1. The Crystal Method - Starting Over
2. Usher - Throwback
3. Eminem - Rock City
4. Prince - A Million Days
5. N.E.R.D. - The Way She Dances
6. Santa Esmerelda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
7. Janet Jackson - R&B Junkie
8. The Crystal Method - I Know Its You
9. Usher - Confessions Part II
10. Eminem - Scary Movies I.V. (instrumental)
11. P.O.D. - Execute the Sounds
12. Radiohead - Where Bluebirds Fly
13. Earth, Wind & Fire - Love's Holiday
14. Musiq - Whoknows
15. Robbie Williams - Feel Real Love
16. Prince - What Do U Want Me 2 Do
17. Staind - So Far Away
This month's picks are a somewhat weakly thrown-together
mix. After being on vacation I came back and wanted to put together
a collection asap. A few songs had been playing on repeat during the
trip. So rather than scanning what was new in rotation or in the clubs
or in my friends' cars, I grabbed songs from some of my new cds.
This is an album of pairs, as in there being two songs
from the same artists - Prince, Crystal Method, Usher, Eminem - a few
times. I usually avoid this and try to feature different singles over
different monthly collections. Stringing it along, much like their record
companies will do. This time I wanted to fill up a collection quickly.
If there are any common themes throughout these songs, they would be
R&B and guitar.
1. The Crystal Method - Starting Over
A perfect song to start of the cd, as it starts off The Method's newest
offering "Legion of Boom." Very good intro tempo and promise
of cool stuff to come. I have been slow to embrace "Boom"
and only recently discovered a few songs I liked from it. The problem
is that 2001's "Tweekend" was so powerful and of-the-moment,
I played it for months. "Legion of Boom" sounds dated and
uninspired by comparison. But that said, this is a good intro song.
2. Usher - Throwback
A'ight now time to get my R&B thing on. You can make fun of Usher
for a lot of things, dressing like Michael Jackson during the 1984 Victory
Tour for starters. But the dude puts together some pretty good hooks.
He has a wide vocal range and on this new cd "Confessions"
he tries to grow up, constructs some deeper songs and even approaches
R. Kelly level of infectious verses. This song has a strong guitar chord
sample throughout, which lends it some needed toughness.
3. Eminem - Rock City
This is the best song from a fairly dismal collection of B-sides and
unreleased material available in the UK as "Eminem is Back."
I wish he was back, with a new full scale cd! But until then this collection
hardly serves as an appetizer. This song is okay and I like the samples
and rhymes. And it has guitar samples, which is something that more
rappers should use. Some of the best 80s rap, Run DMC, Public Enemy,
Beasties, used guitar rock as the backbone of their beats. Maybe now
it will be retro-fantastic to do so again?
4. Prince - A Million Days
So Prince is cool again? They say "Musicology" is his best
and most vital cd in over 10 years. Maybe so, I wouldn't know because
I stopped listening to anything released by the formerly symboled one
after "Peaches and Cream." I was interested again after seeing
him at The Grammies this year and then read the reviews of "Musicology"
and I bit. I like it enough to have 2 songs in this month's picks. Not
everything is great on "Musicology", but he is a damn good
guitar player! I had always heard that he was a guitar god, but never
believed it. This song features some slick guitar licks, palm muting
and screaming harmonics with a sly and memorable verse or two to draw
you in. And it is a perfect serve-up to the next song....
5. N.E.R.D. - The Way She Dances
This is what N.E.R.D. should sound like! This song is my favorite on
the new cd, which is sort of a mixed bag for me. But this one kicks!
N.E.R.D. are playing their own instruments now, but when did Santana
join the band? The guitar lick used throughout is tasty, thick and a
homage to "Black Magic Woman." The lyrics are all about sex
and women and dancing, pure N.E.R.D. and every time I hear this song
I am in a great mood, on another planet in fact. A planet where beautiful
girls "dance in their underwear all over the house" with me.
A highlight for this month's picks.This should be their next single.
6. Santa Esmerelda - Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
From "Kill Bill Vol. 1", which I was criminally behind on
getting to. I bought the cd in Thailand and listened to it on the long
plane back from Tokyo, which was very appropriate. This song stood out
immediately because it is a mix of styles just like Tarantino's movie.
Spaghetti Western/Asian Fight Flick/Classic Americana. The song begins
with beautiful flamenco guitar, then adds an Asian hook and kicks in
with vocals from a song I have heard a thousand times somewhere, but
don't know who it's from. "Please don't let me be misunderstood."
Who sang it? The only downside is that this song is 10 minutes but if
you are driving you hardly notice.
7. Janet Jackson - R&B Junkie
After the stupid boob thing at The Superbowl, I was pretty down on Janet.
Not because I was offended, but because of how everything is now being
monitored by Congress and the FCC to try to make everything safe for
precious little kids. But I should not blame her for that and I decided
to check out her new cd "Damita Jo." This is the best song
on the cd. And it is all retro R&B like the title. This song could
have been on 1986's "Control." For me, it signals a new direction
of retro nostalgia music. Bring back the 80s R&B and Rap, especially
tunes from the late 80s. I am tired of 70s/80s pop nostalgia and think
we should delve into "bouncing to some old school."
8. The Crystal Method - I Know It's You
The first minute of the song is all you need to hear to get the idea
but it is a damn good one minute. Great beat, cool voice saying "I
Know It's You" and nice vocals by Milla Jovovich as guest singer.
Not a classic song but a standout from "Legion of Boom." Luckily
the song does not drone on for too long.
9. Usher - Confessions II
This is a really weird song. Why would Usher write a song about confessing
to his girlfriend that he got another girl pregnant? Is it based in
truth, if so why share? Is it totally made up for dramatic effect? If
so, then I guess Usher is trying to show us he is capable of churning
out concept songs. But I like it for whatever reason. Real good chorus
and in this case I believe he is channeling R. Kelly. My favorite song
on his new cd for sure, but it is strange when I catch myself singing
"two months pregnant and she's keeping it".
10. Eminem - Scary Movies I.V. (instrumental)
There is nothing Slim Shady about this song. It's purely instrumental
but I put it here a good breakpoint between styles. There is something
cinematic about this music and maybe it was even used for promoting
"8 Mile" because it sounds familiar.
11. P.O.D. - Execute The Sounds
So a break in styles indeed, from Usher to P.O.D., a mediocre rap/metal
band from San Diego ("The 619"). But every once in awhile
they have a song that crosses over and kicks my ass. They experiment
with adding in Jamaican dancehall rap stylings to great effect in this
song, and the chorus is well-sung. I think their lead singer could have
a strong solo career in pop music if he was so inclined. But what do
I know?
12. Radiohead - Where Bluebirds Fly
An example of why this is a weak month of music picks in places. This
Radiohead track is mostly instrumental mood music to fill space on this
collection. It comes from a collection of B-Sides and live tracks released
as "Comm Lag" recently. Nothing that stood out too much on
it, except for this song.
13. Earth, Wind & Fire - Love's Holiday
Old old school R&B time, a really great classic song to make to
love to your old lady with. These guys had some great hits and this
comes from their "Love Songs" collection. It's place on this
cd is to serve up some of the slower songs that follow it.
14. Musiq - Whoknows
Musiq is usually good for a strong single and I really liked his last
one "Forthenight" so I figured to give this one a try. Ehhhh,
it's okay. A little slow for me and there are better songs on his cd
than this. It works after the Earth, Wind & Fire though. How about
his continued consistentency with the spelling of this song titles?
WhocaresIsay.
15. Robbie Williams - Feel Real Love
The first song by Robbie Williams I have ever liked. I know he is a
huge deal in England but to me he is an example of why the British pop
charts are so damn weird and never translate to American tastes. But
on this song, he appears to be perfecting a Bon Jovi ballad style that
could make this huge over here. I heard this a lot on vacation and saw
several English dudes singing along.
16. Prince - What Do U Want Me 2 Do
Speaking of unusual but consistently unusual spelling of song titles,
here is Prince. Second song I have here from the new "Musicology"
and it is all slow jazzy guitar and crooner Prince at work. I love it
and the mood it creates. He is a master of moods and each song on his
cds explores different ones, which is why he can always become relevant
to current music. He seems to be trying for relevancy now instead of
trying to piss off fans as he did during the 90s.
17. Staind - So Far Away
I am a big sissy because this song really works for me. I brought it
back into this month's picks ( I previously had it on one made from
last summer) after seeing it on a "Smallville" episode a while
back. This is the second time that show has influenced by music tastes.
But here I put it as the last song on the collection, I had room and
said "what the hell?"