The Roots’ turn as the house band on Jimmy Fallon’s late night TV show has become one of the few worthwhile reasons for me to miss my bedtime. Having one of the most talented, versatile bands in all of music has resulted in some of the most creative and spirited musical moments in late-night television history. Last night, Justin Timberlake appeared on the show to promote his new movie, “The Social Network”, and during his appearance, he, Fallon and The […]
Posts tagged "Justin Timberlake"
All You Need to Know About the Music of…Madonna! (Part Three)
Madonna came into the Nineties like a lion, and exited the decade like a lamb. Her final effort of the decade, “Ray of Light”, found Madge in a contemplative, serene mood completely unlike her public persona for the previous decade and a half. By the turn of the decade, she was a mother once, about to become a mother for the second time, and had even finally gotten some love from the establishment, winning a handful of Grammy Awards to […]
Another Crazy VH-1 List: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
My first thought upon hearing that VH-1 was compiling a list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time was: how does one even begin to compile such a list? It’s not easy to quantify exactly what makes a great artist. Is it raw talent? Is it an eye for reinvention? Is it work that revolutionizes the artist’s milieu? The thought of taking the time to compile one of these lists myself makes my head explode. Nevertheless, on 9/6, the […]
New Release Report: Something to Crow About?
Another kinda slow week for music buying, at least if you like what I like. Here are some highlights. Sheryl Crow “100 Miles from Memphis”-As I have mentioned in a previous post, I haven’t really dug Sheryl’s last couple of albums. However, the smooth first single “Summer Day” has me anticipating a Sheryl album more than I have in at least a decade. Keith Richards and Justin Timberlake both guest here, and she covers Citizen Cope’s “Sideways”. She also gives […]
Who Wants to “Live Forever”? I Do, After Seeing Matt Morris’s New Video!
If you’ve heard of Matt Morris, it might be via his songwriting talents, featured on hits by Christina Aguilera and Kelly Clarkson. It might be due to his stint on the “Mickey Mouse Club” back in the day alongside Xtina, Britney, Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake (damn-what the hell was in the water over at the Disney studios?). It might be because of his chill-inducing cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that he performed with JT and Charlie Sexton […]
Eminem *Literally* Soars in "Not Afraid" Video
I think Eminem might just be serious about this new, more mature image. “Not Afraid”, the first single from his upcoming “Recovery” album, does a good job deleting some of the bad taste left in a lot of fans’ collective mouth after years of increasing mediocrity. Couple it with his guest verses on songs by Drake and B.O.B, and an unforgettable freestyle on the BET Hip Hop Award show and..we might be talking comeback for a guy who can rap […]
Blerd Briefs: Immigration, The NBA & Bret Michaels
I remember reading an interview (I think it was in Vibe magazine) with Meshell Ndegeocello, where she said something to the effect of “Mexicans are the new niggers”, and I had to agree with her. It’s not politically correct to give brothers and sisters the “you don’t belong here” treatment anymore, so the easy targets are Mexicans and Middle Easterners. The state of Arizona (which has a very high Mexican immigrant population) just passed into law a bill that requires […]
Foxx & Timberlake Team Up: Can They Produce a "Winner"?
If you’d have told me that the dude who played Ugly Wanda on “In Living Color” would have a Grammy and an Oscar by the time 2010 rolled around, I would’ve either laughed in your face or asked me to pass you the joint you were smoking. But here we are, in 2010, and Jamie Foxx is an accomplished recording artist and actor-one of only a handful of artists who has recently had success in music and film. Justin Timberlake […]
Timberlake and Bieber: Revenge of the Justins
I was listening to “Innervisions” by Stevie Wonder yesterday. Stevie was 23 when that album was released. Thinking back on all my life experience, it’s pretty impressive that someone was able to put out such a work of genius at such a relatively young age. Then I thought more, and realized that maybe that was not so unusual: after all, the Beatles were all still in their twenties when they broke up in 1970. George Michael’s “Listen Without Prejudice” came […]