I Only Want to Be in Your Record Collection

If it is possible to invent music that is actually forty years old, then Mark Ronson invented the Motown sound for a new generation by hooking up with Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and the brass section from the Dap Kings. His sound launched a new genre of retro leaning British singers including ADELE, Duffy, and most recently The Like. Which makes listening to his latest album a bit jarring.

On Record Collection there is nary a horn on the album. Instead Ronson jumps ahead two decades to the eighties with a synthesizer heavy album and even recruits eighties refugees Boy George and Simon Le Bon to sing on the album. It takes a listen or two to Record Collection just to get adjusted to the new sound which doesn’t quite reinvent a genre much like his work with The Dap Kings did.

Unlike his previous album, Version, which relied heavily on reworking cover songs ranging from Ryan Adams to Britney Spears (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard, no, seriously), Record Collection is made up entirely of new songs mostly written by Ronson collaborator Alex Greenwalk of Phantom Planet. But much like his previous album, the songs of Record Collection live and die by the guest vocalist.

The album starts off strong enough thanks to three guest raps from Q-Tip, Ghostface Killah, and Spank Rock. Q-Tip, dependable as ever, which makes you wonder how he doesn’t get more guest turns, gets the party started on the French electric Bang, Bang, Bang with hooks provide by New York duo MNDR. Ghostface Killah brings the energy Lose It (In the End), with Greenwald on the vocals, which sounds like an electronic version a song from a western movie. The trifecta ends with The Bike Song, a weird ode to two wheel transportation by Kyle Falconer which sounds like something that belongs on Yo Gabba Gabba! before Spank Rock rescued it with an old school rap.

After that, songs on Record Collection gets more precarious, D'Angelo crawls out of obscurity when he spent most of last decade to sound like Cee Lo Green on Glass Mountain Trust. Introducing the Business is a haunting tract buoyed by London Gay Men's Chorus and Newcomer Atlanta rapper Pill who is someone to look out for. But for most of the rest of the album you just wish Ronson would have stayed with the horns as his instrument of choice.

Song to Download – Lose It (In the End)

Record Collection gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. LXXXIV

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Not Afraid – Eminem



The Real Slim Shady was extremely catchy but with every passing album, the lead single from Eminem has been increasingly lame and predictable: skewering of pop tarts, Elvis costumes, peppy beat. So it is refreshing that he actually changed it up this time after admitting that Relapse was “eh.” Though he vocal style isn’t as annoying as the one he used for much of the last album, this song really isn’t much of an improvement from then.


Bang, Bang, Bang - Mark Ronson and the Business INTL featuring Q-Tip and MNDR



Sure the video is cheesy (which I guesswas the point) but sign me up for any Mark Ronson / Q-Tip collaboration.


Getaway – Michelle Branch featuring Timbaland



I can’t remember the last time I physically cringed when hearing a song from an artist I actually like (well unless you count to listening to the new Christina Aguilera album as a whole), Timbaland really needs to stop going outside his genre. Really, if you strip the song down to just the acoustics from Michelle Branch, it might be a great song, but Timbaland just has to go and make his Timbaland face and ruin everything. Hopefully there is an acoustic version of the song out there somewhere.


Lookin’ Fly – Redman



Redman playing tribute to Michael Jackson. Alrighty. The hook is taken from The Jacksons Heartbreak Hotel.

The 100 Best Songs of 2009

It is probably not a good sign for the music business that the biggest song of the year was released back in 1969. But for some reason, three artists all used Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam in their songs. Wale started out ’09 sampling it for Chillin’. Then Kristinia DeBarge used it as the chorus for her debut song, the aptly titled Goodbye. Then Jay-Z tried to kill off Auto-Tune with the help of the famous cadence. Despite the overuse of cheesy sports anthems, 2009 was actually a great year for good music (on the flip side, it wasn’t much of a good year for great music) as this was the largest pool of songs, 250 (shoot me an e-mail if you want the full list, I'll send you my speadsheet), which I had to cut down for my Top 100. And here they are and I hope to see everyone back in 2010 (check the bottom of the post for samples of the songs on the Amazon MP3 widget):

1. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

2. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common

3. I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

4. Run This Town - Jay-Z featuring Rihanna & Kanye West

5. You And Me - Dave Matthews Band

6. Sugarfoot - Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

7. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie

8. Funny The Way It Is - Dave Matthews Band

9. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

10. Magick - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

11. Nothing but a Miracle - Diane Birch

12. Pony (It's OK) - Erin McCarley

13. Too Many Rappers - Beastie Boys featuring Nas

14. Who Says - John Mayer

15. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

16. Staying in Love - Raphael Saadiq

17. Geraldine - Glasvegas

18. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

19. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes

20. Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Will Hoge

21. People C'mon - Delta Spirit

22. Notion - Kings of Leon

23. Chillin' - Wale featuring Lady Gaga

24. Melody - Kate Earl

25. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - U2

26. Fugitive - David Gray

27. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits

28. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones

29. Under My Bed - Meiko

30. Red Light - David Nail

31. (If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer

32. The Fixer - Pearl Jam

33. Fitz and the Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird

34. Wild at Heart - Gloriana

35. 100 Yard Dash - Raphael Saadiq

36. Heartless - The Fray

37. I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week - Mandy Moore

38. Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart - Alicia Keys

39. Just Breathe - Pearl Jam

40. Doesn't Mean Anything - Alicia Keys

41. Gravity - Sara Bareilles

42. Love, Save the Empty - Erin McCarley

43. I Love College - Asher Roth

44. Fire Escape - Diane Birch

45. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

46. I Like You so Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria

47. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

48. The One - Slaughterhouse

49. Furr - Blitzen Trapper

50. The Fear - Lily Allen

51. A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson

52. Everybody Knows - John Legend

53. Laughing With - Regina Spektor

54. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - Bob Dylan

55. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Mayer Hawthorne

56. Little Bribes - Death Cab for Cutie

57. Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event

58. New in Town - Little Boots

59. Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers

60. Brick by Boring Brick - Paramore

61. Sky - Joshua Radin featuring Meiko

62. I Wanna Rock - Snoop Dogg

63. Hometown Glory - Adele

64. Shining Down - Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthews Santos

65. Bang Bang - K'naan featuring Adam Levine

66. 1901 - Phoenix

67. Chocolate Box - Prince featuring Q-Tip

68. If Rap Gets Jealous - K'naan featuring Kirk Hammett

69. Kinda Like a Big Deal - Clipse featuring Kanye West

70. White Horse - Taylor Swift

71. Radio Radio - Brooke White

72. The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script

73. Oscar Wilde - Company of Thieves

74. Swim - Jack's Mannequin

75. Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John

76. Show Me What I'm Looking For - Carolina Liar

77. Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen

78. A-Yo - Method Man & Redman featuring Saukrates

79. Wavin' Flag - K'naan

80. Life Is Better - Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones

81. Barely in Love - Q-Tip

82. Fly One Time - Ben Harper and Relentless7

83. Why I Am - Dave Matthews Band

84. Daddy's Gone - Glasvegas

85. Crawl - Kings of Leon

86. Uprising - Muse

87. Don't Forget - Demi Lovato

88. Bulletproof - La Roux

89. On Vacation - Aimee Allen

90. Fireflies - Owl City

91. Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

92. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day

93. How I Got Over - The Roots

94. I'm Broke - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

95. Wonderful - Gary Go

96. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) - Jay-Z

97. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

98. Love Letter to Japan - The Bird and the Bee

99. Get On Your Boots - U2

100. Let's Take a Walk - Raphael Saadiq

The 25 Best Mash Up's of 2009

Where I could find them, I linked the mash-up's to YouTube (or embedded them). To download the orginal source, click the song names to be taken to iTunes.

1. Party in the B.I.G. - Hatbanger
Notorious B.I.G. (Party and (Expletive Deleted) vs Miley Cyrus (Party in the U.S.A. )



2. Use the Same Old Song - Mighty Mike
The Four Tops (It's the Same Old Song) vs. Kings of Leon (Use Somebody)



3. Good ol' Fashion Rump Shaker - DJ STV SLV
Beastie Boys (Shake Your Rump) vs. Matt & Kim (Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare)



4. The Trooper Believer - DJ Schmolli
The Monkees (I'm a Believer) vs. Iron Maiden (The Trooper)



5. House of Klezmer - DJ Farfoff
House of Pain (Jump Around) vs. Amsterdam Klezmer Band vs. Pa Brapad



6. Machine Gun Shelter - Party Ben
Commodores (Machine Gun) vs. Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter)

7. Brooklyn Rocks - DJ Lobsterdust
Beastie Boys (No Sleep 'till Brooklyn) vs. Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll)

8. ABC in Central Park - Zamali
Jackson 5 (ABC) vs. Krafty Kuts (Party in Central Park)

9. Give This Way - DJ Moule
Aerosmith-Run DMC (Walk This Way) vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers (Give it Away) vs. Chemical Brothers (Block Rockin' Beats)

10. Everybody's Everyday Girl - DJ BC
Fleetwood Mac (Everywhere) vs. Snoop Dogg (That Girl) vs. Kanye West (This Way) vs Q-Tip (Come Close)

11. Acoustic Alchemy - Norwegian Recycling
Jack Johnson (Bubble Toes) vs. Green Day (Good Riddence (Time of Your Life))

12. Religion in the Wind - Lasso the Moon
Kansas (Dust in the Wind) vs. R.E.M. (Losing My Religion)

13. Paperlong - Mighty Mike
Foo Fighters (Everlong) vs. M.I.A. (Paper Planes)

14. Westside Godzilla Connection - Frogthedog
Westside Connection (Bow Down) vs. Blue Öyster Cult (Godzilla)

15. It's Bigger Than a Prayer - Yold
Dead Prez (Hip Hop) vs. Bloc Party (The Prayer)

16. Radioghost - Norwegian Recycling
Radiohead (High and Dry) vs. Howie Day (Ghost)

17. Crushed Pony - DJ Fac
Ginuwine (Pony) vs. Paramore (Crushchrushcrush)

18. RiverBad - DJ Lobsterdust
Meatloaf (Two Out of Three Ain't Bad) vs. Morcheeba (Riverbed)

19. 2 Many Beastles - dj BC
Beastie Boys and Nas (Too Many Rappers) vs. the Beatles (Taxman)

20. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough Q-Tip - 33jones
Q-Tip (Breathe and Stop) vs. Michael Jackson (Don't Stop til You Get Enough)

21. Complicated Sex on Fire - DJ Schmolli
Avril Lavigne (Complicated) vs. Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire)

22. Gorilla Idol - locK3Down
Gorillaz (Tomorrow Comes Today/Clint Eastwood) vs. Billy Idol (Eyes Without a Face)

23. Fall Out Gloria - Mighty Mike
Fall Out Boy (This Ain't a Scene it's an Arms Race) vs. Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive)

24. Hives For Your Right - DJ Y alias JY
The Hives (Tick Tick Boom) vs. Beastie Boys (Fight for Your Right)

25. Mercy For Roxanne - Mighty Mike
The Police (Roxanne) vs. Duffy (Mercy)

The 25 Best Albums of 2009

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store (or click on the album cover) where you can order them there:


1. Bible Belt – Diane Birch
Love Makes the Price Good Enough to Wanna Pay

2. Tell ‘em What Your Name Is! – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Where My Horns At, Are You with Me?

3. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
If You're Loved by Some One You're Never Rejected

4. Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King – Dave Matthews Band
Somebody's Broken Heart Become Your Favorite Song

5. The Fall – Norah Jones
My Mind's Racing from Chasing Pirates

6. Troubadour – K’Naan
I Take Rappers on a Field Trip any Day

7. Amanda Leigh – Mandy Moore
Those Calendar Girls Ain't got Nothing on Me

8. No Line on the Horizon - U2
Let Me in the Sound

9. Kamaal the Abstract – Q-Tip
And Introduce You All to a New Sound to Pound

10. Love, Save the Empty – Erin McCarley
You Hold Your Head up to the Sky; You Say What Kind of Blue Are You

11. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
When Something's Lost, I Wanna Fight to Get it Back Again

12. Kate Earl – Kate Earl
The Music Within Makes Me Whole and a World I Built on My Own

13. LOtUSFLOW3R/MPLSoUND - Prince
Not Reviewed

14. Draw the Line – David Gray
Everyday Is a New Version Of

15. Battle Studies – John Mayer
It's Been a Long Time Since Twenty-Two

16. White Lies for Dark Times – Ben Harper and the Relentless7
The Very Thing that Drives You Can Drive You Insane

17. Far – Regina Spektor
It Was so Easy and the Words Were so Sweet

18. The Element of Freedom – Alicia Keys
I Don't Want to Come Down, Hope My Wings Don't Fail Me Now

19. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
This Ain't for iTunes, This Ain't for Sing-a-Longs

20. Ben Folds Presents: University a Capella!
If There Is a God He Is Laughing at Us and Our Football Team

21. A Little Happiness – Aimee Allen
I'm Dancing with My Records On

22. It’s Not You, it’s Me – Lily Allen
I am a Weapon of Massive Consupmtion

23. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
You Know What's Worth Fighting For When it's not Worth Dieing For

24. Relapse – Eminem
You Think That's Bad You Should Hear the Rest of My Album

25. Play On – Carrie Underwood
Gives You Feeling You Don't Want to Fight

I Want My Music Television vol. LXV

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


You and Me – Dave Matthews Band



Ask me on the right day and I say this is my favorite Dave Matthews Band song off their latest album. And this video just looks cool with all the additions to the band as the song progresses.


How I Got Over – The Roots



When The Roots signed on to be Jimmy Fallon’s house band that we would get less music from the band. But maybe being tied to one place means more albums with How I Got Over coming later this year. Speaking of The Roots night job, one byproduct is some awesome collaborations including the recent one where they backed Christopher Cross and Michael McDonald. I think I can die in peace now.


I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers



I best summed up this song from The Avett Brothers when I reviewed the album yesterday (see If You’re Loved by Somebody You’re Never Rejected), “with all due respect to Jay-Z and Mos Def, I and Love and You is the best ode to Brooklyn since the Beastie Boys refused to sleep until they got there.” You can also the song for free over at Spinner.com.


Life Is Better – Q-Tip and Norah Jones



When did Norah Jones become the go to hook singer for rappers? An odd composition from Q-Tip with just one verse that just name drops his favorite rappers that doesn’t even start until a minute and a half of Jones crooning. I like it though.

And Introduce to You All a New Sound to Pound

I never understand why record companies shelve album. I cannot cost that much to press CD’s and transport them to stores (certainly nowhere near the $18 retail price) and now it costs basically nothing to upload to iTunes and the like. But we have to wait eight years to (legally) hear the lost Q-Tip album, Kamaal the Abstract because his A&R man said, “I don’t hear a single.” So into the great wide open of the ether the album went until Q-Tip finally regained control of the rights to finally put out.

So now it gets its proper release so the obvious question is: Is it worth the wait? Well, yes and no. Had the album been released in 2002, it would have been a revolution with Tip bridging the gap between rap and jazz more than A Tribe Called Quest ever did thanks to the live jazz band backing him up while Q-Tip goes back and forth between rapping and singing. Now after Andre 3000, Kanye West and upstart Kid Cudi have all mixed the singing and rapping to mixed results it almost sound like another album if it weren’t for the jazz aspect to it whereas other backing music of choice ranges from emo (West) to electro (Cudi) to everything in-between (3000).

And as adventurous Tip was to branch out with a live jazz backing band, the actual jazz being played really isn’t that adventurous itself and is more of a Jazz for Beginners starter kit for those not familiar with the genre or consider Norah Jones part of the moment. And that is not on Q-Tip who has no problem stepping back from the mike on multiple songs to let the musicians jam a little. But it is decent as a starter kit for jazz version who find jumping straight into Miles Davis or John Coltrane too daunting.

Song to Download - Barely in Love

Kamaal the Abstract gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.