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Seal -
Soul
Warner Bros. |
The album title says it all. Seal no longer focuses on solemn R&B hooks interlaid with full voice hollers over the quieter end of pop music. No, now he relies on over-produced soul music with R&B hooks interlaid with full voice hollers.
His voice is stronger than ever, with lyrical content that seems to be a badge of pride for himself. The production, as mentioned, is pretty over-the-top: more synthesized instruments than I thought could be fit on one track and more studio tricks than Nixon had wiretaps. Seal will not disappoint those who loved what he's been doing. |
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Fourplay -
Energy
Heads Up/Concord |
Boring soft jazz. Aside from the bad pun of a name, and the complete lack of anything interesting in the craftsmanship, the musicians are talented, and know how to write the genre like Gods. The problem? The genre gives nothing to the listener besides a few yawns. Oh well. |
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Al Green -
Lay It Down
Blue Note/EMI |
Al Green, the signature voice of soul, has his umpteenth release here, and manages to this day to not miss a beat. The only thing that seems to be changing is the production, but that's to be expected from mainstream releases.
Soul-infused soul that could stop a train, Lay It Down unleashes so much emotion that I have a hard time conceiving how he can write as many songs as he has and still have the energy left to make more. Nothing better or worse than you would expect from this legend.
***Best Album Of The Week***
***Shelton's Single of the Week: "Lay It Down"***
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Woodhands -
Heart Attack
Paper Bag |
Electro-trash, Woodhands is a bit more punk than most of the others. At points I heard The Knife, others I heard something a bit more aggressive: this is definitely original.
Shouted vocals occasionally dirty up the mix, which is fairly distasteful, but beautiful female-sung melodies hold a lot of the album up strong. I like electronic pop music. This is great. If you don't, don't bother. |
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Yusa -
Haiku
Tumi |
Dreamy avant-garde "Cuban" music (some mix of traditional Cuban folk, jazz, and psych-rock) that is so much more interesting than anything else. Haiku, Yusa's latest album, is superb from beginning to end. Beautiful harmonies throughout, interesting structure, and the alternative percussion styles that can catch me every time, all of which gets me hooked more than anything new recently. Beautiful female vocals, and the perfect amount of production, this album is for anyone who likes good things.
***ARTIST TO WATCH!!!***
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Cameron Carpenter -
Revolutionary CD + DVD Set
Telarc/Concord |
I haven't heard of Carpenter before this, but I'm glad now I have. The cover of the album made me think this would be some bad pop album, soulless and graced only with good looks and a great engineer.
Classical music has very little room for either of these things, so Carpenter has to rely on talent and musicianship, which he does. Well. Organ pieces from the classics-turned-standards (Liszt, Chopin, Bach, Horowitz) and two of his originals, this is just all around stellar. If you like classical, primarily organ pieces, this is great for contemporary classical. |
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Various Artists -
The Motown Collection
Time Life/Universal |
Time Life just keeps doing what it does best with this hits collection. This album compiles standout tracks from across the Motown catalogue and provides a stellar document of early '70s funk and soul. None of these songs are new or exclusive to this release, but they are certainly timeless, and the CD is worth it for the convenience of having all of these songs together.
Motown created a sound with these songs, and jumpstarted the careers of countless legendary musicians. Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Jackson 5; they're all here. These songs are mandatory listening, so if you aren't familiar, now's the time.
***LATE BUT GREAT***
***Shelton's Single of the Week: "Eddie Kendricks - Keep on Truckin' (Part 1)"***
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Pat DiNizio -
Tribute To Buddy Holly
Koch |
This is totally awesome. If you like Buddy Holly, you will like this. If you didn't, realistically this will do less than nothing to you, since they are marginally less interesting versions of the originals.
Cute and heartfelt pop songs performed by DiNizio with a bit more than the first editions of the tracks. Some more instrumentation, like the addition of full string sections, adds another layer to the songs that wasn't there before, but keeping the song basically to a T beyond these slight distractions. |
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Kaiser Chiefs -
Off With Their Heads
B-Unique/Universal Motown |
Kaiser Chiefs are by no means the best thing that has ever happened to the world, but goddamn are they great. Catchy alternative-rock with hints of sass rock ala Yeah Yeah Yeahs and T.V. on the Radio, but the Chiefs manage to inject the whole package with an odd 70's white soul feel to it. I even hear a bit of Gang of Four in there. It's great. Interesting, original, and sounds awesome? This is too good to be true.
***MIGHTY, MIGHTY!!***
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The Hot Club of San Francisco -
Bohemian Maestro: Django Reinhardt
Azica |
The Hot Club of S.F., a string tribute band, is attempting to tackle quiet a feat: a full album of Django Reinhardt compositions. Commendable, and usually I would have given an immediate thumbs down.
But you know, this is surprisingly good. A bit different from the originals, but you can certainly hear the "gypsy" jazz mastermind buried down beneath it, and the beautifully crafted harmonies add layers to the already interesting progressions. I could not see anyone, aside from the most diehard of Reinhardt fans objecting to this. |
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E-40 -
The Ball Street Journal
Sick Wid'it/Reprise/Warner Bros. |
The Ball Street Journal is nothing different than E-40 has ever done. He has his identical delivery that he has in every song, the same style, same flow, and yeah, the same lyrical content. Most of it still doesn't make any sense, but that seems to be his jam. I've never cared much for the "hyphy" movement, and this doesn't change my mind.
***LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!***
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The Gaslight Anthem -
The '59 Sound
SideOneDummy |
Catchy, driving, rocking punk. I wouldn't say The Gaslight Anthem are the most original of bands, but they certainly have their sound together.
Incredibly personal tracks with stellar song craftsmanship make much of this album a complete solid listen. Not much bullshit, and even less stupid production that is the defining sound of the twenty-first century punk recordings, The '59 Sound runs more like an old rock and roll record than anything else. Think Against Me!, but still good. |
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Chumbawamba -
The Boy Bands Have Won
PM Press |
Chumbawamba is one of those bands that will always stay with me. Never Mind The Ballots and Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records are both in constant rotation at my house, and I try to get into everything they put out. I can't always, especially the last few, but still: it's the effort that counts.
As for The Boy Bands Have Won, I'm glad they started writing better music. There, I said it. Its lost all of the punk roots, but has blossomed as a really organic pop band. Mostly acoustic instruments, some horns here and there, and the same political rants as ever. Top choice of the album: "Sing about Love".
***POLITICAL ALBUM OF THE WEEK***
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Dionyza -
Quite Like Me
Little Dizzy |
Dionyza's voice is incredible, far beyond the talent that I could ever imagine embodying. The unfortunate reality is the music is pretty boring. Her notable mentions are usually as backup or starring in musical's and voices in teen movies, but the music is generally uninteresting. Female pop R&B with no real hooks, and lots bad production, this is more mediocre than another Mase album. |
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Fiction Family -
Self-Titled
ATO/RED |
Fiction Family is Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot leaving their vaguely-punk roots and diving into the world of indie rock. Basically, they listened to a lot of The Beatles, and tried to write songs that could compare. They can't, but they are still ahead of the game.
Cute songs about, well, sounds like nothing, and well organized songwriting turning this into something worth listening to. Certainly not on my top 100, but definitely a good listen. |
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Various Artists -
Slumdog Millionaire - Music From The Motion Picture
n.e.e.t./Celador/Film 4/Interscope/UMG |
The movie that seems to be the talk of the town has a surprisingly awesome soundtrack to accompany the so-called masterpiece. Intelligently, the filmmakers decided to use the music of A.R. Rahman for most of the album.
His brand of Indian electronica is not only a treat compared to the American brand of nonsense, but is also just genuinely good. Also featured on here is M.I.A., performing almost better than she does on her solo albums. A few other cameos from phenomenal Indian musicians makes this an A+ soundtrack. |
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Supersuckers -
Get It Together! CD + DVD SET
Mid-Fi/Red Eye |
Even though I think the genre name "Cowpunk" is worse than any of the new rap titles that reek the airwaves, it remains accurate. Supersuckers are "the" band of cowpunk, and are surprisingly good. No real honky-tonk voice, Eddie Spaghetti sounds more like Mike Ness than Garth Brooks. The country aspect to it all is dismal, more of a hint than anything else. Get it Together! Is another great rock album. |
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Jaheim -
Classic Jaheim Vol. 1
Divine Mill/Warner Bros. |
R&B star Jaheim continues to lay his aggressive and emotional tracks of pop history with Classic Jaheim, Vol. 1. One part earlier Boyz 2 Men, one part Blackstreet...this is basically an album that is about 10 years too late. This is unbelievably late 90's.
"SO NICE, GOTTA DO IT UP TWICE"
(created by the original NYC D.J. Jocko, 1955)
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DJ Mark Farina -
Mushroom Jazz Six
Om |
Mushroom Jazz, the supposed precursor to downtempo, actually strikes me as much more interesting than the contemporary counterpart. Odd, almost trip-hop beats with jazzy sort of loops built on top of the serene emotions of electronic, this is another something interesting.
None of the names on here mean a thing to me, but all of them have at least a few interesting components. A little boring for my tastes, but this album remains both intriguing and original. |
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Mike Bones -
A Fool For Everyone
Social Registry |
Fairly whiny alternative loser rock is Bones' forte. The writing is acceptable, his voice is a little annoying at times, but there are a few moments, like his Dinosaur Jr. worship soloing, his progressions, and his consistent negativity throughout, makes this worth the listen.
Songs don't all sound the same, which is a plus, but all still have a stylistic element that is distinctly Mike Bones. While not the best thing released this century, this is still pretty damn awesome. |
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Avant -
Avant
Capitol/EMI |
Mediocre as hell R&B. Avant is a bad blur of electronic down-tempo and soulless pop R&B. Without much of anything to grasp onto, aside from a few points of interesting delivery and some painful beats, this album goes into the "don't care" pile. |
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Artist: The Clash
Song: Career Opportunities
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They offered me the office, offered me the shop
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you wanna make tea at the BBC?
Do you wanna be, do you really wanna be a cop?
Career opportunities are the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunity, the ones that never knock
I hate the army an' I hate the R.A.F.
I don't wanna go fighting in the tropical heat
I hate the civil service rules
And I won't open letter bombs for you
Bus driver....ambulance man....ticket inspector
They're gonna have to introduce conscription
They're gonna have to take away my prescription
If they wanna get me making toys
If they wanna get me, well, I got no choice
Careers
Careers
Careers
Ain't never gonna knock
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Political Article:
El Salvador Votes Away Its Bad Past
By: Mark Weisbrot
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Last Sunday's election in El Salvador, in which the leftist FMLN (Farabundo Mart’ Front for National Liberation) won the presidency, didn't get a lot of attention in the international press. It's a relatively small country (7 million people on land the size of Massachusetts) and fairly poor (per capita income about half the regional average). And left governments have become the norm in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela have all elected left governments over the last decade. South America is now more independent of the United States than Europe is.
But the FMLN's victory in El Salvador has a special significance for this hemisphere.
Central America and the Caribbean have long been the United States' "back yard" more than anywhere else. The people of the region have paid a terrible price - in blood, poverty and underdevelopment - for their geographical and political proximity to the United States. The list of US interventions in the area would take up the rest of this column, stretching from the 19th century (Cuba, in 1898) to the 21st, with the overthrow of Haiti's democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide (for the second time) in 2004.
Those of us who can remember the 1980s can see President Ronald Reagan on television warning that "El Salvador is nearer to Texas than Texas is to Massachusetts" as he sent guns and money to the Salvadoran military and its affiliated death squads. Their tens of thousands of targets - for torture, terror and murder - were overwhelmingly civilians, including Catholic priests, nuns and the heroic archbishop Oscar Romero. It seems ridiculous now that Reagan could have convinced the US Congress that the people who won Sunday's election were not only a threat to our national security, but one that justified horrific atrocities. But he did. At the same time millions of Americans - including many church-based activists - joined a movement to stop US support for the terror, as well as what the United Nations later called genocide in Guatemala, along with the US-backed insurgency in Nicaragua (which was also a war against civilians).
Now we have come full circle. In 2007, Guatemalans elected a social democratic president for the first time since 1954, when the CIA intervened to overthrow the government. Last September, President Zelaya of Honduras - which served as a base for US military and paramilitary operations in the 1980s - joined with Bolivia's Evo Morales and Venezuela's Hugo Ch‡vez when they expelled their US ambassadors. Zelaya defended their actions and postponed the accreditation of the US ambassador to Honduras, saying that "the world powers must treat us fairly and with respect". In 2006 Nicaraguans elected Daniel Ortega of the Sandinistas, the same president that Washington had spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to topple in the 1980s.
El Salvador's election was not only another step toward regional independence but a triumph of hope against fear, much as in the US presidential election of 2008. The ruling ARENA party, which was founded by right-wing death squad leader Roberto D'Aubuisson, made fear their brand: fear of another civil war, fear of bad relations with the United States, fear of a "communist dictatorship". Almost comically, they tried to make the election into a referendum on Hugo Ch‡vez. (Venezuela kept its distance from the election, with no endorsements or statements other than its desire to have good relations with whomever won.)
ARENA was joined by Republican members of Congress from the United States, who tried to promote the idea that Salvadorans - about a quarter of whom live in the US - would face extraordinary problems with immigration and remittances if the FMLN won. Although these threats were completely without merit, the right's control over the media made them real for many Salvadorans. In the 2004 election the Bush administration joined this effort to intimidate Salvadoran voters, and it helped the right win.
The right's control over the media, its abuse of government in the elections and its vast funding advantage (there are no restrictions on foreign funding) led JosŽ Antonio de Gabriel, the deputy chief of the European Union's observer mission, to comment on "the absence of a level playing field". It's amazing that the FMLN was still able to win, and testimony to the high level of discipline, organisation and self-sacrifice that comes from having a leadership that has survived war and hell on earth.
This time around, the Obama administration, after receiving thousands of phone calls - thanks to the solidarity movement that stems from the 1980s - issued a statement of neutrality on the Friday before the election. The administration appears divided on El Salvador as with the rest of Latin America's left: at least one of Obama's highest-level advisors on Latin America favoured the right-wing ruling party. But the statement of neutrality was a clear break from the Bush administration.
El Salvador's new president, Mauricio Funes - a popular former TV journalist - will face many challenges, especially on the economic front. The country exports 10% of its GDP to the United States, and receives another 18% in remittances from Salvadorans living there. Along with sizeable private investment flows, this makes El Salvador very vulnerable to the deep US recession. El Salvador has also adopted the US dollar as its national currency. This means that it cannot use exchange rate policy and is severely limited in monetary policy to counteract the recession. On top of this, it has recently signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund that commits the government to not pursuing a fiscal stimulus for this year. And the FMLN will not have a majority in the Congress.
But the majority of Salvadorans, who are poor or near-poor, decided that the left would be more likely than the right to look out for them in hard times. That's a reasonable conclusion, and one that is shared by most of the hemisphere.
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