Posts Tagged ‘Eddie Vedder’

Bubbling Under 8/20/11

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Victorious Cast featuring Victoria Justice—”I Want You Back”
#108
This is pure karaoke—the only thing that sounds different from the original is the vocals—but it’s a world away from Glee or the worst of American Idol. Still, it’s a well-crafted curiosity and nothing more. It helps that Justice doesn’t try to do Michael Jackson. More and more, in fact, she reminds me of Katrina Leskanich. I await her version of “Walking On Sunshine”.

Darius Rucker—”I Got Nothin’”
#109
After the warm and sleep-inducing paeans to family life on Rucker’s last album, the bleak desolation of this record comes as a surprise. What may be even more surprising is the way Rucker sings it: there isn’t a trace of country phrasing. If anything, he sounds like a grunge singer dabbling in a different genre (if you ever wanted to hear Eddie Vedder sing country, this may be as close as you get). Not a great record, but better than I would have expected.

David Nail—”Let It Rain”
#115
One of the things that makes country so fascinating right now is the sense of growing stylistic openness; more and more it sounds as if they’re willing to try anything. This may be desperation in the face of imploding sales, but it may also have to do with the broadening of the country audience not just beyond the south (which has been going on for decades), but from a rural and suburban base to one more urban. So now you get more traces of urban styles, even touches of hip-hop and urban soul, besides the obvious blues, southern rock, and easy-listening pop. This record, good but not great, features pumping organ as it’s rhythmic base, along with background vocals that suggest both black gospel and the sophistication of Fleetwood Mac, plus the unfortunately de rigueur power ballad climax (when is someone in country going to fight the loudness epidemic? they, of all genres, should be leading the charge). It doesn’t veer far from the basics, especially in the vocals, but it’s enough to make it sound fresh, and to make you wonder just where country is going to be a few years from now.

Skrillex—”Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”
#24
The sound of an early-twenties DJ/producer with a love of not only techno but heavy metal, playing at fun and games in the studio (or on his laptop). In other words, nerd music, but with a twist. It’s no surprise when near the end the relatively unfiltered vocals sound as wimpy and wan as Death Cab for Cutie or Owl City, but Skrillex isn’t interested in emphasizing his sensitive side, he’s into creating alter egos that reflect multiple aspects of his personality, even the nasty ones that aren’t that pleasant to listen to. Right now the dichotomy is obvious, jarring, and somewhat off-putting; if he should ever manage a synthesis, though, he could be something.

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Hot 100 Roundup—9/26/10

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Kings of Leon—Radioactive
#37
The music takes off from the title, the guitars and percussion echoing the sound of Geiger counters, but the lyrics seem to be about something else entirely, something vaguely spiritual. They’re so vague, in fact, that it’s impossible to tell what’s going on or what any of it means. All I can be sure of is that these guys really want to be Pearl Jam. So much so that I can’t help but wonder if this wasn’t inspired by Eddie Vedder’s version of “My City In Ruins”.

Trey Songz—“Can’t Be Friends”
#74
In which Trey regrets the fact that he’s irresistible to women and so good at sexing them up because he finds it impossible to be friends with a woman once he’s had her and can’t have her anymore. There are probably many women in the world who would be flattered by this self-serving horseshit. Until, that is, they realized it was just his way of talking them back into bed. Amazing what a throbbing, sympathetic string arrangement can do to hide your true intentions.

Keith Urban—“Put You In A Song”
#82
Though I’ve heard some evidence that Urban can be better, this time he sounds like a one-man Rascal Flatts. His throwaway exclamations at the ends of lines are particularly irritating. He sounds like he’s already working the crowd in Branson.

Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup—“We No Speak Americano”
#83
Cartoon music which may or may not have some political intent. Already a huge hit in Europe, where this sort of danceable pop candy has always been ridiculously popular. It gets old fast.

Miguel featuring J. Cole—“All I Want Is You”
#91
I like the trip-hop beats and the ethereal quality of the chorus, and until J. Cole steps up to the mike this is a good record. But Cole ruins it for me by indulging in one the stupidest trends in current hip-hop: self-annotated raps. As soon as he says “Trying to celebrate my independence day (Will Smith)” he loses me, and even the good lines about his girlfriend forcing him to apologize twice don’t quite make up for it. Something else we can blame on Kanye, I guess.

Reba —“Turn On Your Radio”
#94
Give her credit: Reba knows how to keep up with the times, and the vocal on this piece of feisty feminism wipes the floor with its inspiration, Carrie Underwood. What it lacks is Underwood’s brassy tastelessness (in country terms, that is), which implies not just youth but true anger. When Reba’s voice turns bitter she sounds like a long-time pro doing her best for the song, but you know she thinks it’s just a good joke and nothing else. Underwood’s lack of depth is part of what makes the basic emotions in her songs believable, but Reba’s too old to be that shallow.

Linkin Park—“Waiting For the End”
#96
Musical craftsmanship matters, and whether it’s the band’s or Rick Rubin’s, it makes this record more listenable than it deserves to be. “This is not what I had planned” from someone who is either dying or expecting to be killed may be one of the dumbest lines to hit the Hot 100 this year, especially the way Mike Shinoda sings it. All that money, all that time and effort and yes, talent, and they still hold the intellectual point of view of a thirteen year-old. Either that or they’re intentionally pandering to thirteen year-olds, which would almost be better.

Eric Church—“Smoke a Little Smoke”
#97
I’ve seen signs that Church doesn’t get much respect from country aficionados, but though the sound of his records is somewhat overblown (but then, in country, whose isn’t?) I like the throwaway quality of his lyrics and melodies, and his sense of proportion—at just over three minutes, compared to his earlier records this is almost an epic. He knows how to sneak ideas into a song, as well; it isn’t until the middle eight that you realize he’s blunting himself out because his girl dumped him. He’s also more blatant about dope than most country singers, at least the ones that get on the radio. There are even psychedelic echo effects. Good stuff.

Wiz Khalifa—“Black and Yellow”
#100
Good hook, but then you expect that from a Stargate produced track. The rapping isn’t bad, either, but it isn’t anything you haven’t heard before, and better.

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New this week—2/7/10

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

For the second week in a row, the debuts are dominated by charity singles for Haiti. This week, though, except for Eddie Vedder’s wonderful cover of Bruce Springsteen, I’ve decided to let them pass without comment. I don’t have the heart to badmouth any more records pointed at such a worthy cause (as opposed to last week, when I was feeling cynical). Just for the record, though:

Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Keith Urban—”Lean On Me”, #47
Taylor Swift—”Breathless”, #72
Jennifer Hudson featuring The Roots—”Let It Be”, #98

The rest of the week’s crop, though, is surprisingly strong. Only one dud, and at least two tracks that will probably stand among the best of the year, at least in my estimation.

B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars—”Nothin’ On You”
#89
Maybe I’m just a sucker, but I love this record. There’s nothing new here, and given time I could probably trace the original source of every hook (I wouldn’t need to look far, either), but it’s so beautifully put together I don’t see the point. As an encapsulation of a certain strain of southern hip-hop it’s just about perfect. It’s probably too soft for some people (there’s not single grating or negative moment in it), and it lacks a certain brashness, but that just means it’s as purely pop as you can get. I, for one, can never get enough of that sort of thing.

Eddie Vedder—”My City Of Ruins”
#92
I have my doubts about the gospel choir, but that’s the only weakness I can find in this performance, which not only cuts the Bruce Springsteen original, but just about everything that Eddie Vedder has ever done as well. Because Vedder is something of a softy, his voice lacks the stridency and the stiffness that often mars Springsteen’s own performances, and all the beauty and regret in the song comes though in a way Springsteen didn’t quite manage. Being reminded of what Vedder can do with a great song is enough to make me wonder if the only thing that’s really wrong with Pearl Jam is that they write their own material.

Jaheim—”Ain’t Leaving Without You”
#96
Since few people make records like this piece of early ’80s-style funk anymore, it sounds fresh and appealing. If this actually were the early ’80s, though, it would be just another one, and only slightly above average, at that.

Jason Michael Carroll—”Hurry Home”
#99
What’s worse than a manipulative country weeper? How about a manipulative country weeper that doesn’t succeed at manipulating anybody?

Roscoe Dash featuring Soulja Boy Tell’em—”All the Way Turnt Up”
#100
Whatever else you might think, there’s no denying that this song lives up to it’s title, with it’s crossing lines of melody and rhythm jacked up so high that after about two minutes it become wearing. As a flashing of musical and production skills it’s both impressive and intentionally obnoxious, and up to the point where my ears start to bleed I like it a lot. I do, however, find it impossible to tell Roscoe and Soulja Boy apart—though that might be intentional, I suppose.

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