With the release of Straight Outta Lynwood just days away, I figured that a “Weird Al” Yankovic theme would be appropriate for this month’s lyrics quiz. But since I can’t have all “Weird Al” songs because it would be too easy to guest the artist, instead the next twenty-five songs were all parodied by the accordion master at sometime. As always, put both the song title and artist in the comment section and if you are right, I will un-bold the song and give you credit. As an added bonus, you can get an extra point if you can name the title of the “Weird Al” song parody. If someone guesses the original lyrics but doesn’t guess the bonus, you can steal that point. Now onto the quiz:
Hints: 7. Speaking of the dude who changes his name every month; The Weird Al song had to do with technology and featured Drew Carey in the video.
1. Watchin' X-Files with no lights on, we're dans la maison, I hope the Smoking Man's in this one. (One Week - Barenaked Ladies; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 2. I said, “Can I take you home where we can be alone?” Next we were movin' on and he was with me. (I Love Rock n Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Bonus - I Love Rocky Road; both guessed by Angie) 3. We change the world tomorrow; this could be a better place. If you don’t like what I’m saying then won’t you slap my face? (Bad - Michael Jackson; Bonus - Fat; both guessed by TheWatchList) 4. How come everybody wanna keep it like a Kaiser? (Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers; guessed by Dara; Bonus not guessed) 5. Dance to this and you're gonna get thinner, move, slide your rump, just for a minute let's all do the bump. (U Can't Touch This - M.C. Hammer; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 6. He needs some cool tunes not any will suffice but they didn’t have Ice Cube so he bought Vanilla Ice. (Pretty Fly for a White Guy - The Offspring; Bonus - Pretty Fly for a Rabbi; both guessed by Lilfunky1) 7. Tryin’ to get my hands on some Grants like Horace. Yeah livin’ the raw deal three course meals. 8. The one she got was sorta rotten and insane, smcould land. all things so sad that birds (Lump - The Presidents of the United States of America; Bonus - Gump; both guessed by Dara) 9. You’re making me laugh out when you strike a pose; take off all your preppy cloths. (Complicated - Avril Lavigne; Bonus - A Complicated Song; both guessed by Lilfunky1) 10. If they can’t understand it how can they reach me? I guess they can’t. I guess they won’t. I guess they front that’s why I know my life is out of luck fool. (Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio; Bonus - Amish Paradise; both guessed by Lilfunky1) 11. Frustrated Incorporated. Well I know just what you need, I might just have the thing, I know what you'd pay to see. (Misery - Soul Asylum; guessed by Dara; Bonus Not Guessed) 12. They want you to be Jesus, they’ll go down on one knee, but they’ll want their money back if you’re alive at thirty-three. (Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me - U2; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 13. Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat. (Another One Bites the Dust - Queen; guessed by MC; Bonus - Another One Rides the Bus; guessed by Angie) 14. I’m not dumb but I can’t understand why she walk like a woman but talk like a man. (Lola - The Kinks; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 15. New Orleans, Detroit City, Dallas, Pittsburg PA, New York City, Kansas City, Atlanta, Chicago, and LA. (Living in America - James Brown; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 16. The phone rings in the middle of the night, my father yells, “What you gonna do with your life?” (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cindi Lauper; guessed by Lisa; Bonus not guessed) 17. Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before. (Stand - R.E.M.; Bonus - Spam; guessed by TheWatchList) 18. There’s an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin. (Piano Man - Billy Joel; guessed by Lisa; Bonus - Ode to a Superhero; guessed by Anonymous) 19. Helter skelter in the summer swelter. (American Pie - Don McLean; guessed by Lisa; Bonus - The Saga Begins; guessed by Anonymous) 20. Now everybody do the propaganda and sing along to the age of paranoia. (American Idiot - Green Day; guessed by MC; Bonus not guessed) 21. This world is mine for the taking. Make me king, as we move toward a, new world order. (Lose Yourself - Eminem; Bonus - Couch Potato; both guessed by Lilfunky1) 22. Have the guts, got the glory, went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop. (Eye of the Tiger - Survivor; guessed by MC; Bonus not guessed) 23. You can act real rude and totally removed and I can act like an imbecile. (Safety Dance - Men Without Hats; guessed by Angie; Bonus not guessed) 24. Load up on guns and bring your friends. It's fun to lose and to pretend. (Smells Like Teen Spirit; Bonus - Smells like Nirvana; both guessed by Lisa) 25. There’s a little black spot on the sun today, it’s the same ol’ thing as yesterday. (King of Pain - The Police; guessed by Lisa; Bonus Not Guessed)
Some cool news I just learned that I'd like to pass along. Some already know that U2 and Green Day planned to team up on a cover for the Skids The Saints Are Coming to benifit The Edge's Music Rising fund. Well it was just announced that the bands will premiere the song live on Monday Night Football on ESPN September 25th which happens to be at the Superdome. The performance will then be available fordownload on Rhapsody. Hopefully the studio versions will be available everywhrere soon. (A small hint, both bands are in this lyrics quiz.)
In other U2 news, they have already begun work on their next album with Rick Rubin as producer. How great will that be with those two? Expect the album out next year sometime.
At first listen to Nightcrawler, the third album from Jersey’s own Pete Yorn, it is pretty much a let down. His first two albums was a return to root-rock in the mold of John Mellencamp and fellow Jersey denizen Bruce Springsteen but with a modern edge to it. But I wasn’t sold on his previous albums upon first listen either as they both grew on me to become permanent staples in my playlist. And more I listen to Nightcrawler, the more I’m coming around to it.
The main problem with this album is its rocky start, Vampyre is a little too dark and moody to kick of and album even with its weird upbeat outro. Then it moves into For Us (which features Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters the drums) that just doesn’t click well. The album gets on track with Undercover, a classic Yorn song with electric elements but still rooted in rock music. Policies follows it up with a driving ambient which sounds like what Pearl Jam would have sounded like if they listen to too much of The Beach Boys. The Man is one of Yorn’s best, a soft lilting balled with lush harmonies provided by the Dixie Chick’s Natalie Maines. While Maybe I’m Right is right up there will all of Yorn straight ahead rock songs with crushing guitars.
The album does fall into tedium for a few songs until he starts sing about “Michael Jackson in Disney Land” where he’s walking around holding hands with Goofy. Um, yeah, you read that right. Actually Splendid Isolation actually works even with its absurd lyrics. But there are some more sidesteps on the album, Broken Bottle is a little to slow and could put you to sleep, same with Ice Age. Georgie Boy is just a little weird in a British kind of way.
Now apparently this album is the last in a trilogy of albums based on the events of one day. Looking at the album titles, Musicforthmorningafter, Day I Forgot, and Nightcrawler, it makes sense although it never crossed my mind listening t the individual songs on those albums. I’ll have to play all three in sequence and maybe it will click. But if you were to make a trilogy based on the events of a day, the night version shouldn’t be the least entertaining. But then again Nightcrawler may grow on me more like the pervious ones do.
In a measure of full discloser, for the age ol’ debate of who from the boy band era sucked the least, I would always side with the Backstreet Boys. When it came down to, they were the better group to do karaoke to, and don’t try to tell me you and you’re boys never did a sing I Want it That Way at sometime in a drunken stupor. With that said, I won’t let bias taint my review of former the former *NSync member not currently making out with dude (well at least not in public), Justin Timberlake and his second solo outing FutureSex/LoveSounds.
The album starts out with the title track; well actually it is a little different as the song is entitled FutureSex/LoveSound because apparently the song just has a singular “sound” while the album as a whole has “sounds.” You’re a tricky one Justin Timberlake. The song plays almost like an intro that sets the mood with Timbaland futuristic beats that almost drown out the vocals that just repeat themselves anyways. Granted this intro drags on for almost four minutes, so the mood that is set isn’t a good one. The trend of futuristic beats follow for the next few songs making me feel like I’m in a techno club, but I haven’t taken the required mild altering drugs to make the music bearable.
Then about halfway through the album, the beats slow down and the song become more tolerable starting with the I Think She Knows (Interlude). It’s never a good sign when an interlude is one of the better songs on the album. This is actually attached to Love Stoned and in lies a major a major problem with the album, besides of course the music itself. A bunch of the songs blend into each other on the official track listing. To put it better there are sixteen different songs but there are only twelve tracks (if you are confused, check out iTunes or Amazon and it should make more sense).
Back to the music, once the tolerable arrives, it leaves just as quickly with the arrival of Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia. After hearing this song I have a better understanding why Crunchy Black left group (okay, I really have no clue why Crunchy Black left the group, or who Crunchy Black is, but I make it my mission to reference Crunchy Black as much as possible because it’s my new favorite name). And in his pitch to become the least credible rapper ever (which will be hard considering Nelly and Kevin Federline are still out there) the Antoine Merriwether look-a-like T.I. makes an appearance on My Love. Surprisingly his rap isn’t the most annoying part of the song as the intro could easily cause seizers and I would recommend pregnant women not listen to it. Then the once creditable Will.i.am shows up on Damn Girl (and the obscenity only get worse on the album as shown by the Parental Advisory sticker).
Then after fifty minutes of over-sexual music over headache inducing techno beats, TJ decides to make a social statement where he talks about how messed up things are in the world today on Until the End of Time. Ah, but wait, it’s all a rouse because he was using the end in near trick to bed some chick. Classy. And Prince better contact his lawyers because the song blatantly steals from The Beautiful Ones. On the next track Losing My Way, Timberlake makes a social commentary on crack but comes across as pretentious especially after saying, “I’m tired of trying to save the world” in the previous song. Then the song goes into almost parody mode when he brings in the church choir to close the song. I can just imagine JT in the studio thinking, “hey let’s bring in a church choir like on Man in the Mirror.” And we all know what happened to the dude who sang that song.
The album surprisingly ends with an actual song that doesn’t suck. Not surprising that (Another Song) All Over Again is the lone song produced by Rick Rubin who has worked on iconic albums like early Run-DMC ones and Johnny Cash’s American Recordings. The slow song recalls Memphis soul albums from the seventies to much effect. Now if Timberlake would recruit Rubin for his next album, make more songs like the closing track, and stop making inane goals like trying to bring SexyBack, that album may be worth listening to. And to that point, I don’t know why anyone would want to bring SexyBack because as a wise man once said, “It’s hip to be square.”
There hasn’t been an artist this decade that has changed more musically than John Mayer granted he has yet to have a U2 type transformation yet, but the effort is there. Mayer started out his career, to some, as a solo Dave Matthews knock-off. And as much as his major label debut, Room for Squares, was pop perfection, he didn’t rest on his laurels for the follow-up Heavier Things. As the title suggested Mayer moved on from the safe world of pop-rock and made music more in the vain of his guitar idol some of which he even had the chance to play with over the years. To descend even deeper into the blues, Mayer recruited two heavy hitting studio and touring musicians in Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino to form the John Mayer Trio and tour behind a mix of new songs, cover tunes, and even made some of Mayer songs even bluesier.
Now Mayer is back to being a solo artist with the release of Continuum. The album does rehash a couple of the songs that were recorded for the live album the trio made, but Gravity and Vultures sound better now that they are polished up especially the latter which features a more crisper Mayer falsetto. It’s just the Trio again as the cover Jimi Hendrix’s Bold as Love but this studio version sounds a little overproduced and a Hendrix song should never sound overproduced. The band has done killer live version (you can find a version on a music service not named iTunes from the Tsunami Relief Benefit telethon) and may have benefited from putting a live version on the album instead. And just like its predecessor, the latest album Continuum lives up to its name as instead of making another blues album, this latest outing has much more of a soul vibe to it like on I Don’t Trust Myself where Mayer croons over silky horns and a mellow beat.
Aside from his musical growth, Continuum can also point to Mayer’s growth as a person as he deals with many grown up themes including not one, but two song with political commentaries. First up is the album opener and lead single Waiting on the World to Change. In the song Mayer brilliantly sums up the conscience of whatever you want to call the generation born in the late seventies to the early eighties highlighted by the line “It’s not that we don’t care, we just know that the fight ain’t fair.” Later there is Belief, featuring Ben Harper on guitar, where Mayer sums up all the wars in the world, most over religion, in Belief where he sings, “We’re never gonna win the world, we’re never gonna stop the war, we’re never gonna beat this if belief is what we’re fighting for.” Aside from the state of the world, Mayer takes stock of the state of his own life in Stop this Train featuring a dude from Maroon 5 who contributed some acoustic guitars, singing lines like, “So scare of getting older, I’m only good at being young.” I feel ya Johnny, I really hate this whole getting old thing too.
For those who prefer Mayer’s lovelorn songs, just head to the back of the album starting with Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, a song that you will undoubtedly be hitting the back button multiple times until you realized after an hour it would have been easier just to have hit repeat. I’m going to go ahead and call it right now that this song will replace You’re Beautiful from last year (as well as You and Me from two years ago) as the song that every television show plays at some romantic juncture for added effect (just think had Rescue Me played this song at the end of the season finale this year and how much more fitting it would have been). The song also has the potential to be this decade’s token mistake love song (see Crash into Me for the nineties; Every Breathe You Take for the eighties). For all of you that were teenage girls when Mayer first broke and flocked to his shows only to drown out ever word he sang as you shouted over him, prepare to shout, “Do I have to fall asleep with roses in my hand,” (Dreaming with a Broken Heart) and “I’m in repair, I’m not together but I’m getting there,” (In Repair) the next time Mayer visits your town.
Five years ago I was working as driving instructor. Yeah I have plenty of material from that short experience to write a book, but that’s something for another time. Since school was in session in September, I didn’t start until the schools let out around three o’clock. So like many in their early twenties with nothing to get up fore in the morning, I routinely slept in back then. But on this day five years ago, I was awoken by my roommate who knocked on my bedroom door and told me to turn on the TV. When someone tells you to do as much, you know something is up because if it wasn’t important, someone would have to sell you on it like “turn on Sportcenter, they have the top ten goalie fights in NHL history.”
When I turned on my television, it was already tuned to NBC so it was The Today Show where I saw a picture of on of the Twin Towers with a pillar of smoke coming out of it. Katie Couric and her colleagues were taking about how this was possibly an accident, but I knew better, pilots just don’t accidentally fly into buildings and I doubted that they were even aloud to fly above New York City for that very reason just in case something went wrong. But Couric built her career on optimism, so it’s only fitting that an accident would be the best case scenario. Then just minutes after turning on my television, all doubt were put to rest as we could see live on our sets that a second plane flew into the other Twin Tower.
For the next five hours I sat in front of my television even though there was very little to report aside from another plane going into the Pentagon and a fourth plane that went down in the middle of Pennsylvania that may or may not have been connected. Of course we know now that it was and I even drove out to Shanksville on the first anniversary to see the memorial which was just a makeshift one. For those five hours I remember flipping through the channels of my television just to see how other channels reported the news. Most cable channels switched over to the broadcast station of their parent company such as MTV and VH1 were airing CBS News, USA and Bravo were showing NBC’s coverage, and so on while other channels just went blank. Even though I had no family or friends who
When if was finally time to go to work, I switched over to a radio station, which also simulated its sister station’s new coverage. When I picked up my first student up from school, we called her mother and I gave them two options, I could drive her home or we could go ahead with her scheduled block of driving. She, as well as my other students I had scheduled for that day, choose to go on with their appointment even the one who had an uncle who worked at the Pentagon. I usually don’t let student to listen to the radio as they drive, but I made an exception that day, and the next couple days so we both would be caught up to date.
If there was something good that came out of the days after September 11th was there was it brought the country together for the first time that I could remember. I was a little too young to remember the Miracle on Ice and of course World War II was well before my time. There was even a sense that the materialism of the vapid late nineties and would give way for people to live more meaningful lives. Of course that hasn’t happen as in the last five years Paris Hilton has somehow been able to release a book and album as well as star in a television show and a movie (well two, one of which you can purchase at Best Buy and one you can’t) and somehow her arrest was the biggest story of last week. Even the togetherness we felt as a nation didn’t last long as way too many people make too much money on this nation being divided and just three years afterwards we had the most bitter presidential election ever that is still being argued about two years after the fact making us more fractured then even before that day. And finally after five years, the powers that be just unveiled the plans for what the new World Trade Center plaza will look like, although maybe that would have gotten more press had they not made it public the same week Paris Hilton got her DUI.
For longtime reader, most of you know that the title of my posts comes from lines of songs or movies (or at least I hope you have figured that out by now). But as easy as this post flowed out of me, it took me a while to come up with a fitting title. But while typing this up, I put on the America: A Tribute to Heroes album. If you remember the Friday after, most every network simulcast a telethon to raise money for the victims then rushed out the CD with royalties also going to the fund. On the broadcast Alicia Keys performed a Donny Hathaway song; Someday We’ll All Be Free. Even though the previous paragraph decried how we as a culture have gotten worse opposed to better, I think there is hope that someday we’ll all be free.
Things don’t look so good for Beyoncé. She started off the summer inundated with rumors of her man’s infidelity with Rihanna who is basically Beyoncé five years ago. Then her latest album B’Day has gotten little buzz as her record label had to rush out a second single after the first failed to make a dent at radio. Of course this may because even the novice listener could tell Déjà vu was a knock off of her first solo hit Crazy in Love except without the great Chi-Lites sample Jay-Z shows us why he should have stayed retired as his flow has gotten anemic (and his verse on Upgrade U isn't much better).
Things don’t get much better for B on the rest of the album which was somewhat inspired by her character for the upcoming Dreamgirls. Keeping with the “heard it all before” theme, the second single Ring the Alarm sounds like a rehash of Kelis’ Caught Out There. Well except Kelis sounded like a woman scorn ready to fight back where Beyoncé just seems made just because some other chick is rockin’ her chinchilla coats (and on that note can someone explain VVS stones to me please). Not to mention Christina Aguilera was more entertaining when she had to “ring the alarm” because Redman was throwing elbows on Dirrty.
Then there is Suga Mama where she uses food as a euphemism for sex, but Adam Sandler did that over a decade ago with Food Innuendo Guy, and at least he was intentionally funny. Then Beyoncé tries to add another word to the vernacular, but I’ve used Bootylicious, Bootylicious is a favorite word of mine, and Feakum Dress, my sir, is no Bootylicious.
Not if there is a glimmer of hope for Beyoncé it comes at the tail end of the album. Irreplaceable is up there with anything she has done, albeit solo or with Destiny’s Child. You can hear the hurt in her voice which cause her to miss a note or two, but that only adds to the mystique of the song. Resentment is also a slow song that starts as an acoustic song that builds making a great capper to an album.
But wait there’s more; there are a few hidden tracks. First Beyoncé talks about how she wants to give her fans a little extra. Well had she not given the “extra” songs the album would have finished at a paltry thirty-eight minutes, so really there should have been a little more anyways. The first song is Listen which from Dreamgirls and is decent even though it definitely has a “musical” feel to it. Then there is an extended mix of Get Me Bodied that somehow manages to be more annoying than the original. Maybe she should have stopped at Resentment.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void in art form. So here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. 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.
Ladies and gentleman, it’s the return of “Weird Al” Yankovic. Now, unfortunately the video for the song isn’t a direct parody, but I’m sure everyone out there should get a We Are the World vibe. I finally got a look at the track list and you can expect parodies of Chamillionaire’s Ridin’ (who apparently liked White and Nerdy so much he put it on his MySpace page), Green Day’s American Idiot (Canadian Idiot), Usher’s Confessions part II (Confessions part III), Taylor Hick’s Do I Make You Proad (Do I Creep You Out, in a word, yes, that’s Hicks not Weird Al), and R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet (Trapped in the Drive-Thru at ten plus minutes this should be great, hopefully Al will come out with more Chapters and a DVD like Kelly did). And of course there is the prerequisite polka featuring songs by Kanye West, Coldplay and many more. Oh, and even though the song says not to, check out Dontdownloadthissong.com to do just that.
Whoever decided to released Maneater as a single should be fired as it was easily the worst song off of Nelly Furtado’s latest album. But on the bright side the song did produced this extremely cheesy video with its pseudo-vampire theme. The best part is the inexplicable beginning with the dog as if they needed to set up the absurdity that followed because whenever I lose my dog I end up doing a dance off with the undead before I end up finding her.
We all know for as great Lionel Richie is as a singer, he’s as equally as bad a parent. And here those too aspects of his life collide with Nicole showing up in papa’s video. Feel free to insert your own “Nicole’s too skinny” joke here. Speaking of which, Nicole Richie’s first foray into music, Dandelion leaked to the net this week and, well, it’s better than anything by former BFF Paris Hilton. But that’s not saying much, click on her name to give it a listen (warning bad 7th grade poetry ahead). As for daddy dearest, check out for a review of his new album next week.
Speaking of chicks with no redeemable talent to go with their dramatic weight loss, Hilary Duff has a new video out. It’s nice to see she is as bad at dancing as she is at acting, singing, and choosing boyfriends. But to be honest, the song is actually kind of catchy. For those keeping track at home, that’s two songs the Duffster has conned me into liking (the Theme to Laguna Beach being the other). It may be time for an intervention.
I really don’t want to talk too much about the song itself as I will cover that in my album review of Beyonce’s B-Day coming up in the next couple days. But I wonder if the video, especially when she’s being interrogated in the white dress is homage to Basic Instinct, but without the best part. Then there is the hallway scene which is a blatant rip-off of No Doubt’s It’s My Life.
There are a couple of cool contests on the web that I’d like to point out. First I slipped this into my Fall Preview post a couple hours after I originally posted it, so I thought I give it another plug. The newest addition to my Blogs I Read list, Culture Bully, is giving away a free CD for every day in September. So head over to his site to see what three albums you have to choose from today and the complete rules.
Then there is A Yoga Coffee Outlook who is giving away a free iPod Nano. Yes a free iPod, and no you don’t have to buy something else to get it like all the other “get a free iPod” advertisings on their site. There is a bunch of different and easy ways to enter so check out her site to see how.
For those that think I’m a musical snob, here’s an admission for you: I’m not a Bob Dylan guy. His voice is just an acquired taste I’ve never acquired. I will concede he’s a great songwriter but his songs are always better when performed by others like Jimi Hendrix with All Along the Watchtower, Eric Clapton with Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and The Byrds with Mr. Tambourine Man. But for those that are Dylan guys, then I have the album for you with his just released Modern Times.
The album is a follow up is essentially the third in a trilogy of albums dating back to 1997’s Time out of Mind and also includes 2001’s Love and Theft (which had the unfortunate release date of 9/11) but I think that since I hadn’t heard the previous two, it won’t be like watching Return of the Jedi before the previous Star Wars movies. Modern Times starts off with the great Thunder on the Mountain that inexplicably name drops Alicia Keys multiple times to much effect and the song comes off like a folksy version of Johnny B. Goode. When the Deal Goes Down is a heart touching song which is heighten but the beautiful video with Scarlett Johansson.
In the hands of lesser lyricist, When Levee’s Gonna Break would come off as a cheesy indictment of Katrina, but in Bob’s hand it instead invokes early last century folk songs. Then there is the actual last century folk song, Rollin’ and Tumblin’ that updates to much success (but not as good as Clapton’s version for his MTV Unplugged set). Be warned that the album clocks in at just over an album with only ten song (the shortest song comes in at 4:55), but Dylan is able to craft long song without making them tedious. Now if only Capton will cover some of the songs.
Night is the kick-off of the 2006 NFL season so you know what that means; it’s the return of fantasy football. Being a degenerate gambler, you know I have my team; well actually I have two, but the second one was an auto-pick league and I picked eighteenth out of eighteen with the computer wasting my first two picks on wide receivers. Yeah, I don’t think I have much of a change. As for my other team, the aptly titled Scooter McGavin, here’s is the breakdown o my team:
Even though I also drafted late in this draft, eighth out of ten, I should have a chance as my bench has a potential of having breakout season which could make great trade break to beef up my soft running back tandem (cheesy pun intended). As for actual football, it seems that it gets harder year from year to pick the winner. Aside from the natural parity from the salary cap, it also comes down to how has the least amount of injuries at the end of the season. But here’s my picks for the playoff and feel free to come back and mock me in January:
AFC East: New England North: Pittsburg South: Indianapolis West: Chargers Wild Card: Miami, Kansas City
One of the many reasons why the music industry is crumbling around itself is that all the record labels hold off the big name releases for the fall leaving the other nine months with albums that the labels have no faith in. To that point, the highest selling album of the year so far is the Soundtrack to High School Musical with a dismal just over two million copies (my data is a little old so it may not be totally accurate). Then when the labels get around to releasing all their big names over a three month span hoping to capitalize on the holiday season leading to a few big hits, but even more albums with disappointing sales because the consumer just can’t afford to buy them all. Then of course the record labels don’t blame the slump on their stupidity instead point to downloads as the problem. With that said here are a few albums that I am looking forward (or dreading) to this fall season, many of which you can look forward to me reviewing (click on band name to find music on iTunes, click on the album name to pre-order from Amazon and feel free to tell me what you are looking forward to in the comment section):
September 5thAudioslave - Revelations: I just review this album yesterday, scroll down to check that out. Beyoncé - B-Day: Like I mentioned in my VMA post, it’s not a good sign when you have to rush out a second single before the album drops. Beyoncé and her group were always good for two or three great songs per album, but after the last Destiny’s Child tanked, and two poorly received singles the Beyoncé era may be over. At least her movie Dreamgirls is getting good buzz. Look for a review shortly.
12thJohn Mayer - Continuum: I’ve already heard the album and it features studio versions of a few songs from his live Trio album and a Hendrix cover. Where Heavier Things was his decent into the blues, Continuum is Mayer’s stab at soul music. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds: From the two songs he performed at the VMA’s, it look like this will suck like his previous work. Although Rick Rubin produced one track, the album closer Another Song and that has me intrigued a little bit. (Okay, just heard the album, it's not Paris Hilton bad, but one of the worst I've heard lately, look for a review next week.) Lionel Richie - Coming Home: Richie has always been better at producing hits than child rearing, and from what I’ve heard from the album, he’s back to top form except when lesser producers bring down the album.
October 3rdThe Killers - Sam’s Town: Lofty expectation considering how lead singer Brandon Flowers brought out the Bruce Springsteen comparison. For the songs I’ve heard so far it sounds like more of the same. Evanescence - The Open Door: Word has it that the departed Ben Moody was the driving force behind the band, so it will interesting where Amy Lee takes the band. By the sound of the new single, it doesn’t sound like the band will deviate from past success. Jet - Shine On: yet another band trying to avoid the sophomore slump after their first disk delivered some of the best rock songs of 2004.
10thRobert Randolph - Colorblind: One of the best guitarists of the current generation looks for his breakout hit. Look for guest spot from Dave Matthews and a decent guitarist in his own right Eric Clapton.
17thSarah McLachlan - Wintersong: One of the few Christmas albums that I’m aware of that will be released this season. Look for Christmas standards like Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel as well as John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over). Diddy - Press Play: Diddy says he named the album because it is an album you can press play and never have to skip a song. But after hearing the first single with the chick from the Pussycat Dolls there will be at least one song I’d skip.
24thJohn Legend - Once Again: Legend put out on of the few R&B records of this decade worth listening to. But since then he won the dreaded Best New Artist Grammy. To prepare for the new album, Legend listened to a lot of The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Sufjan Stevens and brought back Kanye West to produce the album along with Will.i.am Raphael Saadiq. Brooke Hogan - Undiscovered: I really hope this is a joke and won’t happen. This will essentially Paris Hilton take 2.
TBANatalie MacMaster - Yours Truely: I really don't know much about this artist, but it comes reccomended by Russ.
November 7thNas - Hip-Hop Is Dead: Although a legend in the rap game, Nas rarely gets the commercial respect he deserves. This may be the album that gets him back on the radar with production by Kanye West Will.i.am and Dr. Dre. Talib Kweli - Ear Drum: An hopefully an album that will prove that rap is actually not dead. Look for for production from Kanye West and Just Blaze as well as an appearence from Grammy winner Norah Jones.
21stSnoop Dogg - Red Carpet Treatment: Snoop is always good for a club banger or two so hopefully this album will have a few
TBA - Maroon 5: The band’s first album was top-heavy with a bunch of hits but the rest was basically filler, will have to wait to see if the band can make a whole album this time.
For all you karaoke fans, this is your season for crappy music as aside from the previously mentioned Aiken, you can expect bland albums from Rubin Studdard (The Return 9/26), Fantasia (TBA 11/7), Taylor Hicks (TBA 11/14), and Katharine McPhee (late November) and even though the band hasn’t even chosen a singer yet, Supernova has a release date of 11/21. And for my readers that have yet to go through puberty yet, there is not one, but two High School Musical alums (Vanessa Ann Hudgens - V 9/26; Ashley Tisdale - TBA) that will be releasing albums in time for Christmas. Start bugging your parents now.
Also for all you music fans out there, the latest edition to my "Blogs I Read" list, Culture Bully is hold a CD giveaway for everyday in September. For those keeping track at home, that thirty CD's up for grabs (but you can only win once), so hop over there to see what albums you can choose from today and the complete rules.
Some television shows have already started but my Fall TV season doesn’t start up until the 14th. Here’s a revised look at what I’ll tentatively be watching this year since some shows have since switched times or days since I last made my schedule, including their premiere date (feel free to tell me what you're watching in the comment section).
Mondays 8:30 - How I Met Your Mother (9/18 CBS) 9:00 - Heroes (9/25 NBC) 10:00 - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (9/18 NBC)
Tuesdays 9:00 - Veronica Mars (10/3 CW) 9:00 - Kings of Prosperity (10/17 ABC) 11:00 - Ice-T’s Rap School (10/17 VH1 - most likely will catch repeats)
Audioslave was always a band that I was hesitant about. I was a huge fan of Rage Against the Machine fan and the only rap/metal band worth listening to with Zach de la Rocha’s great delivery and Tom Morello’s eccentric guitar as a backdrop. But things reportedly fell apart when bassist Tim Commerford bum rushed the stage at the 2001 Video Music Awards after the band lost out the best rock video to Limp Bizkit embarrassing de la Rocha to the point that he quit the band to work on a yet to be released solo album. The other three members, including drummer Brad Wilk did not rest on the laurels, instead recruited Chris Cornell of Soundgarden to form an entirely new band that luckily didn’t involve Cornell rapping. Instead it sounded exactly what people expected, Soundgarden’s melodies mixed with Rage’s raucous guitars. But I was still hesitant as I still wanted more Rage.
Much of the same can be heard on Audioslave's third album Revelations, that you heard on the first two. But as the band progresses, the more it sounds like dark seventies rock with Morello’s signature guitar licks only coming out during his solos as Cornell channels his inner Robert Plant. This is prevalent right off the bat with the opening title track. Until We Fail plays very similar to I Am the Highway off their self titled debuted but loses its momentum unlike the previous song. Original Fire is an upbeat romp that can be the first song in either band member’s history that calls for you to hand-clap thought the song and has a soul music through a rock filter to it. Broken City is a bluesy song highlighted where Cummerford shines with the bass groove. When the band it at full throttle on Shape of Things to Come, it’s one of the greatest rock sounds in recent times. The album closes with Moth, a haunting song that is the closest the band has gotten to sounding like Soundgarden.
Each of the songs on the album could become a rock radio staple like previous songs but as David Fricke of Rolling Stone put it best calling the band, “a supergroup that keeps making good records that fall shy of great” and Revelations is no exception. And Revelations is the most average of their outings. But then again I’m still holding out for a Rage Against the Machine reunion.
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