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 […]
Posts tagged "Lady Gaga"
2011 MTV Video Music Awards Live Blog
It’s the 2011 version of the VMAs and really, other than who has a hot single, what’s the real difference from year to year? You take a bunch of famous pop stars, give them tons of alcohol, and just let them act the fool on live TV. I think the real question should be: Who is going to do something that makes the Twitter go crazy? Kanye, Lady Gaga, or how about Kanye? My money’s on Kanye. I have my […]
Katy Perry (and the Usual Suspects) Lead MTV VMA Noms
I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t too early for VMA Nominations to be announced. Lo and behold, we’re almost done with July, and now is the usual time that the nominees for the show-an MTV institution since 1984-to be announced. To (what should be) no one’s surprise, the leading nominees are Katy Perry, Adele and Kanye West. Whatever you think of the music made by any of these artists, you have to admit that Perry […]
Adele On Top Again & Chart Stalker Gets “Mormon”-ized!
Lady Gaga’s time at the top of the charts was pretty short. Born This Way slides to #2 this week, overtaken by the resilient Adele album 21. The British singer’s sophomore effort lands a 10th non-consecutive week at the top, scanning another 114,000 copies this week. Gaga takes the runner-up spot, with a shade over 100K sold. Award shows were a huge factor in this week’s chart. Aided by major wins at the Tony Awards, a physical release and some […]
Chart Stalker 6/9/11: Gaga Tumbles, Death Cab Debuts Big
So maybe my headline is a little misleading. After all, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way hangs on for a second week at the top of the Billboard album charts. However, after scoring a million + sales week, the pop star’s latest record suffers a steeper-than-normal 84% drop and scans a relatively pedestrian 174,000 units in week two. While the drop is slightly alarming, it was inevitable without the benefit of a promotion like Amazon’s 99 cent gambit. Regardless of anything, […]
The New Blerd Radio Episode 5: Happy Blerdthday!
Memorial Day wasn’t the only holiday celebrated this week! There was also a Blerd birthday to acknowledge, so Mike & Jesse too to the airwaves on an off-week to give you yet another episode of caffeinated, alcohol-fueled commentary on the latest in pop culture. Discussed this week: -How do kids survive the rapture? (well, more specifically, Jesse’s kid) -How did a friend of ours find something gross in his Wendy’s meal? -Marv Albert is NOT Herb Alpert. Or Merv Griffin. […]
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 […]
Spin Cycle: Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”
My judgment occasionally gets clouded by hype. Only in most cases, the hype has an effect opposite to it’s intention. Instead of drawing me more toward something, hearing endless amounts of PR spin causes me to approach the item (whether it’s a CD, a book, a TV show or a movie) with significantly more skepticism. That’s been my issue with Lady Gaga almost since the moment she danced into stardom. It took me almost a year to give Gaga a […]
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 […]
New Release Report 5/23/11: A Day Early for Gaga
It’s here, ladies and gentlemen. The anticipation has been building up since the beginning of the year, and now Lady Gaga’s Born This Way is available for you to take home. The music industry has been so hot to get this album out that they’ve pushed all releases for the week (which would normally be on Tuesday May 24th) to Monday the 23rd. Yup, folks, you can begin your work week with Stefani Germanotta and all of her dance-pop anthemry […]