Blog Posts by Craig Rosen

First, before we get to the music, we have to take care of some business. This is the final Who's Next blog, but fear not, we aren't going away. Beginning April 23, what was once known as Who's Next will now be known as The New Now and it will live in its very own section, so don't go looking for us in the blog roll. This is a good thing because now we've got a new sponsor, which will allow us to showcase even more new music and more exclusive interviews and live performances. For those who have been following the Who's Next blog for the last three months, I wish to thank you for your support and hope you'll keep and eye and ear out of us next week when we re-emerge as The New Now. Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog...

Nina Persson is no newcomer. Beginning in the early '90s, the sweet-voice Swedish beauty fronted the Cardigans, a band probably best known for its 1996 hit "Lovefool," as well as for its drowsy take of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." At the height of the Cardigans'

Sportsand rock 'n' roll often don't go together. I attribute this phenomenonto high school when rockers and jocks hung in separate cliques. Overthe years, however, the lines have blurred and strange things startedto happen. The Ramones'"Blitzkrieg Bop" was blasted on the P.A. at sporting events. Finefellows like Scott Radinsky managed to create a double life as a MajorLeague Baseball pitcher and the singer of the punk rock band Pulley. (To make matters even more rad, Radinsky even opened a skatepark.)

Now,at a time when we're not quite sure where the lines between rock 'n'roll and sports are--if they exist at all--comes a band called Hockey.They're named after that sport favored by Canadians that's played onice with skates, a puck and sticks, but don't seem to have much to dowith the sport at all.

Hockey, a quartet that hails from Portland, Oregon, has already garnered favorable notices comparing it to LCD Soundsystem and the Rapture with a touch of Strokes' swagger. Folks a bit older

Ittakes a certain amount of chutzpah for an artist to go by a singlename. Often those who do go the one-name-only route become legends, orat the very least, have unwieldy surnames. Think about it. There's Madonna, Prince, Cher, and even relative newcomers like Dido. You may want to add Waynato that list, since she wisely decided to go by her first name ratherthan attempting to squeeze "Wayna Wondwossen" on CD cover.

Who's Wayna, you ask? She's an Ethiopian-born singer-songwriter who started performing at a young age in Annie and Damn Yankees (the musical, not the '90s "supergroup" featuring Ted Nugent and those dudes from Styx and Night Ranger.)

Now a full-grown woman, Wayna recently received a Grammy nomination for best urban/alternative performance for her take on Minnie Riperton's 1975 classic "Lovin' You." You may know the song from American Idol. It's one of those numbers that the would-be Idolsusually butcher, leaving Randy Jackson to say something like, "Wrongsong, dog!!!!

Colby O'Donis is everywhere. He's featured on Lady GaGa's recent No. 1 hit "Just Dance" and Akon's latest hit single, "Beautiful," along with Kardinal Offishall. But exactly who is Colby O'Donis aside from seemingly everyone's favorite guest vocalist?

O'Donis, in fact, is a recording artist in his own right who released his major-label debut album, Colby O,last fall on Akon's Kon Live label through Geffen/Interscope. The albumeven spawned the top 10 pop radio hit, "What You Got," featuringspecial guest, Akon. Here's the video clip for that track.

O'Donis isn't really a new kid on the block, despite the fact that he opened for the former teen idols, New Kids On The Block, and the New York Daily News oncepublished a profile of him using that phrase as a headline. The NewYork-born son of Puerto Rican parents has been performing since the ageof three when he won a talent competition. Later he hooked up with thesongwriting/production team Full Force, had a song included on the Stuart

When I first heard Florence & the Machine's "Kiss With A Fist" some time last summer, it left me slightly conflicted (No Rihanna-Chris Brownjokes, please). I liked the song and the attitude, but the subjectmatter troubled me a bit. I certainly don't condone violence againstwomen, men, children or even small animals and/or any type of spousalabuse. Then again, I'm all for someone defending themselves against anysort of brutality and I like songs and artists that stir somecontroversy.

Musically, simply put, the song rocks. Thematically it reminds me a bit of the Phil Spector-produced, Gerry Goffin-Carole King-penned "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)," originally recorded by the Crystals and covered by Hole, Spiritualized and Grizzly Bear among others, and The Burning Bed, that old made-for-TV movie starring Farrah Fawcett.

Whilethat film was based on a true story, I am all for pretend-movieviolence for the purpose of entertainment, and I suppose "Kiss With AFist" should be viewed as such

Like Glasvegas, Ezra Furman & the Harpoonsare a band with obvious influences, but they're so good, you can excusetheir plundering of the vaults and simply dig their tunes. When I firstcaught the band's "Take Off Your Sunglasses" on the late, greatterrestrial version of Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles, I heard generousbits of Bob Dylan, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, and the Violent Femmes,but it didn't matter because the song has such an irresistible spiritthat it transcends its influences. Check the video below, directed byAntoine Wagner, and see if you agree.

UnlikeGlasvegas, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons aren't from Glasgow. TheChicago-born Furman has been making music ever since he received aguitar as a Bar Mitzvah present. He met bassist Job Mukkada and drummerAdam Abrutyn in Boston, more specifically at Tufts University, wherethey were all students. After self-releasing their first album, Beat Beat Beat, in 2006, the band was snapped up by Minty Fresh Records. Their debut for the

Just the thought of that headline sends shivers down my spine. Kate and Kacey, a pair of nubile, blonde-haired, blue-eyed twin sisters taking on Naomi Judd, the matriarch of modern country music? It seems wrong, very wrong. It seems unfair, so much so that I'd even consider letting Wynonnajoin the fray, but that might tip the scales the other way. Whateverthe case, apparently Naomi started it, so maybe she deserves what'scoming her way.

For those of you who didn't follow CMT's reality show/talent competition Can You Duet,let me fill you in on went down. Naomi was a judge, Kate and KaceyCoppola were contestants and Naomi got all-Simon Cowell on theirbehinds, although the pair did make it to the semi-finals.

Youcan tell just how badly Naomi scarred the sisters by one of Kacey'sblog entries. "Today was one of the more stressful days Kate and I havehad yet," she wrote. "We had a mentor session with Naomi. And I'd guessy'all know that we've had some problems connecting with her in

Just the other day we told you about members of Hanson, the Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains Of Wayne and Cheap Trick, who have convened under the banner of Tinted Windows. Dan Auerbach is half of the rockin' Akron, Ohio-based blues duo known as the Black Keys. Rather than go the supergroup route, Auerbach has broken it down and gone solo with the recent release of Keep It Hid.

Check out this clip of "Trouble Weighs A Ton," one of the fine cuts featured on the album.

Whywould the singer/guitarist of a duo, which plays songs co-written bythe main man, feel the need to go solo, you might ask? ApparentlyAuerbach wanted to play with other musicians, apart from his Keyspartner, drummer Patrick Carney. And he didn't want to go out and formanother band like fellow blues-duo frontman Jack White did when he tooka break from Meg and the White Stripes and created the Raconteurs with Brendan Benson and the Greenhornes rhythm section of drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence.

Howdoes