ft. Lisa Kekaula)


AS CLOSE TO “ROCK” AS WE’RE GONNA GET TODAY

• Death Cab for Cutie – Meet Me On the Equinox – The 1st single off of the New Moon soundtrack, Meet Me is a pretty cool song but isn’t Death Cab’s best. Looks like it should work for the movie though.

• Pearl Jam – The Fixer – Never been a huge Pearl Jam fan, didn’t care for grunge at all, but their brand new single is pretty awesome. Different sound for sure, but great melody and a ton of drive behind the singing. Reminds me of Foo Fighters.

• Tokio Hotel – Automatic – Attention, this band’s lead singer may look like a girl, but I’m told it’s actually a dude. A German dude at that. Actually, Tokio Hotel is extremely famous throughout Europe, and are attempting to bring some of that success into the US. The girly-glam rock look is really creepy, but I do like the song.

August Recap; The Final Chapter

• Katharine McPhee – Had it All- The one and only Katharine McPhee, American Idol's hottest/most talented find ever, ditches the heavy production of her first album and comes off sounding better than ever, showcasing her amazing voice on her brand new single. Written by idol judge Kara Dioguardi, Had it All brings to mind a Sara Bareilles or Gavin DeGraw type sound. Expect big things from her Sophmore cd Unbroken out Oct. 6th. Looking good as a blonde too, can she do any wrong?
o God Bless the Child - For those of you new to McPhee, here is her American Idol audition
o Me - Lastly, an amazing live cover. If this doesn't win you over, not sure what will.

• Imogen Heap – Ellipse - The incredibly talented Imogen Heap brings us some more ground breaking electronic material.
o Tidal
o Between Sheets
o Wait it Out


• Colbie Calliat – Breakthrough
o I Won’t
o Droplets (ft. Jason Reeves)
o I Never Told You
o Out of my Mind

• Ingrid Michaelson - Everybody - Really talented singer/songwriter, best showcased when backed by instrumentation which she is on Everybody (rather than her last cd which was predominantly just ukulele and piano)
o Soldier
o Are we There Yet?
o Sort of
o Mountain and the Sea - my favorite one, and the only one I can't find a full length clip of
o So Long

August Recap Chapter IV: Hip Hop + R&B

• Really Doe - First Impressions - Like early Kanye, but less obnoxious
o Mesmerized
o They Say
o Sew It Up

• Mullage – Trick’n - Saw this on 106 & Park and really liked it

• Iyaz – Replay NOT Sean Kingston

• Mary J Blige – Stronger - Wasn't a big fan until I heard this amateur acoustic cover. Still like the cover better, but the recorded version is good too. *Written by Keri Hilson.

• Jason DeRulo – Watcha Say - Cool idea to put Imogen Heap into hip hop, but could have been done better, her clip in the chorus is the best part.

• Cassie – Let’s Get Crazy (ft. Akon) - I'm a big fan of her other new material, this one not as much

• Flo-Rida ft. Nelly Furtado – Jump (Malinchak club mix radio edit)
- Didn't like the original, but really like this remix. Can't find a full length clip so this will have to do.

• Basement Jaxx – Raindrops - This song is awesome

• Trey Songz - Ready - Should have been called Sunday Night Slow Jamz
o Neighbors Know my Name
o Say Ahh (ft. Fabolous)
o LOL :) (ft. Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy) - Worst lyrics ever, but good music
o Be Where You Are
o Love Lost

August Recap Continued

• Mindy Smith - Stupid Love - Reminds me of a modern day Fleetwood Mac
o Love Lost
o What Can Love Do

• MuteMath - Armistice
o Spotlight - on the Twilight soundtrack
o Electrify - caution: plays loud

• Sean Paul - Imperial Blaze - Hahaha Sean, we get it, you smoke weeeed
o Press It Up
o Hold My Hand (ft. Keri Hilson)
o Pepperpot

• Mew - No More Stories are Told Today...
o Hawaii - soo cool, feels like Hawaii
o Vaccine


• Kate Earl - Kate Earl
o Melody
o When You’re Ready - look to the right side of the page for the play button
o Jump

• Damien Rice - Coconut Skins (live At Fingerprints) - not the exact live version, but close enough

• Jay Reatard – It Ain’t Gonna Save Me - haha name fail, fun song tho

• As Tall As Lions
o Go Easy
o Duermete - Trumpets in this song are haunting