“Why the hell should I like… ?” is an experiment of sorts between Popblerd and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit . What we’re going to attempt to do is to pick 10 songs from our favorite artists — one for which the other has professed dislike or disinterest — and show them why they’re wrong. One thing you should know about me is that I’m an unapologetic lover of British pop (Britpop if you will). There’s something about the sheer musicality and sharpness that […]
Posts tagged "The Beatles"
Award Show Sundays: Hov, Linkin Park & Macca Give You an Encore (Do You Want More?)
Yesterday marked the 69th birthday of one of the greatest songwriters in history-Paul McCartney. For almost fifty years, the cute Beatle has maintained and polished his legacy with very few hiccups. Think about it, Paul’s least-liked period (critically) came at a point when he was enjoying a great deal of commercial success (post-Wings, early ’80s, “Ebony & Ivory”/”Say Say Say”). While he’s not selling records at the level that he was thirty years ago, his new albums routinely debut in […]
Award Show Sundays: “I Saw Her Standing There”
When I talk about the Grammy Awards, I refer to Ken Ehrlich’s book At the Grammys: Behind the Scenes at Music’s Greatest Night quite a bit. The show producer’s recap of three decades worth of ceremonies is quite an interesting read. Excellently reverent in spots (he obviously has a hard on for certain artists like Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge) and delightfully bitchy in others (not a fan of Britney Spears…or Usher…or obnoxious former NARAS president Michael Greene), I recommend […]
Chart Stalker 11/24/10: Just Like the Old Days!!
Thanks to a very healthy slate of new releases and the Beatles’ debut on iTunes, this week’s Billboard chart almost looks like one from 5 or 6 years ago when more people were buying records and also bodes well for a fairly successful holiday season. Nine albums scan over 100,000 copies this week (actually, eight of the nine scan over 150,000). This number includes seven debuts, but…this week’s chart-topper is actually a holdover. Susan Boyle actually INCREASES her first week […]
Imagine…Lennon at 70
On this day in 1940, John Lennon, one of the 20th century’s most important cultural icons, was born in Liverpool, England. Had he not been murdered in December 1980, today would have been his 70th birthday. I’d imagine at this point, a Beatle as a senior citizen is not a foreign concept-both Paul and Ringo are quite active to this day. And perhaps because of the circumstances by which I became familiar with John, he’s always had an old sage […]
New Release Report 10/5/10: Imagining Lennon Reissues
Following last year’s Beatles reissues, the folks at EMI/Capitol are commemorating what would have been the 70th birthday of the great John Lennon by remastering and reissuing his entire eight-album catalog. If you have the scratch and/or are a tremendous Lennon fan, there is also the 11-disc [amazon-product text=”Signature Box” tracking_id=”popblerdcom-20″ type=”text”]B003TVMIDO[/amazon-product] that contains just about everything the man ever recorded and released. As John Lennon is one of the most iconic figures in popular music, I can think of […]
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 […]
Stephanie Mills Returns with "Yesterday" Cover, New Album
You always remember your first crush… Mine was Stephanie Mills. I was 3 when “What’cha Gonna Do with My Lovin’” came out back in ’79. “Sweet Sensation” came out the year after, and I was smitten. There was something about the voice and the attitude that caught my interest. Granted, you can’t have much of a crush when you’re a toddler, but I wanted the little lady with the big voice to be my pretend girlfriend. We could sit around […]