Posts Tagged ‘Keith Urban’

Hot 100 Roundup—12/24/11

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Glee Cast
“We Are Young”, #12
“Survivor/I Will Survive”, #51
“Man In the Mirror”, #76
“ABC”, #88
“Red Solo Cup”, #92

T-Pain featuring Lil Wayne—”Bang Bang Pow Pow”
#48
After the failure of two strong singles a year or so ago, it appears T-Pain has decided to go the more obvious route to revive his career: bigtime guests, obvious samples and/or beats, an avoidance of any subtlety or musical games. So we get straightforward gangsta-party music, with lots of sex, lame raps, gunshots, the works (including Lil Wayne, whose rap I can’t recall at the moment). Because it’s T-Pain, he doesn’t sink a low as others might, but it seems damn low for him. I wonder what happened to the album those earlier singles were from. There’s no sign of them on Revolver, not even the deluxe version.

fun. featuring Janelle Monae—”We Are Young”
#53
A problematic generational anthem. The message goes something like this: “The parties over. Sorry I hurt you. I’ll help you home and we’ll get some sleep and tomorrow we’ll change the world.” Fair enough, but I worry whether the scar he gave his ex is metaphorical or actual. Janelle Monae’s presence is negligible, which is just as well in this case. The melody has a certain lift, but the arrangement is too sparse and the overall effect is hollow. I’ll blame that on the band, not on their generation.

Jake Owen—”Alone With You”
#90
I like the feel of this, and Owen sings it well, but it doesn’t get anywhere near as down in the dumps as it should, and Owen doesn’t seem to be putting up much of a fight against this particular femme fatale. She’s got him whipped, and he sounds too weak to even think about resisting. At the same time, he doesn’t sound like he’s all that turned on by her, either, and if she can’t manage that, what possible power could she have over him? Little details like that are what makes songs come alive, and this doesn’t have them.

Keith Urban—”You Gonna Fly”
#91
I’m beginning to think the only difference between Urban and Rascal Flatts is that there’s only one of him. His sound is a little rougher, to be sure, a little more rock and roll, but that’s like saying that shag is a little rougher than fleece. It’s still designed to be warm and cozy and nothing else.

Kelly Clarkson—”I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
#93
It’s been almost a decade since Clarkson won the first season of American Idol, and you would think she’d have shaken the dust off her heels by now, but every once in a while she still sounds like she’s a contestant. This is overdramatized, oversung, and like too many American Idol competitors, Clarkson seems to have no idea what the song is about. She also throws in a change in the lyric, intentional or not I don’t know, that strips away any sense the song might still have made, even with her singing it. Don’t even get me started on the trumpet solo. A mistake in just about every way.

Waka Flocka Flame featuring Drake—”Round of Applause”
#97
This opens with a loud belch. I find it impossible to listen afterwards. Even among rappers (or rap yellers, in this case) there should be such a thing as dignity. Maybe more so.

Edens Edge—”Amen”
#99
Despite the name of the group and the title of the song, this is not Contemporary Christian Country, or Christian anything aside from the way it uses common pentacostal phrases as a lame joke in the chorus. In the who’ll-be-the-next-Lady-Antebellum sweepstakes (formerly the who’ll-be-the-next-Sugarland sweepstakes), these folks are dead last, with a sound designed to be so soft and sweet and nonthreatening it barely exists. Somehow that makes their use of religious terms even more offensive.

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Hot 100 Roundup—7/30/11

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Demi Lovato—”Skyscraper”
#10
Lovato has one great and dangerous gift: a voice that can make even the most sentimental, over-reaching metaphors sound like felt emotion. It’s not something that can be learned—it either comes naturally or it doesn’t—but it can be developed, which is where the danger lies. Put too much emphasis on that quality, rely on it too much, and Lovato could end up the Connie Francis of her era, pumping out one godawful piece of dreck after another. So it’s good to see that she’s moving away from the affectations that filled her first few singles. This may be hard to believe if you’re not familiar with her earlier material, but trust me, compared to “Don’t Forget” this is a model of vocal restraint. “Skyscraper” doesn’t have much of a melody, and I have my doubts about the extended metaphor, if only because it conjures up images of 9/11, but it’s still a good record.

T-Pain featuring Joey Galaxy—”Booty Wurk (One Cheek At a Time)”
#44
Forget about The Lonely Island, T-Pain is the best musical comedian around, and he’s even funnier when people, most famously Jay-Z, don’t get the joke. This is one of his best, a ridiculous grind that reminds me of Bo Diddley in it’s refusal to take itself seriously even while being striking musically. As always, the joke revolves around sex, and I wish the guy would go someplace besides strip clubs for his inspiration, but this is great all the same.

Blake Shelton—”God Gave Me You”
#65
This is Shelton at his worst, a shovelful of sentimental horseshit that may or may not have been released to capitalize on his recent marriage to Miranda Lambert. Lambert, meanwhile, has two new singles out, one with Pistol Annies and the other solo. The first is about women who prey on rich, gullible men; the second dumping the excess baggage of a failed relationship. If I were Shelton, I’d consider myself on notice. All the lovey-dovey glop in the world won’t make any difference if he screws up.

Cobra Starship featuring Sabi—”You Make Me Feel…”
#76
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 5/28/11

Colbie Caillat—”What If”
#77
Caillat is starting to show off. Her songs are getting longer and more complicated, while the sentiments remain as simple, if not simpler, as before. She’s also trying to stretch herself musically, which only takes her, unsurprisingly, deeper into Fleetwood Mac territory. This even ends with a Lindsey Buckingham-style guitar solo. Wake me up when she makes her Tusk.

Blink-182—”Up All Night”
#85
Not as horrible as you might expect, but nothing special, either, and you can still hear the elements that would make this band insufferable if they were emphasized. Maybe age has taught them something, though they seem to deny it (aging, that is; they’ve always thought they were geniuses).

Keith Urban—”Long Hot Summer”
#89
Urban is capable of making decent music, but this isn’t it. The song jumps around all over the place, its only reason for existing to show off as many sides of Urban’s talent as possible. Not that there are all that many.

Alexandra Stan—”Mr. Saxobeat”
#92
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 7/2/11

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Hot 100 Roundup—3/26/11

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Glee Cast
“Landslide”, #23
“Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”, #57
“Animal”, #62
“Kiss”, #83


Eli Young Band—”Crazy Girl”
#59
I like the sound of this, especially the steel guitars, which go for timbre and intensity rather than the usual sentimental effects, but it isn’t much of a song, and Young isn’t much of a singer. There are times when this reminds me of a male Taylor Swift, oddly enough, but that’s more a matter of melodic construction rather than theme or approach. I’ll be interested in whatever they do next, but I don’t hold out much hope.

Wiz Khalifa—”The Race”
#66
The background here is astounding, with a late 80s/early 90s synth-pop influence like nothiing I’ve heard on a rap record before, and the groove it establishes goes a lot further in justifying this record’s length than anything Khalifa has to say. Though the music suggests emotional depth, the lyrics are pretty much the same as any other rapper you’ll hear. Maybe he’s just mellowinig out a little.

Lupe Fiasco featuring MDMA—”Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)”
#70
Fiasco has something to say, his anger, intensity, and intelligence shine through, and I’m glad, after all his wrangling with Atlantic Records, that he finally got his album out. Unfortunately, none of that changes the fact that record is both overwrought and derivitave. If he’s going to employ vocal effects, he should find ones that don’t make him sound so much like Kanye West, and the metal guitar solo at the end is just dumb. Which doesn’t mean I won’t give the album a good, hard listen.

Seether—”Country Song”
#74
Since these guys apparently think lyrical vagueness is a sign of intelligence, I can’t quite pin down what this record is about. The title and the country sound are, I assume, ironic, and there are lyrical hints that suggest this is intended as an attack on tea partiers and such. To identify such things with country music as a whole, however, is stupid in all sorts of ways (just ask lifelong democrat Toby Keith), and the fact that the country influences end up making Seether sound smarter than they really are may be the biggest irony of all.

Snoop Dogg featuring T-Pain—”Boom”
#76
Back to bragging about his dope and his women, just like he was born to do. He doesn’t do it with quite the flair he used to, though, and T-Pain, who seems to have lost his talent for hooks, doesn’t help at all.

Eric Church—”Homeboy”
#86
So much for the easygoing dope smoker. Easing back with a joint on a Friday night is one thing, but actual teenage rebellion? Church isn’t putting up with any of that. He isn’t above the crassest emotional manipulation, either, as he assures his little brother that their parents are on their deathbed because their hair is turning grey (why, they may be almost fifty!). The mainstream country audience will no doubt be reassured by this self-superior rant, even if the drums are too loud.

Kenny Chesney—”Live A Little”
#94
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 10/10/10

Keith Urban—”Without You”
#95
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 3/19/11

Jennifer Hudson—”Where You At”
#96
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 2/21/11

Easton Corbin—”I Can’t Love you Back”
#97
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 3/12/11

Avril Lavigne—”Wish You Were Here”
#99
If Lavigne has to make ballads, this is probabaly the way she should do it. At least it’s better than that soundtrack crap she was putting out a couple of years ago. Not that much better, though.

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Bubbling Under—3/19/11

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Keith Urban—”Without You”
#107
It’s gotta be his looks, right? That and the oh so sincere little cracks in his voice. Granted, his songs and arrangements aren’t as tastelessly bombastic as say, Rascal Flatts, but his music is just as empty.

Marsha Ambrosius—”Far Away”
#112
Everybody was getting tired of the old Alicia Keys, so here’s a new one. Remember, Keys’ first album wasn’t that bad, either.

Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland—”Gone”
#113
I don’t think much of “Just a Dream”, but at least it feels like something new. This is just a mediocre love duet.

Waka Flocka Flame featuring Kebo Gotti—”Grove St. Party”
#114
I’m so tired of hearing people yelling “Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!” in the background of rap records that I’m probably harder on this than it deserves. Waka Flocka Flame isn’t a terrible rapper—his voice has an amazing tone, remiscent of Young Jeezy only not as rough, and his sense of flow keeps his stuff rhythmically interesting even when he doesn’t have much to say. Gotti, however, sounds like every third rapper you’ve ever heard, and he rhymes “motherfucker” with “motherfucker”—not just once, but over and over again. Talk about not having anything to say.

Miranda Cosgrove—”Dancing Crazy”
#118
This is where Nickelodeon seizes the tween pop kingdom that Disney, at least for the moment, seems to have given up. There’s nothing daring or particularly striking about this record, but it’s perfectly put together and immensely entertaining. The second half of the chorus, where Cosgrove sarcastically jokes about being heard over the music, is brilliant. The only real flaw is Cosgrove’s voice, especially on the first verse. Surprisingly enough, she sounds too young for the material. Tweens like their heroes and heroines slightly older than they are; it gives them something to aim for. Maybe Ke$ha should take a crack at it.

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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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New this week—1/24/10

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Sade—”Soldier of Love”
#58
Sonically this is stunning, especially the drums, which switch seamlessly in sound from a military tattoo to distant artillery to nearby gunfire—it’s enough to make you believe that they spent the entire eight years between albums getting the sound right. The lyrics are banal, though, no matter how gorgeously sung or perfectly set they may be. Their/her attention to musical detail is so complete that they seem to have completely missed the oxymoron in the title, or considered the possibility that they’ve never found real love because they think of it as a battlefield to begin with. That’s the trouble with perfectionism: once it latches onto an idea, it can’t abide contradictions.

Lady Antebellum–”Ready To Love Again”
#72
The ever-more-questionable single-a-week campaign continues, and sure enough, here comes the dreck. This sounds like the closing credits music for some Lifetime Channel original movie. Should you really issue four singles to preview your new LP if it’s only two singles deep?

Jay-Z + Swizz Beats—”On To the Next One”
#78
Jay-Z sounds fine (though a bit defensive—when has anyone actually accused him of being a virgin?), but the real star is Swizz Beats, who seems to have decided to take up where Timbaland left off (or gave up). His productions have always been fun, but this one has just enough added seriousness and menace to take it up another level.

Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright—”Set the Fire To the Third Bar”
#86
As far as I’m concerned, any guy who writes a line like “the laughter penetrates my silence” doesn’t deserve to be reunited with his girlfriend, no matter how many lonely bars he mutely wanders through. He certainly doesn’t deserve Martha Wainwright, who nonetheless almost succeeds in saving the song, if only because her sweet, simple harmonies distract you from the relentless downtrodden wallow of the lead vocal.

Miley Cyrus—”When I Look At You”
#88
Is this what we have to look forward to when Cyrus gives up pop and “matures”? Me, I prefer the Disney stuff, even the cutesy nonsense, to preening power ballads like this. And I’ll bet you whatever you like that the last Hannah Montana soundtrack album will be better than anything Cyrus releases after she leaves Disney.

Keith Urban—”‘Til Summer Comes Around”
#92
The music is so portentous and the images so dismal—wintry silence, deserted carnival rides, etc.—that this could almost be taken for one of Bruce Springsteen’s post-industrial wasteland songs. Except Springsteen’s songs are about the death of community, the decline of the nation’s principals and ideals, spiritual devastation at both a personal and societal level. Urban’s song is about missing a girl he made out with on a Ferris Wheel once. The imagery is so overwhelming compared to the subject that after awhile it becomes the subject, which—and I would hope that it’s needless to point this out—isn’t the way songs are supposed to work.

Zac Brown Band—”Highway 20 Ride”
#98
A standard country divorce weeper, with extra dollops of self-pity. Brown spends most of the song feeling so sorry for himself he barely addresses the son he’s supposedly talking to. Maybe he should stick to Jimmy Buffett rip-offs and leave the real emotions to people who have some.

Pearl Jam—”Just Breathe”
#99
Let’s face it, if it weren’t for the first Doors LP, Ten would probably be the worst “classic” album ever to grace the rock canon. Now, twenty years later, they’re still making the same mistakes: taking sentiment for real emotion, sincerity for real ideas, and vocal and instrumental texture for interesting music. They mean well, and they’ve gotten better, but too often that’s the only good thing that can be said about them. In this case, I wouldn’t even say they’ve gotten better.

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