Ten-ish years since Maroon 5’s debut album came out, it’s been reissued with a load of bonus content. Will this reissue be loved? Check out our review.
Author Archive
The Singles Bar: Spring and Summer Soundtrack Songs
Ah, the soundtrack song. It’s been a very, very long time since the theme to a movie really gripped the pop charts by the collar and refused to let go. (Interestingly, the last such occurrence may be Celine Dion’s undying “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme to 1997’s Titanic, which just broke the $2 billion dollar mark thanks to a 3-D re-release this month. But Titanic hasn’t enjoyed another weekend atop the box office charts this year like it did for 15 weeks in 1997 and 1998. […]
We Saw It! “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour”
Even if you’re a die-hard Michael Jackson fan – the kind that’s owned five copies of Thriller to replace worn-out ones or collect the bonus material on every repackaging – it can sometimes be easy to forget, even if just for a second, what it means to recognize the artistry of Jackson as a composer, arranger, singer, dancer and all-around showman par excellence of the 20th century. Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour , which played Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center on Saturday, was a reminder of […]
Permanent Vacation: Aerosmith to Hit the Road This Summer
Lock up your daughters, America – Aerosmith are touring North America for the first time in two years. The iconic quintet – even iconic singer/American Idol judge/crazy person Steven Tyler! – are embarking on 22 dates between June and August on the “Global Warming Tour” with fellow rock elder statesmen Cheap Trick. It might surprise Idol‘s target audience, but before Steven Tyler took that hilarious hosting gig, he was the frontman for one of the hardest-living, hardest-rocking, longest-lasting bands in America. Tyler and […]
Maroon 5 Embrace Pop Trends, Irony on New LP “Overexposed”
If you liked Maroon 5’s odd duck of a single, last year’s chart-topping club banger “ Moves Like Jagger ,” you’re going to love their fourth album Overexposed , described by the band as their “poppiest” yet. The soul-pop quintet did a total 180 from 2010’s Mutt Lange-produced Hands All Over on the inescapable “Jagger,” downplaying their usual skittering funk guitars for swirly synths and high-energy beats (not to mention the howling vocal acrobatics of Christina Aguilera). That track, produced by pop wizards Shellback and […]
Everything Old is New Again: Music Industry Announces Ridiculous Amount of Reissues
The catalog and reissue market is booming! Popblerd’s Mike Duquette takes a look at some of the notable reissues on their way soon.
The Singles Bar: Garbage Draw “Blood” on First Single in Five Years
When isn’t the right time to get nostalgic for favorite bands? I’m not just talking your classic acts, your Bruces, Madonnas and Van Halens; there’s been a pretty excellent ’90s alt-pop/rock revival in the past few years (which, for me, reached its zenith with Blink-182’s decent Neighborhoods last year). One of the most welcome revived bands of late is Garbage. Surely you recall their smart hooks and appealingly noisy production in the late ’90s and early ’00s (thanks in no small part to having super-producer/drummer Butch Vig, who […]
Spin Cycle: Say Anything’s “Anarchy, My Dear”
You could fill years of academic journals with research about popular music and mental illness. The chemical balances that lend themselves to musical mastery will surely never be uncovered, nor will we ever understand the tendency of artistic geniuses to commit themselves to bizarre or self-destructive behaviors (or, in some cases, both). But what happens if things get better? What if you’re able to quell your demons and triumph over adversity – does the music get better, or does the […]
“Shadow Days” Are Here Again: John Mayer Cancels Tour
Mere weeks after the announcement of John Mayer’s fifth album, Born and Raised, the release of new single “ Shadow Days ” and the announcement of his first tour in two years, the singer/songwriter/guitarist announced he will be sidelined by health problems yet again. Mayer, whose battle with a granuloma on his vocal cords forced cancellation of his few shows last year and delayed the completion of Born and Raised, announced in a Tumblr post Friday that the granuloma – “one giant pain in the ass” that […]
The Viewfinder: “MIB 3” Trailer Round 2 – Holy Shiz-Nit!
When the teaser for vaguely anticipated threequel Men in Black 3 hit the web in December, I was… less than pleased . Little of what made the 1997 sci-fi/comedy cult classic (and very select parts of the 2002 sequel) so great – the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and a colorful supporting cast – was present in the teaser. If anything, the clip acted as a fearsome reminder of what another lauded fantasy/comedy franchise might look like were it to get to a third installment . What more can […]
The Viewfinder: Miike Snow Stay Afloat on “Paddling Out”
If you love Swedish-American alt-rock trio Miike Snow, you’ll be happy to know they have a new album, Happy to You, coming soon. And if you don’t know Miike Snow, you’ll be surprised to know they’re partially responsible for a few of the biggest mainstream hits of the past few years. Miike Snow – comprised of writer-producer-instrumentalists Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg and vocalist Andrew Wyatt – had a great shoulda-been-a-hit with their self-titled debut in 2009 and hypnotic, Peter […]
The Viewfinder: Ferris Bueller’s Way Off
Some of us are happy to see the return of Ferris Bueller, if only for a short car ad. But should Matthew Broderick have left the legendary movie character back in 1986?