There’s nothing inherently offensive about William Shatner’s music career. His style is innately silly, sure – generally speaking, spoken-word recitations of pop songs strung over bombastic instrumentals – but it’s difficult to begrudge him his moment in the musical spotlight, given his hammy seriousness. The former Captain Kirk attacks pop tunes as though they were Shakespeare monologues (or, in the case of his first musical outing, 1968’s The Transformed Man, because they’re Shakespeare monologues). The amount of sheer, campy, go-for-broke melodrama […]
Posts tagged "cd review"
Spin Cycle: Justice’s “Audio, Video, Disco”
Sometimes, subverted expectations can be fun. Case in point: Justice, otherwise known as “that group that had that song” (“D.A.N.C.E.”, in case you were wondering) or perhaps “the band Daft Punk fans listen to between albums”, have returned with a sophomore set. Their fun, monolithic slabs of electronica sounded reasonably fresh on their debut, Cross, but the replay potential wore thin, and the prospect of a new record – especially in a week that sees a prolific release from fellow […]
Spin Cycle: The Original 7ven’s “Condensate”
“I never had as much fun as I had with the original seven… and it ain’t over yet,” Morris Day says wistfully on the spoken intro to his old band’s comeback record, Condensate. Morris Day and The Time – here renamed The Original 7ven because, well, mentor Prince’s copyright-related peccadilloes have gotten the better of him in recent years – may not have released an album together in 21 years, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to Condensate. Not only […]
Spin Cycle: Murs’ “Love & Rockets, Vol. 1”
“Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do y’all want?” Phonte once asked, and the question remains a potent one: hip-hop, particularly of the underground variety, turned a more experimental corner around the time of the millennium, and for many, the art of the simply-constructed, plainspoken hip-hop LP fell by the wayside. The loose-limbed, live-band feel of the Roots; the lush soundscapes and penetrating self-excavation of Kanye West; these are the things that we’ve been conditioned to value in hip-hop. Some […]
Spin Cycle: Mayer Hawthorne’s “How Do You Do?”
It’s a very tricky thing when an acclaimed artist makes the jump from an indie label to a major. Will they retain that spark that drew you in to begin with? Will they be forced to make stylistic compromises to appease the suits and mass audiences? Will they end up as the soundtrack to commercials for Target and get in house play at your local Starbucks? Without delving into a diatribe about the corporate music industry, I’ll simply say that […]
Spin Cycle: Bjork’s “Biophilia”
By way of a disclaimer, this review doesn’t come from the point of view of a Bjork fan. That’s important to note, as it seems that the Icelandic pixie’s records are uniquely suited for those familiar with her style, those attuned to her peccadilloes. Unlike most Bjork records, however, Biophilia has been anticipated more for its incorporation of multimedia and technology than for the direction of its music. Its song suites are, supposedly, enhanced by their interactions with corresponding iPad apps, […]
Spin Cycle: Erasure’s “Tomorrow’s World”
To dismiss Erasure as mere “synthpop pioneers” seems like it’d be erroneous; it’s true, the duo of Vince Clark and Andy Bell built a career from the ground up, dolling up their sound with more canned drumbeats and squelching keyboards than you could shake a Yaz at. But any pop connoisseur knows the real deal: peel away the layers, and what remained under that distinctly-80’s veneer were, simply, a series of excellent pop songs. Melodically, next to nothing can compete with […]
Spin Cycle: Jack’s Mannequin’s “People and Things”
Fans hooked by the first Jack’s Mannequin record, 2005’s Everything In Transit, can collectively rejoice: after a shift from effervescent, sun-kissed piano-pop to artful, introspective songwriting on the group’s second album, The Glass Passenger, Jack’s are back with a new record and a new outlook. Of course, Jack’s Mannequin figurehead and Something Corporate ex-pat Andrew McMahon was well within his rights to craft a weighty, introspective album: The Glass Passenger chronicled his much-publicized battle with leukemia, which allows any singer-songwriter at […]
Spin Cycle: Fountains of Wayne’s “Sky Full of Holes”
Check out our review of Fountains of Wayne’s fantastic new album “Sky Full of Holes”.
Having Faith Once Again: George Michael’s Pop Masterpiece, Revisited
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”‘s not the type of song any great songwriter would like to leave as a musical legacy, and George Michael knew that when he decided to split Wham! up in 1986. After four successful years of making easily digestible pop/dance anthems with (questionably talented) partner Andrew Ridgeley, George retreated into the studio with his sights on making an adult pop album that would resonate with fans in the same manner as the then demigods of […]
Taylor Swift Said “Speak Now”! (and the Masses Obeyed)
It’s safe to say that Taylor Swift has officially made the jump from country chick with a guitar to cultural phenomenon. No matter where you live or what you do, she’s as inescapable a pop star as there is these days. In an era when female singer and oversexualized images are almost synonymous, Taylor’s a throwback to a simpler time, sort of an Olivia Newton-John (kids, look her up) for the new millennium. Unlike ONJ, Taylor plays guitar and writes […]
