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Another Year In America May 14, 2009
The number one alb is by who the fuck (Chrisette Michele), while the number one single is what the fuck ("Boom Boom Pow," I love it); Taylor's "You Belong With Me" makes its second run at the charts; Eminem's new alb is streamed on his MySpace (seventeen songs in, seems like a recovery/therapy album that takes its razor blade to the concept of recovery, makes it a slasher film; this is a potentially fruitful concept, and a song or two have reached me already ("Bagpipes From Baghdad," "Same Song & Dance," the tears of a sex killer), but his voice is inexplicably muffled).
The question I've been asking myself for several weeks without making any effort to find out an answer: how do you pronounce "3OH!3"? Then I actually looked hard at the name and went, "Oh, I get it, it's an area code." Pause. "Hey, it's my area code." Facepalm. Boulder not Denver, it turns out, and I like the revolting and catchy "Don't Trust Me" more than anything by local nice guys The Fray.
Daughtry "No Surprise": Without its getting much attention, this guy's pedestrian and unremarkable first album has been outselling Taylor Swift's first and Carrie Underwood's second, at least in the U.S. On occasion I've liked his combination of gruff gargle and tunefulness (for instance, the track with Slash). On his first single off album 2 he's less remarkable than ever, though my assignment here being to make remarks, I'll say that the Celtic plinking doesn't create any momentum; guitar rush is added, but it still ain't much of a rush. NO TICK.
Eminem f. Dr. Dre "Old Time's Sake": Dre doin' dope as integrity, as roots; Eminem doin' dope as destruction and doin' destruction as shtick, which this song admits to. But what's missing is the old instinct for virulence. Vocal is mixed way back and hidden behind a filter, like chipmunk in a cage. Why? VERY MUCH BORDERLINE AND VERY MUCH BENEFIT-OF-A-DOUBT TICK.
Sean Kingston "Fire Burning": One of the lamest reggae singers ever, he gets slathered in beauty by RedOne, who gives him the same rough bass fuzz he gave to Lady GaGa. And it works: sugar on top, while the instruments kick you around. TICK.
Kristinia Debarge "Goodbye": Starts strong as a would-be Rihanna, though with nothing like Rihanna's burning sorrow. Her version of Steam's na-na-na-na-na-hey-hey-Goodbye riff is surprisingly dull, and this track doesn't nearly have the sizzle and kick it should, given its elements. But the elements themselves are good. BORDERLINE TICK.
Zac Brown Band "Whatever It Is": Pleasant, sentimental, with a gently rolling beat, a few tingles in the harmony, nothin' evil, nothin' overly interesting. BORDERLINE NONTICK.
The question I've been asking myself for several weeks without making any effort to find out an answer: how do you pronounce "3OH!3"? Then I actually looked hard at the name and went, "Oh, I get it, it's an area code." Pause. "Hey, it's my area code." Facepalm. Boulder not Denver, it turns out, and I like the revolting and catchy "Don't Trust Me" more than anything by local nice guys The Fray.
Daughtry "No Surprise": Without its getting much attention, this guy's pedestrian and unremarkable first album has been outselling Taylor Swift's first and Carrie Underwood's second, at least in the U.S. On occasion I've liked his combination of gruff gargle and tunefulness (for instance, the track with Slash). On his first single off album 2 he's less remarkable than ever, though my assignment here being to make remarks, I'll say that the Celtic plinking doesn't create any momentum; guitar rush is added, but it still ain't much of a rush. NO TICK.
Eminem f. Dr. Dre "Old Time's Sake": Dre doin' dope as integrity, as roots; Eminem doin' dope as destruction and doin' destruction as shtick, which this song admits to. But what's missing is the old instinct for virulence. Vocal is mixed way back and hidden behind a filter, like chipmunk in a cage. Why? VERY MUCH BORDERLINE AND VERY MUCH BENEFIT-OF-A-DOUBT TICK.
Sean Kingston "Fire Burning": One of the lamest reggae singers ever, he gets slathered in beauty by RedOne, who gives him the same rough bass fuzz he gave to Lady GaGa. And it works: sugar on top, while the instruments kick you around. TICK.
Kristinia Debarge "Goodbye": Starts strong as a would-be Rihanna, though with nothing like Rihanna's burning sorrow. Her version of Steam's na-na-na-na-na-hey-hey-Goodbye riff is surprisingly dull, and this track doesn't nearly have the sizzle and kick it should, given its elements. But the elements themselves are good. BORDERLINE TICK.
Zac Brown Band "Whatever It Is": Pleasant, sentimental, with a gently rolling beat, a few tingles in the harmony, nothin' evil, nothin' overly interesting. BORDERLINE NONTICK.
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Truth In Dishonesty Dept.
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