4 posts tagged “music”

So I'm mad. For a number of reasons (a phone call, an encounter with someone I'd rather avoid at the moment), but I'm writing this post because I'm mad at this.

http://anthonydavidmusic.com/music.aspx

This is Anthony David. I discovered him thanks to the iTunes Store's "Just for You" box. They suggested him because I had a lot of R&B/Soul type stuff. One listen, and I was hooked. I don't know quite what it is that makes me love his music. I think it's the way he sings - he sings like a man baring his soul to the world. Lyfe Jennings sings like that. And he's a great songwriter. My favorite song of his is Heartstrings - you can relate to it. The only one I can find on Youtube is Words with India.Arie, which is great as well. The music just runs through you like water, and you feel like he's sitting down next to you, having a conversation. It's personal and it's real. This guy has talent.

And NOW? Now he's signed to a label, and they've given him some neckchains and some aviator glasses, and he looks like a Musiq Soulchild wannabe. See this is the point Bob Lefsetz makes in his blog, that I read fairly often. THE LABELS DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FANS! They don't care about people like me, who listen to this music on a bad night to make them feel better, they don't care that we liked him in his casual, scruffy outfits because we could relate to him, we felt like we knew him. I don't know the guy on that website. Bring me back my Anthony David.

I would say, for anyone who likes his music, go out and buy his old albums, 3 Chords & The Truth, and The Red Clay Chronicles. Don't buy the crap that Universal is trying to push down our throats. Because his new album, Acey Duecy (what the hell kind of name is that?) is his two older albums made into one. If you buy it, you won't be paying for his music - you'll be paying for the chains around his neck, the ridiculously expensive shades, and the white tee that probably cots 30 bucks. You'd be paying for the IMAGE, what Universal wants to sell you, not your music.

This makes me sad, because I love Anthony David. I should be happy for him now that he's signed to a label. But they're just going to ruin him. I only hope that they don't do the same thing to Dwele, who is the most underrated artist out there. He should be selling more music than Musiq Soulchild, but he flies under the radar. Maybe it's better that way.

I will say, though, that India looks gorgeous in that video.

Youssou+depeche

So I decided, possibly naively, to search for African music on Pandora. It's a great service with a lot of music, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So the first song plays, Amplified Heart by Caged Baby. It does not sound African in the least, but I like it. It's electronic, but not the intense, clubworthy stuff; it actually makes you stop and listen. It reminds me of a song I really like, Play It For Today by The Legends. So I listen all the way through, and the next song starts up. It sounds like a bad mix of Death Cab and Paul Van Dyk: it's Depeche Mode. I have never listened to this band, even thoug I've heard good things, but this song is just NOT my style at all. So I skip over, and they finally play a Yousoou N'Dour song. I enjoy it, and look forward to another song. I get a poppy dance beat, like Cascada: it's Seal's Loaded, a song that made me wonder if this was the same dude who did Kiss from A Rose. And that's when I start writing this post.

The thing about Pandora is that it's not music-on-demand, it's radio. So you can never guarantee they'll play something you like. But I'm really disappointed at the fact that they have such a limited collection of world music. They don't even have Fela, for God's sake. No Amadou and Miriam, no Tinariwen, even though these bands are somewhat known in the US. I just don't understand how they can play songs side by side that sound NOTHING alike. I checked their analysis of the features of the song, that they assess using the Music Genome Project, and the only thing these songs have in common is "electronica influences". (To their credit, the Depeche Mode song also had "mild rhythmic syncopation" as a common element.) I mean, why not just play me a lot of Youssou N'dour and leave out the rest? Geez.

The next song I get comes from New Order, a post-punk era British rock band (that apparently used to be Joy Division) that incorporate electronic and disco elements into their music. That's when I give up, and thank God (and Steve Jobs, albeit reluctantly) for iTunes, and CDs. Pandora's great, but not perfect, and I'm still waiting to see a music service that gives me the wide range of musical genres that I want, (and have, to some extent) in my library. Hopefully, this will happen soon. In the meantime, I'll be posting some good world music on this blog sooner or later, so look out for it.

So, the Roots came to Yale for Spring Fling. Needless to day, I was very excited. I was disappointed with the choice of acts this year: Sean Kingston (terrible, just terrible), and the Roots as OPENERS for Jimmy Eat World. Umm… excuse me? Jimmy Eat World? I don't even have them in my iTunes Library (and I have a HUGE iTunes library). Apparently, the majority of the student population was against a hip-hop main act. Clearly the survey didn't tell us that the Roots were an option. But people said they put on a good show, so the Spring Fling was flung successfully. The Roots were AMAZING - their rendition of "You Got Me" made my day, especially the guitarist, Kirk Douglas, in a guitar solo where he matched his vocals with notes on the guitar.

Of course, afterwards, I downloaded their new album, Rising Down, off Ruckus to check it out. The way I listen to new albums is I play them while doing something else and wait for songs to jump out at me. "Get Busy" is a great one - they performed it during their set at Yale, and everyone went crazy. The tuba (technically a sousaphone, but whatever) bass line makes the track, as well as ?Questlove on the drums. And Peedi Crak, who I never expect anything from, actually put down a good verse. (This album is full of guest rappers, by the way). Black Thought spits fire on "@ 15" and "75 Bars". I think some people forget how great this man is. In the "best rappers" argument that a couple of my friends had recently, his name didn't come up once. "I Can't Help It", also performed at Yale, is another great track. "Singing Man" is good - I think it's the chorus that gets me. Talib Kweli and Common make good showings on "Lost Desire" and "The Show" respectively. As a side note, I hate it when people hate on Common. He may have his off albums, but his verse on that song shows he's still got it, in my opinion. But the Roots saved the best for last in "Rising Up". Classic fare from the Roots, great verses, great beats, and Chrisette Michele on the chorus (that woman is AMAZING) - it's musical heaven, honestly.

All in all, this is a great album. As I'm still a virgin Roots fan, I can't say it's their best, but it's worth your money. Listen to it for free on imeem here, and tell me what you think. Also, what's your favorite Roots album?

Michelle Williams

I'm always excited when new singles come out. Most of the time I'm disappointed, but today's a good day. All R'n'B too. (I didn't do it on purpose, I promise)

1. Ne-Yo - Closer: Classic Ne-Yo. Great voice, lovely lyrics, with a fast beat that is unusual for him, but he makes it work. One of the most talented singer/songwriters in this decade, I think, and he'll stay in that set for a while yet. 4.25 stars

2. Chris Brown - Forever: Now, I can't compare Ne-Yo to Chris Brown as an artist, as they do very different things, but Chris Brown does the same thing with the faster beat as Ne-Yo does - he makes it work. I think that electro is the next big thing in music (though I'm sure everyone already knew this. Forgive me for being staler than month-old bread. Moving on.). But anyway, good song. Chris Brown is going places. 4.5 stars.

3. Michelle Williams - We Break the Dawn: So our favorite underappreciated child of Destiny has turned away from the gospel circuit, and brought out a new song with a new sound. Are you shocked? (Did anyone notice the name of her new album is "Unexpected"? Clever girl, that Michelle) I'm not particularly surprised. It was a surprise when she came out with "Heart to Yours". I was like, "Destiny's Child doing gospel?!" Her albums did okay - I personally preferred the first. But clearly Ms. Williams is looking to match her former group mates in success. The song, again, has an electro feel to it, and it's good listening. My only problem with it, and with the next song slated for release from her album, "Stop This Car" is that the amazing vocalist I knew in Michelle is missing. While the electro compliments Chris Brown and Ne-Yo's voices, it seems to take precedence over Michelle's vocals here. Not that I'm surprised. Solange Knowles, who has no vocals to speak of, had a hand in making this song. No offense, Solange, but let Michelle do her thing. 3.5 stars. and that's only because Michelle looks SO fly in her album photo shoot. Can I get those heels, please? (see above)

4. Jesse McCartney - Leavin': My first reaction: "Did he just say 'cruising in our G-5???' " Jesse McCartney turning away from the Disney sound and finally giving us the smooth R'n'B his voice was meant for. I was a little sad that he left the pop sound, to tell the truth - "She's No You" is still one of my favorite songs. The violins on that track kill me every time, and the boy can sing. A piece of art, in my opinion. This one is good too, but it has The Dream written all over it, and I felt that Jesse didn't quite fit the mold our new favorite writer/producer has made for him. But it's a good comeback, and bodes well for our boy. 3.75 stars.

5. Girlicious - Like Me: So problems up front: 1. They sound just like Danity Kane. 2. "Girlicious"? I mean, seriously? 3. They are only an attempt to replicate the fame of the Pussycat Dolls. BUT, I have to admit - this song is hot. Jazze Pha doing his thing as usual, and the girls may not have the vocals, but they have enough attitude to take them to the top. I just love the bravado of this song: "Wanna walk like me/ wanna talk like me/ wanna get all the boys in the club like me". Always a fan of the girl power, me. And they dance. Danity Kane don't dance, so they don't have the energy to pull off this song. So Girlicious (you know, I can't say their name anymore, it's too ridiculous), surprisingly, gets my 5 stars this weekend - I just keep playing that song.

Alright, that's enough for today. The abundance of R'nB makes me uncomfortable. I'm going to have to talk about something very random in my next post to correct the imbalance. The songs are here on an imeem playlist for you to check out for yourselves.