While the music industry is still dealing with post-Gaga fumes, let’s see what the first full week of June has as far as releases are concerned. British outfit The Arctic Monkeys have managed to cultivate a solid cult, many of whom are salivating (no pun intended…you’ll see what I mean in about three seconds) for their new album, Suck it & See (album title of the year, I tell ya). They’re some cheeky bastards. They’re joined on the release docket […]
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Hear Here!: Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”
Chris Martin is the Rodney Dangerfield of contemporary rock music-the man gets no respect. Coldplay is arguably the biggest rock band in the world right now (certainly the biggest to emerge in the past decade), and the man still gets shit for everything from being somewhat obvious about his influences to his occasionally “wimpy” music to his kid’s name (although if Apple goes to public school, she needs a name change stat because the bullying will be MEGA.) Personally? I […]
Grace Jones Can Still Rock You Like a “Hurricane”
Before there was Rihanna, there was Grace Jones. The Jamaican-born model was a sensation starting in the late Seventies, bringing an exotic island flair to the music industry with funked-up reggae jams like the classics “My Jamaican Guy” and “Pull Up to the Bumper”. She also was wildly adventurous when it came to cover material, tackling music by Roxy Music, The Pretenders and Tom Petty, among others. She was a fashion icon as well as an acclaimed actress, with well-received […]
Spin Cycle: Eddie Vedder’s “Ukulele Songs”
Every once in awhile artists need a change and go off and do something completely different. Bruce Springsteen put out a record of Scotch-Irish sounding Pete Seeger songs. The Black Keys teamed up with a bunch of hip hop artists to produce the oddly cool Blakroc . Some of these are more successful than others and some are just weird (anyone remember when Tom Waits and Kool Keith were on a record together?). Luckily, Eddie Vedder’s latest obsession is the ukulele. Vedder’s new solo album titled, appropriately enough, Ukulele Songs is his […]
Chart Stalker: Gaga Goes for a Mil
Pop star Lady Gaga leads this week’s Billboard album chart with her new album, Born This Way. It moves a jaw dropping 1.1 million units in it’s first week. It’s the biggest first week for any album since 50 Cent’s The Massacre dropped in 2005, and it’s the biggest first week for a female artist ever. Of course, Gaga’s achievement will come with an asterisk, as well over 400,000 copies of that were purchased from amazon.com during a promotion on […]
The Idiot Box: “Unsung” Returns and Ray LaMontagne Hits Storytellers
Lots of good stuff happening in TV world in the next couple of days. TVOne’s excellent biography series “Unsung” returns on June 6th, for starters. The series, which chronicles legends in the soul music world that haven’t gotten their proper due, has run for (I think) three seasons now (might be four) and has done brilliant episodes on the likes of DeBarge, Shalamar, Minnie Riperton, Bootsy Collins and many others. This year, they begin the season with an episode on […]
R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron
Poet, singer, activist and proto-rapper Gil Scott-Heron passed away yesterday in New York City. He was 62. Best known for the track “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, Scott-Heron’s booming, authoritative voice often decried the struggles of black people as we advanced through the Civil Rights movement in the Seventies and Eighties. His recitative style has been imitated by everyone from (name your person at a poetry slam here) to Kool Moe Dee, Chuck D and 2Pac. Also blessed with […]
Festival Summer: Rock the Bells & Afro-Punk Announce Lineups
Quiet as kept, the Rock the Bells festival has become THE event for hip-hop fans every summer. The 2011 iteration of the road show just announced it’s lineup for this summer, and Lauryn Hill and Nas are the main attractions. Hill, whose wildly inconsistent performances (not to mention habitual lateness) drew the ire of many fans last year, will be looking to redeem herself on the 2011 jaunt. Hopefully we get more soulful, inspired performances like the one she did […]
Blerd Briefs: “Idol”, Lenny & Beyonce
Those of you who follow GG’s “American Idol” wrap-ups every week on this site are probably also aware that he posts a results day blog on sonicclash.com. As I’m sure many of you know by now, teenager Scotty McCreery won the competition. As someone who didn’t watch a single episode of the show this year (GG’s posts were entertaining enough for me), I’m wondering if Scotty has what it takes to become a superstar in the vein of a Carrie Underwood or Kelly […]
Chart Stalker 5/26/11: Adele Makes it Nine for “21”
Let’s face it, folks. Adele’s 21 is a freakin’ juggernaut. This week, it spends it’s ninth week at the top of the Billboard Albums chart. It’s the longest run at the top of the album charts since Taylor Swift’s Fearless some three years ago. It’s pretty major when you consider how low key this album’s been. “Rolling in the Deep” is only NOW becoming a pop radio hit, and Adele has yet to expose her snatch, dance around in bustiers […]
Roundball Soundoff 5/23/11: Rapturous Conference Finals
In game 1 of the Western conference finals Dirk Nowitzki had one of the greatest all-time playoff performances. 48 points on 15 shots, 12-15 FG and a record 24-24 from the line. The Thunder have to choose to single Dirk, who is basically unguardable and let him go nuts like he did in game 1, or “hold” him to 25 by doubling him and hoping the rest of the team misses shots. I think I roll the dice with the […]